Greek myth midterm Flashcards
Achilles
- Warrior haunted by a flaw which is mortality. This is due to his conception by mortal Peleus and the divine Thetis. His mother Thetis goddess of sea possess a prophecy that she would bear a son greater than Zeus, in which zeus had her mary a mortal man, Peleus.
-Tried to give her mortal son immortality by dipping him in the river by his ankle.
Acrisius
King of Argos, Grandfather of Perseues. Horrified by the pregnancy of his daughter Danae, he puts mother and baby in a wooden chest to be cast abroad in the ocean.
Consulted the oracle who warns him that he will be killed by his daughter’s son perseus. Perseus accidentally strikes him in the head with a discus killing him
Acteon
Grandson of Lycaon, the true founder of civilized culture teaching people in arcadia agriculture and weaving. He accidentally sees diana in her bath. So he is transformed into a male stag(deer) and killed by his own hunting dogs.
Aeacus (son of Zeus & grandfather of Achilles)
King of Agina, Minos is seeking allies for a military campaign against Athens. He wants Aeacus, the king of Aegina, to help him, but Aeacus is loyal to Athens. He explains that his land recently suffered a catastrophic plague. Aeacus asked Jupiter either to take away his life or to restore his people. That night he dreamed that he was under a sacred tree covered with numerous industrious ants. The next night, in the midst of a similar dream, he woke up to see a group of men called the Myrmidons hailing him as their leader.
Aegeus (king of Athens)
- When Theseus his son returned victorious from Athens, where he sacrificed the bull, Madea tried to poison him. Aegeus recognized the sandals and the sword and knocked the poisoned wine cup from Theseus’s hands. Thus father and son were reunited, and Medea fled to Asia.
Aegina (great grandmother of Achilles)
Nymph was the daughter of the river-god Asopus in the land of Sicyonia. Zeus in she shape of a flame carried her of to the island of oenone. Where she gave birth to his son, Aeacus, who renamed the island in honor of his mother.
Agave
eldest daughter of Cadmus, king of the city Thebes. After the new king pentheus banned the worship of Dionysus. He went to woods where he thought he would see sexual activities where the maenads(followers of dionysus) tore him apart and mutilated by his own mother Agave. thinking they had just killed a lion agave carried her own sons head on a stick back to Thebes, only realizing the truth when confronted by her father, Cadmus.
Aphrodite/Venus
Vulcan discovers the adultery of his wife Venus and her lover Ares/mars. Vulcan fashioned a fine iron net to catch the pair in bed and publicly expose them to the other gods.
Apollo
S- on of Jupiter. Shoots and kills she-dragon (python). Cupid(eros) shoots him with arrow and lusted over Daphne even after turned into a laurel tree.
- Also allows son to ride an crash his chariot
- Kills his lover coronis, that was cheating on him, who is pregnant with his baby Asclepius
Arachne
Skilled weaver who challenges Athena/Minerva to a contest in which she depicted the Gods in a negative light (rapes) showing they take what they want. she was then beaten and punished by Athena where she was turned into a spider where she can still weave but no longer has voice for he tapestries.
Ariadne
she is known for helping Theseus escape the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. There, Dionysus saw Ariadne sleeping, fell in love with her, and later married her.
Arcas
Son of nymph Castillo(she was turned into a bear) in which he is a hunter and finds her in her bear form. In that moment they are transformed into constellations = mama bear and lil bear in sky.
Ares/Mars
The god of war which had an affair with Aphrodite/Venus, which was the wife of Hephaestus/Vulcan at the time.
Arethusa
The river God Alpheus fell in love with Arethusa who was in the reunite of arttemis. Arethusa fled to ortyga, where she was changed into a spring, by diana.
Alpheus
River god of elis, fell in love with the nymph Arethusa who escaped him and was turned into a spring