Greek & Roman Mythology Exam 2

A hunter on Crete who attempted to rape Artemis was killed outright by her — she shot him. Later, regretting the sudden act, she turned him into a prominent constellation. Who is this "catarterized" hunter?

Orion

Sometimes called "the painter's bible" this collection of classical myths from Rome's "Golden Age" is the key port of entry into Western Literature for the myths of Arachne, Pygmalion, Pyramus and Thisbe, and many many others. Which is it?

Ovid's Metamorphoses

Which Olympian lost the contest for primacy of Athens?

Poseidon

When we say that herms have an apotropaic function, we are speaking of which (of the following) property?

Protection

How can anybody possibly justify the heroization of Oedipus after all he did?

Solved Sphinx's riddle, rescued Thebes from plague, pursued truth against the most horrifying prospects, endured to the end.

The black-figure kylix shown (ca 530 BC) is famous for representing the earliest depiction of a ship under sail. It also depicts the narrative familiar from one of the Homeric Hymns. Which Homeric Hymn is depicted in this old cup?

The Homeric Hymn to Dionysos

Aeschylus won first prize for his trilogy of tragic plays in 458 BC. Individually, they are named Agamemnon, Choephori, and Eumenides. But what is the title given to the trilogy as a whole?

The Oresteia

Aeschylus' great tragic trilogy — the only one from antiquity to survive — was produced in 458 B.C. to celebrate mythologically the best justice system in the world, one which was established at Athens and (he claims) was endorsed by the gods themselves. What is the name of this trilogy

The Oresteia

When Poseidon offered a salt-spring and the horse, what did Athena offer at the contest for primacy of Athens?

The olive tree

Maurizio notes that the Athenians "created and canonized a series of adventures" for one of their local heroes so as to "shap[e] him into a civic hero who embodied and promoted the greatness of Athens." Who is this hero?

Thesus

Dionysos is the God of ____.

Wine, mystery, liquid seed, parties, plays, etc.

In the image from the Alkimachos Painter's Birth of Dionysus, who is the seated, naked guy?

Zeus

Which of the following is NOT true of Pentheus' role in the Dionysus myth?

a) Pentheus offered resistance against the cult of Dionysus at Thebes b) Pentheus dressed up as a bacchante so as to spy on the rites of Dionysos c) Pentheus' own mother was overcome with maenadic ecstasy and killed him d) Pentheus crushed the cult of Dionysos before it took hold in his kingdom. D

According to the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, which of the following does Hermes NOT do on his first day of life?

a) creates the first lyre b) kills a tortise c) steals Apollo's herd of cattle d) invents fire by rubbing sticks together e) flips two full sized cos and roasts their meat f) successfully defends himself on charges of theft F.

According to Maurizio, Apollo is linked to *** (blank) of Greek society.

cultural achievement

Choose to fill the blank precisely: Theorizing about heroes generally, Maurizio says that "the careers of Achilles, Heracles, and Oedipus suggest that the Greek term HEROS differs [blank]_ from our modern understanding of the term 'hero."

greatly

Maurizio wants you to know something about Apollo Musagetes, which is a cult title referring to one aspect of Apollo's divine activity. What does MUSAGETES, the Greek word, mean?

the leader of the Muses

Girls who "play the bear" at Brauron enact a ceremonial transformation in which the initiates abandon _[blank]_ to become a socially responsible adult woman. What do they abandon, according to Maurizio?

their child selves

Pindar tells the story of Cleomedes who killed his wrestling opponent and sixty children, and Maurizio notes that Cleomedes "does not offer a path for other men to follow." Maurizio concludes that Cleomedes' deeds were ... what?

"not exemplary, but extraordinary"

The Mutilation of the Herms is an actual historical act of vandalism that occurred on the eve of the Sicilian Expedition in 415 BC. The message behind the mutilation, according to Maurizio, may have been the suggestion "that by participating in the Sicilian Expedition, the citizens of Athens were not [[blanking]."

...fulfilling their protective duty.

Traits of a classical hero (5)

1. A man who has died 2. Did extraordinary deeds (not moral) 3. Dies remarkably 4. Soul is preserved (heroon, site of veneration) 5. Obtains immortality through song/cult. Athena typically helps heroes.

In Greek myth various sun-gods hold the distinction of being The god of the Sun. Put them in chronological/mythological order, earliest to latest.

