Mythology: Greek and Roman Themes

• These are study notes on religion and mythology

Core Integration of Religion and Culture

• Religion influenced all parts of ancient life, including personal identity and politics
• Religious views impacted self-identity, family, city, and empire
• Using modern ideas like "cult" or "pagan" can misrepresent ancient beliefs

Polytheism and Roles

• Multiple gods did not automatically lead to conflict
• Gods had specialized roles
• Analysis should look at historical and social factors

Cultural Exchange and Influences

• Greek and Roman religions took ideas from Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Phoenicia
• The Minoan civilization based in Crete had a fertility goddess cult with bull-leaping
• Mesopotamian views influenced creation stories and flood tales

Ancient Civilizations & Religious Practices

• Minoan civilization featured a fertility goddess cult with bull-leaping
• Mesopotamian presence is shown in creation stories
• Egyptian presence links mortality, justice, and the afterlife

Phoenician Contributions

• Phoenicians traded widely, spread the phonetic alphabet, and incorporated Mesopotamian religious ideas.
• Greek civilization occurred in stages: Minoan, Mycenaean, Dark Ages, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic
• The Archaic Age saw the rise of the polis (city-state) and Greek colonization spread

Roman Religions and Development

• Roman religion had etruscan influences
• The pomerium was the sacred border of Rome
• Roman temples were inspired by greek designs

Temples as Sacred Centers

• Rituals occurred at altars outside temples
• Temenos walls marked sacred temple grounds.
• Greek temple designs: Doric, Ionic, Corinthian columns.

Priests and Priestesses

• Maintained mental and physical purity
• Performed ritual washings before ceremonies
• Important tasks included: Sacred day maintenance, temple upkeep, caring for god statues

Religious Officials in Rome

• Pontifices combined religious and state roles, were in charge of law and public festivals
• Flamens were high priests appointed by King Numa
• Vestal Virgins watched Vesta's sacred flame and guarded sacred objects

Festivals

• Maintained cosmic balance, marked seasons, and honored mythic events
• Featured processions with musicians, dancers, and hymns (carmina)
• Strengthened community and civic identity

Sacrificial Practices

• Animals were decorated, sometimes drugged to ensure sacrifice
• Offerings were specific to the deity
• Rituals included processions and precise steps.

Divination and Omens

• Divination experts, like the college of augurs, interpreted omens
• Methods included observing bird flight, entrails, and other natural signs
• Played a key role in decision-making, especially for military and politics

Key Deities and Festivals

• Tyche was the greek goddess of fortune
• The Fates (Moirai) controlled destiny
• Ceres was associated with agricultural fertility and protection in Rome
• Roman Triumphs: Celebrated military wins with parades and rituals
• Pantomime, comedy, and theatre conveyed myths, social commentary

Definition and Types of Myths

• Myths are traditional stories with social, religious, or moral meaning
• Types: Divine myths (gods, cosmos), legends (saga), folktales
• Myths show social values, explain nature, connect humans with the divine

Theories of Myth Interpretation

• Euhemerism interprets myths as exaggerated historical happenings
• Structuralism views myths as resolving binary opposites
• Jungian archetypes ID universal symbols in myths

Influence of Near Eastern Myths

• Mesopotamian stories (Enuma Elish) influenced greek ideas of the cosmos
• Egyptian ideas influenced greek underworld conceptions

Olympian Gods:

• Zeus: Enforces Order
• Hera: Goddess of Marriage, Known for Jealousy
• Poseidon: God of the Sea, Earthquakes, Horses
• Demeter: Focused on Agriculture, Central to Eleusinian Mysteries
• Athena: Goddess of wisdom and strategy in war
• Apollo: Prophecy, Healing, and Music
• Artemis: Goddess of the Hunt and young woman protector
• Aphrodite: Goddess of love and beauty
• Hermes: Messenger, guides of souls
• Ares: God of war
• Hephaestus: God of craftsmanship
• Dionysus: God of wine, ecstasy, theatre

Hesiod's Theogony

• Describes chaos, the emergence of Gaia, and uranus.
• Details the Titanomachy: War between zeus and the titans
• Prometheus: Creation of humans and his punishment for giving fire to mankind

