英美文化赏析--lecture 6.doc

Lecture 4 Greek and Mythology It refers to a set of diverse tales told by the ancient Greeks about the exploits of gods and heroes and their relations with ordinary mortals. Where is it from? oral-poetic forms primarily from Greek literature Homer’s epics: Iliad and Odyssey Hesiod, Theogony and Works and Days How did it come into being? 7-5 centuries BC. 8c BC, Greeks colonized Italy 3c BC, Romans conquered Greece 1c BC, converged to the point of near identity Contents The beginning of the world Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth) Their children --- the original Titans, a group of mighty beings who rules the world. Cronus became leader of the Titans. Scared of being overthrown, Cronus, ate his children. Rhea pretended to give Cronus a child to eat, but it was really a stone. She took Zeus away and raised him secretly. Zeus grew to be a mature Titan. He challenged Cronus, won, and freed his siblings from Cronus?belly. Zeus and his siblings became the mighty Olympians. The Olympians Zues the god of the heaven and ruler of the Olympian gods lord of the sky, the rain god and the cloud gatherer His weapon is a thunderbolt His bird was the eagle, his tree the oak. Hera Queen of Heaven the supreme goddess, goddess of marriage and childbirth Her sacred animals are the cow and the peacock. The crow and the pomegranate are also dedicated to her. Apollo the son of Zeus and Leto the god of archery the god of light and sun the god of music and poetry the god of truth and prophesy（预言） His tree was the laurel. The crow his bird. The dolphin his animal. Athena The goddess of intelligent activity, arts and war The daughter of Zeus The goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture. The embodiment of wisdom, reason, and purity Her tree is the olive. The owl is her bird. Artemis the goddess of the hunt, animals, childbirth and moon Aphrodite The goddess of love, desire and beauty The protectress of sailors The myrtle（香桃木） is her tree. The dove, the swan, and th