v Zeu s w as th e fam ou s

king of the Greek gods

and god of the sky,
heavens and the earth.
v He ruled Mount
Olympus with his wife
Hera. Although Zeus
was married he was
renown for the number
of liaisons with other
women, often visiting
them in the guise of an
animal.
v The powers of Zeus
were legendary and his
famous symbol and
weapon was the
thunderbolt which,
when hurled, could
shatter mountains.
2. HERA (JUNO)
v Hera was the queen of
the ancient Greek gods
and wife of Zeus, the
ruler of Mount
Olympus.
v Her role was as the
Greek goddess of the
family, marriage and
childbirth.
v Many of the stories in
A n c i e n t G r e e k
mythology surrounding
Hera tells of her
jealousy and rages that
were prompted by the
numerous love affairs
of her unfaithful
husband Zeus. Hera
v Hera was woman
personified.
v She was depicted as a
young woman, fully
developed, chaste and
with severe beauty.
vHer forehead is
crowned with a
diadem or with a high
crown. She wears a
long tunic.
v She is a faithful wife
to Zeus, whom she
gave four children-
Ares, Hephaestus,
Hebe and Ilythya.
v Aphrodite was the
most beautiful of all
the goddesses.
v Aphrodite was the
Greek goddess of love,
beauty and passion.
v Zeus gave her hand in
marriage to
Hephaestus, in
gratitude for the
service he had given
in forging
thunderbolts.
v She was an unfaithful
wife and had a long
term affair with Ares
the Greek god of war.
She had a son named
Eros, or Cupid, the
god of love.
v Aphrodite was more a
goddess of beauty and
sensual love and rarely
protected the marital
life.
v Sanctuaries symbols
were the white doves.
v Additionally, a pair of
these birds dragged
her chariot. Other
symbols were apple,
poppy, rose, myrtle,
anemone and the
flower of pomegranate.
v Hera was undoubtedly
beautiful; Athena was
severely beautiful but
Aphrodite was pure
seduction and grace.
v She was the “mistress
of gracious laughter,
sweet deceits, the
charms and delights
of love.” Aphrodite
v Apollo was the
d a z z l i n g a n d
handsome Greek god
of the sun, prophecy,
medicine, crops and
music.
v His task was to
harness his chariot
with four horses and
drive the Sun across
the sky.
v His ability to bring the
sun and well-being to
humans explains his
association with
healing
v Apollo was also
called “Phoebus
Apolo” or “Phoebus
the Brilliant”.
v He is generally nude
or wears only a short
mantle clasped at the
shoulder.
v He has bow and
quiver and lyre.
v Artemis was the
Greek goddess of the
hunt, archery,
animals and the
moon.
v She was the twin
sister of Apollo.
v Every evening she
mounted her moon
chariot, and drove
her pure white
horses across the
heavens.
v T h e R o m a n
counterpart of this
Greek goddess was
Diana.
v Artemis was Apollo’s
twin sister, daughter
of Zeus and Leto.
v Just like Apollo, she
is a divinity of light
though of the
moonlight.
v She has a bow and
quiver, a deity of
sudden death.
v She wears a tunic
retained by a girdle.
On her feet are laced
boots. She usually
accompanied by a
deer.
v Hephaestus was the Greek
god of fire, craftsmen and
metal workers.
v He created the armor,
weapons and the thrones
of the Greek gods who
resided on the summit of
Mount Olympus.
v Hephaestus and his
supernatural and powerful
skills as a metal worker
led him to make many
other astonishing items
using gold, silver and
bronze, including
magnificent metal robots
that served the gods and
their favorites.
v The divine blacksmith
was generously giving
gifts to mortals also.
v So he gave Heracles a
golden breastplate, to
Ariadne a garland
made of precious
metals and gems.
v He was traditionally
depicted as a robust
smith with bearded
face, powerful neck
and hairy chest.
v He was both lame in
both legs. On his
hands, he grasps a
hammer and tongs.
v Ares was the Greek god of
War, an unruly and
ungovernable warrior.
v He features in the stories,
myths and legends
relating to the various
conflicts including the
War with the Titans, the
War of the Giants.
v Ares was also the god of
spring, growth in nature,
and fertility and the
protector of cattle.
v He was the lover of
Aphrodite. Ares is
depicted as a powerful,
strong, god who rode a
chariot drawn by four
gold-bridled fire-
breathing stallions.
v Ares enjoys nothing
but war, strife and
battles. God of war,
of blind brutal
courage, of bloody
rage and carnage.
v He was a warrior
wearing a helmet
with a tall crest and
dressed in heavy
armor. The vulture
was his bird, the dog
was his animal.
v The main symbols
of Ares were the
spear and torch.
v From the animal
kingdom, his
symbols were the
vultures that ate the
corpses of slain
warriors and dogs
w h i c h w e r e
sacrificed in Sparta
along with bulls and
cocks.
v Poseidon was the
Greek god of the sea,
tempests, storms
and earthquakes,
known as the 'Earth-
Shaker'.
v Although Poseidon
was one of the gods
of Mount Olympus,
he spent most of his
time in his domains
and magnificent
under water palace.
v The symbol of the
trident of power
represented his
ability to control
water.
v Poseidon was lived in
the depths of the
Aegean Sea, in a
magnificent palace,
glittering with gold.
v Clad in a golden robe,
beneath a golden
armor, he would hurl
himself, the sea
opening before him,
accompanied by wild
tempests and furious
winds.
v Athena was the goddess
who sprang from the
head of Zeus clothed in
armor.
v Athena was the goddess
of wisdom and also the
goddess of spinning and
weaving; and she herself
could weave the most
beautiful cloths of many
colors.
v Her importance to th e
Athenians is seen in her
wonderful temple, the
Parthenon, whi c h sti l l
crowns the Acropolis in
the modern city of
Athens in Greece.
v Athena Sometimes called
Pallas Athena, she was
venerated among the
greatest divinities in her
quality of warrior-
goddess– as goddess of
the arts and peace and of
prudent intelligence.
v She is represented as
standing, her body
sheathed in tight
draperies, her head
covered with a helmet,
her breast covered with
the aegis, a shield, her
right hand holding a
spear.
v Athena – Pallas
symbolize some
of the most
important ideals
of the ancient
Greek spirit.
v She combined
strength and
bravery with
prudence and
intelligence.
v Her favorite
symbols were the
aegis, the spear,
the owl and the
olive tree.
Demeter was immortal and
very powerful. She had
control over the harvest and
the growing of grains. She
could cause plants to grow
(or not grow) and had
control over the seasons.
She also had some control
over the weather and could
make people hungry.

