SOME NAMES THAT WILL BE USEFUL TO KNOW (You may want to

organize this list into helpful sub-groups like gods, mortals, authors, et
al.)

The nine Muses, daughters of Zeus

-their mother was Mnemosyne (Memory), and

were led by Apollo. They inspired singers, poets, and invoked at the beginning of songs and hymns.

Hesiod

-Hesiod sought to give a connected account of the creation of the universe. Hesiod is the
oldest surviving attempt to treat systematically the mythical tradition from the first gods down to the
great heroes. Born in Ascra in Boiotia, Hesiod was the brother of Perses from Works and Days and
there is general agreement that he lived in the 8th or early 7th century BC. His life was contemporaneous
with the beginning of the alphabetic writing in the Greek world, and his work as well as the Homeric
Hymns stood for the beginnings of Greek literary traditions.

Aegis

-Aegis bearing Zeus (Homer), protective goatskin. Carried by Athena and Zeus, shield with
gorgon Medusa's head on it.

Chaos

-formless or void state before creation of the cosmos, gap between heaven and earth abyss
primordial deity, 1st in Theogony and Works and Days.

Gaia

-personification of Earth, mother Earth, early Titan, mother of all Titans, gods, and giants,
married to Ouranos.

Eros

-god of love, one of the first four gods, raw desire.

Ouranos

-father of the sky, husband of Gaia. Theogony: came just from Gaia, father of Titans,
hundred handed ones and cyclopes. Trapped Titans in Tartarus till Cronos castrated him.

Cronos (Saturn)

-son of Gaia and Ouranos, leader of the Titans, ruled during the Golden Age.
Father of Gods, wife is Rhea, Overthrown by Zeus.

Rheia

-Titan. Wife of Cronos, mother of the gods, Zeus, etc.

Tartarus/Tartaros

-Ixion: tried to rape Hera, tied to a flaming/flying wheel. The Danaids,

killed their husbands and were forced to refill a water vessel with hiles in it. Tityos: tried to rape Leto
while she was pregnant with Apollo and Artemis, staked to the ground with a vulture at his liver.
Tantalus: stole ambrosia. The modern Sisyphos: Albert Camus (1913-1960): The Myth of Sisyphus,
faced with the meaninglessness of existence, should we give up? The struggle itself... is enough to fill
a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphos happy. Deep abyss used as a dungeon.

The Cyclopes

-Craftsmen, immortal, forged big 3 weapons, trident, lightning bolt, Hades.

Homer, mortal. Sons of Poseidon.

The Titans

-Second order of divine beings, ruled during Golden Age, overthrown by gods in
Titanomachy, imprisoned in Tartaros by Zeus.

The Moirai/Fates

-(Parcae) daughters of Zeus by Themis, children of Night (Nyx), Old

women figures: Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis measured it out Atropos cut it. Moira= portion,
lot, fate, even Zeus did not break what had been fated. Aeneas was fated to found Rome. Double
Motivation; by the will of the gods and the actions of human actions failing to overcome the Fates.

Nemesis

-Retribution, revenge. Hesiod: justice, child of Cerberus and Nyx.

Cerberos

-dog of Hades, three or two heads, sprout writhing snakes, guardian of the gates of the
underworld. Hesiod, Theogony 774-780.

Eos

-Titan of dawn, daughter of Hyperion, in Iliad, Theogony, Odyssey.

Hydra

-Serpent with many heads, cut off one, 2 would replace it, killed by Heracles on 2/12 labor.

Helios

-God of the sun, son of Hyperion. Homeric Hymns: chariots across the sky said to be Titan
while Apollo was an Olympian.

Styx

-river between Earth and Underworld, mentioned in Theogony.

Strength (Cratos/Kratos)

-Siblings with Nike and Zealus, and Bia (Force).

Force (Bia)

-personification of force/ raw energy. Daughter of Pallas and Styx, siblings Kratos
were constant companions of Zeus in Prometheus Bound.

Zeus (Jupiter)

-king of the gods, ruler of Olympus, god of the sky, thunder, law, and xenia
(guest-friendship), youngest of the offspring of the Titans. Represented by the eagle, scepter,
thunderbolt. Had many affairs. Aegis bearing Zeus (Homer) Protective goatskin. Exceptionally wise.
A harsh despot, new to power, suppresses free speech, mistreats those who aid him, abuses the
defenseless, respects neither the Titans nor humankind. Control of dike (justice). Essential weakness:
lacks omnipotence and omniscience, relies on Prometheus' help, paranoid.

Hera (Juno)

-goddess representing marriage and family, queen of the gods, symbolized by

peacock and pomegranate and cow and crown, irony Io was changed into a cow when Hera represents a
cow, sister and wife of Zeus. Children: Ares, Eileithyia (childbirth), Hebe (youth), Hephaistos
(metallurgy), a vengeful goddess. Interactions with the Fates. Disliked Troy: Favorite cities are Greek
(Mycenae, Argos, Corinth), Ganymede (Trojan prince) was Zeus' cupbearer and attraction, the
Judgement of Paris (Trojan prince) awarded the apple not to Hera but to Aphrodite because Aphrodite
offered Helen.

Hades (Pluto, Orcus)

-god of the underworld. The son of Cronos and Rheia, Chthonic god
(of the earth). Sometimes called Aidoneos (the unseen one). Plouton, the wealthy one.
Euphemisms: eu (good) + phemi (speak). Hades came to refer to the underworld in general; it was
also known as Erebos (darkness). Symbols/attributes: skeptron (scepter), the cornucopia, the rooster,
cap of invisibility. Powers: control of the underworld. Married to Persephone, no children. Known to
send up gifts of his wealth to mortals.

Poseidon (Neptune)

-god of the seas. Symbolized by bull, dolphin, and trident. Had many
lovers and was married to a myriad. Son of Cronos and Rheia, brother of Zeus, Demeter, Hera, Hades.
Symbols/attributes: trident, horse, fish. Tested on early Mycenaean tablets, appeared more often than
other gods at Pylos. Powers: Sea, earthquakes (epithet: Gaieochos Earthshaker), horses. Married to
the nymph Amphitrite. Father of the cyclops Polyphemos, one of his most prominent roles in Greek
myth was his persecution of Odysseus for the blinding of his son. Causes storms and calms the sea.
Supports the Greeks in the Trojan War. Begets many monstrous figures. Not associated with civic
institutions. Violence of natural phenomena central to the Greek conception of him. In art,
indistinguishable from Zeus if not shown with his symbols. Temples built on costal sites. Fishermen
and travelers sacrificed to him. Water was signs of his activity (rivers, ponds, etc.). The Power of
Poseidon: in Athens second in importance to Athena. Struck the ground with his trident would cause
much chaos. Sailors would sacrifice by drowning horses to please Poseidon. Poseidon and Apollo:

Poseidon was caretaker of Delphi before Apollo, the gods worked together.

Aphrodite (Venus)

-name not attested on Linear B tablets, also known as Cypris or

Cytherea, Symbols/attributes of doves and sparrows and usually in a state of undress. Powers of love,
beauty, procreation. Married to Hephaistos. Lover of Ares, Anchises, Adonis, etc. Possibly related to
the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar goddess of love and sex. Mighty Aphrodite. Two faces of
Aphrodite: What life or pleasure exists apart from Golden Aphrodite? -Mimnermus of Colophoon (7th
century BC).

