Foundations of Western Culture Exam 1- Wielfaert

The Rape of Europa (story of Zeus and Europa)

Europa had a bad dream so she went for a walk on the beach. Zeus transformed himself into a magnificent white bull and transported himself to Tyre. Europa and her attendants were down by the shore gathering flowers when the white bull wandered up to them. Zeus made sure that the bull appeared totally tame, and he laid down at the feet of Europa

She gives birth to his son- King Minos

King Minos and the Minotaur

Posideon casts a spell on Pasiphae and sheer falls in love with the Bull gives birth to a minotaur


Minos wants to assert power over his brothers, asks Uncle Posideon for a sign, gives him a white bull, and says to kill it but he doesn't.

a fabulous monster of Crete that had the body of a man and the head of a bull. It was the offspring of Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, and a snow-white bull sent to Minos by the god Poseidon for sacrifice.

The Origins of the Greek Gods (from Hesiod's Theogony)

Chaos (feminine deity- emerges 3 more- darkness, stryfe, and Gaia

Gaia (Earth) who gives birth to the Heavens (Ouranos) Chronos and castration of Ouranos Balls fly through the air and his blood and semen create monsters, land in sea and create Aphrodite- desire in the Mediterranean Sea

Chronos marries his sister Rhea (Titans) and becomes jealous of them and eats them

Zeus- Chronos' son, doesn't want to get eaten and plots to kill him. Titanomachy- the plot to kill Chronos? Marries his sister Hera

Apollo, Athena, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, etc. are
Zeus' children These are the olympians along with Zeus and Hera. They live on mount Olympus

The Judgment of Paris

Thetis- Achilles' mother, goddess, invites everyone to wedding except Eris (strife),

Eris has FOMO and makes a golden apple & it says to the most beautiful over it & Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite fight over it. They appeal to Zeus and ask who's the most beautiful. Zeus picks a prince named Paris, Prince of Troy to decide who is the most beautiful women. He chooses Aphrodite because he promises her the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen.

Greeks want Helen and agree that if anyone tries to take her away from her husband, all the Greeks will fight them. Helen marries Menelaus. Menelaus (King of Sparta, younger) and Agamemnon (King of Mycenae, older) are the sons of Atreus.

The Abduction of Helen
Aphrodite promises Paris Helen. He goes to Sparta and takes her to Troy. This is why the Greeks are fighting, over Helen

Leda and the Swan (birth of Helen of Sparta, later of Troy)

Zeus likes Leda and becomes swan. Leda becomes pregnant and gives birth to Helen who is now the most beautiful woman in the world.

The Myth of Pandora

Pandora= "Gift of all the Gods"
The gods make the most beautiful and seductive woman possible to terrorize man.

Creation of Woman as Theodicy:
The gods put all the evil in to a box and tell her not to open it. Pandora is curious and opens it anyway and it lets out all of the evil. She closes it, and the only thing left in the box is hope.

Gilgamesh

2/3 god- views himself above others
King of Uruk
Selfish- hero wants to be remembered- in ancient times they are selfish
Sexual exploitation
Treats his people as slaves
Tyrant
Does not view his people as human but objects
Kinda gross
Old and bored

Enkidu

From the wild
Protector
Hairy
Ignorant of oldness
naieve

Diomedes

This Greek warrior is the son of Tydeus, who is granted "courage and greatness" in Bk. 5 by a goddess who had once favored his father. Bk. 5 may be read as his extended "aristeia." He can also be observed in a key scene with Glaucus in Bk. 6 and was an important voice in convincing Agamemnon to return Briseis to Achilles in Bk. 9.

Ajax

Parent's- Telamon and Periobea

This Greek warrior is frequently called by the epithet (nickname) "telemonian," which means "the wall," in order to distinguish him from another warrior by the same name. He is the largest and strongest warrior fighting on the side of the Greeks, though not usually called "the best of the Achaans" - this is the epithet reserved most often for Achilles and one other character (mentioned in the next question).

