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Greek Myth Announced Quiz 2

Terms

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Argive plain
Fertile area in the Peloponnesus; site of Mycenae, Argos, Tiryns.
Perseus
Son of Danaë and Zeus; important local hero of the Argolid.
Tiryns
City in the Argolid; built of enormous stones, which, according to myth, were set in place by the Cyclopes.
Io
Ancestress of many civilizations; tormented by Hera after having attracted the attention of Zeus.
Danaüs
Progeny of Io; brought his fifty daughters to Argos to try to prevent their being married to the fifty sons of his brother Aegyptus.
Danaïds
The fifty daughters of Danaüs; brought to Argos by their father to try to prevent their being married to the fifty sons of his brother Aegyptus.
Acrisius
Progeny of Io; tried to forestall the prophecy that he would be killed by his grandson, Perseus.
Danaë
Daughter of Acrisius and mother of Perseus by Zeus via the "golden shower."
Polydectes
King of the island of Seriphos, where the box containing Danaë and Perseus was brought ashore by Zeus; tried ignominiously to seduce Danaë.
Gorgons
Ancient apotropaic hags; Medusa acquires their characterestics and is the most famous of the Gorgons.
Medusa
Most famous of the Gorgons, whose stare turned men into stone; killed by Perseus.
Graeae
"Gray-women"; old witches whom Perseus needed to consult on his quest to kill Medusa. Shared one eye and one tooth between the three.
Andromeda
Daughter of Cassiopeä and Cepheus of Joppa; rescued from Ceto by Perseus and given to him as his bride.
Cassiopeä
Vain Queen mother of Andromeda whose boast that her daughter was more lovely than the Nereids brought the wrath of Poseidon up their city of Joppa.
Heracles
Great strongman hero of the Greeks; son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena.
Alcmena
Daughter of Electryon and mother of Heracles.
Eurystheus
Son of Sthenelus; cousin of Heracles, for whom the hero had to perform the twelve labors.
Amphitryon
Son of Alcaeus; husband of Alcmena, the mother of Heracles.
Megara
Daughter of Creon of Thebes, and first wife of Heracles; killed by him in a fit of madness brought on by Hera.
Ceryneian deer
One of the twelve labors; which led to a quarrel with Artemis and Apollo.
Pholus
A parergon of Heracles; a centaur accidentally killed by one of Heracles's poisoned arrows.
Admetus
Needed to find someone to die in his place; his wife Alcestis volunteered.
Alcestis
Devoted wife of Admetus; willingly dies in his place.
Hippolyta
One of the twelve labors; her breastplate was demanded by Eurystheus's daughter.
Geryon
One of the twelve labors; his red cattle was demanded by Eurystheus; during the course of which, Heracles set up the Pilars of Heracles.
Cacus
A parergon of Heracles; monster who tried to steal some of the cattle Heracles had taken from Greyon.
Apples of the Hesperides
One of the twelve labors; apples of the nymphs of the west demanded by Eurystheus; during the course of which, Heracles battled Antaeus, overcame Busiris, and outwitted Atlas.
Antaeus
A parergon of Heracles; giant wrestler who drew his strength from contact with the earth; overcome by Heracles, who crushed him while holding him in the air.
Busiris
A parergon of Heracles; king in Egypt who tried to sacrifice Heracles, but who was himself killed.
Iolê
Daughter of Eurytus and sought by Heracles; brings about his death when Deianira sees her in a train of captive women.
Omphalê
Queen of Lydia whom Heracles served as "punishment" for having killed Iphitus in violation of Xenia.
Cercopes
Highwaymen defeated by Heracles.
Acheloüs
River god and competitor for Deianira; defeated by Heracles.
Deianira
Sister of Meleager and second wife of Heracles; mistakenly brought about his death when deceived by the dying Nessus.
Heraclids
Sons of Heracles; thought to be the ancestors of the Dorians by the ancient Greeks.
Theseus
Son of Aethra and Aegeus/Poseidon; national hero of the Athenians.
Cecrops
First king in Athens; brought civilization to the Athenian people; depicted as half-man, half-snake.
Erichthonius
Half-man, half-snake product of the spilled semen of Hephaestus; and early king of Athens;
Cephalus
Son of Hersê, a daughter of Cecrops, and Hermes; his marriage with Procris was fraught with suspicion and ended in disaster.
Procris
Daughter of Erechtheus, and early king of Athens, and wife of Cephalus; her marriage with Cephalus was fraught with suspicion and ended in disaster.
