Achilles Greek Mythology
Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Agamemnon Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Commentary: The theme of a character becoming obsessed with their career is common. Agamemnon becomes blind to his family life because he becomes so wrapped up in war. In recent works this will not always be so extreme, but it often leads to divorces, endings of friendships, or struggles in personal lives. This is explored in more stories in the "Iliad."
Antigone Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Cupid and Psyche Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Daedalus and Icarus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Echo and Narcissus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Eurydice and Orpheus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Hector Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Hercules Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Jason and the Golden Fleece Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Odysseus and the Trojan Horse Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Oedipus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton’s “Mythology”
Persephone Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Perseus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
Prometheus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
River Styx Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
The Gods of Olympus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology”
Theseus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Achilles is the son of Thetis and Peleus and is a
Greek hero of the Trojan War.
- Fought in the Trojan War beginning to fight with
the Greeks. During the war Achilles' mother came to him saying that he should
stop fighting with the Greeks, and fight with the Trojans.
- Had been dipped in water to become invulnerable,
but because he was held by the heel, his heel was still vulnerable.
- During a battle Achilles got hit by a poisoned
spear that hit him in his heel, causing his death.
Agamemnon Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War
- King of Argos
- Married to Clytemnestra
- He didn't reach Troy because of a plague and no
wind.
- Killed his daughter, Iphigenia, as an offering
to the gods.
- Beat Troy and took Cassandra, the Trojan
princess, as a prize
- When he returned, Clytemnestra killed Agamemnon
and Cassandra out of revenge for Iphigenia.
Commentary: The theme of a character becoming obsessed with their career is common. Agamemnon becomes blind to his family life because he becomes so wrapped up in war. In recent works this will not always be so extreme, but it often leads to divorces, endings of friendships, or struggles in personal lives. This is explored in more stories in the "Iliad."
Antigone Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Antigone’s brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices
both died fighting on opposing sides in the Thebes’ civil war.
- Eteocles was to be honored by Creon while
Polyneices to be shamed.
- Antigone wishes to give Polyneices a burial as
well, but her sister, Ismene won’t help.
- When Creon learns of the burial, he is furious,
and assumes Ismene has helped, and she falsely confesses in order to die with
Antigone.
- Antigone says that Ismene is innocent, so she is
spared.
- A prophet comes to Creon and tells him that the
gods are displeased, and that he needs to release Antigone.
- Haemon, Antigone’s fiancé and also the son of
Creon, finds that she has hung herself.
- He kills himself because of this.
- Eurodice, Creon’s wife, then also kills herself.
Cupid and Psyche Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Cupid is the god of love
- Psyche is extremely beautiful and Venus becomes
jealous of her attention
- Venus sends cupid, her son, to make Psyche fall
in love with someone super ugly
- Cupid immediately sees how beautiful she is and
shoots himself with his arrow
- Psyche is sent away with her new husband, but
she is never allowed to see his face
- Her sisters convince her to look at his face
while he is sleeping
- Psyche is happy with her handsome husband, but
she accidentally burns him
- He is angry at her for looking at his face, so
he leaves her
- Her jealous sisters run after him hoping to win
him over for themselves, but they fall to their deaths
- Psyche begs Venus for her forgiveness, so Venus
gives her a list of impossible tasks to prove herself worthy
- She is given a box full of “beauty” and is told
not to open it, but she does anyways
- This almost kills her, but Cupid comes to her
rescue
- He points out to her that her curiosity got her
in trouble again
- They live happily ever after
Daedalus and Icarus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Daudalus angers King Minos and is kicked out of
Crete
- He builds wax wings for himself and for his son,
Icarus
- He tells his son to fly at a medium height,
otherwise the sun will melt them, or they will become wet from the ocean
- Icarus doesn’t listen to his father, and he
flies to high
- His wings quickly melt, and he falls into the
sea and drowns
Echo and Narcissus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Echo falls in love with Narcissus, but Narcissus
does not love her back
- Echo tries and tries to win over Narcissus’ love
until her body withers away and only her voice remains
- Narcissus sees his reflection looking into a
pond and falls in love with himself
- He starves to death trying to capture his
reflection
Eurydice and Orpheus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Eurydice and Orpheus get married
- Eurydice gets bit by a snake and dies
- Orpheus travels to the underworld to bring her
back
- He convinces Hades and Persephone, but as a
catch, they tell Orpheus that he is not allowed to look at Eurydice until they
reach the earth.
- Orpheus is overcome with passion, and turns to
look at her
- Eurydice is sent back to the underworld forever
Hector Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Best Trojan Warrior
- He challenged to fight Achilles, the best Greek
warrior
- Trying to get Achilles mad in order to fight
better, they choose a different man as “the best”
- Eventually Achilles and Hector fight, ending in
a tie
- Later, Achilles brutally kills an unarmed Hector
Hercules Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Hercules was the strongest and most confident
person in Greek mythology.
