gods Flashcards
1
Q
how many major deities were there, and who of them are not Olympians
A
14, Hestia and Hades are not counted as Olympians though they are major gods
2
Q
was Zeus a moral person
A
kind of yes, as the god-king, he represented and upheld justice and virtue, all that is sacred and holy the moral order, but he did some rash things in the beginning of his reign (prometheus) and frequently cheats on his wife so also not really
3
Q
what is the meaning of Zeus’s name
A
from PIE root “di” or “dios” meaning bright
4
Q
was Zeus’s rule absolute
A
probably not, he may have been subject to the fates, was influenced by Aphrodite, was bound by Hera, Poseidon, and Athena, constantly challenged by Hera
5
Q
what was Olympia
A
a temple/sanctuary of Zeus, place of the cult of Pelops and Hippodamis, had statues and sculptures as big as those at the Parthenon
6
Q
where were two of Zeus’ oracles located
A
Olympia and Dodona, traditionally answers were by the interpretation omens
7
Q
how does Hera appear in mythology
A
as the vehement wife who will punish and avenge the sexual escapades of Zeus
8
Q
where was Hera especially worshiped
A
Argos
9
Q
what does the sacred fire of Hestia represent
A
its transmission represents a continuing bond of affection and kinship
10
Q
who is Eileithya
A
daughter of Zeus and Hera, goddess of childbirth, at times merged with hera
11
Q
who is Hebe
A
daughter of Zeus and Hera, goddess of youthful bloom, married Heracles when he became immortal
12
Q
who were the cupbearers of the gods
A
Hebe and Ganymede, who was a trojan prince and possible lover of Zeus
13
Q
what was Hephaestus’s role in mythology
A
often to create things of extraordinary beauty and utility, often very elaborately made
14
Q
how were Hephaestus and Athena linked
A
as benefactors of wisdom in arts and crafts and champions of progress and civilizaiton
15
Q
how did the greeks feel about ares
A
he wasn’t very well liked, Greeks felt strongly about the brutality, waste and foolishness of war, though they appreciated the realities he represented
16
Q
who are the nine muses
A
daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, patrons of literature and art, may have originally been water spirits with the power of prophesy, experts in their fields, often associated with Apollo
17
Q
who are the moira
A
the three fates, daughters of Zeus and Themis, three old women responsible for the destiny of everyone, Zeus may or may not have been subject to them, regarded highly by the Greeks
18
Q
why did Zeus avoid thetis
A
is was prophesied that her son would be greater than his father
19
Q
who did Thetis marry
A
a mortal called Peleus, they are the parents of Achilles
20
Q
who did Polyphemus love
A
Galatea (a nereid), she did not feel the same
21
Q
who did Galatea love
A
Acis, a sea nymph and son of Faunus
22
Q
how did Acis turn into a river god
A
Polyphemus, who was trying to win the love of Galatea by becoming more civilized and pleading with her, got mad and tried to kill Acis who Galatea loved
23
Q
who did Poseidon marry
A
Amphrite, a reluctant nereid
24
Q
who is Proteus
A
a sea divinity, probably older than the gods, often attendant of Poseidon. the old man who can see the future and shapeshift
25
which sea deities often merged
Pontun, Nereus, and Triton
26
what may Poseidon's association with horses and bulls, and the nature of his affairs suggest
he could have been a male spirit of fertility, a god of the earth who sent springs
27
who is scylla
daughter of Phorcys and Hecate, made a monster by Amphrite who was jealous that Poseidon was interested in Scylla
28
who is Charybdis
daughter of Poseidon and Gaea, very dangerous whirlpool monster
29
what di scylla and charybdis represent
the natural terrors faces by sailors
30
who are the Graeae
three sisters (they grey sisters in pjo) personifications of old age, one and and one tooth between them
31
who are the gorgons
women who had serpents for hair, turned to stone those who looked at them (medusa)
32
who are the parents of the Graeae, the Gorgons, and Laden
Phorcys and Ceto
33
who were possibly the parents of Aphrodite (if not from the cast of genitals)
Zeus and Dione
34
what is the difference between Aphrodite Urania and Aphrodite Pandemos
Urania came from Uranus alone, may be older, stronger, more intelligent and spiritual, Pandemos (of all the people) from Zeus and Dione, more physical, goddess of physical attraction and procreation
35
who are the charites
the graces, three personifications of aspects of loveliness
36
who are the Horae
the hours/seasons, daughters of Zeus and Themis, two, three or four of them
37
who is Priapus
son of Aphrodite, fertility god often found in gardens and at the doors of houses, his father is unknown
38
Who was Pygmalion
a man who isolated himself and lived alone because the women of Cyprus had been cursed by aphrodite to prostitute themselves because they wouldn't worship her. He made a really beautiful statue and fell in love with it, he then asked the gods (Aphrodite) to make her a real women and they got married
39
how was Adonis born