Zeus

The king of the gods, who presides over the world from Mt. Olympus. He is associated with thunder and lightening, is the guarantor of justice, yet, somewhat paradoxically, he is often found violating his own marital vows through his sexually predatory interactions with human women.

Utnapishtim

Atra-hasis ="extra wise" (p.72)
Ut-napsihtim= "the far distant"
(Uta) na' ish (tim) = abbreviated Naish (noah)
The worldwide flood "I have nothing to give you that can save you."
The plant of immortality
Return to Uruk

Individual mortals perish, but humankind collectively lives on through the institutions of "the city"

Hector

A son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, He is the mightiest warrior in the Trojan army. He mirrors Achilles in some of his flaws, but his bloodlust is not so great as that of Achilles. He is devoted to his wife, Andromache, and son, Astyanax, but resents his brother Paris for bringing war upon their family and city

Aeneas

A Trojan nobleman, the son of Aphrodite, and a mighty warrior. The Romans believed that he later founded their city (he is the protagonist of Virgil's masterpiece the Aeneid).

Priam

King of Troy, father of Hector and Paris

Married to Hecuba

Parent's - Laomedon and Placia

Andromache

She is the wife of Hector, mother of Astyanax, from the royal family of Eetion, whose near and dear ones were all murdered "in a single blinding sprint" by the warrior Achilles. In Bk. 6, she speaks a moving lament, begging Hector to stay inside the walls of Troy, but he claims his "shame is too great.

Aphrodite

The goddess of beauty and erotic desire who won the "Judgment of Paris," after promising Paris the bed of the most beautiful woman in the world. According to Hesiod she was born from the sperm of the castrated Ouranos mixed with Mediterranean Sea foam, though Homer in Bk. 5 of the Iliad calls her the daughter of Dione, when she is wounded in battle and goes, bleeding "ichor," to Mt. Olympus for convalescence. She can frequently be found intervening in battle on behalf of Paris (as, for example, in Bk. 3., when she saves him from Menelaus, by breaking the strap of his chin and spiriting him away to sleep with Helen, safely behind the walls of Troy.

Hecuba

Queen of Troy, wife of Priam, and mother of Hector and Paris.

Achilles

son of Peleus, king of Phthia and Thetis, a sea goddess. leader of the myrmidons, the contingent form phthia, and their fifty ships, central character whose actions determine course of epic. great warrior but can not control his rage or pride. abandons troops and prays trojans will win bc his girl got taken away. thirsty for glory

Paris

A son of Priam and Hecuba and brother of Hector. his abduction of the beautiful Helen, wife of Menelaus, sparked the Trojan War. he is self-centered and often unmanly. He fights effectively with a bow and arrow (never with the more manly sword or spear) but often lacks the spirit for battle and prefers to sit in his room making love to Helen while others fight for him, thus earning both Hector's and Helen's scorn.

Athena

The goddess of strategic war, who, together with Hera, lost the "Judgment of Paris" to Aphrodite. In the Iliad, she frequently intervenes on the side of the Greeks -- in Bk. 1 to hold back an enraged Achilles at the theft of Briseis, in Bk. to reinstigate the fighting between Greeks and Trojans by whispering in the ear of Pandarus, in Bk. 5 by granting a famous warrior his aristeia. Perhaps most devastatingly to the Trojans, she appears alongside Hector in Bk. 22 in the form of his brother Deiphorbus.

Odysseus

This silver-tongued orator, the son of Laertes, king of Ithaca, is frequently found making speeches and devising battle strategies on behalf of the Greeks. We meet him in Bk. 2 humiliating the hunchback Thersites and urging the Greeks to return to the beach to fight. Helen speaks favorably of him from the walls of Troy in the presence of Priam in Bk. 3, and evidence from Bk. 9 might be used to argue that he was a philos of Achilles.

