The Greeks and Romans - Pantheons Part 3: Crash Course World Mythology #9

Summary

This Crash Course Mythology episode delves into the Greek pantheon, exploring the Olympians' complex family dynamics and divine antics. From Zeus's leadership and numerous affairs to the unique origins of gods like Athena and Dionysus, the video offers a humorous yet insightful look at Greek mythology. It highlights the gods' human-like flaws, reflecting the ancient Greeks' understanding of their own society and human nature.

Takeaways

• 🇬🇷 Greek mythology includes various pantheons, with the Olympians being a viewer favorite.
• ⚔️ The Greek gods are associated with themes like war, hunting, and metallurgy.
• 🦅 Zeus, the sky god, is the leader of the Olympians and known for wielding a thunderbolt.
• 🧠 Athena, goddess of wisdom and war, was born from Zeus' skull after he swallowed her mother, Metis.
• 🌊 Poseidon, god of the sea, is linked to earthquakes, horses, and fathered Pegasus with Medusa.
• 🍇 Dionysus, the god of wine, represents abandon and disinhibition, challenging the idealized self-control of Apollo.
• 👩‍👦 Hera, Zeus' sister and wife, is mainly associated with childbirth and often upset with Zeus.
• 🎼 Apollo, god of the sun and music, and Artemis, goddess of the moon and hunt, are twins born from Zeus and Leto.
• 🦅 Hermes, the god of travel and trade, is Zeus' messenger with a winged hat and sandals, similar to the Egyptian Thoth.
• 🥖 Demeter, goddess of agriculture, and her daughter Persephone are crucial to the story of the seasons and the underworld.

Q & A

What is the main topic of the video script?

The main topic of the video script is Greek mythology, focusing on the Olympian gods and their characteristics, relationships, and stories.

What does the term 'pantheon' mean in the context of Greek mythology?

In the context of Greek mythology, 'pantheon' refers to all the gods, which includes a group of deities that may vary depending on the version of the myths being studied.

What are the three main categories of divine beings mentioned in the script?

The three main categories of divine beings mentioned are gods, demigods, and heroes. Gods are divine immortal beings, demigods are offspring of gods and mortals with special powers, and heroes are exalted mortals who can perform special feats on Earth.

Who are the first set of Greek gods mentioned in the script, and what happened to them?

The first set of Greek gods mentioned are the Titans, led by Kronos, who overthrew his father Uranos. Kronos was later overthrown by his own children, the Olympians.

What is the significance of the god Zeus in Greek mythology?

Zeus is the most important Olympian god, the sky god who controls storms and wields a thunderbolt. He is also the patriarch of the Olympians and the leader of the revolt against the Titans.

How is Athena, the goddess of wisdom, war, and the arts, said to have been born according to one version of her birth story?

According to one version of Athena's birth story, she was born when Zeus had a terrible headache and asked his son Hephaestus to help. Hephaestus cracked open Zeus' skull, and Athena emerged fully grown and wearing a suit of armor.

What is the role of Hera in the Olympian pantheon, and what is her relationship with Zeus?

Hera is the wife of Zeus and is sometimes associated with childbirth. However, she is mostly known for being miffed at Zeus due to his numerous affairs and is the mother of Hebe, Eileithyia, Hephaestus, and Ares.

Who are the twins Apollo and Artemis, and what are their domains in Greek mythology?

Apollo and Artemis are the twins fathered by Zeus with Leto. Apollo is the god of the sun, music, and moderation, while Artemis is associated with the moon and the hunt.

What is unique about the birth of Dionysus, the god of wine, in Greek mythology?

Dionysus has an unusual birth story. After his human mother Semele was burned to a crisp by Zeus's godly presence, Zeus saved the embryonic Dionysus and sewed him up in his thigh, from which Dionysus was later born.

How did the Romans adapt Greek gods into their own pantheon?

