Final Study Guide: Greek Mythology  Units 1-3 Study Guide  

What is polytheism?

∙ Unit 1: Gods and Heroes  

o Myth vs Ritual  

 Myth: authoritative story about the world accepted within a given community as true  

 Ritual: regularly recurring action with symbolic value

 Religion = myth + ritual  

o Greek Gods  

 Polytheism: world is filled with divine forces, not  

benevolent, that compete and are limitless  

 Monotheism: God is omniscient, omnipotent, good,  

abstract  We also discuss several other topics like elite tectonic armour

 Greek Universe  

∙ Gaia and Uranus (this generation is unimportant)  

have 12 titans

ZEUS + SEMELE DIONYSUS

o Cronus castrates father, eats children (Wife  Rhea saves Zeus)

∙ Poseidon: sea, fishermen, earthquakes, horses, bulls ∙ Dionysus: born from thigh of Zeus; god of wine  

What is a homeric hymn?

∙ Apollo: Born on Delos with twin Artemis; god of  masculinity; prophecy at Delphi Don't forget about the age old question of physical chemistry notes

∙ Ares: god of (violent) war

∙ Hephaestus: lame; married to Aphrodite or Charis;  makes armor

∙ Hermes: messenger; invents lyre, fire, steals Apollo’s  cattle when born

∙ Hades: underworld; wealth; groom of Persephone  

o Greek Goddesses

 Women far from equal to men in Greece

 Goddesses had power but typically treated different from  gods  

∙ Hera: most important; seasonality/marriage; seeks  

vengeance for Zeus’ infidelities

∙ Demeter: “mother”; grain/harvest; known for  

daughter’s abduction

Who is achilles?

∙ Athena: born from Zeus’ head; virgin; strategy/tactics

in war

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∙ Artemis: Born on Delos with twin Apollo; huntress;  

goddess of sacrifice

∙ Aphrodite: desire/sexuality; womanly perfection in  

beauty

∙ Hestia: family/hearth; hearth at Delphi  

o Homeric Hymns We also discuss several other topics like mis sac state

 Apollo

∙ 1st half: on Delos (Leto’s persuasion of the island)

o announces mission; honored with girls singing  

hymns

o Kleos is introduced

∙ 2nd half: in Delphi

o kills Pytho with bow and arrow; a temple is built

 Demeter

∙ Theme of marriage being a kind of death for women

∙ Persephone is kidnapped in a field

∙ Demeter looks for her and withholds fertility on earth

as revenge

o Many secret festivals held to ensure fertility  

(Thesmophoria, Eleusinian Mysteries)

∙ Story of Demophon & Iambe told  

 Aphrodite  

∙ Judgement of Paris (wedding of Peleus & Thetis)

o Strife isn’t invited; revenge is an apple into the  

crowd “who is the most beautiful”

o Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite  Aphrodite is  If you want to learn more check out cytoside

chosen  

∙ Seduction of Anchises because of the god’s revenge

o Double standard of human-mortal affairs  

o Example of Ganymede and Tithonus  

o Has his son Aeneas (lone survivor of Trojan  

War)

o Concept of a Greek Hero

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 Olympian Deities: (what is above earth) 12 Olympian gods   Chthonic Deities: (beneath earth) Hades, Furies, Heroes  What is a hero?

∙ Unseasonal: out of sync w/human life  

∙ Extreme: good deeds  amazing; bad deeds 

monstrously evil

∙ Antagonistic relationship w/god: (Hera for many)

 Olbios: happy/blessed  comes only from dying a  

respectable death

 Kleos: fame & worship as a hero; way to outlast death

 HERO CULT:  

∙ Local; Every character potentially a hero

∙ Based on body (or parts of body) of the hero buried  

in local ground; Hero + tomb = fertility/prosperity to  

community  

∙ Worshipped w/animal sacrifice and libations  

∙ ***what goes wrong in the myth is what we hope  

goes right in life because of the rituals***

∙ Unit 2: The Iliad  

o Epic:  

 word, speech, poetry about gods and kleos of heroes  

 Told by word of mouth using building blocks of language o Main characters: If you want to learn more check out What is the meaning of microscopic anatomy?
Don't forget about the age old question of aesth root word

