Gods CLCV 115 Midterm 1

Examination Details and CBTF Policies

  • Exam Window: Thursday, Sept. 24 through Sunday, Sept. 27.

  • Testing Facility: Grainger College of Engineering’s Computer-Based Testing Facility (CBTF).

    • Designated testing lab locations:

    • Grainger Library 057

    • Digital Computer Lab (DCL) L520

    • Siebel Center for Computer Science 0403

    • Chemistry Annex 2nd Floor

    • CBTF is utilized for the first two exams, but NOT the final exam.

  • Required Items: Student ID / icard.

  • Time Limit: 50 minutes (unless accommodated through DRES).

  • Format: 75 multiple-choice questions (options a–d).

  • Exam Content Scope: Weeks 1–5 material, covering Powell chapters 1–9 and lecture materials.

  • Registration Procedure:

    • Access https://cbtf.illinois.edu/students.

    • Select PrairieTest Login.

    • Reserve an available date and time slot.

  • Accommodations Policy (DRES):

    • Students with Division of Rehabilitation-Education Services (DRES) accommodations must submit their Letter of Accommodations (LOA) via the DRES Accommodations tab on the CBTF website as early as possible.

    • LOA processing may take up to five days. Making a reservation prior to LOA processing will result in a reservation without accommodations, requiring rescheduling.

    • Accommodations submission must be completed every semester.

  • In-Exam Issues and Academic Integrity:

    • CBTF policies represent official course policies. Academic integrity violations committed within the CBTF are treated as course infractions.

    • Any technical or procedural issue during an exam must be reported to a proctor immediately to resolve it prior to logging off. Unreported issues before logging off forfeit all rights to post-exam redress.

  • Preparation: Complete the 10-minute CBTF Orientation and review all instructions on the CBTF website prior to the exam.

Divinities and Demi-Gods

  • An / Anu: Mesopotamian sky god.

  • Aphrodite: Goddess of love.

  • Apollo: God of disease, healing, poetry, and music.

  • Ares: God of war.

  • Artemis: Goddess of hunting and the sudden death of women.

  • Asclepius: Mortal son of Apollo and Coronis, who subsequently became the god of healing.

  • Athena: Goddess of cities, crafts, wisdom, and war.

  • Atlas: Titan tasked with holding up the sky.

  • Chaos: Primordial, original being.

  • Cronus: Son of Uranus and father of Zeus.

  • Cyclopes: Craftspeople who fashioned thunderbolts for Zeus.

  • Daphne: Nymph pursued by Apollo who was transformed into a laurel tree.

  • Deucalion & Pyrrha: Survivors of the great flood who recreated mankind.

  • Epimetheus: Brother of Prometheus and husband of Pandora.

  • Eros: Personification of Love, existing as a primordial force or as the son of Aphrodite.

  • Furies (Erinyes): Goddesses of vengeance.

  • Gaea: Earth goddess, mother of primordial creation, and mother of monsters.

  • Hades: God of the dead and ruler of the underworld.

  • Helius / Helios: God of the sun, succeeding Hyperion.

  • Hephaestus: God of metalworking and crafts.

  • Hera: Goddess of marriage and queen of the gods.

  • Hermes: God of travelers, thieves, messengers, and oratory.

  • Hestia: Goddess of the hearth.

  • Hundred-handers (Hecatonchires): Primordial fifty-headed, hundred-handed giants.

  • Inanna / Ishtar: Mesopotamian goddess of love and war.

  • Leto: Titan mother of Apollo and Artemis.

  • Maia: Nymph and mother of Hermes.

  • Marduk: Mesopotamian hero god who slays Tiamat.

  • Metis: Personification of cleverness, swallowed by Zeus; mother of Athena.

  • Nymphs: Minor female nature divinities.

  • Oceanus: Titan god of the ocean and creator figure.

  • Pan: Goat-limbed god of the wild, pastures, and flocks; son of Hermes.

  • Poseidon: God of the oceans and water.

  • Priapus: God of fertility and the phallus; his statues serve an apotropaic function.

  • Prometheus: Titan who defied Zeus to grant fire to humanity.

  • Pytho(n): Monstrous giant serpent defeated by Apollo at Delphi.

  • Tartarus: Primordial underworld deity and place of punishment beneath the earth.

  • Tiamat: Mesopotamian saltwater goddess, often represented as a dragon or snake.

  • Titans: Divine offspring of Gaea and Uranus who battled the Olympian gods.

  • Typhoeus: Monstrous serpentine entity defeated by Zeus.

  • Uranus: Sky god, fathering early life with Gaea.

  • Zeus: Storm god, king of the Olympians, guardian of justice and hospitality.

Mortals

  • Actaeon: Hunter transformed into a stag by Artemis and slain by his own hunting dogs.

  • Adonis: Youth beloved by Aphrodite/Venus, killed by a wild boar.

  • Anchises: Mortal lover of Aphrodite and father of Aeneas.

  • Arachne: Mortal weaver transformed into a spider by Athena.

