“I Have No Idea”

A few weeks ago I wrote a post on the teaching of Greek Mythology in middle schools. In the end I came to the conclusion that it is a cool subject to learn, and students can take a lot from it if taught correctly.

However, this got me thinking.

Before writing this blog I’m not sure how many of these myths I would have remembered from my middle school years. So let’s find out how much my roommates remember. If they don’t remember a lot then does this mean that the subject went to waste in middle school? Maybe… maybe not, but before we jump to conclusions here is the interview.

Name as many of the 12 Olympian gods as you can.

Ashley: Zeus, um uh Athena, Aphrodite, Hades… no maybe, Atlas wait was that the guy who held the world in his hand? Hermes, Poseidon. Pandora. Apollo.

Stef: Zeus, Athena, Hercules, I don’t know.

Gina: Zeus, Hermes, Hercules, Aphrodite, Poseidon…

• Answer: Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Hermes, Hestia, Dionysus

What is Athena known for?

Ashley: Athena…. Athens? Was it love slash… No that was Aphrodite. I have no idea.

Stef: Mom, is she the mom? Sexual?

Gina: She’s known for war.

• Answer: Goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.

Who is the wife of Zeus?

Ashley: I know this one. Hera.

Stef: Isn’t it like his sister?

Gina: Aphrodite…

• Answer: Hera

Who is the messenger god?

Ashley: Um hmm

Stef: What the heck these questions are so hard. I don’t know.

Gina: Oh um… Hermes.

• Answer: Hermes

Which god is known for her beauty?

Ashley: Athena

Stef: …

Gina: It’s Aphrodite… wait no Athena. It’s Athena.

• Answer: Aphrodite

What was your favorite part about learning about Greek Mythology?

Ashley: We learned about that in middle school?

Stef: I thought it was outrageous. Shit’s not real.

Gina: Greek mythology was tied in with the olympics and I thought that was cool. Also the food. We had a Greek food day.

So I’m not exactly sure what these results say about the middle school teachings of Greek Mythology, but it does say that my roommates have terrible memory’s. They all insisted that Hercules was an Olympian God. I think Disney has really punched that myth into their heads.

I was surprised that they struggled with some of these. I thought that Hermes as the messenger god was going to be a no-brainer, but they had a hard time with it! Two out of the three seemed to have enjoyed this subject, but like a lot of things you learn in middle school… the facts just didn’t stick.

 

The 5 Greek Gods You’ll Meet In College

Greek Gods are everywhere! You just have to look around. See? Right over there… it’s Apollo… Smoking a hookah and playing a ukelele under that tree.

1. Aphrodite – That girl who always looks better than you

Make Up (Photo credit: re_)

You can’t miss an Aphrodite. Mainly because she leaves a plume of perfume behind as she walks by you. Aphrodite can be found in your dorm bathroom. She’s staring at herself, but don’t get her confused with Narcissus. Aphrodite is just making sure her makeup is perfect, and that her curls are falling just right. She’s also probably applying a self tanner, and making sure that there is absolutely no room for you to wash your hands. Aphrodite has her makeup bags spread out across the entire bathroom. However, don’t hate her, you’ll need something from her closet this weekend.

2. Ares – The aggressive drunk guy

Saturday night’s all right for fighting (Photo credit: badjonni)

If you’re out at the bar, watch out for Ares. He’s had way too many, and he will definitely end up fighting someone in the bathroom. Ares likes conflict, and he’s oddly good at pissing people off. If you’re a guy and you don’t know an Ares… then you’re probably him. The bouncers hate him, and the women fear his drunken wrath. Ares, here’s a message from the rest of us- figure out your limit and stop beating up our boyfriends.

3. Athena – The perfect girl in class

Oh Athena, how we all loathe having class with you. Athena shows up in workout gear… looking perfectly in shape of course, and she knows all the answers. How can someone be so athletic and smart at the same time? Athena probably just went on a 6 mile sprint, but you would never know it. She’s ready for class, and she probably already read the whole book. If you have a class with Athena do not, I repeat do not try to outsmart this girl. This is her class now.

