The Odyssey Chapters 1-5 Flashcards
kleos
The Greek word often translated to “renown”, or “glory”.
in media res
Latin phrase for “In the midst of things”
Achaeans
Achaeans were the inhabitants of the region of Achaea, a region in the north-central part of the Peloponnese.
Antinous
Son of Eupeithes; Antinous is presented as a violent, mean-spirited, and overly-confident character who willfully defiles Odysseus’ home while the hero is lost at sea.
Calypso
She was a nymph in Greek mythology, who lived on the island of Ogygia, where she detained Odysseus for several years. She is generally said to be the daughter of the Titan Atlas.
Eurycleia
The daughter of Ops and granddaughter of Peisenor, as well as the wet-nurse of Odysseus.
Lacedaemon
Was mythical king of Laconia and son of the chief god Zeus and the Pleaid Taygete.
Orestes
He was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon.
Telemacus
He was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon.
Nestor
He was the son of Neleus and Chloris and the King of Pylos. He became king after Heracles killed Neleus and all of Nestor’s siblings.
Epic Poem
It is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation
Epithet
As in “rosy-fingered” dawn or “swift-footed” Achilles.
Aegisthus
He’s the son of Thyestes and of Thyestes’ daughter, Pelopia.
Athena
She’s the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, law and justice, just warfare, mathematics, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, and skill.
Clytemnestra
In ancient Greek legend, was the wife of Agamemnon, ruler of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Mycenae or Argos. Her role in Agamemnon’s death is unclear and her character is significantly more subdued.
Helen
She was the daughter of Zeus and Leda, and was a sister of Castor, Pollux, and Clytemnestra. In Greek myths she was considered to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Her abduction by Paris brought about the Trojan War.
Menelaus
He was a king of Mycenaean (pre-Dorian) Sparta, the husband of Helen of Troy, and a central figure in the Trojan War. He was the son of Atreus and Aerope, brother of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae and, according to the Iliad, leader of the Spartan contingent of the Greek army during the War.
Penelope
She is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and is eventually reunited with him.
Odysseus
He was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and a hero of Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer’s Iliad and other works in that same Epic Cycle.
Athene(a)
Zeus’s daughter Athene may be the patroness of warfare but she’s also the goddess of wisdom. And having Athena on your side is a definite plus: she helps him do everything from winning favors to devising plans.
Hubris
Excessive pride or self-confidence
Epic Simile
A formal sustained comparison of two subjects that elaborates the secondary subject so vividly that it temporally eclipses the primary subject.
Agamemnon
He was the son of king Atreus and queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra and the father of Iphigenia, Electra or Laodike, Orestes and Chrysothemis. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area. When Helen, the wife of Menelaus, was abducted by Paris of Troy, Agamemnon commanded the united Greek armed forces in the ensuing Trojan War.
Atreus
He was a king of Mycenae, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus.
