Greek Myth Midterm

The Midterm will have 4 sections:

Section 1: LOCATION of Greek Sanctuaries. In the map below note which sites of worship you can detect and which gods were worshipped at each location. (10 points)

Section 2: IDs. Identify and explain 5 out of 6 figures/terms. (30 points) 

Section 3: PASSAGE ANALYSIS. Choose 3 out 4 passages and explain where this passage comes from and what its importance is within the text it appears. Things to comment upon may include the following: themes and issues the passage brings to mind; characterization of a certain figure. (30 points)

Section 4: VISUAL ANALYSIS. Choose 3 out of 4 images and describe who/what is represented there and what is noteworthy about this representation. (30 points)

Sanctuary Locations in Greece

Athens:

  • Main sanctuary of Athena (Athena Parthenos) on the Acropolis. Athena is the patron goddess of the city, associated with wisdom, strategy in war, and civic order.

Eleusis:

  • Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone. Site of the Eleusinian Mysteries, secret initiation rituals promising hope for a better afterlife.

Brauron:

  • Sanctuary of Artemis. Known for the Brauronia festival, where young girls dressed as bears in rituals marking the transition from childhood to adulthood.

Sounion:

  • Sanctuary of Poseidon, overlooking the sea. Sailors prayed here for safe travel.

Olympia:

  • Sanctuary of Zeus, site of the Olympic Games.

Delphi:

  • Sanctuary of Apollo. Home of the famous oracle, where the Pythia delivered prophetic messages.

Cythera:

  • Important sanctuary of Aphrodite, associated with love and sexuality.

Delos:

  • Sacred island and birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.

Thebes:

  • Important in myths of Dionysus, Cadmus, and Pentheus.

Dodona:

  • Sanctuary of Zeus, known for one of the oldest Greek oracles.

Arkadia:

  • Region associated with Artemis and wilderness cults.

Epidaurus:

  • Sanctuary of Asclepius, god of healing.

 

Names and Terms for Midterm Exam 

Temenos (sanctuary):

  • A sacred space dedicated to a god. It was marked off from ordinary land and contained temples, altars, and ritual areas.

Ouranos/Heaven:

  • Primordial god of the sky and first ruler of the cosmos. Son and husband of Gaia. Overthrown by his son Cronus.

Gaia/Earth:

  • Primordial goddess representing Earth. Mother of many gods including the Titans.

Eros:

  • Primordial force of attraction and desire that brings beings together and enables creation.

Cronus:

  • Leader of the Titans who castrated his father Ouranos and ruled the cosmos before Zeus.

Rhea:

  • Titan goddess and wife of Cronus. Mother of the Olympian gods including Zeus.

Zeus:

  • King of the gods who overthrows Cronus. Associated with justice, divine order, and political authority.

Titans:

  • Earlier generation of gods defeated by Zeus and the Olympians during the Titanomachy.

Prometheus:

  • Champion of humanity who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans. Punished by Zeus by being chained to a rock where an eagle eats his liver daily.

Metis:

  • First wife of Zeus and personification of wisdom. Zeus swallowed her to prevent their child from overthrowing him. Athena was later born from his head.

Sacrifice (thusia):

  • Central Greek religious ritual where animals were killed and offered to the gods. Humans ate the meat while gods received the bones and fat.

Ocean:

  • Primordial river surrounding the world.

Oceanids:

  • Daughters of Ocean, water nymphs associated with rivers and springs.

Epimetheus:

  • Brother of Prometheus who accepts Pandora as a gift from the gods.

Pandora:

  • First woman created by the gods as punishment for humanity. Opens a jar releasing hardships into the world.

Athena (Parthenos):

  • Virgin goddess of wisdom, strategy, and crafts. Patron deity of Athens.

Poseidon:

  • God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. Brother of Zeus.

Hephaestus:

  • God of fire, metalworking, and craft. Often depicted as lame.

Hera:

  • Queen of the gods and wife of Zeus. Associated with marriage.

Demeter (Karpophoros):

  • Goddess of agriculture and grain. Mother of Persephone.

Persephone (Kore):

  • Daughter of Demeter who is abducted by Hades. Her seasonal return explains the cycle of the seasons.

Hades:

  • God of the underworld and ruler of the dead.

Metaneira:

  • Queen of Eleusis who hosts Demeter while she searches for Persephone.

Demophoon:

  • Son of Metaneira whom Demeter attempts to make immortal.

Eleusis:

  • Site of the Eleusinian Mysteries dedicated to Demeter and Persephone.

Mystes:

  • First-level initiate in the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Epoptes:

  • Higher-level initiate who has completed the full Eleusinian initiation.

Telesterion:

  • Large hall at Eleusis where the secret rituals of the Mysteries occurred.

