Names Flashcards

Question

centaurs

Answer 1

Race of wild creatures: part horse, part man Offspring of Centaurus (son of Ixion) & mares he copulated with on Mt Pelion Lived in mountains & forests of Thessaly. Ate raw flesh – savage & brutal. 2 exceptions: Cheiron & Pholus were civilised & hospitable Renowned for famous battle with Lapiths (Thessalian tribe). Tribes united by marriage, but didn’t last long & fighting broke out again Centaurs eventually driven out of Thessaly Encountered Heracles on way to catch Erynanthian Boar. Attracted by smell of wine from Pholus, who was entertaining Heracles at time They attack & Heracles kills them. Accidentally kills Cheiron in his anger, and accidentally causes death of Pholus (P pulls poisoned arrow out of a body, drops it on his foot; he is poisoned & thus killed)

Answer 2

/Demeter: Goddess of corn, grain and the harvest Daughter of Cronus and Rhea, her daughter is Persephone Made the crops grow each year, associated with the seasons Persephone was abducted by Hades to be his wife in the underworld, Demeter laid a curse that caused plants to wither and die and the land to become desolate Persephone picks violets in a grove and Hades rapes her then takes her to the underworld Zeus was alarmed at the barren earth so asked for Persephone’s return, but Persephone ate in the underworld so Hades has a claim on her Decreed that Persephone would spend 4 months every year in the underworld Demeter would grieve her absence - hence winter - and when Persephone returns it would be spring

Answer 3

Aged ferryman of Hades, carries shades of dead across Styx to Underworld Customary to bury dead with coin in their mouth so they can pay Charon (1 obol) Some authors say that those who could not pay the fee had to wander the shores for one hundred years Fearsome description in Virgil’s Aeneid: ‘a sordid god’ Son of Erebus

Answer 4

Sea monster rationalised as giant whirlpool, doubled with sea monster Scylla S had 12 legs and 6 heads. Lair half-way up cliff-face in sea opposite Charybdis Originally thought to be beautiful nymph (see Circe) Both haunt Straits of Messina C sucks down seawater & casts it out again. Certain destruction for ships Circe advises Odysseus to stay away from Charybdis, so risks Scylla instead who may pluck certain men from ship. When Odysseus is shipwrecked, he is driven back to Scylla & Charybdis. His raft sucked down into Charybdis. Only survives by clinging to fig tree then jumping onto raft again when it’s spewed out. Paddles away with his hands

Answer 5

Daughter of Sun-God Helios & an Oceanid. Enchantress, lived on island Aeaea Homer’s Odyssey: Circe detains O for a year. Throws his men a party, gives them drug which turns them into pigs. O confronts her with magic plant from Hermes which makes him immune to her power. O rushes at her with sword. She admits defeat & swears never to harm him. Sleep together. Turns men back to humans After 1 year, instructs them to go to Hades to find out dangers they face in future It’s said she has 3 sons with Odysseus: Latinus, Agrius & Telegonus (who kills Odysseus, as he does not recognise him as his father) Circe receives Argonauts on journey home with Golden Fleece When sea-God Glaucus goes to her asking for love potion to use on nymph Scylla, Circe falls in love with him. Rejects her, so she turns Scylla into sea-monster

Answer 6

Daughter of Tyndareus & Leda. Half-sister of Helen of Troy, Castor & Polydeuces Confused genealogy; mostly, Clytemnestra & Castor were seen as children of Tyndareus, Helen & Polydeuces as children of Zeus Originally married to Tantalus. 1 son: Agamemnon kills both Tantalus & son. Takes Clytemnestra for himself 4 children with Agamemnon: Iphigeneia, Electra, Chrysothemis & Orestes Deceived by Agamemnon about sacrifice of Iphigeneia. Never forgave him During absence, she takes his cousin Aegisthus as lover and they kill Agamemnon and his lover Presented in Homer's Odyssey as evil and foil to chaste Penelope. Clytemnestra is main antagonist in Aeschylus’ play Agamemnon

Answer 7

The roman boy-god of love Son of Venus and Vulcan An adaptation of Eros, the childlike god of Hellenistic Greece with wings and a quiverful of arrows A figure of literature rather than of cult Familiar in the Latin poets and especially in the first book of the Aeneid where Venus sends him to take the place of Ascanius and to excite love for Aeneas in Dido Later he appears in the fairy-story of Cupid and Psyche, set in the narrative of the Golden Ass Cupids appear on ancient coffins as a symbol of the life after death promised to the initiates of the mystery religions

Answer 8

Hesiod: 3 giants with single eye in middle of forehead: Brontes (Thunderer), Steropes (Lightner), Arges (Vivid). Sons of Uranus & Gaia Imprisoned in Tartarus by brother Cronus. Zeus released them to help in war against Cronus They provided Zeus with thunderbolts, Hades with helmet of invisibility & Poseidon with his trident. Eventually killed by Apollo In Homer’s Odyssey, Polyphemus (son of Poseidon & sea-nymph) is most famous Cyclops. Encounters Odysseus and is blinded by him (see Polyphemus)

