Lets put our etymology skills to use Myth a story believed by many that was told in an ancient culture to explain a belief but is not true ology the study of in this casemyths Lesson Goals ID: 699010
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Slide1
Mythology IntroductionSlide2
Mythology
Let’s put our etymology skills to use:
Myth
a story, believed by many, that was told in an ancient culture to explain a belief but
is not true
-ology
the study of (in this case—myths)Slide3
Lesson Goals
Identify key mythological figures, their “responsibilities” and their relationships to each other.
Identify three common themes in mythology and explain them.
State why reading literature / historical documents of another culture or time period can be valuable.
Make an inference about how the ancient Greeks viewed women.Slide4
A Little Fruit…
Can cause BIG problems…Slide5
The Wedding of
Peleus and Thetis
According to legend, all
the gods and
goddesses were
invited except one!
Eris, The goddess of discord
Why not invite the goddess of discord?Slide6
The Wedding…
Because she’ll cause trouble!
Angry at not being invited Eris tosses “the apple of discord” among the celebrating goddesses.
“For the Fairest”Slide7
Women!
Of course all of the goddesses wished to claim the golden apple.
Naturally, they all believed they were the “fairest” or “most beautiful”.Slide8Slide9
The Three Goddesses
Three goddesses in particular laid claim to the golden apple.
Each felt they were fairest of them all.
As the bickering over the apple began, I’m sure Peleus and Thetis regretted their decision to
not
invite
Eris, the goddess of discord
, to their wedding.Slide10
Hera, the protector of Marriage
Zeus’ wife (and sister)—EWWW!
Often a rival of Zeus
Hera was originally not interested in Zeus, but he disguised himself as a wounded cuckoo bird. Loving animals, Hera held the bird to her breast to protect it.Slide11
Hera, the protector of Marriage
Zeus then returned to his normal form, took her by surprise, and raped her.
Hera married him to cover her shame.
She once rallied the other gods against Zeus and revolted.
Zeus escaped and hung Hera from the sky in gold chains as punishment.Slide12
Hera, the protector of Marriage
She had to vow
to never rebel again before she was released.
She often assists others in circumventing Zeus, but rarely gets caught.
She is extremely jealous of Zeus’ many “infidelities”.Slide13
Athena, the goddess of Wisdom
Daughter of Zeus
Sprang full grown, in armor, from Zeus’ head
Zeus’ favorite child
Fierce and brave in battleSlide14
Aphrodite, the goddess of love
Can make anyone desire her
Also the goddess of desire and beauty
Married to Hephaestus
(ugliest of all the gods)Slide15
Settling the Dispute
The three goddesses turned to the one man who could settle the dispute…Slide16
Settling the Dispute
Zeus, King of the gods
Most
powerful (King)
of the gods
Married to Hera, father
to
Athena
The
thunderbolt
is his weapon of choice
Not exactly the most faithful husband—in fact—he likes the ladies…a lot…really…he “gets around”. He’s pretty much everyone’s father, step-father, or at least visited their mother.
Completely not interested in settling this dispute.Slide17
Zeus elects not to decide who is the “fairest”, but appoints
Paris of Troy
to be the judge of the contest.
It was foretold that Paris would bring about the destruction of Troy.
Paris, as a baby, was left to die on Mt. Ida, but was rescued by a
shephard
.
Settling the DisputeSlide18
Paris survived and ultimately learned his true lineage and returned home.
He was welcomed and everyone apparently thought the “prophecy” was no longer a danger.
They were wrong.
In mythology, oracles (prophecies) always come true.
Settling the DisputeSlide19Slide20
Zeus could have been being funny. He chose someone who would be a good judge of animals to judge the beauty contest.
There was also myth that Paris was the most honest person in the world.
Settling the DisputeSlide21
Women Don’t Play Fair
Hera
Offered to make Paris the King of all Europe and Asia
Athena
Promised to lead Troy to victory in war over the Greeks
Aphrodite
Promised him the love of the most beautiful woman in the worldSlide22Slide23Slide24
He chose the woman…
Paris chooses Aphrodite, awards her the golden apple and awaits his prize…Slide25
Helen
Helen, often referred to has Helen of Troy, is in fact the most beautiful half-mortal woman in the world.
Being half-mortal, that means she is half-god…Can you guess who her daddy is?Slide26
You ARE the Father!”
“She doesn’t have my eyes! All my kids have my eyes! She isn’t mine!”
“In the matter of 24 year-old Helen, Zeus…..Slide27
Paris wants to claim his prize, but there is just one, small, teeny, tiny problem…
HELEN GOT HITCHED!!!!Slide28
The Marriage of Helen and Menelaus
Helen had many, many suitors (men who wished to marry her)
Achilles, Odysseus, Agamemnon (Menelaus’ brother) among many other powerful men of the time sought Helen’s hand in marriage.
Helen (center) with her husband, Menelaus of Sparta (right)Slide29
The Marriage of Helen and Menelaus
Helen (center) with her husband, Menelaus of Sparta (right)
Tyndareus, Helen’s father made the suitors swear an oath to protect the marriage, regardless of who was chosen to be her husband, if they wished to suit her.
This was done for Helen’s protection as she was so beautiful and wanted.Slide30
The Marriage of Helen and Menelaus
Helen (center) with her husband, Menelaus of Sparta (right)
Eventually she
“chose”
Menelaus who, upon
Tyndareus
’ death, became King of Sparta.
Paris
traveled to Sparta to “visit” Helen and Menelaus
.
Helen and Menelaus had no knowledge of the actions of the gods, and so
welcomed Paris as a guest.Slide31
Not the Brightest Crayon in the Box…
Menelaus chose the time of Paris’ visit to travel to Mycenae for family business.
He left Helen to entertain their guest.