Hiereis:

  • Priests responsible for performing religious rituals.

Manteis:

  • Seers who interpreted divine signs and prophecies.

Artemis (potnia theron):

  • Virgin goddess of the wilderness and animals. Protector of young girls.

Brauron:

  • Sanctuary of Artemis where girls participated in initiation rituals.

Actaeon:

  • Hunter torn apart by his own dogs after seeing Artemis bathing.

Orion:

  • Great hunter loved by Artemis; later placed in the stars.

Niobe:

  • Woman who boasted she was superior to Leto. Apollo and Artemis killed her children in punishment.

Callisto:

  • Follower of Artemis seduced by Zeus and transformed into a bear.

 

 

Aphrodite (Cypris, Cyprogenes, Cytherea):

  • Goddess of love, beauty, and sexual desire. Born from sea foam after Ouranos’ severed genitals fell into the ocean. Her epithets connect her to cult centers like Cyprus and Cythera.

Anchises:

  • A mortal shepherd loved by Aphrodite in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite. She disguises herself as a mortal woman and their union produces the hero Aeneas.

Aeneas:

  • Son of Aphrodite and Anchises. A Trojan hero and legendary ancestor of the Romans.

Leto:

  • Mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus. Because Hera was jealous, Leto wandered until she could give birth on the island of Delos.

Apollo (Delian, Pythian, Loxias):

  • God of prophecy, music, healing, and order. His epithets refer to his birth on Delos, his oracle at Delphi, and the ambiguous nature of his prophecies.

Delphi:

  • Major sanctuary of Apollo and location of the famous Greek oracle where the priestess Pythia delivered prophetic messages.

Hermes (Argeiphontes):

  • Messenger god associated with travel, trickery, and commerce. The epithet Argeiphontes refers to his killing of the giant Argus.

Mercury:

  • Roman equivalent of Hermes, serving as the messenger of the gods and protector of merchants and travelers.

Physchopompos:

  • An epithet of Hermes meaning “guide of souls,” referring to his role leading the dead to the underworld.

Dionysus (Lysios):

  • God of wine, theater, and ritual madness. Associated with freedom from social norms and ecstatic religious experiences.

Semele:

  • Mortal mother of Dionysus.

Teiresias:

  • Blind prophet of Thebes who recognizes Dionysus' divinity.

Pentheus:

  • King of Thebes who refuses to recognize Dionysus and is punished.

Cadmus:

  • Founder of Thebes and grandfather of Pentheus.

Agave:

  • Mother of Pentheus who kills him in a Dionysian frenzy.

Maenads:

  • Female followers of Dionysus who enter ecstatic states.

Bacchae:

  • Another name for Dionysus’ female worshippers.

Sparagmos:

  • Ritual tearing apart of animals during Dionysian frenzy.

Thebes:

  • An important mythological city associated with Dionysus. In Euripides’ Bacchae, Dionysus returns to Thebes to prove his divinity after King Pentheus refuses to recognize him.

 

Key Texts:

ZEUS AND DIVINE ORDER

Hesiod — Theogony (1–210)

Topic: Origins of the universe and the gods

Main idea: Explains how the cosmos and the first gods came into existence.

Key figures

  • Chaos – the first existence

  • Gaia – Earth

  • Ouranos – Sky

  • Titans – second generation of gods

Important details

  • Gaia and Ouranos produce the Titans

  • Kronos overthrows Ouranos

  • Establishes the pattern of sons overthrowing fathers

Key themes

  • Creation of the universe

  • Generational conflict among gods

  • Establishment of divine genealogy

Hesiod — Theogony (456–508)

Topic: Birth of Zeus

Main idea: Zeus escapes Kronos, who eats his children.

Key figures

  • Kronos

  • Rhea

  • Zeus

Important details

  • Kronos swallows his children to avoid being overthrown

  • Rhea hides Zeus in Crete

  • Zeus is secretly raised and later defeats Kronos

Key themes

  • Fate cannot be avoided

  • Rise of Zeus

Hesiod — Theogony (621–969)

Topic: Titanomachy (war of gods)

Main idea: Zeus and the Olympians defeat the Titans.

Key figures

  • Zeus

  • Titans

  • Cyclopes

  • Hundred-Handed Giants

Important details

  • Zeus frees the Cyclopes

  • Cyclopes give Zeus thunderbolt

  • Titans are imprisoned in Tartarus

Key themes

  • Establishment of Zeus as king of gods

  • Creation of cosmic order

ORIGINS OF HUMANS AND PROMETHEUS

Hesiod — Theogony (509–620)

Topic: Prometheus and the sacrifice trick

Main idea: Prometheus tricks Zeus in a sacrifice ritual.

