How to use this page / كيف تستعمل هذه الصفحة
1. Read the cards once. Each has one hook — a single detail nobody else in the course shares. Learn the hook, not the biography.
2. Press 🎯 Test me: the hooks blur. Look at the name, say the hook aloud, then click to check.
3. The real work is the ⚠ Confusion pairs section — that is where marks are actually lost.
١. اقرأ البطاقات مرة. لكل شخصية مفتاح واحد لا يشاركها فيه أحد. احفظ المفتاح لا السيرة. ٢. اضغط «اختبرني» فتُطمس المفاتيح: انظر إلى الاسم، قل المفتاح بصوت عالٍ، ثم اقلب البطاقة للتحقق. ٣. العمل الحقيقي في قسم «أزواج الالتباس» — فهناك تضيع العلامات فعلاً.
The Greeks (Achaeans) اليونانيون (الآخيون)
Twelve names. Each card's hook is the one thing that belongs to that person and to nobody else.
ACHILLES
أخيل
“The greatest warrior — and the heel.”
tap to flip
Parents: Peleus (mortal king) + Thetis (sea-nymph)
Leads: the Myrmidons, from Phthia
Flaw: PRIDE → rage
Chooses: a short glorious life over a long quiet one (kleos)
Stops fighting: Agamemnon takes Briseis
Returns: Patroclus is killed
Dies: Paris' arrow in the heel — after the Iliad ends
He does NOT die inside the poem, and he never enters Troy.
AGAMEMNON
أجاممنون
“The one who took Briseis.”
tap to flip
King of: MYCENAE — richest city, so he commands
Brother of: Menelaus
Character: self-serving, reckless, strong → often keyed “All of the above”
Sacrificed: his daughter Iphigenia, for wind
Fate: killed at home by his wife Clytemnestra
He has the COMMAND. Menelaus has the GRIEVANCE. Do not swap them.
MENELAUS
مينلاوس
“Helen's husband — the man who was robbed.”
tap to flip
King of: SPARTA
Brother of: Agamemnon
Duel: beats Paris — but the Trojans break the truce
Later: tells Telemachus that Odysseus is alive (via Proteus)
If the options are “brother / commander / Helen's husband / All” → the key is All.
PATROCLUS
باتروكلس
“Died in borrowed armour.”
tap to flip
Is: Achilles' beloved companion — grew up with him in Phthia
Wears: Achilles' armour, to frighten the Trojans
Killed by: Hector (after Apollo stuns him)
Effect: his death is what brings Achilles back
He is NOT Achilles' brother — that false statement is planted in the papers.
ODYSSEUS
أوديسيوس
“Nobody — the man who wins by thinking.”
tap to flip
King of: ITHACA
Quality: metis = cunning intelligence
In the Iliad: mediates between Agamemnon and Achilles
After it: invents the Trojan Horse; wins Achilles' armour
Name means: “Son of Pain” (given by Autolycus)
ACHILLES = power. ODYSSEUS = cunning. The paper poses it as exactly that pair.
NESTOR
نيستور
“The old wise one who talks too much.”
tap to flip
King of: PYLOS — the oldest commander
Symbol of: WISDOM
His plan: that Patroclus should wear the armour
In the Odyssey: Telemachus visits him — but he has no news
“Old age and senility” is the cruel near-miss. The keyed word is WISDOM.
AJAX
أياكس
“Second strongest — and he cannot bear it.”
tap to flip
Rank: second mightiest Achaean after Achilles
Duel: fights Hector to a draw; they exchange gifts
Weapon: knocks Hector out with a boulder
Death: kills himself when Achilles' armour is awarded to Odysseus
MIND beats MIGHT: the strongest man's armour goes to the cleverest speaker.
DIOMEDES
ديوميديس
“The mortal who wounded two gods.”
tap to flip
Is: the youngest, boldest Achaean commander
Wounds: Aphrodite and Ares — both on the Trojan side
Helped by: Athena, who inspires him
Also: the night raid with Odysseus (kills the spy Dolon)
His moment of excellence is called an aristeia. Each major warrior gets one.
