Lecture 4 Flashcards
1
Q
Earliest evidence for Olympian gods
A
- Mycenaean Period
- travel on sea a lot, but much more militaristic
- linear B writing
- ruled by kings, priests and priestess
- trojan war believed to have happened here
- Pylos
2
Q
Pylos
A
- not fortified, but on top of hill that provides protection
- linear B writing found on burned tablets in archives rom
- tablets tell us that gods existed, but not much else about them
3
Q
The Greek Pantheon
A
-all of the gods of a polytheistic religion
4
Q
Zeus/Jupiter
A
- god of gods, the sky, thunder, lightening, etc
- Attributes: lightening bolt, eagle, staff
- primary sanctuary at Olympia
- had many lovers (Ganymede, europa, leda)
5
Q
Hera/Juno
A
- god of marriage, family, childbirth
- attributes: peacock, cow, staff, veil
6
Q
Poseidon/Neptune
A
- god of the sea, earthquakes, etc
- attributes: trident, horses, sea creatures
7
Q
Myth of the foundation of Athens
A
- Both Athena and Poseidon wanted to be patron god of that city
- Both raced up and offered gifts
- Athena offered an olive tree.
- Posiedon offered a salt water spring
- Poseidon constantly comes up short demonstrated by this myth
8
Q
Demeter/Ceres
A
- goddess of grain, the harvest
- attributes: grain, torch, crown
- worshiped at Eleusis
9
Q
Hades/Pluto/Dis
A
- god of the underworld
- attributes: invisibility cap, cerberus, cornucopia (no abundance without death according to the Greeks. Unless all the old plants die, nothing new can be planted to grow. Everything is cyclical)
- chthonic god: linked with the ground (associated with snakes)
- Worshiped at Eleusis
10
Q
Hestia/Vesta
A
- goddess of the hearth
- attributes: flowering branch
- no myths about her because she’s always seen with the hearth
- similar to earlier power gods like chaos because she’s more like a force
- was worshiped everywhere, so doesn’t have primary sanctuary, instead each city has a hearth that burns at all times
11
Q
Vestal Virgins
A
- in Rome were the ones who took care of the flame of the hearth and kept it alive
- had more privileges than normal women, but had to be virgins until 30
- if caught not being a virgin, they were burned alive
12
Q
Homeric Hymns
A
- collection of poems by (various?) unknown author(s)
- similar style to Homer’s poems, attributed to him already in ancient world
- written down ca. 700 BCE, likely older (around same time as Theogony)