CLAS 1020 Unit 4 Review Sheet

Wedding of Peleus and Thetis

Prophesy foretold that the son of Thetis would be greater than the father; wedding hosted by the Gods

Eris

goddess of Discord; threw the golden apple that cause Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena to argue and cause Trojan War

Judgment of Paris

a contest between the three most beautiful goddesses of Olympus--Aphrodite, Hera and Athena--for the prize of a golden apple addressed to "the fairest". , Paris has to decide on the most beautiful goddess and chose Aphrodite because she promised him Helen.

Helen

Wife of Menelaus, Queen of Sparta

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.

Agamemnon

king of Mycenae, son of Atreus, husband of Clytemnestra, murdered by her and Aegisthus; brother of Menelaus, supreme commander of all Achaea's armies and leader of the largest contingent at Troy

Iphigenia

daughter of Agamemnon; sacrificed to Artemis at Aulis so Greek Army can advance to Troy

Diomedes

King of Argos; fought and wounded Ares and Aphrodite (with a spear) during the Trojan War with the help of Athena

Nestor

King of Pylos and a former warrior in the Trojan War. Like Odysseus, Nestor is known as a clever speaker (tries to mediate b/w Achilles and Agamemnon). Telemachus visits him in Book 3 to ask about his father, but Nestor knows little of Odysseus's whereabout.

Ajax the Greater

Son of Telemon; 2nd greatest fighter of Greeks; fought with Odysseus for Achilles' armor (lost), killed self by falling on own sword

Ajax the Lesser

Son of Oileus; raped Cassandra in Athena's temple during the sack of Troy; she punishes him by shipwreck and struck by lightning bolt

Achilles

son of Thetis; 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

Myrmidons

Soldiers under Achilles' command. From Phthia; "Ant-Men" who blindly followed orders

Patroclus

best friend and squire of Achilles; killed by Hector while wearing Achilles' armor to help rally the troops

Odysseus (= Ulixes)

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

Gods on Greek side

Hera, Athena, Poseidon, (Zeus)

Laomedon

king of Troy, father of Priam. made a deal with Neptune and Apollo for them to build great walls of Troy, then reneged and refused to pay them. Gods destroyed all except Priam (seemed the runt of the litter)

Priam

King of Troy; father of Hector, Paris, and Cassandra

Hecuba

Queen of Troy, wife of Priam, and mother of Hector and Paris.

Hector

Prince of Troy, killed by Achilles in a duel outside the walls of Troy

Andromache

The wife of Hector and mother of Astyanax, she futilely warns Hector about the war, then sees both her husband and son killed by the Greeks. After the war she is made concubine to Neoptolemus

Astyanax

Hector and Andromache's infant son; Neoptolemus killed him by throwing him off the walls of Troy

Paris (= Alexander)

Prince of Troy who fell in love with Helen; caused the Trojan War due to his and Aphrodite kidnapping of her; killed Achilles by shooting him with an arrow through the heel (guided by Apollo)

Aeneas

A mythical Greek warrior who was a leader on the Trojan side of the Trojan War; escaped the destruction and was prophesied to go found a new civilization in Italy (would become Rome)

Gods on Trojan side

Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, (Zeus)

Chryseis

Daughter of Chryses, a priest of Apollo in a Troy-allied town; Agamemnon's war prize after conquering the town; eventually taken back to her town because Apollo sent the Greeks' a plague.

Briseis

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

Calchas

preist; seer or prophet who counsels the Greeks

Catalog of Ships

Book 2; immense amount of ships launched to reclaim Helen "the face that launched 1000 ships"; conveyed the massive size of the Achean army

Duel between Paris and Menelaus

Paris is losing the duel but Aphrodite saves him and brings him back to Helen

Teichoscopia

Watching from the walls; Book 3

Pandarus

A Trojan archer. Pandarus's shot at Menelaus in Book 4 breaks the temporary truce between the two sides.

Aristeia of Diomedes

Chapter in book 5 of Iliad. Aeneas is nearly killed, but is rescued by Venus and Apollo

Truce with Glaucus

Tells tale of Bellerophon

Embassy to Achilles

Book 9; In despair at the Trojan successes, Agamemnon sends Odysseus, Ajax (son of Telamon), and Phoenix (tells Meleager tale) to offer gifts and honor to Achilles in restitution for the dishonor done to him, if he will return to the fighting. But Achilles refuses.

