I.

12 OLYMPIAN GODS
GREEK ROMAN GOD OF... SYMBOL
1. Zeus Jupiter/Jove King of the Gods Thunderbolt, eagle and oak tree
2. Hera Juno Queen of the Gods Peacock, cow, wedding ring
3. Poseidon Neptune The Sea Sea, trident, horse, dolphin
4. Hades Pluto The Underworld Pomegranate, cap of invisibility
5. Hestia Vesta Hearth/Home Fireplace
6 Athena Minerva Wisdom/War Owl, olive, tree, plow, loom
7. Artemis Diana Moon/Hunt Moon, deer, silver bow and arrows
8. Apollo Apollo Light/Music/Prophecy Lyre, sun, mice, Laurel tree
9. Aphrodite Venus Love/Beauty Dove, swan, roses
10. Hephaestus Vulcan Fire/Forge Hammer, quail
11. Ares Mars War Dog, wild boar, vulture
12. Hermes Mercury Messenger/Divine Herald Caduceus, crane

Titans
In Greek mythology, the Titans (Greek: Ttn; plural: Ttnes) were a primeval race of powerful deities,
descendants of Gaia (Earth) andUranus (Heaven), that ruled during the legendary Golden Age. They were giants of
incredible strength and were also the first pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses.
In the first generation of twelve Titans, the males were Oceanus, Hyperion,Coeus, Cronus, Crius, and Iapetus and
the femalesthe Titanesses or Titanideswere Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea, and Themis. The
second generation of Titans consisted of Hyperion's children Helios, Selene andEos; Coeus's
daughters Leto and Asteria; Iapetus's children Atlas, Prometheus,Epimetheus, and Menoetius; Oceanus'
daughter Metis; and Crius' sonsAstraeus, Pallas, and Perses.
The Titans were overthrown by a race of younger gods, the Olympians, in theTitanomachy ("War of the Titans"). The
Greeks may have borrowed thismytheme from the Ancient Near East.

THE LESSER GODS OF OLYMPUS:

1. Eros (Cupid)often represented as blindfolded because love is often blind
2. Anterosthe avenger of slighted love; the one who opposes love
3. HymenGod of the Wedding Feast
4. HebeGoddess of Youth; daughter of Zeus & Hera; wife of Hercules
5. IrisGoddess of the Rainbow and a messenger of the gods
6. Graces3 of them; Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Good Cheer); daughters
of Zeus & Eurynome; Aglaia married Hephaestus
7. Muses9 of them; Clio (history), Urania (astronomy), Melpomene (tragedy), Thalia (comedy),
Terpsichore (dance), Calliope (epic poetry), Erato (love-poetry), Polyhymnia (songs to the gods),
and Euterpe (lyric poetry); daughters of Zeus & Mnemosyne

THE GODS OF THE WATERS:
1. PoseidonLord and Ruler of the Sea
2. Oceana Titan, Lord of the river Ocean; wife was Tethys; daughters were the Oceanids; sons
were the gods of all the rivers
3. Pontusmeans the Deep Sea; mother was Mother Earth; son was Nereus
4. Nereuscalled the Old Man of the Sea (the Mediterranean); wife was Doris (an Oceanid); had
50 daughters (the Nereids): Thetis (mother of Achilles) and Amphitrite (Poseidons wife) were
both Nereids
5. Tritontrumpeter of the Sea (trumpet was a shell); son of the Poseidon & Amphitrite
6. Proteussome myths said he was Poseidons son and others, his attendant; had the power of
both foretelling the future and changing his shape at will

THE UNDERWORLD:
1. Hades and his Queen, Persephonerulers of the Underworld
2. Tartarus and Erebus2 divisions of the underworld; either name is used to refer to the entire
lower region
a. Tartarusdeeper of the 2; the prison of the Sons of Earth
b. Erebuswhere the dead pass as soon as they die
3. Cerberuson guard before the gate; three-headed dragon-tailed dog; permits all spirits to
enter, but none to return
4. Rhadamanthus, Minos, and Aeacus3 judges who pass sentence and send the wicked to
everlasting torment and send the good to a place of blessedness, the Elysian Fields
5. the Erinyes (Furies)punish evildoers; usually represented as 3: Tisiphone, Megaera, & Alecto




