Description
Final Study Guide: Greek Mythology Units 1-3 Study Guide
∙ 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
∙ 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
∙ 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: Laiusmarries 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- babyadultold) 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 CreonJocasta 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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