Greek Myth Exam 4 Notes

Describe the prominent features and characteristic of Greek folk monsters and discuss how they resemble or contrast with monsters from more standard myths

- Witchs = targeted fertile youth, buried living souls and brought back the dead - Lamia = monster created by crimes against nature (kidnapping, killing others' kids, etc.) - Empousa = Succubus. Sexual love. Use intercouse to catch those they want to devour - Mormo = few descriptions of this monster. Ate her own children? Donkey's hooves? Very ambiguous - like the boogeyman.

Based on your reading in Buxton, give three examples of the shifting perspectives of the Trojan War

1) 2) 3)

Give three examples of how Virgil has appropriated the Odyssey and the Iliad for his telling of the Aeneid?

1) 2) 3)

Provide three prominent characteristics of lycanthropy found among ancient sources like Petronius, Ovid, Pliny and Pausanias

1) Has to remove clothing before transformation 2) Nine years common theme 3) Turn into wolves as a result of eating human flesh. If they go nine years without killing a human again as a wolf, they can become a human again 4) Ritualistic washing/cleansing before transformation to increase calmness during the transformation 5) Graveyards, liminal spaces`

Based on your readings in Trzaskoma, give three examples of how Herodotus and Thucydides attempted to rationalize the Iliad to make it 'historical'

1) Herodotus Histories: - Conflict between Asia and Greece = Io, Europa, Medea, Helen - Egyptians on whether Helen ever went to Troy

Give at least two examples of Ovid's political overtones in his tales of metamorphoses.

1) Julius Caesar is deified and metamorphosed into a star 2) Associates narrative elements in the Aeneid with contemporary events 3) Ovid invokes the gods to delay Caesar Augusts' apotheosis 4) Ovid suggests that his poem will make him immortal

Give three examples of the equivalences between Greek and Roman divinities

1) Rome's Mars (father of founders of Rome, Remus and Romulus) = Greece's Ares. Mars far exceeds his warlike Greek counterpart in importance in a Roman community whose ability to sustain its astonishing expansion depended upon the sword. Mars was sometimes seen as analogous to Apollo because both were associated with expiation in the face of disaster, and with a leadership role in colonial expedition 2) Mercury = Hermes. Mercury was associated at Rome with trade and commerce, a trait which sat comfortably enough with the role of his Greek counterpart Hermes as a linker of opposites, but represented a new, Roman emphasis 3) Vesta = Hestia. Vesta had a more significant role/higher profile, which was reflected in the centrally important cult of the Vestal Virgins in the Roman Forum 4) Vulcan = Hephaistos

Give two reasons for the importance of Rome to preservation of Greek myth

1) The myths of transformation, which in their previous Greek retellings had usually been anchored to particular localities, underwent in Ovid a subtle process of universalization, broadening their relevance, and paving the way for Ovid's epic to become a kind of all-embracing mythological handbook for the medieval world 2) To all intents and purposes, Greek myth became classical mythology. It is in Roman clothing and from Roman myth-tellers, that the modern world has inherited its 'Greek' mythology.

What is the relationship between the Farnese Atlas and Cartographers?

Atlas has to hold and spin the dome of the heavens. Maps made by cartographers later on always included an Atlas in the corner to reference

Based on your reading of Star Myths on Theoi.com, how are the constellations of Canis Major, Lepus, and Taurus related to the nature of Orion in Greek myth?

Canis Major was his hunting dog that accompanies him in myth and in the sky Lepus was "The Hare" Orion is pursuing as a hunter Taurus is the bull he is pursuing because the beautiful Pleides make up his tail and according to myth, Orion pursued them for seven years

What were some of the more common types of ancient spells and what were their intended targets/effects?

Defixiones... - iudicariae = harm one's adversaries in court - amatoriae = making people fall in love - agonisticae = spells for theatre/athletic contests cursing thieves, slanderers, competitors, etc

T/F, Erastosthenes descriptions of the constellations reveals that the stars in a constellation were counted and that he includes all the same zodiac signs found in the modern zodiac

FALSE

T/F, In Ovid's Metamorphoses, the creation of the universe is via procreation between male and female gods

FALSE

T/F, Oedipus attempts to avoid the fate of killing his father and sleeping with his mother by leaving Thebes

FALSE

T/F, Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannos begins with Oedipus using his wits to defeat the Sphinx

FALSE

T/F, based on your reading of Theoi.com, each of Heracles' twelve labors is linked to a constellation in the zodiac

FALSE

T/F, in all Greek myth Perseus rides Pegasus to slay the Kraken

FALSE

T/F, the Greeks were the first people to recognize the constellations, which is why we still use the names they ascribed to these groups of stars

FALSE

T/F, the appropriation and reworking Greek myth ended with the rise of Chrisitianity in the Roman empire.

