Plot Flashcards
The name of the people inhabiting in the area of Achaea in Greece. Identified as the Greeks who besieged Troy.
Achaians
The hero and subject of the epic poem. He brought his troops known as the Myrmidons, was insulted by the leader of the Achaean (Greek) forces, and was sitting out the war until his close friend Patroclus was killed. He then went after the man he blamed for the death, Hector, the prince of Troy.
Achilles
The nephew of King Priam of Troy, a son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite.
Aeneas
Leader of the Achaean (Greek) forces and the brother-in-law of the beautiful Helen, formerly of Sparta, now of Troy. He makes some hard choices, like sacrificing his daughter Iphigenia at Aulis to provide wind for his ships’ sails.
Agamemnon
King of Mycenae and commander of the Greek expedition to Troy, he was assassinated by his wife and her lover upon his return home. Homer frequently refers to him, comparing Penelope favorably to his wife, Clytemnestra. Odysseus sees him in the Land of the Dead.
Agamemnon
The treacherous lover of Agamemnon’s wife, Klytaimestra. He conspired with her to kill her husband and was later murdered in revenge by Orestes, Agamemnon’s son.
Aigisthos
Master of the winds, he helps Odysseus get within viewing distance of Ithaca but later abandons the voyager, concluding that anyone so unlucky must be cursed.
Aiolos
The son of Telamon, who is also the father of the best Greek bowman, Teucer. After Achilles’ death, he wanted Achilles’ armor thinking he deserves it as the second greatest of the Greek warriors.
Ajax
The wife of Trojan Prince Hector and the mother of a young son named Astyanax who features in touching scenes. Later she becomes Neoptolemus’ war-bride.
Andromache
Odysseus’ mother, she dies grieving her son’s long absence and sees him only during his visit to the Land of the Dead.
Antikleia
The love goddess who won the apple of strife that started things in motion. She helps her favorites in the fray, is injured, and discusses matters with Helen.
Aphrodite
The son of Leto and Zeus and the brother of Artemis. He is on the Trojan side and sends plague arrows to the Greeks.
Apollo
The war god on the side of the Trojans, fighting disguised as Stentor.
Ares
Trained by Odysseus some twenty years before, the discarded old dog, dying on a dung heap, recognizes his master as Odysseus and Eumaeus approach the palace.
Argos
The son of the Trojan prince Hector and his wife Andromache.
Astyanax
The daughter of Zeus, a powerful goddess of war strategy; for the Greeks during the Trojan War.
Athena
She frequently intervenes on Odysseus’ or Telemachus’ behalf, often in disguise and sometimes as Mentor, the prince’s adviser.
Athena
The source of ill-feeling between Agamemnon and Achilles. He had been awarded to Achilles as a war-prize, but then Agamemnon wanted her because he had been obliged to give up his.
Briseis
One of the monsters Odysseus must pass with his men. Is a whirlpool that swallows the sea and vomits it back up again.
Charybdis
She would become a prize of Agamemnon, the Achaean leader, but subsequent events would cause a divide amongst the Greeks.
Chryseis
In Book I, King Agamemnon dishonours Chryses, the Trojan priest of Apollo, by refusing with a threat the restitution of his daughter – despite the proffered ransom of “gifts beyond count.” The insulted priest prays to Apollo for help, and a nine-day rain of divine plague arrows falls upon the Achaeans.
Chryseis
One-eyed cannibal giants.
Cyclopes
The one-eyed cannibal giant who traps Odysseus and a scouting party in his cave and is blinded when they escape.
Polyphemus
The Greek people whom Homer identifies as the besiegers of Troy.
Danaäns
