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Mythology
Test 1
101
Literature
Undergraduate 1
10/06/2010

Additional Literature Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term

Enkidu

(son of Aruru and Anu)

Definition
Companion and friend of Gilgamesh. Hairy-bodied and brawny, Enkidu was raised by animals. The gods punish Gilgamesh and Enkidu by giving Enkidu a slow, painful, inglorious  death for killing the demon Humbaba and the Bull of Heaven.
Term

Enlil

(city was Nippur)

Definition
 God of earth, wind, and air. A superior deity, Enlil is not very fond of humankind. Seems to encourage the journey to cedar moutain but it is he who rebukes Gilgamesh & Enkidu for killing Humbaba
Term

Gilgamesh

(son of Ninsun and Lugalbanda)

Definition
5th King of Uruk, the strongest of men, and the personification of all human virtues. A brave warrior, fair judge, and ambitious builder, Gilgamesh surrounds the city of Uruk with magnificent walls and erects its glorious ziggurats, or temple towers. Two-thirds god and one-third mortal, Gilgamesh is undone by grief when his beloved companion Enkidu dies, and by despair at the prospect of his own extinction. He travels to the ends of the Earth in search of answers to the mysteries of life and death.
Term

Ishtar

(Sumerian Inanne)

Definition
 The goddess of love and fertility, as well as the goddess of war. Ishtar together with Anu is frequently called the Queen of Heaven. Capricious and mercurial, sometimes she is a nurturing mother figure, and other times she is spiteful and cruel. She is the patroness of Uruk, where she has a temple.
Term
Humbaba
Definition
Guardian of the cedar forest who opposes Gilgamesh & Enkidu,after pleading for his life they kill him
Term
Shamesh
Definition
 The sun god, brother of Ishtar, patron of Gilgamesh. Shamash is a wise judge and lawgiver.
Term
Sumeria
Definition
Is where the Epic of Gilgamesh originates. It was originally written on Sumerian clay tablets, circa 2700 BC using a type of script called "Cuneiform" which when translated means "wedge-shaped". The story began as five individual narrative poems, and by the old Babylonian period, many additional stories and poems were compiled. It was later reconstructed by Sin-leqe-unninni of Babylon (circa 2000BC) into the twelve tablets we have today. Scholars believe that the events surrounding the Epic occurred somewhere around 3500 BC.
Term

Utnapishtim

( he who saw life)

Definition
Gilgamesh's dad, wise king & preist
Term
Uruk
Definition
City that Gilgamesh was the 5th king of. Had great temples to Anu and Ishtar
Term

Ares

(an olympian)

Definition

Son of Zeus & Hera,disliked by both parents. God of war

considered murderous,cowardly. Had an affair with Aphrodite

Term

Chaos

(mother of Gaea)

Definition

Chaos was the original void of existence (although sometimes described as being a confusing, shapeless entity which was later ordered, creating the cosmos.

Gaea, the Earth, emerged from the Chaos, and gave birth to Ouranos, the Heaven, with whom she bore the first gods, The Titans.

The word is derived from the greek 'Khaos', which means "gaping void".

Term

Demeter

 

Definition
Goddess of agriculture (grain & corn) mother of persephone
Term
Eos
Definition
Goddess of Dawn
Term

Gaia

(daughter of Chaos)

Definition
Goddess of earth,mother of titans. Husband was Ouranos (heaven). Mated with her son Uranus
Term

Kronos

(Titan)

Definition

Son of Uranus & Gaia, husband Rhea (his sister) father of Zeus whom dethroned him. God of harvests

 

Kronos castrated and dethroned his father (Uranus)

Term
Leto
Definition
mother of Apollo & Artrmis, father was Zeus
Term

Persephone

(Queen of hades)

Definition
Zeus' &Demeter's daughter & goddess of springtime,fertility. Wife of Hades (Pluto) he abducted her and took her to the underworld
Term

Metis

(Titaness)

Definition
1st wife of Zeus, ruled over cunning, wisdom,knowledge
Term

Mnemosyne

(muses)