Laelaps
The magical dog who always caught what it was chasing; given as a gift to Procris by Minos, king of Crete; ended in a paradoxical pursuit with the magical fox that could never be caught.
Procnê
Daughter of Pandion, and early king of Athens, and wife of Tereus; killed her own son Itys to avenge Tereus' rape and mutilation of her sister Philomela.
Philomela
Daughter of Pandion, an early king of Athens, and sister of Procnê; she was raped and mutilated by Tereus, Procnê's husband.
Tereus
King of Thessaly; given Procnê as his wife by Pandion; his rape and mutilation of her sister Philomela led to the death of his son Itys by Procnê.
Itys
Son of Tereus and Procnê; killed by his mother in revenge for Tereus' rape and mutilation of Philomela, Procnê's sister.
Erechtheus
An early king of Athens; best known for his children: Procris, Orithyia, and Cecrops II, the latter of whom is the grandfather of Aegeus, father of Theseus.
Aegeus
Son of Pandion II and father of Theseus; sonless, he traveled to Delphi; stopping in Troezen on the way back, he impregnated Aethra, daughter of the king, their son was Theseus.
Aethra
Mother of Theseus and daughter of Pittheus, the King of Troezen, who, understanding the meaning of Delphi's obscure oracle to Aegeus, connived to have her impregnated by him.
Procrustes
Villain overcome by Theseus on his way from Troezen to Athens; murdered his victims by putting them on a bed that never fit.
Amazonomachy
Battle of the Athenians and the invading Amazons; battle provoked by Theseus' abduction of their Queen Antiopê; later comes to symbolize Athens's victory over the Persians.
Hippolytus
Son of Theseus by Antiopê, Queen of the Amazons; falsely accused by Phaedra, Theseus' new wife, of having attempted to rape her, he is killed by Poseidon, who answers Theseus' prayer.
Phaedra
Wife of Theseus and stepmother to Hippolytus; inflicted with a shameful lust for Hippolytus and rebuffed by him, she kills herself, leaving behind a letter falsely accusing Hippolytus of having tried to rape her.
Bellerophon
Parallel to the Hippolytus false-accusation motif; having rebuffed the wife of the king at Corinth, the king tries to kill him.
Pirithoüs
King in Thessaly, opponent of Theseus who, like Enkidu and Gilgamesh, becomes his companion in a number of adventures.
Lapiths
Thessalian people, whose king Pirithoüs, is a companion of Theseus; involved in a famous battle against the Centaurs that erupts at a wedding: the "Battle of the Centaurs and the Lapiths" (aka the Centauromachy).
Centaurs
Race of half-man half-horse creatures; offspring of Ixion; mostly dangerous and wild, some are good.
Pisistratus
Democratic tyrant of late 6th century Athens; responsible for promoting the myths of Theseus and identifying them with democratic ideology.
Europa
Daughter of Agenor, taken away by Zeus who disguised himself as a bull; becomes queen of Crete.
Minos
Son of Europa and Zeus; king of Crete during its mythic zenith; leads his forces successfully against Athens.
Pasiphaë
Wife of Minos, afflicted with a lust for the bull sent by Poseidon.
Minotaur
Half-man, half-bull monster born from the union between Pasiphaë and Poseidon's bull; locked in the Labyrinth and eventually killed by Theseus.
Labyrinth
Inescapable underground maze on Crete built by Daedalus to house the Minotaur.
Nisus
King of Megara betrayed by his daughter to Minos, who was attacking his city.
Scylla
Daughter of Nisus, king of Megara, who betrayed him to Minos who was attacking the city; when betrayed by Minos in turn, she became the clipper bird (Ciris).
Icarus
Rash son of Daedalus who died when the wax that held his wings together melted.
Cocalus
King of Camicus in Sicily, where Minos had pursued Daedalus.
Boeotia
"Cowland"; area in Greece to the northwest of Attic; its principal city of Thebes is richly productive in myth.
Sparti
"Sown-men"; so-called because they sprang from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus; reputed ancestors of important aristocratic clans in Thebes.
Antiopê
Mother by Zeus of Amphion and Sethus; pursued by Nycteus her father, Lycus, her uncle.
Dircê
Wife of Lycus; tormented Antiopê, mother of Amphion and Zethus, until she herself was put to death by the twins.
Laius
Son of Labdacus and father of Oedipus; tried to avert the prophecy that he would be killed by his son, but in so trying, fulfilled it.
