The Odyssey Family Tree 11-19-13
Key Single lines indicate children, stemming from
double lines or his/her parents. Double lines indicate marriages/lovers. Dashed lines indicate some sort of major, mythological interaction between characters.
Zeus King of all Greek Gods; looks over the affairs of Greek Gods and their disputes. Zeus is the son of Cronus, the titan he overruled with his siblings: Poseidon, Hera, Hermes, and Hades. His children include Helen, Athena, and Apollo, all with his different lovers. Credits to Wikimedia Commons
Poseidon God of the sea and horses; functions as Odysseus’s godly antagonist. Poseidon is Zeus’s brother, Cronus’s son, and the Cyclops Polyphemus’s father.
Credits to MarkAndrewHolmes.com
Athena Goddess of wisdom, battle, and womanly arts; she assists Odysseus and Telemachus, speaking up for them. Athena is Zeus’s daughter with no mother and Ares’s sister.
Credits to Athena LLC
Hermes The messaging God who convinced Calypso to free Odysseus from her island prison. Hermes is the son of Zeus and his lover and nymph Maea.
Credits to The Theoi Project
Hephaestus God of metalwork and blacksmithing; he caught his wife Aphrodite with her lover Ares with a golden net. He is Hera’s sole-birthed son, in response to Zeus birthing Athena alone.
Credits to The Theoi Project
Aphrodite Goddess of love and beauty; she was created in the sea foam around Cyprus Island, made from Uranus, and is married to Hephaestus. She had an affair with Ares and Eros is her son.
The Birth of Venus (Aphrodite) by Odilon Redon
Hyperion Titan God of light; he is one of the titan sons of Uranus and Gaia that conspired with Cronus to mutilate their father. His son Helios controls the Sun.
Credits to San Diego State University
Achilles He is one of the best Greek fighters, besieging Troy in the Trojan War. He was killed by Paris in combat. His mother is the nymph Thetis and father Peleus, king of the Myrmidons.
Credits to BlackCablonDon.wordpress
Menelaus He is the King of Sparta, brother to Agamemnon, and Helen’s husband who lead the Greeks in the Trojan War. His wife either left him for Paris or was abducted unwillingly.
Credits to Wikimedia Commons
Helen She is Menelaus’s wife and queen of Sparta. Her abduction by the Trojans sparked the Trojan War; her beauty is renowned.
Helen of Troy by Evelyn de Morgan
Telemachus He is Odysseus and Penelope’s son. He helps fight off his mother’s suitors. Odysseus left when he was a child and is 20 at the beginning of the book.
Credits to Spencer Alley’s Blog
Odysseus He fought with the other Greek heroes and in The Odyssey, he is shown going through the hardships going home. He is Penelope’s husband and Telemachus’ father.
Credits to Ryan Shotwell’s Blog
Tiresias He is a Theban prophet inhabiting the Underworld, helping Odysseus return home to Ithaca during his time there.
Credits to Mythcongeniality.blogspot
Calypso She was a nymph that was detained on the island of Ogygia. Odysseus was kept captive by her and her love. Her father was the Titan Atlas.
Credits to GreekMyths-GreekMythology.com
Penelope She is Odysseus’s wife and Telemachus’ mother. When Odysseus is gone, she is pursued by suitors for years but stayed loyal to her husband.
Credits to Greek Mythology Link
Paris He is the Trojan prince that caused the Trojan War by taking Helen, wife of the Spartan king Menelaus. He was also in a contest to choose the prettiest, out of Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena.
Credits to Wikimedia Commons
Polyphemus He is one of the Cyclopes and a son of Poseidon. Odysseus comes to his island and blinds him after a struggle to escape imprisonment, which angers Poseidon.
Credits to Art Renewal Center
Circe She took Odysseus and his men captive, casting magic spells on them, turning them into pigs, until he was able to escape a year later. She is Helios’s and Perse’s daughter.
Credits to Wikimedia Commons
Scylla She is a sea monster who haunts the rocks of a narrow strait across from Charybdis. She attacked Odysseus and his men. Phorcys and Celo are her parents.
Credits to mlahanas.de
Sirens They are beautiful but dangerous creatures that lure sailors to their deaths with their enchanting songs. Odysseus encountered them and escaped. They’re daughters of Achelous.
Credits to Stanford University
Charybdis Goddess of the tides; her whirlpool almost took Odysseus and his men when they were traveling through the strait, until they escaped.
Credits to Wikimedia Commons