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Heroes in Classical Mythology > Exam > Flashcards

Exam Flashcards

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Mythology flashcards
1
Q

Minos

A
  • King of Crete
  • Wife: Pasiphae
  • Children: Ariadne, Phaedra, Androgeus
  • Poseidon gave him a majestic bull to sacrifice, but he did not
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2
Q

Pasiphae

A
  • Queen of Crete
  • Husband: Minos
  • Children: Ariadne, Phaedra, Androgeus
  • Poseidon made her be attracted to the bull that Minos was supposed to sacrifice
  • Asks Daedalus to construct a wooden bull for her to hide in
  • Things happen, and she mothers the Minotaur
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3
Q

Daedalus and the Minotaur

A
  • Constructs the wooden bull for Pasiphae
  • Constructs the Labyrinth to hold the Minotaur
  • Tells Ariadne how to escape the Labyrinth, which helps Theseus defeat the Minotaur
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4
Q

The Minotaur

A
  • Parents: Pasiphae and Poseidon’s Bull
  • Labyrinth is constructed to hold it when he grows up to be violent and uncontrollable
  • When Androgeus is killed, Athens must send 7 boys and 7 girls each year to be devoured by the Minotaur
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5
Q

Androgeus

A
  • Parents: Minos and Pasiphae
  • Very athletic, so he travels to Athens and defeats every contender in every contest
  • Killed when Aegeus of Athens orders him to fight the Marathon Bull (same bull that fathered the Minotaur)
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6
Q

Ariadne

A
  • When Theseus volunteers to be sacrificed to the Minotaur, Ariadne sees him and falls in love
  • Daedalus tells her how to escape the Labyrinth (follow a string through the maze basically)
  • She kinda helps Theseus defeat the Minotaur by helping him navigate the maze
  • She and Theseus leave Crete together, but he abandons her later because he is disgusted by her treachery towards her father
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7
Q

Daedalus (Icarus)

A
  • Minos blamed Daedalus for the birth of the Minotaur and its death, as well as the treachery of Ariadne
  • Minos imprisoned Daedalus and Icarus in the Labyrinth and sealed all of its entrances
  • Daedalus and Icarus escaped and made wings out of wax and feathers
  • When Icarus died, Daedalus carried on to Sicily
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8
Q

Icarus

A
  • Father: Daedalus
  • Trapped in the Labyrinth with Daedalus, and escaped with the wings of wax and feathers
  • Flew too close to the sun, so the wax melted and he fell to his death
  • Icarian Sea named after him
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9
Q

Pirithous

A
  • Friend of Theseus
  • Both their wives died, so they look for new ones together
  • Theseus takes Helen, but she is too young so she leaves her with his mother
  • Pirithous wants to marry Persephone so he goes to the underworld with Theseus
  • Hades asks them to sit for a meal and sticks them to the chairs
  • Heracles rips Theseus off the chair, but Pirithous remains there
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10
Q

Death of Theseus

A
  • Returns home to find that Helen’s brothers have taken her home and kept Aethra (mother) as her servant
  • Menetheus is the new king of Athens
  • Theseus decides to go to Scyros, but Lycomedes (king) is jealous of his greatness
  • He invites Theseus to the edge of a cliff to see the view and just pushes him off
  • Very un-heroic death
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11
Q

The Iliad

A
  • Book about Troy written by Homer
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12
Q

Peleus and Thetis

A
  • Parents of Achilles
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13
Q

Achilles

A
  • Did a lot of stuff (I’m too lazy to write this card just remember it)
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14
Q

Eris

A
  • Goddess of strife and discord
  • Not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis
  • Rolled an apple across the floor and said “may the most beautiful goddess take it”
  • Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite claimed the apple, and Zeus told them to take it to Paris for an answer (he chose Aphrodite because she offered the most beautiful woman in the world)
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15
Q

Priam and Hecabe

A
  • Have many children, including Hector and Alexander (Paris)
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16
Q

Hector

A
  • Son of Priam and Hecabe
  • Brother of Paris
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17
Q

Paris (Alexander)