Apollo (Apollo)

- Son of Zeus and Leto. Symbols/attributes: bow and quiver, lyre, laurel tree.
Epithet: Hekebolos (Far-Shooting). Also known as Phoibos (radiant) and Paean (in his medical
capacity). Powers: Music, medicine, archery, prophecy, associated with the sun (Helios). Children:
Asclepius (healer). God of light and archery, beauty and youth, sun, lyre, raven, swan, twin brother of
Artemis. Interest in music and poetry came from same source due to educational values behind them.
Well-ordered music associated with lyre as opposed to the flute and drums of Dionysus. Apollo
becomes associated with philosophy. Paean song for Apollo for the sacrifice to him but was for
healing, created separate god Paean. Apollo both sends and averts the plague, god of medicine.
Marsyas=a satyr, boisterous woodland wild-men, often drunk; often depicted with the hindquarters of a
goat. Challenged Apollo (lyre, musician god) with his flute (mortal to a god challenge, hybris).
Marsyas gambled the winner to decide the punishment for the loser. Apollo won, Marsyas skinned
alive, origin story for the river. The God of Plague and God of Healing: Apollo descends to the Greek
camp to avenge his priest, Chryses (Homer, Iliad 1.44-52). But: known as Paean=healer. Apollo and
Divination: Oracular. Healing is purification. Plague. Purification laws in the 6th century BC.
Cassandra, the priestess, denied the love of Apollo. Apollo's supreme wisdom was supposedly greater
than humanly possible. Primordial event such as dragon-slaying and temple-building. Marginally
moralistic character as a politician. (Hymn to Apollo 3g). Apollo slays the female dragon that guards the
site. The rotting corpse establishes the place name (Pytho) and gives us the word python. Delphoi
comes from womb and mother Gaia. Apollo associated with dolphins. Apollo collects Cretan sailors to
be his priests by turning into a dolphin (delphis). Delphi became a center for Apollo and the Pythian
games. The Delphic Oracle and the Pythia: The Pythia's answers were often highly enigmatic. The
Delphic Inscriptions: Know thyself. Nothing in excess. Make a pledge and mischief is nigh. Apollo and
the Gift Prophecy: Apollo falls in love with the Trojan Princess, Cassandra. Gives power of prophecy
but she refuses Apollo's advances, as she is doomed to not be believed. The sibyl: Prophesied at the
hands of divine influence. becomes, through Apollo, a long-lived prophetess, withholds herself,
(Petronius).

Artemis (Diana)

-Mycenaean tablets: Potnia Theoron (mistress of beasts, daughter of Leto,

twin sister of Apollo), Born on either Ortygia of Delos, symbolized by bow and quiver and frequently
depicted with animals, shooter of deer. Powers: goddess of woods and wilderness, hunting, associated
with the moon, goddess of transitions. Archery, animals, moon, snake.

Dionysos (Bacchus)

-Son of Zeus and Semele (princess of Thebes). Once thought to have

been imported from the east at a late date, very minor role in Hesiod/Homer, Name discovered on
Linear B tablets. Epithet: Eleutherios, the Liberator. Symbols/attributes: the vine and wine cup, the
Thyrsos (a long staff with a pinecone on the end), often depicted amidst satyrs and maenads. Powers:
wine, inspired madness (mania), theater and masks (the Great Dionysia festival at Athens featured
tragedy), fertility: the god of fluid nature (hygra physis) and intoxication. Most terrible and most
sweet to mortals. Semele, princess of Thebes, and Zeus. Hera, again, enraged: sows doubt in Semele.
Semele asks Zeus to appear as he does to Hera... Stories tell of Semele dying then Zeus taking the
embryo and sewing it into his thigh, where he was born a second time. The Revenge of Dionysos:

Dionysos returns to Thebes, takes revenge on King Pentheus, who has outlawed his cult (Euripides,
The Bacchae 50-55). Pentheus spies on the revels of the Theban women who have joined the cult of the
god. The Cult of Dionysus: Dionysos was unique: changes personality of his worshippers by his
presence: Enthousiasmos, having the god inside of one: en = in + theos = god. Ekstasis: standing
outisde onself. His revels involved large quantities of wine and outlandish acts: Sparagmos (tearing
apart of animals) and omophagia (eating of raw flesh). Ceremonial drinking of wine. Mixing wine and
water cleansing Dionysus and mixing of his blood with the tears of the Nymphs. Festivals of Dionysos
was characterized by widespread boisterousness. Dionysus: A puzzling god: a god of fertility (fluid
nature), but Semele, Pentheus, the Tyrsenian pirates, his madness (mania): both destructive and a great
gift, male, yet also effeminate, unquestionably present in Greece from and early point.

Pan (Faunus)

-A minor god, the son of Hermes (Arcadia). Symbols/attributes: hind-quarters of a

goat, pointed ears, and occasionally horns, lustful. Powers: god of farmers, his shouts inspired Panic
in those who heard them. Pan becomes a symbol for pastoral innocence and joy (Keats, Shelley, the
Romantic Poets). Shepherd god and protects shepherds. Hunting god. Small animals, while Artemis
presides over larger game. Soldiers patrolling. Worship in sacred caves. Mountains far away from
human habitation.

Demeter (Ceres)

-goddess of the seasons, poppy and wheat. Goddess of corn and controls
crops and vegetation, sustainer of life both for men and animals. Daughter of Cronos and Rheia. Corn
is called Demeter's grain. Symbols/attributes: corn sheaf, torch, cornucopia (horn of bounty),
described as having blond hair (the color of wheat). Powers: the harvest, sowing and planting. Mother
of Persephone (Proserpina) = Kore (the girl), thought to be the mother of Ploutos (wealth). In some
traditions, she teaches Triptolemos the secret of agriculture, Triprolemos is sent to communicate it to
human kind. Calendar linked to the farmers' year around the seasons. Also associated with fertility and
secrecy of women admirers. Promise of better fate after death and more joyous life of wealth. Queen of
the dead and children. Judge of the underworld. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter: Hesiod's Theogony
917-919. The rape (Latin: rapere = to snatch) of Persephone, Hades carrying Persephone away.

Persephone/Kore (Proserpine)

-Daughter of Demeter and Zeus, Queen of the

Underworld, abducted by Hades, associated with seasons. Rape of Persephone.

Ares (Mars)

-god of war, violence, bloodshed. Gods despised them. Son of Zeus and Hera.
Symbols/attributes: Spear, shield, helmet. Powers: Bloodlust. Not a beloved deity, he is not wellcharacterized in the literary evidence, the name Ares is similar to the Greek word for curse (ara).
Contrast to Athena in that Athena was full of wisdom and strategy. Ares opposed Athena and Zeus in
the Trojan War on the side of the Trojans. Not particularly effective, even on the battlefield: bested by
Athena in the Iliad. War lovers' ecstasy. Important, however, at Rome: Sons = Romulus and Remus.
Marginal god. Crete, Pelopones, and Athens for his temples. Archaic bands of warriors. Ares, Athena,
and Zeus in book 5 of the Iliad: connection between the three important. Mars (Ares) was the biggest
outside of Zeus in Italian culture, named March after him, agricultural.

Typhoios/Typhon

-an object of pity, son of Gaia and Tartaros, defeat led to the rise of power of
Zeus, kept imprisoned in Mount Etna, Sicily.

Metis

-first spouse of Zeus, mother of Athena, Zeus ate Athena before birth for it was prophesied
that her son would overthrow Zeus (wisdom, cunning). Theogony.

Mnemosyne
Theogony.

