Download Mythology Notes

Name: ___________________
English 9
Period: _____
Ms. Viel
What is a myth?
A myth is a traditional _______________ serving to explain
some phenomenon, ____________________, or ___________.
What are some the
characteristics of the Gods?
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Where do the Gods live?
Getting to know the Gods
 Zeus -
 Hera -
 Athena -
 Poseidon -
 Demeter -
 apollo -
 Hades -
 Aphrodite -
Hephaestus -
 Ares  Eros -
 Dionysus -
 Artemis -
Muses – _______ sister goddesses known
for song, ___________, and sciences
Nymphs – _________ goddesses,
beautiful maidens who lived in _________
Naiad – ___________ nymph, gave life to
rivers, streams, fountains, etc.
Dryad – ________ nymph
Aphrodisiac – a ________ potion, named
for _____________, goddess of love
Arachnophobia – a fear of __________
Atlas – a _______, named after the
________ who bore the sky on his
shoulders and was turned to stone by
__________.
Calliope – musical ___________, named
for the Goddess Calliope; name comes
from two words meaning “_________”
and “________”.
Cloth – The Greeks believed that
___________ was controlled by ______
terrible ___________ called the _______.
Clotho spun the ___________________
on her spindle. Lachesis __________ the
thread. Atropos, Lady of the ________,
snipped the thread of life when it had been
measured out.
Chronology – comes from the Greek God
_______, the God of ________.
Chronology is the ________ of measuring
time and of dating _________ in the order
of their occurrence.
Cyclops (Cyclopes) – Greek _________.
Names comes from two Greek words
“_________” and “_____”.
Echo – named after the ________ Echo who
fell in love with Narcissus. She could not
tell him of her love because she was under a
_______ which allowed her to repeat only
the last word of what was said to her.
Narcissistic – to be ____________ by the
idea of one’s own __________; comes from
Narcissus, the ______ who fell in love with
_____________________.
Elysian Fields – place of _______________
Erinyes or the __________ - punished
people for their ________ on the earth.
They were referred to as _______________,
which ironically meant “the _______ ones”.
This is where the term euphemism comes
from. A euphemism is a less direct word or
phrase for one considered _____________
Example – He died….__________________
Erotic – relating to _______, derived from
_______, Aphrodite’s son, the secret
_______ whose arrows were tipped with
sweet poison.
Fortune – derived from _________, the
Roman goddess of _______ and vengeance,
mistress of __________. Her name is a
variant of the ________ word votrumna,
meaning “__________” because she turned
the giant wheel of the year, stopping it at
either ____________, _________, ______,
or __________.
Hades – describes the home of the _______;
comes from the Greek word meaning “the
_________.”
Jove – one of the names for Jupiter/Zeus,
has come to mean “ ___________________
__________________________________”.
We even hear the phrase “By Jove!” and the
adjective jovial derives from the word as
well.
Labyrinth – a _________, prison-garden
full of puzzling paths built by
______________.
Martial – “____________”; comes from
_______ aka Ares, the God of War
Mercurial - _______, _________,
changeable; refers to the disposition of
Mercury aka __________, the MessengerGod
Midas Touch – the _________ touch, is
said of those who are good at
_______________.
Oracle – Greek word meaning “_________”
A person who seems to possess great
knowledge or __________ is called an
oracle.
Panic – derived from the God _____, the
_____________, flute-playing king of field
and wood whose ______ cry was supposed
to spread frenzy and fear among his
_________.
Psyche – in Greek it meant “_________”.
Today, however, in English it has come to
mean the entire mental __________.
Python – comes from the Greek word
“___________,” is used to describe _______
such as the _____ which kill its prey by
____________ it.
Saturday – named for the God _________,
a Roman name for __________
Titan – referred to the race of ________,
has been used to describe anything which is
__________ in size or __________ (Titanic)
Typhoon – a violent _______, comes from
Typhon, a terrible ________. He was
______________, ______________; he had
great leathery wings and few through the air
shrieking horribly, spitting flames.
Volcano – derived from ________, the
Roman Smith-God aka _____________,
who took a mountain as his smithy. When
he heated up his forge, clouds of smoke
arose from the mountains.
Why We Study
Mythology…
By studying myths, a person can
learn how a culture thought, lived,
and
expressed
themselves.
HISTORY can tell you facts about a
people, but MYTH shows you the
personality, beliefs, fears, and hopes
of that culture’s people. Relying only
on only HISTORY to tell you about a
people is like reading someone's
driver's license instead of meeting
him or her face-to-face.