FALSE

T/F, according to Johnston, the idea that spirits of the dead were weak and only interacted with the living in very special circumstances, was prevalent from Homer onward

FALSE (?)

How is Ovid's cosmogony different than Hesiod's?

In Ovid's cosmogony, the universe is created by one ultimate designer/greater power/God who separates the elements (land, water, etc.) from the original disarray/Chaos they were jumbled in. Same Creator makes animal/creature life and humans. Focus on Earth is made in the image of God for man. No gods mentioned by name. In Hesiod's cosmogony, the universe is created through the procreation of the ancient, elemental Gods, like Gaea (earth) and Ouranos (sky). All of their children and descendants make up other parts of the Universe. No real discussion of how humans/mortals came about. Focus is on the divine. Many gods mentioned

What are the differences between Parthenius' account of 'Daphne' and Ovid's 'Daphne and Phoebus (Apollo)'?

In Ovid's version of the Daphne tale, the Apollo insults Cupid and his ability to use a bow, a "man's weapon", so Cupid gets revenge by shooting Apollo with an arrow that causes him to fall in love/lust after Daphne, and likewise shoots Daphne with an arrow, but one that repels love. Apollo is driven mad by his love for Daphne and chases after her, and she cries out for help and is transformed into a tree. In Parthenius' version, Daphne is very much like Artemis, a skilled huntress and one that is not interested in men/love. Another man, Leucippus, falls for her and dressed like a woman to be able to pass as a fellow huntress and get closer to Daphne. Apollo, who also has fallen for Artemis, exposes Leucippus through trickery. The huntresses kill him, and then Apollo starts to pursue Daphne, who flees. She asks to be taken from the mortal world and Zeus transforms her into a laurel tree.

How is Aeneas related to Romulus in Roman mythology?

In Roman literature (Virgil's Aeneid), Aeneas was one of the few Trojans not killed during the Trojan War. He travelled to Italy, where he settled in the region where Rome would later be built by his descendants, Remus and Romulus.

Based on your readings of Eratosthenes' Constellation Myths, how is Orion's mythology explain Scorpio's presence in the Zodiac?

In the story of his death, Orion was either killed by Artemis or by a scorpion sent by Gaea to punish him for boasting that he would slay all the creatures of the earth. The scorpion was also placed amongst the stars and continued to plague him, for as it rose in the east, Orion fled beneath the horizon in the west.

Give an example of how Roman equivalences to Greek divinities reveal a Roman emphasis:

Mercury is the Roman counterpart to Hermes. Mercury's role was rooted in trade and commerce, which was a very important part of Roman culture and less so a part of the Greek culture and mythology. IN Greek mythology, Hermes was moreso a linker of opposites rather than strictly related to trade, etc.

What is the relationship between the myth of Orion and Oinopion and the seasons?

Orion tries to rape Merope after having too much wine, and Oinopion blinds him in revenge. Orion goes to get his sight back and then returns to seek revenge on Oinopion, but Oinopion hid himself underground in a bronze chamber. When Orion is in the sky , it is winter and Oinopion can hide underground. In the summer, Oinopion, a grape farmer, emerges and Orion goes away.

How has Ovid embellished the myth of Tereus, Prokne and Philomelia?

Ovid is very detailed in the myth of Tereus, Prokne and Philomela. He gives voice to all the characters, even the females, which is not traditional in Greek myth telling. He is very descriptive and tells the inner thoughts/passions/lusting of characters like Tereus. He also uses storytelling elements like foreshadowing. Ovid focuses a lot on the characters' metamorphoses and the reason they had to undergo them, and why each of their respective birds are significant. Philomela is turned into a swallow that can't sing a melody in Ovid's version to symbolize her tongue being cut out in her human form. In the other version, she was turned into the nightingale instead of Procne. Also, in Buxton's telling of the story, the focus is on the strength of the sister relationship between Procne and Philomela.

