CLA204 TEST2 Flashcards
Monster
Definition: A supernatural creature that represents chaos and disorder; reveal limits and define transgress-normative boundaries -> ‘outsiders’ that are seen as abnormal and must be controlled
Example: The Minotaur, who resides in the Labyrinth and is ultimately slain by Theseus.
Significance: Monsters often symbolize the unknown, danger, or challenges heroes must overcome to restore order.
Civic Dike
Definition: A more structured form of justice tied to laws and civic order; human law made concrete in legal procurements
Example: In The Eumenides, Athens establishes a court to replace the cycle of blood vengeance with legal dikē.
Significance: Represents the shift from personal revenge (Homeric dikē) to a more civilized legal system; made to end stasis
Metis (New Context)
Definition: Intelligence, cunning, and strategic thinking, often contrasted with brute force.
Example: Odysseus uses metis when he tricks Polyphemus by calling himself “Nobody.”
Significance: Metis is a crucial heroic trait, particularly in The Odyssey, where wit and deception are necessary for survival. It contrasts with Achilles’ direct strength.
The Best of the Achaeans
Definition: A title for the greatest Greek hero, debated in Homeric scholarship.
Example: Achilles is the strongest warrior in The Iliad, but Odysseus’ cunning in The Odyssey makes him a rival for the title.
Significance: The competition over who is the “Best of the Achaeans” reflects different heroic ideals—Achilles as the ultimate warrior and Odysseus as the ultimate survivor.
Hybris (Hubris)
Definition: Excessive assault on integrity/dignity of another, meant to bring shame (can extend to mistreatment of entire communities/Gods)
Example: Odysseus proudly revealed his true name to Polyphemus whilst sailing away, causing Polyphemus to report him to his father (Poseidon), causing trouble for Odysseus’ journey.
Significance: Hybris often results in divine punishment, reinforcing the idea that mortals must respect their limits in relation to the gods.
Athlos and Akhos
Definition: Athlos (contest, labor) and akhos (grief, suffering) are linked concepts where heroism requires both struggle and suffering.
Example: Heracles’ twelve labors (athlos) involve immense physical hardship, and his tragic death (akhos) ensures his kleos.
Significance: Greek heroes must endure both triumph and suffering to achieve true greatness.
Nostos (New Context)
Definition: The idea of returning home, often after great hardship and suffering.
Example: Odysseus’ journey home in The Odyssey represents nostos, but Agamemnon’s failed nostos (he is killed upon returning home) shows its dangers.
Significance: Nostos is more than physical return—it represents the restoration of identity and order. It is a central theme in Greek myth.
Statis
Definition: Civil war/strife or political conflict within a polis.
Example: The Peloponnesian War (Athens vs. Sparta) led to periods of stasis in Greek city-states.
Significance: Stasis was seen as a destructive force that weakened a polis from within, often appearing in historical and mythical conflicts -> great concern to democracy
Homeric Dike
Definition: A concept of justice in Homeric epics, often tied to retribution and the will of the gods rather than a codified moral system.
Example: Achilles avenges Patroclus by killing Hector, reflecting a personal and heroic form of dikē.
Significance: Homeric dikē is based on individual honor and divine intervention, showing that justice in the Iliad and Odyssey is not always fair by modern standards but rather about restoring balance.
Miasma
Definition: Ritual pollution or defilement, often from murder or other crimes.
Example: Oedipus’ presence in Thebes brings miasma because he unknowingly killed his father and married his mother.
Significance: Miasma required purification and was seen as a threat to both individuals and the community.
Girl’s Tragedy Story Pattern
Definition: A mythic pattern involving a young woman’s suffering, often due to divine or patriarchal forces.
Example: Iphigenia is sacrificed by her father Agamemnon to appease the gods.
Significance: Reflects the limited agency of women in Greek myth and society, where their fate is often controlled by male figures.
Atasthalia
Definition: Breaking rules knowingly; Recklessness or self-destructive folly that leads to ruin; purposeful violation of dike
Example: Odysseus’ men commit atasthalia when they kill and eat Helios’ sacred cattle, leading to their destruction.
Significance: Often tied to divine punishment, atasthalia illustrates how hubristic defiance of the gods brings about downfall.
Structuralism
Definition: A method of analyzing myths based on binary oppositions (e.g., chaos vs. order, male vs. female).
Example: Levi-Strauss’ structuralism examines myths like The Odyssey in terms of opposites (civilization vs. barbarism); heroes represents (culture vs. nature).
Significance: Helps decode the deeper meaning of myths by looking at how they reflect universal human concerns.
Fate
Definition: The predetermined course of events, often controlled by the Moira (fated human time on earth) and Ananke (fated things necessary for life)
Example: Achilles is fated to die young but achieve everlasting glory; Odysseus fated to return home
Significance: Fate is unchangeable in Greek myth, even when gods and heroes try to resist it. This inevitability adds tragic weight to their stories.
Polis
Definition: The city-state, the central political and social unit in ancient Greece.
Example: Athens and Sparta are examples of poleis with distinct identities.
Significance: The polis was the foundation of Greek identity, and myths often explored its values, such as civic duty and warfare.
Katabasis
Definition: A descent into the Underworld, often for knowledge or redemption.
Example: Orpheus descends into Hades to retrieve Eurydice but fails due to his doubt.
Significance: Katabasis represents transformation, whether successful (Odysseus learns from the dead) or tragic (Orpheus loses his love).
Xenia
Definition: The sacred code of hospitality between hosts and guests in Greek culture.
Example: Odysseus receives excellent xenia from the Phaeacians, who help him return home. Conversely, the suitors abuse xenia in Ithaca and are punished.
Significance: Xenia was seen as a divine law overseen by Zeus. Its violation often led to divine punishment, reinforcing the importance of social and moral order.
Oikos
Definition: The household or family unit, including its property and lineage.
Example: In The Odyssey, Telemachus must reclaim the oikos of Odysseus from the suitors.
Significance: The oikos was essential to Greek stability, and many myths revolve around its preservation or destruction.
Tisis
Definition: Divine or fated retribution, often as revenge for wrongdoing/Atasthalia.
Example: Orestes avenges his father, Agamemnon, by killing his mother, Clytemnestra, in an act of tisis; The tisis narrative pattern is a structure in poems that details tisis patterns
Significance: Tisis upholds the cycle of vengeance in Greek myth, often leading to further bloodshed, as seen in the House of Atreus; Odysseus and the cyclops
Monster Slayer Story Pattern
Definition: A common mythic pattern where a hero defeats a monster to save a community -> talented demigod who slays a monster w/ divine aid, but returns home to tragedy
Example: Heracles is a monster slayer who kills the hydra and nemean lion (w/ aid of athena and hermes), marries a foreign woman, but is killed.
Significance: Represents the hero’s role in restoring order and civilization by conquering primal forces.
