1
Q
What is a hero?
A
- larger than life, someone people want to be OR someone who horrifies others
(their power comes from this horrifying part)
2
Q
What is a myth? What are its characteristics?
A
- traditional shared narratives that were orally transmitted
- original authors are unknown
- fluid (they changed in emphasis and format as they were transmitted)
- a dramatic representation of ideology
- expresses societal structure (tensions, balance, connections)
- way to make sense of things
–> Myths express, reinforce, justify and challenge cultural values, practices, desires and fears
3
Q
What is a Divine Myth?
A
- explains/reflects on the natural universe/phenomena
- reflects Ancient Greek societal structure
- major characters = anthropomorphic (human shaped) gods –> immortal and ageless but not eternal
4
Q
What is a Legend?
A
- explains historical phenomena
- major characters = exemplary humans who are superior to others in some ways (gods also often involved)
5
Q
What is a Folktale?
A
- reflects a fantasy of power structures being inverted (underdog wins)
- often comic or happy ending
- major characters = ordinary mortals and tricksters
6
Q
What is a Fable?
A
- about everyday moral behaviour
- didactic (teaches a lesson)
- major characters = animals with human characteristics
7
Q
Evidence for Classical Myths
A
- Texts
- Vase Paintings
- Archaeological sites
- Paintings
- Mosaics
- Sculptures
- Funerary Objects
- Coins
8
Q
Characteristics of Greek Religion
A
- no texts
- ordinary individuals performed the rites and sacrifices
- integral part of state and public institutions
- learned through witnessing and participating: myths, public festivals, sculptures
- polytheism
- gods were immortal but not eternal (anthropomorphic), tension between male/female gods (male-dominated religion)
9
Q
Examples Social/Political Functions of Myth
A
i.e. 2 myths about how the city of Athens got its name:
- Fight between Athene vs. Poseidon, they gave gifts (olive branch vs. salt water lake)
- Poseidon’s rage after Athene won, and Athene’s blessing over the city led to the women being both thanked and punished (taking away vote) - Hephaestus’ failed rape led to Erichthonius being born through Gaia, Athene takes him to Athens to be born –> therefore Athena is divine ancestor of Athenian people
i. e. Athene contributed to legal system in Athens
- announced that she would always take a man’s side in a fight because she was motherless
- reinforced the social hierarchy
10
Q
Why is oral tradition important in the creation/changing of myth?
A
- ancient worlds were oral even after writing had been invented
- ongoing interplay between oral and written stories (on purpose!)
- individual settlements had locally significant variations of myth
–> greek myths are due to long evolutionary process
11
Q
What is the Panathenaea?
A
- annual festival in Athens celebrating Athena’s birth
- singers sing Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey
- every fourth year = Great Panathenaea
- climax = procession to Parthenon; group of women carry peplos
12
Q
What is the City Dionysia?
A
= annual festival in Athens dedicated to Dionysus
- had ritual dramas that showed suffering of a mythic figure
13
Q
What are Homeric Hymns?
A
- hymns written in honour of the 12 olympians in the style of Homer
14
Q
What are the 2 main sources of Greek myth?
A
- Archaic narrative poetry (i.e. Homer’s Iliad, Hesiod’s Theogany)
- Classical dramas by Athenian playwrights
15
Q
What are the 3 main literary categories of Greek myth?
A
- Epic narratives
- Lyric poetry
- Tragic drama
16
Q
What are distinct qualities of Greek literary myth?
A
- Humanism: focus is on mortal hero’s own struggles, gods are behind the scenes (but can’t fight against what they decree)
- Individualism: recognizes no equals, don’t work with colleagues, stand alone
- Competitiveness: competitive ambition and jealousy drives both gods and mortals
–> winner of Olympic Games and mythic hero all possess similar qualities: perpetuated heroic ideal of a single competitor triumphing over all
17
Q
Define the epic hero?
Define the tragic hero?
A
epic hero = man of physical action, proves worth by courage and fighting
tragic hero = explores meaning of pain/defeat, greater depth of thought and feeling
18
Q
Major differences between Greek and Roman myth?
A
- tales drawn from Ancient Greece but altered to please Romans (ties ancient myths to specific events in Rome’s history)
- adapted stories to celebrate Roman values
19
Q
Who is Hesiod?
A
farmer and poet from Boetia (on Greek peninsula)
20
Q
What is the theogony?
A
= oral epic about the the divine dynastic succession (political poem) and birth of the gods
- cosmogony: birth of world order
- hymn to Zeus
- Near Eastern influence
21
Q
What is the Greek perspective of Earth?
A
- flat, round surface (dinner surface)
- inverted dome on top that contains heaven
- above heaven, realm of the gods
- below Earth = Hades
- below Hades = Tartarus
22
Q
what are features of oral greek epic?
A
- sung by single performer/bard, self-accompanied with lyre, third person
- based off known story but improvised lines as they went
- invocation of muses and other gods to give them inspiration and add authority to the story
- sung in meter (dactylic hexameter)
- repetition
- formulae (certain lines that are repeated)
- epithets
- ring-composition in the narrative
- catalogues, lists
(LIKE RAP)
23
Q
What is a dactylic hexameter?
