The Story of Odysseus

Nicole G. (United States of America)
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  1. Trojan War
    a great war fought between Greece and Troy
    Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus, favorite of Athena, and wiliest of the Greeks involved in the Trojan War. Odysseus earns this title by, among other things, masterminding the Trojan Horse.
  2. Helios
    ancient god of the sun
    Helios' Cattle
    3.7
  3. Calypso
    the sea nymph who detained Odysseus for seven years
    According to some sources, Odysseus had four children besides Telemachus, the most famous: with Circe, Telegonus, Argius, and Latinus; with Calypso or Circe, Nausinous; with ??? he was father of Ardeas and Auson.
  4. Circe
    (Greek mythology) a sorceress who detained Odysseus on her island and turned his men into swine
    According to some sources, Odysseus had four children besides Telemachus, the most famous: with Circe, Telegonus, Argius, and Latinus; with Calypso or Circe, Nausinous; with ??? he was father of Ardeas and Auson.
  5. Trojan Horse
    a large hollow wooden figure of a horse (filled with Greek soldiers) left by the Greeks outside Troy during the Trojan War
    Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus, favorite of Athena, and wiliest of the Greeks involved in the Trojan War. Odysseus earns this title by, among other things, masterminding the Trojan Horse.
  6. Ithaca
    a Greek island to the west of Greece
    Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus, favorite of Athena, and wiliest of the Greeks involved in the Trojan War. Odysseus earns this title by, among other things, masterminding the Trojan Horse.
  7. Cyclopes
    only the silky anteater
    Polyphemus
    A scouting party led by Odysseus (and his friend, Misenus), lands on the Island of the Cyclopes (Sicily) and ventures upon a large cave.
  8. Trojan
    of or relating to the ancient city of Troy or its inhabitants
    Odysseus was the king of Ithaca, husband of Penelope and father of Telemachus, favorite of Athena, and wiliest of the Greeks involved in the Trojan War. Odysseus earns this title by, among other things, masterminding the Trojan Horse.
  9. suitor
    a man who courts a woman
    Calypso

    4 Odysseus Reaches Ithaca

    5 Odysseus' Death

    6 Other Stories



    Before The Trojan War

    Odysseus was one of the original suitors of Helen.
  10. alternatively
    in place of, or as an alternative to
    Alternatively, Odysseus sacrificed a ram and the dead spirits were attracted to the blood.
  11. Poseidon
    the god of the sea and earthquakes in ancient mythology
    Poseidon delayed Odysseus' voyage for two reasons: his role in the defeat of Troy; and his actions against Poseidon's son, Polyphemus, described below.
  12. solar eclipse
    when the moon interrupts light from the sun
    (This event can be dated to April 16, 1178 BCE, by a total solar eclipse during midday meal.
  13. siren
    a warning signal that is a loud wailing sound
    The Sirens
    3.9
  14. total eclipse
    an eclipse as seen from a place where the eclipsed body is completely obscured
    Total eclipses are visible from the same place once in 410 years in average, claim the astronomers.
  15. wet-nurse
    a woman hired to suckle a child of someone else
    The first one to recognize him was his old wet-nurse, Euryclea.
  16. enrage
    make someone extremely or violently angry
    This so enraged Ajax that it caused his death (Odyssey, xi. 541).
  17. palladium
    a silver-white metallic element of the platinum group that resembles platinum; occurs in some copper and nickel ores; does not tarnish at ordinary temperatures and is used (alloyed with gold) in jewelry
    Odysseus In The Trojan War

    In the Trojan War, Odysseus and Diomedes stole the Palladium (and King Rhesus' horses) in a nocturnal raid.
  18. helmsman
    the person who steers a ship
    Odysseus' Return To Ithaca

    Odysseus had one of the best helmsmen in ancient Greece, Baius.
  19. fester
    generate pus
    Odysseus advised that he be left behind because the wound was festering and smelled bad.
  20. pillaged
    wrongfully emptied or stripped of anything of value
    The Greek warriors opened the city gates to allow the rest of the army access and the city was ruthlessly pillaged - all the men were killed and all the women taken into slavery.
  21. fend
    try to manage without help
    Odysseus Reaches Ithaca

    In Ithaca, Penelope was fending off countless suitors while Odysseus' mother, Anticlea, had died of grief.
  22. ruse
    a deceptive maneuver, especially to avoid capture
    The Greeks devised a new ruse - a giant hollow wooden horse.
  23. shroud
    burial garment in which a corpse is wrapped
    Odysseus saw that Penelope was faithful to him, pretending to knit a burial shroud (for they claimed he must be dead) and claiming she would choose one suitor when she finished.
  24. pillage
    steal goods; take as spoils
    The Greek warriors opened the city gates to allow the rest of the army access and the city was ruthlessly pillaged - all the men were killed and all the women taken into slavery.
  25. plundering
    the act of stealing valuable things from a place
    Odysseus' Death

    Circe then sent Telegonus, her son by Odysseus, to find Odysseus, but on arrival Telegonus began plundering the city, thinking it was Corcyra.
  26. stupor
    a state of being half-awake
    The Trojans celebrated hugely and when the Greeks emerged from the horse the city was in a drunken stupor.
  27. nocturnal
    belonging to or active during the night
    Odysseus In The Trojan War

    In the Trojan War, Odysseus and Diomedes stole the Palladium (and King Rhesus' horses) in a nocturnal raid.
  28. apathy
    an absence of emotion or enthusiasm
    Finally, Odysseus managed to rescue himself from the apathy and set sail.
  29. grotto
    a small cave, usually with attractive features
    Calypso's grotto still exists on the coast of Malta, near Ras en Nisefa, and the four springs outside Calypso's cave are still running.
  30. forged
    reproduced fraudulently
    When Palamedes advised the Trojans to return him, Odysseus accused him of being a traitor and forged false evidence and found a fake witness to testify against him.
  31. intercept
    seize, interrupt, or stop something on its way
    Odysseus set out to rescue his men, but was intercepted and told by Hermes to procure some of the herb moly[?] to protect him from the same fate.
  32. graze
    feed as in a meadow or pasture
    When the Cyclops let the sheep out to graze, the men were carried out.
  33. immortality
    the state of eternal life
    She made him her lover for seven years and wouldn't let him leave, promising him immortality if he stayed.
  34. prophet
    someone who speaks by divine inspiration
    Odysseus watched the suitors drink and take advantage of his family's hospitality, then took off his disguise and, with Telemachus, Laertes and a local prophet named Halitherses, killed them all save Medon, who had been polite to Penelope, and Phemius, a local singer who had been forced to help the suitors against Penelope.
Created on Fri Oct 08 08:42:33 EDT 2010

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