CHARACTER LIST (THE ILIAD BY HOMER)
although Nestor’s speeches are sometimes long-winded.
ACHILLES - The son of the military man Peleus and the sea-
nymph Thetis. The most powerful warrior in The Iliad, Achilles
commands the Myrmidons, soldiers from his homeland of
Phthia in Greece. Proud and headstrong, he takes offense
easily and reacts with blistering indignation when he perceives
that his honor has been slighted. Achilles’ wrath at
Agamemnon for taking his war prize, the maiden Briseis, forms
the main subject of The Iliad.
AGAMEMNON-(Also Called “Atrides”) - King of Mycenae and
leader of the Achaean army; brother of King Menelaus of
Sparta. Arrogant and often selfish, Agamemnon provides the
Achaeans with strong but sometimes reckless and self-serving
leadership. Like Achilles, he lacks consideration and
forethought. Most saliently, his tactless appropriation of
Achilles’ war prize, the maiden Briseis, creates a crisis for the
Achaeans, when Achilles, insulted, withdraws from the war.
PATROCLUS - Achilles’ beloved friend, companion, and
advisor, Patroclus grew up alongside the great warrior in
Phthia, under the guardianship of Peleus. Devoted to both
Achilles and the Achaean cause, Patroclus stands by the
enraged Achilles but also dons Achilles’ terrifying armor in an
attempt to hold the Trojans back.
ODYSSEUS - A fine warrior and the cleverest of the Achaean
commanders. Along with Nestor, Odysseus is one of the
Achaeans’ two best public speakers. He helps mediate
between Agamemnon and Achilles during their quarrel and
often prevents them from making rash decisions.
DIOMEDES-(Also Called “Tydides”) - The youngest of the
Achaean commanders, Diomedes is bold and sometimes
proves impetuous. After Achilles withdraws from combat,
Athena inspires Diomedes with such courage that he actually
wounds two gods, Aphrodite and Ares.
GREAT AJAX - An Achaean commander, Great Ajax
(sometimes called “Telamonian Ajax” or simply “Ajax”) is the
second mightiest Achaean warrior after Achilles. His
extraordinary size and strength help him to wound Hector twice
by hitting him with boulders. He often fights alongside Little
Ajax, and the pair is frequently referred to as the “Aeantes.”
LITTLE AJAX - An Achaean commander, Little Ajax is the son
of Oileus (to be distinguished from Great Ajax, the son of
Telamon). He often fights alongside Great Ajax, whose stature
and strength complement Little Ajax’s small size and swift
speed. The two together are sometimes called the “Aeantes.”
NESTOR - King of Pylos and the oldest Achaean commander.
Although age has taken much of Nestor’s physical strength, it
has left him with great wisdom. He often acts as an advisor to
the military commanders, especially Agamemnon. Nestor and
Odysseus are the Achaeans’ most deft and persuasive orators,
MENELAUS - King of Sparta; the younger brother of
Agamemnon. While it is the abduction of his wife, Helen, by
the Trojan prince Paris that sparks the Trojan War, Menelaus
proves quieter, less imposing, and less arrogant than
Agamemnon. Though he has a stout heart, Menelaus is not
among the mightiest Achaean warriors.
IDOMENEUS - King of Crete and a respected commander.
Idomeneus leads a charge against the Trojans in Book 13.
MACHAON - A healer. Machaon is wounded by Paris in
Book 11.
CALCHAS - An important soothsayer. Calchas’s identification
of the cause of the plague ravaging the Achaean army in
Book 1 leads inadvertently to the rift between Agamemnon and
Achilles that occupies the first nineteen books of The Iliad.
PELEUS - Achilles’ father and the grandson of Zeus. Although
his name often appears in the epic, Peleus never appears in
person. Priam powerfully invokes the memory of Peleus when
he convinces Achilles to return Hector’s corpse to the Trojans
in Book 24.
PHOENIX - A kindly old warrior, Phoenix helped raise Achilles
while he himself was still a young man. Achilles deeply loves
and trusts Phoenix, and Phoenix mediates between him and
Agamemnon during their quarrel.
THE MYRMIDONS - The soldiers under Achilles’ command,
hailing from Achilles’ homeland, Phthia.
THE TROJANS
HECTOR - A son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba, Hector is
the mightiest warrior in the Trojan army. He mirrors Achilles in
some of his flaws, but his bloodlust is not so great as that of
Achilles. He is devoted to his wife, Andromache, and son,
Astyanax, but resents his brother Paris for bringing war upon
their family and city.
