Iliad
Odyssey
Aeneid
Comparison
Terms
100

This old man visits Achilles' tent in Book 24 and connects with the warrior through their shared grief

Who is Priam?

100

This Phaeacian princess, whose name means burner of ships, helps Odysseus return to Ithaka

Who is Nausicaa?

100

This Carthaginian queen kills herself after being abandoned by the titular character

Who is Dido?

100

These two heroes visit the underworld and learn lessons along the way

Who are Odysseus and Aeneas?

100

This term applies to this: "Rage—Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles, murderous, doomed…”

What is a proem?

200

This prince is chastised by his brother for not contributing enough to the war and instead staying in the bedroom

Who is Paris?

200

In the underworld, this Greek warrior says, "I would prefer to be a workman, hired by a poor man on a peasant farm, than rule as king of all the dead."

Who is Achilles?

200

"To establish peace, to spare the humbled, and to conquer the proud"

 

What is the Roman Mission?

200

These two wives (from two Greek texts) represent the Grecian ideal of loyalty to one's husband

Who are Andromache and Penelope?

200

This literary device is shown here: "I leaned on the top and twisted it, as when a man drills wood for shipbuilding. Below the workers spin the drill with straps, stretched out from either end. So round and round it goes, and so we whirled the fire-sharp weapon in his eye."


What is a simile?

300

These three Greeks visited Achilles in Book 9 to convince him to return the the fight

Who are Odysseus, Phoenix, and Ajax?

300

This character recognizes Odysseus by a scar on his leg

Who is Eurycleia?

300

These three generations of Trojans escape the sacking of their city

Who are Anchises, Aeneas, and Ascanius/Iulus?

300

This Italian frequently compares himself to the best of the Achaeans

Who is Turnus?

300

This literary device is seen here: "Do you remember it, Patroclus, all the Trojans you killed as the gods called you on to your death?"



What is apostrophe?

400

To whom Achilles directs this: "You’re like a little girl, pestering her mother to pick her up, pulling at her hem
as she tries to hurry off and looking up at her with tears in her eyes until she gets her way.
That’s just what you look like, you know."

Who is Patroclus?

400

This short-sighted character offers Odysseus and his men improper xenia early on in his voyage.

Who is Polyphemus?

400

This goddess relents after Jupiter agrees to a name change

Who is Juno?

400

This Italian boy is the Patroclus to a Trojan Achilles

Who is Pallas?

400

This literary device is introduced here: “He was lost in wonder as he turned each piece over in his hands and cradled it in his arms…and the shield’s ineffable design. On it the Fire God had prophetically wrought the future of Italy, and Roman triumphs in the coming ages, every generation…”


What is ekphrasis?

500

This Greek goes on a night expedition with Odysseus in Book 10

Who is Diomedes?

500

This venerable Grecian king who lives in sandy Pylos is visited first by Telemachus

Who is Nestor?

500

This goddess appears to a mortal in the guise of a huntress in Book 1

Who is Venus?

500

This notoriously silent princess becomes the start of a new Trojan War when her hair catches on fire

Who is Lavinia?

500

This term, coming from Greek, refers to a "viewing from the walls," such as when Helen and Priam watch the battle in Book 3 of the Iliad

What is teichoskopeia?