CLST 2323 Midterm Study Guide

Aegeus

Aegeus

One of the kings of Athens, who gave his name to the Aegean Sea, was the father of the hero Theseus, and founded Athenian institutions.

Anthropomorphic

Attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. Considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology.

Apotropaic

Type of protective magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye. May be practiced out of superstition or tradition, as in good luck charms, amulets, or gestures.

Archaic

Period in Greek history lasting from c. 800 BC to the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC. During this period, Greeks settled across the Mediterranean. By the end of the period, they were a part of a trade network that spanned the entire Mediterranean.

Ariadne

Cretan princess, daughter of King Minos and Queen Pasiphaë of Crete. Known for helping Theseus escape the Minotaur and being abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. There, Dionysus saw her sleeping, fell in love with her, and later married her.

Augury

Religious practice of observing the behavior of birds to receive omens. Depending on the birds, the auspices from the gods could be favorable or unfavorable.

Autochthonous

Indigenous inhabitants of a country, including mythological figures, as opposed to settlers, and those of their descendants who kept themselves free from an admixture of colonizing entities.

Bronze Age

Men were hardened and tough, as war was their purpose and passion. Zeus created these humans out of the ash tree. Their armor was forged of bronze, as were their homes and tools. The men were undone by their own violent ways and left no named spirits; instead they dwell in the dark house of Hades.

Caduceus

Staff carried by Hermes. Entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings. Represents Hermes, and by extension trades, occupations, or undertakings associated with him. Also a symbol of commerce and negotiation.

Castor & Pollux/Polydeuces

Twin half-brothers known as the Dioscuri. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; one being the mortal son of Tyndareus, the King of Sparta, while the other was the divine son of Zeus, who raped Leda in the guise of a swan. Later transformed into the constellation Gemini by Zeus so they could both have immortality. Were regarded as the patrons of sailors.

Catasterism

Transformation of a hero or mythological creature into a star, constellation, comet, or other celestial object.

Cerberus

Referred to as the hound of Hades, a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. The offspring of Echidna and Typhon. Primarily known for his capture by Heracles, the last of his Labours.

Chaos

Mythological void state preceding the creation of the universe (the cosmos) in Greek creation myths.

Chthonian

Pertaining to the Underworld; being beneath the earth.

Classical

Period of history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the civilizations of ancient Greece and Rome centered around the Mediterranean Basin. The period when Greece and Rome flourished and had major influence throughout much of Europe, North Africa, and West Asia.

Clytemnestra

Queen of Mycenae, wife of Agamemnon, half-sister of Helen of Troy. Mother of Iphigenia and Orestes. She murders her husband and the Trojan princess cassandra, who had been taken as a war prize following the sack of Troy. She was eventually killed by her son.

Cosmogony

A creation myth of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it.

Danaë

An Argive princess and the mother of the hero Perseus. Zeus impregnated her via the form of golden rain, which streamed through the roof of her chamber and into her womb.

Danaïds

The fifty daughters of Danaus. They were to marry the fifty sons of Danaus’ twin brother, Aegyptus, king of Egypt. All but one of them killed their husbands on their wedding night and are condemned to spend eternity carrying water in a sieve. Can represent the futility of a repetitive task that can never be completed.

Dark Ages

Period of Greek history from around 1100 BC to around 750 BC, as the great palaces and cities of the Mycenaeans were destroyed or abandoned. Linear B ceased to be used and the Greek alphabet did not develop. Greek pottery lacked figurative decoration and was restricted to simpler geometric styles.

Deianeira

A Calydonian princess, wife of Heracles. She was his unwitting murderer, killing him with the poisoned Shirt of Nessus.

Demophon

A veteran of the Trojan War, King of Athens, the son of Theseus and Phaedra. Fought in the Trojan War and was one of those who hid inside the Trojan Horse.

Dioscuri

The twin brothers Castor and Pollux.

Divine myth

Myths that explain the ways of the gods and the rules by which the gods and goddesses typically expected people to live.

Dragon-combat

Dystopia

A miserable, dysfunctional state or society that has a very poor standard of living.

Eleusis

An ancient city of Attica, famous for its mysteries of the goddesses Demeter and Persephone.

Epic cycle

A collection of ancient Greek epic poems, composed in dactylic hexameter and related to the story of the Trojan War, including the Nostoi and the Telegony.

Epimetheus

A Titan, brother to Prometheus, husband of Pandora. Often depicted as foolish. Responsible for giving a positive trait to every animal, but when it was time to give man a positive trait, lacking foresight, he found that there was nothing left.

Erastes

The older sexual actor, seen as the active or dominant participant in ancient Greek pederastic roles.

Eris

Greek goddess of strife and discord. Had no temples in ancient Greece and functions essentially as a personification.

Eromenos

The passive or subordinate sexual participant in ancient Greek pederastic roles.

Eros

Greek god of love and sex. Winged and carries his signature bow and arrows, which he uses to make both mortals and immortals fall in love, often under the guidance of Aphrodite.

Etiology

The study of the causes, origins, or reasons behind the way that things are, or the way they function. In myth, it is a myth intended to explain the origins of cult practices, natural phenomena, proper names, etc.

