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70 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Abraham and Isaac
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In Genesis, Abraham was asked by God to sacrifice his son. symbolic of man's willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice to demonstrate faith in God and that faith will be rewarded
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Achilles
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Illiad: Greek valor/beauty, invulnerable to wounds except in heel (mother dipped in Styx) Achille's heel- vulnerable part of one's character
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Agamemnon
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King who sacrificed daughter to to win god's favor in war against Troy, father of Orestes and Electra, unfaithful husband of Clytemnestra
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Antigone
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daughter of Oedipus, performed funeral rights for brother against Creon's orders, symbolizes choice between god's/civil authority, or choice btwn justice/law
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Atlas
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Titan who rebelled against Zeus, and condemned to hold heaven on shoulders (weight of world on shoulders)
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by bread alone
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not all human needs are met by food, kindness important- faith provides spiritual sustenance
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Cain and Abel
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Cain murders brother out of jealousy- ref to innocent blood and brother v. brother conflict
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Camel through a needle's eye
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easier for camel to pass through eye of needle than rich man to get into heaven
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Cassandra
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daughter of Priam,had gift of prophecy but never believed, reps accurate but unheeded prophet of doom
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cast the first stone
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adultress must be stoned, Jesus says only those who haven't sinned can cast stones- don't be hypocrite
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Daedalus and Icarus
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Daedalus makes wings to get out of prison, Icarus flies too high, wax melts, dies, warns against trying to enter 'realm of gods'
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Sword of Damocles
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impending peril, Damocles seated at banquet but pleasure spoiled by sword suspended by thread above him- impeding disaster
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Damon and Pythias
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2 inseparable friends who would give up lives for each other - lasting friendship
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David and Bathsheba
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David had adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, B gets pregnant, D sends her husband into battle, D and B marry, kid died, B had another kid- Solomon
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Dionysus/ Bacchus
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god of wine, nature, fertility, ecstasy; overuse and excess, repped by Animal House
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divide the sheep from the goats
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biblical parable explaining time of judgement where faithful are separated from unfaithful- reps true from false, worthy from unworthy
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eye for an eye
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exacting specific punishment for injury- killing murderer for murder
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Garden of Gethsemane
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garden where betrayal of Jesus took place- great physical/psychological suffering
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David and Goliath
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David slew giant Goliath- reps defeating of unjust despite latter's strength, jack and beanstalk
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Holy Grail
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cup that caught Jesus' blood at last supper; fertility symbol; Indiana Jones Monty Python
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heap coals of fire
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if you treat enemy with kindess, will hurt him, be nice to mean people
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Iphigenia
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eldest child of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, sacrificed to help greek fleet to troy
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Isaac
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son Jacob received covenant with god
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Jacob
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12 sons founder of 12 tribes of Israel, name changed to Israel
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Jacob and Esau
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twin brothers, allude to discord btwn siblings, politics of birthright, idea of fortunate/favored son
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Jacob's ladder
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Jacob drams of ladder from Earth to heaven; ladder reps path to god/heaven, refs promised land and covenant with chosen ppl
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Jezebel
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Pheonician princess married Ahab urged to sin, enemy of prophet Elijah- false prophet, seductive woman leading hero astray; The Handmaid's Tale
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Joseph and brothers
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brother's jealous of Joseph and sold to slavery, egypt saved b/c correctly read pharoah's dream and grain stored, forgives brothers and shares grain
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Jonah
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ship struck with storm, swallowed by whale, prayed and repented, jonah safe,prefigure Jesus's death, time in tomb, and resurrection; pinnocchio
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Judas Iscariot
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betrays Jesus sells out for 30 silver pieces, commits suicide, ultimate betrayer
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Judgment of Paris
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judged beauty contest, promised Helen, start of Trojan war, parallel to snow white, and oedipus
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Know them by their fruits
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warns against wolf in sheep's clothing, judge people by actions rather than appearances
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Labors of Hercules
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12 tasks before immortality
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Lamb to slaughterer
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servant who took sins of people and sacrificed himself for them, christ = sacrificial lamb
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Leda
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Zeus came to Leda in shape of swan to father 4 kids, theme of artists like michelangelo to dali
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Lion lies down with lamb
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idyllic harmony and universal peace when Messiah arrives
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Lot/Lot's wife
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lot escapes destruction b/c moral inhabitant of sinful city, him an family flee, wife looks back, turned into pillar of salt, god punishes disobedient
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Mammon
