Term 1 - Lecture 5 Flashcards
Who is often seen with wheat and torches?
Demeter
What is xenia?
How a host is supposed to treat a guest, and how the guest treats the host. It is RECIPROCAL.
Who is Zeus the father of?
Gods and Men
In what two ways is Zeus a patriarchal ruler?
He is the figure of authority for both gods and mortals He is also the paternal father of many mortals. Typically depicted as a fully grown, bearded male.
What is Poseidon’s Roman name?
Neptune
What does the name “Demeter” mean?
The mother
Who did Zeus have sex with in the form of a rainshower?
Danae
What was a women called in Ekdosis, compared to Eggue?
Ekdosis = nymphe (meaning bride) Eggue = parthenos (meaning virgin)
What does a woman transition as from eggue to ekdosis to gamos?
parthenos to nymphe to gyne
How many times did Herakles descend to the underworld?
At least 3 separate times - considered very heroic for it
What occurs during Ekdosis?
It was the ritual giving away of a bride. The physical transition and ceremonies. The bride was washed, dressed, and adorned by female members of the household. A feast and a torchlit procession lead the husband ad wife on a horse-drawn chariot to the husband’s home. Rituals marking the LIMINAL nature of experience
What are the 3 stages of Greek marriage?
- Eggue 2. Ekdosis 3. Gamos
Who is the most prestigious of goddesses?
Hera - but she is still subject to Zeus as his wife
What occurred during Eggue?
A negotiated agreement was made between a girl’s father and her future husband. It forged a BOND between the two households. Eggue was used to make alliances between households, in exchange for the daughter. The future husband would demonstrate his worthiness by offering gifts, performing feats, or acting by other means to show his worthiness.
What is Hestia’s epithet?
The first and the last born. She was first to be born of Rheia, and first to be swallowed by Kronos. Therefore, she was last to be thrown up by him - “reborn”
What does exogamous mean?
That a girl was taken from home in marriage. Leaving the ancestral home of the father.
Where is Hestia especially revered?
In Rome. In Greece she is the hearth fire of the home. In Rome, she is the hearth fire of the world. Hestia is the centre of the city.
Does Hestia have a lot of myths about her?
No, very few.
What is special about Helen?
She is the first female, mortal offspring of Zeus.
Who are the three parthenos?
- Vesta 2. Artemis 3. Athena
What is Demeter the patron god of?
The grain. She presides over the fertility of the earth.
What was a girl known as at Gamos?
Gyne: wife, woman, mother of sons
Which male does Zeus have sex with?
Ganymede
What three things are Zeus the divine champion of?
- Justice (DIKE) 2. Hospitality (XENIA) 3. Suppliants
Who did Zeus seduce that led to the kings of Crete?
Europa, in the form of a bull
What are the 2 normal characteristics of marriage?
- Exogamous 2. Virilocan
Which of Zeus’ sister chose to remain a virgin for life?
Hestia, she chooses to stay at home and tend the hearth-fire
Zeus presides over a _____ cosmos.
Ordered
What was a girl called in the stages of Eggue?
The parthenos. A maidsen, a virgin, an unmarried girl.
What are the Roman names for Zeus?
Jove and Jupiter
How does Zeus take Ganymede? What happens to him?
By means of his eagle. He is immortalized and made the winebearer
What specific type of father is Zeus? What is the roman name for this?
The “sky-father”, he is the king of the weather. Also known as “Dios”.
Why is Zeus sexually promiscuous and prolific?
It allows for many claims for descent from Zeus. It makes time and space more ordered. Zeus’ JOB is to impregnate as many women as possible.
What is the sacred temple to Athena called? Why?
Parthenon. Called this because Athena was a parthenos - virgin.
What occurs during Gamos?
The actual marriage. Consummation on wedding night.
What is Hades’ Roman name?
Dis
What animal is Poseidon associated with? What is his weapon?
Associated with horses and bulls, his trident is his weapon
Who is the Earth Shaker?
Poseidon - he causes earthquakes, tidal waves, and floods
What does virilocal mean?
That a bride went to live in a husband’s home.
What is the weapon and bird of Zeus?
weapon: lightning bolt bird: eagle
How did Zeus seduce Europa?
She was out by the seaside, and Zeus changed himself into the shape of a beautiful bull. Europa is charmed and she climbs onto the bull’s back. She is transported to the middle of the ocean, surrounded by monsters, and then to the island of Crete, where Zeus has intercourse with her.
Who is Zeus’ consort?
Hera
Who is Hera the mother of?
Ares (Zeus as father), and Hephaestus (asexually)
What is Hades’ epithet?
He is the “receiver/host of many” or “of many names”.
Who is the mother of Helen, Clytemnestra, Pollux, and Castor?
Leda
Is Hera a maternal figure?
Not really
What does it mean that ekdosis is “liminal” in nature?
`Liminal means to be crossing the threshold - the narrow space that divides two spaces. This is the space of nowhere, and a time of anxiety.
Who is the fire of forge? Who is the hearth fire?
Hestia
Who is Poseidon married to?
Amphitrite
What occurs during a funerary ritual?
A corpse is washed, dressed, and adorned by female members of the household. After the wake, a torch-lit procession by horse-drawn cart from home to burial ground. Offerings are made to underworld gods.
In which ways are Athena a foil for Poseidon?
Athena is a tamer of nature and Poseidon is the opposite. Athena invented the bridal for restraining horses, the ship for taming the sea, the olive tree. Poseidon gave the salty spring.
How is a marriage similar to Greek funerary rituals?
Marriage: Eggue - gifts are given from the husband to the parthenos’ family. The parthenos is dressed and washed by female members of the family. She becomes a nymphe during ekdosis, where she proceeds to the liminal space between hers and her husband’s house - horsedrawn carriage and torchlit. Funerary rituals: sacrifices are made to the underworld gods. Dead is dressed and washed by the female members of the family. Liminal space between home and burial grounds. Torchlit procession by horsedrawn carriage.
What is Demeter’s Roman name?
Ceres
How do Zeus and Danae have sex?
Danae’s father Acrisius received a prophecy that if Danae had a son, he would overthrow Acrisius by killing him. He hides Danae away in a tower for this reason, so no men can get to her. Zeus impregnates her in the form of a rainshower, and Acrisius sends her and her baby to sea. The baby’s name is Perseus.
What is katabasis?
Descent to the underworld - it is considered a heroic feat because most people cannot come back from the underworld
Who is the dark, shadowy, mournful god?
Hades
Demeter presides over the grain and agricultural harvest, what does Persephone preside over?
The seeds and springtime
What do Demeter and Persephone represent?
A mother/daughter dyad. They represent major stages in the female life cycle in Greek society. They are just at different times in their lives.
How does Hera feel about her marriage to Zeus?
She wants to preserve the sanctity of her marriage with Zeus, but his job is to impregnate other women. She is frustrated by his promiscuity. She jealously persecutes his offspring by other females
Who was Ganymede?
A young Trojan prince
How does Leda become impregnated by Zeus?
Zeus disguises himself as a swan. Leda’s children hatch from an egg. She has Helen and Castor (children of Zeus). and Clytemnestra and Pollux (children of her husband)
What is a suppliant?
Someone seeking protection
Who makes the lightning bolts of Zeus?
His uncles, technically, the Cyclopes, who he rescued from inside of Gaia
What are two special characteristics associated with Hera in pictures?
- Peacock as her special bird 2. Septer of a ruler
What is Persephone’s Roman name?
Kore
