Greek Mythology Exam 2

The city of Delphi is sacred to which two gods?

Apollo & Dionysus

In the opening of the Iliad, our oldest reference to the god Apollo, what aspect of the god is emphasized?

Apollo as plague bringer

The episode of Chryses and Chriseis emphasizes what?

Gods are fiercely protective of their prophets

The Homeric Hymn to Apollo is distinctive from other Homeric Hymns for which of the following aspects?

The Hymn seems to be two separate hymns, fused together

Apollo's entrance on Olympus, described in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo, echoes all of the following Greek cultural beliefs and practices except:

The unwillingness to accept Apollo as an Olympian divinity

The island of Delos provides a place for Leto to give birth for which of the following reasons?

-Zeus promises that Delos will no longer be a "floating island" if it provides a safe haven for Leto to give birth

-Leto promises that Delos will be revered as a central cult site for the god

Apollo's establishment of his oracular shrine at Delphi involves all of the following except:

a contest between two Olympians for the loyalty of a city

Which two phrases were carved on the temple of Delphi?

-Know thy self

-Nothing too much

The panhellenic shrine at Delphi welcomed all of the following except:

Human sacrafice

Which of the following is not true of the shrine and oracle at Delphi?

the oracle, known as the Pythia, was always an aristocratic young man

Which of the Olympian goddesses has no clear relationship with fertility or fertility rituals?

Athena

Which feature of the worship of Aphrodite is striking, given the ideals of Greek women?

temple prostitution

In Ovid's account of Pygmalion, why does Pygmalion turn away from the love of women?

he is disgusted at the shameful lives women lead

In the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Aphrodite gives what false details about herself and her past?

-she was taken by Hermes to become Anchises' wife

-her father Otreus will send a handsome dowry to Anchises

-she is a maiden

-she is not a goddess, but a mortal from Phrygia

Who is the son of Aphrodite and Anchises?

Aeneas

What is the paradox surrounding Artemis?

she is a virgin goddess worshipped originally as a mother-goddess

In telling the myth of Actaeon, Ovid uses which of the following epic devices?

an epic catalogue of names

The goddess Athena is associated with all of the following except:

the Pantheon

All of the following took place at the Panathenaic festival except:

A marathon race

In Ovid's myth of Arachnê, all of the following are true except:

Athena appears to Arachnê at once and challenges her to a weaving contest

Which of the following is not true about the appearance of Dionysus?

his chariot is pulled by doves

Our focus text for learning about Dionysus was written in what century?

5th c. BC

Why is Dionysus known as the "twice-born" god?

he was taken from his mother's womb and born from Zeus' thigh

Why was there a strong resistance to the god Dionysus?

-he was regarded as a new god

-he was regarded as a foreign god

-his rites took place outside of the city walls in the countryside

-his rites allowed for excessive drinking and sexual license

How is Dionysus related to Pentheus?

He is his cousin

What attracts Pentheus to visit the rites of the Bacchants in Euripides' Bacchae?

he wants to see all the women drunk

What does Pentheus need to do in order for Dionysus to lead him to the Bacchants?

Dress like a woman

Euripides' Bacchae may address what cultural concern of 5th c. Athenians?

theological skepticism

True or False: Dionysus must be a later addition to the Greek pantheon, as his name is not found in Homer.

False

Why might Dionysus be considered a "foreign" god?

he is the god of madness in the world of the rational Greeks

In what guise does Zeus visit the bed of Alcmene?

As her husband

The birth of Heracles involves all of the following themes except:

a mysterious spell caused by Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth

Hera is responsible for all of the following hardships in Heracles' life except:

she attempts to kill him by sending a rabid lion into the land of king Thespius

In Euripides' play, Heracles Insane, all of the following manifestations of madness occur except:

he sets fire to his own house

The first four of Heracles' 12 Labors have all of the following features in common except:

Heracles completes all of them alone

During which labors and side deeds does Heracles confront or overcome Death?

-the theft of Cerberus

-the return of Alcestis

-the sacrifice of Busiris

Heracles violates several social codes in the course of his lifetime. Which ones?

Kin-murder & Xenia

Which of the following is not true of Heracles' wife Deianira?

she is poisoned by the blood of Nessus

Which of the following is not true of Heracles' death?

Heracles kills Philoctetes, the man who lights his funeral pyre

Heracles violates which of the Delphic proverbs?

