Mythological Characters

Tartusa place in the depths of the earthEroslove and desireErebusgloomy, darkness of TartarusNight/Nyxdarkness of the earth by herself bore: Eris, Nemesis, Hypnos, ThanatosErebus and Nighttwo darknesses12 Titansoften represent deifications of aspects or deifications of natural lifeHyperion and Theiagods of a portion of the skyOceanus and Tethysgods and goddess of the watersMnemosynegoddess of memoryRheagoddess of the flow of thingsCronusgod of timePheobegoddess of lightThemisgoddess of natural lawsZeus- lord of gods and men - marries his sister Hera - may be depicted as immoral - concerned with both gods and humans - god of the sky, cloud-gatherer - root-name = "bright"Hera- sacred marriage between the sky god and earth goddess - consistent with her image as a mother, wife and queen - Iris= winged goddess Hera's servant - crown, septor - peacock - worshipped in the city of Argos - Epithet: "of the white arms", "ox-eyes", "of the golden throne"Children of Zeus and HeraEileithyia, Hebe, Hephaestus, AresEileithyia- goddess of childbirth - daughter of Zeus and HeraHebe- goddess of youthful bloom - daughter of Zeus and Hera - cupbearer - when Hercules wins immortality, she becomes his brideHephaestus- god of creative fire and divine smith - son of Zeus and Hera - major role: create things of extraordinary beauty and utility - created shield of Achilles - has attendants fashioned of gold (robots that can move with intelligence and speak with knowledge) - wife = Aphrodite (strange marriage)Ares/Mars- god of war - Dawn (Eos) was one of his mistresses - divine squash buckler - not highly thought of - personification of killing, frenzy and unbridled violence during war - Epithet: "the butcher", "the chariot rider, "the bronze armored" - father of victory - son = Eros/Cupid - helmet, spear, piercing gazeThe Nine Muses- daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne - patronesses of literature and the arts - may have originally been water spirits - memory, divine order produces mental achievments - home = Mt. HeliconThe Three Fates- daughters of Zeus and Themis - depicted as 3 old women responsible for the destiny of every individual - Clotho (spinner): spins out the thread of life - Lachesis (apportioned): measures out the thread - Atropos (inflexible): cuts thread, brings life to an endPoseidon- god of the sea - similar in appearance to his brother Zeus (majestic, bearded figure, more severe and rough) - carries the trident (resembles fishermen spears) - called the supporter of the earthPeleus and Thetis- Thetis was destined to bear a son mightier than himself - Peleus: possessed the power of changing shape and transformed herself many states - parents of Achilles (who was indeed mightier than his father)Acis, Galatea and the Cyclops PolyphemusGalatea (Nereid) was loved by Polyphemus (Cyclops, son of Poseidon)Poseidon and Amphitrite- Amphitrite (nereid) was the wife of Poseidon - their son was Triton - Poseidon has a weakness for womenTriton- human above the waist, fish below - often depicted blowing a conch shell, can change shape - son of Poseidon and AmphitriteProteus- sea divinity, attendant of Poseidon - old man of the sea who can foretell the futureScylla and Charybdis- Poseidon made advances to Scylla (the daughter of Phorcys and Hectate) - Amphitrite became jealous and threw magic herbs in Scylla's bathing place - Scylla was then transformed into a terrifying monster encircled with a ring of 3 dog's headsIris- goddess of the rainbow - messenger of the gods - Hera's servant - fleet-footed and winged - sisters with HarpiesHarpies- violent in nature - fleet-footed and winged - sisters with IrisThe Graeae (Aged Ones)- 3 sisters - personification of old age (born with grey hair) - swan-like,beautiful - shared one eye and one toothThe Gorgons- 3 sisters (sisters with the Graeae) - Stheno, Euryale, Medusa - hair writhed with serpentsMedusa- most important Gorgon - lover of Poseidon - presented greatest challenge with Perseus: when he beheaded her she was pregnant, from her corpse sprang a winged horse, Pegasus (a son of Chrysaor) - face always frontal (never profile), open eyes, mouth open, fangs, tongue sticking outAthena- goddess of wisdom and war - goddess of the "central womanly skill of weaving" - skilled in taming/training of horses - inventor of the flute - represented with helmet, spear, and shield - sometimes attended by winged figure (Athena Nike)Hyperion (eastern sky) + Theia offspring1) Helius: sun god - myth of Phaethon: asked for the chariot of the sun, taking the reins of the chariot, he is unable to control it, chariot got too close to the earth) - Leucothoe (Helius' lover) - Clytie: lover of Helius 2) Selene: goddess of the moon 3) Eos: goddess of the dawnSelene (moon) and Endymion (shepherd)Selene saw Endymion sleeping in a cave and fell in love with him. - Zeus granted Endymion perpetual youth, but also eternal sleep (sometimes this was a gift from Zeus and sometimes it was a punishment) - Endymion was not dead, he was just asleep for the rest of his lifeApollo- a sun godArtemis- moon-goddessEos/Aurora- goddess of the dawn - leading the sun god, the light before the sun comes up - "rosy-fingered" and "saffron robed" - falls in love with mortal Tithonos, a Trojan prince - Eos begs Zeus to allow Tithonos to live forever, but forgets to ask for perpetual youthCronus (time) + Rhea (flow of things): childrenHestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, ZeusAphrodite- goddess of beauty, love and marriage - unable to sway the hearts of Athena, Artemis and Hestia - wears and aegis (protective vest made of scales, with medusa's head in the center)Attendants of Aphrodite- Graces (charities): generally three in number, personifications of loveliness - Hours or Seasons (Horae): daughters of Zeus and Themis, sometimes difficult to distinguish from Graces but have a clearer identity as the SeasonsPrometheus- dominant tradition, creation of man, creator of universe - bound to a column, Zeus sends an eagle to eat his liver everyday, it grows back and the eagle comes back again for morePrometheus against Zeus- prometheus arranges portions of a slaughtered ox into two piles (unfair distribution to trick Zeus) - good stuff hidden into the ox pouch, bad stuff hidden in a nice pile of fat - Zeus selects the bones and fat (Zeus knew, but still selected the fat anyways) - Angry Zeus keeps fire from humans, Prometheus steals fire - Zeus tied up Prometheus to a column and sent an eagle to devour up his liverCreation of Pandora- Hephestus makes a woman out of clay (robot in woman shape) - Pandora = "all gifts" named by Hermes - Hepheastus makes her into the likeliness of a beautiful girl, Athena: how to weave at a loom, Aphrodite: grace, Hermes: "the mind of a bitch and the character of a theif" - Pandora opens jar, releases misery, diseases and evils (only hope was left in the jar)Hestia- goddess of hearth and its fire - sister of Zeus - name means "hearth" - desire to remain a virgin, goddess of chastity - goddess of the house - first born of Cronus and Rhea, she comes first in prayersGanymede- Trojan prince abducted by Zeus - becomes immoral cupbearer of the gods (replaces Hebe) - interpret abduction: homosexual relationship, religious, ecstasy, criminal rapeHephaestus/Vulcan- god of engineering/architecture - was helped by gold woman shaped robots, sometimes the 3 cyclops - built the houses of the gods on Mt. Olympus - married Aphrodite