Classical Mythology: Difference between revisions

Line 17:

The central figures of Greek mythology were the [[Classical Mythology/Characters|Twelve Olympians]]: '''Zeus''', '''Hera''', '''Poseidon''', '''Demeter''', '''Ares''', '''Hermes''', '''Hephaestus''', '''Aphrodite''', '''Athena''', '''Apollo''', '''Artemis''', and '''Hestia'''. '''Hades''' lived in the Underworld and thus was not an Olympian; Hestia was sometimes not counted because she gave up her seat to '''Dionysus'''.

In Homer's portrayal, they were basically [[Physical God|super-powered humans]] without [[Comes Great Responsibility|the super-]] that comes standard with powers these days. Zeus, for example, was a philandering rapist, responsible for a large share of the [[Half-Human Hybrid|god-human hybrids]] running around. Many of these became great heroes, the most famous of which was '''Hercules/Heracles/Herakles'''. Though you'd think Zeus's wife and [[Brother-Sister Incest|sister]] Hera would be a sympathetic character, she spends most of her time taking out her frustrations on said heroes, probably because Zeus, said to be more powerful than all the other gods and goddesses combined, was beyond her ability to take any meaningful revenge on. Other gods engaged in similar behavior. Hades, while [[Hijacked By Jesus|not as]] [[Everybody Hates Hades|evil as his]] [[Theme Park Version]], got his wife by kidnapping his niece '''Persephone''' (with Zeus's approval and assistance). This prompted the girl's mother, Demeter, to [[Just So Story|create summer in retaliation]]. Greece and Italy are considerably warmer than other parts of Europe, and their summers are much hotter, so as the myth moved north, it became the explanation for winter instead. And [[War God|Ares]]... Well, he ''defines'' [[Jerkass]].

In Homer's portrayal, they were basically [[Physical God|super-powered humans]] without [[Comes Great Responsibility|the super-]] that comes standard with powers these days. Zeus, for example, was a philandering rapist, responsible for a large share of the [[Half-Human Hybrid|god-human hybrids]] running around. Many of these became great heroes, the most famous of which was '''Hercules/Heracles/Herakles'''. Though you'd think Zeus's wife and [[Brother-Sister Incest|sister]] Hera would be a sympathetic character, she spends most of her time taking out her frustrations on said heroes, probably because Zeus, said to be more powerful than all the other gods and goddesses combined, was beyond her ability to take any meaningful revenge on. Other gods engaged in similar behavior. Hades, while [[Hijacked By Jesus|not as]] [[Everybody Hates Hades|evil as his]] [[Theme Park Version]], got his wife by kidnapping his niece '''Persephone''' (with Zeus's approval and assistance). This prompted the girl's mother, Demeter, to [[Just-So Story|create summer in retaliation]]. Greece and Italy are considerably warmer than other parts of Europe, and their summers are much hotter, so as the myth moved north, it became the explanation for winter instead. And [[War God|Ares]]... Well, he ''defines'' [[Jerkass]].

The '''Titans''' were a previous generation of gods overthrown by Zeus, though in [[The Theme Park Version]] they tend to be treated as another class of beings entirely. There were also minor gods such as the '''Muses''', '''Graces''', and countless nymphs, plus various monsters which you can today read about in the ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'' Monster Manual.

Line 27:

It should be noted that Greek and Roman religious ideas were not monolithic. In later years, people began worshiping all kinds of newfangled eastern gods. [[Plato]] wanted to outlaw [[Homer (Creator)|Homer]]'s epics because [[Moral Guardians|he thought their gods were bad role-models]]. Considering their ''lack'' of [[Comes Great Responsibility]], he may have had a point. Philosophers exercised various degrees of skepticism towards the old myths, to the point that the Epicureans were accused of atheism (though some scholars say that atheism in those days meant a lack of worship for the gods and not a lack of belief). Some historians, notably Euhemerus, tried to reinterpret the gods as having originally been great kings. The Epicurean writer Lucian of Samosata was already [[Deconstruction|deconstructing]] popular religious stories in the second century AD. Belief in classical mythology gradually waned between the second and fifth centuries, largely due to the spread of the then-new religion [[Useful Notes/Christianity|Christianity]]. In fact the Romans' dislike of Christians stemmed from the fact that Christians refused to accept any god but their own, which the Romans considered arrogant.

In addition to all this, the Greeks (and, later, the Romans) had a habit of identifying and referring to other people's gods by the names of their own deities. So a Germanic tribe might be said to said to worship Mercury if their principal god was similar enough to the guy; it helped that many of the peoples they came in contact with (the Celts and Germans in particular) were Indo-European and thus their mythologies [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/~~Proto-Indo-~~European_religion~~ shared a common origin]. There was also strong regional variation in worship of individual gods, both in emphasizing individual gods and particular attributes of the various gods.

