Advanced Placement Tool Box
Mythological Allusions –Classical (Greek), Roman, Norse – a short reference
•Achilles –the greatest warrior on the Greek side in the Trojan war whose mother tried to
make immortal when as an infant she bathed him in magical river, but the heel by
which she held him remained vulnerable.
•Adonis –an extremely beautiful boy who was loved by Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
By extension, an “Adonis” is any handsome young man.
•Aeneas –a famous warrior, a leader in the Trojan War on the Trojan side; hero of the
Aeneid by Virgil. Because he carried his elderly father out of the ruined city of Troy on
his back, Aeneas represents filial devotion and duty. The doomed love of Aeneas and
Dido has been a source for artistic creation since ancient times.
•Aeolus –god of the winds, ruler of a floating island, who extends hospitality to
Odysseus on his long trip home
•Agamemnon –The king who led the Greeks against Troy. To gain favorable wind for the
Greek sailing fleet to Troy, he sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis,
and so came under a curse. After he returned home victorious, he was murdered by his
wife Clytemnestra, and her lover, Aegisthus.
•Ajax –a Greek warrior in the Trojan War who is described as being of colossal stature,
second only to Achilles in courage and strength. He was however slow witted and
excessively proud.
•Amazons –a nation of warrior women. The Amazons burned off their right breasts so
that they could use a bow and arrow more efficiently in war. Figuratively an “Amazon”
is a large, strong, aggressive woman.
•ambrosia –the food of the gods; those who ate it became immortal.
•Amphitrite –a goddess of the sea; daughter of Nereus and Doris; wife of Poseidon; and
mother of Triton
•Andromache –wife of Trojan warrior Hector
•Andromeda –daughter of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, and Cassiopeia, who boasted that
she was more beautiful than the Nereids. Poseidon promptly retaliated by sending a
sea monster to terrorize the country side. Andromeda was offered as a sacrifice to
appease the monster. Chained to a rock, she was rescued by Perseus.
•Antigone –a daughter of King Oedipus who goes against the laws of King Creon and
buries her brother who has been killed in a civil war, and who was branded a traitor
and unworthy of burial. She is condemned to death for her crime.
•Aphrodite –goddess of love and beauty; the mother of Eros and Aeneas; thought to have
born out of the foam of the sea, and is thus often pictured rising from the water.
Roman-Venus
•Apollo –(Greek and Roman) god of poetry, prophecy, medicine, and light; represents all
aspects of civilization and order; Zeus was his father and Artemis his sister.
•apple of discord –an apple thrown into a banquet of the gods and goddesses by the
goddess Discord, who had not been invited. The apple had “For the Fairest” written on
it. When three goddesses claimed it, the handsome Paris, prince of Troy had to decide
which deserved it.
•Ares –god of war, brutal and bloodthirsty. He was the son of Zeus and Hera, and the
father of the Amazons. Roman-Mars
•Argonauts –the companions of Jason in the quest for the Golden Fleece. Their ship was
the Argo.
•Argus –a creature of 100 eyes; once a fairly common name for newspapers, suggesting
that the paper was constantly on alert
•Artemis –the virgin goddess of the hunt and the moon; a daughter of Zeus and the sister
of Apollo; also called Cynthia; Roman-Diana
•Athena –goddess of wisdom; sprang fully grown from the forehead of her father, Zeus;
protector of Odysseus; guardian of the city of Athens; Roman-Minerva
