document_title: The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)

question_text: when does the next handmaid's tale come out

question_tokens: when does the next handmaid 's tale come out

text: The Handmaid's Tale (TV series)

text: Plot[edit]

text: In the near future, fertility rates collapse as a result of sexually transmitted diseases and environmental pollution.[2] With this chaos in place, the totalitarian, Christian theonomic government of "Gilead" establishes rule in the former United States in the aftermath of a civil war.[3][4][5] Society is organized by power-hungry leaders along a new, militarized, hierarchical regime of fanaticism and newly created social classes, in which women are brutally subjugated, and by law are not allowed to work, own property, handle money, or read.[5] Worldwide infertility has resulted in the conscription of the few remaining fertile women in Gilead, called handmaids, according to an "extremist interpretation" of a Biblical account.[5] They are assigned to the homes of the ruling elite, where they must submit to ritualized rape with their male masters in order to become pregnant and bear children for those men and their wives.

text: June Osborne, renamed Offred (Elisabeth Moss), is the Handmaid assigned to the home of Gileadan Commander Fred Waterford (Joseph Fiennes) and his wife Serena Joy (Yvonne Strahovski). She is subject to the strictest rules and constant scrutiny; an improper word or deed on her part can lead to her execution. Offred, who is named after her male master like all Handmaids, can remember the "time before", when she was married with a daughter and had her own name and identity, but all she can safely do now is follow the rules of Gilead in the hope that she can someday live free and be reunited with her daughter. The Waterfords, key players in the rise of Gilead, have their own conflicts with the realities of the society they have helped create.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Main[edit]

text:
Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne/Offred, a Handmaid to Commander Fred Waterford and his wife, Serena Joy, mother of Hannah and wife of Luke.
Joseph Fiennes as Commander Fred Waterford, a high-ranking government official and Offred's master, who secretly meets with her to form a connection in the hopes she doesn't kill herself like her predecessor. Both he and his wife played an instrumental role in Gilead's founding.
Yvonne Strahovski as Serena Joy Waterford, Fred's wife and a former conservative cultural activist who appears to have accepted her new limited role in a society she helped create. Capable of great cruelty, she desperately wants to become a mother.
Alexis Bledel as Emily/Ofglen (later Ofsteven), Offred's Handmaid shopping partner. She is considered a "gender traitor" (a term used in Gilead in reference to homosexuality) and knows of a resistance movement called Mayday.
Madeline Brewer as Janine/Ofwarren (later Ofdaniel), a Handmaid with a fragile psyche who has had her right eye removed as punishment for misbehavior. She is convinced her Commander truly loves her and that he wants to run away with her and start a family.
Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia, a brutal instructor and guardian of the Handmaids. However, she seems to develop a fondness for Janine/Ofwarren.
O. T. Fagbenle as Luke Bankole, June's husband from before Gilead and father to their daughter Hannah. As June is his second wife, their union is considered invalid in the new society and Hannah to be illegitimate.
Max Minghella as Nick Blaine, Commander Waterford's driver and a former drifter from Michigan who develops feelings for Offred.
Samira Wiley as Moira, June's best friend since college. With June's help, she is able to escape her life as a handmaid but ultimately goes to work at one of Gilead's many unofficial brothels/sex clubs as a "Jezebel" named Ruby. She appears to have given up the will to escape Gilead altogether until June gives her the strength to escape again.
Amanda Brugel as Rita, a Martha, or housekeeper. Her son was killed in the Gilead takeover. (recurring season 1, starring season 2)[6]

text: Recurring[edit]

text:
Ever Carradine as Naomi Putnam, Commander Warren Putnam's wife. She views her baby merely as a status symbol and has no sympathy for the handmaids.
Kristen Gutoskie as Beth, a Martha at Jezebel's. She does business with Nick and appears to have quite an interest in him.
Tattiawna Jones as Ofglen #2, who replaces Emily in the position after she's captured by The Eyes. Her new life in Gilead is much better than her old one and she does not want to jeopardize it. However, she is the very first handmaid to refuse to punish Janine/Ofdaniel in the season finale.
Nina Kiri as Alma, a handmaid already "in service" upon Offred's arrival. She later becomes a contact to a possible resistance group.
Jordana Blake as Hannah Osborne, Offred's daughter.

text: Episodes[edit]

text:
No.
Title
Directed by
Teleplay by
Original release date

1
"Offred"
Reed Morano
Bruce Miller
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)

A woman flees from a group of men with guns, but she is captured and separated from her young daughter; her husband has vanished. She is known as Offred, a handmaid to Commander Fred Waterford. Offred goes grocery shopping with her companion, Ofglen. On the way home, they pass by a wall of men who have been hanged for crimes such as being gay, working in an abortion clinic, and being Catholic.[7] In a flashback, various women are indoctrinated into the handmaid roles by Aunt Lydia, who tells them about declining birth rates and that they are "special", serving a Biblical purpose. Offred enters the room and notices Moira, a woman she knew at college. One woman in the class, Janine, answers Lydia back and is shocked with a cattle prod before having her right eye removed as punishment. In the present, Commander Waterford tries to impregnate Offred as she lies in the lap of his wife, Serena Joy. The next day, the handmaids gather in an open field where Lydia announces a man has raped a pregnant handmaid. As punishment, the handmaids are allowed to beat him to death. Janine tells Offred that Moira is dead. On the way home, Ofglen tells Offred that she had a wife and son and warns her there is an Eye (a secret spy) in her house. Through voiceover, Offred reveals her true name, June, and that she intends to survive to find her daughter.

2
"Birth Day"
Reed Morano
Bruce Miller
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)

Offred and Ofglen go shopping and they reveal more personal information about themselves to each other. While they are walking, Offred and Ofglen see St. Paul Catholic Church, the local church they belonged to, being destroyed by the new régime.[8][7] Ofglen tells Offred that the régime also bulldozed St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan to try to "erase" the fact that it ever existed; Offred asks how Ofglen knows this information and she reveals that she is part of a resistance against the government.[9] Ofglen asks her to join, but Offred declines. Nick, Commander Waterford's driver, tells Offred that the Commander wants to see her alone later that night, which is forbidden. Nick also warns her “Don't get too close to [Ofglen]. It's dangerous.” Offred and other handmaids go to a home to witness the birth of Ofwarren's (formerly Janine's) child, named "Angela" by the Puttnams, but "Charlotte" by Ofwarren. In flashbacks, June remembers the birth of her own daughter, Hannah. At that time healthy births were already rare, and a woman tried to kidnap Hannah but was arrested. Offred goes to the Commander's office, unsure of what will happen, but he just wants to play Scrabble. She laughs with relief when she returns to her room. The next day, Offred prepares to tell Ofglen what happened that night, but when she goes outside, it's a different woman who introduces herself as Ofglen.

3
"Late"
Reed Morano
Bruce Miller
April 26, 2017 (2017-04-26)

In flashbacks, the rise of Gilead is detailed. June and all the other women at her office are fired because "it's the law now". June and Moira also learn that the government has frozen all women's bank accounts and that they can no longer own property. In the present, Serena takes Offred to see Ofwarren and the baby. Offred fears Ofwarren is delusional and comments on her behaviour to Serena. Nick drives Offred home and there is a black van waiting. Offred is interrogated by an Eye and Aunt Lydia about her knowledge of Ofglen. Offred eventually reveals she knew Ofglen was gay and quotes one of the Beatitudes from the Bible; for this, Lydia shocks Offred with a cattle prod. Before she can leave the room, Offred responds by quoting the Bible back: “Blessed are those who suffer for the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.” That would have earned her a much more serious beating but Serena intervenes, yelling at them to stop as she believes that Offred is pregnant. Nick visits Offred in her room to check on her and they share an intimate moment. Offred later tells Serena that she's not pregnant so Serena angrily drags her to her room and loudly orders her not to come out. In a flashback, June and Moira attend a protest against the new laws that is suppressed by automatic gunfire and explosives. In the present, Ofglen and the Martha she's in a relationship with are charged with "gender treachery", with Ofglen receiving a lesser sentence because she can still bear children. The Martha is executed by hanging as Ofglen watches, sobbing and horrified. Later, Ofglen (now referred to by her "old" name, Emily) wakes up in a clinic, having undergone female genital mutilation surgery as explained by Aunt Lydia.