CHRYSES
خريسيس (الكاهن)
“The priest of APOLLO who started everything.”
tap to flip
Is: a priest of APOLLO, father of Chryseis
Does: offers a ransom for his daughter — Agamemnon refuses rudely
Result: he prays, and Apollo sends the PLAGUE
One insult to one priest → a plague → Briseis taken → the whole poem. Learn this chain.
CALCHAS
كالخاس
“The Greek prophet who names the cause.”
tap to flip
Is: the seer of the Achaean army
Does: explains that the plague comes from Apollo, and Chryseis must go back
Also: prophesies that Troy's walls will fall
CHRYSES = Trojan-side priest of Apollo. CALCHAS = Greek-side prophet. Similar sound, opposite sides.
BRISEIS
بريسيس
“B for Brave Achilles' prize.”
tap to flip
Given to: ACHILLES as his war-prize
Taken by: Agamemnon, as “compensation”
Result: Achilles withdraws from the war
She is a captive, NOT anyone's wife. “Briseis' husband” is an invented option.
CHRYSEIS
خريسيس (الفتاة)
“The priest's daughter — Agamemnon's prize.”
tap to flip
Daughter of: CHRYSES, priest of Apollo
Given to: AGAMEMNON
Returned: after Calchas explains the plague
CHRYSeis belongs to CHRYSes — same first letters, same family. BRIseis belongs to Achilles.
The Trojans الطرواديون
Seven names. Notice how many of them are one family — Priam's.
PRIAM
بريام
“Fifty sons — and he begs for one body.”
tap to flip
Is: King of Troy, husband of Hecuba
Sons: 50, including Hector and Paris
Character: too old to fight; wise and kind; respected by both sides
His scene: Book 24 — guided by Hermes, he begs Achilles for Hector's body: “Remember your own father.”
That plea ENDS the poem. When Achilles' rage ends, the Iliad ends.
HECTOR
هكتور
“Dragged behind a chariot for nine days.”
tap to flip
Is: son of Priam and Hecuba; the mightiest Trojan
Family: wife Andromache, baby son Astyanax
Flaw: OVERCONFIDENCE — camps outside the walls
Kills: Patroclus, and takes Achilles' armour
Dies: Athena tricks him into standing; Achilles kills him
He RUNS first — his nerve fails before he turns. “Hector never showed fear” is FALSE.
PARIS
باريس
“The apple and the arrow.”
tap to flip
Also called: Alexandros
The apple: judges Aphrodite most beautiful → she gives him Helen → the war
The arrow: he later kills Achilles with a shot to the heel
Character: self-centred, unmanly; good with the bow, avoids battle
Scorned by: Hector and Helen alike
In a shame culture the worst crime is not evil — it is being UNIMPRESSIVE.
ANDROMACHE
أندروماخي
“The wife who begs him not to go.”
tap to flip
Is: Hector's WIFE
Son: Astyanax — the baby who symbolises the generation Troy's fall will destroy
Represents: the domestic cost of war
Her scene: Book 6, the farewell on the walls
HECUBA is Priam's wife (Hector's MOTHER). ANDROMACHE is Hector's WIFE.
CASSANDRA
كاساندرا
“Always right, never believed.”
tap to flip
Is: daughter of Priam and Hecuba; a prophetess
The curse: Apollo gave her prophecy; she refused him; he left the gift and removed the belief
Fate: taken by Agamemnon as a captive, and killed with him by Clytemnestra
Her curse is cruel because the gift is NOT withdrawn. She sees everything and can prevent nothing.
HELEN
هيلين
“A beautiful disaster.”
tap to flip
Is: the most beautiful woman in the world; wife of Menelaus
Parents: Leda + Zeus — the divine father is why she is so beautiful
Taken by: Paris → breaks xenia → the war
Contrast: Helen = desire and trouble. Penelope = wisdom and endurance.
One handout notes she went willingly — but the papers key “the kidnapping of Helen”.