Ares

God of bloody war

lover of Aphrodite, he generally supports the Trojans in the war

Agamemnon

son of atreus and aerope; bother of menelaus; husband of Clytemnestra. command in chief of the greek forces and leader of the contingent from Argos and Mycenae and their husband ships. his quarrel with Achilles sets the plot in motion. king of Mycenae and commander-in-chief of achaean army. hot temper and has a prideful streak. more arrogant than achilles. thinks everything belongs to him. leads the army even though it should be his brother bc that's who is fighting for helen.

Nestor

King of Pylos and the oldest Achaean commander. Although age has taken much of his physical strength, it has left him with great wisdom. He often acts as an advisor to the military commanders, especially Agamemnon. Him and Odysseus are the Achaeans' most deft and persuasive orators, although his speeches are sometimes long-winded.

Hera

Queen of the gods and Zeus's wife, she is a conniving, headstrong woman. She often goes behind Zeus's back in matters on which they disagree, working with Athena to crush the Trojans, whom she passionately hates.

Artemis

Goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus, and twin sister of Apollo. she supports the Trojans in the war.

Helen of Troy

Reputed to be the most beautiful woman in the ancient world, she was stolen from her husband, Menelaus, and taken to Troy by Paris. She loathes herself now for the misery that she has caused so many Trojan and Achaean men. Although her contempt extends to Paris as well, she continues to stay with him.

hero (from hora)

Propitious Moment (hora)
Demonstration Extreme Skill (arete)
Honor and Glory Ascending Scale of Honor Kudos- low level honor Time- mid level honor Kleos- Everlasting Glory Kleos comes through aristeia
Hero=Kleos

arête

demonstration of extreme skill

berserk, berserking

A momentary loss of humanity
From "berserk" = Old Norse for "bare shirt"

kleos

everlasting glory- comes through aristeia

aristeia

Greek for when the narrative centres on one warrior and his deeds and killings for a while,

mēnis

"a cosmic sanction against behavior that violates the most basic rules of human society"

kudos, timê

glory but not Kleos level

philos, philtatos

nearest and dearest

therapon

Chariotteer- a close friend who drives the warriors chariots

Surogate- one who stands in place of another

lament

stylized, public song of grief Crying while singing,

singing while crying Performed solo, or in group

The term "hero" conveys highly specific meanings in Homeric and other Archaic Greek literature. In a thoughtful, well supported essay, describe the nature of the hero in a specifically Greek context and explore how the Greek conception of a hero might differ from our own popular notions of heroism. Then, based on the evidence of Books 1-6, 9, 16, 18, (20), 21-22, and 24 of the Iliad, argue for whom you believe to be the greater hero: Hector or Achilles. [In your essay, be sure to incorporate such relevant terms as Hora, kudos, timé, kleos, kleos aphthiton, arête, menis(anger), and aristeia. Provide as many specific examples as possible from the text of the Iliad.]

chauvet cave

cave paintings in southern france, more than twice as old as any other cave paintings

gobekli tepe

oldest known religious site in the world

fertile crescent

area in mesopotamia, between tigris and euphrates rivers, super fertile area, good for crops,

Mesopotamia

"land between two rivers" (tigris and euphrates)

sumer (sumerians)

major city states, big walls, lots of knowledge

ziggurat

temple complex, two major things about it: they have raised platforms and temple towers

