Myth Flashcards
1
Q
Who were the primordial gods?
A
Chaos> Erebos (darkness), Nyx (night), Eros (love), Tartaros (hell)
2
Q
Who is the goddess of the earth?
A
Gaia, or, for the Romans, Ea
3
Q
Who is Gaia’s son and spouse, the god of the sky?
A
Uranus
4
Q
Who was Gaia’s son the god of the sea?
A
Pontus
5
Q
What were the twelve children of Gaia and Uranus called?
A
The Titans
6
Q
Who was the king of the Titans?
A
Cronus , or Saturn
7
Q
What was the name of Cronus’ sister-wife?
A
Rhea
8
Q
Who were the children of Gaia that Uranus locked in the underworld?
A
Three cyclops, with one eye each, and the Hecatoncieres, with 100 arms and 50 heads, Aegaeon, Cottus, and Gyges
9
Q
What son of Gaia and Tartaros becane the father of many monsters?
A
Typhon, with his mate Echidna
10
Q
How and why did Cronus overthrow his father?
A
He cut off the body part that was blockading Gaia
10
Q
How and why did Cronus overthrow his father?
A
Gaia was upset that Uranus had kept his children locked up like that, and Cronus was afraid that he would try to repress him and the rest of his siblings. He cut off the body part that was blockading Gaia and freed the monsters who quickly overcame him.
11
Q
What noteable goddess was born of Uranus’ “sea foam?”
A
Aphrodite or Venus
12
Q
How did Cronus rule?
A
He brought in a golden age in some respects, but he was also dreadfully afraid of his children deposing him.
13
Q
What did Cronus do to his children?
A
He ate them immediately after birth.
14
Q
What did Zeus and Rhea do to defeat Uranus?
A
After her husband had devoured five of her children, Rhea was not about to give him her sixth. On the advice of Gaia, she give Uranus a rock instead of his youngest child, Zeus. She took him to an island, where he was raised by a goat. When he was grown, he returned as a cupbearer to his father, except instead of wine, he gave him a potion that would make him vomit. He vomited so hard, he threw up his five children, who had fully grown inside of him. Together they took him down and the rest if the Titans, and he and his siblings ruled as the Olympians.
15
Q
What is the name of the goat that raised Zeus? What was the name of the island on which he was raised? What did he make fron her body?
A
Amalthea was the she-goatnurse of the godZeuswho nourished him with milk in a cave on Mount Dicite in Crete. When the god reached maturity he created his thunder-shield, the aigis, from her hide and the horn of plenty, cornucopia, from her crown.
16
Q
Who was the king of the gods?
A
Zeus, for the Romans Jupiter or Jove
17
Q
Whas Zeus’ tree?
A
the oak
18
Q
What was Zeus’ symbol?
A
Zeus’ symbols are the thunderbolt,eagle,aegis, bull, and oak.
19
Q
Who was the Titaness first wife of Zeus?
A
Metis. She was the goddess of prudence.
20
Q
Who did Zeus seduce Metis?
A
He tricked her into playing a game where she changed into different animals. She thought if she became a fly he could never find her, but her caught her, and she changed back and became his wife.
21
Q
What did Zeus do to Metis after he married his queenly sister Hera?
A
Hera was very jealous so Zeus knew he couldn’t keep her around. However, he still wanted to have her prudence, so he put her in his head so he could never lose her.
22
Q
How was Athena born?
A
She was born from Metis inside her father’s head. When she was grown, she began knocking on his head , and he got such a terrible headache, he had to let her out.
23
Q
Of what is Athena the goddess?
A
Wisdom, strategy, just war, and crafts
24
What were Athena's symbols?
The spear, the distaff, and the aegis, a shield of goatskin to which the head of the Gorgon Medusa was fastened in order to terrify the opponents. Athena's tree was the olive tree and her sacred animal was the owl.
25
What was Athena's Roman name?
Minerva
Bonus: Images of her have inspired many early Christian depictions of Our Lady, including her ephithet "Our Lady Seat of Wisdom."
26
What are Athena's most famous epithets?
"Pallas," meaning "virgin," and "Parthenos," meaning the same.
27
Who was the queen of the gods, wife of Zeus, and goddess of marriage?
