Mythology & Beliefs

Vertumnus in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Vertumnus - also Vortumnus or Vertimnus - is the god of seasons, change[1] and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. He could change his form at will; using this power, according to Ovid's Metamorphoses (xiv), he tricked Pomona into talking to him by disguising himself as an old woman and gaining entry to her orchard, then using a narrative warning of the dangers of rejecting a suitor (the embedded tale of Iphis and Anaxarete) to seduce her. The tale of Vertumnus and Pomona was the only purely Latin tale in Ovid's Metamorphoses.[2]...

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Vertumnus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Vertumnus or VORTUMNUS, is said to have been an Etruscan divinity whose worship was introduced at Rome by an ancient Vulsinian colony occupying at first the Caelian hill, and afterwards the vicus Tuscus. (Propert 4.2. 6, &c.; Ov. Miet. 14.642.) The name is evidently connected with verto, and formed on the analogy of alumnus from alo, whence it must signify " the god who changes or metamorphoses himself." For this reason the Romans connected Vertumnus with all occurrences to which the verb verto applies, such as the change of seasons, purchase and sale, the return of rivers to their proper beds, &c. (Comp. Horat. Sat. 2.7. 14.) But in reality the god was connected only with the transformation of plants, and their progress from being in blossom to that of bearing fruit. (Schol. ad Horat. List. 1.20. 1 Ascon. in Cic. Verr. 1.59; Propert. 4.2. 10, &c.) Hence the story, that when Vertumnus was in love with Pomona, he assumed all possible forms, until at last he gained his end by metamorphosing himself into a blooming youth. (Propert 4.2. 21, &c.; Ov. l.c.) Gardeners accordingly offered to him the first produce of their gardens and garlands of budding flowers. (Propert. 4.2. 18 and 45.) But the whole people celebrated a festival to Vertumnus on the 23d of August, under the name of the Vortumnalia, denoting the transition from the beautiful season of autumn to the less agreeable one. He had a temple in the vicus Tuscus, and a statue of him stood in the vicus Jugarius near the altar of Ops. (Propert. l.c. ; Cic. in Verr. 1.59.) The story of the Etruscan origin seems to be sufficiently refuted by his genuine Roman name, and it is much more probable that the worship of Vertumnus was of Sabine origin, which in fact is implied in his connection with T. Tatius. (Varro, De L. L. 5.75.) The importance of the worship of Vertumnus at Rome is evident from the fact, that it was attended to by a special flamen (flamen Vortumnalis ; see Varro, De L. L. 7.45, with Müller's note; Festus, p. 379; Plin. Nat. 23.1; Müller, Anc. Art and its Rem. § 404). - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Vesta in Wikipedia

Vesta was the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman religion. Vesta's presence was symbolized by the sacred fire that burned at her hearth and temples. Her closest Greek equivalent is Hestia...

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Vesta in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

one of the great Roman divinities, identical with the Greek Hestia both in name and import. She was the goddess of the hearth, and therefore inseparably connected with the Penates, for Aeneas was believed to have brought the eternal fire of Vesta from Troy, along with the images of the Penates; and the praetors, consuls, and dictators, before entering upon their official functions, sacrificed not only to the Penates, but also to Vesta at Lavinium. (Verg. A. 2.296, &c., 10.259, 5.744; Macr. 3.4.) In the ancient Roman house, the hearth was the central part, and around it all the inmates daily assembled for their common meal (coena, κοινή), and every meal thus taken was a fresh bond of union and affection among the members of a family, and at the same time an act of worship of Vesta combined with a sacrifice to her and the Penates. (Ov. Fast. 6.305; Verg. G. 4.384; Serv. ad Aen. 1.734.) Every dwelling house therefore was, in some sense, a temple of Vesta (August. De Civ. Dei, 4.11), but a public sanctuary united all the citizens of the state into one large family. This sanctuary stood in the Forum, between the Capitoline and Palatine hills, and not far from the temple of the Penates. (Dionys. A. R. 2.65.) That temple was round with a vaulted roof, like the impluvium of private houses, so that there is no reason to regard that form as an imitation of the vault of heaven (Ov. Fast. 6.269, &c., 282; Plut. Num. 11.) The goddess was not represented in her temple by a statue, but the eternal fire burning on the hearth or altar was her living symbol, and was kept up and attended to by the Vestals, her virgin priestesses. As each house, and the city itself, so also the country had its own Vesta, and the latter was worshipped at Lavinium, the metropolis of the Latins, where she was worshipped and received the regular sacrifices at the hands of the highest magistrates. The goddess herself was regarded as chaste and pure like her symbol, the fire, and the Vestals, who kept up the sacred fire, were likewise pure maidens. Respecting their duties and obligations, see Dict. of Ant. s. v. Vestales. As regards her worship, it is stated, that every year, on the 1st of March her sacred fire, and the laurel tree which shaded her hearth, were renewed (Macr. 1.12; Ov. Fast. 3.143), and that on the 15th of June her temple was cleaned and purified. The dirt was carried into an angiportus behind the temple, which was locked by a gate that no one might enter it. (Ov. Fast. 6.227, &c.; Fest. 1.344, ed. Müller.) The day on which this took place was a dies nefastus, the first half of which was thought to be so inauspicious, that the priestess of Juno was not allowed to comb her hair, to cut her nails, or to approach her husband, while the second half was very favourable to contracting a marriage or ente ring upon other important undertakings. A few days before that solemnity, on the 9th of June, the Vestalia was celebrated in honour of the goddess, on which occasion none but women walked to the temple, and that with bare feet. On one of these occasions an altar had been dedicated to Jupiter Pistor. (Ov. Fast. 6.3. 50; comp. Hartung, Die Relig. der Röm. vol. ii. p. Ill, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Vulcan in Wikipedia