Jocasta
Wife of laius and mother/wife of Oedipus; kills herself when she learns truth of what has happened; called Epicastê by Homer.
Oedipus
"Swollen-foot"; son of Laius and Jocasta; raised in Corinth, he returns to Thebes where he unknowingly fulfills the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother.
Adrastus
King of Argos, and sole survivor of an Argive expedition against Thebes to put Polynices on the throne.
Tydeus
Exile from Calydon and one of the seven leaders against Thebes; was nearly made immortal by Athena, but Amphiaraüs thwarted it.
Polynices
Brother of Eteocles and son of Oedipus; died during the Argive expedition egainst Thebes to force his brother out.
Amphiaraüs
Prophet and one of the Argive leaders against Thebes; took part even though he knew he would die.
Haemon
Son of Creon; supported Antigonê's case against his father; killed himself when he realized she was dead.
Epigoni
The sons of the seven Argive "Seven Against Thebes"; successfully attacked Thebes and ousted the king Laodamas.
Antigonê
A daughter of Oedipus; defied Creon's order that the body of her brother Polynices remain unburied.
Amphion
One of AntiopÍ's twin sons; ruled in Thebes with his brother, Zethus; unlike Zethus, he was devoted to music
Eriphyle
Wife of Amphiaraüs, who orders him to participate in the Seven Against Thebes campaign.
Eteocles
One of Oedipus' sons; defended Thebes against a coalition of kings led by his brother, Polynices.
Ismene
Daughter of Oedipus; is reluctant to help her sister, AntigonÍ, to defy Creon's order and bury their brother, Polynices
Zethus
One of AntiopÍ's twin sons; ruled in Thebes with his brother, Amphion; unlike Amphion, he was a man of ranching and practical affairs.
Thessaly
Area of northern Greece; source of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts
Iolcus
Port city in Thessaly; home of Jason.
Apollonius of Rhodes
Third century B.C. author of the Argonautica; his poetry reflects the Hellenistic aesthetic of minute descriptions and complicated characters.
Jason
Son of Aeson, hero of the Argonautica.
Athamas
King of Athamas; nearly tricked by his wife NephelÍ into sacrificing his son Phrixus.
Phrixus
Son of Athamas nearly sacrificed by his father; taken to Colchis on the Black Sea by a golden ram that appeared at the last moment.
Helle
Daughter of Athamas; taken away on the back of a golden ram; she fell off into a sea which thereafter is called the "Hellespont."
Hellespont
"Sea of Helle"; so called because Helle, the daughter of Athamas, fell into this body of water after having been taken away by a golden ram.
Colchis
Distant town on the Black Sea; kingdom of Aeîtes, who had the golden fleece Jason seeks in the Argonautica.
Tyro
Mother of Pelias and Neleus by Poseidon and Aeson, the father of Jason, by Cretheus
Pelias
King in Iolcus who imprisons his half-brother Aeson and arranges to send Jason on the supposedly hopeless quest for the golden fleece; killed by his daughters who were tricked by Medea into cutting him up into pieces.
Chiron
Centaur on Mount Pelion who raised Jason
Zetes
One of the warriors on the voyage of the Argo; son of Boreas (the North Wind), he was able to fly and freed Phineus from the torment of the Harpies.
Calaôs
One of the warriors on the voyage of the Argo; son of Boreas (the North Wind), he was able to fly and freed Phineus from the torment of the Harpies
Phineus
King of Salmydessus and prophet; offended Zeus by being too generous with his prophecies; his torment by the Harpies was ended by Jason and his crew.
Symplegades
"Clashing Rocks" that barred access to the Black Sea; cleared by the Argonauts with the help of Athena.
Apsyrtus
Son of Aeîtes and brother of Medea; joined in the pursuit of Jason and Medea after the fleece had been filched; he was either killed by Jason, or chopped by into bits which were thrown overboard piece by piece to delay the pursuit of Aeîtes.
Talus
Bronze giant filled with ichor that guarded the island of Crete; overcome by Jason who drained him of the ichor.
Aetolia
Area in Greece to the north of the western opening of the Corinthian gulf; main city is Calydon.
Calydon
Main city in the area of Aetolia, home of King Oeneus and location of the famous boar hunt.
Althaea
Mother of Meleager; in a rage over his murder of her brothers, she threw the magic log which protected him into the fire, thus killing him.
