CLASSIC2200 November Term Test Review
Week 1: Intro to Classical Mythology
1. Definition of Myth
a. Spoken, word or utterance
b. Traditional shared narrative, originally oral since no alphabet
c. Flexible and change over time as narrators/audience change
i. Reflects collective set of values and beliefs
2. Definition of Ideology
a. System of ideas; explains and justifies actions/beliefs of a group
b. Function of myths in relation to ideologies:
i. express a society’s ideologies, justify its rules and practices
ii. way to make sense of the unknown
3. What are the 4 Types of Myth?
a. Divine Myth: experiences of natural universe phenomena (ex.
Weather)
i. Reflects Greek social structure/ideology (Ex. Gods)
ii. Major Characters: anthropomorphic (human-shaped), immortal
and ageless – gods and goddesses
b. Legend: historical phenomena (ex. Founding of cities, wars)
i. Major Characters: humans that are superior in some way (ex.
Heracles)
c. Folktale: fantasy of the inversion of power structures
i. Major Characters: ordinary mortals
ii. Comical or have happy ending, unrealistic (ex. Small weak
person slaying monster)
d. Fable: didactic (teaches lesson about moral behaviour)
i. Major Characters: animals with human characteristics (ex. Hare
and the Tortoise)
4. What are the Types of Evidence for Myths?
a. Texts, Vase Paintings, Paintings/Wall Paintings
b. Mosaics, Funerary Objects, Coins
c. Archaeological Sites, Sculptures
5. What are the 6 Major Periods of Greek History?
a. Minoan Civilization (3000 BCE – 1400 BCE)
i. Crete, not Indo-European
ii. Open palaces, no fortification (naval domination) – Knossos
iii. Female figures, bull imagery, double-axe (labrys)
iv. Sophisticated arts/engineering
,b. Mycenaean Period (1650 BCE – 1150 BCE)
i. Indo-European (spoke early Greek)
ii. Fortressed palaces (ex. Mycenae) – wars, epic heroes
iii. Aristocratic social hierarchy, syllabic writing (stories written
down from Minoan)
iv. Reason for decline is obscure
c. “Dark Ages” (1100 BCE – 800 BCE)
i. decline in population, emigration to Asia Minor
ii. absence of literacy, economic decline
iii. scarce evidence, poor quality
d. Archaic Period (800 BCE – 400 BCE)
i. Rise in trade/travel, growth of city-states
ii. Phoenician alphabet (increased literacy) – stories written down
from Homer, Hesiod)
iii. Science, introduce currency (profits/wealth)
iv. Olympic games, Democracy, Persian Wars
e. Classical Period (480 BCE – 323 BCE)
i. Athenian dominance and empire (Delian League – protection to
weaker states)
ii. Art, drama, culture (theatre)
Education – intellectual center (ex. Plato, Euripides)
Parthenon (temple to Athena)
iii. Democracy – laws written down
iv. Peloponnesian Wars (Athens vs Sparta and allies – Athens lost
but still cultural prestige)
v. Alexander the Great: expanded Greek empire across
Mediterranean and Near East – ends with his death
Dominance of Greek language and culture (educated
elites)
f. Hellenistic Period (323 BCE – 146 BCE)
i. Successors of Alexander the Great rule around Mediterranean,
Near East and Egypt (Alexander’s Empire)
ii. Cosmopolitan culture, travel, sharing intellect
Universities, libraries (Aristotle)
iii. Ends when Rome conquers Greece
, Week 2: Hesiod’s Theogony
1. What is the Theogony?
a. Genealogy, cosmogony, political history
b. Divine dynastic succession (origin/birth of the gods)
2. Ancient Greek Concept of the Universe
a. Universe as a sphere, Earth is flat
b. Sky surrounds Earth, Oceans around Earth
c. Heaven/Olympus above Earth, Underworld/Tartarus (Hades) below
3. Describe the Features of an Oral Epic
a. Epic: genre of song, used to tell stories
i. Sung by special singer (bard/aoidos), lyre, sing from memory
ii. Sung in dactylic hexameter (6 beats, matching syllables/line)
b. Invocation of Muses (inspire)
c. Repetition
i. Epithets: statements to recognize a character
d. Ring Composition (tell a side story, then come back to original story)
e. Catalogues/Lists (names of children, prove their knowledge)
4. Who are the Muses?
a. 9 daughters of Zeus + Mnemosyne (“memory”)
b. Patrons of poetry, dance, arts; led by Apollo
i. Hesiod invokes Muses 3 times, sings about the gods
Can say false and true things
ii. Also give gift of sweet persuasive speech to kings
5. In the Beginning
a. Chasm – Earth, Tartarus, Eros (and night and day)
b. Earth – Sky, Mountains, Sea (asexual reproduction)
i. Earth and Sky are the 1st Generation (sexual reproduction)
6. Second Generation
a. Earth and Sky – 12 TITANS, Cyclopes and 100-handed ones
i. No space b/w Earth and Sky, children cannot escape
ii. Sickle from Earth to Cronus, castrates Sky
Drops of Blood – Furies, Nymphs, Giants
Genitals – Aphrodite
b. Earth – evil things (strife, hardship, pain), monsters (echidna,
Cerberus, Pegasus), rivers, Hecate
7. Third Generation
a. Cronus and Rhea – 6 OLYMPIANS
i. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades
ii. Hera, Hestia, Demeter
Week 1: Intro to Classical Mythology
1. Definition of Myth
a. Spoken, word or utterance
b. Traditional shared narrative, originally oral since no alphabet
c. Flexible and change over time as narrators/audience change
i. Reflects collective set of values and beliefs
2. Definition of Ideology
a. System of ideas; explains and justifies actions/beliefs of a group
b. Function of myths in relation to ideologies:
i. express a society’s ideologies, justify its rules and practices
ii. way to make sense of the unknown
3. What are the 4 Types of Myth?
a. Divine Myth: experiences of natural universe phenomena (ex.
