Ancient Places

Argos: The birthplace of Perseus and the home of Diomedes, a Greek hero of the Trojan War.

Athens: The home of Theseus and the last resting place of the Theban king Oedipus. Historically, Athens became the center of Greek culture in the fifth and fourth centuries B.C.

Carthage: A city in northern Africa. Aeneas and the Trojans make an long stop at Carthage on their way from Troy to Italy. Queen Dido of Carthage commits suicide after Aeneas, her lover, departs.

Crete: The island home of King Minos, the Minotaur, and the Labyrinth.

Cyprus: An island east of Crete. Aphrodite emerges from the sea off the shore of Cyprus.

Delos: The birthplace of Apollo and Artemis.

Delphi: The dwelling place of the Delphic Oracle.

Ithaca: The home of Odysseus, to which he returns after twenty years’ absence.

Latium: An island in the Aegean and the last resting place of the head of Orpheus.

Lesbos: A region in Italy. After a war with the chieftain Turnus, Aeneas takes marries the princess Lavinia and becomes king of Latium.

Mount Olympus: The dwelling place of the gods.

Mount Ida (Crete): The site of the cave where Rhea hides her infant son Zeus.

Mount Ida (Phrygia): Mountain southeast of Troy where Aphrodite and Anchises conceive Aeneas.

Mycenae: The home of Agamemnon, Clytemnestra, Orestes, and Electra.

Naxos: An island in the Aegean where Theseus abandons Ariadne.

Rome: A city in Italy founded by the twins Romulus and Remus, descendants of Aeneas. Later, the capital of a major republic and empire.

Thebes: The home of Laertes, Jocasta, Oedipus, Creon, and Antigone.

Troy: The home of Priam and Hecuba and their sons Hector and Paris. The Greeks sack Troy after ten years of battle, with the goal of rescuing Menelaus’s wife, Helen, from her captivity.