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Classical Mythology
Gods and Godesses
71
Classics
Undergraduate 2
11/03/2010

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Term
aetiology/etiology
Definition
a story provided to explain the origin of a ritual, custom or institution
Term
Aidoneus/Hades/All-Receiver/Pluto
Definition
god of the underworld, brother of Zeus
Term
Aietes
Definition
father of Medea, king of Colchis
Term
Aineias/Aineas
Definition
son of Trojan Anchises and Aphrodite, fought in Trojan war and survived. In Roman myth, he is the founder of the Roman race
Term
Aison
Definition
father of Jason
Term
Alkmene
Definition
mother of Herakles by Zeus
Term
allegory
Definition
etymologically, to say something in another way
Term
Amphitrion/Amphityron
Definition
husband of Alkmene and mortal step-father of Herakles
Term
Aphrodite/Kythereia or Cytherea/ Cyprian/Venus
Definition
goddess of sexual desire; common epithets include "golden"; her birds are doves and sparrows
Term
Apollo/Phoibos/Delphinios:
Definition
god of prophecy, music, and plague; called far-shooter, birds are crows; attributes are long hair, lyre and quiver, bow and arrows
Term
Ares/Mars
Definition
god of battle (physical aspect), a son of Zeus
Term
Artemis/Diana
Definition
goddess of the hunt; protector of children and young animals; one of three eternal virgin goddesses; twin sister of Apollo by Zeus and Leto
Term
Anchises
Definition
Trojancow-herd on Mt. Ida, father to Aineias by Aphrodite
Term
Athena/Athene/Tritogenia/Minerva:
Definition
goddess of strategy and crafts; daughter of Zeus and Metis (cunning); one of three eternal virgin goddesses; bird is owl; patron goddess of Athens
Term
attribute
Definition
an attribute is an object that is particularly associated with a certain god or hero. Attributes often allow us to identiy figures in pictorial representations. An example of an attribute is the lion skin typically worn by Herakles.
Term
autochthonous
Definition
born or descended from those born of the earth, typically a specific place on the earth such as Athens
Term
Chaos/Chasm
Definition
infinite space; one of the four spontaneously arising entities in Hesiod's Theogony.
Term
Chronos/Kronos/Saturn
Definition
son of Gaia and Ouranos, father of Zeus
Term
chthonic
Definition
associated with the earth
Term
Demeter/Deo/Ceres
Definition
sister of Zeus, Mother of Persephone by Zeus, goddess of grain and the harvest. A major festival in her honor was celebrated at Athenian-controlled Eleusis.
Term
Demophoon
Definition
son of king Keleos and queen Metaneira of Eleusis, nursed by Demeter in the Hymn to Demeter
Term
Dionysos/Bacchus
Definition
god of wine and theater; son of Zeus and Semele; typically accompanied by Satyrs and Maenads. A major festival ws celebrated in his honor at Athens
Term
Dodona
Definition
site of a famous oracle of Zeus
Term
etiology/aetiology
Definition
a story provided to explain the origin of a ritual, custom or institution.
Term
Eleusis
Definition
a city which came under Athenian control sometime in the seventh century BC at which a major festival of Demeter was celebrated.
Term
epithet
Definition
a characteristic word or phrase frequently applied to a particular god or hero. "Grey-eyed," for example, is an epithet of the goddess Athena
Term
Erinyes/Furies
Definition
avengers of kindred bloodshed, who were born from the droplets of blood that were sed when Kronos castrated Ouranos in Hesiods Theogony
Term
Eros
Definition
Lust personified who becomes and attendant of Aphrodite,one of the four spontaneously arising entities in Hesiods theogony
Term
Gaia/Earth
Definition
one of the four spontaneously arising entities in Hesiods Theogony. She produces the largest number of offspring.
Term
Ganymede
Definition
young shepherd abducted by Zeus, who became his immortal cup-bearer on Olympus.
Term
gigantomachy
Definition
war between the Olympian gods and the race of giants who, with the furies, were born from the blood of Ouranos' castration in Hesiods Theogony
Term
Hades/Aidoneus/All-Receiver/Pluto
Definition
god of the Underworld, brother of Zeus
Term
Heaven/Ouranos/ Uranus
Definition
born parthenogenically (without a father) from Gaia; father of Kronos
Term
Hecate
Definition
goddess of the crossroads, associated with witchcraft.
