Last Classical Mythology Quiz

Hero

Can be described with 5 traits: He is performers extraordinary deeds that may or may not be moral, he is understood to be a man who had died, heroes die prematurely, violently, or mysteriously, they were worshipped at their gravesites, and heros obtain a form of immortality through song and cult; Defining what makes a hero tells us what a hero was to the Greeks, because different cultures would define a “hero” in different ways, sometimes depending on what they value. For instance many see a hero as someone who protects people, but the greeks see it as someone who does an extraordinary deeds such as Cleomedes who killed several school children

Horizontal Tradition

Biography of mythical character created from different traditions (stories); for instance from Homer we know that Odysseus is the son of Laertes and Anticlea, from Hyginus we know Odysseus feigns madness to try to avoid going to Trojan War, and from Euripides we know Odysseus tricks Clytemnestra to facilitate sacrifice of Iphigenia, and so on in the time line

Vertical Tradition 

Many different versions of same mythic episode; for example the birth of Aphrodite is told in different ways- one account states she was born from the sea foam after the castration of Uranus, while others state she was born from Zeus and Dione

Heroon

Is a Greek shrine or monumental structure dedicated to a hero- this provides physical evidence of burial practices and hero cult; shows how heroes were worshiped and how important they are to them

Heracles

Known for his super strength and the son of Zeus and mortal woman Alcmene. Hera drives Heracles into a madden state, enraging him, causing him to kill his wife, Megara and children. He later has a tragic death caused by his wife Deianira who accidentally poisons him. He is the example of what a “hero” is in greek

Athloi of Heracles

Refers to the 12 labors/ difficult tasks Heracles had to complete as punishment for the crime of killing his wife Megara and children. After completing these tasks which were deemed to be impossible, this allowed him to become divine, and illustrates how he became a hero. Completing these 12 labors led to the transformation from demigod to god- which occurs after he dies tragically 

Deianeira

She marries Heracles, who saved her from the Centaur Nessus. She also accidentally drenches Heracles clothes with poison, which tears his skin and kills him- she is the reason he experiences a tragic death which ultimately leads him into become a hero

Achilles

Leader of Myrmidons, king of Phthia, son of Peleus and Thetis (sea goddess): Achilles participates in the Trojan War after Patroclus is killed by Hector. He enters even though he knows he will die. After accepting he cannot fight any longer, he instead seeks out Hector for vengeance. Priam (hector’s father) then asks Achilles to return his son’s body to him. Achilles complies only because he was moved from Priam telling him to remember his own father. This causes Achilles to transform from full of rage to showing human emotions such as empathy and compassion. Showing his human emotions

Patroclus

Dearest companion of Achilles- his death is the reason why Achilles joins back into the Trojan War, even though he knew he would die. And Achilles shows compassion and shows human emotion

Thetis 

Mother of Achilles and one of the 50 Nereids; She was destined to produce a son who would be greater than Zeus, and to prevent this from happening, Zeus compels Thetis to marry a mortal, Peleus. Peleus and Thetis than have Achilles, half demigod. Thetis attempts to burn off the mortal parts of Achilles in order to make him immortal. She held him by the heels over the fire or burning cauldron, which became his mortal point of vulnerability (Achille’s heel is his weakness)- this sets him up for his tragic death, where Apollo or in some versions Paris (both who are archers) shoot Achilles in the heel, killing him. No hero can escape mortality

Peleus 

Father of Achilles, he is the reason why Achilles is a demigod. He also adds to the reason why Achilles experienced a tragic death, because since he made Achilles half mortal, Thetis attempted to burn his mortal parts leading to Achilles having a weak spot on his heels, which later gets shot at, killing him. OR- the image of Peleus seeing his son dead, is what motivates Achilles to give up Hector’s body to Priam and leads him to feeling empathy

Hector

Prince of Troy, husband of Andomache, father of Astyanax; Hector kills Achille’s companion Patroclus, which enrages him and compels him to fight in the Trojan War. This leads to Achilles seeking revenge and killing Hector. Achilles learns compassion when Hector’s father Priam tells Achilles to understand from a father’s perspective by reminding him to think about his own father Peleus and Hector’s body is than returned to Priam.- showing gods have human emotions

Priam

Father of Hector, and king of Troy. He pleaded Achilles to hand his son, Hector’s body over. He convinces Achilles to do so by asking him to remember his father, to put himself in a father’s position mourning his son, this makes Achilles feel empathy and also reminds him that he too will die. Which causes him to accept his coming tragic death- reminding us that no matter how great, heroes cannot escape mortality and must die*****

Theseus

Son of King Aegeus of Athens (sometimes Poseidon) and Aethra, said to be the one who invented coinage, and associated with sandals and sword. Like Heracles, Theseus also completes deeds. His adventures involve defeating bandits and thieves, not animals. After he kills the Minotaur, Theseus and his Athenian companions, and Ariadne set sail to return to Athens, but before they reach their destination he forgets Ariadne on the island of Naxos and he also forgets to switch his ship’s black sails to white ones which signals to his father that he has succeeded in his task. Aegeus seeing the sail thinks his son died, which causes him to drown himself- this leads to Theseus ruling Athens until his death. Theseus was a leader who united the populations in and around Athens through share religious and cultural practices- people from Athens saw him as benevolent king and they believed he represented them well- making him a hero.

