Classical Mythology – Lecture Vocabulary

This set provides concise definitions of major figures, places, and concepts from Greek and Roman mythology, tragedy, and literature as covered in the lecture notes.

Aeneas

Trojan hero, son of Venus and Anchises; leads survivors to Italy and becomes mythical founder of the Roman race

Aeolus

Keeper of the winds who aids Odysseus with a bag of winds

Agamemnon

King of Mycenae; leader of Greeks at Troy; sacrifices Iphigenia and is later killed by Clytemnestra

Ajax (the Greater)

Second-greatest Greek warrior at Troy; kills himself after losing Achilles’ armor to Odysseus

Alba Longa

City in central Italy founded by Iulus; mother-city of Rome

Alcmene

Mortal mother of Heracles by Zeus

Amphion

Twin of Zethus; builds Theban walls by charming stones with his lyre

Amphitryon

Husband of Alcmene; stepfather of Heracles

Amulius

Usurper king of Alba Longa who tries to kill Romulus and Remus

Andromache

Wife of Hector and mother of Astyanax

Antigone

Daughter of Oedipus who defies Creon by burying her brother Polynices

Antiope

Mother of Amphion and Zethus; persecuted by Lycus

Apotheosis

Elevation of a mortal to divine status (e.g., Heracles)

Astyanax

Infant son of Hector; thrown from Troy’s walls after its fall

Athena

Goddess who aids heroes such as Diomedes and Odysseus

Aulis

Port where the Greek fleet gathered and Iphigenia was sacrificed

Cadmus

Founder of Thebes; sows dragon’s teeth that become warriors

Calydon

Greek city famed for the Calydonian Boar Hunt

Calypso

Nymph on Ogygia who detains Odysseus for seven years

Cassandra

Prophet daughter of Priam; cursed never to be believed

Castor

Horse-taming twin brother of Pollux; shares immortality alternately

Catharsis (Katharsis)

Emotional purging of pity and fear experienced by a tragic audience

Centaurs

Half-horse beings; Nessus and Chiron are notable examples

Charybdis

Whirlpool monster opposite Scylla

Chiron

Wise centaur who tutors heroes like Achilles and Heracles

Cicones

Thracian people raided by Odysseus after Troy

Circe

Sorceress who turns Odysseus’s men to pigs; later his lover

Creon

Brother of Jocasta; rigid ruler of Thebes after Oedipus

Creusa

First wife of Aeneas who dies during the fall of Troy

Cumae

Italian site of the Sibyl who guides Aeneas to the Underworld

Curiatii

Alba Longa brothers who duel the Horatii

Clytemnestra

Wife of Agamemnon; murders him to avenge Iphigenia

Delos

Sacred island, birthplace of Apollo and Artemis

Deianira

Second wife of Heracles; unknowingly kills him with Nessus’s poisoned robe

Diomedes

Greek hero who, aided by Athena, wounds Ares and Aphrodite

Dido

Queen of Carthage who falls in love with Aeneas and commits suicide

Dioscuri

Collective name for twins Castor and Pollux

Eris

Goddess of discord; sparks Trojan War with the golden apple

Etruscans

Ancient Italian people influencing early Rome (implied context)

Euripides

Athenian tragedian known for psychological realism (Medea, Bacchae)

Eurystheus

King who imposes the Twelve Labors on Heracles

Hamartia

Tragic flaw or error leading to a hero’s downfall

Hebe

Goddess of youth; cup-bearer of the gods

Hector

Foremost Trojan warrior; killed by Achilles

Hecuba

Queen of Troy, wife of Priam

Helen

Zeus and Leda’s daughter; her abduction causes the Trojan War

Helios’ Cattle (Thrinacia)

Sacred herd eaten by Odysseus’s men, leading to their doom

Heracles

Greatest Greek hero; performs Twelve Labors

Horatii

Three Roman brothers who duel the Curiatii

Hubris

Excessive pride defying gods, punished by disaster

Iliad

Homeric epic of the final year of the Trojan War; theme is Achilles’ wrath

Iphigenia

Daughter of Agamemnon sacrificed at Aulis

Ithaca

Island kingdom of Odysseus

Iulus (Ascanius)

Son of Aeneas; ancestor of Rome’s Julian line

Jocasta

Queen of Thebes; wife and mother of Oedipus

Katharsis

See Catharsis – emotional cleansing in tragedy

Laertes

Father of Odysseus (implicitly connected)

Laestrygonians

Giant cannibals who destroy Odysseus’s fleet

Laocoon

Trojan priest who warns against the Wooden Horse; killed by serpents

Laius

King of Thebes, father of Oedipus, killed by him unknowingly

Latinus

King of Latins who offers Lavinia to Aeneas

Lavinia

Daughter of Latinus; marriage unites Trojans and Latins

Leda

Queen of Sparta seduced by Zeus as a swan; mother of Helen and others

Lotus-Eaters

People whose plant makes visitors forget home

Lucretia

Roman matron whose rape and suicide spark the Roman Republic

Lupa

She-wolf who suckles Romulus and Remus

Menelaus

King of Sparta; husband of Helen

Megara

First wife of Heracles; killed by him in Hera-sent madness

Mount Ida

Mountain near Troy (and on Crete) important in several myths

Mycenae

Bronze Age city ruled by Agamemnon

Naïd Naiads (optional placeholder)

Freshwater nymphs (context potential)

Nausicaa

Phaeacian princess who aids shipwrecked Odysseus

Nector Nestor (typos aside)

Wise old king of Pylos; counselor to Greeks at Troy

Nessus

Centaur whose poisoned blood kills Heracles

Numen/Numina

Roman concept of divine spirits inhabiting places or objects

Numitor

Grandfather of Romulus and Remus; rightful king of Alba Longa

Odysseus

King of Ithaca; hero of the Odyssey renowned for cunning

Oedipus

Son of Laius and Jocasta; kills father and marries mother

Oedipus Rex

Sophocles’ tragedy about Oedipus’s self-discovery and downfall

Ogygia

Island home of Calypso

Orestes

Son of Agamemnon who avenges father (implied House of Atreus)

Patroclus

Beloved companion of Achilles; his death spurs Achilles’ return to battle

Pallas (Aeneid)

Young ally of Aeneas killed by Turnus

Paris

Trojan prince who abducts Helen and begins the war

Penelope

Faithful wife of Odysseus, fends off suitors for 20 years

Perseus

Hero who beheads Medusa and saves Andromeda

Philoctetes

Greek archer with Heracles’ bow; essential to Troy’s fall

Phoenix

Elderly mentor and surrogate father to Achilles

Plautus

Roman playwright adapting Greek comedies

Polyphemus

Cyclops blinded by Odysseus

Pollux

Boxing twin brother of Castor; shares immortality

Priam

Aged king of Troy, father of Hector and Paris

Republic (Roman)

Era (509-27 BC) when Rome was ruled by elected magistrates and Senate

Rape of the Sabine Women

Abduction of Sabine women by early Romans for wives

Robigalia

Roman festival to protect grain from disease

Romulus

Twin founder of Rome who kills Remus and names the city

Sabine Women

Women seized by early Romans to provide wives

Sarpedon

Trojan ally, son of Zeus, killed by Patroclus

Scylla

Six-headed monster opposite Charybdis

Semele

Mortal mother of Dionysus; incinerated by seeing Zeus’s true form