Classical Period Flashcards
(92 cards)
1
Q
Visualise Song of Achilles place and name the sea.
A
Aegean
2
Q
Who are Achilles’ parents? Home? SoA
A
Achilles was the son of the Nereid Thetis and of Peleus, the king of the Myrmidons. Home is Phithia.
3
Q
Who are Helen’s parents? From where?
A
Tyndareus of Sparta. Leda, who got ravished by Zeus.
4
Q
What is the story of Princess Danae? SoA
A
Zeus wooed her in a shower of gold and she bore him Perseus, the Gorgan slayer.
5
Q
Who marries Helen? Son of..? Brother? SoA
A
Menelaus, son of Atreus. Brother of Agamemnon.
6
Q
Who is the narrator of SoA? Son of..?
A
Patroclus, son of Menoitius
7
Q
What do Achilles and Patroclus have in common?
A
hey both took the Oath of Tyndareus, according to which all suitors of Helen would protect her and her future husband from any threat or danger.
8
Q
What is Ithaca and who is its famous ruler?
A
A small greek island. Odysseus.
9
Q
What was Patroclus early crime? Led to..? SoA
A
Killed a child. Sent to Phthia.
10
Q
What happened to Thetis by whom? SoA
A
‘Ravished’ by Peleus.
11
Q
What is a ‘Therapon’? SoA
A
A brother in arms companion, sworn to a prince by blood oath.
12
Q
A
In Greek mythology, Iris (/ˈaɪrɪs/; EYE-riss; Greek: Ἶρις, translit. Íris, lit. “rainbow”,[1] Ancient Greek: [îːris]) is a daughter of the gods Thaumas and Electra, the personification and goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the gods.[2]
Iris
13
Q
Achilles and Patroclus unusual teacher? SoA
A
Chiron. A centaur who lives on Pelion.
14
Q
What happened to Heracles? What did Theseus lose? SoA
A
… he went mad and killed his family
… he lost his bride and family
15
Q
Who has the greatest army of the kingdoms and where is he from? SoA
A
Agamemnon, of Mycenae
16
Q
Who was Atreus? SoA
A
In Greek mythology, Atreus was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus.
17
Q
From where is Helen ‘abducted’? SoA
A
The palace in Sparta
18
Q
Who is the king of Troy? And his son?
A
Priam. His son is Paris.
19
Q
Describe Ajax. SoA
A
“Twice as large as any man in the room.”
20
Q
What does Achilles get up to on Skyros?
A
Deidamia was one of King Lycomedes’s seven daughters with whom Achilles was concealed, hidden in Lycomedes’s court as one of the king’s daughters, … the two soon became romantically involved to the point of intimacy. After Odysseus arrived at Lycomedes’s palace and exposed Achilles as a young man, the hero decided to join the Trojan War, leaving behind his pregnant and heartbroken wife Deidamia.
21
Q
Who are the two Greek brothers? SoA
A
Menelaus and Agamemnon
22
Q
How does Patrolus let down the Greeks? SoA
A
He is the last of Helen’s suitors to join the battle (oath breaker)
23
Q
Who is the King of Argos? SoA
A
Diomedes
24
Q
What are the three prophecies related to
Achilles? SoA
A
You will be the greatest warrior of your generation
You will never return from Troy
You will die after Hector
(remind me of Macbeth)
25
What was Nestor famous for..? SoA
Very old, many children.
Sailed with Jason and Argonauts in youth
26
Who was Tantalus? SoA
Tantalus (Ancient Greek: Τάνταλος Tántalos) was most famous for his eternal punishment in Tartarus. He was also called Atys.
He was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the water always receding before he could take a drink.
He was the father of Pelops, Niobe and Broteas, and was a son of Zeus[1] and the nymph Plouto. Thus, like other heroes in Greek mythology such as Theseus, Tantalus had both a hidden, divine parent and a mortal one.
The Greeks used the proverb "Tantalean punishments" (Ancient Greek: Ταντάλειοι τιμωρίαι), in reference to those who have good things but are not permitted to enjoy them.
Wishing to test if the gods really did know everything and could tell what they were eating even if it was forbidden food, Tantalus killed, diced, and cooked up in a stew his own son Pelops and planned to serve him to all the gods at dinner. The plan fell flat when the Olympians immediately recognised that something was amiss, all that is except one. Demeter, upset at still not having found her lost daughter Persephone, absent-mindedly ate a chunk of Pelops' shoulder. For this reason, when Tantalus' wickedness was revealed and the gods decided to put Pelops back together and make him live again, the young man had to have a prosthetic shoulder made from ivory.
