Mythology Exam #1

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allegory

Back 1

say one thing, but talking about something else; storytelling technique; "masks" it

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anthropormorphism

Back 2

humanistic characteristics/human shapes

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archaeology

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digging in the ground to find things

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attribute

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physical characteristic/ traits to identify gods

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cosmogony

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creation of the universe

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cult title

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evoking god in reference to portfolio; religious

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diffusion

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moving around; spreading of ideas, stories, etc

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doublet

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same sequence of events repeated in the same story

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dynastic marriage

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marriage for political purposes

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ekstasis

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standing outside oneself

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enthousiasmos

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god in soul; god coming inside you

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epiphany

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appearance of something; revealing of a god

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epithet

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descriptor of gods; formulaic

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etiology/ etymological etiology

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story which explains the cause/ origin of something
(ex: story of aphrodites birth)

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formula/ formulaic (epic)

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repeated when you need it; repeated words, phrases, passages used in epic poetry

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foundation legend

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explains the foundation of something

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hamartia

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mistake made in ignorance

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helper motif

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motif where the character has a helper

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hermaphrodite

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creature that has both male and female sexual organs

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heros/heroine

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characters of legends; no such thing as a heroine in greek myth

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hybris

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act of arrogance/ overweening pride

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indo-european

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original group of people from which cultures and languages spread

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initiation

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key element in religious groups; joining something

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intergenerational conflict

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one generation fighting against another

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misogyny

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hatred of women

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monotheism

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having one god

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motif

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folktale; basic building blocks of stories; recurring thematic elements

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myth (general/narrow sense) / mythology

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traditional story w/collective importance

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oral culture/ tradition

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pass on stories primarily by means of mouth

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parthenos/ parthenogenesis

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virgin/any unmarried girl; virgin birth

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polytheism

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having many gods

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primacy of female

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woman are the creators of all things

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ritual theory of myth

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humans start performing certain rituals; myth explains why rituals are the way they are
ex: story of mecone

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shaman

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he who knows; bridge gap between human and divine

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succession myth

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story of fathers being overthrown by their sons

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theogony

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story of creation of the gods

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3 forms of prose narratives/ 3 types of myth

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1. divine myth
2. legend/ saga
3. folktale

*greeks did not make these 3 distinctions
*categories may overlap

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divine myth

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believed to be true
etiology
takes place in remote past (before human history)
takes place in a diff world
sacred in orientation
characters are gods and goddesses, not human- they are superior to humans
explains why the world is the way it is (science)
ex: succession myth, birth of aphrodite

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legend/saga

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etiology
believe to have an element of truth, but exaggerated
takes place in the recent past
takes place in the world of today
stories are either sacred or secular in orientation
main characters are heroes (human), but gods often play a role
explains what happened in the human past (history)
ex: trojan war stories; aenied - foundation legend of rome

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heroes are a product of what?

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divine & human coupling

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folktale

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known to be fiction
takes place at no particular time & set in no particular place
stories are secular in orientation
characters are either human or nonhuman (including animals, witches, etc)
purpose is to entertain or moralize
ex: cinderella, snow white, harry potter, etc.

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12 olympians

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projection onto cosmic canvas of the concerns & activities of the greeks themselves (ex: marriage, children)

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zeus

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jupiter/love
attributes: lightning bolt; aegis (goat skin shield); eagle; oak; bull; clouds
portfolio: weather (rain/clouds), sky god, king of gods/ universe, ruler of heavens, strength, protection, hospitality, kingship

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poseidon

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neptune
attributes: trident
portfolio: ruler of the seas, earthquakes (called the earth shaker), horses

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hades

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pluto/dis
attributes: helm of invisibility
portfolio: ruler of the underworld, wealth, minerals

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apollo/pheobus/phoebus apollo

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attributes: bow & arrows, lyre/muscial instruments, laurel leaves/trees, sun
portfolio: archery, medicine/sickness, music, prophesy/oracles/divination, poetry, reason