 Mortals  

∙ Achilles: Main character; focus on kleos vs nostos  

∙ Agamemnon: argument w/Achilles because of  

women; finest hour

∙ Odysseus: embassy to Achilles; introduction of tact  

and strategic ability (metis); night raid  

∙ Hector + Andromache: Trojan hero; courage/valor;  

kills Patroclus; killed by Achilles; foil to Achilles; 2  

duels  

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∙ Patroclus: Achilles best friend/advisor; wears Achilles  

armor to inspire Greeks/scare Trojans  

∙ Helen: cause of the War

∙ Paris: Abducts Helen; self-centered & weak; fights  

with a bow and arrow; fights Menelaus; shoots  

Diomedes; eventually kills Achilles  

∙ Priam: King/Father of Hector and Paris; conversation  

with Helen; comes to Achilles to retrieve Hectors  

body

∙ Menelaus: wife is Helen; Spartan king; brother of  

Agamemnon

∙ Briseis/Chryseis: war prizes of Achilles and  

Agamemnon; Chryseis is returned; Briseis causes  

Achilles rage  

∙ Nestor: oldest Greek; wise counselor; convinces  

soldiers to fight Hector; suggests night raid;  

convinces Patroclus to talk to Achilles  

∙ Diomedes: youngest Greek; injures Aphrodite and  

Ares

∙ Ajax: 2nd mightiest warrior; wounds Hector twice

 Gods/goddesses

∙ Pro-Trojan

o Aphrodite: Gives Paris Helen; saves Paris from  

Menelaus

o Apollo: wards off Patroclus from walls of Troy;  

inspires Hector to kill Patroclus  

o Ares: injured by Diomedes and Athena  

∙ Pro-Greek

o Athena: inspires Diomedes; intervenes multiple

times to rouse soldiers; tricks Hector so  

Achilles can kill him

o Hera: seduces Zeus to allow gods to help;  

debates with Zeus the death of Sarpedon

o Poseidon: inspires Ajaxes fight; grandson killed  

by Hector

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o Hephaestus: makes new armor for Achilles:  

boils river into submission to save Achilles  

o Thetis: mother of Achilles; councils him;  

convinces him to give up the body of Hector;  

asks Hephaestus for new armor for Achilles  

∙ Zeus: neutral; goal is to magnify Achilles Kleos;  

forbids intervention of other gods  

o Main events:  

 Achilles withdraws from battle  

 Helen talks with Priam

 Paris fights Menelaus

 Diomedes Hour: kills dozens, wounds Aphrodite and Ares  Hector says farewell to his family

 Zeus forbids godly intervention

 Embassy to Achilles: Odysseus, Phoenix, and Ajax speak  Night raid

 Agamemnon’s finest hour  injured  

 Nestor gets Patroclus to talk to Achilles  

 Hera Seduces Zeus w/Aphrodite’s girdle to allow Poseidon  to help Greeks  

 Apollo breaths new strength into Hector

 Greek wall breached  

 Patroclus puts on Achilles armor to scare Trojans  

 Achilles prays to Zeus: win the war/protect Patroclus

 Patroclus kills Sarpedon

 Patroclus makes the mistake of attacking the walls of Troy  3 times

 Apollo inspires Hector to kill Patroclus  

 Hector takes Achilles armor from Patroclus’ body

 Achilles roars with grief  strikes terror in Trojans  

 Hephaestus makes Achilles new armor

 Achilles makes up with Agamemnon  

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 Gods return to the battle

 Achilles slaughters many Trojans at the river  

(Scamander/Xanthos)

 Hephaestus boils river into submission to save Achilles   Hector and Achilles race around the walls 3 times  

