Greek and Roman Mythology Final Exam

Trojan War

10 year war fought between the Mycenaean Greeks and the city of Troy

Epic Cycle

a group of eight epics that were stitched together to create a complete narrative of the Trojan War. composed seperately

Leda

(Greek mythology) a queen of Sparta who was raped by Zeus who had taken the form of a swan

Agamemnon

(Greek mythology) the king who lead the Greeks against Troy in the Trojan War

Menelaus

King of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon, and husband of Helen, he helped lead the Greeks in the Trojan War. He offers Telemachus assistance in his quest to find Odysseus when Telemachus visits him in Book 4.

Judgement of Paris

The incident that ultimately brought on the Trojan War. A contest between the three most beautiful goddesses of Olympos--Aphrodite, Hera and Athena--for the prize of a golden apple. Aphrodite won by offering Helen to King Paris of Troy.

Paris

Son of Priam, abductor of Helen, judged the beauty contest with the apple

Thetis

Sea nymph; mother of Achilles.

Peleus

Husband of Thetis and father of Achilles

Eris

Goddess of discord

Achilles

Greatest Greek warrior, husband of Briseis whom Agamemnon steals, only vulnerable place is his heel, prophecy that he would die in the Trojan war, which he does at the hand of Paris

Patroclus

Achilles' best friend, killed by Hector

Priam

King of Troy, father of Hector and Paris

Hector

The bravest of son Priam

Briseis

A war prize of Achilles. When Agamemnon is forced to return Chryseis to her father, he appropriates Briseis as compensation, sparking Achilles' great rage.

Aretē

in early Greece, the qualities of excellence that a hero strives to win in a struggle or contest

Timē

literally "honor"; the physical manifestation—usually in the form of material wealth, precious objects (like tripods or decorated armor), slaves, etc.—of one's glory and status.

Kleos

glory, fame

Ajax

one of the strongest Greek warriors

Odysseus

(main character) Son of Laertes and Anticleia, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus. A cunning, shrewd and eloquent hero. Came up with the idea of the Trojan horse which led the Greeks to victory against Troy. "Man of many wiles".

Circe

The beautiful witch-goddess who transforms Odysseus's crew into swine when he lands on her island. With Hermes' help, Odysseus resists Circe's powers and then becomes her lover, living in luxury at her side for a year.

Polyphemus

the Cyclops who imprisoned Odysseus

Calypso

The beautiful nymph who falls in love with Odysseus when he lands on her island-home of Ogygia. Calypso holds him prisoner there for seven years until Hermes, the messenger god, persuades her to let him go.

Telemachus

Odysseus and Penelope's son

Polytropos

Greek adjective used of Odysseus and meaning "of many twists and turns."

tragedy

a play dealing with tragic events and having an unhappy ending, especially one concerning the downfall of the main character.

Tragic Hero

a protagonist with a fatal flaw which eventually leads to his demise

Peripeteia

a sudden reversal of fortune or change in circumstances, especially in reference to fictional narrative.

Harmartia

a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or heroine

Anagnorisis

recognition or discovery on the part of the hero; change from ignorance to knowledge

Chorus

A group of characters in Greek tragedy (and in later forms of drama), who comment on the action of a play without participation in it.

deus ex machina

an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation, especially as a contrived plot device in a play or novel.

Tantalus

legendary figure doomed to eternal thirst and hunger in the underworld

Pelops

Tantalus's only son killed, boiling, and served to the gods; restored to life by the gods

Hippodamia

Daughter of Oenomaüs of Pisa; prize of the famed chariot race won by Pelops with the help of Myrtilus, Oenomaüs's aid.

Atreus

Father of Agamemnon and Menelaus

Thyestes

A son of Pelops; quarrels with brother Atreus over the kingship in Mycenae; tricked into eating his own sons by Atreus at the Banquet of Thyestes.

Aegisthus

son of Thyestes, seducer of Clytemnestra and murderer of Agamemnon, killed by Orestes

Clytemnestra

wife of Agamemnon who had him murdered when he returned from the Trojan War

Orestes

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

Electra

Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra

Oresteia

A Three play series based on the family of Agamemnon, the Mycenaean king who commanded the Greeks at in the Trojan War-written by Aeschylus, depicting a powerful family (the house of Atreus) torn apart by betrayal, murder and revenge

Agamemnon

The king who lead the Greeks against Troy in the Trojan War

Libation Bearers

The second play in the trilogy of the Oresteia, following the Agamemnon and coming before the Eumenides. This play takes its name from the chorus of women who bring libations to Agamemnon's tomb.

Eumenides

The third play in the Oresteia

Furies

minor female divinities who punished crimes at the instigation of the victims

Aeschylus

father of greek tragedy

Areopagus

The governing council of Athens, originally open only to the nobility. It was named after the hill on which it met.

Thebes

Capital city of Egypt and home of the ruling dynasties during the Middle and New Kingdoms. Amon, patron deity of Thebes, became one of the chief gods of Egypt. Monarchs were buried across the river in the Valley of the Kings. (p. 43)

Cadmus

the founder of Thebes; an ancestor of Oedipus

Laius

king of Thebes who was unwittingly killed by his son Oedipus

Jocasta

queen of Thebes who unknowingly married her own son Oedipus

Sphinx

A mythical Egyptian beast with the body of a lion and the head of a human.

Tiresias

A Theban prophet who inhabits the underworld. Tiresias meets Odysseus when Odysseus journeys to the underworld in Book 11. He shows Odysseus how to get back to Ithaca and allows Odysseus to communicate with the other souls in Hades.

Eteocles

Antigone's brother that died in battle and recieved a hero's burial

Polynices

Brother of Eteocles and son of Oedipus; died during the Argive expedition against Thebes to force his brother out.

Antigone

daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta

Oedipus the King

the King of Thebes killed his father and married his mother by accident; after finding that he was the cause of his kingdom's misfortune, his mother/wife committed suicide and he blinded himself and decided to live life homeless and blind

Oedipus at Colonus

Oedipus goes to Colonus with daughters Antigone and Ismene. His sons fight each other to the death for his vacated throne

Anitgone

Oedipus' daughter who leads him into exile into Colonus

Sophocles

Greek writer of tragedies; author of Oedipus Rex

7 Against Thebes

Polyneices, Adrastos, Amphiaraos, Tydeus, Capaneus Parthenopaios, Hippomedon

Creon

the brother of Jocasta and uncle of Antigone who became king of Thebes after the fall of Oedipus

Haemon

Antigone's young fiancé and son to Creon. Haemon appears twice in the play. In the first, he is rejected by Antigone; in the second, he begs his father for Antigone's life. Creon's refusal ruins his exalted view of his father. He too refuses the happiness that Creon offers him and follows Antigone to a tragic demise.