Classical Mythology Final Review

proem

opening lines, introduce theme

in medias res

into the middle of things

polytropos

twists and turns

nostos

homecoming

kleos

glory, fame

atasthalia

recklessness

xenia

guest host relationship

xenos

guest or host

homophrosyne

like mindedness

nekuia

rite to speak to the dead

Amphitryon

Heracles's stepfather

Lycus

taken over the government in Heracles

Eurystheus

the king of Greece who sent Heracles to complete his Labors

Pentheus

grandson of Cadmus, who prohibited worship of Dionysus in Thebes

Jason

leader of the Argonauts who sought the Golden Fleece.

Medea

wife of Jason

Horace's Odes 2,13-14

the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of death. The poem explores how wealth and worldly pleasures are ultimately meaningless in the face of death's indifference and the cycle of life, death, and succession

Propertius 1.3

he visits his lover, Cynthia, while she is fast asleep in her bedroom. In his amorous and drunken state he is tempted to wake her with a showering of kisses, but holds off for fear of angering her. He, instead, watches her sleep

Catullus 64

explores the marriage of Peleus and the sea-nymph Thetis, while also featuring a prominent narrative about Ariadne's abandonment by Theseus

Pindar, Olympian 1

briefly retells the story of Pelops, a legendary Greek hero who won a horse race that inspired the establishment of the Olympian games.

Xenophanes

a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and poet known for his critiques of traditional Greek religion, his reflections on virtue, and his pioneering philosophical ideas

Herodotus, History

recounts the Greco-Persian Wars between the Persian Empire and Greek city-states, particularly focusing on the battles at Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea. Beyond the conflict, it delves into the cultures, customs, and geography of various regions, including Persia, Egypt, and Greece

Plato, Republic

explores the nature of justice and the ideal society through a series of dialogues

Virgil, Georgics 4

keeping bees; extended myth about the hero Aristaeus whose bees have died; Proteus tells him that his bees died bc he tried to rape eurydice, which led to her death by snakebite

Aeneas

The protagonist of The Aeneid. He is a survivor of the siege of Troy, a city on the coast of Asia Minor. His defining characteristic is piety, a respect for the will of the gods.

Dido

The queen of Carthage, a city in northern Africa, in what is now Tunisia, and lover of Aeneas.

Ascanius

Aeneas’s young son by his first wife, Creusa

Anchises

Aeneas’s father, and a symbol of Aeneas’s Trojan heritage. Although this character dies during the journey from Troy to Italy, he continues in spirit to help his son fulfill fate’s decrees, especially by guiding Aeneas through the underworld and showing him what fate has in store for his descendants.

Zeus

Jupiter

Hera

Juno

Poseidon

Neptune

Apollo

Apollo

Artemis

Diana

Hermes

Mercury

Athena

Minerva

Aphrodite

Venus

Hephaestus

Vulcan

Demeter

Ceres

Dinoysus

Bacchus

Hestia

Vesta

Ares

Mars