Midterm Terms Flashcards
Myth
a traditional story of collective important that is usually set in a specific time or place and has specific characters
there are 3 types of myths which are divine, legends, and folktales
Importance: it includes a beginning, middle, and end and it is not religion or history
Classics
the study of the ancient Mediterranean world in between about 2000 BCE to 400 CE and history it has been focused on Greek and Roman societies
Importance: it includes several different ways to study primary sources and is literature, art, archaeology, architecture, history, coins
Late Bronze Age
from 1600 - 1150 BCE
Minoans fall and rise of the the Myceneans begins. Had palace culture and rich people with Kings and lots of trade amongst the wealthy. In 1150 all the cities collapsed. No one knows what happened.
Importance: in understanding classical myth because they have their own written language of Linear B. One of the first times we see the names of the Gods in administrative records.
Archaic Period
from 800 to 480 BCE
The time of the Phoenicians. This is when Homer was writing and Greece woke up and learned to write again and more trade begins. Greece begins to expand.
Importance: a lot of records from this Age because Greece emerged from the Dark Age and began to learn to read and write again. Most of the early stories come from the Archaic Age and the collapse of Greece happens with the Persian Wars.
Classical Period
480 - 323 BCE
Was a time when the Athenians had a lot of money and self confidence. The Parthenon was built, plays were produced, poetry, etc.
Science, philosophy, and politics are used as ways to explain the world.
The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta begins because Athens starts to take over other polis.
Importance: an era of prosperity for the Greeks and a major era in Greek History. This is where a majority of recognizable aspects of their culture come from.
Aiodos
Means singer or bard and would be an apprentice or master who would learn to sing or compose
They do not rhyme but there is an understandable rhythm similar to a Shakespearean Sonnet and is often times translates to “oral poet” “singer” or “bard”
Importance: this is how all of the earliest myths were being told to the aristocratic court. It also places emphasis on the importance of oral tradition.
Cronos
A titan who is the youngest son of Gaea and Uranus and is known as the Castrator of Chaos. He leads the Titans into a rebellion against his father Uranus and marries his sister Rhea. He then produces children and has Zeus who then overthrows him.
Importance: he symbolizes the importance of sexual and gender conflict as he is consistently raping his wife Rhea. He swallows his children because he wants to prevent the cycle of his children over throwing him which brings out the themes of intergenerational conflict, evasion of fate, family conflict, and successive change.
Titanomachy
This was the battle between the gods who were the children of Cronus and Rhea and the Titans. This is also where Zeus was given his thunderbolts by the Cyclopes.
Importance: it signifies a great change in the dominion and power of the rulers of the world. Zeus leads the Gods to overthrow the Titans and tries to start successive change. We see that after this Zeus gains knowledge and wisdom and is able to make effective decisions regarding how things were run and keeping order.
aetiology
The explanation of why something is the way that it is
Importance: Greek mythology is filled with different types of aetiologies to explain why things happen the way that they do. One of the most common etiologies is the Homeric Hymn of Demeter where it explains the story of how the seasons came to be and when harvest season is.
Indo-European
Common culture in Asia and Europe from 4500 to 2500 BCE
We think that this is the common culture that all of the later cultures follow
It is a common source
Importance: it is a common source where many myths, religions, and cultures come from. Different areas within this region all adopt similar practices and deities that they worship. It is very important recorded history which is a primary source for many cultures we seet that come after it.
Homeric Epithet
A nickname used by Homer who wrote poems such as the Iliad and the Odyssey. They are used for the repetition of the same thing or person and help to make the text more meaningful. They often use a character’s traits or qualities to describe them.
Importance: they help readers to keep track of the many characters in these vast epics
Chthonic
Refers to something under the ground or associated with the ground. It also means of or relating to the underworld.
Importance: helps to understand mythology because the ground has many meanings such as fertility.
12 Olympians
The 12 Gods that live on Mount Olympus and are typically
Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Athena, Ares, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, and Hermes
Differ depending on the source with: Dionysus, Demeter, Hades, Hestia, Persephone
The 12 Olympians are something that the Romans created in Ancient Greek they worshiped all the gods evenly.
Importance: the importance is that they represented idea;s and features of human condition such as justice, loyalty, wisdom, beautiful musc, etc.
Homeric Hymn
NOT HOMER written by a collection of people
A collection of hymns written in verse which are a collection of poems in a song that are religious.
From 600 - 400 BCE or 7th century to 5th century
Importance: to celebrate individual gods in the dactylic hexameter and provide narrative episodes about god’s lives. Sometimes these hymns are etiologies to explain why certain things happen such as the Homeric Hymn to Demeter.
Delphi
A temple where Apollo is worshiped which is located in the town of Delphi
Famously where the oracle Pythia was and named after the snake that Apollo killed at the location of the temple
The oracle game cryptic predictions which were translated by priests
Importance: a place of panhellenic pilgrimage ; the Greeks believed that the gods communicated through the oracle as a medium and was a place for all Greeks to go and have gods relay their advice predictions. It was often an important place for Greek generals or kings to seek advice on the outcome of a war. Apollo was the one who spoke to the oracle.
