CL 102 Midterm

Actaeon

A figure from Greek mythology who was a skilled hunter and was turned into a stag by the goddess Artemis, after accidentally stumbling upon her while she was bathing

Adonis

A figure from Greek mythology who was a handsome youth loved by the goddess Aphrodite, and was killed by a boar but later revived by Zeus as a symbol of the cycle of death and rebirth

Aegis

A protective shield or breastplate, often associated with the goddess Athena, and sometimes depicted with the head of a Gorgon

Aoidoi

Ancient Greek singers who performed epic poetry, often associated with the Homeric tradition; competitive singer

Ambrosia

In Greek mythology, the food of the gods, believed to bestow immortality upon those who consumed it

Apotropaic

A term used to describe practices or objects that are believed to ward off evil or harmful influences

Apsu

In Mesopotamian mythology, the primeval freshwater ocean, believed to be the source of all life; wants to get rid of younger gods b/c they’re too noisy

Argeiphontes

An epithet of the god Hermes, meaning "killer of Argus", in reference to his role in slaying the many-eyed giant Argus

Atrahasis

A figure from Mesopotamian mythology, who was instructed by the god Enki to build an ark and save himself and other living creatures from a great flood

Brauronia

A festival held in ancient Athens in honor of the goddess Artemis, believed to have involved ritualistic bear cults

Bronze Age (historical/archaeological)

A period of human history characterized by the widespread use of bronze for tools, weapons, and art, and generally considered to have taken place from around 3000 BCE to 1200 BCE; many Greek myths are set in this time period

Caduceus

A staff with two snakes intertwined around it, often associated with the Greek god Hermes and used as a symbol of commerce, diplomacy, and healing

Charter myth

A foundational myth or narrative that establishes the beliefs, values, and identity of a culture or society

Cosmogony

A narrative or theory about the creation of the universe

Cronion

An epithet of the Greek god Zeus, referring to his rule over the cosmos and his position as the supreme deity of the pantheon

Chthonic

Referring to the underworld or the spirits and deities associated with it

Cybele

A Phrygian goddess associated with fertility, nature, and wild animals

Cypria

A lost epic poem from ancient Greece, believed to have described the events leading up to the Trojan War

Delos

A Greek island believed to be the birthplace of the god Apollo and his twin sister Artemis

Delphi

An ancient Greek sanctuary and oracle dedicated to the god Apollo, located on the slopes of Mount Parnassus

Demophoon

A figure from Greek mythology who was the son of Theseus and Phaedra, and was raised by the goddess Demeter

Deucalion

A figure from Greek mythology who, along with his wife Pyrrha, survived a great flood and repopulated the earth by throwing stones over their shoulders

Ecstasy

A state of intense emotional and spiritual experience, often associated with religious or mystical contexts

Eleusis

A city in ancient Greece famous for its cult of Demeter and Persephone, and the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries

Enlil

A god from Mesopotamian mythology who was considered the lord of the wind and the air, and often associated with fertility and agriculture; keeps trying to destroy humanity

Enuma Elish

A Babylonian creation myth that describes the victory of the god Marduk over the chaos monster Tiamat; Babylonian Succession myth; Idea that universe begins with water – i.e. when you want to destroy mankind/cleanse, you use water/floods

Etiology

The study or explanation of the causes or origins of human life i.e. why humans get good part of sacrifice – Prometheus

Ixion

In Greek mythology, Ixion was a king of the Lapiths who was punished by Zeus for his crimes. He was invited to a feast by Zeus, but he fell in love with Hera, Zeus's wife, and attempted to seduce her. As punishment, Zeus banished Ixion to the underworld and bound him to a fiery wheel that constantly spun around, representing the eternal nature of his punishment

James Frazer

Wrote *The Golden Bough*; was a Scottish social anthropologist who is best known for his work "The Golden Bough," a seminal study of myth and religion that influenced both anthropology and literature

Flood

A flood is a natural disaster that occurs when water inundates an area that is normally dry. In mythology, many cultures have flood stories that are seen as punishments from the gods for the misdeeds of humans

Ganymede

In Greek mythology, Ganymede was a beautiful Trojan prince who was abducted by Zeus, who fell in love with him. Ganymede became the cupbearer of the gods, and his abduction is often depicted in art and literature

