CMLT316 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Aeneid, Homeric Hymns, Pythian Games
3 Jun 2018
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Class 7: Poseidon and His Kind; Apollo
The Greeks as Binary Thinkers
● Zeus (sky) and Hera (earth)
● Ares (war) and Aphrodite
● Hephaestus and Aphrodite
Other Children of Zeus
● (+ Hera) Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth
● (+ Hera) Hebe, Olympian cupbearer
● (+ Themis/Ananke) Fates (Moirai): Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos
Poseidon and His Ilk
Poseidon
● Brother of Zeus
● God of the sea
● God of earthquakes
● God of horses and bulls
● In art, appears a lot like his brother Zeus (middle aged and bearded)
● Sometimes depicted with more dishevelled hair
● Special token: trident
● Sea “horses”
● Temple of Poseidon (Athens)
Polyphemus and Galatea (and Acis)
● Polyphemus smashes Acis with a piece of a mountain
● From his blood flowed a Sicilian river and he became its spirit
● Ovid being subversive:
○ A parody of love poetry (the ugly cyclops wooing the beautiful Neiriad)
○ Combining his hair with a rake
○ Playing a 100 reed pan flute
○ Making excuses for his giant eyeball
Apollo
● A decidedly “young” god in art
● Often depicted with a bow and arrow or a lyre (small harp)
● Represents youthful aspects of (male) existence: his twin sister Artemis will represent
youthful female existence
● Son of Zeus and the Titan Leto
Delos
● After becoming pregnant, Leto searches for a place to give birth to Apollo
● Finally found the island of Delos, that reluctantly agrees to be the site of his birth
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Document Summary
Other children of zeus (+ hera) eileithyia, goddess of childbirth (+ hera) hebe, olympian cupbearer (+ themis/ananke) fates (moirai): clotho, lachesis, and atropos. In art, appears a lot like his brother zeus (middle aged and bearded) Polyphemus smashes acis with a piece of a mountain. From his blood flowed a sicilian river and he became its spirit. A parody of love poetry (the ugly cyclops wooing the beautiful neiriad) Often depicted with a bow and arrow or a lyre (small harp) Represents youthful aspects of (male) existence: his twin sister artemis will represent youthful female existence. Son of zeus and the titan leto. After becoming pregnant, leto searches for a place to give birth to apollo. Finally found the island of delos, that reluctantly agrees to be the site of his birth. Hera still angry, and keeps eileithyia away. Eileithyia is eventually bribed to assist leto. Description of festival on delos in honor of apollo.
