| A | B |
|---|
| Aeaea | Home of the witch-goddess |
| Alcinous | King of Phaeacia. Odysseus tells the story of his adventures to his court. |
| Calypso | Beautiful goddess-nymph who keeps Odysseus on her island for 7 years |
| Charybdis | Female monster who sucks in water three times a day to form a deadly whirlpool |
| Cicones | People living on the southwestern coast of Thrace, who battled Odysseus and his men on their journey home |
| Circe | Witch-goddess who turns Odysseus' men into swine. |
| Achaeans | Greeks, more general term, includingthe people of Ithaca |
| Argives | Greeks - usually those that went to fight at Troy |
| Erebus | Dark area of the underworld where the dead reside. |
| Eurylochus | One of Odysseus' loyal crew |
| Lotus Eaters | People who fed Odysseus' men with certain plants to make them forget Ithaca |
| Phaeacia | A kingdom of shipbuilders and traders |
| Polyphemus | Blinded by Odysseus; the son of the sea god Poseidon |
| Cyclopes | A race of brutish one-eyed giants who live solitary lives as shepherds, supposedly on the island now known as Sicily |
| Scylla | Female monster with six serpent heads, each head having a triple row of fangs |
| Sirens | Sea nymphs whose beautiful and mysterious music lures sailors to steer their ships towards the rocks |
| Teiresias | Famous blind prophet from the city of Thebes; Odysseus meets him in the Land of the Dead |
| Thrinakia | Island where the sun god Helios keeps his cattle |
| Antinous | One of Penelope's leading suitors; an arrogant and mean young noble from Ithaca |
| Eumaeus | Swineherd; one of Odysseus' loyal servants |
| Eurycleia | Odysseus' old nurse |
| Eurymachus | A suitor of Penelope |
| Eurynome | Penelope's housekeeper |
| Penelope | Odysseus' faithful wife |
| Philoeteus | Cowherd; one of Odysseus' loyal servants |
| Telemachus | Odysseus' son |
| Apollo | God of poetry, music, prophecy, medicine, and archery |
| (Pallas) Athena | Favorite daughter of Zeus; the great goddess of wisdom and the arts of war and peace. She favored the Greeks during the Trojan War. |
| Cronus | Titan who ruled the universe until his son, Zeus, overthrew him |
| Helios | Sun god. |
| Hephaestus | God of metalworking |
| Hermes | Messenger god |
| Poseidon | God of the sea; brother of Zeus. Called Earth shaker because he is believed to cause earthquakes. Enemy of Odysseus. |
| Zeus | The most powerful god, whose home is on Olympus. |
