Greek Mythology, GODS AND GODDESSES PDF

Preview

Summary

Greek Mythology from Senator Renato Companero Memorial Science and Technology High School, Senior Highschool year 2016/2017...

Description

1.

The Greek Gods and Goddesses

Greek mythology tells stories about:

o gods and goddesses, o other immortals, o demigods, o monsters or other mythical creatures, o extraordinary heroes, and o some ordinary people. Some of the gods and goddesses are calledOlympian because they sat on thrones on Mt.Olympus. There were 12 Olympians in Greek mythology, although you may run across more than 12 names.



Greek Mythology: In The Beginning... In Greek mythology, there was nothing but Chaos in the beginning: Chaos was autogenic. Chaos is called an elemental force, which is force made of itself alone and not composed of anything else. It exists from the beginning of the universe. To coin a phrase, you could say, "in the beginning, there was Chaos." Period.

The idea of having the principle of Chaos at the beginning of the universe is like the New Testament idea that in the beginning was "The Word".

Out of Chaos spun out other elemental forces or principles, like Love, Earth, and Sky, and in a later generation, the Titans.



Titans in Greek Mythology

The first few generations were progressively more like humans: The Titans were the children of Gaia (Ge 'Earth') and Uranus (Ouranos 'Sky') -- the Earth and Sky. The Olympian gods and goddesses were children born later to one specific pair of Titans, making the Olympian gods and goddesses grandchildren of Earth and Sky.

The Titans and the Olympians inevitably came into conflict. Since you have probably heard a lot about the Olympian gods and little about the Titans, you can guess who won, but before you go writing off the Titans as an irrelevant footnote to Greek mythology, the giant holding the world on his shoulders, Atlas, is a Titan.



Uranus' Revenge

Earth (Gaia) and Sky (Ouranos/Uranus), who are considered elemental forces, produced numerous offspring: 100-armed monsters, 1-eyed cyclops, and the Titans. Earth was sad because the very unpaternal Sky wouldn't let their children see the light of day, so she did something about it. She forged a sickle with which her son Cronus unmanned his father. The love goddess Aphrodite sprang up from the foam from Sky's severed genitals. From Sky's blood dripping on Earth sprang the spirits of Vengeance (Erinyes) aka the Furies (sometimes known euphemistically as "the Kindly Ones").



Titanomachy

The Titanomachy 'Titan Battle' (from the word "titan" and the Greek for battle -- "machy") was an important battle for the Olympian gods. This was a 10-year battle between immortals - the gods and the Titans. At the end of it, Zeus became the dominant power. Read about:



Roman Gods and Goddesses

The Romans had their own local gods and goddesses, but when they learned about other gods they frequently either adopted them or combined them with the closest god or goddess in their evolving pantheon. Thus, the vegetation goddess Venus became the equivalent of the Greek love and beauty goddess Aphrodite. The god Mars, whom the Romans esteemed, became associated with the almost despised war god of the Greeks, Ares. The Romans also adopted the gods of their neighbors, the Etruscans and Celts. The Romans also deified some of their emperors. Here are the Roman deities divided into the following categories:

o Foreign Gods and Goddesses o Punic Names for Roman Gods o Some Etruscan Gods and Their Roman Counterparts o Roman Gods and Goddesses of Agriculture o Roman Gods and Goddesses of Children and Childbirth o Roman Gods and Goddesses of Virtues and Personifications o Roman Genres of Spiritual Entities o Imperial Divi...