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Polyxena

(Encyclopedia)Polyxena pōlĭkˈsĭnə [key], in Greek mythology, daughter of Priam and Hecuba. After the death of Achilles, she was claimed by his ghost and was sacrificed at his tomb. According to later legends A...

Homer

(Encyclopedia)Homer, principal figure of ancient Greek literature; the first European poet. The Odyssey is written in 24 books and begins nearly ten years after the fall of Troy. In the first part, Telemachus, Od...

Peleus

(Encyclopedia)Peleus pēˈlēəs, –ləs [key], in Greek mythology, son of Aeacus and the father of Achilles by Thetis. He and his brother Telamon killed their half-brother Phocus and were exiled from Aegina. Afte...

Thetis

(Encyclopedia)Thetis thēˈtĭs [key], in Greek mythology, a nereid, mother of Achilles. She was loved by both Zeus and Poseidon, but because of a prophecy that her son would be greater than his father, the gods ga...

Neoptolemus

(Encyclopedia)Neoptolemus nēˌŏptŏlˈĭməs [key], in Greek legend, son of Achilles. In the Trojan War he proved himself brave but cruel. He killed Priam at the altar of Zeus and threw Astyanax, son of Hector, f...

Skíros

(Encyclopedia)Skíros sīˈrəs [key], island (1991 pop. 2,901), c.80 sq mi (210 sq km), E Greece, in the Aegean Sea, largest of the N Sporades. It is a summer resort noted for its fine beaches and grottoes. Skíro...

Agamemnon

(Encyclopedia)Agamemnon ăˌgəmĕmˈnŏn [key], in Greek mythology, leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War; king of Mycenae (or Argos). He and Menelaus were sons of Atreus and suffered the curse laid upon Pe...

Penthesilea

(Encyclopedia)Penthesilea pĕnˌthĕsəlēˈə [key], in Greek mythology, an Amazon queen. In the Trojan War, she led a troop of Amazons against the Greeks. She was killed by Achilles, who then fell in love with he...

Exekias

(Encyclopedia)Exekias ĕksĕkˈēəs [key], c.555–530 b.c., Greek potter and painter. He worked mainly in the black-figure style. Eleven vases and a series of fifteen plaques have been attributed to him, includin...

Ajax

(Encyclopedia)Ajax āˈjăks [key], Gr. Aias, in Greek mythology. 1 Hero of the Trojan War, son of Telamon, thus called the Telamonian Ajax, also called Ajax the Greater. In the Iliad he is represented as a giganti...

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