Western literature notes week 3

Greek Mythology

-APHRODITE (Venus)
was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility
daughter of Zeus and Dione

-APOLLO (Apollo)
god of prophesy, music and healing
helped Hector's brother Paris slay Achilles with an arrow
often depicted playing the lyre
children of Zeus and Leto

-ARES (Mars)
god of war, or more precisely of warlike frenzy

-ARTEMIS (Diana)
virgin goddess of the hunt
helped women in childbirth but also brought sudden death with her arrows
children of Zeus and Leto

-ATHENA (Minerva)
 goddess of crafts and the domestic arts and also those of war
symbol was the owl
originally the Great Goddess in the form of a bird
by the late Classic, she had come to be regarded as a goddess of wisdom
Zeus was once married to Metis, a daughter of Ocean who was renowned for her wisdom. When Metis became pregnant, Zeus was warned by Earth that a son born to Metis would overthrow him, just as he had usurped his own father's throne.
So Zeus swallowed Metis. In time he was overcome with a splitting headache and summoned help from the craftsman god Hephaestus (or, some say, the Titan Prometheus). Hephaestus cleaved Zeus's forehead with an ax, and Athena sprang forth fully armed.

-DEMETER (Ceres)
 goddess of agriculture
 sister of Zeus and the mother of Persephone

-DIONYSUS (Bacchus)
god of wine
son of Zeus and the mortal heroine Semele

-HEPHAESTUS (Vulcan)
lame god of fire and crafts
son of Zeus and Hera
He limped because he was born lame
Zeus took him by the foot and threw him from Olympus to the earth

-HERA (Juno)
goddess of marriage
wife of Zeus
Queen of the Olympians\

-HERMES (Mercury)
messenger of the gods
guide of dead souls to the Underworld
prankster and inventive genius from birth
son Zeus and a mountain nymph

-POSEIDON  (Neptune)
god of the sea, earthquakes and horses
officially one of the supreme gods of Mount Olympus 
brother to Zeus and Hades
given all water, both fresh and salt

-ZEUS (Jupiter)
supreme god of the Olympians
father of the heroes Perseus and Heracles
youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea
ruler of the sky
brother of Poseidon and Hades

-Hades (Pluto)
god of the dead 
ruler of the underworld 
brother of Zeus and Poseidon

Judgement of Paris

Paris was asked to judge which of three Olympian goddesses was the most beautiful, he chose Aphrodite over Hera and Athena
all three goddesses are related to Zeus


Vocabulary
-Metamorphoses
definition: Form changing

-Fair
definition: Pretty (in tales) or not bias

-Heifer
definition: Female cow

-Bull
definition: Male cow  

Story Structure