  • Callisto: Nymph transformed into a bear after being seduced by Zeus.

  • Cassandra: Trojan princess cursed to speak true prophecies that no one would believe.

  • Coronis: Unfaithful mortal lover of Apollo and mother of Asclepius.

  • Ganymede: Trojan prince abducted by Zeus to serve as cupbearer to the gods on Mt. Olympus.

  • Hermaphroditus: Child of Hermes and Aphrodite possessive of male and female physical attributes.

  • Hyacinth: Youth loved by Apollo, accidentally killed by a flying discus.

  • Myrrha: Daughter who offended Aphrodite, engaged in incestuous relations with her father, and was transformed into a myrrh tree; mother of Adonis.

  • Niobe: Queen who boasted of her children over Leto, resulting in all twelve of her children being slain by Artemis and Apollo.

  • Achilles: Chief Greek warrior during the Trojan War.

  • Priam: King of Troy during the Trojan War.

  • Orion: Renowned giant hunter.

  • Pandora: The first mortal woman, created by the gods as a punishment for mankind.

  • Pygmalion: Sculptor who crafted an ideal female statue (Galatea) that was brought to life.

  • Pythia: High priestess and oracle of Apollo at Delphi.

  • Sibyl of Cumae: Prophetess granted eternal life by Apollo, but condemned to age infinitely without youth.

Conceptual Vocabulary and Items

  • Aegis: Goatskin breastplate or shield trimmed with snakes, worn by Athena to instill fear in foes.

  • Anthropomorphism: Attribution of human attributes, motivations, or physical form to non-human entities or gods.

  • Apotropaic: Quality of warding off evil (e.g., the function of herms or phallic statues).

  • Caduceus: Staff entwined with two snakes, carried as a herald's wand by Hermes.

  • Cosmogony: Narrative concerning the origin and creation of the universe.

  • Creation: Concepts of cosmic formation distinguished by biological birthing versus deliberate crafting/fabrication.

  • Eponymous Ancestor: Person or figure from whom a place, tribe, or ethnic group derives its name (e.g., Hellen as the ancestor of the Hellenes/Greeks).

  • Etiological Story: Explanatory myth accounting for the origin of a phenomenon, ritual, or geographical feature.

  • Five Ages of Man: Hesiodic scheme detailing moral and physical human decline (Gold, Silver, Bronze, Heroes, Iron).

  • Flood Stories: Universal tale type recounting a world-cleansing deluge, found in Gilgamesh, Genesis, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

  • Folk Tale: Traditional narrative centered on ordinary human characters or talking animals, focusing on entertainment or moral lessons.

  • Herm: Stone pillar featuring a carved head of Hermes and explicit male genitalia, placed at borders and entrances for protection.

  • Hospitality (Xenia): Sacred guest-host code governed by social obligations and enforced by Zeus.

  • Justice (Dikê): Moral order and fair treatment enforced by Zeus.

  • Legends: Stories rooted in historical human heroes set in the distant past.

  • Lyre: Stringed musical instrument constructed from a tortoise shell, invented by Hermes and given to Apollo.

  • Myth: Traditional narrative carrying collective social importance, primarily detailing the actions of divine beings.

  • Pan Pipes: Musical pipe organ constructed from hollow reeds, created from the nymph Syrinx when she transformed to escape Pan.

  • Succession Myth: Narrative pattern wherein generations of ruling deities are overthrown by their offspring (e.g., Uranus to Cronus to Zeus in Hesiod’s Theogony).

  • Syncretism: Cultural blending of religious systems, matching foreign deities with domestic gods (e.g., equating Sumerian Inanna with Greek Aphrodite).

  • Theogony: Tale detailing the genealogy and creation of the gods.

  • Titanomachy: Ten-year battle wherein the Olympian gods vanquished the Titans.

Geographical Locations

  • Athens: Patron city of the goddess Athena.

  • Cyprus: Island sacred to Aphrodite, associated with her birth from sea foam.

  • Delos: Sacred island serving as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis, and home to Apollo's sanctuary.

  • Delphi: Location of the sanctuary and oracle of Apollo at the foot of Mount Parnassus.

  • Greece: Main region of classical antiquity and Greek mythic tradition.

  • Mesopotamia: Ancient Near Eastern region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, home to mythic traditions like the Enuma Elish.

  • Mt. Olympus: Sacred mountain dwelling of the twelve Olympian deities.

Primary Source Texts

  • Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound: Dramatic tragedy focusing on the punishment of Prometheus by Zeus.

  • Enuma Elish: Babylonian epic of creation recounting Marduk's victory over Tiamat.

  • Hesiod, Theogony & Works and Days: Archaic poetic works containing the divine succession myths, the creation of Pandora, and the Five Ages of Man.

  • Homer, Iliad & Odyssey: Epics detailing the Trojan War and the journey of Odysseus.

  • Homeric Hymns: Collection of poems praising individual gods, detailing their origins, powers, and cult locations.

