Classical Mythology Terms

Achilles

Greatest Greek hero of the Iliad; chooses short life with eternal fame (kleos).

Actaeon

Hunter turned into stag by Artemis after seeing her bathe; killed by own hounds.

Aegisthus

Lover of Clytemnestra; with her murders Agamemnon, later slain by Orestes.

Aeneas

Trojan survivor, son of Venus; legendary founder of Roman line, hero of Aeneid.

Aeneid (Vergil)

Latin epic (12 books) of Aeneas’ wanderings and war in Italy; Augustan ideology.

Agamemnon (Aeschylus)

First play of Oresteia; king returns from Troy and is murdered in Mycenae.

allegory/allegorical interpretation

Reading myth as coded moral, philosophical, or natural truth.

anthropomorphism

Ascribing human form and emotions to gods or abstract forces.

Antigone (Sophocles)

Tragedy of burial rights vs state law; Antigone defies King Creon.

apotheosis

Deification of a mortal hero after death (e.g., Heracles, Romulus).

Apuleius

2nd-century Latin novelist; author of The Golden Ass, incl. Cupid–Psyche tale.

Atē

Delusion or ruin sent by gods, causing self-destructive acts (e.g., Agamemnon).

Athens

City embodying democracy and autochthony; home of Theseus, Oresteia’s trial scene.

Autochthonous/Autochthony

“Sprung from the earth itself”; native origin myth (Athenians, Thebans).

Bacchae (Euripides)

Tragedy where Dionysus punishes Thebes; explores ecstasy vs rational order.

Bacchant

Female worshipper of Dionysus (a Maenad) engaged in ecstatic rites.

Cadmus

Phoenician founder of Thebes; sows dragon’s teeth that become Spartoi warriors.

Caesar Augustus

First Roman emperor; patron of Vergil; claimed descent from Aeneas-Iulus.

Callisto

Nymph raped by Zeus; turned into bear, then constellation Ursa Major.

Cassandra

Trojan prophetess cursed never to be believed; foretells Agamemnon’s death.

catharsis

Aristotelian “purging” of pity and fear experienced through tragedy.

Cerberos

Three-headed hound guarding Hades’ gates; captured by Heracles.

Chaos (Hesiod vs Ovid)

Hesiod: yawning void origin; Ovid: shapeless raw mass before creation.

Circe (Kirke)

Sorceress who turns Odysseus’ men to swine; later aids his journey home.

Corinth

Wealthy Greek city; setting of Medea’s revenge; hosted Isthmian Games.

Crete

Island home of Minos, Labyrinth, and Zeus’ birth cave; center of Minoan myth.

Cupid

Roman Eros; god of desire; lover of Psyche in Apuleius.

Daedalus

Master craftsman; builds Labyrinth; escapes Crete on wings with son Icarus.

Daphne

Nymph pursued by Apollo; metamorphosed into laurel tree, Apollo’s sacred plant.

Delos

Aegean island where Leto gives birth to Apollo and Artemis.

Delphi

Oracle of Apollo; seat of the Pythia and maxims like “Know thyself.”

Dido

Queen of Carthage; tragic lover of Aeneas; her curse foreshadows Punic Wars.

dilemma

Situation forcing choice between two undesirable or conflicting options.

divine myths

Tales centering on gods and cosmic origins rather than human history.

ekphrasis

Vivid literary description of art; e.g., Achilles’ shield in Iliad 18.

Eleusis

Site of Demeter-Persephone mysteries promising blessed afterlife to initiates.

emergent nature of traditional stories

Myths evolve cumulatively through oral retellings over generations.

etiological myth

Story explaining origin of a custom, natural feature, or name.

Europa

Phoenician princess abducted by bull-Zeus; namesake of Europe; mother of Minos.

Five Generations of Humankind

Hesiod’s sequence: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Heroic, Iron.

Four Ages (Ovid)

Ovid’s ages of humanity: Gold, Silver, Bronze, Iron.

Gaia

Personified earth; primordial mother of Titans, Cyclopes, and humanity.

hamartia (Aristotle)

Tragic “error” or misguided action leading to protagonist’s downfall.

Harmonia

Daughter of Ares & Aphrodite; wife of Cadmus; cursed necklace.

Hector

Trojan champion, foil to Achilles; killed outside Troy’s walls.

