Clas1020 Exam 4 2

Trojan War

10 year war fought between the Mycenaean Greeks and the city of Troy

Iliad

a Greek epic poem (attributed to Homer) describing the siege of Troy
Tells only a small part of the war (starts in the middle)

Agamemnon

the king of Mycenae who lead the Greeks against Troy in the Trojan War
Murdered by his wife Clytemnestra upon his return home from the war

Achilles

Greatest Greek warrior
only vulnerable place is his heel
prophecy that he would die in the Trojan war, which he does at the hand of Paris

Eris

goddess of Discord, threw the golden apple that cause Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena to argue and cause Trojan War

Paris

Prince of Troy and son of Priam; gave the golden apple to Aphrodite in exchange for the most beautiful woman in the world (Helen);
younger brother of Hector;
stole Helen from Sparta
Later is the one to kill Achilles

Helen

Wife of Menelaus and queen of Sparta;
abduction from Sparta by the Trojans sparked the Trojan War

Priam and Hecuba

King and queen of Troy; parents of Hector and Paris

Andromache

Wife of Hector, mother of Astyanax

Astyanax

Hector and Andromache's infant son.

Cassandra

Princess of Troy who had the gift of the prophecy but no one believed her;
Brought to Mycenae as Agamemnon's concubine after the war;
Murdered by Clytemnestra (wife of Agamemnon)

Aeneas

Greek warrior who was a leader on the Trojan side of the Trojan War.
Saved twice by the gods during the war because he was destined to live
Fled Troy with his family when trojans lost
Son of Anchises and Aphrodite

Iulus

Son of Aeneas;
another name for Ascanius;
ancestor of the Julian line of Roman Emperors.

Clytemnestra

wife of Agamemnon who had him murdered when he returned from the Trojan War;
Also murdered his concubine Cassandra

Iphigenia

daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, sacrificed to Artemis so Greek Army can advance to Troy;
Her sacrifice is the main reason Clytemnestra murders Agamemnon

Menelaus

King of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon, and husband of Helen, he helped lead the Greeks in the Trojan War. He offers Telemachus assistance in his quest to find Odysseus when Telemachus visits him in the Odyssey

Odysseus

Son of Laertes and Anticleia
husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus
Came up with the idea of the Trojan horse which led the Greeks to victory against Troy
His journey home from the trojan war is documented in the Odyssey

Achilles Heel

A person's particular weakness (may be psychological or moral rather than physical)

Chiron

centaur who educated Achilles

Thetis

sea goddess; mother of Achilles

Scyros

island where Achilles is hidden dressed like a girl
Has a son with the King's daughter Deidamia, named Neoptolemus (or Pyrrhus)

Myrmidon

obedient and unquestioning follower

Wrath of Achilles

The unifying theme throughout the Iliad; transforms through the epic

Briseis

A war prize of Achilles. When Agamemnon is forced to return Chryseis to her father, he appropriates this person as compensation, sparking Achilles' great rage.

Chryseis

girl captured by Agamemnon during the plunder of Chryse. Her father, Chryses, is a priest of the god Apollo.
Achilles insists that Agamemnon return her to her father and he does so but also takes Achilles' war prize, Briseis

Mimesis

imitation

kudos

acclaim or praise

Aristeia

A series of exploits, or deeds of bravery, centered on a single hero.
"great achievements" - display of outstanding valor and prowess

Geras

war-prizes, spoils, booty

Teichoscopia

Watching from the walls

anachronism

something out of place in time (happens a lot in the Iliad)

Pandarus

A Trojan archer. He shoots an arrow at Menelaus in Book 4 and breaks the temporary truce between the two sides.

