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148 Cards in this Set
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Argive plain
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Fertile area in the Peloponnesus; site of Mycenae, Argos, Tiryns.
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Perseus
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Son of Danaë and Zeus; important local hero of the Argolid.
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Tiryns
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City in the Argolid; built of enormous stones, which, according to myth, were set in place by the Cyclopes.
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Io
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Ancestress of many civilizations; tormented by Hera after having attracted the attention of Zeus.
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Danaüs
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Progeny of Io; brought his fifty daughters to Argos to try to prevent their being married to the fifty sons of his brother Aegyptus.
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Danaïds
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The fifty daughters of Danaüs; brought to Argos by their father to try to prevent their being married to the fifty sons of his brother Aegyptus.
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Acrisius
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Progeny of Io; tried to forestall the prophecy that he would be killed by his grandson, Perseus.
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Danaë
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Daughter of Acrisius and mother of Perseus by Zeus via the "golden shower."
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Polydectes
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King of the island of Seriphos, where the box containing Danaë and Perseus was brought ashore by Zeus; tried ignominiously to seduce Danaë.
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Gorgons
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Ancient apotropaic hags; Medusa acquires their characterestics and is the most famous of the Gorgons.
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Medusa
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Most famous of the Gorgons, whose stare turned men into stone; killed by Perseus.
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Graeae
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"Gray-women"; old witches whom Perseus needed to consult on his quest to kill Medusa. Shared one eye and one tooth between the three.
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Andromeda
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Daughter of Cassiopeä and Cepheus of Joppa; rescued from Ceto by Perseus and given to him as his bride.
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Cassiopeä
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Vain Queen mother of Andromeda whose boast that her daughter was more lovely than the Nereids brought the wrath of Poseidon up their city of Joppa.
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Heracles
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Great strongman hero of the Greeks; son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena.
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Alcmena
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Daughter of Electryon and mother of Heracles.
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Eurystheus
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Son of Sthenelus; cousin of Heracles, for whom the hero had to perform the twelve labors.
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Amphitryon
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Son of Alcaeus; husband of Alcmena, the mother of Heracles.
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Megara
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Daughter of Creon of Thebes, and first wife of Heracles; killed by him in a fit of madness brought on by Hera.
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Ceryneian deer
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One of the twelve labors; which led to a quarrel with Artemis and Apollo.
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Pholus
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A parergon of Heracles; a centaur accidentally killed by one of Heracles's poisoned arrows.
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Admetus
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Needed to find someone to die in his place; his wife Alcestis volunteered.
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Alcestis
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Devoted wife of Admetus; willingly dies in his place.
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Hippolyta
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One of the twelve labors; her breastplate was demanded by Eurystheus's daughter.
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Geryon
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One of the twelve labors; his red cattle was demanded by Eurystheus; during the course of which, Heracles set up the Pilars of Heracles.
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Cacus
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A parergon of Heracles; monster who tried to steal some of the cattle Heracles had taken from Greyon.
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Apples of the Hesperides
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One of the twelve labors; apples of the nymphs of the west demanded by Eurystheus; during the course of which, Heracles battled Antaeus, overcame Busiris, and outwitted Atlas.
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Antaeus
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A parergon of Heracles; giant wrestler who drew his strength from contact with the earth; overcome by Heracles, who crushed him while holding him in the air.
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Busiris
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A parergon of Heracles; king in Egypt who tried to sacrifice Heracles, but who was himself killed.
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Iolê
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Daughter of Eurytus and sought by Heracles; brings about his death when Deianira sees her in a train of captive women.
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Omphalê
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Queen of Lydia whom Heracles served as "punishment" for having killed Iphitus in violation of Xenia.
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Cercopes
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Highwaymen defeated by Heracles.
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Acheloüs
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River god and competitor for Deianira; defeated by Heracles.
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Deianira
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Sister of Meleager and second wife of Heracles; mistakenly brought about his death when deceived by the dying Nessus.
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Heraclids
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Sons of Heracles; thought to be the ancestors of the Dorians by the ancient Greeks.
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Theseus
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Son of Aethra and Aegeus/Poseidon; national hero of the Athenians.
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Cecrops
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First king in Athens; brought civilization to the Athenian people; depicted as half-man, half-snake.
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Erichthonius
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Half-man, half-snake product of the spilled semen of Hephaestus; and early king of Athens;
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Cephalus
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Son of Hersê, a daughter of Cecrops, and Hermes; his marriage with Procris was fraught with suspicion and ended in disaster.
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Procris
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Daughter of Erechtheus, and early king of Athens, and wife of Cephalus; her marriage with Cephalus was fraught with suspicion and ended in disaster.
