| A | B |
|---|
| Charybdis | whirlpool monster with digestive troubles |
| Athena | goddess of wisdom who helps O. to get revenge |
| Lotus Eaters | islanders who tempt O's men with narcotic flowers |
| Laertes | Odysseus' father |
| Zeus | king of gods; against O at first but for him later |
| Circe | enchantress who lives with unusually tame wild animals; has a flawless bed |
| Scylla | six-headed monster with rows of icky teeth |
| Polyphemous | Poseidon's son; specific Cyclops |
| Antinous | leader of suitors; feathers in neck |
| Homer | blind poet credited with writing down Odyssey |
| Odysseus | A.K.A. "Nobody" |
| Phaecia | island ruled by King Alcinous; O lands there to tell tale |
| Helios | Sun god, owner of immortal cows that die |
| Cyclopes | race of one-eyed giants; barbaric and lawless |
| Poseidon | god of Sea and earthquakes; against O. |
| Tiresias | blind prophet who advises O. in Underworld |
| the Illiad | epic that covers Trojan War; prequel to Odyssey |
| Hades | ruler of the Underworld whose wife is Persephone |
| Thrinacia | island where Helios and cows hang out |
| odyssey | a journey or quest |
| epic | long narrative poem tracing adventures of hero |
| Homeric epithet | "Circe, lovliest of goddesses" |
| Homeric simile | long comparison of two seemingly unrelated things |
| allusions | references to characters, places, gods in a work of literature |
| epic hero | ledgendary figure who embodies values of a nation |
| epic convention | established custom or literary practice found in epic |
| invocation | prayer at start of epic asking for inspiration from muse |
| "in medias res" | latin phrase that means the epic begins in the middle of things |
| epic machinery | use of supernatural; means "god out of machine" |
