Test 2 Flashcards
Archetype
A very typical example of a certain person or thing
Ex- wizard, antihero
Monomyth
The hero’s journey that is the common template of a brad category of tales that involve a hero who goes on an adventure, and in a decisive crisis wins a victory, and then comes home changed or transformed
The hero’s journey summarized
Call to adventure -> meeting a mentor -> crossing threshold -> trials and failure -> growth (new skills) -> death and rebirth -> revelation -> family changes -> atonement -> gets gift -> return changed
Panhellenic
Very popular
- known throughout Greek world
- “all greece”
Heroes in ancient world
- Selfish
- Don’t necessarily serve a greater good
- Generally but not always have a 1 divine parent
- Occupy a space in the cosmic hierarchy between the gods and humans
Story of Perseus
- Trouble begins with a prophecy
- Mother named Danae who is the princess of a city named Argos, her father named Akrisos gets a prophecy at the oracle at Delphi. The oracle says “your grandson will kill you.” Akrisos freaks out and locks Danae into a tower where she has no access or interaction with any men. Danae just sits there and doesn’t get pregnant. Zeus sees Danae just chilling in this tower and decides to get busy with her. But he cant come to her as a man because she is being watched, so he visits her as a “golden shower” and impregnates her. Akrisos freaks out and puts Danae into a chest and pushes them off a cliff into the ocean. Akrisos thinks that if they die it’s just a side effect since Akrisos cant kill Zeus’ kid. They float all the way to the coast of turkey where they get picked up by a fisherman. The fisherman takes them into his home and raises Perseus as his own. The fisherman’s brother, Polydectes’ is the king of that land. Polydectes’ falls in love with Danae and wants to marry her but Perseus is like no way. One day the kings’s daughter gets married and Perseus doesnt bring a gift. Perseus says oh my bad. Polydectes says thats rude. So perseus says that to make up for it Perseus will get anything Polydectes wants. Polydectes thinks he can get Perseus to go on a wild goose chase and then he can marry Danae. Polydectes asks for Medusas head.
How does Perseus get Medusa’s head
Athena (who is the patron god of heroes) tells Perseus to go meet “the fates” (3 women who share one eye) who know everything. The fates refuse to tell Perseus anything so he steals their eye until the Gratii tell him where the Garden of Hesperides is, which will provide him with a bag to store the head. He gets there and the women tending the garden of Hesperides give him a bag to keep Medusa’s head in. Then a bunch of gods and goddesses show up and start giving him stuff. Perseus uses a mirror on the shield to keep from being turned to stone. He cuts off her head and runs away from the gorgon. From the stump of her neck two figures show up: pegasus and chrysaor
What gift does Athena give Perseus
-A magic shield
What gift does Hermes give Perseus
-Winged sandals
What gift does Hades give Perseus
Helmet of invisibility
What gift does Zeus give Perseus
Special sword
2 stories of Medusa
- She bragged about her beauty, catches the eye of Poseidon and sleeps with him in the temple of Athena. Athena mad and makes her into the monster
- Poseidon assaulted Medusa in the temple of Athena and Medusa is just the one to get punished.
What two things come out of Medusa’s neck?
- Pegasus (winged horse)
- Chrysaor
On Perseus way back to give Medusa’s head to Polydectes who does he see chained to a rock? why is this person chained to a rock?
Andromeda; because her mom sacrificed her to protect their city from a sea monster brought on the city because her mom upset Poseidon. Poseidon says he will defeat the sea monster and then he marries Andromeda
Garden of Hesperides
Magical garden that has a magical tree in the center of it that bears magical golden fruit. The tree is guarded by a magical spynx
What happens when Perseus returns with Medusas head?
He puts it on the table and Polydecteus turns to stone. Perseus gives Medusa’s head to Athena and Athena attaches it to breast plate/shield and uses it as a weapon
What happens to Danae at the end of the story of Perseus
She doesnt end up marrying Polydecteus instead she marries the fisherman and they live happily ever after.
Final resolution in the Perseus story
- remember the oracle at Delphi?
- Perseus is participating in athletic competitions when he misfires a disk that hits a man in the crows, which ended up being Akrisos (his grandpa) who couldn’t avoid fate after all.
Story of Oedipus
About a guy who ends up sleeping with his mom.
Oedipus’ parents are the king and queen of Thebes (Laus and Jocasta). Laus goes to get a prophecy from the oracle at delphi that says his kid is gonna kill him and marry his mom. Laus and Jocasta are worried because Jocasta is pregnant. Decide to leave baby in the forest thinking he might get eaten by wolves or something. Instead a king from a neighboring city comes by and finds oedipus and raises him as his own. They never tell Oedipus that he is adopted. Oedipus grows up and gets an oracle from Delphi which says hes gonna kill his dad and marry his mom. (fail to mention his REAL parents not his adopted ones that he thinks are his real parents). Oedipus leaves the kingdom to prevent this from happening. He makes his way to Thebes but on the way he gets into an argument with a guy and ends up killing him. Oedipus gets to Thebes where he finds out the king has just been killed (w2g Oedipus) and there is a horrible monster guarding the entrance to Thebes, the Spynx. People of Thebes say whoever can defeat the Spynx gets to become king. Oedipus defeats the Spynx by solving its riddle and he becomes king and marries jocasta and then they have two children. Many years pass and then Tyreseus shows up and goes oh by the way you married your mom. Oedipus pokes out his eyes and jocasta kills herself. Oedipus leaves thebes and goes into exile
Who tells Oedipus he married his mom?