 Achilles pierces Hector in weak spots of his armor  kills  him  

 Patroclus Funeral  

 Thetis orders Achilles to give up Hectors body  

 Priam speaks to Achilles  gets body back  

 Hector’s Funeral  

o Kleos vs Nostos  fame vs homecoming  

∙ Unit 3: They Odyssey  

o Epic Cycle  8 poems (Iliad and Odyssey are only 2 survivors o Odysseus’ kleos is his nostos

o Characters  

 Odysseus: main character

 Telemachus: son of Odysseus; Obstacle to suitors; matures  through the novel

 Penelope: wife of Odysseus; evades the suitor with  

tapestry  

 Athena: Assists Odysseus and Telemachus with divine  

powers  

 Poseidon: god of sea; Odysseus’ enemy; causes many  

obstacles in Odysseus’ return home

 Zeus:

 Antinous: Most arrogant suitor; first to die

 Amphinomus: Only decent suitor

 Eumaeus: faithful swineherd; helps Odysseus upon return  Eurycleia: loyal servant; notices scar on Odysseus’ leg

 Calypso: nymph who falls in love with Odysseus  

 Polyphemus: son of Poseidon; blinded by Odysseus  

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 Circe: witch goddess; transforms Odysseus’ men to pigs   Laertes: father of Odysseus; Kills Antinous father

 Tiresias: blind prophet in the underworld; helps Odysseus  get back home

 Nestor: King of Pylos; Telemachus visits him  

 Menelaus: King of Sparta; helps Telemachus find Odysseus   Helen: Wife of Menelaus; helps Telemachus  

 Agamemnon: Odysseus sees him in the underworld;  

murdered by wife  

 Nausicaa: daughter of Alcinous & Arete; discovers  

Odysseus on the beach  

 Alcinous: King of Phaeacians; offers hospitality to Odysseus  Arete: Queen of Phaeacians

o Important events

 Muse invoked: prayer by Odysseus  

 Opens with Odysseus stranded on Calypso’s island (7  

years)  

 Telemachy (books 1-4)

∙ 108 Suitors have invaded Penelope’s house

∙ Athena inspires Telemachus to search for his father

∙ Telemachus arrives at Pylos (Nestor)

∙ Nestor warns Telemachus of suitors; sends son w/him

to Sparta  

∙ Weddings in Sparta where Menelaus + Helen  

recognize Telemachus  Helen tells war stories  

 Athena asks Zeus to force Calypso to release Odysseus  

 Poseidon causes a storm but Lecuothea protects Odysseus  with a veil  

 Shore of Scheria Odysseus meets Nausicaa  meets king  and queen

 Odysseus tells his adventures

∙ Men plunder Cicones but many are killed upon ally’s  

return  

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∙ Blown off course to land of lotus eaters

∙ End up on island w/cyclops Polyphemus; kills/eats  

men; Odysseus blinds him to escape (NOBODY)

∙ Island of Aeolus god of winds  Men open bag of  

winds and are blown back to island  

∙ Laestrygonians (ogre/cannibals)  11 ships destroyed

∙ Circe’s Island men are turned to pigs  Odysseus  

frees them  

∙ Head to underworld to talk to Teiresias  

∙ Odysseus talks to Elepnor, Teiresias, Anticleia,  

Agamemnon, Achilles, and Ajax

∙ Escape Sirens by plugging ears with wax and tying  

Odysseus to mast of ship

∙ Escape Scyla and Charybdis by steering towards  

Scylla

∙ Men eat the cattle on Island of Helios and are thus  

shipwrecked

∙ Odysseus washes up on Calypso’s island  

 Odysseus returns home  Athena disguises Odysseus as a  beggar

 Eumaeus (swineherd) takes Odysseus in  

 Athena tells Telemachus to come home  Telemachus  

meets Odysseus  

 Odysseus and Irus fight  Athena gives O strength

 Penelope confronts the suitors & offers a challenge  

 Eurykleia recognizes the scar on Odysseus’ foot  

 Penelope’s dream of 20 geese + 1 eagle  

 Odysseus strings the bow and wins contest  

 Odysseus kills Antinous then the rest of the suitors  

 Penelope & Odysseus reunite but she tests him  

w/knowledge of their bed  

 Odysseus and Laertes reunite  

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 Odysseus, Laertes, and Telemachus fight the families of the suitors  Athena intervenes and makes them forget all their rage

o Themes

 Kleos vs nostos

 Testing before trusting

 Good vs Bad houseguest and host  

∙ Unit 4: Greek Tragedy

o Intro to Greek Tragedy

 Is a performance tradition and ritual that comes from lyric

 Begins w/chorus heart/soul of tragedy, breaks tension,  develops character, went from 12-15 members, all male