THE LESSER GODS OF EARTH
1. Demeter & Dionysussupreme deities of the earth
a. DemeterGoddess of the Corn (daughter of Cronus & Rhea)
b. DionysusGod of the Vine
2. Panthe chief ruler; Hermes son; part-animal (had a goats horns and hoofs); was the
goatherds and shepherds god; a wonderful musician
3. Silenussometimes said to be Pans son and sometimes his brother; jovial fat old man; known
for his perpetual drunkenness
4. Castor & Polluxbrothers who were said to live half of their time on earth and half in heaven;
sons of Lena; often called sons of Zeus; special protectors of sailors; represented as riding
horses
5. The Centaurshalf man, half horse; more like beasts than men, however one of them, Chiron,
was known for his goodness and wisdom
6. the Gorgons3 dragonlike creatures with wings, whose look turned men to stone
7. the Graiaesisters of the Gorgons; 3 gray women who only had one eye between the 3 of them
8. the Sirenshad enchanting voices and their singing lured sailors to their death
9. the Fates3 of them: Clotho (the Spinner, who spun the thread of life), Lachesis (the Disposer
of Lots, who assigned each man his destiny), and Atropos (who cut the thread at death)

THE ROMAN GODS:
The influence of Greek art and literature became so powerful in Rome that ancient Roman deities were
changed to resemble the corresponding Greek gods, and were considered to be the same. Romans
adopted Greek gods because the Romans did not have definitely personified gods of their own. They
were a people of deep religious feeling, but they had little imagination
1. Jupiter (Zeus)
2. Juno (Hera)
3. Neptune (Poseidon)
4. Vesta (Hestia)
5. Mars (Ares)
6. Minerva (Athena)
7. Venus (Aphrodite)
8. Mercury (Hermes)
9. Diana (Artemis)
10. Vulcan or Mulciber (Hephaestus)
11. Ceres (Demeter)
Oedipus Rex or Oedipus the King Summary
When the play opens, Thebes is suffering a plague which leaves its fields and women
barren. Oedipus, the king of Thebes, has sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the house of
Apollo to ask the oracle how to end the plague. Creon returns, bearing good news: once the
killer of the previous king, Laius, is found, Thebes will be cured of the plague (Laius
was Jocasta's husband before she married Oedipus). Hearing this, Oedipus swears he will
find the murderer and banish him. The Chorus (representing the people of Thebes) suggests
that Oedipus consult Teiresias, the blind prophet. Oedipus tells them that he has already
sent for Teiresias.
When Teiresias arrives, he seems reluctant to answer Oedipus's questions, warning him that
he does not want to know the answers. Oedipus threatens him with death, and finally
Teiresias tells him that Oedipus himself is the killer, and that his marriage is a sinful union.
Oedipus takes this as an insult and jumps to the conclusion that Creon paid Teiresias to say
these things. Furious, Oedipus dismisses him, and Teiresias goes, repeating as he does, that
Laius's killer is right here before him - a man who is his father's killer and his mother's
husband, a man who came seeing but will leave in blindness.
Creon enters, asking the people around him if it is true that Oedipus slanderously accused
him. The Chorus tries to mediate, but Oedipus appears and charges Creon with treason.
Jocasta and the Chorus beg Oedipus to be open-minded: Oedipus unwillingly relents and
allows Creon to go. Jocasta asks Oedipus why he is so upset and he tells her what Teiresias
prophesied. Jocasta comforts him by telling him that there is no truth in oracles or prophets,
and she has proof. Long ago an oracle told Laius that his own son would kill him, and as a
result he and Jocasta gave their infant son to a shepherd to leave out on a hillside to die
with a pin through its ankles. Yet Laius was killed by robbers, not by his own son, proof that
the oracle was wrong. But something about her story troubles Oedipus; she said that Laius
was killed at a place where three roads meet, and this reminds Oedipus of an incident from
his past, when he killed a stranger at a place where three roads met. He asks her to
describe Laius, and her description matches his memory. Yet Jocasta tells him that the only