4
"Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum"
Mike Barker
Leila Gerstein
May 3, 2017 (2017-05-03)

Offred, who is banished to her room, goes into the closet where she finds the Latin phrase Nolite Te Bastardes Carborundorum scratched into the wall. Rita, the Commander's housekeeper, finds Offred lying in the closet but Offred tells her that she fainted. Believing she is ill, Serena has Offred sent to the hospital for a check-up. While examining Offred, the physician remarks that the Commander is sterile, because "most of those guys are". He offers to impregnate her but she declines. In flashbacks, Aunt Lydia teaches the handmaids (including June and Moira) about the "Ceremony": when the Commander rapes a handmaid. Later, June lures Aunt Elizabeth into the bathroom saying a toilet has overflowed, and Moira threatens the Aunt with a shiv. June and Moira take her to the basement where Moira takes the Aunt's outfit and they tie her up. June and Moira begin their escape, hoping to leave via train to Boston, which has safehouses. When Moira is asking one of the guards for directions, June is approached by another guard who is suspicious of her being alone. Moira gets on the train, leaving June behind, but June smiles at her to let her know it's okay. June is later punished by having her feet whipped. In the present, Commander Waterford has an unsuccessful Ceremony night with Offred. Later that night, the Commander and Offred have another game of Scrabble where she asks him about the Latin phrase; he tells her it means "Don't let the bastards grind you down". She also inquires about the previous Offred, in which he tells her that she committed suicide because life was unbearable. He makes it known that he doesn't want that to happen again and releases Offred from her solitary confinement.

5
"Faithful"
Mike Barker
Dorothy Fortenberry
May 10, 2017 (2017-05-10)

Serena suggests to Offred that she have sex with Nick in case Commander Waterford is sterile. At the grocery store, Offred talks to the original Ofglen, now called Ofsteven, but she is not as responsive as she used to be. During a Ceremony night, The Commander touches Offred's thigh, which she later tells him never to do again. Nick reveals to Offred that he is indeed an Eye. At an open-air market, Offred questions Ofsteven about "Mayday", the resistance group. Ofsteven steals one of the guards' cars and proceeds to drive away; in the process, she kills a guard by running him over but she is caught and put into a van. Later that day, Serena leads Offred up to Nick's room where she waits by the door while they have Ceremony-like sex. Flashbacks detail Luke and June's first meeting and courtship. Offred returns to Nick's place alone later that night and they share an intimate night.

6
"A Woman's Place"
Floria Sigismondi
Wendy Straker Hauser
May 17, 2017 (2017-05-17)

Mexican delegates visit the Commander's home in an effort to create partnerships in trade and see the effects of the Gilead cultural movement. The head of the Mexican delegation is a woman who questions Offred about her experience in Gilead. With great self-control, Offred tells them, "I have found happiness". After the meeting, Offred visits the Commander's office for their usual discussions where some tensions flare up between them. He asks her to kiss him "like you mean it". She kisses the Commander and leaves, ferociously brushing her teeth afterwards. The handmaids are then taken to a party to honour Gilead and show the foreign delegates their success, including presenting the children of Gilead. Offred's friend remarks that the delegates are interested in fertile women as a commodity to be traded between the two nations. The next day, as the delegates are leaving, Offred tells them the brutal truth about Gilead. She pleads for their help, but the Mexican ambassador claims that she cannot help Offred and explains her own country's dire situation. When Offred is left alone with the ambassador's assistant, he claims her husband is alive and that he can send a message to him. Flashbacks detail Serena and Fred's life before and during the beginnings of the Gilead movement. Serena is revealed to have been a conservative cultural activist during the "life before", with a passion and intelligence equal to that of her husband's (as well as a special fondness for movie popcorn). She even wrote a book about her beliefs, titled A Woman's Place, which contained the famous line "do not mistake a woman's meekness for weakness". However, after the takeover, she is shown to be completely shut out of the new government planning (to Fred's dismay). Rather symbolically, as she prepares to accept her new limited role in the society she helped create, a copy of her book is seen being thrown out in the trash.

7
"The Other Side"
Floria Sigismondi
Lynn Renee Maxcy
May 24, 2017 (2017-05-24)

The episode chronicles the story of Luke after he is separated from his wife and daughter. Luke is shot by Gileadan guards and taken in an ambulance to be interrogated. He escapes when the ambulance gets into an accident and he takes some supplies with him. Evidence of the country's violent takeover is everywhere. After passing out from his wounds, he is awoken by a resistance group (viewed as "undesirables" by Gilead) who are traveling to Canada; these survivors included a Roman Catholic nun, an escaped handmaid, a homosexual man and a daughter of a US army soldier.[10] Initially reluctant, Luke joins them after one of the survivors, Zoe, shows him that Gileadan authorities hanged local townspeople from the rafters of their church for resisting.[11][12] As they are boarding a boat, they are shot at by Gileadan guards, who kill several members of the group. Luke and one of the members, a mute blonde woman who was being trained as a handmaid, survive and flee. Flashbacks prior to Luke, June and their daughter Hannah being separated are detailed. June and Luke get help from Mr. Whitford, a man who knew June's mother. He drives them safely out of town and drops them off at a secluded cabin in the woods. Luke and June wait as Mr. Whitford gets documentation for them to escape to Canada. They are confronted by a hunter, who tells them Whitford has been caught and hanged. But the man says he can help them get over the border. Three years later, Luke and the mute blonde woman are living safely in "Little America", based in Toronto, Ontario. Missing person flyers are posted everywhere in the main administrative office. Luke receives the letter from June, which reads "I love you so much. Save Hannah."

8
"Jezebels"
Kate Dennis
Kira Snyder
May 31, 2017 (2017-05-31)

Commander Waterford gifts Offred with makeup and a dress as he is taking her out for the night. Nick drives them to Boston to an underground brothel where prostitutes known as "Jezebels" work. Offred spots Moira working in the club and they briefly reunite. Nick trades drugs and pregnancy tests for alcohol with one of the brothel's Marthas. Offred goes to see Moira again, where she explains to Offred about how Quakers tried to help her escape, but were caught.[13][14] Moira had the choice of either being sent to the colonies or one of the brothels.[14] Moira tells Offred, "Forget about escaping. This is Gilead. No one gets out." Offred reveals to Moira that she knows Luke is alive. Flashbacks detail how Nick got involved with the Gilead movement and how he became an Eye after reporting a Commander for breaking protocol with his handmaids. There are other flashbacks to the suicide of the previous Offred, with Serena pointedly saying to her husband, "What did you think was going to happen?" In the present, after Nick drives Waterford and Offred home, he ends his relationship with Offred, which upsets and angers her. Offred receives a gift from Serena, a music box. The episode closes with Offred etching "You are not alone" into the closet wall.

9
"The Bridge"
Kate Dennis
Eric Tuchman
June 7, 2017 (2017-06-07)

Ofwarren's daughter is presented to Commander Putnam and his wife. Offred is worried about Ofwarren's mental state but Aunt Lydia informs her that "she's tougher than you think". Ofwarren, now known as Ofdaniel, is taken to her new home. During her first Ceremony night with her new Commander, Ofdaniel forcefully stops it and sobs. At the market, Alma pulls Offred aside and lets her know that she knows about the resistance group "Mayday". Alma tells her to retrieve a package from Jezebel's. Offred convinces Waterford to take her to Jezebel's again that very night. After Offred and Waterford have sex in their room, he presents Moira as he believes a sexual attraction between the two was the reason Offred wanted to come back. Offred talks to Moira about having her retrieve the package from the bar, but she refuses, which angers Offred. Moira seems to have completely given up. Back at the house, Offred is awoken by Serena, who takes her to a bridge where Ofdaniel is standing on the edge with Charlotte. Various Gileadan guards, the Putnams, Waterfords, and Aunt Lydia are also present. Ofdaniel loudly accuses Commander Putnam of lying to her and accuses him of having promised to leave his wife for her. Offred is able to convince Ofdaniel to give her the child but Ofdaniel jumps, attempting suicide. She is pulled out by the guards and lies comatose in hospital with Aunt Lydia by her side, who calls her "stupid". Commander Putnam is later seen being led into a black van by guards due to the accusations made by Ofdaniel. Serena Joy tries to offer comfort to Mrs. Putnam and offers help with the baby, which she curtly refuses. Mrs. Putnam then reminds Serena of the first Offred, saying that "men don't change". Serena is seen going into Fred's office. At the market, Offred is given a package by the butcher, sent by Moira from Jezebels. At the brothel, Moira kills a client and takes his clothes, jubilantly driving off in his car.

