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Anticlea

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The mother of Odysseus in Greek myth, who died of sorrow during his prolonged absence following the Trojan War.

Detailed Definition
Anticlea, daughter of Autolycus and wife of Laertes, is best known as Odysseus’s mother. She appears in the Odyssey’s Nekyia, where Odysseus meets her shade in the Underworld. Her death from longing underscores the emotional cost of war and exile. Poets use Anticlea to symbolize maternal love, sorrow, and the human toll of heroic quests.
Example
Example in poetry:
Anticlea, mother of Odysseus, appears in the Odyssey’s Nekyia as a shade offering wisdom from death; Poets use Anticlea to explore maternal legacy and the underworld’s truth; In Dante’s Inferno (influenced by Greek myth), her role prefigures maternal shades; “Anticlea’s whisper” might symbolize ancestral memory in lyric poetry; Her death from grief over Odysseus’s absence adds pathos to exile themes.
Additional Notes
Anticlea’s death from grief during Odysseus’s absence adds emotional depth to his Nekyia (Odyssey Book 11), where he meets her shade in Hades. Her story underscores the human cost of heroic absence and maternal suffering. Later authors like Dante and Tennyson echo this scene, making Anticlea a touchstone for poetic meditations on loss, memory, and the limits of heroism.
Also Known As
Antikleia
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