myth flashcards
apollo and daphne
apollo loves Daphene
she wishes to remain a maiden.
he turns her into a tree
Prometheus
Prometheus steals fire from the gods for mankind.
has him chained to the Caucasus mountains where an eagle tears out his liver each day
Hercules frees him.
Persephone, Demeter & Hades
Persephone is kidnapped by Hades to the Underworld.
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.
Cupid & Psyche
Cupid and Psyche fall in love and marry, but he only visits her at night, and she is not allowed to see him
sh drips candle wax on him one day
Psyche is sent away, but eventually, they are reunited.
Pandora
she was given as a gift to Epimetheus by Zeus
given a box as a gift and told to open
she opens the box and released all evil
Theseus slays the Minotaur
convinces his father to let him fight the Minotaur
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 & the Flight of Icarus
lcarus wastes away staring at his own reflection in a pool and becomes a white and purple flower. Icarus and his father, Daedalus, try to escape King Minos’s
wings made of feathers and wax.
Icarus flies too close to the sun,
wax melt
Echo & Narcissus
can only repeat the last words someone utters.
She falls in love with Narcissus,
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.
King Midas -
anything he touched turned gold
Pyramus & Thisbe
These young neighbors are deeply in love and plan to run away together.
Their secret meeting goes terribly wrong when Pyramus arrives and, spotting Thisbe’s bloody veil thinks a lion has devoured her.
he kills himself
The berries on the mulberry tree remain red in their memory.
Medusa & Perseus
a woman with snakes for hair who can turn men into stone with a glance
medusa is later killed by Perseus, aided by winged sandals from Hermes and a shield, invisible helmet, and bag from Athena.
Death of Achilles -
Achilles’ mother dipped her baby in the waters of immortality
but held her by the heel
l Paris shoots him in the heel during the Trojan War.
Orpheus and Eurydice
hades agreed to free Eurydice 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
Zeus punishes Tantalus for abusing his privilege of sharing the food of the gods.
Tantalus is not allowed to reach the fruit or water that surrounds him.
Sisyphus -
Sisyphus is known for being clever and tricky with guests and gods.
He is punished by rolling a giant boulder up a hill every day for eternity.