eyewitness to Laius's death, a herdsman, swore that five robbers killed him. Oedipus
summons this witness.
While they wait for the man to arrive, Jocasta asks Oedipus why he seems so troubled.
Oedipus tells her the story of his past. Once when he was young, a man he met told him
that he was not his father's son. He asked his parents about it, and they denied it. Still it
troubled him, and he eventually went to an oracle to determine his true lineage. The oracle
then told him that he would kill his father and marry his mother. This prophecy so
frightened Oedipus that he left his hometown and never returned. On his journey, he
encountered a haughty man at a crossroads - and killed the man after suffering an insult.
Oedipus is afraid that the stranger he killed might have been Laius. If this is the case,
Oedipus will be forever banished both from Thebes (the punishment he swore for the killer
of Laius) and from Corinth, his hometown. If this eyewitness will swear that robbers killed
Laius, then Oedipus is exonerated. He prays for the witness to deliver him from guilt and
from banishment. Oedipus and Jocasta enter the palace to wait for him.
Jocasta comes back out of the palace, on her way to the holy temples to pray for Oedipus. A
messenger arrives from Corinth with the news that Oedipus's father Polybus is dead.
Overjoyed, Jocasta sends for Oedipus, glad that she has even more proof in the uselessness
of oracles. Oedipus rejoices, but then states that he is still afraid of the rest of the oracle's
prophecy: that he will marry his mother. The messenger assures him that he need not fear
approaching Corinth - since Merope, his mother, is not really his mother, and moreover,
Polybus wasn't his father either. Stunned, Oedipus asks him how he came to know this. The
messenger replies that years ago a man gave a baby to him and he delivered this baby to
the king and queen of Corinth - a baby that would grow up to be Oedipus the King. The
injury to Oedipus's ankles is a testament to the truth of his tale, because the baby's feet
had been pierced through the ankles. Oedipus asks the messenger who gave the baby to
him, and he replies that it was one of Laius's servants. Oedipus sends his men out to find
this servant. The messenger suggests that Jocasta should be able to help identify the
servant and help unveil the true story of Oedipus's birth. Suddenly understanding the
terrible truth, Jocasta begs Oedipus not to carry through with his investigation. Oedipus
replies that he swore to unravel this mystery, and he will follow through on his word.
Jocasta exits into the palace.
Oedipus again swears that he will figure out this secret, no matter how vile the answer is.
The Chorus senses that something bad is about to happen and join Jocasta's cry in begging
the mystery to be left unresolved. Oedipus's men lead in an old shepherd, who is afraid to
answer Oedipus's questions. But finally he tells Oedipus the truth. He did in fact give the
messenger a baby boy, and that baby boy was Laius's son - the same son that Jocasta and
Laius left on a hillside to die because of the oracle's prophecy.
Finally the truth is clear - devastated, Oedipus exits into the palace. A messenger reveals
that he grabbed a sword and searched for Jocasta with the intent to kill her. Upon entering
her chamber, however, he finds that she has hanged herself. He takes the gold brooches
from her dress and gouges his eyes out. He appears onstage again, blood streaming from
his now blind eyes. He cries out that he, who has seen and done such vile things, shall
never see again. He begs the Chorus to kill him. Creon enters, having heard the entire
story, and begs Oedipus to come inside, where he will not be seen. Oedipus begs him to let
him leave the city, and Creon tells him that he must consult Apollo first. Oedipus tells him
that banishment was the punishment he declared for Laius's killer, and Creon agrees with
him. Before he leaves forever, however, Oedipus asks to see his daughters and begs Creon
to take care of them. Oedipus is then led away, while Creon and the girls go back in the
palace. The Chorus, alone, laments Oedipus' tragic fate and his doomed lineage.


