English Exam 2024 the odyssey

  • Achaeans

    • Greeks involved in the Trojan War

  • Achilles

    • Greek hero of the Trojan War, dies from arrow into his heal

  • Agamemnon

    • Leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War

    • Killed by Aegisthus and Clytemnestra

  • Aeaea

    • Circe’s island where his men are turned into swine

  • Aegisthus

    • Lover of Clytemnestra

    • Kills Agamemnon

    • Killed by Orestes

  • Aeolus

    • Aeolus gives the wind to Odysseus

  • Aeolia

    • Island of Aeolus, where Odysseus receives bag of winds

  • Ajax

    • Appears in the Underworld and doesn’t speak to Odysseus because Odysseus won Achilles' armor in a contest

  • Alcinous

    • King of the Phaeacians, ruler of Scheria

    • Helps Odysseus return home

  • Amphinomus

    • Suitor who is a little more reasonable

    • Still killed by Telemachus

  • Anticleia

    • Mother of Odysseus, she died from missing Odysseus

    • Appears to Odysseus in the Underworld

  • Antinous

    • Worst suitor

    • First suitor killed by Odysseus

  • Aphrodite

    • Goddess of love and beauty

    • Has affair with Ares 

      • Interrupted by her husband, Hephaestus

  • Arete

    • Wife of Alcinous, queen of the Phaecians, mother of Nausicaa

  • Ares

    • God of war

    • Involved in affair with Aphrodite

  • Argus

    • Odysseus’ dog, recognizes him when he returns but dies after

    • sitting on a pile of poop

  • Athena

    • Goddess of wisdom and war

    • Helps Odysseus throughout the journey

  • Atreus

    • God of war, father of Agamemnon and Menelaus

  • Autolycus

    • Odysseus’ grandfather

  • Calypso

    • Nymph who lives on Ogygia

    • Keeps Odysseus captive for 7 years, lets him go after the gods command her to

  • Charybdis

    • Monster that creates deadly whirlpool

  • Cicones

    • Odysseus’ men raid their city but leave because the Cicones attack back

  • Circe

    • Sorceress who turns Odysseus’ men into pig

    • Later helps them

  • Clytemnestra

    • Wife of Agamemnon

    • Has him killed when he returns from the war

    • Killed by her son, Orestes

  • Cyclopes

    • One-eyed giants

    • Polyphemus traps Odysseus and his men in his cave - Odysseus blinds him

  • Demodocus

    • Blind poet who performs 3 songs at the court of Alcinous

  • Eidothea

    • Sea goddess, daughter of Proteus, helped Menelaus

  • Elpenor

    • Member of Odyseus’ crew

    • Dies after falling from a roof on Circe's island

  • Eumaeus

    • Loyal swineherd who helps Odysseus when he returns to Ithaca

  • Eupeithes

    • Father of Antinous

    • Killed by Odysseus (last killed in the book)

  • Eurycleia

    • Odysseus’ nurse

    • Recognizes Odysseus when he returns

  • Eurylochus

    • Second in command, Odysseus’ favorite crew member

  • Eurymachus

    • Leading suitor

    • Killed by Odysseus

  • Eurynome

    • Penelope's loyal servant

  • Hades

    • God of the underworld

  • Helen

    • Wife of Menelaus

    • Goes with Paris and starts the Trojan War

  • Helios

    • Sun god

  • Hephaestus

    • God of fire, craftsmen

    • Traps Ares with Aphrodite

  • Hermes

    • Messenger god

  • Ino

    • Sea goddess, saves Odysseus with veil

  • Irus

    • Beggar who challenges Odysseus

    • Odysseus beats him in front of the suitors

  • Ithaca

    • Home island of Odysseus

  • Laertes

    • Odysseus’ father, has been in grief for 20 years

  • Laistrygonians

    • Man-eating giants

  • Lotos Eaters

    • Offer Odysseus’ men lotus flowers that make them forget home

  • Medon

    • Told Penelope the suitors were planning to kill Telemachus

    • Saved by Odysseus in final battle

  • Melanthius

    • Disloyal goatherd, brutally punished, hung, and ripped apart

  • Melantho

    • Disloyal servant girl, hung

  • Menelaus

    • King of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon, husband of Helen

  • Mentor

    • Athena often appears as Mentor

    • Guides Telemachus

  • Nausicaa

    • Princess of the Phaeacians who helps Odysseus

    • Daughter of Alcinous

  • Nestor

    • King of Pylos

    • Shares story of the Trojan War

  • Odysseus

    • king of ithaca

  • Ogygia

    • Island of Calypso, Odysseus was held there for 7 years

  • Orestes

    • Son of Agamemnon

    • Kills Aegisthus and his mother, Clytemnestra

  • Penelope

    • Wife of Odysseus

  • Phaeacians

    • Live on Scheria, seafarers, Alcinous’ court

  • Phemius

    • Bard in Ithaca

    • Odysseus does NOT kill him

  • Philoetius

    • Loyal cowherd of Odysseus

  • Polyphemus

    • Cyclops, son of Poseidon, blinded by Odysseus

  • Poseidon

    • God of the sea

    • Makes it difficult for Odysseus to get home

  • Proteus

    • Sea god, capable of changing shapes, helps Odysseus

  • Pylos

    • Nestor’s island

  • Scheria

    • Final stop, Phaecians, Alcinous

  • Scylla

    • 6 headed 12 legged monster, blocks the strait of Messina

  • Sirens

    • Creatures whose songs lure sailors so they can’t escape

  • Sparta

    • Menelaus’s island

  • Telemachus

    • Son of Odysseus

  • Tiresias

    • Blind prophet in the underworld

    • Tells Odysseus he will eventually get home, find suitors, and to avoid the cattle of the Sun God

  • Theoclymenus

    • Prophet who travels with Telemachus and tells him that the suitors will all die

  • Thrinacia

    • Island of Sun God, Helios

  • Zeus

    • King of gods, god of thunder




  • Allusion

    • An indirect reference

  • Exposition

    • Introduction about background information

  • Simile

    • Uses Like or As

    • tenor=real thing

    • Vehicle = figurative language

  • Denotation

    • Literal meaning of a word

  • Connotation

    • Idea or feeling that a word invokes

  • Personification

    • Physical attributes to something non human

  • In medias res 

    • In the middle of things

  • Epic

    • A story of large scale

  • Epithet

    • An adjective or descriptive phrase expressing the quality of a person or a thing

  • Invocation of the muse

    • Traditional opening of an epic poem

  • Metaphor

    • A comparison between two unlike things without using like or as

  • Dramatic irony

    • When the reader knows more than the character (god in disguise)

  • Symbol

    • Something concrete that represents an abstract idea; literal + figurative

  • Hubris

    • Raising yourself to the levels of the gods

  • Kleos

    • Material wealth that signifies glory

  • Xenia

    • Hospitality to strangers