Give an example of the impact of Christianity on Greek myth

Ovid's Metamorphoses was interpreted as Christian edification: thus Phaeton stood for Lucifer, the rebellious angel; Apollo's pursuit of Daphne symbolized the Incarnation, with Daphne representing the Virgin Mary; the quest of Ceres/Demeter for Proserpina/Persephone became the quest of the Church to restore lost souls to the fold

T/F, Ovid's account of the start-crossed lovers, Pyramus and Thisbe, has a lot of similarities to Shakespeare's account of Romeo and Juliet

TRUE

T/F, Parthenius wrote an abridged account of the Greek tale of Daphne so that the Roman poet, Cornelius Gallus, could recast it into poetry

TRUE

T/F, according to Buxton, the terracotta representation of Athena and Herakles dating to 6th century BC provides the earliest evidence of Rome's encounter with Greek Myth.

TRUE

T/F, based on your reading of Eratosthenes' Constellation Myths, the extant text contains 42 accounts of constellations and myths behind them, as well as three others on the five planets and the Milky Way

TRUE

T/F, in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Cupid's two different arrows are the cause of Apollo's and Daphne's suffering

TRUE

T/F, in Ovid's account of Echo and Narcissus, Narcissus' rejection of Echo is linked to Narcissus' metamorphosis

TRUE

T/F, in his description of Lycaon's transformation from man to wolf, Ovid focuses more on which features stay the same rather than what changes

TRUE

T/F, the disappearance of the constellations Orion and Gemini in the night sky is explained through myth as their presence in the underworld during this time

TRUE

T/F, in Greco-Roman art, Andromeda is depicted as being a beautiful naked woman tied to a rock

TRUE and FALSE (depicted both naked and clothed, tied to a rock and not)

T/F, the Supreme ordeal of Perseus' quest is to rescue Andromeda

TRUE or FALSE depending on the version you read

Give an example of the impact of Greco-Roman philosophy on Greek myth

The impact of Greco-Roman philosophy on Greek myth was an extensive employing of allegory and etymology to analyze myths in an attempt to make them understandable in terms of the doctrines of the Stoics, particularly their detailed theories of the universe. An example of this is seen in Cornutus' Compendium of the Traditions of Greek Theology. His analysis of Zeus as the governing principle of the cosmos and identification of the gods with the elements outlined in Stoic theories of physics. Here, the marriage between Zeus and Hera is viewed as an allegory of the relationship between aether (pure, unmixed fire) and air. They also are said to arise from the flow in the same direction, which is Rhea. Zeus is also said to share the moisture that gives life with what is alive

How did Ovid invent the myth of Echo and Narcissus?

The origins of echos come from this tale. The story of Narcissus existed before Ovid's version. In this version however, Ovid introduces the talkative nymph that is cursed by Hera to only be able to echo the words of others. Echo later falls for the beautiful Narcissus, and uses parts of his own sentences to try and meet with him, but then is overzealous about embracing him, and he rejects her. She is saddened and wastes away in a cave and only her echo remains. Narcissus continuously rejects the affections of others, and one of the women is so upset that she asks for him to be cursed, and he is. He is cursed to fall in love with his own reflection in the water of a lake and so he sits there and wastes away as he stares at himself.

Explain the types of situations which might, in ancient understandings, cause a deceased person to become a restless spirit or ghost?

Unburied body, killed violently, or untimely (young, before childbirth or marriage)

How were ancient spells typically cast?

Voces Magicae = specific language for communicating with gods Kharacteres = cut/scratch, letters or symbols Deities = Hermes, Persephones, Hecate, Hades, Apollo Regional: Sulis Minerva, Ereskhigal, Thoth, Anubis

What special power does Pliny say people believe wolves to have? a) A wolf looking at you can steal your ability to speak b) They can disguise themselves as men and women c) They have human speech d) They can move through walls and fences

a) A wolf looking at you can steal your ability to speak

According to Homer, what happens to Oedipus? a) He doesn't blind himself and continues to reign at Thebes b) He blinds himself when he realizes he married his mother and killed his father c) He loses his wife, Jocasta, when she hangs herself after her son's death in civil war

a) He DOESN'T blind himself and continues to reign at Thebes

What, according to Johnston, do effective ghost stories best capture about a culture? a) Prominent values b) Actual beliefs c) Real-life fears d) How scientifically minded they are

a) Prominent values

What literary trope is evident in Ovid's myth of Pyramus and Thisbe?

