The Odyssey Chapters 1-5

Question 0

kleos

Answer 0

Greek word often translated to “renown”, or “glory”. It is related to the word “to hear” and carries the implied meaning of “what others hear about you”. A Greek hero earns kleos through accomplishing great deeds, often through his own death.

Question 1

in media res

Answer 1

the literary and artistic narrative technique of relating a story from the midpoint, rather than the beginning

Question 2

Achaeans

Answer 2

an inhabitant of Achaea

Question 3

Antinous

Answer 3

the chief suitor of Penelope, killed by Odysseus upon his return from Troy

Question 4

Calypso

Answer 4

a sea nymph who detained Odysseus on the island of Ogygia for seven years (also, Kalypso)

Question 5

Eurycleia

Answer 5

she nursed Odysseus and Telemachus, Odysseus’ son. Eurycleia’s name means “broad fame,” while Anticleia means “anti-fame.” The tension between the meanings of Eurycleia’s name and Anticleia’s name reflects the tension between the two pillars of Odysseus’ life

Question 6

Lacedaemon

Answer 6

Sparta. (Classical Mythology) the son of Zeus and Taygete and the founder of the city of Sparta

Question 7

Orestes

Answer 7

the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia: he avenged the murder of Agamemnon by killing Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus, then was pursued by the Furies until saved by Athena

Question 8

Telemachus

Answer 8

the son of Odysseus and Penelope who helped Odysseus to kill the suitors of Penelope

Question 9

Nestor

Answer 9

the oldest and wisest of the Greeks in the Trojan War and a king of Pylos

Question 10

epic poem

Answer 10

a long, serious, poetic narrative about a significant event, often featuring a hero. Before the development of writing, epic poems were memorized and played an important part in maintaning a record of the great deeds and history of a culture

Question 11

epithet

Answer 11

an adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned
an epithet as a term of abuse

Question 12

Aegisthus

Answer 12

a cousin of Agamemnon who seduced Clytemnestra, Agamemnon’s wife, and was later killed by Orestes

Question 13

Athena

Answer 13

also called Pallas, Pallas Athena. The virgin deity of the ancient Greeks worshiped as the goddess of wisdom, fertility, the useful arts, and prudent warfare. At her birth she sprang forth fully armed from the head of her father, Zeus

Question 14

Clytemnestra

Answer 14

the daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, the wife of Agamemnon, and the mother of Orestes, Electra, and Iphigenia. She killed Agamemnon and was herself killed, along with her lover, Aegisthus, by Orestes

Question 15

Helen

Answer 15

the beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda and wife of Menelaus whose abcution by Paris was the cause of lthe Trojan War (also called Helen of Troy)

Question 16

Menelaus

Answer 16

a king of Sparta, the husband of Helen and brother of Agamemnon, to whom he appealed for an army against Troy in order to recover Helen from her abductor, Paris.

Question 17

Penelope

Answer 17

the wife of Odysseus, who remained faithful to him during his long absence at Troy. A faithful wife

Question 18

Odysseus

Answer 18

king of Ithaca; son of Laertes; one of the heroes of the Illiad and protagonist of the Odyssey: shrewdest of the Greek leaders in the Trojan War

Question 19

Athene (a)

Answer 19

goddess of war and wisdom, after whom the city of Athens was named. (Same defnition as “Athena”)

Question 20

hubris

Answer 20

excessive pride or self-confidence; arrogance (also, hybris)

Question 21

epic simile

Answer 21

a simile developed over several lines of verse, especially one used in an epic poem (also called Homeric simile)

Question 22

Agamemnon

Answer 22

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

Question 23

Atreus

Answer 23

the father of Plisthenes, Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Anaxibia upon whose house Thyestes pronounced a curse

Question 24

Eidothea

Answer 24

a sea-nymph, daughter of the shape-shifting sea god Proteus. When Menelaus was becalmed on the island of Pharos near Egypt, Eidothea told him how he might capture her father to reveal prophecies that would ensure his escape

Question 25

Ithaca

Answer 25

one of the Ionian Islands, off the west coast of Greece: legendary home of Ulysseus.

Question 26

Mentor

Answer 26

Odysseus’ trusted counselor, in whose guise Athena became the gaurdian and teacher of Telemachus

Question 27

Proteus

Answer 27

a sea god, son of Oceanus and Tethys, noted for his ability to assume different forms and to prophesy

Question 28

Eurymachus

Answer 28

a deceitful suitor of Penelope