Edith Hamilton’s Mythology

Study Guide

Chapter 1: The Gods

1. Who were the first parents of lifelike creatures? Who were their children and grandchildren?

2. Who were the Titans? Briefly describe them, and tell who first ruled them.

3. What is Olympus, and who lives there?

4. Who were the twelve great Olympians? Give their Greek and Roman names. Then identify their

spheres of influence, and their symbols. Complete the chart below.

Greek Roman “Domain” Symbols

5. Who were Eros, Hebe, and Iris?

6. Identify the Graces and the Muses. For what were they famous? Who were their parents?

7. Who was Nereus, and who were his children?

8. Identify Triton, Proteus, and the naiads.

9. Describe the underworld. Who ruled it and what happened to the souls who entered its domain?

10. Identify the Erinyes. What were their duties?

11. Name the two supreme deities of earth and their spheres of influence.

12. Describe Pan, his traits, and his duties.

13. Identify Castor and Pollux. How did Castor die? What then happened to Pollux?

14. What were satyrs, centaurs, and gorgons?

15. Who were the Sirens and the Fates? What powers did they have?

16. Who or what were the Numina?

Chapter 2: The Two Great Gods of Earth

17. Why was Demeter, the divinity of grain, thought of as a goddess and not a god?

18. How was the harvest celebrated? How did the celebration change over time?

19. Who was Persephone? Tell the story of her abduction and rescue. How did this incident explain the seasons to the early Greeks?

20. With what city was Dionysus associated? Why? What was unique about Dionysus and his parentage?

21. Dionysus was widely accepted by people in foreign lands. But in Greece, some refused to believe he

was a god and so defied him. Describe what happened to the pirates and Lycurgus.

22. Who were the maenads, or bacchantes? What was their connection to Dionysus? In what way do

they represent the dual power of wine?

23. Who was Pentheus? Why was he doomed by Dionysus? What fate did he suffer?

24. What was Dionysus’s connection to Greek drama?

25. How did resurrection come to be associated with Dionysus?

Chapter 3: How the World and Mankind Were Created

26. Describe the creation of Earth and Heaven.

27. Who were the first creatures on Earth before humans?

28. Describe the conflict between Gaea and Ouranos. How did Cronus get involved in it, and what was

the outcome?

29. How were the giants and the Erinyes created?

30. How was Cronus’s rule threatened? What did Cronus do to keep his throne? How was his plan spoiled?

31. What steps did Zeus take to become ruler of heaven and earth? How did he prepare the way for humans to live on earth?

32. Describe the world as the Greeks saw it.

33. In one creation story, Prometheus and Epimetheus created humans. How? What gifts did

Prometheus give to humans? Why?

34. In a second creation story, the gods created five ages of humans. Name these ages, describe the

people who lived in each, and tell their fate.

35. Who was the first woman, and why was she created? What harm did she bring to earth?

36. What did Prometheus do that led to his being chained to a rock in the Caucasus and punished?

37. Because of his sufferings, what does Prometheus symbolize today? Why?

38. Another story of creation begins with a flood. Who survived the flood, and what were they directed

to do? Why?

Chapter 4: The Earliest Heroes 39. How did Io suffer? Why? What makes Io a heroine?

40. How did Zeus capture Europa and where did he take her? Describe Europa’s fate.

41. Compare and contrast the appearance and actions of Polyphemus as he appears in the stories of

Odysseus and Galatea.

42. What part does Narcissus play in Persephone’s story?

43. Who were Narcissus and Echo? How did each figure in the other’s life? What were their fates?

44. Compare and contrast the deaths and transformations of Hyacinth and Adonis.

Chapter 5: Cupid and Psyche 45. Who was Psyche, and what was unique about her? In what way did she anger Venus, and what did

Venus plan as revenge?

46. How did Venus’s plan backfire?

47. Describe how Psyche’s marriage was arranged. Whom did she marry, and what was her marriage

like?

