Midterm Classical Mythology

who did the universe start with

chaos

ouranous

sky

gaia

earth

successors of ouranos and gaia

titans, kyklopes, and hundred handers

what do the olympian muses do

inspire the poets

what do the fates do

measure human life

helios

sun god

selene

moon god

eos

dawn god

thanatos

god of death

hypnos

sleep god

atlas

titan who holds up the sky

prometheus

Titan who stole fire for human

pandora

the first woman, Pandora, who was created by the gods and given a mysterious box as a gift, with a strict warning not to open it. Driven by curiosity, Pandora disobeyed and opened the box, unleashing all the evils and miseries of the world upon humanity

invocation

a prayer or address to a deity or muse, typically made at the beginning of a literary work (especially epic poems) to seek inspiration or assistance in telling the story

saturn devouring his son

the birth of venus

winged victory of samothrace

prometheus

atlas

death mask of agamemnon

odysseus and sirens

in medias res

in the middle of things

epithet

repeated adjective

epic simile

very long simile

xenia

hospitality

deus ex machina

god from the machine

how is in medias res shown in the odyssey

beginning the story with Odysseus already on his journey

example of epithet in odyssey

rosy-fingered dawn

how is deus ex machina shown in the odyssey

athena comes and puts a stop to all further fighting

how does penelope recgonize odysseus

he knows about their marriage bed being unmovable

how does eurykleia recgonize odysseus

she sees the scar on his leg

how does laertes recognize odysseus

he knows the exact number of trees and vines they planted

how does telemachus recognize odyseus

he comes out of his disguize and tells him

miasma

pollution/defilement

how is miasma shown in the house of atreus

represents the consequences of heinous acts that are believed to taint a family line, leading to a cycle of violence and misfortune across generations

agamemnon

sacrificed Iphigenia in order to launch the fleet for Troy

also father to electra and orestes

killed by clytemnestra

cassandra

agamemnon’s lover, prophet but no one believes what she says

thyestes

tricked into eating his sons by atreus after sleeping with atreus’ wife

orestes

is instructed to kill clytemnestra by Apollo and does so and kills Aegisthus

electra

3rd child of agamemnon, encourages orestes to kill his mother and her lover

how is the curse on the house of atreus finally resolved

they hold a trial for orestes and after a split decision athena comes and says he will live and forces the furies to accept the decision