The Beginning: Part One Flashcards
What was at the beginning of everything in Greek myth?
Chaos, literally emptiness, void, abyss
What were the first two entities to spring from chaos?
Erebus (male) –darkness
Nyx (female) –night
When Erebus and Nyx coupled immediately after their creation, what was the result?
They brought forth Hemera (day) and Aether (night)
Which entities did Chaos bring forth after Erebus and Nyx?
Gaia, the earth
Tartarus, the depths and caves beneath the earth
Which two sons were born by Gaia on her own?
Pontus, the sea
Ouranos, the sky
Who was brought forth through the union of Hemera and Aether?
Thalassa, female counterpart of Pontus the sea
How did the second order of divine beings come into creation?
Through union of Ouranos and Gaia (his mother)
Who were the First Order of divine beings?
Primordial deities (Gaia, Tartarus, etc.) from whom all gods, heroes etc. sprang.
How did Time begin ?
When Gaia coupled with Ouranos
Who were the six male children of Gaia and Ouranos ?
Coeus, Hyperion, Oceanus, Crius, Kronos and Iapetus (CHOCKI)
Who were the six female children of Gaia and Ouranos ?
Theia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys, and Rhea
Which other children did Gaia and Ouranos give birth to ?
Two sets of triplets: the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires
What were the names of the Cyclopes?
Brontes (thunder), Steropes (lightning), and Arges (brightness)
What are the Hecatonchires?
Creatures with fifty heads and a hundred hands each
What were the names of the Hecatonchires?
Cottus the furious, Gyges the long limbed, and Aegaeon the sea goat (Briareos)
Who were the Second Order of divine beings?
Sons and daughters of Gaia and Ouranos : the 12 titans, the cyclopes, and the hecatonchires
Ouranos hated and feared his latter offspring, the _________ and _____________.
Ouranos hated and feared his latter offspring, the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires.
What did Ouranos do to Gaia after she gave birth to the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires?
He cursed the cyclopes and hecatonchires and pushed them back inside her (potentially signifying that he buried them)
Where did Gaia go after Ouranos hurt her?
To Othrys, a great mountain in Greek Phthiotis
https://maps.app.goo.gl/agfuZVZcLPtnQvz3A?g_st=ic
What did Gaia do in Othrys?
She made a scythe to slay Ouranos.
How did Gaia seek revenge on Ouranos?
She asked her twelve children one by one to help her destroy him and rule all creation with her
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
Which gift did Phoebe possess?
The gift of prophecy
Who was Phoebe’s consort?
Her brother Coeus
What was the name of Gaia’s daughter by her son Pontus?
Eurybia
Who was the consortof Eurybia (daughter of Gaia and Pontus)?
Crius
Who is Clymene?
Daughter of Tethys and Oceanus (who were the daughter and son of Gaia and Ouranos)
Who did Clymene (daughter of Tethys and Oceanus) pair with?
Iapetus, her uncle
Who were the children of Clymene and Iapetus ?
Atlas, Epimetheus and Prometheus
Which of Gaia’s children had agreed to help her destroy Ouranos?
Kronos
Who is Tartarus ?
One of the primordial beings brought to life by Chaos along with Gaia, after Erebus and Nyx
Which one of his siblings did Kronos feel particularly close to?
Rhea
What was the object Gaia made at Mount Othrys and gave to Kronos?
A sharp scythe made from adamantine and that could cut through anything
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
What are the Oneroi (children of Nyx and Erebus)?
Thousands of beings that make and distribute dreams (e.g Phoebetor, Phantasos..)
What was the name of Hypnos’s son (grandson of Nyx and Erebus)?
Morpheus, associated with dreams and sleep
Who were the Hesperides?
Daughters of Nyx and Erebus, beautiful nymphs of the west who herald in the gloaming hour.
What happened to Ouranos on Mount Othrys?
Kronos, his son, castrated and deposed him
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 was the Meliae’s mission?
They were guardians of a Manna ash tree –and later become nurses to Zeus
What did Kronos do to his mother Gaia?
He freed the cyclopes and hecatonchires by slicing her open
Where did Kronos banish his father Ouranos and siblings?
He imprisoned the cyclopes and hecatonchires in caves, and buried Ouranos deep into the ground
What happened to Ouranos’s severed genitals?
They landed near the island of Cynthera, where Aphrodite emerged
What does the name Aphrodite mean?
From the foam, referring to the frothy spot where her father’s semen met the sea/ Also referred to as Venus by the Romans
What was Kronos afraid of when Rhea got pregnant from their pairing?
His father Ouranos’s curse : “Your own children will overthrow you as you overthrew me”
Who was Rhea’s first daughter?
Hestia (goddess of domesticity and the hearth)
What did Kronos do to his and Rhea’s newborns?
He swallowed them whole
Who were the 6 children of Rhea and Kronos?
Hestia, Hades, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon and Zeus
Who did Rhea ask for help when Kronos kept eating her newborns ?
Gaia and Ouranos
Who was Amalthea?
A she-goat living in Crete, and the foster mother of Zeus
What was Rhea’s plan to save her 6th baby from Kronos?
To trick him into believing he ate him, and instead raise him in secret in Crete
Who was Zeus?
Sixth child of Rhea and Kronos
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 Moros?
Son of Nyx, figuration of Destiny and Doom
Where did the cornucopia come from?
A horn of Amalthea’s that Zeus accidently snapped off, and which became perpetually filled with food
What were Rhea’s intentions for her son Zeus?
She raised him with the intent that he would destroy Kronos and free her other children
Who did Rhea entrust with teaching Zeus the ways of the world?
Metis (daughter of Tethys and Oceanus, Zeus’s cousin)
Who was Metis?
Daughter of Tethys and Oceanus, Zeus’s cousin
What was the mixture Metis made on Zeus’s birthday, and who was it intended for?
A mixture of poppy juice and copper sulphate, intended for Kronos
Who fed Metis’s potion to Kronos?
Zeus, presented to Kronos as a cup bearer
What happened to Kronos when he drank the potion ?
He vomitted up the stone, and his five children
What was the reason behind Zeus’s incapacity to beheading Kronos?
He couldn’t wield the scythe, because Gaia had made it for Kronos only
Who were The (six) Gods?
Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, Zeus (HHHPDZ)
What happened here?
Gaia forged a scythe that was to smite Ouranos.
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
What are the Erinyes nicknamed?
The Eumenides (kindly ones).
