Classics 270 Midterm 2 Chapter 10-15 Terms (fertility through hercules)

Demeter

Greek goddess associated with grain, agriculture, and the fertility of the earth. Her grief over the loss of her daughter explains the seasonal cycle of growth and barrenness.

Persephonê

Daughter of Demeter who becomes queen of the underworld after being taken by Hades. Her yearly return to the surface world marks the renewal of spring. Sometimes referred to as Kore (daughter, or girl)

Triptolemus

A culture hero taught the art of farming by Demeter. He travels widely teaching humans how to cultivate crops.

hieros gamos

Ritualized “sacred marriage” symbolizing the union of divine male and female forces. Such ceremonies often represented fertility and the renewal of nature.

Semelê

Mortal woman loved by the Zeus, and is mother of Dionysus She dies after seeing Zeus in his full form.

Ino

Semele’s sister, who helps raise the infant Dionysus. After a tragic transformation she becomes a sea divinity.

nymphs of Nysa

Divine caretakers who raise Dionysus in a mountain in Thrace or India or Ethiopia. They protect him from the jealousy of the Hera.

Bacchae/Maenads

Female followers of Dionysus. also called Maenads (“the raging women”)

thyrsus

Staff crowned with a pinecone or a bunch of ivy leaves.

satyrs

Male followers of dionysus. Half-human creatures with erect phalli. tails and ears of horses. later on acquired goat legs

Midas

Legendary king granted the power that everything he touched turned into gold. The gift quickly becomes a curse when food and loved ones are affected.

Ariadnê

Princess of Crete who helps a hero escape a labyrinth after killing a monster within it. Later stories say she becomes the bride of Dionysus.

Lycurgus

Thracian ruler who violently opposes the worship of Dionysus. Divine punishment drives him into madness.

Minyads

Group of sisters who refuse to join ecstatic worship of dionysus. As punishment they are transformed into nocturnal animals in some versions.

Pentheus

Ruler of Thebes who rejects the new cult of Dionysus. His resistance leads to a violent death at the hands of frenzied worshippers.

Thespis

Figure traditionally credited with introducing the first individual actor in Greek drama. This innovation allowed dialogue separate from the chorus.

Hades

Divine ruler of the realm where the dead reside. His domain lies beneath the earth and receives the souls of most humans.

Pluto

Alternate name for the underworld ruler emphasizing wealth hidden underground. The title also refers to riches like minerals and fertile soil.

Tiresias

Famous prophet who is blind but possesses extraordinary insight. Even after death he retains prophetic abilities in the world below.

Tantalus

Mythic king punished eternally for offending the gods. Food and water remain just out of reach whenever he tries to consume them.

Sisyphus

Trickster king condemned to push a massive stone up a hill forever. Each attempt ends with the stone rolling back down.

Orpheus

Legendary musician whose song could charm animals, plants, and even stones. He journeys to the land of the dead to retrieve his wife.

Eurydicê

Wife of the legendary musician who dies after a snake bite. Her husband attempts to bring her back from the underworld.

Pythagoras

Greek thinker known for mathematical discoveries and religious teachings about the soul. He promoted the idea that souls are reborn in new bodies.

Er

Soldier in a philosophical story who dies and returns to life. He describes judgment of souls and their choice of future lives.

hero

Exceptional figure with extraordinary strength or divine ancestry. Such individuals perform remarkable deeds and may receive worship after death.

Gilgamesh

Legendary ruler of Uruk featured in a famous Mesopotamian epic. His adventures explore friendship, loss, and the search for immortality.

Enkidu

Wild man created by the gods to challenge Gilgamesh. He later becomes the ruler’s closest companion.

Humbaba

Fearsome guardian monster protecting a sacred forest of cedar trees. Two heroic companions defeat him during their quest for fame.

Utnapishtim

Survivor of a catastrophic flood sent by the gods. Because of his role in preserving life, he receives immortality.

heroic nudity

Artistic convention showing powerful male figures without clothing. It symbolizes ideal beauty, strength, and divine favor.

Argive plain

Fertile region of the northeastern Peloponnese in Greece. Many heroic myths and royal lineages are associated with it.

Perseus

Hero famous for slaying the snake-haired monster whose gaze turned people to stone. He later rescues a princess from a sea creature.

Io

Mortal woman loved by the king of the gods who is transformed into a cow. She wanders widely while pursued by a jealous goddess.

Danaüs

Mythic king who flees with his daughters to Greece to escape forced marriages. His story leads to a famous underworld punishment.

