CLASS 40 UCSB greek myth final terms

Anthropomorphism

Tendency for gods to look & act like humans; much more powerful in all other aspects

Altar

The medium for animal sacrificed, often dedicated to a specific god/entity

Birth of Aphrodite

Ouranos's severed testicles fell into the ocean (explains sexual aspect of Goddess's domain)

The Furies

Birthed from blood from Ouranos's severed testicles, avenge familial violence

Metis

Original wife of Zeus, very intelligent, to avoid succession Zeus ate her & in turn inherited her intellect, first male w/ mental proficiency

Birth of Athena

After eating pregnant Metis, Zeus births her through his forehead

Aition myth

Myth explaining the origin of something

Prometheus

Titan; brothers of Epimetheus, Menoiteus, & Atlas; stole fire from Olympus to restore it for humans, punished in the underworld w/ daily eating of his liver by an eagle; "trickster figure" by interacting w/ mortal world and divine world

Pandora

Woman given to Epimetheus, who accepts her w/ his free will. Useless human who only consumes, despite her extremely beautiful exterior. After her introduction, she is required to reproduce and must be kept around

Major Agricultural Products in Ancient Greece

Olives, Grain, & Grapes (Wine)

Bronze Age

3000BC

Classical Period

480BC

Reciprocity

Gods treat humans good if humans treat gods good (sacrifice, worship, etc.)

Animal Sacrifice

Practice of killing domesticated animals in honor of Gods

Euhemerus

Developer of historical allegory

Decomposition

Splitting a character into multiple aspects of their personality

Theogony

Birth story of all the Gods, written by Hesiod

Gaia/Ouranos/Chaos/Tartaros/Eros

First generation of Gods

Rhea/Kronos/the Titans

Second Generation of Gods

Metis&Hera/Zeus/Olympians

Third generation of Gods, end of diving succession crises

Pandora's Jar

Jar that came w/ Pandora, releasing famine, disease, despair, etc. into the world. Hope remained in jar, did not come out

Hesiod's Ages of Man

1. Golden Race: Asexual, long lifespan, peace, etc.
2. Silver Race
-shorter lifespan, occasional war/disagreement
3. Bronze Race
-more standard lifespan, greed present
4. Race of Heroes
-race in which all heroes reside
5. Iron Race
-current race of man, has betrayal, familial distrust, disease, etc.

Indo

European root Di

Xenia

Guest relations, proper treatment of visitors

Io

Mortal Zeus fell in love with and turns into a cow to hide it from Hera. Hera finds out, guards cow eternally w/ many

Europa

Mortal women Zeus falls in love with, he turns into a cow to trick her and takes her to Crete to reproduce.

Steps of a Right of Passage

1. Separation
2. liminal zone
3. reintegration

Apollo

God representing male youth & archery. Typically represented with long hair or a lyre (guitar)

Hyancinthos

Youthful male Apollo falls in love with and turns into a flower after his death; origin of hyacinthusL flower

Leto

Mother of Apollo and Artemis, cannot find anywhere to birth her children

Delos

Island where Apollo and Artemis were birthed by Leto, held onto a palm tree while she gave birth

Delphi

Holy site of Apollo, guarded by monster Pythos before Apollo took over

Telphusa

Spring-being who guided Apollo to have his sanctuary at Delphi

Artemis

Goddess of the hunt, majorly associated with rights of passage of women

Aktaion

Man who saw Artemis naked, has his dogs turned against him as punishment

Brauron

Site where worshippers of Artemis travelled to go through right of passage, entered liminal zone, included "bear dance"

Hermes

Messenger God, associates with both the mortal world and divine world, translates between both

Caduceus

Intertwined snake staff used by Hermes, affects boundary between unconscious and conscious

Maia

Hermes's mother, nymph

Turtle

Animal killed and scavenged by baby Hermes to craft first guitar following his birth

Apollo's cattle

Animals stolen by Hermes to show his slyness; sacrificed a few to please Gods and earn his spot on Olympus

Raw Meat

What Hermes could not eat, showing his divinity

Athena

Goddess of war and civilization

Erechteus

Athenian myth of the origin of humans from more primal creatures, first human

Arachne

Mortal who challenged Athena's weaving skills and was turned into a spider after participating in a weaving contest with the goddess

Demeter

Goddess of Grain and the hearth, mother of Persephone

Persephone

Taken hostage by Hades, forced to stay in the underworld 1/3 of the year after eating a forbidden pomegranate

Demophoon

Son of Queen Metaneira and King Celeus who Demeter attempts to immortalize by holding him over a flame

Dionysus

God of ritual madness, wine, etc. Blurs many traditional boundaries

Maenads

Female followers of Dionysus, often carrying an ivy branch called a thyrsus

Satyrs

Beastial, primal, crazy followers of Dionysus

Bacchae

Play put on by the Athenians about Dionysus and the Kingdom of Thebes

Pentheus

Major character of Bacchae, punished for not believing in Dionysus's presence and disrupting women's liminal zone ritual

