Olympians. In Ancient Greece the Greeks would create stories of gods that they believe to have created

Transcription

1 Connor Speakes Ms.Dasher AP English Lit and Comp Olympians Creating stories of a culture will change the overall outlook of that culture's beliefs. In Ancient Greece the Greeks would create stories of gods that they believe to have created humans along with blessings, curses, and monsters. They created many stories of gods, giants, titans, and many other different races of immortal beings. One of the most famous would be the gods, specifically Zeus, king of the gods. The Greeks would worship him as the god of the sky and lightning. The Greeks would eventually come to respect and fear the mighty gods of olympus for the incredible power that they possess. After Zeus was born along with his brothers and sisters, their father Cronus swallowed his children whole except for Zeus who narrowly escaped, because the women charged to protect him, by replacing him with a boulder while Cronus wasn t looking. When he had grown to manhood Zeus cut open his father's stomach to free his brothers and sisters, who had been growing in cronus s stomach due to their immortality. He then killed his father with the help of his brothers Hades and Poseidon. After they killed their father they split the earth into three domains (olympus). Zeus the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld. Zeus would eventually become married to his sister, Hera as his third and final wife. Later he had many children, including Apollo and Artemis, twin gods. Artemis was born first, being immortal as well as a goddess she was born as a fully grown women and helped her

2 mother deliver her twin brother Apollo. Artemis would become the goddess of the hunt and swore to eternally be a virgin. Apollo would become the god of the sun, medicine, etc. Apollo was made a god by the titan Helios. Helios had a chariot depicted as the sun, pulled by four horses, Pyrois, Aeos, Aethon, and Phlegon. Selene titan of the moon that would eventually intrust the moon to Artemis. Another one of Zeus children, Athena, who was born after Zeus swallowed his first wife after learning that their child would one day come to replace him as ruler of the gods. He acted similarly to how his father had acted, to preserve his power. However, after he swallowed his wife, athena sprouted out of Zeus s head fully grown and immortal as all other gods are (Zeus). She became the goddess of wisdom and military. Later she would compete with Poseidon to be patron of Athens. Winning against him by giving the atheneans an olive tree, which would become the symbol of her power. Compared to the sea water fountain that Poseidon proposed to the athenians. Along with the gods and titans there were many monsters that would present themselves to be problematic for the gods. The strongest monster being Typhon, a beast with multiple dragon heads and countless snake like arms and legs, that zeus alone could not defeat. (Typhon) Typhon had battled with Zeus and won against the king of gods, making Zeus and the other olympians flee from their home on mount olympus. Eventually Zeus would gather the gods to face the monster again and win, but not after Zeus dropped a mountain to crush Typhon. Typhon s wife, in her grief of her husband's death, would sire many mostrous children to exact her revenge against the gods. She would gain the title of the mother of monsters.

3 The minotaur being another monster, with a man like figure with the head and tail of a bull (Minotaur). He was the offspring of Pasiphae, Cretan Queen and a majestic bull. It was so dangerous that a maze was built to keep him trapped so he couldn't feed off of humans. The maze was made to be never ending and forever extending. After countless years of him being imprisoned in the maze humans began to find their way into the labyrinth, and the half beast began to taste humans again. There are stories of how the Minotaur would be slain by a hero by the name of Perseus, who got trapped in the labyrinth and the only way to escape was to kill the Minotaur Tartarus is considered a primordial deity that existed before the Olympians (Tartarus). It was also a name used to describe a region of the underworld (Tartarus). It was originally known as a bottomless pit at the bottom of the underworld. Being third in rank of the primordial deities after Chaos and Gaea, receding Eros (Tartarus). It has also been known where ferocious monsters and horrible criminals were banished (Tartarus). The olympians would also banish their rivals after a war (Tartarus). When Tartarus was rumored to take a humanoid shape, there would be tales of how he and Gaia, goddess of the earth, would have an affair in secret. The gods had their own domains of power but many of the gods would preside on the very top of mount olympus, home of the gods. Some of the gods like to live in their own palaces; such as Poseidon who would live in atlantis, and hades in the underworld. Olympus is considered a sacred ground for the gods, Zeus in particular. One goddess would stay at Olympus at all times, Hestia, goddess of the hearth. She would protect Olympus while all the other gods and goddesses were away. She was once an Olympian herself but gave up her seat of power to Dionysus to balance out the power among the gods.

4 Poseidon being the god of the sea, was also associated with being a god of violent forces of nature, such as storms, earthquakes, and hurricanes (Poseidon). He was giving the title Enosichthon which translates to earth-shaker in ancient greek (Poseidon). Being the sire to the great musical horse pegasus, whose mother was a women names Medusa who was cursed by Athena. Athena caught Medusa and Poseidon in one of her temples mating. The curse would make Medusa a gorgon, a half snake women who would turn everyone who gazed into her eyes to stone. Hades, he who presides over the underworld, all doomed souls, and darkness. He is one of the brothers to Zeus. In the underworld there are three judges, Rhadamanthus, Aeacus, Minos, who decides who will go to hades realm and who that will go to Tartarus(Tartarus). He is married to Persephone, daughter to Zeus. She is the goddess of springtime, flowers, and vegetation. Hades has a three headed hellhound named Cerberus, who guards the gates of the Underworld. His symbol is a helm, known as the helm of darkness. It use to be rumored that the helm would give him the ability to become shadows itself. Hades was trapped in the underworld to watch for all eternity, and would only be able to leave when he was called to Olympus. So he took vengeance against his brothers and made persephone take a fruit from the underworld and eat. Those who eat from the underworlds garden can never leave.

5 "Greek Mythology." Gale Student Resources in Context, Gale, Student Resources in Context,link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/MFYCEM /SUIC?u=sequoyahhsmc&xid=19f2 ba68. Accessed 26 Sept Artemis. GreekMythology.com</a> - Sep 27, 2017 Tartarus. href=" s: GreekMythology.com</a> - Sep 27, 2017 Helios. href=" GreekMythology.com</a> - Sep 27, 2017 Olympus. href=" mpus.html">mount Olympus: GreekMythology.com</a> - Sep 27, 2017 Saunders, Chas, and Peter J. Allen, eds. "TYPHON - the Greek Demon (Greek mythology)." <em>godchecker</em>. Godchecker.com / CID, 03 Jan Web. 27 September Wickersham, John. "Apollo." Student Resources in Context, John M. Wickersham, 2000, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/ej /suic?u=sequoyahhsmc&xid=71b43a3f. Accessed 25 Sept. 2017

6 Wickersham, John. "Poseidon." Student Resources in Context, John M. Wickersham, 2000, ic.galegroup.com/ic/suic/referencedetailspage/referencedetailswindow?disablehighlighting=f alse&displaygroupname=reference&docindex=&source=&prodid=suic&mode=view&limite r=&display-query=&contentmodules=&action=e&sortby=&windowstate=normal&currpage=& dviselectedpage=&scanid=&query=&search_within_results=&p=suic&catid=&u=sequoyahhs mc&displaygroups=&documentid=gale%7cej &activitytype=selectedsearch&f ailovertype=&commentary=. Accessed 25 Sept "Zeus." Myths and Legends of the World, edited by John M. Wickersham, Macmillan Reference USA, Student Resources in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/ej /suic?u=sequoyahhsmc&xid=b5005f29. Accessed 26 Sept