| A | B |
|---|
| epithet | short descriptive phrase |
| archetype | a universally understood type, pattern, or symbol recognized across cultures |
| epic simile | a comparison between something in an epic and something in everyday life |
| epic detail | specific details and images used to help listeners imagine the characters and events of an epic story |
| epic | a long story about the adventures of a hero upon whom many lives depend |
| in medias res | a Latin term meaning "in the middle of things" |
| hubris | the Greek word for pride |
| Calliope | Muse of epic poetry |
| monomyth | a pattern found in many narratives around the world that follows a hero through a journey |
| muses | Goddesses who inspired the arts |
| hospitality | an important tradition for the Greeks - guests are to be treated graciously |
| Antinous | the suitor who throws a stool at Odysseus when he is in disguise as a beggar |
| Tiresias | the prophet Odysseus seeks in the UnderWorld for advice about how to get home |
| Scylla | the female monster with six serpent heads |
| Charybdis | the whirlpool monster |
| Helios | the sun god who values his cattle |
| Penelope | Odysseus' wife who waits for him on Ithaca |
| Poseidon | the god of the sea |
| Athena | the goddess of wisdom, war, and peace |
| Zeus | ruler of the gods |
| Odysseus | the Greek hero who helps the Greeks to win the Trojan War and then wanders for 10 years, seeking his home |
| Cyclops | one-eyed giant, human-like monster |
| Sirens | those whose song lured sailors to their doom |
| Circe | sea-witch who turned Odysseus' men into animals |
| Calypso | goddess of the sea who offers Odysseus immortality |