Doloneia

the portion of Book 10 of the Iliad in which the Trojan spy Dolon is captured and killed by Odysseus and Diomedes.

Patrocleia

(Book 16) Achilles' squire and friend goes to war since Achilles doesn't. He borrows Achilles' armor and Patroclus becomes his 'alter ego'. Achilles prays for Patroclus and Patroclus is successful in killing the Trojan Sarpedon.

Arms of Achilles

Armor forged for him by Hephaestus (commissioned by mother Thetis); ecphrasis; Book 18

Theomachy

(Book 20) Aeneas gets rescued again (not destined to die in Troy) Zeus tells Gods that they may return to the battlefield and fight on either side, Apollo (as Lycaon) convinces Aeneas to attack Achilles who almost kills him but Poseidon saves Aeneas. Achilles kills Polydorus which makes Hector charge at him, again Achilles is about to kill him when Apollo saves Hector.

Death of Hector

-Son of Prium
-Stands against Achilles, asks for honorable burial but Achilles replies he'd rather eat Hector's flesh
-Prium breaks through Greek lines and begs for Hector's body; he gives it to him and the two lament deaths in the war [this is the end of the Iliad]
-Book 22

Ransom of Hector by Priam

(Book 24) Niobe tale. Gods decide to send Hermes to rescue Hector's body but Hera wont allow it. Zeus tells Thetis to get Achilles to return Hector's body to Priam for ransom. Hermes ensures Priam's safety on the way to Achilles' ships. Achilles and Priam cry and dine together. They agree on 11 day truce for mourning, Hector is buried.

Queen Penthesilea

Killed by Achilles in a duel; an Amazon

Suicide of Ajax the Greater

After losing battle over Achilles' armor to Odysseus, decides to commit suicide by falling on his own sword

Philoctetes (owner of the bow of Heracles)

Son of Poeas; wounded on the way to Troy and abandoned on Lemnos; Troy was fated to fall to the bow of Heracles, which Philoctetes carried; Philoctetes kills Paris.

Palladium

Athena would not allow the destruction of Troy until this statue was removed; Diomedes and Odysseus sneaked into the city at night, killed some guards, and stole it

Trojan Horse

a large hollow wooden figure of a horse (filled with Greek soldiers) left by the Greeks outside Troy during the Trojan War; designed by Odysseus with help from Athena

Laocoon

(Greek mythology) the priest of Apollo who warned the Trojans to beware of Greeks bearing gifts when they wanted to accept the Trojan Horse; hurled spear at the Horse and was later killed by two serpents as punishment; constellation Ophiuchus?

Sinon

Greek soldier that convinces the Trojans he was abandoned by their fleet and advises them to bring the horse inside the city to earn divine favor

Pyrrhus (= Neoptolemus)

The son of Achilles. Appears in Aeneas's account of the siege of Troy as the brutal murderer of Priam and Priam's sons.

Aeneas (Aeneid 2)

Latin epic poem written by Virgil that tells the story of how Aeneas the Trojan prince traveled to Italy after surviving the Trojan War, eventually becoming the ancestor of the Romans

Creusa

Aeneas's wife at Troy, and the mother of Ascanius. She is lost and killed as her family attempts to flee the city, but tells Aeneas he will find a new wife at his new home.

Anchises

Aeneas's father, and a symbol of Aeneas's Trojan heritage. Although he dies during the journey from Troy to Italy, he continues in spirit to help his son fulfill fate's decrees, especially by guiding Aeneas through the underworld and showing him what fate has in store for his descendants.

Ascanius (= Iulus)

son of Aeneas and Creusa

Heinrich Schliemann

Discovered Troy in Turkey. He ravaged the site so that he could prove it was Troy. He also found Mycenae in 1876.

Nostoi

Greek word for stories of "homecoming" after the Trojan War

Tantalus

legendary figure doomed to eternal thirst and hunger in the underworld; killed and cooked his son Pelops to be served to the Gods

Pelops

Tantalus's only son killed, boiling, and served to the gods; restored to life by the gods (fitted with an ivory shoulder to replace the part that had been eaten)

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; son of Pelops and Hippodamia; had his wife seduced by his brother, Thyestes, so he killed his brother's sons and fed them to him

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; Oracle foretells his revenge will come from a child born in incest

Agamemnon and Cassandra

Agamemnon returns home to Mycenae with his new concubine, Cassandra

Clytemnestra and Aegisthus

She takes him as her lover while Agamemnon is gone at war; Kills both Cassandra and then Agamemnon (in the bathtub); Exposes her breast to Orestes when he kills her

Orestes

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

Electra

the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra who incited her brother Orestes to kill Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus.

