ENGLISH 10

TERMS AND IMPORTANT NAMES IN THE EPICS OF HOMER

Iliad
The story of Troy. "ili" is from Ilios Ilius or Ilium, old words for Troy. Ad means
"story of"
Epic Poem
a long poem about the adventures of heroes and gods
Epithet
an adjective or group of adjectives that describe a noun in an epic poem. e.g.
swift Achilles

Homer
a blind, Greek poet who collected and wrote down the stories of the Iliad and
the Odyssey

Dates when Homer Lived

8th C. B.C

Dates of Trojan War

1250-1200 B.C.

Xenia
Zeus' law of hospitality toward strangers
Hubris
excessive, mortal pride

Achilles
Greek champion, leader of Greek ships, son of King Peleus and Thetis
Thetis
sea nymph; minor goddess; mother of Achilles; friend to Greeks
Myrmidons
elite soldiers and bodyguards of Achilles; best warriors in ancient Greece
Briseis
beautiful war captive awarded to Achilles
Patroclus
close friend and companion of Achilles

Agamemnon
king of Mycenae, leader of the Greek host

Chryseis
beautiful war captive and daughter of a priest of Apollo
Menelaus
King of Sparta; brother of Agamemnon; husband of Helen

Odysseus
king of Ithaca, clever & sly; husband of Penelope; father of Telemachus, son of
Laertes

Penelope
wife of Odysseus; queen of Ithaca; clever & patient wife

Telemachus
son of Odysseus; 20 years old when the story begins

Laertes
old father of Odysseus

Eurycleia
old nurse of Odysseus and Telemachus; lives in palace at Ithaca

Phemius
minstrel in the house of Odysseus
Mentor
citizen and member of city council of Ithaca; friend of Odysseus;
Nestor
King of Pylos; friend of Odysseus, old warrior
Peisistratus
son of Nestor; guide of Telemachus

Ajax
Greek warrior; tallest with the largest shield

Hector
prince of Troy; Trojan commander

Andromache
wife of Hector and mother of Astyanax

Astyanax
infant son of Hector and Andromache

King Priam
King of Troy; father of Hector and Paris; husband of Hekabe
Paris
Prince of Troy; kidnapper of Helen; greatest Trojan bowman; kills Achilles

Athena
Goddess of war and wisdom; friend to Odysseus & Greeks; enemy to Trojans
Hera
wife of Zeus; hater of Trojans; friend of Greeks

Aphrodite
goddess of love & beauty; friend to Paris & Helen; friend of Trojans; enemy of
Greeks
Apollo
god of light, the bow, the arts, youth; friend of Trojans; enemy of Greeks

Zeus
father of the gods, supports neither side but knows Greeks will win
Poseidon
god of sea & earthquakes; friend of Greeks sometimes
Hermes
messenger god; son of Zeus; supports neither side
Iris
female messenger goddess and goddess of the rainbow; supports neither side

Hephaestus
fire god, blacksmith god; supports Greeks more than Trojans; makes new
armor for Achilles

Thetis
sea nymph; mother of Achilles, friend to Greeks

Proteus
the Ancient One of the Sea; supports neither side

Ithaca
home of Odysseus; a rocky island in the Mediterranean Sea
Pylos
home of King Nestor; on the Peloponnese, near the Mediterranean Sea

Sparta
located on the Peloponnese in southern Greece; home of King Menelaus and
Queen Helen

Troy
city-state; located across the Aegean Sea from Greece in Asia Minor; home of
King Priam