Exam 1 Flashcards
Allegorical Theory
Maintain that myths are extended metaphors, with key aspects of a given myth standing for something else (can be divided into 3 categories)
- Natural Allegory
- Historical Allegory
- Moral Allegory
James Fraser
Came up with the theory
- the ritual theory of myth maintains that myths serve as explanations of religious rituals
Bronislaw Malinowski
Created a theory
- the theory maintains that myths serve as justification for historical, societal, or cultural realities
Sigmund Freud
Created the theory
- myths resemble dreams in that they reflect the repressed (often sexual) wishes of an individual and society
Carl Jung
Created the theory
- myths are expressions of the collective unconscious and are built from archetypes that belong to the collective unconscious (collective unconscious: the shared mental concept of human race)
Claude Lévi-Strauss
Created the myth
- myths arise out of and seek to reconcile the binary pairs that make up reality (hot and cold)
Feminist theory
Maintains that the myths reflect aspects of girls’ and women’s lives and their place in society
Bronze Age
Stage in history with the Minoan and Mycenaean civilization and the Trojan War
Olympian religion
Revolved around the worship of the Olympian gods
- Grew mortal would perform a ritual act towards a specific god
- Greek god would preform a favor for the Greek mortal in gratitude for the ritual act
Chthonic religion
This religion was based on the worship of supernatural powers on or beneath the earth:
- Heroes
- Ghosts
- Underworld gods/spirits
Mystery religion (mystēs = initiate)
Characterized by three main features
- Voluntary initiation
- Secret rites
- Specific dogma and doctrines
Comprised of three major cults
- The Eleusinian Mysteries
- The Dionysian Mysteries
- Orphism
Hesiod
Was a poet in the Archaic period.
His works
- Theogony (myths: creation of the world, the divine succession, Prometheus, Pandora)
- Works and Days (myths: Prometheus, Panera, the five ages)
Theogony
A work created by Hesiod, it talks about the creation of the world, the creation of gods and their lineage.
The Divine Succession myth
It talks about how Gaea came from Chaos. Then Gaea producing Uranus and them creating children. Following that their kids the titans, and from there the olympians from Rhea and Cronus
Chaos
The first primordial deity who produces
- Gaea = Earth
- Tartarus = Underworld
- Eros = Love/Desire
- Erebus = Underworld Darkness
- Nyx = Night
Gaea
Female primordial deity of Earth and fertility. Child of Chaos. Produces three primordial deities
- Uranus = Sky
- Pontus = Sea
- Ourea = Mountains
Uranus
Male primordial deity of sky and weather. Child of Gaea. Father of the titans, Cyclopes, and Hecatonchires
Titans
Children of the Gaea and Uranus
- Cronus
- Rhea
- Oceanus
- Coeus
- Crius
- Hyperion
- Iapetus
- Theia
- Themis
- Mnemosyne
- Phoebe
- Tethys
Cronus
One of the Titans and was the one who castrated Uranus in a revenge plan from his mother. He helped produce the Olympians with Rhea
Rhea
Is one of the Titan and is also the wife of Cronus who helps produce the Olympians
Olympians
The children of Cronus and Rhea they are the next generation of gods
- Zeus
- Poseidon
- Hades
- Hera
- Demeter
- Hestia
Titanomachy
The battle between the Olympians and the the Titans. The titans side was consisted of the titans except 2 (Themis and Prometheus)
The Olympians side was the Olympians, Gaea, Themis, Prometheus, Cyclopes, and Hecatonchires
The olympians won this battle
Prometheus
He took fire away from the mortals and was punished by Zeus for doing so and was then tied up and a bird would eat out his liver over and over again everyday. He did in a way give the fire back to mankind
Pandora
Pandora was also a creation of the punishment of Prometheus by releasing her on mankind. This myth is the one where she has a jar and is told to not open it but then does it and releases all the evils and hopes into the world
The Five Ages myth
This myth talks about the decline of humankind. There are five ages:
- Age of Gold (they were peaceful and freedom from work, sleep-like death)
- Age of Silver (Arrogance, Impiety, long childhood and short adulthood)
- Age of Bronze (Strength, Ferocity, violence, Diet w/o bread, weapons and tools)
- Age of Heroes (Valor, justice, honor and glory, afterlife on the Isle of the Blessed)
- Age of Iron (Constant work and misery)
The Flood myth
Like other religions that is whips out humankind. They talk about how mankind is rebuilt through Deucalion and Pyrrha who throw stones over their shoulders to repopulate the earth because they compared stones to mother’s bones.
Zeus
King of the gods. Has most of the second generation as his children with many different women. He is married to Hera and constantly cheats on her. He is also father to the Muses, the Fates, the Seasons, and the Graces. His major site of worship is Olympia and Dodona
Hera
She is Queen of the Gods and has 4 kids with Zeus (Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe, Eileithyia). She was a very jealous wife and would punish the women that Zeus cheated on her with. Heras major worship site is Argos.
