classical mythology exam

Question 1

Zeus

Answer 1

king of the gods, most important in divine family hierarchy
sky, storms, law, order, kingship and justice
all powerful/seeing- often tricked though
concerned with obedience and behavior
overseer of oaths
lightning bolt, eagle
Zeus on Mt. Olympus- punishes men by giving them women

Question 2

Hera

Answer 2

sister and wife of zeus, (unfaithful to her)
queen of the gods
goddess of marriage & childbirth: highly worshipped, temples for her
Hercules birth

Question 3

Poseidon

Answer 3

Rules over the sea
brother of zeus and hera
very powerful god, seduces women he shouldn’t (medusa), married to ampetride
trident
contest of Poseidon and Athena for Athens rule

Question 4

Hades

Answer 4

ruler of the underworld- god of the dead
(aka pluto)
married to persephone
3 headed hell hound, cerebrus
the kidnapping of Persephone

Question 5

demeter

Answer 5

goddess of the grain/agriculture- important bc grain center of food
fertility goddess: role as a mother, persephone is kid
cornucopia
kidnapping of persephone

Question 6

Athena

Answer 6

goddess of war & crafts
goddess of wisdom
virgin, goddess of city of Athens
shield, aegis
the battle of Athena and Poseidon for ruling city of Athens

Question 7

Ares

Answer 7

God of war
inferior to Athena (zeus says he’s most hated)
son of zeus and Hera
violence and brutality of war
armor
Aphrodite and ares affair

Question 8

Aphrodite

Answer 8

goddess of love & sexual desire
married to Hephaistos, in love affair with Ares
has Aeneas with a mortal
nude, dove/apple
Aphrodite and Anchises in the Aeneid

Question 9

hermes

Answer 9

messenger god: thieves,
leader of souls to hades
son of zeus/haya
Zeus giving him a spot with the gods for tricking Apollo to steal cattle
traveler’s hat, winged sandal/boots

Question 10

Hestia

Answer 10

goddess of the hearth
virgin goddess, asks zeus if she can be for life
household worshipped goddess
modestly dressed, head covered
the turning down of Apollo and Poseidon

Question 11

Dionysus

Answer 11

full god with mortal mother
god of wine/agriculture- grapevine
god of theatre- danger and delight
son of Semele and zeus
Dionysus is carried in Zeus thigh after Semele killed by his full divine appearence
satyrs and maenads

Question 12

Hephaistos

Answer 12

God of the forge
married to Aphrodite- she don’t like him
son of Hera and zeus- put down by parents
walks with limp, Hera disgusted bc he has flaw
axe

Question 13

Kronos

Answer 13

the father of zeus
and many other gods/goddess with rhea
fear his kid will overthrow him (zeus does) and swallows kids to not let them

Question 14

Prometheus

Answer 14

titan- son of lapetus and lymene
prometheus steals fire for man
trickster

Question 15

Athena and the Parthenon

Answer 15

A temple made for Athena’s worship and victory in contest against Poseidon.

Question 16

Initiation rites/ three stages of initiation

Answer 16

seperation, liminality, reintegration. For females girl leaves home, spends time in wild, returns to become wife and mother ex: story of io- zeus drives her away because of Hera’s jealousy, Hera turns her into a cow and she roams the earth, turned back to human and has a son.

Question 17

Tantalus

Answer 17

son of zeus and Pluto
served his son pelops to the gods to eat
perpetual thirst
consequence of disrespect, no hospitality, and hubris

Question 18

Hippolytus

Answer 18

his stepmom falls in love with him but he doesn’t want her, she says he seduced her and Theseus (dad) curses him
was dedicated to worshipping Artemis

Question 19

Anthesteria festival

Answer 19

3 day festival for Dionysus im Athens
pithogia- jar opening day
choes- wine jug day
chrytriai- looking pots day- send away spirits of dead

Question 20

Pegasus

Answer 20

a white divine horse with wings, said to be born from medusas blood when slain by Perseus
assisted Bellerophon in his battle against the chimera

Question 21

Homeric Hymn to Demeter

Answer 21

Hades wants to marry persephone demeters daughter so he abducts her and makes Demeter search for her for years disguised as old lady doso, watches the king and queens baby for them until she cannot do it anymorebc she tried making him immortal

Question 22

Hubris

Answer 22

allowing things to go from good to bad
excess leads to bad things
arrogance from humans, need to know their place

Question 23

Daedalus and Icarus

Answer 23

Daedalus- prisoner of king minos @ Knossos, built labyrinth for minotaur
Icarus- son of Daedalus
Icarus should not have wings so he dies when gets too close to sun, did not listen to father’s warning
- hubris! D- breaking fold of nature
I- not listening to father

Question 24

The Hero Pattern

Answer 24

BKAHDKFD (babies kill all humans daily keen for death)
1.unusual weird BIRTH
2. attempt to prevent birth/KILL hero
3. heroes raised by ANIMALS/fostered
4. journey to HOME
5. DEFEATS evil king, prove worthy
6. becoming KING
7.hero FALLS off
8. heroes deaths are weird

Question 25

Thyestes (the play)

Answer 25

written by Seneca in 62 CE
Atreus, thyestes’ brother was jealous of his throne holding and served thyestes two sons to him after killing them

Question 26

Medusa

Answer 26

one of 3 gorgans
once beautiful caught eye of Poseidon
had sex in Athena’s temple- she curses medusa with stone eye ability

Question 27

Iliad book 1

Answer 27

written by Homer in 8th BC
Agamemnon refuses to return chryseis to chryses, so he prays to Apollo for revenge
Agamemnon gains briseis as a compensation for returning her to Apollo
zeus sends a dream to agam. telling him to fight the trojans, so he does

Question 28

Xenia

Answer 28

nvite guests into home
Offer food and place to stay
Ask who they are and what they need
Only after they eat and offered rest, not appropriate to ask this before
Gift exchange
Overseen by Zeus Xenios
ex: Telemachus invites Athena inside

Question 29

Odyssey book 9

Answer 29

written by Homer, in 8th century BCE Aeneas is away so he should take opportunity against them and the trojans infiltrate, Turnus briefly makes it inside trojan fortress, until Jupiter sends Iris down again to worn Turnus its time for battle again, but he leaves and swims away

Question 30

Aeneid book 2

Answer 30

written by Virgil, in 29-19 BC
Fall of Troy: As the greeks break into troy and slaughter everyone, the gods coerce Aeneas to flee Troy and to find a new empire to take over

Question 31

Romulus and Remus

Answer 31

twins told to be killed because subject of rape of Rea Silvia
king fails at actually drowning the twins
she-wolf finds them and nurses them, faustulus finds them and takes them home, they become shepherds
romulus and remus have to decide who they will name now Rome after, by looking at birds, Romulus sees more than remus - he dies and Romulus