Greek Godesses And Gods

Front 1

Pantheon

Back 1

the gods from any culture's mythology

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Chaos

Back 2

dark and swiriling confusion that Greek myths say was the original state

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Gaea

Back 3

the first deity - Mother Earth

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Uranus

Back 4

Gaea's first son and husband- showered her with "fertile rain"

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100-Handed Ones

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one of the three types of children born of Gaea and Uranus, with 100 hands each

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Cyclopes

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another type of Gaea and Uranus's children- simple giants with one eye

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Titans

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the third type of children- more like humans

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Cronus

Back 8

the Titan sone who castrated his father and became the new ruler but then ate his children and to prevent his own overthrow

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Rhea

Back 9

the wife of Cronus, who gave him a stone instead of their last children

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Zeus

Back 10

the hidden child who overthrew his father and freed his Titan siblings and later became god of the sky and earth, enforcing his rule with his thunderbolts. He had many affairs and many inpressive children.

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Hermes

Back 11

swift messenger of the godswith winged shoes

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Hephaestus

Back 12

ugly, lame god of the forge-made beautiful weapons and other artifacts

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Ares

Back 13

brutal and unpredictable god of war

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Eros

Back 14

son of Aphrodite, he could shoot an arrow to make someone fall in love

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Persephone

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daughter of Demeter and queen of the underworld after Hades kidnapped her

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Hera

Back 16

the sister and jealous wife of Zeus

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Posidon

Back 17

Zeus's brother and lord of the sea, using earthquakes and his trident to rule

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Hades

Back 18

Zeus's brother and lord of the underworld (where the dead went)

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Demeter

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Zeus's sister and goddess of crops and seasons

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Hestia

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Zeus's sister and virgin goddess of home and hearth

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Athena

Back 21

Zeus's daughter, virgin goddess of wisdom, war strategy, and weaving craft

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Apollo

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Zeus's son by Leto and archer god of music and medicine.

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Artemis

Back 23

Apollo's twin sister,virgin god of childbirth, hunting, and the moon

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Aphrodite

Back 24

the goddess of desire, conceived when Cronus threw Uranus's genitilia into the sea. She took many lovers and inspired others to love.

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Dionysus

Back 25

young, beautiful, joyful, brutal god of wine,religious ecstacy and theater; name means "twice born"

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Nymphs

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lovely maiden goddesses inhabiting trees, water, or mountains

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Naiads

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water nymphs

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Dryads

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tree nymphs

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Satyrs

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a goat-man who loved drinking and sex

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Centaurs

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horse-men

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Cheiron

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centaur who taught warfare to many famous heroes

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Muses

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nine goddesses who were in charge of learning and the arts

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Fates

Back 33

three goddesses who spun, measured, and cut human lives

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Furies (or Erinnyes)

Back 34

three goddesses who punished people, especially children, who were violent to parents or guests

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Olympus

Back 35

the mountain on which many of the deities lived

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River Styx

Back 36

the river one had to cross to reach the underworld, realm of the dead

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1200 BC

Back 37

An alliance of Greek city-states defeat Troy (Turkey)

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750 BC

Back 38

Homer writes the ILLIAD and the ODYSSEY about the Trojan War

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450 BC

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Athens "flowers" in music, art, theater, philosophy, control over neighboring areas (GOLDEN AGE OF GREECE)

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150 BC

Back 40

Rome conquers Greece. Roman Empire lasts for 500+ each years, extending to Egypt, Europe, etc.

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lethargy

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ADJ: lethargic
DEF:sleepiness, laziness, or forgetfulness
S: Lethe- river in which the dead would drink from before they went to heaven to wipe out past memories

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martial

Back 42

Related Term: the military coming into a place to keep order temporarily
D: anything related to fighting or war
S: Mars was the Roman god of war and fertility. The first month of the Roman calender, Martius--our MArch, was named after him because that was the time when grass returned to the fields and warfare could resume after the winter months

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nymphomaniac

Back 43

Abstract noun:nymphomania
DEF:someone who has a insatiable sexual appetite
S:nymphs- beautiful young females who lived in mountains who particularly enjoyed sexual relations, whether with satyrs (their male counterparts), with gods, or mortal men

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mnemonic device

Back 44

DEF: an aid in studying in a test
S: Mnemosyne (pronounced Nim-AH-sin-ee) was the titan and the goddess of memory. She and Zeus became the parents of the nine muses who sang and danced for the gods and who inherited their mother's to help a poet or musician get his thoughts together before creating a masterpiece.

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metamorphosis

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verb: metamorphose or morph
DEF: a change of form
S: Somnus, the god of sleep, has a son named MORPHEUS, the god of dreams. Morpheus could change shape and form just as dreams do.

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narcissistic

Back 46

Concrete noun: narcissist/ Abstract noun: narcissism
DEF: preoccupied with self
S: Narcissus was a handsome young man who rejected all possible lovers. One day, Narcissus saw his reflection in a pool of water and instantly fell in love with the beautiful youth looking back. He could not bear to leave, so he did not eat or drink. he eventually died there and his body was transformed into a flower.