Cupid and Psyche Summary
How It (Supposedly) Went Down
A king and queen have three daughters.
All three of the girls are attractive, but one of them is absolutely gorgeous Psyche.
People come from all around just to check out how beautiful Psyche is.
All this adoration of Psyche gets totally out of hand; men start worshiping her as if she were
a goddess and ignore the altars of the goddess of love and beauty, Venus (a.k.a. Aphrodite).
Men even start saying that Psyche is more beautiful than Venus. (Uh-oh.)
We bet you can guess who got mad about this. Yup, that's right Venus.
The goddess of love gets kind of hateful and orders her son, Cupid (a.k.a. Eros), to go and
punish Psyche by making her fall in love with the ugliest thing around.
Cupid sneaks into Psyche's bedroom to do his mother's bidding, but, when he sees how
beautiful Psyche is, he gets all distracted and pricks himself with his own arrow.
Cupid falls instantly in love with Psyche and leaves without doing what his mother told him to
do.
Psyche's life continues on as usual: everybody comes to gawk at how hot she is.
However, since Venus has it in for her, nobody ever falls in love with Psyche.
Psyche's two sisters end up getting married, but Psyche is stuck sitting alone in her room.
Getting worried that they've made some god angry, Psyche's parents decide to go consult
the oracle of Apollo about their daughter's future.
The oracle tells them that Psyche is destined to marry a monster that neither god nor mortal
can resist.
Psyche's parents are instructed to leave her on a mountain to await her monstrous husband.
They cry a lot about it, but they do it anyway.
So, Psyche is chilling on top of the mountain, fully expecting something terrible to happen.
Zephyr, the west wind, comes and lifts her, carrying the princess gently from the mountaintop
down to a beautiful field of flowers.
Psyche comes across an amazing castle and goes inside. The place is decked out with tons
of treasure and priceless pieces of art.
She hears voices that tell her that the palace and all the amazing stuff in it is hers.
She's treated to a wonderful feast, complete with an invisible singing chorus for
entertainment.
Her husband-to-be comes to her that night in the darkness of her bedroom, so she can't see
what he looks like. He tells her that she must never try to see what he looks like.
She's cool with that for a while, but eventually she gets lonely since he only comes at night
and because there are no other humans around.
Psyche convinces her invisible husband to let her sisters come and visit her. He reluctantly
agrees and has Zephyr float them down.
Psyche's sisters get super-jealous about her incredibly posh lifestyle. They start interrogating
her about who her husband is.
At first, Psyche lies and says he's a handsome young man who spends all day hunting in the
mountains. They don't buy it, though, and keep pumping her for information.
Eventually, Psyche admits that she's never seen him and that he only comes at night.
The jealous sisters remind Psyche of the prophecy that she would marry a monster, and they
convince their sister that she has to see what her husband looks like.
They advise her to wait until he's asleep, then stand over him with a lamp and a knife (in
case he's a monster).
That night she follows her sisters' advice and sees that her husband is none other than
Cupid.
Psyche is blown away by how ridiculously handsome her husband is. She's so distracted
that she lets a drop of oil fall and burns his skin.
Cupid wakes up and sees his wife standing there with the lamp and a knife.
Furious, he flies out the window, telling Psyche that she'll never see him again.
The beautiful palace disappears and Psyche is left all alone.
Totally depressed, Psyche goes back to her sisters and tells them what happened.
As if they hadn't already shown how totally awful they were, the sisters now go to the
mountaintop thinking that one of them might take Psyche's husband for themselves.
They jump off the mountain, expecting Zephyr to take them down. (No such luck.)
The jealous sisters fall to their deaths on the rocks below.
Meanwhile, Psyche wanders around trying to find Cupid.