-Titan of Memory, daughter of Ouranos and Gaia, mother of Muses by Zeus in

Leto

-Mother of Apollo and Artemis with Zeus.

Hebe

-goddess of youth, daughter of Hera and Zeus, served nectar and ambrosia, married Heracles.

Hephaistos (Vulcan)

-master blacksmith and craftsman for the gods, anvil, hammer, married
to Aphrodite. Did not have a bunch of affairs and remained faithful. Regretful towards chaining
Prometheus. I must: heart or no heart, I must do this (2). The son of Hera, associated with the island
of Lemnos. Symbols/attributes: hammer, tongs, lame, often portrayed on a donkey. The husband of
Aphrodite. Powers: fire, metallurgy, architecture, craftsmanship. Generally mistreated by the other gods
for his appearance, yet he is also their great benefactor. Later views of metallurgy (banausia = crafts
involving fire). Crafted much of the magnificent items of the gods of Olympus (the craftsman).
Epithets: the craftsman. Workshop maybe below Mount Etna. Iliad 1.599-608.

Maia

-Homeric Hymns: Nymph, mother of Hermes.

Hermes (Mercury)

-god of messenger, stork, tortoise, staff, wings. Messenger god, worked

with Prometheus in pity, I've got a word for you. Son of Zeus and the mountain nymph Maia, born on
Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. Symbols/attributes: traveler's cap (petasos), Herald's staff (caduceus),
winged sandals. Epithet: Argeiphontes (Argus-Killer). Powers: the messenger god, together with Iris,
god of boundaries, god of messengers, thieves, shepherds, and travelers, god of merchants and
commerce, in his role as psychopompos (soul + procession) Hermes guided the souls of the dead down
to Hades. Children: Hermaphroditus, Pan. Most myths about his childhood, steading Apollo's cows as a
day old. Hermes may be related to the Greek word herma (originally mound, pile of rocks), herms
served as a boundary markers and landmarks for travelers, they gradually evolved into stone blocks
with a human head, representing hermes, this funtion of Hermes may have led to his power in other
areas as well. God of trade.

Semele

-daughter of Cadmus and Hermonia, mortal mother of Dionysus by Zeus, showed up in

god form and was incinerated.

Cythereia

-Another name for Aphrodite/Venus.

Anchises

-Lover of Aphrodite when she was infected with love for him by Zeus in revenge for her
infecting other gods with love for mortals. Forces desire. Father of Aeneas. Homeric Hymn: saved from
Troy by son Aeneas.

Aineias (Aeneas)

-Trojan Hero founded Troy, son of Aphrodite and Anchises, first true Hero
of Rome. Led the Trojans from Troy to Italy, where his descendents would later found Rome.

Athena (Minerva)

-goddess of wisdom, defense, strategic warfare, owl and olive tree.

Daughter of Zeus (and Metis) born from the head of Zeus. Symbolized by the owl, spear, shield,
helmet, aegis, snake. Epithet: grey-eyed. Powers: Wisdom, female (especially weaving) and male
crafts, battle.

Pyrrha and Deucalion

-descendents of Pandora, survived great flood at the end of the

bronze age, comparable to Noah's Ark.

Aeschylus

-Classical Age tragedy playwright of Prometheus Bound. (525 BC- 456 BC).

Dike (Justice)
Oceanos

-Hesiod wanted justice from directly Zeus.

-Titan, son of Ouranous and Gaia, world ocean, appears in Prometheus Bound.

Diplomatic towards Prometheus.

Heracles

-son of Alcmena and Zeus (in the guise of Alcmena's husband, Amphitryon), twin
brother = Iphicles. Name = the renown of Hera, other name = Alceides/Alcides. Symbols/attributes:
club, lion-skin, beard and muscular build. Wives: Megara, Omphale, Deianeira, Hebe, Deified after
death, both hero and god, Odyssey 11. A strong man, compare Gilgamesh, Samson. Half-wild, club,
associated with animals. Heracles as a tragic figure, afflictued by Hera's anger, Tormented by his
inferior, Eurystheus. Heracles as a comic figure, Apollogorus G2, the daughters of Thespios (50 of
them), Heracles as a philosopher (!), Xenophon and Prodicus: the choice of Heracles, trickster: Atlas
and the Apples of the Hesperides. Virtue chosen. The Birth of Heracles: Zeus seduces Alcmena, having
adopted the form of Amphitryon, Hera sends two snakes to kill the newborn infant. Variation: Zeus'
cunning trick, upon waking she throws him away, origin of the Milky Way from Heracles suckling
Hera, fooling the goddess of childbirth, Greek Galaxias = Milky Way, gala = milk.

Sappho

-Late 7th and early 6th BC, from Lesbos, one of our few direct female voices from antiquity.
An early exponent of lyric poetry (lyra), sang of young women as well as men.

Callimachus

-Greek Poet, Hellenistic, Hymn to Athena; Teiresias seeing goddess naked and goes

blind.

Homeric Hymns

-35 anonymous ancient Greek hymns to many gods modeled after Homer's

Iliad, Odyssey.

Archilochos

-Greek lyric poet, Archaic period, Zeus and the Eclipse, all things are easy for the
gods, Zeus and Justice.

Maenads

-female followers of Dionysus, raving ones, exstatic frenzy, killed Orpheus.

Satyr

-The skills of the satyr: TSB 394. Sophocles fragment 1130. Social aspect could only be
expressed through worship to Dionysus. Imaginary male inhabitants of the wild, desire for sex and
wine and often depicted naked and with Dionysus are the Sartyrs.

Daphne

-attracted attention of Apollo, begged for help while being pursued by Apollo, when the
river god turned her into a Laurel Tree.

Tiresias

-The seer in the Odyssey. Blind prophet of Thebes, in Antigone alive, Odyssey as spirit.

Callisto

-Callisto was a virgin Nymph seduced by Artemis-disguised Zeus and turned into
something else.

Odysseus

-THE GREAT POOBAH

Orpheus

-Orpheus = greatest of all musicians, specialty: the lyre. His wife, Eurydice, steps on a
snake and dies, Orpheus travels to the underworld to ask for her release, Eurydice may return, so long
as Orpheus does not look back at her, but looks back and she fades back into the underworld, later on,
Orpheus is torn apart by maenads celebrating the rites of Dionysos.

Tartaros

-Ixion: tried to rape Hera, tied to a flaming/flying wheel. The Danaids, killed their
husbands and were forced to refill a water vessel with hiles in it. Tityos: tried to rape Leto while she
was pregnant with Apollo and Artemis, staked to the ground with a vulture at his liver. Tantalus: stole
ambrosia. The modern Sisyphos: Albert Camus (1913-1960): The Myth of Sisyphus, faced with the
meaninglessness of existence, should we give up? The struggle itself... is enough to fill a man's heart.
One must imagine Sisyphos happy.

The Elysian Fields

-ends of the earth where humans can enjoy an easy life like the gods, for

the privileged few.

Atlas

-Titan that suffers from holding up the sky.

Arachne

-Arachne scoffs at Athena's skill at weaving. Hybris = arrogant pride. Athena and
Arachne compete and Arachne proves better at spinning than Athena and turned into a spider.
Callimachus.