In addition to all this, the Greeks (and, later, the Romans) had a habit of identifying and referring to other people's gods by the names of their own deities. So a Germanic tribe might be said to said to worship Mercury if their principal god was similar enough to the guy; it helped that many of the peoples they came in contact with (the Celts and Germans in particular) were Indo-European and thus their mythologies [[wikipedia:Proto-Indo-European religion|shared a common origin]]. There was also strong regional variation in worship of individual gods, both in emphasizing individual gods and particular attributes of the various gods.

Characters from this period are universally recognizable to viewers thanks to a dress code heavy in drape-and-cinch unpatterned linens, plus, they've all made the uncanny decision to speak with a [[British Accent]].

Line 71:

** Sometimes Hades as well.

* [[All-Star Cast]]: About half the point of the story of the ''Argo'', Hunt of the Calydonian Boar, and the Battle of the Lapiths were to gather a ridiculous number of well-known heroes together in one place.

* [[Alternate Company Equivalent|Alternate Mythology Equivalent ]]: [[Hindu Mythology|Indra]] and Zeus are very similar characters. Both are [[Jerkass God|Jerkass chief god]] of the pantheons, wielding [[Bolt of Divine Retribution]] and has pretty amusing sexual life. This is due to their [~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/~~Proto-Indo-~~European_religion~~ common origin] in the Indo-European warrior tribes that expanded out from the plains region north of the Black Sea.

* [[Alternate Company Equivalent|Alternate Mythology Equivalent ]]: [[Hindu Mythology|Indra]] and Zeus are very similar characters. Both are [[Jerkass God|Jerkass chief god]] of the pantheons, wielding [[Bolt of Divine Retribution]] and has pretty amusing sexual life. This is due to their [[wikipedia:Proto-Indo-European religion|common origin]] in the Indo-European warrior tribes that expanded out from the plains region north of the Black Sea.

** Also Apollo and [[Norse Mythology|Freyr]], Hades and [[Finnish Mythology|Tuoni]] and etc.

** The weekdays Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are named after the Norse/Germanic gods Tiw, Wodan, Thor, and Freya. In the Romance languages, their names are different: For example, in Italian, they're called Martedi (Mars), Mercoledi (Mercury), Giovedi (Jove/Jupiter), and Venerdi (Venus). The implication is that Mars is equivalent to Tiw, Mercury to Wodan, Jupiter to Thor, and Venus to Freya. (Incidentally, it also means that the names of the days of the week are named after [[Useful Notes/The Solar System|the Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn]]--the seven planets of [[Western Zodiac|traditional Western astrology]].)

Line 88:

** There's also Atalanta, who, after making a vow of chastity to Artemis, had to kill two centaurs, Rhaecus and Hylaeus, who tried to rape her (some accounts say Meleager killed them). In fact, Centaurs are a common victim (or criminal?) of this trope. They go around trying to rape just about anything with a vagina. The whole Centauromachy happened because the centaur Eurytion tried to rape a woman in a wedding and that woman happened to be the bride. One centaur with amazingly big balls called Nessus tried to rape Deianeira, Heracles' wife. Heracles killed him.

* [[At the Crossroads]]: The Ur-example and [[Trope Maker]] is probably the goddess Hecate who was goddess of the crossroads as well as her prominent realms of the dead, ghosts, magic, night and moonlight (if you didn't live in a region big on Artemis or Selene). Like other deities of paths such as Hermes or the Roman Janus, her offerings would be placed at the crossroads so she would control the evil spirits that walked along them. The Romans had a comparable deity Trivia (though one a bit [[Darker and Edgier]]) so this aspect continued strongest. This rite survived for quite a while into the Christianisation of Europe which leads to religious figures specifically demonising the practice which leads to the strong [[Deal With the Devil]] associations throughout Western Civilisation.

* [[Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny]]: Atalanta, who's distracted from a footrace by [[How Do You Like Them Apples|sparkly golden apples.]]

* [[Attention Deficit Ooh Shiny]]: Atalanta, who's distracted from a footrace by [[How Do You Like Them Apples?|sparkly golden apples.]]

* [[Aw, Look -- They Really Do Love Each Other]]: While [[Hypocritical Heartwarming|Zeus himself]] does a lot of morally ambiguous things to [[Casanova|mortals]], if anyone besides him tries to make a move on Hera (or Leto), he reacts instantly and violently.

* [[Back From the Dead]]: Bacchus, [[Alcestis (Theatre)|Alcestis]], and Orpheus, just to name a few.

