greek mythology Flashcards
tantalus
Tantalus murders his own son and tries to trick the gods into eating him.
As punishment,
Tantalus was banished to a special realm of the underworld known as Tartarus
where he would be forever surrounded by water he couldn’t drink and fruit he couldn’t reach
Perseus and andromeda
The hero Perseus, son of Jupiter and Danaë, sees Andromeda while flying over Aethiopia and falls in love with her
He asks her parents for permission to marry her if he is able to save her; he subsequently kills the sea monster and rescues Andromeda.
Pandora’s box
great troubles or misfortune, but also holds hope
Pandora’s box was a gift from the gods to Pandora, the first woman on Earth
It contained all the evils of the world, which were released when Pandora opened the box
Zeus gave her the box
Clash of titans
The Titans, also known as the elder gods, ruled the earth before the Olympians overthrew them
The ruler of the Titans was Cronus who was dethroned by his son Zeus
Most of the Titans fought with Cronus against Zeus and were punished by being banished to Tartarus.
The three sisters of fate
They were three sisters:
Clotho (the spinner)
Lachesis (the measurer)
Atropos (the inevitable, a metaphor for death)
Artemis and Actaeon
Actaeon, out on a hunt, stumbled upon Artemis while she was bathing at a spring
Outraged and embarrassed that he had seen her naked, she punished him by destroying his power of speech and turning him into a stag, with antlers and a shaggy coat
Madea and Jason
The sorceress used her magic to help him steal the treasure known as the Golden Fleece
murdered her own brother and Jason’s uncle in her efforts to help him regain his throne, and ultimately accompanied him into exile in Corinth
Zues
He is the god of all gods
The god of lightning
He is the son of cronus and Rhea
Hera was his wife and his sister
He became the king of the gods after he rescued his siblings from their father, the Titan Cronus
Persephone and demeter
Whenever Persephone went to Olympus to live with her mother, Demeter would shine from happiness and the land would become fertile again and fruitful
These were the months of Spring and Summer
Therefore, this myth was created to explain the change of the seasons, the eternal cycle of Nature’s death and rebirth
Theseus slays the minotaur
Half bull half human
After a fierce battle, Theseus slays the Minotaur
and with Ariadne’s thread, he successfully navigates his way out of the labyrinth
Thesus sacrifices himself to kill the minotaur
Their return journey to Athens is filled with further adventures and trials
Deadalus and the flight of Icarus
Icarus ignored Daedalus’s instructions not to fly too close to the sun, causing the beeswax in his wings to melt
Icarus fell from the sky, plunged into the sea, and drowned
the Labyrinth in Daedalus
Daedalus builds a maze for his stepson
The maze is used to trap the minotaur
He pays theseus to kill the minotaur
Echo and Narcissus
One day Echo sees Narcissus by chance and falls desperately in love with him
He, however, makes it clear that her love will never be reciprocated
Constantly pining for him Echo wastes away until all that remains of her is her voice
humble
King midas and the golden touch
He gets one wish from a dynasys and he wants to be wealthy so he wishes for everything he touches to turn to gold
He regrets his decision and the dynasys gives him mercy
Medusa’s early life, punishment, death
Before Medusa was known as a terrifying monster, she was a beautiful maiden who was very kind and pious.
Medusa was the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto
Such a sacrilege attracted the goddess’ wrath, and she punished Medusa by turning her hair to snakes and whoever looks her in the eye turns to stone
Percy put an invisible hat on her so he couldn’t look her in the eye and cut her head off
