The Beginning: Part Two – Clash of the Titans Flashcards
What was the name of the battle between the Gods and the Titans?
The Titanomachy
In the Titanomachy, all the Titans sided with Kronos, except?
Clymene’s sons Prometheus and Epimetheus
The Gods were outmatched in the Titanomachy. How did Zeus swing the balance?
He released (on Metis’s advice), the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes from the caverns of Tartarus. Gigantes also joined Zeus.
Where did Zeus get his thunderbolts?
They were crafted for him by the Cyclopes –Brontes (thunder), Arges (brightness) and Steropes (lightning).
Who were the parents of the muses?
Zeus and Mnemosyne (titan, daughter of Ouranos and Gaia)
Who is Calliope?
Chief of all muses (according to Ovid)
Music of epic poetry
Name means beautiful voice
Gave birth to Orpheus
Virgil and Dante invoke her when embarking on epics
Who is Clio?
Muse of history
Responsible for broadcasting great deeds
Symbols: Often depicted with book.
Who is Erato?
Muse of lyric and love poetry
Name related to Eros and often depicted with arrow
Symbols: myrtle, turtle doves, lute
Who is Euterpe?
Muse of music
Who is Melpomene?
Muse of tragedy
Symbols: depicted wearing or holding the cothurnus, a thick-soled boot worn by tragic actors; tragic mask with curved-down lips
Along with her sister Terpsichore, was mother to the Sirens
Who is Polyhymnia?
Muse of hymns (hymnos is Greek for praise) and sacred music
Also muse of agriculture, pantomime, geometry and meditation
Symbols: portrayed as serious figure, finger held to mouth in attitude of contemplation
Also sometimes (instead of Calliope) portrayed as mother of Orpheus
Who is Terpsichore?
Muse of dance
Who is Thalia?
The muse of comic arts and idyllic poetry
Symbols: wears the cothurnus (actors’ boot) and smiling mask; wreathed in ivy and carries bugle and trumpet
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)
Who were the three daughters of Zeus and Eurynome (the most beautiful of the Oceanids)?
The Charites (the Gratia to the Romans)
Aglaea (splendour)
Euphrosyne, also known as Euthymia (glee)
Thalia (cheerfulness)
Whose children were the Horai (hours)?
Themis (daughter of Ouranos and Gaia)
Themis is the goddess and personification of…
Justice, divine order, law, and custom.
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)
What are the names of the three Moirai (Fates) and what do they do?
Clotho – spins the thread that represents a life
Lachesis (LAKH-uh-sis) – measures out its length
Atropos (uh-TROH-pohs) – cuts the life short
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 Gorgons?
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.
What are the 5 classifications of nymphs?
Oreads –from mountains hills and grottoes
Nereids –in the sea
Naiads –Lakes and streams
Dryads – wingedforest nymphs
Hamadryads –nymphs whose lives were tied to tree in which they lived
What is key difference between nymphs and gods?
Gods are immortal, nymphs can die
Who was Zeus’s fiercest opponent in the Titanomachy?
Atlas (first son of Iapetus and Clymene)
How was Atlas punished for opposing Zeus?
Forced to carry the sky on his shoulders
He solidified into the Atlas Mountains
How was Kronos punished?
Forced to travel the world measuring out eternity.
Called Saturn by Romans.
Symbols: old man with scythe
How were the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires rewarded for helping Zeus conquer the titans?
Cyclopes –for making Zeus’s thunderbolt, appointed his personal artificers, armourers and smiths
Hecatonchires –made guardians of the gates to Tartarus
Etymology of Auxesia?
Auxesis means “increase” or “growth.”
The Moirai were often depicted as three sisters, each with a specific role: Clotho, who _______________; Lachesis, who ___________; and Atropos, who _____________.
The Moirai were often depicted as three sisters, each with a specific role: Clotho, who spun the thread of life; Lachesis, who measured the thread; and Atropos, who cut the thread, determining the moment of death.
Etymology of Keres?
Related to the Greek word “ker” (κῆρ), which means “death” or “doom.”
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.
This is one of the _______?
Keres
Where do Oreads dwell?
In mountains, hills and grottoes
Where do Nereids dwell?
In the sea
Where do Naiads dwell?
Lakes and streams
Where do Dryads dwell?
Wingedforest nymphs. In the forest.
Where do Hamadryads dwell?
Are tied to tree (usually oak) in which they live. Dryas means oak tree.
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).
What places are named after Atlas?
The Atlas Mountains of North Africa and the Atlantic Ocean (which got its name from its proximity to the Atlas Mountains). And Atlantis.
