CLASSICAL LITERACY EXAM

ARES/MARS

• Greek Ares and Roman Mars were the gods of war
• They both symbolize brute force and strength
• In the Odyssey, Ares was wounded by Diomedes during the Trojan war
• Along with being the god of war, Mars was the god of agriculture
• Mars was the second most important god in Roman religion

ARIADNE

• Ariadne was the daughter of Minos the king of Crete
• Every 7 years, 7 men and 7 women were to be put in a labyrinth and sacrificed to the minotar
• Theseus was one of these men, but Ariadne wanted to help because she loved him
• She gave him a ball of string and a sword to defeat the minotaur
• They were to be eloped, but Theseus abandoned her and she married Dionysis

HECTOR

• In Greek mythology, Hector was the best fighter in Troy
• Hector did not support war between the Greeks and Trojans
• Hector challenged the Greeks on man to man combat
• Ajax from Troy stepped up and they fought, neither was defeated
• Achilles from Greece eventually killed Hector in battle

HELEN

• Helen was the daughter of Zeus
• She was the most beautiful woman in the world
• Helen married Menelaus, and was later seduced and kidnapped by Paris
• Menelaus wanted her back and started the Trojan war for her
• Long after the war, Helen was seized by the Furies and hung on a tree

POST MORTEM

• "The stiffness of death"
• An autopsy examines a body post mortem
• They can determine whether things occurred before or after death
• Muscles stiffen up after death because they no longer produce ADP
• This causes the body to become stiff after a time period

PROMETHEUS

• Prometheus tricked Zeus and was chained to a rock in punishment
• His liver was eaten by an eagle daily
• Hercules saved Prometheus
• Prometheus gave humans fire after Zeus had taken it away from them
• Prometheus was a Titan and fought against Cronus