amor = love mora = delay mors = death morus = black mulberry tree

Which of the following is TRUE of the Zodiac in Eratosthenes, Constellation Myths? a) Leo was put in the heavens by Herakles to memorialize his victory over the Nemean Lion b) Cancer the Crab was placed in the sky by Hera to reward it for standing against Herakles c) Artemis placed Scorpio in the sky so that everyone would be aware of her hatred for Orion d) Eratosthenes states that Toxotes (Sagittarius) is Chiron the Centaur rather than Crotos the Satyr e) All the above

b) Cancer the Crab was placed in the sky by Hera to reward it for standing against Herakles

Based on your reading, which of the following is TRUE in respect to Fulgentius' Myth? a) Fulgentius' Myth is an example of how Greek myth was considered useless pagan stories by Christians b) Fulgentius' approach to myth is similar to Cornutus' approach because both authors interpret Greek myth via allegory and etymology c) Fulgentius uses the Greek myth of Athena (Minerva) and Hephaestus (Vulcan) to explain why pagan gods were lustful and hateful demons d) Fulgentius clearly uses Cornutus' interpretation of Dionysus to explain why intoxication is dangerous

b) Fulgentius' approach to myth is similar to Cornutus' approach because both authors interpret Greek myth via allegory and etymology

What is it that Elpenor's shade asks Odysseus to do for him? a) Avenge his death b) Give his body a funeral c) Bring his remains to Ithaca d) Provide or his family

b) Give his body a funeral

Which of the following Latin authors was of greatest importance to the European retelling of myth thanks to his fifteen-book epic, entitled Metamorphoses? a) Plautus b) Ovid c) Virgil d) Catullus

b) Ovid

What does Collins point to as being an interesting feature of some of the earliest binding tablets??? a) They do not indicate who the intended victim is b) They only provide the name of the victim c) They were written on ostraca or potsherds d) The letters are always backward

b) They only provide the name of the victim

In Oedipus Tyrannos, who asks Oedipus, "who are your parents? Do you know?" a) Kreon b) Tiresias c) Jocasta d) The Priest of Zeus

b) Tiresias

Based on your reading, which of the following is FALSE concerning Horace's Odes? a) They were written in Latin during the 1st century BC b) Like Greek lyric poetry, Horace's Odes often make a Greek mythological figure the central theme of the poem c) In Ode 3.11, Horace encourages a woman named Lyde to follow the examples of Danaus' daughters d) In Ode 2. 19, Horace employs Greek myths about Dionysus to explain the character of Bacchus e) Ode 1. 10 is based on a Greek hymn to Hermes by Alcaeus, and this ode integrates important Greek myths surrounding Hermes

c) In Ode 3.11, Horace encourages a woman named Lyde to follow the examples of Danaus' daughters

In Oedipus Tyrannos, who states, "Many men have slept with their mothers in their dreams"? a) Oedipus b) Tiresias c) Jocasta d) Kreon

c) Jocasta

According to Theoi.com, the 'Hare' constellation which Orion pursues in the heavens is called: a) Taurus b) Canis Major c) Lepus d) Sirius

c) Lepus

In Oedipus Tyrannos, who states, "keep your eyes on the last day, on your dying"? a) Oedipus b) Tiresias c) The Chorus d) The Priest of Zeus

c) The Chorus

Based on your reading, which of the following is FALSE of Greek theatre? a) There was a chorus which consisted of fifteen characters, all of whom would come on stage performing a kind of dance b) The chorus had a special relationship with the main character of the play c) The actors' portrayals of how Jocasta hanged herself and how Oedipus blinded himself were displayed to the Greek audience to create a dramatic effect d) Sophocles' audience would have been aware of the myths of Oedipus e) None of the above

c) The actors' portrayals of how Jocasta hanged herself and how Oedipus blinded himself were displayed to the Greek audience to create a dramatic effect

To what does Johnston (Prologue) attribute the relative disinterest of scholars in ancient ghosts and magic? a) The scarcity of evidence for ancient ghost stories and magic rituals b) There are more important things about classical civilization to study c) The reluctance to accept that highly rational thinkers like the Greeks and Romans would believe ghost stories d) Conservative religious taboo

c) The reluctance to accept that highly rational thinkers like the Greeks and Romans would believe ghost stories

