Black Ships Before Troy - Characters, Black Ships Before Troy Comprehension Questions, Black Ships Before Troy, Black Ships Before Troy, Latin element names, Black Ships Before Troy Character Chart, Black Ships Before Troy, Black Ships Before Troy -...

Peleus

King of Myrmidons (warrior culture in Greece); Marries Thetis; Eris crashes the wedding with the Golden Apple. Father of Achilles

Thetis

Sea nymph (non-human); Marries Peleus in opening scene. Mother of Achilles. Helps Achilles with his new Armor. Asks Zeus to help the Trojans on behalf of Achilles.

Eris

Goddess of discord. Crashes Peleus and Thetis' wedding, leaves the Golden Apple, causes an argument between the three most powerful goddesses.

Hera

Queen of all the Goddesses. Zeus' wife. Favors the Greeks. At one point gives the power of speech to Xanthus, Achilles' horse.

Athene

Goddess of wisdom. Favors the Greeks. Helps Odysseus many times. Prevents Achilles from killing Agamemnon. Helps Achilles to kill Hector.

Aphrodite

Goddess of beauty and love. Favors the Trojans. Promises Paris the most beautiful mortal woman. Helps Paris when he fights Menelaus.

Paris

-- Prince of Troy. Abandoned by parents because a fortune teller predicts he will cause Troy's destruction. Chooses Aphrodite as the "Fairest" because she promises him a beautiful wife. Is welcomed back to Troy after his mother discovers he is alive. Kills Achilles.

Oenone

Paris' girlfriend. Wood nymph (non-human). Power: can heal mortals of any wound. Paris dumps her for Helen.

Priam

King of Troy. Husband to Hecuba. Father to Paris.

Hecuba

Queen of Troy. Wife of Priam. Mother of Paris.

Helen

Queen of Sparta. Most beautiful mortal in the world. Aphrodite chooses her to marry Paris, even though she is already married to king Menelaus of Sparta.

Menelaus

King of Sparta. Husband of Helen. Angry because Paris stakes Helen away from him. Brother of Agamemnon. Fights Paris one on one in combat.

Agamemnon

High King of all of Greece. King among kings. Menelaus' brother. Gets in a major quarrel with Achilles. Human.

Nestor

Old man leader of Pylos. Greek. Allies with Agamemnon and Menelaus. Always giving advice to other Greeks.

Ajax

Mighty lord of Salamis. Fights Hector one on one. Commits suicide. Greek

Diomedes

Lord of Argos. Greek. Killed Pandarus. Helped Odysseus steal the horses. Goes with Odysseus find Philoctetes.

Odysseus

Lord of Ithaca. Greek. Resourceful. Brings Achilles out of hiding. Captures the Horses of Rhesus. Main planner of the Trojan Horse.

Achilles

Son of Peleus and Thetis. Thetis dips him in the River Styx for protection, but his heel does not get submerged. Said to be the only warrior that will help Greece win the war against Troy. Kills Hector and many other powerful warriors.

Patroclus

Achilles' companion and best friend. Hector kills him with a spear to the gut.

Chiron

Wisest Centaur (half horse, half human). Trains Achilles to be a great warrior (and to play the lyre!).

Calchas

Chief soothsayer (fortune teller). Predicts the Greeks cannot defeat the Trojans without help from Achilles.

Hector

Paris' brother. King Priam and Queen Hecuba's son. Prince of Troy. Leader of Troy's military. Kills Patroclus in battle. Dies while fighting Achilles in single combat.

Chryseis

Captive slave to Agamemnon. Daughter of a priest of Apollo. Is returned to her father after Apollo causes a plague among the Greek warriors.

Briseis

Captive slave to Achilles. Agamemnon takes her from Achilles when Agamemnon is forced to return Chrysies to her father. Achilles quits the Greek army because Agamemnon disrespects him.

