Greek Gods and Monsters

Seen in The Odyssey

AssumptionsThese stories are from a long time ago

prior to scientific understanding. People needed to make sense of things.

Oral tradition of storytelling creates the contradictory nature.

These stories take some maturity.

Complexities

The Beginning

Oranos Father of the sky

An original king of gods

Married to Gaia

Oranos and Gaia’s Children

Cronos and Rhea

Married

Cronos

King and a

TitanRhea

Goddess of Earth

Cronos

Cronos kills his father and dismembers him.

Cronos and Rhea

Have six children

The first five: Hera, Demeter, Hestia,

Poseidon and Hades

Cronos and Rhea’s children

Cronos swallows his children for fear of them dethroning him.

Rhea is fed up.

She tricks him when she has Zeus.

Zeus and Rhea ban together

Give Cronos a mustanrd potion to make him vomit. He vomits up the five children (and the boulder.)

Fight Cronos and win.

Zeus kills his father and the prophecy comes true.

Zeus

Zeus becomes the new king.

Zeus is fairer.

Zeus draws lots with his brothers to see

who rules what.

Who wins?

ZeusHe takes the sky

God of the sky

Poseidon wins next

He takes the sea

God of the sea

Hades

He takes what is left, the underworld

God of the underworld

Children of Cronos

Zeus HeraDemeter Hestia Poseidon

Hades

Demeter

Goddess of the harvest and the moon

Has a daughter with Zeus named Persephone

Children of Cronos

Zeus HeraDemeter Hestia Poseidon

Hades

Poseidon

Chooses Amphitrite, a sea nymph, to marry.

She doesn’t want to marry him and goes to hide.

Amphitrite marries

Poseidon sends a dolphin to retrieve Amphitrite.

The dolphin is successful.

Marriage

PoseidonAmphitrite

Goddess of the sea

Poseidon’s Children

Poseidon

Polyphemus

Charybdis

Aeolus

Polyphemus

A Cyclops

Polyphemus

Charybdis

Sea Monster

Ticked off Zeus and he turned her into a monster.

Charybdis

A big blob with a mouth.

Aeolus

god of the wind

Cronus and Rhea’s Children

Zeus Hera DemeterHestia Poseidon

Hades

Hades

Hades falls in love

Hades spies Persephone

Hades kidnaps Persephone

The problem:

Persephone is Demeter’s daughter

Remember who Demeter is?

Zeus HeraDemeter

HestiaPoseidon Hades

So what does Demeter do?

• She combs the Earth looking for her daughter, unaware her brother kidnapped her.

• While she is looking, everything dies off.

• Finally she finds Persephone, but Hades refuses to give her back.

• She implores Zeus to help, but he won’t.

So what does Demeter do?

• She gets her revenge by making all things die on Earth.

• What happens to people if all things die?

• The people implore Zeus to intervene.

• Persephone has eaten some pomegranate seeds. Anyone who eats in the underworld must stay.

What’s the deal?

Zeus makes a deal with Hades: for the number of seeds she eats, that is the number of months she must reside with Hades.

Persephone returns

When Persephone is on Earth with her mother all things grow. When she is with her husband, all things die. What does that explain?

Marriage

HadesPersephone

Cronos and Rhea’s Children

Zeus HeraDemeter

Hestia Poseidon Hades

Hestia

Goddess of the hearth

Never married or had children

Cronos and Rhea’s Children

Zeus HeraDemeter

Hestia Poseidon Hades

Hera

Goddess of women and marriage.

Known to be vengeful

Marriage!

ZeusHera

Zeus and Hera’s Kids

Hera

Eris Ares Hepahestus

Zeus

Eris

•goddess of discord and troublemaking

•Started the events of the Trojan War

Ares

god of war and manly courage

Hephaestus

• Hephaestus was not wanted by Zeus.

• Somehow he got thrown down a mountain.

• He became disfigured and disabled.

Hepahestus

Smithgod and god of forging weapons

Aphrodite

Born of the blood of Oranos and the foam of the sea

goddess of love and beauty

What’s the problem?

Aphrodite is so beautiful and was having many affairs.

Women hate her.

At the same time…

•Hera is trapped in a box by her son Hephaestus.

•Zeus implores Hephaestus to let his mother free.

Zeus makes a deal.

For letting Hera out, Hephaestus gets a prize: Aphrodite.

What’s the problem with that?

oAphrodite is repulsed by Hephaestus and wants her old life back.

oSo, she continues to have affairs, most notably Ares.

Remember who Ares is?

Hera

Eris Ares Hepahestus

Zeus

Hephaestus’s revenge

Hephaestus makes a net and catches Aphrodite and Ares together and publically ridicules them.

Eros

god of love

AresAphrodite

Zeus had a wandering eye…

Zeus is known for having many affairs and numerous children.

Artemis

Apollo

Athena

Hermes

The Twins

Artemis

goddess of the chase or hunt

Apollo

god of sun, music, poetry and archery

Athena (Athene)

goddess of wisdom and battle (strategic warfare)

born of Zeus’s head

Hermes

Messenger god

Delivers messages between gods and mortals

Cunning, known for sometimes making trouble