Tyreseus
Spynx riddle
“A thing there is whose voice is one;
Whose feet are four and two and three.
So mutable a thing is none
that moves in earth or sky or sea.
When
on most feet this thing doth go,
Its strength is weakest and its pace most slow.”
What is Theseus an example of
Local (specifically connected to Athens) and panhelenic hero
How many labors does Theseus have?
6
How many labors does hercules have?
12
-Originally 10 but 2 were not counted so he added 2 more making 12
Where is Theseus from
Attica
Theseus story
Some versions have Theseus son of mortal woman and poseidon. Version more popular makes Theseus son of king of Athens’ Aegus.
King Aegus has a lot of enemies in Athens so when he decides to have a child he has a child with a woman who doesnt live in Athens. He tells the woman to raise Theseus away from Athens and dont tell anyone he exists because hes afraid he will be punished by my enemies. Tells her that eventually Theseus can come to Athens and claim his birthright. Gives Theseus an obstacle which is a sword that says “you’re a hero” and he puts it under a boulder. When Theseus can move the boulder he can take the sword and come to Athens. Theseus wants to go to Athen’s mom says g8 theres two ways one by land and one by sea, The sea way will be safer, but Theseus decides to take the land way which is very dangerous bc hes you know a hero (call to adventure a hero does not need to take). During his journey he comes into many obstacles these are his “labors.”
Where is Theseus raised?
In a city called Troezen
Which labor overlaps Herakles and Theseus?
Labor of the Bull (same bull but called different name)
Herakles does the Cretan bull and Theseus does the Marathon bull
What is Thesus most famous adventure
Not necessarily his labors but his defeat of the minotaur
Crete and the Minotaur
Athens periodically sends young men and women to the island Crete to be fed to a half bull/half man monster who has been confined in a maze, labyrinth
Background to Minotaur
King of Crete, man named Minos. Poseidon sends a beautiful bull crete and says Minos sacrifice this bull to me. Minos says eh rather not, im gonna hold onto it. Poseidon thinks this is unacceptable so he causes Minos’ wife (pacife?) to fall passionately in love with the bull. Wife tells Delos? to make her a cow suit so she can have sex with the bull. Wife has a child of the bull and the child is the minotaur. Minotaur eats people. Minos doesnt know what to do with the minotaur so he asks Delos to build a maze (labyrinth) so that the minotaur cant escape but Minos can keep it alive by feeding people to it. Athens supplies the people.
Theseus and the Minotaur
Theseus is a hero so he travels to Crete and plans to kill the minotaur. Ariadne is the daughter of the king of Crete and she wants to see the world. (parallel to jason and medea where daughter of the king, medea, also helps the hero) Ariadne falls in love with Theseus and tells him that if he helps her get off the island she will help him get out of the labyrinth. Theseus says good deal. Theseus follows her advice with the yarn and defeats the minotaur and then gets out of the maze.
What does Ariadne give Theseus to help him escape?
A ball of yarn and tells him to put one end of the yarn at the door and then unravel it as you go so you can trace your way back out.
Theseus’ promise to Ariadne
Promised to get her off the island after he defeated the minotaur. Theseus takes her on his ship and they begin to sail back to Athens. On the way the stop on a beach where Ariadne decides to take a nap. While she is asleep Theseus gets back on the ship and says peace out Ariadne enjoy your life.
Another version - Theseus went back to his ship to get something and the wind just blew him away
Another version - Athena tells Theseus to move along and forget Ariadne then Dionysos and Ariadne get married
Kernel of historical truth to the Theseus story?
Is there one?
- That there was a civilization called the Minoans who lived on the island of crete during the bronze age, which is when the greeks thought all the gods were alive.
- Minoans well known for their connection to the bull - bull leaping
- Place where they lived looked similar to a labyrinth
- Argument that ancient greeks saw art of the Minoans and the origin of the minotaur and the labyrinth got started
Synoikismos
- Attributed to athens from theseus
- Unification of smaller settlements/villages into larger polity; not necessarily spatially, politically (believe theseus did this)
- Crucial step bc without him doing this the later development of Athen’s democracy would not be what it is
- According to Athenians Theseus has a major role in the political and social landscape around Athens
What are theseus Panhellenic expressions as a god
Minotaur and labors
Hippolytus
- Son of Theseus and Hippolyta
- Hippolyta is a queen of the Amazons
The Amazons and Theseus
Amazons are a group of warrior women who are so war like that the way they added to their society was by kidnapping men and force them to impregnate the Amazons and then kill them and their sons and save the daughters. Some myths have them burning off one breast in order to shoot a bow and arrow. Theseus carries off the queen and brings her to Attica and they have children together. This prompts the Amazonians to invade Attica and attack Athens and Theseus has to push them back.
*some versions have hercules killing hippolyta when he goes to complete his labor of the Amazons