Line 155:

* [[Divine Parentage]]: lots and lots of examples. Many were children of Zeus, like Perseus, Heracles and Helen. Aeneas was a son of Aphrodite.

* [[Does Not Like Men]]: Artemis. While Athena and Hestia were also virgin goddesses, at least they weren't hostile towards the idea of even ''meeting'' a man. Ask poor Achteon, who was transformed into a deer, then eaten ''by his own hunting dogs'' for ''accidentally'' peeping on her...

** Sometimes averted in the myth of Orion, the greatest hunter in the history of the world, who she fell in love with and was going to marry. However, her [[My Sister Is Off Limits|jealous brother]] Apollo bet her she [[Schmuck Bait|couldn't shoot that far-off round object bobbing in the river]], [[Downer Ending|while poor Orion was off bathing]]...

** Sometimes averted in the myth of Orion, the greatest hunter in the history of the world, who she fell in love with and was going to marry. However, her [[My Sister Is Off-Limits|jealous brother]] Apollo bet her she [[Schmuck Bait|couldn't shoot that far-off round object bobbing in the river]], [[Downer Ending|while poor Orion was off bathing]]...

*** Another version of the myth had him create [[Scary Scorpions|Scorpio]] to kill Orion, who, when he couldn't beat it by himself, sought Artemis for help while she was practising archery on an island. Apollo still tricked her into sniping him, and she got revenge by killing Scorpio and [[Ascend to A Higher Plane of Existence|immortalizing Orion as a constellation.]]

* [[Don't Look Back]]: The Orpheus story.

Line 161:

** The [[Double Standard]] was reversed in those days from what we're used to: [[All Women Are Lustful]].

** On the other hand, in Homeric Hymns, we are told that while Hestia, Athena, and Artemis are immune to Aphrodite's power, Aphrodite had mated every god with mortal women, and every other goddess with mortal men. The hymn then recounts how Zeus saw to it that she got mated to a mortal man, to avoid too much trouble in Olympus.

* [[Double Standard Rape Divine On Mortal]]: The poster boy for this trope (that's putting it mildly). See [[Karma Houdini]].

* [[Double Standard Rape (Divine On Mortal)]]: The poster boy for this trope (that's putting it mildly). See [[Karma Houdini]].

* [[Downer Ending]]: Many myths have this kind of ending, although there are some that have a [[Bittersweet Ending|somewhat happy ending]].

** Even the great heroes like Perseus, Theseus, Hercules, Jason and Bellerophon always meet unfortunate ends.

Line 207:

* [[Genius Bruiser]]: Athena, being the Greek goddess of both warfare and wisdom. Minerva is her Roman equivalent.

** Also Theseus and Odysseus.

** Heracles is mostly recalled as a [[Hot Blooded]] [[Leeroy Jenkins]], but whenever he ''did'' allow himself to think things a little more, he would be a ''master'' of the [[Indy Ploy]].

** Heracles is mostly recalled as a [[Hot-Blooded]] [[Leeroy Jenkins]], but whenever he ''did'' allow himself to think things a little more, he would be a ''master'' of the [[Indy Ploy]].

** Hephaestus bested Ares using his skills as a smith, considerable wit and formidable strength. Not bad for a guy often considered a joke by the other Gods.

* [[Girl in A Box]]: Danae.

Line 222:

* [[High Class Call Girl]]: Aphrodite. She could be interpreted as a Companion at a [[Standard Royal Court]].

* [[Horned Humanoid]]: Minotaurs and Satyrs.

* [[Hot Blooded]]: Heracles, at his best. 'Nuff said. [[Unstoppable Rage|When at his WORST, tho...]]

* [[Hot-Blooded]]: Heracles, at his best. 'Nuff said. [[Unstoppable Rage|When at his WORST, tho...]]

* [[Hydra Problem]]: [[Trope Namer]].

* [[Hubris]]: This was the biggest sin possible in Classical Mythology, as it implied disrespect toward the Gods.

Line 290:

* [[Proper Lady]]: What Hera was supposed to be, before she was flanderized into Zeus's [[Yandere]]. Zeus's sister, Hestia, is more of a straight example.

* [[Rage Against the Heavens]]: Olympus is attacked more than once, and Heracles was known to get into fights with several gods.

