Classics - Midterm 2

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Dionysus

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god of wine, life force, fertility and instinctive side of personality; born from the thigh of Zeus, son of Semele; lover of Ariadne

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Semele

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princess in the house of Thebes; had an affair with Zeus; tricked by Hera, demanded to see Zeus as a god, burnt to a crisp; retrieved from the underworld by her son; became a goddess, Thyone

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Ino

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queen of Orchomenus; sister to Semele; disguised Dionysus as a girl to protect him from Hera; driven mad by Hera and killed her child; transformed to sea-diety

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nymphs of Nysa

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inhabitants of mountain Nysa, accepted delivery of Dionysus in the form of a young goa

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Bacchae

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female followers of Dionysus; thyiades; maenads; raging women, possessed, carried the thyrsus

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thyrsus

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staff crowned with a pinecone, or ivy leaves

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satyrs

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male followers of Dionysus; half-human creatures with erect phalli, goat-like legs

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Silenus

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a satyr; ugly, drunk, fat; teller of tall tales; thick lips, pug nose, riding on a donkey

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Midas

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Hospitable King of Phrygia, asked for all to turn to gold; begged for Dionysus to take gift back; bathed in the Pactolus river which carried away the curse

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Ariadne

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daughter of king Minos, lover of Dionysus

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Lycurgas

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king of a tribe in Thrace; rejected Dionysus; went mad, attempted to rape his mother; injured his son; made the land infertile, despised by immortals

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Minyads

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Rejected Dionysus; driven mad when Dionysus took on the form of a lion, bull and panther; ate their children; became bats

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Agave, Authonoe, Ino

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sisters of Semele, denied her story, driven mad

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Pentheus

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opposes Dionysus; Tiresias and Cadmus attempt to convince him to accept Dionysus; who appears as a prisoner, ensures his death by Agave

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enthousiasmos

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presence of Dionysus in his followers, "being filled with the god"

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ekstasis

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hence, ecstasy; felt by his followers, who lost their sense of identity and became one with the god

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lysios

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Dionysus was "deliverer"; his followers were released from the doldrums of life and united with divine fource

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Thespis

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man responsible for adding to the chorus a "prologue and speech"; introduced first actor; pre-Thespis, characters were described in the third person; post-Thespis, actors took on the role of a mythical character and spoke in 1st person; made possible direct conflict

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demos

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The Athenian people

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Hades

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the god of the underworld, ruler of the dead - also called Pluto, the enricher; from beneath the earth comes mineral wealth

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Polydegmon

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name for Hades - receiver of many

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Polyxenos

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name for Hades - host to many

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eidolon

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soul survives as an "image"

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psychopompos

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"soul-guide"; name given to Hermes, who leads the dead into the house of hades and relieves the world of their presence

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Tiresisas

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the most famous seer in myth; descended from the Sparti; lived as a man and a woman; blinded by Hera for saying women enjoy sex more; gifted prophecy and seven gen. of life by Zeus

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Odysseus

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Greek hero, shipwrecked on his way home to Ithaca after sacking troy; instructed by Circe to seek advice of the ghost Tiresias

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Anticlea

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mother of Odysseus, who reaches for her 3x, and each time she flutters away like a dream,

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Elpenor

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companion of Odysseus, begs for proper burial

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Tantalus

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guilty of violence against the gods; tested them by serving his son Pelops at a banquet; punished - never able to satisfy gluttonous desires for food and drink

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Sisyphys

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famed for cleverness; seduced Anticlea; tricked Death; punishment - labors endlessly without result

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Elysium

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blessed, special afterworld, much like heaven; unattainable for ordinary people

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Orpheus

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famous for his sweet singing to the lyre; tragically in love with Eurydice; looks back in the underworld when retrieving her, loses her forever; invented male homosexuality

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Eurydice

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lover of Orpheus; died when escaping Aristaeus by snake-bite

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Orphism

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famous teachings of Orpheus; "the body is a tomb" - divinity of Dionysus trapped within evil Titanic skin; taught reincarnation; connected to Pythagoras teachings

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Pythagoras

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6 c. BC; philosophical claim that essence of reality is numerical, proportional, measured; metempsychosis

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Er, "springtime"

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killed in battle, but found alive 10 days later; told story of souls led to junction between heaven and earth; judged and sentenced to 1,000 years of reward or punishment; offered choice in new life; drank water at river of unheeding, forgot everything, reincarnated; Er did not drink water

