Quiz questions – to repeat FM Flashcards
Who was brought forth through the union of Hemera and Aether?
Thalassa, female counterpart of Pontus the sea
What were the names of the Hecatonchires?
Cottus the furious, Gyges the long limbed, and Aegaeon the sea goat (Briareos)
Who did Tethys and Oceanus give birth to?
Clymene, Metis, Nilus (the Nile), and 3000 oceanids or sea nymphs
Who did Theia pair with?
Her brother Hyperion
Who were Theia and Hyperion’s children ?
Helios, the sun
Selene, the moon
Eos, the dawn
What was the name of Gaia’s daughter by her son Pontus?
Eurybia
Who were the children of Clymene and Iapetus ?
Atlas, Epimetheus and Prometheus
Which other being did Nyx birth all on her own?
Moros (doom)
What were Nyx’s twins called?
Oizys, Spirit of misery, depression and anxiety
Momos, Spirit of mockery, scorn and blame
Who was Eris?
Daughter of Nyx and Erebus, also known as Strife, gifter of the Apple of Discord
Who was Nemesis ?
Sister of Eris, daughter of Nyx and Erebus, embodiment of retribution
Which 3 types of beings emerged from the bloody ground under Ouranos, after his castration ?
Erinyes (the Furies)
Gigantes (the Giants)
Meliae (nymphs)
Who were the Erinyes?
Also called the Furies, vengeful females called Alecto (remorsless), Megaera (jealous rage) and Tisiphone (vengeance)
What did Kronos do to his mother Gaia?
He freed the cyclopes and hecatonchires by slicing her open
Who was Rhea’s first daughter?
Hestia (goddess of domesticity and the hearth)
Who did Rhea ask for help when Kronos kept eating her newborns ?
Gaia and Ouranos
Who took care of Zeus growing up?
Amalthea, who nursed him, feeding him her milk; the Meliae, who fed him manna; and Rhea, his mother
Who was Metis?
Daughter of Tethys and Oceanus, Zeus’s cousin
Name all the children of Erebus and Nyx
THE MAGA HONCHOS
Thanatos (death)
Hypnos
Eris (strife)
Momos (mockery, scorn)
Aether
Geras
Apate (deceit)
Hemera
Oizys (misery)
Nemesis (retribution)
Charon
Hesperides
Oneroi (bringer of dreams)
Styx
What did the Erinyes (Furies) do to the guilty?
Flay the flesh from their bones
Who were the parents of the muses?
Zeus and Mnemosyne (titan, daughter of Ouranos and Gaia)
Who is Urania?
Muse of astronomy and the stars
Derives name from Ouranos, primal god of the heavens
Considered figure of Universal Love, like Greek version of Paraclete (Christian holy spirit)
Name the classical first triad of the Horae?
Auxesia - Summer
Carpo - Winter
Thallo - bringer of flowers and blossoms (Flora to Romans)
Name the second set of Horae
Eunomia - goddess of law and legislation
Diké - goddess of justice and the moral order (Romans called Justitia)
Eirene - goddess of peace (Pax to Romans)
Who gave birth to the Moirai (Fates)
Nyx – night
Who are the Keres?
Daughters of Nyx
Spirits of violent death. Like the Valkyries, collected souls of warriors killed in battle. Only, suck blood and then throw drained corpse over shoulder and moved on to next.
Who are the 3 Gorgons, what is their origin and what are their qualities?
Daughters of Phorcys and Ceto (children of Gaia and Pontus)
Stheno
Euryale
Medusa
Hair of venomous snakes
Boar’s tusk teeth
Clawed hands
Scaly golden bodies
Turn to stone if catch a Gorgon’s eye.
Etymology of Auxesia?
Auxesis means “increase” or “growth.”
Who were Phorcys and Ceto?
Sea gods, son and daughter of Gaia and Pontus.
In Hellenistic-Roman mosaics, Phorcys was depicted as a fish-tailed merman with crab-claw legs and red, spiky skin.
Father and mother of the Gorgons.
Where do Dryads dwell?
Winged forest nymphs. In the forest.
Atlas was the eldest son of whom?
Iapetus and Clymene
How was Atlas punished for his leading role against Zeus in the Titanomachy?
He was sentenced to hold up the sky for eternity. (Depictions of his holding up the world come later).
Which role did Zeus give himself after overthrowing Kronos?
Supreme leader, emperor, lord of the firmament, master of weather and storms, King of the Gods, Sky Father, Cloud Gatherer.
