Classics Midterm 2

Thetis

Mother of Achilles, wife of Peleus

Achilles

Most powerful Greek warrior in the Trojan War

Agamemnon

Commander of Greeks, King of Mycenae, brother of Menelaus

Menelaus

Husband of Helen, King of Sparta

Helen

Wife of Menelaus, daughter of Tyndareus/Zeus, lover of Paris

Pairs

Trojan to whom Helen was promised, brother of Hector

Hector

Son of Priam, leading Trojan warrior 

Priam

King of Troy, father of Hector

Hecuba

Wife of Priam, mother of Hector

Andromache

Wife of Hector, mother of their son Astyanax

Odysseus/Ulysses

King of Ithaca, a leading Greek warrior and commander

Clytemnestra

Wife of Agamemnon, remains at Mycenae, kills Agamemnon

Iphigeneia

Daughter of Agamemnon, sacrificed so Greeks could sail

Patroclus

Comrade of Achilles in the Iliad; killed by Hector

Ajax

Greek warrior; commits suicide when denied the armor of Achilles

Herakles/Hercules

Hero, son of Zeus and Alkmena, husband of Megara and Deianeira

Amphitryon

Husband of Alkmena, human “father” of Heracles

Alcmena

Mother of Heracles

Nessus

Centaur who attempts to rape Deianeira; killed by Heracles

Deianeira

Second wife of Herakles

Achelous

River, and river-god, in western Greece; loved Deianeira

Pythagoras

Greek philosopher: immortality of soul, vegetarianism

Sinuhe

High officer in Egypt; flees Egypt but later returns

Amusinenshi

Ruler in Syria whom Sinuhe serves while in exile

Senwosret

Pharaoh of Egypt, son of Amenemhet, inherits throne from father

Arjuna

Warrior in Bhagavad Gita

Krishna

Avatar (= incarnation of) the deity Vishnu, advises Arjuna

Jason

Son of Aeson; leads Argonauts; elopes with Medea from Colchis

Medea

Daughter of Aeetes, king of Colchis; magical powers

Creon

King of Corinth; his daughter planned to marry Jason, but . . .

kleos

Fame, especially from renown in epic poetry

time

Honor, public esteem (pronounced tee-may)

apotheosis

Becoming a god

psyche

soul

Aetiologies

Social institutions, religious practices, natural phenomena.

Patterns of Heroism

What qualities define heroism for men and women?  Physical or intellectual abilities, or a mix?  Transcending limits; civilization vs. nature.  What models of masculinity are offered to men?

Patterns: separation, reintegration.  Patterns of narrative, symbolism.

Coming of age (relations with parents, esp. father-son), marriage, death & rebirth.

Psychological or Structural patterns.  

Tragic patterns among heroes: ate, hybris, nemesis; pathos, mathos

Tragic irony: characters are unaware of things that we, the audience, know.

Comparison with Egyptian tales and Hindu mythology.

Fate, Death and Free Will

Human beings continue to be victims of the gods, suffering because of capricious decisions made on Mt. Olympus.  In some cases, people are helpless through bad luck.  Or have the gods simply foretold, perhaps through oracles, what would happen anyway?  Either way, men are powerless to avoid it.  Irony: people don’t know.  Occasionally some are able to exercise free will; this may entail making a “statement” by committing suicide.  Ideas of death can affect how we look at life.

The Role of Women

Are they to be seen as dangerous and seductive, a threat to male society, or are they merely victims, representative of the destruction that men can wreak?  Can they be autonomous and independent, or must they be married off?  What roles and qualities are allowable in women?  Can they be a voice of reason otherwise unheard?  Do they help men reintegrate into society?

Homer

Focuses on the heroic code of the warriors at Troy, and the problems that code brings with it.  A complex study of human relationships.

Ovid

Metamorphoses. A witty, provocative account in poetry of miscellaneous acts of love, anger, daring and iniquity among gods and mortal human beings.  Motivations are sometimes generous, often cynical.  Reliance on stock motifs; self-conscious about the nature of poetry and creativity.  Emphasis on nature vs. culture themes; dubious value of technology and civilization.

Euripides

Tragedy.  De-heroization of figures in myth, both human and divine.  Questions the morality of divine behavior; human beings can be crafty and amoral; they might use slick, sophistic rhetoric.  

Herakles & Nemean Lion

Herakles & the Hydra

Heracles and Nessus

Herakles’ Apotheosis

The Judgement of Paris

Paris Leads Helen MFA (color)

Paris Leads Helen: MFA (b&w, unrolled)

Leda’s Egg

Achilles & Ajax at Play

Mission (“Embassy”) to Achilles

The “Euphronios Krater”

Hephaestus, Thetis and Achilles’ Armor

Achilles and Hector

Achilles and Penthesilea

Fight for Achilles’ Body

The Suicide of Ajax

Trojan Horse

Helen and Menelaus

Odysseus & Polyphemus

Odysseus and Circe

Odysseus and Sirens

Penelope & Telemachus

Aegisthus & Agamemnon

Heart Weighed Against Feather of Maat