Test 2

Question 1

Symplegades

Answer 1

Crashing rocks blocking passage to the Euxine Sea (Black Sea). Jason and the Argonauts made it through with the help of Athena.

Question 2

Medea

Answer 2

One of Aeetes daughters. Hera got Aphrodite to prick her with a love spell so that she would fall in love with Jason and protect him from Aeetes’ labours.

Question 3

Talus

Answer 3

Bronze giant who guarded an island that Jason landed on. Bronze nail in his ankle kept the blood in his body, so when he attacked, Jason pulled the nail out and defeated him.

Question 4

Creusa

Answer 4

King Creon’s daughter - he offers her to Jason if he gets rid of Medea. Medea sends a poisoned tiara and gown as a wedding gift, which sets Creusa on fire. Creon attempts to help her, but also dies in the flames.

Question 5

Cadmus

Answer 5

Son of Agenor - sent to find Europa, but instead follows a cow and founds Thebes where the cow stops. He defeats the serpent which guards the spring that is sacred to Ares, then plants the teeth of the dragon. Sparti (sown men) spring up and fight until there are 5 left - they become the ancestors of Thebes.

Question 6

Europa

Answer 6

Daughter of Agenor - Zeus came to her as a bull and took her to Crete, where she mothered Minos.

Question 7

Minos

Answer 7

Son of Europa?

Question 8

Thebes

Answer 8

Founded by Cadmus and the 5 Sparti.

Question 9

Sparti

Answer 9

Sown men who grew when Cadmus planted the teeth of Ares serpent. There were lots of them, but only 5 were left when Cadmus told them to stop killing each other. Ancestors to the prominent families in Thebes. (Note: no relation to Sparta).

Question 10

Laius

Answer 10

Descendant of Cadmus - exiled from Thebes when the throne is taken over by Amphion and Zethus, his cousins. King Pelops takes him in, but he breaks xenia, then returns home to take the throne. Pelops curses him, and the curse transfers to his child, Oedipus.

Question 11

King Pelops

Answer 11

Takes Laius in when he is exiled, then curses him when he breaks xenia. The curse becomes the story of Oedipus.

Question 12

Xenia

Answer 12

The rules of guest friendship.

Question 13

King Polybus and Merope of Corinth

Answer 13

Adoptive parents of Oedipus - he is given to them by a shepherd who did not want to kill him as a baby.

Question 14

Oedipus

Answer 14

Raised as Prince of Corinth - then told he is adopted. He goes to Delphi and is told that he is going to marry his mother and kill his father. Leaves Corinth to prevent this, but the prophecy comes true anyway.

Question 15

Miasma

Answer 15

Pollution caused by the wrongs of the elite (eg. plague). Since Oedipus killed his father and married his mother and had children with her, he causes miasma on Thebes until the problem is solved.

Question 16

Seven Against Thebes

Answer 16

The battle to take back Thebes led by Polynices and 6 other generals - Tydeus, Adrastus, Capaneus, Hippomedon, Parthenopaeus, and Amphiaraus. Seven generals for the seven gates of Thebes.

Question 17

Polynices and Eteocles

Answer 17

Sons of Oedipus - agree to take turns ruling, but after his first time frame Eteocles decides to continue his rule. Polynices then goes to war with him, and they both end up dying (they kill each other).

Question 18

Amphiaraus

Answer 18

Foresees the death of all Thebes’ attackers except Adrastus. He dies by falling through the earth when Zeus opens it up. First though, he kills Tydeus’ opponent out of spite.

Question 19

Capaneus

Answer 19

Scaled the walls of Thebes, then said that not even Zeus could stop him. Zeus, of course, proceeded to stop him by throwing a lightning bolt at him.

Question 20

Hippomedon

Answer 20

Pushed back into a river, and emerges without his armour on. He is killed by missiles due to his lack of armour.

Question 21

Tydeus

Answer 21

Challenges 50 men to one on one combat at the gate of Thebes - kills all but one. He is loved by Athena, so when he is mortally wounded she gets an immortality potion from Zeus to save him. When Amphiaraus kills his opponent and throws Tydeus the head, he starts to eat the brains. Athena doesn’t like that, and throws the potion on the ground, letting him die.

Question 22

Parthenopaeus

Answer 22

Killed when a pile of rocks lands on his head while he is fighting at Thebes.

Question 23

Adrastus

Answer 23

Jumps on his chariot and makes it home to Argos during the battle of Thebes.

Question 24

Antigone

Answer 24

Sister of Polynices - defies Creon’s law that Polynices cannot be buried. She is arrested by Creon and is asked to obey the rules, but she does not. She is walled into a cave to die as punishment, but Creon changes his mind and wants to release her. By the time he does so, she has already committed suicide.

Question 25

Alcmena

Answer 25

Daughter of King Electryon (Mycenae). Electryon also had nine sons, but eight of them were killed by pirates. She is entrusted to Electryon’s nephew, Amphitryon. She marries Amphitryon but refuses to lay with him until he avenges the death of her brothers. Zeus then pretends to be Amphitryon, and she becomes pregnant with both Heracles and Iphicles.

Question 26

Amphitryon

Answer 26

Nephew of Electryon - Alcmena is entrusted to him. He gathers an army to avenge Alcmena’s brothers’ deaths, but before leaving has a dispute with Electryon over cattle and kills him (accidentally according to textbook). He is the father of Iphicles (Heracles’ half brother).

Question 27

Heracles

Answer 27

Son of Zeus and Alcmena, brother of Iphicles. Named after Hera - she hated him, and even sent Lucina (goddess of birth) to delay his birth so he could not rule the lands.

