Lecture 10/29/08

CLCS 335 Lecture 10/29/08 Blackboard is down: web.ics.purdue.edu/~kdickson/335f2k8sched.html Herakles cosmogonic battle Typhoeus offspring death Geryon Alcestis Cerberus split nature xenia protects violates Perseus Bronze Age Greece twins: Acrisius and Proetus have fist fights in mother's womb Acrisius has a daughter, Danae hears that she will have a son that will destroy him locks Danae up in a chamber Zeus impregnates her keeps secret from Acrisius gives birth to Perseus exiles both Danae and Perseus out of the kingdom both put in a box and are thrown into the ocean Polydectes and Dictys polydectes: receiver of many epithet of Hades dictys: net man Polydectes wants to marry Danae Perseus objects so he sends him on an impossible mission Polydectes send Perseus to bring back the head of Medusa Medusa was raped by Poseidon in the temple of Athena turned into gorgon as punishment lithifies people Graeae three old hags sisters to gorgons one eye and one tooth shared Perseus steels the tooth refuses to give it back until they disclose information about nymphs Nymphs give in map to Gorgons give him equipment invisibility helmet winged sandals expanding back pack mirror/shield knife when Perseus decapitates Medusa, Pegasus flies out returns to island to stop wedding and petrifies everyone side story Andromeda daughter of Cephisus Cephisus has bad twin brother, Phineus Perseus offers to rescue Andromeda promised to him if he is successful kills the dragon Andromeda is being sacrificed to Andromeda already promised to Phineus lithifies everyone takes Andromeda back with him Perseus marries Andromeda, Danae marries Dictys they all go back to Mycenae Acrisius gets decapitated by discus constant struggle between him and "bad dads" has to kill aggressive women to save good woman (mother) infantile myth more fairytale than legend meant to be told to children evil eye power to suck life out of whatever it sees Graeae do the same thing more likely to be attacked while eating and drinking