Studied by 63 peopleThe Odyssey by Homer
A Greek warrior undertakes an arduous journey back to his homeland and his loyal wife and son, experiencing many fantastical adventures along the way.
Zeus
King of the gods
Circe
The beautiful witch-goddess who transforms Odysseus's crew into swine when he lands on her island. With Hermes' help, Odysseus resists Circe's powers and then becomes her lover, living in luxury at her side for a year.
Aeolus
God of the winds
Anticlea
Odysseus' mother
Eurymachus
suitor of Penelope
Odysseus
(main character) Son of Laertes and Anticleia, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus. A cunning, shrewd and eloquent hero. Came up with the idea of the Trojan horse which led the Greeks to victory against Troy. "Man of many wiles".
Clytemnestra
(Greek mythology) wife of Agamemnon who had him murdered when he returned from the Trojan War
Hermes
Messenger of the gods
Calypso
The beautiful nymph who falls in love with Odysseus when he lands on her island-home of Ogygia. Calypso holds him prisoner there for seven years until Hermes, the messenger god, persuades her to let him go.
Tiresias
blind prophet who advised Odysseus
Laertes
Odysseus' father
Penelope
Wife of Odysseus
Achilles
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
Poseidon
God of the sea
Telemachus
Odysseus and Penelope's son
Argos
Odysseus' dog
Agamemnon
King and leader of Greek forces
Polyphemus
the Cyclops who imprisoned Odysseus
Alcinous
king of the Phaeacians, to whom Odysseus tells his story
Helen
Wife of Menelaus, Queen of Sparta
Eumaeus
old swineherd and friend of Odysseus
Eurycleia
the old nurse of Odysseus and Telemachus, attendant of Penelope
Scylla
Sea monster of gray rock. Each of her six heads eats a sailor.
Antinous
leader among the suitors
Charibdis
A living whirlpool that threatens the lives of Odysseus' entire crew.
Naussica
daughter of Alcinous, welcomes Odysseus to Phaecia
Athena
Goddess of wisdom
Joseph Cambell
Author of "A Hero with a Thousand Faces".
Joseph Cambell's hero journey
twelve steps
Call to Adventure
The hero receives an invitation to begin a quest or journey
Refusal of the Call
The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly. Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.
Supernatural Aid
Once the hero has committed to the quest, consciously or unconsciously, his or her guide and magical helper appears, or becomes known.
Crossing the First Threshold
This is the point where the person actually crosses into the field of adventure, leaving the known limits of his or her world and venturing into an unknown and dangerous realm where the rules and limits are not known.
Belly of the Whale
The hero is now fully engulfed in the unfamiliar world, facing the dangers it holds.
Road of Trials
Hero undergoes a series of tests, becoming strong or wise enough to complete the quest.
Meeting with the Goddess
This is the point when the person experiences a love that has the power and significance of the all-powerful, all encompassing, unconditional love that a fortunate infant may experience with his or her mother.
Woman as Temptress
temptations that may lead the hero to abandon or stray from his or her quest
Atonement with the Father
Character must deal with the person or entity in his/her life that holds power over him/her.
apotheosis
elevation to divine status; the perfect example of something
The Ultimate Boom
The achievement of the goal of the quest
Refusal of the Return
Having found bliss and enlightenment in the other world, the hero may not want to return to the ordinary world to bestow the boon onto his fellow man.
The Magic Flight
The hero experiences adventure and perhaps danger as he or she returns to life as it was before the Call to Adventure.
Rescue from Without
Just as the hero may need guides and assistance on the quest, oftentimes he or she must have powerful guides and rescuers to bring him or her back to everyday life. Sometimes the hero does not realize that it is time to return, that he or she can return, or that others are relying on him or her to return.
The crossing of the return threshold
This is the step where the hero must make the transition back into the familiar world after the journey is complete.
Master of Two Worlds
Achieving a balance between the material and spiritual (the inner and outer world).
Freedom to Live
Mastery leads to freedom from the fear of death, which in turn is the freedom to live. This is sometimes referred to as living in the moment, neither anticipating the future nor regretting the past.
Carl Jung
neo-Freudian who created concept of "collective unconscious" and wrote books on dream interpretation
shadow
the worst part of a human
Persona
Greek for "mask." The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.