Heracles

Great hero with Twelve Labors; achieves apotheosis on Olympus.

heroic legends

Myths focused on semi-divine heroes set in distant heroic age.

Hesiod’s Theogony

Poem on cosmic genealogy from Chaos to Olympian order.

Hesiod’s Works and Days

Poem combining farmer’s almanac, moral advice, and myth of Five Ages.

historical narratives

Myths that merge into accounts of remembered human events and kings.

historical periods

Chronology: Minoan, Mycenaean, Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Roman.

Homer’s Iliad

Epic of Achilles’ wrath during Trojan War’s final weeks.

Homer’s Odyssey

Epic of Odysseus’ ten-year nostos (homecoming) to Ithaca.

Homeric Hymns

Early hexameter hymns praising individual Olympian deities.

hubris

Overweening arrogance offending gods; invites nemesis.

Icarus

Son of Daedalus; flies too near sun, falls into sea—lesson in hubris.

Ilion

Another name for Troy; setting of the Iliad.

Io

Priestess turned into cow by Zeus; wanderings end in Egypt.

Iphigenia

Daughter sacrificed by Agamemnon for favorable winds; spared in some versions.

Iulus (=Ascanius)

Son of Aeneas; ancestor of Julian clan (Caesar, Augustus).

Jason

Leader of Argonauts; quest for Golden Fleece; abandons Medea.

katabasis

Descent to underworld by hero (Odysseus, Aeneas, Orpheus).

kleos

Heroic glory or fame that outlives one’s life; central to epics.

logos

Rational argument or reasoned discourse, contrasted with mythos.

Maenad

Frenzied female follower of Dionysus; participates in sparagmos rites.

Medea

Colchian sorceress; helps Jason, later kills their children in revenge.

Medusa

Gorgon with petrifying gaze; slain by Perseus; blood births Pegasus.

Metamorphoses (Ovid)

Ovid’s epic of transformations from creation to Caesar’s deification.

metamorphosis

Physical transformation of being or form, often as divine punishment/reward.

metempsychosis

Transmigration of souls; featured in Orphic and Platonic thought.

Minos

King of Crete; son of Europa; judge in Hades; father of Minotaur.

Minotaur

Half-bull monster in Labyrinth; slain by Theseus.

monotheism

Belief in one supreme deity; rare in Greco-Roman context but philosophically explored.

Mycenae

Fortified palace city of Agamemnon; archaeological Lion Gate.

mythological narratives

Stories of gods and heroes primarily explaining culture and values.

mythos

Traditional tale; narrative mode opposed to rational logos.

nostos

Homecoming motif of hero; theme of Odyssey and Aeneid.

Odysseus

Cunning king of Ithaca; protagonist of Odyssey; Trojan War strategist.

Oedipus Tyrannus (Sophocles)

Tragedy of king who unknowingly kills father, marries mother; self-blinds.

Olympians

Twelve principal gods ruling from Mount Olympus.

Oresteia (Aeschylus)

Trilogy on cycle of blood vengeance resolved by Athenian court.

Pandora

First woman; opens jar releasing evils; hope remains inside.

Paris

Trojan prince; judgement leads to abduction of Helen and Trojan War.

Pasiphaë

Wife of Minos; cursed to desire bull, births Minotaur.

Pentheus

Theban king opposing Dionysus; torn apart by Maenad mother.

Perseus

Slayer of Medusa, rescuer of Andromeda; founder of Mycenae.

Polyphomos

Cyclops blinded by Odysseus; violates xenia; son of Poseidon.

polytheism

Belief in many gods with distinct roles and cults.

Priam

Old king of Troy; ransoms Hector’s body from Achilles.

proemium

Formal opening lines of an epic invoking Muse and theme.

Prometheus

Titan who steals fire for mankind; punished by Zeus; culture-hero.

Psyche

Mortal heroine; completes trials to reunite with Cupid; achieves apotheosis.

Pythia

High priestess-oracle at Delphi speaking Apollo’s prophecies.

Romulus

Brother of Remus; founder and first king of Rome after fratricide.

sparagmos

Ritual dismemberment associated with Dionysian cult and Bacchae.

Sparta

Militaristic Greek polis; home of Menelaus and Helen; rivals Athens.