 Progressed from only chorus to 1 actor (Thespis) to 2  

actors (Aeschylus) to 3 actors (Sophocles)

 Tragedy originates in Athens before 500 BC at the annual  festival in Dionysia where there were processions, parades, and competitions in tragedy and comedy

 What goes wrong in other cities goes right in Athens  

o Sophocles’ Trilogy: The Three Theban Plays  

 Oedipus the King

∙ Oedipus family tree

o Cadmus Phoenician prince marries goddess  

Harmonia

o Daughters: Semele, Agave, Ino, and Autonoe

o Great-grandson: Laiusmarries Jacosta: have  

son Oedipus

∙ Backstory/themes:

o Laius rapes Pelops’ son Chrysippus & causes a  

curse: If he & Jacosta have a child it will kill  

Laius & marry Jocasta

o Oedipus is abandoned and raised in Corinth,  

ends up killing a man in road rage and  

marrying a recently widowed queen for solving  

the Sphinx riddle  

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o Feet/legs and riddles: What goes on 4 legs at  

dawn, 2 legs at noon, and 3 legs at dusk? (man

himself- babyadultold) Oedipus is the  

exception, he is crippled  

o Fate & Free will NOT a theme

o 2 features of tragedy

 recognition: from ignorance to knowledge

 reversal of fortune: from good to bad  

fortune  

o Kingship

 Basileus: legitimate and constitutional  

ruler

 Tyrannos: illegitimate and  

unconstitutional king who seizes power

 Ironic that Oedipus is both

∙ Important Events  

o People of Thebes beg Oedipus to help with the  

plague  

o Oedipus sends Creon to Delphi to ask for help:  

punish murderer of king (banishment)

o Lone survivor says Laius was attacked by a  

group

o Prophet Tiresias called upon to tell truth:  

Oedipus doesn’t believe him

o Oedipus blames CreonJocasta explains the  

oracle says her son was killed

o Oedipus tells his story  

o Chorus sings about Hubris  

o Messenger says adoptive father is dead

o Witness to murder shows up: shepherd  

abandoned him

o Jocasta hangs herself, Oedipus stabs his eyes  

out  

o Says goodbye to daughters Antigone and  

Ismene  exiles himself  

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 Oedipus at Colonus  

∙ Themes

o Old age: unseasonal heroes  extreme  

o How to die and become immortal: special  

deaths  

∙ Important events  

o Oedipus and Antigone arrive in Colonus, sit in  

garden of a fury

o Chorus warns them they are wanted in Thebes  

o Delphi prophesized that whoever holds tomb of

Oedipus will conquer Thebes  Creon wants  

him back  

o Theseus agrees to protect Oedipus  

o Oedipus curses Creon  

o Chorus reflects on human life and suffering  

o Oedipus curses his son Polyneices  

o Polyneices asks Antigone for a proper burial  

o Oedipus is swallowed by the earth in the  

garden

 Antigone  

∙ Important Events  

o Antigone’s brothers have killed each other

o Creon is now king allows Eteocles to be  

buried, Polyneices must not be buried

o Antigone has promised to bury Polyneices,  

Ismene tells her not to

o Antigone says she cannot marry Haemon  

(Creon’s son)

o Guard informs Creon of Polyneices’ burial by  

Antigone  

o Antigone is sent to her room “prison”  

o Ismene begs for forgiveness but Antigone  

rejects her

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o Creon arrests Antigone Haemon begs his father

