2012-maliciousmonstersandmonstrousmortalssassignments

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2012 Medusa Mythology Examination - Malicious Monsters and Monstrous Mortals

This syllabus is written to be a guide as you study the classics to prepare for the Medusa Mythology

Exam (and expand your myth knowledge in general). It is NOT the be all, end all list ofinformation that might be on the exam. Each section of the list includes recommended primary

sources to study in addition to the more direct mythology dictionaries. We, the Medusa Mythology

Exam Committee, hope that you will begin (if not continue) to find the original works engaging,

compelling, and useful in your study and personal reading.

Nota Bene: All names here are listed in Greek (save those who only exist in Roman/Latin sources).

You need to know the Greek and Roman names and spellings for characters, as well as theAnglicized versions of names. For example, the Fates (Anglicized) are known as the Moirae(Greek) and Fata and Parcae (Latin).

I. Persesus (well, this is the Medusa Exam . . . )A. Monstrous Acrisius-

1. his treatment of Danae and baby Perseus

2. Perseus killing of himB. Malicious Medusa-

1. why he goes (the monstrous Polydectes)2. who all helps (gods and Graiai)

3. how he kills Medusa and what are bornC. His Return-

1. whom he saves (Andromeda)

2. from whom/what he saves her3. his encounters on the way back (Atlas)

D. OvidsMetamorphoses (NOT the Clash Of the Titans, one ortwo, old ornew)

II. JasonA. Monstrous Pelias-

1. his ursuping of the throne of Iolcus2. his death

B. Monstrous Meetings (monsters and monstrous mortals the Argonauts encounter)-

1. Harpies

2. Bebryces king, Amycus

3. six-armed giants of Bear Mountain4. Scylla and Charybdis

5. Sirens

6. Talus7. birds with arrow-like feathers

C. In Colchis-

1. Aeetes tasks for Jason2. Medeas help3. the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece

D. Medeas Malicious Malefactions-

1. killing Absyrtus2. convincing Pelias daughters to kill him

3. killing Creusa/Glauce

4. killing her children

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E. Primary source - TheArgonautica

III. Heracles

A. Monsters (for each monster, know its lineage as well as how Heracles defeats it)-|

1. Nemean Lion

2. Lernaean Hydra and crab

3. Ceryneian Hind4. Erymanthian Boar

5. Stymphalian Birds6. Bull of Minos

7. Man-eating Mares of Diomedes

8. Cattle of Geryon

a. know about Geryon himself

b. know about Geryons monstrous guard dog, Orthus

c. know about Cacus, the monster Heracles defeats on his way home

9. Monster guarding the Golden Apples of the Hesperides (often called Ladon)10. Cerberus

B. Other Malicious Encounters-1. Heracles as Argonaut

2. Robbers Cycnus and Syleus3. Laomedon

4. Nessus

C. Primary sources-1. Apollodorus, The Library

2. Euripides,Heracles

IV. TheseusA. Athenaze (for each malicious mortal, know his lineage and how Theseus defeats him)-

1. Procrustes2. Sinis3. Sceiron

4. Crommyonian Sow/Phaea

5. Cercyon

6. PeriphetesB. Theseus, the Bull-y-

1. How the Minotaur came to be

2. Where it lived3. How Theseus destroyed it

C. Theseus son Hippolytus-

1. Phaedras malicious crime2. The monstrous Bull of the Sea that lead to his death

D. Primary sources-

1. Apollodorus,Bibliotheca

2. Ovid,Metamorphoses3. Plutarch,Theseus

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollodorushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarchhttp://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/theseus.htmlhttp://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/theseus.htmlhttp://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/theseus.htmlhttp://classics.mit.edu/Plutarch/theseus.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plutarchhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ovidhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollodorus


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V. Odysseus

A. Malicious Monsters in Mari1. Scylla and Charybdis

2. Sirens

3. Polyphemus

4. Laestrygonians

B. Monstrous Mortals1. Palamedes

2. Circe3. Suitors

4. Suitor sympathizers

C. Primary source - Homer, Odyssey

VI. Theban Tragedies

A. Cadmus-

1. Slaying of Ares dragon2. His unfortunate childrens monstrous acts and deaths

a. Inob. Agave and her son Pentheus

c. Autonoe and her son ActaeonB. Dirce-

1. Harassment of Antiope

2. DeathC. Sphinx-

1. Lineage

2. Riddle

3. DemiseD. Monstrous Acts Of the Seven Against Thebes-

1. Blasphemy of Capaneus2. Tydeus odd meal

E. Primary sources-

1. Ovid,Metamorphoses

2. Sophocles, Oedipus Rex

VII. Atrocities Of the House Of Atreus

A. Odd meals-

1. Tantalus cooking of Pelops2. Atreus cooking of Thyestes sons

B. Agamemnon

1. Sacrifice of Iphigenia2. Murder at the hands of Clytemnestra and Aegisthus

C. Orestes murder of Clytemnestra and pursuit by the Furies

D. Primary sources - Aeschylus, Orestia

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VIII. Monsters In General (largely drawn from Hesiods Theogony)A. Groups-

1. Cyclopes

2. Hecatonchieres

3. Graiai

4. Gorgons5. Harpies

6. SirensB. Spawn of Echidna-

1. Cerberus

2. Orthus

3. Lernean Hydra4. Nemean Lion

5. Chimera

6. SphinxC. Other Monsters-

1. Ladon2. Geryon

3. Typhon/Typhoeus

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2012-maliciousmonstersandmonstrousmortalssassignments

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