Relations between Gods and Mortals Flashcards
How are legends different than myths?
Legends are based in historical events, people, or places
Who is Arion? What happened to him?
Great singer and lyre player who made lots of money off his stage productions
Was robbed by his ship’s crew and thrown overboard, but given one last chance to perform in his full garb
Carried to safety on the back of a dolphin, believed to be sent by Apollo
Who is Phaethon? What happened to him?
The son of the sun god Helios and Clymene
After being mocked and called a liar, he seeks to know his identity/origin (if he really is the son of Helios)
Visits Helios and asks to drive the chariot as proof (even though warned against it)
The horses go off track and he drops the reins = the Earth begins to burn
Zeus strikes him down with a thunderbolt
What does the story of Phaethon tell us about folklore?
Characters in folklore often make prideful and rash decisions (Helios’ promise to give Phaethon any favor he wants)
Who is Arachne? What happens to her?
An extremely skilled and competitive weaver, taught by Athena (but she does not want to admit this)
Challenges Athena to a competition because she believes herself better
Arachne produces a tapestry about the transgressions of the Gods + there is no fault with it
Athena is furious, tears the work apart, beats Arachne in the face
Arachne tries to hang herself, Athena takes pity and turns her into a spider
Is Athena merciful towards Arachne?
Yes, she disguises herself as an old woman and advises her not to go through with the competition and to ask for forgiveness
Giving Arachne a chance for redemption (which she blows by insulting and showing no respect to the old woman)
She also spares her at the end by turning her into a spider so she can continue her art of weaving for eternity
Who is Niobe? What does she do?
A proud mother of 7 sons and 7 daughters
Boasts about her kids, lineage (daughter of Tantalus), and beauty
Insults Leto by convincing others to stop worshipping her and doing her rituals
How is Niobe punished?
Leto sends the twins, Artemis and Apollo, to kill Niobe’s sons and daughters in gruesome ways
Niobe turns to stone in her grief and weeps for eternity
What does Niobe’s fate tell us about grief?
Niobe is turned into an unproductive stone
Grief can cause people to become numb and unfeeling (like stone)
What do Phaethon, Arachne, and Niobe all have in common?
They commit immense hubris (arrogance)
Phaethon assumes he can do what he cannot (no mortal can)
Arachne makes herself out to be better than the Gods (and insults an elder)
Niobe mocks the Gods with her pride
Who are Philemon and Baucis? What did they do for the Gods?
They give refuge to a disguised Zeus and Hermes when others would not, despite the fact that they’re living in poverty (thatched roof and serve their guests cabbage)
They want to sacrifice their goose, the guardian of their home (they’re protective birds), but he runs to the protection of the guests
The Gods reveal their divinity
What do Philemon and Baucis get for their devotion to the Gods?
They’re spared from a flood that destroys the village they live in (full of other people that did not offer refuge to the Gods when disguised)
They are also granted a gift of their choosing. Philemon consults his wife before making their decision. They ask to watch over the temple (be priest/priestess) and that they will die at the same time
In the end of the story, what happens to Philemon and Baucis?
When their lives end, they are standing in front of the temple and turn into trees that become partially merged (a tree with a double trunk)
They die at the same time and stay together as trees for eternity
Why are Philemon and Baucis rewarded (beyond the fact that they provided refuge to the Gods)?
They partake in traditional hospitality even at their own detriment (are prepared to sacrifice their goose and give up the little that they have)
What do the stories of Arachne and Philemon & Baucis have in common?
In the end, they are turned into beings that will live on forever doing what they love
For Arachne, she can continue weaving
For the couple, they can continue being together
Who is Psyche? What does Venus want Cupid to do to her?
The youngest of 3 daughters, so beautiful that she’s worshipped like Venus, but is never courted/married, which makes her lonely
This makes Venus mad, so she sends her son to make her fall in love with the most hideous creature
What does the oracle of Apollo say about Psyche? What ends up happening to her?
That she must be left at the mountaintop, as she will be married off to a savage/wild man that’s feared even by the Gods
She is left on the mountain and carried away by the wind, which takes her to a divine palace with formless voices as handmaidens
Her husband only comes to her at night and says that she is never allowed to know his identity and she must keep their secret
What do Psyche’s sisters do to her? What does Psyche do in response and what does she discover about her husband?