10
"Night"
Kari Skogland
Bruce Miller
June 14, 2017 (2017-06-14)

This episode begins with a flashback to when June was first captured and sent to the red center, receiving her first indoctrination lesson from Aunt Lydia. Serena discovers the trips to Jezebel's and strikes Offred in anger before forcing her to take a pregnancy test, which is positive. Serena then directs her anger at her husband, telling him about the pregnancy and that the child is not his. She also says he is weak and that God would never allow him to pass on that weakness. On learning the news, Nick shares a brief, tender moment with Offred. Serena and Offred visit the house that Offred's daughter, Hannah, now lives; Offred can see her daughter through a gate. While Serena does not allow Offred to reveal herself to Hannah, she assures her that she is doing fine. Serena also warns Offred that as long as nothing bad happens to her child, nothing bad will happen to Hannah. Offred furiously curses Serena in a breathless rant, only to be told to be quiet; yelling is not good for the baby. Fred participates in Commander Putnam’s trial: he himself is all for leniency but is told there have been too many occurrences of this kind of sin recently and an example has to be made. Mrs. Putnam herself has asked that her husband receive the harshest punishment possible, as she fears for his immortal soul. Ultimately, Putnam's left hand is amputated. In the evening, Offred pleads with Fred to protect her daughter. He asks if he is the father of her child and she says "of course", to which he replies "you do that so well." Later, Fred is seen being quite gentle and conciliatory towards Serena. The package from Jezebel's is revealed to contain letters from women who have lost family members and been enslaved in the Gilead takeover. Later, a somewhat emotional Aunt Lydia gathers the handmaids for an execution: they are to stone someone who has endangered a child. The convict turns out to be Janine/Ofdaniel. The handmaids hesitate and Ofglen #2 is brutally beaten when she breaks rank and voices her angry refusal. The other women, beginning with Offred, drop their stones, each saying "I'm sorry, Aunt Lydia" (a phrase they were taught early in their indoctrination). The guards are ready to kill them all, but Aunt Lydia frantically tells them that the handmaids are her responsibility. She tells the women to go home, assuring them that there will be consequences. Not long after, a black van comes for Offred, much to Fred and Serena's surprise and indignation. Nick quietly urges her to trust him and go with them. As she is being led out, Offred whispers to Rita where to find the hidden letters. In a side story, Moira makes it to Canada and is reunited with Luke.

text: Production[edit]

text: A straight-to-series order by Hulu of The Handmaid's Tale was announced in April 2016, with Elisabeth Moss set to star.[15] Based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Margaret Atwood, the series was created by Bruce Miller, who is also an executive producer with Daniel Wilson, Fran Sears, and Warren Littlefield.[15] Atwood serves as consulting producer, giving feedback on some of the areas where the series expands or modernizes the book.[15][16] She also co-wrote every episode[17] and also had a small cameo role in the first episode.[18] Moss is also a producer.[19] In June 2016, Reed Morano was announced as director of the series.[20] Samira Wiley, Max Minghella, and Ann Dowd joined the cast in July 2016.[21][22][23] Joseph Fiennes, Madeline Brewer and Yvonne Strahovski were cast in August 2016,[24][25][26] followed by O.T. Fagbenle and Amanda Brugel in September 2016.[27][28] In October 2016, Ever Carradine joined the cast,[29] and Alexis Bledel was added in January 2017.[30]

text: Filming on the series took place in Toronto, Mississauga, Hamilton, and Cambridge, Ontario from September 2016 to February 2017.[31][32] The first full trailer of the TV series was released by Hulu on YouTube on March 23, 2017.[33] The series premiered on April 26, 2017.[34]

text: On May 3, 2017, The Handmaid's Tale was renewed for a second season to premiere in 2018.[35] Moss told the news media that the subsequent episodes will cover further developments in the story, filling in some of the unanswered questions and continuing the narrative already "finished" in the book.[36] The second season will consist of 13 episodes and will begin filming in fall 2017.[37] Alexis Bledel will return as a series regular. Showrunner Bruce Miller stated that he envisioned ten seasons of the show, stating "Well, you know, honestly, when I started, I tried to game out in my head what would ten seasons be like? If you hit a home run, you want energy to go around the bases, you want enough story to keep going, if you can hook the audience to care about these people enough that they’re actually crying at the finale."[38]

text: Broadcast[edit]

text: The first three episodes of the series premiered on April 26, 2017, with the subsequent seven episodes added on a weekly basis.[34][39] In Canada, the series is broadcast by Bravo, beginning with the first two episodes premiering on April 30.[40] In Scandinavia, the series is available on HBO Nordic.[41] In the UK and Ireland, the series premiered on May 28, 2017 and airs every Sunday on Channel 4.[42]

text: In New Zealand, the series was released on the subscription video on demand service Lightbox on June 8, 2017.[43] In Australia, the series premiered on the TV channel SBS's video streaming service SBS on Demand on July 6, 2017.[44]

text: Reception[edit]

text: The Handmaid's Tale has received high acclaim from television critics. On Metacritic, it has a score of 92 out of 100 based on 40 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[45] The season has a 99% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 8.94 out of 10 based on 88 reviews. The site's critical consensus is, "Haunting and vivid, The Handmaid's Tale is an endlessly engrossing adaptation of Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel that's anchored by a terrific central performance from Elisabeth Moss."[46] Daniel Fienberg of The Hollywood Reporter called it "probably the spring's best new show and certainly its most important".[47] Jen Chaney of Vulture gave it a highly positive review, and wrote that it is "A faithful adaptation of the book that also brings new layers to Atwood's totalitarian, sexist world of forced surrogate motherhood" and that "this series is meticulously paced, brutal, visually stunning, and so suspenseful from moment to moment that only at the end of each hour will you feel fully at liberty to exhale".[48]

text: There was much debate on whether parallels could be drawn between the series (and by extension, the book it is based on) and American society following Donald Trump's and Mike Pence's election as President of the United States and Vice President of the United States, respectively.[49][50]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Year
Award
Category
Recipients
Result

2017

Primetime Emmy Awards[51]
Outstanding Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale
Won

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Elisabeth Moss
Won

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Ann Dowd
Won

Samira Wiley
Nominated

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Reed Morano for "Offred"
Won

Kate Dennis for "The Bridge"
Nominated

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Bruce Miller for "Offred"
Won

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Alexis Bledel
Won

Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series
Russell Scott, Sharon Bialy, Sherry Thomas
Nominated

Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour)
Colin Watkinson for "Offred"
Won

Outstanding Period/Fantasy Costumes for a Series, Limited Series, or Movie
Ane Crabtree, Sheena Wichary for "Offred"
Nominated

Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More)
Julie Berghoff, Evan Webber, Sophie Neudorfer for "Offred"
Won

Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Supporting Role
Brendan Taylor, Stephen Lebed, Leo Bovell, Martin O'Brien, Winston Lee, Kelly Knauff, Zach Dembinski, Mike Suta, Cameron Kerr for "Birth Day"
Nominated

TCA Awards[52]
Program of the Year
The Handmaid's Tale
Won

Outstanding Achievement in Drama
Won

Outstanding New Program
Nominated

Individual Achievement in Drama
Elisabeth Moss
Nominated

Gold Derby TV Awards[53]
Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale
Nominated