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Laelaps
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The magical dog who always caught what it was chasing; given as a gift to Procris by Minos, king of Crete; ended in a paradoxical pursuit with the magical fox that could never be caught.
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Procnê
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Daughter of Pandion, and early king of Athens, and wife of Tereus; killed her own son Itys to avenge Tereus' rape and mutilation of her sister Philomela.
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Philomela
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Daughter of Pandion, an early king of Athens, and sister of Procnê; she was raped and mutilated by Tereus, Procnê's husband.
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Tereus
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King of Thessaly; given Procnê as his wife by Pandion; his rape and mutilation of her sister Philomela led to the death of his son Itys by Procnê.
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Itys
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Son of Tereus and Procnê; killed by his mother in revenge for Tereus' rape and mutilation of Philomela, Procnê's sister.
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Erechtheus
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An early king of Athens; best known for his children: Procris, Orithyia, and Cecrops II, the latter of whom is the grandfather of Aegeus, father of Theseus.
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Aegeus
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Son of Pandion II and father of Theseus; sonless, he traveled to Delphi; stopping in Troezen on the way back, he impregnated Aethra, daughter of the king, their son was Theseus.
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Aethra
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Mother of Theseus and daughter of Pittheus, the King of Troezen, who, understanding the meaning of Delphi's obscure oracle to Aegeus, connived to have her impregnated by him.
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Procrustes
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Villain overcome by Theseus on his way from Troezen to Athens; murdered his victims by putting them on a bed that never fit.
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Amazonomachy
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Battle of the Athenians and the invading Amazons; battle provoked by Theseus' abduction of their Queen Antiopê; later comes to symbolize Athens's victory over the Persians.
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Hippolytus
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Son of Theseus by Antiopê, Queen of the Amazons; falsely accused by Phaedra, Theseus' new wife, of having attempted to rape her, he is killed by Poseidon, who answers Theseus' prayer.
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Phaedra
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Wife of Theseus and stepmother to Hippolytus; inflicted with a shameful lust for Hippolytus and rebuffed by him, she kills herself, leaving behind a letter falsely accusing Hippolytus of having tried to rape her.
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Bellerophon
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Parallel to the Hippolytus false-accusation motif; having rebuffed the wife of the king at Corinth, the king tries to kill him.
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Pirithoüs
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King in Thessaly, opponent of Theseus who, like Enkidu and Gilgamesh, becomes his companion in a number of adventures.
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Lapiths
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Thessalian people, whose king Pirithoüs, is a companion of Theseus; involved in a famous battle against the Centaurs that erupts at a wedding: the "Battle of the Centaurs and the Lapiths" (aka the Centauromachy).
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Centaurs
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Race of half-man half-horse creatures; offspring of Ixion; mostly dangerous and wild, some are good.
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Pisistratus
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Democratic tyrant of late 6th century Athens; responsible for promoting the myths of Theseus and identifying them with democratic ideology.
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Europa
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Daughter of Agenor, taken away by Zeus who disguised himself as a bull; becomes queen of Crete.
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Minos
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Son of Europa and Zeus; king of Crete during its mythic zenith; leads his forces successfully against Athens.
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Pasiphaë
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Wife of Minos, afflicted with a lust for the bull sent by Poseidon.
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Minotaur
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Half-man, half-bull monster born from the union between Pasiphaë and Poseidon's bull; locked in the Labyrinth and eventually killed by Theseus.
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Labyrinth
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Inescapable underground maze on Crete built by Daedalus to house the Minotaur.
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Nisus
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King of Megara betrayed by his daughter to Minos, who was attacking his city.
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Scylla
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Daughter of Nisus, king of Megara, who betrayed him to Minos who was attacking the city; when betrayed by Minos in turn, she became the clipper bird (Ciris).
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Icarus
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Rash son of Daedalus who died when the wax that held his wings together melted.
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Cocalus
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King of Camicus in Sicily, where Minos had pursued Daedalus.
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Boeotia
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"Cowland"; area in Greece to the northwest of Attic; its principal city of Thebes is richly productive in myth.
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Sparti
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"Sown-men"; so-called because they sprang from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus; reputed ancestors of important aristocratic clans in Thebes.
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Antiopê
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Mother by Zeus of Amphion and Sethus; pursued by Nycteus her father, Lycus, her uncle.
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Dircê
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Wife of Lycus; tormented Antiopê, mother of Amphion and Zethus, until she herself was put to death by the twins.
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Laius
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Son of Labdacus and father of Oedipus; tried to avert the prophecy that he would be killed by his son, but in so trying, fulfilled it.
