Myths to be given to the students to discuss in their
groups.
by Elizabeth Stephens
Group A
Athena:
Zeus developed a huge headache. He howled so loudly it could be heard
throughout the earth. The other gods came to see what the problem was.
Hermes realized what needed to be done and told Hephaestus to take a wedge
and split open Zeus's skull. Out of the skull sprang Athena, full grown
and in a full set of armor. Due to her manor of birth she has dominion
over all things of the intellect.
Dionysus:
Dionysus is the son of Zeus and Semele. He is the only god to have a mortal
parent. Zeus came to Semele in the night, invisible, felt only as a divine
presence. Semele was pleased to be a lover of a god, even though she did
not know which one. Word soon got around and Hera quickly assumed who
was responsible. Hera went to Semele in disguise and convinced her she
should see her lover as he really was. When Zeus next came to her she
made him promise to grant her one wish. She went so far as to make him
swear on the River Styx that he would grant her request. Zeus was madly
in love and agreed. She then asked him to show her his true form. Zeus,
was unhappy, and knew what would happen but, having sworn he had no choice.
He appeared in his true form and Semele was instantly burnt to a crisp
at the sight of his glory. Zeus did manage to rescue Dionysus and stitched
him into his thigh to hold him until he was ready to be born. His birth
from Zeus alone conferred immortality upon him.
Aphrodite:
Once Upon a Time, long before Zeus and the Olympians came to power, an
older, more primitive set of gods ruled the world. There was Gaia, the
earth, and her husband Ouranos, god of the Sky. Gaia and Ouranos had many
sons and daughters, all of whom Ouranos was jealous and suspicious. Tyrant
that he was, Ouranos feared that his children would eventually grow in
strength and power until the day came that they would overthrow him. To
prevent this from happening, Ouranos prohibited Gaia to give birth to
the children she was pregnant with. As time went on, Gaia grew bloated
and groaned with the discomfort of her swollen belly. Longing to give
birth, and eager to avenge her husband's constant rapes, she conspired
with her unborn children to overpower their father. Only Cronos was willing
to do so. Gaia armed him with sharp sickle, while he was still within
her womb, and as Ouranos was with Gaia, Cronos reached toward him with
the sickle and castrated him. Ouranos roared in pain, as his severed genitals
were cast high in the air and eventually landed far away in the sea. In
one fell swoop, Cronos rid himself and the world of his father, and ordered
Gaia to release his brothers and sisters. Well, returning to the unsavory
image of Cronos' severed genitals floating in the sea, we find that a
strange thing is happening. A soft foam surrounds Ouranos' discarded flesh,
and the gentle sea breeze breaths life into it. Soon a young woman forms,
Aphrodite, who is more beautiful and heavenly than any other goddess to
date. She is attended by two sets of goddesses: the Graces, who imbue
her with beauty and life, and the Hours, who bring her to womanhood as
she travels across the ocean.
Erichthonius:
Some have said that Hephaestus, who is akin to Athena because he also
protects the crafts, attempted to rape this virgin goddess and that when
she was escaping him he dropped his seed on Athena's leg whereupon she,
in disgust, wiped off the seed with wool and threw it on the ground. And
from the seed which fell on the ground as the goddess fled, Erichthonius,
whose body's lower part was snake formed, was produced.
http://www.mythweb.com
http://www.greekmythology.com
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu
We welcome your comments
and suggestions
The Center for Renaissance & Baroque Studies
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The University of Maryland
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Last updated August 1, 2002.