4. Hermes – The gossip

Chuck Bass (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Need some advice, but don’t care about all of your secrets being revealed to everyone? Go to Hermes. Hermes knows it all and he’s involved in everyone’s life. He’s wickedly popular because even though no one wants to admit it, we love gossiping and he’s the perfect person to do it with. Truthfully you’ve probably hated this person at one point in your college career because he told Stacy what you said about her outfit yesterday, but all your anger disappears when he dishes to you what went down that weekend you were out of town. Hermes… we hate to love you.

5. Zeus – The guy you need to know

What would your university be without Zeus? Hopefully he’s your best friend. If he’s not then you probably wish he was. Zeus lives off campus, but still manages to run the show back at school. He throws the best parties even though you don’t remember most of them. Now, there is not necessarily just one Zeus on campus. Every group has a Zeus and needs a Zeus. Where else would you party?!

And you probably think that you’re Hercules or Hera, but let’s be real. You’re probably Hestia… the most boring God of all.

To find out more people you’ll meet in college, check this out!

https://twitter.com/TiffMurr21/status/459037730673262592

Oh Hera

Hey there,

I’m Sam, writer of Action Jackson and Marveled Mommy. I’m here as a guest writer on Tossing The Greek Salad. Today I want to talk about the great Goddess Hera.

“Oh Hera, Hera, Hera.”

I feel like she is one of the most strong and unique goddesses ever… probably because of the fact that she resembles everything single-mommy-hood is all about in all its glory.

Hera has managed to keep her godly good looks and be a mother of three strong, powerful gods that all look to her when in need.

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.

This chick knew how to throw down and did it in style even before it was considered cool.

Hera was worshipped throughout Greece, and the oldest and most important temples were in honor of 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.

This is a god after my own heart. She is far older then her husband Zeus, and even at some point in time she was considered to be far more powerful as well.

Hera was so hot in her day that Zeus actually had to trick her into marrying him. He transformed himself into a wounded bird, and Hera, feeling sorry for the creature took pity on it and held the bird up to her breast. Zeus then transformed back into himself and raped her. Concealing her guilt and shame she married Zeus to cover up the embarrassment.

Now, I don’t agree with rape whatsoever, but Hera certainly turned this negative into a positive… she’s now married to the most powerful god. This Goddess has proved time an time again that she was in charge for a reason and she did well to make sure everyone remembered that.

Man’s Best Friend

English: Pegasus on roof of Poznań Opera House (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

For the Gods a dog just won’t do. They need something much more magical. In this case it’s Pegasus. The flying winged horse. I’ve always heard about this guy, but I had no idea that he had a backstory, or should I say back-myth.

Let me tell you about it. Pegasus is not just a horse… he is actually a son. This is what may surprise you. He is the son of Medusa and Poseidon. There is a lot more to their myth (that’s for another day), but apparently Perseus, the son of Poseidon, killed Medusa by chopping off her head. It was in that blood from her head where Pegasus was made.

As you may have come to realize, there are a lot of versions of these myths. In another version Zeus made the foam from the sea join with the blood from Medusa to make Pegasus. Either way, his birth is very interesting considering neither Poseidon nor Medusa are horses.

Weird.

So after his birth he was raised on Mount Helicon by the Muses… one of them being Urania. It would seem as though she really cared about Pegasus. She saw that he was going to do great things.

However, one day he was taken from them by Bellerophontes. So mean if you ask me! I am really seeing Pegasus as some sort of pet dog, I can’t help it. So to see that someone would steal him from his “owners” is absolutely terrible! Don’t you think? I will have to look up more about  Bellerophontes because she sounds terrible.

In the end though Pegasus wound up on Mount Olympus with the man, the myth, the legend… Zeus. And he stayed on the mountain with Zeus and with the Muses until the very end of his life.