A
  • Son of Priam and Hecabe
  • They abandoned him on a hill when he was a child because Hecabe had a dream that she would give birth to a firebrand who would burn down the city
  • Raised by a shepherd
  • Had to choose between Athena, Hera, and Aphrodite because of the apple
  • He chose Aphrodite and she granted him Helen
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18
Q

Atreus

A
  • He and Thyestes were twin brothers
  • Thyestes had an affair with his wife Aerope, so Atreus killed Thyestes sons and fed them to Thyestes
  • Thyestes had another son (Aegisthus) who eventually got revenge by killing Atreus
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19
Q

Aegisthus

A
  • Son of Thyestes
  • Killed Atreus as revenge for killing Thyestes other sons
  • Committed adultery with Clytemnestra
  • Wanted to kill Agamemnon because of the actions of Atreus (killed his brothers)
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20
Q

Agamemnon

A
  • Son of Atreus
  • King of Mycenae
  • Married to Clytemnestra, sister of Helen
  • Four children: Orestes, Iphigenia, Electra, and Chrysothemis
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21
Q

Menelaus

A
  • Son of Atreus
  • King of Sparta
  • Married to Helen
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22
Q

Clytemnestra

A
  • Husband: Agamemnon
  • Sister: Helen
  • Children: Orestes, Iphigenia, Electra, Chrysothemis
  • Committed adultery with Aegisthus
  • Wanted to kill Agamemnon because of their daughter (Iphigenia)
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23
Q

Helen

A
  • Married to Melelaus
  • Paris takes her to Troy
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24
Q

Orestes

A
  • Parents: Agamemnon and Clytemnestra
  • Avenges his father’s death when Clytemnestra kills him
  • Chased by the furies for killing his mother
  • Apollo provides sanctuary in his temple
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25
Q

Iphigenia

A
  • Parents: Agamemnon and Clytemnestra
  • When Paris abducts Helen, Agamemnon gathers Greek forces
  • Artemis (goddess of the hunt) is angry that Agamemnon is bringing so many Greeks to their deaths, so she blows the wind in the opposite direction than they need
  • Agamemnon also angered her by killing a sacred stag and claiming that he was as good a hunter as her
  • Agamemnon sacrifices Iphigenia so that the winds would reverse
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26
Q

Achilles

A
  • Parents: Peleus (sailed on the Argo) and Thetis (Goddess of water, sea nymph)
  • Son: Neoptolemus (fought in the last year of the Trojan War)
  • Greatest warrior of the Greeks
  • Fought in the Trojan War
  • Was invulnerable everywhere except his heel because his mom dipped him in the River Styx when he was a baby
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27
Q

Troy

A
  • Where the Trojan War was fought
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28
Q

Cassandra

A
  • Daughter of Priam
  • Agamemnon took her as his prize from Troy
  • She forsees their deaths
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29
Q

Styx

A
  • River that Achilles was dipped in as a baby to make him invulnerable/immortal
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30
Q

Chiron

A
  • Centaur
  • Raised Achilles and Patroclus
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31
Q

Protesilaus

A
  • It was prophesized that the first Greek to land on Trojan soil would die
  • Odysseus threw his shield and landed on it (technically not touching the soil)
  • Protesilaus jumped out after him and landed on the soil
  • Hector killed him in single combat
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32
Q

Hector

A
  • Greatest of the Trojan warriors
  • Brother: Paris
  • Wife: Andromache
  • Son: Astynax
  • Killed Protesilaus
  • Hero’s friendship with Ajax after one-on-one combat
  • When he kills Patroclus, Achilles kills him
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33
Q

Ajax

A
  • Father: Telamon
  • Chosen randomly for one-on-one combat with Hector
  • They battle throughout the day, then take a break close to nighttime to regard each other with a “hero’s friendship” (they basically just hype each other up and agree not to kill each other)
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34
Q

Tenedos

A
  • The island that the Greeks hid their ships behind
  • Gave the appearance that they had sailed away from Troy
  • Really they just hid there while the Trojan Horse was being taken into the walls of Troy (Odysseus’ idea)
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35
Q