PRIAM - King of Troy and husband of Hecuba, Priam is the
father of fifty Trojan warriors, including Hector and Paris.
Though too old to fight, he has earned the respect of both the
Trojans and the Achaeans by virtue of his level-headed, wise,
and benevolent rule. He treats Helen kindly, though he laments
the war that her beauty has sparked.
HECUBA - Queen of Troy, wife of Priam, and mother of Hector
and Paris.
PARIS (Also Known As “Alexander”) - A son of Priam and
Hecuba and brother of Hector. Paris’s abduction of the
beautiful Helen, wife of Menelaus, sparked the Trojan War.
Paris is self-centered and often unmanly. He fights effectively
with a bow and arrow (never with the more manly sword or
spear) but often lacks the spirit for battle and prefers to sit in
his room making love to Helen while others fight for him, thus
earning both Hector’s and Helen’s scorn.
HELEN - Reputed to be the most beautiful woman in the
ancient world, Helen was stolen from her husband, Menelaus,
and taken to Troy by Paris. She loathes herself now for the
misery that she has caused so many Trojan and Achaean
men. Although her contempt extends to Paris as well, she
continues to stay with him.
AENEAS - A Trojan nobleman, the son of Aphrodite, and a
mighty warrior. The Romans believed that Aeneas later
founded their city (he is the protagonist of Virgil’s masterpiece
the Aeneid).
ANDROMACHE - Hector’s loving wife, Andromache begs
Hector to withdraw from the war and save himself before the
Achaeans kill him.
ASTYANAX - Hector and Andromache’s infant son.
POLYDAMAS - A young Trojan commander, Polydamas
sometimes figures as a foil for Hector, proving cool-headed
and prudent when Hector charges ahead. Polydamas gives the
Trojans sound advice, but Hector seldom acts on it.
GLAUCUS - A powerful Trojan warrior, Glaucus nearly fights a
duel with Diomedes. The men’s exchange of armor after they
realize that their families are friends illustrates the value that
ancients placed on kinship and camaraderie.
AGENOR - A Trojan warrior who attempts to fight Achilles in
Book 21. Agenor delays Achilles long enough for the Trojan
army to flee inside Troy’s walls.
DOLON - A Trojan sent to spy on the Achaean camp in
Book 10.
PANDARUS - A Trojan archer. Pandarus’s shot at Menelaus
in Book 4 breaks the temporary truce between the two sides.
ANTENOR - A Trojan nobleman, advisor to King Priam, and
father of many Trojan warriors. Antenor argues that Helen
should be returned to Menelaus in order to end the war, but
Paris refuses to give her up.
SARPEDON - One of Zeus’s sons. Sarpedon’s fate seems
intertwined with the gods’ quibbles, calling attention to the
unclear nature of the gods’ relationship to Fate.
CHRYSEIS - Chryses’ daughter, a priest of Apollo in a Trojan-
allied town.
BRISEIS - A war prize of Achilles. When Agamemnon is forced
to return Chryseis to her father, he appropriates Briseis as
compensation, sparking Achilles’ great rage.
CHRYSES - A priest of Apollo in a Trojan-allied town; the
father of Chryseis, whom Agamemnon takes as a war prize.
THE GODS AND IMMORTALS
ZEUS - King of the gods and husband of Hera, Zeus claims
neutrality in the mortals’ conflict and often tries to keep the
other gods from participating in it. However, he throws his
weight behind the Trojan side for much of the battle after the
sulking Achilles has his mother, Thetis, ask the god to do so.
HERA - Queen of the gods and Zeus’s wife, Hera is a
conniving, headstrong woman. She often goes behind Zeus’s
back in matters on which they disagree, working with Athena to
crush the Trojans, whom she passionately hates.
ATHENA - The goddess of wisdom, purposeful battle, and the
womanly arts; Zeus’s daughter. Like Hera, Athena
passionately hates the Trojans and often gives the Achaeans
valuable aid.
THETIS - A sea-nymph and the devoted mother of Achilles,
Thetis gets Zeus to help the Trojans and punish the Achaeans
at the request of her angry son. When Achilles finally rejoins
the battle, she commissions Hephaestus to design him a new
suit of armor.
APOLLO - A son of Zeus and twin brother of the goddess
Artemis, Apollo is god of the sun and the arts, particularly
music. He supports the Trojans and often intervenes in the war
on their behalf.
