Review for Mythology Test

1
Review for Mythology Test

• These are the things you need to know!

2
Why do we study mythology?

• To understand allusions to mythology in
  literature and in everyday life

3
Who were the two great gods of earth, and what
did each one do for mankind?

• Demeter was the goddess of grain and the harvest.
• Dionysus was the god of the vine and showed the
  people how to cultivate and harvest grapes.

4
What myth did the Greeks use to explain the
seasons?

• Demeters daughter Persephone was kidnapped by
  Hades. During the time that Persephone stays in
  the underworld, Demeter mourns her daughter and
  no crops grow. When Persephone is with her
  mother, Demeter is happy and crops grow on the
  earth.

5
Who was Prometheus, how did Zeus punish him, and
who rescued him?

• Prometheus was one of the Titans who helped Zeus
  overthrow Cronus. Prometheus gave fire to man.
  Zeus punished Prometheus for refusing to reveal a
  secret by chaining him to a rock where a bird
  attacked him every day. Hercules rescued him.

6
How did Psyche lose her husband Cupid, and how
did she win him back?

• She lost Cupid when he left because of her lack
  of faith in him. To win him back, she performed
  tasks for his mother Venus. Then the gods made
  her immortal, so Venus accepted the marriage.

7
Perseus-the prophecy, the heroic deed, who helped
him and how

• The prophecy was that he would kill his
  grandfather, so he and his mother were set adrift
  in the ocean to die. Perseus killed the Medusa.
  He was helped by Athena and Hermes, who gave him
  a shield and sword. The Hyperboreans gave him a
  cap, a wallet, and sandals.

8
Theseus-heroic deed, what kind of ruler he was

• Theseus killed the Minotaur to which the
  Athenians had to sacrifice young men and women
  every nine years. He was a fair and good ruler
  who instituted many democratic practices in
  Athens. He let the people have a voice in their
  own government.

9
Hercules

• His first great act of strength was killing two
  snakes that Hera sent to kill him when he was a
  baby. Hera disliked him because Hercules was the
  child of Zeus and a mortal woman. Hercules
  completed twelve labors to atone for killing his
  wife and children in a fit of insanity caused by
  Hera. Know one labor for the test. Check your
  book and pick one you can spell.

10
Atalanta

• Atalanta was raised by bears when she was
  abandoned by her father, who didnt want a
  daughter. She was a skilled hunter, wrestler, and
  runner who was a favorite of Artemis. She vowed
  that she would not marry unless the suitor could
  beat her in a race. Hippomenes was able to do
  this with golden apples which Aphrodite gave him.

11
The Judgment of Paris

• Paris was the son of King Priam of Troy, who had
  sent him away because of a prophecy that Paris
  would bring about the downfall of Troy. Paris was
  asked to judge the fairest goddess, and he chose
  Aphrodite because she promised him the most
  beautiful woman in the world to be his wife. This
  woman was Helen, and when Paris stole her from
  her husband Menelaus, it started the Trojan War.

12
Helen

• Helen was the daughter of Zeus and a mortal
  woman. When the time came for her to marry, her
  mothers husband made all the suitors promise to
  support whomever he chose. He chose Menelaus, and
  when Paris stole Helen, Menelaus asked them to
  honor their promise and sail to Troy to get her
  back.

13
Was the Trojan War real?

• Archaeologists have uncovered the ruins of
  several cities on the spot where Homer said Troy
  was located. There was a war between the Greeks
  and Trojans at some point, but the story in your
  mythology book is just a story.

14
How long did the Trojan War last?

• 10 years

15
Name one of the great heroes of the Trojan War,
and tell what he did.

• Achilles, Odysseus, Hector, Agamemnon, Aeneas,
  Diomedes, etc. You choose one and look in
  chapters 13-14 to see what he did.

16
What part did the gods and goddesses play in
Trojan War?

• Various gods and goddesses took sides during the
  war, either because they favored or were related
  to one of the mortals, or because they wanted to
  oppose one of the other gods/goddesses.

17
Achilles

• The prophecy was that Achilles would die in the
  Trojan War. His mother had tried to make him
  immortal by dipping him in the river Styx when he
  was a baby. The only place where he was
  vulnerable was his heel , which is where Paris
  mortally wounds him with an arrow guided by
  Apollo. Although he had his moments of pettiness
  and sulking, he was a leader who was respected by
  his men and fought bravely. He killed Hector.

18
Cruelty in the Trojan War

• Iphigenia is sacrificed.
• Achilles mistreats Hectors body.
• The Trojan women and children are killed or taken
  as slaves.

19
The prophecy about Paris

• The prophecy was that Paris would bring about the
  downfall of Troy. His father Priam tried to
  circumvent this by sending Paris away from Troy.
  By taking Helen, he does bring about the ruin of
  Troy when the Greeks destroy the city.

20
The Trojan Horse

• Odysseus thought of the idea of sneaking Greek
  soldiers into Troy inside a giant wooden horse.
  The rest of the Greeks pretended to retreat,
  Sinon was left behind to tell a plausible story,
  and the Trojans pulled the horse into the gates
  despite warnings. The Greek soldiers made a
  surprise attack, and Troy was defeated.

