The myth of Io depicts the story of a beautiful nymph who Zeus falls in love with. He seduces her and surrounds them in a cloud, so Hera, his wife, won't see them. She gets suspicious and Zeus ends up turning Io into a cow, disguising his love for her. Hera asks for the cow as a gift, and guards it fiercely. Eventually, Io is freed, but Hera sends a vicious gadfly to sting her. Io wanders for years and makes her way to Egypt, where she is turned back to a women. She becomes the Egyptian God Isis, and gives birth to the future rulers of Egypt. Greek mythology is intertwined with Egyptian mythology because of this, as are many geographical features that are named after her passing.
The myth of Io was important, not just because the story line
The supreme ruler and king of gods, Zeus, is often mentioned as Jupiter and the sender of thunder, lightning, rain, and wind (Britannica.com). “Zeus was the first of the gods and a very imposing figure. Often referred to as ‘the father of gods and men,’ he is a sky god who controls lightning.” (Britannica.com) Although the god is labeled most powerful and the mightiest of all, he is not perfect. Zeus is known for his promiscuous action. Often times he fell in love with one woman after the other and attempted to disguise his infidelity from his wife. Zeus left no woman behind in his crazy love-life, the god married and had children with his sister, Hera and. Hera was not Zeus’ only siblings. He also had two brothers, Poseidon and Hades and another sister named Hestia. His parents are known as Cronus and Rhea. Zeus was not just handed the title “god of the sky,” instead him and his two brothers drew lots. The sea was given to Poseidon, the underworld to Hades, and Zeus was named lord of the sky, rain god, and cloud gatherer. The eagle is considered sacred to this god. Zeus also treasures the oak tree. It is often told that the gods will was revealed by the rustling of the oak tree. (Hamilton 27)
Especially after Io’s entrance and the recount of her story, Hera seems more like a jealous wife than the noble queen she is presented as in Hesiod’s work. Her attitude towards Io is blamed on Zeus, who has not only provoked Hera’s actions but is her husband and thus responsible for Hera, as it was customary in ancient Greece.
Greek mythology has been passed on and retold over generations. Literature and movies have been created to entertain as well as provide specific themes based off of myths. There are many heroes that mythology talks about and each one has lived an epic life, but there is one famous hero that has been immortalized throughout history. Hercules is the son of Zeus and a mortal named Alcmene. Zeus impregnated her while her husband was away and this is where his story began. Zeus' wife, Hera, found out about the affair and was outrageous about his careless actions. She tried to prevent Hercules' birth; however, when that didn't work she sent snakes to kill the baby. Hercules was too mighty for the snakes and strangled them before they could even hurt him. As stated in this source, "Hera remained angry. How could she get even? Hera knew that she would lose in a fight, and that she wasn't powerful enough to prevent Zeus from having his way. Hera decided to pay Zeus back for his infidelity by making the rest of Hercules' life as miserable as she could" (Crane WEB). Hercules grew up to be a great young warrior and was all around. With this god-like strength, also came an uncontrollable temper that made him react at times without thinking, but later made him realize the wrongdoings of his violence. He later then married a woman named Megara and had two beautiful children. But one day, Hera instilled a fit of rage into Hercules and made him slaughter his family with his very own hands. He was shocked by his actions and asked Apollo for assistance since he was drowning in guilt. Apollo later then gave him specific tasks to help Hercules redeem himself for the bloodshed he caused. The hero was sent to Eurystheus, and under his strict hand, he was to accomplish twelve labors over the next twelve years.
Zeus turned Io, one of Zeus mistress, into a white heifer. He turned her into one, to protect her from Hera. Hera was not stupid. She demanded Zeus to give her the heifer. Hera then tied her up and had her guarded by the hundred, eyed Argus. The god Hermes rescued Io by using songs and stories to close all eyes of Argus. He then killed him, but Io remained a heifer. When Hera found out about this, she banished Io for good.