Of course… he is one with the Gods so there can’t be a real “end” to his life. Zeus must have really cared about Pegasus. So he gave him immortality in the form of a constellation. Pegasus is now a group of stars in the sky.

I had no idea that Pegasus was not immortal, but I’m happy that Zeus gave him a certain kind of immortality. Stars.

It’s very fitting.

The Brothers Trade

Now I’m not one to judge. I fight with my brother all of the time. But I can’t say that I have ever had the family relationship that Hermes and Apollo have. To understand their story… you first need to hear how Hermes even came into the picture.

It all started when Zeus had relations with Maia, a nymph. I’m just going to have to assume that you know what I mean by relations. Anyways, that happened, and Maia was instantly pregnant. Zeus is clearly very good at what he does.

The amazing part about this story is that by dawn the very next morning Maia was already in labor. She has Hermes, and that’s where his story begins. Maia bundles up Hermes and proceeds to fall asleep with him, but that of course does not go as planned. Hermes squirms out of her arms while she is asleep and proceeds to run away.

Leave it to the child of Zeus to be able to walk only hours after birth.

So Hermes makes it all the way to a field where his brother Apollo grazes his cattle. And what does he do? He steals them. Awesome! Welcome to the family Hermes. So he takes the cattle all the way back to where he was born in Greece, and along the way he makes a lyre. It’s a special lyre because it’s actually the first one ever made! Talk about a busy first day of life.

Well, in typical younger brother fashion, Hermes gets right back into the arms of his mother. Apollo is very upset and complains to Maia and Zeus that he saw Hermes steal his cattle. Zeus, of course, was watching the whole time, and makes Hermes give the cattle back. However, during this argument Hermes starts to play his lyre. The music soothes Apollo so much that he decides to make Hermes a deal. He will give Hermes his cattle if he can have the lyre.

Hermes of course agrees. It’s almost as if that was his plan all along. Let’s be real, it probably was.

Going forward, Hermes is one day out with his new cattle when he makes the first pan pipes. Apollo also wanted this instrument so he traded Hermes for a golden wand. Hermes went on to use that wand as his heralds staff… and Apollo went on to master his new instruments.

I think that in the whole scheme of the things the brothers actually worked well together. It started off a little rough, but after some trading they really used their relationship to find their niches in the immortal world. And that’s pretty special!

Why Teach It?

I’ve been thinking lately… why do they even teach Greek Mythology in middle schools? I loved it when we did learn about it, but I can’t help but think that it’s a rather strange topic especially considering they are ancient Greek beliefs. It’s not exactly a very current topic.

However, after doing a little research I have found that teaching Greek Mythology is more than just a lesson on Zeus and his family. When middle schoolers learn about Greek Mythology they get to explore history, art, literature, and even language. Mythology is a great gateway into all of these other topics, and frankly its fun to learn about.

“By studying ancient mythologies, students also start thinking analytically about modern culture, analyzing the traces of ancient mythology has left behind and the legends that have been created in their own day.”

The website above actually has many learning materials for teachers to use. There are textbooks, writing materials, and even posters. The posters may be my favorite. The drawings are pretty cool, and I like how they say what each god is known for. I am starting to see why I learned about this when I was in middle school.

That leads to my next thought, which is what exactly did I learn all those years ago? Some of it has certainly stuck with me. Before starting this blog I could already tell you who Athena was and what she did. However, I know I must have learned more. I found this middle school studies outline for teachers looking to teach Greek Mythology. This must be a very helpful resource for them. It gives ideas for activities (a lot of them online), and topics for discussion. My least favorite has to be the Greek God word search… like come on there has to be a more educational way to teach these kids! Word searches do nothing! On the other hand, the “Greek Lightning” quiz has to be my favorite…  just because of its name.

From this outline I see that a lot of what is taught has to do with the family tree, what each god is known for, and even the constellations! I guess we can add astronomy to the list of things kids learn from Greek Mythology in school! Apparently there are a lot of constellations that match up with a Greek Myth. Pretty sick. Like I noted earlier many of these activities are online. That was not how it was when I was in school. That is something I can definitely remember. I think it’s pretty cool that teachers are able to utilize online quizzes and activities now.