Prometheus

-son of Iapetus and Themis/Gaia(Aeshylus) or Klymene(Hesiod), brother of Atlas,

Epimetheus, and Menoitios. Creator of Humankind. According to some accounts, he made humans
from water and earth (23). Trickster; Pro (before) + Manthano (to learn). Prometheus' challenge to
Zeus. Holds secrets from higher powers.
A match for Zeus: He has seen regimes come and go, Zeus cannot kill him, and he knows that he is to
be freed, Prometheus knows the tortures to come. Zeus' rule will be short-lived without the help of
Prometheus, Zeus and the Moirai, the Fates. Represents the protector, the savior, the benefactor of
humankind. Many gifts; fire (creativity), housing, tracking seasons, math, writing, domesticated
animals, shipping, medicine, prophecy, sacrifice (tricked Zeus into accepting sacrifice), mining, hope,
all human skill and art was learned from Prometheus (17). Can characterize him as loving man, first
rebel.

Epimetheus

-represented hindsight, brother of Prometheus, accepted the plague of Pandora

despite Prometheus' warnings.

Pandora

-The Creation of Pandora (All-Gift), connected with the Earth, better known as the first
woman from Hesiod's Works and Days (77-88). Considered a plague in disguise for men. The gods
worked together to create Pandora.

Europa

-The Wanderings of Cadmus: Cadmus = brother of Europa, searches for her because she
was abducted by Zeus who appeared as a bull, Oracle of Delphi tells him to follow a divinely sent cow
until she lies down, then to found a city, which would end up being Thebes. Creates citizens from the
teeth of a slain dragon. Boeotia (Greek bous = cow). Cadmus gave his wife a necklace made by
Hephaestus. Cadmian victory was proverbial in Greece.

Pasiphae

-Daughter of Helios, oldest of Oceanids, mother of the Minotaur.

Daedalos (Daedalus)

-Daidalos, inventor of wooden bull, designer of labyrinth, imprisoned

in the labyrinth with his son, Icaros, Daidalos invents wings, held together with was, the two set off for
freedom, but Icaros flew too close to the sun and the wings fell off, Icarian = characterized by too
much ambition.

Icaros (Icarus)

-Daidalos, inventor of wooden bull, designer of labyrinth, imprisoned in the

labyrinth with his son, Icaros, Daidalos invents wings, held together with was, the two set off for
freedom, but Icaros flew too close to the sun and the wings fell off, Icarian = characterized by too
much ambition.

Theseus

-The main Attic hero, had a heroon from the fifth century on, born at Troizen, the son of
Aegeus, the king of Athens, who had gone to Troizen and slept with the princess, Aethra, A doublet
of Heracles, similar birth (ambiguous father), Poseidon and Aegeus both sleep with Aethra on the same
night, similar labors (6 of these on journey to Athens, Heracles has 12), not quite as impressive, no
particular iconography. Journey back to Athens was by land rather than sea.

Medea

-Jason and Medea: Jason = not a particularly heroic hero, heavily dependent on Medea's
help, ultimately betrays her, he has no kingdom (driven out of Iolcos, refugee at Corinth), unheroic
death (Medea's curse), no cult (unlike Theseus, Heracles, etc.), Medea, however fit. The Return to
Iolcos, Medea's Trick: with the help of Medea, Jason got the Fleece and escaped Colchis and killed
Pelias through his own daughters boiling him. Medea as a Woman: Athenian male prejudice: women as
changeable, sex-mad, and jealous, compare Hesiod and Semonides. Medea's monologue (c215-265),
women must have a dowry: they essentially buy a tyrant, divorce is a disgrace, girl must quickly adapt
to her new house, no way of escaping outdoors, foreign women have no support network. Medea:
(c230, 250). Jason: (c575). Chorus: (c430). Monologue on women and divorce. Husband figure.
MEDEA -Dated to 431 BC. The trilogy of which it is a part came last in the competition at the Great
Dionysia. Innovation in murder of children. Medea is certainly the other: a woman, foreigner, withc,
but she is also a human being. Euripides leads us into a moral quandary (influence of sophists like
Protagoras). Art of magic. In literature, women tended to have the intellectual property of women.
Circe's niece. Command the services of dragons. Laments her reputation and has many times done
harm.

Ariadne

-The Minotaur: Minos defeats Athens and imposes a tribute, seven boys and seven girls
every nine years and imprisoned under a labyrinth and killed by the Minotaur, Theseus volunteers,
promises his father to hoist white sails on the ship, should he return safely, Theseus enters the labyrinth,
with the help of Ariadne and a ball of twine, was able to escape the labyrinth and kill the Minotaur. The
Abandonment of Ariadne: Theseus on his way home stopped at Naxos and left Ariadne. Theseus forgot
to change his sails from darker to white, and Aegeus interpreted that to mean Theseus was dead, so he
killed himself. Ariadne, daughter of Minos, fell in love with Theseus, married to Dionysos at Naxos,
Mycenean goddess of nature, renewal of vegetation. Ariadne and Dionysos on Naxos: Ariadne marries
Dionysos as he returns from the east, her wedding crown becomes a constellation (Corona Borealis),
Theseus fails to hoist the White sails, as he'd agreed with his father, Aegeus throws himself into the
water, etiological story.

Jason

-Jason and the Argonauts: Jason's story takes place a generation before the Trojan War, born in
Iolcos, where Pelias was king, the son of Aison, the rightful king. The oracle to Pelias: beware the
one-sandaled man, Jason TURNS UP to Pelias' sacrifice to Poseidon missing a sandal, Pelias: Jason,
what would you do if you received an oracle... The Argo, crew included: Orpheus, Theseus, Heracles,
etc. A Who's Who of the mythical Greek world. The Voyage: the Lemnian women to repopulate their
island, Pelias sought to get rid of the threat to his throne, Mysia: the loss of Hylas by nymphs, the Sea
of Marmara. Hera wanted to punish Jason for not honoring him. Phineus the blind prophet, the Harpies,
The Symplegaes (Clashing Rocks), The Euxine Sea (good to visitors, eu + xenos, euphemism),
Colchis. Accounts of the returning voyage vary widely. Bronze giant Talos, age of colonization and the
search for gold.

Pelias

-King of Iolcus, son of Tyro and Poseidon, sent Jason after Golden Fleece, did not give up
throne, Medea tricks daughters into killing Pelias.

Hylas and the nymphs

-Heracles' youthful companion/lover kidnapped by nymphs and

vanishes, Heracles left behind.

Euripides

-Born c480 BC in or near Athens, died c406 BC in Macedonia, active a generation or so

after Aeschylus, the two were contrasted in antiquity, Aeschylus = the old patriot, Euripides = the
modern intellectual. Connected to the thought of sophists, Protagoras made the weaker argument
defeat the stronger, Euripides plays marked by the agon logon (competition of speeches). First

trilogy produced in 455 BC. His name was attached to 92 tragedies; we have 18 (possibly 19), more
than Aeschylus or . None of his plays were dated. Darker and more disturbing realism. Savage brutality
of war. Naturalistic portrayal of human psychology.

Perseus

-Perseus: Hero of the Argive Plain, son of Danae and Zeus, grandson of Acrisios,
descendent of Io, Great-grandfather of Heracles, Pers-eus = destroyer, symbols/attributes: cap of
Hades, hooked sword, bag/pouch (kibisis), winged sandals (associated with Hermes). reflective shield,
Gorgon's head, wife = Andromeda, Legendary founder of Mycenae. Birth: Prophecy is given to
Acrisios (compare Jason), Danae and the shower of gold, Perseus sent away as a threat to Acrisios,
Danae and Perseus in the box (TSB 391).

Danae

-Mother of Perseus, impregnated by Zeus who came down to her as a shower of gold despite
the king of Argos, Acrisios, locking her up so she would not procreate and fulfill the prophecy that her
son would kill him. Perseus, when born, was then whisked away in a basket and picked up by a
fisherman and raised to a point when he accidentally killed Acrisios with a discus in his travels.