AENEAS
إينياس
“The only one who gets out.”
tap to flip
Is: a Trojan prince — the only great Trojan warrior to survive the fall
Travels to: Italy → founds the line that leads to ROME
His epic: The Aeneid, by VIRGIL — a ROMAN, not a Greek
His virtue: pietas = duty above personal desire
Also: lands at Carthage, where DIDO is queen
“Virgil, a GREEK writer” is the classic false statement. He is Roman.
The Odyssey cast شخصيات الأوديسة
The people and powers Odysseus meets, in the order they matter.
PENELOPE
بينيلوبي
“Twenty years, and the bow contest.”
tap to flip
Is: Odysseus' wife, queen of Ithaca
Qualities: wisdom, endurance, self-restraint — the same virtue as her husband
Her trick: the contest — marry whoever can string the bow and shoot through 12 axes. She knows only one man can.
Earns: kleos of her own — the word normally reserved for warriors
Contrast with Clytemnestra, who murdered her husband. The gods honour one and scorn the other.
TELEMACHUS
تيليماخوس
“The son who goes looking.”
tap to flip
Is: Odysseus' son, a young man when the poem opens
Sails to: PYLOS (Nestor — no news) then SPARTA (Menelaus — the news)
The source: Menelaus learned it from the sea god Proteus
Ending: fights beside his father against the suitors
TWO KINGS, TWO OUTCOMES: Pylos = nothing. Sparta = Odysseus is alive on Ogygia.
CALYPSO
كاليبسو
“Seven years on Ogygia.”
tap to flip
Is: a nymph who keeps Odysseus on her island
How long: 7 years
Offers: immortality — and he refuses it
Freed by: Hermes, sent by Zeus at Athena's request
CALypso = CALendar = years of waiting. CIRce = CIRcus animals = pigs.
CIRCE
سيرسي
“Turns men into pigs.”
tap to flip
Is: a witch-goddess on Aeaea
Does: a poisoned meal turns the crew into swine
Meaning: men with no desire beyond food and drink are already animals. She just makes it visible.
Lotus, Circe, Sirens = one danger in three forms: forgetting home.
POLYPHEMUS
بوليفيموس
“One eye — and Poseidon's son.”
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Is: the cyclops — a one-eyed giant; cannibal, huge, uncivilised
The trick: Odysseus says his name is “Nobody”, gets him drunk, blinds him with a stake. The neighbours ignore “Nobody is killing me!”
The mistake: sailing away, Odysseus shouts his real name
The cost: Poseidon's ten-year revenge
THE CENTRAL IRONY: anonymity saves him; the craving for glory destroys him.
NAUSICAA
ناوسيكا
“Found him on the beach.”
tap to flip
Is: the Phaeacian princess
Parents: King Alcinous and Queen Arete — to whom Odysseus tells his whole story
Her line: “Every stranger and beggar comes from Zeus.” — the law of xenia
Detail: asks him to enter the city separately, to avoid gossip
She is kind BEFORE she knows he is a king. That is what makes it real xenia.
TIRESIAS
تيريسياس
“The prophet among the dead.”
tap to flip
Where: the land of the dead, Book 11
His warning: do NOT harm the Cattle of the Sun
His condition: “if you only have the power to curb their wild desire and curb your own”
The crew ignore him → Zeus destroys the ship → only Odysseus survives.
EURYCLEIA
يوريكليا
“Knows him by the SCAR.”
tap to flip
Is: the old nurse of the household
Recognises him: by the hunting scar on his knee, while washing his feet
Two recognitions: the DOG (Argos) by instinct, the NURSE by the SCAR. Penelope does NOT recognise him.
EUMAEUS
يومايوس
“The loyal swineherd.”
tap to flip
Is: the faithful pig-keeper on Odysseus' farm
Does: shelters the disguised Odysseus; father and son reunite at his hut
Later: fights beside them against the suitors
EU-maeus = the farm. EU-rycleia = the house. Both start EU- and both are loyal — but one is a man outdoors, one a woman indoors.
