 | Questions about Perseus
 | How does the life of Perseus fit the heroic pattern as described in
class? |
| Who were Acrisius, Polydectes, and Danae? |
| How did Danae end up in an underground chamber? What made Acrisius
so afraid of her? |
| Why did Athena punish Medusa? |
| How did Acrisius and Polydectes die? |
| For the Greeks, Medusa was a symbol of what? How did Athena turn
her into something culturally useful? |
| Name all the items Perseus carried on his adventures. |
| Why was Andromeda being sacrificed to a sea monster? |
|
| Questions about Orpheus
| What is the difference between the music of Orpheus and Dionysus? |
| What key event in the life of Orpheus caused him to become the center of
a religious cult? What does this have to do with Lesbos? |
| Who tore Orpheus apart? Why? How? How did he try to
defend himself? |
| Who is Zagreus in the Orphic cult? Phanes? What happened
when Zeus swallowed the latter? |
| What is the source of evil in humans according to Orphic cosmogony? |
| Which of these describes an Orphic: ascetic, ecstatic, luxurious,
empathetic, disloyal. |
|
| Questions about Herakles
| How does the life of Herakles fit the heroic pattern as described in
class? |
| Which labors of Herakles relate to rites of passage? What
significance is attached to the fact that Herakles took Hippolyta's girdle? |
| How did Herakles clean the stables? Kill the birds? the
Hydra? |
| Why and how did Herakles serve Omphale? |
| Who was Philoctetes? Deianira? Nessus? |
| In the story of the choice of Herakles, what does Vice say her real name
is? |
| What are the differing philosophies of Virtue and Vice in regard to
toil. |
| Name one negative example of the motif of the heroic "choice." |
| Where did Herakles defeat the monster Cacus? What is the
connection between that event and worship through tithing? |
| What is the connection between Herakles and Alexander the Great? |
| What did Herakles really accomplish when he took the apples from the
Hesperides? |
|
| Questions about Hades
| Where are the Jaws of Orcus and what would you find there? |
| What would happened to those who had not been buried after they died? |
| Who is Charon and what is his role. |
| What was Pirithous doing down in the underworld? |
| How does Cerberus keep the souls in the underworld? |
| Why was Dido in the underworld? At what spot was she? |
| What's the problem with Deiphobus when Aeneas sees him? |
| Why do souls drink from the river Lethe in the underworld? |
| Was Vergil's vision of the underworld more optimistic than that of
Homer? Why or why not? |
| What does the word "umbrae" mean? |
| Anthesteria and Parentalia - what are they? |
| How did the ancients ensure that the dead would not come back to haunt
them? |
| Why did the Romans build their graveyards outside their city? |
| Know all the major punishments in the underworld and what they
represent. |
| Know the connection between the river Styx and swearing oaths. |
| Review what I said about the "doors of the sun." There's a
simple test question about it! |
|
| Questions about Cretan/Minoan myths
| Know the script that the Minoans used and know their symbols:
labrys, bull-leaping, mother goddess. |
| What does the myth of Daedalus say about the Greek attitude toward art?
|
| What happened to Icarus? |
| How and where did Zeus impregnate Europa? |
| How would you describe the so-called Minoan "palaces"?
|
| How did Pasiphae end up falling in love with a bull? |
|
| Questions about Theseus
| How does the life of Theseus fit the heroic pattern as described in
class? |
| Who was Sciron? Procrustes? |
| When did Medea meet Theseus? Did they like each other? |
| How did Aegeus die? |
| If Ariadne loved Theseus, how did she end up with Dionysus? |
| When Helen became a goddess, what was her main function? What was
her connection to rites of passage? |
| Who were the Dioscuri and what do they have to do with St. Elmo's Fire?
|
| Know Amazons and social inversion. |
Sample Slide Question:
 |
Who is the man in the center of the picture? 1) Hermes
2) Eurystheus
3) Geryon
4) Herakles
5) Kirkules |
Sample Question about Olympia:
Which one of these is an Olympic event?
1) boxing
2) table tennis
3) skiing
4) marathon
5) diving
|