LLT 121                                             Myth Notes:  the Olympians                              (Powell Chh. 6-9)
 
Chh. 6-8 the First Generation  (Zeus, brethren and offspring)
                                                             
                                         Father Zeus = Jupiter
                                                             Indo-European Sky God (honored on 'Tuesday')
                                                                                 shrines at Olympia and Dodona
                                                             emblems: eagle, aegis,  and thunderbolt
                                                             sacred xenia  and kingship
                                                             Zeus the Seducer 
                                                                                 and abusive husband (Iliad 14.314 ff. & 15.113ff.)
                                                                                 Brides and lovers of Zeus: name 4 other than Hera
                                                                                 with offspring (family trees, pp. 136/142)
 
                                         Hera = Juno
                                                             Earth Mother at Argos
                                                             guardian of marriage
                                                             children, by Zeus (?): name 3
 
The Gods on Mt. Olympus
                    Anthropomorphism: human traits and family squabbles
 
                                         Poseidon = Neptune
                                                             Sea-god, 'Earth-shaker'  (or "earth-husband"--posi-da-on  ?)
                                                                                 Attic shrine at Sounion
                                                                                 stallions and bulls; sea-creatures and trident
                                                                                                      sired Arion by Demeter
                                                                                 Wed to Nereid Amphitrite, fathered Triton
                                                                                 by Medusa sired Pegasus
 
                                         Hades = Pluto (Dis)
                                                             "Unseen" Lord of the dead, husband of Persephone  (more in Chh. 10 & 12)
 
[Ch. 7]
 
Children of Zeus 
                                         by  Oceanid Leto:  Apollo  and Artemis  
 
                                                             Apollo's  epithets and attributes: Phoebus, Far-striker
                                                                                 prophecy; archer of plague and purification
                                                                                 centers: Delos and Delphi (at Mt. Parnassus)
                                                                                 master of lyre and song: 'leader of the Muses'
                                                                                                      challenge of Marsyas
                                                                                 conquest of Pytho
                                                                                                      taboo of miasma
                                                                                 oracle at Delphi
                                                                                                      priestess Pythia
                                                                                                      'Know Yourself'
                                                                                 Lovers (and losses)
                                                                                                      Cassandra and Sibyl
                                                                                                      Daphne
                                                                                                      Hyacinth
                                                                                                      Coronis, gave firey birth to Asclepius
 
[Ch. 8 in 7th edn]           By Atlantid Maia, Hermes  = Mercury  --note the herm , p. 181
                                                                                 Messenger, guardian of travelers, tricksters and thieves
                                                                                                      'guide of souls' psychopompos
                                                                                                      'slayer of Argus'
                                                             child of Maia (daughter of Atlas)
                                                                                                      Homeric Hymn to Hermes   tells of child prodigy
                                                                                                                          tortoise and lyre
                                                                                                                          cattle rustling
                                                                                                                          baby barrister at family trial before Zeus
                                                                                                                                              settlement with Apollo
                                                             Image of Hermes: Praxiteles’ statue; Mutilation of the Herms 
                                                                                                                          and Mockery of the Mysteries (415 BC)
 
                                                                                 child of Hermes (?) is Pan , the goatherd (goat-footed and goat-faced)
                                                                                                      pursuer of Syrinx and Echo.
 
 
                    Children of Hera
 
                                                             Hephaestus  = Vulcan
                                                                                 lame god of fire, metal-working and manly crafts             
                                                                                                      (in this, the rival of Prometheus)
                                                                                 twice cast down from Olympus
                                                                                 ill-matched husband of Aphrodite
 
                                                             Ares   =  Mars
                                                                                 God of War
                                                                                                      Father of Phobos, Harmonia, and the other Eros, Cupid
                                                                                 Affair with Aphrodite, caught in the act by Hephaestus!
                                                                                                      Uncle Poseidon promises payment
 
                    
                    
 
Ch. 9.          The Great Goddesses
 
Demeter = Ceres
                                                             Grain Mother at Eleusis 
                                                             mother, by Zeus, of Persephone = Proserpina; more in Ch. 10
 
Hestia = Vesta:  stay-at-home hearth tender
 
Aphrodite = Venus  [Note, p. 209 : Botticelli's 'Birth']
                                                             child of Uranus,  'born from the foam'
                                                                                 or of Zeus by Dione
                                                             Sumerian Inanna,  Babylonian  Ishtar
                                                             cult-centers: Cythera, Cyprus, and Corinth
                                                                                 temple prostitution
                                                             odd offspring: Hermaphroditus and Priapus
                                                             Pygmalion  and Adonis
                                                             Anchises, father of Aeneas (by Venus)
 
Artemis  = Diana
                                                                                 'lady of the beasts' (potnia theron)
                                                                                 ancient mother protector of young
                                                                                                      became virgin huntress
                                                                                 Cult centers at Ephesus (in Asia Minor; p. 208)
                                                                                                      Brauron in Attica
                                                                                                      Troezen near Attica 
                                                                                                                          where she was worshipped by Hippolytus
                                                                                 adversaries (and admirers):
                                                                                                      Niobe                                                   Orion 
                                                                                                      Actaeon                                              [Callisto]
                                                                                                      
     *                                      *                                      *
 
 
Athena =  Minerva
                                                                                 Virgin goddess of warfare (strategy), weaving and (women's) crafts
                                                                                 Child of Metis, born (remember) from the brow of Zeus
                                                                                 epithets and attributes: 
                                                                                                      Parthenos and Pallas
                                                                                                      Glaukopis (Owl-eyed?)
                                                                                                      aegis   and armor
                                                                                 protector of heroes (esp. Heracles)
                                                                                 Great Festival, Panathenaea
                                                                                                      honored with woven peplos
                                                                                                      challenged at weaving by Arachne