2015 - 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
0672-1532-01 | Unusual Conceptions and Births in Greek Mythology | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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FACULTY OF HUMANITIES | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Unusual Conceptions and Births in Greek Mythology
Greek mythology abounds with unusual conceptions and births of gods and goddesses, Heroes and heroines and hybrid creatures. Dionysus for example, was born of Zeus’ thigh, Athena of Zeus’ head and Aphrodite of the sea foam near Paphos. Both Zeus’ daughters had no childhood; they were born adults. Danae was made pregnant by Zeus, who came to her in the form of a gold shower, and bore the child Perseus. Pesiphae, the daughter of Helios, mate with a white bull sent by Poseidon and bore the Minotaur. The Gorgon-Medusa bore Chrysaor and Pegasus to Poseidon; and Ixion mated with a cloud in the shape of Hera and became, by Centauros, the ancestor of a half-man half-horse tribe. We'll become acquainted with the written and visual versions of these myths and others, and discuss their meaning.