Greek Mythology Exam 2

Statius (48 - 96 AD)

wrote the Achilleid

The Achilleid (late 1st c. AD)

an unfinished poem about the hero Achilles, which details the attempts of his mother, Thetis, to save him from fighting in the Trojan War, in which he was fated to die

*Homer (9th or 8th c. BC)

wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey

The Iliad (late 8th or early 7th c. BC)

an epic poem that tells the story of the last year of the Trojan War fought between the city of Troy and the Greeks

The Odyssey (late 8th or early 7th c. BC)

an epic poem that tells the story of Odysseus' 10-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War

*Vergil (70 - 19 BC)

wrote the Aeneid

The Aeneid (29-19 BC)

Aeneas, a Trojan hero, escapes Troy and founds Rome

*Euripides (484 - 406 BC)

wrote Hippolytus

Hippolytus (428 BC)

Theseus' illegitimate son Hippolytus is falsely accused of raping his step-mother Phaedra and is exiled by Theseus, only to be proved innocent by Artemis as he is dying

*Aeschylus (525 - 456 BC)

wrote Agamemnon

Agamemnon (5th c. BC)

after Agamememnon returns home from war, his wife Clytemnestra murders him and his war prize, Cassandra, so that she can be with her lover Aegisthus

*Sophocles (496 - 406 BC)

wrote Oedipus the King and Antigone

Oedipus the King (429 BC)

Oedipus, the king of Thebes, has learned that he has killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, Jocasta, without even knowing. Jocasta kills herself and Oedipus blinds himself out of shame.

Antigone (441 BC)

Antigone is determined to bury her brother Polynices after Creon has declared that only Eteocles will be honored. After Creon finds out what Antigone has done, he demands her and Ismene to be stoned to death, however his son and Antigone's lover Haemon tries to convince him not to. Tirersias also warns Creon that killing Antigone will also cause his son to die and Creon reconsiders, however it is too late for Antigone, Haemon, and his wife have all killed themselves.

Apollodorus (prob 1st or 2nd c. AD)

wrote The Library, a basic handbook of Greek myth

Hyginus (prob 4th or 5th c. AD)

wrote Stories, a handbook of mythology void of any literary pretension

Troezen (also spelled Troizen)

city; home of Theseus and Hippolytus

Thebes

city; home of Oedipus and Antigone

Troy (but also recall its name Ilion/Ilium)

city; home of Hector et al

Mycenae

city; home of Agamemnon

Sparta

city; home of Menelaus and Helen

Tiryns

city; home of Diomedes

Pylos

city; home of Nestor

Phthia

region; home of Achilles

Salamis

island; home of (Big) Ajax

Lycia

region; home of Sarpedon

Ithaca

island; home of Odysseus

Scheria

region; home of the Phaecians

Aeaea

island; home of Circe

Rome

city; founded by Aeneas

Theseus

hero/king of Athens who slayed the Minotaur; father of Hippolytus; exiled his son after believing he raped his wife

Phaedra

Theseus' second wife who falls in love with Hippolytus (because of Aphrodite); kills herself out of shame and blames it on Hippolytus raping her

Hippolytus

illegitimate son of Theseus; honors Artemis and practices chastity; killed after being exiled by his father

Artemis

goddess of the hunt and chastity; honored by Hippolytus; tells Theseus he killed his own son

Sphinx

a legendary beast who devours travelers and Thebans if they cannot answer her riddle; when Oedipus correctly answers her riddle, she kills herself

Laius

Oedipus' father; killed by Oedipus, who believed he was a random old man

Oedipus

king of Thebes; fulfilled the prophecy of killing his father and marrying his mother; blinds himself in despair

Creon

Oedipus's brother-in-law (Jocasta's wife); king of Thebes after Polyneices and Etocles die; sentences Antigone to death after finding out she has buried Polyneices against his wishes; a tragic hero

Teiresias (=Tiresias)

blind prophet who urges Creon to bury Polyneices or he will face punishment from the gods; tells Oedipus he killed Laius

Jocasta

wife of both Laius and Oedipus, kills herself after finding out she has married her own son

Antigone

daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta; cares a lot about family and wants both of her brothers to be buried; kills herself

Ismene

daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta; more lawful and obedient

Polyneices

son of Oedipus and Jocasta; engaged in a civil war with his brother over control of Thebes; known for being the "traitor"

Eteocles

son of Oedipus and Jocasta; engaged in a civil war with his brother over control of Thebes; known for being the hero

Haemon

son of Creon; lover of Antigone; tries to reason with his father; kills himself after finding Antigone dead

Achilles

the leader of the Myrmidons; son of Peleus and Thetis; the main character whose anger is one of the main elements of the story; has the choice of dying a young and glorious death at Troy, or returning home and living a long, unremarkable life

Agamemnon

King of Mycenae; supreme commander of the Achaean armies whose actions provoke the feud with Achilles; elder brother of King Menelaus

Nestor

the son of Neleus; king of the Pylians; oldest member of the entire Greek army at Troy; known for his advanced age and wise advice

Menelaus

Agamemnon's brother and king of Sparta; previously married to Helen, who was abducted by Paris to begin the war

Helen

the wife of Menelaus; Paris visits Menelaus in Sparta and with the assistance of Aphrodite, Paris and Helen fall in love and elope back to Troy, but in Sparta her elopement is considered an abduction; most beautiful woman in the world

Diomedes

king of Argos; famous for wounding Ares and Aphrodite; in Book 5, he kills many Trojans in a stretch of fighting prowess

Ajax

the tallest and strongest warrior (after Achilles) to fight for the Achaeans

Odysseus

leader of the forces from Ithaca; known for his cunning and persuasive language; starts his journey home as a prideful man and returns a humbled man

Patroclus

Achilles' constant companion and brother in arms (and lover); fights the Trojans in Achilles' place but is ultimately slain by Hector.

Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus)

son of Achilles; called to Troy to help capture the city

Paris/Alexander

Trojan prince and Hector's brother; his abduction of Helen caused the Trojan War; supposed to have been killed as a baby because his sister Cassandra foresaw that he would cause the destruction of Troy; loved by Aphrodite

Priam

king of Troy; too old to fight now but once was a skillful fighter; cares deeply for his numerous sons, and is heartbroken when Hector is slain by Achilles

Hector

eldest prince of Troy and heir to the throne; brave warrior and leader; after Hector kills Patroclus, Achilles kills Hector for revenge

Hecuba

Priam's wife and Hector's mother; Queen of Troy

Andromache

Hector's wife; later slave of Achilles' son, Neoptolemus after the war

Astyanax

Hector's infant son; killed by Neoptolemus

Briseis

a girl taken captive by Achilles; Agamemnon takes her from Achilles in Book 1 and Achilles withdraws from battle as a result

Sarpedon

captain of the Lycians; Zeus' son; Zeus almost rescues him from his death but is ultimately slain by Patroclus

Polyxena

daughter of Priam, sacrificed to appease Achilles' ghost

Clytaemestra (=Clytemnestra)

queen of Argos and Agamemnon's wife; murders Agamemnon to avenge the death of their daughter, Iphigenia; she also murders Cassandra, Agamemnon's concubine; decisive, resolute, and aggressive: the nobility of her revenge is complicated by her affair with Aegisthus

Aegisthus

Clytemnestra's lover and accomplice; Agamemnon's father killed several of Aegisthus' brothers and fed them to their father; justifies his involvement in the murder by saying that the murder of Agamemnon avenges his family

Iphigenia

daughter of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon; Agamemnon sacrifices her during the Trojan War to win the favor of Artemis

Atreus

Agamemnon's father; murdered his brother Thyestes' children and fed them to him

Orestes

son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra; returns later in the trilogy to avenge his father's murder

Cassandra

the slave Agamemnon has taken back to Argos as a war prize; daughter of Priam; she has the gift of prophecy, and she predicts the events of the play

Penelope

Odysseus's wife and Telemachus's mother; passive, loyal, and patient but is also very clever

Telemachus

Odysseus's young son; spent his childhood watching suitors corrupt his household and harass his mother; Athena guides him into a courageous and skillful man

Laertes

Odysseus's father; lives in poverty on a farm.

Phemius

performs narrative poems in the absence of Odysseus

Eurycleia

Odysseus's kindly nurse; the first person to recognize Odysseus in his beggar disguise

Proteus

a shape-shifting sea god

Calypso

a beautiful goddess who falls in love with Odysseus; holds him captive for seven years

Phaeacians

hospitable people who deliver Odysseus to Ithaca

Nausicaa

daughter of Alcinous; helps Odysseus

Arete

the Phaeacian queen.

Alcinous

the Phaeacian king; hosts Odysseus very hospitably and helps him return to Ithaca

Demodocus

a bard in Alcinous's court; Odysseus asks him to tell the story of the Trojan Horse

Polyphemus

a Cyclops son of Poseidon; blinded by Odysseus

Circe

beautiful witch from the island Aeaea; turns Odysseus's crew into pigs; when Odysseus proves immune to her spell, she falls in love with him; hosts his men and gives him advice on his journey

Tiresias (=Teiresias)

blind prophet; appears as a ghost; tells Odysseus he can return home if he can keep his men from eating the livestock of Helios

Sirens

creatures disguised as beautiful women whose beautiful singing lures sailors to jump into the sea and drown

Aphrodite

goddess of love; chosen by Paris over Hera and Athena, and now supports the Trojans wholeheartedly

Athena

goddess of wisdom; strong supporter of the Achaeans, having also been rejected by Paris along with Hera; lends courage and support to Achaean heroes such as Achilles, Diomedes, and Odysseus; also guides Odysseus and Telemachus throughout the Odyssey

Hera

Zeus' wife and queen of the gods; after Paris does not select her as being the most beautiful goddess, Hera has a passionate hatred of Troy; wants to destroy the city

Zeus

king of the gods; fate of the war is changed when Zeus promises Thetis that he will give glory to Achilles by turning the war against the Achaeans

Apollo

god of prophecy and music; supports the Trojans in the war; sends a plague on the Acheans when one of his priests' daughters is kidnapped; helps Hector defeat Patroclus and helps kill Achilles

Ares

god of war; hated by all; doesn't contribute a lot to the war

Hephaestus

god of fire and forges; makes magnificent armor for Achilles

Iris

Zeus' messenger goddess; relays messages to Helen

Hermes

messenger of the gods; helps Odysseus escape from Calypso; also gives him the herb to protect him from Circe

Heinrich Schliemann

an amateur archaeologist obsessed with the stories of Homer and ancient Mediterranean civilizations; dedicated his life's work to unveiling the actual physical remains of the cities of Homer's epic tales; almost destroyed Troy

Milman Parry

American Classicist who proved that Homeric epic poems were the product of oral tradition

Supplication

desperately begging for something by kneeling and touching; used by Chryses for the return of his daughter, and by Priam for the dead body of his son, Hector.

Aristeia

a scene where a hero in battle has his finest moments (they named the fifth, sixteenth, and twenty-first books of the Iliad, Aristeia: a reference to the displays of excellence in battle by Diomedes, Patroclus and Achilles, respectively)

Aegis

mythological shield associated with Zeus and Athena