27
What is the name of Achilles' charioteer? SoA
Automedon
28
Who are the three key armies on the Greek side? And rulers? SoA
Spartans (Menelaus), Argives (Diomedes of Argos), Mycenaens (Agamemnon)
29
In 'Song of Achilles', what is significance of Artemis? SoA
In The Iliad, Artemis, goddess of the hunt and wild things, takes part in the battle between King Agamemnon and the hero Achilles. Artemis is mentioned multiple times supporting Trojans: whether she is saluted for her skill with the arrow or when she is enraged at the lack of respect she is given. Artemis punishes Agamemnon by acting upon the winds, so that Agamemnon's fleet cannot sail to Troy. Calchas the seer tells Agamemnon that to appease Artemis, he must sacrifice his eldest daughter, Iphigenia.
NOT IN ILIAD - EURIPIDES AND OTHERS
30
Ajax the warrior? SoA?
Ajax the Greater, in Greek legend, son of Telamon, king of Salamis, described in the Iliad as being of great stature and colossal frame, second only to the Greek hero Achilles in strength and bravery.
BTW dies after Achilles, can't have his armour? Kills livestock then suicide?!? (Not in this book)
31
What is name of the signficant captured slave girl? SoA
Briseis
32
Who is Aphrodite's favourite? SoA
Paris
33
Who is wife of Hector? His attitude to her..? SoA
Andromache
"loved above all things."
34
What if the role of Apollo in The Iliad? (SoA)
Apollo plays a key role in some of the most important scenes in The Iliad. In Book 1, he brings a plague on the Acheaens for disrespecting his priest, Chryses, by kidnapping his daughter. This plague launches the conflict between Agamemnon and Achilles. In Books 15-16, he helps Hector kill Achilles' friend Patroclus.
35
Who is the second significant slave girl? Taken from where? Father? SoA
Chryseis. Temple. Priest Chryses.
36
What is first sign of god's unhappiness after Agamemnon's refusal? SoA
Plague
37
Why is Achilles offended? SoA
"... in taking her (Briseis) Agamemnon denied Achilles the full measure of his worth. " (She is a war prize and embodiment of A's honour).
38
Who rules if Agamemnon falls? SoA
Odysseus and Diomedes (Menelaus as figurehead)
39
What is Achilles' hubris? SoA
His proud refusal to save Briseis from rape by Agamemnon so he can be dishonoured and seek revenge.
(Not sure this is 'canonical interpretation')
40
Which army does not follow on the day the argument? SoA
the army of Phthia (Achilles)
Myrmidons
41
What is Paris early offer? SoA
Single combat to resolve the war. He disappears. Hector replaces. Ajax fights; they finish as equals.
42
Which group join the battle? Who is their leader? SoA
Anatolians. Sarpedon, son of Zeus. S[**arpedon**](https://www.worldhistory.org/Sarpedon/) is a figure from ancient [**Greek mythology**](https://www.worldhistory.org/Greek_Mythology/), a [**Lycian**](https://www.worldhistory.org/lycia/) prince who was one of the principal heroes during the [**Trojan War**](https://www.worldhistory.org/Trojan_War/) and fought on the side of [**Troy**](https://www.worldhistory.org/troy/).
**Ultimately killed by Patroclus**
43
Who does Patroclus kill in Achilles' armour? SoA
Sarpedon: When [Patroclus](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patroclus) entered the battle in the armour of [Achilles](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achilles), Sarpedon met him in combat. Zeus debated with himself whether to spare his son's life even though he was fated to die by the hand of Patroclus. He would have done so had [Hera](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hera) not reminded him that other gods' sons were fighting and dying and other gods' sons were fated to die as well. He fought for Troy.
44
Who does Achilles fight before Hector towards the end? SoA
Scamander, the river god. He wounds him.
45
Who is Achilles' son? What does his arrival lead to? What violent act does he commit? SoA
Pyrrhus. The fall of Troy. Murder of Princess Polyxena,
Pyrrhus (also known as Neoptolemus), son of Achilles and Deidamia
46
What do Zeus thunderbolts smell of? SoA
"... singed flesh and patricide."
47
Other name for Paris?
Alexandros
48
Who are the two Titans who 'prefer each others' company to the new-squeaking Olympians?'
Helios and Oceanos
49
What does the word Circe mean?
Hawk (yellow eyed)
50
What is Circe's sister's name and what is Helios' prediction for her?
Pasiphae - she will marry an eternal son of Zeus. (Minos)
51
What is the story of Kronos?
There had only been Titans once, at the dawning of the world. Then my great-uncle Kronos had heard a prophecy that his child would one day overthrow him. When his wife, Rhea, birthed her first babe, he tore it damp from her arms and swallowed it whole. Four more children were born, and he ate them all the same, until at last, in desperation, Rhea swaddled a stone and gave it to him to swallow instead. Kronos was deceived, and the rescued baby, Zeus, was taken to Mount Dicte to be raised in secret. When he was grown he rose up indeed, plucking the thunderbolt from the sky and forcing poisonous herbs down his father’s throat. His brothers and sisters, living in their father’s stomach, were vomited forth. They sprang to their brother’s side, naming themselves Olympians after the great peak where they set their thrones.
