Objective quiz 2

Question 1

Why must Herakles perform labors for Eurystheus?

Answer 1

Herakles was required to perform the twelve labors for King Eurystheus as penance for killing his own wife, Megara, and their children in a fit of madness.

Question 2

What are the family connections between Herakles and Perseus? Be specific.

Answer 2

• Perseus is Herakles’ great-grandfather.
• Electryon, the son of Perseus, is Herakles’ grandfather.
• Alcmene, the daughter of Electryon, is Herakles’ mother.

Question 3

Who are the offspring of Alcmene?

Answer 3

Herakles and Iphicles

Question 4

What are the two versions of the story about the snake in Herakles bed?

Answer 4

1. It was Hera’s attempt to kill Herakles.
2. It was a test by Amphitryon

Question 5

How do Alcmene’s offspring differ from each other?

Answer 5

Herakles had divine parentage and superhuman qualities
Iphicles was mortal and did not share in the extraordinary powers of his brother.

Question 6

Write a brief narrative showing the connections between the following characters:
Amphytryon, Zeus, Iphicles, Herakles, Hera, Linos.

Answer 6

Amphitryon, a warrior, was married to Alcmene. While he was away, Zeus, disguised as Amphitryon, visited Alcmene, resulting in the birth of Herakles. When Amphitryon returned, he and Alcmene had another son, Iphicles. Though raised as brothers, Herakles inherited Zeus’s divine strength, while Iphicles was fully mortal.

Zeus’s wife, Hera, was furious at Herakles’ birth and sent two snakes to kill him as a baby. However, baby Herakles strangled the snakes, showing his godly power. As he grew, Herakles was taught by various tutors, including Linos, a musician. One day, Herakles accidentally killed Linos in frustration, hinting at the struggles he would face with his strength.

Question 7

How does the Hydra’s blood recur in several of the stories about Herakles?

Answer 7

1. his poisoned arrows that he dipped in the blood of the Hydra
2. the death of Nessus
3. Herakles’ death (poison in Nessus’ blood stained clothes killed him)

Question 8

Briefly describe the following figures Herakles interacts with: Alkyoneus, Busiris, Geras

Answer 8

1. Alkyoneus is a powerful giant who is immortal as long as he remains in his homeland; Herakles ultimately defeats him by dragging him away from his native land, showcasing his cleverness in addition to his strength.
2. Busiris is an Egyptian king who sacrifices foreigners to the gods to end a famine; when Busiris attempts to sacrifice Herakles, the hero breaks free and kills him, ending the king’s brutal practice.
3. Geras, the personification of old age, represents the inevitable decline that even heroes cannot escape; his presence in Herakles’ life serves as a reminder of mortality, contrasting with Herakles’ usual vitality and strength.

Question 9

Who is Nessos?

Answer 9

a centaur who tried to assault Deianeira, Herakles’ wife, and Herakles killed him but tricked Deianeira into unintentionally killing Herakles later.

Question 10

How does Nessos anger Herakles?

Answer 10

He tried to assault Herakles’ wife, Deianeira

Question 11

How is Nessos instrumental in the death of Herakles?How does Herakles die? What happens next?

Answer 11

Nessos tricks Deianeira into putting Herakles in contact with the hydra’s blood, poisoning and killing him.

Question 12

What was the subject of Euripides’ play Alkmene? How is it depicted on a South Italian vase?

Answer 12

Euripides’ play Alkmene tells the story of Alcmene, the mother of Herakles, and how Zeus, disguised as her husband Amphitryon, visits her to conceive Herakles. Zeus extends the night to ensure their time together, creating tension and setting the stage for Hera’s later anger toward Herakles.

On South Italian vases, this scene often shows Zeus in disguise approaching or embracing Alcmene, sometimes with symbols like an eagle to hint at his true identity. Some vases also show Hera watching angrily, foreshadowing her hostility toward Herakles. These images highlight Zeus’s deception, Alcmene’s innocence, and Hera’s jealousy.

Question 13

Where is the earliest representation of the twelve canonical labors? What is the approximate
date?

Answer 13

The earliest known representation of the twelve canonical labors of Herakles is found on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia in Greece. The labors are depicted on the metopes (decorative panels) of the temple, which dates to approximately 460 BCE.

Question 14

Which are the six Peloponnesian Labors?

Answer 14

1. The Nemean Lion
2. The Lernaean Hydra
3. The Ceryneian Hind
4. The Erymanthian Boar
5. The Augean Stables
6. The Stymphalian Birds

Question 15

Which deity appears with Herakles on the metopes from Olympia?

Answer 15

Athena

Question 16

When Herakles fights the Hydra, how does Hera make the context more difficult for him?

Answer 16

Hera sent a giant crab named Karkinos

Question 17

In depictions of the 4th labor (Erymanthean boar) where does Eurytheus often appear? Why?

Answer 17

Hiding in a jar because he is scared of Herakles

Question 18

How can you tell that the scene A&M fig. 194 represents Herakles and the horses of Diomedes?

