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  

 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

∙ 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 Don't forget about the age old question of What are the keys to a great marriage?

 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

2 We also discuss several other topics like What is a static method?

∙ 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

 Apollo

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

o announces mission; honored with girls singing  If you want to learn more check out What is a pastiche?

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  

chosen  

∙ Seduction of Anchises because of the god’s revenge If you want to learn more check out What is biological evolution?

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 Don't forget about the age old question of How many amendments does the u.s. constitution have?
If you want to learn more check out What is the code of event “pre-admit a patient”?

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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:

 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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