not to

o Tiresias warns Creon of death of Haemon as  

revenge

o Creon reverses her sentence but she hangs  

herself  

o Haemon tries to kill Creon, then kills himself  

o Creon’s wife Eurydice stabs herself to death  

o Introduction to Euripides and Medea

 Euripides  

∙ Born 480s  

∙ Competes at City Dionysia festival

∙ 18 plays that survived

∙ Reduced the role of chorus, used 3rd actor

∙ Emphasis on female characters  

∙ Rhetorical debate  

 Backstory

∙ Jason’s father Aeson is king  brother Pelias takes  

throne

∙ Aeson protects Jason by faking his death

∙ Returns later on, can only have throne if he gets  

golden fleece

∙ Jason meets Medea, she helps him succeed

∙ Kills her brother to distract her father

∙ Pelias won’t give up the throne  Medea has his  

daughters kill him and make him into a stew

∙ Medea and Jason flee to Corinth  

 Medea

∙ The nurse summarizes the plot: says life of  

moderation is best

∙ Creon plans to marry his daughter Glauke to Jason  

and banish Medea  

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∙ Medea challenges idea that women have life easy

∙ Creon explains her banishment: she begs for 1 day  

delay  

∙ Jason defends his actions: protect children, soften  

Creon’s anger

∙ Medea exchanges her help to King Aegeus in  

conceiving children for asylum in Athens  

∙ Medea has her kids give Glauke a wedding dress  

soaked in poison

∙ Whoever touches the dress dies: Creon catches her  

when she falls  

∙ Medea buries her children, Jason dies from a piece of  

the Argo

 Hippolytus  

∙ Important people and themes  

o Artemis: goddess of hunting, moments of  

initiation in lives of young women  

o Aphrodite: goddess of love sexual desire, what  

happens when you ignore power of desire  

o Hunting is to war (for boys) as menstruation is  

to childbirth (for girls)

o Restraint: “nothing in excess” virtue is a mean  

between extremes  

o Theseus has a son with Hippolyta (queen of  

amazons): Hippolytus  

∙ Important events  

o Aphrodite plans to punish Hippolytus for not  

recognizing her

o Hippolytus prays to Artemis to maintain  

virginity

o Phaedra (Hippolytus’ step-mother) is unwell

o Nurse says her problem is holding in her desire  

for her stepson

o Chorus sings about desire  

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o Nurse tells Hippolytus about his step-mothers  

desire  he’s horrified  

o Chorus predicts that Phaedra will hang herself  

o Phaedra dies clutching a tablet that blames  

Hippolytus

o Theseus banishes his son

o Hippolytus drives away but bulls come out of  

the ocean & scare his horses causing him to  

crash and injure himself

o Artemis brings him back to reconcile w/father  

before he dies

∙ Unit 5: The Aeneid  

o The Romans and Greek Mythology

 Borrow a lot from Greek mythology (some gods directly)  Some Greek gods equated with Roman gods  

∙ Zeus: Jupiter

∙ Hera: Juno

∙ Poseidon: Neptune  

∙ Demeter: Cres

∙ Athena: Minerva

∙ Dionysus: Bacchus

∙ Apollo: Apollo

∙ Artemis: Diana

∙ Ares: Mars

∙ Aphrodite: Venus  

∙ Hephaestus: Vulcan  

∙ Hermes: Mercury

o Virgil the Man  

 Born near Mantua, Italy

 Grew up in civil war  family lost land

 Gained patronage of Maecenas (political figure, ally of  emperor Augustus) as a poet

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o Virgil the Poet

 Inspired by poetry of Greece in Hellenistic era

∙ Emphasized short writing

∙ Elegant/carefully crafted poems

∙ Unusual themes  

 Spent last 10 years of his life writing the Aeneid

o Aeneid and Augustus

 Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus  

∙ Heir to Julius Caesar and Rival to Mark Antony

∙ Defeats Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of  

Actium, establishes himself as emperor (monarchy)

∙ Does the Aeneid celebrate Augustus’ rule, or is it  

more ambivalent?

o Backstory on Aeneas

 Fought against Achilles in the Iliad  

 Connected to Greek history and survives the war so the  Romans increase their prestige by associating themselves  with Greek tradition

 Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite (seduces Anchises)

o What kind of hero is Aeneas?