Drama Actress
Elisabeth Moss
Won

Drama Guest Actress
Alexis Bledel
Won


document_title: Greek mythology

question_text: where were the greek gods thought to live

question_tokens: where were the greek gods thought to live

root

text: Greek mythology

text: Sources

text: Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from the Geometric period from c. 900–800 BC onward.[4] In fact, literary and archaeological sources integrate, sometimes mutually supportive and sometimes in conflict; however, in many cases, the existence of this corpus of data is a strong indication that many elements of Greek mythology have strong factual and historical roots.[5]

tag: p

text: Literary sources

text: Mythical narration plays an important role in nearly every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless, the only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus. This work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends.[6] Apollodorus of Athens lived from c. 180–125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed the basis for the collection; however the "Library" discusses events that occurred long after his death, hence the name Pseudo-Apollodorus.

text: Among the earliest literary sources are Homer's two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Other poets completed the "epic cycle", but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the "Homeric Hymns" have no direct connection with Homer. They are choral hymns from the earlier part of the so-called Lyric age.[7] Hesiod, a possible contemporary with Homer, offers in his Theogony (Origin of the Gods) the fullest account of the earliest Greek myths, dealing with the creation of the world; the origin of the gods, Titans, and Giants; as well as elaborate genealogies, folktales, and etiological myths. Hesiod's Works and Days, a didactic poem about farming life, also includes the myths of Prometheus, Pandora, and the Five Ages. The poet gives advice on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, rendered yet more dangerous by its gods.[3]

text: Lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar, Bacchylides and Simonides, and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion, relate individual mythological incidents.[8] Additionally, myth was central to classical Athenian drama. The tragic playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides took most of their plots from myths of the age of heroes and the Trojan War. Many of the great tragic stories (e.g. Agamemnon and his children, Oedipus, Jason, Medea, etc.) took on their classic form in these tragedies. The comic playwright Aristophanes also used myths, in The Birds and The Frogs.[9]

text: Historians Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus, and geographers Pausanias and Strabo, who traveled throughout the Greek world and noted the stories they heard, supplied numerous local myths and legends, often giving little-known alternative versions.[8] Herodotus in particular, searched the various traditions presented him and found the historical or mythological roots in the confrontation between Greece and the East.[10] Herodotus attempted to reconcile origins and the blending of differing cultural concepts.

text: The poetry of the Hellenistic and Roman ages was primarily composed as a literary rather than cultic exercise. Nevertheless, it contains many important details that would otherwise be lost. This category includes the works of:

text:
The Roman poets Ovid, Statius, Valerius Flaccus, Seneca and Virgil with Servius's commentary.
The Greek poets of the Late Antique period: Nonnus, Antoninus Liberalis, and Quintus Smyrnaeus.
The Greek poets of the Hellenistic period: Apollonius of Rhodes, Callimachus, Pseudo-Eratosthenes, and Parthenius.

tag: ol

text: Prose writers from the same periods who make reference to myths include Apuleius, Petronius, Lollianus, and Heliodorus. Two other important non-poetical sources are the Fabulae and Astronomica of the Roman writer styled as Pseudo-Hyginus, the Imagines of Philostratus the Elder and Philostratus the Younger, and the Descriptions of Callistratus.

text: Finally, a number of Byzantine Greek writers provide important details of myth, much derived from earlier now lost Greek works. These preservers of myth include Arnobius, Hesychius, the author of the Suda, John Tzetzes, and Eustathius. They often treat mythology from a Christian moralizing perspective.[11]

text: Archaeological sources

text: The discovery of the Mycenaean civilization by the German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the nineteenth century, and the discovery of the Minoan civilization in Crete by the British archaeologist Sir Arthur Evans in the twentieth century, helped to explain many existing questions about Homer's epics and provided archaeological evidence for many of the mythological details about gods and heroes. Unfortunately, the evidence about myths and rituals at Mycenaean and Minoan sites is entirely monumental, as the Linear B script (an ancient form of Greek found in both Crete and mainland Greece) was used mainly to record inventories, although certain names of gods and heroes have been tentatively identified.[3]

text: Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracles.[3] These visual representations of myths are important for two reasons. Firstly, many Greek myths are attested on vases earlier than in literary sources: of the twelve labors of Heracles, for example, only the Cerberus adventure occurs in a contemporary literary text.[12] Secondly, visual sources sometimes represent myths or mythical scenes that are not attested in any extant literary source. In some cases, the first known representation of a myth in geometric art predates its first known representation in late archaic poetry, by several centuries.[4] In the Archaic (c. 750–c. 500 BC), Classical (c. 480–323 BC), and Hellenistic (323–146 BC) periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence.[3]

text: Survey of mythic history

text: Greek mythology has changed over time to accommodate the evolution of their culture, of which mythology, both overtly and in its unspoken assumptions, is an index of the changes. In Greek mythology's surviving literary forms, as found mostly at the end of the progressive changes, it is inherently political, as Gilbert Cuthbertson has argued.[13]

text: The earlier inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula were an agricultural people who, using Animism, assigned a spirit to every aspect of nature. Eventually, these vague spirits assumed human forms and entered the local mythology as gods.[14] When tribes from the north of the Balkan Peninsula invaded, they brought with them a new pantheon of gods, based on conquest, force, prowess in battle, and violent heroism. Other older gods of the agricultural world fused with those of the more powerful invaders or else faded into insignificance.[15]

text: After the middle of the Archaic period, myths about relationships between male gods and male heroes became more and more frequent, indicating the parallel development of pedagogic pederasty (eros paidikos, παιδικὸς ἔρως), thought to have been introduced around 630 BC. By the end of the fifth century BC, poets had assigned at least one eromenos, an adolescent boy who was their sexual companion, to every important god except Ares and to many legendary figures.[16] Previously existing myths, such as those of Achilles and Patroclus, also then were cast in a pederastic light.[17] Alexandrian poets at first, then more generally literary mythographers in the early Roman Empire, often re-adapted stories of Greek mythological characters in this fashion.

text: The achievement of epic poetry was to create story-cycles and, as a result, to develop a new sense of mythological chronology. Thus Greek mythology unfolds as a phase in the development of the world and of humans.[18] While self-contradictions in these stories make an absolute timeline impossible, an approximate chronology may be discerned. The resulting mythological "history of the world" may be divided into three or four broader periods:

text:
The myths of origin or age of gods (Theogonies, "births of gods"): myths about the origins of the world, the gods, and the human race.
The age when gods and mortals mingled freely: stories of the early interactions between gods, demigods, and mortals.
The age of heroes (heroic age), where divine activity was more limited. The last and greatest of the heroic legends is the story of the Trojan War and after (which is regarded by some researchers as a separate, fourth period).[19]

text: While the age of gods often has been of more interest to contemporary students of myth, the Greek authors of the archaic and classical eras had a clear preference for the age of heroes, establishing a chronology and record of human accomplishments after the questions of how the world came into being were explained. For example, the heroic Iliad and Odyssey dwarfed the divine-focused Theogony and Homeric Hymns in both size and popularity. Under the influence of Homer the "hero cult" leads to a restructuring in spiritual life, expressed in the separation of the realm of the gods from the realm of the dead (heroes), of the Chthonic from the Olympian.[20] In the Works and Days, Hesiod makes use of a scheme of Four Ages of Man (or Races): Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron. These races or ages are separate creations of the gods, the Golden Age belonging to the reign of Cronos, the subsequent races to the creation of Zeus. The presence of evil was explained by the myth of Pandora, when all of the best of human capabilities, save hope, had been spilled out of her overturned jar.[21] In Metamorphoses, Ovid follows Hesiod's concept of the four ages.[22]

text: Origins of the world and the gods

text: "Myths of origin" or "creation myths" represent an attempt to explain the beginnings of the universe in human language.[23] The most widely accepted version at the time, although a philosophical account of the beginning of things, is reported by Hesiod, in his Theogony. He begins with Chaos, a yawning nothingness. Out of the void emerged Gaia (the Earth) and some other primary divine beings: Eros (Love), the Abyss (the Tartarus), and the Erebus.[24] Without male assistance, Gaia gave birth to Uranus (the Sky) who then fertilized her. From that union were born first the Titans—six males: Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Oceanus; and six females: Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Theia, Themis, and Tethys. After Cronus was born, Gaia and Uranus decreed no more Titans were to be born. They were followed by the one-eyed Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires or Hundred-Handed Ones, who were both thrown into Tartarus by Uranus. This made Gaia furious. Cronus ("the wily, youngest and most terrible of Gaia's children"[24]), was convinced by Gaia to castrate his father. He did this, and became the ruler of the Titans with his sister-wife Rhea as his consort, and the other Titans became his court.

