A Profusion of Allusions
The following characters and events are common allusions in poetry and prose. Knowing them
well may help you raise your AP / IB scores. You will be tested on these characters and events early in September.
Classical (Know both Greek & Roman names)
The Titans
Gaia & Uranus
Cronus & Rhea
Prometheus &
Epimetheus
Pandora
Atlas
The Olympians
Zeus
Hera
Demeter
Hestia
Poseidon
Hades (person & place)
- Persephone
- Cerberus
- River Styx
- Elysian Fields
2nd Generation
Hephaestus
Ares
Hermes
Dionysus
Apollo (Phoebus)
Proteus
Aphrodite
Athena
Artemis
Goddesses (know what they are, not who)
Fates
Furies
Nemesis
Hecate
Graces
Muses
Heroes & Humans
Perseus
Heracles
Daedalus & Icarus
Damon & Pythias
King Midas
Orpheus & Eurydice
Sisyphus
Tantalus
Romulus & Remus
Adonis
Pygmalion
Niobe
Hero & Leander
Monsters & Beasts
Minotaur & labyrinth
Maenads
Satyrs / Fauns
Centaurs
Phoenix
Sphinx
Medusa & the Gorgons
Sirens
Circe
Scylla & Charybdis
Trojan War & Odyssey
Paris & the golden apple
Helen of Troy
Menelaus
Agamemnon
Priam & Hecuba
Hector
Cassandra
Achilles
Pyrrhus / Neoptolemus
Odysseus
Penelope
Telemachus
Oedipal Saga
Laius
Jocasta
Oedipus
Tiresias
Creon
Antigone
Biblical
Old Testament
Creation
Adam and Eve and the Fall (Eden)
Cain and Abel
Noah and the Flood
Methuselah
Tower of Babel
Abraham
- Sarah
- Lot /Lot’s wife
- Sodom and Gomorrah
- Ishmael
- Sacrifice of Isaac
Isaac
- Rebecca
- Jacob and Esau
Jacob
- Ladder
- Wives and Sons
- Wrestling with an angel
Joseph
- And his Brothers
- Potiphar’s wife
- Pharaoh
- Family Reunion
Moses
- Childhood
- Aaron
- Battles with Pharaoh
- 40 years (include burning bush)
David
- Goliath
- Philistines
- Saul (OT)
- Jonathan
- Bathsheba
- Solomon
Jonah
Jephthah & daughter
Ahab & Jezebel
New Testament
Jesus’ birth
- Magi
- Herod / Massacre of the Innocents
Jesus’ Ministry
- Wine @ wedding
- Loaves & fishes
- Prodigal son
- Lazarus
- Mammon
Jesus’ death
- Pharisees
- Last Supper
- Garden of Gethsemane
- Judas Iscariot
- Pontius Pilate
Grail or Holy Grail
Conversion of Saul (NT)
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Armageddon
Other Places
Camelot
Valhalla
AP / IB Summer 2017