APHRODITE - Goddess of love and daughter of Zeus,
Aphrodite is married to Hephaestus but maintains a romantic
relationship with Ares. She supports Paris and the Trojans
throughout the war, though she proves somewhat ineffectual in
battle.
POSEIDON - The brother of Zeus and god of the sea.
Poseidon holds a long-standing grudge against the Trojans
because they never paid him for helping them to build their
city. He therefore supports the Achaeans in the war.
HEPHAESTUS - God of fire and husband of Aphrodite,
Hephaestus is the gods’ metalsmith and is known as the lame
or crippled god. Although the text doesn’t make clear his
sympathies in the mortals’ struggle, he helps the Achaeans by
forging a new set of armor for Achilles and by rescuing Achilles
during his fight with a river god.
Artemis - Goddess of the hunt, daughter of Zeus, and twin
sister of Apollo. Artemis supports the Trojans in the war.
ARES - God of war and lover of Aphrodite, Ares generally
supports the Trojans in the war.
HERMES - The messenger of the gods. Hermes escorts Priam
to Achilles’ tent in Book 24.
IRIS - Zeus’s messenger.
CHARACTER LIST (THE ODYSSEY BY HOMER)
ODYSSEUS - The protagonist of the Odyssey. Odysseus
fought among the other Greek heroes at Troy and now
struggles to return to his kingdom in Ithaca. Odysseus is the
husband of Queen Penelope and the father of Prince
Telemachus. Though a strong and courageous warrior, he is
most renowned for his cunning. He is a favorite of the goddess
Athena, who often sends him divine aid, but a bitter enemy of
Poseidon, who frustrates his journey at every turn.
TELEMACHUS - Odysseus’s son. An infant when Odysseus
left for Troy, Telemachus is about twenty at the beginning of
the story. He is a natural obstacle to the suitors desperately
courting his mother, but despite his courage and good heart,
he initially lacks the poise and confidence to oppose them. His
maturation, especially during his trip to Pylos and Sparta in
Books 3 and 4, provides a subplot to the epic. Athena often
assists him.
PENELOPE - Wife of Odysseus and mother of Telemachus.
Penelope spends her days in the palace pining for the
husband who left for Troy twenty years earlier and never
returned. Homer portrays her as sometimes flighty and
excitable but also clever and steadfastly true to her husband.
ATHENA - Daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom,
purposeful battle, and the womanly arts. Athena assists
Odysseus and Telemachus with divine powers throughout the
epic, and she speaks up for them in the councils of the gods
on Mount Olympus. She often appears in disguise as Mentor,
an old friend of Odysseus.
POSEIDON - God of the sea. As the suitors are Odysseus’s
mortal antagonists, Poseidon is his divine antagonist. He
despises Odysseus for blinding his son, the Cyclops
Polyphemus, and constantly hampers his journey home.
Ironically, Poseidon is the patron of the seafaring Phaeacians,
who ultimately help to return Odysseus to Ithaca.
ZEUS - King of gods and men, who mediates the disputes of
the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is occasionally depicted as
weighing men’s fates in his scales. He sometimes helps
Odysseus or permits Athena to do the same.
ANTINOUS - The most arrogant of Penelope’s suitors.
Antinous leads the campaign to have Telemachus killed.
Unlike the other suitors, he is never portrayed sympathetically,
and he is the first to die when Odysseus returns.
EURYMACHUS - A manipulative, deceitful suitor.
Eurymachus’s charisma and duplicity allow him to exert some
influence over the other suitors.
AMPHINOMUS - Among the dozens of suitors, the only
decent man seeking Penelope’s hand in marriage.
Amphinomus sometimes speaks up for Odysseus and
Telemachus, but he is killed like the rest of the suitors in the
final fight.
EUMAEUS - The loyal shepherd who, along with the cowherd
Philoetius, helps Odysseus reclaim his throne after his return
to Ithaca. Even though he does not know that the vagabond
who appears at his hut is Odysseus, Eumaeus gives the man
food and shelter.
EURYCLEIA - The aged and loyal servant who nursed
Odysseus and Telemachus when they were babies. Eurycleia
is well informed about palace intrigues and serves as
confidante to her masters. She keeps Telemachus’s journey
secret from Penelope, and she later keeps Odysseus’s identity
a secret after she recognizes a scar on his leg.
