Lithum Midterm: Characters

Front 1

AIAS

Back 1

The Iliad. duels with Hektor (bk. 7), forms part of the embassy to Achilleus (bk. 9),
the second mightiest Achaean warrior after Achilles. His extraordinary size and strength help him to wound Hector twice by hitting him with boulders.

Front 2

DIOMEDES

Back 2

son of Tydeus, great warrior whose exploits form the subject of book five; he also accompanies Odysseus on a bloody spying mission to the Trojan camp (bk. 10) After Achilles withdraws from combat, Athena inspires Diomedes with such courage that he actually wounds two gods, Aphrodite and Ares.

Front 3

KALCHAS

Back 3

the seer or prophet of the Greeks; he identifies Agamemnon as the cause of the plague sent by Apollo in book one, and, in book two, Odysseus describes how he had interpreted omens and predicted victory - after nine years - when the Greeks set out for Troy.

Front 4

NESTOR

Back 4

aged king of Pylos and a wise counsellor who often uses stories from the past to advise and instruct the Greek warriors. He tries unsuccessfully to make peace between Achilleus and Agamemnon in book one, and he helps persuade Agamemnon to offer compensation to Achilleus in book nine. In book eleven, he urges Patroklos to ask Achilleus to let him lead his men into battle, the plan that leads to Patroklos’ death.

Front 5

PHOINIX

Back 5

aged tutor of Achilleus and one of the members of the embassy to Achilleus in book nine. He speaks as a surrogate for Achilleus’ father, and uses the story of Meleagros to try to persuade Achilleus to return to the battle.

Front 6

ANDROMACHE

Back 6

Hector's wife

Front 7

BRISEIS

Back 7

Achilles' woman

Front 8

CHRYSEIS

Back 8

Agamemnon's woman

Front 9

GLAUKOS

Back 9

an ally of the Trojans and Sarpedon's second-in-command; he exchanged armor with the Greek warrior, Diomedes, after they discovered that they were bound by ties of guest-friendship (their ancestors had entertained each other and exchanged gifts)

Front 10

SARPEDON

Back 10

son of Zeus by a mortal woman, Laodameia; lord of the Lykians and the most important ally of the Trojans; in book twelve (lines 310-28) he offers an eloquent summary of the values by which these warriors lived - and died. Zeus permits him to be killed by Patroklos (bk. 16), as was fated.

Front 11

Keleos

Back 11

King of Eleusis

Front 12

Metaneira

Back 12

Queen of Eleusis

Front 13

Demophoon

Back 13

Eleusian prince who Demeter nurses

Front 14

Kallidike, Klesidike, Demo, Kallithoe

Back 14

Eleusian princesses

Front 15

Shamhat

Back 15

The temple prostitute who tames Enkidu by seducing him away from his natural state. Though her power comes from her sexuality, it is associated with civilization rather than nature.

Front 16

Uta-napishti

Back 16

By the god Ea’s connivance, he survived the great deluge that almost destroyed all life on Earth by building a great boat that carried him, his family, and one of every living creature to safety. The gods granted eternal life to him and his wife.

Front 17

Ur-shanabi

Back 17

The guardian of the mysterious “stone things.” He pilots a small ferryboat across the Waters of Death to the Far Away place where Utnapishtim lives. He loses this privilege when he accepts Gilgamesh as a passenger, so he returns with him to Uruk.

Front 18

Ninsun

Back 18

Gilgamesh's mother

Front 19

Shamash

Back 19

The Sun God, brother of Ishtar, patron of Gilgamesh.

Front 20

Humbaba

Back 20

The fearsome demon who guards the Cedar Forest forbidden to mortals.

Front 21

Shiduri

Back 21

The goddess of wine-making and brewing. She is the veiled tavern keeper who comforts Gilgamesh and who, though she knows his quest is futile, helps him on his way to Uta-napishti.

Front 22

Ishtar

Back 22

The goddess of love and fertility, as well as the goddess of war. Frequently called the Queen of Heaven.

Front 23

Clytaemestra

Back 23

Agamemnon's wife

Front 24

Cassandra

Back 24

Agamemnon's prophetess concubine

Front 25

Aegisthus

Back 25

Clytaemestra's lover

Front 26

Orestes

Back 26

Agamemnon's son

Front 27

Electra

Back 27

Agamemnon's living daughter

Front 28

Iphigenia

Back 28

the daughter Agamemnon sacrificed

Front 29

Creon

Back 29

King of Corinth in Medea, soon-to-be father-in law of Jason

Front 30

Aegeus

Back 30

king of Athens, Medea's partial savior.

Front 31

Glauke

Back 31

Jason's bride

Front 32

Jocasta

Back 32

Oedipus' wife/mother

Front 33

Creon

Back 33

In Oedipus the King, Jocasta's brother

Front 34

Teiresias

Back 34

the prophet that warns Oedipus of his fate