Nothing too much

True or False: From the time of Homer, legends of Theseus were important as justifications for the power and prestige of Athens.

False

Why does Cephalus distrust his wife Procris?

he is irrationally suspicious

Put the following authors and/or works in chronological order from 1-6:

1. Homer

2. Homeric Hyms

3. Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound

4. Euripides Bacchae

5. Aristotle's Poetics

6.Ovid's Metamorphoses

The myth of Philomela, Procne, and Tereus includes all of the following myth themes except:

A king tries to avoid his fate

As Procne goes to find her sister, she "bears the signals of madness" (Ovid, Metamorphoses 6.534). What figure does she resemble here?

Bacchant

The initial adventures of Theseus all take place...

On his way to find his father in Athens

As king of Athens, Theseus accomplished all of the following except:

Instituting a Heroon in honor of his father Aegeus

The Amazons are related to all of the following themes in myth except:

the acceptance of marriage as a kind of death

Hippolytus' speech on Powell p. 439 resembles what other text we have examined?

Hesiod's Theogony

Theseus is like Heracles in all of the following ways except:

Both die an ignoble death

Which of the following does not occur in Ovid's account of the foundation of Thebes?

Cadmus founds the city after sacrificing a cow to Athena

Which Olympian has no place in the Theban family tree?

Poseidon

Amphion and Zethus are considered the second founders of Thebes because...

they built its walls

Laius tries to out-smart the oracle of Delphi in all of the following ways except:

he employs the Sphinx as a guardian of Thebes

Oedipus tries to avoid fulfilling his oracle in what way?

he leaves Corinth forever

In Homer's Odyssey, what aspect of the Oedipus myth is left out?

his self-blinding

The myth of Oedipus relates most closely to which Delphic paradigm?

know thyself

What legacy does Oedipus leave his sons in Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus?

that they will kill each other

What city possesses the bones of Oedipus, and thus, according to the oracle of Delphi, can never be captured?

Athens

In the myths of the battle for Thebes, all of the following taboos occur except:

a hero drinks a potion of immortality (mortality taboo)

When was Apollonius of Rhodes' Argonautica composed, relative to the Homeric epics?

roughly five centuries later

The myth of Hellê and Phrixus involves folktale motifs such as (select all that apply):

-a magical beast

-a wicked stepmother

-a lengthy journey to the far reaches of the known world

The origins of Jason are similar to other heroic upbringings in all of the following ways except:

Jason's homecoming is greeted with a hecatomb

Phineus' torment is similar to that of which other figure of myth?

Tantalus

Which of the following trials of Jason is not accomplished with the aid of Medea?

Sailing through the clashing rocks

Apollonius' epic is distinct from those of Homer and Hesiod for all of the following reasons except:

his hero is also an accomplished musician

How does Pelias die?

his daughters dismember him due to a trick of Medea

In Euripides' Medea, Medea laments the fate of women for all of the following reasons except:

women have to give up all ties to their natal family once married

Seneca's Medea differs from Euripides' Medea in all of the following ways except:

Seneca's Medea escapes punishment by means of a flying chariot drawn by beasts

The Caledonian boar hunt is different from the journey of the Argo in what way?

a Greek woman joins the heros

As the psychopompos, what is Hermes' job?

Guide souls to the underworld

Which of the following is not one of Hermes' deeds?

The slaying of the Python

When Hephaestus captures Ares and Aphrodite in flagrante, what does Poseidon promise Hephaestus if he loosens the chains from Ares and Aphrodite?

he promises to pay Ares' bond money if Ares doesn't

Which of the Olympian goddesses has no clear relationship with fertility or fertility rituals?

Athena

What is the paradox surrounding Artemis?

she is a virgin goddess worshipped originally as a mother-goddess

The goddess Athena is associated with all of the following except:

the Pantheon temple

Myths surrounding the goddess Demeter involve all of the following themes except:

the celebration of marriage as a form of rebirth

The Homeric Hymn to Demeter provides an explanation for...

the seasons

Demophoön is a special child for all of the following reasons except:

he was made almost immortal by being dipped in the river Styx

Why might we consider Persephone's existence tragic?

she is eternally a Korê, a childless woman

Greek and Roman myths of Crete may have a basis in what all of the following aspects of Cretan history and archaeology except:

the presence of elaborate Iron Age palaces built by the Minoans

Why is Pasiphaë cursed to fall in love with a bull?

Poseidon is angry at Minos for failing to sacrifice the bull