Makahon – surgeon and warrior of Achaian army, pupil of Asclepius
Medea – princess of Colchis, daughter of Aeetes, wife to Jason. Enchantress.
Megara – queen of Mycenae, wife to Eurystheus
Melanippus – defender of Thebes, killed by Tydeus
Meleager – king of Aetolia, father-in-law of Protesilaus. Argonaut.
Menelaus – king of Sparta, son of Atreus, brother of Agamemnon, husband to Helen. He demands that all the Achaian kings and princes honour their oath to defend his reputation when Helen is abducted by Paris, provoking the Trojan War.
Menestheus – king of Athens, member of the Trojan expedition
Mentor – tutor of Odysseus, adviser to King Laertes
Myrmidons – warriors of Phthia in Thessaly, commanded by Achilles
Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus) – son of Achilles and Princess Deidamia of Scyros. After his father’s death, he enters the Trojan War. Famed for his ferocity and ruthlessness.
Nestor – wise king of Pylos, husband to Eurydice, father of Antilochus and Pisistratus. Also known as the Knight of Gerene. The great adviser of the Achaian heroes.
Oedipus – king of Thebes. Killed his father and married his mother. His two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, killed each other in a duel over the throne.
Oileus – king of Locris, father of Ajax Oileus. Argonaut.
Paris – prince of Troy, son of Priam and Hecuba, brother of Hector, Deiphobus and Cassandra, husband of Helen after Menelaus. His abduction of Helen sets off the Trojan War.
Patroclus – cousin and trusted companion of Achilles. Killed in battle by Hector.
Peirithous – king of the Lapiths, a Thessalian tribe. Argonaut.
Peleus – king of Phthia, husband to Thetis, brother of Telamon, father of Achilles. Argonaut.
Pelias – king of Iolcus, father of Alcestis. Usurped the throne of Aeson and sent Jason in search of the golden fleece.
Perimedes – trusted comrade of Odysseus
Phemius – court poet of Laertes
Philoctetes – king of Malis, famed as an archer. Part of the Trojan expedition.
Pisistratus – prince of Pylos, youngest son of Nestor and Eurydice
Polites – comrade of Odysseus
Pollux – prince of Sparta, son of Tyndareus and Leda, twin of Castor, brother of Helen and Clytaemnestra. Argonaut, with his brother Castor. According to a legend, their real father was Zeus, who appeared to his mother in the form of a swan.
Polycaste – wife of Icarius, mother of Penelope
Polyxena – princess of Troy, youngest daughter of Priam and Hecuba. Sacrificed by Pyrrhus on tomb of Achilles.
Priam – king of Troy, husband to Hecuba, father of Hector, Paris, Deiphobus, Cassandra, Polyxena and many other sons and daughters. Killed and decapitated by Pyrrhus on the night of the fall of Troy.
Protesilaus – Thessalian king, the first Achaian to die in the Trojan War
Pyrrhus (Neoptolemus) – son of Achilles and Princess Deidamia of Scyros. After his father’s death, he enters the Trojan War. Famed for his ferocity and ruthlessness.
Sinon – friend and comrade of Odysseus, persuades Trojans to pull the horse into the city
Sthenelus – Argive prince, charioteer of Diomedes
Telamon – king of Salamis, brother of Peleus, father of Great Ajax and Teucer. Argonaut.
Teucer – son of Telamon and Hesione (sister of Priam), half-brother of Great Ajax. Famous archer, part of the Trojan expedition.
Theseus – king of Athens, killer of the Minotaur
Thetis – wife to Peleus, mother of Achilles. Said to be a sea goddess or nymph.
Thoas – king of Calydon, killer of the boar of Calydon. Odysseus’ comrade in the horse.
Thyestes – twin brother of Atreus
Tydeus – Argive prince, father of Diomedes. Ruthless warrior, killed in battle at Thebes after slaying Melanippus. Argonaut.
Xanthus – one of Achilles’ divine horses, ‘the blond
Zetes and Calais – the Boreads, sons of the wind. Argonauts.
GEOGRAPHY
Acarnania – region of south-western Greece, facing Ithaca, ruled by Autolykos, Odysseus’ grandfather
Achaia – an area generally corresponding to Greece
Acheron – river in Ephyra, said to be a gateway to Hades
Aetolia – region in western Greece ruled by Meleager
Arcadia – mountainous region in the central Peloponnese where the Sanctuary of the Wolf King is located
Argolis – region of Argus in the eastern Peloponnese
Argus – city in Argolis ruled by Diomedes, after Adrastus. ‘Argus’ means ‘shining’ city.
Arne – city of eastern Greece
Athens – main city of Attica, ruled by Theseus and Aegeus before him
Attica – region of central eastern Achaia that includes Athens
Aulis – bay and port in Boeotia where the Achaian army assembles for the assault on Troy
Boeotia – region of Thebes, where Aulis is located
Calydon – city of Aetolia, famous for the hunt of the Calydonian boar, in which all the major Achaian heroes of the Argonaut generation took part
Caucasus, Mount – mountain in Colchis
Chalcis – city of Euboea
Colchis – region between Caucasus and Pontus Euxinus (the Black Sea), ruled by king Aeetes. Place where the golden fleece was guarded by a dragon.