  • Ovid, Metamorphoses: Roman epic detailing mythological transformations from creation down to the deification of Julius Caesar.

Iconography and Key Mythological Artworks

  • Slaughter of Niobe's Children:

    • Identifiers: Artemis and Apollo shooting arrows at the dying children of Niobe.

    • Artwork Details: Attic red-figure krater, mid-5th century BCE, name vase of the Niobid Painter.   

      Artemis and Apollo killing Niobe's children

  • Destruction of Tiamat:

    • Identifiers: Marduk wielding weapons against Tiamat, represented in serpent/dragon form.

    • Artwork Details: Cylinder seal, British Museum.   

      Tiamat destroyed by Marduk

  • Zeus Defeating Typhoeus:

    • Identifiers: Bearded Zeus hurling a thunderbolt at the winged, serpent-bodied monster Typhoeus.

    • Artwork Details: South Italian ceramic, c. 525 BCE (Powell fig. 4.6).   

      Zeus hurls a thunderbolt at Typhoeus

  • Punishment of Atlas and Prometheus:

    • Identifiers: Atlas supporting the celestial vault on his shoulders alongside Prometheus bound while an eagle attacks his liver.

    • Artwork Details: Laconian black-figure cup, c. 6th century BCE, Vatican Museums (Powell fig. 5.1).   

      Atlas holding up the sky, liver-devouring eagle, Prometheus chained to a mountain

  • Creation of Humans from Mud:

    • Identifiers: Seated Prometheus shaping miniature human figures out of clay/mud with Athena standing at left holding a spear.

    • Artwork Details: Marble relief, Italy, 3rd century CE, Louvre Museum.   

      Athena and Prometheus creating humans from mud

  • Creation and Birth of Pandora:

    • Identifiers: Depiction of figures arranged left to right: Zeus, Hermes, Epimetheus, and Pandora rising from the earth.

    • Artwork Details: Attic red-figure vase, c. 475–425 BCE, Ashmolean Museum (Powell fig. 5.3).   

      Birth of Pandora

  • Sacred Marriage (Hieros Gamos) of Hera and Zeus:

    • Identifiers: Seated Zeus grasping the wrist/hand of Hera (a gesture signifying marriage in Greek art); Hera is fully veiled and clothed.

    • Artwork Details: Stone relief from Selinus, Sicily, c. 550 BCE (Powell fig. 6.2).   

      Wedding of Hera and Zeus

  • Apollo with Sacred Attributes:

    • Identifiers: Apollo wearing a laurel wreath, playing a tortoiseshell lyre, accompanied by a raven, pouring a liquid libation.

    • Artwork Details: Attic white-ground kylix, Delphi, c. 460 BCE.   

      Apollo, raven, lyre, laurel wreath

  • Hermes with Herald Icongraphy:

    • Identifiers: Hermes depicted with a broad traveler's hat (petasos) hanging back at his neck, winged sandals, holding the caduceus (staff entwined with serpents).

    • Artwork Details: Athenian red-figure lekythos, c. 500–450 BCE.   

      Hermes with traveling hat, staff with entwined serpents, winged sandals

  • Infant Hermes and the Stolen Cattle:

    • Identifiers: Apollo approaching infant Hermes resting in a cradle wearing his petasos, accompanied by a stolen cow.

    • Artwork Details: Attic red-figure vase, c. 490 BCE (Powell fig. 8.2).   

      Apollo and Hermes as a baby, in his cradle, and a stolen cow

  • Pan's Rustic Caprine Form:

    • Identifiers: Pan depicted with caprine features including horns, hooves, goat legs, and a tail.

    • Artwork Details: Roman mosaic, 2nd–3rd century CE.   

      Pan with characteristic goat features

  • Hephaestus Forging Armor:

    • Identifiers: Seated, fully clothed Hephaestus holding a smithing hammer, presenting forged armor to Thetis.

    • Artwork Details: Attic red-figure kylix, c. 490–480 BCE.   

      Hephaestus and Thetis, seated, clothed, holding a hammer, and armor he has made

  • Birth of Aphrodite:

    • Identifiers: Nude Aphrodite reclining inside a scallop shell floating on water, flanked by Eros/Cupid and a sea deity with billowing drapery.

    • Artwork Details: Fresco from Pompeii, 1st century CE.   

      Aphrodite rising from the sea

  • Birth of Athena from the Head of Zeus:

    • Identifiers: Fully armored Athena emerging directly from the head of seated Zeus; Hephaestus standing nearby with his double axe.

    • Artwork Details: Attic black-figure amphora, c. 560 BCE (Powell fig. 4.7).   

      Birth of Athena from head of Zeus

  • Athena Armed:

    • Identifiers: Striding Athena wearing a crested helmet, wielding a spear, holding a shield emblazoned with a serpent, and wearing the snake-fringed aegis.

    • Artwork Details: Panathenaic black-figure amphora, c. 500–480 BCE (Powell fig. 9.7).   

      Athena with helmet, spear, aegis, shield