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 hter
  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

• Atlanta 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.