Andromeda

-daughter of King Cepheos of Ethiopia and Cassiepeia (Cassiopeia), Cassiepeia'a

hubris: compares her beauty to that of the Nereids (compare Niobe), Poseidon avenges them,
Andromeda is exposed to the sea monster (ketos), Perseus rescues her and returns to the Seriphos,
petrifies Polydectes, later accidentally kills Acrisios (discus).

The Graiai (Graeae)

-3 sisters, one eye and one tooth that the three of them shared. Deino,
Enyo, Pemphredo. Perseus stole the eye to get information from them.

Gorgon

-Unlinked to Perseus Myth in Homer: Gorgoneion = apotropaic device (to turn away,
avert) Book 5 of the Iliad.

Medusa

-snakes for hair, direct eye contact will turn you sto stone, slain by Perseus, Head given to
Athena for shield.

Atlas

-The douche canoe that holds up the sky. Was tricked by Heracles.

Heracles (Hercules)

-The Birth of Heracles: Zeus seduces Alcmena, having adopted the

form of Amphitryon, Hera sends two snakes to kill the newborn infant. Variation: Zeus' cunning trick,
upon waking she throws him away, origin of the Milky Way from Heracles suckling Hera, fooling the
goddess of childbirth, Greek Galaxias = Milky Way, gala = milk. The Ten, Ultimately Twelve
Tasks of Heracles: Atonement for the murder of his sons, assigned by Eurystheus: Killing the Nemean
Lion, Killing the Hydra of Lerna, Capturing the Cerynithian Deer, Capturing the Erumanthian Boar,
Cleaning the Augean Stables, Killing the Symphalian Birds, Capturing the Cretan Bull, Capturing the
Thracian Horses, Bringing back the War Belt of the Amazons, the Cattle of Geryones, the Golden
Apples of the Hesperides, Cerberos from Hades. May have reached canonical form quite late (earliest
source = c460 BC) Hesiod 1,2, 10, 12. Escalation = sign of design.

Eurystheus

-King of Tithys (maybe Argos) and gave Heracles 12 labors to repent for killing his

family.

Deianeira

-Heracles' second wife, and she killed him.

Cadmos (Cadmus)

-The Wanderings of Cadmus: Cadmus = brother of Europa, searches for

her because she was abducted by Zeus who appeared as a bull, Oracle of Delphi tells him to follow a
divinely sent cow until she lies down, then to found a city. Creates citizens from the teeth of a slain
dragon. Boeotia (Greek bous = cow). Cadmus gave his wife a necklace made by Hephaestus.

Cadmian victory was proverbial in Greece.

miasma

-Pollution, and Inherited Guilt: Miasma: ritual impurity, could be contracted from contact
with a corpse, failure to bury a body, matricide, parricide, killing of guest-friends (xenia), etc. Highly
contagious, collateral damage, inheritable, the actual moral status of the afflicted individual was
irrelevant, purification may or may not be possible, by day. Pollution by actions that cannot be avoided.

Oidipous (Oedipus)

-Beginnings: Laios is prophesied not to have children with his wife

Jocasta because their child would kill him but gets drunk and does so anyway, their son, Oidipous
(swollen foot) has his legs pinned and is exposed, he is however rescued, Oidipous grows up in
Corinth, until he is told by the Delphic oracle that he will kill his father and marry his mother, he leaves
for Thebes, where he kills a wealthy man and his retinue on the road who ended up being Laios.
Offered the kingdom and Jocasta to whoever could solve the riddle of the Sphinx, and Oidipous did
this. He blinded himself and went into exile as she hung herself. Sphinx: strangler, head of a woman,
body of a lion, wings of a bird, sent to plague Thebes, Creon, brother of Jocasta, in charge of the city,
promises the kingship to anyone who can destroy her by solving the riddle. Oidipous, thinking he has
escaped the prophecy, settles down with his new wife, Jocasta. A plague descends; the oracle at Delphi
gives the cause of miasma the presence of the murderer of King Laios. Oidipous, king of Thebes,
calls upon the prophet Teiresias. Oidipous embarks of a detective hunt to find the murderer, he utters a
public curse on him, Jocasta hangs herself, Oedipus blinds himself and goes into exile with his two
daughters (Ismene and Antigone).

Sphinx

-The monster terrorizing Thebes until someone would solve its riddle.

Sophocles

-Born c495 BC, died c405 BC. The preeminent Athenian tragedian after the death of
Aeschylus, served as an Athenian general in 441 BC, more successful than his younger rival, Euripides.
Introduced the third actor, as well as set painting, we have only seven tragedies out of more than 120.
For Aristotle, Sophocles' Oidipous the King (Lat. Oedipus Rex, Grk. Oidipous Tyrannos) was the
perfect Greek tragedy: detective story, definite trajectory, no character introduced unnecessarily.
Abandoned the way of writing trilogies. Show their heroic stature of the charaters. No contemporary
ideas in the plays he wrote. Master of dialogue and dramatic irony.

Jocasta (Epicaste)

-Husband to Laios, king of Thebes, until he was killed by Oidipous. Ends

up marrying her son and having children. Talk about family issues.

Antigone

-The daughter of Oidipous who was sister to Polyneices and Eteocles, who were
debating over power of Thebes and killed one another.

Creon (in the Antigone)

Creon (in the Medea)
Nietzsche

-Douche bag.

-Father to Medea and King of Corinth.

-German Philologiest (classicist) and Philosopher (1844-1900), final decade spent

under the care of his mother and sister. An iconoclast = breaker of images. Major influence on Freud,
irrationality, repressed impulses. His ideas were adopted. The Birth of Tragedy (1872): Nietzsche's first
(and only) book as a classicist, suffered devastating reviews, one by U. V. Wilamowitz-Moellendorff.
Goes beyond standard scholarly questions, is life worth living, answer, no; but through art, we can
make existence bearable. Tragedy = the mode by which the Athenians acknowledged their suffering
and learned to bear it, a combination of the Dionysian and Apollonian. Tragedy allowed the Greeks to
observe the terrible reality of existence, but a reality mediated by Apollonian beauty and order, truth
mixed with pleasing illusion.

Freud

-Viennese psychologist (1856-1939): the father of psychoanalysis, the talking cure, strong
classical background. The Oedipal Complex, introduced in the Interpretation of Dreams (1900).
Massive influence on 20th century study of myth, did not write any major work on the subject. Thinking
was deeply influenced by literature.

Structuralism

-Vladimir Propp: Russian linguist (1895-1970), Main work is Morphology of the

Folktale. Had a Heroic Pattern for Theseus, Perseus, Jason, and Heracles. Claude Levi-Strauss:
French anthropologist (1908-2009), made his name by studying indigenous groups in the Brazilian
Amazonia. Argued that the basic structure of the mind is binary, right-left, light-dark, pleasure-pain,
cooked-raw, nature-culture. By studying myth, Levi-Strauss hoped to prove this thesis. Looked for
mythic elements from modern culture to make the myths for common structure. Was not particularly
interested in narrative, the meaning of a myth emerges from the relationships of opposites within it its
bundles of mythemes, analysis was to be primarily

Heinrich Schliemann

-Schliemann's Treasure of Priam from Troy II in 1876. Found

Mycenaean palace and focused on Troy. Books contaminated with untruths. People skeptical of his
discovery of Priam's Treasure, consisted of gold and found at the site of ancient Troy. Excavated at
Mycenae the Mask of Agamemnon

Jonathan Shay, M.D.