Term
Helios
Definition
god of the sun
Term
Hephaistos/Hephaestus/Ambidexter/Vulcan
Definition

"Lame one," god of the forge and metalworking, married to Aphrodite
Term
Hera/Juno
Definition
"golden-sandaled," goddess of Argos, sister and consort of Zeus; daughter of Kronos and Rhea
Term
Herakles/Hercules
Definition
son of Zeus [Ampritrion] and Alkmene
Term
Hermes/Argeiphontes/Mercury
Definition
god of shepherds and thieves; trickster and thief par excellence; son of Zeus and Maia
Term
Hesiod
Definition
Poet active in the late 8th BC in Boiotia, who claims to have met muses on Mt. Helikon in the Theogony
Term
Hestia
Definition
goddess of hearth, daughter of Kronos and Rhea
Term
Iambe
Definition
maidservant to the queen of Eleusis who makes Demeter smile by making lewd gestures and/or telling lewd soories in the Hymn to Demeter
Term
Iolkos
Definition
birthplace of Medea
Term
Kerberos/Cerberus
Definition
guard dog of the underworld
Term
Kirke/Circe
Definition
minor goddess, daughter of Helios, witch and lover of Odysseus in the odyssey
Term
Kore/Proserpina/ Persephone
Definition
daughter of Zeus and Demeter; goddess of the underworld; wife of Hades
Term
Kronides/ Zeus/Kronion
Definition
"father of gods and men," patron god of kings, celebrated in a panhellenic festival at Olympia. There was an oracle of Zeus at Dodona
Term
kykeon
Definition
special drink that Demeter requests in the Hymn to Demeter
Term
Leto
Definition
a titan and mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus
Term
Maia
Definition
mother of Hermes by Zeus; daughter of Atlas, her name means mother/nurse
Term
Medeia
Definition
daughter of Aietes, granddaughter of Helios, and consort of Jason. She is a witch like her aunt Circe.
Term
Metaneira
Definition
queen of Eleusis, mother of Demophoon
Term
Muses
Definition
nine daughters of Zeus and Memory (Mnemosyne), met Hesiod of Mt. Helikon
Term
muthos
Definition
origin of English "myth." In the Iliad, a mythos is often an authoritative speech.
Term
Nemean lion
Definition
the first and most famous of Herakles' labors
Term
Ortygia
Definition
island birthplace of Artemis
Term
Pandora
Definition
the first woman created by Zeus as a punishment for men in Hesiod's Theogony
Term
Pelias
Definition
father of Achilles
Term
Pelops
Definition
hero of Olympia, who won Hippodameia by defeating her father in a chariot race, beloved by Poseidon in Pindar's Olympian 1
Term
Poseidon/Neptune
Definition
god of the sea; often called the "earth-shaker."
Term
Prometheus
Definition
a titan who established the rules of sacrifice for mortals, gave them fire. Zeus chained him to a rock where his liver was repeatedly eaten by an eagle in Hesiods Theogony
Term
Pytho(n)
Definition
serpent defeated by Apollo at Delphi in the Hymn to Apollo
Term
Rhea
Definition
sister and consort of Kronos, mother of many of the Olympian gods
Term
Semele
Definition
mother of Dionysos
Term
Styx
Definition
river of the underworld by which the gods swear unbreakable oaths in Hesiods Theogony
Term
Tartara/Tartaros
Definition
the deepest part of the underworld
Term
theogony
Definition
story of the genealogy of gods. A poem by Hesion dealing with the origins of the gods has been given this name
Term
titanomachy
Definition
the battle btween the race of titans and the Olympian gods as related in Hesiod's Theogony
Term
Tithonos
Definition
a shepherd beloved by Dawn, who was made immortal but not granted agelessness
Term
Typheus/Trphaon/Typhon
Definition
son of Tartaros and Gaia in Hesiods Theogony
Term
Zeus/Kronides/ Kronion
Definition
"father of gods and men," patron god of kinds, celebrated in a panhellenic festival at olympia. There was an oracle of Zeus at Dodona.
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