AP Lit Greek Allusions V

Midas

• Legendary king of Phrygi

• The land of roses.

• Wished whatever he touched would become gold _ Bacchus granted him the goal.

• Apollo changed his ears into those of a donkey's.

• His food and even his daughter turned to gold, and he begged to undo it.

Minos

• King of Crete and son of Zeus.

• One of three judges of the dead, born to Zeus and Europa.

• He ruled the Minoan Civilization on Crete.

• His son was the Minotaur.

• He had Daedalus build the Labyrinth and forced Athens to send youths as tribute. After death, he became a judge in the underworld.

Minotaur

• Was a monster, half bull, half human,

• The offspring of Minos' wife Pasiphaë and a wonderfully beautiful bull.

• Kept in the Labyrinth and killed by Theseus.

Morpheus

• The son of the old God of Sleep,

• Skilled in assuming the form of any and every human being.

• He has noiseless wings.

• God of dreams

Narcissus

• One of the most beautiful lads in the land

• He attracted Echo (a nymph), and, so enamored with his own reflection, wasted away.

• He wasted away and became a new species of flower, the Narcissus

Nausicaa

• Helped Odysseus out to reach her parents’ court

• She was the one who helped him out when he emerged naked from the forest.

• Young Phaeacian princess

Nemesis

• In the works of Homer and Hesiod, a feeling turned into a character (a goddess), and it was considered one of the most important feelings.

• Usually translated as Righteous Anger.

• Goddess of retribution who punishes hubris and arrogance.

Nestor

• An old war hero in the Iliad/Trojan War

• He served as war counselor to the Argives.

• Elderly king of Pylos

Niobe

• Equated herself to Leta in beauty and made fun of her for only having two kids.

• Artemis and Apollo killed all of them and she went mad.

• turned to stone, forever weeping.

Odysseus

• Son of Laertes

• Ruler of Ithaca.

• Famed for being clever and witty.

• 20 year voyage.

• He devised the Trojan Horse, then spent ten years struggling to get home to Penelope.

Oedipus

• Son of Jocasta and Laius.

• He murdered Laius by accident over the right of ways of their respective chariots.

• Married his mother, had four children with her, found out about his patricide and incest, and he gouged his eyes out.

Olympia

• Sacred site of the ancient Olympic Games.

• Devoted to Zeus

Olympus

• Home of the gods/a heaven.

• Greece's highest mountain

Orestes

• Clytemnestra and Agamemnon's son.

• He murdered Cytemnestra and Aegilus because they killed Agamemnon.

• He had to wander around for a few years before he got catharsis.

Paris

• Priam's son, Hector's brother.

• Trojan prince who chose Aphrodite in the golden apple contest and was rewarded with Helen, which triggered the Trojan War.

Parnassus

• A sacred mountain home to the Muses, the Corycian Nymphs, and Apollo, the god of music and poetry

• The site of the famous Oracle of Delphi

Persephone

• Demeter's only daughter.

• She was abducted by Hades, ate a pomegranate, and has to stay half the year in Hades now.

Perseus

• Founder of the Mycenae and the Perseid dynasty.

• He defeated the Gorgons and a whole lot of monsters.

• He also claimed Andromeda, having rescued her from a sea monster.

Polyneices

• Son of Oedipus and Jocasta.

• He fought with his brother, Eteocles for the rule of their kingdom, and died.

• Antigone was his sister.

• Creon forbade Polyneices' burial. His sister Antigone defied the ban.

Poseidon

• He was the ruler of the sea,

• Zeus' brother and second only to him in eminence.

• Poseidon had a splendid palace beneath the sea, but he was more often to be found in Olympus.