Explore the Fascinating World of Greek Mythology - Winter 2019 Session

1. Welcome to our FLP Mythology class -- Winter Session, 2019 --meeting #2

2. Review: Greek mythology differs from the mythology of earlier cultures because … • the Greeks’ major gods were seen as being human-shaped and having human emotions -- as well as having human-like characters and flaws. • By contrast, the Egyptians and Mesopotamians had many major gods who had animal heads or animal bodies. These gods were not meant to be seen as being like humans, but as something “other” that were supposed to be feared and obeyed by humans. Compare: Meso-potamian Shamash (or Utu): god of the sun, justice, morality, and truth Egyptian Horus: god of the noonday sun, symbol of the crown prince as rightful heir to the throne Greek Apollo: god of the sun, light, knowledge, music, archery, etc.

3. Review 2: Greek mythology differs from the mythology of earlier cultures because … • the Greeks saw the relationship between the gods and humans as being a fairly close relationship, with the gods in sort of a parent role to humans. • In Greek mythology, some of the major gods were said to have actually been a parent of a number of human heroes and nobles -- especially Zeus, sometimes called the “father of the gods.” • By contrast, in earlier cultures, there were not very many instances in which the gods were described as actually being the parents of human nobles or heroes. • In Egyptian culture, the pharaohs were said to have been the direct descendants of the sun god and creator Amun-Ra -- but this was more of a political idea (like, it was an explanation of why the pharaoh was entitled to be treated as a god-king more important than any other person in Egypt, especially in the time period of ancient Egypt’s giant public works projects, like building pyramids). There were no real epic hero stories in Egypt. • The Mesopotamians had a few epic hero stories (and those were mostly about kings -- like Gilgamesh).

4. Review 3: Greek mythology differs from the mythology of earlier cultures because … • the Greeks thought that what the gods most wanted from humans was that they do their very best. • The Greeks thought that human achievements were pleasing to the gods [including works of art, poetry, music, sports, science, philosophy, etc. -- lots of possible areas]. • The Greeks knew they were mortal, but they thought if they really achieved something special during their lives, their honor and fame* might outlive them in the tales people told about their accomplishments or deeds after they were gone. • For example, the Greeks invented the Olympics and other sports games and competitions, as a way to honor the gods by bringing together their best and most capable young men to compete against one another. (Winners got honor and fame.) In Greek, honor and fame was called timé (“tea-may”) and kleos(“clay-oas”). -- Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, crowns an Olympic champion

5. Review 4: Greek mythology differs from the mythology of earlier cultures because … geographical location of the “Pillars of Hercules” • the Greeks were the first ones who really told hero stories. • Hero stories can • provide role models (of worthy deeds) (Some psychologists say that without heroic role models, people wouldn’t rush in to try to save others who are in danger.) • make life more meaningful (showing what’s considered important) • explain things (like if the hero was said to have created something that endures. Example: The hero Hercules was said to have used his great strength to make “the Pillars of Hercules,” twin mountains on either side of the opening of the Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean) • provide guidelines for learning (telling enjoyable tales that made it easier for children to remember major lessons and moral rules) modern statue of “the pillars of Hercules” (located in southern Spain near the Rock of Gibraltar)

6. Review 5: Characteristics of Greek Hero Stories • Greek heroes often had one or more of the following in their stories: • A parent who was a god or goddess (although the hero is mortal) • Something unusual about their birth • A prophecy that was made about them that predicts later problems • Early life experiences that were unusual or challenging • A quest or a task that was very dangerous (e.g., defeating or killing a dangerous monster or finding a valuable lost object) • Marriage to a princess or other rewards for their accomplishments • Problems adjusting to ordinary life after their adventures were over (often leading to a not-so-happy ending for the hero)

7. How does Perseus fit the hero-story guidelines so far?

8. Perseus’s adventures up to this point • Perseus found out that Medusa would be hard to kill. (1) She’s the only one of the Gorgon sisters who can be killed. (2) All three sisters have snakes for hair, thick snake-scale skin (like armor), brass claws (sharp as knives), big wings (so they can fly), and acid-like blood -- and (3) anyone who looks at them directly turns to stone. The point: Even if Perseus could manage to kill Medusa, her sisters would then get him. • After he had unsuccessfully tried to find information on his own, Perseus was visited by Athena and Hermes, who brought him magic items to help him: • Hermes loaned Perseus his winged sandals -- so that Perseus could fly. • Zeus loaned Perseus a weapon (a special sickle or a special sword that can cut through Medusa’s scales}. • Athena loaned him her shield (so Perseus could use it as a mirror and not look directly at the Gorgons -- because if he did, he’d be turned to stone). • Hades loaned Perseus his helmet (or Cap of Invisibility, which would allow Perseus not to be seen). Athena and Hermes appear to Perseus Athena shows Perseus how to look in her shield as a mirror

