The toys of Zeus : Part Two 4 Flashcards
What’s the story of Pyramus and Thisbe?
Children of feuding families, could communicate through hole in wall between houses.
Arranged assignation, Thisbe arrives first and is frightened away by a lion who is savaging an ox. She drops her veil and escapes.
Pyramus arrives, sees bloodied veil, assumes Thisbe is dead, stabs himself.
Thisbe returns, sees dead Pyramus, kills herself.
What were Pyramus and Thisbe transformed into?
The Pyramus river in Turkey (now the Ceyhan) and the Thisbe spring that runs into it.
Who is this fruit associated with?
Pyramus and Thisbe –turned deep crimson purple, the colour of their passion and blood.
Who was Galatea?
Nereid
Daughter of Oceanid Doris and sea god Nereus
Famed for milk-white skin
Who adored Galatea?
Polyphemus, a cyclops, ugly offspring of Poseidon and Oceanid Thoosa.
Whom did Galatea love, and what was his fate?
Acis, a Sicilian shepherd boy, son of river nymph Symaethis and god Pan
Polyphemus hurled boulder on Acis, crushing him.
Acis was turned into immortal river spirit with whom she consorts for eternity.
Who is depicted here?
Triumph of Galatea, Raphael, 1520
Who was Leucippos and what was his story?
Daughter of Lampros of Phaestos (Crete) and Galatea (not nymph)
Raised as boy because Lampros wanted to kill all girls.
At puberty taken to temple of Leto where gods transform into male.
What is the story of Leucippos and Daphne?
Leucippos was in love with naiad Daphne, disguises himself as girl to join her company of nymphs, but when they bathe in river he is stripped and revealed, and they spear him to death
What is story of Apollo and Daphne?
Daphne, a bathing naiad, is pursued by Apollo but prays to gods and transformed into a laurel tree.
Laurel becomes sacred to Apollo, who then crowns winners of Pythian games with laurel wreath.
Who is depicted here?
Apollo and Daphne, Bernini, 1622
Who were the Propoetides and what was their fate?
Group of women from Amathus who were so indignant at sexual license pervading Cyprus they suggested that Aphrodite should no longer be their patroness.
Aphrodite punishes by making them lusty and shameless, indiscriminately prostituting their bodies about the island.
What is story of Pygmalion?
Sculptor, swears off love in favour of art, having seen licentiousness of Propoetides.
Aphrodite punishes him by making him sculpt ideal woman, with whom he falls in love and pampers as though real.
Prays to Aphrodite to make her real. Prayers are answered. Happy ending.
What is the story of Hero and Leander?
Hero, priestess of Aphrodite, living on European side of Hellespont.
Leander, her lover living on Asian side.
She lights a lamp for him to fix on when swimming across to her at night.
Winds blow out her lamp one night, he is drowned and washed up on the rocks beneath her tower. She leaps and dashes herself on same rocks.
Names of the four winds?
Boreas –north wind
Zephyrus –west wind
Notus – south wind
Eurus – east wind
Who is depicted here?
Pygmalion adoring his statue, Jean Raoux, 1717
Who is depicted here?
Parting of Hero and Leander, Turner, 1837
Who is depicted here?
Death of Leander, Rubens, 1604
Who is depicted here?
Death of Hero and Leander, William Etty, 1829
Who was Arion?
Musician from island of Lesbos
Son of Poseidon and nymph Oncaea
Who was Arion’s patron?
Periander, tyrant of Corinth
What poetic form did Arion invent?
The dithyramb –wild choral hymn, usually dedicated to Dionysus
What is the story of Arion?
Sponsored by Periander to attend music festival in Tarentum (Taranto), where he wins much treasure, to be split with Periander.
Sailors returning him to Corinth attempt to kill him, take loot, but he asks to sing a final song to gods, summons Poseidon, leaps overboard and is saved by dolphin.
Dolphin takes him to Corinth, but dies after being taken onto shore to be fed. Monument to dolphin is erected.
Sailors are blown into Corinth, Arion questions them and dolphin statue reveals their crime. Periander kills them.
What is Arion’s ultimate end?
Apollo (to whom dolphins and music are sacred) sets Arion and dolphin between Sagittarius and Aquarius as constellation Delphinus, the Dolphin.
Who are Philemon and Baucis?
Poor, old couple from Phyrgia in Asia Minor
What happens to Philemon and Baucis?
Visited by Zeus and Hermes in disguise, they are only in town to offer hospitality.
Zeus tells them to climb hill outside town but not look back. Sends flood on town.
Philemon and Baucis look back and are transformed into oak and linden tree.
Who was Gordias, initially?
Poor peasant from Macedonia
What sign did Gordias receive that he might be destined for greatness? And what does he do next?
Eagle lands on the pole of his oxcart.
Drives cart to oracle of Zeus Sabazios in Telmissus.
Who is Zeus Sabazios?
Horse-riding incarnation of Zeus worshipped by the Thracians and Phrygians
Who does Gordias meet on his way to the oracle of Zeus Sabazios?
Young Telmissian prophetess, who agrees to be his wife.
How does Gordias become King of Phrygia?
King of Phrygia just died without an heir.
Oracle tells them to crown first man to enter Telmissus in a cart.
What is the Gordian knot and what happened to it?
Knot tying Gordias’s cart to a post in the agora of Gordium.
Legend that whoever unties it will rule Asia.
Alexander the Great cuts it with sword.
Who is depicted here?
Arion and dolphin, Gustav Moreau, 1891
Who is depicted here?
Zeus and Hermes in the house of Philemon and Baucis, 1652, Jacob van Oost
Who is depicted here?
Philemon and Baucis, Rembrandt, 1658
Who was Midas?
Son of King Gordias of Phrygia
How was Midas given the ability to turn everything to gold?
Dionysus did it, to repay him for his xenia in hosting Silenus
How was Midas’s gold curse removed?
Dionysus intervenes saying that anything washed in the river Pactolus will be restored (including Midas himself).
How did King Midas anger the gods and what was his punishment?
In musical contest between Apollo and Pan, said that Pan’s pipes were better.
Apollo gave him ass’s ears.
How did King Midas conceal his ears, and how were they finally revealed?
Wore turbans, paid servant who cut his hair extra to keep his secret.
Servant could not keep secret and dug trench and shouted secret inside. A seed floated into the trench, and the reeds whispered the secret all the way to the city.
How does Midas respond to the lifting of the gold curse?
Spurns riches and becomes a worshipper of Pan.
Who is depicted here?
King Midas, Andrea Vaccaro, 1670
Who is depicted here?
Midas and Bacchus, Poussin, 1624