Gilgamesh

One of the earliest instances of a hero myth, staple of Babylonian culture

Endiku

Gilgamesh's sidekick, dies and results in Gilgamesh traveling to the underworld

Thetis

Mother of Achilles, woman who Zeus fell in love with and had marry Peleus to avoid succession crisis

Paris

Man who starts Trojan War by abducting Helen of Troy after Aphrodite promises him intercourse w/ her (she's most beautiful mortal woman); also kills Achilles

Myacenae

Kingdom Agamemnon hailed from

Pelops

Son of Tantalus, gets fed to Gods and is the origin of the Agamemnon house curse

Agamemnon

General during Trojan War who returns home to Myacenae and is killed by his wife, Chlytemestra, and her suitor, Aegisthus

Cassandra

Woman brought home by Agamemnon who has sort

Odysseus

Man who goes through many trials and tribulations attempting to return from the Trojan War

Hermes

Paternal Grandfather of Odysseus

Telemachus

Son of Odysseus who must go through maturing process to help his father return home

Penelope

Wife of Odysseus, plagued by suitors disrespecting Xenia in Odysseus's absence

Nestor

Man visited by Telemachus to show him how Xenia works and how kleos is obtained from it

Calypso

Island temptress who grants Odysseus a liminal zone and hinders his return home

Nausicaa

Princess on the island of the Phaiacians, called Scheria, who offers Odysseus Xenia after falling in love with him

Circ

Island Enchantress who turns Odysseus's men into swine and coaxes him to remain on her island with food, sex, etc.

Eurylochus

One of Odysseus's men who dies on Circe's island and pleads Odysseus to return and give him a proper burial upon Odysseus's journey to the underworld

Tiresius

Prophet in the underworld who warns Odysseus of the cattle of Helios and advises him on how to return home safely.

Polyphemus

Cyclops who traps Odysseus and his men, tells his father, Poseidon, of Odysseus's disrespect towards him and plots the sea god against Odysseus

Aeolus

Man who gives Odysseus and his men a bag of wind to return home, Odysseus's men open the bag and waste the wind b/c they are too eager about whats inside.

Herakles

Greek Hero known for strength and power, required to do 12 labors to prove his worth and achieve true Apotheosis

Apotheosis

Transferring of heroes to God

Eurystheus

Man who requires Harakles to do 12 labors in efforts to get rid of him

Nemean Lion

First Labor of Harakles, animal w/ impenetrable skin that the hero must receive the skin of

Hydra

Snake creature with reproducing heads that Herakles defeats with the help of Inlos, his brother's son

Cerynitian Deer

Fastest animal on Earth, Harakles must bring it to Eurystheus alive

Erumanthian Boar

Huge swine

Stalls of Aegues

Stalls Herakles must clean, filled with dung and other filth b/c they have never been cleaned

Stymphalian Birds

Deadly birds Herakles must defeat

Diomedes

Man who misconstrues Xenia and feeds his guests to his horses, Herakles feeds him to his horses.

Belt of Hippolyte

Item Herakles must retrieve from queen of the Amazons

Cattle of Geryo

Animals Herakles must retrieve that are guarded by a two headed dog, Orthos. Belong to a man with three torsos

Garden of Hesperides

Garden in which Herakles must retrieve fruit, instead has Atlas get it and holds up the world in his place for a bit

Kerberos

Dog of the Underworld Herakles must retrieve for his final labor

Theseus

Greek Hero most known for traveling to Crete and defeating the Minotaur, Poseidon's son. Went on a journey on an attempt to atone with his father, faced trials along the way

Labrynth

Long maze on Crete in which Minotaur resides, challenge of the sacrifices to the Minotaur

Ariadne

King Minos's daughter who falls in love with Theseus and helps him escape the labrynth, Theseus eventually abandons her on an island

Sinis

Mountain man/monster that typically offers guess Xenia but instead ties them to a tree. Theseus reverses role and ties him to the tree

Skiron

Monster that typically has guests wash his feet & them throws them off a cliff with a monster turtle at the bottom (disrespect of Xenia). Theseus reverses the role

Prokrustes

Man who asks guests to rest on a couch:if guest is too short for couch, he stretches them to fit the couch and tears their body apart.

if guest is too long, cuts off their limbs to make them fit

Trial on Theseus's road to Athens

Aegeus

Theseus's mortal father (apart from Poseidon)

Medea

Evil wife of Aegeus who convinces him to send Theseus off to Crete as a sacrifice to the Minotaur, among other labors, to get rid of him (similar to Herakles story)

Apollonius

Author of Jason & the Argonauts myth

Jason

Greek hero, created later in history than others, who goes on a quest to retrieve the Golden Fleece from garden guarded by Aries. Stops a bunch of places on his return, copying steps of the Odyssey

Thessaly

Kingdom where Theseus's father is imprisoned and where King Pelias is ruling