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Myth of Er

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philosophical recasting of traditional accounts of life after death; moral law

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Aeneas

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escaped from Troy, descended to underworld with Sibyl of Cumae to meet his father, Anchises

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Acheron

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river at the boundary of Dis - the underworld

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Charon

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grim ferryman who takes dead across river

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Ixion

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king, lusted after Hera; Zeus fashioned Hera out of a cloud, and he leapt on it; his semen created Centaurus; bound to a wheel of fire

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hero

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principle character in a story, object of admiration; for the ancient Greeks, anoble figure

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Gilgamesh

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the great king of of Uruk; arrogant, prideful, lusted after virgins on their wedding day; two-thirds divine, one-third mortal; companion of Enkidu; sought immortality; defeated Humbaba and Bull of Heaven

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Enkidu

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fashioned by Aruru to be wild man, companion to Gilgamesh; castrated bull of heaven and met his death via divine retribution

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Humbaba

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guardian of the forest, killed by Gilgamesh, which enraged Enlil

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Ishtar

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sexual goddess who lusted after Gilgamesh; rejected; asked Anu to send Bull

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Utnapishtim

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Noah; he and his wife were only mortal survivors of the flood; suggested Gilgamesh stay awake for seven days and nights; told him of a prickly herb which would restore his youth

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Heracles

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the greatest of Greek heros; strong and willful; adventurous; son of Alcmena and Zeus

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Alcmena

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daughter to Electryon and Anaxo; wife of Amphitryon, who she refused to sleep with until her brothers deaths were avenged; slept with him and Zeus on the same night

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Electryon

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son of Perseus; husband to his neice Anaxo; brother of Sthenelus and Alcaeus; father to nine sons, all but one of whom were killed by pirates

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Eurystheus

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son of Sthenelus

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Amphitryon

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son of Alcaeus; nephew of Electryon; husband of Alcmena; murdered Electryon; set out to avenge deaths of Alcmena's brothers

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Iphicles

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son of Alcmena and Amphitryon

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Lucina

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goddess who came to help Alcmena give birth; commanded by Hera to prevent Heracles birth by muttering spells; tricked by Galanthis

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Megara

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daughter of Creon; wife to Heracles, gave birth to three children; murders his wife and children

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The Twelve Labors

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Heracles forced to serve Eurystheus, king of Mycanae, to atone for his murder

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The Nemean Lion

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Lion ravaging country; Heracles killed lion by cutting its unbreakable pelt with its own, and wore its skin ever after

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The Lernaean Hydra

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many-headed serpent which leived near the swamps of Lerna, SE of Mycanae; Heracles accompanied by Iolaus, his nephew; cut off hydra's immortal head and buried it under a rock, and dipped his arrow in the venom within

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The Ceryneian Deer

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deer in the remote mountain in the Peloponnesus; belonged to Artemis; was freed later

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The Erymanthian boar

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roamed Mount Erymanthus

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Side-deed: Pholus

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on his way to capture boar, Heracles visited Pholus, a hospitable centaur; demanded wine, which drew thirsty centaurs; died by dropping venomous arrow on his foot

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Chron

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wise, immortal centaur poisoned by Heracles arrow; gifted mortality by Prometheus

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Augeas

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son of Helios, king in Elis; did not clean his stables; offered Heracles payment for cleaning stables; killed later when Heracles was not paid

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Stymphalian birds

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flocks of death-dealing birds with arrow-firing wings and armor-piercing beaks; driven from their cover by Heracles

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Cretan bull

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animal summoned from the sea by Minos, seized and tossed into the sea; Heracles rode it like a cowboy back to the Peloponnesus

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Diomedes

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son of Ares, owned horses which ate human flesh

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side-deed: Alcestis

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wife of Admetus; died so he could live

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Admetus

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king who had Apollo as a servant for a year, because Apollo had angered Zeus by killing Cyclops as revenge for Zeus killing Asclepius, his son; gifted immortality if someone would die for him

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girdle of Hippolyta

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Amazon queen's belt which signaled openness to sexual advances; offered belt to Heracles' after he charmed her

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Geryon

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three-bodied monster on the island of Erythia, with a herd of red cattle and a two-headed demon dog, Orthus

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Cacus

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3-headed fire-breathing monster which stole some cattle; demolished by Heracles