 Hero of pietas  quality of being pious  

o Main Characters  

 Aeneas: destiny is to found Roman race in Italy; Son  

Ascanius

 Dido: Queen of Carthage; Aeneas’ lover; kills herself w/his  sword

 Turnus: Lavinia’s suitor; Aeneas’ rival; brash and fearless;  killed by Aeneas

 Ascanius: Aeneas’ son; symbol of Aeneas’ destiny; defends  Trojan camp

 Anchises: Aeneas’ father; dies during journey to Italy;  

guides Aeneas through underworld  

 Creusa: Aeneas’ wife; lost and killed during escape of Troy 16

 Latinus: King of Latins; offers Aeneas his daughters hand  causing war

 Lavinia: Latinus’ daughter; cause of war; eventually  

Aeneas’ wife  

 Amata: Wife of Latinus; opposes marriage of daughter to  Aeneas; kills herself when Aeneas wins  

 Evander: King of Pallenteum; father of Pallas; enemy of  Latins; ally of Aeneas

 Pallas: son of Evander, entrusted to Aeneas’ care; killed by  Turnus

 Juno: Wife/sister of Jupiter; Aeneas’ antagonist  

 Venus: Aeneas’ mother; protects him against Juno  

 Allecto: Fury sent by Juno to incite war against Trojans  

o Important Events  

 Aeneas is lost at sea

 Makes it to shore where Dido finds him

 Venus makes Dido fall in love with Aeneas

 Aeneas tells his story  

∙ Greeks trick Trojans with horse  

∙ Hector appears in a dream and warns Aeneas

∙ Aeneas escapes with his family  loses wife  

∙ Prophecy tells him to go to land of ancestors (Italy)  

∙ Harpies curse Trojans  

∙ Island of Cyclops  pick up Achaemenides  

∙ Anchises dies  

 Dido and Aeneas get stuck in a cave and make love  

(“marriage”?)

 Mercury tells Aeneas to Move on  

 Dido kills herself  

 Funeral games and women burning ships (Juno’s  

intervention)

 Journey to the underworld  

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 Gates of Horn and Ivory  

 Arrive to meet King Latinus and daughter Lavinia  

 Juno summons the Fury Allecto

 Prophecy fulfilled: men eat their tables  

 Ascanius shoots the wrong deer: pretext for war  

 Aeneas gets Greek allies: King Evander and son Pallas

 Vulcan makes Aeneas a shield  

 Trojan night raid  

 Turnus steals Pallas’ sword belt  

 Turnus and Aeneas fight one on one  

 Latinus & Aeneas + Jupiter & Juno’s Bargain

 Aeneas sees sword belt on Turnus and kills him

∙ Unit 6: Metamorphoses

o Main Characters/how they’re involved  

 Jupiter (Jove)- King of gods; decisions drive plot;  

violent/sexual

∙ Sleeps with Io, Callisto, Europa, Semele, Echo,  

Daneae

∙ Argues with Juno about who enjoys sex more  

∙ Turns myrmidons to warriors to repopulate Aegina

 Juno- queen of gods; wrathful, punishes husband’s lovers

∙ Turns Callisto to a bear, gets Semele to have sex with

Jupiter as himself to kill her, makes Echo speak on  

repeat, Drives Ino’s husband crazy

∙ Blinds Tiresias, tries to kill Hercules  

 Apollo- god of the sun; Jupiter’s son  

∙ Apollo falls in love with Daphne

∙ Kills Coronis’ turns raven black  rescues Coronis’ son

∙ Kills Leto’s children with Diana’s help

∙ Rapes Dryope  

∙ Gives Orpheus a lyre  

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∙ Falls in love with Cyparissus, turns him to a tree

∙ Accidentally kills Hyacinthus with his discus  

∙ Musical Competition with Pan, gives Midas donkey  

ears

∙ Helps Laemedon build Trojan walls  

∙ Helps Paris kill Achilles  

∙ Gives Sibyl eternal life  not eternal youth  

 Venus- Goddess of love; daughter of Jupiter  

∙ Gives life to Pygmalion’s statue

∙ Falls in love with Adonis who is killed by a boar

∙ Helps Hippomenes marry Atalanta; turns him to a  

lion for not thanking her  

 Cupid- god of love; son of Venus and Mars; causes  

mischief

∙ Gods fall victim to his arrows, including Apollo, who  

falls in love with Daphne; Dis, who falls in love with  

Proserpina; and Venus, Cupid’s mother, who falls in  

love with Adonis.

