Mythology

In the beginning….
• Myths were created in a large part of
explain things that the ancient Greeks did
not understand i.e. Where did the world
come from? Who created the first being?
• Myths of Greece and Rome were told orally
because the societies were almost entirely
illiterate
• They passed them down in this manner
from generation to generation.
 The differences between myth
and legend…..
• Legend
True stories that are exaggerated
Frequently deal with heroes
EX: Trojan War was a real event, but stories
can’t be proven.
 Myth
Myth
•Not necessary true
•Created to understand the world around us
•Often times involves a supernatural being
 8 Reasons for Myths
• Explain natural phenomena
• Control natural forces – sacrifices, prayer offerings, and
rituals
• Bind people together – common belief
• Record historical events
• Geography lessons
• Set examples for people behaviors
• Justify a social structure
• Control people
 Why Gods and Goddesses were
created?
• Greeks and Romans made their gods in their own image.
• They were also feared.
• They were immortal and could change form.
• They ate nectar, drank ambrosia, and lived on Mount
Olympus.
• http://www.history.com/videos/greek-gods#greek-gods
 Why do we need to know this?
• Literature is filled with allusions to Greek
gods and goddesses.
• From the Lightning Thief to Shakespeare
• Art is filled with mythological stories as
subjects
• From television to the latest science fiction
movie
• From Atlas Tires to Superman
The Iliad
Homer’s Iliad
• Homer is said to be
the first teller of
adventures of all
times.
• . He was a blind
Prophet whose date of
birth is around-
800BC
 Eris, Goddess of Discord
Responsible for Trojan War
Angry because she was not invited to the
wedding of the Sea Goddess Thetis to King
Peleus, Eris tossed the Golden Apple marked
“To the Fairest” into the banquet.
 The Fairest
• Aphrodite, (goddess of love and beauty)
Hera (Zeus wife) , and Athena (goddess of
wisdom, knowledge and skill in battle)
ALL wanted the apple.
• Zeus would not choose. He did not want
the goddesses angry with him.
• Paris was asked to make
the decision.
The Decision
• Hera offered to make
Paris ruler of Europe
and Asia.
• Athena offered to let
him lead Troy in a
victory over the
Spartans.
• Aphrodite offered him
the love of the most
beautiful woman in
the world.
Paris Chooses Aphrodite
• The most beautiful woman
in the world is Helen, the
wife of King Menelaus.
• Aphrodite helps Paris
seduce and kidnap Helen.
 The Beginning of War
• King Menelaus called on all those who were loyal to him.
• They gathered a huge army and built a thousand ships to carry
the army to Troy.
• Helen of Sparta was now called “Helen of Troy.”
• She was “The face that launched a thousand ships.”
The Trojan War
• The battle raged for 10
years.
• Many great heroes lost
their lives.
• A prophet predicted
that Troy could be
captured only with the
help of Achilles.
The Hero Achilles
• Knowing of the prophecy, and worried
that her son would be killed in war,
Achilles’ mother dipped him in the
river Styx to make him immortal.

• His only weakness was the place on his

heels where she held him.
 Achilles
• Achilles agreed to allow his friend Patroclus to wear his armor.
The next day Patroclus was killed and stripped of the armor by
the Trojan hero Hector, who mistook him for Achilles.

• Achilles was overwhelmed with grief for his friend and rage at
Hector.

• Achilles kills Hector. He desecrated the body, dragging it behind

his chariot before the walls of Troy.

• Finally Paris, aided by Apollo,

wounded Achilles in the heel
with an arrow; Achilles died of the wound.
 10 Years of War
• The Gods are tired of watching men kill each
other and decide to help end the war. Athena

 
whispers an idea in the Spartan hero Odysseus’s
ear.
                                

                 
gods and goddess take sides
For Troy
• Aphrodite
• Ares
• Apollo
• Artemis
Continued
For the Greeks
• Hera
• Athena
• Poseidon
 The Trojan Horse
• Odysseus tells them they
will build a huge horse of
wood.
• Some would climb inside
and hide.
• The rest would sail around
the tip of the islan, where
they could not be seen.
• One would stay behind
and tell the Trojans that he
had been abandoned by
the Greeks, and that the
horse was an offering to
Athena.
 The Fall of Troy
• The Trojans believed
the trick.
• They had a huge
banquet to celebrate
the end of the war.
• At night the men from
inside the horse came
out and unlocked the
gates to the city.
 The Burning of Troy
• The city is invaded by the
army.
• The Trojans are drunk and
spent from their night of
revelry, unable to fight
back.
• The Spartans destroy and
burn the city.
• Aphrodite saves Helen
from the destruction.
The War Ends
• King Menelaus
accepts Helen back.
• The Warriors can now
return home.
• Odysseus leaves for
home, his wife, and
son.