A place of worship

cuneiform

wedge shaped writing, on clay tablets

pictograph

drawing pictures of meaning

anthropomorphism

taking human form, giving human qualities to other things

atrahasis

story about "the great flood"

nineveh

discovered by henry layard in 1850, 30,000 clay tablets, contained the epic of gilgamesh

library of ashurbanipal

contained thousands of old clay tablets

mycenaeans

known for walled cities, sophisticated engineering, government dominated by aristocrats, & in vast trade network

minoans

discovered by arthur evans, matriarchal society(disputed), passes through women, pacifism(disputed), sophisticated society

heinrich schliemann

discovered ancient troy, mother died, dad caught in affair, lived with uncle, learned greek, found gold, found priam's gold(disputed), excavation of mycenae

arthur evans

wealthy family, discovered minoans, discovered knossos

mask of agammemnon

the mona lisa of prehistory, discovered in mycenae

shaft graves

schliemann found them in mycenae

peer polity model

each city is its own state, own country, has its own government

knosses

discovered by arthur evans, home of king agenor

matriarchy

society run by women

hesiod

accounts for how gods came to be

theogony

origin of the gods

simonides

women were made and make no sense, they are dirty and lay around and becomes fat, attitudes are never the same, doesn't feel the cold can't be tamed by words or hitting, and have mood swings.

The Sumerian Pantheon

atrahasis: creation of man, the gods were tired of carrying burdens and wanted mami to create man to bear the load, killed weila and mixed blood with clay until there was a heart beat and called on anunnaki and igigi to cast their spittle on the clay

An (Sumerian)

god of heavens

Enlil (Sumerian)

god of wind and storm

Enki (Sumerian)

god of water and human culture

Ninhursag (sumerian)

goddess of fertility and earth

Utu (sumerian)

god of sun and justice

Nanna

god of the moon

Enlil

The god of the air and chief god of the Sumerian pantheon. Praise hymns to this god survive attributing to him characteristics not unlike Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible. His worship declined after the Babylonian conquest of Sumer.

Which of the following best explains the use of "Western" in the course title "Foundations of Western Culture"?

West and Western refers primarily to those institutions, values, political systems, and systems of knowledge claimed by the United States, Britain, and, following World War II, by their NATO allies. During the latter half of the 20th century, "Western Civilization" became identified with political systems, values, and institutions that originated with the Greeks, were subsequently passed to the Romans, and later migrated to Europe during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. In courses like "Survey of Western Civilization," this definition of "western" is generally combined with early modern views of a cultural tradition originating in the art, literature, and philosophical culture of the Greeks, subsequently passed to the Romans, and revived by Western Europeans in fourteenth and fifteenth century Italy (the period generally called the Renaissance).

Which of the following is most likely the oldest complex worship site in the world?

Göbekli Tepe in modern Turkey, dated to c. 9,500 BC

The Fertile Crescent coincides with the boundaries of which modern nations?

Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel

The designations "Fertile Crescent" and "Mesopotamia" generally refer to the fertile lands lying along the banks of the ______________________ and _____________________ Rivers.

Tigris and Euphrates

The "Sumerian King List" is a document that contributed to the origins of which of the following ideas pertaining to the practice of history writing?

The development of history and history writing as a linear succession of kings, kingdoms, states, and empires. In order words, history as "political history."

The great library of Ashurbanipal, which preserved the Epic of Gilgamesh (among other great texts), was located in this capital city of the Assyrians:

Nineveh

Before the migration (probably from Turkey) of the peoples who would build the cities of Sumer, Mesopotamia was settled primarily by peoples belonging to what ethnic and linguistic grouping?

Semitic

In the "4 preliminary observations," outlined at the start of the course, which capacities, practices, and intellectual habits were argued mostly likely unite modern humans with our Paleolithic (old Stone Age) ancestors?

The capacity for and attraction to myth (meaningful story), ritual, and worship. Humankind is not just Homo sapiens ("wise man"); humankind is also homo liturgicus ("worshipping man").

Cities and civilization first arose . . .

in Sumer, in modern Iraq, c. 4500 BC.

The etymological (word origin) definition of "civilization" is best described by which of the following?

Civilization comes from "civitas," "cives," and "civilities" the Latins word for "city," "citizen," and "civility." Thus, civilization speaks of a mode of human life that arises from and depends upon the creation of large cities. Typically civilization refers to a society that produces complex art and architecture, elaborate religious practice, law, literature, and other forms of refined cultural production.