A
metrical unit with specific patterns of syllables
- dactyls = one long and two shorts
- 6 dactyls or equivalents in each line
24
Q
List the 12 titans
A
= Ocean, Koios, Krios, Hyperion, Iapetos, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoibe, Tethys, Kronos
25
What is Gaia's plan to stop Ouranos?
- creates new mineral (flint) from her body and makes a sickle blade with it
- hides Kronos with the blade
- next time Ouranos comes to make love to her, Kronos jumps out and castrates him, flings his genitals around into the ocean
(castration separates Ouranos and Gaia and the children can now come out)
26
What is Rhein's plan to stop Kronos?
- gives him stone swaddled in blanket instead of Kronos
- Kronos eats it, she hides Zeus on Crete to be raised by nymphs
- Zeus grows up and overthrows, tricks Kronos into vomiting his siblings
- stone comes first, Hestia is last
- stone is placed at Pythos (Delphi)
27
list the first generation of olympians
- hestia
- demeter
- hera
- hades
- poseidon
- zeus
28
list the second generation of olympians
- athena
- persephone
- apollo
- artemis
- ares
- hephaestus
- hermes
- dionysus
29
What happened during titanomachy?
- battle with Titans threw world into chaos, almost reverted back to original state
- Titans defeated and thrown into Tartarus by Zeus
(this shows his dominance/power, but also reminds of that dark fear/threat that always exists in our minds that something bad could happen at any time)
30
What happened during typhanomachy?
- earth and sky are once again a mess, everything is chaotic
- Zeus saves the day with his thunderbolt
- Typhoios is trapped in volcano (volcanic eruptions are the fiery eruptions of this dragon)
31
Differences between Prometheus in Theogany vs. Works and Days
- Pandora doesn't have a name in Theogany (in the poem)
| - Pandora doesn't have a box in Theogany
32
What do the fates of the Iapetids illustrate? What are their fates?
- 4 brothers: all offend Zeus and get punished by him
- Atlas: at the limits of the earth holding up the sky
- Menoitios: banished to Tartarus for excessive violence
- Epimetheus
- Prometheus: steals fire, bound on a rock
- -> Zeus stops being angry with Prometheus only when it benefits him
33
What is Prometheus' first offence?
Division of sacrificial meat at Mekone at a feast with mortal men and gods
- Prometheus divides the meat and tries to trick Zeus and favour humans by disguising the portions (bones covered in good shit, meat covered in bad shit)
- Zeus states how uneven the portions are but Prometheus lets Zeus pick first (this is the trick!)
- Zeus sees through the trick but still chooses the worser portion, and then gets mad (won't give fire to mortals)
34
Describe Greek sacrificial practice. How does this relate to the myth about Prometheus' offence?
- sacrifices to Olympians in return for divine favours
- (finest, perfect domestic) animal slain at altar by priest
- animal cut into small pieces
- bones wrapped in fat (Like Prometheus' trick) and burned on altar --> smoke rose up to the gods
therefore symbolic offering
- meat cooked on spits and divided among the people there
Feast at Mekone = first sacrificial feast
35
How is hierarchy established by sacrificial practice at Mekone?
- Gods (eat nectar and ambrosia)
- -> receive sacrificial smoke
- Humans (eat cooked animal meat)
- -> at communal sacrificial feast
- Mortals (eat raw meat)
- -> the sacrificial victimes, eaten by humans
36
Fire: What does it represent? Why does Zeus withhold it? What effect does it have on humans?
- Zeus is pissed that Prometheus favours them and they get the good parts of Mekone feast
- they can't cook food --> same level as animals
- fire represents technology, allows them to be resourceful
37
According to Theogany, who created Pandora?
Hephaestus (her body and her tiara) and Athena (dressed her)
38
According to Works and Days, who created Pandora?
- Hephaestus (body and tiara)
- Athena (taught her embroidery and weaving, dresses her up)
- Aphrodite (give her desire and grace)
- Hermes (bitching, cheating heart)
- Graces and Lady Persuasion (gold necklaces)
- Seasons (flower crown)
39
What is the nature of Pandora?
- gods and men are stunned when they see her --> this is deception (another trick)
- irresistible to men
- from her comes the race of women
40
How is she bad for men? Why is she a necessary evil?
- women are consumers --> consume the fruits and labours of men
- the stuff she consumes and puts in her belly is also where the man's son and genetic line will come from (need her to continue his 'wealth' down the family name)
41
What's an example of the alienation of gods and men?
- feast at Mekone is one of the last events of commensality (sharing a table)
- after this, there is a separation of realms
- shows that there's no way to get around Zeus
42
What is the story of Deucalion and Pyrrha? What's an event in their story that is a repeated pattern seen in mythic history?