Deeds of Theseus

Like Heracles involves Theseus completing labors- he defeats the king of Eleusis (Crecyon, who is known for his cruelty and for challenging travelers to deadly wrestling matches) in a wrestling match, defeated the bandit Procrustes, who was known for his cruel practice of forcing travelers to fit a bed by either stretching them or cutting of their limbs, he defeated Sciron by turning his own trick against him and pushed him off the same cliff into the sea (he was known for forcing travelers to wash his feet at the Sceironian Rocks, then kicking them off a cliff, captured the Marathonian Bull and killed it, killed Sinis with his same method that he used for his victims- by tying them to a tee and then letting it snap back, The Sow of Crommyon was a wild pig that terrorized travelers- Theseus of course killed the sow- he does all these great deeds that reinforced his role as a hero

Minotaur

Described to be half man and half bull- Part of the myth where Theseus learns that Athens must send 7 boys and 7 girls to Crete to be sacrificed to the Minotaur, as a due for Cretans losing a war with Athenians. Theseus takes the challenge and he defeats the Minotaur, freeing Athens of this terrible debt. One of the dangerous tasks Theseus completes which shows his heroism (courage, bravery). It also sets up for the death of his father, because after defeating the Minotaur he sails back to Athens but forgets to change the ship’s flag from black to white which makes his dad kill himself

Ariadne

Cretan princess that gets rescued by Dionysus and marries him. She also helps Theseus defeat the Minotaur by giving him a silver thread so that he will be able to leave a path through Labyrinth where the Minotaur lives, finding his way back safely after killing the monster- but she is then abandoned/forgotten on the island of Naxons= shows that she’s the reason why Theseus is able to defeat the Minotaur therefore freeing Athens from the debt

Oedipus 

Is on a quest to find the murderer of Laius, the former king of Thebes, and remove the perpetrator from the city because the presence of the murderer is polluting the land and causing a plague. It turns out, years earlier, King Laius and Queen Jocasta of Thebes received an oracle saying their child would kill Laius and marry Queen Jocasta, so they abandoned their infant. A shepherd took the child to the king and queen of Corinth. Oedipus then also receives an oracle predicting he will kill his father and mother, so he leaves who he thinks is his biological mother and father and leaves Corinth. He then kills an old man who blocked his passage on the road and marries the Theban queen, Jocasta. Its later revealed that the oracle was fulfilled- shocked Jocasta kill’s herself — this displays him being a hero by Greeks standards because of his determination to find who killed Laius and because of the extraordinary event he experienced.

Riddle of the Sphinx

“What goes on four feet in the morning, two feet in midday, and three feet in the evening?”- the Riddle of the Sphinx harassed the residents of Thebes but is solved by Oedipus. This demonstrates Oedipus’s wisdom and intelligence, which is ironic in a way because although he was unable to solve this difficult riddle who was unable to see that the prophecy became fulfilled and it sets up for how Oedipus becomes heroic by Greek standards

Jocasta

Queen of Thebes and mother of Oedipus. She kills herself after finding out her son did kill his father and she ends up marrying her own son. After this Oedipus blinds himself. This sets for how Oedipus is a hero by Greek standards.

The Hero’s Quest

A type of hero known for the adventure he undertakes rather than other remarkable aspects of himself. Their primary task is a journey- he pursues a precious object or person, the hero takes a long journey, tests and trails set for the hero that he must overcome, human or animal helpers who assist the hero, and “Guardians of the Object” who test the hero, or who may be “malignant in themselves”- the way to differentiate between them is if the written and visual evidence about a hero is primarily devoted to describing a journey he undertakes to obtain an object or achieve a goal- this makes the hero a QUEST HERO; the six parts described come from W.H Auden- an example is Jason a mortal quest hero because he goes on a journey to recover the Golden Fleece, he gets help from a band of sailors known as the Argonauts, and he encounters obstacles such as fire-breathing oxen

Odysseus

Is known to have cunning intelligence and is described as a trickster. His many crafts allow him to survive any dangerous seductions and allows him to triumph over villains. He takes a long journey to go home and faces many challenges like memorable villains- Polyphemus and Scylla. These traits point to Odysseus being an example of a quest hero

Penelope

Wife of Odysseys. Homer describes them as like minded- they are both clever and patient; She was the reason for Odysseus’s journey, he went through a long journey to go home, to go home back to his wife.