9. Perseus’s tale to this point (2): • Perseus flew off to see the Graeae (three old cannibal witches who share one eye between them), who reluctantly told him to go see the Nymphs of the North (after he blackmailed the old hags by taking their eye and threatening not to give it back). • The Nymphs of the North gave Perseus some more useful stuff: • a magic “wallet” or bag that couldn’t be damaged by Medusa’s corrosive blood • armor (to protect himself against Medusa’s acid blood -- in some versions) • The Nymphs of the North also told Perseus where to find the Gorgon sisters (on an island in the Mediterranean, not too far from the north African coast). Perseus now had all the equipment he needed, and he knew how he planned to use it. He also knew where the Gorgons were located -- so he flew off and prepared to attack Medusa. the Graeae the Nymphs of the North

10. Perseus -- Slaying Medusa • Ready to find and attack Medusa, Perseus flew off over the Mediterranean, looking for the island that the Nymphs of the North had described to him as being where the Gorgon sisters were located. • He finally spotted the island – recognizing it because of stone statues that used to be warriors who had attempted to kill Medusa -- and failed. • But Perseus wasn’t daunted. • Using Athena’s shield as a mirror, Perseus looked over the little island, until he finally spotted the youngest Gorgon, Medusa. She was asleep, and her two sisters were sleeping nearby -- all three of them looking like big lizards, enjoying a nap in the sun. • Carefully and quietly, Perseus prepared for his attack.

11. Perseus -- Slaying Medusa (2) • Perseus put on his Cap of Invisibility and got out his weapon (sword or sickle), while balancing Athena’s shield on his other arm at an angle (which let him keep an eye on the reflection of Medusa as he quietly flew in to make his landing on the island). • Perseus handled the landing perfectly, setting down silently right beside Medusa. • He quickly grabbed her snaky hair. • Then he used his weapon to cut off her head in one mighty sweep. • Medusa didn’t even have time to call out to wake up her sisters.

12. Perseus -- Slaying Medusa (3) • Carefully not looking at Medusa’s head, Perseus quickly stashed it in his magic bag (which was tied onto to his belt), preparing to fly off. • Just then, Medusa’s headless body hit the ground, spurting great showers of blood. [In some versions of the story, when Medusa’s body hit the ground, Pegasus -- the winged horse -- was said to have sprung forth from the blood. In some versions, Perseus caught up with the flying horse and thereafter he rode it instead of using Hermes’ sandals to fly.)

13. Perseus -- Slaying Medusa (4) • As Perseus launched himself into the air and started to fly away, the other two Gorgons woke up and saw the body of their headless sister. • They instantly flew up into the air and began screeching and slashing in every direction with their horrible sharp brass claws, hoping to hit the attacker before he escaped very far. • Fortunately for Perseus, he had reacted very quickly and was already far enough into the air off the island that the two Gorgons didn’t find him. • He was glad he had his Cap of Invisibility on, because this kept the other two Gorgon sisters from being able to see him and get their intended revenge.

14. Perseus -- Slaying Medusa (4) • Perseus had just barely managed to avoid the Gorgon sisters’ reach (and, of course, he knew better than to look back to see how close they were to him -- because then he would have turned to stone). • He kept his head – and he kept Medusa’s, as his trophy – and he flew off without a scratch.

15. Perseus -- An Unexpected Development • Perseus began the journey of flying home, crossing over the Mediterranean Sea, somewhat close to the shore of North Africa. • Then he saw something that surprised him -- a beautiful maiden chained to a rock. • Looking around, he saw a huge sea serpent swimming underneath the water toward that rock. • “What could be going on here?” Perseus thought. Perseus spots a girl chained to a seaside rock -- with a sea monster closing in on her Alternate version -- Perseus is riding Pegasus

16. Perseus -- An Unexpected Development (2) • The girl Perseus saw was Princess Andromeda. the daughter of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, and Cassiopeia, his queen. • Queen Cassiopeia had always been very proud of her daughter’s beauty, and one day she went too far, bragging that her daughter was much more beautiful than any of the Nereids. Queen Cassiopeia, King Cephus, and their daughter Andromeda (scene from the 2010 movie, “Clash of the Titans”

