Background Info
The author of "The Odyssey"
Homer
The hero that the audience follows throughout the epic
Odysseus
A comparison of two things using "like" or "as"
Simile
The half-human, half-bird creatures whose songs drive men to sail their ships into rocks
Sirens
The two nymphs who hold Odysseus captive on their islands for a collective 8 years
Calypso and Circe
The modern-day name for the area of the world where "The Odyssey" takes place
Greece, or the Mediterranean
The Greek god who helps the hero throughout the epic
Athena
A moral idea that repeats throughout a text
Theme
A one-eyed giant who traps Odysseus and his men in his cave
Cyclops, or Polyphemus
Odysseus's men upset the sun god, Helios, by doing this
The island that the hero is the king of
Ithaka
Penelope & Telemachus
In which part of the text hints at what will happen later in the text
Foreshadowing
The six-headed, dog-faced monster who lives in a cave on a mountain
Scylla
The Underworld
The name of the war that the hero is returning from at the beginning of the epic
The Trojan War
The Greek god hunting the hero down to exact revenge
Poseidon
A test the hero must go through to prove themself
A trial
The sea monster who spins in a circle and creates a massive whirlpool in the Mediterranean
Charybdis
Penelope asks the suitors to do these two things in order to become her husband
Bend and string Odysseus's bow, then fire an arrow through 12 axeheads
When "The Odyssey" takes place
The Bronze Age, between 1600 and 1200 B.C.
The blind prophet whom the hero meets in the Underworld
Tiresias
A phrase used as a nickname for people or gods, highlighting a specific trait
Epithet
Cannibals who are responsible for eating Odysseus's men and destroyed their ships
The Laestrygones
King Aeolus gave Odysseus and his men these gifts, proving to be disastrous for the crew
A bag of fair winds and a bag of stormy winds