text: A motif of father-against-son conflict was repeated when Cronus was confronted by his son, Zeus. Because Cronus had betrayed his father, he feared that his offspring would do the same, and so each time Rhea gave birth, he snatched up the child and ate it. Rhea hated this and tricked him by hiding Zeus and wrapping a stone in a baby's blanket, which Cronus ate. When Zeus was full grown, he fed Cronus a drugged drink which caused him to vomit, throwing up Rhea's other children and the stone, which had been sitting in Cronus's stomach all along. Zeus then challenged Cronus to war for the kingship of the gods. At last, with the help of the Cyclopes (whom Zeus freed from Tartarus), Zeus and his siblings were victorious, while Cronus and the Titans were hurled down to imprisonment in Tartarus.[25]

text: Zeus was plagued by the same concern, and after a prophecy that the offspring of his first wife, Metis, would give birth to a god "greater than he", Zeus swallowed her.[26] She was already pregnant with Athena, however, and she burst forth from his head—fully-grown and dressed for war.[27]

text: The earliest Greek thought about poetry considered the theogonies to be the prototypical poetic genre—the prototypical mythos—and imputed almost magical powers to it. Orpheus, the archetypal poet, also was the archetypal singer of theogonies, which he uses to calm seas and storms in Apollonius' Argonautica, and to move the stony hearts of the underworld gods in his descent to Hades. When Hermes invents the lyre in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, the first thing he does is sing about the birth of the gods.[28] Hesiod's Theogony is not only the fullest surviving account of the gods, but also the fullest surviving account of the archaic poet's function, with its long preliminary invocation to the Muses. Theogony also was the subject of many lost poems, including those attributed to Orpheus, Musaeus, Epimenides, Abaris, and other legendary seers, which were used in private ritual purifications and mystery-rites. There are indications that Plato was familiar with some version of the Orphic theogony.[29] A silence would have been expected about religious rites and beliefs, however, and that nature of the culture would not have been reported by members of the society while the beliefs were held. After they ceased to become religious beliefs, few would have known the rites and rituals. Allusions often existed, however, to aspects that were quite public.

text: Images existed on pottery and religious artwork that were interpreted and more likely, misinterpreted in many diverse myths and tales. A few fragments of these works survive in quotations by Neoplatonist philosophers and recently unearthed papyrus scraps. One of these scraps, the Derveni Papyrus now proves that at least in the fifth century BC a theogonic-cosmogonic poem of Orpheus was in existence.[30]

text: The first philosophical cosmologists reacted against, or sometimes built upon, popular mythical conceptions that had existed in the Greek world for some time. Some of these popular conceptions can be gleaned from the poetry of Homer and Hesiod. In Homer, the Earth was viewed as a flat disk afloat on the river of Oceanus and overlooked by a hemispherical sky with sun, moon, and stars. The Sun (Helios) traversed the heavens as a charioteer and sailed around the Earth in a golden bowl at night. Sun, earth, heaven, rivers, and winds could be addressed in prayers and called to witness oaths. Natural fissures were popularly regarded as entrances to the subterranean house of Hades and his predecessors, home of the dead.[31] Influences from other cultures always afforded new themes.

text: Greek pantheon

text: According to Classical-era mythology, after the overthrow of the Titans, the new pantheon of gods and goddesses was confirmed. Among the principal Greek gods were the Olympians, residing on Mount Olympus under the eye of Zeus. (The limitation of their number to twelve seems to have been a comparatively modern idea.)[32] Besides the Olympians, the Greeks worshipped various gods of the countryside, the satyr-god Pan, Nymphs (spirits of rivers), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees), Nereids (who inhabited the sea), river gods, Satyrs, and others. In addition, there were the dark powers of the underworld, such as the Erinyes (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-relatives.[33] In order to honor the Ancient Greek pantheon, poets composed the Homeric Hymns (a group of thirty-three songs).[34] Gregory Nagy regards "the larger Homeric Hymns as simple preludes (compared with Theogony), each of which invokes one god".[35]

text: The gods of Greek mythology are described as having essentially corporeal but ideal bodies. According to Walter Burkert, the defining characteristic of Greek anthropomorphism is that "the Greek gods are persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts".[36] Regardless of their underlying forms, the Ancient Greek gods have many fantastic abilities; most significantly, the gods are not affected by disease, and can be wounded only under highly unusual circumstances. The Greeks considered immortality as the distinctive characteristic of their gods; this immortality, as well as unfading youth, was insured by the constant use of nectar and ambrosia, by which the divine blood was renewed in their veins.[37]

text: Each god descends from his or her own genealogy, pursues differing interests, has a certain area of expertise, and is governed by a unique personality; however, these descriptions arise from a multiplicity of archaic local variants, which do not always agree with one another. When these gods are called upon in poetry, prayer or cult, they are referred to by a combination of their name and epithets, that identify them by these distinctions from other manifestations of themselves (e.g., Apollo Musagetes is "Apollo, [as] leader of the Muses"). Alternatively the epithet may identify a particular and localized aspect of the god, sometimes thought to be already ancient during the classical epoch of Greece.

text: Most gods were associated with specific aspects of life. For example, Aphrodite was the goddess of love and beauty, Ares was the god of war, Hades the ruler of the underworld, and Athena the goddess of wisdom and courage.[38] Some gods, such as Apollo and Dionysus, revealed complex personalities and mixtures of functions, while others, such as Hestia (literally "hearth") and Helios (literally "sun"), were little more than personifications. The most impressive temples tended to be dedicated to a limited number of gods, who were the focus of large pan-Hellenic cults. It was, however, common for individual regions and villages to devote their own cults to minor gods. Many cities also honored the more well-known gods with unusual local rites and associated strange myths with them that were unknown elsewhere. During the heroic age, the cult of heroes (or demi-gods) supplemented that of the gods.

text: Age of gods and mortals

text: Bridging the age when gods lived alone and the age when divine interference in human affairs was limited was a transitional age in which gods and mortals moved together. These were the early days of the world when the groups mingled more freely than they did later. Most of these tales were later told by Ovid's Metamorphoses and they are often divided into two thematic groups: tales of love, and tales of punishment.[39]

text: Tales of love often involve incest, or the seduction or rape of a mortal woman by a male god, resulting in heroic offspring. The stories generally suggest that relationships between gods and mortals are something to avoid; even consenting relationships rarely have happy endings.[40] In a few cases, a female divinity mates with a mortal man, as in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, where the goddess lies with Anchises to produce Aeneas.[41]

text: The second type (tales of punishment) involves the appropriation or invention of some important cultural artifact, as when Prometheus steals fire from the gods, when Tantalus steals nectar and ambrosia from Zeus' table and gives it to his own subjects—revealing to them the secrets of the gods, when Prometheus or Lycaon invents sacrifice, when Demeter teaches agriculture and the Mysteries to Triptolemus, or when Marsyas invents the aulos and enters into a musical contest with Apollo. Ian Morris considers Prometheus' adventures as "a place between the history of the gods and that of man".[42] An anonymous papyrus fragment, dated to the third century, vividly portrays Dionysus' punishment of the king of Thrace, Lycurgus, whose recognition of the new god came too late, resulting in horrific penalties that extended into the afterlife.[43] The story of the arrival of Dionysus to establish his cult in Thrace was also the subject of an Aeschylean trilogy.[44] In another tragedy, Euripides' The Bacchae, the king of Thebes, Pentheus, is punished by Dionysus, because he disrespected the god and spied on his Maenads, the female worshippers of the god.[45]

