The Odyssey Characters and settings

65 terms defining characters settings during the odyssey

Achilles

Son of Peleus and Thetis, Grandson of Aeacus. Greek hero of the Trojan War. known for painful death in his______

Aeaea

Island home of the sorceress Circe

Aegisthus

Son of Thyestes, Clytemnestra's lover and Agamemnon's murderer

Aeolus

Keeper of the winds, father of cretheus

Agamemnon

King of Mycenae, son of Atreus, brother of menelaus, and leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War

Ajax

Achean, son of Telamon, Defeated Odysseus, Greek Hero

Alcinous

King of the Phaeacians, husband of Arete, father of Nausicaa

Amphinomus

One of Penelope's favorite suitors, killed by Telemachus after getting a chance to escape by Odysseus

Anticleia

Odysseus' mother, Daughter of Autolycus, wife of Laertes

Antinous

One of two leading suitors - more muscle than brains

Apollo

Son of Zeus and Leto, God of music, poetry, and prophecy

Ares

God of war, son of Zeus and Hera, lover of Aphrodite

Arete

Queen of the Phaeacians, wife of Alcinous, and mother of Nausicaa.

Argos (dog)

Odysseus' faithful dog

Artemis

Daughter of Zeus and Leto, Sister of Apollo, Goddess of the hunt and childbirth

Athena (Pallas)

Goddess of wisdom and warfare, Odysseus' patron, transforms into Mentes and Mentor

Atreus

Father of Agamemnon and Menelaus

Calypso

Goddess-Nymph who keeps Odysseus on Ogygia for seven years

Charybdis

the whirlpool monster that Odysseus avoids

Circe

Sorceress of Aeaea who turns Odysseus' men into pigs

Clytemnestra

Daughter of Leda and Tyndareus, queen of Argos, lover of Aegisthus, Mother of Orestes. Agamemnon's wife, who plots his murder

Dawn

goddess of the morning, wife of Tithonus

Demeter

Goddess of agriculture. Sister of Zeus and mother of Persephone

Demodocus

Blind bard of the Phaeacians

Eidothea

Sea nymph who helps Menelaus, daughter of Proteus

Elpenor

One of Odysseus' crew, killed after falling off of roof while drunk.

Eumaeus

Odysseus' loyal swineherd

Eurycleia

Odysseus and Telemachus' old nurse, attendant of Penelope

Eurylochus

One of Odysseus' crew. 2nd in command. Cowardly and stirs up trouble.

Eurymachus

One of Penelope's main suitors, Ithacan noble. Smarter.

Furies

Avenging spirits of the underworld. Particularly concerned with negative inter family events. Punishes Oedipus.

Halitherses

Old Ithacan prophet

Helen

Wife of Menelaus, daughter of Zeus and Leda whose abduction started the Trojan War

Helios

Sun god who punishes Odysseus's crew for eating them

Hermes

Giant Killer, Messenger of the gods and guide. Son of Zeus and Maia.

Hermione

Daughter of Menelaus and Helen

Ino (Leucothea)

Daughter of Cadmus, Once a mortal, now a Sea nymph who helps Odysseus

Irus

Beggar who fights Odysseus, true name Arnaeus

Ithaca

Home of Odysseus, Ionian island off the western coast of Greece

Laertes

Odysseus' father, son of Arcesius, husband of Anticlea

Laestrygonians

cannibal giants who live on a distant island; they kill and eat odysseus' men.

Lotus-Eaters

Visited by Odysseus. People who eat the lotus flower and forget their homes

Melanthius

GOATHERD who supports the suitors and atempts to push Odysseus off of a trail. Son of Dolius. Melantho’s brother

Melantho

Maid who supports the suitors, Melantheus' sister .

Menelaus

King of Sparta, husband of Helen, brother of Agamemnon

Mentes

Taphian captain who appears as a mentor to Telemachus. Name assumed by Athena when she disguises herself.

Muse(s)

Goddess, daughter of Zeus, one of the nine who preside over literature and the arts. Sources of artistic inspiration.

Nausicaa

Phaeacian princess who helps Odysseus, daughter of Alcinous and Arete

Odysseus

The protagonist of the Odyssey. Father of Telemachus, Son of Laertes and Anticleia, husband of Penelope, King of Ithaca

Ogygia

Island home of Calypso, center of the sea

Olympus

Mountain, Home of the Gods, ruled by Zeus

Orestes

son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra who eventually avenged his father's murder by killing Aegisthus

Penelope

Odysseus' wife and Queen of Ithaca

Phaeacia

Island kingdom ruled by King Alcinous. Home to Nausicaa and known for helping Odysseus on his journey to Ithaca.

Pisistratus

son of Nestor, who accompanies Telemachus to Sparta

Polyphemus

the Cyclops blinded by Odysseus; the son of the sea god Poseidon

Pylos

Kingdom ruled by King Nestor

Sirens

Creatures whose songs lure sailors to their deaths

Scylla

A sea monster with six heads located near Charybdis. Odysseus and his crew must pass her during their voyage.

Sparta

Kingdom ruled by King Menelaus and Helen

Telemachus

son of Odysseus and Penelope, heir to the throne of Ithaca

Tiresias

Blind prophet of the underworld; Gives Odysseus warnings and advice

Zeus

king of the gods, son of Cronus and Rhea, brother and husband of Hera, father of the Olympians and many mortals too.