| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Aeaea | home of Circe, the enchantress and goddess |
| Alcinous | king of Phaeacia. Odysseus tells the story of his adventures to his court |
| Calypso | beautiful nymph goddess who keeps Odysseus on her island for seven years |
| Charybdis | female monster who sucks in water three times a day to form a deadly whirlpool. (Scholars believe the character is based on a real whirlpool in the Strait of Messina.) |
| Cicones | people living on the southwestern coast of Thrace who battled Odysseus and his men on their journey |
| Circe | enchantress and goddess who turns Odysseus's men into swine |
| Cyclops | one of a race of brutish one-eyed giants who live solitary lives as shepherds, supposedly on the island now known as Sicily |
| Erebus | dark area of the underworld where the dead reside |
| Eurylochus | a member of Odysseus's loyal crew |
| Lotus Eaters | people who feed Odysseus's men lotus plants to make them forget Ithaca |
| Phaeacia | island kingdom ruled by King Alcinous. The people here are shipbuilders and traders |
| Polyphemus | son of the sea god Poseidon and blinded by Odysseus; a cyclops |
| Scylla | female monster with six serpent heads, each head having a triple row of fangs. (Scholars believe this character is based on a dangerous rock in the Strait of Messina.) |
| Sirens | sea nymphs whose beautiful and mysterious music lures sailors to steer their ships toward dangerous rocks |
| Teiresias | famous blind prophet from the city of Thebes. Odysseus meets him in the land of the dead |
| Thrinakia | island where the sun god Helios keeps his cattle |
| Antinous | one of Penelope's main suitors; an arrogant and mean young noble from Ithaca |
| Eumaeus | swineherd, one of Odysseus's loyal servants |
| Eurycleia | Odysseus's old nurse |
| Eurymachus | suitor of Penelope |
| Eurynome | Penelope's housekeeper |
| Penelope | Odysseus's faithful wife |
| Philoeteus | cowherd, one of Odysseus's loyal servants |
| Telemachus | Odysseus's son |
| Apollo | god of poetry, music, prophecy, medicine, and archery |
| Athena | favorite daughter of Zeus; the great goddess of wisdom as well as war and peace. She favored the Greeks during the Trojan War. She is often called Pallas _____ |
| Cronus | Titan (giant god) who ruled the universe until his son Zeus overthrew him |
| Helios | sun god |
| Hephaestus | god of metalworking |
| Hermes | messenger god |
| Poseidon | god of the sea; brother of Zeus; called Earth Shaker because he is believed to cause earthquakes. He is an enemy of Odysseus |
| Zeus | the most powerful god. His home is on Olympus |
| Achaeans | the Greeks in the Odyssey; also includes the people of Ithaca (the island off the west coast of Greece where Odysseus ruled) |
| Argives | the name given to the Greeks who went to fight at Troy |
Combine with other sets
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