Chapter 10: Demeter And Related Myths Flashcards
What did the Greeks believe drove the pattern of renewal seen in plant and animal life; creation of new offspring?
Female power
What was associated with divine female beings?
Fertility of the soil, the reproductive capacities of wild animals and the sexual attraction between man and woman
What was Demeter often known as?
The Great Mother or the Great Goddess
What does the -meter of Demeter mean?
Mother
What was Persephonê?
She was a parthenogenesis which is an unmarried virgin
What is the significance of Demeter and Persephonê?
They are often regarded as two aspects of a single figure; the Two Demeters or the Two Goddesses. They represented the permanently fertile earth and the seasonal giver of grain
Who abducted Persephonê?
Hades
Who were the four daughters of Celeus?
Callithoe, Callidice, Demo and Clisidice
Who was the wife of Celeus?
Metaneira
What was the name of the son of Metaneira and Celeus?
Demophoon
What is Persephone known as?
Kore which means daughter or girl
Who saw Hades take Persephone?
Helius
What did Demeter do to the son of Metaneira?
She was in the process of burning away his humanity so he would become immortal but Metaneira saw and freaked out so she took off and left the child mortal
How much time does Persephone spend in the mortal world and in the darkness below?
She spends two thirds of the year with Demeter and one third of the year with Hades
What does the myth of Demeter offer a mythical explanation for?
The presence of death in the world. There can never be a world without death and there cannot be death without life
What were the Eleusinian Mysteries?
It is one of the most famous cults of the ancient world. They originally began as an agrarian festival designed to present the growth of grain.
Who were the families in charge of the Eleusinian Mysteries?
The Eumolpids and the Kerykes
To whom did Demeter teach her secret rites?
Triptolemus
What items did Inanna have to give up when she went to the Underworld?
She gave up her crown, earrings, beads around her neck, brooches at her breast, girdle of birthstones around her waist, bangles on her wrists and ankles and her dress
What happened to Inanna after she sat on the throne of the underworld?
She was turned into a side of meat, green with decay and hung on a stake
Who rescued Inanna?
Clay people made from the dirt under the nail of Enki
Who took the place of Inanna?
Dumuzi
Who was Cybele?
She was known as the Great Mother
How was Agdestis born?
Cybele was asleep on a rock when Zeus chanced upon her. She resisted him until he spilled his seed on the rock which became pregnant
What did Dionysus do to Agdestis?
He made Agdestis drunk and when he was asleep he made a noose of braided hair and slipped it over his feet and genitals. When he awoke he ripped the genitals from his body.
What grew from the blood of Agdestis’ genitals?
A fruited pomegranate tree
How did Nana become pregnant and what happened to her?
She plucked a pomegranate from the tree that sprung from the blood of Agdestis and became pregnant from that. Her father was disgraced and locked her up but Cybele saved her.
What was the name of Nana’s child?
Attis
What happened to Attis after King Midas made him marry his daughter?
Agdestis was furious that his son had been taken away from him and drove all the wedding guests mad. Attis took Agdestis’ flute and flung himself down the foot of a pine tree. He then ripped off his genitals and died from blood loss
What tree grew from the grave of Attis and his maiden?
An almond tree
What was the name of Celeus and Metaneira’s child?
Demophoon
