Home › Glossary › Letter O

Opus

Historical Location
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

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

An ancient city in Locris, Greece, notable as the birthplace of Ajax the Lesser, a hero of the Trojan War, and an important cultural center in its region.

Detailed Definition
Opus was a minor but mythically significant Locrian center. Poets reference Opus to evoke the lesser Ajax’s tragic fate, regional heroism, and the moral complexity of Homeric characters beyond the central figures—often in catalogues of Greek contingents or reflections on secondary glory.
Example
Example in poetry:
A Greek geographer names Opus as Locrian city of swift ships and Homeric heroes; In a modern lyric, Opus symbolizes forgotten mainland towns; A minimalist verse reduces Opus to Euboean strait and olive grove; A historical meditation imagines Opuntian Locrians debating Trojan War participation; A post-archaeological poem questions Opus’ place in national narrative.
Additional Notes
Opus in Locris was the homeland of Ajax the Lesser, whose sacrilege at Troy (dragging Cassandra from Athena’s altar) doomed his return; this mythic link makes Opus a site of divine retribution—key for understanding how localities anchor ethical lessons in epic.
Also Known As
Opous
Skip to main content