Myths of the Olympian gods: Male Deities

• Powell, Chapter 7
  • birth: Leto, Hera, Zeus, Delos, Apollo
  • oracle: Telphusa, Delphi, Pytho, Pythia
  • loves: Cassandra, Sibyl at Cumae, Daphnê, Coronis
  • son: Asclepius
• Powell, Chapter 8 (also 7 in 4th-6th editions)
  • Hephaestus, Hera, Zeus, Ares, Aphrodite, Poseidon
  • Hermes, Zeus, Maia, Apollo, Argus, caduceus, psychopompos

Myths of "The Male Divine" and One Trickster

• Hindu: Arjuna, Krishna, Sanjaya, Dhritarashtra [not on exam: karma, dharma, yoga, bhakti, jnana] (L & M, Ch 4, 208-220)
• Yoruba: Olorun, Orunmila, Eshu, orishas, Agemo, Divining Bag (L & M, Ch 4, 227-231)
• Norse: Odin, Thor, Hrungnir, Magni, Mjollnir, Mist Calf, Thialfi, hone (whetstone), Stone Fence House [not on exam: Asgard, Groa, Golden Mane, Sleipnir](L & M, Ch 4, 232-239)
• Norse: Thor, Loki, Sif, the dwarfs Brokk & Eitr, dwarves-the sons of Ivaldi, Mjollnir, Sif's "hair" (L & M, Ch 5, 277-283)

Myths of the Olympian gods: Female Deities

• Powell, Chapter 9 (8 in 4th-6th editions):
  • Hestia, hearth, Dionysus
  • Aphrodite, Cypris, Hermaphroditus, Pygmalion, Cinyras, Myrrha, Anchises, Aeneas, Zeus, Hera, punishment
  • Artemis, Zeus, Leto, Potnia Therôn, Niobê, Actaeon,
  • Athena, Zeus, Arachne, Poseidon, aegis
• Powell, Chapter 10 (9 in 4th-6th editions) & pdfs in Moodle:
  • Demeter, Persephone, Hades, Pomegranate, Zeus [not on exam: Eleusis, Hermes, Helius]
  • Eleusinian Mysteries (& class notes): Telesterion, Eleusis, Eleusinion, Agora, fish, pomegranate, kykeon
  • Inanna, Dumuzi, Enki, Ereshkigal, the Anunnaki gods
  • Osiris, coffin, Isis, Horus, fish, Typhon [not on exam: Byblus, child & child prophecy] (Plutarch's version; pdf in Moodle)
  • Cybele, Acdestis, pomegranate tree, Liber, Midas, Attis, self-castration [not on exam: Great Mother, Agdus] (Arnobius' version; pdf in Moodle)
  • Aphrodite, Adonis, anemone, Myrrha (these 4 are in chapter 9 in the 8th edition)

Myths of "The Female Divine"

• Hawaiian: Pe-le, Hi-i-aka, Lo-hi-au, Kilauea, Ka-ne [not on exam: Ho-po-e, lehau, Kane-milo-hai, incantation] (L & M, Ch 3, 122-132)
• Sioux: White Buffalo Calf Woman (Ptesan-Wi), chanunpa, 7 Sacred Council Fires, Grandfather (sky), Grandmother (earth) [not on exam: wakan, Lakota] (L & M, Ch 3, 133-137)
• Vietnamese: Au Co, Dragon Prince (or Lac Dragon), 36th heaven [not on exam: Ivory Egg, Red Egg, Nagaraja] (L & M, Ch 3, 147-154)
• Greek: Diana, Jupiter, Jove, Juno, Callisto, Arcus, Great & Lesser Bears [not on exam: constellations] (L & M, Ch 3, 161-168)

Possible Essay Questions

• Homeric Hymns: What are some of the things that the first thirty lines or so of the Homeric Hymns to Apollo, Hermes, Artemis, Aphrodite, & Demeter (all in Powell) tell us about Greek society? Make sure you organize based on "themes" not based on the Homeric Hymns, that you give specific examples from at least 3 specific Homeric Hymns.


• Divine Interactions: Scholars of Homer's works have noted that three pairs of opposites describe well how the Olympians deities interact/relate to humans--the deities sometimes emphasize their nearness to humans and sometimes emphasize how great a gulf separates humans from the deities; the deities are sometimes kind and sometimes cruel to humans; the deities sometimes act according to justice and sometimes according to selfish "whims." Use 1-3 of these three pairs of opposites to examine the following:
  • Artemis and Athena in Powell's Chapter 9 (7th-8th editions)
  • Au-Co or Pe-le in Leonard & McClure's chapter 3
  In your conclusion discuss the significance of the similarities/differences between the two cultures' myths.