text: In another story, based on an old folktale-motif,[46] and echoing a similar theme, Demeter was searching for her daughter, Persephone, having taken the form of an old woman called Doso, and received a hospitable welcome from Celeus, the King of Eleusis in Attica. As a gift to Celeus, because of his hospitality, Demeter planned to make his son Demophon a god, but she was unable to complete the ritual because his mother Metanira walked in and saw her son in the fire and screamed in fright, which angered Demeter, who lamented that foolish mortals do not understand the concept and ritual.[47]

text: Heroic age

text: The age in which the heroes lived is known as the heroic age.[48] The epic and genealogical poetry created cycles of stories clustered around particular heroes or events and established the family relationships between the heroes of different stories; they thus arranged the stories in sequence. According to Ken Dowden, "There is even a saga effect: We can follow the fates of some families in successive generations".[18]

text: After the rise of the hero cult, gods and heroes constitute the sacral sphere and are invoked together in oaths and prayers which are addressed to them.[20] Burkert notes that "the roster of heroes, again in contrast to the gods, is never given fixed and final form. Great gods are no longer born, but new heroes can always be raised up from the army of the dead." Another important difference between the hero cult and the cult of gods is that the hero becomes the centre of local group identity.[49]

text: The monumental events of Heracles are regarded as the dawn of the age of heroes. To the Heroic Age are also ascribed three great events: the Argonautic expedition, the Theban Cycle, and the Trojan War.[50]

text: Heracles and the Heracleidae

text: Some scholars believe[51] that behind Heracles' complicated mythology there was probably a real man, perhaps a chieftain-vassal of the kingdom of Argos. Some scholars suggest the story of Heracles is an allegory for the sun's yearly passage through the twelve constellations of the zodiac.[52] Others point to earlier myths from other cultures, showing the story of Heracles as a local adaptation of hero myths already well established. Traditionally, Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene, granddaughter of Perseus.[53] His fantastic solitary exploits, with their many folk-tale themes, provided much material for popular legend. According to Burkert, "He is portrayed as a sacrificer, mentioned as a founder of altars, and imagined as a voracious eater himself; it is in this role that he appears in comedy, while his tragic end provided much material for tragedy — Heracles is regarded by Thalia Papadopoulou as "a play of great significance in examination of other Euripidean dramas".[54] In art and literature Heracles was represented as an enormously strong man of moderate height; his characteristic weapon was the bow but frequently also the club. Vase paintings demonstrate the unparalleled popularity of Heracles, his fight with the lion being depicted many hundreds of times.[55]

text: Heracles also entered Etruscan and Roman mythology and cult, and the exclamation "mehercule" became as familiar to the Romans as "Herakleis" was to the Greeks.[55] In Italy he was worshipped as a god of merchants and traders, although others also prayed to him for his characteristic gifts of good luck or rescue from danger.[53]

text: Heracles attained the highest social prestige through his appointment as official ancestor of the Dorian kings. This probably served as a legitimation for the Dorian migrations into the Peloponnese. Hyllus, the eponymous hero of one Dorian phyle, became the son of Heracles and one of the Heracleidae or Heraclids (the numerous descendants of Heracles, especially the descendants of Hyllus — other Heracleidae included Macaria, Lamos, Manto, Bianor, Tlepolemus, and Telephus). These Heraclids conquered the Peloponnesian kingdoms of Mycenae, Sparta and Argos, claiming, according to legend, a right to rule them through their ancestor. Their rise to dominance is frequently called the "Dorian invasion". The Lydian and later the Macedonian kings, as rulers of the same rank, also became Heracleidae.[56]

text: Other members of this earliest generation of heroes such as Perseus, Deucalion, Theseus and Bellerophon, have many traits in common with Heracles. Like him, their exploits are solitary, fantastic and border on fairy tale, as they slay monsters such as the Chimera and Medusa. Bellerophon's adventures are commonplace types, similar to the adventures of Heracles and Theseus. Sending a hero to his presumed death is also a recurrent theme of this early heroic tradition, used in the cases of Perseus and Bellerophon.[57]

text: Argonauts

text: The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes (epic poet, scholar, and director of the Library of Alexandria) tells the myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the mythical land of Colchis. In the Argonautica, Jason is impelled on his quest by king Pelias, who receives a prophecy that a man with one sandal would be his nemesis. Jason loses a sandal in a river, arrives at the court of Pelias, and the epic is set in motion. Nearly every member of the next generation of heroes, as well as Heracles, went with Jason in the ship Argo to fetch the Golden Fleece. This generation also included Theseus, who went to Crete to slay the Minotaur; Atalanta, the female heroine, and Meleager, who once had an epic cycle of his own to rival the Iliad and Odyssey. Pindar, Apollonius and the Bibliotheca endeavor to give full lists of the Argonauts.[58]

text: Although Apollonius wrote his poem in the 3rd century BC, the composition of the story of the Argonauts is earlier than Odyssey, which shows familiarity with the exploits of Jason (the wandering of Odysseus may have been partly founded on it).[59] In ancient times the expedition was regarded as a historical fact, an incident in the opening up of the Black Sea to Greek commerce and colonization.[60] It was also extremely popular, forming a cycle to which a number of local legends became attached. The story of Medea, in particular, caught the imagination of the tragic poets.[61]

text: House of Atreus and Theban Cycle

text: In between the Argo and the Trojan War, there was a generation known chiefly for its horrific crimes. This includes the doings of Atreus and Thyestes at Argos. Behind the myth of the house of Atreus (one of the two principal heroic dynasties with the house of Labdacus) lies the problem of the devolution of power and of the mode of accession to sovereignty. The twins Atreus and Thyestes with their descendants played the leading role in the tragedy of the devolution of power in Mycenae.[62]

text: The Theban Cycle deals with events associated especially with Cadmus, the city's founder, and later with the doings of Laius and Oedipus at Thebes; a series of stories that lead to the eventual pillage of that city at the hands of the Seven Against Thebes and Epigoni.[63] (It is not known whether the Seven Against Thebes figured in early epic.) As far as Oedipus is concerned, early epic accounts seem to have him continuing to rule at Thebes after the revelation that Iokaste was his mother, and subsequently marrying a second wife who becomes the mother of his children — markedly different from the tale known to us through tragedy (e.g. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex) and later mythological accounts.[64]

text: Trojan War and aftermath

text: Greek mythology culminates in the Trojan War, fought between Greece and Troy, and its aftermath. In Homer's works, such as the Iliad, the chief stories have already taken shape and substance, and individual themes were elaborated later, especially in Greek drama. The Trojan War also elicited great interest in the Roman culture because of the story of Aeneas, a Trojan hero whose journey from Troy led to the founding of the city that would one day become Rome, as recounted in Virgil's Aeneid (Book II of Virgil's Aeneid contains the best-known account of the sack of Troy).[65] Finally there are two pseudo-chronicles written in Latin that passed under the names of Dictys Cretensis and Dares Phrygius.[66]

text: The Trojan War cycle, a collection of epic poems, starts with the events leading up to the war: Eris and the golden apple of Kallisti, the Judgement of Paris, the abduction of Helen, the sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis. To recover Helen, the Greeks launched a great expedition under the overall command of Menelaus's brother, Agamemnon, king of Argos or Mycenae, but the Trojans refused to return Helen. The Iliad, which is set in the tenth year of the war, tells of the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, who was the finest Greek warrior, and the consequent deaths in battle of Achilles' beloved comrade Patroclus and Priam's eldest son, Hector. After Hector's death the Trojans were joined by two exotic allies, Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons, and Memnon, king of the Ethiopians and son of the dawn-goddess Eos.[67] Achilles killed both of these, but Paris then managed to kill Achilles with an arrow in the heel. Achilles' heel was the only part of his body which was not invulnerable to damage by human weaponry. Before they could take Troy, the Greeks had to steal from the citadel the wooden image of Pallas Athena (the Palladium). Finally, with Athena's help, they built the Trojan Horse. Despite the warnings of Priam's daughter Cassandra, the Trojans were persuaded by Sinon, a Greek who feigned desertion, to take the horse inside the walls of Troy as an offering to Athena; the priest Laocoon, who tried to have the horse destroyed, was killed by sea-serpents. At night the Greek fleet returned, and the Greeks from the horse opened the gates of Troy. In the total sack that followed, Priam and his remaining sons were slaughtered; the Trojan women passed into slavery in various cities of Greece. The adventurous homeward voyages of the Greek leaders (including the wanderings of Odysseus and Aeneas (the Aeneid), and the murder of Agamemnon) were told in two epics, the Returns (the lost Nostoi) and Homer's Odyssey.[68] The Trojan cycle also includes the adventures of the children of the Trojan generation (e.g., Orestes and Telemachus).[67]

