GREEK LITERATURE

Greek literature stretches from

Homer until the 4th century BC and
the rise of Alexander the Great.
 The Greeks invented the epic and lyric
forms and used them skillfully. They also
invented drama and produced masterpieces
that are still reckoned as drama's crowning
achievement.
 Only a limited number of plays by three authors have
survived: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides.

The earliest of the three was Aeschylus, who was born in

525 BC He wrote between 70 and 90 plays, of which
only seven remain.
 Two of the most excellent historians who have ever
written flourished during Greece's classical age
Herodotus and Thucydides.

Herodotus is commonly called the father of history, and

his "History" contains the first truly literary use of prose in
Western literature.
Thucydides was the better historian. His critical use of
sources, inclusion of documents, and laborious research
made his History of the Peloponnesian War a significant
influence on later generations of historians.
The greatest achievement of the 3rd century
was in philosophy. There were many Greek
philosophers, but three names tower above
the rest Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
Socrates himself wrote nothing, but his
thought is believed to be given by
Plato's early Socratic dialogues
Aristotle is virtually without rivals among
scientists and philosophers: The first
sentence of his Metaphysics reads "All
men by nature desire to know. He has
therefore, been called the
"Father of those who know."
 All of the Greek city-states except Sparta had been
conquered by Philip II of Macedon. Philip's son
Alexander the Great extended his father's conquests
greatly. In so doing, he inaugurated what is called the
Hellenistic Ages. Alexander's conquests were in the East,
and Greek culture shifted first in that direction. Athens lost
its preeminent status as the leader of Greek culture, and it
was replaced temporarily by Alexandria, Egypt.
After the rise of Rome, all the Mediterranean
area was brought within one far-flung empire.
Greek civilization then spread westward as
well Educated Romans learned to speak and
write Greek, and they looked to Greece's
golden age for inspiration in philosophy,
poetry, and drama centuries BC.
–The Greeks does not believe that
the Gods created the universe but,
the universe created the Gods.
 Gaia (Ancient Greek Γαῖα)
-"land" or "earth“
-is the ancestral mother of all life: the
primal Mother Earth goddess. She is the
immediate parent of Uranus (the sky)
-equivalent in the Roman pantheon was
Terra
Uranus ( Ancient Greek Οὐρανός, Ouranos)
-was the primal Greek god personifying the sky
and one of the Greek primordial deities
-- the son and husband of Gaia
-- Uranus was conceived by Gaia alone, but
other sources cite Aether as his father.
 Rhea (mother of gods)
-Titaness goddess of female fertility ,
motherhood and generation
-Sister and wife of Cronus
-Mother of Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades,
-Poseidon, and Zeus in that order
 Cronus
-depicted with a harpe, scythe
or a sickle, which was the instrument
he used to castrate and depose
Uranus, his father
-Ruled during the Golden Age
12 OLYMPIANS
 DEMETER (CERES)
✣Goddess of the harvest, fertility,
agriculture, nature and the seasons.
✣Symbols include the poppy, wheat, torch,
cornucopia, and pig.
✣Middle daughter of Cronus and Rhea.
✣lover of Zeus and Poseidon, and the
mother of Persephone.
 HERA (JUNO)
✣Queen of the gods and the goddess of
marriage, women, childbirth and family.
✣Symbols include the peacock, cuckoo,
and cow.
✣Youngest daughter of Cronus and Rhea.
✣Wife and sister of Zeus
 POSEIDON ( NEPTUNE)
✣God of the seas, water, storms, hurricanes,
earthquakes and horses.
✣Symbols include the horse, bull, dolphin, and
trident.
✣Middle son of Cronus and Rhea. Brother of
Zeus and Hades.
✣Married to the Nereid Amphitrite
 ZEUS (JUPITER)
✣King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus
✣ God of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order and justice.
✣ Youngest child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea.
✣Symbols include the thunderbolt, eagle, oak tree, lion,
sceptre, and scales
 APHRODITE (VENUS)
✣Goddess of love, pleasure, passion,
procreation, fertility, beauty and desire.
✣Symbols include the dove, bird, apple, bee,
swan, myrtle, and rose.
✣ perhaps born from the sea foam after Uranus'
semen dripped into the sea after being castrated
by Cronus
✣Married to Hephaestus.
 ATHENA (MINERVA)
✣Goddess of wisdom, knowledge, reason,
intelligent activity, literature, handicrafts, science,
defense and strategic warfare.
✣Symbols include the owl and the olive tree.
✣Daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Metis, she
rose from her father's head fully grown and in full
battle armor.
 APOLLO
✣God of light, the sun, prophecy,
philosophy, truth, inspiration, poetry, music,
arts, medicine, healing, and plague.
✣Symbols include the sun, lyre, swan, and
mouse.
✣twin brother of Artemis.
 ARTEMIS (DIANA)
✣Goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, virginity, the
moon, archery, childbirth, protection and plaque.
✣Symbols include the moon, horse, deer, hound,
she-bear, snake, cypress tree, and bow and arrow.
✣twin sister of Apollo
 ARES (MARS)
✣God of war, violence, bloodshed and
manly virtues.
✣Symbols include the boar, serpent,
dog, vulture, spear, and shield.
✣Son of Zeus and Hera, all the other
gods despised him.
✣His Latin name, Mars, gave us the
word "martial
 HEPHAESTUS (VULCAN)
✣Master blacksmith and craftsman of the
gods; god of the forge, craftsmanship,
invention, fire and volcanoes.
✣ Symbols include fire, anvil, axe, donkey,
hammer, tongs, and quail.
✣Son of Hera, either by Zeus or alone.
✣Married to Aphrodite,
✣Latin name, Vulcan, gave us the word
"volcano."
 HERMES (MERCURY)
✣Messenger of the gods; god of travel,
commerce, communication, borders,
eloquence, diplomacy, thieves and games.
✣Symbols include the caduceus, winged
sandals and cap, stork, and tortoise
✣Son of Zeus and the nymph Maia.
✣ The second-youngest Olympian, just older
than Dionysus.
 DIONYSUS (BACCHUS)
✣God of wine, the grape vine, fertility,
festivity, ecstasy, madness and resurrection.
✣Patron god of the art of theatre.
✣Symbols include the grapevine, ivy, cup,
✣Son of Zeus and the mortal Theban
princess Semele (mortal)
✣Married to the Cretan princess Ariadne