Answer 9

Daughter of river-God. Virgin-huntress, like Artemis Ovid’s Metamorphoses: Apollo insults Eros’ archery skills. E shoots A with arrow that makes him desire D. Shoots D with arrow that makes her repulsed by men Apollo pursued her. D ran as fast as wind, but he could keep up. Just as he’s about to catch her, she reaches banks of her father’s river. Prays to him for help, he turns her into laurel tree. Laurel was prize at Pythian Games held in honour of Apollo

Answer 10

Greek Noah, survivor of Great Flood. Son of Prometheus Married to Pyrrha (daughter of Pandora) Floated on ark for 9 days before coming to rest on Mt Parnassus. Rain stops & they disembark. As only surviving humans, they must repopulate Earth Hermes tells them to throw stones over their shoulders (Deucalion’s stones turn into men, Pyrrha’s into women) In Ovid’s Metamorphoses Themis takes on Hermes’ role

Answer 11

Founder & 1st queen of Carthage Daughter of Belus/Mutto (King of Tyre). Married to wealthy uncle Sychaeus, but husband murdered by brother, Pygmalion Dido escapes & flees to Libya. Native King Iarbus sold her piece of land, as large as could be encompassed with bull’s hide. Cuts hide into very thin strips – circle was so large she could build her city in it Power & might of Carthage scares Iarbus. Threatens to attack unless D marries him. D pretends to agree but builds pyre as if for sacrifice, then jumps onto it Legend changed in Virgil’s Aeneid. D’s love (caused by Aphrodite) & death make her sympathetic character. Meets Aeneas in underworld but doesn’t even look at him. Runs towards grove where former husband, Sychaeus waits.

Answer 12

1 of most famous heroes who fought at Troy Father was one of 7 against Thebes, mother was daughter of King of Argos Took part in successful attack on Thebes when sons of the 7 fought Thebes to avenge their fathers Married Aigialeia. Unsuccessful suitor of Helen, bound by oath of all her suitors to protect marriage rights of her chosen husband. Fights at Troy In Homer’s Iliad he’s a great warrior. Not only attacks Trojans but also Aphrodite when she came to help Aeneas. Wounds her wrist & she flees back to Olympus Nearly kills Aeneas 4 times. 4th time he’s commanded by Apollo to step back Finds Ares on battlefield stripping corpse. Wounds him so he flees too 1 of the warriors in Wooden Horse Gets home safely from Troy after 4 days. Finds wife is sleeping with another man. Her cheating caused by Aphrodite as revenge for wounding her. D leaves for Italy

Answer 13

In Roman religion, the rule of the Underworld, the equivalent of the Greek god Pluto The name Dis could be a Latin translation of Pluto During the Punic Wars foreign religious rites were from time to time introduced at Rome by order of the senate to hearten the people The senate appointed special festivals of appeasement to the Roman equivalents of the Greek underworld deities In classical Roman literature Dis has become a symbol of death

Answer 14

Nymph of Mt Helicon. When Hera tried to catch Zeus making love to nymphs of Helicon, Echo distracted her with her chattering In revenge, Hera made it so Echo could only repeat last words of what others said Ovid’s Metamorphoses: falls in love with Narcissus. Wasted away because of unrequited love, until only voice was left.

Answer 15

Daughter of either Phoenix/ Agenor (Phoenician King) Desired by Zeus who sees her gathering flowers by seashore, so changes himself into beautiful white bull. Europa sees how mild & gentle he is. Feeds him flowers, plays with him & hangs flowers on his horns. Lies down on sand & she sits on his back. He rushes out into sea & her friends never see her again Zeus swims to Crete with her. 3 sons: Minos, Rhadamanthys & Sarpedon Zeus gave Europa 4 presents: a bronze man, necklace made by Hephaestus, javelin that never misses, hound that never misses its quarry Marries Asterius (King of Crete). Daughter Crete Asterius brings up her 3 sons with Zeus as if they were his own

Answer 16

Nymph, daughter of Apollo, married to Orpheus (legendary musician and poet) After she got married to Orpheus, she was pursued by Aristaeus. She tries to evade him but accidentally steps on a snake and dies Orpheus is devastated and plays a mournful melody on his lyre - nymphs and gods wept in pain, advise him to search for Eurydice in the underworld He continues singing into the underworld, his melody touches hearts of Hades and Persephone Furies could not withhold their tears either, so he was allowed to take Eurydice back The rule was that Orpheus can only walk in front of Eurydice and cannot look back at her until they had reached daylight Orpheus looks back on Eurydice before she had stepped in daylight Eurydice disappears back into the underworld Eurydice remains in the underworld not because Orpheus’ art is flawed but because he is flawed as a human Also found in: Virgil’s ‘Georgics’

Answer 17

Exacted punishment against murder/ other serious crimes, particularly against kin Hesiod: born when Cronus cut off Uranus’ genitals; when drops of blood fell onto Gaia, they became Furies More ancient than Olympian Gods. Called ‘daughter of night’

Names Flashcards

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