They are jealous of her clearly divine marriage and decide to convince her that her husband is a serpent that will devour her once her child is born
Psyche arms herself with a knife and oil lamp to kill the serpent in the night, only to discover that her husband is Cupid
What happens after Psyche discovers the identity of her husband? What happens to her sisters?
A drop of burning oil falls on Cupid’s shoulder, waking him and he flees
Psyche, in her grief, throws herself into a river until she is discovered by the God Pan and saved
She then convinces her sisters (individually) that the God Cupid really desires THEM for marriage and that they must go to the mountaintop to be carried away by the wind
Both sisters then jump off the cliff to their deaths
What does Venus make Psyche do as revenge for burning her son? How does Psyche accomplish these things?
Makes her do impossible tasks such as sort a pile of grains, get wool from the golden sheep, and gather water from a mountaintop waterfall
She is aided by animals/plants in these endeavors (ants, river reeds, and an eagle, respectively)
What is the last impossible task that Psyche must do? Who advises her about what to do?
She must takes a box to Proserpina in the underworld, which she will put a bit of her beauty in, then return it to Venus
She is given directions to the underworld by a tower, which instructs her to carry coins (to cross the river) and honey cake (to feed Cerberus)
What does Psyche do wrong when finishing her final task? Who saves her?
She opens the box, thinking it contains beauty, but it actually contains sleep
She is put into a deathlike coma, but is saved by her now recovered husband Cupid
How does the story of Cupid and Psyche end?
Cupid pleads with Jupiter to let them be married and so they are
They have a proper ceremony among the Gods and Psyche is made immortal
Even Venus comes around in the end
What sorts of fairytale like qualities does the story of Cupid and Psyche have?
Aid from animals, evil sisters, forbidden box, impossible tasks, happily ever after, magical/wise advisor
Similarities to Beauty & the Beast, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty
What is the theme of the story of Cupid and Psyche (hint: common theme in fairytales)?
That if we endure trials, tribulations, sufferings, and struggles with patience and persistence, things will work out
Why do Psyche and Philemon & Baucis have happy endings (when compared to Niobe, Arachne, and Phaethon)?
They commit no hubris (even Psyche, who is exceptionally beautiful, does not take pride in her beauty)
What does Zeus do in response to Prometheus’ theft of fire (which he initially hid from mankind)? How does this affect mortal men?
Zeus, with the help of other Gods, creates Pandora (the first woman), who releases evils, diseases, and sorrows among mankind
Made women to be wondrous, radiant, beautiful, and amazing to behold, but under the surface, they are ruinous conspirators of evil that bring trouble to men in a way that cannot be avoided (even by rejection of marriage)
What does Pandora mean? Why is she given this name?
“All-gifted” because she is given a “gift” by all the dwellers of Olympus
Hephaestus creates her beautiful form out of clay; Athena teaches her the household arts, then clothes + adorns her; Hermes gives her “the mind of a bitch and character of a thief”; the Graces and Seasons adorn her in gold jewelry
What does Pandora do? What does this say about Zeus and Prometheus?
Opens a jar that releases evils and diseases among mankind, then closes it, trapping Hope inside
Blind Hope is later given to man by Prometheus
Main point is that Zeus is the oppressor of mankind and Prometheus is the benefactor
Who is Hippolytus? What is his flaw?
The illegitimate son of Theseus, King of Athens, and Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons
He has a high opinion of himself and a strong conviction that he’s always right
Who is Hippolytus devoted to? What does he do wrong?
He’s devoted to Artemis and committed to being a virgin (which is not expected of men)
He ignores Aphrodite because of her connection to sex. This is hubris it’s better to be good-natured and acknowledge all the Gods (everything in moderation - it doesn’t have to be one or the other)
How does Aphrodite get revenge on Hippolytus?
She makes his stepmother, Phaedra, fall in love with him, which is highly immoral and forbidden
She feels ashamed: fasting; illness; blames her family lineage and their proneness to falling in love with the wrong people
What happens to Phaedra and how does it doom Hippolytus?
The nurse reveals Phaedra’s love to him and he is disgusted and curses all women
Phaedra, in shame and dishonor, hangs herself and leaves a suicide note saying that Hippolytus raped her
What does Theseus do to Hippolytus?
In his grief, he is quick to judge his son’s actions and banishes him with scorn
He calls on Poseidon to kill Hippolytus, who dies in a crash of his chariot
What is a common motif in the story of Hippolytus?
The tendency to blame others for one’s own wrongdoing
Chastity/purity vs sex
Everything in moderation, no excess
