Greek Mythology Flashcards
Apollo and Daphne
Apollo falls in love with Daphne, but she wishes to remain a maiden. As Apollo chases her, Daphne’s father, a river god, takes pity on her and turns her into a laurel tree.
Prometheus (life, death and Punishment)
Prometheus steals fire from the gods for mankind. Zeus is furious and has him chained to the Caucasus mountains where an eagle tears out his liver each day and it regenerates each night. Eventually, Hercules frees him.
Persophone and Demeter
Persephone, daughter of Demeter (goddess of the harvest), is kidnapped by Hades to the Underworld. Her mother mourns her absence by making the earth cold and barren. Persephone is eventually released, but each year she must return to Hades for one month for each pomegranate seed she ate. During this time the Earth suffers through winter.
Cupid and Psyche
Cupid and Psyche fall in love and marry, but he will only visit her at night, and she is not allowed to see him. One night, she drips candle wax on him while trying to peek. Psyche is sent away, but eventually they are reunited.
Theseus slays the Minotaur
Theseus, in order to prove himself, convinces his father to let him fight the Minotaur, a creature with the body of a man and the head of a bull. He kills it with the help of Ariadne. Theseus forgets to hoist the white sail of victory on his journey home, so his father kills himself.
Daedalus and the flight of Icarus
Icarus and his father, Daedalus, try to escape King Minos’s labyrinth on the island of Crete by constructing wings made of feathers and wax. Despite his father’s warnings, Icarus flies too close to the sun, causing his wax to melt. He plummets to his watery death. (Icarian Sea)
Echo and Narcissus
Echo, a nymph who angered Hera, can only repeat the last words someone utters. She falls in love with Narcissus, a beautiful man who also falls in love with himself. Echo wastes away except for her voice . Narcissus wastes away staring at his own reflection in a pool and becomes a white and purple flower. (narcissistic)
King Midas and the Golden Touch
As a reward for a good deed, King Midas requests the golden touch. He immediately regrets this destructive gift when he can’t eat, sleep, or hug his daughter. He begs to be returned to normal, and he is after a visit to the River Pactolus.
Medus (early life, punishment, death)
Athena transforms Medusa into a gorgon, a woman with snakes for hair who can turn men into stone with a glance. Medusa is later killed by Perseus who is aided by winged sandals from Hermes and a shield, invisible helmet, and bag from Athena.
The contest between Athena and Arachne
Arachne is a skilled but vain weaver who claims to be superior to Athena. They begin a weaving competition during which Arachne mocks the gods. Athena turns Arachne into a creature able to spin thread forever - the first spider! (Arachnid)
Io and Zeus
Zeus changes Io, his faithful lover, into a heifer in an attempt to hide her from his jealous wife, Hera. Hera imprisons Io and assigns Argus, a monster with a hundred eyes, to guard her. Io is later chased by a gadfly until finally returned to her original form in Egypt.
The Fall of Phaeton
Phaeton begs for permission from Helios, his father, to drive his sun chariot across the sky. Helios reluctantly agrees. Phaeton careens out of control and Zeus must strike him down with a thunderbolt to save the Earth
Artemis and Actaeon
Actaeon witnesses Diana (Artemis) - the goddess of hunting, the moon and virginity - bathing in the woods. She is so upset that she turns him into a stag, and his own dogs devour him as punishment.
Death of Achilles
Achilles’ mother dipped her baby in the waters of immortality, but she held him by his heel. No arrow or weapon could harm him until Paris shoots him in the heel during the Trojan War.
Sin and Labors of Hercules
In a fit of insanity caused by Hera, Hercules kills his family and must perform 12 labors to earn the forgiveness of the gods. These seemingly impossible tasks take him many years to complete, but he succeeds with the aid of Hermes and Athena. His success earns him the reputation of a great hero.
Medea and Jason
A vengeful sorceress, Princess Medea helps her husband, Jason of the Argonauts, capture the golden fleece. When Jason leaves her and marries another, Medea gives his new wife a cloak that sets her on fire. Medea is sent to live in exile and loses her powers.
Orpheus and Eurydice
Orpheus, the son of Apollo and Caliope, ventured down to the Underworld to retrieve his dead wife, Eurydice. Hades agreed to free Euriydice on one condition – Orpheus was not to look back at his wife on the walk to Earth. When they were almost home, Orpheus looked back and lost his wife forever.
Tantalus
Because Tantalus abuses his privilege of sharing the food of the gods, Zeus punishes him in Hades. Although parched and famished, Tantalus is not allowed to reach the fruit or water that surround him. (Tantalizing)
Bellerophon and Pegasus
Bellerophon, a demigod that tames Pegasus, is sent to kill the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster with the body of a lion, dragon and goat. Later, Bellerophon flies Pegasus to Mt. Olympus to visit the gods. They are angered and send a gadfly to sting Pegasus causing Bellerophon to endure a crippling fall.
Perseus and Andromeda
On his way home from beheading Medusa (with the help of Athena and Hermes’ gifts), Perseus spots Andromeda chained to a rock awaiting a gruesome death by a sea monster. Perseus rescues Andromeda and is rewarded with her hand in marriage.
Pygmalion and Galatea
Pygmalion fashions a statue of a woman out of ivory which he then falls in love with and names her Galatea. She eventually comes to life and they marry.
Atalanta and Hippomenes
Atalanta challenges her suitors to a footrace and vows to marry the one who defeats her. Hippomenes throws golden apples during the race to distract Atalanta. It works, and he wins the race.
Pandora
Pandora is sent to Earth as a punishment because Prometheus stole fire from the gods for mankind. Pandora opens her box and man is plagued with the evils held inside. She quickly closes the box and the only thing left inside is hope.
Hephaestos and Aphrodite
Hephaestus, the god of fire and forge and the only disabled god, marries Aphrodite, the goddess of love. She cheats on him with Ares, but Hephaestus catches them in a net and let all of the gods witness their shame.
