English 221: Classical Mythology Test 2

Hubris

Boastful Pride; Aeschylus said it leads to downfall

Chiron

Centaur who trained many heroes, such as: Achilles, Theseus, Jason, Perseus, and Heracles

Mystery cults/ Religions

are based on a deity that had (in some way) experienced suffering; this made them relatable to humans.

Dionysus

The vine of ____ became a symbol of renewed life and resurrection and redemption-was raised in wilderness and is god of all living fluids

Sparagmos

the act of tearing apart a live animal; often performed in Dionysian rituals in the bacchic frenzy

Omophagia

eating raw flesh; usually performed in cults, especially by the Maenads in Dionysian rituals

Maenad

women who gave their lives to Dionysus; lived in forest and were crazy

Entheos

The act of drinking wine to worship Dionysus; it was believe that that the wine was Dionysus himself

Euripides

one of the great Athenian playwrights and poets of ancient Greece; wrote Medea and The Bacchae

Xenia

guest/host relationship; kindness to strangers

Demeter

When ___found out that Persephone was stolen by Hades to be the Queen of the Underworld, she was furious and wandered the earth mourning. ___ came to the city of Eluesis, and King Celebus and Queen Metaniera showed xenia and took her in. ___ took their son, put him in the fire at night, and fed him ambrosia to make him immortal; son never became immortal, but became first priest instead

Persephone

Rape of ___ happened when she ate pomegranate seeds while in Underworld

Eleusinian Mysteries

the most widespread and lasting of the various mystery religions;

Kykeon

fermented barley with mint; beer; what Demeter asked for when she came to Eluesis

Orpheus

___ travels to Underworld for his wife

Eurydice

Wife of Orpheus; bitten by snake in the underworld and died

Charon

ferryman of Hades; wouldn't let Orpheus cross Styx again to save Eurydice

Cerberus

The hound of Hades; guards Underworld; usually has three heads

Tantalus

"tantalized" forever by the fruit of a tree and water from a pool just out of his reach

Ixion

bound forever to a fiery, revolving wheel

Sisyphus

A king in ancient Greece who offended Zeus and whose punishment was to roll a huge boulder to the top of a steep hill each time the boulder neared the top it rolled back down and he was forced to start again

Danaides

the fifty daughters of Danaus, killed husbands, poured water for eternity

Orphism

mystery religion foundation for music, poetry, art and persuasive religion

Sophocles

one of three ancient Greek tragedians whose plays have survived; wrote Oedipus the King and Antigone

Oedipus

a tragic king of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta

Laius

king of Thebes who was unwittingly killed by his son Oedipus

Jocasta

queen of Thebes who unknowingly married her own son Oedipus

Polybus and Merope

Oedipus thought ___&___were his real parents; king and queen of Corinth

Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus goes to Colonus with daughters Antigone and Ismene. His sons fight each other to the death for his vacated throne

Creon

brother of Jocasta; becomes king when Oedipus leaves and after Oedipus's sons die

Tiresias

blind prophet of Apollo in Thebes

Eteocles and Polyneices

After Oedipus leaves, ___ becomes king of Thebes and exiles his brother Polynieces

Antigone

daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, who buried her brother against Creons will

Ismene

Antigone's sister, obedient, refuses to help Antigone bury their brother but later tries to take some of the blame, never mentioned in the epilogue of the play

Haemon

Antigone's young fiancé and son to Creon. Haemon appears twice in the play. In the first, he is rejected by Antigone; in the second, he begs his father for Antigone's life. Creon's refusal ruins his exalted view of his father. He too refuses the happiness that Creon offers him and follows Antigone to a tragic demise.

Hamartia

mistake that hero makes; often error of judgement

Catharsis

emotions that happen after the hero takes a fall; purging or clarification; fear that his tragedy might happen to audience

Mimesis

tragedy is intended to be an imitation, or ___, that illustrates what life is like

Perseus

son of Danae and Zeus, slays medusa

Danae

King Acrisius' daughter, who gets pregnant by Zeus in the form of a shower of gold while in a prison-type underground room where she was put by her father because of the prophecy. Gives birth to Perseus. They are put into a chest and sailed out to sea.

Acrisius

King of Argos, father of Danae

Dictys

Kind fisherman who adopts Danae and Perseus when they are set into the ocean in a chest

Polydectes

bad brother who falls in love with Danae and tries to get with her; Perseus promises him that he will get the gorgon's head

Andromeda

as chained to a rock because her mom boasted that her daughter was more beautiful than the sea nymphs; Perseus slayed the sea monster and saved her

Casseiopia

Andromeda's mother; brags that Andromeda is more beautiful than the Nereids and Andromeda is punished for her hubris

Aegeus

King of Athens & Theseus's father, who threw himself in the ocean when he thought Theseus was dead; sea was named after him; married witch Medea

Aethra

Mother of Theseus and daughter of Pittheus, the King of Troezen, who, understanding the meaning of Delphi's obscure oracle to Aegeus, connived to have her impregnated by him.

Sinis

The pine-bender defeated by Theseus

Sciron

foot-washer who kicks people into lake w/man-eating turtle; defeated by Theseus

Procrustes

innkeeper who would chop or stretch victims to make them fit into the beds; defeated by Theseus

Crommyon Sow

On border of Isthmus and the Megarid, he killed a monstrous sow near the village of Crommyon.

Pasiphae

Birthed the Minotaur, wife of Minos, she fell in love with the Cretan Bull because of Poseidon and had the bronze cow that she got inside so she could make love to the bull.

Minotaur

(Greek mythology) a mythical monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man

Theseus

born from Aethra; slayed the minotaur of the Cretan King minos

Ariadne

mintotaur's half-sibling; falls in love with Theseus and escapes the labyrinth with him; Theseus drops her off at Island of Naxos

Daedelus

Builder of the Labyrinth, son does in an escape attempt from the Labyrinth

Icarus

The son of the master craftsman Daedalus. His father gave him wings. He ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and fell to his death

Mythological Background of Oedipus (Rape of Chrysippus)

Laius, Oedipus's father, raped Chrysippus, the son of Pelops, king of Pisa. Chrysippus killed himself and the king laid a curse on Laius: when Laius and Jocasta had a son, this child would grow up to kill his father and marry his mother.

Allegory of the Cave

Plato's description of individuals who live their lives in accordance with the shadows of reality provided by sensory experience instead of in accordance with the true reality beyond sensory experience.

Midas

the greedy king of Phrygia who Dionysus gave the power to turn everything he touched into gold

Selenus

companion and tutor to wine god Dionysus; typically older than satyrs of Dionysian retinue