cla 210 midterm Questions and Answers
myth - answer stories primarily concerned with the gods and humankind's relations
with them
saga - answer perceptible relationship to history, however fanciful and imaginative
folktale - answer stories of adventure
etiology - answer aspect of myth that provides an explanation of a phenomenon of
the natural world or of human practices
archetype - answer a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in
literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and
to evoke a response
binary oppositions - answer a pair of opposites, thought to powerfully form and
organize human thought and culture
folktale motif - answer archetypes often found in this type of myth, such the quest in
greek mythology, or the guardian dragon.
sacred marriage - answer marriage between divine/primordial entities that represents
the forces of creation
liminal - answer an in-between state or transitional experience and/or period
abduction and consent - answer a male, often a deity, kidnaps a female, who,
despite initial alarm and/or resistance, ultimately consents to a sexual relationship,
which in some cases leads to marriage, and in others, to the birth of a heroic son in
whom the woman takes pride
epithet - answer A descriptive name or phrase used to characterize someone or
something
anthropomorphism - answer the greek gods, who look (and act) like humans
social charter - answer the idea that myths illustrate and confirm elements of society,
giving both individuals and the society as a whole the certainty and confidence that their
social system, family stucture, religious rituals, etc. are in accordance with the world,
divine law, or however else they understand as rightness
eponymous - answer hero is usually associated with the divinely approved
establishment of an area or with substantial mythological importance in a particular area
, apotropaic - answer to the use of scary, demonic creatures to "turn away" evil in their
turn
pantheon - answer all of the gods of a given society.
demigod - answer half-god, half-human
nymph - answer female minor deities who are often personifications of the immanent
spirits of places; some are only personifications but others, fully anthropomorphized,
play a role in significant myths.
olympian deities - answer there are 14 gods who are the major offspring and siblings
at zeus
chthonian deities - answer exist in contrast to the overt and accessible gods of the
upper world; their place is hidden beneath the earth, their nature is primitive and/or
chaotic, and they are reached and worshipped by means other than community festivals
and sacrifice with shared meat
hero - answer tend to be significant in the mythology that defines the culture of the
Greeks as a people
trickster - answer a kind of figure found in many cultures whose modus operandi is
deception and defiance of authority
culture hero - answer a mythic figure who has created key advances in civilization,
technology, social practice, or ritual, that are beneficial to society and made it what it is
today
consort - answer is the wife or husband of a reigning monarch
hubris - answer a kind of arrogance that shows that you misunderstand your place in
the universe, and step out of your place in it, usually by being too bold or by thinking
you have too much power over your circumstances or too many rights over others, the
world, or the gods, or by being disrespectful consciously or unconsciously to those
whom you should respect and show proper humility toward
ate - answer "blind infatuation" that follows hubris
nemesis - answer inevitable horrible downfall or destruction that follows hubris
hamartia - answer "missing the mark," and often translated as a "fatal flaw." in
tragedy in particular, characters who are otherwise admirable have a hamartia that
ultimately brings about their tragedy
myth - answer stories primarily concerned with the gods and humankind's relations
with them
saga - answer perceptible relationship to history, however fanciful and imaginative
folktale - answer stories of adventure
etiology - answer aspect of myth that provides an explanation of a phenomenon of
the natural world or of human practices
archetype - answer a detail, image, or character type that occurs frequently in
literature and myth and is thought to appeal in a universal way to the unconscious and
to evoke a response
binary oppositions - answer a pair of opposites, thought to powerfully form and
organize human thought and culture
folktale motif - answer archetypes often found in this type of myth, such the quest in
greek mythology, or the guardian dragon.
sacred marriage - answer marriage between divine/primordial entities that represents
the forces of creation
liminal - answer an in-between state or transitional experience and/or period
abduction and consent - answer a male, often a deity, kidnaps a female, who,
despite initial alarm and/or resistance, ultimately consents to a sexual relationship,
which in some cases leads to marriage, and in others, to the birth of a heroic son in
whom the woman takes pride
epithet - answer A descriptive name or phrase used to characterize someone or
something
anthropomorphism - answer the greek gods, who look (and act) like humans
social charter - answer the idea that myths illustrate and confirm elements of society,
giving both individuals and the society as a whole the certainty and confidence that their
social system, family stucture, religious rituals, etc. are in accordance with the world,
divine law, or however else they understand as rightness
eponymous - answer hero is usually associated with the divinely approved
establishment of an area or with substantial mythological importance in a particular area
, apotropaic - answer to the use of scary, demonic creatures to "turn away" evil in their
turn
pantheon - answer all of the gods of a given society.
demigod - answer half-god, half-human
nymph - answer female minor deities who are often personifications of the immanent
spirits of places; some are only personifications but others, fully anthropomorphized,
play a role in significant myths.
olympian deities - answer there are 14 gods who are the major offspring and siblings
at zeus
chthonian deities - answer exist in contrast to the overt and accessible gods of the
upper world; their place is hidden beneath the earth, their nature is primitive and/or
chaotic, and they are reached and worshipped by means other than community festivals
and sacrifice with shared meat
hero - answer tend to be significant in the mythology that defines the culture of the
Greeks as a people
trickster - answer a kind of figure found in many cultures whose modus operandi is
deception and defiance of authority
culture hero - answer a mythic figure who has created key advances in civilization,
technology, social practice, or ritual, that are beneficial to society and made it what it is
today
consort - answer is the wife or husband of a reigning monarch
hubris - answer a kind of arrogance that shows that you misunderstand your place in
the universe, and step out of your place in it, usually by being too bold or by thinking
you have too much power over your circumstances or too many rights over others, the
world, or the gods, or by being disrespectful consciously or unconsciously to those
whom you should respect and show proper humility toward
ate - answer "blind infatuation" that follows hubris
nemesis - answer inevitable horrible downfall or destruction that follows hubris
hamartia - answer "missing the mark," and often translated as a "fatal flaw." in
tragedy in particular, characters who are otherwise admirable have a hamartia that
ultimately brings about their tragedy