 Bacchus- god of wine; son of Jupiter and Semele  

∙ Brought to term on Jupiter’s thigh

∙ Punish Maenads for Orpheus’ death by turning them  

into trees

∙ Gives Midas ability to turn everything to gold  

 Minerva- virgin warrior; patron of Athens; daughter of  Jupiter  

∙ She competes with Arachne in a weaving contest

∙ Turns Aglauros to stone  

∙ Tells Cadmus to plant serpent teeth in soil  become  

5 heads of houses of Thebes

 Ceres- Goddess of agriculture; sister of Jupiter; mother of  Proserpina  

∙ Teaches agriculture to Triptolemus  

∙ Eats shoulder of Pelops on accident  

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∙ Punishes Erysichthon with eternal hunger  

 Aesculapius- God of healing; rids Rome of plague  

 Vulcan- metal smith of gods; son of Juno; Traps Venus &  Mars adultery  

 Io- daughter of Inachus

∙ Jupiter rapes Io and turns her into a bull, she  

becomes Isis.

 Achelous- river god and shape-shifter

∙ Achelous fights Hercules for the hand of Deianira.  

Hercules wins  

∙ Invites Theseus into his home to hear stories  

 Circe- A magician; daughter of the Sun and the nymph  Perse

∙ Falls in love with Glaucus but he spurns her so she  

turns his love, Scylla, to a sea monster  

∙ Ovid has Aeneas pick up an extra character from her  

island  

∙ Turns Picus into a woodpecker for not loving her back

 Orpheus- famous bard; son of Apollo & Calliope; husband  of Eurydice; tells tale of Pygmalion;  

∙ loses wife twice but rejoins her in the underworld

∙ Everyone but cypress tree love to hear him sing  

∙ Torn apart by Maenads  

 Pygmalion - artist who sculpts a woman b/c he’s  

disgusted by most other women; Venus gives his sculpture  life; has son Paphos  

 Theseus - Hero of Athens; son of Aegeus; husband of  

Phaedra; father of Hippolytus;  

∙ destroys the Minotaur; Attempted murder by Medea;  

hears stories from Achelous  

 Cadmus - son of Agenor; brother to Europa; husband of  Harmonia; founder of Thebes

∙ He slays a serpent to establish Thebes; when he dies,

he is turned into a serpent

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 Minos - The King of Crete; son of Europa and husband of  Pasiphae

∙ Scylla falls in love with him but he turns her down

 Actaeon - grandson of Cadmus; son of Autonoe

∙ Diana turns him into a deer as a punishment for  

seeing her naked

∙ Torn to pieces by his own hunting dogs  

 Arachne - Minerva’s rival in the art of weaving; daughter  of Idmon

∙ Weaves tapestry w/images of mortal women seduced

by gods

∙ Hangs herself then Minerva transforms her into a  

spider

 Pentheus - King of Thebes; son of Echion and Agave;  

grandson of Cadmus  

∙ He is a vocal opponent of the worship of Bacchus

∙ Doesn’t praise Tiresias’ ability

 Perseus - son of Jupiter and Danae; husband of  

Andromeda

∙ Perseus slays Medusa and the sea monster

 Pyramus - Thisbe’s lover; Pyramus commits suicide  

because he believes Thisbe is dead

 Jason - son of Aeson; husband of Medea; procures the  Golden Fleece

 Callisto - follower of Diana; daughter of Lycaon; mother of  Arcas

∙ Jupiter rapes Callisto  Juno transforms her into a  

bear

∙ Jupiter makes her into a constellation

 Medea - powerful magician; daughter of Aeetes; wife of  Jason

∙ Restores Jason’s father to youth; gets Pelias’  

daughters to kill their father

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 Caunus - son of Miletus & Cyanne; twin brother of Byblis  who falls in love with him

 Narcissus - The son of Cephisus, a river god, and Liriope,  a nymph

∙ Falls in love with his own reflection  becomes  

Narcissus flower

 Andromeda - daughter of Cepheus & Cassiope

∙ Rescued by Perseus from a sea monster

∙ Marries Perseus  

 Procne - daughter of Pandion; sister of Philomela; wife of  tyrant Tereus; mother of Itys