MELANTHIUS - The brother of Melantho. Melanthius is a
treacherous and opportunistic goatherd who supports the
suitors, especially Eurymachus, and abuses the beggar who
appears in Odysseus’s palace, not realizing that the man is
Odysseus himself.
MELANTHO - Sister of Melanthius and maidservant in
Odysseus’s palace. Like her brother, Melantho abuses the
beggar in the palace, not knowing that the man is Odysseus.
She is having an affair with Eurymachus.
CALYPSO - The beautiful nymph who falls in love with
Odysseus when he lands on her island-home of Ogygia.
Calypso holds him prisoner there for seven years until Hermes,
the messenger god, persuades her to let him go.
POLYPHEMUS - One of the Cyclopes (uncivilized one-eyed
giants) whose island Odysseus comes to soon after leaving
Troy. Polyphemus imprisons Odysseus and his crew and tries
to eat them, but Odysseus blinds him through a clever ruse
and manages to escape. In doing so, however, Odysseus
angers Polyphemus’s father, Poseidon.
CIRCE - The beautiful witch-goddess who transforms
Odysseus’s crew into swine when he lands on her island. With
Hermes’ help, Odysseus resists Circe’s powers and then
becomes her lover, living in luxury at her side for a year.
LAERTES - Odysseus’s aging father, who resides on a farm
in Ithaca. In despair and physical decline, Laertes regains his
spirit when Odysseus returns and eventually kills Antinous’s
father.
TIRESIAS - A Theban prophet who inhabits the underworld.
Tiresias meets Odysseus when Odysseus journeys to the
underworld in Book 11. He shows Odysseus how to get back
to Ithaca and allows Odysseus to communicate with the other
souls in Hades.
NESTOR - King of Pylos and a former warrior in the Trojan
War. Like Odysseus, Nestor is known as a clever speaker.
Telemachus visits him in Book 3 to ask about his father, but
Nestor knows little of Odysseus’s whereabouts.
MENELAUS - King of Sparta, brother of Agamemnon, and
husband of Helen, he helped lead the Greeks in the Trojan
War. He offers Telemachus assistance in his quest to find
Odysseus when Telemachus visits him in Book 4.
HELEN - Wife of Menelaus and queen of Sparta. Helen’s
abduction from Sparta by the Trojans sparked the Trojan War.
Her beauty is without parallel, but she is criticized for giving in
to her Trojan captors and thereby costing many Greek men
their lives. She offers Telemachus assistance in his quest to
find his father.
AGAMEMNON - Former king of Mycenae, brother of
Menelaus, and commander of the Achaean forces at Troy.
Odysseus encounters Agamemnon’s spirit in Hades.
Agamemnon was murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her
lover, Aegisthus, upon his return from the war. He was later
avenged by his son Orestes. Their story is constantly repeated
in the Odyssey to offer an inverted image of the fortunes of
Odysseus and Telemachus.
NAUSICAA - The beautiful daughter of King Alcinous and
Queen Arete of the Phaeacians. Nausicaa discovers Odysseus
on the beach at Scheria and, out of budding affection for him,
ensures his warm reception at her parents’ palace.
ALCINOUS - King of the Phaeacians, who offers Odysseus
hospitality in his island kingdom of Scheria. Alcinous hears the
story of Odysseus’s wanderings and provides him with safe
passage back to Ithaca.
ARETE - Queen of the Phaeacians, wife of Alcinous, and
mother of Nausicaa. Arete is intelligent and influential.
Nausicaa tells Odysseus to make his appeal for assistance to
Arete.
CHARACTER LIST (THE AENEID BY VIRGIL)
MORTALS
AENEAS - The protagonist of the Aeneid. Aeneas is a survivor
of the siege of Troy, a city on the coast of Asia Minor. His
defining characteristic is piety, a respect for the will of the
gods. He is a fearsome warrior and a leader able to motivate
his men in the face of adversity, but also a man capable of
great compassion and sorrow. His destiny is to found the
Roman race in Italy and he subordinates all other concerns to
this mission. The Aeneid is about his journey from Troy to Italy,
which enables him to fulfill his fate.
DIDO - The queen of Carthage, a city in northern Africa, in
what is now Tunisia, and lover of Aeneas. Dido left the land of
Tyre when her husband was murdered by Pygmalion, her
brother. She and her city are strong, but she becomes an
unfortunate pawn of the gods in their struggle for Aeneas’s
destiny. Her love for Aeneas proves to be her downfall. After
he abandons her, she constructs a funeral pyre and stabs
herself upon it with Aeneas’s sword.