Apollo

God of the Sun. Causes a plague on the Greek warriors on behalf of his priest, whose daughter was kidnapped and given to Agamemnon. Revives Hector in combat and gives him godlike powers to push the Greeks back to their ships. Interferes with Patroclus attack on Troy. Helps Paris kill Achilles.

Machaon

Greek healer who ends up getting wounded himself.

Pandarus

Trojan archer who injures Menelaus and Diomedes. Diomedes kills him with a spear to his face.

Rhesus

Thracian king who is allied to the Trojans. Is killed by Diomedes and Odysseus' secret mission to steal his horses.

Andromache

Wife of Hector. She begs Hector not to return to battle. Lost her entire family in a single day to Achilles and illness. Ends up as a Greek slave and captive.

Astyanax

Son of Hector. Young baby who is killed by the Greeks during the sacking of Troy.

Aeneas

Hector's cousin who he leaves in charge while Hector returns into the city to talk with his mother, brother, and his wife. He is also the son of Aphrodite.

Sarpedon

Leader of the Trojan allies killed by Patroclus. Son of Zeus and a mortal mother. His body was protected and taken away by Death and Sleep on orders from Zeus.

Zeus

Father of the gods of Olympus. Sends Agamemnon a false dream. Throws lighting in front of Diomedes. Contributes to the death of Patroclus.

Memnon

King of the Ethiopians. Ally of Troy. Kills Antilochus (Nestor's son). Handsome and skilled warrior. Killed by Achilles.

Penthesilea

Young queen of the Amazons. Accidentally killed her sister, Hippolyta. Joins the Trojans to die in battle. Achilles kills her but then mourns her death.

Philoctetes

Greek skilled archer abandoned on the island of Lemnos after he was bitten by a dragon. His wound is poisonous. Ends up killing Paris with a poisoned arrow.

Sinon

Greek soldier who volunteers to trick the Trojans into thinking that they should keep the Trojan horse and bring it into their city.

Laocoon

Priest of Poseidon. Trojan. Tries to warn the Trojans not to trust the Greeks and the Trojan horses. He and his sons are devoured by sea serpents.

Cassandra

Daughter of Priam and sister of Hector and Paris. Has the power of foresight (fortune-telling) and warns the Trojans that if they bring the Trojan horse into the city, it will be destroyed.

Hephaestus

god of the forge and the arts. Helps Achilles by creating the greatest armor and shield ever.

Who tosses down the Golden Apple?

Eris

Why does Paris choose Aphrodite as the fairest?

She promises him a beautiful wife.

What was Helen's nickname and why?

"Helen of the Fair Cheeks" because she was the most beautiful, mortal human on Earth.

What line from the chapter tells the reader something about gender roles in Ancient Greece?

"And [Helen] sat down on the far side of the fire, the women's side"

What did the soothsayers call Paris upon his birth?

He would be the burden of Troy.

What three things did Helen leave behind in Sparta?

Her husband (Menelaus), her child, and her throne

What does this chapter tell us about the military in Ancient Greece?

They were a militia army.

Who was hiding Achilles?

Thetis

What does Odysseus do to trick Achilles out of his "stupor"?

He brought the sword an Achilles claimed it.

How much time has passed in the story at this point?

9 years

What did the Trojans do to avoid battles with the Greeks on many occasions?

They built a wall so the Greeks couldn't pass through it.

Whose capture causes Achilles to no longer fight for Agamemnon?

Briseis

With whom does Paris fight in single combat?

Menelaus

Why do the elders have a change of heart when it comes to Helen?

They think that it'd be better if she went back to her own people (Menelaus).

Why did Aphrodite step in to save Paris's life?

If he dies, Helen would go back to Menelaus and the war would be over.

How have Helen's feelings changed for Paris?

She wants to go back to Menelaus.

What does the soothsayer tell Hector to do to help Troy win?

Go back to his mother, take her jeweled robes, place them on the knees of Athene's statue, and pray to Athene to stop giving all her strength to the Greeks and show mercy to Troy, her people.