ARGOS
أرغوس (الكلب)
“The old dog who knows him at once.”
tap to flip
Is: Odysseus' dog, now ancient and neglected
Does: recognises his master through the beggar's disguise — and then dies
Careful: Argos is also the name of a CITY (Agamemnon's kingdom in the other course). Here it is the dog.
AEOLUS
إيولوس
“The bag of winds.”
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Is: the god of the winds
Gives: a bag containing all the contrary winds — a parting gift
What goes wrong: the crew open it while Odysseus SLEEPS; the storm blows them back
Every time Odysseus sleeps, disaster follows — the bag of winds, and the Cattle of the Sun.
AUTOLYCUS
أوتوليكوس
“The grandfather who named him ‘Son of Pain’.”
tap to flip
Is: Odysseus' maternal grandfather
The naming: “Just as I have come from afar, creating pain for many… so let his name be Odysseus — the Son of Pain.”
The keyed answer is “Son of pain”. “Bringer of pain” is the near-miss.
The Gods — one job each الآلهة — وظيفة واحدة لكل إله
The single commonest way to lose a mark on this paper is right job, wrong god. Learn the job, not the fame.
ZEUS
زيوس
“The lightning bolt — and the law of guests.”
tap to flip
Job: king of the gods; sky and thunder
Protects: XENIA — guests and strangers. Paris' crime is against him.
In the Iliad: grants Thetis' request; tips the scales of fate in Book 8; bans the other gods
Brothers: Poseidon (sea) and Hades (underworld)
EVEN ZEUS CANNOT CHANGE FATE. If “the gods” and “fate” are both offered, FATE wins.
POSEIDON
بوسيدون
“The enemy of Odysseus.”
tap to flip
Job: sea, earthquakes, horses
The grudge: Odysseus blinded his son Polyphemus
Side: GREEK, in the Iliad
Meaning: the chaotic forces of nature a man must survive to get home
He is appeased at the end, never defeated. The grudge outlives the poem.
HADES
هاديس
“Cerberus at the gate.”
tap to flip
Job: rules the underworld and the dead
Attribute: the three-headed dog Cerberus
Note: he does NOT live on Olympus
Zeus = lightning. Hades = Cerberus. The SAME four options are used for both questions.
ATHENA
أثينا
“Born from a head — patron of the clever.”
tap to flip
Job: wisdom, strategy, crafts, just war
Born: from Zeus' head — no mother
Protects: ODYSSEUS, because he is cunning, not merely strong
In the Iliad: inspires Diomedes; tricks Hector into standing to fight
Side: GREEK (Paris rejected her)
A-thena = A-dvice. Ar-temis = Ar-row. Two A-goddesses, two different jobs.
APOLLO
أبولو
“Sends the PLAGUE.”
tap to flip
Job: sun, light, music, prophecy, medicine, healing, purification
In the Iliad: punishes the insult to his priest Chryses with a plague; later stuns Patroclus so Hector can kill him
Also: cursed Cassandra — true prophecy, never believed
Side: TROJAN
The god of healing is also the god who sends the plague. Both are his.
ARTEMIS
أرتميس
“Demanded Iphigenia.”
tap to flip
Job: the hunt, wilderness, the moon, childbirth and the young
Relation: Apollo's TWIN sister
Her act: stops the wind until Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter
Because she protects the YOUNG, her demand for a girl's life is the cruellest paradox in the story.
HEPHAESTUS
هيفايستوس
“MAKES THE ARMOUR.”
tap to flip
Job: fire, the forge, metalworking
Makes: Achilles' new armour and the famous Shield (Book 18) — at Thetis' request
Note: he is lame, but the finest craftsman among the gods
ARES is offered because armour suggests war. The maker is the SMITH, not the soldier.
ARES
آريس
“War — and nobody likes him.”
tap to flip
Job: war as violent bloodshed and chaos
Reputation: disliked by the other gods for his brutality
Wounded by: Diomedes — and he whines about it
Side: TROJAN (he follows Aphrodite)
He does NOT make the armour. He is the standard wrong answer to that question.