TURNUS - The ruler of the Rutulians in Italy. Turnus is
Aeneas’s major antagonist among mortals. He is Lavinia’s
leading suitor until Aeneas arrives. This rivalry incites him to
wage war against the Trojans, despite Latinus’s willingness to
allow the Trojans to settle in Latium and Turnus’s
understanding that he cannot successfully defy fate. He is
brash and fearless, a capable soldier who values his honor
over his life.
ASCANIUS - Aeneas’s young son by his first wife, Creusa.
Ascanius (also called Iulus) is most important as a symbol of
Aeneas’s destiny—his future founding of the Roman race.
Though still a child, Ascanius has several opportunities over
the course of the epic to display his bravery and leadership. He
leads a procession of boys on horseback during the games of
Book V and he helps to defend the Trojan camp from Turnus’s
attack while his father is away.
ANCHISES - Aeneas’s father, and a symbol of Aeneas’s
Trojan heritage. Although Anchises dies during the journey
from Troy to Italy, he continues in spirit to help his son fulfill
fate’s decrees, especially by guiding Aeneas through the
underworld and showing him what fate has in store for his
descendants.
CREUSA - Aeneas’s wife at Troy, and the mother of Ascanius.
Creusa is lost and killed as her family attempts to flee the city,
but tells Aeneas he will find a new wife at his new home.
SINON - The Greek youth who pretends to have been left
behind at the end of the Trojan War. Sinon persuades the
Trojans to take in the wooden horse as an offering to Minerva,
then lets out the warriors trapped inside the horse’s belly.
LATINUS - The king of the Latins, the people of what is now
central Italy, around the Tiber River. Latinus allows Aeneas
into his kingdom and encourages him to become a suitor of
Lavinia, his daughter, causing resentment and eventually war
among his subjects. He respects the gods and fate, but does
not hold strict command over his people.
LAVINIA - Latinus’s daughter and a symbol of Latium in
general. Lavinia’s character is not developed in the poem; she
is important only as the object of the Trojan-Latin struggle. The
question of who will marry Lavinia—Turnus or Aeneas—
becomes key to future relations between the Latins and the
Trojans and therefore the Aeneid’s entire historical scheme.
AMATA - Queen of Laurentum (a region of Latium, in Italy)
and wife of Latinus. Amata opposes the marriage of Lavinia,
her daughter, to Aeneas and remains loyal throughout to
Turnus, Lavinia’s original suitor. Amata kills herself once it is
clear that Aeneas is destined to win.
EVANDER - King of Pallanteum (a region of Arcadia, in Italy)
and father of Pallas. Evander is a sworn enemy of the Latins,
and Aeneas befriends him and secures his assistance in the
battles against Turnus.
PALLAS - Son of Evander, whom Evander entrusts to
Aeneas’s care and tutelage. Pallas eventually dies in battle at
the hands of Turnus, causing Aeneas and Evander great grief.
To avenge Pallas’s death, Aeneas finally slays Turnus,
dismissing an initial impulse to spare him.
DRANCËS - A Latin leader who desires an end to the Trojan-
Latin struggle. Drancës questions the validity of Turnus’s
motives at the council of the Latins, infuriating Turnus.
CAMILLA - The leader of the Volscians, a race of warrior
maidens. Camilla is perhaps the only strong mortal female
character in the epic.
JUTURNA - Turnus’s sister. Juno provokes Juturna into
inducing a full-scale battle between the Latins and the Trojans
by disguising herself as an officer and goading the Latins after
a treaty has already been reached.
ACHATES - A Trojan and a personal friend of Aeneas.
GODS AND GODDESSES
JUNO - The queen of the gods, the wife and sister of Jupiter,
and the daughter of Saturn. Juno (Hera in Greek mythology)
hates the Trojans because of the Trojan Paris’s judgment
against her in a beauty contest. She is also a patron of
Carthage and knows that Aeneas’s Roman descendants are
destined to destroy Carthage. She takes out her anger on
Aeneas throughout the epic, and in her wrath acts as his
primary divine antagonist.
VENUS - The goddess of love and the mother of Aeneas.
Venus (Aphrodite in Greek mythology) is a benefactor of the
Trojans. She helps her son whenever Juno tries to hurt him,
causing conflict among the gods. She is also referred to as
Cytherea, after Cythera, the island where she was born and
where her shrine is located.
