Keenan
Writing
Mythology Study Guide Part 1
I.
Introduction
A. What is the difference between Greek Gods and those of the Egyptians
and Mesopotamians?
Gods from other cultures are part animal, such as a bird or lion. Greek Gods
are primarily in human form.
B. How can we define mythology?
Mythology is an explanation of something in nature; it is not an account of
religion. However, there are examples of myth that explain nothing and
others where religion seems to be part of mythology.
C. What’s the difference between the Greek and Norse gods and goddesses.
Greek-optimistic
-immortal gods and goddesses
-Fate plays a minor role, more about free will
II.
Norse-Pessimistic
-gods not immortal
-everything ends at the hands of evil giants at the battle of
Ragnarok
-fate plays a major role, free will is struggle against fate
-major goal is heroism, fighting against evil in an inevitable loss
Chapter 1
A. Identify the following Greek and Roman Writers of Mythology:
1. Ovid- responsible for telling almost all the mythological stories
2. Homer- wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey
3. Hesiod- poor farmer who wrote in the vernacular
4. Pindar- Greatest Lyric Poet of Greece
5. Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides- Greek Playwrights
Drama/Tragedy
6. Aristophanes- Wrote Greek Comedy
7. Plato- Great Greek Philosopher
8. Virgil- Wrote the Aeneid, Roman author who wrote about but
did not believe in mythological events. Connected Greek and
Roman history.
B. Briefly identify the Twelve Gods of Mt. Olympus with both the Greek and
Roman Names:
1. Zeus (Jupiter)-lord of the sky, most powerful
2. Hera (Juno)-wife of Zeus, protector of the family and marriage
3. Poseidon (Neptune)-God of the Sea, 2nd only to Zeus
4. Hades (Pluto)-Ruler of the underworld, married to Persephone
C.
D.
E.
F.
5. Athena (Minerva)-daughter of Zeus alone, patron of Athens
6. Phoebus Apollo (Apollo)-god of truth and light, links god and
man, medicine, music, art, most human of the gods
7. Artemis (Diana)-Apollo’s twin sister, goddess of the hunt,
protects the young, chastity, the moon.
8. Aphrodite (Venus)-Goddess of beauty and love, wife of
Hephaestus, daughter of Uranus, born on the ocean, depicted on
a scallop or clam shell
9. Hermes (Mercury)-messenger of Zeus, fast and clever, guided
souls down to the banks of the river Styx.
10. Ares (Mars)-God of War, associated with fighting and
destruction
11. Hephaestus (Vulcan or Mulciber)-God of Fire, ugly, married to
Aphrodite, son of Hera alone
12. Hestia (Vesta)-sister of Zeus, takes care of Mt. Olympus
Identify some of the lesser Gods of Olympus
1. Eros (Cupid)-god of love, son of venus
2. Hebe-goddess of youth, marries Hercules
3. Iris-goddess of the rainbow
4. The Graces-triple incarnation of grace and beauty, queens of
song
5. The Muses-12 daughters of Zeus, Mnemosyne, Memory
Identify some of the Gods of Waters
1. Poseidon (Neptune)-ruler of the sea
2. Ocean-lord of the river surrounding Earth
3. Triton-trumpeter of the sea, uses a large shell
4. Proteus-son of Poseidon, can tell the future and change shape,
“The Old Man of The Sea”
5. Naiads-water nymphs
Identify some of the Gods of the Underworld(Hades)
1. Charon-ferries the dead to the shores of Hades
2. Cerberus-three-headed, dragon-tailed dog that keeps people out
and spirits in Hades
3. Lethe-river of forgetfulness, Acheron river of pain, Cocytus river
of wailing, Styx river of death (5 rivers of Hades) Phlegethon,
river of fire
4. The Furies-punishers of evil-doers
5. Sleep and Death-brothers who dwell in the lower world
Identify some of the Lesser Gods of the Earth
1. Demeter (Ceres)-associated with grain and harvest
2. Dionysus (Bacchus)-associated with wine
3. Pan (Faunus)-associated with the forest; goat-man
4. Castor and Pollux-brothers who live half time on Earth/Heaven,
protector of sailors, were on the Argo with Jason
5. The Satyrs- goat-men found in wild places
6. Nymphs-woman spirits of sea, earth and air
III.