from the myrrh tree that was once his mother, who fell in love with her father and tricked him into sleeping with her
40
why did Apollo and Artemis kill the children of Niobe
she disagreed with the honour of Leto and her children, saying she (niobe) was more deserving of tribute than Leto was, so the twins avenged their mother
41
who is Actaeon
a hunter who accidentally saw Artemis bathing, she turned him into a stag and his own hunting dogs found and killed him
42
Who was Callisto
one of Artemis' favourite hunters, Zeus fell in love with her and tricked her (by disguising himself as Artemis) and forced himself on her
43
what happened when Artemis found out Callisto was pregnant
she was expelled from the hunt, her son was named Arcas. Hera took away Callisto's beauty out of anger and turned her into a bear
44
how did Callisto (almost) die
she (as a bear) was hunted by her own son, who did not know it was her. Zeus stopped him from killing his mother, Zeus made them into Ursa Major and minor
45
how are Artemis, Selene, and Hecate connected
A and S are both moon goddesses, A and H are both fertility goddesses. depicted as three manifestations of the moon goddess (S in the heavens, A on earth, and H in the underworld)
46
cloud gatherer, father of gods and men
epithets of Zeus
47
what is xenia
'guest friendship', the hospitality and friendship towards strangers, associated with Zeus, was not to be violated
48
epithets of hera
cow-eyed, queen
49
what does Hestia's name mean
hearth
50
is Hestia a fertility goddess
no
51
who created talos
Hephaestus, he was made to defend Crete
52
what does Ares' name mean
bane, curse, ruin, from greek 'arae'
53
curse of men
epithets of ares
54
what were eros' two arrows
gold for uncontrollable desire and lead from uncontrollable aversion
55
what is the etymology of Poseidon
husband+wheat/earth
56
was Poseidon originally greek
no, probably a Mesopotamian god of wheat
57
epithets of Poseidon
earthshaker
58
which eastern goddess is Artemis associated with
Cybele
59
etymology of Aphrodite
folk etymology from "aphros" which means "foam" (this is not linguistically true)
60
epithets of Aphrodite
golden Aphrodite, Aphrodite of the golden crown
61
how did the greeks view gender/sex (especially in relationships)
more about the role of each person in the relationship than the gender of each person
62
how was Athena born
Zeus swallowed Metis, her mother, afraid that she would have a son that would overthrow Zeus, Athena came out of Zeus's head in full battle armour
63
what are three characteristics of Athena, shown at her birth
prowess, wisdom, and the masculinity of her virgin nature (born of a man)
64
what is the Parthenon
a great temple to Athena Parthenos (virgin) on the Acropolis at Athens
65
how did the parthenon embody greek victory
the greeks triumphed over the Persians, who sacked and destroyed the old Parthenon
66
which story was shown at the base of the Athena parthenos
Pandora's
67
what happens to Orion
he is in love with Merope, the king’s daughter, he becomes drunk and the king blinds him, Helius give back his sight, he goes hunting, finds artemis and tries to rape her, she makes a scorpion that stings Orion to death, they both become constellations
68
who is Arethusa
a nymph and follower of Artemis, river gods Alpheus loved her, she did not love him, so she asked Artemis to help her and was turned into a cloud that melted into the stream
69
was artemis a fertility goddess
possibly, she was a virgin goddess, but may have been connected to the lunar and menstrual cycles
70
what does “tritogeneia” mean
a title of Athena, refers to a region associated with her birth (river/lake Triton or Tritois)
71
who raised Athena
the god Triton, whose daughter was Pallas
72
why is Athena called Pallas Athena
her friend Pallas was killed when they were sparring (actually fighting?) because Zeus was afraid for Athena and showed Pallas the aegis, which scared her she missed Athena’s strike, Athena took the name of her friend in her honour
73
what is the Palladium
a wooden image of Pallas decked with the aegis
74
what does the name Pallas mean
maiden
75
what does the story of Arachne show about Athena
her importance as the patroness of women’s household arts, especially spinning and weaving, also the anger of the gods when they are “wronged”
76
what does arete mean
excellence, especially of women
77
who is Athena often attended by
Nike, the goddess of victory
78
what do Athena and Apollo represent (usually together)
a new order of divinity, the younger generation of gods pushing for progress and advanced englightenment of civilization
79
why is there a temple to Apollo on Delos
his birthplace, before his birth, Leto made them swear that a temple would be built lest Apollo become angry and destroy the island
80
was Leto alone when she gave birth
no, many other goddesse were with her (but not Hera)
81
who created the Lyre
Hermes, though it is mostly associated with Apollo
82
Why did Anius’ daughters get turned into doves
Anius (son of Apollo and king of Delos)’s 3 daughters could produce oil, grain, and wine (gift from Dionysus) Agamemnon wanted them to supply troops in the trojan war, they refused and fled, and Dionysus turned them into doves