-Achilles in Vietnam (1994), The story of Achilles at Troy as a

metaphor for the experiences of veterans (PTSD). Death of close comrades can trigger a berserk state
(beastlike, socially disconnected, insane, enraged, cruel, reckless, devoid of fear).

Marriage of Peleus and Thetis

-Thetis' son would be greater than his father

(Prometheus Bound), all the gods attend the wedding except for Eris (Discord), golden apple:
kallistei (for the fairest). Judgment of Paris: Paris = son of Hecuba and Priam, Hecuba's dream, Paris
as a shepherd.

Priam

-The father of Hector, hero of Troy. The End of Anger (Iliad 24): Priam raised from
supplicating enemy to friend.

Paris

- A good man in the Homeric sense; Noble by birth, wealthy, strong.

Kleos

-glory

TimE

-esteem

Astyanax

-son of Hector and Andromache. Killed during the fall of Troy. Hope for Astyanax, his
son, (Iliad 6.464-472).

Homer
Oral tradition
Homeric formula
Laertes

-Didactic Hexameter.

-father of Odysseus, wife Antikleia.

Antikleia

-mother of Odysseus, died from grief over Odysseus' absence.

Penelope
Nostos

-homecoming (Odyssey) returning home after a long journey.

Lotus eaters
Cyclopes (Odyssey)

-One of many, Polymephus, man-eating.

Cyclopes (Theogony)
Aeolus

-Primordial sons of Ouranos and Gaia, created weapons of the gods.

-son of Hippotes and keeper of the winds, gives Odysseus gift of good winds.

Laestrygonians

-race of giants, lost 11/12 ships from throwing rocks.

Circe

-goddess of magic, daughter of Helios, transformed enemies, helped Odysseus because she
was his lover.

Cattle of Helios
Alcinous

-king that receives Odysseus and who Odysseus tells his story to.

Polyphemus
Scylla and Charybdis

-across from narrow channel of water monster with six heads is

Scylla. Charybdis is the giant whirlpool.

Outis and Metis

-outis: nobody, metis: cleverness. All with respect to Odysseus as he played

his trick on Polymephus while escaping yet lost it when he revealed his true identity (hurbis).

Eurycleia

-The nurse of Thebes that tended to the disguised Odysseus and identified his scar.

Sirens

-Circe (Odyssey 12.47-48). Song of the Sirens (Odyssey 12.192-199). Odysseus fills his
crew's ears with wax so they cannot hear the song of the Sirens, and he ties himself to the mast so he
can hear the song and survive. Sirens drown themselves in vexation that Odysseus sailed right past
them. Muses of Theogony? The aoidos? Hyginus (5th century AD) 199: the daughters of the muse
Melpomene (the singer).

Argus

-DOGGEH OF ODYSSEUS

Penelopes dream

-suitors (geese) killed by eagle (Odysseus). Foreshadows the death of the

suitors in a euphemistic dream.

Aeneas
1184 BCE

-Rumored time of the start of the Trojan war between the Mycenaeans and the Trojans
for the fate of Troy.

753 BCE

-The founding of Rome.

Learn each of the following: Jupiter (Zeus), Juno (Hera), Neptune

(Poseidon), Orcus/Dis Pater/Pluto (Hades), Apollo (Apollo), Minerva (Athena),
Diana (Artemis), Venus (Aphrodite), Mercury (Hermes), Mars (Ares), Vulcan
(Hephaistos), Liber (yes), Ceres (Demeter), Janus (Roman original god who was god of
transitions and doorways)

Romulus and Remus

Lupa

Octavian/Augustus
Battle of Actium

-Octavian's Battle of Actium against Marcus Antonius and Cleopatra 31 BC.

Virgil

-name spelled either Virgil or Vergil: The Aeneid, the story of Aineias/Aeneas, the
foundation myth of Rome, continuation of Homer's Iliad from a Trojan perspective, Book 6: vision of
the underworld influenced partly by Plato. The Georgics, four books of didactic poetry on farming,
Hesiod's Works and Days a strong influence.

Pietas

-duty, piety, feature of Aeneas.

Iulus/Ascanius
Phaeacians

-(son of Aeneas) founds Alba Longa. 300 years of rulers before

-last stop of Odysseus, where Allbinous Great slips.

Laocoon

-Laocoon and the Trojan Horse: Laocoon is a Trojan priest of Poseidon, who hesitates to
accept the 'Trojan Horse.' I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts (Aeneid 2.61). Killed along
with his sons by a pair of serpents out of the sea (statue of this in the Vatican in Rome).

Pyrrhus/Neoptolemus
Sinon

-Son of Achilles and murderer of Priam in the fall of Troy.

-The Greek soldier who drew the Trojans to the Horse.

Fatum

-fate, destiny, doom.

Myth of Races/Ages
Apotheosis

-The Divinization (Apotheosis) of Roman Emperors: After Augustus, most emperors

were deigied by the senate until Constantine.

Camilla

-Figure based on Penthesilea, leads Italian troops, dominates the battlefield in the absence
of Aeneas and Turnus until distracted by extravagant clothing, Amazon queen, Fought for the Trojans,
Killed by Achilles, Very few sources... Proclus' summary of the Aethiopis: The Amazon Penthesilea
arrives to help the Trojans. She is the Thracian daughter of Ares. While she is displaying her prowess,
Achilles kills her. The Trojans bury her. Camilla = a figure of pathos. Death similarly described like
Lausus.

Turnus

-legendary warrior/leader, goes to war with Aeneas, killed by Aeneas for killing Pallas.
Aeneas sees Pallas' armor on Turnus and avenges the death of his friend.

Allecto

-unceasing anger (fury) Juno sent to wreak havoc on the Trojans and starts the war.

Creusa

-Princess, 1st wife of Aeneas, daughter of Priam and Hecuba. Dies trying to flee Troy.

MYTHS THAT WILL BE USEFUL TO KNOW

The First Four Gods (Chaos, Gaia, Tartaros, Eros)

Divine Succession Myth (Ouranos, Cronos, Zeus)
Battle of the Olympians and Titans
The Birth of Aphrodite

Typhoios/Typhon
The Birth of Athena
The Deluge: Pyrrha and Deucalion
Prometheus Sacrifice at Mecone
Prometheus Creation of Mankind
Prometheus Theft of Fire
Pandora (and Her Box)
Prometheus Bound
The Myth of Races
Io

-Zeus raped her, daughter of Inachos/Inachus, transformed into a cow (either by Hera or by Zeus),
Hera installs a guard over her, Argos panoptes (all seeing) 100 eyes. Wanders the earth until
transformed back. Io will be transformed back into a girl in Egypt, Zeus will impregnate her with a
touch with Ephastus.

Ganymede
Tithonos

-Young Trojan prince kidnapped by Zeus to serve as his cup-bearer.

-Fell in love with Eos and became immortal, yet didn't ask for eternal youth.

Hermaphroditus

-son of Aphrodite and Hermes, loved by the nymph Salmaci.

Pygmalion

-fed up with the immorality of womankind, prays to Aphrodite to send him a woman
resembling my ivory maiden his statue Galatea comes to life.

Aphrodite and Adonis

-Eros accidentally pricks Aphrodite with one of his arrows and she
falls in love with Adonis and roams the hills with him as a huntress. Adonis is gored by a boar. Bion
suggests that Aphrodite's tears become anemones, Adonis' blood turns into the rose. His death and
resurrection...

