The Greeks: An Overview

The Ancient Greeks gave us many of building blocks of our culture, language,  philosophy, and politics but don't take my word for it watch this video.

 http://video.answers.com/the-history-of-ancient-greece-171010899

Lesson 1. Greek Creation Mythology

  Although when we think of mythology we think of a collection of stories, there is a

beginning to them. Understanding the beginning of the story, the creation of the world,

gives us a framework to build upon as we learn about the different myths.

The short answer to how the Greeks viewed the creation of the world is this:

Scary old gods came first; they got stomped down by their kids, who were better looking,

younger gods. These gods created humans. Humans and gods fought for supremacy, and

the humans won a few rounds but eventually got trounced and became more and more

miserable.

Now, the longer answer:  In the beginning, the universe was without form. It was not

 

nothing; there was matter, but it was unorganized, shapeless, mixed up and dark. This was

 

called Chaos.

After Chaos, more divinities, or gods, came into being.

Gaia, the Earth, held up Uranus, the sky.

Gaia and Uranus had a bunch of kids.

First they had a bunch of monsters including the Cyclops, and then they created the Titans as the second generation.

Uranus hated all the Titans and was actually quite ugly about it – but there are only a couple of Titans that you need to remember: first, Oceanus, the god of the sea, and then Cronus, the strongest and best one of all.

Gaia was pretty ticked at Uranus for being a jerk, so she helped Cronus overthrow him. So, let’s keep this straight. Cronus is Uranus’s son. Cronus became the king (bye-bye Uranus), and married his sister, Rhea – another Titan. It’s like a soap opera. This was called the Golden Age because men, who had been made by a Titan named Prometheus, were living in harmony. Everything was hunky dory.

It didn’t last, though, because Cronus heard a prophecy that one of his sons would

dethrone him, so every time his wife, Rhea, had a baby, he swallowed it. Rhea got a little

sick of seeing all of her children swallowed alive, so she tricked Cronus when her sixth

child, Zeus, was born; she wrapped up a rock to look like a baby and had Cronus swallow

that instead. Zeus rescued his previously swallowed siblings, and all was right with the

world.

World View

 

 

The Greek view of the world was a little different than ours. The Greeks believed that the

world was flat, but circular, like a paper plate.  At the center of the Universe was Greece.

Their world was divided by the Mediterranean, which means "Middle of the Lands” in Latin.

The river Ocean flowed around the world in a clockwise motion.  In the north lived the

 

Hyperboreans – an extremely happy people for whom life was sweet. When the old people

 

became tired of living, they threw themselves into the sea. This was a land of constant

 

vacation where people were said to live for 1,000 years.

In the south lived the Ethiopians. In Greek drama, mention is often made of various gods

being in Ethiopia, meaning really far away. So, if I say I parked in Ethiopia this morning,

would that mean I’m close to my office or far away? The Ethiopians were said to be on

good terms with the gods and liked to entertain them.

To the west were the Elysian Fields. This was the closest the Greeks got to the idea of

heaven; only the best and brightest of the dead people got to go there.

Greek Mythology-1.3

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To Do

1. Read either

The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus by Aliki.

Mythology by  Lady Hestia Evans. pg1 and 2.

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths pg 9-15.

2. Draw your own representation of the Greek view of the world on the paper plate using

colored pencils and the map on the previous page as a guideline. Be sure to include

the Ethiopians, the Hyperboreans, and the Elysian Fields on your map.

3. Write a one-paragraph essay comparing the Greek view of the world to the

contemporary view of it, including at least two points of comparison and two of contrast.

You can follow the guideline below.

Directions for Paragraph

Begin with a topic sentence. Here is an example:

The Greek view of the world both resembles and differs from the contemporary view.

Next, list two ways the views are similar. Here are examples:

•

The Greek view resembles the contemporary view in that _________________.

•

Additionally, the views are similar because____________________________.

Next, list two ways the views are different. Here are examples:

•

However, the Greek view is not the same as the contemporary view because the

Greeks believed _______________________________________________.

•

The Greeks also thought _________________________________________.

Last, you will state a conclusion. Here’s an example:

Therefore, even though the views have similarities, they differ in important ways.


Here is a cheat sheet reference guide.