83
why did Zeus send Apollo into exile on Thessaly for 9 years
Apollo slew the snake/dragon at Delphi because he wanted his oracle there
84
what does “pytho” mean ( Pythian, Pythos)
I rot
85
what is the omphalos
an egg shaped stone kept in Apollo’s temple at Delphi/Crisa, was said to have marked the centre of the world
86
who was the Pythia
the prophetess of Apollo at Delphi, answered questions with Apollo’s responses , sat on a tripod, source of divine power, incoherent ravings that had to be translated
87
who could be the pythia
originally only young virgins, but one was seduced once by an inquirer, so then it was only mature women dressed as a maiden
88
was Apollo’s oracle at Delphi always open
no it was closed in the winter when Apollo left for the land of the Hyperboreans
89
who was the first object of Apollo’s love
Daphne
90
why was Apollo in love with Daphne
he mocked Cupid’s use of the bow so Cupid shot him and made him fall in love, but he also shot Daphne with a love repelling arrow
91
was Daphne interested in Apollo
no, she was a follower of artemis and not interested in any man, also shot with a love repelling arrow
92
how did Apollo pursue Daphne
he literally chased her, fear giver her speed and hope giving him speed
93
what happened when Apollo caught Daphne
she called out to the river god Peneus (her father) to destroy her beauty, instead she was turned into a very beautiful tree, which apollo was still in love with
94
who became the first laurel tree
Daphne, that’s why Apollo is associated with laurels
95
who is Marsyas
a satyr who was really good at playing the flute and challenged Apollo to a music contest, he lost
96
what is the nature of Apollo
contradictory, epitome of classical restraint but acted swiftly against Niobe and falls in love easily and passionately, kind of represents extremes
97
who are Hermes’ parents
Zeus and Maia (one of the Pleiades)
98
who was the child of Hermes and Aphrodite
Hermaphroditus, who merged with the nymph Salmacis
99
where did the name Athena come from
the city of Athens (not the other way around)
100
epithets of Athena
grey-eyed, owl-eyed, Athena Parthenos, Athena Nike, Athena Polias (defender of the city)
101
what did Athena and Poseidon create in the contest for Athens
Athena created the olive tree and Poseidon made a salt spring
102
epithets of Apollo
far-shooting, Phoebus Apollo, Pythian Apollo, delphinius
103
what is “kouros”
the idealized young man, associated with Apollo
104
what may the slaying of the she-dragon at delphi have symbolized
the victory over the past goddesses that were worshiped there
105
why dis no one believe cassandra’s prophesies
she was cursed by Apollo for rejecting him, so no one would believe her, though she spoke the truth
106
where does Hermes name come from
“herma” the road markers, god of the stone heap
107
epithets of Hermes
wiley, tricky, psychopompos
108
who invented the lyre
either Apollo or Hermes
109
what gifts to Apollo and Hermes exchange and why
A gives H the Caduceus and H gives A the lyre because Zeus made them reconcile after Hermes stole Apollo’s cattle
110
what does the story of Persephone represent
the death and rebirth of vegetation as a metaphor for spiritual resurrection
111
who is credited with the origin of the Eleusinian Mysteries
Orpheus
112
what is a common belief in mystery religions/cults
the immortality of the souls and a future life
113
where did the Eleusinian Mysteries take place
Eleusis and Athens
114
Who was the Hierophant
the highest priest of the Eleusinian Mysteries, only he could reveal the mysteries to worshipers
115
etymology of Demeter
“meter” meaning mother, and “de” may be another form of Ge
116
epithets of Demeter
Great mother, great goddess
117
which eastern goddess has a connection with Demeter
Syble
118
what does “kore” mean
young women, a name for Persephone
119
which goddesses are referred to as the two goddesses
demeter and persephone
120
what is syncretism
the combination/conflation of deities
121
who is the triple goddess/Hekataion
always persephone, usually Hecate, and demeter or Artemis, one to represent three stages in a woman’s life
122
etymology of Hades’ name
‘aidos’ meaning “the unseen one”/ invisible
123
Ploutus, poldegmon, polyxenos
epithets of Hades
124
was hades worshiped
not really, it was concidered taboo
125
what did the greeks call the soul/breath
psychê (anima for the Romans)
126
what is an eidolon
a ghost, the shadow of a person that exists after death, the breath without the body
127
what was Antheteria
a festival where the dead were able to come back to earth, people would bring food for them. connected to Dionysus
128
what does katabasis mean
“kata” meaning down, “basis” meaning movement. the journey to the underworld, some heroes made a katabasis and came back again
129
did the souls in the underworld remember who they were in their lives
no, they drank from the river Lethe to forget their pasts
130
epithets of dionysus
twice born
131
who are the Maenads
mythological women who followed Dionysus (mad women)
132
