Every Literature Humanities Character You'll Need To Know

Enheduana (Exaltation of Inana)

First known author; exiled priestess praying to Inana.

Inana (Exaltation of Inana)

Chaotic, violent goddess of war & love; breaks all norms.

Lugal-Ane (Exaltation of Inana)

Usurper who exiles Enheduana.

Gilgamesh (Epic of Gilgamesh)

{2}\over{3} 2/3 divine king; arrogant until Enkidu changes him.

Enkidu (Epic of Gilgamesh)

Wild man civilized by Shamhat; Gilgamesh’s beloved companion.

Shamhat (Epic of Gilgamesh)

Temple priestess who humanizes Enkidu.

Utnapishtim (Epic of Gilgamesh)

Flood survivor with immortality.

Humbaba (Epic of Gilgamesh)

Monster guarding the Cedar Forest.

Achilles (Iliad)

Son of Peleus. Swift-footed. Greatest warrior; wrath drives the plot.

Agamemnon (Iliad)

King of all kings. Respected for status, not deed. Steals Achilles’ war prize, causing conflict.

Patroklos (Iliad)

Achilles’ boyfriend; his death triggers Achilles’ return.

Hektor (Iliad)

Noble Trojan prince; family-oriented and honorable. Best fighter on Trojan side.

Priam (Iliad)

Hektor’s father; begs Achilles for Hektor’s body.

Odysseus (Odyssey)

Cunning hero known for his cleverness and quick wit. Trying to return home.

Penelope (Odyssey)

Wife of Odysseus; faithful and equally as clever.

Telemachus (Odyssey)

Son who has been abused by his mothers suitors. Seeking maturity and identity.

Athena (Odyssey)

Protector of Odysseus; goddess of wisdom.

Polyphemus (Odyssey)

Cyclops blinded by Odysseus.

Clytemnestra (Oresteia)

Agamemnon’s badass wife. Kills his stupid face.

Agamemnon (Oresteia)

King murdered upon return from war.

Orestes (Oresteia)

Son who kills Clytemnestra; put on trial.

Furies (Oresteia)

Spirits of vengeance pursuing Orestes.

Athena (Oresteia)

Judges trial; symbolizes new justice system.

Phaedrus (Symposium)

Explains love at the most primitive level; love is good! Theres the lover and the loved? Achilles was the loved? LMFAO

Pausanias (Symposium)

Agathon’s groomer… says there are two kinds of love’; common and heavenly. OBVIOUSLY the love he has with Agathon is heavenly, love with women is commonly… okay, misogynist

Eryximachus (Symposium)

Doctor. Love as a scientific, medical force. Music is the science of love? The worst one lowkey. He argues that love governs harmony in all aspects of life, including medicine and the arts, emphasizing its role in health and balance.

Aristophanes (Symposium)

Comic. Creates the soulmate myth; humans seek lost halves.

Agathon (Symposium)

Tragic poet. Poetic speech praising love’s beauty.

Diotima (Symposium)

A woman who Socrates really respected. The idea that love is the child of Poverty and Resource. Like his mother, he is always in a state of need, but like his father, he can scheme to get what he wants. Love is plotting, sooooooo 2025

Alcibiades (Symposium)

Politician that crashes the party super drunk. Wanted Socrates’ cookie sooooooo bad. Love is frustration–so when that love is unreciprocated, the line between love and hate is super blurred. Giving love is WAR!

Aeneas (Aeneid)

Boring useless ugly founder of Rome; prioritizes destiny over desire.

Dido (Aeneid)

Queen of Carthage; abandoned by Aeneas; kills herself.

Turnus (Aeneid)

Warrior opposing Aeneas; values honor.

Anchises (Aeneid)

Aeneas’ father; shows future Romans in Underworld.

Ascanius (Aeneid)

Aeneas’ son; symbol of Roman future.

Juno (Aeneid)

Goddess against Trojans; drives conflict.

Adam & Eve (Genesis)

First humans; Garden of Eden.

Cain & Abel (Genesis)

The two sons of Adam and Eve. Think East of Eden! One kills the other; agressor punished with exile.

Noah (Genesis)

The only righteous man saved from the flood.

Abraham (Genesis)

Father of nations; covenant with God. Father of circumcision lowkey

Isaac (Genesis)

Son of Abraham. Was nearly sacrificed. Has

Jacob (Genesis)

Tricks his father into stealing Esau’s blessing. Father of 12 tribes.

Joseph (Genesis)

Sold as a slave into Egypt by his brothers. Rises to power and prevents famine and ultimately forgives his brothers.

Jesus (Luke)

Compassionate miracle-worker; teacher of parables.

Parables (Luke)

Good Samaritan, Prodigal Son, Rich Man & Lazarus.

Mary and Mary Magdalene (Luke)

Important female figures with the same name.

Jesus (John)

Divine Logos; unity with God emphasized.

Signs (John)

Water to wine, raising Lazarus, healing blind man.

Menelaus (Iliad)

King of Sparta; Agamemnon’s brother and Helen’s husband.

Andromache (Iliad)

Hektor’s devoted wife; represents the suffering of Trojan women.

Diomedes (Iliad)

Achaean warrior, known for his aristeia (battle prowess) and wounding of gods.

Sarpedon (Iliad)

Lycians' leader and son of Zeus; killed by Patroklos.

Ajax (Iliad)

A powerful Achaean warrior, second only to Achilles in strength.

Ham (Genesis)

Saw his dad naked and told his brother Sham and Japeth about it instead of doing anything about it: his bloodline was cursed.

Sarah

Abraham’s wife. Could not get pregnant until God made the covenant with Abraham.

Esau

Son of Isaac and Rebekah: rash and mean

Rachel and Leah

Jacob’s two wives? Loved Rachel but was tricked into marrying Leah. Had 11 sons altogether

Dinah

Raped by by a man from Shechem. Her brothers trick her rapist into marrying her so they can kill his whole village

Judas (Luke and John)

Betrays Jesus by leading authorities to him.

Pilate (Luke and John)

Roman governor who sentenced Jesus. Doesn’t really think Jesus did anything wrong, but knows the people will take what they want.

Nicodemus (John)

A Pharisee who visits Jesus at night, learning about being "born again".

Lavinia (Aeneid)

Princess of Latium, and Aeneas’s key into Roman heritage. Not really developed in the poem; she is important only as the object of the Trojan-Latin struggle.

Juno (Aeneid)

Hera. Hates the trojans because Paris didn’t say she was the prettiest. Also a patron of Carthage and knows that Aeneas’s Roman descendants are destined to destroy Carthage.

Venus (Aeneid)

Aphrodite. Aeneas’s mom. Helps her son whenever Juno tries to hurt him, causing conflict among the gods.

Jupiter (Aeneid)

Zeus. Directs the general progress of Aeneas’s destiny, ensuring that Aeneas is never permanently thrown off his course toward Italy. Represents  that the gods in this epic are kind of insanely controlling over the overall narrative. 

Neptune (Aeneid)

Poseidon. Generally, an ally of Aeneas and Venus. Calms the storm that opens the epic and conducts Aeneas safely on the last leg of his voyage.