Myths of the Olympian gods: Male Deities

• Powell, Chapter 7
  • Key Names & Terms:
    • birth: Leto, Hera, Zeus, Delos, Apollo
    • oracle: Telephusa, Delphi, Pytho, Pythia
    • loves: Cassandra, Sibyl at Cumae, Daphnê, Coronis, Asclepius
  • go to Powell's web site (Ch 7): click here
• Powell, Chapter 8 (also 7 in 4th-6th editions)
  • Key Names & Terms:
    • Hephaestus, Hera, Zeus, Ares, Aphrodite, Poseidon
    • Hermes, Zeus, Maia, Apollo, Argus, caduceus, psychopompos
  • go to Powell's web site (Ch 7): click here

Myths of "The Male Divine" and One Trickster

• Hindu: Arjuna, Krishna, Sanjaya, karma, dharma, yoga, bhakti, jnana (L & M, Ch 4, 208-220)
• Yoruba: Olorun, Orunmila, Eshu, orishas, Agemo (L & M, Ch 4, 227-231)
• Norse: Odin, Thor, Hrungnir, Magni, Mjollnir, hone, Valhalla, Groa, Golden Mane (L & M, Ch 4, 232-239)
• Norse: Thor, Loki, Sif, dwarfs (sons of Ivaldi), dwarfs (Brokk & Eitri), Mjollnir, Sif's "hair", other gifts (L & M, Ch 5, 277-283)

Myths of the Olympian gods: Female Deities

• Powell, Chapter 9 (8 in 4th-6th editions):
  • Key Names & Terms:
    • Hestia, hearth, Dionysus
    • Aphrodite, Cypris, Hermaphroditus, Pygmalion, Cinyras, Myrrha, Anchises, Aeneas
    • Artemis, Zeus, Leto, Potnia Therôn, Niobê, Actaeon;
    • Athena, Zeus, Arachne, Poseidon, aegis
  • sample questions at his web site: click here
• Powell, Chapter 10 (9 in 4th-6th editions):
  • Key Names & Terms:
    • Demeter, Persephone, Hades, Pomegranate, Eleusis, Rhea, Helios, Hecate, Zeus
    • Eleusinian Mysteries (& class notes): Telesterion, Eleusis, Eleusinion, Agora, fish, pomegranate, kykeon
    • Inanna, Dumuzi, Enki, Ereshkigal, Annunaki gods
    • Isis, Osiris, Typhoeus or Seth, Horus, fish
    • Cybele, Zeus, Agdestis, pomegranate, Attis, self-castration, Galli, Magna Mater
    • Aphrodite, Adonis, anemone, Myrrha
  • sample questions at his web site: click here

Myths of "The Female Divine"

• Hawiian: Pe-le, Hi-i-aka, Ho-po-e, Lo-hi-au, lehua trees (L & M, Ch 3, 122-132)
• Sioux: wakan, Ptesan-Wi or White Buffalo Calf Woman, chanunpa (L & M, Ch 3, 133-137)
• Vietnamese: Dragon Lord or Lac Dragon, Au Co or Lac Bird, Jade stone (L & M, Ch 3, 147-154)

Possible Essay Questions:

• We have seen how myths of a particular culture often reveal societal norms. How are the roles of men similar and different in Hawaiian and Greek culture. Use as evidence for Hawaiian culture, 'The Fire Goddess' (Leonard 122ff). Use as evidence for Greek culture, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter and the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, both in Powell's text. In both of the Greek myths, treat the interactions of the deities amongst themselves as that of humans amongst themselves.


• Which goddess from Powell's chapters 9 and 10 (8 and 9 in 4th-6th editions) and from the selections from Leonard's Chapter 3 which we covered would you most like to be and which godess would you least like to be and why? In answering this question, make sure you give at least three reasons for each and that you show sufficient insight into the character of the goddesses you choose. Also make sure you base your answers on the actual stories given in these chapters and not the summaries, etc. given by Powell or Leonard.