12 phenomenon is caused by the rapid expansion of atmospheric gases which are
suddenly heated by lightning, it is simpler to say that there is god named Zeus, the god of thunder who is angry. Therefore, he sends thunder to the world to punish
everyone who does not obey him.
B. Review on Greek Mythology
Greek mythology began from the creation of the world. It was started where there was no land or sea, people or gods, except Chaos. Chaos was a space of order
and disorder. There were no mountains or rivers, or any features on earth. In fact, there was no earth at all. It was a period of emptiness. Even time did not exist yet.
Eventually, Chaos divided itself into the earth, sky, and sea. When the division was complete, everything was peaceful and perfect. After Chaos was divided into the
earth, sky, and sea, one goddess came into being without being born from any mother. Her name was Gaia, which means earth, and she took control over the earth
as it took shape. Like an artist on a canvas, Gaia was busy creating a beautiful masterpiece. Soon, however, the goddess began to long for children to help populate
and rule the new world. Gaia’s desire for children was so strong that she became pregnant by herself. The child she bears was named Uranus, and he became the ruler
of the sky. In every way, Uranus was equal of his mother, and soon Gaia and Uranus had their own children. Later, both Gaia’s and Uranus’ children became the figures of
Greek mythology.
13 Basically, figures on Greek mythology can be classified into three groups.
They are god and goddess, human, and monster. God and goddess in Greek mythology basically are the same as immortal human. They share the characteristics
of human being such as jealousy, love, grief, and other desire. Further, they also punish anyone who breaks their authority. Based on ancient literary and art works,
Greek’s god and goddess are depicted in a shape of a human being. In addition, god and goddess in Greek mythology have a relationship as a big family with Zeus as the
head of the family. They have super power and responsibility for specific aspects of life, for example: Aphrodite, the goddess of love and Calliope, the goddess of epic.
God and goddess also have the authority in world of mortal. God and goddess can punish human being who hurt their feeling. In addition, Buxton in his article Greek
Mythology in Microsoft Encarta 2009 explains. Greek divinities had a different side: they could be uncanny, strange, alien.
This quality is powerfully visible in artistic representations of monsters, such as the snake-haired Gorgon Medusa with the stare that turned her victims to
stone. Such alienness is a characteristic even of the major deities of Olympus: one of the recurrent markers of divine power is the ability to change shape,
either one’s own Athena once transformed herself into a vulture; Poseidon once took the form of a stallion or that of others Zeus turned Lycaon into a
wolf to punish him for his wickedness. The ability to exercise power over the crossing of boundaries is a crucial feature of divine power among the Greeks.
The basic distinctions between god and goddess with human being are the immortality and the extraordinary power. However, god and goddess can also fall in
love with human, get married and have children. We can see in the following chart to have complete picture about god and goddess family tree.
14
Fig.1 Zeus. Zeus Consort’s and Offspring’s. Microsoft Encarta 2009
From the chart above, we can see Zeus as the father of the entire god and goddess. Zeus gets married with many goddess and common women. His divine
offspring became the main Greek god and goddess left and his mortal children became the heroes of Greek mythology right.
Mortals also take a big role in Greek mythology. Since Greek mythology also deals with ritual, mortals take a role as a worshiper and follower of the god and
goddess. However, most of the figures of common human in Greek mythology are kings and beautiful women. Kings are in charge of ruling his people to follow what
the gods have asked. Moreover, there are common women who become the mother of many Greek mythology heroes because they get married with god who can fall in
15 love with them. In addition, children who are born from a mother who gets married
with god will share the power like their father. The third category is monster or beast in Greek mythology. Those monsters
exist because of some of them are god’s favorite and become their guardian. For example, Zeus has Pegasus, a wild winged horse that becomes a carrier of Zeus’
lightning and thunderbolts. In addition, there is also Python, a giant snake that guards the oracle, the source of wisdom. However, those monsters and beasts are mortal. It
means they can be killed, just like Minotaur, monster in form of bull-headed man who likes to eat human, which is killed by Theseus. Besides, there is also Orthrus,
two headed giant dog, which is killed by Hercules to complete his duty. In addition, there are also some figures outside those categories, for example:
Hermaphroditus, who is the son of Hermes and Aphrodite. Although his parents are god and goddess, in Greek Mythology he does not mentioned as a god who is
responsible for any specific area, has a super power and authority. There is also Tiresias who is a prophet and becomes Zeus’ priest. Another example is Nymphs, a
spirit which usually depicted as a beautiful maiden, typically associated with particular place or landlord deals with nature.
C. Theoretical Framework