52
Who are the warrior virgin (half) sisters?
Athena - Zeus' warrior daughter - and Artemis her sister.
53
Who makes Prometheus' chains?
Hephaestus
54
What is a the 'fluid which flows like blood in the veins of the gods?'
Ichor
55
What kind of being was Prometheus?
A Titan and a god of prophecy. Creates man from clay. Defies the gods by stealing fire and giving it to man. A trickster figure.
56
What hierarchy does Circe describe?
Zeus. (Olympian)
Helios. (Titan)
Zeus siblings and children.
Other Titans
river gods / brine lords / Furies / Winds / Graces
nymphs / mortals
57
Describe Apollo
'Lord of the lyre and the gleaming bow, twin to the pitiless 'moonlight Artemis'. '
58
what kind of being is Minos?
A demigod - son of Zeus and a mortal.
59
Who was Glaucos?
A Greek prophetic sea God, born mortal and turned immortal upon eating and Magic herb. It was believed that he commonly came to the rescue of sailors and fisherman and storms, having once been one himself.
60
Who was Scylla?
A beautiful nymph turned into a sea monster ( Strait or Messina?)
counterpart - Charybdis
both encountered in The Odyssey
61
What is the name of the drug and what does it do?
Pharmaka - changes things into their essence
62
Who is the messenger of the gods?
Hermes
Olympian
'god of boundaries and the transgression of boundaries.'
63
name the island (Circe)
Aiaia
Odysseus spends a year there
64
which 3 groups does Circe describe on the island of Crete?
M b , P t , E g
Mycenaen barges, Phoenician traders, Egyptian galleys, (Hittites and Aethiopians and Hesperians).
65
How is the Minotaur created?
Pasiphae - Circe's sister - visits the god given white bull in a hollowed wheeled model of a bull built by Daedalus and has sex with it.
66
Where was Zeus born?
In a cave on Mount Dicte. The huntress Artemis roams its hills.
67
Who is the daughter in the maze?
Ariadne - Minos and Pasiphae's daughter. Put in charge of the labyrinth. Helped Theseus.
68
who is Daedalus' son?
Icarus ... ignored father's instructions (hubris)
69
who is Zeus wild child?
Dionysus, lord of ivy and the grape who the mortals call 'releaser'
70
What is 'the oldest rite of our kind'? (classical word)
katharsis
'the cleansing by smoke and prayer, water and blood.'
71
What is the story of Medea?
She is Circe's niece (father is King Aeetes)
aids Jason searching for Golden Fleece
Jason abandons her, she murders his new wife Creusa and her own sons by Jason
72
Describe ‘The Rape of Prosperina’
The **Rape of Persephone**, or **Abduction of Persephone**, is a classical mythological subject in Western art, depicting the [abduction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persephone#Abduction_myth) of [Persephone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persephone) by [Hades](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hades). This then resulted in the myth surrounding the creation of the seasons, as [Demeter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demeter) mourned the time that Persephone spent in the Underworld with her husband. In the context of the subject, the word "Rape" refers to the traditional translation of the Latin raptus, "seized" or "carried off", and not to sexual violence.[[1]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rape_of_Persephone#cite_note-1)
73
What are Zeus’s titles? Powers? What does he hold in his hands?
Lord of the Elements (inc. wind and rain). Upholds social order and royal power - wields lightening. Holds sceptre of cyprus wood (symbol of royalty) and Aegis which creates thunderstorms
74
What are the Primordial deities?
The first generation of gods and goddesses representing fundamental forces and physical foundations of the world. Not actively worshipped - rarely given human characteristics; (instead personifications of places or abstract concepts). Including Chaos, Gaia, Tartarus, Eros, Erebus, Hemera and Nyx.
75
Who were the first four Primordial Deities?
Out of darkness came Chaos. Gaia was born (mountains, rivers. But alone). Eros appeared - force of irresistible desire. Uranus - the sky
76
How was the loneliness of Gaia resolved?
Uranus was brought forth to lie upon Gaia (who was lonely). A coupling / embrace that (with Eros help) created The Titans… and the Cyclops.
77
Which Titans got together to create the next generation?
The Titans Cronus and Rhea then gave birth to the generation of the Olympians, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Demeter, Zeus.
78
What happened to the newly born Titans? Leading to?
Titans / Cyclops / Hekatonkheires (The Giants) - imprisoned within their mother - Uranus kept shoving them back inside.
