Generation 2 Olympian Exam

Aphrodite Symbols

Seashell, rose, apple, doves, dolphins, rabbits.

Aphrodite Pandemos

Common or "of all the people"; associated with earthly love and sexuality, sometimes the prostitute archetype.

Aphrodite Hesiodic

Born from sea foam after Cronus castrated Uranus and threw his genitals into the sea.

Anchises

Zeus made Aphrodite fall in love with this mortal; their son Aeneas became a Trojan hero and ancestor of the Romans.

Hephaestus

Hammer, anvil, donkey; disabled smith god, often portrayed as a stock character.

Ares

Helmet, armor, bloody spear, vulture, barn owl, serpent; weak or disliked in Greek myth, more honored as Mars in Rome.

Pygmalion

Sculptor who fell in love with his beautiful statue; Aphrodite brought it to life. Etiology: Paphos in Cyprus.

Adonis

Beautiful youth loved by Aphrodite; ignored warnings about hunting and was killed by a boar, leaving Aphrodite grieving.

Artemis

Crescent moon, bow and arrow, golden-horned stag; helped Leto deliver Apollo in some traditions.

Niobe

Boasted she deserved more honor than Leto; Apollo and Artemis killed her children. Etiology: weeping rock on Mount Sipylus.

Actaeon

Saw Artemis naked; she transformed him into a stag, and his own hunting dogs killed him.

Callisto

Artemis's follower impregnated by Zeus and transformed into a bear; Arcas nearly killed her. Etiology: Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Arcas

Son of Callisto who nearly killed his bear-transformed mother. Etiology: Ursa Minor in some versions and the name Arcadia.

Orion

Hunter who threatened Artemis in some versions; killed by a scorpion. Etiology: Orion and Scorpius constellations.

Arethusa

Artemis's follower pursued by river god Alpheus; Artemis concealed her and transformed her into a spring. Etiology: freshwater spring in Sicily.

Hecate

Titan-descended goddess of magic, crossroads, and the dark moon; associated with the triple-faced goddess.

Selene

Personification of the Moon, especially the full moon; associated with the lunar aspect of the triple goddess.

Athena Symbols

Helmet, aegis, gray eyes, owl, olive tree.

Athena Birth

Zeus swallowed pregnant Metis to prevent a prophecy; Athena emerged fully armed from Zeus's head.

Athena vs. Poseidon

Competed for Athens; Athena offered an olive tree and Poseidon a salt spring. Etiology: Athens's name and sacred olive tree.

Medusa

In Ovid, Poseidon assaulted her and Athena transformed her hair into snakes; Perseus beheaded her. Etiology: Pegasus and Athena's Gorgon emblem.

Apollo Symbols

Laurel, lyre, bow, sun association; god of prophecy, music, and healing, but Helios personifies the Sun.

Cumaean Sibyl

Apollo granted her centuries of life but not eternal youth after she rejected him; she aged until only her voice remained.

Cassandra

Apollo gave her prophecy, but after she rejected him he cursed her so nobody would believe her.

Marpessa

Chose the mortal Idas over Apollo because she feared Apollo would abandon her as she aged.

Cyrene

Nymph and huntress loved by Apollo; he took her to Libya, where she bore Aristaeus. Etiology: city of Cyrene.

Daphne

Cupid made Apollo love her; she fled and was transformed into a laurel tree. Etiology: laurel sacred to Apollo.

Dionysus Symbols

Thyrsus, wine, grapevine, goblet, goats, leopards and other big cats.

Dionysus Birth

Semele died after seeing Zeus's divine form; Zeus sewed fetal Dionysus into his thigh until birth.

Zagreus

Orphic Dionysus, born to Zeus and Persephone; Titans dismembered him at Hera's instigation.

Orphic Origin of Humanity

In later Orphic tradition, humans arose from the Titans' ashes after they consumed Zagreus; humanity has Titanic and divine elements.

Dionysian Hellenistic Cult

Ecstatic worship and divine madness offered temporary liberation from ordinary suffering; some mysteries promised a blessed afterlife.

Pentheus

King of Thebes who rejected Dionysus; driven-mad Maenads, including his mother Agave, tore him apart.

Maenads

Frenzied female followers of Dionysus who danced in ecstatic worship, often in the mountains; associated with divine madness.

Orphism

Religious tradition associated with Orpheus, Zagreus, purification of the soul, reincarnation, and a better afterlife.