text: The Trojan War provided a variety of themes and became a main source of inspiration for Ancient Greek artists (e.g. metopes on the Parthenon depicting the sack of Troy); this artistic preference for themes deriving from the Trojan Cycle indicates its importance to the Ancient Greek civilization.[68] The same mythological cycle also inspired a series of posterior European literary writings. For instance, Trojan Medieval European writers, unacquainted with Homer at first hand, found in the Troy legend a rich source of heroic and romantic storytelling and a convenient framework into which to fit their own courtly and chivalric ideals. Twelfth-century authors, such as Benoît de Sainte-Maure (Roman de Troie [Romance of Troy, 1154–60]) and Joseph of Exeter (De Bello Troiano [On the Trojan War, 1183]) describe the war while rewriting the standard version they found in Dictys and Dares. They thus follow Horace's advice and Virgil's example: they rewrite a poem of Troy instead of telling something completely new.[69]

text: Some of the more famous heroes noted for their inclusion in the Trojan War were:

text: On the Trojan side:

text:
Aeneas
Hector
Paris

tag: ul

text: On the Greek side:

text:
Ajax (there were two Ajaxes)
Achilles
King Agamemnon
Menelaus
Odysseus

text: Greek and Roman conceptions of myth

text: Mythology was at the heart of everyday life in Ancient Greece.[70] Greeks regarded mythology as a part of their history. They used myth to explain natural phenomena, cultural variations, traditional enmities and friendships. It was a source of pride to be able to trace the descent of one's leaders from a mythological hero or a god. Few ever doubted that there was truth behind the account of the Trojan War in the Iliad and Odyssey. According to Victor Davis Hanson, a military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, and John Heath, a classics professor, the profound knowledge of the Homeric epos was deemed by the Greeks the basis of their acculturation. Homer was the "education of Greece" (Ἑλλάδος παίδευσις), and his poetry "the Book".[71]

text: Philosophy and myth

text: After the rise of philosophy, history, prose and rationalism in the late 5th century BC, the fate of myth became uncertain, and mythological genealogies gave place to a conception of history which tried to exclude the supernatural (such as the Thucydidean history).[72] While poets and dramatists were reworking the myths, Greek historians and philosophers were beginning to criticize them.[7]

text: A few radical philosophers like Xenophanes of Colophon were already beginning to label the poets' tales as blasphemous lies in the 6th century BC; Xenophanes had complained that Homer and Hesiod attributed to the gods "all that is shameful and disgraceful among men; they steal, commit adultery, and deceive one another".[73] This line of thought found its most sweeping expression in Plato's Republic and Laws. Plato created his own allegorical myths (such as the vision of Er in the Republic), attacked the traditional tales of the gods' tricks, thefts and adulteries as immoral, and objected to their central role in literature.[7] Plato's criticism was the first serious challenge to the Homeric mythological tradition,[71] referring to the myths as "old wives' chatter".[74] For his part Aristotle criticized the Pre-socratic quasi-mythical philosophical approach and underscored that "Hesiod and the theological writers were concerned only with what seemed plausible to themselves, and had no respect for us ... But it is not worth taking seriously writers who show off in the mythical style; as for those who do proceed by proving their assertions, we must cross-examine them".[72]

text: Nevertheless, even Plato did not manage to wean himself and his society from the influence of myth; his own characterization for Socrates is based on the traditional Homeric and tragic patterns, used by the philosopher to praise the righteous life of his teacher:[75]

text: But perhaps someone might say: "Are you then not ashamed, Socrates, of having followed such a pursuit, that you are now in danger of being put to death as a result?" But I should make to him a just reply: "You do not speak well, Sir, if you think a man in whom there is even a little merit ought to consider danger of life or death, and not rather regard this only, when he does things, whether the things he does are right or wrong and the acts of a good or a bad man. For according to your argument all the demigods would be bad who died at Troy, including the son of Thetis, who so despised danger, in comparison with enduring any disgrace, that when his mother (and she was a goddess) said to him, as he was eager to slay Hector, something like this, I believe,

text: he, when he heard this, made light of death and danger, and feared much more to live as a coward and not to avenge his friends, and said,

text: Hanson and Heath estimate that Plato's rejection of the Homeric tradition was not favorably received by the grassroots Greek civilization.[71] The old myths were kept alive in local cults; they continued to influence poetry and to form the main subject of painting and sculpture.[72]

text: More sportingly, the 5th century BC tragedian Euripides often played with the old traditions, mocking them, and through the voice of his characters injecting notes of doubt. Yet the subjects of his plays were taken, without exception, from myth. Many of these plays were written in answer to a predecessor's version of the same or similar myth. Euripides mainly impugns the myths about the gods and begins his critique with an objection similar to the one previously expressed by Xenocrates: the gods, as traditionally represented, are far too crassly anthropomorphic.[73]

text: Hellenistic and Roman rationalism

text: During the Hellenistic period, mythology took on the prestige of elite knowledge that marks its possessors as belonging to a certain class. At the same time, the skeptical turn of the Classical age became even more pronounced.[76] Greek mythographer Euhemerus established the tradition of seeking an actual historical basis for mythical beings and events.[77] Although his original work (Sacred Scriptures) is lost, much is known about it from what is recorded by Diodorus and Lactantius.[78]

text: Rationalizing hermeneutics of myth became even more popular under the Roman Empire, thanks to the physicalist theories of Stoic and Epicurean philosophy. Stoics presented explanations of the gods and heroes as physical phenomena, while the Euhemerists rationalized them as historical figures. At the same time, the Stoics and the Neoplatonists promoted the moral significations of the mythological tradition, often based on Greek etymologies.[79] Through his Epicurean message, Lucretius had sought to expel superstitious fears from the minds of his fellow-citizens.[80] Livy, too, is skeptical about the mythological tradition and claims that he does not intend to pass judgement on such legends (fabulae).[81] The challenge for Romans with a strong and apologetic sense of religious tradition was to defend that tradition while conceding that it was often a breeding-ground for superstition. The antiquarian Varro, who regarded religion as a human institution with great importance for the preservation of good in society, devoted rigorous study to the origins of religious cults. In his Antiquitates Rerum Divinarum (which has not survived, but Augustine's City of God indicates its general approach) Varro argues that whereas the superstitious man fears the gods, the truly religious person venerates them as parents.[80] According to Varro, there have been three accounts of deities in the Roman society: the mythical account created by poets for theatre and entertainment, the civil account used by people for veneration as well as by the city, and the natural account created by the philosophers.[82] The best state is, adds Varro, where the civil theology combines the poetic mythical account with the philosopher's.[82]

text: Roman Academic Cotta ridicules both literal and allegorical acceptance of myth, declaring roundly that myths have no place in philosophy.[83] Cicero is also generally disdainful of myth, but, like Varro, he is emphatic in his support for the state religion and its institutions. It is difficult to know how far down the social scale this rationalism extended.[81] Cicero asserts that no one (not even old women and boys) is so foolish as to believe in the terrors of Hades or the existence of Scyllas, centaurs or other composite creatures,[84] but, on the other hand, the orator elsewhere complains of the superstitious and credulous character of the people.[85] De Natura Deorum is the most comprehensive summary of Cicero's line of thought.[86]

text: Syncretizing trends

text: In Ancient Roman times, a new Roman mythology was born through syncretization of numerous Greek and other foreign gods. This occurred because the Romans had little mythology of their own, and inheritance of the Greek mythological tradition caused the major Roman gods to adopt characteristics of their Greek equivalents.[81] The gods Zeus and Jupiter are an example of this mythological overlap. In addition to the combination of the two mythological traditions, the association of the Romans with eastern religions led to further syncretizations.[87] For instance, the cult of Sun was introduced in Rome after Aurelian's successful campaigns in Syria. The Asiatic divinities Mithras (that is to say, the Sun) and Ba'al were combined with Apollo and Helios into one Sol Invictus, with conglomerated rites and compound attributes.[88] Apollo might be increasingly identified in religion with Helios or even Dionysus, but texts retelling his myths seldom reflected such developments. The traditional literary mythology was increasingly dissociated from actual religious practice. The worship of Sol as special protector of the emperors and of the empire remained the chief imperial religion until it was replaced by Christianity.