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hephaestus

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vulcan/mulciber
attributes: smith's tools (hammer/tongs/bellows), apron, crippled legs
portfolio: craftsmen & smiths, metalwork, volcanoes, fire

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ares

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mars
attributes: dressed in full armor/battle gear
portfolio: bloodlust, battle rage, combat, warfare

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hermes

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mercury
attributes: winged sandals/helm, caduceus
portfolio: messenger of the gods, psychopompos ("soul guider" - takes newly-deceased souls to the underworld), travel, merchants, trickery, thieves, messengers, heralds

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hera

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juno
attributes: standard matron/wife apparel, peacock
portfolio: wife of jupiter (zeus), queen of gods, human female fertility, protectress of marriage

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demeter

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ceres
attributes: basket of grain/fruit/vegetables, cornucopia
portfolio: agricultual fertility, crops, grains

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artemis

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diana
attributes: bow and arrow, animal companions
portfolio: hunter goddess, animal fertility, protectress of the young (animal/human), moon

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aphrodite

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venus
attributes: naked, attractive, usually seen in the company of her son eros/cupid
portfolio: sex, love, beauty, lust

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athena/pallas

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minerva
attributes: full battle armor (not usually worn by women), owl, olive, aegis (borrowed)
portfolio: wisdom, weaving, protectress of cities, welfare, ship building

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dionysus

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alternate olympian
bacchus
attributes: grapes, leopards, vines, ivy, maenads, thyrsus
portfolio: wine, drunkenness, human male fertility, enlivening liquids, madness, theater

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hestia

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alternate olympian
vesta
attributes: standard female dress (very few dipictions in ancient art)
portfolio: the hearth & its fire, welfare of the family & state

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3 components of myth

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characters, plot, & setting

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myths are anonymous in that?

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1. identity of any authors is usually lost
2. in a real sense myths are products of an entire culture

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traditional

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refers to the transmission of oral stories by word of mouth from generation to generation; handed over; handed down orally
*does not mean old-fashioned, or the way things used to be done

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is myth the same as religion?

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no... religion is based on myths, ritual practice
religion: a set of beliefs that motivates a course of action

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when did mycenaean era end?

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1200 bc

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folktale type

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a constellation of motifs that constitutes an independent story (a story that makes sense in itself & doesn't depend on its relation to some larger story)

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what defines a type?

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a recurring constellation of motifs

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4 different ways to study myths

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1. recording/compiling of a given cultures myth
2. analysis of the role that myths play within a culture
3. study of how culture's myths are related to those of other cultures
4. assess human significance of myths

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what is the principle source for the study of ancient myths?

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works of literature

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hesoids theogony

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title of the work & refers to any story about the gods

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chaos

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gap or empty space

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name the traditional periodization in order

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bronze age (early, middle, late) , dark age, archaic period, classical period, hellenistic period, followed by the intervention of rome

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which period was the great period of myth?

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bronze age (esp late bronze age)

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oral tradition operated during which age?

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dark age

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tradition stories received their famous literary treatments during what periods?

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subsequent

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aoidos

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the singer of traditional songs (stories set to musical accompaniment)

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influence of near eastern myth

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sumerian, semitic, hittites, egypt. prototypes for some important greek traditions

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greek myth in the archaic period

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homer & hesoid

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greek myth in the classical period

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great tragedies of athenian stage - aeschylus, sophocles & euripides

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greek myth in the hellenestic period

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jason & the argonauts retold in epic style by apollonius of rhodes

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roman appropriation of greek myth

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vergils aenied, ovids metamophoses, & others

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what 3 gods are in existance at the beginning of time?

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chaos, gaea, & uranus

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eros

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sexual love; generative force that brings males and females together which reproduce, giving rise to the next generation of divine beings

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children of gaea

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titans, cyclopes, hecatonchires

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which son overthrows uranus?

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cronus

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overthrow of uranus by his son demonstrates what?

