| Aegisthus | [ee-JIS-thuhs] Son of Thyestes and his daughter Pelopia, he became Clytemnestra's lover and was slain by Orestes.
|
 |
|
|
| Alcinous | [al-SIN-oh-uhs] King of the Phaeacians, husband of Arete, and father of Nausicaa, he received Odysseus hospitably on his island of Scheria (traditionally identified as Corfu).
|
|
|
|
| Anticleia | [an-tih-KLEE-a] Daughter of Autolycus, wife of Laertes, and mother of Odysseus, she died mourning for her son during his long absence from Ithaca. Her ghost appeared to Odysseus in the Underworld.
|
|
|
|
| Arete | [a-REE-tee] Wife of Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians, she was noted for her wisdom and hospitality.
|
|
|
|
| Autolycus | [ah-TUHL-ih-kuhs] A son of Hermes infamous for his trickery, he was the father of Anticleia, mother of Odysseus.
|
|
|
|
| Calypso | Minor goddess embodying female sexuality who held Odysseus captive for seven years on the island of Ogygia.
|
|
|
|
| Charybdis | [ka-RIB-dis] Female monster who, with Scylla, guarded the Straits of Messina between Italy and Sicily; a whirlpool that sucked ships underwater.
|
|
|
|
| Circe | [SIR-see] In the Odyssey, the enchantress who turned the hero's men into swine; she instructed Odysseus on the way to Hades' kingdom and warned him of Scylla and Charybdis. According to some myths, Odysseus fathered a son, Telegonus, by her.
|
|
|
|
| Clytemnestra | [klye-tem-NES-tra] The leading female character in the Oresteia, she was the daughter of Tyndareus (or Zeus) and Leda, sister of Helen, wife of Agamemnon, mistress of Aegisthus, and mother of Iphigenia, Electra, Chrysothemis, and Orestes. After murdering Agamemnon, she was slain by Orestes.
|
|
|
|
| Demodocus | [de-MAH-dah-kuhs] In the Odyssey, the Phaeacian bard or minstrel who sang of the Trojan War at King Alcinous's court.
|
|
|
|
| Ithaca | Island kingdom of Odysseus, the rulership of which was bestowed on him by his parents, Laertes and Anticleia.
|
|
|
|
| Laertes | [lay-ER-teez] Son of Arcesius and Chalcomedusa, he married Anticleia, by whom he fathered Odysseus.
|
|
|
|
| Nausicaa | [nah-SIK-ay-a] Daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete who found the shipwrecked Odysseus and befriended him at the Phaeacian court.
|
|
|
|
| Ogygia | [oh-JIJ-ih-a] Island home of the nymph Calypso, location unknown.
|
|
|
|
| Orestes | [ah-RES-teez] Son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, brother of Iphigenia and Electra, and husband of Hermione (daughter of Helen).
|
|
|
|
| Penelope | Daughter of Icarius of Sparta and Periboea, a naiad, and wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus, she was a model of the loyal and prudent wife.
|
|
|
|
| Polyphemus | A Cyclops, a one-eyed cannibalistic giant whom Odysseus blinded and who retaliated with a curse enforced by his father, Poseidon.
|
|
|
|
| Scylla | [SIL-la] In the Odyssey, a female monster who, with Charybdis, guarded the Straits of Messina between Italy and Sicily. A whirlpool, Charybdis sucked ships down to their doom, while multiarmed Scylla seized and ate any who came within her reach.
|
|
|
|
| Sirens | Female creatures, half-bird, half-woman, whose songs lured passing sailors to shipwreck and death.
|
|
|
|
| Telemachus | [tee-LEM-a-kuhs] Son of Penelope and Odysseus who helped his father destroy his mother's hundred suitors.
|
|
|
|
| Tiresias | [tih-REE-sih-as] Blind Theban prophet who had temporarily been changed into a woman, giving him the experience to settle a quarrel between Hera and Zeus over which sex has the greater capacity for sexual pleasure. Hera blinded him for his candid answer, while Zeus gave him long life and insight.
|