Underworld and Afterlife

• Hades: The ruler of the underworld
• Persephone: the queen of the underworld
• Rivers: Styx, Lethe, Acheron rivers were the rivers of the underworld
• Punished: Tantalus, Sisyphus, Ixion were famous figures that were punished in the underworld
• Heroes: Odysseus, Aeneas, Orpheus visited the Underworld

Common Traits of Heroes

• Divine parentage or favor
• Completion of a difficult quest or struggle
• Experience of suffering or exile
• Apotheosis, becoming divine

Examples of Heroes

• Heracles completed 12 labors, was deified
• Perseus slew Medusa, saved Andromeda
• Theseus defeated the Minotaur, founded Athens

Trojan War

• Judgment of Paris and Helen's abduction led to war
• Key figures: Achilles, Agamemnon, Odysseus, Hector, Aeneas
• Result: Greek win, destruction of Troy

Odysseus

• Encounters: Polyphemus, Circe, Calypso, Sirens
• Visits the underworld
• Consequence: Returns to Ithaca, defeats suitors

Theban Saga

• Cadmus: Founder of Thebes, introduced the alphabet
• Oedipus: Killed his father, married his mother
• Antigone: Defied Creon to bury her brother
• Themes: Fate, justice, human law vs. divine law

Orpheus

• Musician who attempted to retrieve Eurydice from the underworld

Dionysian vs Apollonian

• Dionysian: Intoxication and ecstasy, unbridled passion, loss of identity, wildness, dance, frenzy
• Apollonian: Reason, order, self-preservation, moderation. art, beauty, intellectual pursuits
• Eleusinian Mysteries, Orphism

Foundation of Rome

• Aeneas: Trojan hero, forefather of Rome
• Romulus and Remus: Raised by a she-wolf, Romulus founded Rome
• Themes: Destiny, divine factor, also civilization vs barbarism

Takeaways from Greek and Roman Religions

• Reciprocity between humans and gods
• Temples as sacred spaces
• Festivals reinforced social cohesion
• Divination & omens shaped decisions
• Sacrifices ensure divine balance

Insights

• Religious practices were typically conservative
• Gods: Immortality, characteristics, relationships, interactions
• Heroes: extraordinary deeds/suffering
• Hybrids: human-animal combinations
• People: modesty, justice, family relationships, cultural movements

Timeline

• Primordial beginnings come first and includes: Chaos, Gaia, and Uranus
• Rise of olympians: titanomachy, zeus's rise to power
• Creation of mortals: prometheus, pandora
• Key figures: homer, hesiod, ovid, euripides, plato, and others

Beginning of Creation

• Chaos (Void) existed first. Gaia (Earth) and Eros (Love) emerged. Night and Day formed. Tartarus appeared. Gaia gave birth to Uranus (Sky).

The Titans and Their Rule"

• Uranus and Gaia produced 12 Titans.
• Uranus imprisoned the Titans inside the Earth.
• Uranus was castrated by Cronus
• Aphrodite was born from Uranus' blood.
• Cronus swallowed his children to prevent them from overthrowing him.

Zeus

• Saved by Rhea.
• Grew strong, defeated Cronus, freed his siblings.
• Waged war against the Titans for 10 years.
• The Cyclopes gifted Zeus his thunderbolt, Poseidon his trident, and Hades his helmet of invisibility.
• The Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus.
• Atlas was punished by holding up the sky.
• Zeus ruled the sky, Poseidon controlled the sea, and Hades ruled the Underworld.

Gods

• Gaia: Mother of the Titans.
• Uranus: Sky, father of the Titans.
• Cronus: Overthrew Uranus, became a tyrant.
• Zeus: Overthrew Cronus, ruler of the sky/gods.
• Poseidon: God of the sea.
• Hades: Ruler of the Underworld.
• Chaos: Void from which everything emerged.
• Eros: Love.
• Selene: Goddess of the Moon.
• Hyperion: Titan of the Sun.
• Atlas: Titan forced to held up the sky.
• Prometheus: Titan who helped Zeus & later gave fire to humans.