Aphrodite and Anchises

-Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite: set a generation before the Trojan

War. Zeus causes Aphrodite to fall in love with a mortal, she seduces Anchises on Mount Ida near Troy.
Sets the stage for the Aeneid.

Artemis and Actaeon

-Actaeon happens upon Artemis as she's bathing: turned into a stag,

he is mauled by his own hounds, similar to the story of Teiresias, and therefore mentioned in
Callimachus' Hymn to Athena.

The Judgment of Paris

-Eris (Strife/Discord) is not invited to the wedding of Peleus and

Thetis (Hymn to Athena).

The Births of Artemis and Apollo

Artemis
Apollo

-Etiological story for the founding of the altar and temple to Apollo on Delos. Hera,
out of jealousy, delays delivery by restraining Eileithya, the goddess of childbirth, on Olympos until

she is bribed to come to Delos by Iris. Two stories: his birth and shrine at Delphi. Origin debated,
possibly came from the sun (coming from light), annual reunion with young initiated adults into society
by athletic training. Artemis got a temple in 8th century BC, while Apollo got one halfway through the
6th century BC with horns.

Apollo and Daphne

-(Laurel): Nobel Laureate (laurel wreath), Daphne was a wild huntress

and was changed as she was chased by Apollo and was changed into a laurel tree. Apollo insults Eros
(Cupid) for his use of arrows. Lead shaft hit Daphne as golden arrow hit Apollo with love for Daphne,
thanks Eros. Apollo chases the nymph Daphne. Just as he is about to catch up, she calls on her father,
the river god Peneus, to change her form. Ovid, Metamorphoses 1.547-553.

Hermes and the Cattle of Apollo

-Stole the cattle of Apollo as a day old newborn.

(Homeric Hymn to Hermes), Hermes returns the cattle, and gives Apollo the lyre, Apollo in return gives
Hermes his caduceus and some prophetic pebbles. Depicted with or without wings, with winged
sandals.

Hermes and the Invention of the Lyre

The Entrapment of Ares and Aphrodite by Hephaistos

-the episode is
recounted by the bard Demodokos in the Odyssey: Helios warns Hephaistos, Aphrodite and Ares are
caught, Hephaistos summons the other gods to witness his wife's shame, Hermes Argeiphontes in the
Odyssey 8.339-342. Other than the Odyssey, nothing really else tells of the marriage between
Hephaistos and Aphrodite, more Aphrodite and Ares than the former. Fidelity is a central theme in the
Odyssey. Some of these stories sets really bad examples for humankind (adultery and immorality).
Some tried to see past the immorality of the gods as an allegorical interpretation. Virgil, Aeneid 8.453462.

The Rape of Persephone and her Return

-The Homeric Hymn to Demeter:

Hesiod's Theogony 917-919. The rape (Latin: rapere = to snatch) of Persephone, Hades carrying
Persephone away.

Dionysus and the Tyrsenian/Tyrrhenian Pirates

-The Travels of Dionysos:

Dionysos invents wine, travels back westwards, Homeric Hymn to Dionysos: capture by Tyrsenian
pirates, the helmsman tries to convince the others to let him go, but is ignored. Dionysus = god of
anomaly, he cannot be bound, ambiguous god, transformation: himself into a lion, the pirates into
dolphins.

Pan and Syrinx

-Pan pursued the nymph, Syrinx. According to one story, she cried out for help
on the edge of the river, and was turned into hollow reeds, Pan cuts through the reeds.

Blinding of Tiresias by Athena

Blinding of Tiresias by Hera
Myth of Er

-Plato (c424 BC- 348 BC): wrote dialogues, Socrates (Plato's teacher) was the main
protagonist. Founded a school of philosophy in Athens, the Academy. Strong views about the dangers
of myth and poetry. The Republic: one of the first sustained investigations of what Justice (dike)
is/should be. This myth was Plato's own invention, it is a thought experiment, designed to provoke
reflection, complicates our definitions of myth. A moralized underworld.

Apollo, Artemis, and Niobe

-The Children of Niobe: Hybris again: Homer, Iliad 24.603609. Niobe a symbol of grief thanks to Apollo and his murdering of her children. Achilles mistreated

Apollo's son, Hector's body.

Orpheus and Euridice

-Orpheus = greatest of all musicians, specialty: the lyre. His wife,

Eurydice, steps on a snake and dies, Orpheus travels to the underworld to ask for her release, Eurydice
may return, so long as Orpheus does not look back at her, but looks back and she fades back into the
underworld, later on, Orpheus is torn apart by maenads celebrating the rites of Dionysos.

OTHER WORDS/CONCEPTS TO BE LEARNED

Minoans

(2200-1450 BC)- Minoan: Minos, legendary king of Crete, Linear A script was
signs that stood for syllables or things, adopted by the Mycenaeans. Fell to the volcanic eruption in
c1600 BC on Thera.

Mycenaeans

(1600-1150 BC) Greek mainland. Warlike culture. Adapt Minoan script into
Linear B, written in Greek, 87 syllabic signs and 200 logograms.

Dark Age

(1150-800 BC)-The end of Mycenaean culture (c1150BC) ushers in the Dark Ages,
which last until c800 BC. A formative period for classical mythology (oral poetry, idealization of the
Mycenaean age)

Archaic Age

(800-480 BC) -Colonization and trade. Alphabet (8th century BC) = (alpha) +
(beta). Coinage (6th century BC). Democracy at Athens (late 6th century BC). Defeat of the Persians
in 490 (Battle of Marathon) and 480 (Battles of Thermopylae and Salamis)

Classical Age

(480-323 BC) -Greek(especiallyAthenian)pre-eminence in Aegean. The

Golden Age of Athens = 480-404 BC. Pericles, refinement of democracy, Aeschylus, Sophocles,
Euripides, Thucydides, Aristophanes, Socrates, Alcibiades. Peloponnesian War between Athens and
Sparta=431-404 BC. Even after this, Athens was a cultural hub (Plato, Aristotle, Epicurus, Zeno, etc.).
Macedonia defeats the alliance of Greek States at Chaeronea (Boeotia) in 338 BC. Alexander the Great
leads the Greeks (Hellenes) against the Persian Empire .

Hellenistic Age

(323-30 BC) -Alexander the Great dies in 323 BC in Babylon; his empire is
carved up. Intermittent warfare between his former generals Scientific (astronomy, mathematics) as
well as artistic achievement: Archimedes, Euclid, etc. Around 200 BC, Rome begins to make its
presence felt. Rome simultaneously destroys Corinth and Carthage in 146 BC. Sophisticated poetry,
imitations of traditional hymns and laments. Callimachus of Cyrene c305-240 BC born in Cyrene, lived
in Alexandria, Hymn to Athena emulates the tone of a Homeric Hymn. Bion of Smyrna late 2nd century
BC lived in Asia Minor, Lament for Adonis. Sophisticated poetry, imitations of traditional hymns and
laments.

Roman Age

(30 BC-c475 AD) -Battle of Actium (Anthony and Cleopatra against Octavian):
31 AD. The final Hellenistic kingdom falls to Rome (Egypt) Octavian (soon to become Augustus)
establishes the Empire. Uniform culture across the Mediterranean. 476 AD: The final western Roman
emperor is deposed by the Goths.
-Golden Race (Live like gods), Silver Race (nurtured for a hundred years as
big babies, recklessly violent and neglect the gods), Bronze Race (dreadful and
strong, warful), Heroes (Destroyed by war, but afterlife is peaceful), Iron Race
(beset by toil and cares, and bound for destruction).
-Diachronic development: gradual deterioration.

