- Ahab, Captain pursues Moby Dick, the great white whale, even to the point of losing his own life. [Am. Lit.: Melville Moby Dick]
- Argo Jason’s galley, on which the Argonauts sailed in search of the Golden Fleece. [Gk. Myth.: Benét, 47]
- Dorothy young girl, lost in dream world, follows the Yellow Brick Road to find the Wizard of Oz. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]
- El Dorado mythical land of gold treasures, object of Spanish expeditions. [Am. Hist.: Jameson, 159]
- Golden Fleece pelt of winged ram sought by Jason and Argonauts. [Rom. Legend: Zimmerman, 113]
- grail its pursuit is central theme of some Arthurian romances. [Br. Lit.: Le Morte d’Arthur]
- Hippolyta, girdle of secured after fight with Amazon queen; Hercules’ ninth Labor. [Gk. and Rom. Myth.: Hall, 149]
- Knights of the Round Table set out to find the Holy Grail. [Br. Lit.: Le Morte d’Arthur]
- Pequod ship in which Captain Ahab pursued the great white whale. [Am. Lit.: Melville Moby Dick]
- Ponce de León, Juan (c. 1460–1521) Spanish explorer; sought the fountain of youth. [Span. Hist.: NCE, 2188]
- Santiago old fisherman in search of marlin. [Am. Lit.: The Old Man and the Sea]
- Siege Perilous a seat at King Arthur’s Round Table for the knight destined to find the Holy Grail; it was fatal to any other occupant. [Br. Lit.: Morte d’Arthur; Benét, 929]
- Sohrab young warrior looks everywhere for the father he has never known. [Br. Poetry: Arnold “Sohrab and Rustum”]
- Telemachus relentlessly searches for father, Odysseus. [Gk. Lit.: Odyssey]