“In an ancient myth recorded by [Hesiod](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesiod)'s [*Theogony*](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theogony), Cronus envied the power of his father, [Uranus](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uranus_(mythology)), the ruler of the universe. Uranus drew the enmity of Cronus's mother, [Gaia](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_(mythology)), when he hid the gigantic youngest children of Gaia, the hundred-handed [Hecatoncheires](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecatoncheires) and one-eyed [Cyclopes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclops), in [Tartarus](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartarus), so that they would not see the light. Gaia created [a great stone sickle](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpe) and gathered together Cronus and his brothers to persuade them to castrate Uranus.[[3]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronus#cite_note-3)
![]()
[Giorgio Vasari](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Vasari): The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn (Cronus)
Only Cronus was willing to do the deed, so Gaia gave him the sickle and placed him in ambush.[[4]](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cronus#cite_note-4)When Uranus met with Gaia, Cronus attacked him with the sickle, [castrating](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castration) him and casting his [testicles](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testicles) into the sea. From the [blood](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood) that spilled out from Uranus and fell upon the earth, the [Gigantes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gigantes), [Erinyes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erinyes), and [Meliae](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meliae) were produced.”
79
Who turned against Uranus? Big ouch. What is rain?
Cronos agreed to attack his father … and struck him with a scythe removing his genitals. Uranus became separated and stuck above the world. Titans, giants and cyclops now free. Rain is remorse of Uranus.
80
What did Cronus do after freeing the Titans?
Cronus married Rhea (his sister). He devoured his children alive as soon as Rhea gave birth.
81
Where was Zeus born and to whom?
Zeus was born in Crete - Mount Ida - where Rhea had run to. Rhea returned and gave Cronus a stone instead of a child. Worked!
82
What did Zeus vow as he grew up? Who advised him?
Cronus hunted for him. Zeus grew (with no father) and sought revenge. Metis - Titan goddess of good counsel - suggested a potion mixed with honey. Rhea provided, Cronos drank and he vomited children of Rhea.
83
How was the Titan War won?
The Twelve Titans fought The Six Olympians for hundreds of years. The Cyclops -Primordial Deities - gave Zeus thunder and lightening and they defeated Titans
84
Where were Titans sent? All of them?
Male Titans sent to Tartarus - a deep abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering
85
What was War after Titan War and how was it won?
Gaia angry at banishment so sent Giants (Gigantomachy … very long war). Zeus seduced Alcmene … mother of Heracules who killed Giants with arrows.
86
What was conceived during the final phase of Zeus battles with Titans / Gaia? And what did Olympians do?
Tartarus and Gaia conceived a child - Typhon - a monstrous giant to attack Olympus. Olympians transformed into animals, Zeus fought. Buried Typhon.
87
Name some male Olympians (and their powers, relations and Roman names)
Zeus - King of the gods sky / law / justice / thunder - (Juno in Roman) Poseidon - brother - lord of the seas (Neptune in Roman) Apollo - son Zeus and Leto - light / Sun / prophecy / music / plague (Apollo in Roman)
88
Why is one of Zeus brothers not an Olympian?
Hades - brother - lord of the underworld (not Olympus)
89
Name some female Olympians (relations and Roman names).
Hera - sister - marriage / women / childbirth (Juno in Roman) Demeter - sister - harvest / fertility (Ceres in Roman) Athena - daughter of Metis / Zeus - wisdom (Minerva in Roman)
90
How did Zeus’ victory leave things..?
A structured, stratified universe.
91
…….. was the only human except for Heracles to be granted strength (with permission) to directly fight with immortals themselves and injures two Olympian immortals (both …. and ………) in a single day. However, he still displays self-restraint and humility to retreat before …. and give way to …… thus remaining within mortal limits. This is in contrast to ……… (who does not give way when opposed by ……) and …….. (who resorts to fight the river ……… on his own).
Diomedes was the only human except for Heracles to be granted strength (with permission) to directly fight with immortals themselves and injures two Olympian immortals (both Ares and Aphrodite) in a single day. However, he still displays self-restraint and humility to retreat before Ares and give way to Apollo thus remaining within mortal limits. This is in contrast to Patroclus (who does not give way when opposed by Apollo) and Achilles (who resorts to fight the river Scamander on his own). In Homer's Iliad, Ares has no fixed allegiance. He promises Athena and Hera that he will fight for the Achaeans but Aphrodite persuades him to side with the Trojans. During the war, Diomedes fights Hector and sees Ares fighting on the Trojans' side. Diomedes calls for his soldiers to withdraw.[62] Zeus grants Athene permission to drive Ares from the battlefield. Encouraged by Hera and Athena, Diomedes thrusts with his spear at Ares. Athena drives the spear home, and all sides tremble at Ares's cries.
92
Ganymede