Demeter's symbols were the

Scepter, the Cornucopia, the
C o r n , t h e  W h e a t ,
the Torch and the Bread.
D e m e t e r  i s t h e G r e e k
goddess of the harvest,
grain, and fertility. She is
one of the Twelve
Olympian gods that live
on Mount Olympus.
Because she was the
goddess of the harvest,
she was very important to
the farmers and peasant
people of Greece.
Dionysus was an immortal
and powerful god. He had
special powers of making
wine and causing vines to
grow. He could also
transform himself into
animals such as a bull or a
lion. One of his special
powers was the ability to
drive mortals insane.

S Y M B O L : G o d  o f t h e
vine, grape-harvest, wine-
m a k i n g ,  w i n e , f e r t i l i t y ,
ritual madness, religious
e c s t a s y , t h e a t r e
 In Roman culture, Liber,
Bacchus and Dionysus 
Became virtually
interchangeable 
equivalents.
Thanks to
his mythology involving
travels and struggles on
earth, Bacchus became
euhemerised as a historical
hero, conqueror, and
founder of cities.
He was known for his many
powers which included
being the god of travel,
gambling, messaging,
invention, sleep, speed, and
thievery. His array of
p o w e r s m a d e  H e r m e s  a
contribution among
t h e   g o d s .

SYMBOL: Caduceus is
a  s y m b o l  o f  H e r m e s  o r
Mercury in Greek and
Roman mythology.
C a d u c e u s  s y m b o l  i s
identified with thieves,
merchants, and messengers,
and Mercury is said to be a
patron of thieves and
outlaws, not a desirable
protector of physicians.
COUNTERPART: known
as Mercury, a name
derived from the Latin
m e r x , m e a n i n g
"merchandise," and the
origin of the words
" m e r c h a n t " a n d
"commerce."
Essay

1. D i s c u s s t h e w a y s i n w h i c h m y t h o l o g y f u n c t i o n e d a s
literature, science and religion.
The ways in which mythology functioned as literature,
science and religion is when humans have always used myths to
explain natural phenomena and life’s mysteries. The example of
which is the Greek and Roman mythology which served as both
science and religion in both cultures for centuries. To date,
myths have a very large and relevant place in cultural studies
and sc h ol ar sh i p , an d ar e r e p r e se n te d ac r oss stu d i e s i n
literature, religion, philosophy, and many other disciplines.
Some scholars believe that myths are inaccurate accounts of
real historical events, while others argue that the gods and
goddesses were personifications of objects and things in nature
that ancient men worshiped. They have been a huge part of oral,
written, and visual story telling for literally thousands of years,
a part of mankind’s entire history.
2. Can you relate mythology to everyday life?

Yes, we can relate mythology to everyday life

as it has a long-reaching influence upon modern
life. The US space program for example is called
Apollo, after the god who never missed a target
and who ruled light. A Titanium, an elemental
metal, is named after the Titans who were locked
far under the ground. Even video games include
characters such as Icarus and Kratos.