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Nataly Millan Mythology Exam 2
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154
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Undergraduate 1
11/01/2011

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Term
Gilgamesh
Definition
king of Uruk, son of Ninsun and Lugulbanda, originally out of control and abused/oppressed his people before Enkidu came and balanced him out,
Term
Unug
Definition
the original name of Uruk, the Akkadians renamed Unug to Uruk
Term
Akkadian
Definition
one culture or civilization in Mesopotamia, a subculture of Akkadian is Babylonian (which is the origin of The Epic of Gilgamesh)
Term
Uruk
Definition
region in which the epic is set, Gilgamesh = king of Uruk, used to be named Unug
Term
Bilgames
Definition
supposedly the name of the actual historical figure which the Epic was written about, Akkadians renamed Bilgames to Gilgamesh
Term
Ninsun
Definition
Gilgamesh’s mother, goddess, described as “wild cown Ninsun”, seeks help from Shamash (the sun god) when she hears about son’s quest to Humbaba, married to mortal King Lugulbanda
Term
Lugalbanda
Definition
Gilgamesh’s father, once the king of Uruk, mortal but when he died he was deified (which means when he died people believed that he became a god)
Term
Epic of Gilgamesh
Definition
Babylonian myth recounting the adventures/life of King of Uruk: Gilgamesh, we discuss the 12 tablet version, presents subjects of culture and immortality (presents question of whether culture is a good or bad thing)
Term
Belit-ili
Definition
-Mesopotamian creation goddess,
-(= Mami/Nintu/Aruru)
-forms Gilgamesh’s body, like clay
-Aruru creator god (=Belit-ili/mami/nintu) creates Enkidu
Term
Enkidu
Definition
equal of Gilgamesh, hero’s second self, created to balance and calm Gilgamesh, made by Aruru from a lump of clay in the wilderness(same goddess who created Gilgamesh), originally hairy and uncivilized until the prostitute Shamhat civilized him
Term
second self
Definition
-A hero's second self
-Best friend
-Usually dies
-example of what Enkidu is to Gilgamesh, recurring convention in stories of heroes
Term
Shamhat
Definition
- "prostitute"
-important figure
-waits for Enkidu at the watering place in the wilderness and civilizes him, taken care of or cared for by Shamash (sun goddess)
Term
Ishtar
Definition
Babylonian goddess of fertility/love/war/sex, wants to have sex with Gilgamesh but he denies her, rejection angers her and she complains to her father (Anu) and has him send the Bull of Heaven down to destroy Uruk
Term
Humbaba
Definition
giant, protector of Pine Forest (placed there by the god Elil), apotropaic face = wards of evil (because he’s so ugly!), killed by Gilgamesh, Humbaba announces curse on them as he’s dying: “Neither one of them shall outlive his friend! Gilgamesh and Enkidu shall never become old men!”
Term
Ellil
Definition
placed Humbaba in the forest, Gilgamesh kills the giant before Elil could find out and intervene, part of the assembly of gods
Term
Shamash
Definition
sun goddess, part of the assembly of gods (Anu, Elil, Shamash), helps both Ninsun and Gilgamesh in the fight against Humbaba (sends 4 winds for Gilgamesh to use in battle), cares for the prostitute Shamhat
Term
Bull of Heaven
Definition
sent down to Uruk by Ishtar (borrowed from her dad Anu), begins destroying the city (raises the dead and eats the living), Enkidu conquers bull: grabs bull by tail, swings it, kills it
Term
Utnapishtim
Definition
only immortal man, given immortality by the gods after he survived a massive flood, searched for by Gilgamesh cause Gilg. wants eternal life, tells Gilgamesh of a plant that provides youth and that will make him young again
Term
Siduri
Definition
an alewife (beer seller), woman who Gilgamesh comes across on his journey to Utnapishtim, tells Gilgamesh to first find Urshanabi
Term
Urshanabi
Definition
ferryman who Gilgamesh comes across on his journey to Utnapishtim, goes with Gilgamesh on his way home after talking to Utnapishtim (gets the youth plant with him)
Term
ring composition
Definition
narrator touches on a number of topics until a significant topic is reached, then continues on in the narrative by retracing in reverse order the topics which were mentioned on the way to the significant point, we see this when the story begins with Gilgamesh boasting about how he built the walls of Uruk, and ENDS with boasting how he built the walls of Uruk
Term
nature
Definition
question of nature VS nurture; how much of who we are is our genetics (nature) vs our culture (how we were nurtured/formed)?, nature reversal: Enkidu begins in nature and then becomes civilized, Gilgamesh starts civilized and turns more wild
Term
culture
Definition
see above term. Gilgamesh represents city culture, Enkidu represents wilderness culture. epic poses the question: “is culture a good thing?”, Enkidu ends up cursing culture (we could argue that culture ends up killing Enkidu). end message of the poem could be: culture trumps nature!