1. Phoibos 2. Hyperion 3. Helios 4. Apollo

What implement is likely in Apollo's left hand as sculpted by the artist of the Apollo Belvedere?

A bow

What is a hermaion?

A lucky haul of fish.

Walter Burkert said, with some humor but with a lot of concision, that this Olympian is "the most Greek of the Greek gods." Which divinity did Burkert have in mind?

Apollo

Maurizio seems to consider The Statue of Liberty as an iconographic and thematic derivative of which Greek goddess?

Athena

Simon Goldhill say that one goddess "favors the male [and] does not conform to the female's role within the male dispensation. Thus, [this goddess in the Oresteia] concludes that she is 'wholly of the father.'" Who is she?

Athena

Athenians took pride in the birth-myth of Erichthonius, who was born from the earth after an unusual encounter between Athena and Hephaestus took place. The myth justifies the Athenians' claim that they are [blank]. (The one-word adjective begins with the letter a.)

Autochtonous

She was one of Artemis' chaste followers who was impregnated by Zeus. Soon she bore a child, Arcas, who later became the constellation Ursa Minor; and Callisto, castasterized into Ursa Major, follows around the North Star all night long. What was her name in life?

Callisto

What is the essential activity and message of the annual Anthesteria at Athens?

Celebrates the origin of win, the rebirth of Dionysus, the union of Athens to the god, and the rise of a new generation (people and agriculture)

The Homeric Hymn to Apollo narrates Apollo's slaying of a gigantic snake, the Python, whose carcass ROTS in the sun. Where does this act take place, according to Greek legend?

Delphi

Apollo abducted a crew of sailors from Crete, according to myth, and hijacked their ship to Delphi. What was the animal shape Apollo assumed when he performed this abduction?

Dolphin

True or False: Euripides, according to Maurizio, embelishes a mostly true account when he tells the story of Pentheus and Agave, for historical evidence suggests that female worshippers of Dionysus engaged in such violence as the play depicts.

Euripides' account is NOT based on historical/cultural fact

Alcmene's son is in Zeus' mind when he declares that the child about to be born will become king of Tiryns and king of men. Who turns out to fulfill that prophecy actually, because of Hera's intervention?

Eurystheus

True or False: Macfarlane thinks that Oedipus is a hero, BECAUSE Oedipus murdered his father, married his mother, begot children with his mother, caused his sons to despise one another, and ruined a dynastic line in the process.

False

True or False: Homer tells about how Paris shot Achilles in the heel in the Iliad. (Warning! Tricky question.)

False. In the Iliad, Homer talked about Achilles' rage, not every event from his life.

Why was Pentheus torn apart?

For denying the cult of Dionysus entry into Thebes

What did Dionysos do for Ariadne on the island of Naxos?

He rescued her from certain solitude and probable death.

Maurizio observes that "without her anger, Heracles would not have set out on his labors [and the path that led to his divinization]." Whom does Maurizio mean by the pronoun "her"? Who conceived that anger that made Heracles so famous?

Hera

What is the name of the child of Aphrodite and Hermes, a bisexed god who as an adsolescent swam in the pool of Salamacis?

Hermaphroditus

Maurizio describes the iconographic representations of a particular deity as "a beardless young man on the cusp or boundary of adulthood". Which god is she describing?

Hermes

One might ask what the "psychopompos" is doing in the scene depicted by the Alkimachos Painter. So, I do ask: What is the Psychopompos doing in this scene?

Hermes is ready to lead Dionysus from the realm of Zeus to the company of the Nymphs of Nyssa, where he will be raised.

You may not previously have encountered the term Maurizio uses to name ancient "hero shrines" in Greek. Select the term below that means "an ancient hero shrine".

Heroon

Speaking of Artemis, Maurizio explains that a particular young man in myth/cult "represents youthful virginity and devotion to Artemis that young girls must relinquish on marriage, [and] lamenting his death could be seen as a way for girls to recognzie and ritually mourn the end of their own youth and virginity." Who is the boy?

Hippolytus

Agamemnon, grand general of the Greek expedition against Troy, unwittingly killed a deer sacred to Artemis at Aulis. The fleet could not sail until Agamemnon should sacrifice his eldest daughter, decreed the oracle. What is the daughter's name?

Iphigeneia

Did Theseus forget Ariadne on Naxos or purposefully abandon her?

It depends...

According to classical mythology, what does Heracles do under the influence of divine rage that Hera inflicted upon him?

Murders Megara and their two children.