Age of Heroes
-The sagas/cycles take place during this time period.
-The setting is the Late Bronze age.
-Mythical time period.
Late Bronze Age
-All of the heroes we have talked about lived during this time.
-Real chronological setting.
Xenia
-The concept of hospitality, the generosity and courtesy shown to those who are far from home and/or associates of the person bestowing guest-friendship.
Ar�te
-"Excellence"
-"Honor" or striving for it.
Hamartia
-"Fault" or "flaw"
-Large sin made by heroes.
Hubris
-Excessive pride
Miasma
-Religious pollution.
Components of a tragic hero
Hamartia, hubris, and miasma.
Achaean
-AKA Greeks during the trojan war
-Homer called them this.
Nosti
-"The return"
-Important because this is where the heroes end up colonizing in today's world.
1200 BC
Bronze age ends. No more Linear B. Trojan war. Lots of destruction.
800 BC
Archaic period. Homer lives now. Beginning of writing.
525-456 BC
-Life span of Aeschylus. Classical period.
496-406 BC
-Life span of Sophocles. Classical period.
480-406 BC
-Life span of Euripides. Classical period.
Cadmus
-Theban king.
-Son of Agenor.
-Brother of Europa.
-Husband of Harmonia.
-He was informed by the oracle at Delphi that he would establish a great city. When he found the site of the future Thebes, he prepared to sacrifice to the gods in thanksgiving. He so
Europa
-Sister of Cadmus.
-Lover of Zeus.
-Zeus tricks her by turning into a white bull. He crosses the sea to Crete with her on his back.
-Once arrived in Crete, Zeus changes back to his normal form and she falls in love with him.
-They eventually have three so
Spartoi
-Five men sprung from the serpent's teeth sown by Cadmus.
-Five founders of the main men in Thebes.
Laius
-Son of Labdacus.
-Husband of Jocasta.
-Killed by his son, Oedipus.
-Abducted Chrysippus and raped him.
-Eventually punished by the gods.
Chrysippus
-Son of Pelops.
-Divine hero of Elis in the Peloponnesus.
-Abducted by Laius (taken to Thebes, raped. Punished by the gods).
Aeschylus
-Lives from 525-456 BC.
-92 plays, 7 survive.
-Born in Eleusis.
-Fought in the Persian Wars.
-Won 13 first prizes.
-Wrote the Oresteia (Agamemnon, Libation Bearers, and Eumenides).
-Other plays: The Persians, Seven Against Thebes, The Suppliants, and Prom
Sophocles
-Lived from 496-406 BC.
-Wrote 120 plays, 7 survive.
-From Colonus, a suburb of Athens.
-2nd of the 3 great tragedians.
-20 frist places.
-Aristotle claimed he was the best Greek playwright.
Euripides
-Lives from 480-406 BC.
-Wrote 88 plays, 18 survive.
Oedipus
-Son of Laius and Jocasta.
-Murdered his father (without really knowing it).
-Married his mother.
-Found redemption at Colonus.
Jocasta
-Mother and wife of Oedipus.
-Oedipus killed her original husband.
Creon
-Father of Megara.
-Heracles' wife.
-Forbade Polynices to be buried.
-Condemns Antigone for buying Polynices.
Antigone
-Oedipus' faithful daughter.
-Buries Polynices in defiance of Creon.
-Daughter/sister of Oedipus and Jocasta.
Pelops
-King of Elis.
-Won Hippodamia in a chariot race after her father killed 18 previous suitors.
-Father of Chrysippus.
Hippodamia
-Wife of Pelops after he won a chariot race.
-Father is King Oenomaus.
Pindar
-522-443 BC
-From Cynoscephalae, Boeotia.
-Wrote Victory Odes: Poems celebrating the winners of the Panhellenic games (mostly for victorious athletes, but also for musicians as well).
-Began around 498BC and continued until 444BC.
Aegisthus
-Son of Thyestes.
-Lover of Clytemnestra.
-Plotted with Clytemnestra to murder Agamemnon.
Agamemnon
-King of Mycenae.
-"Lord of Men"
-Leader of the Greeks against Troy during the Trojan War.
-Greatest in prestige.
-Murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.
Menelaus
-King of Sparta.
-Husband of Helen.
-Father of Hermione.
-Brother of Agamemnon.
-Challenges Paris to a duel for Helen's return.
Helen
-Daughter of Zeus and Leda.
-Part of the immortal egg.
-Wife of Menelaus.
-Was taken by a Trojan, Paris, which brought upon the Trojan War.
Clytemnestra
-Daughter of Zeus and Leda.
-Part of the mortal egg.
-Took Aegisthus as her lover. Unfaithful to Agamemnon.
-Murdered her husband Agamemnon.
-Killed by her son Orestes.
-Killed Cassandra.
Iphigenia
-Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.
-Sacrificed by her father at Aulis or saved by Artemis to become her priestess in Tauris.
Cassandra
-Daughter of Priam and Hecuba.
-Apollo's beloved, fell for him immediately, awarded gift of prophecy. When she changed her mind, Apollo punished her. Would remain a prophetess, but would never be believed.
