exam 2 Flashcards
io
zeus comes down to earth to rape her and when hera gets suspicious, he turns her into a cow. hera then persuades zeus to give lo to herself as a gift and she has argos watch over io.
semele
once hera learns about semele and zeus’ affair she tricks Semele into asking zeus to have sex with her in his “full glory”. zeus has to agree to fufill his oath as a god and eventually kills semele because she cannot withstand it. zeus then brings their son bacchus to term on his thigh.
ganymede
a prince who zeus supposedly fell in love with. zeus transforms himself into an eagle and kidnaps ganymede and brings him to olympus where he becomes his cup bearer.
europa
zeus falls in love with europa’s beauty and turns into a bull and begins to follow her around. at first she is scared of him but as time goes on she begins to become less scared and eventually sits on his back, where zeus then abducts her from her homeland.
rape of persephone
while persephone is picking violets in a grove, hades rapes and takes her into the underworld. cyane, a nymph of Sicily, sees the crime, but all she can do is weep. demeter, persephone’s mother, searches everywhere for her daughter. When she comes to cyane’s spring, cyane manages to convey what happened. arethusa, a sacred spring, explains to demeter that hades, not the earth, is to blame. After grieving, demeter speaks to zeus. Initially, zeus says that hades raped persephone out of love, and that persephone married well. zeus says that if demeter still wants persephone back, she may have her, as long as persephone has not eaten anything from the underworld. persephone has eaten something, so zeus offers a compromise. persephone will divide her time equally between Hades (winter) and Demeter.
slaying of python
the python came forth from the earth by spontaneous self-generation and scared the people of parnassus. apollo, who before only practiced on gazelles and deer, killed it with a thousand arrows and black venom poured from it. to make sure the world never forgot this feat, apollo creates the pythian games.
daphne
apollo saw cupid shooting arrows and teased him and called him a little boy. to get back at apollo, cupid shot 2 arrows, one at Apollo that would make him fall in love, and one at Daphne, the child of the river Peneus (who was sworn to be a virgin). the arrow shot at daphne made her flee from the thought of a lover. apollo chased daphne, trying to get her to consent to be with him. eventually daphne, who loved the woods, begged her father to change her form, thus transforming her into a tree. apollo still loved her and used her leaves to adorn him.
phaethon
marsyas
a satyr challenged apollo to a flute contest and lost. his punishment was to be flayed and his flesh was pulled from his body. the tears that were shed on his behalf created the river.
hyacinth
apollo was in love with the boy hyacinthus and would forsake his duties to spend time with him. on one occasion the pair decided to play a game of discus. apollo went first and threw a great throw. hyacinthus went to pick it up, but the strength of the throw caused the disk to hit the earth and spring back up into hyacinthus’ face. apollo tried to save his lover, but to no avail. apollo mourned for the youth and promised him he would be remembered. as he spoke a flower sprang up, the color a deep red. each year he is remembered in the solemn festival of hyacanthia.
coronis
apollo impregnates her, he then learns that she cheated on him with a mortal man named ischys. angered apollo send artemis to kill coronis for her adultery.
callisto
hera saw that zeus’ lover, callisto, had given birth to a son, and jealous swept down to earth and she transformed callisto into a bear. 15 years later callisto happens upon her son for the first time. her son is scared of her, for he thinks she is only a bear, and readies himself to kill his mother, when zeus transforms both of them into constellations.
niobe
a woman named niobe does not feel inferior to the gods. she has a great husband, amphion, a distinguished lineage, a large kingdom, and many children. tiresias’s daughter, manto, tells Niobe to worship the goddess latona and her two children, apollo and artemis. niobe ignores the advice and mocks her people for listening to manto. she even wonders why people do not worship her. latona is outraged. with her children, she causes disaster after disaster to strike niobe’s family. seven of niobe’s sons and seven of her daughters are killed, she turns into tears, and fear of latona spreads.
