Introduction to Western Literature and Arts (¦è¬v¤å¾Ç·§­n)

1st Semester, 2005

Topic 1. The Olympian Gods and Goddesses

Topic 2: Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book 1, Book 3

I. Fill in the blank 2% x 15=30%

Greek Name Roman Name Related Activities Related animals and plants Related objects
Zeus ¡@ ¡@ eagle, bull, oak ¡@
Apollo ¡@ prophecy, medicine, archery, music, moderation, law ¡@

¡@

sun,
lyre, bow &arrow

¡@

¡@ Bacchus ¡@ bull, snake, panther, ivy wine, thyrsus, fawnskin
Hermes ¡@ messenger, traveller, leads souls to Hades, trickster

¡@

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX hat, winged sandals, wand

¡@

¡@ Diana ¡@ bear, deer bow&arrow, moon
Athena ¡@ ¡@ ¡@ aegis, armor
¡@ Venus love, sex ¡@ XXXXXXXXXX

See : Table of the Olympian Divinities

II. The Following questions are based on Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book 1. Answer the questions briefly. 10% x 4 = 40%

1. What are the four ages before the flood? Which age characterizes the Mycenaean culture?
Answer:

2. Compared with other beings, what is the unique characteristic of human ?
Answer:

3. What is the reason of the flood? And what story explain this reason?
Answer:

4. In the catastrophic flood, there were only a man and a woman survived. Who are they? Following the oracle of Themis, how do they regenerate human beings after the flood?
Answer:

¡@

III. The Theban cycle contains stories which are ironical and paradoxical. The destiny of the house of Cadmus was closely related to "Serpent." The transformation of the family of Cadmus concerns about "vision" & "forbidden seeing."
Fill in the blank: 3% x 10 = 30%

Name Ironical Reversal Forbidden Seeing & Mystery Transformation.
Cadmus The destroyer of serpent was turned into a serpent. The gazer (of the Serpent) was gazed by other (as serpent). killed a monstrous Serpent, which was sacred to ______ ¡@
Actaeon ¡@ ¡@ -->dappled dear, (or boar)
Tiresias The judge was judged. He saw two snakes mating twice. ¡@
Narcissus ¡@ ¡@ --> flower
Echo ¡@ She saw Zeus's affair but did not told Hera -->
Pentheus An unbeliever was frightened by what he saw. ¡@ -->deformation
His deformation is contrast of Bacchus's deformation.
Reference : Lecture Note-4