21
Information about The Odyssey

• The Odyssey was written by Homer. It is the
  sequel to The Iliad.
• The Odyssey was told orally by rhapsodes.
• It is the model for the epic journey.
• There are six characteristics of an epic a
  physically impressive hero, a vast setting, a
  quest for something of value, glorification of
  the hero at the end, evidence of supernatural
  forces at work, and a rootedness in a culture.
• An epic is a long narrative poem which tells of
  the adventures of a hero.

22
The Beginning of the Odyssey

• Homer begins by invoking the Muses and asking
  them to help him tell the story.
• Books 1-4, which we did not read, tell about
  Telemachus leaving home to go in search of his
  father, Odysseus.

23
Calypso

• It takes Odysseus ten years to get home from the
  Trojan War.
• Seven of those years were spent on the island of
  the goddess Calypso, who held him captive.
• Calypso was very beautiful, and so was her
  island, but he wanted to go home.
• Athena, who is helping Odysseus, asks Zeus to
  send Hermes to tell Calypso to let Odysseus go.
• Calypso releases Odysseus.

24
I Am Laertes Son

• After Odysseus leaves Calypsos island, Poseidon
  sends a storm to destroy his ship.
• He washes ashore on the island of Scheria, where
  he tells his story to the court of King Alcinous.
• This is when the story shifts back in time, to
  when Odysseus and his men first left Troy.

25
The Land of the Cicones

• Odysseus and his men first stop to raid the
  Cicones.
• Odysseuss men disobey him, which has disastrous
  consequences.
• Then they are blown off course by a storm.

26
The Lotus Eaters

• Odysseus and his men land on the island of the
  Lotus Eaters.
• The scouts he sends ashore eat a plant which
  makes them forget about home and want to stay
  there and do nothing.

27
The Cyclops

• Odysseus and men land on the island of the
  Cyclops Polyphemus.
• The Cyclops traps them in his cave and begins
  eating Odysseuss men.
• Odysseus comes up with a clever plan to get the
  Cyclops drunk, blind him, and escape under the
  bellies of his sheep.
• Odysseus tells the Cyclops his name is Nohbody,
  so that when the other Cyclops come to see who is
  hurting him, he answers, Nohbody.
• When they are back on the ship, Odysseus taunts
  Polyphemus and tells him his real name.
• Polyphemus asks his father Poseidon to curse
  Odysseus, which causes much trouble for Odysseus
  on the journey home.
• This story shows Odysseuss bravery and
  cleverness, but also his vanity and rashness.

28
Circe

• Circe was an enchantress who turns some of
  Odysseuss men into pigs.
• He is able to rescue them with the help of a
  magical plant called a moly which Hermes gives to
  him.
• Circe tells Odysseus that he should go to the
  Land of the Dead to get a prophecy from Teiresias.

29
The Land of the Dead

• Teiresias tells Odysseus that he will survive the
  journey and return home, but that none of his men
  will survive.
• He tells Odysseus not to let his men kill the
  cattle of the sun god.
• He tells Odysseus that when he returns home to
  Ithaca he must do three things
• Kill all of the suitors who have taken over his
  home.
• Walk inland until he finds people who have never
  seen the sea and dont recognize an oar.
• Make a sacrifice to Poseidon.

30
The Sirens

• The Sirens are creatures whose beautiful voices
  lead men to their doom by causing them to
  shipwreck on the rocks.
• Odysseus wants to hear their songs.
• Circe tells him how listen and not die.
• He should put beeswax in his mens ears so they
  cant hear. He should have his men tie him to the
  mast so he can hear and not be affected.

31
Scylla and Charybdis

• These were two monsters that Odysseus and his men
  had to pass between.
• Scylla had six heads and would snatch up a man
  for each of those six heads.
• Charybdis was a giant whirlpool who would devour
  the ship and all aboard.
• Odysseus chooses Scylla.

32
The Cattle of the Sun God

• Odysseus and his men stop at the island where the
  Sun God keeps his cattle.
• There are no favorable winds for sailing, so they
  are trapped there for a long time and run out of
  food.
• One day while Odysseus is asleep, Eurylochus
  persuades the other men that it is better to eat
  the cattle and risk the wrath of the Sun God that
  to starve to death.
• When they leave the island, Zeus sends a
  lightning bolt that destroys the ship.
• Only Odysseus survives, and he is washed ashore
  on Calypsos island.
• Odysseus has finished telling his story to the
  court of King Alcinous. This ends the flashback
  portion of the story.
• Kng Alcinous will send him home in one of his
  ships, fulfilling part of Polyphemuss plea that
  Odysseus does return home, he will do so under
  strange sail.

33
The Homecoming

• Athena advises Odysseus to return to Ithaca
  disguised as a beggar. He has enemies in his own
  land.
• Odysseus goes first to the home of his trusted
  servant Eumaeus.
• There he sees his son Telemachus again for the
  first time in twenty years.
• His faithful dog Argos recognizes him after
  twenty years and then dies.

34
The Homecoming continued

• Penelope has been faithful to Odysseus, but she
  is tired of all the suitors.
• She challenges the suitors that she will marry
  the one who can string Odysseuss great bow and
  shoot an arrow through 12 rings.
• No one is able to achieve the task except the
  beggar.
• He kills the ringleader of the suitors, Antinous,
  and then reveals who he is.
• Odysseus, his son, and servants have a plan for
  the battle and slaughter of the suitors. Athena
  helps them.
• Penelope finally accepts that Odysseus is her
  husband and the two are reunited after 20 years.