acteon
while hunting actaeon, stumbles upon artemis bathing in her sacred grove. artemis is so offended that she transforms actaeon into a deer, and actaeon’s own hunting dogs kill him.
atalanta
atalanta is a speedy woman whom an oracle has advised to avoid marriage. hippomenes wants to marry atalanta. she challenges him to a race. if he wins, she will marry him. if he loses, he will die. before the start of the race, aphrodite gives hippomenes three golden apples with which to distract atalanta during the race. hippomenes defeats atalanta but fails to thank aphrodite for her help, so she turns atalanta and hippomenes into lions.
arachne
athena approaches arachne, her rival in the art of weaving. disguised as an old woman, athena advises arachne to ask athena for forgiveness. when arachne will not comply, athena drops the disguise and upbraids arachne. they compete. athena fashions a portrait that glorifies the gods in general and herself in particular. arachne creates a flawless portrait of gods raping and deceiving humans. athena is so enraged by arachne’s skill that she begins to beat her. unable to endure such treatment, arachne hangs herself, and athena transforms her into a spider.
pentheus
pentheus tries to persuade his family and others not to worship dionysus. no one is convinced, but pentheus stands firm. pentheus sets out for mount cithaeron to spy on the rites of dionysus. when he arrives, his own aunt and mother mistake him for an animal and hunt him. his aunt, autonoe, rips off his arms, and his mother tears off his head and lets out a shout of victory.
pyramus & thisbe
pyramus and thisbe fall in love. their fathers oppose the match, so they decide to run away together. thisbe arrives first at their meeting place, but she flees when she sees a lioness approaching. pyramus finds the tracks of a lioness and thisbe’s shawl. believing that thisbe is dead, pyramus thrusts his sword into his belly, killing himself. thisbe returns, sees what has happened, and kills herself.
hermaphroditus
the sexually adventurous salmacis desires hermaphroditus, but he spurns her. she grabs him when he jumps into her pool, and she prays to the gods to make them one. the gods answer her prayer by making hermaphroditus become soft and feminine. salmacis’s nature becomes part of him. at the end of these stories, the devotees of dionysus draw near, and dionysus turns the three sisters into bats for their impiety.
pygmalion & galatea
pygmalion is repulsed by women’s immorality. he fashions his own perfect women from ivory. the statue is so lifelike that he falls in love with it. he dresses it, kisses it, and prays to the gods for a woman like the ivory statue. the gods hear his prayer, and to pygmalion’s surprise, the statue comes alive. she bears pygmalion a daughter, papho.
narcissus & echo
echo, is a talkative nymph who is admired by the goddess Aphrodite for her magnificent voice and song. she falls in love with narcissus but he rejects her and falls in love with his own reflection. after his body is gone from the riverside, it’s replaced with a narcissus flower.
midas
in asia minor, dionysus rewards king midas for finding silenus by offering him a wish. midas asks for a golden touch. everything midas touches turns to gold, including food and drink. he soon realizes that this gift is a curse, and dionysus agrees to take it away. midas witnesses a music contest between pan and apollo. the god of mount tmolous judges apollo the winner. everyone agrees with this decision except midas. apollo punishes him by giving him donkey ears and departs to troy.
pan & syrinx
syrinx was a nymph and a follower of artemis, known for her chastity. pursued by the amorous greek god pan, she ran to a river’s edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs. just as pan was about to embrace her the river nymphs transformed her into hollow water reeds that made a haunting sound when the god’s frustrated breath blew across them. pan then made these hollow water reeds into his own pan pipes.
orpheus & eurydice
as eurydice is walking through the grass, a viper bites her foot, killing her. orpheus travels to the underworld to ask persephone and hades to give back his wife. persephone and hades agree to grant orpheus’s request on the condition that he does not look back at his wife as they leave the underworld. orpheus starts his ascent but, worried about eurydice, looks back at her. this time, she is lost for good. thracian women attack orpheus with stones. orpheus protects himself by charming the rocks with his songs. but the women drown out his music and tear his body apart. he then dies and joins eurydice in the underworld.
