CLCV 115 Exam 2

Io

Woman Zeus lusted for; Zeus turned her into a cow when Hera got suspicious; ancestor of Perseus

Semele

Woman Zeus lusted for; Zeus granted her wish of seeing himself in his true form, which incinerated her; mother of Dionysus (Zeus sewed him to his thigh after she perished)

Ganymede

Trojan prince admired by Zeus; abducted (by Zeus in eagle form) to be "cup-bearer" of the gods

Europa

Woman Zeus lusted for; turned into a white bull to seduce her

Rape of Persephone

Zeus allowed Hades to abduct Persephone from her mother Demeter; Hades lets her return after feeding her pomegranate seeds (she has to stay in the underworld half the year); Demeter gets sad during that time and winter occurs

Slaying of Python

Guarded the omphalos at Delphi; chthonic enemy of Apollo; Apollo slew it

Daphne

Apollo was shot by Eros' (Cupid's) arrow; lusted for Daphne; eventually was turned into a laurel tree

Phaethon

Son of Helios; drove the Sun's chariot and almost burned the Earth; Zeus had to shoot down the chariot and kill him

Marsyas

Challenged Apollo to a music competition; lost and was flayed alive

Hyacinth

Lover of Apollo; the western wind was jealous of their love and pushed Apollo's discus to kill Hyacinth; Apollo did not let Hades take him, made him into a flower instead

Callisto

Nymph of Artemis who was impregnated by Zeus (disguised as Artemis herself); Hera turned her into a bear, which was turned into Ursa Major (the big dipper constellation)

Niobe

Boasted to Leto of her seven sons and daughters; Leto had Apollo and Artemis kill all of her children; turned into a rock

Acaeton

Hunter trained by Chiron; saw Artemis bathing naked in the woods; turned into a stag (male deer) and his hunting wolves ripped him apart

Atalanta

Married to Meleager; helped kill the Calydonain Bull

Arachne

Challenged Athena to a weaving contest; her boastfulness had her turned into a spider

Aphrodite

Goddess of love; born out of sea foam from Ouranos' genitals

Adonis

Loved by Aphrodite and Persephone; killed by a wild boar sent by Artemis, who was jealous of his hunting skill; Aphrodite's tears made the anemone flower

Pentheus

King of Thebes; outlawed the worship of Dionysus; was torn apart by women (caused by Dionysus)

Pyramus and Thisbe

(Romeo and Juliet); She goes to meet him, sees a bloody lion, flees and drops her veil; He goes to meet her, sees her veil and kills himself; She comes back, sees him, and kills herself; how mulberry bush got its red color (blood)

Hermaphroditus

Hermes + Aphrodite; female figure with male genitalia

Pygmalion and Galatea

Man prayed to Aphrodite to make his carved statue love him; she agreed

Narcissus

Fell in love with his own reflection in a pool of water

Echo

Nymph Zeus lusted for; Hera became suspicious and made her only able to speak the words she most recently heard; couldn't tell Narcissus she loved him

Midas

King where everything he touched turned to gold

Pan

God of nature and "rustic music"; Arcadia; goat legs and horns; plays a type of flute

Syrinx

Pursued by Pan; asked the river gods to turn her into hollow reeds; Pan cut them and used them for his flute

Orpheus

Extremely talented musician; tried to save his wife Eurydice from Hades on the condition that he could not look back at her until they both made it to the overworld, but looked at her once he made it and she disappeared forever

Eurydice

Orpheus' wife; killed by a snake bite; disappeared forever when Orpheus looked back at her while leaving Hades

Mt. Olympus

Home of the gods; mountain in Greece

ambrosia

Food consumed by the gods; "immortality"

nectar

Drink consumed by the gods; similar to ambrosia

ichor

Blood of gods and immortals

pantheon

Temple in Rome dedicated to all the gods

omnipotent

Unlimited power

omniscient

All knowing

metamorphosis

Undergoing a change

Dyaus

Proto-Indo-European sky god

storm god

God of the sky and lightning

Argive Heraion

Ancient temple in Argos dedicated to Hera

Eileithyia

Greek goddess of childbirth and midwifery; "daughter" of Zeus and Hera; phallic object in a cave in Crete

