Greek Gods

Question 0

Ares

Answer 0

The Greek god of war; the son of Zeus and Hera, and half brother to Athena. Roman form: Mars

In the Iliad and Odyssey:

Iliad - sides with the Trojans

Odyssey - limited role

Question 1

Cronus

Answer 1

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1. (Classical Myth & Legend) Greek myth a Titan, son of Uranus (sky) and Gaea (earth), who ruled the world until his son Zeus dethroned him. Roman counterpart: Saturn

Question 2

Poseidon

Answer 2

The Greek god of the sea; son of the Titans Kronos (Cronus) and Rhea, and brother of Zeus and Hades. Roman form: Neptune

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - sides with the Greeks

Odyssey - against Odysseus; does not want him to get home; throws many obstacles his way, including a storm; father of Polyphemus, the cyclops

Question 3

Hera

Answer 3

The Greek goddess of marriage; Zeus’s wife and sister. Roman form: Juno.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - sides with the Greeks; despises Paris, who spurned her by choosing Aphrodite

Odyssey - small role

Question 4

Helios

Answer 4

the ancient Greek god of the sun, represented as driving a chariot across the heavens; identified by the Romans with Sol.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - small role

Odyssey - angry when Odysseus’ men eat his precious cows

Question 5

Aphrodite

Answer 5

The Greek goddess of love and beauty. She was married to Hephaestus but loved Ares. Roman form: Venus.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - sides with the Trojans; Loves Paris because he chose her over Athena and Hera

Odyssey - small role

Question 6

Demeter

Answer 6

The Greek goddess of agriculture, a daughter of the Titans Rhea and Kronos (Cronus). Roman form: Ceres.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad -

Question 7

Athena (Athene)

Answer 7

The Greek goddess of wisdom. Roman form: Minerva.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - sides with the Greeks; spurned by Paris when he chose Aphrodite over her; cunning; manipulative of Trojans, Hector

Odyssey - large role in getting Odysseus home; helps him; disguises herself as Telemachos’ friend and encourages him to go looking for his father

Question 8

Helen

Answer 8

of Troy; the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda and wife of Menelaus whose abduction by Paris was the cause of the Trojan War.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - cause of the Trojan war; “the face that launched a thousand ships”

Odyssey - brief role when Telemachos comes to see Menelaus and she greets him and notes the likeness between him and his father

Question 9

Hermes

Answer 9

The Greek god of travelers, communication, and thieves; son of Zeus. Roman form: Mercury.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - messenger; deliverer of messages

Odyssey - “ “

Question 10

Hades

Answer 10

According to Greek mythology, ruler of the Underworld and god of the dead. Roman form: Pluto.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad & Odyssey - very small roles, except when Odysseus comes into the Underworld in the Odyssey. Even then, he’s not a big character.

Question 11

Zeus

Answer 11

The Greek god of the sky and King of the gods. Roman form: Jupiter.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - sides with the Trojans; large benefactor of the Trojans

Odyssey - helps Odysseus get home

Question 12

Apollo

Answer 12

The Greek god of the sun, prophecy, music, and healing; the son of Zeus, and the twin of Artemis. Roman form: Mars.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad -

Odyssey -

Question 13

Calypso

Answer 13

The goddess nymph of the magical island of Ogygia; a daughter of the Titan Atlas. She detained the hero Odysseus for many years.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - none

Odyssey - Odysseus’ captor for seven years; in love with him

(and Leo in House of Hades…but that’s irrelevant)

Question 14

Homer

Answer 14

Greek poet who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey

Question 15

Prometheus

Answer 15

a Titan, the father of Deucalion and brother of Atlas and Epimetheus, who taught humankind various arts and was sometimes said to have shaped humans out of clay and endowed them with the spark of life. For having stolen fire from Olympus and given it to humankind in defiance of Zeus, he was chained to a rock where an eagle daily tore at his liver, until he was finally released by Hercules.

Question 16

Agamemnon

Answer 16

Classical Mythology. a king of Mycenae, a son of Atreus and brother of Menelaus. He led the Greeks in the Trojan War and was murdered by Clytemnestra, his wife, upon his return from Troy.

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - leader of the Greeks; King; stole Achilles’ “prize”, Briseis

Odyssey - killed by his wife Clymenstra upon return from the war; brief appearance when Odysseus sees all the spirits

Question 17

The Furies

Answer 17

Roman goddesses of vengeance; usually characterized as three sisters - Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera; the children of Gaia and Uranus. They reside in the Underworld, tormenting evildoers and sinners. Greek form: the Erinyes.

Question 18

The Titans

Answer 18

A race of powerful Greek deities, descendants of Gaea and Uranus, who ruled during the Golden Age and were overthrown by a face of younger gods, the Olympians.

Question 19

The Fates

Answer 19

In Greek mythology, even before there were gods, there were the fates: Clotho, who spirits the tread of life; Lachesis, the measurer, who determines how long a life will be; and Atropos, who cuts the thread of life with her spears.

Question 20

The Sirens

Answer 20

The Sirens were beautiful but dangerous creatures that lured the sailors with their beautiful voices to their doom, causing the ships to crash on the reefs near their island. They were the daughters of the river god Achelous

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - none

Odyssey - Another well-known encounter is that described in the Odyssey; Odysseus, advised by Circe, plugged the crew’s ears with wax and ordered them to bind him on the mast of the ship. He also told them that no matter how much he begged, they should not untie him. When they passed near the Sirens’ island, Odysseus started begging his shipmates to let him go, but none heard him; instead, they tied him even more. After they passed, Odysseus let them know that they were now in safe waters.

Question 21

Penelopia

Answer 21

Odysseus’ wife

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - none, besides being Odysseus’ wife

Odyssey - evades proposals by claiming she will marry someone when she is finished weaving a shrove for her father - the catch, however, she weaves by day but unweaves it all at night

Question 22

Priam

Answer 22

Paris’ father; King of Troy

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - collects Hectors body at the end of the book

Odyssey - none

Question 23

Telemachos

Answer 23

Odysseus’ son

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - none

Odyssey - looks for his father; fights by his father’s side when he (Odysseus) returns against the suitors

Question 24

Tantalus

Answer 24

In Greek mythology, this King was such a good friend of the gods that he was allowed to dine at their table - until he spilled their secrets on earth. He was sent to the Underworld, where his curse was to be stuck in a pool of water under a fruit tree, but never to be able to drink or eat.

Question 25

Briseis

Answer 25

Achilles’ prize

In the Iliad and the Odyssey:

Iliad - Achilles’ prize, stolen by Agamemnon, causing a feud between Achilles and Agamemnon, such that Achilles withdraws from the war until Patroclus dies

Question 26

Teiresias

Answer 26

Tiresias died by an arrow of god Apollo at the tainted spring Tilphussa. His soul went to the first level of Hades, where he was visited by Odysseus and gave him advice on how to continue on his voyage to Ithaca.

Question 27

Cupid

Answer 27

cherubic god of love