Aphrodite used her power to start the sparks of love.
When Menelaus returned, Helen was gone, as was Paris…Slide32
The Face That Launched a Thousand Ships
Menelaus called on Helen’s former suitors to now honor their vow to protect the marriage…
It took time to convince them all, as they each had their reasons to not go to war, but in the end, they
honored their vow
…Slide33
Achilles
Son of Peleus and Thetis (remember them?)
Great warrior
Invulnerable except in one place…Slide34
The Achilles Heel…
When he was born, Thetis took him to the river Styx in the Underworld and dipped him in it making him invulnerable.
She had to hold him by the heel, leaving that the only unprotected part of his body.Slide35Slide36Slide37
You Da (WO)MAN, Achilles!
Achilles did NOT want to go to war over Helen’s abduction.
When Menelaus called upon the suitors, Achilles tried to hide…Slide38
You Da (WO)MAN, Achilles!
Achilles disguised himself as a woman.
When a battle trumpet sounded, though, Achilles grasped his sword and revealed his identity.Slide39
Odysseus
Odysseus, who helped
Tyndareus
solve the problem of Helen’s marriage had recently become married to Penelope. Slide40
Odysseus also had a newborn son, Telemachus.
Not wanting to go to war, Odysseus pretended to be insane.
When Menelaus threatened to cut his son in half, though, Odysseus admitted his charade.
OdysseusSlide41
Other Important Characters
Patroclus- A great Greek warrior, Achille’s friend.
Agamemnon- Menelaus’ brother
Ajax- Greek warrior
Priam- King of Troy, father of Paris and Hector
Hector- Greatest Trojan warrior, Paris’ brother
Clytemnestra- Agamemnon’s wife
Iphigenia- Agamemnon & Clytemnestra’s daughter
Slide42
The Other Gods and Godesses
Ares
- The God of War! He also happens to be a bit of a coward…
Hephaestus-
The ugliest of all the gods. Hera was so repulsed by him when he was born that she threw him off of Mt. Olympus in an attempt to kill him. He is deformed, a skilled craftsman and, ironically, married to
Aphrodite
.
Apollo-
god of oracles and prophecy. Also of music.
Artemis-
twin sister of Apollo. Goddess of the moon and of the hunt.Slide43
The Other Gods and Godesses
Aeolus- god of wind
Hermes- messenger of the gods
Poseidon- Lord of the sea;
earthshaker
. Known for carrying his Trident.Slide44
The Other Gods and Godesses Slide45
Sailing for Troy
Because Agamemnon angered the goddess Diana, the Greeks were unable to sail for Troy because of poor winds.
He learned he would have to sacrifice his daughter, Iphigenia, in order for the Greek army to sail.Slide46
Agamemnon sent word to have Iphigenia sent to him (he promised she would be married to Achilles).
Achilles was unhappy when he learned of the deception, but Iphigenia was sacrificed, and the Greeks set sail.
Sailing for TroySlide47
Ten years of War
The war was a stalemate for ten years.
A dispute between Achilles and Agamemnon over—you guessed it—a woman changed the fortunes of the war.
Achilles “female captive”,
Briseus
, was taken from him by Agamemnon.Slide48
Ten Years of War
After
Briseus
was taken, Achilles refused to fight.
His “friend”
Patroclus
was unable to convince him to return to the fight.Slide49
Ten Years of War
Patroclus
did manage to convince Achilles to lend him his armor, and
Patroclus
returned to the fight wearing Achilles’ armor.
Patroclus
was killed, though, by Hector and this enraged Achilles.
Achilles, then returned to the fight to confront Hector.Slide50Slide51Slide52Slide53Slide54
A fatal mistake
Achilles, still angry, did not let the conflict end at Hector’s death.
He tied the dead body to his chariot and drug it through the battlefield
He also would not allow the body a proper burial.Slide55
Achilles Defiles the Body of HectorSlide56Slide57
A Grieving Father
Priam
couldn’t stand seeing his son’s body treated this way.
He snuck into the Greek camp and begged Achilles to let him take Hector’s body and properly bury it.Slide58
The Death of Achilles
Achilles finally agreed, but his behavior had angered the gods, and so, he met his fate…
Paris (of all people) tried to shoot Achilles in the back, but missed (some say with the help of the gods) and hit his…HEEL!Slide59
The Final Plan…
The first step in any plan to win a war---according to Odysseus…
BUILD A GIANT WOODEN HORSE!Slide60
Beware of Greeks…
The Greeks built the horse, Odysseus and the others hid inside.
The rest of the Greek army set sail for home, looking as though they had given up.Slide61
The Trojans thought the horse was a gift and brought it inside the city.
The Greeks waited until the Trojans were well into their “celebration” of victory.Slide62
The Greeks came out of the horse when most of the city was asleep (passed out) and proceeded to burn the place to the ground killing every man, woman and child…Slide63Slide64Slide65
The Survivor(s)
Aeneas (left) escaped Troy carrying his father on his back. His father died during the escape.
Some accounts say Aeneas was
thesole
survivor, others say he led a small band of Trojans to safety. Virgil’s
The Aeneid
covers these stories which end with the founding of Rome.Slide66
After the War
Agamemnon returned home, but his wife was still a little----unhappy with him.
She and her new lover killed Agamemnon, but were later killed themselves by Orestes, Agamemnon’s sonSlide67
Helen and Menelaus
Helen was recovered from Troy and she proved her loyalty to Menelaus. They returned to Sparta and lived “happily ever after”.Slide68
Odysseus
Odysseus, however, would take another 10 years to return home.
His journey home is documented in Homer’s
The Odyssey
.
See, we are reading
The Odyssey
next and that’s what this whole day was meant to set up.
Make sure your handouts are complete.