Characters of the Odyssey

Achilles

son of Peleus and Thetis, grandson of Aeacus, and commander of the Myrmidons, Achaean allies, at troy

Aeaea

island, home of circe

Aegisthus

seducer of Clytemnestra, murderer of Agamemnon, killed by Orestes

Aeolus

father of master of the winds, father of Cretheus

Agamemnon

Kind of Mycenae, son of Atreus, husband of Clytemnestra, murdered by her and Aegisthus, brother of Menelaus, supreme commander of all Achae’s armies

Ajax

Achaean, son of Telamon, Telamonian or Great Ajax, defeated by Odysseys in the content for Achilles’ armor

Alcinuos

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

Amphinomus

suitor killed by Telemachus, favorite of Penelope

Anticleia

wife of Laertes, other of Odysseys, daughter of Autolycus

Antinous

son of Eupithes, one of the two leading suitors

Apollo

son of Zeus, patron of the arts (music and poetry), god of archery, lord of the silver bow, arrows are metaphor for the onset of a plague whos festival day in Ithaca is the day the suitors are killed

Ares

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

Arete

queen of Phaeacia, wife of Alcinuous, mother of Nausicaa

Argos

city or district in the northeastern Peloponnese, or the general region of the Achaeans, mainland Greece

Artemis

daughter of Zeus and Leto, sister of Apollo, goddess of childbirth and hunting

Athena

goddess, daughter of Zeus, defender of the Achaeans. Patron of human ingenuity and resourcefulness, Odysseus being her fav greek

Atreus

Father of Agamemnon and Menelaus

Calypso

goddess-nymph, daughter of Atlas, home is Ogygia, held Odysseus captive

Charybdis

monster in the form of a whirlpool, across from Sckylla

Circe

goddess and enchantress of Aeaea, changes men to pigs

Clytemnestra

daughter of Leda and Tyndareus, queen of Argos, wife of Agamemnon, lover of Aegisthus, mother of Orestes

Dawn

goddess of morning, wife of Tithonus

Demeter

goddess of grain crops, sister of Zeus and mother of Persephone

Demodocus

blind singer of the Phaecians

Eidothea

sea-nymph, daughter of Proteus

Elpenor

companion of Odysseus, died by falling off a roof

Eumaeus

swineherd of Odysseus, loyal fr

Eurycleia

old nurse of Odysseus and Telemachus, attendant of Penelope

Eurylochus

Kin of Odysseus, and his second in command

Eurymachus

one of the two leading suitors, son of Polybus, killed by Odysseus

Furies

spirits whose task it is to exact blood for blood when no human avenger is left alive. Punish Oedipus for marrying his mother and driving her to suicide

Halitherses

Ithacan elder with prophetic powers, the bird guy

Helen

daughter of Zeus and Leda, wife of Menelaus, consort of Paris, her abduction by him from Sparta caused the Trojan War

Helios

the sun god, all-seeing god, kills crew for eating his cattle

Hermes

son of Zeus and Maia, messenger of the gods, giant killer, guide of dead souls to the underworld

Hermione

daughter of Menelaus and Helen

Ino

sea-goddess who offered Odysseus the scarf to not drown

Irus

beggar in house of Ithaca, Odysseus beat him up

Ithaca

Ionian island off the western coast of Greece, Odysseus’ home

Laertes

Son of Arcesius, husband of Anticleia, father of Odysseus

Laestrygonians

clan of giant cannibals, threw rocks and boulders at crew

Lotus-eaters

, visited by Odysseus, people who live on plant whose fruit induces stupor and forgetfulness of home

Melanthius

son of Dolius, goatherd

Melantho

daughter of Dolius, maid of Penelope

Menelaus

king of Lacedaemon, son of Atreus, brother of Agamemnon, husband of Helen

Mentes

son of Alcimus, Ithacan friend of Odysseus, name assumed by Athena in Ithaca

Mentor

son of Alcimus, Ithacan friend of Odysseus, impersonated by Athena

Muse

daughter of Zeus, one of nine, preside over literature and arts, artistic inspiration

Nausiciaa

daughter of Alcinous and Arete, finds Odysseus

Nestor

kind of Pylians, father of Antilochus, Pisistratusm Thrasymedes and others

Odysseus

king of Ithaca, pretty obvious

Ogygia

Calypso’s island

Olympus

home of the gods, mountain

Orestes

son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, avenger of his father

Penelope

Odysseus’ wife, daughter of Icarius

Phaecia

last destination of Odysseus, kingdom of Alcinous

Pisistratus

son of Nestor, accompanies Telemachus to Sparta

Polyphemus

cyclops, blinded by Odysseus, son of Poseidon

Pylos

nestors capital city, where Telemachus went first

Sirens

tempts sailors to his ruin

Scylla

man eating monster that lives in a cliffside cavern opposite of charybdis

Sparta

home of Menelaus and Helen

Telemachus

son of Odysseus

Tiresias

prophetic powers in underworld

Zeus

King of the gods, son of cronus and rhea, brother and husband of harra, father of the Olympians and many mortals too. His fears include the sky and weather, hospitality and the rights of guests and suppliants, the punishment of injustice, the sending of omens, and the governance of the universe, controlled to some extent by fate as well