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# Glossary

Achaeans
  one of the names Homer uses to refer to the Greeks who fought at Troy

bard
  a skilled singer and musician who improvised songs on mythical themes while performing them for a live audience

epic
  in ancient literature, lengthy narrative poems (such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey), usually telling of the exploits of a hero or heroes, and often involving battles or difficult journeys as well as supernatural characters

epithets
  in Homeric poetry, adjectives or short phrases used repeatedly to describe a particular character

Hellas
  Greek term meaning ‘Greece’

nostos
  (plural nostoi) Greek term meaning ‘homecoming’

nymph
  one of several minor divinities, usually taking the form of a young woman and often associated with a particular location or natural feature. The nymph Calypso lives on the island of Ogygia in the Odyssey and rescues Odysseus when he is shipwrecked there

Pallas
  one of the names given to the goddess Athena

simile
  a figure of speech in which one thing is compared to something different. In English, these are usually introduced by the words ‘like’ or ‘as’

Sirens
  mythical creatures, often depicted as half-woman and half-bird. In the Odyssey they lure sailors to their death with their singing

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OpenLearn - Exploring Homer’s Odyssey
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