48. By what fault did Psyche lose her husband?

49. How was Psyche reunited with her husband, and how was Venus finally pacified?

Chapter 6: Eight Brief Tales of Lovers

50. How does the story of Pyramus and Thisbe explain the deep red color of mulberries?

51. Who was Orpheus? How did he help Jason and the Argonauts on their quest for the golden fleece?

52. How did Orpheus lose his bride, Eurydice? What did he do to try to get her back? What lesson is to

be learned from Orpheus’s ordeal?

53. Who were Ceyx and Alcyone? What tragedy befell Ceyx? What was Alcyone’s virtue, and how was it rewarded?

54. Who was Pygmalion? What was Pygmalion’s virtue, and how was it rewarded?

55. In what way were Baucis and Philemon different from their neighbors? How did Jupiter reward

them and why?

56. Who was Endymion? What was his outstanding trait? What happened to him because of this trait?

57. According to mythology, how did the laurel tree come into being? What did Apollo say he would do

with the laurel leaves? Why?

58. Who were Alpheus and Arethusa? Why was Arethusa changed into a spring? What was Alpheus’s fate?

Chapter 7: The Quest of the Golden Fleece

59. Describe the origin of the Golden Fleece. How did it get from Greece to Colchis?

60. Who were Jason and Pelias? What did Jason offer Pelias and why? For what reasons did Pelias tell

Jason to reclaim the Golden Fleece?

61. Who were the Argonauts?

62. Describe the dangers and misfortunes the Argonauts faced as they traveled to Colchis.

63. What was Hera’s plan to help Jason?

64. Why did King Aetes want to kill Jason? Why didn’t he kill Jason at once? Describe the task King

Aetes forced Jason to perform in exchange for the Golden Fleece. How did Jason accomplish it?

65. How did Jason finally obtain the Golden Fleece?

66. Describe Medea’s help to Jason on the journey to Greece and in Greece after their arrival.

67. How did Jason treat Medea in exchange for her help?

68. How did Medea take revenge on Jason for deciding to marry the Princess of Corinth?

Chapter 8: Four Great Heroes

Phaethon

69. Who is Phaethon's mother?

70. Why did Phaethon seek out the Sun god?

71. What did Phaethon ask to do? Why was the Sun reluctant to allow this request?

72. Describe the route the Sun travels daily. What is the road like? The horses? The monsters?

73. As soon as Phaethon drove the chariot, what did the horses realize? How did they react?

74. What happened to the world during Phaethon's ride? What does Mother Earth request? How does Jove react?

75. What happened to Phaethon?

Pegasus and Bellerophon

76. Who was Glaucus? How did he bring the wrath of the gods on him? What was his fate?

76. Who was rumored to be Bellerophon's father? Who was his mother? Why did it seem likely he was

the son of a god?

77. What did Bellerophon want? Who was Polyidus? What did he advise Bellerophon to do?

78. What was Bellerophon given so he could gain Pegasus? Who gave it to him?

79. Why did Anteia want her husband to kill Bellerophon? Why would he not do so? What did he do instead?

80. What did the letter to the King of Lycia read? What did the king do in response?

81. Name three great beings Bellerophon conquered.

82. Did Bellerophon and Proetus ever reconcile? How?

83. What eventually caused the beginning of Bellerophon's demise? How did he die?

84. What happened to Pegasus after Bellerophon's death?

Otus and Ephialtes

86. Who was their father? What were they commonly called?

85. Who did they imprison? How did the gods free this prisoner?

86. What did they strive to do? How did they want to accomplish their goal?

87. How does Poseidon convince Zeus not to throw his thunderbolt?

88. What two goddesses do Otus and Ephialtes love (respectively)? In reality, who did they really only

care for?

89. How does Artemis lead the two to their death? Why is their death especially painful?

Daedalus

90. What was Daedulus' profession? What famous object did he build?

90. Who was Daedulus' son?

91. Why did King Minos imprison Daedulus and his son?

92. How did Daedulus and his son escape?

93. What did Daedulus warn his son of? What happened when his son did not heed this warning?

94. How did King Minos know that Daedulus was in Sicily?

95. What happened to King Minos?

Chapter 9: Perseus 96. Why did King Acrisius of Argos want to get rid of his daughter, Danae? Why didn’t he kill her

directly? When Perseus was born, how did Acrisius arrange for his daughter and grandson to die?

