The Olympian Gods

Heracles and the 12 labors

THE LIFE AND TIMES

There are as many different versions of Hercules' life story as there are storytellers.
Zeus fell in love with a beautiful Greek woman named Alcmene. When Alcmene's husband, Amphitryon, was away, Zeus made her pregnant. This made Hera so angry that she tried to prevent the baby from being born. When Alcmene gave birth to the baby anyway, she named him Herakles. The name Herakles means "glorious gift of Hera" in Greek, and that got Hera angrier still. Then she tried to kill the baby by sending snakes into his crib. But little Hercules was one strong baby, and he strangled the snakes, one in each hand, before they could bite him.
Hera remained angry. Hera decided to pay Zeus back for his infidelity by making the rest of Herakles' life as miserable as she could.

Louvre G 192, Attic red figure stamnos, c. 480-470 B.C.
The baby Hercules wrestles with the snakes Hera has sent to his crib.
Photograph by Maria Daniels, courtesy of the Musée du Louvre

When Herakles became a great warrior, he married Megara. They had two children. Herakles and Megara were very happy, but Hera sent a fit of madness to Herakles that put him into so great a rage, he murdered Megara and the children.

When Herakles regained his senses and saw the horrible thing that he had done, he asked the god Apollo to rid him of this pollution. Apollo commanded the hero to do certain tasks as a punishment for his wrongs. Apollo declared that he had to go to the city of Tiryns. The king of Tiryns was Eurystheus. He had a reputation for being mean, and Herakles knew that the king would give him a tough time. The hero had to serve Eurystheus for twelve years while he performed the Labors. There was some good news, though. When the tasks were completed, Apollo said, Herakles would become immortal.

Aerial view of the fortress-palace at Tiryns.
The citadel's impressively thick fortress walls have stood for over thirty centuries.
Photograph by Raymond V. Schoder, S.J., courtesy of Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers

THE LABORS

Ref: http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/Herakles/labors.html

Zeus and his consorts

He had numerous lovers in mythology. He had divine consorts, Nymphs and mortal women.

Look for information of each couple and explain it.

Zeus and Demeter
Zeus and Eurynome
Zeus and Hera
Zeus and Leto
Zeus and Metis
Zeus and Mnemosyne
Zeus and Maia
Zeus and Alkmene
Zeus and Europa
Zeus and Kallisto
Zeus and Semele

Zeus

He is the most important Olympian god. He divided the world between him, Poseidon (sea) and Hades (underworld). He was the lord of the sky. His parents were Cronus and Rhea, two of the titans. He is the little brother of some other important gods: Hestia, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter and Hera.
He controlled lightning and thunder, whic are their elements and weapons. He was married to Hera, his sister, despite he mated with other women.

Activity 9: Working with pictures

Have a look at these pictures and then do the activities:

1. Can you identify these gods/goddesses? Here you have a clue, but you have to make some sentences using it.

In picture X there is/there could be a/an/the Egyptian, Aztecan, Greek, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist god.

2. Write at least 10 differences and similarities between the Greek god and the others.

Activity 8: Greek gods, spirits ans monsters

You have to write a short biography of the following Greek gods, spirits and monsters.
You can use this Encyclopedia on line: http://www.theoi.com/Encyc_A.html

Chaos
Gaia
Rhea
Kronos
Pontus
Tethys
Uranos
Atlas
Iapetos
Oceanus
Erinyes
Hesperides
Cyclopes
Mnemosyne
Nereids
Leto

Activity 7: Theogony, Part III

Have a look at this picture and then do the exercises:

Complete these sentences:

- Gaia and Uranos were ____________ parents.

- Erinyes, Giants and the three nymphs were _______________ children.

- Leto was ____________ mother.

- Tethys was _______________ daughter.

- Kronos was ______________ husband.

- Hermes was ___________ son.

Activity 6: Theogony, Part II

Read this synopsis of Theogony (II) by Hesiod and then answer the questions:

Kronos, who had established himself as leader of the Titans, married his sister Rhea but, mindful of the prophecy that one of his children would overthrow him, he made sure to swallow each of the children she birthed: Hestia (goddess of the hearth and domesticity), Demeter (goddess of the earth and fertility), Hera (goddess of women and marriage), Hades (god of the Underworld), Poseidon (god of the sea) and Zeus (god of the sky and thunder, and later to become the king of the gods) in that order. However, with the help of Gaia and Ouranos, Rhea managed to trick Kronos into saving Zeus from this fate, and then to further trick him into vomiting up his other five children.

Joining with Zeus, the other offspring of Rhea and Kronos (collectively known as the Olympian gods, for their chosen home on Mount Olympus), along with the Kyklopes, Prometheus and Epimetheus, then waged a great ten-year war on the Titans and the Giants for control of the cosmos. Eventually Zeus released the Hecatonchires from their imprisonment in Tartarus to shake the earth, allowing him to gain the upper hand in the struggle and, casting the fury of his thunderbolts at the Titans, throw them down into Tartarus.

Who was the most powerful Olympian god? Did he create the world?
Were the Greek gods eternal? Were they immortal?
In part I and part II of Theogony, how many ways of "reproduction" are there in the text?