Corinth – city on the isthmus that connects the Peloponnese to mainland Greece, between the Gulf of Corinth and the Saronic Gulf
Crete – island ruled by Idomeneus
Dardania – region of north-western Anatolia, near Troy, kingdom of Anchises, ally of Troy
Dulichium – island, part of the kingdom of Odysseus
Elis – region of the north-western Peloponnese
Ephyra – place in Aetolia where an entrance to Hades was located
Euboea – the biggest island of Greece, after Crete
Eurotas – the river of Sparta
Gythium – port of Sparta on the Laconian Gulf
Hypoplacian Thebes – city south of the Troad, ruled by Eetion, ally of Troy
Iberia – modern Spain
Ida, Mount – mountain south of Troy
Ilium – the ancient name of Troy
Iolcus – city of Thessaly, ruled by Pelias, port of the Argonauts
Ithaca – island in the Ionian Sea, ruled by Odysseus, and Laertes before him
Knossos – capital of Crete
Laconian Gulf – the gulf between Cape Malea and Cape Tainaron
Leucas – island, part of the kingdom of Odysseus
Malea – cape in the central peninsula of the Peloponnese, notoriously difficult and dangerous to navigate
Messenia – kingdom of Nestor in the south-western Peloponnese
Mycenae – city of Argolis, ruled by Agamemnon, after Eurystheus and Atreus
Nemea – city of Argolis where Hercules killed the Nemean lion
Neritus, Mount – the tallest mountain of Ithaca
Olympus, Mount – mountain in northern Thessaly, said to be the abode of the gods
Ossa, Mount – mountain in Thessaly, said to be the abode of the centaurs
Othrys, Mount – mountain in Thessaly near Phthia, the city of Achilles
Parnassus, Mount – mountain in Phocis, believed to be the abode of Apollo and the Muses
Pelion, Mount – mountain in Thessaly where the pine tree used to build the keel of the Argo was cut down
Peloponnesus – the Peloponnese, the southern peninsula of Greece
Phasis – river in Colchis
Pherai – city in Thessaly, ruled by Admetus
Phocis – region in south central Greece
Phthia – city of Thessaly, ruled by Peleus, father of Achilles, famous for its valorous warriors, the Myrmidons
Pylos – main city of Messenia, ruled by Nestor
Rhoetean – promontory of the Troad, where the tomb of Great Ajax was located
Salamis – small island near Attica, ruled by Telamon, Great Ajax’s father
Same – island, part of the kingdom of Odysseus, probably modern Cephalonia
Scamander – one of the two rivers of Troy
Scyros – island ruled by Lycomedes
Simoeis – one of the two rivers of Troy
Skaian Gate – gate of the Trojan citadel, built to be unassailable
Sounion – southern cape of Attica
Sparta – city of Laconia, also called Lacedaemon, ruled by Menelaus
Stygia – swamp in Hades
Tainaron – cape of the eastern Peloponnese
Taygetus, Mount – mountain in Laconia, west of Sparta
Tenedos – small island near Troy where the Achaian fleet hides while awaiting the signal for the assault on Troy
Thebes – city of Boeotia, ruled by Oedipus
Thermodon – river in northern Anatolia, bordering the territory of the Amazons
Thessaly – region of north-eastern Greece
Thrace – region of eastern Greece, north-west of Troy
Tiryns – city of Argolis, near Mycenae
Troad – region of Troy
Troy – city of the Troad which controlled access to the Dardanelles, capital of the powerful kingdom of Priam, also known as ‘Ilion’ (‘Ilium’ in Latin) and ‘Vilusa’ in Hittite texts. Identified by Schliemann and Blegen with the ruins on the hill of Hisarlik in Turkey, recently confirmed by the excavations of the late Manfred Korfmann. Ruled by Priam, it was besieged for nine years by the Achaians and finally fell thanks to the stratagem of the Trojan Horse
Zacynthus – island, part of the kingdom of Odysseus
Also by Valerio Massimo Manfredi
ALEXANDER: CHILD OF A DREAM
ALEXANDER: THE SANDS OF AMMON
ALEXANDER: THE ENDS OF THE EARTH
SPARTAN
THE LAST LEGION
HEROES
(formerly The Talisman of Troy)
TYRANT
THE ORACLE
EMPIRE OF DRAGONS
THE TOWER
PHARAOH
THE LOST ARMY
THE IDES OF MARCH
THE ANCIENT CURSE
First published 2013 by Macmillan
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ISBN 978-0-230-76933-5
Copyright © Valerio Massimo Manfredi 2012
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First published in Italian 2012 as Il Mio Nome è Nessuno: Il Giuramento by Arnoldo Mondadori Editore S.p.A., Milano
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