cla 2323 reading 2

Who is the 6th-century BC lyric poetess whose life and work are the origin of the term "lesbian"?

Sappho of Lesbos

Which goddess did Sappho invoke in her poetry to help win back the love of a young woman?

Aphrodite

In which ancient Greek city-state was lesbianism a recognized practice and women enjoyed extraordinary freedom and education?

Sparta

How was homosexuality generally treated in ancient Greek and Roman society?

It was accepted and respected, provided individuals still fulfilled societal demands like heterosexual marriage and child-rearing

Despite the acceptance of bisexuality, what perspective does classical mythology primarily reflect?

The values of a heterosexual society, emphasizing family, religion, and patriotism

Which two characters in Homer's Iliad share a profoundly strong bond that leaves room for a bisexual subtext?

Achilles and Patroclus

What characteristic sets classical mythology apart from the oral tales of preliterate societies?

Its highly developed, self-conscious literary and artistic merit

How do the authors define a "classical myth"?

A story that has attained immortality because its archetypal beauty and power inspire constant renewal and transformation by successive generations

Why did Greek myths originally vary so greatly from place to place before the 8th century BC?

The geography and topography of the Greek world naturally separated tribes, leading to cultural separatism

Whose epics (the Iliad and the Odyssey) stabilized Olympian theology and became foundational for all subsequent representations of the gods?

Homer

Which late 8th-century BC poet wrote the Theogony, detailing the origins of the gods and the defeat of the Titans?

Hesiod

What is the collection of 33 ancient Greek poems dedicated to individual deities and containing their central myths called?

The Homeric Hymns

Which three 5th-century BC Athenian playwrights established the authoritative literary versions of major tragic sagas?

Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides

Which Hellenistic poet wrote the Argonautica, the definitive source for the saga of Jason and the Argonauts?

Apollonius of Rhodes

Which 5th-century BC historian blended factual history with profound "historical myths" to explore human fate and divine will?

Herodotus

Which 4th-century BC philosopher utilized "philosophical myths" (like the Myth of Er) for didactic purposes?

Plato

What is the title of the highly valuable prose handbook of Greek mythology attributed to Apollodorus (c. 120 AD)?

Bibliotheca

Which Roman epic poet wrote the Aeneid, preserving the saga of the fall of Troy and the legend of Aeneas and Dido?

Vergil

Which Roman author is the single most important mythological source after Homer, compiling over 200 myths in his Metamorphoses?

Ovid

Which Roman historian provided continuous narrative accounts of Rome's legendary foundation myths in his work Ab Urbe Condita?

Livy

Which 1st-century AD Roman playwright wrote gory, stoic Latin tragedies such as Medea, Phaedra, and Thyestes?

Seneca

Which 2nd-century AD novel by Apuleius preserves the tale of Cupid and Psyche and details the mysteries of the Cult of Isis?

The Golden Ass