CLA 2323 Lecture 3: Week 2 - Session 1
10 May 2018
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CLA 2323: Greek Mythology
Week 2: Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Greek Divinities and their Principal Attributes (pg. 69)
The 12 Olympian Gods
1. Zeus
2. Hera
3. Poseidon
4. Demeter
5. Apollo
6. Artemis
7. Athena (Athene)
8. Hermes
9. Aphrodite
10. Ares
11. Hephaestus
12. Dionysus
• Greek pantheon is a family business
o At the top is Zeus, followed by the other gods (his family) who act as his "managers"
▪ He is the central organizing principle in the universe, having delegated specific duties
to his family
• These Gods dwell on Mount Olympus - they came and went
• Greek religion understood the deities of being two compartments
Deity's function in the world as a universal principle
▪ God embodies some aspect of the universe
▪ Order, sanity, fairness associated with Zeus; wisdom associated with Apollo); Athena is
goddess of technology (weaving clothes)
▪ Every deity embodies certain universal principles
The human personality of the individual god
▪ Very distinctive personalities of the gods
▪ These deities are also very human in that they are capable of petulance, selfishness,
etc.
▪ You cannot reconcile the universal attribute and human personality
• Most of these deities were considered very important for daily life
Zeus was god of corporate justice and rain
Demeter was goddess of agriculture
• In daily life, people usually tended to think of them by their universal principle
Universal Principle and Human Aspect
• Zeus (68-70 and 47-49): king of the gods, and the father/brother of all of the gods (the important
ones)
His sister is Hera, who is also his wife
▪ By Hera, he has Ares and Hephaestus
His other sister is Demeter
Apollo and Artemis are kids of Zeus
Dionysus is begotten on a mortal woman
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▪ Zeus is the father of all Olympian gods
▪ Hades is Zeus's brother, whose wife, Persephone, is Zeus's daughter
• Only god born of a human mother is Dionysus (of the Olympian gods)
Zeus is his father, mother is mortal woman
▪ Dionysus should be a human hero
• Technical aspect to his birth
Zeus impregnated the mortal woman, the princess of Thebes
Hera persecutes her
Semalae is approached by Hera and tricks her to summon Zeus in his most powerful form
▪ Zeus arrives as lightning, and Semalae is killed and the house burns down
▪ Zeus saves the unborn child and rips open his thigh, placing the baby there
▪ The baby eventually is born out of his thigh
• This tale seems to qualify Dionysus as a god because he was born out of Zeus, not out of his mortal
mother
• One of the titles of Dionysus in poetry was dimetor or "twice mothered"
• The Bacchae is a great tragedy, telling the story of how one king resists Dionysus and he is horribly
treated
• Zeus comes in after the world has been created, part of a new generation of gods that take over
from the older gods (the Titans)
• He has to take over the world from his violent father, Kronos
• Zeus is the last born, Kronus is ingesting all of his children
The mother of Zeus tricks Kronus by feeding him a stone, thinking he has consumed Zeus
▪ Zeus withdraws to a cave in Crete
• Returns to face Kronos and makes him throw up his children
Hades, Poseidon, Demeter
• Zeus supplants his father
• The world of the Titans is the world before social justice, where violence ruled
When Zeus takes over, he begins to establish order over the world
▪ The new race of theoi overcome the Titans, banishing them to the underworld
▪ It's a revolt/supplanting
• The old gods are violent, brutal, unjust
The new gods turn violent against the Titans for just reasons - to establish order and justice
▪ Physics, gravity, movement of stars/sun/moon
• In Greek religion, Zeus is the god of protection to the weak
He protected the travelling stranger
▪ He was also known as "Zeus Horkios" meaning "Zeus, the enforcer of oaths" and "Zeus
Xenios" meaning "Zeus, the protector of strangers"
• Zeus keeps society fair and just
• Zeus: supplication, meaning he provided for those who needed help
Ex. People in sanctuaries, who are powerless
▪ He was their protector
• Zeus was also a god of the weather, especially rain, thunder and sun (partially)
As a god of weather, he was capable of throwing a lightning bolt (his personal weapon)
This is a primordial indo-European concept
• 3 examples of Zeus defending the social order
Page 93: Human boy names Phaethon, who is the son of the sun God - Helios
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
These gods dwell on mount olympus - they came and went: greek religion understood the deities of being two compartments. The human personality of the individual god: very distinctive personalities of the gods. These deities are also very human in that they are capable of petulance, selfishness, etc. You cannot reconcile the universal attribute and human personality: most of these deities were considered very important for daily life. Zeus was god of corporate justice and rain. In daily life, people usually tended to think of them by their universal principle. Zeus (68-70 and 47-49): king of the gods, and the father/brother of all of the gods (the important ones) His sister is hera, who is also his wife: by hera, he has ares and hephaestus. Zeus is the father of all olympian gods: hades is zeus"s brother, whose wife, persephone, is zeus"s daughter, only god born of a human mother is dionysus (of the olympian gods)
