Greek Creation Myth AB-Block: Maddy Werth, Amy Singer, Pamela

Weidman, Jaime Craven, David Silbert, Jennie Segal

http://www.proteusinstitute.com/attachments/Image/creation_myth_pictures/COSMIC_EGG_CRACKS.jpeg

Summary• Life rose out of a single egg (laid by

the great black bird Nyx); first came Eros, the god of love.

• Eros made the Earth (Gaia) and the sky (Uranus) fall in love.

• They had children, including Kronus. He feared that his children would become too powerful.

• Rhea tricked him and allowed their son Zeus to survive, and he became ruler.

• Prometheus and Epimetheus formed men and animals.

• Prometheus gave man fire.

• Zeus punished mankind by giving Pandora a box she was forbidden to open.

• Pandora opened the box, releasing evil and hope.

http://www.theoi.com/image/img_kronos.jpg

The Nature and Function of Gods

• Obsessed with power: Kronus is threatened by his children, so he consumes them; Zeus is threatened by mankind having fire, so he limits them with the curses of evil. They all want complete power, so they vanquish whatever gets in their way.o Gods' rule was flawed,

sometimes dangerous. Greeks had democracy, not autocracy (which they saw as problematic)

• Vengeful and flawed• Very powerful beings that control

various aspects of the world.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/12/123967/2391284-zeus.jpg

Humans' Relationship to the Gods

• Events directly beneficial to humans: value placed more in human powers (fire, hope, etc.) and resourcefulness than in divine powers

• Divine intervention often disastrous for the humans (Pandora's box)

• Greeks seemed mostly to acknowledge the gods' superiority of strength.o Gods had similar flaws as

humans.

http://lpsmythologywiki.wikispaces.com/file/view/pandoras-box.jpg/271079416/pandoras-box.jpg

"When Zeus discovered Prometheus' deed he became furious...Then he began to devise a punishment for mankind."

The Origin and Nature of Control and Power

• Power restrained out of fear/to dominate (Kronus swallows children, Zeus forbids fire)

• Power taken forcefully as reactiono Zeus' ruse => saves siblings o Younger generation overthrows older

generation• Power = a temptation• Zeus becomes all-powerful god

o Related to and commands the other Greek gods (Poseidon, Hera, Athena)

o However, still shows (flawed) human traits• Ancient Greeks afraid of the temptation of

power and dominanceo Respect and worship the godshttp://www.theoi.com/image/img_prometheus.jpg

"[Zeus] ordered [Prometheus] to be chained to a mountain and for a vulture to peck out his liver every day till eternity."

Importance of Family• God of love (Eros), Gaia, and

Uranus come from a golden eggo love is important

• The importance/love of family is easily overshadowed by :o Greed and fear of betrayal

Kronus:

• Harsh punishment

• Ate his childrenhttp://cf.ltkcdn.net/genealogy/images/std/9752-424x283-Cupidistock.JPG

Relationship of the SexesMale deities act as rulers, while females are life-givers: Nyx

laid the egg of existence, Kronus ate his children but Rhea saved the youngest one, Zeus currently rules the cosmos

"Once the child, Zeus, had reached manhood, his mother instructed him on how to trick his father to give up his brothers and sisters."

https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT5XYBk1rVZFryzZFNHbUINvwKbgPnatoDZFvqJHJ9sKdkUPIZI2g

https://pebworthsummerball.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/nyx.jpg

What It Means to Be Human

• Humanity shapes itself by its own actions (gods and humans both responsible)

• Evils released from box because of Pandora's human weakness (curiosity, greed), and because of Prometheus' brash gift of fire

• Human hope is greatest strength to fight against world's problems and results of human weakness

• Good and bad coexist: both things were in boxo True for humanity and the gods

http://blakeallusions.wikispaces.com/file/view/pandora.jpg/173582901/pandora.jpg

"'Let me out, I am hope.'Pandora and Epimetheus released her and she flew out into the world to give hope to humankind."

Franz Liszt

"Prometheus""

Two Steps From Hell

"The Truth Unravels"

Power is easily stolen; both humankind and the gods are fallible, and that will always lead to conflict.

Prometheus' gift to humanity caused great unrest; it allowed the humans to act using their own skills. In this piece, Prometheus transcends his punishment with hope.

Further Significance

• If the Greek gods have the same flaws as humans do, why are they worshipped? What do the Greeks gain from having anthropomorphic, fallible deities? What do they lose?

• (Pandora myth) To what extent are humans responsible for the evils in the world? To what extent are these things out of humans' control?