Definition
Goddess of memory, mother of the 9 muses, Zeus is the father.
Term
The Muses
Definition
Goddess over song,poetry,arts,science. Daughters of Zesus & Mnemosyne
Term

Ouranos

(uranus)

Definition
Husband of gaia,personfication of Heaven,father of the Titans. Casterated abd dethroned by Kronos his son.
Term

Pandora

"all gifts"

 

Definition
artificial woman created by the gods,given box instructed no to open. She did open and plagued mankind. She was sent to punish man for Prometheus' theft of fire
Term

Perses

was the Titan god of destruction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Definition
Hesoid's no good brother,whom the works and days is addressed. A son of the Titan Crius and Eurybia, and husband of Asteria. By whom he became the father of Hecate his one and only child--by the goddess Asteria ("the Starry One").
Term
Pythia
Definition
the priestess of apollo at delphi who transmitted the oracles
Term

Pontus

Son of Gaea

Definition
Sea God,one of the protogenoi, the "first-born". The father of Ceto, Nereus, Thaumus, Phorcus, and Eurybia.
Term

Prometheus

(Titan)

Definition
Stole fire from heaven for man,punished by Zeus.
Term

Rhea

 (daughter of Uranus and Gaea, wife of her brother the Titan Cronus

 

 

Definition
 Mother of Zeus.  Goddess of female fertility, motherhood, and generation. She was called the Mother of the gods because she gave birth to the Olympians.
Term

Tithones

husband of Dawn=Eos

Definition
He was a Mortal, Eos changed him into a grasshoper to age forever
Term

Zeus

(Olympian)

Definition
Chief of gods,son os Cronus and Rhea,husband of Hera
Term

Tantalus

(son Zues)

kids where Niobe and Pelops,cut phelops into pieces and fed to Gods

Definition
 king who for his crimes was condemned in Hades to stand in water that receded when he tried to drink, and with fruit hanging above him that receded when he reached for it.
Term

Pelops

The son of Tantalus and father of Atreus.

 Thyestes and Atreus

Definition
Marries  Hippodamia princess of Pisa, beats king Oenumas @ chariot race with help from , Myrtilosking Oenomaus against king Oenomaus against king Oenomaus  against king Oenomaus
Term
Myritols
Definition
Charioteer who help Hippodamia &Pelops kill the king, thought in return that he would get the princess but they killed him to. He in turn put a curse on their family
Term

Hippodamia

daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa
Definition
mother of Agamemnon, Aegisthus, Pittheus and Menelaus, Alacathous by Pelops.
Term

Aerope

(adultress)

Definition
Married to king of Mycene,Artreus but sleep with Thysestes (his brother)She stole Artreus golden lamb , gave to thysestes and tricked Artreus into giving the thrown to the holder of the golden lamb.
Term

Atreus

(father of Agamemnon & Menelaus)

 

 

Definition
A king of Mycenae, brother of Thyestes  the son of Pelops. Punishes Theysetes by killing his sons and feeding them to him.
Term
Aegisthus
Definition
WasbetwAween Thyestes and his daughter Pelopia. The result of an incestuous relationship between Thyestes and his daughter Pelopia.
Term
Aegisthus
Definition
Son of Thyestes and Pelopia (his own sister) killed Agamemmnon and lover of Clytaemnestra
Term

Iphigenia

(daughter of Clymenestra & Agamemnon)

Definition
The daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, who was offered as a sacrifice by Agamemnon but rescued by Artemis. She later became a priestess.
 The sacrifice of Iphigenia turned Clytemnestras love for her husband turn into hate, and she revenged her daughter by killing Agamemnon on his return from Troy.
Term

Electra (bright-one)

(the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra,)

Definition
One of the seven daughters of Atlas called Pleiades. transformd into constellations. Saved the life of her young brother Orestes by sending him away when their father was murdered
Term

Cassandra

(daughter of Priam & Hecuba)

Definition
Propht who know one believed.  was loved by the god Apollo, who promised her the power of prophecy if she would comply with his desires. She accepted the proposal, received the gift, and then refused the god her favours. Apollo revenged himself by ordaining that her prophecies should never be believed. She accurately predicted such events as the fall of Troy and the death of Agamemnon
Term