The Romans borrowed heavily from the Greek gods, either by importing them directly into their pantheon or by reimagining native gods as Greek equivalents. They also had some original gods, like Janus, and during the imperial period, they started turning their emperors into gods.

What does the video script suggest about the nature of the Olympian gods and their reflection on human society?

The script suggests that the Olympian gods are modeled on human families, with the family of Mount Olympus headed by Zeus being the most powerful of Greek families. They represent an exaggerated version of what a human family might become if endowed with infinite power, acting as a mirror of human nature.

Outlines

00:00

🎭 Introduction to Greek Mythology

The script opens with an introduction to the Greek pantheon by Mike Rugnetta, emphasizing the popularity of Greek myths due to their prevalence in art, literature, and media. It humorously touches on the gods' involvement in war, hunting, and metallurgy, as well as their complex relationships and conflicts. The paragraph also explains the terms 'pantheon,' 'gods,' 'demigods,' and 'heroes,' providing a foundation for understanding the Greek divine hierarchy. It briefly revisits the creation stories and the dynasties of gods, leading up to the Olympians, and introduces key figures like Gaia, Uranos, and the Titans, setting the stage for the detailed exploration of Greek mythology that follows.

05:00

👑 The Olympians and Their Divine Antics

This paragraph delves into the characteristics and stories of the Olympian gods, starting with the overthrow of the Titans by Zeus and his siblings. It describes the roles and attributes of Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, and Zeus himself, highlighting Zeus's role as the leader of the Olympians and his numerous offspring. The paragraph also covers the birth and roles of Athena, Hephaestus, Ares, and other gods like Apollo, Artemis, and Hermes, each with their unique stories and contributions to Greek mythology. It humorously points out the divine lineage and the peculiarities of their births, as well as their relationships with mortals and each other, painting a vivid picture of the Olympian family dynamics.

10:05

🍇 Dionysus and the Roman Adaptation of Greek Gods

The final paragraph explores the god Dionysus, detailing his unusual birth and role as the deity of wine and abandon. It discusses the psychological impact of Dionysus's worship on the ancient Greeks and contrasts him with Apollo, representing self-control. The paragraph also touches on the Roman adaptation of Greek gods, where some were directly imported, while others were reimagined as Greek equivalents. It mentions the Roman practice of deifying emperors and the unique Roman gods like Janus. The script concludes with a reflection on the Olympian pantheon's reflection of Greek society and human nature, suggesting that the gods were an exaggerated version of human families with infinite power, serving as a mirror to human behavior and societal structures.

Keywords

💡Pantheon

The term 'pantheon' refers to a complete collection of gods worshipped in a particular culture or religion. In the context of the video, it is used to describe the group of Greek gods, which includes the Olympians and other divine beings. The script discusses how the Greek pantheon is complex, with multiple versions of myths leading to variations in the gods included.

💡Olympians

The Olympians are the major deities in Greek mythology who reside on Mount Olympus. They are the third generation of gods, having overthrown the Titans. The script highlights the Olympians as the main focus of the video, detailing their roles, relationships, and the drama that unfolds among them.

💡Demigods

Demigods are characters in Greek mythology who are the offspring of a god and a mortal. They often possess special powers and may become divine under certain conditions. The script mentions demigods as part of the broader classification of divine beings, alongside gods and heroes.

💡Heroes

Heroes in Greek mythology are exalted mortals who perform extraordinary deeds and are often of divine descent. The script describes heroes as capable of dying but also of accomplishing great feats on Earth, sometimes being the offspring of a god and a human.

💡Zeus

Zeus is the king of the Greek gods and the sky god, controlling storms and wielding a thunderbolt. He is central to the script as the leader of the Olympians and the father of many gods and heroes, his actions and relationships driving much of the narrative in Greek mythology.

💡Hera

Hera is the wife of Zeus and the goddess of marriage, women, and childbirth in Greek mythology. The script portrays her as often being upset with Zeus for his numerous affairs, highlighting the complex marital dynamics among the gods.

