Aristos Achaion
(noun) Greek term for the best of the Greeks. Achilles is Aristos Achaion; after his death, Neoptolemus becomes Aristos Achaion.
apathes
(adjective) Greek for "heartless." When Deidameia calls Achilles apathes, she uses the masculine form of the word, revealing to her father that Achilles is actually a man.
augury
(noun) Divination from omens or auspices (observation of the flight and feeding patterns of birds).
charnel house
(noun) A building where (primarily human) bodies or skeletal remains are stored.
cuirass
(noun) A piece of armor that protects from the neck to the waist.
fetlock
(noun) The joint in a horse or similar animal's leg immediately above the hoof, or the tuft of hair on that joint.
gravid
(adjective) Pregnant, or full of eggs.
greave
(noun) A piece of armor that protects the shin.
hauteur
(noun) Arrogance, haughtiness.
hecatomb
(noun) A sacrifice of 100 oxen or cattle, usually to a god (as Achilles to Apollo when the god is angered).
hubris
(noun) Pride; self-confidence to the point of exaggeration, often a fatal shortcoming.
idyll
(noun) A work of poetry or prose suggesting contentment or dealing with pastoral scenes, or a lighthearted period/romantic interlude which might be the subject of such a work.
lyre
(noun) A stringed harp instrument with a U-shaped frame. Achilles is particularly gifted at playing the lyre.
morass
(noun) A marsh or swamp; or a confusing, trapping, overwhelming situation.
phalanx
(noun) Heavily armed infantry formed in close ranks.
philtatos
(noun) The Greek term philtatos is translated in the novel as "most beloved" and is what Achilles uses to refer to Patroclus after his death.
priapism
(noun) An abnormal persistent erection. When Achilles claims multiple women as war prizes, other kings teasingly accuse him of priapism.
purgative
(noun) A purging medicine, most commonly a laxative.
therapon
(noun) Greek term for a brother-in-arms sworn to protect a prince by blood oaths and love. In war, a therapon is an honor guard, and in peace, a man’s closest advisor. This is what Achilles asks his father for Patroclus to be.
yare
(adjective) Principally archaic, meaning characterized by speed and agility, or maneuverable.