Answer 18

The horses are depicted as wild, often aggressive creatures, symbolizing the man-eating horses owned by Diomedes, the Thracian king. Some depictions may show the horses chained or tethered, reflecting the challenge Herakles faces in capturing and taming them.

Question 19

What are the ways Geryon is depicted in Greek art? Give examples

Answer 19

1. Triple-Body Form :three bodies joined at waist as shown on an Attic black-figure amphora
2. Armor and Weapons : the metope from the Temple of Hera at Selinus
3. Accompanied by his herdsman and dog: can be seen on n Etruscan vase

Question 20

What is the story of Herakles and Antaios? How is the subject depicted on Greek vases?

Answer 20

Herakles figures out that Antsios needs to be touching the ground to have his powers to He defeats Antsios by lifting him off the ground

Question 21

What are the two versions of how Herakles gets the apples of the Hesperides? Which does the
metope from Olympia show? Which version does the Meidias Painter hydria (Fig. 177) show?
How does it differ from the other depictions of this version?

Answer 21

1. Herakles retrieves the apples himself
2. Herakles gets help from Atlas

The metope from Olympia AND The Meidias Painter both depict the second version

The Meidias is more complex because Hesperides is present.

Question 22

What is the story of the Kerkopes and Herakles? How is it depicted?

Answer 22

The two of the creatures tried to steal from Herakles so her caught then and tied them to a pole he arrived on his shoulder. They made him laugh so he let them go
It is depicted showing Herakles carrying the Kerkopes tied upside down on a pole while they look like they are all laughing.

Question 23

What does Aigeus do when he fails to have a child? How does Aithra fit into the story?

Answer 23

He consults the Oracle of Delphi. He visits Pittheus arranges for his daughter to spend the night with Aigeus, but she conceives Theseus with Poseidon.

Question 24

Who is Theseus’s father?

Answer 24

Poseidon

Question 25

Why does Minos attack Athens? How do the Athenians settle the war? What does the
settlement entail? What does Theseus have to do with this?

Answer 25

He attacks Athens to avenge his son’s death.

Athens agrees to send seven young men and women to Crete every year as a sacrifice to the Minotaur.

Theseus volunteers as one of the tributes and kills the Minotaur.

Question 26

Name and briefly describe the deeds of Theseus on his journey from Troezen to Athens (see
Art & Myth Cycle cups Figs 198-200).

Answer 26

1. Periphetes (the club bearer)
2. Sinis ( the pine bender)
3. The crommyonian sow
4. Sciron
5. Cercyon
6. Procrustes (the stretcher

Question 27

How does Aigeus recognize his son? Explain

Answer 27

He recognizes him plus he had the sword Aigeus left for him.

Question 28

Who is Ariadne? How does she help Theseus? What happens to her?

Answer 28

Ariadne is the daughter of King Minos of Crete and Queen Pasiphae.
She gives him a ball of yarn to help him through the Labyrinth
Dionysus finds Ariadne and marries her

Question 29

Why do the Amazons march on Athens? Explain

Answer 29

To avenge Theseus because he took their queen

Question 30

What happens to Ixion? Why?

Answer 30

He is banished to eternal torment by zeus for trying to seduce Hera.

Question 31

Who is Caineus/ Kaineus? How did he change? Why? What happens to him?

Answer 31

Originally a woman who was transformed into a man at her request by posiedon so he wouldn’t be a vulnerable woman anymore.
He suffocates after being buried alive by the centaurs

Question 32

Briefly describe three instances in which a bull figures in the Theseus myths.

Answer 32

1. The Marathonian Bull, he subdues it and brings it back to athens.
2. The Minotaur, he kills him in the Labyrinth
3. The Bull of Poseidon, Poseidon accidently kills his son Hippolytus when trying to kill Theseus.

Question 33

Where is Theseus a popular hero? How does his popularity as a hero differ from that of Herakles?

Answer 33

Athens, Theseus represents the ideal Athenian leader but Herakles embodies the universal qualities of strength and resilience across all of Greece.

Question 34

How does the imagery associated with Theseus change around 510?

Answer 34

it changes from depicting him as a young hero to a civil hero, warrior, and unifier of Attica.

Question 35

How is Theseus’ reputation for abandoning his savior Ariadne “cleaned up” in some
representations of the escape from Crete? What is a possible explanation for this?

Answer 35

Some focus on the fact of Dionysus marrying her so that the public sees it as him helping her fulfill her destiny rather than doing something wrong.

Question 36

What is the story depicted on the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia? How is
Theseus connected to the story?

Answer 36

It depicts the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. Theseus is involved because he was at the wedding and fought allong side the Lapiths.

Question 37

What two monuments made a clear and deliberate association between Herakles and
Theseus? How and why did they do that?

Answer 37

Temple of Zeus at Olympia and the Athenian Treasury at Delpi

They did this to draw a comparison between Theseus being their hero and comparing him to Herakles