CLCV 115 obj ex 2 terms/people

geometric art period date

900-700 bc

geometric art period features

Abstract, geometric motifs

orientalizing art period dates

700-600 bc

orientalizing art period features

Eastern influence, Assyrian style

archais art period dates

600-480 bc

archaic art period features

black figure pottery

classical art period dates

480-400 bc

classical art period features

Red-figure pottery, naturalism, democracy

4th century art period dates

399-323 bc

4th century art period features

classical continuity

hellenistic art period dates

323-146 bc

hellenistic art period features

Drama, emotion, Alexander’s empire

roman art period dates

146 bc - 330 ad

roman art period features

Mosaics, coins, syncretism

hecate

cthonic god

Goddess of magic, crossroads, ghosts, and witchcraft; associated with the moon and the underworld; often shown holding torches.

asclepius

cthonic god

Healer who learned to raise the dead; punished by Zeus with death and later made a god of medicine; symbolized by the serpent staff.

hades (pluto)

cthonic god

Ruler of the dead and the underworld; brother of Zeus and Poseidon; often shown with Cerberus and a scepter; not evil, just stern and just.

cerberus

three-headed hound guarding the entrance to the underworld, preventing souls from leaving; symbol of death’s inevitability.

styx

Sacred river of oath; gods swear by it and breaking an oath brings divine punishment; represents hatred and boundary between worlds

acheron

“River of woe”; one of the five rivers of the underworld, across which souls are ferried by Charon.

charon

Ferryman who carries souls across Acheron or Styx; requires coin as payment placed in the mouth of the dead.

vergil’s aeneid

Roman epic where a Trojan hero travels to Italy; includes a detailed descent into the underworld in Book 6.

aeneas

Trojan prince who escapes the fall of Troy; destined to found Rome; visits the underworld guided by the Sibyl.

sibyl of cumae

Prophetess and priestess of Apollo; leads Aeneas into the underworld and interprets its secrets.

golden bough

Sacred branch Aeneas must present to gain entry to the underworld; symbolizes divine permission and safe passage.

avernus

Lake near Cumae believed to be an entrance to the underworld; its fumes were said to kill birds flying over it

katabasis

Term for a hero’s descent into the underworld; represents death, rebirth, or gaining secret knowledge.

minos

judge of the dead

Former king of Crete; judge who decides a soul’s final destination in the underworld

rhadamanthys

judge of the dead

Brother of Minos; judge known for fairness and moral wisdom; assigns souls to punishment or reward

aeacus

judge of the dead

Third judge, guardian of the keys to the underworld gates; associated with justice and piety

tartarus

Deep abyss below Hades used as a prison for the wicked and for Titans; place of eternal torment.

tantalus

Punished by eternal hunger and thirst; stands in water he can’t drink and beneath fruit he can’t reach.

sisyphus

Doomed to roll a boulder up a hill forever, only for it to roll back each time; symbol of endless, futile labor.

tityus

Giant stretched across the underworld with vultures eternally eating his liver for assaulting Leto.

ixion

Bound to a fiery, spinning wheel for eternity after attempting to seduce Hera.

danaids

Fifty sisters forced to carry water in leaky jars forever for murdering their husbands on their wedding night.

elysian fields

Paradise reserved for the virtuous and heroic souls; peaceful and bright realm of reward.

isles of the blessed

Ultimate paradise for the most exceptional heroes, often viewed as an extension of Elysium.

dionysus

God of wine, fertility, ecstatic celebration, and transformation; linked to theater and loss of rational boundaries

vegetation god

Deity symbolizing growth, death, and rebirth of nature; often connected with agricultural or seasonal cycles.

dionysus

dionysus’ mystery cult

cult that used to do human sacrifice with sparagmos and omphagy

sparagmos

Ritual tearing apart of a sacrificial victim, symbolizing death and renewal.

omophagy

Consuming raw flesh in ritual to unite worshippers with divine life-force.

bacchus

Roman name for dionysus; source of the word “Bacchic” for ecstatic worship.

maenad

Female follower of Dionysus who enters wild, frenzied states during his rituals.

satyr

Male woodland spirit with horse or goat features; companion of Dionysus; symbol of lust and playfulness.

silenus

Elderly, drunken companion and tutor of Dionysus; often wise beneath his intoxication.

thyrsus

Staff tipped with ivy or pinecone carried by Dionysus and his followers; symbol of fertility and power.

aphrodite

Goddess of love, beauty, and desire; born from sea foam; linked with both passion and fertility.