17. Perseus -- An Unexpected Development (3) • Who were the Nereids? They were sea-nymphs who were demi-goddesses of the sea, the 50 daughters of the minor sea god Nereus, who was one of the various sea gods who were said to make up the undersea court of Poseidon, god of the sea. • The issue here wasn’t whether or not Queen Cassiopeia’s boast was at all accurate, it was that she had boasted rudely and vainly in a manner than was an insult to the gods. This was a major no-no, in the culture of the Greeks.* * The Greeks believed that the one major “sin” that the gods would not allow humans to commit was the sin of hubris, meaning “excessive or overweening pride.” And that’s just what Cassiopeia did! Nereus and his daughters, the Nereids

18. Perseus -- An Unexpected Development (2) Perseus rescues Andromeda from the sea monster • The punishment that the gods decreed for Cassiopeia’s hubris was that her daughter Andromeda was to be sacrificed. She was ordered to be chained up to a rock (naked) and to be devoured by a sea monster -- or else the whole kingdom would be destroyed (like by an earthquake and tidal wave).* • And that’s what Perseus saw just as it was about to happen. • Perseus quickly landed, warned the girl -- who was lovely, he noticed, even when she was terrified -- to turn her head and not to look. • Then he whipped Medusa’s head out of his magic bag and aimed it at the sea monster -- which promptly turned to stone. -------------------------------------------------------------- * Ethical Issue: Yes, the queen committed the sin and her daughter -- who didn’t personally do anything wrong -- was ordered to pay the price! The Greeks thought that children were the property of the parents (especially girls) -- so ordering the sacrifice of Andromeda was, in their view, like charging her parents an especially painful “fine.”

19. Perseus -- Marries the Princess • Everyone was overjoyed that Perseus had saved Andromeda from being eaten by the sea monster.* • Perseus and Andromeda got married, and they stayed at the court of her parents for a while. • Finally, Perseus and Andromeda decided they were ready to head back to the island of Seriphos to take care of unfinished business. ---------------------------------------------------- * Ethical Question (2): About Andromeda’s “sacrifice”: In the end, she really wasn’t killed by the sea serpent, was she? So the Greeks would probably say that the gods knew all along that they didn’t plan to have her actually killed, they just wanted to teach the vain Queen Cassiopeia a lesson by making her obey the gods and give up the one thing on earth she loved most, her daughter. Andromeda also bravely obeyed the gods’ decree, and she got a heroic husband as her reward. [Some say the proof of the gods’ intent was the requirement that she be “naked” -- helping to ensure that Perseus would be sure to see and save her in time.] Perseus saves Andromeda (Roman mosaic from Pompeii) Perseus and Andromeda get married (from the 1981 movie, “Clash of the Titans”)

20. Perseus -- Dealing with Polydectes • Once back on Seriphos, they found that Perseus’s mother, Danaë, had barricaded herself into a temple to try to escape the clutches of the king, Polydectes, who was still determined to force her to marry him. • Perseus left his bride Andromeda with his mother at the temple and headed straight over to Polydectes’ palace, where he found the king having a three-wine-bottle lunch with his corrupt palace buddies. • Polydectes saw Perseus come in and said, “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t supposed to come back here without the head of Medusa.” • So, of course, Perseus whipped out the head of Medusa and showed them. The corrupt king and his courtiers promptly turned to stone. (No more problem with Polydectes or his henchmen after that!) Perseus gives Polydectes and his corrupt courtiers a look at Medusa’s head

21. Athena’s aegis shield, with the head of the Medusa on it Perseus -- Afterwards • Perseus gave the gods back the gifts they had loaned him. • He made many offerings of thanks to the gods (i.e., thereby showing proper respect to the gods). • Perseus gave the Medusa’s head to Athena. (It was much too dangerous to keep around.) Athena put the head of the Gorgon Medusa on her once-plain shield. [In some versions, the shield of Athena with the head of the Gorgon Medusa on it was thereafter called the aegis. It was said that when Athena held up her aegis shield during a battle that warriors panicked and ran away or that they went crazy from fear. In other versions, Athena was shown wearing the face of the Gorgon on the front of her cloak.] Athena wearing a cloak with a Gorgon head image on it

22. Perseus -- Afterwards (2) • After that, Perseus made his old foster father Dictys, the fisherman, king of the island, to thank him for his kindness and generosity during all those years when he was growing up. (It some versions, it was discovered that Dictys was actually the brother of that nasty Polydectes, but that he had not wanted to live as a royal in a corrupt court and had renounced his nobility. He preferred to make a humble living as an honest fisherman.) The people of the island were delighted to be rid of Polydectes and have the kind and honest Dictys as their king. • Danaë, Perseus, and Andromeda then decided to go back to Argos to try to make peace with Danaë’s father, Acrisius. Dictys becomes king of Seriphos