APHRODITE
أفروديت
“Won the apple by selling Helen.”
tap to flip
Job: love, beauty, desire
The Judgment: bribed Paris with Helen — and won
Therefore: she is on the TROJAN side for the whole war
Does: rescues Paris from his duel with Menelaus; is wounded by Diomedes
The entire war descends from a beauty contest and a bribe.
HERA
هيرا
“The rejected queen.”
tap to flip
Job: queen of the gods; marriage and family
Why she hates Troy: Paris rejected her in the Judgment
Side: GREEK
Her trick: seduces Zeus in Book 14 to distract him, so the Greeks can rally
The gods deceive EACH OTHER, not just mortals. That is the proof they act personally, not morally.
HERMES
هرمس
“The guide — he escorts and he frees.”
tap to flip
Job: messenger; travellers, thieves, trade; guide to the underworld
In the Iliad: escorts PRIAM safely into the Achaean camp
In the Odyssey: sent to make Calypso release Odysseus
If a question says GUIDE or ESCORT or MESSAGE → think Hermes.
THETIS
ثيتيس
“Achilles' mother — a sea-nymph.”
tap to flip
Is: an immortal sea-nymph; married the mortal Peleus
Does: begs Zeus to make the Greeks lose, so her son's return will matter more
Also: commissions the new armour from Hephaestus
Her grief: “My son, my sorrow, why did I ever bear you?”
She knows the prophecy — and helps him die gloriously anyway.
CHARON
شارون
“The ferryman — pay or wander.”
tap to flip
Job: carries the dead across the river STYX into Hades
The fee: a coin placed in the dead person's mouth or on the eyes
Without it: the soul wanders the bank forever
He is a BOATMAN doing a job for a fare — not the Grim Reaper, and not death itself.
THE FATES
ربّات القدر (المويراي)
“Spin, measure, cut.”
tap to flip
Clotho spins the thread of a life
Lachesis measures it
Atropos cuts it
Greek name: the Moirai — same root as Moira = fate
Do NOT confuse the MOIRAI (fate) with the ERINYES / FURIES (vengeance). Both are trios of frightening women.
⚠ The Confusion-Busters أزواج الالتباس — وكيف تفرّق بينها
This is the section that actually wins marks. Each row is a pair the exam deliberately mixes up, plus the ONE word that separates them.
People who get swapped أشخاص يُخلط بينهم
| Pair | The difference | Memory hook |
|---|
| Agamemnon vs Menelaus | Agamemnon = the COMMAND (Mycenae).
Menelaus = the GRIEVANCE (Sparta, Helen's husband). | MEN-elaus lost his wo-MAN |
| Briseis vs Chryseis | Briseis → Achilles.
Chryseis → daughter of Chryses → Agamemnon. | CHRYSeis belongs to CHRYSes |
| Chryses vs Calchas | Chryses = the PRIEST of Apollo whose daughter was taken.
Calchas = the Greek PROPHET who explains the plague. | PRIEST prays • PROPHET predicts |
| Hecuba vs Andromache | Hecuba = Priam's wife = Hector's MOTHER.
Andromache = Hector's WIFE. | AndroMACHE MARRIED him |
| Peleus vs Priam | Peleus = Achilles' father (Greek, far away).
Priam = Hector's father (Trojan, on stage). | Both are old fathers — and Priam's plea works precisely by making Achilles think of Peleus. |
| Hector vs Paris | Brothers. Hector = brave, family man, dies for the city.
Paris = coward, lover, caused the war. | PARIS = PARTY. HECTOR = HERO. |
| Achilles vs Odysseus | Achilles = POWER, glory, dies young.
Odysseus = CUNNING, home, survives. | KLEOS vs NOSTOS |
| Calypso vs Circe | Calypso = holds him 7 years, offers immortality.
Circe = turns the crew into pigs. | CALypso = CALendar. CIRce = CIRcus animals. |
| Eurycleia vs Eumaeus | Eurycleia = the NURSE, in the house, knows him by the SCAR.
Eumaeus = the SWINEHERD, on the farm. | EurycLEIA = LADY indoors |
| Telemachus vs Astyanax | Telemachus = Odysseus' son, a young MAN who acts.