∙ Kills her son and serves him to Tereus as revenge for  

raping her sister and cutting out her tongue

 Phaethon - son of Clymene and the Sun

∙ Phaethon takes his father’s chariot and almost  

destroys the world

 Daedalus - great inventor; father of Icarus

∙ He creates wings to flee from Crete

∙ Makes Pasiphae an artificial cow so she can sleep  

with a bull

 Hercules - greatest Greek hero; son of Jupiter and  

Alcmena; husband of Deianira and Hebe

∙ Wrestles Acheolous to win Deianira’s hand

∙ Wounds centaur Nessus

∙ Killed indirectly by Nessus; Deianira sends him a  

poison shirt

∙ His immortal parts become a god (1st person to be  

deified in the Metamorphoses)

∙ Captures Troy after not receiving horses

∙ Kills 10 of Nestor’s 11 Brothers  

 Pyrrha - daughter of Epimetheus; wife of Deucalion

∙ One of the two survivors of Jupiter’s flood

∙ Must repopulate the earth with Deucalion

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 Peleus - son of Aeacus; brother of Telamon; husband of  Thetis; father of Achilles

∙ Helps Hercules capture Troy

∙ Murders half-brother Phocus  cattle killed as  

punishment

 Semele - daughter of Cadmus; lover of Jupiter; mother of  Bacchus

∙ Killed during sex with Jupiter

 Deucalion - son of Prometheus; husband of Pyrrha

∙ One of the two survivors of the flood

 Thisbe - Pyramus’s lover

∙ Kills herself when she finds Pyramus dead  

 Coronis - nymph; lover of Apollo

∙ Apollo kills her in a fit of passion; She bears  

Aesculapius

 Picus - King of Latium; son of Saturn; husband of Canens

∙ Circe transforms him into a woodpecker after he  

spurns her love

 Pierides - Nine daughters of Pierus. The Pierides  

challenge the Muses to a poetry contest. The Pierides lose,  and the Muses turn them into magpies for their arrogance.

 Hippomenes - The son of Megareus

∙ Marries Atalanta with Venus’ help

∙ Venus turns Hippomenes into a lion for his  

ingratitude.

 Icarus - The son of Daedalus

∙ Flies too close to the sun and plunges to his death

 Europa - daughter of Agenor; mother of Minos and  

Rhadamanthus.  

∙ Jupiter rapes Europa/carries her to Crete as a bull

 Alcyone - daughter of Aeolus; wife of Ceyx

∙ Husband leaves to find brother but drowns

∙ She tries to drown herself when she finds him  

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∙ Changed into a bird with her husband.

 Ceyx - King of Trachin; husband of Alcyone

∙ He dies in a storm and is changed into a bird with his  

wife

 Atalanta - huntress in the Calydonian boar hunt; wife of  Hippomenes; known for her speed

 Autonoe - daughter of Cadmus; mother of Actaeon; aunt  of Pentheus  

∙ Autonoe rips off Pentheus’s arms in a bacchic frenzy

 Byblis - daughter of Miletus and Cyanee; twin sister of  Caunis

∙ Byblis falls in love with her twin brother, Caunis

 Deianira - The wife of Hercules

∙ Accidentally kills Hercules by giving him a poisoned  

robe

 Medusa - daughter of Phorcys and Keto

∙ Neptune rapes her, and Athena turns her into a  

monster  

∙ Medusa’s gaze turns people to stone.

∙ Killed by Perseus  

 Midas - Phrygian king

∙ Given golden touch by Bacchus

∙ Apollo punishes him by giving him donkey ears

 Myrrha - daughter of Cinyras

∙ Falls in love with her father her nurse helps her  

seduce him

∙ She is transformed into a Myrrh tree; has son Adonis

 Hippolytus - son of Theseus and an Amazon woman

∙ Falsely accused of sleeping with his father’s wife

∙ Artemis has Asciepius heal him and send him to Italy

∙ Becomes minor god and priest of Diana as Birbius

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