IV.
7. Boreas, Notus, Eurus, Zephyr-north, south, east and west wind
8. The Centaurs-half-man half-horse, savage beast like creatures.
9. The 3 Gorgons-turn people to stone, Mortal one was Medusa
10. The Sirens-have enchanting voices that lure sailors to their death
11. Clotho, Lachesis, Atropos-the fates
G. Two well-known Lesser Roman Gods:
1. Cronus (Saturn)-protector of farmers
2. Janus-god with two faces, named the month of January
Chapter 2 The Two Great Gods of Earth
A. What are the two gifts that the Earth gives to man?
Bread and Wine
B. How are Demeter and Dionysus different from the twelve gods of
mythology?
They are able to relate to the suffering of mankind.
C. How does Demeter’s myth explain spring and winter?
Persephone is kidnapped by Hades, Demeter is sad and crops die,
representing winter; When Persephone is returned to Demeter, she is
pleased and spring begins.
D. How is Dionysus born?
He is born in fire and nursed by rain, like the grapes for wine.
E. What is He known for?
He is the god of wine, he teaches mankind culture and values.
F. What are the two contrasting ideas associated with the worship of
Dionysus?
He is associated with joy and freedom, that comes while drinking wine,
but also savage and brutal behavior brought on by too much wine.
Mainads; crazy followers who practice religion in woods and eat people.
G. Why is Dionysus so important to the Greeks?
He represents the assurance that “death does not end all.” It is the
beginning of the belief that the human soul is immortal.
H. How is he a symbol of resurrection?
The vines grow grapes, then look dead, then rejuvenate the next season.
Chapter 3 How the World and Mankind were Created?
A. What is Hesiod’s version of the creation of man?
Begins with Chaos, progresses to night(darkness) and day(light), then
huge creatures, the titans, are children of Mother Earth and Father Heaven.
Finally the Twelve Olympian Gods are Born from the Titans.
B. Who are Prometheus and Epimetheus?
Brother twins in charge of creation.
C. What does Epimetheus give to animals? What does Prometheus give to
mankind?
Epimetheus gives animals speed, cunning, and protective covering.
Prometheus gives man the gift of a nobler shape, standing upright like
gods. He also gives man fire (symbolic of inspiration, creativity), he
teaches mankind to trick the gods in their sacrifices, keeping the best
portions of meat for themselves and giving the gods the unwanted parts.
Ultimately he is mercilessly punished by Zeus, chained to a rock in the
Caucasus, an eagle eats his liver every day.
D. What is the second version of creation, the five stages of man?
In every stage man becomes more inferior: First there is gold, then silver,
then brass then a godlike hero race, then finally the iron race (us) that
becomes intolerable for Zeus.
E. How does Zeus torture Prometheus?
He is chained to a rock; his liver is devoured by an eagle every day and
then redevelops to be devoured again.
F. Why is Pandora created?
To bring disaster to mankind
G. Why does Zeus send a flood to the world?
Because of man’s wickedness
H. Who are the only two survivors?
Deucalion, Prometheus’ son and Pyrrha, Prometheus’ niece
I. Who are the stone people?
A new race of people who come from rocks, the bones of mother Earth
These rocks are thrown over the shoulders of Deucalion and Pyrrha.
V. Chapter 4 The Earliest Heroes
A. Prometheus and Io
Io shows up as a heifer (cow), she’s turned into a cow by Zeus to
protect her from Hera.
Prometheus can’t help her, he’s in too much pain…
B. Europa
Lover of Zeus, punished by Hera
Has two sons that are the judges of the dead(Minos and Rhadamanthus)
C. Polyphemus- giant cyclops represents an obstacle to Odysseus.
D. The Flower Myths, Narcissus, Hyacinth, Adonis.
Narcissus is beautiful and scorns love, loves only himself
Hyacinth dies after being struck by a discus thrown by Apollo
Adonis is killed by a boar (by Aphrodite), crimson flowers grow where
his blood drops
VI. Chapter 5 Cupid and Psyche
A. Aphrodite is jealous of Psyche’s beauty, sends Eros (Cupid) to have
her marry an ugly creature.