In considering the "vastness of human prehistory," the record of human activity in the archaeological record was compared to a 24 hour clock, with the full 24 hrs. being the amount of time human begins (Homo sapiens) have been active on this planet. Within that perspective, recorded human history is best represented as . . .

the final minute before midnight. (last 5 min before midnight)

Which of the following statements best describes the religious worldview of the Mesopotamian civilizations surveyed in Unit 1?

The Mesopotamian civilizations surveyed in Unit 1 were all polytheists, who perceived a universe filled with divine beings, whom they conceived in anthropomorphic terms. The highest of these gods were the pantheon whom the Sumerians called Anunnaki ("heaven born").

The Epic of Gilgamesh describes the exploits of the king of which Mesopotamian city?

Uruk

Our division of time into units of 60 is based on a sexagesimal numerical system first developed . . . (by who and when?)

by Sumerians in the Mesopotamians cities of the fourth millennium BC.

Which of the following is the best definition of "Cosmology"?

a theory or story about the organization of the cosmos

Which of the following is NOT a Sumerian city-state?

Babylon

Which of the following early scholars of the Epic of Gilgamesh argued in "Babel and the Bible" (c. 1902) that the Epic undermined the historicity of scripture. His view may be contrasted with that of George Smith, the Epic's first translator, who believed the Epic supported the historicity and authority of scripture.

Friedrich Delitzsch

Cuneiform writing refers to . . .

"wedge shaped writing" produced by the application of a wet stylus to a drying clay tablet, a technology first developed in Mesopotamia in around 3200 BC.

The Greek word "Mesopotamia" means _____________________.

"land between the rivers"

Which of the following cities mentioned in the book of Genesis is a Sumerian city-state?

Ur

Which of the following is the best definition of "Myth" (in light of the explanation offered in the Interactive Lecture on Mesopotamia)?

A Myth (from the Greek, mythos) is a meaningful story about a matter that is too complex or too ancient to understand fully. (Myth need not be historically or scientifically true in order to convey its message)

Which of the following best describes the deathbed insight of Enkidu, the subhuman counterpart and friend to Gilgamesh, originally created by the gods to rival him.

To be human is "to see death in things"

Which of the following paragraphs best describes the Sumerian cosmology?

The material world was created through a succession of divine "births," Nammu (Sea) gave birth to An (sky) and Ki (earth) and from An and Ki came Enlil (the atmosphere) and Enki (fresh water) and the Sun (Utu), Moon (Nanna), and all the stars. The earth is a flat disc, surrounded by water, enclosed by a series of domes, the innermost of which is a watery firmament from which the rains come.

Which of the following best explains the claim of Samuel Noah Kramer: "History begins at Sumer"?

Sumer was the first region to produce systems of writing and history depends upon the existence of written (documentary) evidence.

Pelops

This son of Tantalus, king of Lydia, emigrated to and settled the southern most region of the Greek mainland, lending his name to the region where the famous cities of Mycenae, Argos, and Sparta are would later be founded.

Knososs

Site of the Minoan palace culture discovered by Arthur Evans on the Island of Crete.

The Homeric Iliad

This work describing a major war fought by Greek kings against the distant city of Troy was traditionally attributed to a singularly gifted poet named Homer, but was likely the work of many generations of oral poetry and eventually written down in its final form in around c. 700 BC.

Which of the following similes best describes the meaning of the Greek Kleos Aphthiton?

like an unwilting rose in bloom

According to Hesiod's Theogony, the origins of Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and erotic desire, are best explained by which of the following descriptions?

Aphrodite was born of the Mediterranean Sea into which had fallen the severed testicles of Ouranos, following Chronos' castration of his father with the help of his mother (Gaia). This is why Aphrodite, known as "sea-born" or "foam born," is often depicted standing on a scallop shell reaching the shore of the Mediterranean (as she is shown in Botticelli's famous Birth of Venus).