- When Hercules was a baby he was able to kill
snakes sent by Hera that were meant to kill him.
- He was only able to be harmed by magic
- He wasn’t very intelligent- he was impatient and
careless
- A spell is put on him that makes him go insane
- He kills his wife and his children
- After he returns to his senses, he goes to his
cousin for penance
- He is given 12 impossible tasks, but he is able
to complete all of them
- He becomes cocky and loses sight of right and
wrong, which lead to his death
- Ends up killing himself to escape agony
- After Hercules died, he went to Heaven where he
married Hera's daughter.
Jason and the Golden Fleece Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Jason goes on a journey to reclaim the thrown
- He is given the task to first retrieve the
golden fleece
- When he finally gets to the city where the
golden fleece is, King Aietes gives him more impossible tasks
- Aites’s daughter, Medea, agrees to help Jason in
exchange for his hand in marriage
- Jason regains the thrown, but is soon kicked out
because the people do not like Medea’s magic
- In agreement to regain the thrown again, Jason
betrays Medea and marries another woman
- Medea is very angered, so she kills Jason’s new
wife and their children
- Medea eventually marries Archilles and Jason is
killed
Odysseus and the Trojan Horse Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Odysseus plans to invade Troy
- He builds a giant wooden horse that will hold
all of the Greeks who will attack the Trojans
- One man pretends to betray the Greeks, so he can
give the horse to the Trojans
- The Trojans are busy getting drunk and
celebrating, so they easily get inside and attack
Oedipus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton’s “Mythology”
- King of Thebes
- Father of Eteocles, Polyneices, Antigone, and
Ismene
- Unknowingly fulfilled the prophesy of killing
his father and marrying his mother
- Sophocles's three Theban plays (Oedipus the
King, Oedipus at Colonus, and Antigone)
- Represents the flawed nature of humanity and an
individual's role of destiny
Persephone Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Goddess Queen of the underworld
- Wife of Hades
- Siezed by Hades and carried to the underworld as
his bride
- Persephone’s mother was furious, and convinced
Zeus to release her.
- Since she had already eaten fruit from the
underworld, she was forced to stay there every winter for forever.
- Persephone returns to Earth every spring, and is
represented by flowers and new grain.
- When she returns to the underworld in the
winter, the plants die.
Perseus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Founded the Greek city of Mycenae
- Used his shield to avoid eye contact with Medusa to avoid death
- Beheaded Medusa
- Slayed a Cetus (sea monster) in order to save
his future wife, Princess Andromeda
Prometheus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Known as the savior of mankind
- Titan god
- Molded mankind out of clay
- He tried to better mankind, but this lead to
problems with Zeus
- As punishment, Zeus created Pandora, the world’s
first woman, to create misfortune.
River Styx Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- The Styx is a river that has an unbreakable oath
that the gods swear by.
- Formed boundary between Earth and the underworld
- This was the river that Achilles was dipped into
to make invulnerable.
The Gods of Olympus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology”
- There were twelve great gods of Olympus who
ruled after the fall of the Titans
- Zeus: God of sky and rain
- Supreme ruler of gods
- Supreme ruler of gods
- Poseidon: Lord of sea
- Hades: Lord of underworld
- Greed and wealth
- Greed and wealth
- Hestia: Goddess of hearth
- Virgin goddess
- No distinct personality
- Virgin goddess
- Hera: Goddess of women and marriage
- Raped and hung by Zeus
- Sought vengeance and often outwitted Zeus
- Raped and hung by Zeus
- Ares: God of war
- Murderous but coward
- Murderous but coward
- Athena: Goddess of city, agriculture, and
handicrafts
- Fierce and brave
- Fierce and brave
- Apollo: God of music, light, and truth
- Cannot tell a lie
- Cannot tell a lie
- Aphrodite: Goddess of love, desire, and beauty
- Hermes: God of thieves and commerce
- Zeus’ messenger and guide for the dead to the
underworld
- Zeus’ messenger and guide for the dead to the
underworld
- Artemis: Huntsman
- Lady of wild things
- Virgin
- Protector of youth and childbirth
- Lady of wild things
- Hephaestus: God of fire
- Only god to be physically ugly and lame
- Only god to be physically ugly and lame
Theseus Greek Mythology Source: Edith Hamilton's "Mythology"
- Theseus was the founder and hero of Athens.
- Son of Aethra by two fathers- Aegeus and
Poseidon
- Unified Athens
- Slayed the Minotaur in the Labyrinth of Crete
- Lost thrown to his disrespect of women and
marriage