What does Hades symbolise other than death?
Riches and opulence – the precious metals and jewels beneath the earth.
Crops of grain and vegetables that germinate beneath the earth.
Hence words plutocrat and plutonium.
What were the 5 rivers flowing through the underworld?
Styx – river of hate
Phlegethon – flaming river of fire
Acheron – river of woe
Lethe – waters of forgetfulness
Cocytus – stream of lamentation and wailing
Who were Kerberos’s parents?
Echidna and Typhon
Who is Echidna?
“Mother of All Monsters.”
Typically depicted as a half-woman, half-serpent.
Mother of the Sphinx, the Nemean Lion, and the Hydra, among others.
Daughter of Tartarus and Gaia.
Who is Typhon?
Monster, often described as giant with many heads, or fire-breathing dragon-like creature.
Son of Gaia and Tartarus
Who is Doris?
Sea goddess, wife of Nereus, and one of the Oceanids.
Mother of the Nereids, the fifty sea nymphs, by the sea god Nereus.
How is Demeter usually depicted (4 points)?
Sheaves of wheat
Torch (looking for Persephone)
Cornucopia
Maternal appearance
How is Hades usually depicted?
- Helmet of invisibility.
- Scepter or staff.
- Throne in the underworld.
- Cerberus, the three-headed dog guardian.
- Key signifies control over underworld gates.
- Coins for the deceased’s passage.
- Horn of plenty for wealth beneath the earth.
Where did Hephaestus grow up?
On island of Lemnos, where he learned to forge metal.
Who is Leto?
Beautiful nymph from island of Kos
Daughter of Phoebe and Coeus
Later worshipped as goddess of motherhood/modesty
Zeus has his eye on her at his wedding
How is Athena usually depicted
- Armor-clad: Symbolizes her warrior aspect.
- Aegis: Protective cloak, often with Medusa’s head.
- Owl: Emblem of wisdom.
- Serpent: Erechtheian snake – symbol of protection
- Olive tree/branch: Sign of peace and prosperity.
- Carrying Nike: Denotes victory.
- Corinthian Helmet: Commonly associated headgear.
- Virginal: Revered as “Parthenos” or virgin goddess.
Origin of word Parthenon?
Parthenos = virgin
Athena was a virgin
Where was Typhon imprisoned and why?
Warred against Zeus, was imprisoned under Mount Etna in Sicily.
Who is Apollo?
God of arts, music, knowledge and harmony
Associated with the sun
Never lied – took charge of prophecy
Referred to as “Musagetes,” meaning “Leader of the Muses.”
Depicted with:
Lyre
Laurel wreath
Python
Dolphin
Bow and arrow
Hairless and young
What happened to the stone that Kronos vomited up at Othrys?
Zeus cast it out, it landed at Pytho on slopes of Mount Parnassus.
Became the omphalos or navel-stone of Greece, its spiritual centre.
Who was Python? What happened to him?
Serpent created by Gaia to guard the Omphalos on Mount Parnassus.
Sent to Delos by Hera to kill the Letoides (Artemis and Apollo).
Was slain by Apollo with golden arrows made by Hephaestus.
How was Delos finally fixed to the earth?
By Zeus, to atone for Apollo’s slaying of Pythos, and to fix the serpent’s final resting place.
Who are the Pleiades?
Seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione.
How did Zeus punish humans for adopting fire?
He commanded Hephaestus to create a female, using goddesses as a model. Called Pandora – all-gifted.
Also gave her a container filled with secrets, and told her never to open it.
Gifted her as wife to Epimetheus (Prometheus’s brother)
Who is Pyrrha?
The daughter of Pandora and Epimetheus
Who is Deucalion?
Son of Prometheus and either his mother Clymene (ew) or Hesione an Oceanid
Who was Lycaon and what happened to him?
King of Arcadia – son of Pelasgos, one of original clay figures.
Roasted own son Nyctimus and served to Zeus.
Zeus, disgusted, brought boy back to life and turned Lycaon into a wolf.
Who was Pelasgos?
One of original clay figures, ethnically Hellenic
Gave name to Pelasgians – tribe thought barbaric by the Greeks
Where is Mount Parnassus?
Central Greece on Gulf of Corinth. Place of Oracle of Delphi.
Who judged where the dead would end up?
At first hades, then two sons of Zeus and Europa – Minos and Rhadamanthus
Who is Eurynomos?
Demon who strips flesh from bones of dead in Hades (in some accounts)
What happened to Persephone?