Archetypes (Jung)
Emotional symbols that are common to all people and have been formed since the beginning of time
animus/anima
the little girl inside yourself
syzygy
an alignment of celestial bodies
unconscious
according to Freud, a reservoir of mostly unacceptable thoughts, wishes, feelings, and memories. According to contemporary psychologists, information processing of which we are unaware.
ego
the largely conscious, "executive" part of personality that, according to Freud, mediates among the demands of the id, superego, and reality. The ego operates on the reality principle, satisfying the id's desires in ways that will realistically bring pleasure rather than pain.
introvert
a shy person
extrovert
an outgoing person
types of heros
American hero, classic hero, tragic hero, greek hero, antihero
American Hero
hero bound to nature, innocent and naïve, no family or family tradition, and spends life on internal quest
Classic Hero
Attractive, successful; embodies the values of his society.
tragic hero
a protagonist with a fatal flaw which eventually leads to his demise
Greek Hero
-Lives an extraordinary life-Perfectly ordinary human being-Odysseus
Anti-hero
a central character in a story, movie, or drama who lacks conventional heroic attributes.
Oedipus
a tragic king of Thebes who unknowingly killed his father Laius and married his mother Jocasta
Jocasta
Mother and wife of Oedipus
Creon
the brother of Jocasta and uncle of Antigone who became king of Thebes after the fall of Oedipus
Tiresias
Predicts Oedipus
Chorus
A group of characters in Greek tragedy (and in later forms of drama), who comment on the action of a play without participation in it.
Corinth
Oedipus' childhood home
Hubris
excessive pride
Chiton
A Greek tunic, the essential (and often only) garment of both men and women, the other being the himation, or mantle.
Parados
entrance of the chorus
Skene
building used as dressing room
Hamartia
tragic flaw
Pathos
Appeal to emotion
Catharsis
a release of emotional tension
Proskenium
A columned arch located at the rear of the stage and in front of the skene supporting a porch-like projection from the second story of the skene.
Cothurni
High platformed shoes
Antigone
daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta
Ismene
Sister of Antigone
sentry
a soldier stationed to keep guard or to control access to a place
Polynices
Brother of Eteocles and son of Oedipus; died during the Argive expedition against Thebes to force his brother out.
Eteocles
Antigone's brother that died in battle and recieved a hero's burial
Haemon
Antigone's young fiancé and son to Creon. Haemon appears twice in the play. In the first, he is rejected by Antigone; in the second, he begs his father for Antigone's life. Creon's refusal ruins his exalted view of his father. He too refuses the happiness that Creon offers him and follows Antigone to a tragic demise.
Eurydice
Creon's wife
Megareus
Creon's son that is killed in battle
"Death is the price - you're right. But all too often the mere hope of moneyhas ruined many men."
Creon
"He is my brother and - deny it as you will - your brother too. No one willever convict me for a traitor."
Antigone
"Exactly when did you last see the gods celebrating traitors? Inconceivable!"
Creon
"First, myself, I've got to tell you, I didn't do it, didn't see who did - be fair,don't take it out on me."
Sentry
"Man, the master, ingenuous beyond all measure, past all dreams, the skillswithin his grasp—he forges on, now to destruction, now again to greatness!"
Chorus
"You, with your eyes fixed on the ground - speak up. Do you deny you didthis, yes or no?"
Creon
"I, for one, I'll beg the dead to forgive me—I'm forced, I have no choice—Imust obey the ones who stand in power."
Ismene
"Dear god, shout it from the rooftops. I'll hate you all the more for silence—tell the world!"
Antigone
"My countrymen, the ship of state is safe. The gods who rocked her, after along, merciless pounding in the storm, have righted her once more."
Creon
of my regime...these are the instigators, I'm convinced—they've perverted my ownguard, bribed them to do their work." "No, from the first there were certain citizens who could hardly stand the spirit
Creon
"It wasn't Zeus, not in the least, who made this proclamation—not to me. Nordid that Justice, dwelling with the gods beneath the earth, ordain such laws formen. Nor did I think your edict had such force that you, a mere mortal, couldoverride the gods."
Antigone
"And it is you—your high resolve that sets this plague on Thebes...And so thegods are deaf to our prayers, they spurn the offerings in our hands, the flame ofholy flesh."
Tiresias
"No, reverend old Tiresias, all men fall, it's only human, but the wisest fallobscenely when they glorify obscene advice with rhetoric—all for their own gain."
Creon
"Wisdom is by far the greatest part of joy, the reverence towards the gods mustbe safeguarded."
Chorus
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