Prometheus’ Creations

• Prometheus, one of the few Titans spared after the Titanomachy, saw mindless beasts on Earth.
• He sculpted man from clay, shaping them in the image of the gods.
• Prometheus gave fire to mankind so they could build tools, cook food, and rise above other creatures.

Zeus and Prometheus’ Trick

• Zeus wanted gratitude for their power.
• He required animal sacrifice at every meal.
• Prometheus divided a bull into two portions and tricked Zeus.
• Zeus chose fat, becoming furious after his discovery

Prometheus Punishment

• Zeus took fire due to trick.
• Prometheus stole divine flame and restored civilization and was then chained to a mountain.
• Eagle sent daily, his liver regenerated overnight due to immorality.
• Torment was eternal.

Pandora’s Box

• Zeus Ordered Hephaestus to create a being to punish humanity
• Hephaestus shaped the first woman from clay.
• Gods granted gifts: beauty/emotions, curiosity, speech, and the name Pandora ("all gifts").
• Gods gave Pandora a forbidden box, telling her never to open it.
• Hermes delivered Pandora to Earth, where she married Epimetheus (Prometheus' brother).
• Pandora, unable to resist opening the box, she unleashed a cloud of evils (greed, envy, old age) into the world, including:
• Disease emerged after the lid quickly shut leaving only hope
• Zeus made sure humanity would endure suffering and that mankind would bear their burdens for all time.

Ages of Man

• The Golden Age of Man existed in peace and abundance.
• Humanity did not grow old and lived off the land freely until with old age escaped Pandora's box.
• Silver Age: Humanity became arrogant and neglected the gods.
• Bronze Age: People became cruel, waging wars.
• Zeus was disgusted by mankind and decided to wipe them out.

The Great Flood

• Zeus ordered Poseidon to unleash a flood and rains poured, winds raged, and all land disappeared.
• Pyrrha and Deucalion were forewarned, built a ship, and survived Poseidon's storm.
• They sailed to the last dry land, Mount Parnassus, Zeus stopped disaster.

Humanitys Rebirth

• Deucalion & Pyrrha asked the gods how to rebuild humanity
• Themis instructed to:
• Walk the land and through stones behind them.
• Deucalion's stones turned into men.
• Pyrrha's stones turned into women.
• Humanity was reborn, ancestors' crimes washed away.

Olympian Gods

• Zeus: King of the Gods Ruler of Mount Olympus and god of sky, lightning, and justice Controlled weather and protected travelers and guests
• Poseidon: God of the Sea Controlled the ocean, earthquakes, and horses Sailors prayed to him for safe passage, known for being revengeful
• Hades: God of the Underworld Oldest of the Olympian brothers, ruling over the realm of the dead Shared throne with Persephone The Underworld was guarded by Charon and Cerberus The Dead were judged and sent to Elysium, Asphodel, or Tartarus
• Hera: Queen of the Gods Goddess of marriage & women, known for Jealousy
• Athena: Goddess of Wisdom & War Daughter of Zeus, born from Zeus' forehead, fully armed Associated with strategy, wisdom, and heroism
• Aphrodite: God of Love & Beauty Beauty used to manipulate gods & mortals Caused the Trogan War to happen
• Artemis: God of the Hunt & Moon Twin sister of Apollo, goddess of wildlife and hunting Fiercely projected her chastity
• Apollo: God of Prophecy, Music & Archery Twin brother of Artemis Associated with prophecy, light, and healing
• Hermes: Messenger of the Gods Theif known for stealing Guided should to Underworld and carried messages for the gods
• Demeter: God of Agriculture Caused famine by no letting Persephone return for 3 years
• Hephaestus: God of the Forge Born blame, became blacksmith of the gods Trapped Aphrodite & Ares in net for affair
• Dionysus: God of Wine & Festivity Associated with drunken revelry Inspired festivals where there was drinking.

Explore Greek and Roman mythology: Apollonian vs. Dionysian themes, festivals, divination, heroes, and the concept of reciprocity between humans and gods. The great flood and survival of humanity are also covered.