Meleager
Son of Oeneus and Althaea of Calydon; killed the boar that was ravaging his land, but violated the code of the hunt by giving its skin to Atalanta whom he wished to seduce; eventually this brought about his death
Atalanta
Speedy athlete who took part in the boar hunt at Calydon; eventually married to Melanion who overcame her in a foot race; punished for their lusty consummation of the marriage in the precinct of Zeus by being turned into lions.
Atreus
Son of Pelops and father of Agamemnon and Menulaüs; quarrels with brother Thyestes over who rules in Mycenae
Pelops
Son of Tantalus, and victor of Oenomaüs in the chariot race; father of Atreus and Thyestes.
Oenomaüs
King of Pisa and father of Hippodamia; defeated and killed in chariot race against Pelops.
Hippodamia
Daughter of Oenomaüs of Pisa; prize of the famed chariot race won by Pelops with the help of Myrtilus, Oenomaüs's aid.
Thyestes
A son of Pelops; quarrels with brother Atreus over the kingship in Mycenae; tricked into eating his own sons by Atreus at the Banquet of Thyestes
Aegisthus
Avenger son of Thyestes by his daughter Pelopia.
Menelaüs
Son of Atreus and brother of Agamemnon; rules in Sparta after being awarded Helen by Tyndareüs; one of the generals in the Trojan War
Agamemnon
Son of Atreus and brother of Menelaüs; rules in Mycenae; leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War
Tyndareüs
King of Sparta, husband of Leda and father of Clytemnestra, and Castor, and step-father of Helen and Polydeuces (Pollux).
Leda
Mother by Zeus and Tyndareüs of Helen, Clytemnestra, and Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux).
Polydeuces
Son of Leda and Zeus; brother of Castor, the other Dioscuri.
Castor
Son of Leda and Tyndareüs; brother of Polydeuces; the other Dioscuri.
Helen
Daughter of Zeus and Leda; married to Menelaüs and taken to Troy by Paris.
Clytemnestra
Daughter of Tyndareüs and Leda; married to Agamemnon.
Peleus
King of Phthia and father of Achilles
Ajax
Son of Telamon of Salamis (unless qualified by "the Lesser," "Ajax" always refers to Ajax the Greater); one of the most formidable Greek warriors in the Trojan War.
Hecabê
Wife of Priam, King of Troy; sometimes called Hecuba.
Aulis
Bay in Thessaly where the Greek forces mustered for the Trojan War; they were pinned down by contrary winds sent by Artemis there until Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter.
Telemachus
Son of Odysseus of Ithaca; used by Palamedes to expose Odysseus's feigned insanity.
Palamedes
Greek warrior noted for cleverness; credited with having created the alphabet among other things; exposed Odysseus's feigned madness to avoid the Trojan War.
Calchas
Prophet of the Greeks during the Trojan War.
Philoctetes
Warrior abandoned by the Greeks on Lemnos.
Chryseïs
Agamemnon's war prize demanded back by Apollo for Chryses, his priest and father of the girl.
Briseïs
Achilles's war prize demanded by Agamemnon to compensate for his loss of Chryseïs; this is the prozimate cause of Achilles's wrath.
Andromachê
Wife of Hector; her pathos-filled speech in which she tried to persuade Hector to remain in the city wall is one of the most famous passages in all literature.
Penthesilea
Leader of a force of Amazons on behalf of the Trojans; killed by Achilles.
Neoptolemus
Son of Achilles; kills a son of Priam in front of his father's eyes.
Laocoön
Trojan priest of Poseidon who tries to warn the Trojans against the Trojan Horse.
Polyxena
Youngest daughter of Priam; sacrificed after the war to the ghost of Achilles.
Orestes
Avenging son of Agamemnon; tried and acquitted of the murder of his mother in Athens before the first Court of the Areopagus.
Electra
Faithful daughter of Agamemnon; assists her brother Orestes to exact revenge in Mycenae.
Furies
Ancient pursuer of those who spill familial blood; chase Orestes to Athens, where they are finally disabled.
Eumenides
"Kindly One"; new name for the Furies after being tamed by Athena.
Who wrote "Oedipus Rex"
Sophocles
Who wrote "Oedipus"
Seneca
Who wrote "Alcestis"
Euripides
Who wrote "Hippolytus"
Euripides
Who wrote "Medea"
Euripides
Who wrote "Trojan Women"
Euripides
Who wrote "Agamemnon"
Aeschylus

Deck Info

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