Astyanax = Hector's son, a BABY who will be killed. | One son grows up; the other never gets to. |
| Penelope vs Helen | Penelope = wisdom, endurance, faithful 20 years.
Helen = beauty, desire, “a beautiful disaster”. | The handout contrasts them directly — expect a comparison item. |
| Ajax vs Aeneas | Ajax = GREEK, second-strongest, kills himself.
Aeneas = TROJAN, the only survivor, founds Rome. | Both start with A and both are warriors — but opposite sides, opposite ends. |
Gods who get swapped آلهة يُخلط بينها
| Pair | The difference | Memory hook |
|---|
| Hephaestus vs Ares | Hephaestus MAKES the armour (smith).
Ares only fights (war god). | The SMITH makes it, not the soldier |
| Athena vs Artemis | Athena = wisdom, strategy, Odysseus' patron.
Artemis = hunt, moon, the young, Iphigenia. | A-thena = A-dvice • Ar-temis = Ar-row |
| Apollo vs Artemis | TWINS. Apollo = SUN, prophecy, plague.
Artemis = MOON, hunt, childbirth. | Brother = day. Sister = night. |
| Hera vs Aphrodite | Hera = GREEK side (rejected by Paris).
Aphrodite = TROJAN side (she won the apple). | Follow the apple: whoever won it backs Troy. |
| Zeus vs Hades | Zeus = the LIGHTNING BOLT.
Hades = CERBERUS. | Same four options are used for both questions — read the attribute. |
| Hermes vs Iris | Both are messengers, but Hermes is the one who guides — Priam, and Odysseus' release. | Hermes is almost always the answer; Iris is the filler. |
| Thetis vs Hecuba | Thetis = ACHILLES' mother (a goddess).
Hecuba = HECTOR's mother (a mortal queen). | Two grieving mothers, opposite sides. |
| The Fates vs The Furies | Fates (Moirai) = spin, measure, cut your life.
Furies (Erinyes) = punish blood-crimes. | Fates DECIDE. Furies PUNISH. |
Monsters — and whose story they belong to الوحوش — ولمن تنتمي
| Creature | Description | Whose story? |
|---|
| Cyclops / Polyphemus | ONE eye, giant, cannibal | ODYSSEY ✓ |
| Cerberus | THREE-headed dog, guards the underworld | ODYSSEY, Book 11 ✓ |
| Scylla | SIX heads — takes six men | ODYSSEY ✓ |
| Charybdis | A whirlpool — takes the whole ship | ODYSSEY ✓ |
| Sirens | Bird-women whose song kills | ODYSSEY ✓ |
| Minotaur | Bull's head + man's body, in the Labyrinth | THESEUS ✗ |
| Hydra | Two heads grow for each one cut | HERACLES ✗ |
| Sphinx | Woman's head + winged lion, asks riddles | OEDIPUS ✗ |
| Centaur | Man + horse | General myth |
| Chimera | Lion's head, goat's body, serpent tail | General myth |
| Medusa | Snake hair, turns men to stone → Pegasus from her blood | General myth |
THE RULE: before you answer any creature question, ask “whose legend is this from?” If it belongs to Theseus, Heracles or Oedipus, it is the trap. The exam asks both “which DOES he meet” and “which does he NOT meet” from almost the same list.
القاعدة: قبل الإجابة عن أي سؤال عن وحش، اسأل «من أي أسطورة هو؟» فإن كان من قصة ثيسيوس أو هرقل أو أوديب، فهو الفخّ.