Telemachus 

Is Odysseus’s son and the reason why Odysseus goes on his long journey home. Odysseus pretends to be insane to avoid fighting at Troy. However he gives up his act, after a soldier name Palamedes places Telemachus in danger, and Odysseus has to go and save him revealing his sanity. Due to him being exposed he fights in Troy, comes up with the idea of the wooden horse that leaves the Greeks to conquer the city, and his long journey home

Polumetis

One of Odysseus’s epithets, meaning “very clever”- this skill allows him to survive any dangerous setting- His cleverness and intelligence is what gets him and the other Greek soldiers the win in the Trojan war- and sets for his long journey home

Polutropos

One of Odysseus’s epithets, meaning “very tricky”- Odysseus playing tricks is another way he gets buy- it is one of the reasons why the Greek soldiers and Odysseus win in the Trojan war because of the Wooden horse idea - and sets for his long journey home

Polyphemus

Is the name of a cyclops that Odysseus encounters and fights off, an element that makes him a quest hero- Odysseus and his men find a cave that is full of food, as they help themselves to baskets of cheese and milk, the cyclops, Polyphemus, who is the owner of the cave is enraged by the sight. So he eats some of Odysseus men. Odysseys tricks the cyclops into getting drunk and then blinds him by driving a burning stake through the sleeping giant’s eye

Circe

Is a skillful sorceress that delays Odysseus’s quest and keeps him on a remote island by promising him a life of indulgence. After overcoming her, she helps him with his journey by providing directions on how to get to the Underworld, and from there he finds a way to return home- this is another element that describes how Odysseus is a quest hero

Calypso

A beautiful nymph who delays Odysseus’s quest for years on her faraway island, promising immortality. She delays his journey from returning to his wife on Ithaca. - An example of an obstacle getting in Odysseus’s way- quest hero

Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla is a 6-headed female monster who is part dog, part fish, and part human, she attacks Odysseus and Jason. Charybdis is a female whirlpool that swallows ships. These two become obstacles/challenges delaying Odysseus’s quest. Odysseus and his crew must sail between Scylla and Charybdis but they end up attacking Odysseys and his crew. - Quest hero

Perseus

Son of Zeus and Danaë, he is another quest hero because of these following traits: Polydectes asks Perseus to retrieve the head of Medusa, as a means to get ride of him so he can marry his mother Danaë, he goes on this journey and receives gifts/help from Athena, Hermes, and Hephaestus, and he also has to defeat Medusa, a monster who can turn you into stone if you look at her

Danaë

Mother of Perseus and the reason why he goes on a heroic quest. since Polydectes wants to marry her, he sends Danaë’s son on a quest to retrieve Medusa’s head

Medusa

Villain that Perseus must defeat to complete his quest. She has poisonous snakes as hair, and anyone that looks directly at her gets turned into stone. She is defeated when Perseus uses a sick and a mirror to decapitate her

Bellerophon

Another quest hero because- King Iobates sends Bellerophon to kill the Chimera (a hybrid female monster who has the head of a lion and could breathe fire), hoping it would him because he couldn’t bare to kill Bellerophon even though he was sent to him to be punished. Bellerophon goes on this quest and he has help from his Pegasus who helps him succeed in killing Chimera. He also goes through many other challenges that King Iobates throws him because he didn’t die from Chimera: he sends him to battle the Solymoi (war like race) and the Amazons, succeeding from that he sends his men to ambush Bellerophon, and he fends off this challenge too.

Pegasus

Winged horse that is tamed by Bellerophon and helps him defeat Chimera

Chimera 

Hybrid female monster, her head was that of a lion and could breathe fire, a goat’s head protruded from her back, and a snake’s head was at the tip of her tail, is the villain Bellerophon has to defeat and does so with the help of Pegasus

Jason

Has no divine parents; Jason’s uncle Pelias receives an oracle telling him to beware of a man wearing one sancel, and Jason turns up wearing one sandal. So Pelias sends Jason on a quest that he believes Jason won’t survive- he has to recover the Golden Fleece, which is guarded by a never-sleeping dragon in Colchis, on the Black Sea. He receives help from Athena and a man named Argus who constructs Jason a ship. He also has a band of sailors called the Argonauts that accompany him on the journey. He encounters the same villans Odysseus fights, which are Scylla and Charybdis- quest hero

Argonauts 

Band of sailors that that agree to sail with Jason

Golden Fleece 

What Jason has to obtain in his quest- the reason for his quest