-True prophecies were never believed.
-Raped by A
Orestes
-Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.
-Murdered his mother (Clytemnestra) because she killed his father (Agamemnon).
-Tried and acquitted by the Areopagus.
Electra
-Clytemnestra's daughter.
-Hated her mother for the murder of her father Agamemnon.
-Waited for the return of her brother Orestes to seek vengeance.
-" " Complex: Psychotic attachment to the father and hostility toward the mother
Leda
-Tyndareus' wife.
-Zeus visited in the form of a swan and bore Castor, Clytemnestra, Polydeuces, and Helen.
-First two girls are born from a mortal egg and the last two are born from an immortal egg.
The Dioscuri
-"Sons of Zeus" and Leda.
-Mortal son, Castor, is from Tyndareus while the divine son, Pollux, belongs to Zeus.
-Castor and Polydeuces (Pollus).
-Patron deities of ships and sailors.
Paris
-AKA Alexander.
-Son of Priam and Hecuba.
-Won Helen from Menelaus.
Priam
-Son of Laomedon.
-King of Troy during the Trojan War.
-Husband of Hecuba.
-Refused to give back the body of Hector when he is killed by Achilles.
Hector
-Son of Priam and Hecuba.
-Husband of Andromache.
-Father of Astyanax
-Greatest Trojan hero.
-Bluster and bully.
-Defeated, killed, and mutulated by Achilles.
-Ransomed by Priam.
Laomedon
-Dishonest king of Troy.
-Father of Hesione and Priam.
-Was going to sacrifice Hesione until Heracles came, rescued her, and killed the monster.
Polyxena
-Daughter of Priam and Hecuba.
-Sacrificed on Achilles' tomb.
Nestor
-Son of Neleus.
-King of Pylos.
-Brave and strong warrior when young.
-In old age he was prized for his good counsel and his oratory.
-Wise orator in the Trojan War.
-"His speech flowed more sweetly than honey."
-Survives war.
Achilles
-Son of Peleus and Thetis.
-Greatest Greek hero in the Trojan war.
-Nearly invincible.
-Thetis (mother) dipped him into the magical waters of the river Styx, as an infant, in a vain attempt to render him immortal. He was dipped by his heel, so his heel wa
Patroclus
-Achilles' companion.
-Later tradition sees him and Achilles as lovers.
-Killed by Hector.
Homer
-Lived around 800BC
-From Ionia
-Traveling poet; sung.
-Wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey.
-Most famous and well known of all.
Briseis
-Achilles' beloved.
-Taken away by Achilles as a war prize.
-Princess of Lyrnessus.
Odysseus
-Son of Laertes (Sisyphus) and Anticlea.
-From Ithica.
-Wisest of all, brave, strong way with words.
-Escapes danger by using his intelligence and courage.
-Later obtains Achilles' divine armor.
-Husband of Penelope.
-Father of Telemachus.
-Hero in the Tr
Ajax
-The Great or Greater: Telamon's son who committed suicide. Bulwark of the Achaeans (greeks). Foil and rival of Odysseus. Straightforwards, brusque.
-The Less or Lessor: Oileus' son who raped Cassandra. Prince of Locrians.
-Killed Glaucus.
Penelope
-Faithful wife of Odysseus.
-Keeps suitors at bay until Odysseus returns.
Telemachus
-Son of Odysseus and Penelope.
-Tries to find information about his father during the first four books of the Odyssey.
-Wounded and healed by Achilles.
Calypso
-Atlas' daughter.
-Detained Odysseus on her island, Ogygia.
-Took care of Odysseus during his journey.
Phaecians
-People of Scheria.
-Receive Odysseus hospitably.
-Fond of joyous, luxurious living.
Sirens
-Mythological women who, by their song, enticed sailors to their deaths.
-Bird-like bodies.
-Encountered by Odysseus.
Polyphemus
-Cyclops
-Son of Poseidon.
-Blinded by Odysseus.
-Killed almost all of Odysseus' men.
-Wooer of Galatea.
Circe
-Daughter of the Sun (Helius).
-Sorceress on the island of Aeaea.
-Turned men into swine.
-Odysseus overcame her and she game him directions.
Scylla
-Monstrous daughter of Phorcys and Hectate.
-Was once beautiful.
-Heads of yapping dogs protruding from her mid-riff.
-Deadly terror with Charybdis.
-Straights of Messina.
Charybdis
-Monstrous daughter of Poseidon and Ge.
-A dire obstacle.
-Lived with Scylla in the Straights of Messina.
Perseus
-Son of Zeus and Danae.
-Raised in Seriphos under king Polydectes.
-Beheaded Medusa (gorgon).
-Married Andromeda who he rescued from a sea monster.
-Winged boots, cap of invisibility, scimitar (curved sword).
Andromeda
-Daughter of Cepheus and Cassiepea.
-Wife of Perseus.
Inachus
-River of Argos.
-First king of the city of Argos.
-Father of Io and Phoroneus
-Something with the Apis Bull.
Io
-Inachus' daughter.
-Loved by Zeus.
-Turned into a cow to protect her from Hera.