Pander

to exploit weaknesses of others; to cater to the vices of others

Diomedes

Fought and wounded Ares and Aphrodite (with a spear) with the help of Athena
Kills Pandarus
Helps Odysseus get Philoctetes with Hercules' bow, and recover the palladium from inside troy

Stentorian

possessing a loud, powerful voice

Helenus

son of Priam, brother to Hector and Paris
Priest in Troy

Dolon

A Trojan sent to spy on the Achaean camp in Book 10.
Tells everything he knows when he is found by the Greeks
"treachery"

Patrocleia

Patroclus borrows Achilles' armour in an attempt to rally the Greeks and convince the Trojans that he is back in the war
Achilles warns him not to go too far - Patroclus does very well, killing Sarpedon and then he tries to climb the walls of Troy
Hector kills Patroclus who predicts Hector's death at the hands of Achilles
"deeds of Patroclus"

Patroclus

Closest companion of Achilles; his death at the hands of Hector marks the turning point for Achilles and the Iliad.

Crater

vessel to mix wine with water: holds 12 gallons

Ecphrasis

an extended and elaborate description of a work of art, a building, or a natural setting
(like that of Achilles' new shield in the Iliad)

Xanthus

another name for the river Scamander near Troy

Death of Hector

After killing him, Achilles does not give the body back to the Trojans as was customary; ties his body to a chariot and rides around the whole city, desecrating his whole body

Niobe

woman whose children were slain by Apollo and Artemis because of her bragging of having more kids than Leto;
she turned to stone from mourning

Bow of Hercules

The weapon needed to beat the trojans and end the trojan war

Palladium

Statue of Athena
Thrown off Olympus to Troy
Had to be removed from the city (by Odysseus and Diomedes) before Athena would let it fall

Trojan Horse

a large hollow wooden figure of a horse (filled with Greek soldiers) left by the Greeks outside Troy during the Trojan War

Sinon

Left with the trojan horse to convince the trojans to bring it inside the city.
Claimed he was supposed to be sacrificed by the greeks but escaped

Laocoon

the priest of Apollo who warned the Trojans to beware of Greeks bearing gifts when they wanted to accept the Trojan Horse
Strangled by 2 snakes as punishment for throwing a spear at the trojan horse

Cassandra

someone who warns of impending disaster, but is ignored

Trojan horse

subversive group or device planted in enemy ranks

Ajax the Lesser

Raped Cassandra in Athena's temple;
shipwrecked as punishment and killed by Athena on the way home from the war

two divine signs

a magic flame appears on the head of Ascanius (Aeneas and Creusa's son);
a comet suddenly appears

Heinrich Schliemann

Archaeologist who discovered the site of Troy in Turkey. He ravaged the site so that he could prove it was Troy. He also found Mycenae in 1876.

Oresteia

A Three play series based on the family of Agamemnon, the Mycenaean king who commanded the Greeks at in the Trojan War-written by Aeschylus, depicting a powerful family (the house of Atreus) torn apart by betrayal, murder and revenge

Aeschylus

Author of the Oresteia

Homer

Author of the Iliad and the Odyssey

Virgil

Roman poet who wrote the Aeneid

Orestes

son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra who eventually avenged his father's murder by killing Aegisthus

Aegisthus

seducer of Clytemnestra and murderer of Agamemnon, killed by Orestes

inherited guilt

Theme of Oresteia and the family tree of Agamemnon

Tantalus

figure doomed to eternal thirst and hunger in the underworld;
killed and cooked his son Pelops, tried to feed him to the gods

Thyestes

A son of Pelops; quarrels with brother Atreus over the kingship in Mycenae; tricked into eating his own sons by Atreus
conceives a son named Aegisthus by his own daughter (this son becomes lover of Clytemnestra)

Thyestian Banquet

cannibalism

Pelops

Tantalus's only son killed, boiling, and served to the gods;
restored to life by the gods;
Becomes the king of southern Greece "Peloponnese"
Wins the hand of Hippodamia in a chariot race

bonfires

12 beacons used by Clytemnestra to know when the Trojan War was over and Agamemnon was returning home

Electra

Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra and sister of Orestes, she conspired with her brother to avenge their murdered father.

Plyades

Friend of Orestes;
helped to avenge the murder of Agamemnon

Electra Complex

counterpart to the Oedipus complex for females

Eumenides

"Kindly Ones"; new name for the Furies after being tamed by Athena.