Gilgamesh

Gilgamesh is a legendary figure in Sumerian mythology and the hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest known works of literature. Gilgamesh was a king who went on a journey to find immortality and became a symbol of wisdom and power

Marija Gimbutas

Was a Lithuanian-American archaeologist who is best known for her research into the early civilizations of Europe, particularly the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures that predated the Greeks and Romans. Her work emphasized the role of women in early societies and helped to redefine our understanding of ancient European history

Jane Harrison

Was a British classical scholar and historian who was one of the first women to hold a professional position at a British university. She is known for her influential works on Greek mythology, particularly her theories about the role of ritual in early Greek religion

Herm

A herm is a Greek sculpture consisting of a head and a square or rectangular pillar, often with male genitalia depicted on the front. Herm statues were used as boundary markers and as symbols of fertility and protection

Hundred-Handers

In Greek mythology, the Hundred-Handers were three giant brothers with a hundred arms and fifty heads each. They were the sons of Uranus and Gaia and were imprisoned in Tartarus by their father until they were released by Zeus to help fight against the Titans

Hyacinthus

In Greek mythology, Hyacinthus was a beautiful youth who was loved by both the god Apollo and the mortal Zephyrus. Apollo accidentally killed Hyacinthus while they were playing a game of discus, and from his blood, Apollo created the hyacinth flower

Iambe/Baubo

In Greek mythology, Iambe was a servant of the goddess Demeter who made her laugh during her grief over the abduction of her daughter Persephone. Baubo is a later incarnation of Iambe who appears in the Eleusinian Mysteries, where she is depicted as an old woman who lifts her skirt to reveal her genitals, making Demeter laugh

William Jones

Sir William Jones was an 18th-century English scholar who is known for his pioneering work in the field of comparative linguistics. He is particularly remembered for his discovery of the relationship between Sanskrit and European languages - found common root language btwn. them

Knossos

Knossos is an ancient city on the island of Crete that was the center of the Minoan civilization, which flourished from about 2600 to 1400 BCE. Knossos is known for its large palace complex, which was the seat of power for the Minoan

Kumarbi

A deity in Hittite mythology, who represents chaos and is often portrayed as a rival to the god of thunder, Tarhunt; warred against Anu and Teshub

Kykeon

A drink made of water, barley, and herbs, used in the Eleusinian Mysteries in ancient Greece

Leto

A goddess in Greek mythology, who was the mother of the twin gods Apollo and Artemis

Linear B

A writing system used in ancient Greece during the Late Bronze Age, mainly in the Mycenaean civilization; see names of gods/goddesses; maybe derived from Linear A, that of Mycenae/Pelops

Lyre

A musical instrument from ancient Greece with strings stretched over a wooden soundboard and played using a plectrum

Maenad

In Greek mythology, a female follower of the god Dionysus who would engage in frenzied rituals and orgies

Maia

In Greek mythology, the daughter of Atlas and Pleione and the mother of Hermes

Bronislav Malinowski

A Polish-British anthropologist who is considered one of the founders of modern social anthropology; rejected the functionalist approach to mythology in favor of the charter myth

Marsyas

A satyr in Greek mythology who was flayed alive by the god Apollo for challenging him to a musical contest

Metis

In Greek mythology, a Titan goddess of wisdom and cunning who was the mother of Athena

Minoans

A Bronze Age civilization that flourished on the island of Crete from around 3000 BC to 1100 BC

Mount Helicon

A mountain in Greece that was considered sacred to the Muses and was believed to be the home of the god Apollo

Muses

In Greek mythology, goddesses of music, poetry, and the arts who inspired artists and poets

Mycenae

An ancient city in Greece that was the center of the Mycenaean civilization

Niobe

In Greek mythology, a queen who boasted of her many children and was punished by the gods by having all of her children killed

"Old Europe"

A term used by archaeologists to describe the prehistoric cultures of Europe before the arrival of Indo-European tribes

Olympian

Referring to the gods who resided on Mount Olympus in Greek mythology, or more broadly, to the Olympic Games

Ox/cow-eyed

A description of the goddess Hera in Greek mythology, emphasizing her large, luminous eyes

Pandora

In Greek mythology, the first woman, created by the gods as a punishment for Prometheus' theft of fire. She opened a box given to her by the gods, releasing all the evils into the world; Pandora means “all-gifted” - Hesiod understands it as passive; Can also mean “all gifts”

