Achaians: Greeks.

Achilles Peliedes: A great Greek hero, he died at Troy and meets up with Odysseus in Hades.

Agamemnon Atriedes: Leader of the Greeks, he actually makes it back to his home, only to be killed at his own welcome-home dinner. Those guilty of his murder are none other than his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aigisthos. Of course, they eventually pay for their betrayal of Agamemnon when Orestes, his son, slays Aigisthos.

Aigisthos: Clytemnestra's lover, he and Clytemnestra murder Agamemnon at his own welcome home dinner. Later, he pays for his betrayal, when Agamemnon's son Orestes murders him.

Aiolos: A friend to the gods, he lives on a floating island with his children. Zeus has given Aiolos the very important job of controlling the winds; consequently, he's a good friend to have if one is a sailor!

Alcinoos: Father of Nausicaa, who discovers the naked Odysseus after his treacherous swim from Calypso's island. Alcinoos is the king of the Phaiacians, and he welcomes the stranger with great hospitality.

Anticleia: Odysseus's mother, whom he sees during his visit to the kingdom of the dead.

Athena: The goddess of wisdom and war, she looks upon Odysseus with favor because he possesses a quick wit and lively mind as she does. By the time our story starts, she's rooting for him to finally return home to Ithaca, but you might notice that she has been angry with him earlier -- like the other gods, she is quick to anger if the proper sacrifices are not made, the proper gratitude not shown.

Calypso: A lonely, beautiful goddess who lives on a very remote island, she is passionately in love with the shipwrecked Odysseus, but unfortunately for her, that love is unrequited. Although she can't make Odysseus return her love, he is unable to escape her island and consequently her embraces... She helps him leave only when Hermes brings a message from Zeus that she must let him go.

Cassandra: The daughter of the Trojan king and queen, Priam and Hecuba, Cassandra must return with Agamemnon, the conqueror of Troy, as his concubine. She dies with Agamemnon in the grisly welcome-home party prepared by Clytemnestra and Aigisthos.

Charybdis: Lives underneath the water, creating a whirlpool when she swallows the water and then spouts it back. In short, she makes things pretty rough for sailors!

Circe: A goddess described as both beautiful and terrible, she lives on Aiaia, the island of the winds, where she enjoys turning unsuspecting men into pigs. Hermes has to give Odysseus detailed instructions on how to overpower this literally bewitching woman.

Clytemnestra: Agamemnon's unfaithful wife, she takes up with Aigisthos during her husband's absence in the war. When he returns, she and her lover construe a way that they may remain together...by murdering her husband.

Cyclops: a.k.a. Goggle-Eyes. One-eyed beings who live on an isolated island, they are loners who prefer to be left alone rather than to live in close-knit communities. Because none of them are interested in building ships, the island -- which is very fertile but uncultivated -- remains isolated. They raise goats and sheep, working in the fields during the day; in the evenings, they return to their cave-homes, where they make cheese from the milk of their flocks. Odysseus has heard of their existence, though no one whom he knows has ever met one of these beings; consequently, he's very interested in making the acquaintance of one of these legendary beings. Notice that he refers to them as "monsters," not like us mortals... Perhaps he refers not to their nature, but to their immense stature: Odysseus actually compares these beings to mountains. The Cyclops live in caves; when Polyphemos comes home, notice that he places a huge rock in the cave's opening, trapping our hero and his men.

Elpenor: A young member of Odysseus crew, he drinks a little too much the night before they are to leave for the Underworld, falling off of the roof of Circe's house to his death. Surprisingly enough, he reaches the Underworld before his shipmates... Death is the quickest way to get to Hades!

Eurylochos: A member of Odysseus's crew; he heads the ill-fated expedition to Circe's place, and he also complains quite eloquently of his hunger near the end of their wanderings...

Hades: The God of the Underworld, his name itself is synonymous with "hell." Remember, in Greek mythology, all of the dead went to Hades: even the virtuous suffered the chill of death, though only the truly evil were actively punished. Persephoneia is Hades's wife.

Helios Hyperion: The God of the Sun, who is all-knowing and all-seeing. He possesses a fine herd of cattle and sheep, and he is very possessive of these animals. No one is to harm them...or else!

Hermes: The messenger of the gods, he comes with orders to Calypso from Zeus to set Odysseus free; he also brings instructions to Odysseus about how to elude Circe's witchery...

Ilion: Another name for Troy.

Ithaca: Odysseus's home.

Laertes: Odysseus's father, who still lives in near Ithaca, and spends his time grieving for his lost son.

Lotus: The fruit consumed by the lotus eaters. The lotus creates a state of mind in those who eat it which erases all goals, all memory of home, all desire to do anything except to continue to consume the lotus...

Nausicaa: Alcinoos's beautiful young daughter, who -- with a little nudge from Athena -- finds our naked hero after he has washed up on the shore after his treacherous journey from Calypso's island. She gives him instructions on how to win her parents' favor.

Noman: The name Odysseus first gives to Cyclops. Noman -- No man -- get it? (Of course, Odysseus later blows his fiendishly clever alibi when he gives the Cyclops not only his real name, but also his address, but we have to give him some credit for thinking up the "Noman" ruse in the first place.)

Phaiacia: Alcinoos's walled kingdom. Odysseus lands on the Phaiacian shore when he leaves Calypso's island; the Phaiacians help him to return to Ithaca in Book XIII, but unfortunately, they pay the price of Poseidon's wrath. He punishes them by turning the ship which carried Odysseus home to stone once it has returned to the Phaiacian harbor.

Polyphemos: Our favorite Cyclops' first name. He's the son of Poseidon, the very god that Odysseus really can't afford to alienate further.

Poseidon (a.k.a. Earthshaker): Zeus's older brother, he rules over the seas -- which, of course, means that you want him on your side if you are traveling by ship. He is the father of Polyphemos, the Cyclops, a relationship which further complicates matters for Odysseus.

Scylla: A horrible six-headed monster, she has three rows of teeth in each head, which is atop a very long neck (the better to reach out and grab you, my dear!). She hides half-way in a cave, but every time something good to eat approaches -- be it a fish or a sailor! -- she goes after them!

Sirens: Beautiful temptresses who bewitch sailors with their lovely song and lead them to their deaths when, distracted, they sail straight into some treacherous rocks.

Stranger's Gift: Remember the importance of hospitality in this text. When someone turns up at your door, you are expected to give that person a bath, a good dinner, and finally, a gift; Nestor, for example, gives Telemachos a gift of horses. Notice that Odysseus is a good guest who doesn't show up empty-handed: he brings with him a cask of a particularly fine wine. This wine is particularly strong and delicious; no one can resist its heady charms.

Teiresias: The Blind Theban prophet who meets with Odysseus in the Underworld and tells him what he must do in order to return to Ithaca.

Zeus (a.k.a. Cronides, Cloudgatherer): The head god...