Trigger word → Name الكلمة المفتاح ← الاسم
Cover the right column. Read the trigger, say the name aloud. This is the fastest revision on the page.
| The moment you see… | Say… |
|---|
| lightning bolt • god of guests • the scales of fate | ZEUS |
| three-headed dog • the underworld | HADES |
| the forge • makes the armour • the Shield | HEPHAESTUS |
| plague • prophecy • healing • cursed Cassandra | APOLLO |
| born from a head • patron of the clever • tricks Hector | ATHENA |
| stopped the wind • demanded Iphigenia • Apollo's twin | ARTEMIS |
| guides • escorts Priam • frees Odysseus from Calypso | HERMES |
| blinded son • hates Odysseus • the sea | POSEIDON |
| ferryman • a coin in the mouth • the river Styx | CHARON |
| one whole year • 90 written, 7 survived • the second actor | (Comparative Lit — AESCHYLUS) |
| “Nobody” • the Trojan Horse • man of twists and turns | ODYSSEUS |
| the heel • the rage • the Myrmidons • Phthia | ACHILLES |
| fifty sons • “Remember your own father” | PRIAM |
| dragged behind a chariot • camped outside the walls | HECTOR |
| borrowed armour • the death that changes everything | PATROCLUS |
| the apple • the arrow in the heel • unmanly | PARIS |
| always right, never believed | CASSANDRA |
| the only Trojan to escape • founds Rome • pietas | AENEAS |
| seven years • offers immortality • Ogygia | CALYPSO |
| turns men into pigs | CIRCE |
| the scar on the knee | EURYCLEIA |
| the old dog who knows him | ARGOS |
| the bag of winds | AEOLUS |
| the prophet among the dead • the Cattle of the Sun | TIRESIAS |
| found him on the beach • “every stranger comes from Zeus” | NAUSICAA |
| the bow and the axes • faithful twenty years | PENELOPE |
| old and wise • king of Pylos • suggests the plan | NESTOR |
| wounded two gods | DIOMEDES |
| second strongest • the boulder • suicide over armour | AJAX |
The Numbers, grouped so they stop blurring الأرقام مرتّبة حتى لا تختلط
| Number | What it counts | Don't confuse with |
|---|
| 10 years | Length of the Trojan War | — and also the length of Odysseus' voyage. Two different tens. |
| 20 years | Odysseus away from home in total | 10 (war) + 10 (voyage) = 20 |
| 7 years | Held by Calypso | Part of the ten-year voyage, not extra |
| 52 days | What the Iliad actually covers | Out of a ten-year war |
| 9 days | Achilles drags Hector's body | Not 9 years — that's how far into the war the poem starts |
| 3 (or 4) | Circuits of Troy in the chase | ⚠ The handouts disagree: L4 says 3, L7 says 4 |
| 24 | Books in each epic | Not 12 — that's the gods |
| 12 | Olympian gods | Also the axes in Penelope's contest |
| 3 | Brothers: Zeus, Poseidon, Hades | Also the three Fates |
| 50 | Sons of Priam | Distractors: 15, 30, 2 |
| 100+ | Suitors of Penelope | They want Ithaca, not the woman |
| 1,000 | Black ships in Agamemnon's fleet | “The face that launched a thousand ships” |
| 6 | Men lost to Scylla | She has six heads — S = SIX |
| 17 days | Sailing from Calypso to the Phaeacians | — |
| 1184 BCE | Traditional fall of Troy | vs 750 BCE = composition. ~400 years apart. |
The one causal chain that makes the gods make sense السلسلة السببية التي تجعل الآلهة مفهومة
Do not memorise the two teams as lists. Follow the apple:
1. Paris judges the beauty contest. 2. He picks APHRODITE (she offered Helen). 3. So Aphrodite protects Troy — and ARES, her lover, follows her. 4. APOLLO is Troy's own god, so he is there too. 5. The two rejected goddesses — HERA and ATHENA — spend the whole war destroying Troy. 6. POSEIDON joins them (he has an old grudge against Troy's walls).
TROY: Aphrodite • Ares • Apollo GREECE: Hera • Athena • Poseidon
لا تحفظ الفريقين كقائمتين. اتبع التفاحة: باريس اختار أفروديت لأنها وعدته بهيلين، فصارت مع طروادة، وتبعها آريس حبيبها، وأبولو إله المدينة أصلاً. أما الإلهتان المرفوضتان — هيرا وأثينا — فتقضيان الحرب كلها في تدمير طروادة، وينضم إليهما بوسيدون.