- Deucalion = son of Prometheus
- Pyrrha = daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora
- the 2 cousins marry each other and grow old
- due to their virtue, they are sole survivors of flood sent by Zeus (allowed to survive in boat until water subsides but only 2 left)
- repopulate earth on orders of oracle of Themis
(have to throw bones of mother across their shoulder --> Deucalion has father's wisdom and realize mother means Gaia, they throw stones over shoulder and from there rises another population of humans)
--> Another population not born from sexual reproduction but from mother Earth herself (autochthonous)
43
What is the theory on how tragedy originated?
- from ritual worship of Dionysus (he's central to performance of Athenian tragedy)
- choral song and dance in honour of him (hymn might have included an episode from his life)
- eventual enactment of the story (choral leader may have taken on more dramatic role)
- gradual movement from choral song (group performance) --> acted episodes (individuals taking on character roles)
44
When did City Dionysa start?
533 BCE
45
City Dionysa:
- how did it start
- when did it start
- when was it held
- who sponsored it
- who came
- started rural, brought into city by politicians who wanted to unite
- started around same time as democracy in Athens
- in spring, during sailing season began so that foreigners could come
- sponsored by city as public event (rich people were appointed to fund it)
- all public businesses shut down, everyone EXCEPT women and the big slave population
46
what message did City Dionysa send?
we all look after city, city looks after you
| there is a shift from aristocratic society to a new democratic government
47
What took place during the opening ceremonies of City Dionysa?
- processions + sacrifices to Dionysus
- display of tributes from cities under Athenian protection (clear sign of Athens and its democratic relationships it has with other cities)
- presentation of hoplite armour to sons of war-dead
(very valuable/honourable, says that we expect you to also do the same, also says that the city will look after you and your family since your father died in battle)
- recognition of benefactors to Athens
48
What is Epidauros?
- open air amphitheatre
- orchestra in the middle (where chorus performs)
- landscape forms backdrop to the stage
49
List the performances in order at City Dionysa and what they are.
- Dithryambs
- 3 days of tragic performances, tetralogy each day by a different playwright (Tetralogy: 3 tragedies + satyr play)
- 3-5 comedies by different playwrights (funny, political)
**prizes awarded therefore highly competitive
50
What was dithyrambs?
= elaborate chorus song that tells a story
- a contest: each of the 10 tribes presented at the festival
- sung by chorus of 50 ordinary men from each tribe
- chief governor of city names wealthy person from each tribe to fund the performance ($$$$)
- -> shows how important this was to Athenian people since $$$
- -> unifying
51
Who were the performers in City Dionysa?
- all men, from everyday life
- funded by wealthy citizens (choregos) - a form of liturgy
- don't know if women in audience
52
What is Tragedy and it's features
- based on well known traditional myths (interest was in how playwright told the story, often used myth to dramatize that Athenians were facing at that time)
- spoken episodes, solo song, choral interludes
- musical accompaniment by aulos
- actors wore exaggerated masks
- chorus (12-15) responds to action in song and dance
(chorus was more like audience, main characters were larger than life)
53
Who are the 3 great tragedians of Athens? What time period were they?
- Aeschylus: historical stuff (Persians)
- Sophocles: Oedipus Rex, Ajax
- Euripides: Cyclops, Medea
(500-400BC)
54
Who are the characters in prometheus bound?
- Prometheus
- Power and Force
- Hephaestus
- Hermes
- Chorus (oceanids)
- Oceanus
- Io
55
According to Prometheus Bound, what has Prometheus done for humanity?
- taught them numbers and language to store everything in memory
- navigation using ships and stars
- harnessing animals to do the work
- medicine
- divination and prophecy
- -> all artistic skills pretty much
56
How is PB different from Works and Days?
- Different genealogy for Prometheus
- Prometheus has is own card up his sleeve - knowledge (unlike in Hesiod)
- Zeus doesn't have wisdom, no reference to Metis
- Shift in power to Prometheus
- Pandora erased, Io and Thetis introduced
57
What do aristocratic values mean in terms of government and Olympus ruling
people have divine right to rule based on inheritance of power (i.e. Zeus)
58
who are the 3 goddesses immune to sexual desire?
1. Athena
2. Artemis
3. Hestia
59
What is the significance of Demeter and Persephone's relationship?
form a mother-daughter dyad, represents all the major life cycles of archaic Greek women
Classics 2200
flashcards
Decks in class (17)
# Cards
-
Names of Greek Gods and Heroes38
-
Term Test 159
-
Greek Words41
-
Term 2 - Lec 8 (Underworld)9
-
Term 2 - Lec 9 (Gilgamesh)16
-
Term 2 - Lec 9 (The Greek Hero)8
-
Term 2 - Lec 9 (Perseus)14
-
Term 2 - Lec 9 (Heracles)27
-
Term 2 - Lec 10 (Theseus)27
-
Term 2 - Lec 10 (Jason)23
-
Term 2 - Lec 10 (Phaethon and Daedalus)11
-
Term 2 - Lec 11 (Women in Greek Myth)31
-
Term 2 - Lec 11 (Causes of the Trojan War)22
-
Term 2 - The Illiad32
-
Term 2 - The Odyssey2
-
Final - Lec 19 (Antigone)20
-
Final - Medea2
