Chapter 3: The Development Of Classical Myth Flashcards
Who were the aoidoi?
The aoidoi were illiterate singers in the Archaic Period who entertained aristocratic courts and possibly the public at festivals. From early in life they learned from a master the special language of poetic composition
Who are some well-known aoidoi?
Homer and Hesiod
Who was Demodocus?
Demodocus was a blind aoidos mentioned in book 8 of the Odyssey who sings of the quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles and well as the story of Ares and Aphrodite
What place has great significance for the origin of Greek myth?
Mesopotamia
What was cuneiform writing?
It was used by the elites and was the first known system of graphic markings that could be associated with speech; the first true writing. It was the most widely used system of writing in the ancient world before the Greek alphabet
Who was An?
He was the Sumerian god of the sky. He was originally the supreme authority and source of order in the worlds of gods and humans below, however, gradually shrunk in importance (much like Uranus)
Who is Inanna?
She is An’s daughter and the ‘queen of heaven’. She was the goddess of sexual love and war
Who was Enlil?
He was the ‘lord of the storm’ and embodied the force and violence of a thunderstorm. He was also a king and An’s agent on earth. He possessed the inscribed Tablet of Destiny (by which the fate of the gods and humans were decreeed. He could be the bringer of fertilising rain or dry up flood waters
Who was Enki?
He was the ‘lord of the earth’ and ruled the fertilising waters of the earth. He was the clever, trickster god of Sumerian myth. He was also the god of wisdom and magic who instructed humanity in the arts and crafts
Who was Ki?
She was the mother-goddess of the Sumerians and was known as mother Earth. She united with Enki to produce the first vegetation
Who was Ereshkigal?
She was the ‘queen of the great below’, the Sumerian goddess of death and an aspect of Ki
What was the name of the god of the Hebrews?
Yahweh
Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey?
Homer
What does the word ‘Potnia’ mean?
The word potnia means lady
What word does ‘epic’ come from?
The word ‘epic’ comes from the latin word ‘epos’ (meaning song)
