mythology exam 3 lecture 1+2

Bellerophontes

• Corinth —> Mycenae

• Potiphar’s wife motif

• tames Pegasus and kills Chimera

• defeats Amazon warriors

• thinks he belonged on Olympus but Zeus throws him to the ground and breaks his legs

Proitos

king of Mycenae who purifies Bellerophontes and sends him to Lycia for Sthenoboea to deal with

Potipher’s wife motif

older woman accuses younger man of rape after being rejected

Chimera

lion/goat/snake

Rationalization

a form of myth criticism or interpretation that seeks to find logical or historical roots for mythical stories and figures. 

Allegory

saying one thing but meaning something else

Perseus

• son of Zeus and Danae

• raised in Seriphos

• steals Graeae’s eye

• killed Medusa

• defeated sea monster and married Andromeda

• turns king of Seriphos to stone using Medusa’s head

• accidently kills King of Argos with discus

Acrisius

• king of Argos

• got a prophecy that Danae’s son would overthrow him

• killed by discus Perseus threw

Danae

• daughter of Acrisius

• locked away by Acrisius

• Zeus turned into golden rain and had sex with her

• Mother of Perseus

• Locked into chest and thrown into ocean with Perseus

Graeae

• the grey women (old women)

• only have 1 eye and 1 tooth between all 3 of them

Medusa

• gorgo killed by Perseus

• Pegasus and Chrysaor came out of her neck when she was beheaded

Andromeda

chained to a rock as a sacrifice for a sea monster sent by Poseidon because her mother boasted about her being more beautiful than the Nereids