EL 112 – MYTHOLOGY AND FOLKLORE

August 30, 2022 Discussion – PRELIMS # 1

MYTHOLOGY
Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational
tales or origin myths. The main characters in myths are usually non-humans, such as gods, demigods, and other
supernatural figures. However, others also include humans, animals, or combinations in their classification of
myth. Stories of everyday human beings, although often of leaders of some type, are usually contained in
legends, as opposed to myths. Myths are sometimes distinguished from legends in that myths deal with gods,
usually have no historical basis, and are set in a world of the remote past, very different from that of the present.

Greek mythology
Is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories
concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of deities, heroes, and mythological creatures,
and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' own cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the
myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the
nature of mythmaking itself.
Greek mythology has had an extensive influence on the culture, arts, and literature of Western civilization and
remains part of Western heritage and language. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived
inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes.

THE TITANS AND THE TWELVE GREAT OLYMPIANS

The Titans
The Titans, often called the Elder Gods, were for untold ages supreme in the universe. They were of enormous
size and of incredible strength. There were many of them, but only a few appear in the stories of mythology.
The most important was CRONUS, in Latin SATURN. He ruled over the other Titans until his son Zeus
dethroned him and seized the power for himself. The Romans said that when Jupiter, their name for Zeus,
ascended the throne, Saturn fled to Italy and brought in the Golden Age, a time of perfect peace and happiness,
which lasted as long as he reigned.

The other notable Titans were OCEAN, the river that was supposed to encircle the earth; his wife TETHYS;
HYPERION, the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn; MNEMOSYNE, which means Memory;
THEMIS, usually translated by Justice; and IAPETUS, important because of his sons, ATLAS, who bore the
world on his shoulders, and PROMETHEUS, who was the savior of mankind. These alone among the older
gods were not banished with the coming of Zeus, but they took a lower place.
THE TWELVE OLYMPIANS
 called Olympians because Olympus was their home
 what “Olympus” is exact, nobody knows
 either a mountain (Mt. Olympus, Greece’s highest mountain)
 or some mysterious region far above all the mountains of the earth
 not heaven though

The twelve great Olympians were supreme among the gods who succeeded to the Titans. They were called the
Olympians because Olympus was their home. What Olympus was, however, is not easy to say. There is no
doubt that at first it was held to be a mountain top, and generally identified with Greece’s highest mountain, Mt.
Olympus in Thessaly, in the northeast of Greece. But even in the earliest Greek poem, the Iliad, this idea is
beginning to give way to the idea of an Olympus in some mysterious region far above all the mountains of the
earth.

The Olympians were a race of deities, primarily consisting of a third and fourth generation of immortal beings,
worshipped as the principal gods of the Greek pantheon and so named because of their residency atop Mount
Olympus. They gained their supremacy in a ten-year-long war of gods, in which Zeus led his siblings to victory
over the previous generation of ruling gods, the Titans.

In Greek mythology, the Titanomachy, was a ten-year series of battles fought in Ancient Thessaly, consisting
of most of the Titans (the older generation of gods, based on Mount Othrys) fighting against the Olympians (the
younger generations, who would come to reign on Mount Olympus) and their allies. The war was fought to
decide which generation of gods would have dominion over the universe; it ended in victory for the Olympian
gods.

1. Zeus (Jupiter)
 King of the gods and ruler of Mount Olympus; god of the sky, lightning, thunder, law, order and
justice.
 The youngest child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Brother and husband of Hera and brother of
Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia. He had many affairs with goddesses and mortals, such as his
sister Demeter, the Titan Leto, mortals Leda and Alcmene, and more.
 His symbols include the thunderbolt, eagle, oak tree, bull, scepter, and scales.
 He is not omnipotent or omniscient
 Could be opposed and deceived
 Falls in love with many women including a man.

2. Hera (Juno)
 Queen of the gods and the goddess of marriage, women, childbirth and family.
 The youngest daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Sister and wife of Zeus. Being the goddess of marriage,
she frequently tried to get revenge on Zeus' lovers and their children.
 Her symbols include the peacock, cuckoo, and cow.
  She is engaged in punishing women whom Zeus had an affair with, no matter if they were tricked or
deceived.
 Her anger followed them and their children
 The Trojan War would have ended peacefully if Hera did not hold hatred for a Trojan who called
another goddess prettier than her.

