Lit Greek allusions

Acheron River (The River of Pain)
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Terms in this set (50)
Acheron River (The River of Pain)
the river of woe that one must cross to get into the Underworld. Charon tends it. "River into Hades". Those not buried properly are doomed to wander its banks forever.
Achilles
-Son of Thetis and Peleus
-Zeus and Athena watched over him during the Trojan war
-Patroclus was his best friend
Actaeon
-Young man killed by Artemis for having accidentally seen her bathing; turned into a deer and torn apart by his own hunting dogs.
-son of autonoe
Aegus
-King of Athens. Father of Theseus. Threw himself from cliff when saw black sails instead of white sails of success. Gave Aegean Sea its name.
-almost let Medea kill his son
Aeneas
-One of Aphrodite's sons, escaped Troy after the Trojan war thanks to Aphrodite
-held to be the real founder of Rome
-traveled the underworld
Agememnon
-Mycenaean King who used trickery to win the Trojan War
-wife plotted to kill him bc he sacrificed their daughter in order to please the gods and try to win the war
Ajax
-a Greek hero and a giant
-carried Achilles' body from the battle but Odysseus got Achilles' arms
-Ajax went mad and slaughtered livestock, thinking they were chieftains, mainly Menelaus and Agamemnon
-he killed himself, and got a burial instead of a funeral pyre. He killed a lot of people in the Trojan War.
Amazons
-A nation of all-female warriors
-"men haters"
-fought the Greeks in the Trojan war
Aphrodite/Venus
-Goddess of love and beauty
-daughter of Zeus and Dione
-sprung from the sea foam
-took the side of the Trojans in the Trojan war
-Hephaestus' wife, cheated on him with Ares the god of war
Antigone
-Oedipus' daughter who took care of him when he was expelled from Thebes
-She was executed after she disobeyed Creon and buried her brother, Polyneices
-The Last of the royal family of Thebes, the House of Oedipus, was gone.
Apollo (Phoebus)Son of Zeus and Leto — the most Greek of all Gods. He is a master musician who delights Olympus ; the Archer-God; the Healer; God of Light; God of Truth; purifier. He also served as a link between Heaven and Delphi. He is the leader of the muses. He resides over the Oracle for 6 months.Ariadnedaughter of King Minos; fell in love with Theseus and promised to help him destroy the Minotaur if he would marry her; never did get married -Thesus left her or she died, never made it to AthensArachnechallenged Athena to weaving contest, ended in a tie, Arachne hung herself but Athena took pity and turned her into a spiderArgonautsA band of heroes who joined with Jason to search for the Golden Fleece. (Hercules, Orpheus-master musician, Castor Pollux, Achille's father-Peleus, etc)Argus-The giant with one hundred eyes who was tricked into sleep by Hermes, who killed him -Hera's lackeyArtemis/Diana-Goddess of the hunt and the moon -fierce and revengeful -one of the 3 maiden goddesses of OlympusAtlanta-Wanted to sail on the Argo -took place in the Caledonian boat hunt -married Hippomenes who beat her in a foot race -changed into a lioness bc Hippomenes forgot to honor AphroditeBacchus/Dionysus-Son of Zeus and Semele (Thebes) -Hera made Semele wish to see Zeus in his full glory, upon which she bursts into flames and died -Zeus nursed him for the remaining period of gestation and afterwards nymphs -God of wine and debauchery. He resides over the oracle for six months of the year sharing the duty with Apollo, who resides over it the other six months of the year.Cadmus: Curse of CadmusCadmus killed a dragon whom Ares loved very much and was cursed with ill luck forever after. Oedipus is his grandson.CalliopeMuse of epic poetryCalypso-nymph who lived in Ethiopia -held Odysseus prisoner for a couple yearsCassandra-one of Priam's daughters, a prophetess -Apollo loved her and gave her the power to tell the future -later he turned against her bc she didn't return his love -made it so no one would believe her future predictions -foretold Troy's