Abducted by Hades
Demeter neglects the world to search for her with Hecate – nothing blooms
Helios tells gods that Perephone abducted by Hades
Zeus orders her return
Hades asks for one more night
Hades feeds her 6 pomegranate seeds, meaning she must stay there for 6 months of year – explaining seasons
Who are the Erotes?
Deities of winged and naked godlings attendant on Aphrodite.
HHHH– APE
Hedylogos
Hermaphroditus
Himeros
Hymenaios
Anteros
Pothos
Eros
Which of the Erotes is Anteros?
Youthful patron of selfless unconditional love.
Which of the Erotes is Eros?
Leader of Erotes, god of physical love and sexual desire.
Son of Ares and Aphrodite
Which of the Erotes is Hedylogos?
Spirit of language of love and terms of endearment
Which of the Erotes is Hermaphroditus?
Protector of those of fluid gender
Which of the Erotes is Himeros?
Embodiment of desperate, impetuous love
Which of the Erotes is Hymenaios?
Guardian of the bridal chamber and wedding music
Which of the Erotes is Pothos?
Personification of languorous longing, of love for the absent and departed
Four kinds of Greek love?
Agape – charity, including love for children and for gods
Philia – friendship, fondness
Eros – erotic love
Storge – loyalty – e.g., for country
Who was Inachus?
First king of Argos in Peloponnese
Who were Inachus’s two daughters?
Io and Mycene
Whom did Inachus choose as patron deity of Argos?
Hera
Who was Io?
Daughter of Inachus and Melia, priestess of Hera
How did Hera attempt to foil Zeus’s plan to get off with Io?
Asked for heifer (Io) as a birthday gift and placed her in field under eyes (many) of Argus.
Who were the three nurses of Erechtheus?
Herse, Aglauros and Pandrosos
Who were Phaeton’s parents?
Son of Clymene and Apollo, but stepfather Merops (a mortal)
Who was Cygnus and what was his fate?
Friend and lover of Phaeton. Mourned him on banks of river Eridanos. Wail was so plaintive that Apollo struck him dumb and transformed into swan.
Who were Europa’s brothers?
Cadmus, Phoenix, Cilix and Thasos
What places did Europa’s brothers found?
Cadmus - Thebes
Phoenix – Phoenicia
Cilix – Cilicia (kingdom in Asia Minor)
Thasos – Thasos (island)
How were the walls of Thebes built?
Amphion, lover of Hermes whom he had taught to play the lyre, sang to the stones which floated into place.
Who suckled and tutored Dionysus?
The rain nymphs of Nysus.
Silenus (pot-bellied old drunk)
Who was the son of Dionysus and Aphrodite? And what was his problem?
Priapus. Was cursed by Hera with ugliness and impotence. Had constant erection which failed whenever he needed to perform.
What were the family origins of Actaeon?
Grandson of Cadmus through his daughter Autonoë.
Who was Erysichthon?
King of Thessaly
How did Erysichthon meet his doom?
Chopped down grove sacred to Demeter, including hamadryad oak tree. Demeter asked Limos, demon of famine, to curse him. He feels insatiable hunger, sells all possessions to slake it, and ends up eating himself.
Where was kingdom of Thessaly?
At largest state, from Mount Olympus in north to Spercheios river in south. North of Athens in mainland Greece.
How did Apollo respond to Coronis’s dying?
Leapt through flames of funeral pyre, cut out child from womb, who became Asclepius, then raised Coronis to the stars as constellation Corvus, the crow.
Who raised Asclepius?
Chiron the centaur
What was the crime of Tantalus? And who fell victim to it?
Served up his son Pelops to the gods at a banquet. Only Demeter, who was distracted by the loss of Persephone, ate – the boy’s left shoulder.
The Greeks are called Hellenes named after who?
Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha (survivors of great flood)
Who was Sisyphus’s grandfather?
Hellen, son of Deucalion and Pyrrha
Who was the founder of Corinth (then known as Ephyra)?
Sisyphus
Why did Sisyphus marry his niece?
Because he hated his brother Salmoneus, and went to Delphic oracle for help. Oracle said “Sons of Sisyphus and Tyro rise to Slay Salmoneus”.
What happened to the sons of Sisyphus and Tyro?
Tyro drowned them after overhearing Sisyphus boast that he’d married her only so her sons could grow up to kill her father Salmoneus.
How does Sisyphus outsmart Autolycus, son of Hermes, who is stealing his cows?