Back 82

succession myth
also intergenerational conflict

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eponym/eponymous

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used of people whose names were later applied to other people/places/things

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etymology

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an explanation behind a word, name, etc

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folk etymology

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may not necessarily be true, but the greeks believed they were

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hybrid monster

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any monsters made up of two or more normal creatures

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projection

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human beings projected qualities/characteristics to something which does not have them normally

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separation of heaven and earth

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castration of uranus

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the blood that's spilled from the incident of uranus and cronus creates whom?

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the giants and erinyes

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who are chronus and rayus children?

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the olympian gods

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can you kill gods?

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no they are immortal; only thing to do is try to get them out of the way

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who overthrows chronus?

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his son zeus

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difference between motifs and doublets?

Back 93

motifs occur across stories; doublets occur in the same story

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3 obstacles zeus faces?

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1. titanomachy - battle w/ the titans; titans vs. olympians to retake universe; olympians win (make lightning bolts)
2. giantomachy: battle w/the giants; typhous = monster destroyed by zeus; dumps sicily on him
3. matis was impregnanted by zeus; child was supposed to overthrow zeus, but zeus swallows matis & unborn child; athena born from zeus' head

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how was aphrodite formed?

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when chronus is severed, his blood & sperm gets mixed w/ foam & sea

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where did humans come from ?

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greeks didnt focus on where they came from; humans created from clay/seeds/dirt; humans created to be servants to the gods

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prometheus

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forethinker (mr smart guy)
protector of humanity
gives humans the knowledge they need to survive -> culture bearer/hero

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mecone

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first sacrifice (an ox)
splits up ox...crappy stuff covered in nice layer of fat & good meat
zeus picks bad pile
humans keep good meat & sacrifice bad stuff to gods
this story is a reason/myth as to why humans do certain rituals
real reason? humans want the good stuff

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patronage

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connected w/ prometheus story; wealthy people helped out poor people

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name of the first woman that zeus creates

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pandora, meaning "all gifts" - gods teach her to do different things

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miasma

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pollution; blood= most polluting; blood separates men from women; women = polluted, full of evil at the core

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what does pandora represent

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the scary pollution for women; women are empty vessels full of evil polluted blood; pandora can be seen as that container full of evils

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myth of the 5 ages/races (name the 5)

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humanity progressed thru stages
1. golden age 2. silver age 3.bronze age 4. heroic age 5. iron age

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golden age

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chronus living; lived like gods; things were great; no old age; earth provided everything; chronus overthrown...

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silver age

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started by zeus; men= less smart; stayed babies for 100 yrs; inferior to golden age; found & killed each other; zeus & other gods removed them for not worshipping the gods

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who creates the 5 ages?

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hesoid

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bronze age

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fighting; born of ash trees; didnt have names; everything made of bronze

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heroic age

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heros of trojan war were fighting; noble men; isles of the blessed (greek heaven..where men went); has to make allowance for heros of trojan war, so creates heroic age

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iron age

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terrible; age we live in now; work all the time

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akme

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peak/pinnace; prime of your life

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kosmos

Back 111

world

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theas/thea

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sad/sadness

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anthropes

Back 113

human

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morphe

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shape

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early/middle bronze age

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minoan kingdoms on crete; indo-european migrations; origin of the greeks

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mycenaean (late bronze) age

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mycenaean citadels; linear b writing system; destruction of troy

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dark age

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dorian invasian of mainland; economic decline; ionian colonies found

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archaic period

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greek alphabet introduced; epic poems of homer and hesiod; revival of commerce; rise of polis; persian invasion of greece

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classical period

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persian defeat; rise of athenian democracy; tragedies of aeschylus, sophocles, & euripides; peloponnesian war; advent of alexander

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hellenistic period

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alexander dies; greek empire declines & rome rises; apollonius argonautica; cleopatra dies

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roman period

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romans remade greek culture in their own image & passed the classical tradition down

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some things greeks believed that modernity does not?

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magic, hexes, ghosts, animals w/human traits; gods & human interactions, preordained fait, prophetic dreams

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negative critique of greek myths

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1. xenophanes: cultural relativism- ppl make gods/goddesses in own image
2. plato: myths present false image of reality