With that being said, there also wasn’t YouTube when I was in school. With YouTube I think teachers can gain a whole other element to their lessons. I found this one video that I think would be pretty educational for middle schoolers.

In the video the narrator explains how the ancient Greeks described the Earth’s processes, such as lightening being a product of Zeus. The topics discussed and the visuals are pretty simple, which I think this would make a pretty good addition to a lesson. Kids love watching movies and videos in class so this would be a great way to engage them. AND maybe the teacher could ask them to take notes during it. GASP. I would have been so angry myself, but hey, whatever helps!

SO… GUESS WHAT?

Greek Mythology goes way farther than just middle school. I have found that it’s actually offered as a degree in some college and universities.

“Greek Mythology teaches the gods, heroes, the nature of the ancient world, and the ritual practices of the ancient Greeks. Colleges in the UK offer this degree far more commonly than American institutes do, and studying abroad offers students a chance to view the ruins of the civilization they are studying. By knowing some of the colleges that offer this rare degree program you can begin to narrow down your school choices and take flight like Icarus towards your academic goals.”

It comes as no surprise to me that a degree in mythology is not easy to come by. I also agree that studying abroad would be the best way to get a well-rounded education on it. Why not even go take classes in Greece ?! It would be incredibly interesting to find out if they still learn and follow the mythology themselves.

I want to finish off this post with something fun. This WordPress blogger found something pretty exciting… if you ask me that is. It’s a “Which Greek God Are You” Quiz! I could not resist taking it myself, and you all need to take it too! Let me know what you get. I of course got Dionysus… the god of wine. If you remember from a previous post of mine I said that he was my favorite!

So let’s be real… keep teaching Greek Mythology in middle schools. I get it now.

Ok Prometheus…

Prometheus – David (Michael Fassbender) (Photo credit: Lyon & Pan)

Did you know?

Prometheus the movie is based loosely on Prometheus the Greek Titan?!

I sure did not. In fact I just watched this movie for the first time the other day. It came out awhile ago so I can’t remember what kind of reviews it got, but I wasn’t a huge fan. I thought it was a bit confusing, and there were too many questions left unanswered. My roommate says, “It’s a good prequel.” She loves sic fi so I trust her opinion.

Anyways if you’ve seen the movie yourself then you know that it’s about a team of researchers who go to another planet to find their “creator.” Apparently they believe that the creator of man lives there or something. This is just about all Prometheus the movie and Prometheus the Titan have in common. The Titan is known as the creator of man from clay. He is said to have given fire to man… and by doing this he defied the other gods. I guess he’s a bit of a rebel.

My first thought while reading about Prometheus the Titan is that I wish the movie was actually about him and not aliens. Anybody agree with me?

Sadly though, Prometheus’ myth did not end well. Zeus was very unhappy that Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity. So, in typical Zeus fashion he sentenced him to eternal torment. It’s terrible. He binds him to a rock and everyday an eagle comes and eats his liver. EATS HIS LIVER! And everyday his liver grows back so that the eagle can eat it the next day.

The moral of this story is do not mess with Zeus… and who would have known that the movie had anything to do with Greek Mythology?

Keeping It In The Family

It’s not easy being a fan of Greek Mythology. I’m sure you can agree with me. First of all the Olympians are a complicated family to understand. Second of all the internet is lacking in accurate information about them. And third of all people think you’re bat shit crazy for liking their incestual tendencies.

But hey just because I’m a fan of their amazing stories… doesn’t mean that I agree with everything they have done! With that being said let’s take a look at that unsettling family tree. I think this website puts it all in perspective for us myth lovers. I have looked at a lot of family trees for the Olympians, and this one is by far the most simple to understand.

What do you think?