Question 28

Iphicles

Answer 28

Son of Alcmena and Amphitryon, brother of Heracles.

Question 29

Eurystheus

Answer 29

Heracles’ cousin - when Zeus declares that a child of his blood who is born that day would rule the lands, Hera delays Heracles birth for a week, fulfilling the prophecy with Eurystheus instead.

Question 30

King Thespius

Answer 30

Gave Heracles lodging for 50 nights as he hunted a lion, and sent a different one of his 50 daughters to lay with Heracles each night.

Question 31

Heraclids

Answer 31

The 50 children produced from Heracles and each of King Thespius’ 50 daughters. Heracles thought it was the same daughter every night.

Question 32

Megara

Answer 32

Creon’s daughter - has 3 children with Heracles after Creon gives him her hand in marriage. Megara and the 3 children are killed by Heracles when Hera inflicts a fit of madness on him.

Question 33

Athloi

Answer 33

Greek word for labours: contests undertaken for a prize.

Question 34

Nemean Lion

Answer 34

Heracles first labour: Killed by Heracles when he clubs it and strangles it, then skins it with its own claw. Heracles is often pictured wearing the skin of the lion and carrying the club.

Question 35

Iolaus

Answer 35

Son of Iphicles - travels with Heracles like a sidekick.

Question 36

Lernaean Lion

Answer 36

Serpent with 9 heads (8 mortal, 1 immortal) - Killed by Heracles and Iolaus; they cut off the mortal heads and cauterize the wounds so that new heads do not sprout out, then Heracles cuts off the immortal head and buries it under a rock.

Question 37

Cerynean Hind (Deer)

Answer 37

Deer with golden horns which was sacred to Artemis. Heracles spent a year tracking it, wounded it, and Apollo allowed him to capture it to show it to Eurystheus, but not kill it.

Question 38

Erymanthian Boar

Answer 38

Terrorized the countryside - Heracles was ordered to bring it back alive where Eurystheus kept it in a giant jar.

Question 39

Pholus

Answer 39

Told Heracles not to open wine, but he did anyway, and it attracted other centaurs carrying clubs and stones. He died when he dropped one of Heracles’ poison arrows on his foot.

Question 40

Chiron

Answer 40

Immortal centaur who is killed by one of Heracles’ poison arrows. Prometheus helps ease his pain.

Question 41

Augean Stables

Answer 41

Heracles was challenged to clean the stables in one day, so he diverted a river through it and did it. When Augeus refuses to pay Heracles (with one tenth of his cattle), Heracles returns with an army and kills him.

Question 42

Stymphalian Birds

Answer 42

Had bronze beaks, metallic feathers that could be fired like arrows, and poisonous dung, and they devoured humans and cattle. With the help of Athena’s bronze castanets, Heracles killed them all with his poisonous arrows.

Question 43

Cretan Bull

Answer 43

Bull that Minos would not sacrifice - Heracles captured it, rode it into the water like a cowboy, and let it wander to Marathon where Theseus eventually killed it.

Question 44

Marathon

Answer 44

???

Question 45

Mares of Diomedes

Answer 45

Diomedes’ herd of horses that fed on human flesh - Heracles tamed them by feeding Diomedes to them, then released them. They ran to Mount Olympus where they were eaten by wolves.

Question 46

Girdle of Hippolyta

Answer 46

Eurystheus wanted it for his daughter, so he sent Heracles to get it. Heracles sailed to the Amazons and was welcomed by Hippolyta. Hera descended as an Amazon and incited chaos, which led Heracles to kill Hippolyta and take the girdle.

Question 47

Cattle of Geryon

Answer 47

Monster with three bodies: giant herdsman and a two headed dog. Heracles killed Geryon, the herdsman, and the dog (Ortheus).

Question 48

Pillars of Heracles

Answer 48

Monument of his journey on either side of the Atlantic entrance of the Mediterranean.

Question 49

Apples of Hesperides

Answer 49

Hesperides were the three daughters of the night, and their garden was located where Atlas held the heavens on his shoulders. The tree with the apple is protected by a 100 headed serpent, so he asked Atlas to get the apple for him. Heracles held up the heavens while Atlas did so. When he returned with the apples, Eurystheus, fearing Hera, gave them back, and Heracles then gave them to Athena.

Question 50

Cerberus

Answer 50

Hades said Heracles could take the hound if he used no weapons. Heracles dragged it out with a chain, and then released it back to the underworld. While in the underworld he also freed Theseus.

Question 51

Deianira

Answer 51

Heracles married her. While carrying her across a river, Nessus (a centaur) assaulted her and Heracles killed him with a poison arrow. As Nessus was dying he told Deianira to collect his blood and semen as a love potion. She used the potion on a cloak she sent to Heracles when she was jealous of a King’s daughter that he captured. Heracles died as a result of this “potion”.

Question 52

Heracles’ Death

Answer 52

After being poisoned by the cloak, he killed the servant that gave it to him, then dragged himself to a funeral pyre. Philoctetes agreed to light it, so Heracles gave him his bow, which would be helpful in the Trojan War later. Heracles then ascended to Heaven and married Hebe, “Youth”.

Question 53

Philoctetes

Answer 53

The one who agreed to set the funeral pyre on fire to kill Heracles. As a reward he received Heracles’ bow.

Question 54

Hebe, “Youth”

Answer 54

Heracles marries her when he ascends to Heaven.

Question 55

Nessus

Answer 55

Assaults Deianira, then tells her to take his blood and semen as a love potion while he is dying from the poison of Heracles’ arrows. He indirectly kills Heracles by doing this, fulfilling the prophecy that Heracles would be killed by the dead.