text: The surviving 2nd-century collection of Orphic Hymns (second century AD) and the Saturnalia of Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius (fifth century) are influenced by the theories of rationalism and the syncretizing trends as well. The Orphic Hymns are a set of pre-classical poetic compositions, attributed to Orpheus, himself the subject of a renowned myth. In reality, these poems were probably composed by several different poets, and contain a rich set of clues about prehistoric European mythology.[89] The stated purpose of the Saturnalia is to transmit the Hellenic culture Macrobius has derived from his reading, even though much of his treatment of gods is colored by Egyptian and North African mythology and theology (which also affect the interpretation of Virgil). In Saturnalia reappear mythographical comments influenced by the Euhemerists, the Stoics and the Neoplatonists.[79]

text: Modern interpretations

text: The genesis of modern understanding of Greek mythology is regarded by some scholars as a double reaction at the end of the eighteenth century against "the traditional attitude of Christian animosity", in which the Christian reinterpretation of myth as a "lie" or fable had been retained.[90] In Germany, by about 1795, there was a growing interest in Homer and Greek mythology. In Göttingen, Johann Matthias Gesner began to revive Greek studies, while his successor, Christian Gottlob Heyne, worked with Johann Joachim Winckelmann, and laid the foundations for mythological research both in Germany and elsewhere.[91]

text: Comparative and psychoanalytic approaches

text: The development of comparative philology in the 19th century, together with ethnological discoveries in the 20th century, established the science of myth. Since the Romantics, all study of myth has been comparative. Wilhelm Mannhardt, James Frazer, and Stith Thompson employed the comparative approach to collect and classify the themes of folklore and mythology.[92] In 1871 Edward Burnett Tylor published his Primitive Culture, in which he applied the comparative method and tried to explain the origin and evolution of religion.[93] Tylor's procedure of drawing together material culture, ritual and myth of widely separated cultures influenced both Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell. Max Müller applied the new science of comparative mythology to the study of myth, in which he detected the distorted remains of Aryan nature worship. Bronisław Malinowski emphasized the ways myth fulfills common social functions. Claude Lévi-Strauss and other structuralists have compared the formal relations and patterns in myths throughout the world.[92]

text: Sigmund Freud introduced a transhistorical and biological conception of man and a view of myth as an expression of repressed ideas. Dream interpretation is the basis of Freudian myth interpretation and Freud's concept of dreamwork recognizes the importance of contextual relationships for the interpretation of any individual element in a dream. This suggestion would find an important point of rapprochment between the structuralist and psychoanalytic approaches to myth in Freud's thought.[94] Carl Jung extended the transhistorical, psychological approach with his theory of the "collective unconscious" and the archetypes (inherited "archaic" patterns), often encoded in myth, that arise out of it.[3] According to Jung, "myth-forming structural elements must be present in the unconscious psyche".[95] Comparing Jung's methodology with Joseph Campbell's theory, Robert A. Segal concludes that "to interpret a myth Campbell simply identifies the archetypes in it. An interpretation of the Odyssey, for example, would show how Odysseus's life conforms to a heroic pattern. Jung, by contrast, considers the identification of archetypes merely the first step in the interpretation of a myth".[96] Karl Kerényi, one of the founders of modern studies in Greek mythology, gave up his early views of myth, in order to apply Jung's theories of archetypes to Greek myth.[97]

text: Origin theories

text: Max Müller attempted to understand an Indo-European religious form by tracing it back to its Indo-European (or, in Müller's time, "Aryan") "original" manifestation. In 1891, he claimed that "the most important discovery which has been made during the nineteenth century with respect to the ancient history of mankind ... was this sample equation: Sanskrit Dyaus-pitar = Greek Zeus = Latin Jupiter = Old Norse Tyr".[99] The question of Greek mythology's place in Indo-European studies has generated much scholarship since Müller's time. For example, philologist Georges Dumézil draws a comparison between the Greek Uranus and the Sanskrit Varuna, although there is no hint that he believes them to be originally connected.[100] In other cases, close parallels in character and function suggest a common heritage, yet lack of linguistic evidence makes it difficult to prove, as in the case of the Greek Moirai and the Norns of Norse mythology.[101]

text: Archaeology and mythography, on the other hand, have revealed that the Greeks were also inspired by some of the civilizations of Asia Minor and the Near East. Adonis seems to be the Greek counterpart — more clearly in cult than in myth — of a Near Eastern "dying god". Cybele is rooted in Anatolian culture while much of Aphrodite's iconography may spring from Semitic goddesses. There are also possible parallels between the earliest divine generations (Chaos and its children) and Tiamat in the Enuma Elish.[102] According to Meyer Reinhold, "near Eastern theogonic concepts, involving divine succession through violence and generational conflicts for power, found their way ... into Greek mythology".[103] In addition to Indo-European and Near Eastern origins, some scholars have speculated on the debts of Greek mythology to the pre-Hellenic societies: Crete, Mycenae, Pylos, Thebes and Orchomenus.[104] Historians of religion were fascinated by a number of apparently ancient configurations of myth connected with Crete (the god as bull, Zeus and Europa, Pasiphaë who yields to the bull and gives birth to the Minotaur, etc.). Martin P. Nilsson concluded that all great classical Greek myths were tied to Mycenaen centres and anchored in prehistoric times.[105] Nevertheless, according to Burkert, the iconography of the Cretan Palace Period has provided almost no confirmation for these theories.[106]

text: Motifs in Western art and literature

text: The widespread adoption of Christianity did not curb the popularity of the myths. With the rediscovery of classical antiquity in the Renaissance, the poetry of Ovid became a major influence on the imagination of poets, dramatists, musicians and artists.[107] From the early years of Renaissance, artists such as Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Raphael, portrayed the Pagan subjects of Greek mythology alongside more conventional Christian themes.[107] Through the medium of Latin and the works of Ovid, Greek myth influenced medieval and Renaissance poets such as Petrarch, Boccaccio and Dante in Italy.[3]

text: In Northern Europe, Greek mythology never took the same hold of the visual arts, but its effect was very obvious on literature. The English imagination was fired by Greek mythology starting with Chaucer and John Milton and continuing through Shakespeare to Robert Bridges in the 20th century. Racine in France and Goethe in Germany revived Greek drama, reworking the ancient myths.[107] Although during the Enlightenment of the 18th century reaction against Greek myth spread throughout Europe, the myths continued to provide an important source of raw material for dramatists, including those who wrote the libretti for many of Handel's and Mozart's operas.[108]

text: By the end of the 18th century, Romanticism initiated a surge of enthusiasm for all things Greek, including Greek mythology. In Britain, new translations of Greek tragedies and Homer inspired contemporary poets (such as Alfred Lord Tennyson, Keats, Byron and Shelley) and painters (such as Lord Leighton and Lawrence Alma-Tadema).[109] Christoph Gluck, Richard Strauss, Jacques Offenbach and many others set Greek mythological themes to music.[3] American authors of the 19th century, such as Thomas Bulfinch and Nathaniel Hawthorne, held that the study of the classical myths was essential to the understanding of English and American literature.[110] In more recent times, classical themes have been reinterpreted by dramatists Jean Anouilh, Jean Cocteau, and Jean Giraudoux in France, Eugene O'Neill in America, and T. S. Eliot in Britain and by novelists such as James Joyce and André Gide.[3]