AP Lit greek allusions

Acheron River (The River of Pain)

The river of woe that one must cross to get into the Underworld. Charon tends it. "River into Hades." Those not buried properly are doomed to wander its banks forever.

Achilles

Son of Thetis and Peleus. Zeus and Athena watch over him during the Trojan War. Patroclus was his lover.

Actaeon

He walked in on Artemis bathing in a forest while hunting one day, she got angry, turned him into a deer, and his own pack of hunting dogs ate/killed him. Son of Autonoe and some king.

Aegeus

An Athenian king (and one of the founders of Athens) whose son was Theseus. He almost let Medea kill his son (previously unknown) until he recognized the sword and shoes he had put in a cave many years before, only able to be reclaimed when Theseus was ready.

Minos, the ruler of Crete, sent his son Androgeus to him, who sent him on a mission to kill a dangerous bull, who instead killed Androgeus. Minos exacted a fee of seven dudes and seven ladies every nine years for the Minotaur

When Theseus returned from his mission, he forgot to sail the black flag that signaled victory, and, thinking his son dead, he jumped off of a cliff. The Aegean is named after him.

Aeneas

One of Aphrodite's sons. Escaped Troy after the Trojan War thanks to Aphrodite. Held to be the real founder of Rome. Left Dido, who killed herself shortly after. Traveled through the underworld.

Agamemnon

his wife, Clytemnestra, plotted to kill him upon his return from the Trojan War. Aegisthus and Clytemnestra poisoned his wine during the first welcome back feast, and he died. Clytemnestra was fueled either to hide her affair, or because he had killed their daughter as a sacrifice to the gods to help with the war effort. He is one of two sons of Atreus, and the commander of the Greek forces at Troy. He was the most prosperous from the Trojan war. Orestes avenged him.

Ajax

A Greek hero and a giant. He carried Achilles' body from the battle but Odysseus got Achilles' arms. He then went mad and slaughtered live stock, thinking they were chieftains, mainly Menelaus and Agamemnon. So he killed himself, and got a burial instead of a funeral pyre. He killed a lot of people in the Trojan War.

Amazons

A nation of "men-haters" who fought against the Greeks in the Trojan War. Wonder Woman is one of them

Aphrodite (Venus)

Daughter of Zeus and Dione; also said to have sprung from the "Foam of the sea" (Aphros=foam). The Goddess of Love and Beauty. She took the side of the Trojans in the Trojan War. Hephaestus' wife.

Antigone

Oedipus' daughter who took care of him when he was expelled from Thebes. She was executed after she disobeyed Creon and buried her brother, Polyneices. The Last of the royal family of Thebes, the House of Oedipus, was gone.

Apollo (Phoebus)

Son of Zeus and Leto — the most Greek of all Gods. He is a master musician who delights Olympus ; the Archer-God; the Healer; God of Light; God of Truth; purifier. He also served as a link between Heaven and Delphi. With Troy in the Trojan War.

Ares

God of war, son of Zeus and Hera (they both detested him). Throughout the Illiad, Homer calls him murderous, bloodstained, the incarnate curse of mortals, and a coward who bellows with pain and runs away when he is wounded. He has an affair with Aphrodite and is caught by her husband, Hephaestus.

Ariadne

Minos' daughter. She fell in love with Theseus, an Athenian prince. He took her towards Athens, but they had to stop on an island and either Theseus left her or she died. Either way, she never made it to Athens.

Arachne

A simple peasant girl who challenged Minerva/Athena to a contest of weaving. She tied with Athena, who beat her with a shuttle; then hung herself. Athena felt bad and turned her into a spider, and her skill in weaving was left to her.

Argonauts

Hercules, Orpheus (the master musician), Castor and Pollux, Achilles' father (Peleus), and many others. Led by Jason on the Argo. All drank the "peerless elixir of valor."

Argus

The giant with one hundred eyes who was tricked into sleep by Hermes, who killed him. Hera's lacky.

Artemis (Diana)

The Lady of Wild Things, Huntsman-in-chief to the Gods. Fierce and revengeful. Apollo's twin sister. Daughter of Zeus and Leto. One of the three maiden goddesses of Olympus. "Lover of woods and the wild chase over the mountain."