Eurystheus

King of Argos or Tiryns, grandson of the hero Perseus. He was the man who imposed the Labours upon Heracles.

Folktale

A tale or story that is part of the oral tradition of a people or place.

Foundation myth

Gaea

Greek personification of the Earth; the ancestral mother of all life. Mother of Ouranos, the Titans, the Cyclopes, the Gigantes, Pontus, and the primordial sea gods.

Gigantomachy

Battle fought between the Giants and the Olympian gods for supremacy of the cosmos. It is primarily for this battle that the Giants are known.

Golden Age

Created by the immortals who live on Olympus, the humans were said to live among the gods and freely mingled with them. Peace and harmony prevailed. Humans did not have to work to feed themselves, as the earth gave them everything. Humans lived to a very old age with youthful appearance and died peacefully. Their spirits lived on as guardians.

Hellenistic

Covers the time period in history between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire in 31 BC. During this period, Greek cultural influence and power reached its peak in the Mediterranean and beyond. Prosperity in the arts, literature, theatre, architecture, science, and mathematics characterize the era.

Heracles

Divine hero in Greek mythology, son of Zeus and Alcmene. The greatest of the Greek heroes. Known for his Twelve Labours; later deified.

Herm

A rectangular pillar bearing a bust of Hermes, usually with an erect penis, once used as a boundary marker and later as decoration.

Hero cult

Came to mean a dead man, venerated at his tomb or a designated shrine, because his fame during life or his unusual manner of death gave him power to support and protect the living.

Heroic Age

The one age that does not correspond with any metal. The only age that improves upon the age that it follows. It was the heroes of this age that fought at Thebes and Troy. This race of humans died and went to Elysium.

Hesiod

Ancient Greek poet referred to as a major source on Greek mythology, farming techniques, early economic thought, archaic astronomy, and ancient time-keeping. Known for Works and Days and Theogony.

Hydra

A serpentine water monster in Greek mythology. Killed by Heracles in one of his Labours. Possessed many heads, poisonous breath and blood whose scent was deadly. Later versions claim that for every head chopped off, it would grow two heads back in its place.

Io

Argive princess and one of the mortal lovers of Zeus. The ancestor to many kings and heroes. Transformed into a cow.

Iphigenia

Princess of Mycenae, daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. Sacrificed by her father in order to appease Artemis, who he had offended by hunting one of her sacred stags. Her death set into motion her mother killing her father.

Iron Age

During this age, humans live in the existence of toil and misery. Children dishonor their parents, siblings fight, and the social contract of guest and host is forgotten. Bad men use lies to be thought good. Humans no longer feel shame at wrongdoing. Gods have forsaken humanity.

Ithaca

Island home of the hero Odysseus. Specific location of the island is a matter for debate, but the modern island of the same name is generally accepted.

Ithyphallic

Of or pertaining to the erect phallus that was carried in bacchic processions.

Kleos

Meaning glory in ancient Greek.

Kore

Meaning girl or maiden in ancient Greek. Often an epithet of the goddess Persephone.

Kronos

The leader of the Titans, the divine children of Ouranos and Gaea. Overthrew his father and ruled during the Golden Age until he was overthrown by his son, Zeus, and imprisoned in Tartaros. Usually depicted with a scythe, the instrument he used to castrate his father. Known for swallowing all his children aside from Zeus in order to avoid being overthrown.

Labyrinth

An elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary Daedalus for King Minos of Crete. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster killed by Theseus.

Leda

Spartan queen, married to Tyndareus. Mother of Castor, Pollux, Clytemnestra, and Helen of Troy. Two of her children were divine, fathered by Zeus when he impregnated her in the form of a swan. The other two were mortal, children of her human husband Tyndareus.

Laestrygonians

A tribe of man-eating giants in Greek mythology. They were visited by Odysseus on his journey home, where they ate many of his men and destroyed many of his ships.

Legend

A story, either unrealistic or plausible, that describes extraordinary past events.

Leto

Greek goddess, mother of the twins Apollo and Artemis by Zeus. Known for the myth about her pregnancy and her search for a place where she could give birth. Hera, in a fit of jealousy, had ordered all lands to shun her and deny her shelter.

Libation

The act of pouring a liquid, most often wine, in sacrifice on the ground, on a ritual object, or on a victim, in honor of some deity.

Linear B

A syllabic script that was used for writing in Mycenaean Greek, the earliest form of the Greek language. Predates the Greek alphabet, but was adapted from Linear A. During the Dark Ages, there is no evidence of the writing, even though it existed before that period.

Manumission

Release from slavery or other legally sanctioned servitude; the giving of freedom.

Medusa

One of the three Gorgons in Greek mythology. Generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance so hideous that anyone who looked at her turned to stone. Of the Gorgons, she was the only mortal. Beheaded by Perseus, who used her head as a weapon and later gave it to Athena to place on her shield.

