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2010

GREEK MYTHOLOGY
What our group wants to validate is if these graphics, painting, sculptures and various other representational art forms are a justified representation of the myths as narrated over centuries.

GROUP MEMBERS
SAAD TARIQ MAHAM NASIR ALEENA AHMED SALMAN YAQUB RUWAIL KHWAJA SAIRA KHAN TIWANA MADIHA SHAHID RAZA SHAHRAIZ JAVED CHISHTI MUHAMMAD AMMAR ALI

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INTRODUCTION

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece. Modern scholars refer to the myths and study them in an attempt to throw light on the religious and political institutions of Ancient Greece, its civilization, and to gain understanding of the nature of mythmaking itself. Greek mythology is embodied explicitly in a large collection of narratives and implicitly in representational arts, such as vase-paintings and votive gifts. Greek myth explains the origins of the world and details the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, heroines, and other mythological creatures. These accounts initially were disseminated in an oral-poetic tradition; today the Greek myths are known primarily from Greek literature. What our group wants to validate is if these graphics, painting, sculptures and various other representational art forms are a justified representation of the myths as narrated over centuries.

ZEUS
Zeus is the supreme god of the Olympians. He is also the ruler of the sky, and controls the weather, clouds, and the wind. Zeus has many titles, or epithets, such as the god of justice and mercy, the protector of the weak, the punisher of the wicked, and king of the gods. He was protector of the travelers and he also punished those who weren't hospitable. Zeus is also god of the weather, particularly thunder. There are also lots of things that symbolize Zeus. One, for example, is the eagle, which represents his authority over the sky. The most commonly known symbol would be the thunderbolt. It stands for the power he has and the fair punishment he delivers the evildoers. His shield is Aigadi. It's made of leather from a goat called Amalheia, and it represents the protection Zeus gives to the weak. He is also represented by the olive tree, which is used to
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represent all the good things he gave humans. Another symbol is the bull, which represents his power. Zeus was the supreme god of the Olympians. He was the father of the heroes Perseus and Heracles, the latter of whom once wrestled him to a draw. Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. When he was born, his father Cronus intended to swallow him as he had all of Zeus's siblings: Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera. But Rhea hid the newborn in a cave on Mount Dicte in Crete. (To this day, the guides at the "cave of Zeus" use their flashlights to cast shadow puppets in the cave, creating images of baby Zeus from the myth.) When he had grown up, Zeus caused Cronus to vomit up his sisters and brothers, and these gods joined him in fighting to wrest control of the universe from the Titans and Cronus, their king. Having vanquished his father and the other Titans, Zeus imprisoned most of them in the underworld of Tartarus. Then he and his brothers Poseidon and Hades divided up creation. Poseidon received the sea as his domain, Hades got the Underworld and Zeus took the sky. Zeus also was accorded supreme authority on earth and on Mount Olympus. Now in our presentation, we used two pictures of Zeus. Both complete opposites of one another. In one picture, he is sitting in a very poised, calmed pose, with a lion drapped around him. While in the other picture, the complete opposite is seen, not even the facial representations resemble each other. In the other picture Zeus stands, depicting his power and with the staff in his hand, and all his subjects standing beneath him. Two very different pictures, depicting one God. How is one to decide which picture truly depicts the Greek God of the Gods?

