greek mythology test

Cupid

Roman god of love; son of Venus; uses arrows to spark romantic attraction (Greek equivalent: Eros).

Aether (Ether)

Primordial personification of the upper air and light; atmosphere in which the gods respire.

Ouranos/Uranus (Sky)

Primordial sky father; husband of Gaia; grandfather of the Titans.

Titans

Second generation of gods born to Gaia and Uranus; rulers before the Olympians (including Kronos and Rhea).

Oceanus

Titan god of the world-ocean that encircles the earth.

Tethys

Oceanid wife of Oceanus; mother of the rivers and sea-nymphs.

Mnemosyne

Titaness of memory; mother of the Muses by Zeus.

Kronos (Saturn)

Leader of the Titans; dethroned by Zeus; husband of Rhea; father of the Olympian gods.

Rhea

Titaness, wife of Kronos; mother of the first generation of Olympian gods.

Cyclopes

One-eyed giants; smiths who forged Zeus’s thunderbolts.

Themis

Titaness of divine law, order, and justice.

100-Handeds (Hecatoncheires)

Hundred-handed giants who aided Zeus in the Titanomachy.

Aphrodite

Goddess of love and beauty; Greek counterpart of Venus.

Erinyes (Furies)

Female chthonic deities of vengeance who punish wrongdoers.

Pontus (Sea)

Primordial sea god; personification of the sea beyond the coasts.

Nike (Victory)

Goddess of victory; often depicted with wings.

Mt. Dikte

Dictaean mountain in Crete; associated with Zeus’s upbringing.

Titanomachy

War between the Titans and the Olympian gods; Olympians emerge victorious.

Thunderbolts / Lightning bolts

Zeus’s weapon; symbol of divine authority; forged by the Cyclopes.

Omphalos

Navel of the world; sacred stone at Delphi symbolizing the center of the earth.

Delphi

Ancient Greek site of the Oracle of Apollo; center of the Greek world.

Parnassus

Sacred mountain associated with Apollo and the Muses; poetic inspiration.

Castalian Spring

Spring near Delphi sacred to the Muses; source of poetic inspiration.

Ethnotheogonology

Study of the origins and genealogies of gods across cultures.

Ishtar

Mesopotamian goddess of love and war; counterpart to Inanna.

Shamash

Mesopotamian sun god; associated with justice and law.

Ba'al

Canaanite storm and fertility god; major figure in Near Eastern myth.

Tiamat

Babylonian goddess of the salt sea and primordial chaos; slain by Marduk.

Anu

Sumerian/Babylonian sky god; high god and father of the gods.

Marduk

Chief god of Babylon; creator of the world; defeats Tiamat in Enuma Elish.

Olympian

One of the twelve main gods who reside on Mount Olympus.

Moirai

Fates who determine human destiny: Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos.

Clotho

Spinner; one of the Moirai; spins the thread of life.

Lachesis

Measurer; one of the Moirai; measures the thread of life.

Atropos

Cutter; one of the Moirai; cuts the thread of life.

Hesperides

Nymphs of the evening who guard the golden apples in the western garden.

Ate

Goddess of ruin, folly, and rashness; leads mortals to downfall.

Nemesis

Goddess of retribution and balance; ensures consequences for hubris.

Nereids

Sea nymphs; daughters of Nereus and Doris; companions of sailors.

Oceanids

Daughters of Oceanus and Tethys; numerous sea-nymphs.

Ceto

Sea goddess connected with sea monsters; mother of Cetus.

Iris

Goddess of the rainbow; messenger of the gods.

Ladon

Dragon that guards the golden apples of the Hesperides.

Typhoeus (Typhaon)

Gigantic serpentine monster; foe of Zeus; offspring of Gaia and Tartarus.

Helios (Sun)

Personification of the Sun; drives the sun chariot across the sky.

Eos (Dawn, Aurora)

Goddess of the dawn; sister to Helios and Selene.

Boreas

North wind god; brings cold winter winds.

Zephyr

West wind god; gentle breeze.