Sinon

A
  • Greek
  • Trojans found him beaten up on the beach
  • Said he was to be a Greek sacrifice but escaped
  • After 50 Athenians exited the Trojan Horse, he opened the gates of Troy to let the others in
36
Q

Achilles and Patroclus

A
  • Raised together
  • Cousins but also basically boyfriends
  • During the Trojan War, Achilles stops fighting because of a dispute with Agamemnon
  • That changes when Hector kills Patroclus
  • Menelaus defended the body of Patroclus
  • Achilles does not bury Patroclus until after the death of Hector, despite Patroclus’ ghost telling him to bury the body so he can enter the underworld
37
Q

Atalanta

A
  • Born in Arcadia
  • Her father wanted a son, so he left her on a mountain to die
  • She was raised by a bear whose cubs had been killed
  • Hunted the Calydonian boar with Meleager and Peleus
  • Atalanta wounded the boar and Meleager killed it
  • Atalanta was the only woman to sail on the Argo with Jason
  • Defeated Peleus in wrestling at the funeral games of Pelias
38
Q

Calydonian Boar

A
  • Huge boar that ravaged Calydon
  • Hunted by Atalanta, Meleager, and Peleus
  • Wounded by Atalanta, killed by Meleager
39
Q

Penthesilea

A
  • Sister: Hippolyta (Queen of the Amazons)
  • Accidentally killed Hippolyta while hunting
  • She is heartbroken and wants to die, but as a warrior she must die in battle
  • Travels to Troy with 12 Amazons and kills many Greeks on the first day
  • Achilles fights and kills her on the second day (he also falls in love with her right before she dies)
40
Q

Antigone

A
  • Parents: Oedipus
  • Siblings: Polynices and Eteocles
  • Considered the law unjust and against the laws of the Gods
  • Defies orders and buries her brother’s body
  • Caught by Creon, who tells her to apologize, but she refuses
  • Because she refused, he sentences her to death and seals her in a cave
  • He changes his mind later and unseals it to let her out, but she had already killed herself
41
Q

Medea

A
  • Medea
42
Q

The Odyssey

A
  • Book by Ulysses (Roman)
  • About the journey of Odysseus
43
Q

Ithaca

A
  • Where The Odyssey begins
44
Q

Penelope

A
  • Husband: Odysseus
  • 108 suitors surrounding her - hoping to marry her and take Odysseus’ property (they think Odysseus died on his travels)
45
Q

Telemachus

A
  • Parents: Odysseus and Penelope
  • Was told by Athena that Odysseus is alive and will return
46
Q

Calypso

A
  • Held Odysseus on an island for seven years
  • Will grant Odysseus immortality if he marries her, but he refuses
  • He sleeps with her at night
  • Athena asks Zeus to allow Odysseus to return home
  • Hermes tells Calypso to do so, and she gives Odysseus wood for a raft and food for the journey
  • Poseidon churns the waters and he lands on another island
47
Q

Nausicaa

A
  • When Poseidon pushes Odysseus to the new island, he meets Nausicaa and her father Alcinous
  • He tells them his story from when he left Troy
48
Q

Alcinous

A
  • Father of Nausicaa
  • Odysseus tells them his story from when he left Troy
49
Q

Cicones

A
  • First stop when Odysseus and his men left Troy
  • They sacked the city and lived off of their wine and herds for food
  • Other Cicones on the island gathered forces and fought the Greeks, killing 6 from every ship
50
Q

Land of the Lotus Eaters

A
  • Odysseus and his men stopped there for food
  • The lotuses were basically drugs and made the people euphoric
  • They also craved more lotus
  • Odysseus did not eat the flowers, but he had to drag his men back to the ships and tie them down until the effects wore off
51
Q

Polyphemus

A
  • One eyed cyclops, son of Poseidon
  • Traps Odysseus and his men in his cave, then declares his intention to eat them all (after eating two of them)
  • He then drinks a lot of wine and passes out
  • Odysseus and his men stab his eye while he is passed out
  • The whole “Nobody” thing
  • They take the rest of his sheep to their ship
  • Odysseus taunts Polyphemus and he throws large rocks at the ship
  • Polyphemus curses Odysseus to either not reach home alive or to lose all of his men on his journey
52
Q