JUPITER - The king of the gods, and the son of Saturn. While
the gods often struggle against one another in battles of will,
Jupiter’s will reigns supreme and becomes identified with the
more impersonal force of fate. Therefore, Jupiter (also known
as Jove, and called Zeus in Greek mythology) directs the
general progress of Aeneas’s destiny, ensuring that Aeneas is
never permanently thrown off his course toward Italy. Jupiter’s
demeanor is controlled and levelheaded compared to the
volatility of Juno and Venus.
NEPTUNE - God of the sea, and generally an ally of Venus
and Aeneas. Neptune (Poseidon in Greek mythology) calms
the storm that opens the epic and conducts Aeneas safely on
the last leg of his voyage.
MERCURY - The messenger god. The other gods often send
Mercury (Hermes in Greek mythology) on errands to Aeneas.
AEOLUS - The god of the winds, enlisted to aid Juno in
creating bad weather for the Trojans in Book I.
CUPID - A son of Venus and the god of erotic desire. In Book
I, Cupid (Eros in Greek mythology) disguises himself as
Ascanius, Aeneas’s son, and causes Dido to fall in love with
Aeneas.
ALLECTO - One of the Furies, or deities who avenge sins,
sent by Juno in Book VII to incite the Latin people to war
against the Trojans.
VULCAN - God of fire and the forge, and husband of Venus.
Venus urges Vulcan (Hephaestus in Greek mythology) to craft
a superior set of arms for Aeneas, and the gift serves Aeneas
well in his battle with Turnus.
TIBERINUS - The river god associated with the Tiber River,
where Rome will eventually be built. At Tiberinus’s suggestion,
Aeneas travels upriver to make allies of the Arcadians.
SATURN - The father of the gods. Saturn (Chronos in Greek
mythology) was king of Olympus until his son Jupiter overthrew
him.
 MINERVA - The goddess who protects the Greeks during the CHARACTER LIST (THE OEDIPUS REX BY SOPHOCLES)
Trojan War and helps them conquer Troy. Like Juno, Minerva
(Pallas Athena in Greek mythology) is motivated against the OEDIPUS - The protagonist of Oedipus the King and Oedipus
Trojans by the Trojan Paris’s judgment that Venus was the at Colonus. Oedipus becomes king of Thebes before the
action of Oedipus the King begins. He is renowned for his
most beautiful among goddesses. intelligence and his ability to solve riddles—he saved the city of
Thebes and was made its king by solving the riddle of the
APOLLO - A son of Jupiter and god of the sun. Apollo was
Sphinx, the supernatural being that had held the city captive.
born at Delos and helps the Trojans in their voyage when they Yet Oedipus is stubbornly blind to the truth about himself. His
stop there. Because he is often portrayed as an archer, many name’s literal meaning (“swollen foot”) is the clue to his
characters invoke his name before they fire a shaft in battle. identity—he was taken from the house of Laius as a baby and
left in the mountains with his feet bound together. On his way
ULYSSES - The hero of Homer’s Odyssey, and one of the to Thebes, he killed his biological father, not knowing who he
captains of the Greek army that takes Troy. Ulysses was, and proceeded to marry Jocasta, his biological mother.
(Odysseus in Greek lore), like Aeneas, must make a long and
treacherous voyage before he finds home again, and JOCASTA - Oedipus’s wife and mother, and Creon’s sister.
Jocasta appears only in the final scenes of Oedipus the
references to his whereabouts in the Aeneid help situate
King. In her first words, she attempts to make peace between
Aeneas’s wanderings in relation to Ulysses’. Oedipus and Creon, pleading with Oedipus not to banish
Creon. She is comforting to her husband and calmly tries to
PYRRHUS - The son of Achilles. Pyrrhus, also called urge him to reject Tiresias’s terrifying prophecies as false.
Neoptolemus, appears in Aeneas’s account of the siege of Jocasta solves the riddle of Oedipus’s identity before Oedipus
Troy as the brutal murderer of Priam and Priam’s sons. does, and she expresses her love for her son and husband in
her desire to protect him from this knowledge.
