Greek and Roman Mythology Midterm 1

Which two gods witnessed the abduction of Persephone?

Hekate and Helios

Where does Demeter go while she is grieving for her lost daughter?

Eleusis

Why does Demeter get upset at Metaneira?

Metaneira screamed when she saw Demeter dipping her baby into the fire

Elusinian Mysteries

a cult

Athenian tragedies and comedies were performed in a festival dedicated to which God/Goddess?

Dionysus

Before the plays started, the audience in the theatre witnessed which of the following?

A presentation of the tribute money that Athens had collected from its dependent allies, a ceremony that honored those who had benefited the city by giving them an honorary garland or Crown, and a parade of orphans whose fathers had died in battle defending Athens and who had been raised at state expense (all of the above)

Which of the following is NOT true of the choruses in Ancient Greek tragedies?

choruses were comprised of paid professionals

T/F The Athenians enjoyed portraying violent spectacles on stage for the audience to see.

False

In Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, who is Tiresias?

The bind seer who tells Oedipus the truth about his past

What is a Myth?

A story(muthos) with psychologically important to a communitee/society/culture (Can be factual)

What is etiology?

a way of explaining the world, proto-scientific explanation

Who was Pandora?

A women made for Epimetheus who released all the bad things into the world. Curiosity in essence.

Who was Epimetheus?

Brother to Prometheus. “Past sight” husband to Pandora punished for sins of brother. Gave animals their qualities.

Who was Prometheus?

“foresight” made humans and gave them fire. Punished by Zeus

Who was Zeus?

King of the Gods. God of the sky

Cronos

Saturn. Father of the Gods. Titan of Time. Ate his children.

Rhea

Mother of the Gods. Wife to Cronos. Saved Zeus by hiding him nd feeding Cronos a rock.

Uranus

Father of the Titans. Husband to Gaea. Cut up by Cronos.

Zeus

Jupiter. God of the Sky. Killed Cronos. King of Gods

Hera

Juno. Goddess of Marriage. Wife to Zeus.

Poseiden

Neptune. God of the Sea.

Demeter

Ceres. Goddess of agriculture. Mother of Persephone.

Hestia

Vesta. Goddess of the Hearth

Hades/Pluto

Dis. God of the Underworld. Husband to Persephone

Apollo

God of the sun, medicine, music, and Archery

Artemis

Diana. Goddess of the Hunt, maidens, and Archery

Hermes

Mercury. God of travelers, messengers, and thieves

Anthropomorphic

having human characteristics

Omniscient

knowing everything

Omnipotent

(of a deity) having unlimited power; able to do anything

Athens

Origins for Theatre 500 BC. Festival of Dionysus.

Tragedy

From Greek word Tragoidos for "Goat Song”. Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides

Comedy

From Greek work Komoidos meaning “Party Song. Aristophanes

City Dionysia

Theatre festival in Athens. A competition playwriters would enter 3 tragedies and 1 Comedy.

Outdoor Theaters

All theaters in Ancient Greece. The audience was raked, and the stage was flat

Chorus

Non-professional actors, 12-15 members, danced and sung mostly, didn’t ever leave the stage

Choregos

Wealthy Citizen who financed the chorus

Koryphaeus

Chorus Leader

Parodos

Entrance Song

Stasimon

Choral interlude

Strophe

part of a choral song

Antistrophe

another part of choral songs

Three actor rule

Only three people could be talking on stage at one time

Costumes and Masks

costumes were padded to make the characters look bigger. Masks also bigger and made to help with projection.

Agon

set piece debate long speeches (rhesis) followed by Stichomythia

Rhesis

long speeches

Stichomythia

dialogue between two actors each exchange just one line of meter

Mechane

crane, or something, that let actors fly in

Ekkyklema

wheeled platform

Orchestra

flat area of the stage in the center had an alter (thymele)

Peripeteia

reversal of fortune

Anagnorisis

recognition

Catharsis

cleansing of negative emotions

Aeschylus

Playwriter, 525-456BC, Acted in own plays, Veteran of Marathon, Prometheus Bound, Agamemnon, Eumenides

Sophocles

496-406BC, Antigone, Oedipus Rex, Strategos-General, 3rd actor?

Euripides

485-406BC, 19 extant plays, Bacchae, Medea, Surly and unconventional

Aristophanes

Comedy, 11 plays

Oedipus

Son of Jocasta and Laius. Abandoned by parents. Adopted. Ran away to avoid the prophesy. Ended up killing his father and sleeping with his mother. Blinds himself and goes into exile.

Jocasta

Wife and Mother to Oedipus. Kills herself when she realizes what had happened.

Creon

Oedipus’ uncle/ bro-in-law

Tiresias

Blind prophet, tells Oedipus the truth.

Laius

Oedipus’ Father. Dies by Oedipus’ hand on the road. Abandoned Oedipus in the mountains to avoid a prophesy.

The Shepherd

The one who gives Oedipus to another kingdom. Tells Oedipus the truth about who he is.

Role of Fate in Life

-

“Nothing in excess”

Delphic Saying, Meden Agan

“Know thyself”

Delphic saying, Gnothi Seauton

Does Western Civilization even exist?

-

The Necessity of understanding pour own identity and questioning our own personal myths

-

Arnold meaning of culture

hierarchical, value based, best refinements of art literature, music, etc., subjective

Tyler meaning of culture

neutral, relativistic, objective, sum of daily tasks, habits, interactions, actions, priorities, etc.

Aristotle’s view of Oedipus

Tragic Hero. Lots of hubris and self righteous

Freud

Oedipus Complex. Believed that people had the primitive desire to kill their father and bed their mother.

Chrysippus

prioritized logic.

Thebes

The polis where Oedipus is born and reigned. Under a curse because someone killed the king.

Corinth

where Oedipus believes he is from

Polybus

Oedipus’ adopted father, also a king

Merope

Oedipus’ adopted mother

“Oida”

“I know” in Greek. a play on Oedipus’ name. He is said to be clever, solved a riddle. But his name could also mean something like bum foot

Delphi

A island in Greece. The location of Apollo’s most famous oracle.

Oracle

A prophetess, said to be given prophesies by Apollo. Sits on a stool in a subterranean cave.

Sphinx

A beast, prohibited the entrance to Thebes would kill anyone who answered the riddle wrong

Tyrant (Tyrannos)

A foreign ruler. Some who was foriegn born but now rules

Pollution/ Miasma

-

Plauge/pandemic

-

Murder Mystery

-

Dramatic Irony

literary device by which the audience’s or reader’s understanding of events or individuals in a work surpasses that of its characters

Impact of past on present

-

Origins and Identity

-

Expositio in agendo

-

Suppliants

written by Aeschylus. About a city who cannot burry the sons who have fallen in battle

Messenger speech

-

What was Prometheus’ relationship to humankind?

Craftsman, Creator, knowledge, Technology

Io, Hera, Gadfly

Io was one of Zeus’ lovers she was turned into a cow, Hera sent a Gadfly to plague and torment Io.

Hephaestus

God of fire and blacksmithing. Chained Prometheus, didn’t think it was fair

Allegory

work of art, written or visual, which uses symbols to convey a hidden meaning: extended metaphor, author driven vs reader driven

Natural Allegory

gives insight into some natural phenomenon ex. Demeter and Persephone

Moral Allegory

teaches a moral lesson ex. Trial of Paris

Historical Allegory

suggests that the myth was based on something real, but the supernatural element is overdone, ex. The Trojan war

Transcendence

God transcends the material sphere, far removed

Immanence

divine encompasses and inhibits the material world. Everywhere