Cyclops

A
  • One eyed giants
  • Famous for making Zeus’ thunderbolts
53
Q

Aeolus

A
  • King of the winds
  • Liked Odysseus for some reason, and gave him a bag of winds to aid in the journey home
  • Odysseus’ men opened the bag while he was sleeping, thinking it was gold
  • All of the winds escaped, blowing the ship back to Aeolus
  • Aeolus thought that they were cursed by the Gods and refused any further aid
54
Q

Laestrygonian

A
  • Island of the Laestrygonian Giants
  • Odysseus and his ships anchor outside the partially enclosed harbour
  • They are escorted to the giant king, who eats one of the men
  • The giants throw rocks that sink all the ships except Odysseus’
  • Odysseus (and some of his crew) escape on his last ship
55
Q

Circe

A
  • Witch on the island of Aeaea
  • Island is so dense with mist that one cannot tell the direction of the sun
  • Odysseus splits his crew in two groups, and the first eat Circe’s food
  • The food turns them into literal pigs
  • One of them does not eat and escapes to tell Odysseus
  • Circe touches Odysseus with a wand but nothing happens (because of the antidote (moly) from Hermes)
  • She lays with Odysseus after promising him no harm
  • She turns the crew back to their original forms, and they live there for a year
  • Has a son, Telegonus, with Odysseus
56
Q

Sirens

A
  • Odysseus had to sail by them, and he told his crew to stuff wax in their ears so they would not hear the sirens’ songs
  • He tied himself to the mast of the ship and listened to their voices
57
Q

Scylla

A
  • Wore a girdle of six dog’s heads and had twelve feet
  • Snatched sailors from their ships and ate them
  • Ate six men from Odysseus’ ship
58
Q

Helios

A
  • Odysseus was told not to eat the cattle of Helios (Sun)
  • His crew disobeyed and ate them while he was sleeping
59
Q

Telegonus

A
  • Son of Odysseus and Circe
  • Eventually kills Odysseus in Ithaca (didn’t know it was him)
60
Q

Telemachus

A
  • Son of Odysseus and Penelope
61
Q

Roman Myth

A
  • No creation story
  • Roman Myth = Roman Legend bound with Roman History
  • Not really historical, more like propaganda to elicit support for social patterns
  • Many Roman cultural forms were taken from the Greeks and the Etruscans
62
Q

Augustus - Exhalted One

A
  • The name that Octavius (emperor of Rome) was given because of his “greatness”
  • Launched a propaganda compaign across Rome to “create peace and stability” and project an image of Rome’s greatness
  • He was viewed as “the first citizen” rather than the Emperor
  • Aimed to make the New Empire appear to be a continuation of the Old Republic
  • Employed Virgil (mythological Rome) and Livy (history of Rome) to write about and portray this image
63
Q

Virgil

A
  • Appointed to Augustus’ Art Council
  • Wrote the Aeneid
  • Died before it was finished and had instructions for it to be burned, but Augustus intervened and published it anyway
  • The Aeneid took the character Aeneas from The Iliad an created a Roman origin story (Rome had no mythical origin)
  • Aeneas’ journey mirrored much of Odysseus’ journey
64
Q

Aeneas

A
  • Introduced by Homer in The Iliad
  • Parents: Anchises and Venus (Aphrodite)
65
Q

Anchises and Venus

A
  • Child: Aeneas
  • Venus came to Anchises in the form of a princess and seduced him
  • The next morning she revealed herself as Venus and said that they would have a son
  • If Anchises bragged about the affair, Jupiter (Zeus) would strike him with a thunderbolt
  • He bragged about it and was blinded by the thunderbolt
66
Q

Dardanus

A
  • Son of Zeus, King of Troy
  • Aeneas is a descendant of him and was destined to survive the Trojan War and eventually rule over the Greeks
67
Q

