Zeus (Jupiter) and His Children

Special Topic: Zeus (Jupiter) and his children



A. Child born from Zeus’ head


Athena (Minerva): the Goddess of war and wisdom,






B. Children by marriage with Hera


Vulcan


Mars


Ilithyia


Hebe, the original wine bearer, married Hercules (Heracles)






C. Children by extramarital affairs


1. by Leda, Queen of Sparta


Castor and Pollux = the Dioscuri, the Gemini


Helen


Clytemnestra


2. by Europa, Princess of Phoenicia, sister to Cadmus (founder of Thebes)


Minos and Rhadamanthus = Judges of the Underworld


3. by Danae, Princess of Argos


Perseus, the great hero who killed Medusa and saved Andromeda


4. by Callisto, nymph in Arcadia, companion to Diana,


Arcas = Ursa Major and Ursa Minor


5. by Io, Princess of Argo, Priestess at Hera’s Temple, becoming Goddess Isis in Egypt


-famous offspring Hercules (Heracles) after many generations


6. by Alcmena


Heracles: The hero saved Prometheus.


The Greek allusions: Herculean tasks, the Milky Way


7. by Antiope


The twin Amphion and Zethus = saving mother and restoring the City of Thebes


8. by Semele, daughter to Cadmus and Harmonia (daughter to Venus and Mars),


Bacchus (Dionysus): the God of Wine, going to the Hades to save his mother who was transformed into the star Thyone

Zeus (Jupiter) and His Lovers

Special Topic: Zeus (Jupiter) and his lovers



OFFICIAL WIFE:


Hera (Juno), mother of Vulcan, Mars, Ilithyia, and Hebe


-Father: Cronus; Mother: Rhea;


-Foster father Oceanus, foster mother: Tethys


-Argus and the peacock






LOVERS:


1. Leda, Queen of King Sparta Eurythemis, mother of the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux = the Gemini) , Helen and Clytemnestra


2. Europa, Princess of Phoenicia, sister to Cadmus (founder of Thebes), mother to Minos and Rhadamanthus (Judges of the Underworld)


-The Island of Crete


3. Danae, Princess of Argos, mother to the great hero Perseus


4. Callisto, nymph in Arcadia, companion to Diana, mother to Arcas


-Ursa Major and Ursa Minor


5. Io, Princess of Argo, Priestess at Hera’s Temple


-Zeus disguised as fog


-watched by Argus


-The Wanderer


-became Goddess Isis in Egypt


-famous offspring Hercules


6. Antiope, mother to the twin Amphion and Zethus


-Zeus disguised as satyr


-The twin restored the City of Thebes


7. Semele, daughter to Cadmus and Harmonia (daughter to Venus and Mars), mother to Bacchus (Dionysus)


-burned to death


-baby was sewn to Zeus thigh, the twice born


8. Alcmena, mother of Heracles?


-The Milky Way


9. Ganymede, a Trojan boy, replacing Hebe to become the bearer of the wine for the Olympian Gods and Goddess, becoming the Aquarian


10. Leto, a nymph at the Olympian, transformed into a deer by Hera, rescued by a dolphin sent by Poseidon )Neptune) to the Island of Delo, bearing Apollo and Diana

The Deep Structure of Roman/Greek Mythology

希臘羅馬神話故事的深層結構:社會,文化,心理



The Deep Structure of Roman/Greek Mythology in Social, Cultural, and Psychological Spheres


A lecture outline by  Vinia




1. 象徵大自然力量的神力呼應人類社會權力結構
The Olympian gods and goddesses embody natural forces and their power structure runs parallel to that of human society.










a. Patriarchy: father and son


b. Centralized “I” and marginalized “Other”


c. Gender and sex


d. The fatal and the uncontrollable: temptations


e. God and man


f. Life and death


g. Crime and punishment














2. 象徵大自然力量的神力應人類文明的結構與分工
 The power embodied in each god/goddess and his/her role in the Olympian community can find its counterpart in human social structure.










a. A city and its patron god/goddess


b. A profession and its guardian god/goddess


c. Social role and responsibilities


d. Cooperation and competition


e. Community and alienation


f. Generation after generation










3. 眾神與人類英雄的偉大功績呼應人類種族的生存奮鬥
The great deeds of god/goddesses and human heroes reveal the hardship and ordeal of human survival.










a. Tasks that require physical prowess


b. Adventures that need intellectual wits


c. Development that falls out of control


d. Love that transcends life and death














4. 眾神與人類英雄荒腔走調的行徑表現出人類心靈的暗影
The off/tracking behaviors of god/goddesses and human heroes can be seen as the expressions of the unconsciousness or the dark shadow of human psyche.










a. Sexual violence


b. Insanity


c. Cultural and social taboos


d. Guilt


e. Transgression and excess


f. Uncanny transformations














5. 不知名的怪物奇獸與其不可思議的奇幻力量象徵人類文明所可能遭遇到的困境與挑戰
Those fantastic creatures and animals carry with them supernatural powers, which can be interpreted as the symbols of great challenges and crises posed to humanity, especially in the future.










a. From the inside


b. From the outside


c. From nowhere


d. From the future