23. Perseus -- Aftermath (3) • Weather drove their ship off course and they landed at Larissa in Thessaly. • There, they found that funeral games were taking place – and Perseus, being an honored guest, was invited to take part. • Perseus entered in the throwing-of-the-discus competition, but a gust of wind blew his discus off course and into the crowd. • Perseus’s off-course discus hit the head of an old man – who turned out to be King Acrisius. (He had come to Larissa incognito (i.e., in disguise) and he ended up being in the right place at the right time for the long-ago prophecy to be fulfilled, and he was, in fact, slain by his grandson. ) • So the old prophecy had come true after all, no matter how Acrisius tried to avoid it -- but Perseus’s killing of his grandfather was the result of an accident, not any actual intent. The death of King Acrisius

24. Perseus -- Aftermath (4) • After the death of Acrisius, his former kingdom of Argos offered the throne to Perseus, who declined. (He felt himself unworthy of the throne, since he had caused his grandfather's death -- even if it was by accident.) • So Perseus traded the kingdom of Argos to Megapenthes, his cousin, in exchange for Megapenthes' kingdom of Tiryns. • Perseus and his wife Andromeda then happily settled in to the palace at Tiryns, where Perseus served the people as a good king. The royal couple eventually became the parents of seven sons and one daughter. • Descendants of Perseus were said to have ruled Mycenae, the most powerful town of the Peloponnesian Peninsula in ancient times. • Another great Greek hero, Heracles, was said to have been a descendant of Perseus, and Perseus’s son Perses is said to have traveled widely in Asia, where he became the ancestor of a new race, the Persians. Perseus and Andromeda lived happily ever after • Historical Note: The name Persia is a Greek name. It’s not the name the ancient Persians called their country, which was Iran. (Iran became the official national name in 1935, but in 1959, the Iranian government said either name could be used.)

25. Perseus -- In the Stars The ancient Greeks named many of the constellations of stars in the night sky after characters in their stories. [Mostly the Greek astronomer Ptolemy named these, around 150 AD.] Perseus’s tale was one of the oldest Greek hero stories, and characters from his story were well represented in the stars.

26. Mythology in the Sky If you need another reason to study Classical mythology, here’s one: Most of the 88 most common star constellations are named after characters in Greek mythology, and the planets in our solar system are named after the Roman names for the gods. So when you study Classical mythology, you know who all those characters are! “Meteor showers” occur when the Earth travels through streams of debris left behind by comets and asteroids. For example, every summer, there’s a “Perseid meteor shower,” when Earth passes through a debris field that -- from the viewpoint of people on Earth -- looks like the shooting stars (meteors) are bursting out of the constellation of Perseus. Watch for it this next summer (maximum numbers of meteors expected around August 13th, 2019).

27. Summary of the tale of Perseus • In many ways Perseus was a “typical” Greek hero: • Son of Zeus and a human princess, Danaë • Born in unusual circumstances (shower of gold) • Affected by a prophecy made about him before he was born • Had an early challenge when his grandfather, King Acrisius, tried to drown him and his mother • Took on a dangerous quest -- to kill the Medusa -- and accomplished it • Had a second adventure when he rescued a princess -- Andromeda -- and married her • Would you call accidentally killing his grandfather (and fulfilling the prophecy) a less-than-happy ending? • Perseus was, in many ways, one of the happiest of Greek heroes. (Maybe it was an advantage that he grew up simply on the seashore and not in a palace surrounded by wealth, courtiers, and servants?)

28. Our next story: Jason and the Argonauts -- The Quest for the Golden Fleece • Athamas was the king of Orchomenus -- a city-state in the Boeotia region of Greece. • Athamas was married to a nymph (a demi-goddess of nature) named Nephele (which means “cloud”). • Athamas and Nephele had twins – a son, Phrixus, and a daughter, Helle (pronounced “hel-luh”). • Then Athamas fell in love with another woman, named Ino, and he announced to Nephele that he wanted a divorce.