Atalanta

Wanted to sail on the Argo, took part in the Calydonian boar hunt, married a man, Hippomenes, who beat her in a foot race, and changed into lionesses because Hippomenes forgot to honor Aphrodite.

Bacchus (Dionysus)

Son of Zeus and Semele (Thebes). Hera made Semele wish to see Zeus in his full glory, upon which she died. Zeus nursed him for the remaining period of gestation and afterwards nymphs. Party god, wine god, etc.

Cadmus: Curse of Cadmus

Cadmus looked for his sister, Europa, who went off with Zeus. Cadmus killed a dragon whom Ares loved very much and was cursed with ill luck forever after. Oedipus is his grandson

Calliope

Muse of epic poetry

Calypso

Nymph (daughter of titan atlas) in Ogygia who held Odysseus captive for 7 years.

Cassandra

One of Priam's daughters, a prophetess. Apollo had loved her and given her the power to foretell the future. Later he turned her against her because she refused his love, and although he could not take his divine gift back, he made it so that no one ever believed her. She foretold Troy's downfall.

Castor and Pollux (Polydeuces)

Said to live half of their time on Earth, half in heaven. Leda's sons; they are usually represented as gods, the special protectors of sailors. Sometimes said only half was mortal, or 24/7 was immortal. Argonauts.

Centaurs

Half man, half horse, and for the most part they were savage creatures, more like beasts than men. One of them, however, Chiron, was known everywhere for his goodness and his wisdom.

Cerberus

The three headed, dragon tailed dog, who permits all spirits to enter, but none to return.

Ceres (Demeter)

The Goddess of the Corn. Her daughter, Persephone, went into the underworld by Hades' force.

Charon

An aged boatman who ferries the souls of the dead across the water to the farther bank, where stands the adamantine gate to Tartarus. Charon will receive into his boat only the souls of those upon whose lips the passage money was placed when they died and were duly buried.

Charybdis

Once a nymph, Zeus changed her into a monster after she took so much land for her father he became enraged. She takes form as a huge bladder of a creature whose face was all mouth with flippers; swallows huge amounts of water three times a day before belching them back out again, creating whirlpools. Sometimes just a whirlpool.

Chimera

A lion in front, a serpent behind, a goat in between. It can breathe fire.

Circe

A most beautiful and dangerous witch. She changed Odysseus' men into animals/pigs. Odysseus, with help from Hermes, changed them back and spent a few years with her. Turned scylla into a monster due to jealousy over Glaucus.

Clio

Muse of history.

Clytemnestra

Killed Agamemnon after he killed their daughter (before the Trojan War) after the Trojan War. Leda and Spartan King's daughter.

Creon

Ruler of Thebes in the legend of Oedipus. He had three children: Menoeceus, Megara, and Haimon with Eurydice. Descendent of Cadmus and of the Spartoi. Executed Antigone.

Cupid

Aphrodite's son. "Makes his home in men's hearts, but not in every heart, for where there is hardness he departs. his greatest glory is that he cannot do wrong nor allow it; force never comes near him. For all men serve him of their own free will." Sometimes portrayed as a child, or Aphrodite's companion. Either a mischievous boy or much much worse.

Cyclops

Each had only one enormous eye, as round and big as a wheel in the middle of the forehead. They were gigantic, towering up like mountains.

Daedalus

The man who invented the Labyrinth. Icarus' father. King Minos imprisoned him because he had given Theseus the way out.

Danae

Bore Perseus by Zeus after she was locked up in a bronze cave underground because of a prophesy that foretold her father, Acrisus', death. Her father shipped them off, in a chest, on the sea to the fisherman Dictys.

Danaids

Fifty of them, all daughters of Danaüs. Fled from their cousins' hands in marriage to Argos. 49 of 50 killed their grooms. The other, Hypermnestra, did not kill her husband, as her sisters and father commanded. Her father imprisoned her. They must forever fill jars riddled with holes as punishment.

Delphi

Under towering Parnassus, where Apollo's oracle was, plays an important part in mythology. Castalia was its sacred spring, Cephissus its river. Greek's center of the world, a place of pilgrimage. No other shrine rivaled it.

