GREECE: JOURNEYING TO THE UNDERWORLD Flashcards
Did the Greeks and Romans believe in heaven and hell?
No, the deceased’s spirits all went to the same place, the Underworld
GREEK
Which Gods could enter the Underworld?
It was Hades’ realm, but Dionysus and Hermes were allowed in.
No one else.
Some heroes were given entrance:
Heracles, Odysseus, and Aeneas, and Orpheus
GREECE
What were the Homeric Hymns?
31 poems ascribed to Homer. 7thC-6thC
The Homeric Hymn to Demeter - protagonists were Demeter, Persephone, and Hades - provides insight into Greek (beliefs about) relationships between gods and men.
Greece
What were the themes of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter?
Power of gods over men, and Zeus’ recognition that men had power over gods - men were needed to make sacrifices to them!
Zeus gives Persephone to Hades…without Demeter’s input
What does the Homeric Hymn tell us about marriages?
That the head of the household, the male, was responsible for arranging marriages for his children - to secure family links.
What is Persephone’s epithet?
What is Demeter’s epithet
She of the slender ankles.
Demeter with lovely hair
Who hears Persephone’s cry for help when Hades snatches her?
Helios, Hecate, and her mother Demeter
Who informs Demeter that Hades has taken Persephone after Zeus permitted him to do so?
Helios.
How does Demeter mourn the loss of Persephone?
She disguises herself as an old woman and lives among people
Why did Demeter reveal herself and demand a temple from a family who took her in?
She wanted to make their baby immortal by throwing it in a fire; annoyed by the ignorance of humans, she demanded that the townsfold build a temple to worship her.
She then made life hard for them - threatening famines
Who is Demeter?
Wife of Zeus
Daughter of Rhea Cronos
Goddess of the harvest and agriculture
How does Zeus intervene to change Demeter’s mind about harming people?
He has the gods send her gifts.
She refuses - only her daughter’s freedom will change her mind.
How does Zeus respond to Demeter’s demand to have her daughter returned?
He sends Hermes down to see Hades
How does Hermes negotiate for Persephone’s release?
He argues that Persephone’s anger will stop the humans worshipping the gods!
Does Hades agree to Persephone’s release?
Yes, but slips her a pomegranate that, when she eats it, means she will have to spend some time in the Underworld with him.
She spends the winter with Hades - thus giving the Greeks a myth on the origin of the seasons.
