S PE AK E NG L IS H
3. Which following statement about Hera is not correct? a) Titans Oceanus and Tethys raised her. b) She was the queen of Olympus. c) She wasn’t jealous. d) Even the great Zeus feared her.
Poseidon
a b o ut a st ro l o g y a n d G re e k my t h o l o g y
3. How is Pegasus connected to Poseidon? a) Pegasus was his flying horse b) Pegasus was his child c) Pegasus was a gift he got from his brother Hades d) Poseidon gave Pegasus wings to oversee his part of the world
Hades
Poseidon was the son of Kronos and Rhea. Homer in the Iliad says that after the gods won over the Titans, there were three parts of the world and Zeus, Hades and Poseidon drew straws to decide which they would rule. Zeus drew the skies, Hades drew the underworld and Poseidon drew the seas. Poseidon was a god who often got angry and who was very moody. He ruled the sea, waters, and horses. His weapon was a trident11, with which he could make the earth move, which caused earthquakes12, and destroyed things. One of many interesting facts about him is that he and Medusa had a child. This child was one of mythological beings, the flying horse, Pegasus. TAKE A QUIZ 5: 1. Who was Poseidon? a) Ruler of the underworld b) Ruler of the sea, waters and horses c) Ruler of the Sun d) Ruler of the Moon 2. Who were Poseidon’s parents? a) Kronos and Rhea b) Zeus and Hera c) Kronos and Tethys d) Zeus and Demeter
Hades was the oldest male child of Kronos and Rhea. Homer in the Iliad says that after the gods won over the Titans, there were three parts of the world and Zeus, Hades and Poseidon drew straws to decide which they would rule. Hades drew the underworld and he became the god of the dead and king of the underworld. They also called him the god of wealth, because he owned the precious metals13 of the earth. He was married to Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. According to the Iliad, Hades’ kingdom lies between secret places of the earth, but according to the Odyssey, one must cross the ocean to get there. What was the underworld? In mythology, the Greek underworld was the other world where souls went after people died. Greeks thought that at the moment of death, the soul and the body separate. The soul looks the same as the person. Hermes led the soul near the gate of the underworld, where the soul needed to get on the boat that would take it to the other side of the river Acheron. There was a single boat run by the boat man Charon, who took the souls to the other side of the river. He would take only those who could pay him, which is why the ancient Greeks buried14 people with coins15 under their tongues. They didn’t want the soul to stay between two worlds. On the other side, the souls entered through the gate guarded by Cerberus, Hades’ dog with three heads. It let anyone enter, but no one leave. The souls then had to face three judges who decided their afterlife.
13 precious metals - vzacné kovy 14 buried - pohřbívali 15 coin(s) - mince
11 trident - trojzubec 12 earthquake(s) - zemětřesení
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