Life & Death:

• Maurizio, Chapter 4 (background): key names & terms:
  • "Death:" Cerberus, Charon, Hades, Styx, Tartarus, Hades' attributes: scepter, throne, cornucopia; Hades' parents: Cronus & Rhea
  • "Life:" Demeter, Demeter's attributes: wheat stalk, torch; Demeter's parents: Cronus & Rhea
  • Eleusinian Mysteries, Demeter, Persephone, Eleusis, Eleusinion (in Athens), Telesterion, mystes, the 2 qualifications to be a mystes (prior to the Persian Wars), i.e. not be a murderer and be able to speak Greek


• Maurizio, Chapter 4 (myths): key names & terms:
  • Homeric Hymn 2: To Demeter, Zeus, Demeter, Hades, Persephone, Hekate, Hermes, Eleusis, Erebos (underworld), Pomegranate Seeds, famine
  • Sumerian: Dumuzi/Damu, his mother (Duttur), cow/calf, final meal/beer, Hades (realm of the dead),

Love & Strife:

• Maurizio, Chapter 5 (background): Key Names & Terms:
  • Aphrodite, birth: foam from ... of Uranus or Zeus & female deity, offspring (Eros, Aeneas, Harmonia), attributes (birds, the Erotes), place (Cyprus), Adonis, the Adonia
  • Ares, Hera, Zeus, Aphrodite, attributes (helmet, spear, shield, greaves)
  • Hephaestus, Hera, Zeus, Aphrodite, attributes (hammer, tongs),
  • Eros, Plato, The Symposium


• Maurizio, Chapter 5 (myth): key names & terms:
  • Homeric Hymn 5: To Aphrodite, Zeus, Hestia, Athena, Artemis, Aphrodite, Anchises (or Ankhises), Aeneas (or Aineias), Ganymedes, Dawn, Hills of Ida, Paphos (shrine)

Wisdom & War:

• Maurizio, Chapter 6 (background) Key Names & Terms:
  • Athena: Metis, Zeus, Hephaestus, Parthenon, Peplos, glaucopis, attributes (shield, spear, helmet, aegis), Athena Parthenus
  • Poseidon: Cronus, Rhea, contest with Athena, Cult titles: Earth-shaker, Hippius; attributes (trident, dolphin)


• Maurizio, Chapter 6 (myths): key names & terms:
  • Aeschylus, Oresteia, Apollo, Athena, Orestes, Eumenides, Zeus' oracle, chorus leader of Erinyes, Trial, Court, Areopagus, Athens
  • Egyptian: the Abyss, Egypt, Esna=Sais, Neith (Ahet-cow), Re=Khepri/Atum, Apep, Thoth, the primordial egg

Other non-Greek:

• Leonard & McClure key names & terms:
  • Iroquois: Sky Woman, sorcerer (her husband), corn/3tests for marriage, waterfowl, beaver, turtle, tree of light, Skywoman's daughter, Bud, Sapling, the void, dreams, Skywoman's father
  • Hawaiian: Pe-le, Hi-i-aka, Ho-po-e, Prince Lo-hi-au, great sorcerer, Kauai, pit of Kilauea, Grove of trees, spirit bodies, ghosts, incantations


• pdf & web key names & terms:
  • Egyptian (pdf): Rhea, Cronus, Isis, Osiris, Typhon, Nephthys, Horus, Byblus, chest, 5 days, river
  • Sumerian (web): Inana (or Inanna), Neti, Enlil, Nanna, Enki, Eriskigala, the Anuna (7 judges), Dumuzid, 7 divine powers, 7 gates, life-giving water & life-giving plant

Possible Essay Questions:

Unless the topic specifically says so, use only the primary material (i.e. the actual stories) in Maurizio's Classical Mythology in Context and in Leonard & McClure's Myth & Knowing, the pdf in Moodle for Plutarch, the web site for the Sumerian myth of Inanna (click here)

• "Couple Love:"
  • Prompt: Examine the portrayal of "love" between 2 individuals, i.e. a "couple", in Hymn 5: To Aphrodite (Maurizio, pp 219–226) and 2-3 of the myths listed below. In your conclusion hypothesize on the significance of your findings and whether things are the same or different today.
    • Hymn 2: To Demeter (Maurizio 163–174)
    • "The Fire Goddess" (Leonard & McClure, 124–132)
    • "Out of the Blue" (Leonard & McClure, 68–75)
    • In the Desert by the Early Grass (Maurizio, 188–194)
    • Isis & Osiris (Plutarch, pdf in Moodle)
    • Inana's Descent to the Nether World (web: click here)


• Parental Love:
  • Prompt: Examine the portrayal of parental love in Hymn 2: To Demeter (Maurizio, pp 163–174) and for 2-3 of the myths listed below. In your conclusion hypothesize on the significance of your findings and whether things are the same or different today.
    • "Out of the Blue" (Leonard & McClure, 68–75)
    • In the Desert by the Early Grass (Maurizio, 188–194)
    • Isis & Osiris (Plutarch, pdf in Moodle)
    • Inana's Descent to the Nether World (web: click here)


• Justice—Familial vs. Civic:
  • Prompt: One way to look at the selection from Aeschylus' Eumenides (Maurizio, 260–266) is that it is an attempt to provide a synthesis of an older system (the family determines and carries out "justice") with a newer system (the community fulfills that role). In your essay examine how 1-2 of the numbered items below "sit" with regard to "familial vs civic". In your introduction, give examples of the systems from the selection from the Eumenides. In your conclusion also address whether Aeschylus' synthesis is still a valid approach today.
    1. Hymn 2: To Demeter (Maurizio 163–174)) or Hymn 5: To Aphrodite (Maurizio, pp 219–226)
    2. "The Fire Goddess" (Leonard & McClure, 124–132) or "Out of the Blue" (Leonard & McClure, 68–75)
    3. Isis & Osiris (Plutarch, pdf in Moodle) or Inana's Descent to the Nether World (web: click here)