Version: 1.0

This section of Hellenion basic adult education should take approximately 7 to 8 hours when taught in a Demos by an experienced teacher and the students have not studied any of the material previously. Solitary study could take longer or significantly shorter. This section is aimed ensuring members of Hellenion have a broad overview of Hellenic mythology and the gods, heroes, and other major figures.

Texts and Sources

Note: Learners may cover the material by eading the suggested primary source material or a secondary survey of Greek mythology. It is not necessary to do both to fulfull the requirements for this section. Reading all of the primary sources listed would far exceed the actual requirements.

Primary Source Materials (available online through the Perseus Project)
- Theogony (Hesiod)
- The Odyssey (Homer)
- The Iliad (Homer)
- The Library of Greek Mythology (Apollodorus) (ISBN 0-19-282460-0)
Secondary Source Materials
- Greek Myths by Olivia Coolidge (ISBN 0618154264)
- Gods of the Greeks by Karl Kerenyi
- any other modern survey of Greek mythology

Documentation of Completion

Participate in online discussion
Demonstrate knowledge via e-mail, website writings, person to person, or similar means
If using a secondary source, read about the following:
- Creation of the world (Gaia, et. al)
- Creation of man
- Rise to power of the Olympians
- The Trojan War
- Any five other sections
- Any stories dealing with your favoriate or patron deity if you have one, and compare the story to a version in one of the optional primary source texts. Then write a quarter page to half page commentary about the differences. Alternatively, discuss this in your local Demos or on one of the Hellenion e-mail lists.
More ways to be determined

Topics to Look For

The Gods: Hellenic Views of Deity (overview of Olympians, Khthonioi, nature divinities, etc.)
- The divine family tree:
- The Titans
- Zeus
- Hera,
- Poseidon
- Demeter
- Hestia
- Aries
- Aphrodite
- Hephaistos
- Athena
- Artemis
- Apollo
- Hermes
- Dionysus
- Hades
- Minor gods, demi-gods, nymphs and daimons
- Cerebus
- The Gorgon
Mythological Figures and Events:
- Perseus
- Herakles
- Jason and Medeia
- Oedipus
- Odysseus
- Agamemnon
- The Fall of Troy
- more to be added as needed or requested
Additional Topics (some will be covered in other sections as well)
- The relationship between religion and daily life
- Who are the Gods?
- The role of the gods
- Interaction between mortal and the divine
- Variations of Hellenism: Orphism, Pythagoreanism, etc.
- Common Misinterpretations of Hellenism: Hekate as crone, Fraser, Graves, etc.