Key Terms
The name for a story (or collection of stories) told within the context of another story
Frame story
Over how many nights are the tales in The Arabian Nights told?
1,001 nights
This is the name of the natural man who becomes Gilgamesh’s best friend
Enkidu
The name of the main sun god who must fight Apophis each morning so the sun may rise.
Ra/Amun/Amun-Ra
The number of worlds in the Norse universe
9
The great Vanir goddess who knew powerful magic and whom the Aesir tried to burn three times
Freya
This is the name of the Egyptian key of life which is held by all of the gods
Ankh
For what purpose does the narrator tell her tales?
To save her life
Gilgamesh was the king of this strong-walled city
Uruk
Name the god who tricked his brother and chopped him into 14 parts and name the brother who is killed
Set and Osiris
Another name for the letters of the Futhark alphabet that contained magic and knowledge
Rune(s)
Name 3 of Loki’s children
Hel, Sleipnir, Jormungandr, Fenris
This is Gilgamesh’s fatal flaw, the official term for excessive pride
hubris
What is the name of the narrator of The Arabian Nights?
Scheherazade
The name of the evil monster who guards the cedar forest and is slain by Gilgamesh and Enkidu
Humbaba
Egypt’s great magician goddess who transforms herself into her sister in one myth
Isis
The name of the world tree
Yggdrasil
This god fathered the social classes
Heimdall
This is the term for the belief in or worship of more than one god.
Polytheism
How many voyages did Sindbad take?
7
What is the major theme of Gilgamesh?
All humans are mortal so accept their mortality & live each day to the fullest
Brother and sister, these two are the gods of the earth and sky and are separated by their father
Geb and Nut
The name of the first giant killed by Odin, Vili, and Ve who then used the parts of his body to create the universe
Ymir
This Aesir god was beheaded by the Vanir but whose head was preserved by Odin so the head can offer advice
Mimir
Psychologist Carl Jung coined this term to mean those universal images, characters, and events that continually repeat in the myths of different peoples
Archetype
Besides Sindbad, name two of the tales found in The Arabian Nights.
Aladdin, Ali Baba, Old Man & 2 Black Dogs, The Merchant & Genius
The name for the Mesopotamian creation myth telling the story of Tiamat and Marduk.
The Enuma Elish
This god of writing and learning records the outcome of the judgment of the hearts
Toth
The name of the blood-covered hound that protects the entrance to Helheim
Garm
This Aesir goddess was kidnapped because she dispensed a fruit that imparted immortality and youthfulness to the gods
Idun