Classics 10: Chapters 7-8 The Olympians: The Male DeitiesFirst ExamAnthropomorphismChapters 7-8: Male DeitiesExclusively Male Roles (and their divine overseer)I. Apollo the Far-Darter, God of Prophecy (Chapter 7)Areas of Apollo’s InfluenceAttributes of Apollo (i.e., how to identify him)Apollo and DelosApollo and DelphiOracle of Apollo at DelphiApollo’s Oracle: The PythiaApollo’s Failed RomancesApollo And DaphneApollo, Father of AsclepiusApollo as the Aristocratic IdealII. Hephaestus, God of SmithsHephaestus’ Mixed StatusIII. Ares, God of WarAres vs. HephaestusIV. Hermes, Trickster God of WayfarersThe Herms of HermesThe Homeric Hymn to HermesPan, the Goatherd’s GodClassics 10: Chapters 7-8The Olympians: The Male DeitiesI. Apollo the Far-Darter, God of ProphecyII. Hephaestus, God of SmithsIII. Ares, Incarnation of Blood LustIV. Hermes, Trickster God of WayfarersFIRST EXAM TOMORROWFirst Exam•approx. 70 Multiple Choice Questions (33% of final grade)•Bring UCD 2000 Scantron Form and #2 pencil–Blue scantron, smaller than sheet of paper•Sample Test on SmartSite•Any suspected cheating will be submitted to Student Judicial Affairs for arbitration•Katie will be holding office hours 12-2pm todayAnthropomorphism•The gods are like us, only greater •Anthropomorphism makes interesting narrative and great myths–Gives myths expressive power•Myths = stories of gods, they do not require belief or determine behavior•Complexity of Olympian behavior = a reflection of our desire to understand the place of the human in the worldChapters 7-8: Male Deities•Greek male deities reflect the range of activities consistent with the roles Greek men played in their society•Model of positive qualities: good looks, courage, appropriate action•Yet they also get drunk, lust, fight•They control men yet they are the reflection of menExclusively Male Roles(and their divine overseer)•Heads of families (Zeus)•Sailors (Poseidon)•Purveyors of higher knowledge (Apollo)•Blacksmiths (Hephaestus)•Soldiers (Ares)•Bankers, merchants (Hermes)I. Apollo the Far-Darter, God of Prophecy (Chapter 7)•Perhaps most complex Olympian figure•His associations are a broad mix of different areas•His early cult history has overlapping elements•His Temples at Delos and Delphi make him most important Olympian after ZeusAreas of Apollo’s Influence•“he who shoots from afar”•archery (but not hunting)•plague (see pp. 169-70)•medicine•prophecy•music (played on lyre)•poetry (bard of Olympus)•reason•light (“Phoebus”)•sometimes associated/ conflated with the sun god HeliusAttributes of Apollo(i.e., how to identify him)•aristocratic•beardless youth•bows & arrows•laurel crown•lyre (from Hermes)•tripod (oracle)Apollo and Delos•Leto very pregnant by Zeus (twins!)•Hera punishes her for her affair with Zeus by saying that no place that sees the light of day could receive the children•Delos = floating island, bobbing in water–Fixed after Apollo’s birth there•Delos becomes major meeting point of the mid-Aegean thanks to Apollo’s Shrine–Later becomes Athens’ treasuryApollo and Delphi•Site on Mt. Parnassus•Recruits his first priests by appearing to them as a dolphin (delphis)•Python slain there by Apollo; his main priestess thus named the Pythia•Apollo was cleansed of the Python’s blood on his hands (miasma), becomes cleanser of others (e.g., Orestes)Oracle of Apollo at Delphi•Most significant religious center of Greece; regarded highly by ALL Greeks•Center of the world, marked by the omphalos (the navel)–Fed to Cronus as Zeus, later vomited up when overthrown by Zeus•Ethical authority: restraint, moderation–Inscribed on the Temple: “Know thyself.” “Nothing in excess.”Apollo’s Oracle: The Pythia•Apollo spoke through a prophetess, the Pythia, seated on tripod in temple–She was said to breathe vapors from the earth and be possessed by the god (no modern proof)•She would answer (often obscurely) any question put to her–Should I marry Dione? Should I move to Sparta?–Should I invade Persia? “You will destroy a great empire.” (Croesus’ own!)–How do we save Athens from the Persians? “The wooden walls.” (Themistocles’ navy)–Who is the wisest of men? “Socrates”Apollo’s Failed Romances•Apollo fathered many (esp. prophets) yet best known for those who refused him•Cassandra, given prophetic powers in exchange for sex, but then she denied the sex, became the prophet whose words no one believes•Sibyl of Cumae: Given “as many years as grains of sand she could scoop up in her hands,” but she refused the sex, still got the years (but not the youth - like Tithonus)•Hyacinth, a boy who dies from a discus to the head, Apollo grows from the blood a white flower with red splashes (etiological myth)Apollo And Daphne•Daphne (a river nymph) flees from Apollo’s wooing•Her father (the river god Peneus) changes her into laurel tree to escape Apollo•Laurel becomes Apollo’s sacred plant (etiological: “laurel” in Greek = “daphne”)•Laurel crowns are given to victors and poets–I.e., poet laureatesGian Lorenzo Bernini, 1625 (at left)Apollo, Father of Asclepius•Coronis pregnant with Asclepius by Apollo–Cheats on Apollo, is found out–Jealous Apollo kills her from afar with an arrow•Apollo then takes the baby from her dying womb to Chiron the centaur, where he is brought up as a doctor and healer•Asclepius becomes greatest healer, great shrines later dedicated to him and his art–Hygieia (his wife or daughter) = health/hygieneApollo as the Aristocratic Ideal•Has knowledge of mysterious things–Oracular prophecy, healing•Skilled in impressive arts–Archery, music•Young and vigorous in his manhood•Came to embody the Greek Ideal–Order against disorder–Reason against unreason•The aristocratic view is our main view of Greek society; Apollo was their favorite OlympianII. Hephaestus, God of Smiths•Associated with the Aegean island of Lemnos (where he landed when thrown from Olympus)–Born lame OR lame from this fall?–Thrown down by his mother Hera because of her shame at his lameness OR thrown down by Zeus because he defended Hera?•Lemnos had volcanoes, perhaps explains his role as god of the metalworker’s fireHephaestus’ Mixed Status•Skilled artisan, maker of great art and tools to advance civilization: engineer•Yet got his hands dirty, did real