Eumenides

3 Furies become these at the end of the play by their same name after Orestes is purified at Delphi by Apollo and being appeased by Athena, no longer malignant spirits; "the kindly ones"

Homeric Question

the doubt and consequent debate over the identity of Homer, the authorship of the Iliad and Odyssey, and their historicity

Penelope

Wife of Odysseus, Mother of Telemachus

Telemachus

Odysseus and Penelope's son; goes on his own voyage after being visited by Athena, in order to find his father; visits Nestor and Menelaus

Mentor

Telemachus sets out to Pylos and Sparta, with Athena disguised as Mentor, to seek news about his father; “Mentor” = a teacher or trusted advisor

Antinous

The most arrogant of Penelope's suitors. He leads the campaign to have Telemachus killed. Unlike the other suitors, he is never portrayed sympathetically, and he is the first to die when Odysseus returns.

Eurymachus

suitor of Penelope

Telemachia

First four books of "The Odyssey" that are about Telemachus and his education and maturation

Proteus

"The Old Man of the Sea" who is wrestled down by Menelaus. He can see the future and tells Menelaus what he must do to return home. He also tells him where Odysseus is (on Ogygia with Calypso) - something Menelaus tells Telemachus.

Calypso

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

Leucothea

The white sea goddess. She gave Odysseus a veil to help him get safely to the island of the Phaiacians after his raft was destroyed by storms

Phaecians

under the authority of King Alcinuous and Queen Arete, live on Scheria; tells them stories about the Trojan War

King and Queen of the Phaeacians

Nausicaa

The beautiful daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete of the Phaeacians. She discovers Odysseus on the beach at Scheria and, out of budding affection for him, ensures his warm reception at her parents' palace.

Ciconians

skillful fighters, men of the hills who drive brass war chariots; fought with Odysseus and crew after they murdered their cattle and stole from the "hosts" (abuse of food and wine)

Lotus-Eaters

Legendary people who live on a plant who's fruit induces stupor and forgetfulness of home (self-indulgence)

Cyclops (Polyphemus)

the Cyclops who imprisoned Odysseus, after they were found eating his cheese; uses the sheep to sneak out of the cave (Me tis = no one)

Aeolus

King of Winds. His gift nearly gets Odysseus and his crew home; crew opens the bag of winds which blows them back to the island

Laestrygonians

legendary clan of giant cannibals (abuse of food); Odysseus loses 11 of his 12 ships here

Circe (on Aea)

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

Eurylochus

Trusted officer of Odysseus's crew; He is the only one who suspects Circe's intentions on Aeaea

moly

Plant that Hermes offers Odysseus to ward off Circe's magic

Nekuia

Journey to the underworld (= katabasis); Book 11

Elpenor

Youngest member of Odysseus' crew. The morning of their departure from Circe's island, he falls from the rooftop and dies (was drunk). Odysseus meets with his shade in Hades.

Tiresias

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

Anticleia

The mother of Odysseus. She only appears as a spirit and tells Odysseus that she died for grief of him; tries to embrace him, but passes right through

Sirens

sea nymphs who lured sailors to destruction with their songs; Odysseus has his crew bind him to the mast so he is able to hear their songs

Scylla and Charybdis

Sea monster with six heads and a large violent whirlpool

Helios (= Hyperion) on Thrinacia

Tiresias warned Odysseus that his men should not harm these cattle; found on Thrinacia (abuse of food); Zeus sends storm which destroys their ship, sending Odysseus floating

Eumaeus

A swineherd, an old and loyal servant to Odysseus

Melanthius

a treacherous and opportunistic goatherd who supports the suitors, especially Eurymachus, and abuses the beggar who appears in Odysseus's palace, not realizing that the man is Odysseus himself.

Argos

Odysseus' faithful dog, dies upon master's return.

Eurycleia

the old nurse of Odysseus and Telemachus, attendant of Penelope; recognizes a scar on the leg of the "beggar" that matches exactly with one Odysseus has

Irus

Younger beggar who comes in and challenges Odysseus to a boxing match. He is beaten with one punch.

Philotius

loyal cowherd, helps Odysseus reclaim throne

Laertes

Odysseus's aging father, who resides on a farm in Ithaca. In despair and physical decline, he regains his spirit when Odysseus returns and eventually kills Antinous's father.