💡Aphrodite

Aphrodite is the goddess of love, beauty, and desire in Greek mythology. The script mentions her for her multiple affairs, including one with Ares that leads to a humorous and scandalous situation, illustrating the theme of divine adultery among the Olympians.

💡Dionysus

Dionysus is the god of wine, celebration, and madness in Greek mythology. The script describes his unusual birth and the fervent inspiration he represents, which contrasts with the self-control epitomized by Apollo, showcasing the diversity of human traits personified by the gods.

💡Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis refers to a transformation or change in form. In the context of the script, it is not explicitly mentioned, but the concept is implied in the various births and transformations of gods and demigods, such as Athena springing fully armored from Zeus's head.

💡Myth-facts

The term 'myth-facts' is a play on 'myth' and 'facts,' used in the script to introduce snippets of information about different mythologies, including Greek, Egyptian, Indian, and Norse. It serves as a humorous device to present mythological knowledge in a factual manner.

💡Cults

Cults in the script refer to the religious practices and rituals dedicated to specific gods, such as the cult of Dionysus with its rituals performed by Maenads. The concept is used to illustrate the diverse ways in which the gods were worshipped and the social implications of these practices.

💡Roman Pantheon

The Roman Pantheon refers to the gods of Roman mythology, many of which were borrowed from Greek mythology but adapted to Roman culture. The script discusses how the Romans integrated Greek gods into their pantheon, sometimes reimagining them or associating them with existing Roman deities.

Highlights

Introduction to Greek mythology as a viewer favorite with a humorous reference to ouzo and nectar.

Greek gods are known through various media including paintings, sculptures, and movies like Clash of the Titans.

Greek gods are part of a pantheon which refers to all gods, including demigods and heroes.

Explanation of the term 'pantheon' and its etymology meaning 'all the gods'.

Greek gods are divine immortal beings, often created from the union of other immortals or through unique births like Aphrodite.

Demigods are minor deities or offspring of gods and mortals with special powers.

Heroes are exalted mortals capable of performing special feats, sometimes offspring of gods and humans.

Overview of the first and second sets of Greek gods, the Titans, and their overthrow by the Olympians.

Introduction of the twelve main Olympians, including Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, and Zeus.

Zeus as the sky god, controlling storms, and the patriarch of the Olympians.

Athena's unique birth from Zeus's head and her role as a goddess of wisdom, war, and the arts.

Hera's role as Zeus's wife, associated with childbirth, and her frequent conflicts with Zeus over his infidelities.

Hephaestus and Ares, children of Zeus and Hera, representing fire, crafts, and war, respectively.

Apollo and Artemis, twins fathered by Zeus, associated with the sun, music, the moon, and the hunt.

Hermes, the messenger of the gods, associated with travel, writing, and magic.

Dionysus, the god of wine, with an unusual birth and association with abandon and religious fervor.

The Roman adaptation of Greek gods into their pantheon, including the transformation of native gods.

Roman original gods like Janus and the practice of deifying emperors in the imperial period.

The Olympian pantheon as a reflection of Greek society and human nature, with gods embodying human flaws.

Aphrodite's infidelity and the humorous tale of her capture with Ares in a magical net by Hephaestus.

Transcripts

Hey there. I am Mike Rugnetta. This is Crash Course Mythology and today

we're continuing with pantheons, and one that is likely to be a viewer favorite.

Bring on the ouzo,

pour out some nectar,

It's the Greeks!

Opa!!!

War,

War, hunting,

War, hunting, metallurgy,

War, hunting, metallurgy, the complete inability to deal reasonably with even the smallest bit of conflict...

and also, rape while disguised as an animal.

And best of all we already know the Greeks from paintings and sculptures,

and those really long books...

and the Clash of the Titans movies. And also--

OPA!!

(crash)

*Egyptian myth-facts*

*Greek myth-facts*

*Indian myth-facts*

*Norse myth-facts*

*So much myths, guys!*

You might be thinking: wait a minute...