Achilles

(greatest greek warrior)

Definition
He killed Hector @ Troy and Paris slained him. Son of Peleus & Thetis,
Term

Actaeon

(killed by his own dogs)

Definition
Hunter who suprised Artemis bathing she changed him to a stag ang he was killed by his own dogs.
Term

Agamemnon

(king of Mycenae)

Definition
Son of Atreus, brother of Menelaus,leader of greeks against Troy,slain on his return home by Clytemnestra & Aegisthus.By Clytemnestra, Agamemnon had a son, Orestes, and three daughters, Iphigeneia (Iphianassa), Electra
Term

Ajax

(great greek fighter at troy)

Definition
Son of Telqmon,when Achilles died Odysseus was honored with his armor not ajax so he killed himself
Term

Alcinous

(king of the Phaeacians (on the legendary island of Scheria)

Definition
 he entertained Odysseus, who had been cast by a storm onto the shore of the island
Term
Antinous (anti-mind)
Definition
Leader of the suitors of Penelope, killed by Odysseys. Accused of being the harshest suitor
Term
Aphrodite
Definition
Godess of Love and beauty,daughter of Zeus and Dione. Mother of Eros. Wife of Hephaestus
Term
Apollo
Definition
God of Beauty,poetry,music,healing taught man medicine. God of truth cant tell a lie. son of Zeus and Leto. Twin sister Artemis. Famous for Oracale at Delphi
Term
Arete
Definition
 in Homer's Odyssey, the wife of Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians.
Term
Artemis
Definition
Goddess of the Moon & hunting,turned Actaeon into a stag for seeing her bath in river( he was killed by his dogs) twin of Apollo  the daughter of Zeus and Leto
Term
Athena
Definition
Athena was the Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare womanly arts, the daughter of Zeus and the patron goddess of the city of Athens in Greece. She helps Odyddeus & telemachus throughout their epic she often appears as a Mentor an old friend
Term

calypso

(nymph)

Definition
Falls in love with Odysseus and holds him prisoner for 7 yrs until Zeus sends Hermes to tell her she must release him
Term

Circe

(witch goddess)

Definition
Transforms Odysseus cres into swine when they land on her island. Odysseus resist her poers and becomes her lover living in luxutry with her for a yr
Term

Clytemnestra

(wife of Agamemnon)

 

Definition
she slays husband with aid from Aegisthus, her son Orestes kills her
Term

Dione

(Titan goddess)

Definition
mother by Zues and Aphrodite
Term

Eris

(goddess of discord)

Definition
 the personification of strife. She was called the daughter of Nyx (Night) by Hesiod, but she was sister and companion of Ares (the Roman Mars) in Homer’s version. Eris is best known for her part in starting the Trojan War. When she alone of the gods was not invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis, she threw among the guests a golden apple inscribed “For the most beautiful.” Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite each claimed it, and Zeus assigned the decision to Paris,
Term
Eumaeus
Definition
Eumaeus 1 was Odysseus' loyal servant and swineherd, a man of sound principles, who never forgot the immortals. He received Odysseus in his hut when after his wanderings Odysseus returned to Ithaca, and later he helped his master to get rid of the SUITORS OF PENELOPE, who were pestering the palace.
Term

Eurycelia

(was the wet-nurse of Odysseus).

Definition
she was the first person to recognize him after he returned home from the Trojan War, after he entered his own house as a guest of Penelope, disguised as a beggar. Euryclea bathed him and recognized him by a scar on his leg, which he had received from a boar while hunting with his grandfather Autolycus. Odysseus stopped her from telling Penelope or anyone else of his true identity.
Term
Eurymachus
Definition
the leading suitor of Penelope in The Odyssey. He was a treacherous figure, convincing his would-be wife that her son, Telemachus, would be safe when he himself had plotted his death. Eurymachus was duly killed by Telemachus's father, Odysseus, on his long-awaited return.
Term

Hades

(olympian)