Carves ‘Autolycus stole me’ on their hooves. Ends up taking back cattle as well as Autolycus’ wife.
How does Sisyphus receive his final punishment?
Hermes offers him choice between Elysian fields and rolling boulder up hill to become immortal King Sisyphus.
Who was Niobe?
Daughter of Tantalus and Dione, brother of Pelops
Wife of Amphion
How many children did Niobe and Amphion have?
Seven daughters and seven sons – the Niobids
What was Niobe’s final refuge?
Slopes of Mount Sipylus, above Tantalis, her childhood home. Gods turned her to stone to stop her lamentation. She is now a waterfall on Mount Spil.
Who was Philomela?
Daughter of King Pandion of Athens, sister of Procne.
Which goddess takes Cephalus as her lover, and what is the problem with this?
Selene, the moon
Problem is, he is still in love with his mortal wife Procris
Why does Theban regent Creon need help from Cephalus? And what becomes of this help?
Thebes is tormented by the Teumessian Fox (Cadmean Vixen), and Creon borrows Lailaps to track him.
They chase each other forever (Fox uncatchable; Lailaps infallible) until Zeus turns them both to stone, then catasterizes them as Canis Major and Minor.
Who was Tithonus?
Great nephew of Ganymede
Lover of Eos
What happened to Tithonus and Eos?
Eos asked Zeus to grant Tithonus immortality so they can be together forever
Zeus, under the influence of Aphrodite’s spell, granted immortality but not youth
Tithonus kept getting older until Eos turned him into a grasshopper to relieve him from his fate
Who was Hyacinthus, and what happened to him?
Spartan Prince
Loved by Zephyrus and Apollo, but chose Apollo
Zephyrus blew Apollo’s discus off course, killing Hyacinthus
Apollo mixed his tears with Hyacinthus’s blood to make the flower Hyacinth
Who’s Crocus and what happened to him?
Mortal youth who loved the nymph Smilax
The gods turned him into a saffron flower called Crocus
Who was Theias?
King of Cyprus
Known for remarkable good looks
Who was Smyrna?
Princess of Cyprus
Daughter of King Theias
Why and how did Aphrodite intend to punish Theias?
He had neglected her temples in favour of those of Dionysus
Made his daughter desire him carnally and visit him incognito in the night
How did Smyrna meet her doom?
Theias offered reward for identity of stranger who came to him in the night
Smyrna flees palace and begs gods for pity, who transform her into weeping myrrh tree.
What were origins of Adonis?
Son of Smyrna and her father King Theias
Smyrna transformed into weeping myrrh tree, from which mortal boy emerges
What happened to Adonis?
Lover of Aphrodite, gored by wild boar (possibly Ares, or sent by him)
Red anemones sprung up from his blood and Aphrodites tears.
Who was Cassandra and what was her curse?
Trojan prophetess cursed to be always accurate in prognostications yet always disbelieved.
Who was Tiresias and what is his story?
Theban guy
Turned female for seven years by Hera as a punishment for striking two snakes mating
Asked to settle wager between Zeus and Hera about who enjoyed sex more
Said women enjoy 9 times more
Hera loses bet, strikes Tiresias blind. Zeus wins bet, rewards with second sight.
Who was the mother of Narcissus, what was her worry, and what action did it inspire?
Naiad called Liriope, worried that beauty of Narcissus would get him into trouble, went to see prophet Tiresius, who said ‘as long as he fails to recognise himself, Narcissus will have long and happy life’
Who was Echo and what was her main flaw?
Oread living in foothills of Mount Helicon
Great talker and gossip, particularly about love
What were Pyramus and Thisbe transformed into?
The Pyramus river in Turkey (now the Ceyhan) and the Thisbe spring that runs into it.
Who was Leucippos and what was his story?
Daughter of Lampros of Phaestos (Crete) and Galatea (not nymph)
Raised as boy because Lampros wanted to kill all girls.
At puberty taken to temple of Leto where gods transform into male.
What is the story of Leucippos and Daphne?
Leucippos was in love with naiad Daphne, disguises himself as girl to join her company of nymphs, but when they bathe in river he is stripped and revealed, and they spear him to death
Names of the four winds?
Boreas – north wind
Zephyrus – west wind
Notus – south wind
Eurus – east wind
Who was Arion’s patron?
Periander, tyrant of Corinth
What is Arion’s ultimate end?
Apollo (to whom dolphins and music are sacred) sets Arion and dolphin between Sagittarius and Aquarius as constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin.