** Gaia, mother of Earth, did it the most; first she plotted to have her husband, Ouranos, overthrown and killed by Cronus because he locked away the Gigantes, Cyclopes and Hecatonchires for their ugliness. Then, when Cronus is stupid enough to lock away the newly-freed giants after they were just freed (not to mention devour his children) she plots for Zeus to kill him. Then, as vengeance for the Olympians killing her children, the Titans (which she herself pretty much caused by the previous plot; never mind that Zeus had ''freed'' the kyklopes and hekatonkheires), she sets Typhon and the Gigantes onto the Olympians. Basically, she took offense to pretty much every generation of the gods, even when she got them into power in the first place. Brings a whole new meaning to [[~~Gaias~~ Vengeance]], doesn't it?

** Gaia, mother of Earth, did it the most; first she plotted to have her husband, Ouranos, overthrown and killed by Cronus because he locked away the Gigantes, Cyclopes and Hecatonchires for their ugliness. Then, when Cronus is stupid enough to lock away the newly-freed giants after they were just freed (not to mention devour his children) she plots for Zeus to kill him. Then, as vengeance for the Olympians killing her children, the Titans (which she herself pretty much caused by the previous plot; never mind that Zeus had ''freed'' the kyklopes and hekatonkheires), she sets Typhon and the Gigantes onto the Olympians. Basically, she took offense to pretty much every generation of the gods, even when she got them into power in the first place. Brings a whole new meaning to [[Gaia's Vengeance]], doesn't it?

*** Gaia never was the benevolent entity that modern usage tends to [[Captain Planet|attribute to her]]. All she cared about was her deity children being able to run all over the place. Them pummeling each other? Couldn't care less.

*** Damage to the environment? [[Sadly Mythtaken|Despite what people tend to indicate today]], apparently, she still didn't give a damn.

Line 305:

** Another legend involves the winged horse Pegasus flying up to the top of Mt. Helicon and striking a rock with his hoof, creating a stream of water. It became known as the ''Hippocrene'', literally the "Fountain of the Horse"

** A third legend involves a woman named Niobe who [[Blasphemous Boast|thought herself above the goddess]] Leto. To avenge this insult to their mother's honor, Apollo and Artemis flew from Olympus and smote each of Niobe's children. In her grief, Niobe turned into a stone constantly awash in tears.

* [[Rule 34]]: And much [[Older Than They Think]], at that, what with Agostino Carraci's ''[~~http://en.~~wikipedia~~.org/wiki/I_Modi~~ I Modi]''

* [[Rule 34]]: And much [[Older Than They Think]], at that, what with Agostino Carraci's ''[[wikipedia:I Modi|I Modi]]''

Line 314:

* [[Sealed Evil in A Can]]: Pandora's Box, the Titans and Typhon.

* [[Self Fulfilling Prophecies]]: No kidding. Someone along the line should have learned that trying to prevent, kill, or throw away an infant with [[Incredibly Lame Pun|bad prophecy]] is a surefire way of it coming back and, often completely unaware, do exactly what you tried to prevent it from doing (e.g. Perseus, Paris, Oedipus, Romulus and Remus, and many more).

* [[Semi Divine]]: Many, many demigods. Heracles is only the most famous.

* [[Semi-Divine]]: Many, many demigods. Heracles is only the most famous.

* [[~~Shape Shifter~~ Mashup]]: What happened to Scylla.

* [[Shapeshifter Mashup]]: What happened to Scylla.

* [[The Smart Guy|The Smart Gal]]: Athena. She is the goddess of [[The Philosopher|wisdom]], [[Gadgeteer Genius|craftsmanship]], and [[The Strategist|strategy]]. Oh, yes and Athens named themselves after her which shows that Athenians were [[Insufferable Genius|not humble]] about their reputation in such matters.

* [[Spell My Name With an "S"]]: Not impossible considering the fact that Greek did and still does use a different alphabet than English. An example would be Heracles often being spelled Herakles as well.

Line 346:

*** Other texts state: At first he was her slave, as punishment for killing a guy when he (Heracles, that is) was insane. Then, she married him when she recognized who he was. Then, he became decadent, and the whole cross-dressing thing started. Later, he got better and left her again.

* [[Who's On First?]]: Odysseus.

* [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]]: Tithonos, who was granted eternal life as a favour to his lover Eos, the goddess of the dawn. He was not granted eternal youth, so the gods decided to turn him into a cicada, [[Just So Story|which sheds its skin to remain eternally young, and chirps at the sign of his love]].

* [[Who Wants to Live Forever?]]: Tithonos, who was granted eternal life as a favour to his lover Eos, the goddess of the dawn. He was not granted eternal youth, so the gods decided to turn him into a cicada, [[Just-So Story|which sheds its skin to remain eternally young, and chirps at the sign of his love]].

* [[Wild Child]]: Romulus and Remus.

** Also Herakles' son Telephos (raised by a hind) and Agamemnon's murderer Aegisthos (raised by goat).