She ends up going to a temple of Ceres (a.k.a. Demeter), goddess of the harvest. The
temple is a total wreck, so Psyche cleans it up.
Ceres is impressed with Psyche's devotion.
Psyche asks for some help.
Ceres wishes she could give Psyche a hand, but the goddess says she can't go against
Venus.
Ceres advises Psyche to go to Venus and humbly beg for forgiveness.
Psyche takes Ceres' advice and presents herself to Venus.
Venus is still crazy mad and gives Psyche a tongue lashing, telling the girl that Cupid is still
trying to recover from the burn that the oil gave him when it dripped on him.
The goddess of love tells Psyche that she must prove herself worthy to be Cupid's wife by
completing a task.
Psyche is taken to a storehouse full of wheat, millet, barley, and all kinds of stuff that Venus
uses to feed her pigeons.
Psyche is ordered to organize all the different kinds of grain the wheat with the wheat, the
barley with the barley, etc.
The job seems pretty much impossible, and, to make matters worse, Venus orders Psyche to
get it done by evening.
Cupid intervenes, however, and inspires a colony of ants to come out of the ground and help
out Psyche. (Phew! We were worried that Rumpelstiltskin might show up.)
The ants get the job done and disappear underground.
Venus returns and tells Psyche that it doesn't count, because Psyche couldn't have done it
by herself.
The next day the goddess of love gives her daughter-in-law another task. Psyche must
collect golden fleece from the back of every sheep in a herd that hangs out by a river.
As she's about to cross the river, though, a river god warns Psyche that, if she tries it when
the sun is rising, the human-hating rams will kill her.
The helpful river god advises her to wait until the noontime sun makes the herd go chill out in
the shade; then the rams won't mess with her.
Psyche follows the river god's advice and safely collects the wool.
Venus is still not satisfied, though, saying again that Psyche didn't do it on her own.
Next, the love goddess orders Psyche to go down to the world of the dead and see
Proserpine (a.k.a. Persephone), the queen of the underworld and wife of Pluto (a.k.a.
Hades). Venus says she wants Psyche to bring a little bit of Proserpine's beauty back in a
box.
Psyche bravely heads off to find the underworld, but she's really upset this time going to
the land of the dead is beyond dangerous.
How is Psyche supposed to get to the underworld? Is she supposed to kill herself? She
seems to think so.
Thankfully, before Psyche jumps off a cliff, she hears a voice (Cupid) that tells her how to
pull it off. The voice tells her where there's a cave that leads down to the underworld, how to
convince Charon (the ferryman) to take her there and back, and how to avoid Cerberus, the
vicious three-headed dog who guards the underworld.
Psyche makes it to Pluto and Proserpine's palace in the land of the dead and tells
Proserpine that Venus wants to borrow a little beauty.
A box is given to Psyche, and she's on her way.
The voice warns Psyche not to open the box, no matter what she does, but Psyche's just so
curious and can't help herself. The girl opens the box, thinking that, if she had a little of the
beauty herself, then she'd truly be worthy of Cupid.
Unfortunately, there's no beauty in the box at all, and when Psyche takes off the lid, she's
plunged into a deep sleep, collapsing in the middle of the road.
Cupid, who has finally recovered from his burn, flies to help his wife. He wakes her up with
one of his arrows, and he points out that once again her curiosity has gotten her in trouble.
Cupid tells her to take the box to Venus and to let him take care of the rest.
He flies to Jupiter (a.k.a. Zeus), and he begs the king of the gods to help him and Psyche.
Jupiter summons Venus and convinces her to chill out about the whole thing.
Then he brings Psyche up to Mt. Olympus, the home of the gods, and gives her some
ambrosia, which makes the girl immortal.
At long last, Cupid and Psyche get to be together.
Cupid and Psyche end up having a daughter together, named Voluptas (a.k.a. Hedone,
sometimes translated as Pleasure).