The toys of Zeus : Part Two 2 Flashcards
Who was Coronis?
Princess of Thessalian kingdom of Phlegyantis. Took Apollo as lover.
What did Coronis do while pregnant with Apollo’s child?
Fell for charms of mortal called Ischys and slept with him.
How did Apollo learn of Coronis’s betrayal?
White crow
How did Apollo punish Coronis?
Asked sister Artemis to take revenge by attacking palace at Phlegyantis with plague arrows.
How did Apollo respond to Coronis’s dying?
Leapt through flames of funeral pyre, cut out child from womb, who became Asclepius, then raised Coronis to the stars as constellation Corvus, the crow.
How did the crow become black?
Apollo turned him black for laughing at the woe of his dying lover Coronis.
Who raised Asclepius?
Chiron the centaur
What did Asclepius grow up to become?
First physician, apothecary and healer
What was the sign of Asclepius?
Wooden staff with snake twined around it.
Different from the caduceus of Hermes, which is more slender with two serpents, but also used to denote medicine.
What is the difference between these symbols?
Left –rod of Asclepius
Right –caduceus of Hermes
Who were the daughters of Asclepius and their specialisations?
Hygeia – cleanliness, diet and exercise
Panacea – universal health, medicines
Aceso –healing, including immunology
Iaso –recovery and recuperation
What was Athena’s gift to Asclepius and why? And how did it cause his downfall?
A jar of Gorgon’s blood, which can revive the dead.In thanks for healing a bruised snake.
Made Hades angry that he was preventing souls from entering underworld. Zeus struck him down with thunderbolt.
What were ‘asclepia’ in the ancient world?
Temples to Asclepius, much like health spas
Who is the god of hospitality?
Zeus Xenios
What is the Greek concept of hospitality?
Xenia
Who was Ixion?
King of Lapiths – ancienttribe of Thessaly
What is this region marked in red?
Thessaly
What was Thessaly known as prior to the Greek Dark Ages (1100-750BC)?
Aeolia –and referred to as such in Homer
What were the first two crimes of Ixion (to do with father-in-law)?
Wed beautiful Dia but
1 refused to pay her father, King Deioneus of Phocis, the agreed bride price.
Her father sent raiding party to take a herd of Ixion’s best horses.
Invited Deioneus to dinner, and
2 pushed him into fiery pit.
Violates xenia and commits crime of blood killing.
What was the second crime of Ixion?
Invited to banquet on Olympus, attempts to seduce Hera.
Violating xenia –duties as guest.
How did Zeus punish Ixion?
Cloud gatherer sculpted cloud into likeness of Hera –called Nephele.
Ixion couples with her.
Zeus binds him to fiery wheel to spin , being roasted forever in Tartarus
Where do Centaurs come from?
Union of Ixion and Nephele (cloud Hera) produces misshapen son Centauros, who mated with horses, producing centaurs.
Who is depicted here?
Ixion, tied to spinning wheel in Hades for eternity. 1st-2nd century CE