B. Eros (Cupid) falls in love with her
C. Eros (Cupid) cannot reveal himself to her
D. Psyche believes her sisters and attempts to see him for herself, spilling
hot lamp oil on him and burning him badly
E. She eventually is reunited with her husband after many trials and
tribulations, at the hands of Aphrodite.
VII. Chapter 6 Tales of Lovers
A. Pyramus and Thisbe and the red color of the mulberry bush…
The two lovers take their own lives after a misunderstanding, the gods
bestow a deep red color to dedicate their love.
B. Orpheus and Eurydice- Orpheus goes to Hades to retrieve his dead
wife, nightingales sing at his grave for giving his life for his love.
C. Ceyx and Alcyone- they are turned into birds, the wind and the seas
are calm, those are called Halcyon Days.
D. Pygmalion and Galatea-P. creates a statue, it becomes a woman (G.)
E. Baucis and Philemon- old couple are nice to gods, become two trees in
death.
F. Endymion-Moon (Selene) falls in love with Endymion, kisses him and
he falls asleep forever.
G. Daphne and the laurel- she doesn’t want to love any man or god,
Apollo pursues her and her father Peneus turns her into a laurel tree.
H. Alpheus (greek river) and Arethusa (greek river) if you throw a cup
into one it appears in the other.
VIII. Chapter 7 The Quest for the Golden Fleece
A. Golden Fleece (from a winged Ram)
B. Pelias-king who is worried about a usurper.
C. Jason came for the throne and is given the quest for the Golden fleece
D. Hercules, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux come along on the Argo (ship)
E. Colchas king puts Jason through trials, he gets the fleece and recovers
the kingdom from Pelias
IX.
Chapter 8
A. Phaethon- son of mortal and Helios, the God of the Sun. He asks his
father to drive his chariot. He loses control and sets the world on fire
before crashing into the ocean to his death.
B. Pegasus and Bellerophon- They are unstoppable together and B.
begins to think he is as great as the gods, tries to go to Mt. Olympus
but is bucked off by Pegasus, falling to his death. Chimera,
Hippogriff
C. Otus and Ephialtes- brothers who are giants, they think they are
superior to gods, try to catch Artemis and kill each other in the
process.
D. Daedalus and Icarus- D. builds wings to escape the labyrinth, he and
I. escape but Icarus flies too close to the sun and his wings fall apart
as the wax melts due to the heat of the sun.
E. The moral for all these stories is “too much of a belief in your own
greatness can be deadly.”
X.
Chapter 9
A. Perseus- he is born of Zeus (as a shower of gold) and Danae, he
receives magical equipment: a sword, a shield that reflects, winged
sandals that made him very fast and fly, wallet that could hold more
than it looked it could carry, and a cap to make you invisible.
B. He was able to kill Medusa and get revenge.
XI.
Chapter 10
A. Theseus- god-like deity/hero of Athens, goes to King Minos’
Labyrinth on Crete, slays the Minotaur and saved future Athenian
children from death at the monsters hands.
B.
A.
B.
T. is a great king, but is done in by his wife who falls in love with his
son, Hippolytus. She (Pheadra) kills herself because he wants
nothing to do with her, she leaves a note blaming Hippolytus.
XII. Chapter 11
A. (mom Alcemena) Hercules, strongest man on earth, kills two snakes
while still a baby.(sent by Hera)
B. Not very bright, but super strong because his dad was Zeus, Hera was
always trying to destroy him.
C. He is sent into a fit of madness by Hera and kills his entire family,
feels guilty even though it was not his fault, completes 12 labors to
gain forgiveness; dies much later at the hands of his second
wife(Deniera), (not her fault) and is accepted into Mt. Olympus
XIII. Chapter 12
A. Atalanta- father wanted a son, leaves her with a she-bear, she
becomes a great hunter and is very fast.
B. She killed centaurs, the Calydonian Boar, won a wrestling match in
honor of Pelias, loses a race to Hippomenes, who uses three golden
apples to distract her, and becomes his wife.
XIV. Chapter 13
A. The Trojan War
B. The Judgment of Paris
XV. Chapter 14
A. More of the Trojan War
XVI. Chapter 15
The Odyssey
The Aeneid
C. Norse Mythology