-Mother of Epaphus.
Danae
-Acrisius' daughter
-Perseus' mother.
-Designated to bear a son who would kill her father.
Medusa
-Gorgon.
-Loved by Poseidon.
-Mother of Chrysaor and Pegasus.
-Beheaded by Perseus.
Bellerophon
-Sisyphus' grandson who tamed Pegasus.
-Killed the Chimaera.
Pegasus
-Winged horse
-Offspring of Poseidon and Medusa.
Heracles
-Son of Zeus and Alcmena.
-Brave, strong, and clever (more than all mortals).
-Extraordinary service and appetite.
-"Glory of Hera"
-Civic hero. Helped kings. Panhellenic hero.
-The archetypal Greek hero.
-He performed many deeds and twelve Labors.
-Won i
Pausanias
-Traveler around Greece.
-Wrote a travel log.
-Wrote descriptions of Greece.
-Explained the order of Heracles's metopes.
Hydra
-"Water snake"
-Dragonlike monster with poison blood. Nine-headed, would grow back two heads for every one that was severed.
-Offspring of Echidna and Typhon.
-Encountered by Heracles during his second labor at Lerna. He clubbed off the head and cauterize
Eurystheus
-Sthenelus' son.
-Heracles performed the 12 labours for him.
Erichthonius
-Born from the semen of Hephaistos when he attempted to rape Athena.
-Half serpent, half man.
-Early Athenian king.
-Raised by Athena.
Erechtheus
-Legendary king of Athens.
-Associated with Poseidon.
-Has a large temple in the acropolis of Athens that is associated with Athena Polias, the Erechtheum.
-This is where the battle of Poseidon and Athens is located.
-Established the Panathenaic games.
Vergil
-17-90BC
-Wrote the Aeneid during the years 29-19BC
-Was commissioned by Augustus to write the Aeneid.
-Aeneas is a warrior fleeing the sack of Troy, to Italy. He is seen as the first true hero of Rome.
Theseus
-Son of Poseidon and Aethra.
-Oracle to him: "Do not undo the wineskin's mouth until you have returned home."
-Slayer of the Minotaur.
-Associated with Heracles.
-Hero of Attica.
-Champion of the oppressed.
-Also had labors.
Pirithous
-Son of Ixion.
-Leader of the Lapiths
-Deidamia's husband.
-Defeated the centaurs at his wedding.
-Theseus' friend/helper.
-Got left being in Hades after helping Theseus to get Persephone.
Augustus
-First Roman emperor.
-Heir of Julius Caesar.
Marcellus
-He came after Augustus in the parade of great future Romans that Aeneas saw in the underworld.
-He was Augustus' heir but died young.
-When Vergil read this part of the poem to Augustus it made him cry.
-He is the next, after Augustus, who would have con
Iulus
-AKA Julus (another name for Ascanius).
-Ancestor of the gens Julia, the family of the Caesars.
Schliemann
Schliemann The person who laid the foundations of modern archaeological work in the Mycenaean world. Inspired by a faith in the ultimate historical authenticity of Greek legend. He confirmed the reality of wealth, grandeur, and power of the cities, kings,
Blegen
-Excavated at Pelos and Troy.
-From Cincinnati.
Evans
-The person who unearthed the splendid and grand complex of the palace of Minos at Knossus in Crete. Found the Linear B tablets..
Thebes
-Major city in the Late Bronze Age.
-The setting for Oedipus trilogy/House of Laius.
-Founded by Cadmus, original name is Cadmia.
-Cadmus looked for his sister, Europa, here.
-Heracles traveled through here.
Phoenicia
-Where Zeus abducts Europa from and takes her to Crete.
Crete
-Large island in the Aegean sea.
-Center of Minoan civilization.
-Birthplace of Zeus.
-Where the seventh Labor of Heracles was located.
-Where Zeus takes Europa when he abducts her.
Cademia
-A city founded by Cadmus.
-Original name was Thebes.
Elis
-City state that controls Olympia.
Colonus
-Sophocles is from here.
-Oedipus is exiled here for many years.
Athens
-Main city-state in Greece.
-Athena is the patron goddess.
-When she created the olive tree that grew.
-Symbol of prosperity and peace.
-Went through many wars.
Olympia
-The Panhellenic sanctuary of Zeus.
-Located in the wester nPeloponnesus.
-Site of the olympic games.
Aulis
-Port on the coast of Boeotia, from which the Greeks sailed against Troy.
Mycenae
-City of the family of Atreus.
-First excavated by Schliemann.
-Agamemnon was king here.
Delphi
-Panhellenic sanctuary sacred to Apollo.
-Center for games and contests.
-Main oracle is located here.
Sicyon
-The setting for part of the Mycenaean saga involving the exposure of Aegisthus.
-Generally important city when it comes to the Age of Heroes/Late Bronze Age.
Troy
-Situated near the Dardanelles.
-First excavated by Schliemann where there were nine settlements on the site, including that of Priam and the Trojan War.
Pylos
-Nestor was king here.
-On the west coast of the Peloponnesus.
-Excavated by Blegen.