Stemming from a desired standpoint, Aphrodite, a gorgeous, perpetual young woman with a beautiful body is known as the goddess of love and beauty. Graciously assisting men charm their desired spouse with love enchantments, Aphrodite herself was no stranger to divine lovers as she held various relationships with both gods and mortals. Yet, despite her dynamic desirability and mixed personality, Aphrodite had to overcome her weak and frightful self (http://www.greek-gods.info/greek-gods/aphrodite/) due to her jealousy. Even though it was thought that she was born the daughter of Zeus and Dione, it was more frequently believed that she was born of the foam in the sea off of island Cyprus. Later on, Aphrodite went to marry lame smith Hephaestus, Olympian god of Iron, but was quietly acquiring a private affair with Ares, god of War.
In Greco-Roman Culture, humans imagine the deities of mythology to be and act certain ways, due to the needs they must fill. People invented certain deities for reasons that align with what they needed from them. To examine how a deity has a certain purpose, one must first examine what they are like. Athena and Ares are examples of deities invented for very specific purposes. One must first look at Athena and Ares’ similarities and differences in relation to their characteristics, their sexuality and physical appearances, as well as their different powers and how they are worshipped, to discover why they were created.
Isis was the goddess of magic. She was the sister of Nephthys, Seth, and Osiris. She was the daughter of Nut and Geb, and had a child named Horus with Osiris. She has the crown of the North and south. When her husband, Osiris was
The plot begins with the arrival of Hercules to Jeloco, where he's been summoned to mentor Iphitus, the son of the reigning king Pelias, in preparation for his eventual ascendancy to the throne. Immediately upon his arrival, he meets Iole, the daughter of Pelias and, saving her from her mangled chariot, accompanies her home. During their time together, she tells him of Eurysteus, a prisoner who had killed a woman and pocketed her money, the suspicious death of her uncle, and the theft of the golden fleece. When Hercules intones that he had heard that the murder had been prompted by the king Pelias, she balks that the suggestion. There is a mild spark between them, and the foreshadowing of a deeper romance.
Zeus, the incredible goddess is able to persuade him to allow Odysseus to eventually reach Ithica
Zeus’ affinity for being the main character of a myth is no different in the epic myth about his fight against Cronus and the Titans or the “Titanomachy.” In this larger-than-life battle Zeus has to overthrow his father Cronus and take his predestined place as king of the gods. In this myth however, Zeus has to grow and overcome many challenges that stand in his way to greatness. Zeus has to ask for help from his mother in order to be able to free his sibling from his father Cronus who had swallowed them whole. After Zeus frees his siblings he has to face the mighty Titans, so he asks the Cyclops and the Hecatonchires to aid him in this battle that lasts
Isis was known to be the goddess of fertility and motherhood. Egyptians say that she was the daughter of the god Keb (Earth) and the goddess Nut (Sky), wife and sister of Osiris, the sister of Seth, Nepythys, and the mother of Horus, the god of day. Isis shown in many photographs with miniature thrones or horns from her head and sometimes with a solar disc between the cows horns like Hathor. She was known to have taught Osiris all the aspects to agriculture. She taught the women to spin, weave, and flax
this story is almost completely based off of the Greek myth. Some other general plot similarities
go to Egypt where Zeus would restore her to her original form. Io finally swam across the sea, later named the Ionian Sea after her, and reached Egypt. The was changed back into a woman and bore Zeus' son, Eaphus, who was the ancestor of the Greek hero Hercules. Hercules later ended up freeing Prometheus from his rock.
Zeus fell in love with a Greek woman named Alcmene, and impregnated her. When the wife of Zeus, Hera, found out she tried to prevent the birth of the child. Hera could not stop the birth, and the child was named Hercules, which means “glorious gift to Hera” in Greek. Hercules was a demi-god because of one human parent and one god parent. Hera tried to kill the baby by placing snakes in his crib, butt the child strangled the snakes before they could kill him. Hera wanted to get revenge on Zeus by making Hercules life miserable.
The next referenced Greek myth we come across is that of Semele and Zeus on page 84. Semele was a mortal princess who was one of many seduced by the god Zeus. She became pregnant and would give birth to the god Dionysus. Semele reaches a tragic end when she is killed by Zeus’s wife/sister Hera. Zeus however is able to save the baby Dionysus. Once Dionysus grows up, he ventures to the underworld to save his mother and arranges for her to live on Mt. Olympus with the Gods (Morford et al. 2013). Aschenbach refers to Semele and Zeus when he is reflecting on the beauty and spirituality he experiences when he looks at Tadzio (Mann 2004 pp. 84). He looks at