Zeus

King of the Olympian gods; god of the sky and thunder; ruler of Mount Olympus.

Styx

River in the underworld; river goddess; oath-binding; mother of Nike.

paleolithic

The early Stone Age, characterized by hunter-gatherer societies before farming.

mesolithic

The middle Stone Age between Paleolithic and Neolithic; transitional hunter-gatherer communities.

neolithic

The late Stone Age marked by agriculture, settled villages, and domestication.

animism

Belief that objects, places, and beings possess a spirit or life force.

Venus figurines

Prehistoric female-form sculptures linked to fertility and goddess worship.

Great Goddess

A hypothesized ancient female deity associated with fertility and earth.

anthropomorphic

Having human form or human characteristics.

gynomorphic

Having a female form or female characteristics in representation.

theriomorphic

Deity or figure in animal form or bearing animal features.

bucrania

Sculpted or real bull skulls used in ritual contexts.

etiological myth

A myth that explains the origin of a custom, practice, or phenomenon.

aspect

A particular facet or feature of something; a way it can appear or be understood.

polytheism

Belief in many gods and goddesses.

monotheism

Belief in a single god.

parthenogenetic

Reproduction without fertilization; virgin birth or asexual origin.

variant

A form or version that differs from the standard or common type.

syncretism

The blending of different religious or cultural traditions into one system.

personification

Giving human qualities to non-human things or abstractions.

millennium

A period of 1,000 years; often used to describe a long future era.

eponymous

Named after a particular person or thing; giving its name to something.

eponym

A person after whom a place, people, or thing is named.

ancestor

A forebear; in myth, often linked to lineage or naming of a group.

storm god

A weather deity associated with storms, thunder, and rain.

trickster

A cunning figure who uses wit and deception to disrupt or teach.

patronymic: -id, -ids, -ides ("child of…")

Suffixes meaning 'child of' used to form family or tribal names.

cuneiform

An ancient Mesopotamian writing system using wedge-shaped marks on clay.

Linear A

The undeciphered script used by Minoan Crete before Linear B.

Linear B

The deciphered script used for Mycenaean Greek, an early form of Greek writing.

Achaeans

The ancient Greek people or tribe; term used in Homer for Greeks.

mythopoeic

Relating to myth-making or the creation of myths.

Semitic

A language/cultural group including Ugaritians, Phoenicians, and Hebrews.

Indo-European

A language family and cultural grouping that includes groups such as Hittites, Persians, Greeks, and Romans (as listed in the notes).

Sumerians

Ancient civilization of Mesopotamia during the Early Bronze Age.

Egyptians

Ancient Egyptian civilization (noted as Hamaitic in the sources).

Cycladic Islanders

Bronze Age culture from the Cyclades in the Aegean Sea.

Early Helladic Greeks (Lerna)

Early Greek settlement at Lerna, part of the Early Helladic period.

Babylonians

Mesopotamian civilization associated with the Middle to Late Bronze Age.

Minoans

Bronze Age civilization on Crete influential in Aegean trade and culture.

Hittites

An Anatolian Indo-European empire prominent in the Late Bronze Age.

Mycenaeans

Late Bronze Age Greek civilization (Late Helladic) in Greece.

Ugaritians

Semitic culture from Ugarit in the Levant.

Phoenicians

Semitic seafaring traders known for Mediterranean trade and the alphabet.

Hebrews

Ancient Hebrew people of the Levant, a Semitic group.

Iron Age

Era following the Bronze Age; in the notes equated with the Dark Age.

Dark Age

Period of cultural decline after the Bronze Age; in the notes linked to the Iron Age.

Hesiod

Ancient Greek poet associated with early Greek literature and the Geometric period context.

Homer

Ancient Greek epic poet, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Geometric Period

Early Greek art and cultural phase characterized by geometric motifs following the Dark Age.

Jericho

One of the world's oldest inhabited cities; key archaeological site in the Levant.

Çatalhöyük

Neolithic settlement in Anatolia, important early urban site.