Architectural and Automatic Creation Stories Architectural: A god orders, designs, and creates the world (i.e. Genesis).
Automatic: The world is generated spontaneously; order through a process
of struggle,
succession myth (i.e. Hesiod).

Greek Tragedy
The aoidos

-Uses the chorus. Medea, Prometheus.

- Oral tradition, aoidos. Process of composition. Allusions to myths

and people.

Anthropomorphism

-anthropos = human being, morphe = shape. Gaia? Ouranos?

Emotions an urges, genitals, it is not until Cronos, however, that the human form of the gods becomes
truly evident (And this boy hated is lecherous father Theogony 139). The gods can bleed, eat, drink,
feel pleasure and pain, they even mate with human beings. Story-telling potential, praise and blame,
prayer as contract/compulsion, There was separationcomedy versus tragedy (Shakespeare, King
Lear).

Eleusinian Mysteries

-Demeter's Stay at Eleusis: Demeter learns from Helios that Zeus is

behind her daughter's (Persephone's) disappearance, abandons Olympus and searches Kore on earth,
reaches Eleusis, where Celeos is living. The Foundation of the Eleusinian Mysteries: Celeos builds a
temple to Demeter: Homeric Hymn to Demeter 2c. Demeter remains in her temple; conceals seed from
humankind and causes famine: 2d. Creates sterility between anger and grief. Sicily was always
considered holy to the goddesses, where Persephone disappeared when Hades took her.

Linear B

-Similar script to Linear A, but written in Greek. Made up of around 87 syllabic signs and
200 logograms. Examples are mainly bureaucratic lists. However, the names of Greek gods appear:
For example: E-RA (Hera), DI-WO-NI-SO-JO (Dionysus), PO-SE-DA-O (Poseidon) Deciphered by
Michael Ventris (OBE), 1952

The Homeric Hymns

-Hymn = song of praise, 33 poems, mainly 7th and the 5th centuries
BC, dactylic hexameter, the narrator takes on the role of Homer (of the Iliad and the Odyssey).
Probably products of the Archaic Period. Episodes in the lives of the gods. Captivating stories and
religious implications. Invoke and celebrate the gods while pondering the problems of humankind.
Shorter poems serve as preludes to longer ones. Longer poems serve as stand-alone pieces (lighthearted; narrative is a prominent feature, span both Divine Myth and Heroic Legend). Aoidos = singer
of song, illiterate bard of the Dark ages in the 8th and 7th centuries BC. Rhapsodos = stitcher of song,
literate professional singer of the 6th-4th centuries that played at festivals.
-Athena and Athens: Competition between Athena and Poseidon to become the deity of Athens:
Poseidon offers salt water, Athena offers the olive tree, Athena is chosen. Panathenaic Games held each
June/July in honor of Athena. The cunning plan of Peisistratos, an Athenian politician (c550BC),
woman named Phya.
-Death in Ancient Greece: Natural death was relatively uncommon, men, women, children. The soul:
psyche (Greek) and anima (Latin) = breath. Funeral rites were very important: Prothesis (laying out of
the corpse), cleaning and dressing, an obol (sometimes two), were placed in the dead person's mouth.
Ekphora: funeral procession, lamentation. Cremation and/or interment. From 1600-1200 BC, cremation
became more popular among culture. Burial had many stages, with women playing a prominent role.
First came Prothesis, lasted one day, transferred at night to the burial ground in the Ekphora to make
offerings with the body, end with a family banquet, funeral feast often included animal sacrifices. Fear

of the afterlife was rather not feared. The failure to render funeral rites to a body was considered a
terrible thing, used as a threat in the Iliad, drives the plot of Sophocles' play, Antigone, Agamemnon on
his wife, Klytemestra, Homer, (Odyssey 11. 425-426). The unburied dead were those who died too
early (war heroes). The heroic dead received blood sacrifice. The descent of the soul: Entrance to
Hades, the land of the Kimmerians by Oceanos, Avernus (near Naples in Italy), Cape Taenarum (on the
Peloponnesus). Many Greek thoughts varied greatly in living on in an afterlife. Escort = Hermes
Psychopompos. Crossing the River Styx separated living from the dead as the souls crossed with the
boatman Charon. The Greeks customarily buried the deceased with a coin to pay for the trip across the
River Styx. Cerberus was the dog that was on guard for not letting unauthorized people from
leaving/entering the underworld. The katabasis (descent) into the underworld by the living, it was easy
to descend, hard to come out again, Heracles, Orpheus, Aeneas. Necromancy, talking with the dead to
gain the dead's secrets. The Homeric View of the Afterlife: grim expectations; no reward for justice, no
punishment for injustice, no hope for rebirth. The shades are insubstantial; they are frozen at the
moment of death, they feel no joy, they need blood in order to speak. Later Conceptions of the
Afterlife: Reward for justice, punishment for injustice, the possibility of metempsychosis (rebirth).
The importance of burial rites was universally felt. Charon and Cerberos: fairyman that carries people
across the river styx, Charon is more depicted as death itself. Cerberos, dog of Hades, three or two
heads, sprout writhing snakes, guardian of the gates of the underworld. Hesiod, Theogony 774-780.
-Heroes: Heroic legend, links to historical age. Heroes were worshipped in cult, a distinctive feature of
Greek religion, probably developed during the Dark Ages (c1150-c800 BC), the heroon (shrine). Age
represented by the children between mortals and gods. Different from gods (except Heracles), Gods
had not died, Heroes were closer to us and tied to territories (e.g. colony founders). The cult of Theseus
at Athens, ancient burial sites. Aristocratic clans claimed to be a descendent of a hero.
-Heroes: Jason, Theseus, Heracles, Perseus, Castor, Polydeuces, Bellerophon, Cadmus; Homeric
heroes: Achilles, Agamemnon, Nestor, Menelaus, etc. Powerful dead, connection with more general
social changes of the time. Sacrifice on a low altar with dark animals at night. Compulsory
consumption of meat, characteristic of heroic sacrifice. Small space within a divine precinct. Hero
shrines often constructed around tombs, hero had a close relation to the space. Variable as their cult.
Contain singularity or paradox. Newly dead might be given heroic honors. The heroes tended to be all
from Argolis in Greece.
-The Golden Fleece: the children Phrixos and Helle fly to Colchis on a winged ram to escape being
sacrificed, the girl, Helle, falls off half-way, Hellespont = sea of Helle (also known as the
Dardanelles). Phrixos makes it, presents the ram's fleece to the king of Colchis, the king placed the
fleece in a grove sacred to Ares, guarded by a never-sleeping dragon. Represents something very
valuable. The ram is traditionally associated with the astrological sign of Aries. Jason and the
Argonauts sailed in the Argo. Heroes accompanied Jason.
Themes:
Hubris: Polyphemus, Icaros, Creon in Antigone, Arachne and Athena in the knitting contest, Marsyas
and Apollo in the musical contest.
Violence: Achilles in Iliad, Aeneas in Aeneid. God intervention and fights.
Motives: In the underworld concerning Odysseus and Aeneas. Rage of Achilles vs. just getting home
for Odysseus vs. setting the line for the ancestors of Aeneas.
Death: Burial rites important to please the gods and allow for passage into the afterlife, problems with
this system arise in Antigone, Heroes that died on the battlefield received no proper burial, Iliad,