Danaïds

Fifty daughters who kill their husbands on their wedding night. As punishment they endlessly carry water in leaking containers in the afterlife.

Acrisius

King of Argos warned by prophecy that his grandson will kill him. His attempt to prevent the prediction ultimately fails.

Danaë

Daughter of the Argive king who conceives a child when the chief god visits in the form of golden rain. Her son later becomes a famous hero.

Polydectes

Island ruler who sends a young hero on a dangerous quest to kill a monstrous woman. He hopes the mission will remove a rival.

Gorgons

Monstrous sisters with snakes for hair and a petrifying gaze. Anyone who looks directly at them turns to stone.

Medusa

The only mortal among the snake-haired sisters. A famous hero decapitates her and later uses the head as a weapon.

Graeae

Three ancient sisters who share one eye and one tooth between them. A hero steals the eye to force them to provide information.

Andromeda

Princess chained to a rock as sacrifice to a sea monster. She is saved by a hero who later marries her.

Heracles

Greatest Greek strongman hero known for immense strength and endurance. He completes twelve extremely difficult tasks as punishment for killing his family in madness.

Alcmena

Mortal mother of the great strongman hero. The king of the gods disguises himself as her husband to conceive the child.

Eurystheus

Ruler who assigns the twelve labors to the famous strongman hero. His authority comes from a divine command.

Amphitryon

Mortal husband of the hero’s mother. Although not the biological father, he raises the child.

Megara

First wife of the great strongman hero. She and her children are killed by him during a divinely induced madness.

Nemean lion

1st labor of Heracles. Monster with skin that cannot be pierced by weapons. The great strongman hero kills it as his first labor.

Lernaean Hydra

2nd labor of Heracles. Multi-headed serpent that grows new heads when one is cut off. The strongman hero defeats it by burning the necks after cutting them.

Ceryneian deer

3rd Labor of Heracles. Sacred animal belonging to the goddess of the hunt. The strongman hero must capture it alive without harming it.

Erymanthian boar

4th Labor of Heracles. Giant wild boar captured alive by the strongman hero. He traps it after chasing it into deep snow.

Chiron

Wise and civilized centaur known for teaching famous heroes. Unlike others of his kind, he is gentle and scholarly.

Augean Stables

5th Labor of Heracles. King whose enormous stables had not been cleaned for years. The strongman hero cleans them in a single day by diverting rivers.

Stymphalian birds

6th Labor of Heracles. Dangerous birds with metallic feathers that can be launched like weapons. The strongman hero drives them away using loud noise and arrows.

Cretan bull

7th Labor of Heracles. Powerful animal sent from the sea to the island of Crete. The strongman hero captures it alive as part of his tasks.

Horses of Diomedes

8th Labor of Heracles. Man-eating mares owned by a violent Thracian king. The strongman hero captures and tames them.

Admetus

King whose life is spared when someone else volunteers to die in his place. His loyal wife chooses to make that sacrifice.

Alcestis

Devoted wife who willingly dies to save her husband. She is later brought back from death by a heroic visitor.

Girdle of Hippolyta

9th Labor of Heracles. Magical belt belonging to the queen of the Amazons. The strongman hero must obtain it as one of his labors.

Cattle of Geryon

10th Labor of Heracles. Herd owned by a giant with three bodies. The strongman hero steals them after defeating their owner.

Cacus

Fire-breathing giant who steals some of the hero’s cattle. The theft is discovered and punished by the hero.

Apples of the Hesperides

11th Labor of Heracles. Golden fruit growing in a distant garden guarded by divine beings. The strongman hero retrieves them with the help of a Titan.

Busiris

Egyptian ruler who sacrifices visiting strangers. The strongman hero escapes and kills him instead.

Cerberus

12th and LAST labor of Heracles. Multi-headed dog guarding the entrance to the realm of the dead. The strongman hero brings the creature to the surface world as his final labor.

Cercopes

Pair of mischievous tricksters who try to steal from the famous hero. He captures and punishes them.

Deianira

Wife of the great strongman hero who unknowingly causes his death. She sends him a garment treated with a deadly substance.

Acheloüs

River deity who competes with the strongman hero for a woman’s hand in marriage. The hero defeats him in combat.

Nessus

Centaur who attempts to abduct a hero’s wife while ferrying her across a river. Before dying he tricks her with false advice.

Heraclids

Descendants of the great strongman hero. Later legends claim they returned to reclaim lands in the Peloponnese.