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Apples of the Hesperides

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apples growing on a magical tree which was gifted to Hera by Zeus; guarded by Ladon the serpent

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Busiris

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son of Poseidon who sacrificed every foreigner in his land to restore abundance; seized Heracles; represented Death; was murdered; "Death overcome"

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Prometheus

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came into contact with Heracles as he searched for the Hesperides; Heracles killed the liver-devouring eagle and set him free

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Cerberus

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guardian of the realm of Hades, who allowed him to take the dog w/o using weapons

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Iole

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daughter of Eurystus, who refused to give her to Heracles, fearing fate of Megara

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Omphale

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queen of Lydia, who desired sex from Heracles; cross-dressed with Heracles; pursued by Pan

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cercopes

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two ruffians who robbed passerby, treated them cruelly, cracked jokes when seized by Heracles; turned to monkeys by Zeus

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Deianira

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Heracles bride; used love potion she gathered when assaulted by Nessa to keep him from looking at other women after he cheated on her; killed herself when she accidentally killed Heracles

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Achelous

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river-god who also wanted Deianira; fought Heracles for her; was defeated

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Nessus

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centaur who assaulted Deianira; shot with poisoned arrow; instructed her to collect his blood and semen to make love potion

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Heraclids

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the many sons of Heracles, who killed Eurystheus and his sons

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Demeter

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goddess of grain and the rich harvest; mother of Persephone; refused to allow grain to grow unless Persephone could spend 2/3 in above world

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Persephone

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daughter of Demeter; permanently fertile earth; taken by Hades to underworld

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Eleusinian Mysteries

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in origin, an agarian festival designed to promote the growth of grain

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triptolemus

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prince of Eleusis to whom Demeter taught her secret rites; rode a chariot across the world, teaching art of growing grain

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Inanna

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Sumerian queen of heaven, goddess of love and war; performed ancient rites to get into underworld, maybe to be goddess of death; turned to a slab of meat, and brought back to life by creations of Enki

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Dumuzi

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lover of Innana, shepherd-god; replaced Inanna in underworld when she caught him looking cute instead of mourning

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Ereshkigal

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Eastern goddess of death

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Isis

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Egyptian goddess of fertility; united with her brother in the womb; led Egyptians out of their crude way of life

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Osiris

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lover of isis; killed by Typhoeus in a cruel trick - fashioned a coffin of his size; torn to pieces; rose from the underworld to prepare his son for battle

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hawk-god Horus

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born to Osiris; ripped the crown from Isis when she freed Typhoeus

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Horus the child

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child begotten after Osiris was dead

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Cybele

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Phygrian goddess of fertility, disease, oracles, war; born from Deucalion's rock; doted on Attis

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Agdestis

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born from Zeus' semen spilt onto rock; violent sex drive; castrated himself; his blood gave birth to pom tree

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Attis

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son of Nana, impregnated by pom from Agdestis' dick tree; king Midas tried to marry him off to his daughter, but Agestis drove wedding guests insane; his severed organs grew violets

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Perseus

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founder of Mycenae, a populous center of wealth and power; son of Danae; beleived to eventually kill his grandfather As..

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tirnys

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a fortress south of Mycenae, surrounded by walls and a port town which served Mycenae

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Io

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daughter of Melia and Inachus, ancestor of the three great dynasties: Argos, Thebes and Crete; turned to a cow by a vengeful Hera

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Hermes as Argeiphontes

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destroys Argus to save Io

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Danaus

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son of Benus; king of Libya; fathered 50 daughters he did not want to marry off to his nephews, so fled to Argos

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Daniads

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daughters of Danaus

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Acrisius

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grandson of Lynceus; battled his brother Proetus in the womb; took power of Argos and fathered Danae; wanted a male heir

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Danae

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imprisoned by her father Acrisius, who feared her son would kill him

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Polydectes

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wanted to marry Danae but was prevented by Perseus; pretended he wanted another woman, ordered Perseus to bring him Gorgons head as a wedding gift

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Gorgons

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three death-dealing monsters - Stheno, Euryale and Medusa; enormous tusks and wide eyes; bronze hands; snakes for hair

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Medusa

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the only mortal Gorgon; from her severed neck sprung Pegasus

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Graeae

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gray haired women who would help Perseus defeat Gorgons by directing him to helpful nymphs

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Andromeda

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daughter of Cepheus, a son of Belus; chained to a rock, about to be devoured by sea monster when Perseus sees her and falls in love