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Jocasta
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Wife of laius and mother/wife of Oedipus; kills herself when she learns truth of what has happened; called Epicastê by Homer.
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Oedipus
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"Swollen-foot"; son of Laius and Jocasta; raised in Corinth, he returns to Thebes where he unknowingly fulfills the prophecy that he will kill his father and marry his mother.
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Adrastus
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King of Argos, and sole survivor of an Argive expedition against Thebes to put Polynices on the throne.
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Tydeus
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Exile from Calydon and one of the seven leaders against Thebes; was nearly made immortal by Athena, but Amphiaraüs thwarted it.
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Polynices
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Brother of Eteocles and son of Oedipus; died during the Argive expedition egainst Thebes to force his brother out.
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Amphiaraüs
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Prophet and one of the Argive leaders against Thebes; took part even though he knew he would die.
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Haemon
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Son of Creon; supported Antigonê's case against his father; killed himself when he realized she was dead.
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Epigoni
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The sons of the seven Argive "Seven Against Thebes"; successfully attacked Thebes and ousted the king Laodamas.
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Antigonê
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A daughter of Oedipus; defied Creon's order that the body of her brother Polynices remain unburied.
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Amphion
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One of AntiopÍ's twin sons; ruled in Thebes with his brother, Zethus; unlike Zethus, he was devoted to music
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Eriphyle
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Wife of Amphiaraüs, who orders him to participate in the Seven Against Thebes campaign.
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Eteocles
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One of Oedipus' sons; defended Thebes against a coalition of kings led by his brother, Polynices.
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Ismene
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Daughter of Oedipus; is reluctant to help her sister, AntigonÍ, to defy Creon's order and bury their brother, Polynices
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Zethus
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One of AntiopÍ's twin sons; ruled in Thebes with his brother, Amphion; unlike Amphion, he was a man of ranching and practical affairs.
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Thessaly
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Area of northern Greece; source of the myth of Jason and the Argonauts
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Iolcus
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Port city in Thessaly; home of Jason.
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Apollonius of Rhodes
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Third century B.C. author of the Argonautica; his poetry reflects the Hellenistic aesthetic of minute descriptions and complicated characters.
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Jason
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Son of Aeson, hero of the Argonautica.
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Athamas
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King of Athamas; nearly tricked by his wife NephelÍ into sacrificing his son Phrixus.
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Phrixus
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Son of Athamas nearly sacrificed by his father; taken to Colchis on the Black Sea by a golden ram that appeared at the last moment.
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Helle
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Daughter of Athamas; taken away on the back of a golden ram; she fell off into a sea which thereafter is called the "Hellespont."
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Hellespont
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"Sea of Helle"; so called because Helle, the daughter of Athamas, fell into this body of water after having been taken away by a golden ram.
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Colchis
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Distant town on the Black Sea; kingdom of Aeîtes, who had the golden fleece Jason seeks in the Argonautica.
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Tyro
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Mother of Pelias and Neleus by Poseidon and Aeson, the father of Jason, by Cretheus
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Pelias
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King in Iolcus who imprisons his half-brother Aeson and arranges to send Jason on the supposedly hopeless quest for the golden fleece; killed by his daughters who were tricked by Medea into cutting him up into pieces.
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Chiron
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Centaur on Mount Pelion who raised Jason
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Zetes
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One of the warriors on the voyage of the Argo; son of Boreas (the North Wind), he was able to fly and freed Phineus from the torment of the Harpies.
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Calaôs
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One of the warriors on the voyage of the Argo; son of Boreas (the North Wind), he was able to fly and freed Phineus from the torment of the Harpies
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Phineus
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King of Salmydessus and prophet; offended Zeus by being too generous with his prophecies; his torment by the Harpies was ended by Jason and his crew.
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Symplegades
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"Clashing Rocks" that barred access to the Black Sea; cleared by the Argonauts with the help of Athena.
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Apsyrtus
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Son of Aeîtes and brother of Medea; joined in the pursuit of Jason and Medea after the fleece had been filched; he was either killed by Jason, or chopped by into bits which were thrown overboard piece by piece to delay the pursuit of Aeîtes.
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Talus
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Bronze giant filled with ichor that guarded the island of Crete; overcome by Jason who drained him of the ichor.
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Aetolia
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Area in Greece to the north of the western opening of the Corinthian gulf; main city is Calydon.
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Calydon
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Main city in the area of Aetolia, home of King Oeneus and location of the famous boar hunt.
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Althaea
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Mother of Meleager; in a rage over his murder of her brothers, she threw the magic log which protected him into the fire, thus killing him.