GREEK ROMAN ROLE Antigone - Child of Oedipus and Jocasta, and therefore both
NAME NAME Oedipus’s daughter and his sister. Antigone appears briefly at
ZEUS JUPITER King of the Gods the end of Oedipus the King, when she says goodbye to her
HERA JUNO Goddess of Marriage father as Creon prepares to banish Oedipus. She appears at
POSEIDON NEPTUNE God of the Sea greater length in Oedipus at Colonus, leading and caring for
CRONUS SATURN Youngest son of Uranus, Father her old, blind father in his exile. But Antigone comes into her
of Zeus own in Antigone. As that play’s protagonist, she demonstrates
APHRODITE VENUS Goddess of Love a courage and clarity of sight unparalleled by any other
HADES PLUTO God of the Underworld character in the three Theban plays. Whereas other
HEPHAESTU VULCAN God of the Forge characters—Oedipus, Creon, Polynices—are reluctant to
S CERES Goddess of the Harvest acknowledge the consequences of their actions, Antigone is
DEMETER Apollo God of Music and Medicine unabashed in her conviction that she has done right.
APOLLO MINERVA Goddess of Wisdom
ATHENA DIANA Goddess of the Hunt CREON - Oedipus’s brother-in-law, Creon appears more than
ARTEMIS MARS God of War any other character in the three plays combined. In him more
ARES MERCURY Messenger of the Gods than anyone else we see the gradual rise and fall of one man’s
HERMES BACCHUS God of Wine power. Early in Oedipus the King, Creon claims to have no
DIONYSUS PROSERPI Goddess of the Underworld desire for kingship. Yet, when he has the opportunity to grasp
PERSEPHON NE God of Love power at the end of that play, Creon seems quite eager. We
EE CUPID Goddess of Earth learn in Oedipus at Colonus that he is willing to fight with his
EROS TERRA God of Sleep nephews for this power, and in Antigone Creon rules Thebes
GAIA SOMNUS Mother of Zeus/Wife of Cronus with a stubborn blindness that is similar to Oedipus’s rule. But
HYPNOS OPS Father of the Titans Creon never has our sympathy in the way Oedipus does,
RHEA URANUS Goddess of Victory because he is bossy and bureaucratic, intent on asserting his
URANUS VICTORIA Goddess of the Dawn own authority.
NIKE AURORA God of shepherds
EOS FAUNUS Goddess of the Moon POLYNICES - Son of Oedipus, and thus also his brother.
PAN LUNA God of the Sun Polynices appears only very briefly in Oedipus at Colonus. He
SELENE SOL Son of Zeus arrives at Colonus seeking his father’s blessing in his battle
HELIOS HERCULES Greek Hero with his brother, Eteocles, for power in Thebes. Polynices tries
HERACLES ULYSSES to point out the similarity between his own situation and that of
ODYSSEUS Oedipus, but his words seem opportunistic rather than filial, a
fact that Oedipus points out.
TIRESIAS - Tiresias, the blind soothsayer of Thebes, appears
in both Oedipus the King and Antigone. In Oedipus the
King, Tiresias tells Oedipus that he is the murderer he hunts,
and Oedipus does not believe him. In Antigone, Tiresias tells
Creon that Creon himself is bringing disaster upon Thebes,
and Creon does not believe him. Yet, both Oedipus and Creon
claim to trust Tiresias deeply. The literal blindness of the
soothsayer points to the metaphorical blindness of those who
refuse to believe the truth about themselves when they hear it
spoken.

HAEMON - Creon’s son, who appears only

in Antigone. Haemon is engaged to marry Antigone. Motivated
by his love for her, he argues with Creon about the latter’s
decision to punish her.

ISMENE - Oedipus’s daughter Ismene appears at the end

of Oedipus the King and to a limited extent in Oedipus at
Colonus and Antigone. Ismene’s minor part underscores her
sister’s grandeur and courage. Ismene fears helping Antigone
bury Polynices but offers to die beside Antigone when Creon
sentences her to die. Antigone, however, refuses to allow her
sister to be martyred for something she did not have the
courage to stand up for.

THESEUS - The king of Athens in Oedipus at Colonus. A

renowned and powerful warrior, Theseus takes pity on
Oedipus and defends him against Creon. Theseus is the only
one who knows the spot at which Oedipus descended to the
underworld—a secret he promises Oedipus he will hold
forever.

CHORUS - Sometimes comically obtuse or fickle, sometimes

perceptive, sometimes melodramatic, the Chorus reacts to the
events onstage. The Chorus’s reactions can be lessons in how
the audience should interpret what it is seeing, or how it should
not interpret what it is seeing.

EURYDICE - Creon’s wife.