97. Who were Dictys and Polydectes? How did Dictys help Danae and Perseus? Why did Polydectes

want Perseus dead, and how did he try to arrange it?

98. Who helped Perseus in his quest to obtain the head of a Gorgon? What steps did Perseus take to

find the Gorgons and prepare himself to attack Medusa? Was this plan successful?

99. How did Perseus meet and rescue his future wife?

100. How did Perseus rescue Danae and Dictys? What happened to Polydectes?

101. The oracle of Apollo had predicted that Perseus would kill his grandfather. How did this

prediction come true?

Chapter 10: Theseus 102. Identify Theseus. Why did he journey to Athens, and how did he become a hero on the journey?

103. Who was Procrustes, and how did Theseus deal with him?

104. What was Medea’s part in the story of Theseus?

105. Identify the Minotaur and the labyrinth. How did Theseus conquer the Minotaur?

106. What became of Ariadne?

107. How did Aegeus die?

108. How did Theseus organize the government of Athens?

109. How did Theseus practice justice?

110. What was Theseus’s weakness? How did it get him in trouble with Hades? How did he get out of

trouble?

111. What is the tragic story of Phaedra, Theseus, and Hippolytus?

Chapter 11: Hercules

112. Describe Hercules’s first heroic act, which he performed before he was a year old.

113. Who did Hercules wed? How was the marriage arranged?

114. Why did Hercules undertake the Twelve Labors? Who designed these labors?

115. Identify the Twelve Labors, and tell how Hercules accomplished each deed.

116. What and where are the Pillars of Hercules? According to myth, how were the pillars set up?

117. List several more of Hercules’s heroic deeds.

118. How did Hercules die?

Chapter 12: Atalanta

119. What did Atalanta's father do to her when she was born?

120. Who took care of Atalanta after her father abandoned her?

121. What was the situation with the two centaurs?

122. Who did Calydon send to punish King Orneus and why?

123. Give a description of how Atalanta looked when she joined the Argo.

124. Who fell in love with her?

125. Who wounded the boar and how was the boar wounded?

126. Who finished killing the boar off?

127. Who opposed giving the skin to Atalanta?

128. Who was Meleager's mother?

129. How was the boar hunt the cause of Meleager's death?

130. What did Meleager do to them?

131. Whom did Atalanta beat in a wrestling match?

132. Whom did she reconcile with?

133. Atalanta declared that if anyone could beat her at this event, she would marry him. What was

this event?

134. How did her husband do this? What goddess helped him?

135. What was Atalanta's son's name?

136. What kind of animals were Atalanta and Meleager turned into?

Chapter 13: The Trojan War 137. Who was Paris, and what situation led to the judgment of Paris?

138. What prophesy had been given to Paris’s father about his son? Why was Paris working as a

shepherd instead of living as a prince?

139. How did the goddesses ask Paris to choose among them? What choice did he make?

140. How did the judgment of Paris spark events that would lead to the Trojan War?

141. Why were the princes of Greece bound to help Menelaus get Helen back from Troy? Why were

they eager to help?

142. How did Odysseus plan to avoid going to Troy and how did his plan work out?

143. Why did Achilles’s mother plan to keep him from going to Troy? How did her plan work out?

144. Why was Iphigenia killed? What effects did her death have?

145. Identify Protesilaus and Laodamia, and briefly tell their story.

146. Identify Hecuba, Hector, and Andromache.

147. What did Hector and Achilles represent to their armies? What did these two men know about

their fates as they went into battle?

148. What part did Chryseis play in the war?

149. Why did Agamemnon and Achilles quarrel? What did Achilles do as a result of the quarrel?

150. What led Achilles to reenter the battle?

151. How did Athena trick Hector so that Achilles defeated him?

152. How did Achilles dishonor Hector after Hector’s death?

153. Which side did Zeus favor in the Trojan War? Describe how he influenced the war, up to

Hector’s death. What were his motivations?

154. Which side did Hera favor in the Trojan War? Describe the ways she influenced the war, up to

Hector’s death. What were her motivations?