Memnon

King of Aethiopia, considered a great warrior to be almost matched in skill with Achilles. During the Trojan War, he brought an army to Troy’s defense and killed Nestor’s son. Killed by Achilles after Nestor him to avenge his son. After his death, Zeus was moved by his mother’s tears, and granted him immortality.

Metaneira

Queen of Eleusis. Most well known for the myth of Demeter visiting the household and attempting to turn Demophon into an immortal, which was interrupted.

Metis

An Oceanids in Greek mythology. The first wife and advisor of Zeus, she helped him free his siblings from Cronus, but she was swallowed by Zeus when it was foretold that she would give birth to a son mightier than his father. Athena later sprouted from Zeus’ head, a product of their union.

Minoan

Bronze Age culture centered on the island of Crete. Known for monumental architecture and energetic art; often regarded as the first civilization in Europe.

Minos

King of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. Known for sending people into the labyrinth that contains the Minotaur. Became a judge of the dead in the Underworld.

Minotaur

Mythical creature with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or being “part man part bull.” Dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, and was killed by Theseus.

Motif

A recurring or dominant element; an artistic theme.

Muses

Inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. Considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric songs, and myths that were related orally in ancient Greek culture.

Mycenae

One of the major centers of ancient Greek civilization, a military stronghold that dominated much of the area. In myth, it is the kingdom of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.

Mystery cult

Religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved for initiates. Main characterization is the secrecy associated with the particulars of the initiation and ritual practice, which may not be revealed to outsiders.

Nemean lion

Monster in Greek mythology whose golden fur was impervious to attacks; could not be killed with mortal weapons. Claws were sharper than mortal swords and could cut through any strong armor. Killed by Heracles.

Nostos

Theme in ancient Greek literature that includes an epic hero returning home, often by sea. The journey is usually extensive and includes being shipwrecked in an unknown location and going through certain trials that test the hero.

Oath of Tyndareus

An agreement made by all the suitors of Helen of Troy that they would defend the chosen husband against whoever should quarrel with him.

Ogygia

Island mentioned in the Odyssey as the home of the nymph Calypso. Odysseus is detained there for seven years because Calypso wanted to marry him.

Oikos

A basic societal unit in ancient Greece; a household or family line.

Olympus

The home of the Twelve Olympian gods, conceived as a lofty mountaintop.

Omphale

Queen of Lydia in Asia Minor. Best known as the mistress of Heracles during a year of required servitude.

Oral culture

Form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas, and cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.

Orestes

Prince of Mycenae, son of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra. Main association is the myth in which he avenges his father’s death by killing his mother.

Ouranos

Personification of the sky and one of the primordial deities. Son and husband of Gaea, father of the Titans, among others. Castrated by his son; his genitals, falling into the sea, form a foam that brings Aphrodite.

Pan

God of the wild, shepherds and flocks, and rustic music, companion of the nymphs. Has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr. Often affiliated with sex and the spring season.

Pandora

First human woman created by Hephaestus on Zeus’ orders. Each god cooperated by giving her unique gifts. Her myth usually explains why there is evil in the world (she opened a jar, releasing all the evils of humanity).

Pasiphaë

Queen of Crete, often referred to as a goddess of witchcraft and sorcery. Wife of King of Minos, mother of Ariadne. Mated with the Cretan Bull and conceived the monstrous Minotaur.

Penthesilea

Amazonian queen, daughter of Ares and Otrera. Assisted Troy in the Trojan War, during which she was killed by either Achilles or his son.

Persephone

Goddess of the spring and nature, who also later became the Queen of the Underworld after her abduction by her uncle Hades, who would later marry her. This abduction is what created the myth of the seasons changing.

Perseus

Legendary hero, son of Zeus and Danaë, a King of Argos and Mycenae, and the slayer of the Gorgon Medusa.

Phaeacians

Group of people that lived in Scheria, an area that Odysseus visited as his last stop before coming home to Ithaca.

Philoctetes

A hero famed as an archer, and a participant of the Trojan War. On the way to Troy, he was stranded by the Greeks on the island of Lemnos. Had a grudge against Odysseus, who had advised the Greeks to leave him. When they had to go back to retrieve Heracles’ weapons, they retrieved him as well.

Pileus/pilos

A conical felt hat worn in ancient Greece and Rome.

Polis

A Greek city-state.

Polytheism

The belief in the existence of multiple gods.

Potnia theron

Term first used by Homer as a descriptor of the goddess Artemis and is often used to describe female divinities associated with animals.

Prometheus

A Titan and a god of fire. Known for defying the Olympian gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, knowledge, and more generally, civilization. Known for his intelligence and for being a champion of humankind. Punished for eternity by Zeus to have an eagle peck out his liver every day, while every night it would grow back.

Psychopompos

A spirit, deity, person, etc., who guides the souls of the dead to the afterlife.

Pylos

Area of Greece that has provided the most Linear B tablets and is the best-preserved center of the Mycenaean civilization. In myth, it was the home of Neleus and his son, Nestor.

Rhea

Titaness goddess, daughter of Gaea and Ouranos. Sister-wife of Cronus, and mother of the five eldest Olympian gods. Best known for hiding Zeus away from his father in order to spare him and eventually bring about Cronus’ downfall.