Dido

founded Carthage, got romantically involved with Aeneas and provided him with all she could — all of her wealth, city, and property was open to him. He left her when Zeus commanded him to, so he could found Rome, and she jumped off a cliff.

Diomedes

champion of the Trojan War. He was an Argive. One of the greatest heroes of the Argives. Achean, son of Tydeus, king of Argos.

Dionysus

see Baccus

Echo

The fairest nymph, and a favorite of Artemis. Fell in love with Narcissus, who denied her. She haunts caves and echoey places.

Electra

Agamemnon and Clytemnestra's daughter. Orestes' sister, she wasted away without love from her mother or father-in-law until Orestes came back.

Elysian Fields

a paradise within the underworld where heroes and the virtuous reside after death

Eris

the personification of strife, discord, and contention. She is often depicted as causing conflict and chaos, most famously by initiating the Trojan War. She is the daughter of Nyx (Night) according to some accounts, and the sister of Ares (god of war) in others. Her Roman equivalent is Discordia

Eros

greek mythology version of cupid

Europa

Daughter of the King of Sidon. Zeus absconded with her. Her sons were made famous men and judges of the dead. Europe is named after her.

Euterpe

Muse of lyric poetry.

Eurydice

Married to Orpheus, she died shortly after. He went to the Underworld to get her back because he was so saddened. He got her up to the end of the cavern, and then he looked at her, sending her back to Hades.

Fates: Spinners

Moirae in Greek, parcae in Latin. Give to men at birth evil and good to have. They were three, Clotho, the Spinner, who spun the thread of life; LAchesis, the Disposer of Lots, who assigned to each man his destiny; Atropos, she who could not be turned, who carried the shears and cut the thread at death.

Gorgons

Also earth-dwellers. There were three, and two of them were immortal. They were dragon-like creatures with wings, whose look turned men to stone. Phorcys, son of the Sea and the Earth, was their father. Medusa, etc.

Galatea

The Cyclops Polyphemus was in love with her. She was a sea nymph.

Hades (Pluto)

The god of the Underworld. His Queen is Persephone. He's one of the three who divided the universe with Zeus and Poseidon. He had a far famed cap or helmet which made whoever wore it invisible. He was King of the Dead.

Hecate

associated with night, magic, witchcraft, moon, takes on the role of guardian not just of roads, but of all journeys, including the journey to the afterlife. In art and myth, she is shown, along with Hermes, guiding Persephone back from the underworld with her torches.

Hector

The Champion of Troy, son of Priam. Killed Patroclus. Paris' brother. Achilles killed him.

Hecuba

Priam's queen. Hector's mother. She had nineteen children. With the god Apollo, she had a son named Troilus.

Helen

The fairest woman in the world was Helen, the daughter of Zeus and Leda, sister of Castor and Pollux. Married to Menelaus. Paris stole her away thanks to Aphrodite. The face that launched a thousand ships.

Hephaestus (Vulcan)

God of fire, sometimes said to be the son of Zeus and Hera, sometimes of Hera alone. The only ugly god.

Hera

Zeus' wife and sister. The Titans Ocean and Tethys brought her up. She was the protector of marriage, and married women were her peculiar care. Punished women Zeus got involved with her. She is the gracious protector of heroes and the inspirer of heroic deeds.

Heracles

The son of Zeus and Alcmene, foster son of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus. Famed for his extraordinary strength, courage, ingenuity, and sexual prowess with both men and women, and used his wits on several occasions. He is associated with a club and lion cape.

Hermes (Mercury)

Zeus was his father and Atlas' daughter Maia, his mother. He was graceful and wift of motion. On his feet were winged sandals, and on his hat too. He was the shrewdest and most cunning. He was also the solemn guide of the dead. God of Commerce and Market. Master Thief.

Hestia (Vesta)

She was Zeus's sister, and like Athena and Artemis a virgin goddess. She has no distinct personality and she lays no part in the myths. She was the Goddess of the Hearth, the symbol of the home, around which the newborn child must be carried before it could be received into the family.

Hyacinth

Apollo's favorite companion, who he killed during a discus throwing competition. Started a festival.

Hydra

A creature with nine heads called the who lived in a swamp in Lerna. One of the heads was immortal and the others almost as bad, as when one was chopped off, two grew up instead.