Term
structuralism
Definition
(modern critical theory) = human mind naturally thinks of things in terms of binary opposites (hot/cold, male/female, etc)
Term
Tale of Buluqiya
Definition
one of 300 stories in The Thousand and One Nights (also known as the Arabian Nights) which is an Arabic collection of stories, story of Buluqiya and his journey to find a ring which gives immortality
Term
The Thousand and One Nights
Definition
Arabic collection of stories, c. 1200-1300 CE, over 300 stories. frame story: Shahriar the Sultan marries virgins and kills them the next morning (angry at women!), a vizier’s daughter named Scheherazade volunteers to marry the Sultan in aim to stop him from murdering, she tells him stories for 1001 nights, after 1001 nights Sultan is humanized, pardons Scheherazade and decides he’s not going to kill his brides anymore
Term
Arabian Nights
Definition
another name for The Thousand and One Nights
Term
Arabic
Definition
Tale of Buluqiya is arabic epic literature (it shapes the ideas many people have about arabic culture)
Term
Islam
Definition
story is supposedly pre-islamic, islamic author and origin, monotheistic religion involving the Quran, worship Allah, followers are called Muslims
Term
Sassanid
Definition
Sassanid Empire (224 - 651 CE),
Term
frame story
Definition
Beginning and ending with a story
Term
Shahriar
Definition
The Sultan
Good king but the finds out his wife is committing adultery
Kills Sultaness
Marries virgins and kills her in the middle of the night
Term
Scheherazade
Definition
Daughter to Vizier
volunteers to marry Sultan
Aims to stop murders
tells only a part of a story every night in order to keep sultan interested enough no to kill her
Term
Shahrazad
Definition
Other name for Vizier's daughet
Term
Sulaiman
Definition
a parchment that Buluqiya finds tells of a prophet who has a ring that gives immortality, located in a tomb, goes to find him with Affan, failed to get ring from him
Term
Isle of Seven Seas
Definition
where the ring is located, Buluqiya and Affan have to cross the 7 seas (walk across the water), magic plant from Queen Yamlika allows them to walk on water
Term
Yamlika
Definition
queen, associated with Fountain of Youth, find her underground, acts as narrator to Hasib (imbedded narrative!), discourages them from trying to get the ring, tries to
Term
Affan
Definition
sage who acts as Buluqiya’s guide to help him get to Queen Yamlika, accompanies him across the seven seas, find the tomb of Sulaiman, affan goes to get ring, tells Buluqiya to say a special spell to protect him, buluqiya says the spell wrong, so instead of protecting affan...a little liquid diamond falls and burns affan to pieces
Term
Hasib
Definition
character who Yamlika narrates the story to, key component of the imbedded narrative
Term
imbedded narrative
Definition
concept of story within a story, Yamlika to Hasib
inception
Term
Allah
Definition
the god whom the characters/culture worships (in the islamic religion), when Buluqiya and Affan come across a fruit tree a giant warns them that it is the tree of knowledge from the fall that Allah created
Term
Trojan War
Definition
Greeks vs Trojans, fought at Troy, lasted 10 years (which is considered a very long time), trojan horse was a huge wooden horse - “gift” from Greeks to Trojans, the Greek soldiers filed out of it at night and captured Troy by their trickery (Illiad was set during Trojan War)
Term
Peleus
Definition
king of Phthia, mortal man, father of Achilles
Term
Thetis
Definition
a “nereid” (sea nymph), prophecy surrounding Thetis that was very similar to the prophecy that surrounded Metis (which was that Zeus’s child, which Metis bore, would overthrow Zeus); prophecy for Thetis was “the song by Thetis will be stronger than the father”. Therefore, Zeus does not want to have sex with Thetis in fear of this prophecy, so he marries Thetis off to a mortal man: Peleus, mother of Achilles
Term
Eris
Definition
binatural god of “discord/disharmony”, only one not invited to Thetis and Peleus’s wedding, ended up crashing the wedding!, rolls in a golden apple - inscribed on it was “kallistay” in greek (“for the most beautiful”), Hera, Athena, Aphrodite (all 3) claim the apple as their own - appeal to Zeus to decide who gets the apple
Term
Hera
Definition
Zeus’s wife, claims the apple, Hera’s offer = political power, “you will be great king if you give me the apple” (suiting for Hera, because she is a queen of the gods)