mt.olympus
home of the olympians, tallest mountain in greece, formed after the fight with the titans.
ambrosia
the food and drink of the gods that creates long life. was brought to the gods by doves, symbolizing immortality.
nectar
similar to ambrosia, may have been a drink instead of a food. simply means not dying/immortality.
ichor
golden fluid that is the blood of the gods, toxic to mortals.
pantheon
temple to all of the gods, but also the religion itself.
omnipotent
all powerful, gods are not
omniscient
all knowing, gods are not
metamorphosis
ability to transform into another form, zeus does this a lot
gigantomachy
war between the giants and the gods
dyaus
combining all into-european names for storm god
argive heraion
ancient temple is argos dedicated to hera
eileithyia
greek goddess of childbirth, possible child of hera or hera herself
hebe
goddess of youth, daughter of zeus and hera. was a cupbearer to the gods and did other random stuff for them.
kanathos
a spring where hera bathes every year to become a virgin again.
iris
goddess of a rainbow and messenger for the gods
thalassa
goddess of the sea, personification of the sea itself. counterpart is amphitrite wife of poseidon.
mt. helicon
poseidon is called “lord of helicon”
pegasus
winged horse, said to be the child of poseidon and medusa.
hippocrene
taken place on mt. helicon, a pegasus struck its foot on a rock and a spring burst forth.
persephone
daughter of demeter and zeus, queen of the underworld, goddess of vegetation.
telesterion
a great hall, was one of the primary centers of the ceremonies devoted to demeter and persephone.
triptolemus
demeter saved him with her breast milk and then taught him the art of agriculture. he then taught all of greece how to farm.
eternal return
the idea that something always happens in a cycle, for example seasons.
hyperboreans
mythical people who lived beyond the north wind
ephebe
adolescent or young man
pythia
name of the high priests of the temple of apollo at delphi
tripod
3 legged structure, best known tripod is the stool at delphi on which the pythia sat to produce her oracles.
potnia theron
female divinities associated with animals
leto
mother of artemis and apollo, impregnated by zeus.
mt. cynthus
floating island where Leto gave birth to artemis and apollo because hera banned her from giving birth on actual earth.
metis
mother of athena. she was swallowed by zeus so as to not conceive the child he bore her, but athena still erupted from his head fully grown and armed.
xoanon
wooden cult image of ancient greece
erechtheion
greek temple on the north side of the acropolis, dedicated to athena and poseidon.
parthenon
temple dedicated to athena in the city of athens
aegis
carried by zeus or athena, might have been an animal skin or shield.
gorgoneion
protetice amulet worn by zeus and athena , with the head of a gorgon on it.
apotropaic
the gorgon was apotropaic, a way to turn away evil
hearth
“fireplace,” something about the worship of hestia
megaron
great hall of the grecian palace complexes, usually has a large central hearth
pylos
home of the son of poseidon neleus and his son nestor
herm
sacred object of stone connected with the cult of hermes
arcadia
oldest places of worship for hermes was found here
omophagy
eating of raw flesh
bacchus
roman name for dionysus
maenad
female followers of dionysus
satyr
a troop of ithyphallic male companions of dionysus with horse-like (equine) features, including a horse-tail, horse-like ears, and sometimes a horse-like phallus.
silenus
companion and tutor to dionysus, silenus was described as the oldest, wisest and most drunken of the followers of dionysus.
thyrsus
associated with dionysus and his followers is a symbol of prosperity, fertility, hedonism, and pleasure/enjoyment in general.
syncreism
combining different, seemingly contradictory beliefs into one
euhemerism
a rationalizing method of interpretation which treats mythological accounts as a reflection of historical events.
panhellenic festival
collective term for 4 separated sports festivals held in greece to honor the gods
panathenaea
series of athletic competitions held in honor of athena. the games were held every 4 years in athens.