Hera, or Juno. She was extremely jealous and vindictive towards all of Zeus' frequent affairs. She had a couple of children, conceiving Hephaestus all on her own with the help of Flora, a goddess of fertility, out of envy for Zeus' child with Metus, Athena.
28
What were Hera's symbols?
Hera's symbols were the diadem, the scepter and the pomegranate, a symbol of fertility. Her flower was the lily and her sacred animals were the peacock and the cow.
29
How did Zeus divide the world?
He and his brothers, Hades and Poseidon, drew lots. Zeus ruled the sky, Poseidon, the sea, and Hades, the underworld.
30
What land was cast to Helois, the Titan god of the sun?
He was late to the drawing because he had been carrying the sun across the sky. Defiantely, he then pulled a new island out of the sea, which became Rhodes, his city.
31
What were the three sons of the Titan Iapetos, and what was his wife's name?
He had Promethius, Emimetheus, and Atlas with his wife Klymene.
32
What happened to Atlas?
He refused to fight with the Olympians during the war, and was made by the victors to carry the earth on his shoulders for eternity.
33
Of what was Epimetheus the god?
He was the god of afterthought and excuses
34
Who was Prometheus?
Prometheus was the god of forethought and clarity, and many times the saviour of mankind.
35
Who was titaness Mnemosyne?
MNEMOSYNE was the Titan goddess of memory and remembrance and the inventress of language and words. She was also the goddess of time.
36
How did Prometheus help humanity?
Because of his forethought, he did not fight with the Titans in the war between the gods. Zeus tasked him with repopulating humanity. He made man out of clay, and continued finding new ways to help him, oftentimes going against Zeus' wishes. First, he tricked the gods out of the greater part of the sacrificial meat, leaving more for humans to eat. Most importantly, he gave men fire.
37
How did Zeus punish Prometheus for stealing fire for man?
He tied him to a rock and cursed him to have his intestines eaten by an eagle every day. Eventually, he took pity on him and allowed Heracles to free him.
38
How did Zeus punish mankind?
The gods created the first woman Pandora, endowing her with beauty and cunning. He then had her delivered to Prometheus' foolish younger brother Epimetheus as a bride. Zeus gave Pandora a storage jar (pithos) as a wedding gift which she opened despite his warning, releasing the swarm of evil spirits trapped within. These would forever after plague mankind. Only Elpis (Hope) remained behind, a single blessing to ease mankind's suffering.
39
How was the world allieviated from all of the vices released by Pandora's box?
Zeus caused the entire earth the flood, to start the human race over. Prometheus warns Deucalion and Phyrra, the daughter of Pandora, and they found a chest to survive the Great Deluge. They landed on the dry peaks of Mt. Parnassos. To repopulate the earth, they were instructed to throw the bones of their mother- the stones of Mother Earth- over their shoulder, and from these sprung a new race of men, the Stone Race.
40
What were the four races of mankind?
In this order: The virtuous Gold and Silver Races, the warlike Bronze Race, and the last Stone Race. They were called this for what they were made of.
41
Who were the Titan of the ocean around the earth, and who were his wife and daughters.
Oceanus, his wife Tethys, and his daughters the many Oceanids.
42
Who was Hyperion?
The Titan god of watchfullness, wisdom, and light. With his sister Theia, he fathered Helios, the sun, Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn.
43
How many Titan sons and daughters of Gaia and Uranus were there?
12- Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Cronus, and Thea, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys.
44
How many Olympians were there?
12- Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.
45
What is the difference between an Olympian, a Titan, and a god?
A god can refer to either an Olympian or a Titan, but neither can be the same as each other.
46
How was the god of the sea?
Poseidon, or for the Romans, Neptune. He was also the god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses, because he gave the first horse to man.
47
Who was the wife of Poseidon?
The sea nymph Amphitrite. He chose her among the Nereids, but she refused him. He sent a dolphin after her, and at last she consented to become his wife.
48
What were Poseidon's symbols?
the trident, the horse, the dolphin, and the bull
49
Who was the King of Death and god of wealth?
Hades, for the Romans Pluto or Dis.
50
Who was the god of death?
Thanatos
51
Who was Hecate?
The goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts, crossroads and necromancy
52
What were chthonic deities?
gods associated with the dead
53
Who were the Fates- in Greek, the Moirae; in Latin, the Fates or the Parcae?
More powerful than Zeus; Clotho (the Spinner), Lachesis (the Alloter) and Atropos (the Inflexible- death)
54
Who were the Furies, or Erinyes?
THE ERINYES (Furies) were three goddesses of vengeance and retribution who punished men for crimes against the natural order. They were particularly concerned with homicide, unfilial conduct, offenses against the gods, and perjury. A victim seeking justice could call down the curse of the Erinys upon the criminal. For the Romans, the Roman writer Maurus Servius Honoratus wrote that they are called "Eumenides" in hell, "Furiae" on earth, and "Dirae" in heaven. Their names are Alecto or Alekto ("endless"), Megaera ("jealous rage"), and Tisiphone or Tilphousia ("vengeful destruction"). They are also called the Eumenides, meaning "the gracious ones," is what they are called now that they've forgiven their first victim, Orestes.
55
Who were the Graces?
Euphrosyne, Aglaea and Thalia – who were said to represent youth/beauty, mirth, and elegance.
56
Who were the Gorgons?
The Gorgons were three monsters in Greek mythology, daughters of Echidna and Typhon, the mother and father of all monsters respectively. Their names were Stheno, Euryale, and the most famous of them, Medusa. Although the first two were immortal, Medusa was not.
57
What were the bad and good parts of Hades (the underworld)?
Tartaros (hell), and the Eleusian Fields (Heaven)
58
What were Hades' symbols?
In his right hand, he raises not a cornucopia, the symbol of wealth, but a wine vessel and in his left. Also, a scepter, and the dident.
59
What was the three-headed guard-dog of the underworld?
Ceberus
60
What were the rivers in the underworld, and what did they stand for?
Styx, the river of oblivion, Acheron, the river of sorrows and purification, Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, Phlegethon, the river of fire, and Cocytus, the river of lamentation.
Bonus: An oath sworn on the river Styx is especially binding, because the Titan Oceanid Styx was the first to declare allegience to Zeus in the Titanomachy (the official name for the war with the Titans). She is eternally remembered for her fidelity.
61
Who were the children of Styx?
Styx was a firm ally of Zeus in theTitan Wars, who brought her children- Nike (Victory), Zelos (Rivalry), Bia (Force) and Kratos ( Strength) to stand beside the god in battle.
62
Who was the ferryman who carried the dead across the rivers Styx and Acheron?
Chaeron- men had to be buried with a coin under their tongues to pay him.
63
Who was the queen of the dead, the goddess of spring and winter, and the daughter of Demeter and Zeus?
Persephone, or in Latin, Proserpina
64
How was Persephone taken by Hades?
She was playing in a field when he saw her, and he abducted her to his castle in the underworld. Her mother, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and fruitful harvests, was devestated. She wandered the Earth for months, leaving eternal winter wherever she went. Hecate also helped to guide Demeter and, comforting her, began to be Persephone's companion in the underworld. The people on earth were so frustrated, that when she went to Persephone's father, Zeus, he immediately went to Hades to ask for her back. Persephone was going to be returned, when she ate six pomegranate seeds. Because they are food of the dead Persephone had to remain in the underworld for half a year. This is how summer and winter were formed, based on Demeter's saddness.
65
Who was the god of wine, partying, and madness?
Dionysius; Bacchus or Liber for the Romans
66
What were Dionysius' symbols?
The *Thrysus, a pinecone-tipped staff, the grapvine, the leopard, ivy,* the chalice, masks, the panther, and the bull
67
How was Dionysius born?
Semele was a Theban princess, daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, locked in a tower by her father, who had heard of a prophecy that he would be killed by her son. Zeus was saw her through the window, and was enchanted by her beauty. He seduced her in the form of a shower of gold. However, when Hera found out about their affair, she was mad with rage, and in revenge, she befriended Semele in a different form, and where she told her that if Zeus really loved her, he would have shown her his true form. This got to the princess' head, and one day, in the midst of their lovemaking, she demanded to see his true form, telling him that if he loved her, he would show himself to her. He had promised before that he would give her anything she wanted, and the promise of deity cannot be broken. He told her the sight of his godly form would kill her, begging her to ask for something else, but, as she persisted, it did. Zeus wanted to save his son though, so he took him from his body and sewed him into his thigh. He was born there, and called Dionysus because he was born of a god.