Didn't we already talk about Greek gods in the episode on creation stories?

--And you're right, we did!

-And you're right, we did! But that was the FIRST set of Greek gods.

Two whole dynasties of divinities had to be overthrown before we get to the Olympians,

But before we get into all the sex, ambrosia and petty conflict, let's define some terms:

We've been talking about Pantheons as groups of gods,

mainly because us classics nerds like to show off our knowledge of Greek and Latin.

National Latin Award Scholar right here,

National Latin Award Scholar right here, folks.

Anyway-

PANTHEON

PANTHEON -means-

PANTHEON -means- ALL THE GODS

Which..

Which.. is already a little weird.

There are many gods,

and they change based upon which versions of the myths you're studying.

And then there are demigods, and maybe even some heroes.

Gods, as we are using the term,

are divine immortal beings,

usually created out of the sexual union between other immortal beings,

or sometimes out of some unorthodox nativity--

--like we saw with Aphrodite..

--like we saw with Aphrodite.. and the

--like we saw with Aphrodite.. and the bloody

--like we saw with Aphrodite.. and the bloody testicle foam.

Demigods are minor deities or the offspring of gods and mortals.

They usually have special powers and sometimes can become truly divine.

Heroes are exalted mortals, meaning they can die but they can also perform special feats on Earth.

Sometimes they're the offspring of a god and a human,

sometimes they're just..

sometimes they're just.. lucky.

sometimes they're just.. lucky. You know, like pop stars.

Remember Gaia and Uranos and their offspring the Titans?

Let's refresh.

These are the first and second sets of Greek gods.

The titans were led by Kronos who overthrew Uranos,

and Kronos was so worried about his own children overthrowing him that he swallowed them.

That did not work out for him.

Whoops.

Then, like father, like son, Zeus, son of Kronos and Rhea decided to overthrow his father.

He and his siblings defeated the Titans and became the first Olympians.

Roll-call:

Hestia, the first child of Kronos and Rhea, became the goddess of the hearth and home.

She's not in many myths,

but was an important household deity honored with many sacrifices.

Hades was the God of the underworld, who you'll remember from the story of Persephone from episode one.

Kore's mother was Demeter, another child of Kronos and Rhea, and the goddess of agriculture.

That's right. She has amazing powers over wheat, figs, and olives;

kind of a big deal in an agrarian society.

Poseidon became the Lord of the Seas after the Titans' defeat.

He was associated with earthquakes and horses and was even the father of a famous one: Pegasus,

Whose mother..

Whose mother.. was Medusa.

(Snake-Hair Lady)

(Snake-Hair Lady) +

(Snake-Hair Lady) + (Water-King/Horse-Lover)

(Snake-Hair Lady) + (Water-King/Horse-Lover) =

(Snake-Hair Lady) + (Water-King/Horse-Lover) = (Magic Stallion)

(Snake-Hair Lady) + (Water-King/Horse-Lover) = (Magic Stallion) So, yeah...

(Snake-Hair Lady) + (Water-King/Horse-Lover) = (Magic Stallion) So, yeah... it checks out.

(Snake-Hair Lady) + (Water-King/Horse-Lover) = (Magic Stallion) So, yeah... it checks out. God

(Snake-Hair Lady) + (Water-King/Horse-Lover) = (Magic Stallion) So, yeah... it checks out. God DNA is weird.

Zeus was the last of the Olympians born to Kronos and Rhea and became the most important:

he's the sky god, controlling storms and wielding a thunderbolt!

Which, I think it's pretty fair to say,

Which, I think it's pretty fair to say, is a boss thing to wield

--which makes sense, because he's also the patriarch of the Olympians,

despite being the youngest.

He was the leader of the revolt over the titans plus

he was the baby-daddy of so many gods and mortals;

so he gets to wave his bolt around and tell everyone what to do, I guess.

Zeus was the father of the next generation of Olympians with a variety of wives, consorts and, depending upon

how you read it, numerous one-night stands..