Definition
God of the underworld,brother of Zeus & Poseidon, son of Cronos. Married to Persephone who he abducted
Term

Hector

(eldest son of Priam & Hecuba)

Definition
slayed Patroclus and was slained by Achillies. Chief warrior of the Trojan army. In Homer's Iliad he is notable not only for his military prowess but also for his nobility of character. He was a favorite of Apollo, who helped him slay Achilles' friend Patroclus in combat; in reprisal, Achilles killed Hector in battle and dragged his naked body around the walls of Troy
Term

Helen

(daughter of Zeus & Leda)

 

 

 

 

Definition
Sister of Clytemnestra,wife of Menelaus, Abducted by Paris and taken to Troy, this started the Trojan war
Term

Hera

Olympian

(Queen of heaven wife & sister of Zeus)

Definition
Protector of marriage,esp married women
Term
Ithaca
Definition
Island home of Odysseus
Term

Menelaus

(King of Sparta)

Definition
Son of Atreus, brother of Agamemnon,husband of Helen
Term

Nausicaa

(daughter of Alcinous & Arete=king and queen of Phaeacians)

Definition
She discovers Odysseus on the beach of Scheria amd out of affection for him  ensures his warm reception at her parents palace.
Term

Neoptolemeus

(son of Achilles)

Definition
also named Pyrrhus,killed the Trojan king Priam
Term

Nester

(king of pylos)

 

 

 

 

Definition
Known as a clever speaker,Telemachus visits him to ask about his father Odysseus
Term

Odysseus

(protagonist of the Odysseus)

Definition
Struggled to return home to Ithica after the Trojan war,most renowed for his cunning. He was a favorite of the goddess Athena,who often sent him divine aid but he was a bitter enemy of Poseidon
Term

Orestes

(son of Agamemnon & Clytemnestra)

Definition
killed his parents, siblings where Iphigenia,electra
Term

Paris

(son of Priam king of Troy brother is Hector)

Definition
Gave the golden apple that Eris threw in the middle of the table to Aphrodite because she promised him the most beautiful women in the world, Helen. He abducts Helen taking her to Troy. He killed Achilles
Term
Patroclus
Definition
Great friend of Achilles and wore his armor and was slain by Hector
Term

 

 Peleus

 

Definition
father of Achilles,married to thetis
Term
Penelope
Definition
Wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus, spends her days in the palace pining for her husband who left for Troy twenty years earlier. She is flighty and excitable, dodged the suitors who wanted to run Ithica
Term

Poseidon

(god of the sea and brother of Zeus)

Definition
He hates Odysseus for blinding his son the Cyclopes Polyphemus and constantly hampers his journay home.
Term

Priam

King of Troy

Definition
Husband of Hecuba, ransomed Hectors (his son) body form Achilles. Slain By Neoptopemus
Term

Polyphemus

(cyclops)

Definition
Odysseus came to hos island , he imprisoned them and tried to eat them but odysseus vlinds him and manages to escape. This angers Poseidon Polyphemus's dad.
Term
Cybil
Definition
Prophet
Term

Telemachus

(son of Odysseus)

Definition
Natural obstacle to suitors,often assisated by athena while he is looking for his father
Term
Thetis
Definition
Mother od Achilles married to Peleus
Term
Troy
Definition
Term
Dactylic Hexameter
Definition

Dactylic Hexameter is a very important meter in Greek and Latin poetry. It is especially associated with epic poetry, and so is referred to as "heroic". The very words "dactylic hexameter" often stand for epic poetry.

The short version of what dactylic hexameter means is that it is a line of poetry composed of 6 (hexa-) feet, each made up of dactyls.

Term

Emuquan

(physical strength)

Definition
Physical Strength
Term
Nemequ
Definition
Wisdom
Term
Metis
Definition
Cunning
Term
Bia
Definition
Strength
Term
Arete
Definition
Excellence
Term

Phila Xenike

(Xenia)

Definition
Hospitality
Term
Muthos
Definition
Speech
Term
Mimesis
Definition
Imitation
Term
Nous
Definition
Mind
Term
oikos
Definition
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