Edith Hamilton Study Questions Flashcards
1
Q
Who was the king of the Titans who was overthrown by Zeus?
A
Cronus
2
Q
What was Cronusʼ Latin name?
A
Saturn
3
Q
After he was overthrown, what became of Cronus?
A
He fled to Italy
4
Q
What is the reign of Saturn in Italy called?
A
The Golden Age
5
Q
What was the name of the Titan that encircled the earth?
A
Oceanus
6
Q
Who was the wife of Oceanus?
A
Tethys
7
Q
What Titan was the father of the sun, moon, and dawn?
A
Hyperion
8
Q
Which Titan who presided over memory is, in some versions of the story, the mother of Athena?
A
Mnemosyne
9
Q
What Titan presided over justice?
A
Themis
10
Q
What Titan was the father of Prometheus, Epimetheus,and Atlas?
A
Iapetus
11
Q
Which child of Iapetus stole fire for mankind?
A
Prometheus
12
Q
Which child of Iapetus had Pandora for a wife?
A
Epimetheus
13
Q
Which child of Iapetus was condemned to hold up the heavens on his shoulders?
A
Atlas
14
Q
On what mountain did the gods live?
A
Mt. Olympus
15
Q
Name the twelve Olympians in Greek.
A
Zeus, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, Hades, Ares, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hephaestus.
16
Q
Name the twelve Olympians in Latin.
A
Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, Vesta, Minerva, Diana, Apollo, Mars, Venus, Vulcan, Mercury.
17
Q
Which of Zeusʼs sisters is not one of the twelve Olympians?
A
Demeter
18
Q
What god of wine is not one of the twelve Olympians?
A
Dionysus
19
Q
What was the aegis?
A
the breastplate of Zeus (often worn by Athena) on which she placed the Gorgonʼs head
20
Q
Which god is sometimes called “Dis”?
A
Pluto
21
Q
What does “Dis” mean?
A
rich
22
Q
Although Apollo is often listed as god of the sun, what child of the Titan Hyperion is more accurately the sun god?
A
Helios
23
Q
Who was the goddess of witchcraft and the dark side of the moon?
A
Hecate
24
Q
Aphrodite is usually listed as the wife of Hephaestus. When she is not, which of the Graces is his wife?
A
Aglaia
25
Name the three Graces and the meaning for each name.
Aglaia (Splendor), Thalia (Good Cheer) and Euphrosyne (Mirth).
26
Name the 9 Muses and their fields.
Melpomene - tragedy, Thalia - comedy,Polyhymnia - songs to the gods, Terpsichore - dance, Clio - history, Urania - astronomy, Erato - love poetry, Calliope - epic poetry, and Euterpe - lyric poetry.
27
Name the 4 mountains of the Muses.
Helicon, Pierus, Olympus and Parnassus.
28
What god presided over underground rivers?
Poseidon
29
What sea godʼs name means “Deep Sea”?
Pontus
30
What sea god was known as the “Old Man of the Sea”?
Nereus
31
What were the 50 daughters of Nereus and Doris called?
Nereids
32
What kind of nymphs are nereids?
sea nymphs
33
What kind of nymphs are Oceanids?
Nymphs of the river Ocean
34
What kind of nymphs were dryads (hamadryads)?
tree nymphs
35
What kind of nymphs were naiads?
fresh water nymphs (springs and grottos)
36
What kind of nymphs were oreads?
mountain nymphs
37
What kind of nymphs were the Melias?
ash tree nymphs
38
Name the 5 rivers of the underworld.
Acheron - river of woe, Cocytus - river of lamentation, Styx - river of unbreakable oaths, Phlegethon - river of fire, and Lethe - river of forgetfulness.
39
Name the ferryman who carries souls across the river Styx
Charon
40
Name the three judges of the Underworld.
Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus.
41
Who were the godesses in the Underworld who punished unnatural crimes?
the Furies
42
What is another name for the Furies?
the Erinyes
43
What does “Erinyes” mean?
the “Appeased”.
44
Name the 3 Furies.
Tisiphone, Allecto, and Megaera
45
There are two gates in the Underworld. Name them.
the gate of ivory and the gate of horn.
46
What comes out of the gate of ivory?
false dreams
47
What comes out of the gate of horn?
true dreams
48
Castor and Pollux also became gods. Whom did they protect?
shipwrecked sailors
49
What deities were known as the Dioscuri and the Tyndaridae?
Castor and Pollux
50
What is the Greek form of Polluxʼs name?