Which of the following Roman authors wrote an epic poem much like Homer's Odyssey and Iliad, which details the heroic foundation of Rome through the figure of Trojan hero named Aeneas? a) Plautus b) Catullus c) Virgil d) Ovid

c) Virgil

According to Philostratus, whom do empousai pursue? a) Children b) Unmarried women c) Young men d) Pregnant women

c) Young men

Based on your reading of Theoi.com, which of the following is TRUE of the zodiac sign Taurus? a) Orion is linked with the bull because he is said to be chasing the Pleiades b) Taurus is linked with the myth of Io and Zeus because Io was said to have been turned into a bull c) Taurus is linked with the myth of Europa and Zeus because it is said that Zeus turned himself into a bull to seduce Europa d) All the above

d) All the above

In Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannos, what are the effects of Oedipus' grievous transgression against his parents? a) Jocasta kills herself b) A plague devastates Thebes c) Oedipus blinds himself d) All the above

d) All the above

What does Buxton say about the 'equivalences' between Greek and Roman divinities? a) The equivalences between Greek & Roman gods was the Romans way of establishing connection between their religion and that of the Greeks b) The equivalences are evident as early as 6th century BC c) The equivalences between Greek and Roman gods did not necessarily mean that the significance of the Greek god was that same as the Roman d) All the above

d) All the above

Which of the following is TRUE of Ovid's account of Tereus and Philomelia? a) Procne spoke these words: "My dearest husband...my heart will bless you as I bless the Gods." b) Ovid describes in vivid detail the thoughts and passions of Tereus c) Ovid describes how Procne was moved with pity for her son, Itys, when he called her "mother" d) All the above

d) All the above

In Niceros' story, what is it that proves that his companion was a werewolf? a) The man confesses himself b) His girlfriend, Melissa, confirms what he saw c) He finds the man's clothes in the graveyard d) He finds the man wounded

d) He finds the man wounded

What is remarkable about the gods invoked in the spell from Papyri Graecae Magicae analysed by Collins? a) There are no gods b) It invokes only Egyptian gods c) It invokes only Greek gods d) It invokes a mixture of Greek, Egyptian, and other Near-Eastern gods

d) It invokes a mixture of Greek, Egyptian, and other Near-Eastern gods

Based on your reading of the Revolution of the Constellations in Theoi.com, which of the following is FALSE? a) Orion was also descried by Homer both striding across the heavens and hunting wild beasts in the underworld b) The Titan Atlas...was said to spin the dome around his shoulders, causing the stars to rise and set c) The most important of the heliacal risings were those of the twelve constellations of the zodiac d) None of the above

d) None of the above

Who did Oedipus believe were his real parents before he learned the truth? a) Jocasta and Laios b) Laios and Merope c) Laios and Chrysippos d) Polybos and Merope

d) Polybos and Merope

Based on your reading in Buxton, which of the following is FALSE? a) According to Buxton, the metamorphoses of Tereus, Prokne, and Philomelia into birds prolonged their suffering b) Prokne killed her only child Itys, dismembered his corpse, and fed it to her husband, Tereus c) Greek myths often immortalize heroes and heroines by transforming them into plants, animals, rocks, or stars d) Tereus was transformed into a nightingale because he forever laments the loss of is son

d) Tereus was transformed into a nightingale because he forever laments the loss of his son

The blind prophet who frequently shows up in mythology, particularly important in Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannos is named: a) Kreon b) Polybus c) Eteokles d) Tiresias

d) Tiresias

Based on your reading of Theoi.com, which of the following is False concerning the constellation Orion? a) It was recognized as representing the True Shepherd Anu in Sumerian and Akkadian cultures b) Orion was killed by Artemis (or Gaea) for boasting that he would kill all the animals on the earth c) The scorpion was also placed amongst the stars and continued to plague him, for as it rose in the east, Orion fled beneath the horizon in the west d) In Greek myth, Orion is a giant hunter e) None of the above

e) None of the above

Based on your reading, which of the following statements is FALSE concerning Cornutus' Compendium of the Traditions of Greek Theology? a) It was written in Greek b) Through the use of allegory and etymology, Cornutus connects Stoic theories of the elements with the relationship between Zeus, Hera, and Rhea c) Cornutus uses the myth of Athena's birth from Zeus' head to explain the location of the Stoic concept of providence (pronoia) d) He explains the thyrsus of Dionysos as representing the need for a device to support oneself after having drunk a lot of wine e) None of the above

e) None of the above are false