CLASS 40 - Greek Mythology Intro: History and Contexts University of California Santa Barbara Professor Helen Morales - Winter 2015 Muthos ·Myth = a traditional tale with psychological importance to greek community ·Ancient Greece oArchaic period: c. 800-500 BC oClassical period: c. 500-300 BC (commonly 321 BC) oHellenistic period: c. 321-31 BC ·Archaic Greece oHomer’s epic poems.IlliadandOdyssey oHesiod’s poems,Works and DaysandTheogany(c. 800-700 BC) oSappho’s erotic poetry (c. 600) oFirst Tragedy competition held in Athens (534) oEstablishment of the world’s first democracy at Athens (510 onwards) ·Homer’s poems sung at the Panathenaia (Athenian festival): c. 700 BC ·Classical Greece oThe flourishing of greek tragedy oFlourishing of Athenian democracy oPlato’s philosophical works (c. 400-c.350) oGreco-Persian wars (490-479) oPeloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta (c. 430-400) ·The empire of alexander the great 336-323 BC oAlexander the great conquered the world at this point ·Roman empire 31 BC-500 AD oOvid’s poems and the greek novels oTemples §Parthenon Temple, Athens §Lapiths and Centaurs §Hero is represented as nude with armor oSymposium – all male drinking party, prostitutes Zeus Names ·Father of gods and men ·King of the gods ·Cloud-gatherer ·Loud-thunderer ·Aegis-bearer ·Roman: Jupiter, love Powers ·King of the gods

·Storms ·Oath keeping ·Honesty ·Hospitality (Xenia) Cool things ·Provides stability to the cosmos ·Arbitrates disputes amongst the gods ·Has an oracle ·Likes the Olympics Not cool things ·A serial adulterer ·An absentee father ·Violent Symbols ·Lightning ·Eagle ·Tree Hera Names ·Queen of the gods ·Ox-eyed or cow-faced ·White-armed ·Roman: Juno Powers ·Queens ·Marriage Cool things ·Smart, powerful, regal Not cool things ·Angry ·Vengeful (often at wrong party) ·Crafty ·Holds a grudge Symbols ·Peacock ·Lion ·Cow Poseidon: God of the Sea Basic Info ·Roman name: Neptune ·Domain: sea ·Son of Rhea and Kronos ·Epithet: earth-shaker ·Iconography: trident, horses, fish/dolphin

·Not afraid to challenge Zeus Why is he important? ·Geography of Greece ·Outcome of voyage ·Not as characterized in myths as other deities Major myths ·Walls of troy ·Naming of Athens ·Hostility towards odysseus Demeter ·“earth mother” ·Roman name = ceres ·Damater of Persephone oWhy seasons are the way they are ·Goddess of harvest ·Demeter Eleusinia oAgriculture ·Return of Persephone Ares (Mars) ·“Hera has reared a violent son whom she has borne to Zeus, an angry god, hard to govern, and one whose mind knows no respect for others…” ·detestable god Origins ·Child of Zeus and Hera ·Ovid’s interpretation Different faces of war ·Ares – known as god of war; unbridled violence; essence of chaotic warfare ·Athena (Minerva) – warrior goddess A violent Lust ·Ares, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus’ net ·Many Children of Ares ·Phobos (Fear) ·Deimos (Dread) ·Amazon queens ·Dragon of Thebes Special Locales ·Thrace and the Greek North ·Sparta (Temple of Ares) – militant society; temple ·Athens (Arepagus) ·Rome (Romulus and Remus)