Icarus

Deadelus' son. He flew too close to the sun when they were escaping from the Labyrinth, and his wax wings melted, sending him to a watery death.

Iphigenia

The daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, she was sacrificed to Artemis. This prompted her mother, Clytemnestra, to later kill Agamemnon.

Iris

The Goddess of the Rainbow and a messenger of the gods, in the Iliad the only messenger. Hermes appears first in that capacity in the Odyssey, but he does not take her place

Janus

Originally on the Numina, the god of good beginnings. He became personified to a certain degree.

Jason

Leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus. He was married to the sorceress Medea, and considered to be on par with Heracles and Odysseus.

Jocasta

Mothered Oedipus. She married Oedipus later on, and bore him four children, two girls, including Antigone. She hanged herself and Oedipus gouged out his eyes.

Laocoon

He and his two sons were suspicious of the Trojan horse, so they warned the Trojans and were summarily ignored. Two serpents, sent by Poseidon or Athena, and killed him and his two sons.

Leda

Wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta. She bore him two mortals, Castor and Clytemnestra. Zeus in the form of a swan bore Pollux and Helen, the heroine of Troy. They were immortal.

Lethe River

The river of forgetfulness that runs through Hades.

Lucifer

Ceyx's father. Lucifer, the light-bearer, the star that brings in the day, and he had a bright gladness.

Medea

Daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children. She killed them to get her revenge on Jason.

Medusa

One of the three Gorgons. Perseus killed her, and thereafter used her head as a weapon until giving it to Athena to place on her shield. Her gaze could turn men to stone.

Menelaus

A king of Ancient sparta, the son of Atreus and Aerope. He was key in The Iliad. He won Helen from Tyndareus, who was then stolen by Paris.

Mentor

The Ithacan that Odysseus trusted most.

Midas

The land of roses. Wished whatever he touched would become gold _ Bacchus granted him the goal. Apollo changed Midas' ears into those of a donkey's.

Minos

One of three judges of the dead, born to Zeus and Europa. He ruled the Minoan Civilization on Crete. His son was the Minotaur.

Minotaur

a monster, half bull, half human, the offspring of Minos' wife Pasiphaë and a wonderfully beautiful bull.

Morpheus

The son of the old God of Sleep, skilled in assuming the form of any and every human being. He has noiseless wings.

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 spawned a new species of flower named after him

Nausicaa

Helped Odysseus out — she was the one who helped him out when he emerged naked from the forest.

Nemesis

The personified emotions esteemed high of all feelings in Homer and Hesiod. Usually translated as Righteous Anger.

Nestor

An old war hero in the Iliad/Trojan War, he served as war counselor to the Argives.

Niobe

Equated herself to Leta in beauty, made fun of her for only having two kids. Artemis and Apollo killed all of them and she went mad.

Odysseus (Ulysses)

Son of Laertes, ruler of Ithaca. Famed for being clever and witty. 20 year voyage.

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

Site of the ancient Olympic Games.

Olympus

Home of the gods/a heaven.

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.

Orion

He was a young man of gigantic stature and great beauty, and a mighty hunter. He cleared Chios of wild beasts for its princess' hand in marriage. The king lept putting it off, he insulted Merope drunkenly, Dionysus put him in a deep sleep, and Oenopion blinded him. Then Hank went as far east as Lemnos, and he regained his site, and entered the service of Artemis. Artemis killed him. He got put into the stars as a constellation.

Orpheus

A master musician and Theraces prince. He followed Eurydices into the Underworld after she died.

Pallas Athena Minerva

The daughter of Zeus. She sprang from Zeus' head. "gray-eyed" or "flashing-eyed." She was the chief of the three virgin goddesses. Embodiment of wisdom, reason, purity.

Pan

The chief of the lesser gods of earth. He was Hermes' son. Part animal with a goat's horns, goat's hooves, and the goatherd's companion. He was always in love with one nymph or another, but always rejected because of his ugliness.

Pandora

The first woman. She opened the famous Pandora's box.

Paris

judged Athena, Aphrodite, and Hera. in favor of love, judged Aphrodite the fairest, and got Helen in return. He also got into the Trojan War. Priam's son, Hector's brother.