3. Poseidon (Neptune)
 God of the seas, water, storms, hurricanes, earthquakes and horses.
 The middle son of Cronus and Rhea. Brother of Zeus and Hades. Married to the Nereid Amphitrite;
although, as with many of the male Greek gods, he had many lovers.
 His symbols include the horse, bull, dolphin, and trident.
 He was the most powerful god except for his brother, Zeus. He lived in a beautiful palace under the
sea and caused earthquakes when he was in a temper.
 He had a nice palace under the sea but was found more in Olympus.
 Storm and calm were under his control.

4. DEMETER (CERES)
 Goddess of the harvest, fertility, agriculture, nature and the seasons. She presided over grains and the
fertility of the earth.
 The middle daughter of Cronus and Rhea. Also the lover of Zeus and Poseidon, and the mother of
Persephone (wife of Hades), Despoine, Arion.
 Her symbols include the poppy, wheat, torch, cornucopia, and pig.

5. Athena (Minerva)
 Goddess of wisdom, handicraft, and warfare.
 The daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Metis, she rose from her father's head fully grown and in full
battle armor.
 Her symbols include the owl and the olive tree.
 She was also skilled in the art of war and helped heroes such as Odysseus and Hercules.
 Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the
city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name.
 Fierce and ruthless battle goddess.
 Warlike only to defend the state and the home from outside enemies.

6. Apollo
 God of light, the Sun, prophecy, philosophy, archery, truth, inspiration, poetry, music, arts, manly
beauty, medicine, healing, and plague.
 The son of Zeus and Leto, and the twin brother of Artemis.
 His symbols include the Sun, bow and arrow, lyre, swan, and mouse.
 First taught men the art of healing
 Apollo is an important pastoral deity, and was the patron of herdsmen and shepherds.
 Protection of herds, flocks and crops from diseases, pests and predators were his primary duties.
7. Artemis (Diana)
 Goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, virginity, the Moon, archery, childbirth, protection, and plague.
 The daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo.
 Her symbols include the Moon, horse, deer, hound, she-bear, snake, cypress tree, and bow and
arrow.
 One of the three maiden goddesses of Olympus
 Lady of Wild Things
 Huntsman in chief to the gods
 The protectress of dewy youth
 She was the Moon

8. Ares (Mars)
 God of war, violence, bloodshed, and manly virtues.
 The son of Zeus and Hera, all the other gods despised him except Aphrodite.
 His Latin name, Mars, gave us the word "martial."
 His symbols include the boar, serpent, dog, vulture, spear, and shield.
 The Greeks were ambivalent toward him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in
war but can also personify sheer brutality and bloodlust, in contrast to his sister, the armored Athena,
whose martial functions include military strategy and generalship.

9. Aphrodite (Venus)
 Goddess of love, pleasure, passion, procreation, fertility, beauty, and desire.
 The daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Dione, or perhaps born from the sea foam after Uranus' blood
dripped into the sea after being castrated by his youngest son, Cronus, who then threw his father's
genitals into the sea.
 Married to Hephaestus, although she had many adulterous affairs, most notably with Ares. Her name
gave us the word "aphrodisiac", while her Latin name, Venus, gave us the word "venereal".
 Her symbols include the dove, bird, apple, bee, swan, myrtle, and rose.
 The irresistible goddess who stole away the wits of the wise.
 Sprung from the foam of the sea
 Without her there is no joy nor loveliness anywhere
 Treacherous and malicious, exerting deadly and destructive power over men.

10. Hephaestus (Vulcan)

 Master blacksmith and craftsman of the gods; god of the forge, craftsmanship, invention, fire and
volcanoes.
 The son of Hera, either by Zeus or through parthenogenesis. Married to Aphrodite.
 His Latin name, Vulcan, gave us the word "volcano."
 His symbols include fire, anvil, axe, donkey, hammer, tongs, and quail.
 He was cast off Mount Olympus by his mother because of his deformity or, in another account, by
Zeus for protecting Hera from his advances.
 Among the perfectly beautiful immortals, he alone was ugly and lame.
11. Hermes (Mercury)
 Messenger of the gods; god of travel, commerce, communication, borders, eloquence, diplomacy,
thieves, and games. He was also the guide of dead souls.
 The son of Zeus and the nymph Maia. The second-youngest Olympian, just older than Dionysus.
 His symbols include the caduceus (staff entwined with two snakes), winged sandals and cap, stork,
and tortoise (whose shell he used to invent the lyre).
 The speediest of all, he wore winged sandals and a winged hat and carried a magic wand.

12. Hades (Pluto)

 Is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous.
 Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although the last son regurgitated by his father.
 Rare that he left the Underworld to visit Olympus or earth
 Unpitying, inexorable, but just; a terrible not an evil god
 Far-famed capped helmet which made whoever wore it invisible.