Deiphobus son of Priam, brother of Hektor; wisely advises Hektor to return within the walls of Troy.
dirge a slow, sad song, poem, or musical composition expressing grief or mourning; lament.
distaff a staff on which fibers, such as flax or wool, are wound before being spun into thread.
Doloneia name sometimes given to Book X for the Trojan character Dolon who is killed by Odysseus and Diomede.
driver another term for charioteer.
embassy a mission, especially one undertaken by an ambassador. The warriors in Book IX are symbolic ambassadors from Agamemnon to Achilles.
epic simile a simile is a comparison using like or as. An epic simile is an extended simile that may go on for ten, twenty, or more lines and may contain multiple points of comparison.
epithets a descriptive name or title. Phrases such as "breaker of horses," "long-haired," or "well-greaved," are frequently associated with a particular character or sometimes warrior group. The epithet was an epic device or convention that helped the poet in the oral composition process.
funeral games athletic contests held as part of the ritual of an important warrior's funeral.
funeral pyre a pile, especially of wood, on which a dead body is burned in a funeral rite.
Furies avenging spirits, often used as symbols of a destructive, guilty conscience, especially in matters involving wrongs within a family. The Furies typically exacted vengeance when no human agent was available to do so.
