Greek Mythology

Using the information provided below, you will fill out your Greek mythology cheat sheet. This reference sheet will help you as we read The Odyssey in class. It will be taken up for a grade, so please make sure that you complete it by the stated due date.

Learning Intention: I will learn about the Greek gods and goddesses so that I can apply this background knowledge to The Odyssey and more fully understand the allusions and context.

Success Criteria:

I"ll know I've got it when I can:

• read all of the information provided
• watch the provided videos
• complete my graphic organizer - "cheat sheet"

There are four main purposes to a myth:

1. Explain creation
2. Explain natural phenomenon, like the seasons
3. Explain significant landmarks, like a large mountain
4. Explain human nature, like curiosity

Lord of the sky and supreme ruler of the gods. Known for throwing lightening bolts.

Father and ruler of the gods on Mount Olympus, he is the god of the sky and lightning. He once led the young Olympian gods in a rebellion against the older Titans, and he married his sister, Hera. Zeus fathered many demigods by seducing a string of humans, nymphs, and other beings while wearing shape-shifting disguises.

The chaotic god of the sea, the oceans, and earthquakes, Poseidon is one of Zeus's younger brothers. He is very good at creating sea-monsters, but not very at making land animals (camels and elephants, for instance, are attributed to his making; the only land animal that he made that turned out okay was the horse). He is also prone to dangerous mood swings and temper tantrums that manifest as sea storms. His children are shape-shifters and giants that plague sailors and coastlines.

Psssttt.... King Triton from Disney's The Little Mermaid is based off of Poseidon. His name is taken from the three-pronged trident that Poseidon carries.

Ruler of the underworld and the dead. Brother of Zeus. Had a helmet which rendered its wearer invisible.

The gloomy god of death and the underworld, he runs around with a helmet that turns him invisible. This is one explanation for why no one can see death coming. The very name Hades is often used as a synonym for hell and death. Hades is married to a young goddess whom he abducted, Persephone.

His wife Persephone is the goddess of plant-life and fertility. Hades fell in love with her and abducted her, but her mother Demeter's grief caused all plant-life on earth to die. To save the world, Zeus worked out a deal with Hades. The deal was that Persephone would spend six miserable months of the year (fall and winter) in the underworld with her husband, Hades. The other six happy months of the year, Persephone is free to roam around the earth creating new life in the spring and summer.

Goddess of grain/the harvest

Mother of Persephone.

Changed the nymphs into sirens (important part of The Odyssey)

Zeus's wife and sister. Protector of marriage, spent most of her time punishing the many women Zeus fell in love with. Likes cows and peacocks.

Queen of the gods, Hera is a goddess responsible for happy and loyal marriage. Ironically, her husband Zeus isn't a very good husband himself. She is a rather vengeful and spiteful deity in some ways, and she spends much of her time tormenting Zeus' many lovers and his illegitimate children. Nobody can hold a grudge like Hera.

God of war. Son of Zeus & Hera. Likes vultures and dogs.

Daughter of just Zeus. She has no mother. Athena sprang from Zeus's head full-grown and in full armor. She is the protector of civilized life, handicrafts, and agriculture. She invented the bridle and was the first to tame the horse.

Often we think of Athena as the goddess of wisdom, but more technically she is the goddess of intelligence and anything that requires skill or cleverness--including both military strategy and weaving cloth. She is described as having grey eyes, and her sacred bird is the owl. In Greek mythology, she rewards those she favors with good ideas.

Son of Zeus. Master musician, archer god, healer, god of light, god of truth, sun god. A busy god who likes the laurel tree, dolphins, and crows.

Daughter of Zeus. Goddess of love and beauty. Likes the myrtle tree, doves, sparrows, and swans.

Aphrodite is married to Hephaestus, the god of the forge and fire, but she has an ongoing affair with Ares, the god of war. Sometimes Aphrodite is referred to as the Cytherean, because she was born in the sea-foam off Cyprus when Zeus threw the severed testicles of the Titan Chronos into the ocean. These testicles spontaneous impregnated the sea, and Aphrodite spring from the ocean full-grown and naked.

Son of Zeus. Wears wings on his sandals and his hat, and thus was graceful and swift. Messenger god.

Light-footed, slender, and clever, Hermes is the god of travelers, messengers, thieves, tricksters, and gamblers--basically the god of anybody who must move quickly or make fast getaways. He wears sandals with wings on the heel-straps that let him fly with arrow-like speed wherever he willed, and he carries a caduceus to identify himself to spirits of the dead, whom he guides into Hades's realm where Charon carries them across the river Styx. Hermes was quite the delinquent in his youth, stealing the sacred cows of Helios.

Apollo's twin sister and daughter of Zeus. Lady of wild things and huntsman to the gods. As Apollo is the sun, Artemis is the moon.

Nine spirits responsible for creativity and inspiration. When someone has a sudden burst of insight or feels especially creative, they might say that they have been visited by a muse. Traditionally, epic poems begin with a prayer to one of the muses.

The Fates – or Moirai – are a group of three weaving goddesses who assign individual destinies to mortals at birth. Their names are Clotho (the Spinner), Lachesis (the Alloter) and Atropos (the Inflexible).