Greek Mythology By Chikura Dalia and Yasmine Creation

Greek Mythology By: Chikura, Dalia, and Yasmine

Creation Story Creation of the universe • In the beginning there was only chaos. Then out of the void appeared Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else was empty, silent, endless darkness, until Love was born bringing a start of order. From Love came Light and Day and once there was Light and Day, Gaea, the earth appeared. • Erebus and Night got together and Night gave birth to Ether (heavenly Light) and Day (earthly light). But Night alone produced Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Nemesis, and others that come to man out of darkness. • Gaea alone produced Uranus (the heavens/sky) who then became her mate and together they produced three Cyclopes, the three Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans

Creation Story Creation of the Gods • Uranus was a bad father and Husband trapped the three Hecatoncheires deep in the earth (Gaea’s womb). Enraged Gaea revenged against Uranus with the help of her Titan son Cronus. • Cronus Castrated Uranus and threw his genitals in the ocean and from it’s foam emerged Aphrodite. • Cronus became the next ruler and he imprisoned his non-titan siblings in Tartarus and married his sister Rhea. The Titans had many children (the gods) but it was prophesied that one of the sons of Cronus would over throw him and thus in fear he ate all his children. • Rhea hid one child from him (Zeus) and left him to be raised by the nymphs. Zeus got a vomit medicine from Metis, and Rhea gave it to Cronus. He then vomited out five children who were unharmed because they were gods. • The gods made Zeus their leader.

Creation Story Creation of man • Zeus imprisoned all the titans except those who did not fight against him including Promethus and Epimetheus. Who were tasked with the creation of mammals. • Many more plots came up to overthrow Zeus and the gods but he maintained his rule. • Prometheus assigned Epimetheus the task of giving the creatures of the earth their various qualities • By the time he got to man Epimetheus had given all the qualities out and there were none left for man. So Prometheus decided to make man stand upright as the gods did and to give them fire. • Prometheus loved man more than the Olympians. So when Zeus decreed that man must present a portion of each animal they scarified to the gods Prometheus tricked Zeus to only getting the bones of the sacrificed animal. • Zeus got angry over the trick and took fire away from man. However, Prometheus brought it back from the sun. Zeus got angry that Man again had Fire. He decided to punish both Man and Prometheus. • To punish man, Zeus had Hephaestus create a mortal of stunning beauty. The gods gave the mortal many gifts of wealth. He then had Hermes give the mortal a deceptive heart and a lying tongue. This creation was Pandora, the first women. A final gift was a jar which Pandora was forbidden to open. • Pandora's curiosity about the jar became too great. She opened the jar and out flew evil, sorrows, plagues, and misfortunes. However, the bottom of the jar held one good thing - hope.

Persephone’s story Creation of the seasons and their times in the year • Persephone was titled Koreas the goddess of springs bounty. • She was playing in a flowery meadow with her Nymph companions. • She was seized by Hades and carried off to the underworld as his bride. • Her mother Demeter despaired at her disappearance and searched for her throughout the world. • Demeter learned that Zeus had conspired in her daughter’s abduction she was furious, and she refused to let the earth fruit. • Zeus consented, but because Persephone had tasted the fruit of Hades, a handful of pomegranate seeds, she was forced to forever spend a part of the year with her husband in the underworld. • This myth explains the yearly cycle of growth, harvest, and winter.

Medusa’s Curse Creation of the Snakes and how they got to Africa • • • Medusa was the daughter of Phorkys and Keto. She was one of the three sisters known as the Gorgons. Medusa was the only mortal out of the three. She was originally a golden-haired maiden, who, as a priestess of Athena, was devoted to a life of celibacy. She became wooed by Poseidon and forgot her vows and was intimate with Poseidon in Athena’s temple She was punished by Athena and each lock of her hair was changed into a venomous snake. Her eyes became bloodshot, furious orbs. Her skin assumed a loathsome greenish tinge. With the curse of Athena upon her, she turned into stone whomsoever she gazed upon. In her despair she fled to Africa, where, as she passes from place to place, infant snakes dropped from her hair, and thus, according to the belief of the ancients, that country became the hotbed of these venomous reptiles.

Major Beliefs Fate • The Greek people believed everyone had a destiny, and there was no one who could interfere with their fate. Not even the gods. Spirits, Monsters and Other Mythological Beings • The Greeks believed in spirits, monsters and other entities, such as: • Amazons - race of female warriors • Keres - evil female spirits • Medusa –a winged female monster with hair made of snakes. • Satyrs – half-man, half-goat • Centaurs – half-man, half-horse creatures • Typhon - represents disorder and devastation Death and the Afterlife • They believed that once you died you went to the underworld. Depending on who you where and what you had done in your life you were placed in a certain part of the underworld. They also believed that if achieved greatness you were granted a second chance at life and were reincarnated to raise your status in the underworld.

Art and Symbolism • One of the main ways the Greek people told stories about Gods, Heroes, Events, Mythical Creatures was within their art. They made a lot of sculptures portraying their “gods” and events that happened that is why they are very important. These sculptures where made from many different types of materials including stone, marble and limestone as these were abundant in Greece. They also used other materials such as clay. But most did not survive that long, due to frailness of clay. • The people of Greece used a lot of symbolism, a lot of the gods and goddesses looked very similar. You would be able to tell them apart based on what was drawn on or near them for example: • Apollo - bow or lyre, laurel Zeus – Thunderbolt, eagle, or Oak • Athena - owl or olive tree • Poseidon’s - trident, horse or bull

The Afterlife Basic outline • In Greek mythology it is believed that when people die they go to the underworld. • The underworld is the kingdom of the dead and is ruled by one of the “big three gods” Hades • For the common person life in the underworld isn’t that bad, due to the fact that you’re not really conscious. Being in the underworld is more like a bad dream full of hopelessness and darkness. The underworld is surrounded by five rivers: • The Acheron (river of woe), • The Cocytus (river of lamentation) • The Phlegethon (river of fire) • The Styx (river of unbreakable oath by which the gods swear/crossed by souls to afterlife) • The Lethe (river of forgetfulness). Two main Buildings: • Judgment Pavilion • Hades Palace Four areas where souls end up • Fields of Asphodel • Fields of Punishment • Isles of the Blest surrounded by Elysium • Fields of Punishment • Tartarus When people die, Hermes (messenger god) leads their souls to the Underworld until they get to the Fields of Asphodel

The Afterlife What Happens to the souls • Fields of Asphodel - which is a place for people who had committed nothing majorly bad or good. Also where people wait to be judged. • Fields of Punishment - If you had committed any bad crimes especially any that target the gods you would be sent to the fields of punishment, these people would suffer eternal pain. • Elysium - If you had done great selfless things in your life you would go to the Elysium, heroes such as Achilles were sent there. In the Elysium souls had the choice to stay in the Elysium, or to be reborn. • Isles of blessed - If a soul was reborn three times and had gone to the Elysium all three times, then they were sent to the Isles of the Blessed for eternal paradise. • Tartarus -The most wicked and the worst criminals (usually immortal beings) are cast into Tartarus, a pit they never emerge.

References • http: //www. greekmythology. com/Myths/myths. html • http: //www. theoi. com/Khthonios/Persephone. html • http: //ancienthistory. about. com/od/greekdeath/a/092909 Afterlife. htm • http: //www. metmuseum. org/toah/hd/dbag/hd_dbag. htm • http: //www. maicar. com/GML/Underworld. html • http: //www. religionfacts. com/greco-roman/beliefs. htm