Front 47

nemesis

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DEF: an insurmountable enemy, obstacle, or problem
S: Nemesis was the Greek goddess in charge of punishing excessive pride. People who enjoyed victory, wealth, or happiness was expected to show their gratitude to the gods or share their bounty with the less fortunate; if they didn't, Nemesis took it all the way.

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mercurial

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Related Word: mercury, as in thermometer
DEF: likely to change mood suddenly and unpredictably
S: Mercury, the swift Roman messenger god, was already walking, talking, and flying--not to mention getting in trouble--as an infant. He stole Apollo's cattle, angering the older god; however, he quickly offered a lyre to Apollo as a peace offering, and all was forgiven.

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panacea

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DEF: cure for all ills
S: Panacea was the daughter of Aesculapius, the god of medicine. Before Aesculapius was struck down by Zeus for bringing back too many mortals from the dead, Aesculapius passed on his healing wisdom on to his daughter. She is to be believed to be able to cure all illnesses.

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Hygeia

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goddess of good health

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Pandora's Box

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DEF: a situation that could cause many difficulties
S: Pandora was the first mortal woman and was given a box filled with all the world evils, such as greed, sickness, insanity, etc. Pandora was ordered not to open the box but her curiosity got the better of her and she opened it. All the evils were released, but she managed to close the box before one last thing could escape--hope.

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tantalize

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ADJ:tantalizing
DEF: to tease by keeping something desirable just out of reach
S: A mortal son of Zeus, Tantalus was a joking boy. He made himself immortal by stealing some nectar and ambrosia from the gods' dinner table. Zeus punished him by being placed in a pool of water surrounded by fruit trees. When he knelt to drink, the water would recede, leaving only mud. When he reached for fruit, a wind blew the branches out of reach.

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achilles heel

Back 53

Related Word: Achilles tendon
DEF: someone's primary weakness or vulnerability
S: Achilles was the son of the sean nymph Thetis. When her child was still a baby, she dipped him in the River Styx in an attempt to make him immortal. He became immortal except for his heel, where his mother had held him when he dipped him. While he was fighting in the Trojan War,he got shot in the heel, and died.

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aphrodisiac

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DEF: something which creates sexual desire or increases fertility
S: Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, specialized in stirring up sexual desire. Although she was given in marriage to Hephaestus, Greek myths are full of tales of her liaisons with other gods and with many mortal men, as well.

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harpy

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DEF: an ill-tempered woman
S: the Harpies were fierce birds with the heads of women and a terrible stink. They tortured their victims by snatching away some available food and befouling the rest, so that nothing could be eaten

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iridescent

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Noun: iridescence
DEF: shimmering with color
S: Iris, the rainbow goddess, sometimes served as Hera's messenger. She wore a thin coat of shining colors and traveled swiftly across the sky on an arched path.

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chimera

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ADJ: chimerical
DEF: the bizarre product of someone's imagination
S: The Chimera was a fire-breathing she-monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a snake. She had three equally unlikely siblings: the three-headed dog Cerberus, the two-headed dog Orthurus, and the nine-headed water serpent Hydra. The Chimera was finally when a lump of lead was placed in the fiery mouth and ran down her throat, burning her internal organs.

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arachnid

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Related Words: arachnophobia, arachnoid
DEF: spider
S: Arachne was the Greek maiden who challenged the goddess Athena to a weaving contest. Although Arachne's tapestry was flawless, it depicted the gods in undignified situations. Such irreverence angered Athena, who destroyed the weaving and struck the girl. Humiliated, Arachne hung herself, and Athena turned her into a spider, the finest weaver in the animal kingdom.

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hermaphrodite

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ADJ: hermaphroditic
DEF: a person or other creature with both male and female characteristics
S: The god Hermes and the goddess Aphrodite had a child named Hermaphroditus, who inherited his father's power and his mother's beauty. One day, he was swimming in the fountain of the nymph Salmacis, and she fell in love with him; however, he rejected her advances. She prayed to be united with him forever, and the gods answered her prayers; their two bodies grew together into one.

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labyrinth

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ADJ: labyrinthine
DEF: a very complicated structure
S: The original Labyrinth was a complicated maze built by Daedalus, an architect and inventor, to contain the minotaur, a ferocious half-man, half-bull who ate the young people sacrificed to it. The Labyrinth was so complicated that man nor monster could find their way out. Finally, the hero Theseus slew the beast and escaped from the maze by following a thread he had unwound.

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amazon

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Related Term: Amazon River
DEF: a large, strong woman
S: The Amazons were a race of female warriors who lived in Asia Minor. Fierce and man-hating, they raided foreign lands looking for men who could impregnate them. Later, they killed their male offspring and raised their daughters to fight. They were so dedicated to battle that each amazon cut off their right breast so that it would not interfere with her archery skill. The Amazon River was named for the women from mythology when an explorer was attacked by a band of skirted natives he thought were women.