CLCV 111 + 115 A. Traill Spring 2025 Final Exam: Checklist of Key Terms and Images

Flashcards for reviewing key terms and figures from the lecture notes.

Achilles

Son of Peleus and Thetis, friend to Patroclus, best warrior on the Greek side at Troy.

Aeetes

Son of Helios, father of Medea.

Aeneas

Son of Anchises and Aphrodite, Trojan hero, journeys to found Rome, central figure in Aeneid.

Aeolus

God of the winds, gives contrary winds to Odysseus in a bag so he can get home.

Amazons

Female warriors, defeated by Heracles, Theseus, Achilles.

Aphrodite

Roman Venus, goddess of love, mother of Aeneas.

Apollo

God of disease, healing, poetry, music.

Ares

Roman Mars, god of war.

Artemis

Roman Diana, goddess of hunting, death of women.

Athena

Roman Minerva, goddess of cities, crafts, wisdom, war.

Calypso

"Hider", goddess who detains Odysseus for seven years before releasing him.

Centaurs

Half man/half horse divinities, e.g., Chiron, teacher of heroes, Pholus, gives Heracles wine which starts a fight.

Cerberus

Three headed dog who guards the Underworld, stolen by Heracles and later returned.

Chiron

Kindly centaur who trains heroes in their youth, e.g., Achilles, Heracles, Jason.

Circe

Witch/goddess who turns Odysseus’ men into pigs, but then welcomes and helps them all.

Cyclopes

Mythical creatures who forge Zeus’s thunderbolts, later become one-eyed ogres.

Demeter

Roman Ceres, fertility goddess of crops, mother of Persephone.

Dionysus

Roman Bacchus or Liber, fertility god of wine, son of Zeus and Semele.

Eros

Roman Cupid, Love, son of Aphrodite.

Furies

Aka Eumenides, female deities who punish blood guilt, e.g., Orestes for killing his mother.

Hades

Roman Pluto or Dis, god of the dead.

Helen

Daughter of Zeus, wife of (1) Menelaus, (2) Paris, (3) Deiphobus, in leaving Menelaus she caused for the Trojan War.

Hephaestus

Roman Vulcan, god of metalworking, crafts, husband of Aphrodite.

Hera

Roman Juno, goddess of marriage, wife of Zeus.

Heracles

Roman Hercules, son of Zeus & Alcmena, known for 12 labors.

Hermes

Roman Mercury, god of travelers, thieves, messengers, oratory.

Hestia

Roman Vesta, goddess of the hearth.

Hydra

From Lerna, many headed snake who grows two heads for each cut off, killed by Heracles.

Janus

Roman, two-headed god of bridges, beginnings, his gates at Rome when open = war.

Laestrygonians

Cannibal ogres who destroy all but one of Odysseus’ ships.

Lares

Singular: Lar, Roman domestic gods associated with the home.

Nymphs

Minor goddesses of nature.

Persephone

Roman Proserpina, daughter of Demeter, stolen by Hades.

Perseus

Son of Danae and Zeus, kills Medusa and defeats a sea monster.

Polyphemus

One-eyed ogre, son of Poseidon, defeated by Odysseus.

Poseidon

Roman Neptune, god of the oceans.

Satyrs

Roman fauns, goat/men divinities.

Talos

Bronze giant protecting Crete, disabled by Medea.

Theseus

Son of Poseidon/Aegeus, defeats the Minotaur and other heroic deeds.

Thetis

Nereid, wife of Peleus, mother of Achilles.

Zeus

Roman Jupiter, storm god, king of the Olympians, enforces justice, hospitality.

Aegeus

King of Athens, father to Theseus, gives Medea a refuge after Corinth.

Aegisthus

Son of Thyestes, sleeps with Clytemnestra and helps kill Agamemnon.

Agamemnon

Commander in chief at Troy, killed on return home by Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.

Ajax

Son of Telamon, best fighter after Achilles, loses the contest for his armor.

Alcinous and Arete

King and queen on Phaeacia, parents to Nausicaa, hosts to Odysseus.

Alcmena

Wife of Amphitryon, mother of Heracles by Zeus.

Amphitryon

Theban general, husband to Alcmena, resents her apparent adultery.

Anchises

Trojan, sleeps with Aphrodite, father of Aeneas.

Andromache

Wife of Hector, mother of Astyanax.

Argonauts

Sailors on the Argo with Jason, incl. Heracles, Orpheus, Polydeuces, Peleus, Meleager.

Atalanta

A hunter, first to wound the Calydonian boar and given the hide in honor.

