Mythology: Gods, Heroes, and Monsters - Lecture Review

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the archaeological periods, artistic styles, and specific mythological figures discussed in the Classical Mythology lecture notes.

First Style (Pompeian)

A wall painting style dating from $150$ to $80\,BC$.

Second Style (Pompeian)

A wall painting style dating from $80$ to $14\,BC$.

Third Style (Pompeian)

A wall painting style dating from $14\,BC$ to $62\,AD$, often replaced after a major earthquake.

Fourth Style (Pompeian)

A wall painting style dating from $62$ to $79\,AD$.

62 AD

The year a significant earthquake occurred in the Pompeii region, causing damage to many frescos.

79 AD

The year Mount Vesuvius erupted (on either August $12$ or in October), burying Pompeii and Herculaneum.

1709 (or 1710)

The year Herculaneum was accidentally rediscovered by a local farmer digging a well.

1748

The year Pompeii was rediscovered by a farmer digging in his field.

Centauromachy

The battle between Lapiths and Centaurs, famously depicted on the $92$ marble metopes of the Parthenon.

Kuretes (Kouretes)

Minor deities who protected the infant Zeus on Mount Ida by performing a warlike dance to drown out his cries.

Kerch Style

An Athenian pottery style from circa $360\,BC$ characterized by bold colors, gilding, and raised clay details.

Pelike

A specific shape of Greek pottery favored by Athenian painters around $300\,BC$.

Contrapposto

A complex standing pose (chiastic or 'X') seen in the Apollo Belvedere, characterized by shifted weight and a sense of movement.

Python

The monstrous serpent-dragon at Delphi killed by Apollo; sometimes depicted as a female with a woman's head and chest.

Sauroktonos

An epithet meaning 'Lizard-Slayer,' referring to a bronze masterpiece by Praxiteles depicting Apollo about to stab a lizard.

Syrinx

A musical device (panpipes) used by Mercury to put Argos to sleep so he could free Io.

Polumastos

A term meaning 'many-breasted,' describing the cult image of the Ephesian Artemis.

Sparagmos

The ritual tearing apart of a victim, as seen in the myth where the maenads kill Pentheus.

Trapezophoros

A marble table stand, such as the $2nd$ century AD Roman example depicting Leda and the Swan.

Varvakeion Athena

A $1.05\,m$ marble statuette which is considered the best preserved copy of Phidias’s chryselephantine Athena Parthenos.

Spinario

A sculpture of a naked boy sitting on a rock Removing a thorn from his foot, dating to the $1st$ century BC.

Ariadne's Thread

The red thread used by Theseus to find his way out of the Labyrinth after killing the Minotaur.

Ixion

A mythological figure punished by being tied to an ever-spinning wheel for attempting to violate a goddess.

Tantalus

A figure punished in Hades with eternal hunger and thirst for attempting to serve his son at a feast for the gods.

Sisyphus

A figure punished by Zeus to forever roll a stone up a hill for twice trying to cheat death.

Laocoon

A Trojan priest depicted in a famous marble sculpture being strangled by snakes along with his children.

Ikarios

The first wine maker who was taught by Dionysus and subsequently killed by shepherds who believed they were poisoned.

Ampelus

A child figure who personifies the vine, often appearing in scenes with Dionysus.

Phidias

The principal builder and artist behind the Parthenon metopes and the Athena Parthenos.

Praxiteles

A famous Athenian sculptor attributed with creating the bronze Apollo Sauroktonos and the Aphrodite of Knidos.