..or rape victims.

His first wife was Metis, who was from the Titans' generation.

An older woman, the word 'Metis' means 'skill,' or 'cunning.'

and she was said to provide wise counsel to Zeus

and because wise counselors often give advice that rulers don't want to hear,

Zeus swallowed her.

It's possible that Metis is the mother of Athena, although it's hard to know because of how she was...

um...

um...born?

According to one version of Athena's birth, Zeus had a terrible headache,

and asked his son Hephaestus to help cure it.

Since this is pre-Motrin, Hephaestus literally

Cracked open Zeus' skull..

Cracked open Zeus' skull.. and out popped Athena,

a goddess of wisdom, war and the arts,

a goddess of wisdom, war and the arts, especially spinning and weaving.

She was wearing a full suit of armor, and Athena created the olive tree,

so she's the patroness of Athens and why we now have tapenade.

Incidentally, this is also why

Incidentally, this is also why Hephaestus

Incidentally, this is also why Hephaestus is not

Incidentally, this is also why Hephaestus is not the god

Incidentally, this is also why Hephaestus is not the god of doctors.

Zeus' second wife was Demeter with whom he fathered Kore.

Hey, gurl!

Hey, gurl! Remember? Because Kore means..

Hey gurl! Remember? Because Kore means.. girl?

Hey gurl! Remember? Because Kore means.. girl? (these are the jokes, people.)

Anyway, that relationship didn't last, and Zeus married her sister, Hera.

Good thing that there's no god of awkwaaard...

Hera was sometimes associated with childbirth, but mostly her thing was being miffed at Zeus.

Hera and Zeus had four children:

Hebe, a goddess of youth and the cupbearer to the Olympians, who married Hercules;

Eileithyia, who was a goddess of childbirth;

the other two children, Hephaestus and Ares, showed up in a number of myths.

Hephaestus, a smith who walks with a limp, is the god of fire and crafts.

Ares is a god of war, more about, like, carnage than strategy, and they both have a thing for Aphrodite.

Because everyone has a thing for Aphrodite.

Zeus' liaisons resulted in other Olympians as well, for instance:

with Leto, whose parents were Titans, zeus fathered the twins Apollo and Artemis.

Apollo became the god of the sun and music.

Also, moderation, because that was something that Greeks needed a god for.

Artemis was associated with the moon and with the hunt.

Like Athena, Artemis was a virgin goddess and she'd sometimes tear apart the bodies of men who saw her naked.

The final child of Zeus to become a member of the Olympian pantheon is his son with Maia,

the daughter of the demigod Atlas, who holds up the world.

This is Hermes, the god of the road and of travellers. He's Zeus' messenger, who also leads people to Hades.

Hermes had a winged hat and winged sandals way before Adidas JS wings

He's a trickster who often makes sharp deals, and he's a god of writing and magic,

which basically makes him the Hellenised version of Thoth. High five, Thoth!

Get you some feathered kicks, my dude.

The final member of the Olympian pantheon we need to discuss is the one David Leeming calls:

at once the most ambiguous and the most foreign of the Greek gods:

Dionysus, the god of wine.

Dionysus had an unusual birth. After consorting with Zeus,

his human mother Semele made a wish to see Zeus in his true form.

Regrettable. When Zeus revealed himself, his godly presence burned Semele to a crisp.

Zeus saved the embryonic Dionysus and sewed him up in his thigh,

from which he was later born. Now, there's archaeological evidence that Dionysus was worshipped

in the ancient Greek city of Mycenae as early as 1200 BCE, but many stories portray Dionysus as a foreigner.

A bunch of greek gods originated as deities associated with cults from different cities:

Artemis was probably a great mother goddess in Anatolia for instance, but Dionysus?

homegrown! Or home-sown, I guess. So why is he considered foreign?

Maybe it's because Dionysus represents human traits that are very different from the idealized self-control of Apollo

Dionysus is called the God of wine, but he's more a god of abandon, or disinhibition.