Zeus is the most interesting if you ask me. He’s big, strong, powerful, and STILL chooses to bang his sisters. He had children with both Hera and Demeter. Their children of course are incredible and extremely talented, but that doesn’t make their family any less strange.

I hate to say it, but Zeus does more than just his sisters. In this family tree you can see that he pops up next to his cousins as well. What’s interesting is that all of his children are the most known in Greek Mythology. Apparently he’s doing something right. Just to name a few there is Persephone, Athena, Artemis, and Aphrodite.

Cupid’s Not Who You Thought He Was

It’s almost here. Valentine’s Day.  As a typical single girl I could care less. Friday the fourteenth… someone should make that a horror movie. Anyways, my first thought was about the discounted chocolate on Saturday. My second thought was about that cute little cherub we like to call Cupid. He flies around shooting arrows at people, forcing them to fall in love. Hey Cupid… would you mind shooting one into James Franco for me?

The real question is who is this flying little man… who is Cupid?

It turns out Cupid is not just a symbol of love. He goes way further back then I had realized. In fact, according to History.com he actually started out as Eros, the god of love. That’s right, that little guy is actually Greek.

There are many different stories as to where he originated, but my favorite has to be that his parents are Aphrodite and Zeus. That would make Zeus both his father and grandfather. I just think that is so “Greek God” of them. It’s perfect. It’s also interesting that he used to be portrayed as irresistable, and someone that the other gods were attracted to. Look at him today!! Such a change.

The change could have been for good reason because Eros was not always the nicest guy. History.com shared one allegory that made it clear to me that I would not want to mess with him.

“Armed with a bow and a quiver filled with both golden arrows to arouse desire and leaden arrows to ignite aversion, Eros struck at the hearts of gods and mortals and played with their emotions. In one story from ancient Greek mythology, which was later retold by Roman authors, Cupid (Eros) shot a golden arrow at Apollo, who fell madly in love with the nymph Daphne, but then launched a leaden arrow at Daphne so she would be repulsed by him.”

That’s pretty messed up! Who would do that? Clearly someone who is destined to become the baby on our CVS Valentine’s Day cards. Hopefully there are other stories of him doing more good than evil.

I have to ask though… who would you want Cupid to match you up with?

I Will Go The Distance

Let’s talk about those pesky people up in the clouds. The people who live in a constant toga party. You know who they are, Greek Gods, and the myths that surround them.

My name’s Tiffany, and no I am not Greek… like not at all, but yes I find these toga wearers fascinating. And that is why I am going to blog about them. Who knows where this will go. There are 14 Olympian Gods, and those are the people whom I want to focus on.

I am in college. That is awesome. I am a senior in college. That is not awesome. Why would I ever want to leave this place? I get to hang out with my friends all day. It’s a perfect situation! I will absolutely be the girl at graduation bawling her eyes out. “Don’t make me join the real world!” I will yell as I cross the stage.

You should follow my blog because I think I’m interesting, but this topic will be the interesting factor. Who doesn’t love Percy Jackson? That’s a trick question because I am pretty sure nobody liked that movie. So far my knowledge about these beings has come from 6th grade, and Hercules (the Disney version). This blog will be a way for me to do some research, and share with you what I learn.

So like I said before there are 14 main gods. Technically I could write 14 wonderful posts describing each one and their myth, but let’s see if I can get a little more creative. A “Greek Gods if They Were College Students” post would be pretty sick. In general, tying them into college would make for some quality posts. Greek Gods are featured in the movies a lot. I’m also thinking about making a subtopic for this blog having to do with how they are portrayed in the media. Specifically if the portrayals are accurate or not. Another subtopic may be how Greek Mythology was celebrated by the Greeks. How did the Greek people honor them?

For those of you interested in Greek Mythology, then this is the blog for you. If you are already well versed in all things Greek… you may not come back to my page, but you beginners I will see again!  I am hoping to learn a lot, and grab the attention of as many people as I can. This is not a common blog topic, so maybe I’ll make it big!

Oh also it’s the Olympics… so the timing of this is kind of ideal.