Weather)
i. Reflects Greek social structure/ideology (Ex. Gods)
ii. Major Characters: anthropomorphic (human-shaped), immortal
and ageless – gods and goddesses
b. Legend: historical phenomena (ex. Founding of cities, wars)
i. Major Characters: humans that are superior in some way (ex.
Heracles)
c. Folktale: fantasy of the inversion of power structures
i. Major Characters: ordinary mortals
ii. Comical or have happy ending, unrealistic (ex. Small weak
person slaying monster)
d. Fable: didactic (teaches lesson about moral behaviour)
i. Major Characters: animals with human characteristics (ex. Hare
and the Tortoise)
4. What are the Types of Evidence for Myths?
a. Texts, Vase Paintings, Paintings/Wall Paintings
b. Mosaics, Funerary Objects, Coins
c. Archaeological Sites, Sculptures
5. What are the 6 Major Periods of Greek History?
a. Minoan Civilization (3000 BCE – 1400 BCE)
i. Crete, not Indo-European
ii. Open palaces, no fortification (naval domination) – Knossos
iii. Female figures, bull imagery, double-axe (labrys)
iv. Sophisticated arts/engineering
,b. Mycenaean Period (1650 BCE – 1150 BCE)
i. Indo-European (spoke early Greek)
ii. Fortressed palaces (ex. Mycenae) – wars, epic heroes
iii. Aristocratic social hierarchy, syllabic writing (stories written
down from Minoan)
iv. Reason for decline is obscure
c. “Dark Ages” (1100 BCE – 800 BCE)
i. decline in population, emigration to Asia Minor
ii. absence of literacy, economic decline
iii. scarce evidence, poor quality
d. Archaic Period (800 BCE – 400 BCE)
i. Rise in trade/travel, growth of city-states
ii. Phoenician alphabet (increased literacy) – stories written down
from Homer, Hesiod)
iii. Science, introduce currency (profits/wealth)
iv. Olympic games, Democracy, Persian Wars
e. Classical Period (480 BCE – 323 BCE)
i. Athenian dominance and empire (Delian League – protection to
weaker states)
ii. Art, drama, culture (theatre)
Education – intellectual center (ex. Plato, Euripides)
Parthenon (temple to Athena)
iii. Democracy – laws written down
iv. Peloponnesian Wars (Athens vs Sparta and allies – Athens lost
but still cultural prestige)
v. Alexander the Great: expanded Greek empire across
Mediterranean and Near East – ends with his death
Dominance of Greek language and culture (educated
elites)
f. Hellenistic Period (323 BCE – 146 BCE)
i. Successors of Alexander the Great rule around Mediterranean,
Near East and Egypt (Alexander’s Empire)
ii. Cosmopolitan culture, travel, sharing intellect
Universities, libraries (Aristotle)
iii. Ends when Rome conquers Greece
, Week 2: Hesiod’s Theogony
1. What is the Theogony?
a. Genealogy, cosmogony, political history
b. Divine dynastic succession (origin/birth of the gods)
2. Ancient Greek Concept of the Universe
a. Universe as a sphere, Earth is flat
b. Sky surrounds Earth, Oceans around Earth
c. Heaven/Olympus above Earth, Underworld/Tartarus (Hades) below
3. Describe the Features of an Oral Epic
a. Epic: genre of song, used to tell stories
i. Sung by special singer (bard/aoidos), lyre, sing from memory
ii. Sung in dactylic hexameter (6 beats, matching syllables/line)
b. Invocation of Muses (inspire)
c. Repetition
i. Epithets: statements to recognize a character
d. Ring Composition (tell a side story, then come back to original story)
e. Catalogues/Lists (names of children, prove their knowledge)
4. Who are the Muses?
a. 9 daughters of Zeus + Mnemosyne (“memory”)
b. Patrons of poetry, dance, arts; led by Apollo
i. Hesiod invokes Muses 3 times, sings about the gods
Can say false and true things
ii. Also give gift of sweet persuasive speech to kings
5. In the Beginning
a. Chasm – Earth, Tartarus, Eros (and night and day)
b. Earth – Sky, Mountains, Sea (asexual reproduction)
i. Earth and Sky are the 1st Generation (sexual reproduction)
6. Second Generation
a. Earth and Sky – 12 TITANS, Cyclopes and 100-handed ones
i. No space b/w Earth and Sky, children cannot escape
ii. Sickle from Earth to Cronus, castrates Sky
Drops of Blood – Furies, Nymphs, Giants
Genitals – Aphrodite
b. Earth – evil things (strife, hardship, pain), monsters (echidna,
Cerberus, Pegasus), rivers, Hecate
7. Third Generation
a. Cronus and Rhea – 6 OLYMPIANS
i. Zeus, Poseidon, Hades
ii. Hera, Hestia, Demeter