According to Thurry and Devinney, "the Greeks experienced the power of Dionysus not as drunkenness,

but as a kind of fervent inspiration,

a religious experience in which the worshippers' instincts were liberated

from the bondage of social custom."

The Romans called this the bacchanal, after their version of Dionysus, Bacchus.

The cultic rituals of Dionysus are performed by women called Maenads, who leave home, go into the woods and

drink and dance and hunt and tear wild animals to pieces as a sacrifice.

Yeah, it's all beer pong and keg stands until the ladies start devouring the flesh of still living beasts.

No wonder the Dionysus was psychologically challenging for the Greeks.

Before we finish up, I need to mention the Romans,

who borrowed heavily from all of the people they conquered.

They imported some of the Greek gods directly into their pantheon.

Others were native gods reimagined as Greek equivalents.

So Minerva, an Etruscan goddess and patron of crafts, became Athena.

Diana, an Italian woodland goddess was transformed into Artemis the huntress, and so on.

So here's a handy chart of all of the parallels between the Greek and Roman pantheons.

The Romans did have some original gods, like Janus, the god of doors and arches, from whom we get January,

so you can blame him for the bleak weather.

Or Persephone. Or Hades. Or just pomegranates.

And in the imperial period they started turning their emperors into gods.

But the Romans didn't tend to develop their own myths around these borrowed gods.

Their most important myth concerned the history of Rome itself;

we'll talk about that in a future episode, so for now, let's get back to gods behaving badly.

Take it away, Thought Bubble. Olympian adultery was a lot like the trains in Europe:

reliable and frequent. For example, Aphrodite was often unfaithful to her husband Hephaestus,

but none of her affairs called as much trouble as the time she was caught with the god of war.

As told in the Odyssey, Helios the sun god spotted Aphrodite in bed with Ares and told Hephaestus.

So Hephaestus created a magical net so fine that it could hardly be seen,

but it was strong enough so that no one could escape it.

He set his trap over the bed and then pretended to go off to Lemnos, where he had his volcanic forge.

Seeing him go, Ares and Aphrodite went to bed.

As they lay together, Hephaestus' gossamer chains fell on them and bound them together.

As soon as Helios told Hephaestus that his wife and her lover were together, he rushed back to his house.

He cried out to all of the gods: "Father Zeus and every other blessed immortal, hither to me, and see a jest

which is unpardonable. Because I am crippled, Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, does me dishonor,

preferring Ares, beautiful and straight of limb while I was born crooked.

And whose fault is that, if not my parents'? Would they had not brought me into this life!

Look how these two are clipped together in love's embrace,

here, in my very bed. To watch them cuts me to the heart."

The rest of the gods showed up and loled heartily as gods do,

both at Ares and Aphrodite caught in the net, but also at Hephaestus himself,

with Hermes and Apollo joking that they would be

perfectly happy to be caught in such a net with the goddess of love,

because everyone has a thing for Aphrodite.

Thank you Thought Bubble. So this brings us to a question that we haven't really looked at with our other pantheons:

What does the Olympian pantheon tell us about the Greeks?

According to David Leeming, it suggests how they understood themselves and their society.

"More than any other pantheon, the Greek hierarchy of gods and goddesses is modelled on human families.

The official Olympian gods, the family of Mount Olympus headed by Zeus

is simply the most powerful of Greek families. Like other members of the rich and powerful classes,

the Olympian family is marred by instances of immorality, arrogance and stubbornness...

They were not to be trusted and they could not be counted on for mercy.

They were an exaggerated version of what a human family might become is endowed with infinite power.

They were a mirror of human nature itself.

And it's a good thing, too: mirrors are the only way you can even look at Medusa.

Thanks for watching, we'll see you next week.

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Thanks for watching, and remember; you reap what you sow.

Especially if you sew a baby god into your leg.

You're going to want to reap that pretty quick.