Why does Hector get so angry with Paris?

Paris won't fight in the war.

What does Hector tell Andromache after she begs him to stay?

He can't stay and watch his family get carried away to become slaves.

What was different about single combat between Hector and Ajax?

At the end, they became friends.

What offering does Agamemnon make to Achilles to get him to rejoin the fight?

Briseis, gifts of gold, horses, and slaves

Who delivers Agamemnon's offering to Achilles?

Odysseus

Both the Greeks and Trojans send out spies... who are they?

Dionedes & Odysseus and Dolon

What happens to Dolon?

He gets beheaded and he tell all the Trojans' secrets.

Why was the chariot not taken from the encampment?

It would make too much noise.

In the battle, whose injuries are the turning point for the Trojans to be victorious?

Diomedes and Agamemnon

Who plants the idea in Patroclus's head about using Achilles's armor?

Athene

Hector is mortally wounded. Who revives him?

Zeus

What damage do the Trojans do to the Greek fleet?

They burned them.

What is special about Achilles's horses?

They are immortal, fathered by the west wind, and put a mortal horse in side traces. Other horses were afraid of them.

What warning does Patroclus give to Hector?

His death was coming soon.

Who is asked by Thetis to make Achilles new armor?

Hephaestus

What tradition must Achilles uphold in order to seek vengeance for his friend's death?

He has to fight and kill Hector.

What were Hector's last words?

When Paris (my brother) kills you in this same gate, remember me.

Andromache describes Hector's body as "worse than slain." What does this mean?

He looked really bad.

What offerings do the Myrmidons make on Patroclus's funeral pyre?

They cut their hair and make offerings of animals and human captives.

List the games that are played in Patroclus's honor.

chariot races, boxing, wrestling, foot races, and spear fights

Who convinces Achilles to release Hector's body?

Thetis, his mother

What did King Priam take as ransom for Hector's body?

12 fine robes,12 white mantles & tunics, 10 bars of gold, cauldrons, and a golden cup

How many days of peace did Achilles offer between the Greeks and the Trojans to bury Hector?

11

What is the Palladium? Why was is guarded day and night?

The Luck of Troy ; They thought that while it was there, Athene would help them keep out enemies.

Who is disguised as the beggar?

Odysseus

What gifts are given to him by Helen?

a sword and a drug that makes people sleep

What do the Greeks sacrifice to Zeus at the end of the chapter?

10 oxen

Where were the Amazons from?

the lands watered by the river Thermodon

Why was it such a traumatic scene when Penthesilea was killed in battle?

It wasn't common for a woman to die like that. She was also very young and beautiful. They feel like her life was a waste.

Who fires the arrow that kills Achilles?

Paris

List the things that were similar about the funerals of Achilles and Patroclus.

They had funeral games, they were burned, and their ashes were mingled together.

Who are the two men that Thetis offers the armor to?

Ajax and Odysseus

Who is Philoctetes? Why was he left on the island of Lemnos?

an archer who got poisoned by a dragon ; the Greeks didn't want him close to the ship since he was sick

How do the Greeks attempt to heal his wound?

They got Machaon to heal him as much as he could.

What happens when Paris asks for Oenone's help?

She rejects his request because she was hurt from the fact that he left her for Helen.

What does Oenone do when she learns that Paris is dead?

She goes to wear he is being burned and jumps in the fire.

Why do the Trojans not release Helen back to the Greeks?

They think they will kill her.

Who plants the idea of the wooden horse in Odysseus's mind?

Athene

Who volunteers to stay behind to fool the Trojans?

Sinon

Who bargains for Helen's life?

Odysseus

What happens to Hector's son and wife?

Hector's son is killed and Andromache was thrust aboard the ship of a new prince of the Myrmidons.

How does Helen board Menelaus's ship?

She aboards as queen and is led with honor. Menelaus becomes her "lover" again.

discord (n.)

Lack of agreement or harmony