29. The Golden Fleece • The nymph Nephele was angry about this, and she promptly left and went back to her nature home (in the mountains).* • As was the Greek custom, the two children – Phrixus and Helle -- stayed with their father. • Then Athamas married Ino, and they soon had a son of their own. • Here’s where the trouble started, becauseIno wanted Nephele’s son, Phrixus, out of the way so that her own son would one day inherit the throne. *ANCIENT GREEK DIVORCE:In ancient Greece, both husband and wife had the right to ask for a divorce. The husband just had to send his wife back to her father to end the marriage. For the wife to obtain a divorce, she had to appear before the archon (or magistrate) to request a legal ruling that her marriage was over. Single biggest deterrent: If there was a divorce, the husband was required to pay back all of his wife's dowry (defined as “property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage”). This would ensure that the cast-off wife had money or property to provide for her in old age. Any children automatically belonged to the husband -- because in ancient Greece, only he would be able to provide for their future career (or trade) or position (i.e., a noble title for a son) or suitable marriage (i.e., a dowry for a daughter).

30. The Golden Fleece (2) • Ino hatched a devious plot to get rid of the twins: • She pretended to be a good stepmother, kind and patient with her step-children (so no one would suspect her of plotting against them). • During the winter months, a bit at a time, • Ino secretly roasted all the crop seeds • (which were stored in large jars in the • store rooms of the palace). [Ino had to roast • them lightly, because she didn’t want their color to • change and tip people off that they’d been toasted.] • In spring, when the farmers of the region • planted the seed, they were horrified to find • that none of the seed sprouted. Not one! • Frightened that there would be a terrible • famine, the farmers demanded that the king • send for advice from the gods from the • oracle of Apollo at Delphi. A modern Greek archeological dig, showing palace storage rooms with typical Greek clay pithoi, or storage jars -- about 4 ft. high and weighing about 400 lbs. when empty (usually sealed with a cork-and-beeswax lid)

31. The Golden Fleece (3) • Ino bribed the messenger coming back from Delphi so that he secretly met her outside of town and gave her the written message he brought from the oracle. • Ino then switched the written message from the oracle* for a false one -- a message saying that Phrixus and Helle were to be sacrificed in order to appease the gods, who were said to be angry with the king. • When King Athamas, got the message -- which he thought was from the oracle (but was really Ino’s false one) -- he reluctantly agreed to sacrifice his first-born children so the people of his city-state wouldn’t starve. • Phrixus and Helle were locked up in a tower until they were to be sacrificed. An ancient Greek tower * … because what do you think the real message from the oracle said? “Ino baked the seeds!”

32. The Golden Fleece (4) • However, before Phrixus and Helle could be sacrificed, they were rescued by a flying golden ram that flew up to the window of the tower they were being held in. • The two young people climbed out of the tower window and onto the back of the ram, and they held onto its thick, golden fleece. • Then they escaped and flew away on the back of the golden ram. Ethical Issues: In some versions, it was the gods who sent the ram with the golden fleece – because they couldn’t stand the idea that these innocent young people would be killed by their wicked stepmother and the people would think that it was the gods who had demanded their deaths. [That was rare. There’s only one instance I know of in Greek mythology in which a young person was sacrificed by order of one of the gods.] In other versions, the ram was sent to save the children by their birth mother, the cloud nymph Nephele. [It flies, right? So a maybe a cloud nymph enchanted it to go save her kids?] Phrixus and Helle escape before they can be sacrificed

33. The Golden Fleece (5) • During the flight, as they passed over a narrow part of the sea, Helle became afraid of the height at which they were flying. • She panicked and fell off the flying ram into the sea -- and she drowned. sdfa Phrixus and Helle escape on the flying ram The narrow waterway into which Helle was said to have fallen was called the Hellespont (or “sea of Helle”) by the Greeks. It marks the division between Europe and Asia. Today it’s called the strait of the Dardanelles. Helle falls off the flying ram

34. The Golden Fleece (6) • Phrixus could not rescue his sister. He sadly flew on alone. • Phrixus finally reached the land of Colchis. • Aeëtes, king of Colchis, took Phrixus in and treated him kindly. [pronounced “ay-ee-tees”] Ancient Colchis shown on a modern map. It’s located in the modern-day state of Georgia, one of the former Soviet Russian states, located on the eastern shore of the Black Sea.

35. The Golden Fleece (7) • When Phrixus was older, King Aeëtes gave Phrixus his daughter, Chalciope, in marriage. • In gratitude, Phrixus sacrificed the magical ram to Zeus and gave King Aeëtes its golden fleece, which Aeëtes hung in a tree in the holy grove of Ares in his kingdom, guarded by a dragon that never slept. Historical Note: This is an interesting instance where the myths match some aspects of actual historical circumstances. There actually was a real kingdom of Colchis, exactly where the myth said it was, and it was famous for being a place that had lots of gold. Historians think that means the ancient Greeks sailed and traded there.

36. To be continued … • We’ll finish our story of Jason and the Quest for the Golden Fleece next time!