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Meleager
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Son of Oeneus and Althaea of Calydon; killed the boar that was ravaging his land, but violated the code of the hunt by giving its skin to Atalanta whom he wished to seduce; eventually this brought about his death
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Atalanta
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Speedy athlete who took part in the boar hunt at Calydon; eventually married to Melanion who overcame her in a foot race; punished for their lusty consummation of the marriage in the precinct of Zeus by being turned into lions.
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Atreus
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Son of Pelops and father of Agamemnon and Menulaüs; quarrels with brother Thyestes over who rules in Mycenae
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Pelops
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Son of Tantalus, and victor of Oenomaüs in the chariot race; father of Atreus and Thyestes.
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Oenomaüs
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King of Pisa and father of Hippodamia; defeated and killed in chariot race against Pelops.
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Hippodamia
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Daughter of Oenomaüs of Pisa; prize of the famed chariot race won by Pelops with the help of Myrtilus, Oenomaüs's aid.
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Thyestes
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A son of Pelops; quarrels with brother Atreus over the kingship in Mycenae; tricked into eating his own sons by Atreus at the Banquet of Thyestes
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Aegisthus
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Avenger son of Thyestes by his daughter Pelopia.
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Menelaüs
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Son of Atreus and brother of Agamemnon; rules in Sparta after being awarded Helen by Tyndareüs; one of the generals in the Trojan War
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Agamemnon
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Son of Atreus and brother of Menelaüs; rules in Mycenae; leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War
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Tyndareüs
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King of Sparta, husband of Leda and father of Clytemnestra, and Castor, and step-father of Helen and Polydeuces (Pollux).
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Leda
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Mother by Zeus and Tyndareüs of Helen, Clytemnestra, and Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux).
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Polydeuces
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Son of Leda and Zeus; brother of Castor, the other Dioscuri.
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Castor
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Son of Leda and Tyndareüs; brother of Polydeuces; the other Dioscuri.
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Helen
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Daughter of Zeus and Leda; married to Menelaüs and taken to Troy by Paris.
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Clytemnestra
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Daughter of Tyndareüs and Leda; married to Agamemnon.
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Peleus
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King of Phthia and father of Achilles
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Ajax
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Son of Telamon of Salamis (unless qualified by "the Lesser," "Ajax" always refers to Ajax the Greater); one of the most formidable Greek warriors in the Trojan War.
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Hecabê
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Wife of Priam, King of Troy; sometimes called Hecuba.
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Aulis
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Bay in Thessaly where the Greek forces mustered for the Trojan War; they were pinned down by contrary winds sent by Artemis there until Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter.
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Telemachus
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Son of Odysseus of Ithaca; used by Palamedes to expose Odysseus's feigned insanity.
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Palamedes
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Greek warrior noted for cleverness; credited with having created the alphabet among other things; exposed Odysseus's feigned madness to avoid the Trojan War.
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Calchas
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Prophet of the Greeks during the Trojan War.
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Philoctetes
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Warrior abandoned by the Greeks on Lemnos.
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Chryseïs
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Agamemnon's war prize demanded back by Apollo for Chryses, his priest and father of the girl.
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Briseïs
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Achilles's war prize demanded by Agamemnon to compensate for his loss of Chryseïs; this is the prozimate cause of Achilles's wrath.
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Andromachê
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Wife of Hector; her pathos-filled speech in which she tried to persuade Hector to remain in the city wall is one of the most famous passages in all literature.
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Penthesilea
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Leader of a force of Amazons on behalf of the Trojans; killed by Achilles.
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Neoptolemus
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Son of Achilles; kills a son of Priam in front of his father's eyes.
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Laocoön
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Trojan priest of Poseidon who tries to warn the Trojans against the Trojan Horse.
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Polyxena
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Youngest daughter of Priam; sacrificed after the war to the ghost of Achilles.
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Orestes
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Avenging son of Agamemnon; tried and acquitted of the murder of his mother in Athens before the first Court of the Areopagus.
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Electra
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Faithful daughter of Agamemnon; assists her brother Orestes to exact revenge in Mycenae.
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Furies
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Ancient pursuer of those who spill familial blood; chase Orestes to Athens, where they are finally disabled.
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Eumenides
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"Kindly One"; new name for the Furies after being tamed by Athena.
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Who wrote "Oedipus Rex"
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Sophocles
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Who wrote "Oedipus"
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Seneca
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Who wrote "Alcestis"
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Euripides
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Who wrote "Hippolytus"
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Euripides
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Who wrote "Medea"
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Euripides
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Who wrote "Trojan Women"
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Euripides
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Who wrote "Agamemnon"
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Aeschylus
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