Mythology Module 2

According to Apollodorus' Library and other primary sources (but not Euripides Herakles), why must Herakles complete labors for his cousin Eurystheus?

He is being punished for the murder of his own children

According to the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, why do heroes stop being created?

Aphrodite gets a "taste of her own medicine" and agrees to stop making the gods sleep with human women.

Four of the primary source myths we read- Pindar's Neman 1, Pindar's Olympian 10, Pindar's Olympian 1, and Bacchulides Ode 5- are cataegorized as epinician odes. What is an epinician?

a poem composed for performance in celebration of an athletic victory

Which of the following characters in Euripides' Herakles is presented as an illegitimate tyrant?

Lykos

The various myths of Herakles' apotheosis after his death likely explain a real-world phenomenon. What is it?

Herakles' worship as both a god and hero

According to most sources, after Herakles' apotheosis, whom does he marry?

Megara, his first wife and true love

Which of the following definitions of 'hero' is not particularly useful for interpreting the Greek and Roman myths that we read in this class?

an ethical role model or personal savior

What was Herakles' first accomplishment that demonstrated hiss superhuman strength and heroic abilities?

He slew two serpents sent by Hera to destroy him as an infant.

Herakles is often recognizable in visual arts because he wears a certain souvenir or trophy from his first labor - what is it?

the hide/skin of the Nemean Lion

Who is Herakles' mother?

a mortal woman, Alcmene

According to Hesiod's Works and Days, in which age do "modern" people live (that is, Hesiod's own age)?

Iron

What does the goddess Lyssa represent in Euripides Herakles?

madness

Vergil's Aeneid is strongly affected by its immediate historical context, and especially by which historical figure?

Augustus

How is Atalanta's presence signalled in the muth of the Calydonian Boar Hunt as depicted on the Francois vase?

her skin color is different from that of the other, male hunters

In both the Homerica Hymn to Demeter and the myth of the Calydonian Boar Hunt in Ovid's Metamorphoses, the wrath of a god causes a similar problem for human beings. What is it?

environmental destruction

What material is the statue known as the "Capitoline She-Wolf" made from?

Bronze

Which of the following is the Roman equivalent of Hestia?

Vesta

In Bacchylides Ode 17, Theseus reappears after his miraculous dive before the Athenian youths. This is an example (and variation) of a(n) __________.

epiphany

What object(s) was/were supposed to represent the success of Theseus's mission to Crete?

a white sail

Based on the lineage of the foundational heroes Aeneas and Romulus, which two gods are the Roman people descended from?

Venus
Mars

Which labor of Hercules is connected to the foundation of Rome and explains the importance of the cult of Hercules in Rome?

the Cattle of Geryon

Of the following myths about Theseus that we read/viewed, which is the least old?

Ovid Metamorphoses

Which of the following figures was regarded as the first king of Rome?

Romulus

Theseus is the king of _________.

Athens

According to Ovid's metamorphoses, when Althaea has to choose between protecting her son and avenging her brothers, which does she choose?

avenging her brothers