greek & roman mythology quiz #2

Achilles

Greatest Greek warrior; kills Hector; refuses burial rites out of rage

Hector

Trojan prince; killed by Achilles; begs for proper burial

Priam

King of Troy; begs Achilles for Hector’s body in Book 24

Patroclus

Achilles’ close friend; his death sparks Achilles’ return to battle

Supplication

Ritual of begging with physical gestures (knees/beard); Priam’s plea succeeds

Book 22 Theme Illiad

Inhumanity of Achilles; glorified vengeance

Book 24 Theme Illiad

Shared grief and mercy between Priam and Achilles

Hecuba

Queen of Troy; central voice of loss and sorrow

Andromache

Hector’s widow; mother of Astyanax

Astyanax

Hector’s infant son; thrown from Troy’s walls

Cassandra

Prophetic daughter of Hecuba; taken by Agamemnon

Helen

Debated cause of war; blames gods; condemned by Hecuba

Menelaus

Indecisive about Helen’s fate

Talthybius

Greek herald; delivers tragic news with some empathy

Trojan Women Theme

War’s Aftermath ➜ Focuses on civilian suffering, especially women and children

Historical Context Trojen Women

Written during Peloponnesian War (415 BCE), reflects Athenian imperial guilt

Aeneas

Trojan hero; founder of Rome; model of pietas (duty)

Juno

Opposes Aeneas; angry over Trojan destiny

Venus

Aeneas’ mother; divine protector

Dido

Queen of Carthage; abandoned by Aeneas; dies by suicide

Sinon

Greek trickster; convinces Trojans to bring in the horse

Laocoon

Warns against the horse: “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!”

Creusa

Aeneas’ wife, lost in Troy’s fall

Ascanius (Iulus)

Aeneas’ son; ancestor of Julius Caesar

Theme: Fate vs. Desire Aeneid

Aeneas must abandon love to fulfill destiny

Historical Context

Roman imperial myth written under Augustus
Pietas

Pietas

Roman virtue of duty to family, gods, and state

Romulus

Founder of Rome; kills Remus

Remus

Twin brother; leaps over wall, is killed

Rhea Silvia

Mother of twins; Vestal Virgin impregnated by Mars

Amulius

Usurper who orders infants drowned

She-wolf

Nurtures abandoned twins

Faustulus

Shepherd who raises the twins

Omens Livy

Used to decide which brother rules

Theme Livy

Rome founded through divine will and fratricide

Historical Context Livy

Livy’s Roman history mixes myth and moral example

Odysseus

Cunning Greek hero; takes 10 years to return home

Penelope

Faithful wife; tests Odysseus’ identity with bed trick

Telemachus

Son of Odysseus; matures during his own journey

Eurycleia

Loyal nurse who recognizes Odysseus by his scar

Polyphemus

Cyclops blinded by Odysseus; son of Poseidon

Circe

Sorceress who turns men into pigs; later helps Odysseus

Calypso

Nymph who detains Odysseus for 7 years

Sirens

Singers who lure sailors to death; Odysseus listens while tied up

Scylla & Charybdis

Sea monsters Odysseus must sail between

Tiresias

Underworld prophet who guides Odysseus

Eurylochus

Mutinous crewman; leads cattle-killing on Helios’ island

Cattle of the Sun (Helios)

Killing them causes Zeus to destroy the ship

Xenia

Sacred Greek hospitality; central moral value

Nostos

The homecoming journey; epic’s emotional core

Odyssey Theme

Identity & Recognition ➜ Tests, disguises, and signs reveal true selves

Perseus

Kills Medusa; rescues Andromeda; aided by gods

Medusa

Gorgon slain by Perseus; gaze turns men to stone

Theseus

Slays Minotaur; forgets sail change → father’s suicide

Ariadne

Helps Theseus in Labyrinth; abandoned on Naxos

Heracles (Hercules)

Completes 12 labors for killing his family in madness

Nemean Lion

First labor; Heracles skins and wears it

Hydra

Second labor; heads grow back; cauterizes necks

Jason

Leader of Argonauts; wins Golden Fleece with Medea’s help

Golden Fleece

Magical object guarded in Colchis

Medea (in Jason)

Princess/witch; helps Jason, later betrayed

Medea

Betrayed wife, sorceress, and tragic avenger

Jason

Hero who betrays Medea for a Corinthian princess

Creon

King of Corinth; exiles Medea; dies by her poison

Glauce (Creusa)

Jason’s new bride; dies by cursed robe/crown

Medea Children

Killed by Medea as part of her revenge

Medea Chorus

Corinthian women; sympathize, then recoil in horror

Helios

Medea’s divine ancestor; provides her chariot escape

Sophia

Cleverness —> Medea’s intellectual and magical skill

Medea Themes

-Revenge vs. Justice ➜ Medea seeks honor through violence

-Gender & Power ➜ Women suffer betrayal; Medea weaponizes grief
- Foreignness ➜ Medea is a metic, always the outsider

Tragic Ending

Medea escapes unpunished; divine silence is chilling