Chapter 14: The Fall of Troy

155. Who came to the aid of the Trojans? How did this affect the war?

156. Who killed Achilles and how?

157. How did Ajax die?

158. Tell how Paris died.

159. What was the Palladium? Why did the Greeks want it? How did they manage to capture it?

160. What plan did Odysseus devise to conquer Troy once and for all?

161. Who said “I fear the Greeks even when they bear gifts”? What happened to that person?

162. Describe the fall of Troy. What happened to the remaining Trojans?

163. What became of Prince Aeneas of Troy and his family?

164. What became of Helen of Troy?

Chapter 15: The Adventures of Odysseus

165. Which two gods were the Greeks' greatest Allies? Why were the Greeks later punished by these

gods?

166. What power did Apollo give to Cassandra? Why did Apollo turn against her? What was

Cassandra's fate?

167. What happened to Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Ajax after they left Troy?

168. Ajax would have survived, if he did not possess which characteristic?

169. How long did Odysseus wander before he saw his home?

170. Who is Penelope? What task did she want to complete before she would marry any of the

suitors? Why was the task never completed?

171. Why did Athena favor Odysseus? Which god had no sympathy for Odysseus?

172. Who is Telemachus? What is his personality like?

173. What did Athena disguise herself as? What did she instruct Telemachus to do?

174. Which two men most likely knew something about Odysseus' fate?

175. Whose form did Athena take the second time she appeared to Telemachus?

176. Which god were Nestor and his sons offering a sacrifice to?

177. Why did Menelaus have to hold down Proteus? What did he and his men hide under?

178. Which nymph kept Odysseus?

179. Of what were Hermes's sandals made? What could his wand do?

180. Why did Calypso not want to free Odysseus? What did she make for Odysseus?

181. Who spots Odysseus on the sea? Why did Odysseus not want to die in the storm? Who helps

Odysseus in the storm? What does she tell Odysseus to do? Who calmed the waves?

182. To whom did the country (where Odysseus washes ashore) belong? What was their way of life?

183. Who finds Odysseus in the trees? What did she set out to do? How did she (and her servants)

complete their work? What does she do for Odysseus? Why can't she take him to her father herself?

Odysseus' Tale at Court of the Phaeacians Ten days after leaving Troy, why did Odysseus have to tie down some of his men?

184. Why is Poseidon angry with Odysseus?

185. What did King Aeolus give Odysseus? What is in it? Why does he give it to him? What does his

crew do to it? What happens as a result?

186. Who destroys the whole fleet except for Odysseus' ship?

187. Who lives on Aeaea? What happened to Odysseus' remaining crew? How does Odysseus avoid

their fate? Who tells Odysseus how to save himself? What eventually happens to the crew?

188. How is Odysseus told to get to the entrance to Hades? Who is he supposed to consult? What is Odysseus supposed to do to make him come?

189. To whose island is Odysseus to go next? Who lives there and why are they harmful? To avoid these people, what does Odysseus order the crew to do to themselves and himself?

190. At the Island of the Sun, what are Odysseus and his crew not to do? What does the crew do and

what happens to them?

191. What did the King of the Phaeacians and the chiefs give Odysseus before he leaves the island?

192. Where does Odysseus wake up? Who is disguised as a shepherd? What does Athena disguise

Odysseus as?

193. Where does Telemachus go before going back to his house? Who does he find there? What does

Odysseus tell Telemachus to hide?

194. Who is Argos and what does he do after he recognizes Odysseus?

195. What does Odysseus tell Penelope when she calls for him?

196. What two challenges does Penelope give the suitors? Who completes the challenges?

197. After the fight, who does Odysseus spare?

198. How does Odysseus finally prove himself to Penelope?

Chapter 16: The Adventures of Aeneas 199. Why were Aeneas and other Trojans bound for Italy? Briefly describe their adventures on their

voyage from Troy to North Africa. How did they get off course?

200. Who was Dido? Briefly tell her story, including how the divinities influenced her fate.

201. Once Aeneas reached Italy, he was advised to visit the underworld. Who accompanied him?

What did Aeneas take with him and why?