downfallCastor and Pollux (Polydeuces)Said to live half of their time on Earth, half in heaven. Leda's sons and are usually represented as gods, the special protectors of sailors. Zeus is their father as he seduced Leda when he was a swan (they were born in an egg).Circe-beautiful and dangerous witch, changed odyessus's men into pigs -helped him get through the underworldClytemnestra-Killed Agamemnon after he killed their daughter (before the Trojan War) after the Trojan War. -Leda and Spartan King's daughter.CharonFerryman of the underworldChimaeraA lion in front, a serpent behind, a goat in between. It can breathe fire.ClioMuse of historyDido- founded Carthage -She got romantically involved with Aeneas and provided him with all she could — all of her wealth, city, and property was open to him. - He left her when Zeus commanded him to, so he could found Rome, and she jumped off a cliff.Danaids-Fifty of them, all daughters of Danaüs. - Fled from their cousins' hands in marriage to Argos. 49 of 50 killed their grooms. -The other, Hypermnestra, did not kill her husband, as her sisters and father commanded. Her father imprisoned her. -The Danaids must forever fill jars riddled with holes as punishment.ErisAres' sister, Discord.Eros-Cupid -god of loveEchoThe fairest nymph, and a favorite of Artemis. Fell in love with Narcissus, who denied her. She haunts caves and echoey places.HephaestusGod of fire, sometimes said to be the son of Zeus and Hera, sometimes of Hera alone. The only ugly god.Elysian FieldsWhere the good dead people go, in Hades.GorgonsAlso earth-dwellers. There were three, and two of them were immortal. They were dragonlike creatures with wings, whose look turned men to stone. Phorcys, son of the Sea and the Earth, was their father. Medusa, etc.ElectraAgamemnon and Clytemnestra's daughter. Orestes' sister, she wasted away without love from her mother or father-in-law until Orestes came back.HadesThe god of the Underworld. His Queen is Persephone. He's one of the three who divided the universe with Zeus and Poseidon. He had a far famed cap or helmet which made whoever wore it invisible. He was King of the Dead.EuropaDaughter of the King of Sidon. Zeus absconded with her. Her sons were made famous men and judges of the dead. Europe is named after her.EuterpeMuse of lyric poetry.HectorThe Champion of Troy, son of Priam. Killed Patroclus. Paris' brother. Achilles killed him.Atroposthe Fate who cuts the thread of lifeEurydiceMarried to Orpheus, she died shortly after. He went to the Underworld to get her back because he was so saddened. He got her up to the end of the cavern, and then he looked at her, sending her back to Hades.HecateArtemis is identified with Hecate. Selene in the sky, Artemis on Earth, Hecate in the lower world and in the world avoce when it is wrapped in darkness. Hecate was the Goddess of the Dark of the Moon, the black nights when the moon is hidden. goddess of witchcraftDiomedesCrazy champion of the Trojan War. He was an Argive. One of the greatest heroes of the Argives. Achean, son of Tydeus, king of Argos.Fates: Spinners- Moirae in Greek, parcae in Latin. Give to men at birth evil and good to have. - They were three, Clotho, the Spinner, who spun the thread of life Lachesis, the Disposer of Lots, who assigned to each man his destiny; Atropos, she who could not be turned, who carried the shears and cut the thread at death.HecubaPriam's queen. Hector's mother. She had nineteen children. With the god Apollo, Hecuba had a son named Troilus.IphigeniaThe daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, she was sacrificed to Artemis. This prompted her mother, Clytemnestra, to later kill Agamemnon.LedaWife of King Tyndareus of Sparta. She bore him two mortals, Castor and Clytemnestra. Zeus in the form of a swan bore Pollux and Helen, the heroine of Troy. They were immortal.JocastaMothered Oedipus. She married Oedipus later on, and bore him four children, two girls, including Antigone. She hanged herself and Oedipus gouged out his eyes.