dione

Early mother or double of the goddess of love; possibly her pre-Olympian form

indo-european name of aphrodite

syncretism

Blending or merging of different religious traditions or deities into a single figure or practice

euhemerism

Theory that gods originated as deified historical humans or rulers.

allegory

Story or image that conveys deeper symbolic or moral meaning beyond its literal level.

panhellenic festival

Religious event open to all Greeks, promoting shared cultural identity.

olympic games

Athletic contests at Olympia in honor of Zeus; most famous Panhellenic festival.

panathenaea

Athenian festival celebrating the city’s patron goddess; included processions, sacrifices, and competitions.

iconography

Visual symbols and attributes used to identify a figure, deity, or theme in art.

kylix

Shallow Greek drinking cup with wide bowl and two handles; often painted with myth scenes.

contrapposto

Naturalistic pose in sculpture where weight rests on one leg, creating relaxed balance.

apolle belvedere

Famous classical statue exemplifying idealized male beauty and proportion.

orientation

Alignment of a temple or structure to cardinal directions or significant celestial points.

pediment

Triangular gable at the end of a temple roof, often filled with sculptural decoration.

pergamon altar

Monumental Hellenistic structure depicting the battle between gods and giants; dramatic and emotional style.

orion

Giant hunter placed among the stars after death; associated with a prominent constellation.

votive

Offering dedicated to a god in thanks or in fulfillment of a vow; often a small statue or object.

cult

System of worship and ritual practices centered on a particular deity.

attribute

Object or feature that identifies a specific god (e.g., Zeus’ thunderbolt)

epithet

Descriptive title expressing a deity’s power, function, or place (e.g., “Pallas Athena”).

invoke

To call upon a god for aid, blessing, or presence.

demigod

Being born from a mortal and a divine parent; hero with partial divinity.

divinity/deity

Supernatural being possessing divine power; an immortal worshiped by humans.

foundation myth

Story explaining the origin of a city, people, or institution; often involving divine approval.

peloponnese

Large peninsula in southern Greece containing cities like Sparta, Corinth, and Mycenae

poseidon

Deity of sea, earthquakes, and horses; brother of Zeus and Hades; identified by trident and chariot of sea creatures.

thalassa

Personification of the sea; sometimes depicted as a primordial goddess of the ocean’s surface.

mt. helicon

Sacred mountain in Boeotia associated with the Muses; source of poetic inspiration.

pegasus

Winged horse born from Medusa’s blood; later associated with poetic inspiration and the Muses.

hippocrene

Horse spring” on Mt. Helicon; said to have burst forth where Pegasus struck the ground with his hoof; sacred to poets.

demeter

Goddess of grain, agriculture, and fertility; brings seasons through her daughter’s cyclical return

persphone (proserpina)

Daughter of the harvest goddess; abducted by hades; her annual return marks spring

telesterion

Hall of initiation at Eleusis used for the secret rites of the grain goddess and her daughter.

triptolemus

Mortal who receives sacred agricultural knowledge and spreads farming to humankind

eternal return

Religious idea of cyclical time symbolized by nature’s death and rebirth, as in seasonal myth cycles.

apollo

God of prophecy, music, archery, and healing; symbol of order and rationality; twin of the moon goddess

hyperboreans

Mythical northern people living in eternal sunlight; associated with the god’s winter retreat

ephebe

Term for a youth on the threshold of adulthood; idealized as the god’s physical form

what apollo is depicted as

pythia

female oracle priestess of Delphi who delivered the god’s prophecies while seated on a tripod

tripod

Three-legged seat or stand symbolizing stability and prophecy; sacred to the god of Delphi.

artemis

Virgin huntress, protector of young, and twin of the sun god; linked to wilderness and childbirth.

potnia theron

“Mistress of animals”; title emphasizing her dominion over wild creatures.

artemis aspect(?)

leto (latona)

Mother of apollo and artemis; sought refuge while giving birth, protected by island gods.

mt. cynthus

Sacred mountain on Delos where the twins were born

athena

Goddess of wisdom, strategy, and crafts; emerged fully armed from her father’s head

metis

Personification of cunning intelligence; swallowed by the sky god, whose daughter inherited her wisdom.

xoanon

Ancient wooden cult statue representing a deity’s earliest worship form.

erechtheion

Athenian temple housing sacred relics of the city’s founding and featuring the Porch of Maidens

parthenon

Temple honoring the city’s patron goddess; celebrated for perfect proportions and sculptural harmony.

aegis

Protective goatskin shield adorned with the head of a monster; symbol of divine power.

gorgoneion

Medusa’s severed head used as an apotropaic emblem to ward off evil.

apotropaic

Term describing objects or symbols meant to avert harm or misfortune.