The Muses
Their parents are Zeus and Mnemosyne (memory). Their names and roles are:
- Calliope: Epic Poetry
- Euterupe: Lyric Poetry
- Melpomene: Tragic Poetry
- Thalia: Comic Poetry
- Erato: Erotic Poetry
- Clio: History
- Terpsichore: Dance
- Polyhymnia: Hymns
- Urania: Astronomy
The Muses are commonly associated with Apollo
The Fates
The parents are Zeus and Themis (“Custom”). Their names and roles are:
- Clotho (“Spinner): spins a mortal’s thread of destiny
- Lachesis (“Apportiner”): measure a mortal’s thread of destiny
- Atropos (“Inflexible”): Cuts a mortal’s thread of destiny
They are also depicted as having power over the gods as well
Olympia
A place in which the Olympic Games were held and where a huge Zeus statue was for long time
Dodona
Was a sanctuary of Zeus in Epirus. The site of the second most famous oracle in the Greek world (it was Zeus oracle).
The priest and priestesses are Selloi and Peleiades
Hades
King of the Underworld. Married to Persephone with no kids that we need to know about. There were no major worship sites for Hades in Ancient Greece
Tartarus
The hell like part of the underworld, those who were exceptionally bad in life. Tartarus is home to several famous people:
- The Titans
- Sisyphus ( rolling a boulder up a hill forever for cheating death twice)
Elysium
The heaven like part of the underworld. Where those who ere exceptionally good in life go. Is closely related to the Isles of the Blesses, another heaven like location in Greek mythology
Demeter
The goddess of Agriculture. Mother of Persephone. Goes on a rampage when Zeus allows Hades to take Persephone. She threatens to cause famine across earth to kill them
Homeric Hymn to Demeter
The Homeric hymn to Demeter talks about her daughter’s abduction. It mentions that she tries to make a kid immoral after he daughters abduction, but when that fails she threatens famine on the humankind until her daughter is returned. Zeus tells hades to release Persephone but tricks her into eating a pomegranate seed to keep her in the under world 1/3 of the year.
Persephone
The Daughter of Persephone, is Hades wife. She is the queen of the underworld. She was taken by Hades to the underworld to be his wife. She was tricked by Hades to eat a pomegranate seed so that she would be stuck in the underworld for a third of the year and the upper world for the other 2/3s.
Eleusis
Eleusis is the city that Demeter is in while she is mourning the abduction of her daughter also where she tries to make Demopoön an immortal after nursing him
Demeter demands that a temple is built in the city
The Eleusinian mysteries
Is a religious cult of Demeter and Persephone in Eleusis
They are consisted of two parts
- Greater Mysteries
* They take place in the fall in Athens and Eleusis
* Day 1-4 in Athens
* Day 5 goes to Eleusis
* Day 6-8 in Athens
* Day 9 goes to Athens
- Lesser Mysteries
* They happen in spring time in Athens
They had three main characteristics
- Universal Admission
- Absolute Secrecy
- Promise of a Happy Afterlife
Poseidon
God of the sea. Parents are Cronus and Rhea. Children Triton Polyphemus, Wife is Amphitrite. His marriage is like Zeus and Heras
Athena and him competed to see who the patron deity of Athens would be.
Athena
She is the goddess of wisdom. No spouses or children that we need to know. She competed against Poseidon for patron Deity of Athens and a dual against Pallas (she accidentally kills her when they are practicing the arts of war). Athena was born from Métis (“Cleverness”). Zeus feared being over thrown and ate Métis with Athena in her womb. Athena emerged from Zeus with an axe.
Parthenon
The Parthenon is a classical temple to Athena
It features an artistic program that celebrates Athena, and the forces of civilization over barbarism
Building was designed by Ictinus, statue of Athena built by Pheidias
Hestia
The goddess of Hearth, daughter of Cronus and Rhea. No spouses or children we need to know.
Hestia was one of the twelfth Olympians but then stepped down for Dionysus to take the spot.
She had no singular major site but many different ones all across Ancient Greece.
Dionysus
God of wine, and is the child of Zeus and Semele.
He is the new twelfth Olympian
The devotees of Dionysus are
- Maenads (women who are devoted to him)
- Satyrs (half man and half animals)
Major site of worship is Mount Cithaeron
His mother was tricked to have Zeus reveal himself and it killed her. Zeus saved Dionysus by sewing him into his thigh
Euripides
Was a Greek tragedian of the Classical period, who was born in Athens
Won first-place in the City Dionysia three times during his career
Bacchae
The women in the story Bacchae. They are essentially following Dionysus and his demands. His mother and aunt are apart of them and eventually his aunt tears his cousin Pentheus apart
Pentheus
The cousin of Dionysus and son of Agave and Cadmus. He feels that he and the people of Thebes shouldn’t worship Dionysus. He tried to trap and arrest Dionysus but each time doesn’t work and eventually ends up getting tore apart by the Bacchae
The Dionysus Mysteries
Apollo
Homeric Hymn to Apollo
Asclepius
Delos
Delphi
Artemis
Aphrodite
Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite
Anchises
Eros/Cupid
Ares
Hephaestus
Hermes
Homeric Hymn to Hermes
Pan