Term
Athena
Definition
Zeus’s daughter, offers military glory (suiting b/c she’s a warrior goddess)
Term
Aphrodite
Definition
(most likely) Zeus’s daughter, offers the most beautiful women (suiting b/c she’s goddess of sexual desire)
Term
Paris
Definition
shepherd, human sent down by Zeus to judge between the 3 women, prince of Troy - son of the King of Troy (Priam)
Term
Alexander
Definition
another name for Paris
Term
Troy
Definition
city in which the Trojan war takes place, eventually defeated by the greeks with the trojan horse, (modern day Turkey)
Term
Menelaus
Definition
king of Sparta, married to Helen, asks brother Agamemnon to raise a rescue party when his wife gets stolen
Term
Helen
Definition
queen of Sparta, married to Menelaus, daughter of zeus (most beautiful woman in the world), Paris steals her which sparks the beginning of the trojan war
Term
Sparta
Definition
region(in Greece) in which Menelaus and Helen were king and queen of
Term
xenos
Definition
guest- host relationship
Term
xenia
Definition
greek for hospitality, Trojan war started because of breach in Xenia (hospitality): Paris, a guest in Sparta (which is in Greece), steals Helen and takes her to Troy
Term
Agamemnon
Definition
“lord of men”, king of Mycenae (most powerful city in greece), war prize = Chryseis, she acts as source of plague but won’t return her to stop the plague, great discord between him and Achilles
Term
Mycenae
Definition
-Region where Agamemnon is a powerful King
-Most powerful region in Greece
Term
Homer
Definition
author of the Iliad, literate, poet, poetic meter for homeric epic: hexameter
Term
Iliad
Definition
=story about Ilium (which is another name for city of Troy), therefore: story about troy, first word: “menis” = rage, entire book of the Iliad is motivated by Achille’s anger
Term
Ilium
Definition
Another name for Troy
Term
in medias res
Definition
“in the middle of things”, Iliad opens in the 9th year of Trojan War
Term
Greeks
Definition
no greek ever called himself “greek” - romans called them greeks! greeks called themselves “Hellenes”, Homer calls them “Achaeans, Argives, Danaans”
Term
Hellenes
Definition
- (post Homeric)
-What Greeks call themselves
Term
Achaeans
Definition
Argives, Danaans: Homer calls them many names because he is composing his work so early that they haven’t composed a final name for their people.
Term
Apollo
Definition
sends plague to Greece
god of healing and disease
Term
Chryses
Definition
priest of Apollo, father of Chryseis, prays for Apollo to send plague to Greece
Term
Chryseis
Definition
daughter of Chryses, war prize of Agamemnon
Term
Calchas
Definition
Greek seer, explains to Greeks why they are being plagued (because of Chryses praying to Apollo)
Term
geras/gerata
Definition
Spoil of war
(what heroes want while they are alive)
Term
timē
Definition
Honor (tangible)
based on how much stuff you got from sacking nearby goods-->the more the better
Term
Achilles
Definition
- son of Thetis and Peleus, greatest Greek warrior, rage sparks entire Iliad
Term
Briseis
Definition
Achilles’ war prize, Agamemnon threates to take Briseis away from him (which would be a loss of honor)
Term
Nestor
Definition
aged king of Pylos, acts as adviser, tries to mediate between Achilles and Agamemnon, tells them we are a team trying to fight the trojans so don’t fight among yourselves! says in my day, men were better than now a days
Term
Myrmidons
Definition
Achilles’ men, Achilles withdraws himself and them because of his anger
Term
Zeus
Definition
king of the gods, zeus protects kings, only neutral god in the Iliad
Term
menis
Definition
“rage”, first word of Iliad
-[Achilles] caused at the anger of Achilles from Agamemnon
Term
embassy
Definition
Agememnon admitted that the Greeks need Achilles in battle so he sent the “embassy” TO Achilles to try to persuade him to rejoin in battle, embassy = 3 men: Odysseus, Phoenix, Ajax
Term
Odysseus
Definition
part of the embassy, god who was sent to talk to Achilles, good speaker, clever, tells Achilles: even if you don’t want to help Agamemnon, at least fight to spare the rest of us
Term
Phoenix
Definition
part of the embassy, Achilles’ tutor, lived in Peleus’s house, helped raise Achilles, like a babysitter, tells Achilles: you’re being unyielding and you need to go fight
Term
Ajax
Definition