Paphos

A city on the island of Cyprus that was the center of worship of the goddess Aphrodite

Parthenogenesis

A form of asexual reproduction in which an egg develops into an individual without being fertilized by a sperm; i.e. Hera giving birth to Hephaestus without a sperm

Parthenon

A temple on the Athenian Acropolis dedicated to the goddess Athena, built in the 5th century BC

Phoenicians

A seafaring people who lived in the eastern Mediterranean in ancient times and were known for their trading and colonization

Proteus

In Greek mythology, a shape-shifting sea god who could foretell the future and was often consulted by heroes seeking knowledge or advice

Pyrrha

In Greek mythology, the daughter of the titan Prometheus and wife of Deucalion, who survived a great flood sent by the gods by building an ark

Psychopompos

A Greek word meaning "soul guide," typically referring to a deity or spirit that guides the souls of the dead to the afterlife

Pythia

In ancient Greece, the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, who was believed to have the power of prophecy

Satyr

In Greek mythology, a creature that was half human and half goat, known for its love of wine, women, and music; male followers of Dionysus

George Smith

A British Assyriologist who is known for his discovery and translation of the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the earliest surviving works of literature

Sisyphus

In Greek mythology, a king who was punished by the gods by being forced to roll a boulder up a hill, only to have it roll back down each time he neared the top

Styx

Abhorrent; When Odysseus goes to the underworld and runs into Achilles; In Greek mythology, a river that formed the boundary between the world of the living and the underworld, across which the souls of the dead were ferried by Charon

Syncretism

The merging of different religious or cultural traditions, often resulting in the creation of new beliefs or practices

Tantalus

In Greek mythology, a king who was punished by the gods for his crimes by being made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree, with the water receding and the fruit pulling away whenever he tried to drink or eat

Tartarus

In Greek mythology, the deepest, darkest part of the underworld, where the most wicked souls were punished

Telphousa

In Greek mythology, a nymph who lived near Delphi and was believed to have caused an earthquake that destroyed the city of Helike

Theogony

theo – gods + gony – birth; A poem by the Greek poet Hesiod that describes the origins and genealogy of the Greek gods and goddesses

Thetis

In Greek mythology, a sea goddess who was the mother of Achilles

Thyrsus

In Greek mythology, a staff or spear tipped with a pine cone and twined with ivy, carried by followers of the god Dionysus

Tiamat

In Mesopotamian mythology, a goddess who represented the primordial chaos of the universe; whose body the world is created from

Titan

In Greek mythology, one of a race of powerful gods who ruled the world before the Olympian gods

Titanomachy

In Greek mythology, the epic battle between the Titans and the Olympian gods, which resulted in the victory of the Olympians and their establishment as the ruling deities of the Greek pantheon

Tityus

In Greek mythology, a giant who was punished in the underworld for attempting to rape the goddess Leto

Triptolemus

In Greek mythology, a hero who was given the gift of agriculture by the goddess Demeter and instructed on how to sow and harvest crops

Typhoeus/Typhon

In Greek mythology, a monster with a hundred heads and serpentine legs who sought to overthrow the Olympian gods, but was ultimately defeated by Zeus and imprisoned beneath Mount Etna

Utanapishtim

In Mesopotamian mythology, a wise man who was granted immortality by the gods after surviving a great flood. He is the counterpart of the biblical Noah

Older century:

3rd Century BC > 1st Century BC

What time period was not discussed in class?

Imperial Age

What language is undeciphered?

Linear A

Polis

City-state

What ended the Archaic Age?

Invasion of Greece by Persia

Whose death began the Hellenistic Age?

Alexander the Great

Who won the Peloponnesian War?

Sparta

What animal is associated with the Minoan Civilization?

Bull

What metal did Athens discover that began the “Golden Age” during the Classical Period?

Silver

What civilization did Herodotus call ancient?

Egyptian

Where did Greek civilization “keep the lights on” during the Bronze Age Collapse?

Euobea

Who were the 2 scholars in the 20th century who argued that long form oral poetry was possible?

Milman Parry and Albert Lord

Who exiled Ovid from Rome?

Augustus

To which sea was Ovid exiled?

Black Sea

Who was Ouranos’ last son?

Cronus