Trial by Jury

new development of law in Athens, Greece;
used to determine the fate of Orestes after avenging his fathers murder

Cycle of blood-guilt

one crime avenged by another then another then another

Change in greek society

The change from an archaic self-help system of justice through personal revenge or vendetta to the administration of justice by trial

Odyssey

a long, adventurous journey
Also the long homecoming story of Odysseus after the Trojan War

Ithaca

Home of Odysseus

Telemacheia

Books 1-4 of the Odyssey
A mini Odyssey of Telemachus
Introduction to problems on Ithaca in the long absence of Odysseus
Penelope harassed by the voracious suitors
Telemachus goes out to look for his father
Accomplished by Athena disguised as Mentor
Visits Nestor in Pylos
Visits Menelaus and Helen in Sparta (story of proteus)

Suitors

Men who live in Odysseus house trying to force Penelope to pick one for marriage

Themes of the Odyssey

Arrival, hospitality, Marriage, dominance of the central figure Odysseus

Epic

A long narrative poem, written in heightened language, which recounts the deeds of a heroic character who embodies the values of a particular society

calypso

The beautiful nymph who falls in love with Odysseus when he lands on her island
holds him prisoner there for seven years until Hermes, the messenger god, persuades her to let him go.
"concealer"

Eurycleia

the old nurse of Odysseus and Telemachus, attendant of Penelope

Antinous and Eurymachus

The two leading suitors of Penelope, they differ in that A is more physically aggressive while E is a smooth talker.

Penelope's deception

she says she will choose after weaving a shroud for Laertes

Laertes

Odysseus's aging father, who resides on a farm in Ithaca. In despair and physical decline, Laertes regains his spirit when Odysseus returns and eventually kills Antinous's father.

Proteus

the Old Man of the Sea, servant of Poseidon and father of Eidothea
His tale is told by Menelaus when Telemachus visits Sparta looking for his father
He tells Menelaus about several trojan war hero's return journeys including Odysseus

Nepenthe

a (fictional) drug that eases sorrow or grief;
Helen gives it to Menelaus when he becomes sad thinking over past troubles

Protean

Tending or able to change frequently or easily;
Like the sea god Proteus who (like all water gods) was able to change his shape

Divine council

Athena pleads with Zeus that it is time for Calypso to release Odysseus from her mysterious island;
Zeus agrees, and sends Hermes;
Hermes tells Calypso to release Odysseus;

Odysseus leaves Calypso

He builds a raft
He comes in sight of the land of the Phaeacians
Poseidon sends a storm but, Leucothea (\= Ino) saves him

Phaecia

Land of king alcineous, odysseus is telling his story to them;
Books 9-12 (flashback) happen here;
Odysseus washes ashore here and the princess Nausicaa and her maids find him while doing laundry;
He is brought to the palace and welcomed graciously

Cicones

people living on the southwestern coast of Thrace who battled Odysseus and his men on their journey;
Attacked Odysseus and his men for getting drunk and stealing their food (book 9)

lotus eaters

people who feed Odysseus's men lotus plants to make them forget Ithaca;
Self-indulgence (narcotic food);
(book 9)

Lotus eater

someone who spends his time indulging in pleasure and luxury rather than dealing with practical concerns

Polyphemus

the Cyclops who imprisoned Odysseus in a cave and eats his companions;
Odysseus escapes by getting him drunk and stabbing him in the eye, then he ties himself and his men under some sheep to sneak out;
son of poseidon
(book 9)

Me tis

nobody

Aeolus

god of winds;
gives Odysseus bag of winds;
Odysseus' companions open it when they are almost home and they are blown back to where they started
(book 10)

Laestrygones

cannibal giants;
Odysseus loses 11 out of 12 of his ships because of them

Circe

The beautiful witch-goddess who transforms Odysseus's crew into swine;
With Hermes' help, Odysseus resists Circe's powers and then becomes her lover, living in luxury at her side for a year

Moly

Plant that Hermes offers Odysseus to ward off Circe's magic

Circean

pleasing but noxious; dangerously attractive