68
In what manner did Dionysius return to Thebes?
His uncle, King Pentheus of Thebes, thinking him a magician and a scoundrel, refused to accept the god's divinity when he paid him a visit and tried to apprehend him. The god retaliated by driving the king's daughters into a crazed frenzy and they tore him apart limb by limb.
69
What did Dionysius do when kidnapped by pirates?
As Dionysos was travelling through the islands of the Aegean Sea, he was captured by a band of Tyrrhenian pirates who sought to sell him into slavery. The god infested their ship with phantoms of creeping vines and wild beasts, and in terror the men leapt overboard and were transformed into dolphins. That is why they are one of his symbols.
70
Who were the Maenads?
They were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones".
The word maenad comes from the Greek maenades, meaning “mad” or “demented.” During the orgiastic rites of Dionysus, maenads roamed the mountains and forests performing frenzied, ecstatic dances and were believed to be possessed by the god.
71
Who was the god of war?
Ares, for the Greeks; Mars, for the Romans
72
What are the symbols of Ares/Mars?
Ares's symbols are a spear and helmet, his animal is a dog, and his bird is the vulture.
73
How did the Roman Mars differ from the Greek Ares?
Ares is replaced by the Roman Mars, a romantic emblem of manly valor rather than the cruel and blood-thirsty god of Greek mythology.
74
How was Ares born?
Hera was jealous because of Zeus' child Athena with Metis. She complained to Flora, the principal goddess of fertility, and she gave her a secret flower so that she could concieve without a man.
75
Who was Ares' sister, the goddess of strife and discord?
Eris. She was present wherever there was conflict, and so went wherever he went.
76
Who was Hephaestus- Vulcan in Latin?
He was the god of fire, the forge, metalworking, stone masonry, and the art of sculpture.
77
How was Hephaestus/ Vulcan born?
Some authors repeat the story of the birth of Ares, and say that it was rather Hephaestus who was born from jealous Hera by the help of Flora rather than that of a man. Nevertheless, when he was born he was so ugly that Hera threw him off of a mountain. He was crippled by this severe fall, but thankfully he was taken in by the sea nymphs Thetis and Eurynome. He now serves as a smith and craftsman to all the gods. He is actually theorized to be a very old, almost pre-Greek deity.
78
Who was the goddess of love and beauty? What are her symbols?
Aphrodite, or Venus. Dolphin, Rose, Scallop Shell, Myrtle, Dove, Sparrow, Girdle, Mirror, Pearl and Swan.
79
How was Aphrodite born?
One genealogy gives herparents as Zeus, king of the gods, and Dione, an early earth/mother goddess. More commonly, she was believed to be born of the foam in the sea, which bubbled around the severed member of Ouranos when Kronos slew him. She was born of that sea foam one day rising atop a clam shell. She was so beautiful Zeus proclaimed her to be a goddess right away.
80
How was Aphrodite married?
When Zeus saw her beauty he knew all the gods would kill each other wanting to marry her, so he quickly married her off to the ugliest of the gods, Hephaestus. Hephaestus also had wanted to get his revenge on Hera for abandoning him at birth. He built her a golden throne from which she could not escape. To convince him to let her go, Zeus promised him Aphrodite.
81
Did Aphrodite and Hephaestus have a happy marriage?
No; Aphrodite despised her husband and had frequent affairs with several lovers- mainly, Ares, Adonis, and Anchises.
82
How did Hephaestus catch Ares and Aphrodite in the act?
Aphrodite and Ares were together in his palace in Thrace all night, but when they completely lost track of time, Eos the dawn and Helios the sun arose and told Hephaestus (this is why Helios' symbol is the rooster). He caught them in a net and laughed at their shame, and then, according to some accounts, demanded a divorce from Aphrodite. She was happier after, and bore Ares a daughter from this, Harmonia. Poseidon defended her through her ordeal, and supposedly she had an affair with him after this.