Polydeuces
51
Dioscuri and Tyndaridae are patronymics, that is, they are words that name someoneʼs father. When Castor and Polydeuces are called the Dioscuri, who is the father named?
Zeus
52
When Castor and Polydeuces are called the Tyndaridae, who is the father named?
Tyndareus
53
What were the Sileni?
creatures part man, part horse, that walked on two legs, had horses hooves and tails and sometimes horsesʼ ears.
54
What is a satyr?
half man, half goat
55
Who was the King of the Winds?
Aeolus
56
Name the four major winds in Greek and Latin.
Zephyr or Favonius - West Wind; Notus or Auster - South Wind; Boreas or Aquilo - North Wind; Eurus - East Wind (Greek name is given first in this answer, followed by Latin. Eurus is the same in both)
57
What were centaurs?
creatures half man, half horse.
58
Name the three gorgons.
Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa
59
Which of the gorgons was mortal?
Medusa
60
Who killed Medusa?
Perseus
61
Who were the sisters of the gorgons who shared one eye and one tooth between them?
the Graiae
62
Who/what were the Sirens?
creatures with beautiful voices who lured sailors to their death
63
Name the 3 fates and the job of each.
Clotho - spun thread of human lifeLachesis - twisted and measured the threadAtropos - cut the thread of human life
64
Besides Bacchus, what Latin name was given to Dionysus?
Liber
65
Who was the Roman god of boundaries?
Terminus
66
Which Roman god was considered a strengthener of cattle?
Pales
67
Which Roman god was the helper of plowmen and woodcutters?
Sylvanus
68
Of what was Saturn the god?
Sowers and Seed
69
Who was the wife of Saturn and the “harvest helper”?
Ops
70
What is Opsʼ name in Greek?
Rhea
71
Who was Quirinus?
the deified Romulus
72
What were the Manes?
the spirits of the good dead in Hades
73
What were the Lemures?
spirits of the wicked dead
74
What nymphs of springs were the Roman equivalent to the Muses?
Camenae
75
Who was the Roman goddess of childbirth?
Lucina
76
Who was the mother of Persephone?
Demeter
77
Who kidnapped Persephone to make her his wife?
Hades
78
What young child did Demeter attempt to make immortal by annointing him with ambrosia and placing him in a hot fire?
Demophon
79
Who was Demophonʼs mother who snatched him from the flames?
Metaneira
80
Who was the husband of Metaneira and the father of Demophon?
Celeus
81
For how many months does Persephone remain in the Underworld?
4 months
82
Who were the parents of Dionysus?
Zeus and Semele
83
When offered any gift she named, what did Semele ask of Zeus?
To see him as lord of the sky
84
How was Dionysus saved from his burning mother?
Zeus sewed him up in his thigh
85
What nymphs cared for the infant Dionysus?
the Hyades or the nymphs of Nysa
86
Into what did Dionysus change the pirates who tried to capture him?
Dolphins
87
What were the followers of Bacchus called?
Maenads or Bacchantes
88
What king of Thebes was torn apart by his own mother when she was infected with the madness of Dionysus?
Pentheus
89
What Theban princess killed her son under the influence of Dionysus?
Agave
90
What three deities were worshipped at Eleusis?
Demeter, Persephone, and Dionysus
91
Who were the two children of Chaos?
Erebus and Night
92
Who was the child of Erebus and Night?
Love (Eros)
93
What two creatures arose from Love?
Light and Day
94
Who was Father Heaven?
Ouranos (Uranus)
95
Who was Mother Earth?
Ge (Gaea)
96
What monsters, the children of Uranus and Gaea, were giants with only one eye in the middle of their foreheads?
the Cyclopes
97
How many Cyclopes were there origially?
3
98
What does “Cyclops” mean?
wheel-eyed
99
What were the hecatoncheires?
giants with a hundred hands and 50 heads, children of Uranus and Gaea
100
Who were the parents of the Titans?
Uranus and Gaea
101
Which of his children did Uranus bury in the earth?
the hecatoncheires
102
What Titan avenged the hecatoncheires by castrating his father?
Cronus
103
What monsters sprang from the blood of the wounded Uranus?
the Giants and the Furies
104
Who was the youngest child of Cronus and Rhea?
Zeus
105
To what island did Rhea smuggle Zeus to prevent his being swallowed by his father?
Crete
106
What monsters, released from their prison by Zeus, helped Zeus defeat the Titans?
hecatoncheires
107
What Titan was condemned to hold up the heavens on his shoulders?
