Gilgamesh
Iliad
Argonautica
Comparison
Terms
100

This character is made to be Gilgamesh's equal

Who is Enkidu?

100

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

Who is Priam?

100

This young witch aids Jason on his quest

Who is Medea?

100

These two heroes must complete a set of trials as part of their quests

Who are Gilgamesh and Jason?

100

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

What is a proem?

200

This character civilizes Enkidu

Who is Shamhat?

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

This is the term for a favorite literary device of the Hellenistic poets which explains the origin of something, such as a mountain or temple

 

What is an aetiology?

200

These two men are changed following the deaths of their closest companions

Who are Gilgamesh and Achilles?

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 are the challenges that Gilgamesh must complete to get eternal life (name 2 of the 3)

What are running through the tunnel of the sun, staying awake for seven days, and swimming to the bottom of the ocean?

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 is the goddess that helps Jason along his journey because he helped her across a muddy river

Who is Hera?

300

These epics were not created by a single author

What are the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Iliad?

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

This character survived the flood and was made immortal by the gods

Who is Utnapishtim?

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

These are the twins who fled their murderous stepmother on the back of a golden ram

Who are Helle and Phrixus?

400

This crew member of the Argo is the father of the swift-footed hero of another epic

Who is Peleus?

400

These are the four explanations for similarities between ancient epics of different cultures (name 3)


What are borrowing/influence, common ancestry, polygenesis, and coincidence?

500

The Epic of Gilgamesh was written in these two languages

What is Sumerian and Akkadian?

500

These are the three women who give laments during Hector's funeral

Who Hecuba, Andromache, and Helen?

500

This was the ruling dynasty in Egypt while Apollonius was writing the Argonautica

What is the Ptolemaic Dynasty?

500

Medea is a descendant of this god

Who is Helius?

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?