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evil personification of riches and worldliness; the faerie queen, paradise lost- personifies greed and wealth
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Virgin Mary
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wife of Joseph, mother of Jesus , purity/virginity/maternal love, compare to Artemis/Diana, lotsa art about her
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Mary Magdalene
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reformed whore who may have been woman saved from 'let him cast first stone' mob, washed Jesus' feet with tears, present at crucifixion and at tomb opening; reps meaning of true contrition and power of forgiveness
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Medusa
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chief of Gorgons, snakes for hair, killed by Perseus with sword given by Hermes, Pegasus came from her blood
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Minotaur
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bulls head + mans body, sea bull given by Poseidon, not sacrificed, P angry, Minos' wife <3 with bull = minotaur
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Moses
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followed 10 commandments, archetypal hero's life, led people out of bondage, committed one sin and wasn't allowed to enter promised land- suffered from arrogance
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Nebuchadnezzar's dream
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most powerful king of Mesopotamia, Daniel explains dream of statue with head of gold, arms/chest of silver = succession of kingdoms, foretold emergence of indestructible kingdom of god, rewarded with high position
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Nemesis
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personification of righteous anger, punished those who messed with natural order through hubris/ excessive love of material stuff, unbeatable enemy
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Nirvana
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'going out' doctrine of release, perfect bliss through no desires or self, union with buddha, harmony
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Noah and floods
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god decides to punish wicked with flood, noah takes family and pairs of animals, 40 days/nights, rainbow=gods promise that he would never destroy earth with flood (flood in mythology gilgamesh, vishnu, deucalion)
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Odyssey
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Homer, homeward journey of Odysseus and men after Trojan war, source of greek myths, basis of legends 'brother where are you'
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Pandora
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first woman , power to ruin mankind, closed box told not to open, opens and brings curses
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Persephone
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fertility and queen of underworld, kidnapped by Pluto, spends half time under ground and half above, explains seasons
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Philistines
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enemies of Isrealites, ignorant, crude, rude person lacking in culture/art, likes materialistic stuffs
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Phoenix
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lives for 500 yrs, burns to death, reborn from ashes, death and resurrection/ eternal life
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Prodigal son
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younger son who wastes portion, father forgives him and celebrates homecoming; Prince Hall in Henry 4 (shakespeare), Peter Cottontail
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Prometheus
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stole fire from gods and gave to humans, nailed to mountain where eagle tears out organs, regenerated, faces same torture every day; hero of Aeschylus' Prometheus Bound, and Shelley's poem "Prometheus Unbound". also golden statue above rockefeller center
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Pygmalion
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sculpter and king created statue of aphrodite, loved creation, statue comes to life, marries "pygmalion" and "my fair lady"
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Romulus and Remus
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legendary sons put to death thrown in river, raised by wolf, founded Rome, Romulus kills remus; Aeneid
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Ruth
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widow who refused to leave mother-in-law, loyal, marries Boaz = openness to world
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Satyrs
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goat-men, followers of Dionysus chased nymps, treated serious matters in grotesquely comic way A midsummer Night's Dream
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Scylla and Charybdis
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Circe turns Scylla into sea monster, Charybids = whirlpool, danger to straits of Messina, "btwn a rock and hard place"
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Sisyphus
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cheated death by telling wife to not give funeral, rising from underworld and punishing her, Zeus mad, and made him push big rock up hill and it fell when almost at top, "the Myth of Sisyphus" - metaphor for ever-ending struggle to complete task, only thwarted by more hurdles
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Sodom and Gomorrah
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2 major cities destroyed by fire and brimstone (hell) rep debauchery
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Solomon
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wisest king of Israel, understanding, baby-decision, gives baby to mother who wouldn't kill her kid
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Sphinx
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monster with face of woman, body of lion, wings of bird. riddle to Thebes, and ate young men, Oedipus answers riddle, reps Ra in egypt, reps monumental silence in lit refs
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Styx
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one of 5 rivers of hell, charon carries dead across it in Inferno, allusion to forgetfulness
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30 pieces of silver
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amt Judas Iscariot pays to betray jesus, throws back at Jewish priests before hanging self; '30 pieces of silver' and 'judas' kiss' ref betrayal and treachery
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through a glass darkly
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time of perfect love and clarity through jesus' love/knowledge, in contrast to when ppl saw jesus through a dark glass. used in weddings, or conversely by authors who wish to convey opposite of perfect love/knowledge through irony
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tower of Babel
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after flood ppl tried to build tower to heaven, god mad, and messed up speech so no one understood each other, and scattered them around earth- explains diversity of languages. reps madly visionary scheme, senseless uproar, babble; also, humans shouldn't aspire to height of god
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trojan horse
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gift horse, placed soldiers in huge horse, trojans brought horse within walls, soldiers come out and kill em all, 'beware greeks bearing gifts'
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Utopia
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nowhere, ideal society according to ideals of humanists, no crime ignorance, etc "brave new world" "1984" "fahrenheit 451"
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waterloo
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napoleon crushed in 1815, refs crushing and final defeat
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