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.