part of the embassy, second greatest greek warrior after Achilles, when he goes to persuade Achilles he says “we might as well forget it, because clearly Achilles isn’t going to help and we are all dying anyways”
Term
moira/moirai
Definition
“two fates”, Achilles mother told him of his two fates, he could: 1) stay home and live a long life, or 2) go to Troy, live a short life, and earn eternal kleos
Term
kleos
Definition
(glory) = deeds; (for when they are dead)
Term
Patroclus
Definition
Achilles’ best friend, his “second self”, goes into battle with Achilles’ armor and gets killed by Hector
Term
Sarpedon
Definition
killed by Patroclus, son of Zeus, Zeus knew his son’s impending death and contemplated intervening and saving him but decided not to
Term
Hector
Definition
greatest Trojan warrior, kills Patroclus and takes his armor, killed by Achilles (speared), poem ends with the burial of him
Term
Nereids
Definition
name for sea nymphs, example: Achilles’ mother and sisters, mourned with Achilles over Patroclus’s death
Term
Hephaestus
Definition
fire god, shoots down fire at Scamander to save Achilles from his wrath,
Term
Scamander
Definition
river god, binatural, angry because bloody bodies were clogging up his river (from Achilles killing the Trojans), tries to drown Achilles twice, stopped by Hephaestus’s fire
Term
Xanthus
Definition
the name that the gods used for the Scamander River, (according to Homer the gods have different language than humans)
Term
Poseidon
Definition
god of the sea, came down with Athena and saved Achilles from Scamander (the first time), lifted Achilles up from the waters and set him down
Term
Agenor
Definition
name of a Trojan warrior that Apollo disguised himself as, lures Achilles away from Troy right before Achilles is about to capture Troy
Term
Deiphobus
Definition
name of Trojan that Athena disguises herself as (Hector’s brother), “she” (but really “he” haha) tricks Hector to stop running and fight Achilles together but then she abandons him and he is killed by Achilles
Term
Iris
Definition
messenger god, rainbow, binatural, source of warning for Achilles to return Hector’s body
Term
Priam
Definition
king of Troy, father of Hector, is told by Iris to bring gold and ransom back his son’s body
Term
Hermes
Definition
god of travel, disguises himself as a young man and leads Priam to Greece to get Hector’s body
Term
Beowulf
Definition
written in Northern England during Anglo-Saxon period, christian poem, set in Scandinavia , old english language
Term
Anglo-Saxon
Definition
Germanic people, (old english), period in which Beowulf was written
Term
Old English
Definition
language that Beowulf was written in, commonly written/spoken by anglos
Term
Scandinavia
Definition
where the poem was set, =norway, sweeden, denmark, iceland, finland
Term
Christian
Definition
the religion that the author was, stripped out polytheistic attributes of the god, and made it a monotheistic god, original myth of beowulf must have been polytheistic
Term
Beowulf (non-italalizized)
Definition
son of Ecgtheow, a Geat, defeats Grendel and Grendel’s mother, succeeds Hygelac as king, then defeats a dragon but dies dying so, praised by Geats
Term
Ecgtheow
Definition
Beowulf’s father, (dead when the story begins)
Term
Geat
Definition
origin/culture of the mentioned people in Beowulf
Term
Hygelac
Definition
Beowulf’s uncle, king of the Geats, succeeded by Beowulf
Term
Hrothgar
Definition
King of the Danes (or Shieldings), gets help from Beowulf, father figure to Beowulf
Term
Dane
Definition
people from Denmark, Hrothgar is their king
Term
Heorot
Definition
name of King Hrothgar’s hall, where the Danes would feast at
Term
Unferth
Definition
advisor to Hrothgar, envious of Beowulf
Term
Grendel
Definition
demon like monster, annoyed by the loud feasting Danes in Heorot, dies from a mortal wound that Beowulf gave him
Term
Grendel’s mother
Definition
monster also, comes to avenge her son’s death, kills a Dane, beheaded by Beowulf
Term
dragon
Definition
fire breathing, lives under a mound with treasure, disturbed by a slave, attacks the Geats with fire, killed by Beowulf (but Beowulf dies too in the process)
Term
Wiglaf
Definition
- Beowulf’s best friend, stabs dragon’s belly with a sword
Term
oral poetry
Definition
this myth is an example of oral poetry, circulated as an oral narrative before it was written down
Term
epithets
Definition