Key figures

  • Prometheus

  • Zeus

Important details

  • Prometheus divides sacrifice into:

    • meat hidden in stomach

    • bones wrapped in fat

  • Zeus chooses bones → humans keep meat

  • Zeus punishes humans by withholding fire

Key themes

  • Origin of sacrifice

  • Conflict between gods and humans

Hesiod — Works and Days (1–234)

Topic: Why humans must suffer and work

Main idea: Explains human hardship.

Key figures

  • Prometheus

  • Pandora

Important details

  • Prometheus steals fire

  • Zeus creates Pandora

  • Pandora opens jar releasing evils

  • Only hope remains

Key themes

  • Justice of Zeus

  • Human suffering

  • Importance of labor

Aeschylus — Prometheus Bound (1–517)

Topic: Punishment of Prometheus

Main idea: Prometheus suffers for helping humanity.

Key figures

  • Prometheus

  • Zeus

  • Hephaestus

  • Oceanids

Important details

  • Prometheus chained to rock

  • Gave humans:

    • fire

    • technology

    • knowledge

Key themes

  • Conflict between tyranny and justice

  • Sympathy for Prometheus

ORIGINS OF WOMEN

Hesiod — Works and Days (58–128)

Topic: Creation of Pandora

Main idea: First woman created as punishment for men.

Key figures

  • Pandora

  • Zeus

Important details

  • Pandora made by the gods

  • She opens a jar releasing evils

  • Explains origin of suffering

Key themes

  • Misogyny in early Greek thought

  • Women as source of trouble

Hesiod — Theogony (573–620)

Topic: First woman

Main idea: Pandora as origin of women.

Important details

  • Women described as consuming men’s labor

  • Marriage portrayed as burden

Semonides — Fragment 7

Topic: Types of women

Main idea: Satirical classification of women.

Examples

  • Fox woman – cunning

  • Pig woman – dirty

  • Dog woman – loud

  • Bee woman – ideal wife

Theme

  • Greek misogyny and stereotypes

APHRODITE

Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite

Topic: Aphrodite’s power over love

Main idea: Zeus forces Aphrodite to fall in love with a mortal.

Key figures

  • Aphrodite

  • Anchises

Important details

  • Aphrodite disguises herself

  • Sleeps with Anchises

  • Their child is Aeneas

Key themes

  • Power of sexual desire

  • Even gods are vulnerable

APOLLO AND HERMES

Homeric Hymn to Hermes

Topic: Birth of Hermes

Main idea: Hermes proves his cleverness immediately after birth.

Key figures

  • Hermes

  • Apollo

Important details

  • Hermes steals Apollo’s cattle

  • Invents the lyre

  • Apollo becomes his ally

Key themes

  • Trickery

  • Intelligence

  • Establishing divine roles

Homeric Hymn to Apollo

Topic: Birth and power of Apollo

Key figures

  • Apollo

  • Leto

  • Hera

Important details

  • Leto searches for place to give birth

  • Apollo born on Delos

  • Apollo kills Python

  • Establishes oracle at Delphi

Themes

  • Prophecy

  • Divine authority

DEMETER AND PERSEPHONE

Homeric Hymn to Demeter

Topic: Origin of seasons and Eleusinian Mysteries

Key figures

  • Demeter

  • Persephone

  • Hades

  • Zeus

Important details

  • Hades abducts Persephone

  • Demeter causes famine

  • Compromise:

    • Persephone spends part of year in underworld

    • part with Demeter

Themes

  • Agricultural cycles

  • Mother–daughter relationship

  • Mystery cults

ATHENA

Homer — Iliad

Athena’s role

Important details

  • Supports the Greeks

  • Helps heroes in battle

  • Goddess of strategic warfare

Homer — Odyssey

Athena’s role

Important details

  • Protects Odysseus

  • Guides Telemachus

  • Helps restore order in Ithaca

Burkert (Athena)

Key ideas

Athena represents

  • wisdom

  • strategy

  • civic order

  • protector of cities

Main sanctuary: Athens Acropolis

ARTEMIS

Burkert — Artemis

Topics

  • goddess of wilderness

  • hunting

  • protector of young girls

Important details

  • associated with wild nature

  • transition to adulthood

Vikela (2008)

Focus

  • Artemis worship in Attica

Important details

  • sanctuary at Brauron

  • girls participate in bear rituals

DIONYSUS

Euripides — Bacchae

Topic: Dionysus and religious ecstasy

Key figures

  • Dionysus

  • Pentheus

  • Maenads

Important details

  • Pentheus denies Dionysus

  • women go into ecstatic frenzy

  • Pentheus is torn apart by his mother

Key themes

  • power of the god

  • danger of rejecting religion

  • ecstatic worship

Burkert — Dionysus

Key concepts

  • Ekstasis – trance state

  • Enthousiasmos – possession by god

  • Omophagia – eating raw flesh