classical mythology exam Flashcards
Zeus
king of the gods, most important in divine family hierarchy
sky, storms, law, order, kingship and justice
all powerful/seeing- often tricked though
concerned with obedience and behavior
overseer of oaths
lightning bolt, eagle
Zeus on Mt. Olympus- punishes men by giving them women
Hera
sister and wife of zeus, (unfaithful to her)
queen of the gods
goddess of marriage & childbirth: highly worshipped, temples for her
Hercules birth
Poseidon
Rules over the sea
brother of zeus and hera
very powerful god, seduces women he shouldn’t (medusa), married to ampetride
trident
contest of Poseidon and Athena for Athens rule
Hades
ruler of the underworld- god of the dead
(aka pluto)
married to persephone
3 headed hell hound, cerebrus
the kidnapping of Persephone
demeter
goddess of the grain/agriculture- important bc grain center of food
fertility goddess: role as a mother, persephone is kid
cornucopia
kidnapping of persephone
Athena
goddess of war & crafts
goddess of wisdom
virgin, goddess of city of Athens
shield, aegis
the battle of Athena and Poseidon for ruling city of Athens
Ares
God of war
inferior to Athena (zeus says he’s most hated)
son of zeus and Hera
violence and brutality of war
armor
Aphrodite and ares affair
Aphrodite
goddess of love & sexual desire
married to Hephaistos, in love affair with Ares
has Aeneas with a mortal
nude, dove/apple
Aphrodite and Anchises in the Aeneid
hermes
messenger god: thieves,
leader of souls to hades
son of zeus/haya
Zeus giving him a spot with the gods for tricking Apollo to steal cattle
traveler’s hat, winged sandal/boots
Hestia
goddess of the hearth
virgin goddess, asks zeus if she can be for life
household worshipped goddess
modestly dressed, head covered
the turning down of Apollo and Poseidon
Dionysus
full god with mortal mother
god of wine/agriculture- grapevine
god of theatre- danger and delight
son of Semele and zeus
Dionysus is carried in Zeus thigh after Semele killed by his full divine appearence
satyrs and maenads
Hephaistos
God of the forge
married to Aphrodite- she don’t like him
son of Hera and zeus- put down by parents
walks with limp, Hera disgusted bc he has flaw
axe
Kronos
the father of zeus
and many other gods/goddess with rhea
fear his kid will overthrow him (zeus does) and swallows kids to not let them
Prometheus
titan- son of lapetus and lymene
prometheus steals fire for man
trickster
Athena and the Parthenon
A temple made for Athena’s worship and victory in contest against Poseidon.
Initiation rites/ three stages of initiation
seperation, liminality, reintegration. For females girl leaves home, spends time in wild, returns to become wife and mother ex: story of io- zeus drives her away because of Hera’s jealousy, Hera turns her into a cow and she roams the earth, turned back to human and has a son.
Tantalus
son of zeus and Pluto
served his son pelops to the gods to eat
perpetual thirst
consequence of disrespect, no hospitality, and hubris
Hippolytus
his stepmom falls in love with him but he doesn’t want her, she says he seduced her and Theseus (dad) curses him
was dedicated to worshipping Artemis
Anthesteria festival
3 day festival for Dionysus im Athens
pithogia- jar opening day
choes- wine jug day
chrytriai- looking pots day- send away spirits of dead
Pegasus
a white divine horse with wings, said to be born from medusas blood when slain by Perseus
assisted Bellerophon in his battle against the chimera
Homeric Hymn to Demeter
Hades wants to marry persephone demeters daughter so he abducts her and makes Demeter search for her for years disguised as old lady doso, watches the king and queens baby for them until she cannot do it anymorebc she tried making him immortal
Hubris
allowing things to go from good to bad
excess leads to bad things
arrogance from humans, need to know their place
Daedalus and Icarus
Daedalus- prisoner of king minos @ Knossos, built labyrinth for minotaur
Icarus- son of Daedalus
Icarus should not have wings so he dies when gets too close to sun, did not listen to father’s warning
- hubris! D- breaking fold of nature
I- not listening to father
The Hero Pattern
BKAHDKFD (babies kill all humans daily keen for death)
1.unusual weird BIRTH
2. attempt to prevent birth/KILL hero
3. heroes raised by ANIMALS/fostered
4. journey to HOME
5. DEFEATS evil king, prove worthy
6. becoming KING
7.hero FALLS off
8. heroes deaths are weird
Thyestes (the play)
written by Seneca in 62 CE
Atreus, thyestes’ brother was jealous of his throne holding and served thyestes two sons to him after killing them
Medusa
one of 3 gorgans
once beautiful caught eye of Poseidon
had sex in Athena’s temple- she curses medusa with stone eye ability
Iliad book 1
written by Homer in 8th BC
Agamemnon refuses to return chryseis to chryses, so he prays to Apollo for revenge
Agamemnon gains briseis as a compensation for returning her to Apollo
zeus sends a dream to agam. telling him to fight the trojans, so he does
Xenia
nvite guests into home
Offer food and place to stay
Ask who they are and what they need
Only after they eat and offered rest, not appropriate to ask this before
Gift exchange
Overseen by Zeus Xenios
ex: Telemachus invites Athena inside
Odyssey book 9
written by Homer, in 8th century BCE Aeneas is away so he should take opportunity against them and the trojans infiltrate, Turnus briefly makes it inside trojan fortress, until Jupiter sends Iris down again to worn Turnus its time for battle again, but he leaves and swims away
Aeneid book 2
written by Virgil, in 29-19 BC
Fall of Troy: As the greeks break into troy and slaughter everyone, the gods coerce Aeneas to flee Troy and to find a new empire to take over
Romulus and Remus
twins told to be killed because subject of rape of Rea Silvia
king fails at actually drowning the twins
she-wolf finds them and nurses them, faustulus finds them and takes them home, they become shepherds
romulus and remus have to decide who they will name now Rome after, by looking at birds, Romulus sees more than remus - he dies and Romulus
