The Odyssey - Characters Flashcards
Who is Agamemnon?
Head of Greek forces in the Trojan War; met by Odysseus in the Underworld
Killed by his wife and her lover.
What is the most common Homeric name for the Greeks?
Akhaians
Also called Danaans and Argives.
Who is Achilles?
Greatest Greek warrior in the Trojan War; met by Odysseus in the Underworld.
Who is Alcinous?
King of the Phaeacians.
What role does Antinous play in the story?
Ringleader of Penelope’s suitors.
What is Argos in relation to Odysseus?
Odysseus’ old hunting dog.
Who is Death (Hades)?
God of the Underworld; husband to Persephone.
Who is Democodus?
Blind minstrel of Phaeacia.
Who is Elpenor?
Ithacan; companion of Odysseus, who dies falling from the roof of Circe’s house.
Who is Eumaeus?
Swineherd; faithful servant of Odysseus.
Who is Eurykleia?
Faithful old servant of Odysseus and his family.
Who is Helen?
Half-immortal (daughter of Zeus); wife of Menelaos.
Who is Irus?
Beggar in Odysseus’s palace at Ithaca.
Who is Laertes?
Odysseus’s father; lives in seclusion in the country.
What are the Lotus Eaters?
Peaceful people; their land contains an herb that kills one’s will to return home.
Who is Menelaus?
Ruler of Pylos; one of the Greek leaders in the Trojan War.
Who is Mentor?
Ithacan; fighter at Troy; advisor to Telemachus; assumed by Athena.
Who is Nausicaa?
Daughter of King Alcinous; rescuer of Odysseus.
Who is Nestor?
King of Pylos; fought at Troy.
Who is Odysseus?
Fighter in the Trojan War; king of Ithaca.
Who is Peisistratos?
Son of Nestor; accompanies Telemachus from Pylos to Sparta.
Who is Penelope?
Odysseus’s faithful wife.
Who is Phemios?
Singer and harper in Ithaca.
Who is Telemachus?
Odysseus’ twenty-year-old son.
Who is Theoklymenos?
Prophet who returns to Ithaka with Telemachus.
Who is Teiresias?
Theban prophet whom Odysseus meets in the Underworld.
Who is Aeolus?
Lord of the winds.
Who is Aphrodite?
Olympian goddess of love; wife of Hephaistos; lover of Ares.
Who is Ares?
Olympian god of bloody, violent war.
Who is Artemis?
Olympian goddess, twin sister to Apollo, famed for the hunt and archery.
Who is Athena?
Olympian goddess of wisdom and craft; patron of Odysseus.
Who is Dawn?
Rosy-fingered goddess.
Who is Helios?
God of the sun; Odysseus’s crew killed his cattle.
Who is Hephaistos?
Olympian son of Zeus and Hera; blacksmith; husband of Aphrodite.
Who is Hera?
Olympian goddess of marriage; wife to Zeus.
Who is Hermes?
Olympian god; divine messenger and escort of souls to the Underworld.
Who is Calypso?
Nymph; daughter of Atlas; detains Odysseus for 7 years.
Who is Charybdis?
Daughter of Poseidon; whirlpool opposite Skylla.
Who is Circe?
Lesser goddess, who turns some of Odysseus’s crew into swine.
What are Cyclopes?
Man-eating giants encountered by Odysseus.
Who are the Laistrygones?
Mean-eating giants who destroy all the ships of Odysseus’s fleet.
What is the Underworld?
Multi-part kingdom of Hades and Persephone; place Odysseus visits.
Who is Muse?
Daughter of Zeus and Memory; inspires song.
What is the epithet of Athena?
Pallas.
Who is Polyphemus?
A powerful Cyclopes; son of Poseidon.
Who is Poseidon?
God of the sea, earthquakes, horses.
Who are Sirens?
Singing sisters who lured passing sailors to their deaths.
Who is Scylla?
Cave-dwelling monster, living near Charybdis.
Who is Zeus?
Chief of the Olympian gods; brother and consort to Hera.
