GRST midterm 1

Who does Hesiod claim inspired the Theogony?

the Muses

What does Hesiod disclose in the opening of the Theogony?

He admits that he may contradict himself at times, as he is aware myths are intangible and complex

What did Plato think of myths?

he believed that they taught undesirable ideas such as that children ought to overthrown parents and that parents should fear their children. He wanted to create new myths to teach good qualities.

What myth did Plato (supposedly) write?

Atlantis

What is a myth?

a story which attains immortality with its beauty and power by inspiring successive generations

The Republic

Plato's book where he expresses some of his views on myths

What does the Theogony focus on?

the birth of the gods, not humans

Chaos

not a god, simply what there was before anything
the space where things will occur

Gaia

goddess of the earth
first goddess

how is earth commonly represented in mythology?

by a mother earth goddess

the gods from chaos

gaia, tartartus, eros, erebus, night

erebus

night
marries night

eros

desire

children of Gaia and Uranus

12 Titans, 3 Cyclopes, 3 Hecatonchires

the 12 titans

Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys, and Kronos

who does Homer give the role of Gaia and Uranus?

ocean and tethys

which titan freed them from Gaia's womb?

Cronus

what did the blood of Uranus' dick make?

giants, erinyes, nymphs, and Aphrodite

what is a possible etymology for Aphrodite's name?

aphros, meaning foam

who is homeric Aphrodite descended from?

Zeus and Dione (possibly just female Zeus)

what island did Aphrodite come to first?

Cythera

what other island is Aphrodite associated with?

Cyprus

who are Aphrodite's companions?

eros, the hours, the graces

the graces

Daughters of Zeus and Eurynome
accompany Aphrodite, clothed her in later versions
also called charites

the hours

represent agriculture
clothed Aphrodite when she rose in earlier versions
also called the horaes

Phoenician goddess similar to Aphrodite

Astarte

Sumerian goddess similar to Aphrodite

Inanna

what did Innana control?

war and destruction, as well as love and desire

Aphrodite's two husbands

Ares (Hesiod)
Hephaestus (Homer)

Aphrodite's aliases

Cytherea
laughter loving

Hephaestus' two wives

Aglaea ( a grace), Hesiod
Aphrodite, Homer

What is the name for the Hesiodic Aphrodite?

heavenly Aphrodite

what is the name for the Homeric Aphrodite?

Aphrodite Pandemos, or vulgar Aphrodite

how many genders were there first?

3:
male/male
female/female
male/female

why were the four armed humans cut in half?

they revolted against the gods

Mnemosyne

memory

how many titans?

6 male 6 female

tethys

grandmother

phoebe

moon

hyperion

sun

themis

lawful order

how did Cronus try to prevent his children?

ate them

who told Rhea to give a rock to Cronus?

Gaia

what happens when Cronus eats the rock?

he throws up all the children

Children of Cronus and Rhea

Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus

what are the criteria for being an Olympian?

be descended from either Kronus/ Rhea or of one of their children

what is the battle between the Titans and the Olympians called?

the titanomachy

what monsters fought with Zeus in the Titanomachy?

the hecatoncheires

Typhoeus

serpent monster that Gaia brings forth to fight Zeus after the Titanomachy
a storm god, similar to Zeus, but he represents typhoons

what does the appearance of Typhoeus represent in the Theogony?

it is a turning point, where Zeus is established as the main character and allowed to populate the earth

what is the succession myth?

each new generation overcoming the old one, despite attempts to kill them

how did Zeus manage to defeat Typhoeus?

with attentiveness and by noticing him quickly

what is an etiological myth?

one which explains why something is the way it is

what mountain did Zeus throw onto Typhoeus?

Mt Etna

what other battle follows the Titanomachy?

Gigantomachy, vs giants

what type of story may the tale of Prometheus once been?

a trickster tale

what are Prometheus' two tricks?

he ensures humans get to keep the best parts of the animal for themselves, and steals fire

who wrote the tale of the two gender humans?

PLato

Children of Iapetus and Clymene

Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, Epimetheus

Atlas

fights with titans, must hold up world as punishment
he is near the Hesperides

how does Hesiod try to prevent the tales of Prometheus from being trickster tales?

he claims Zeus knew about the tricks, but let them happen

what may Pandora have meant originally?

the giver of all gifts, she gave gifts to man

what gods are involved in Pandora's creation

Hephaestus: formed her from earth
Hermes: gave her a voice and named her
Athena: a housewives' skills
Aphrodite: grace and longing

what does Pandora open?

a JAR

What remains in Pandora's jar?

hope

what could Pandora's jar have represented?

a womb
if so, this means that hope staying inside represents hope in future generations

what poet called the races ages?

Ovid

who were the Greek Noah, according to Ovid

Deucalon and Pyrrha

the fives ages (Hesiod)

Golden, Silver, Bronze, Heroic, Iron

the five races (Ovid)

gold, silver, bronze, iron, stone

what Biblical location does the golden age sound like?

garden of Eden

why does Ovid use the term age, not race?

race meant that they were all completely unrelated. By using age, Romans could claim descent from heroes of previous ages

what does the statue of Nebuchadnezzar from the biblical book of David parallel?

the five ages, as they both use metals to describe civilizations

what race did Cronus rule?

golden

during what race does Zeus gain power?

silver race

describe each of the five races

gold: peaceful, garden of eden
silver: agriculture and private property begin, they remained infants for a long time
bronze: warfare, fighting with bronze weapons
heroes: the Illiad and Oddessy
iron: the current age, civil war, toil and woe

does the patron of a demigod have to be their parent?

no

where were some heroes sent to live?

the island of the blessed, a remnant of the golden race, which Cronus rules over

shame culture

you do things for fear of public humiliation
this is Greece

guilt culture

your inner morals guide you

Children of Zeus and Hera

Eileithyia, Hebe, Hephaestus*, Ares
*hephaetus is sometimes not the child of Zeus, depending on the tale

Hebe

Goddess of youth

Eileithyia

goddess of childbirth

Ares

God of war

Hephaestus

God of metalworking

what Olympian god is actually a demigod?

Dionysis, from mother Semele

the second generation olympians

Athena, Persephone, Apollo, Artemis, Hebe, Ares, Eileithyia, Hephaestus, Hermes, Dionysis, Heracles, 3 seasons, 3 fates, 3 graces, 9 muses

Metis

wisdom and cunning

Why did Zeus swallow Metis?

fear of the new child overcoming him
possibly a continuation of the succession myth which was abandoned

Athena

Goddess of wisdom and warfare (military strategy)
patron of arts and weaving

How was Athena born?

from the head of Zeus

what gods were present at Athena's birth?

hephaestus, poseidon, either goddesses of childbirth or Hera

who are Athena's attendants?

Nike, a winged figure of victory

famous Greek sculptor who made the Varvakeion Athena

Pheidias

what is on the helmet of Varvakeion Athena?

griffins and Sphinx

what do centaurs represent?

barbarians

Amazons

women warriors
the opposite of feminine beauty

Panathenaic Amphora

fancy jars given to winners of the Panathenaic games
often depicted Athena

Athena's aliases

bright eyed

who was Aphrodite's mortal lover?

Adonis and Anchises