descriptive name accompanying or occurring in place of a name, example: “Beowulf son of Ecgtheow”
Term
Breca
Definition
- character who Beowulf faced in a swimming match, Unferth claims he lost
Term
Hrunting
Definition
sword given to Beowulf by Unferth, uses in in battle against Grendel’s mom
Term
lof (italicized)
Definition
old english word meaning praise, glory, (praise by living), Beowulf had desire for lof (could compare Anglo Saxon “lof” to Homeric “kleos”)
Term
lof-geornost (italicized)
Definition
the last word in Beowulf
-keenest to win fame, most yearning after glory
Term
Pandora
Definition
first woman acc. to Hesiod, a punishment from Zeus to mankind because Prometheus stole fire
Term
Works and Days
Definition
one of Hesiod’s works, didactic (teaching like), farmer’s almanac, folk wisdom, where one version of the myth of the first woman exists
Term
didactic
Definition
teaching, gives you moral lessons
Term
misogynistic
Definition
negative idea of women, characteristic in both versions, strain in Greek culture
Term
Hephaistos/Hyphaestus
Definition
blacksmith god, formed woman from clay and water
Term
Epimetheus
Definition
brother of Prometheus, given Pandora (from Zeus), was warned by his brother not to accept any gifts but accepted and married her anyways
Term
pyxis
Definition
means “box”, Erasmus translated incorrectly to pyxis rather than pithos (“jar”)
Term
pithos
Definition
means “jar”
Term
Hope
Definition
binatural, only thing left in Pandora’s jar after all the evil is released, question of whether Hope is good or bad since she is in a jar full of evils
Term
kalon kakon
Definition
“beautiful evil”, what Hesiod calls the first woman in Theogony
Term
Myth of the Races
Definition
ages of man, (gold, silver, bronze, iron), near eastern idea transposed into Greek myth
Term
Race of Heroes
Definition
incorporated after the bronze age, do not fit, Heracles, Perseus, Achilles, etc, no decline
Term
Titans
Definition
children of Gaia and Ouranos,
Term
Iapetos
Definition
one of the titans, father of Prometheus and his 3 brothers
Term
Gaia
Definition
aka Themis, earth goddess, mother of Titans
Term
Ouranos
Definition
the sky god, husband of Gaia, father of Titans
Term
Atlas
Definition
made the sky supporter by Zeus as a punishment, brother of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoitios
Term
Menoitios
Definition
brother of Prometheus, punished by Zeus - thrown into Tartaros
Term
Mecone
Definition
= Sicyon, place where trick takes place, Prometheus wrapped bones in fat (considered good!) and wrapped meat in an ox’s stomach (considered bad!), Zeus chooses bones in fat (according to Hesiod - Zeus wasn’t fooled, the Theogony praises Zeus’s wisdom)
Term
Sicyon
Definition
Equivalent to Mecone,
men and gods sharing
Term
fennel stalk
Definition
plant which Prometheus stole fire in, gave it back to mankind
like a torch
Term
Aeschylus
Definition
Greek tragedian, author of Prometheus Bound
Term
Prometheus Bound
Definition
written by Aeschylus, Prometheus displayed as a culture hero, persecuted by Zeus
Term
culture hero
Definition
what Prometheus is depicted as, gets back fire for mankind
Term
Enki/Ea
Definition
trickster god, plays role in the creation of humans (compare to Enuma Elish and Atrahasis)
Term
Metis
Definition
woman who Zeus swallowed, (compare to Thetis!) Zeus marries Thetis to a mortal because of the prophecy surrounding Thetis
Term
Typhoios/Typhon
Definition
son of Gaia, deadly monster, Prometheus likens himself to him
Term
metallurgy
Definition
tools, associated with Prometheus’ gift of fire which led to civilization
Term
Prometheus Unbound
Definition
fragmentary, written by Aeschylus, Prometheus displayed as magnanimous culture hero
Term
Kratos
Definition
“power”-Zeus' henchmen
Term
Bia
Definition
“force”- Zeus' henchmen
Term
Okeanids
Definition
chorus of play
Daughters to Okeanos
Term
Okeanos
Definition
Zeus sympathizer
Term
Io
Definition
-Zeus is sleeping with other woman
-arrives in cow form, transformed by Zeus to protect from Hera
-Zeus hides her from Hera
-Hera sends Argos to kill Io
-Zeus sends Hermes to kill Argos
-Hera sends gadfly to consistently sting Io
-Io spends the rest of her life running away from the fly and runs in to Prometheus
Term
Argos
Definition
100 eyes on his body, 1 is always open no matter what
Sent to Io by Hera
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