Atlas
108
What monster was the last created by Gaea?
Typhon
109
What hero helped the gods when the Giants later rebelled against the Olympians?
Hercules
110
What sea was called both the Axine and the Euxine Sea by the Greeks?
the Black Sea
111
What does Axine mean?
Unfriendly
112
What does Euxine mean?
Friendly
113
What does Prometheus mean?
Forethought
114
What does Epimetheus mean?
Afterthought
115
Which Titan created man?
Epimetheus (Prometheus finished the job)
116
Which Titan gave fire to mankind?
Prometheus
117
What are the five ages of man?
The golden age, silver age, bronze age, age of heroes, iron age
118
Who was the first woman in Greek mythology?
Pandora
119
What does Pandora mean?
“gift of all”
120
For what crimes was Prometheus chained to the Caucasus?
for refusing to reveal to Zeus the name of the mother of the child that would dethrone him and for stealing fire.
121
What bird ate at Prometheusʼ liver each day?
an eagle
122
Who killed the eagle and set Prometheus free?
Hercules
123
When the human race was destroyed by the Great Flood, who were the only two humans to survive?
Deucalion and Pyrrha
124
Who was the father of Deucalion?
Prometheus
125
Who were the parents of Pyrrha?
Epimetheus and Pandora
126
How were Deucalion and Pyrrha instructed to restore the human race?
To throw their motherʼs bones behind their backs. The bones were the stones and they were changed into men and women.
127
Who predicted to Prometheus that he would be released from his chains by one of ther descendants?
Io
128
Into what had Zeus changed Io?
a cow or heifer
129
To whom had Hera given Io for save-keeping?
Argus
130
What was unusual about Argus?
He had 100 eyes and never closed all of them at once.
131
Who killed Argus and took Io?
Hermes
132
What story did Hermes tell Argus to lull him to sleep?
The love story of Pan and Syrinx
133
Into what was Syrinx changed?
reeds
134
What creature sent by Hera drove Io mad?
a gadfly
135
What sea is named after Io?
Ionian Sea
136
What body of water is named for the fact that Io crossed it?
the Bosphorus
137
What does Bosphorus mean?
Cow Ford
138
Jacksonvilleʼ s original name was Cow Ford. What would that be in Greek?
Bosphorus
139
Io was returned to human form when she reached what body of water?
the Nile
140
Who changed Io back into a human?
Zeus
141
Who was the son of Io and Zeus?
Epaphus
142
Whom did Zeus seduce in the guise of a bull?
Europa
143
Europa was a princess of what city?
Sidon
144
Where did Zeus take Europa (a land, not a continent)?
Crete
145
Who were Europaʼs sons by Zeus who became judges of the dead?
Minos and Rhadamanthys
146
Which monsters did Zeus not banish from the earth after he conquered them?
the Cyclops
147
What Greek hero, returning from the Trojan War, encountered a Cyclops?
Odysseus
148
What was the name of the Cyclops encountered by Odysseus?
Polyphemus
149
How did Odysseus and his men escape from Polyphemus?
they blinded him and then tied themselves to the undersides of his sheep. The sheep carried them from the cave.
150
What did Odysseus originally tell Polyphemus his name was?
“No Man”
151
What gift had Polyphemus promised Odysseus?
to eat him last
152
With what nymph did Polyphemus fall in love?
Galatea
153
What youth did Galatea prefer to Polyphemus?
Acis
154
Who killed Acis?
Polyphemus
155
Into what was Acis changed?
a river god
156
What goddess punished Echo by taking away her voice?
Juno
157
Why was Juno angry with Echo?
Because Echoʼs chattering kept her from noticing the affairs of Jupiter
158
With what youth did Echo fall in love?
Narcissus
159
With whom did Narcissus fall in love?
his reflection
160
Into what flower was Narcissus changed?
the narcissus
161
What god accidentally killed the youth Hyacinthus?
Apollo
162
What game were Apollo and Hyacinthus playing when Hyacinthus was killed?
discus
163
Into what flower was Hyacinthus changed?
the hyacinth
164
In another version of the story, a jealous wind god kills Hyacinthus. Which one?
Zephyr
165
Which two goddesses loved Adonis?
Aphrodite and Persephone
166
What youth spent half a year in the underworld with Persephone and half a year with Aphrodite?
Adonis
167
How did Adonis die?
He was gored by a boar
168
What flower grew from the blood of Adonis?
the red anemone (windflower)