202. Once Aeneas reached the underworld, what did his father show him?

203. After Aeneas returned from the underworld, what did he and the Trojans undertake?

204. How did Juno interfere in Aeneas’s plans? Why? What war resulted?

205. What did the river god, Father Tiber, advise Aeneas to do? Why?

206. What help did Aeneas receive from King Evander? Why didn’t Evander send his army to help Aeneas?

207. Who were Nisus and Euryalus? What mission did they undertake? Why? What happened to

them?

208. What was the outcome of the war?

Chapter 17: The House of Atreus 209. Who was Tantalus and what was his wrongdoing? How was he punished? How was his story

connected to the curse on the house of Atreus?

210. What wrong did Tantalus’s son, Pelops, do? Why?

211. What wrong did Niobe, Tantalus’s daughter, do? How was she punished?

212. What tragedies did Pelops’s sons, Atreus and Thyestes, endure? How was the curse involved?

213. Identify these members of the House of Atreus: Agamemnon, Menelaus, Aegisthus, Orestes,

Iphigenia, and Electra.

214. Identify the reasons for Agamemnon’s death according to the two versions Hamilton gives.

215. Who killed Clytemnestra and why? How was her murder carried out?

216. How was Orestes absolved of guilt? Why was the curse on the House of Atreus lifted?

217. According to Euripides, how was Iphigenia saved from being sacrificed?

218. How did Iphigenia and Orestes then meet?

219. How did Iphigenia, Orestes, and his cousin Pylades escape from the Taurians?

Chapter 18: The House of Thebes

Cadmus and his Children

220. How was the site of Thebes determined?

221. How did Cadmus get people to build the city?

222. What was the fate of Cadmus and his wife Harmonia?

Oedipus

223. Why was Oedipus sent away to die as a baby?

224. How did Laius' death occur, according to rumor?

225. Why did Oedipus become the hero, king, and marry Jocasta?

226. How was the plague to be stayed?

227. How did the blind prophet finally answer Oedipus' request?

228. Who finally revealed the story to Oedipus?

229. What happened to Jocasta and Oedipus?

Antigone

230. Who became regent of Thebes?

231. Who took care of Oedipus when he was exiled? Who were the sons who fought for the crown?

232. Where did Oedipus die?

233. What did the prophet tell Creon? How was the matter settled? what resulted?

234. What was Creon's edict?

235. Who buried Polyneices?

Seven Against Thebes

236. What did Adrastus and the mothers of the unburied dead plead to king Theseus of Athens?

237. How did he decide?

238. When the sons of the seven champions of the buried dead finally took vengeance, what was left of

Thebes?

239. Why were the sons called Epigoni?

Part Six The Less Important Myths Chapter 20 Midas and Others Chapter 21 Brief Myths

242. What wish did Bacchus grant to Midas, and what was the result?

243. For what was Aesculapius honored?

244. What wrong did the Danaids do, and what was their punishment?

245. What was Arachne’s misdeed, and what was her punishment?

246. Which human lover of Zeus’ was changed into the Great Bear and placed in the sky?

247. For what was the centaur Chiron known?

248. Why were the Myrmidons created?

249. Which great hunter was placed in the sky as a constellation?

250. Who were the Pleiades?

251. What did Sisyphus do, and how was he punished?

Part Seven The Mythology of the Norsemen

Introduction Chapter 22 The Stories of Signy and Sigurd Chapter 23 The Norse Gods

252. What was Asgard like?

253. What was the Norse outlook on good and evil?

254. What was the choice the Norse hero made?

255. What was the central theme of the Norse mythology?

256. Briefly retell the story of Signy and Sigmund.

257. Whom did Sigurd rescue?

258. How does Sigurd die?

259. How did Balder die?

260. Describe Odin and his duties.

261. Who were the Valkyries?

262. Which days of the week were named after Norse gods?

263. Who ruled the Kingdom of Death?

264. How did Odin and his brothers make the world?

265. Who was the Thunder-god?

266. Who was Odin’s wife?

267. Who was Tyr?

268. Who was the Goddess of Love and Beauty?

269. What was Midgard?

270. What did the Norsemen believe would happen after Odin and the other gods were defeated

by evil?