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HERA

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Hera was the goddess of marriage. Hera was the wife of Zeus and Queen of the Olympians. Hera hated the great hero Heracles since he was the son of her husband Zeus and a mortal woman. When he was still an infant, she sent snakes to attack him in his crib. Later she stirred up the Amazons against him when he was on one of his quests. On the other hand, Hera aided the hero Jason, who would never have retrieved the Golden Fleece without her sponsorship. In Greek mythology, Hera was the reigning female goddess of Olympus because she was Zeus's wife. But her worship is actually far older than that of her husband. It goes back to a time when the creative force we call "God" was conceived of as a woman. The Goddess took many forms, among them that of a bird. Hera was worshipped throughout Greece, and the oldest and most important temples were consecrated to her. Her subjugation to Zeus and depiction as a jealous shrew are mythological reflections of one of the most profound changes ever in human spirituality. Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. In Roman mythology, Juno was the equivalent mythical character. The cow, and later, the peacock were sacred to her. Hera's mother was Rhea and her father, Cronus. Portrayed as majestic and solemn, often enthroned, and crowned with polos (a high cylindrical crown worn by several of the Great Goddesses), Hera may bear a pomegranate in her hand, emblem of fertile blood and death and a substitute for the narcotic capsule of the opium poppy. A scholar of Greek mythology Walter Burkert writes in Greek Religion, "Nevertheless, there are memories of an earlier aniconic representation, as a pillar in Argos and as a plank in Samos." Hera was known for her jealous and vengeful nature, most notably against Zeus's paramours and offspring, but also against mortals who crossed her, such as Pelias. Paris offended her by choosing Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess, earning Hera's hatred. In our presentation we have taken two pictures of Hera; both depicting a completely different side of her personality, her role. In one picture, she stands tall and bold in her golden lion, signifying her brave personality, her arrogance and her pure beauty. While in the other picture, Hera is seen behind a blue veil with a pigeon sitting on her hand, timid, shy and caring. Both pictures though of one Goddess are completely different, opposites of one another. The question of coherence in these artistic representations comes into place.

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HERCULES

Hercules was the Roman name for the greatest hero of Greek mythology -- Heracles. Like most authentic heroes, Heracles had a god as one of his parents, being the son of the supreme deity Zeus and a mortal woman. Zeus's queen Hera was jealous of Heracles, and when he was still an infant she sent two snakes to kill him in his crib. Heracles was found prattling delighted baby talk, a strangled serpent in each hand. Hercules can be identified by his attributes, the lion skin and the club (his favorite weapon): in mosaic he is shown tanned bronze, a virile aspect. Hercules was the illegitimate son of Zeus and Alcmene, the wisest and most beautiful of all mortal women. Hera was enraged at Zeus for his infidelity with Alcmene, and even more so that he placed the infant Hercules at Hera's breast as she slept and allowed Hercules to feed, which caused Hercules to be partially immortal, thus, allowing him to surpass all mortal men in strength, size, and skill. However, Hera still held a spiteful grudge against Hercules and sent Hercules into a blind frenzy, in which he killed all of his children. When Hercules regained his sanity, he sought out the Oracle at Delphi in hopes of reaching atonement. The Oracle ordered Hercules to serve Eurystheus, king of Mycenae, who sent him on a barrage of tasks known as the Labors of Hercules. While he was a champion and a great warrior, he was not above cheating and using any unfair trick to his advantage. However, he was renowned as having "made the world safe for mankind" by destroying many dangerous monsters. In our presentations, we used 2 pictures of Hercules. In the first picture he is fighting head on with a loin, showing simply how strong he is. He needs no weapons, no artillery, no machines to fight the horrendous of monsters. The second picture depicts the same personality traits. He is fighting the evil goddess Medusa, yet again with his bare hands. Both pictures show coherency. This shows that even though some pictures lack what they are supposed to depicts, other do serve their purpose well.