Hebe

Younger duality of Hera; wife of Heracles (Hercules)

Kanathos

Spring where Hera renewed her virginity

Thalassa

Female counterpart to Pontus; spirit of the sea

Mt. Helicon

Mountain on which were two springs of the Muses; one of the springs of Pegasus; Narcissus' pool

Pegasus

Winged horse; born from the blood of Medusa's head when Perseus slew her; creates springs everywhere it stepped

Hippocrene

Sacred spring to the Muses; formed by Pegasus

Persephone (Proserpina)

Queen of the underworld; abducted by Hades and fed pomegranate seeds; daughter of Demter

Telesterion

Part of the Eleusinian Mysteries; hall devoted to Demeter and Persephone

Triptolemus

Demi-god of milling and sowing; part of the Elusinian Mysteries with Demeter and Persephone

eternal return

The cycle of plants dying and being reborn in the spring; Persephone

Hyperboreans

Race of giants who lived "beyond the north wind"

ephebe

An adolescent male

potnia theron

A female divinity associated with animals; "Mistress of the Animals"

Leto (Latona)

Mother of Apollo and Artemis

Mt. Cynthus

Mountain on Delos where Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis

Metis

Mother of Athena; Zeus swallowed her and he gave birth to Athena through his head

xoanon

Flat "sculpture" of a cult image

Erechtheion

Temple in Athens dedicated to Athena and Poseidon

Parthenon

Large temple in Athens

aegis

Animal skin held by Athena and Zeus in the Iliad

Gorgoneion

Protective amulet with a Gorgon's head on it

apotropaic

Magic intended to turn away evil influences

hearth

Brick or stone oven

megaron

Great rectangular hall in a palace or temple; where sacrifices occurred

Pylos

Cave where Hermes hid Apollo's sacred cattle

herm

Sculpture of a head on top of a squared lower section; sometimes genitals

Arcadia

Home of Pan; center of Peloponnese; where Hermes was born and worshipped

Pleiades

Seven companions of Artemis; born on Mt. Cyllene (Arcadia)

trickster god

Cunning and clever god that uses their knowledge for mischief

Dione

Daughter of Oceanus and Tethys; a water nymph

vegetation god

God whose disappearance and reappearance symbolizes the birth and death of plant life

mystery cult

Group of people sworn to secrecy; worshipping one or two gods

sparagmos

Act of tearing a person apart by their limbs

omophagy

Act of eating raw flesh

Bacchus

Roman god of wine and wild parties

Maenad

Female followers of Dionysus

Satyr

Male followers of Dionysus; horse ears, tails, exaggerated erections

Silenus

Companion and tutor of Dionysus

thyrsus

Wand of fennel covered with vines; associated with Dionysus and satyrs

syncretism

The combining of two ideas into one; Zeus with horns; Hermes' Egyptian counterpart

Euhemerism

Belief that mythological accounts are derived from real historical events

allegory

Metaphor representing real-life issues or occurrences

panhellenic festival

Combination of games: Olympic Games, Pythian Games, Nemean Games, Isthmian Games

Olympic Games

Games to celebrate Zeus; every four years

Panathenaea

Ancient version of Olympic Games

votive

An object offered for a vow

cult

Social group defined by its religious beliefs

attribute

A characteristic of a being

epithet

Accompanying/replacing a name; "nickname"

invoke

Appeal to someone for help in an argument/story telling

demigod

Minor deity; born of union between god and man; became a deity posthumously

divinity, diety

A god

iconography

Description of something with images

Apollo Belvedere

Statue of Apollo; Renaissance Period

orientation

The placing of something in respect to something else; temples being placed in regard to the sun

pediment

The triangular top of a temple

Pergamon Altar

Long altar describing Gigantomachy

Orion

Son of Poseidon; threatened to hunt and kill all animals on Earth; Gaia sent a huge scorpion to kill him; placed into the stars

Hecate

Goddess of witchcraft; shown with multiple heads

Asclepius

Hero and god of medicine