Polydorus

A
  • Son of Priam
  • His ghost rises and speaks to Aeneas
  • Aeneas holds a funeral for him
68
Q

Delos

A
  • Where Apollo tells Aeneas to go to “the land of their ancestors”
69
Q

Strophades

A
  • Island of the Harpies
  • Aeneas and the Trojans land there - Harpies take all their food every time they try to eat
70
Q

Harpies

A
  • Lived on Strophades
  • Had wings and faces like women
71
Q

Celaeno

A
  • A harpy
  • Placed a curse on Aeneas and the Trojans - “would eventually reach Italy and found a new city only when hunger compelled them to eat”
72
Q

Helenus

A
  • Son of Priam
  • A seer
  • Married to Andromache (after Neoptolemus dies)
  • Directs Aeneas to travel around the southern part of Sicily
73
Q

Carthage

A
  • Where Aeneas and his crew land when King Aeolus unleashes his winds (because Juno (Hera) tells him to)
74
Q

Dido

A
  • Queen of the Carthaginians
  • Fled Tyre (Phoenicia) when her brother Pygmalion killed her husband Sychaeus
  • Swore she would never marry again
  • When Aeneas and the Trojans land in Carthage she welcomes them and holds a banquet to hear their story
  • Juno sends Cupid to spark love (to keep Aeneas from reaching Italy)
  • Dido’s sister convinces her to marry Aeneas
  • They “make love” in a cave one night when Juno sends a storm that traps them there
  • When they return to Carthage they live openly as lovers and Dido considers them to be married in spirit
  • She kills herself with Aeneas’ sword when he leaves and curses him, praying for hatred between their peoples
  • When Aeneas sees her in the underworld she ignores him
75
Q

Avernus (means birdless)

A
  • Aeneas must go to the underworld to meet his father
  • Avernus is the lake that leads to the underworld, and he crosses it with the help of a priestess
76
Q

Tartarus and Elysium

A
  • Fork in the road in the underworld on Aeneas’ journey
  • Tartarus: Darkness, Titans were cast there after Olympian wars, eternal torture, moral sins punished there (those who hated brothers, struck a parent, did not share wealth, were killed for adultery, etc.)
  • Elysian Fields: Fresh scents, music, serenity, people can be reincarnated there by drinking the water of The River Lethe
77
Q

Lavinia

A
  • Aeneas marries her eventually and establishes the city of Lavinium
78
Q

Rhea Silvia

A
  • Became a Vestal Virgin to prevent her from marrying
  • Unfortunately, Mars was attracted to her
  • She gave birth to Remus and Romulus
79
Q

Remus and Romulus

A
  • Parents: Rhea Silvia and Mars
  • Ordered to be thrown into the Tiber River, but the servants felt pity for them and placed them in a basket
  • They were found by a “she-wolf (lupa)” that suckled them
  • They were later found by a farmer
  • They became bandits, but Remus was caught
80
Q

Death of Remus

A
  • Remus and Romulus had a strong rivalry (both wanted to found a city where the lupa found them)
  • Used augury to decide the name of the city, but argued over the meaning of the omens
  • Romulus killed Remus, and founded Rome
81
Q

“She-wolf” (Lupa)

A
  • Lupa means female wolf
  • Found Remus and Romulus and suckled them
  • A farmer later found them
82
Q

Augury

A
  • The interpretation of omens from the flight of birds
  • Remus and Romulus used it to decide on a name for the city, but argued over the meaning of the omens
83
Q

Sabines

A
  • Invited to the games in Rome, but Romulus (and the Romans) kidnapped their daughters so that Rome could be populated
  • Led to several wars between the Sabines and the Romans
  • Sabine women ended the wars because they came to love their captors
84
Q

Tarpeia

A
  • Daughter of a Roman commander who opened the gates to the Capitoline Hill for the Sabine women
  • She was crushed under their shields
85
Q

Tarpeian Rock

A
  • Named after Tarpeia
  • Where traitors of Rome were executed
  • On the Capitoline Hill

Heroes in Classical Mythology (2 decks)

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