GREEK MYTHOLOGY APOLLO

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Apollo was the god of prophesy, music and healing. In Greek and Roman mythology, Apollo is one of the most important and diverse of the Olympian deities. The ideal of the kouros (a beardless youth), Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun; truth and prophecy; archery; medicine, healing and plague; music, poetry, and the arts; and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. Apollo was worshiped in both ancient Greek and Roman religion, as well as in the modern GrecoRoman Neopaganism. As the patron of Delphi, Apollo was an oracular godthe prophetic deity of the Delphic Oracle. Medicine and healing were associated with Apollo, whether through the god himself or mediated through his son Asclepius, yet Apollo was also seen as a god who could bring ill-health and deadly plague as well as one who had the ability to cure. Amongst the god's custodial charges, Apollo became associated with dominion over colonists, and as the patron defender of herds and flocks. As the leader of the Muses (Apollon Musagetes) and director of their choir, Apollo functioned as the patron god of music and poetry. Hermes created the lyre for him, and the instrument became a common attribute of Apollo. Hymns sung to Apollo were called paeans. Like most of his fellow Olympians, Apollo did not hesitate to intervene in human affairs. It was he who brought about the demise of the mighty Achilles. Of all the heroes besieging the city of Troy in the Trojan War, Achilles was the best fighter by far. He had easily defeated the Trojan captain Hector in single combat. But Apollo helped Hector's Brother Paris slay Achilles with an arrow. When someone died suddenly, he was said to have been struck down by one of Apollo's arrows. Homer's epic of the Trojan War begins with the god causing a plague by raining arrows down upon the Greek camp. As god of music, Apollo is often depicted playing the lyre. He did not invent this instrument, however, but was given it by Hermes in compensation for cattle theft. Some say that Apollo did invent the lute, although he was best known for his skill on the lyre. He won several musical contests by playing this instrument. In one case he bested Pan, who competed on his own invention, the shepherd's pipe. On this occasion, King Midas had the bad sense to say that he preferred Pan's music, which caused Apollo to turn his ears into those of an ass. The picture of Apollo, shows his caring and healing character. He is riding a swam with his musical instrument in his hand and a bag on the other. The golden embedding shows the importance and significance of these objects for Apollo.
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MEDUSA

In Greek mythology, Medusa was a Gorgon, a chthonic female monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto; Only Hyginus, interposes a generation and gives another chthonic pair as parents of Medusa; gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone. She was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. The three Gorgon sistersMedusa, Stheno, and Euryalewere children of the ancient marine deities Phorcys (or Phorkys) and his sister Ceto (or Keto), chthonic monsters from an archaic world. In a late version of the Medusa myth, related by the Roman poet Ovid (Metamorphoses 4.770), Medusa was originally a beautiful maiden, "the jealous aspiration of many suitors," priestess in Athena's temple, but when she and the "Lord of the Sea" Poseidon lay together in Athena's temple (in some versions of the mythology Medusa was raped by Poseidon), the enraged Athena transformed Medusa's beautiful hair to serpents and made her face so terrible to behold that the mere sight of it would turn onlookers to stone. In Ovid's telling, Perseus describes Medusa's punishment by Athena as just and well-deserved. In most versions of the story, while Medusa was pregnant by Poseidon, god of the sea, she was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who was sent to fetch her head by King Polydectes of Seriphus as a gift. With help from Athena and Hermes who supplied him with winged sandals, Hades' cap of invisibility, a sword, and a mirrored shield, he accomplished his quest. The hero slew Medusa by looking at her harmless reflection in the mirror instead of directly at her to prevent being turned into stone. When the hero severed Medusa's head from her neck, two offspring sprang forth: the winged horse Pegasus and the golden giant Chrysaor The medusa was an ugly creature. Let's have a look at how she came into existance, for she wasn't always that ugly. Again, the Gods played their role. The Medusa was the daughter of Phorkys and Keto, the children of Gaia (Earth) and Okeanos (Ocean). She was one of the three sisters known as the Gorgons. The other two sisters were Sthenno and Euryale. Medusa was the only mortal out of the three. She was once very beautiful and lived far in the north were the sun didn't visit. Being very curious, she wanted to see the sun, and asked the Goddess Athena for permission to visit the south. Athena refused to allow her to visit. The medusa got angry and dared to say that Athena hadn't given her permission
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because she was jealous of her beauty. that was it! Athena was angered and punished her by turning her hair into snakes and cursing her by making her so ugly that whoever lookes at her eyes would turn into stone. The last 2 pictures of our presentations are of Medusa, the silent killer. These two pictures greatly show her personality. The first picture shows medusa in all her supremacy, fear drooling from her eyes. It shows the contrast of the colors used to represent her snakes and her eyes. In the second picture, which is an abstract picture of Medusa. Showing a tiny face with millions of snakes on her head. Both pictures depict danger, fear and death. A appropriate representation.

CITATION AND REFERENCES

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