Dr



Dr. J. Turner Intro. to deities of Greek Mythology & Religion

1. Physical Features:

1. Gaia (Gē) = Earth 4. Selēnē = Moon 7. Okeanos= Ocean

2.Ouranos = Sky 5. Eos = Dawn 8. Oceanids (including Thetis,Achilles'mother)

3. Helios (Phoebos)=Sun 6. Nyx= Night =Nymphs of mountains, forest. lakes. streams: River gods

I 1. Titans: Aside from Okeanos and Kronos (= Time [Latin = Saturn]), the Titans primarily are important as ancestors of other gods. So Rea (with Chronos) is mother of Zeus@ Mnemosyne (=Memory) is the mother of the Muses. Iapetus is the father of Prometheus and Atlas (who is grandfather to Hermes). Themis (="What is divinely correct or usual according to nature") is, however. a Titan of much importance in ethics. 'The Cyclopes and Hundred-Arms are different litters of the Titans.

Ill. The original generation of Olympian gods: most imp. of Olympian gods.)

1. Zeus: =chief god. Thunder, lightning, imposer of order, keeper of oaths, preserver of

hospitality, punishes wrong-doing, has an amorous bent.

'2. Hera: wife (& sister) of Zeus, to some extent, his female counterpart, often jealous of Zeus'

love affairs, is sometimes regarded as keeper of marriages, etc.

3. Poseidon: god of the sea, causes earthquakes, especially associated w/horses, carries a

trident (pitchfork); w/his brothers-Zeus and Hades-he shares a third of the Universe: (Poseidon-theSea, Hades-theUnderworld, Zeus-Sky&Earth).

4. Hades (Pluto).- god of Underworld (=Hades' place); wife is Persephone

5. Demeter: an Earth-mother type. Godess of Grain, then of all vegetation, of fertility, main

goddess of Eleusinian Mysteries which she taught to Triptolemos. Demeter is also mother of Persephone.

6. Hestia: goddess of the Hearth, household.

I V. Others who made their way to Olympian status:

1. Aphrodite (Venus): goddess of love, sex, attractiveness, accordng to Hesiod she rose

from the foam of Sky's castrated genitals. Others make her a daughter of Zeus and a goddess Dione. Often called 'The Cyprian"; usually married to Hephaistos, god of Fire, but has flings w/Ares and mortal men and boys.

2. Eros (Cupid): the spirit of desire, usually sexual. Later Greek myth makes him a little boy

w/bow and arrows, attending his mother Aphrodite.

3. Hephaistos: god of Fire and divine blacksmith; son of Hera. He has a limp.

V. Children of Zeus:

1. Athena: mainly a goddess of war, perennial virgin, goddess of crafts (weaving, pottery-

making, etc.), later also symbol of intelligence and scholarship; sometimes called Pallas, often associated w/olive tree, owl (wisdom), and aegis. No mother.

2. Apollo (Phoebos): god mainly of prophecy (main oracle is Pythia at Delphi); also he is

in charge of archery and the lyre; associated w/poetry (He plays while the Muses sing.). Associated w/medicine. His son was Asklepios, the first physician and later considered the god of Medicine. Apollo's mother was Leto.

3. Artemis: Apollo's sister; in some ways his female counterpart. Her special dominion is over

animals, known as the huntress-protectress of animals and goddess of hunters. A virgin, but often presided over childbirth. Her mother was Leto.

4. Persephone- daughter of Demeter, therefore a kind of vegetation goddess. She dis-

appears to join her husband Hades and be Queen of the Underworld after harvest-time, only to reappear in the Spring at seed/planting time.

5. Ares (Mars): god of War, most hated of all the gods, cruel, not too smart, handsome warrior.

(Mars has a somewhat dff erent, more attractve personality.) His mother is Hera.

6. Eileithuia: goddess of Childbirth and Hebe(eventually wife of Herakies), "Youth"; mother

is Hera.

7. Hermes (Mercury): messenger of the gods, also leads the souls of the dead to the

Underworld. Carries a staff. Mother is Maia.

8. Iris: "Rainbow", --girl messenger goddess.

9. Dionysos (Bacchus, Liber): god of wine, drunkenness, orgies. Suppossed to have

come from the East, but was born in Thebes, Greece. Has a way w/ivy, grapes, and phallic-like poles (thasoi). Often represents irrational element in life (often from a positive point of view, but sometimes is a most destructive god.) Sometimes portrayed as pale, eff eminate, etc., but always inciting passion of all kinds. Mother was Semelē, by way of Zeus' thigh. (*Semelē was one of Kadmos' daughters.) Later, patron god of theater (at Athens).

I 0. Herakles (Hercules): The major instance of a human (although son of Zeus) who made it to become a god. (Some other "heroes' did, too.) Primarily a man who clears the world of monsters, etc.,to make it safe for men. Performs many marvelous exploits, andis a kind of Superman. Carries a big club,wears a lionskin; travels alot. Takes after his father with respect to women, but gets into more trouble through his affairs. Has a bad temper (often kills people as well as moristers), but is fun-loving guy. Is the "hero' par excellence. Later authors tend to portray him as dull, stupid, brutish, similar to modem old-fashioned notion of a "dumb football player."

Note: Lesser gods:

There are many other gods which appear in Greek myth: e.g, the Muses, the Fates (Greek-

The Graces (Charites), the Seasons (Horai), the woodland god Pan; and his satyr colleagues; such people as Leucothea ('White goddess"-a girl, Ino. who made it to become a sea-goddess); and Circe; Gorgons; Sirens; Harpies, et al.

Hekate--a super-witch who is goddess of every matter (i.e., she has a timē in everything). She is is not very important in mythology, but was important in everyday (folk) religion.

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