The Early Poetic Tradition of Greece
The Birth of Greek Mythology
- Greek Religion:
- Indo-European Roots - Father Sky vs. Mother Earth
- Near-Eastern Roots:
- Polytheism
- Anthropomorphism
- War in Heaven
- Piety: The Commerce between Gods and Humans -
- Sacrifical - Animals and Agricultural Products
- Reciprocal - Feeding the Gods
- Social:
- Communal Meals
- Local Patronage
- Corporate Guilt
- Divination (Oracles and Prophecy)
- The Two Great Poets:
- Homer on the Gods (c. 750 BCE)
- The Iliad
- The Odyssey
- Hesiod on the Gods (c. 700 BCE)
- Theogeny
- Works and Days
- The Main Deities:
- The First Generation -
- Gaia (Earth)
- Uranus (Sky)
- The Second Generation (Titans) -
- Cronus (Time)
- Rhea ("burdonless"?)
- The Third Generation - The Twelve Olympians
- Zeus (King of the gods, thunder, lightning)
- Hera (Wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage and maternity)
- Poseidon (God of sea and horses)
- Demeter (Goddess of agriculture)
- The Fourth Generation -
- Athena (Goddess of war)
- Ares (God of war)
- Aphrodite (Goddess of love and beauty)
- Hephaistos (God of fire and metallurgy)
- Dionysos (God of wine)
- Apollo (God of youth, music, and light)
- Artemis (Goddess of the hunt, protector of children)
- Hermes (Messenger of the gods, god of fertility)
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