Briseis

Trojan, given to Achilles as a prize, taken away by Agamemnon.

Brutus

Lucius Iunius Brutus, helped avenge the death of Lucretia by killing Sextus Tarquinius.

Calchas

Prophet on Greek side, Trojan war, tells Agamemnon to sacrifice Iphigeneia, given up Chryseis.

Castor and Polydeuces

Roman Pollux, brothers of Helen & Clytemnestra, they sail with Jason.

Clytemnestra

Wife to Agamemnon, kills him as punishment for sacrificing their daughter.

Coriolanus

Early Roman aristocrat, turns against Rome, his wife/mother convince him not to attack.

Deianeira

Daughter of Meleager, wife of Heracles, kills him by accident with a poisoned shirt.

Dido

Queen of Carthage, delays Aeneas from his quest in a love affair like Calypso/Circe.

Etruscans

A people north of Rome with a large cultural impact, provided the first Roman kings.

Eurystheus

King of Mycenae, Heracles is forced to perform the labors he dictates.

Hecabe

Roman Hecuba, queen of Troy, wife of Priam, mother of Hector.

Hector

Son of Priam and Hecuba, main fighter on the Trojan side, killed by Achilles.

Hylas

Argonaut and youth beloved of Heracles, stolen by water nymphs.

Iphigeneia

Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, sacrificed for winds so the Greek fleet could sail.

Jason

Son of Aeson, leader of the Argonauts, gets the golden fleece plus Medea but their marriage fails.

Laocoon

Trojan priest who recognizes the wooden horse as a trap, killed by sea serpents.

Lavinia

Daughter of king Latinus, Aeneas’ eventual bride, fought over in Aeneid.

Leda

Wife of Tyndareus, mother of Helen, Clytemnestra, Castor and Pollux by Zeus as a swan.

Lucretia

Roman aristocrat, raped by Sextus Tarquinius, binds her husband to vengeance and kills herself.

Medea

Colchian princess and witch, helps Jason retrieve the golden fleece, later kills their children.

Meleager

Heroic figure, hunts the Calydonian boar, kills his uncles in a rage, dies when his life log burns.

Nausicaa

Phaeacian princess, finds and clothes Odysseus and brings to her parents.

Neoptolemus

Son of Achilles who slaughters Priam before an altar, later killed by Orestes.

Nessus

Centaur who tries to abduct Deianira, gives his blood as a love potion when killed by Heracles.

Odysseus

King of Ithaca, husband to Penelope, creates the Trojan horse, hero of the Odyssey.

Oedipus

Son of Laius and Jocasta, accidentally kills his father and marries his mother.

Orestes

Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra who avenges his father by killing his mother.

Paris

Trojan prince, marries Helen, poor fighter in Iliad but major in the Trojan tradition, kills Achilles.

Patroclus

Close friend of Achilles, wears his armor and dies at the hands of Hector.

Peleus

Mortal, marries Thetis, father of Achilles.

Pelias

Jason’s evil uncle, killed by his daughters when Medea dupes them into chopping him up.

Pelops

Son of Tantalus, wins a wife by cheating in a chariot race, later killed and served to the gods.

Penelope

Wife to Odysseus, deceives the suitors in his absence, stays loyal to him.

Phaeacians

Kindly hosts of Odysseus, known for escorting travelers.

Phrixus and Helle

Plotted against by step-mother Ino, escape sacrifice by riding a golden ram.

Priam

King of Troy, husband of Hecabe, father of Hector.

Rhea Silvia

Daughter of deposed king Numitor, mother of Romulus and Remus by Mars.

Romulus and Remus

Children of Mars and Rhea Silvia, found Rome, Romulus kills Remus.

Sabine Women

From a tribe near Rome, stolen to provide early Roman settlers with wives.

Sextus Tarquinius

Son of Tarquin the Proud, raped Lucretia and was killed for it, end of the monarchy.

Sirens

Monsters with alluring voices who lure sailors to their death, Odysseus defeats.

Tantalus

Evil king who fed his son Pelops to the gods, condemned to hunger/thirst in Underworld.

Tarquin the Proud

Tarquinius Superbus, last Etruscan king of Rome.

Telemachus

Son of Odysseus and Penelope, helps his father kill the suitors.

Turnus

Leader of an Italic tribe (Rutulians), plays the role of Hector in the Aeneid, killed by Aeneas.

Abduction of Helen

By Theseus, retrieved by her Brothers, by Paris, taken to Troy.

Anthropomorphism

Giving human traits to gods/other nonhumans.

Apotheosis

Deification or becoming a god, e.g., Romulus, many Roman emperors.