Glossary of Terms
Agamemnon: King of Mycenae; Greek leader at Troy, murdered by his wife Klytaimnestra and her lover Aigisthos on his return home; brother of Menelaos.
Agelaos: One of the suitors of Penelope.
Aiaia: Kirke's island.
Aias: Greek hero at Troy, drowned on the return trip after defying the gods. Name also spelled Ajax.
Aigisthos: Klytaimnestra's lover; usurper of Agamemnon's throne at Mycenae.
Aiolos: King of the winds; gives Odysseus a bag of winds.
Akhaians: Homer's name for the Greeks (as opposed to the Trojans).
Akhilleus: The greatest Greek warrior at Troy.
Alkinoos: King of the Phaiakians, host to Odysseus; father of Nausikaa, husband of Arete.
Amphinomes: A suitor of Penelope.
Antinoos: Hotheaded ringleader of Penelope's suitors.
Arete: Queen of the Phaiakians.
Athena: Goddess of wisdom, battle, and the womanly arts; patron of Odysseus.
Elpenor: One of Odysseus' crew, falls off Kirke's roof and dies.
Erebos: The dark land of the dead.
Eumaios: Faithful swineherd of Odysseus.
Eupeithes: Father of Antinoos; killed by Laertes.
Eurykleia: Old and faithful nurse to Odysseus.
Eurylokhos: Second-in-command to Odysseus during his travels.
Eurymakhos: Rational suitor to Penelope.
Eurynome: Housekeeper to Penelope.
Hades: God of the underworld.
Halitherses: Old friend of Odysseus in Ithaka.
Helen: Wife of Menelaos; carried off to Troy by Paris, causing the Trojan War.
Helios: Sun god whose sacred cattle are eaten by Odysseus' crew.
Hera: Queen of the gods, wife of Zeus.
Hermes: Messenger of the gods.
Ilium: Another name for Troy.
Iros: Beggar to Penelope's suitors, stirs up a fight with Odysseus.
Ithaka: Island home of Odysseus.
Kalypso: Beautiful nymph who detains Odysseus eight years at island of Ogygia.
Kharybdis: A dangerous whirlpool Odysseus must sail by.
Kikones: People at Ismaros, raided by Odysseus after the Trojan War.
Kirke: Enchantress who turns men into swine; Odysseus and his men stay on her island for a year.
Klytaimnestra: Murderous wife of Agamemnon, lover of Aigisthos.
Ktesippos: One of Penelope's suitors; killed by the cowherd.
Kyklopes: One-eyed race of giants; Odysseus encounters the Kyklops Poseidon.
Laertes: Father of Odysseus.
Laistrygonians: Hostile giants who attack Odysseus and eat his men.
Medon: The crier, spared during the slaughter.
Melanthios: Disloyal goatherd to Odysseus.
Melantho: Disloyal maidservant to Odysseus.
Menelaos: Brother of Agamemnon, husband of Helen, host to Telemakhos.
Mentes: Old friend of Odysseus; one of Athena's disguises.
Mentor: Old friend of Odysseus; adviser to Telemakhos; frequent disguise of Athena.
Muses: The nine goddesses who inspire the arts.
Mycenae: Principal city of the Akhaians, home of Agamemnon.
Nausikaa: Phaiakian princess, daughter of Alkinoos; she rescues Odysseus and has a crush on him.
Neleus: Father of Nestor.
Nestor: Elderly king of Pylos, chief adviser of the Greeks at Troy.
Odysseus: Brilliant Greek warrior and hero of The Odyssey.
Ogygia: Island home of Kalypso.
Oidipous: King of Thebes who killed his father and married his mother.
Olympos: Mountain home of the gods.
Orestes: Killed Klytaimnestra and Aigisthos to avenge the murder of his father, Agamemnon; foil character to Telemakhos.
Patroklos: Akhilleus' best friend at Troy; his death inspired Akhilleus to fight.
Peiraios: Telemakhos' trusted crewman.
Peisistratos: Nestor's youngest son; he accompanies Telemakhos on part of his journey.
Penelope: Faithful wife of Odysseus, mother of Telemakhos.
Phaiakians: Inhabitants of the island of Skheria.
Phemios: Bard at the palace of Odysseus; spared in the slaughter.
Philoitios: Faithful cowherd to Odysseus.
Polyphemos: Kyklops son of Poseidon; blinded by Odysseus.
Poseidon: God of the sea; the immortal antagonist in The Odyssey, he is hostile toward Odysseus because Odysseus blinded his son, Polyphemos.
Proteus: "The Ancient of the Sea," he has the gift of prophecy and can change his shape.
Seirenes: Enchantresses who lure sailors to their deaths with their beautiful voices.
Skheria: Island home of Alkinoos, Arete, and Nausikaa.
Styx: River boundary between the land of the living and the land of the dead.
Teiresias: Blind prophet met by Odysseus in the land of the dead; he foretells Odysseus' future.
Telemakhos: Son of Odysseus and Penelope; secondary hero of The Odyssey.
Theoklymenos: Fugitive who accompanies Telemakhos home and interprets omens.
Zeus: King of the gods, brother of Poseidon, father of Athena; ruler on Mount Olympos.
ClassicNote on The Odyssey
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