10th Grade English
Important Proper Names from Book I of The Iliad
Mr. Estep
September 8, 2014
Familiarize yourselves with all of these proper nouns for our quiz on Friday, September 12.
They are ALL taken from Book I. The number after each item's description is the line
number where that name or place is first mentioned.
Similar descriptions of proper nouns can be found in the "Pronouncing Glossary" at the
back of our edition of The Iliad.
Peleus. Mortal father of Achilles. In the mythological stories that precede The Iliad
chronologically, Zeus arranges the marriage between Peleus and the Sea-Goddess Thetis.
(1)
Achilles. Son of the mortal man Peleus and the Immortal Thetis. The greatest fighter of all the
Achaeans. He is the leader of the Myrmidons, one group of Greek soldiers. (1)
Achaeans. All the Greeks and allies fighting against the Trojans. (2)
Zeus. King of the Gods (but remember: he is NOT the "father of all Gods"). Son of Cronus and
Rhea. Husband of Hera. Called "father" of the Olympian Gods, and is the ancestral
father of many mortals as well . (6)
Agamemnon. Son of Atreus, (sometimes called "Atrides": "son of Atreus"). Brother of
Menelaus, Husband of Clytemnestra. Ruler-King of Mycenae, a Greek city.
Considered the leader of the whole Achaean expedition against the Trojans, but he is
NOT the "King of the Greeks." There was no such person. (8)
Apollo. Immortal son of Zeus and Leto. Immortal patron saint of music and the arts. "Deadly
Archer", "Lord of the Silver Bow". In general, he is a protector of Troy. The god
to whom Chryses the priest is dedicated. (10)
Leto. Mother of Apollo. NOT the wife of Zeus. (10)
Chryses. Priest of Apollo. Father of Chryseis, the highly prized concubine of Agamemnon.
(13)
Atreus. Father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. (18)
Menelaus. Son of Atreus. (sometimes called "Atrides": "son of Atreus"). Brother of
Agamemnon. Achaean husband of Helen. (19)
Argives. Another name for the Achaeans or Greeks. (19)
Olympus. The mountain home of the Gods. Any scene which takes place "on Mount Olympus"
takes place in the divine, spiritual realm. (20)
Priam . King of Troy. Father to Paris and Hector. He is an example of a mortal man whose
ancestral father is Zeus. (21)
Argos. Generally refers to mainland Greece, but can also refer to a specific city called "Argos":
hence an "Argive" is a Greek person. (34)
Danaans. Another name for the Achaeans, or Argives. What we call "Greeks". Taken from the
name of an even more remote "Greek" leader, Danaus. (49)
Hera. Wife to Zeus. Also his sister, in that both were born from father Cronus and mother Rhea.
(It is interesting that Cronus and Rhea were also brother and sister, born from Gaia and
Uranus.) Consistently defends the Achaeans. (63)
Calchas. The Achaean prophet. Like all prophets, he sees "the past, the present, and the future."
(79)
Chryseis. Daughterof Chryses. Captive of Agamemnon. (130)
Clytemnestra. Wife to Agamemnon. (133)
Ajax. One of the other Achaean leaders. (162)
Odysseus. Achaean son of Laertes. Father of Telemachus. (163)
Briseis. Daughterof Briseus. Captive prize of Achilles. Taken by Agamemnon when Chryseis is
taken from him. (218)
Nestor. The oldest Achaean leader Achaean. son of Neleus. King of the Pylians, father of
Antilochus and Thrasymedes. (290)
Patroclus. Achaean. Brother-in-arms, and best friend, of Achilles. Killed by Hector. (360)
Thetis. Sea-Goddess. Mother of Achilles. Wife of Peleus. Daughter of "The Old Man of the
Sea," otherwise known as Nereus. (491)
Hephaestus. god of fire. the great artificer, son of Hera, husband of Charis. (687)