The Odyssey Characters

Across

3. Phaeacian princess who rescues the shipwrecked Odysseus, Daughter of King Alcinous and Queen Arete, provides Odysseus with clothes, food, and guidance to her father’s palace, facilitating his return to Ithaca
6. one of the twelve Olympian gods who resided on Mount Olympus, messenger of the gods
8. King of the Phaeacians
10. brother of Menelaus, and he was the commander of the Achaean forces at Troy
11. deceased, having died in battle shortly before the end of the Trojan War, ghost spirit confirms his death by Paris’s arrow to his heel and contrasts his short, glorious life with Odysseus’s long journey home
13. reunited with Menelaus, appearing as a regal but conflicted figure who serves as a crucial witness to Odysseus's character.
15. goatherd for Odysseus, but during his master's 20-year absence, he aligns with the suitors, bringing them the best goats for their feasts, insults the disguised Odysseus and kicks him in the hip
16. nymph and daughter of the Titan Atlas, detains the hero Odysseus on her island, Ogygia, for seven years
19. serves as a critical parallel figure to Telemachus, representing the ideal "great and powerful son" who avenges his father and restores order to his household.
22. deadly, enchanting half-woman, half-bird monsters who lure sailors to their death
23. man-eating giants who destroy all of Odysseus's ships except his own, devouring his crew after the fleet docks
24. King of Sparta and husband of Helen, appears in Book 4 as a central figure who aids Telemachus, Odysseus's son, in his quest for news about his father
26. also a suitor, arrogant, disrespectful, consumes food and drink without the slightest reciprocation (mutual exchange)
28. terrifying sea monster manifested as a massive, ship-devouring whirlpool
29. king of the floating island Aiolia, appointed by Zeus as keeper of the winds

Down

1. father Telemachus, husband of Penelope
2. rescues Odysseus from drowning
4. goddess of love, promised to get Helen for Paris if he deemed her the "most beautiful"
5. blind prophet, lives in Hades, Odysseus sent to visit him to learn how to return home to Ithaca
7. mentor to both Odysseus and his son Telemachus, secures Zeus's approval to free Odysseus from Calypso, inspires Telemachus to seek his father, and disguises herself repeatedly to aid their return and victory over the suitors
8. loyal dog of Odysseus, left abandoned and neglected for 20 years; recognizes his owner = loyalty, faithfulness
9. wise, elderly King of Pylos and a veteran of the Trojan War who hosts Telemachus
12. cautious member of Odysseus's crew, suspects a trap at Circe's palace, saving himself, but later causes disaster by persuading the starving men to eat the Cattle of the Sun, leading to their destruction
14. powerful sorceress and daughter of Helios who transforms travelers into beasts on her island, Aeaea. She turns half of Odysseus's crew into pigs using a magical potion
17. triggered the Trojan War by abducting Helen, wife of Spartan King Menelaus, after Aphrodite promised her to him in the "Judgement of Paris" (Apple of Discord)
18. the king of the gods, ruler of Mount Olympus, and the god of sky, weather, thunder, and lightning in Greek mythology. As the supreme deity, he maintains law, order, and justice, wielding a thunderbolt and associated with the eagle and oak tree.
20. Odysseus's son,Telemachus transforms from a helpless youth into a courageous man under Athena’s guidance. He opens by struggling against suitors occupying his home. Sparked by Athena (disguised as Mentor), he calls an assembly, journeys to Pylos and Sparta for news, and aids his father in slaughtering the suitors
21. primary antagonist among the suitors of Penelope, characterized by extreme arrogance, physical violence, and a blatant disregard for friendship
25. fiercely loyal, royal-born swineherd in Homer’s Odyssey who provides crucial aid to a disguised Odysseus
27. terrifying six-headed, twelve-legged sea monster lurking on a cliff opposite the whirlpool Charybdis