Vulcan (Latin: Vulcanus), aka Mulciber, is the god of beneficial and hindering fire,[1] including the fire of volcanoes in ancient Roman religion and Roman Neopaganism. He is known as Sethlans in Etruscan mythology. He was worshipped at an annual festival on August 23 known as the Volcanalia. The god belongs to the most ancient stage of Roman religion: Varro citing the Annales Maximi, recalls that king Titus Tatius had dedicated altars to a series of deities among which Vulcan is mentioned.[2] Vulcan was identified with the Greek god of fire and smithery, Hephaestus...

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Vulcanus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the Roman god of fire, whose name seems to be connected with fulgere, fulgur, and fulmen. His worship was of considerable political importance at Rome, for a temple is said to have been erected to him close by the comitium as early as the time of Romulus and Tatius, in which the two kings used to meet and settle the affairs of the state, and near which the popular assembly was held. (Dionys. A. R. 2.50, 6.67; Plut. Quaest. Rom. 47.) Tatius is reported to have established the worship of Vulcan along with that of Vesta, and Romulus to have dedicated to him a quadriga after his victory over the Fidenatans, and to have set up a statue of himself near the temple. (Dionys. A. R. 2.54; Plut. Rom. 24.) According to others the temple was built by Romulus himself, who also planted near it the sacred lotus-tree which still existed in the days of Pliny. (H. N. 16.44; P. Victor, Reg. Urb. iv.) These circumstances, and what is related of the lotus-tree, shows that the temple of Vulcan, like that of Vesta, was regarded as a central point of the whole state, and hence it was perhaps not without a meaning that subsequently the temple of Concord was built within the same district. (Liv. 9.46, 40.19, 36.46.) The most ancient festival in honour of Vulcan seems to have been the Fornacalia or Furnalia, he being the god of furnaces (Isidor. 19.6. 2; Fest. p. 88); but his great festival was called Vulcanalia, and was celebrated on the 23d of August. (Dict. of Ant. s. v.) The Roman poets transfer all the stories which are related of the Greek Hephaestus to their own Vulcan, the two divinities having in the course of time been completely identified. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Anemoi in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Anemoi (in Greek, Ἄνεμοι - "winds") were wind gods who were each ascribed a cardinal direction, from which their respective winds came, and were each associated with various seasons and weather conditions. They were sometimes represented as mere gusts of wind, at other times were personified as winged men, and at still other times were depicted as horses kept in the stables of the storm god Aeolus, who provided Odysseus with the Anemoi in the Odyssey. Astraeus, the astrological deity sometimes associated with Aeolus, and Eos, the goddess of the dawn, were the parents of the Anemoi, according to the Greek poet Hesiod...

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Zephyrus in Wikipedia

Zephyrus, or just Zephyr (Greek: Ζέφυρος, Zéphuros, "the west wind"), in Latin Favonius, is the Greek god of the west wind. The gentlest of the winds, Zephyrus is known as the fructifying wind, the messenger of spring. It was thought that Zephyrus lived in a cave in Thrace...

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Zephyrus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Ze/furos), the personification of the west wind, is described by Hesiod (Theog. 579) as a son of Astraeus and Eos. Zephyrus and Boreas are frequently mentioned together by Homer, and both dwelt together in a palace in Thrace. (Il. 9.5, Od. 5.295.) By the Harpy Podarge, Zephyrus became the father of the horses Xanthus and Balius, which belonged to Achilles (Hom. Il. 16.150, &c.); but he was married to Chloris, whom he had carried off by force, and by whom he had a son Carpus. (Ov. Fast. 5.197; Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 5.48.) On the sacred road from Athens to Eleusis, there was an altar of Zephyrus. (Paus. 1.37.1.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Zeus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology Zeus (pronounced /ˈzuːs/ or /ˈzjuːs/; Ancient Greek: Ζεύς; Modern Greek: Δίας, Dias) is the "Father of Gods and men", according to Hesiod's Theogony, who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family; he was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. As Walter Burkert points out in his book, Greek Religion, "Even the gods who are not his natural children address him as Father, and all the gods rise in his presence."(Iliad, book 1.503;533) For the Greeks, he was the King of the Gods, who oversaw the universe. As Pausanias observed, "That Zeus is king in heaven is a saying common to all men".[3] In Hesiod's Theogony, Zeus assigns the various gods their roles. In the Homeric Hymns he is referred to as the chieftain of the gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak. In addition to his Indo-European inheritance, the classical "cloud-gatherer" also derives certain iconographic traits from the cultures of the Ancient Near East, such as the scepter. Zeus is frequently depicted by Greek artists in one of two poses: standing, striding forward, with a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand, or seated in majesty...

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Zeus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ζεύς), the greatest of the Olympian gods, and the father of gods and men, was a son of Cronos and Rhea, a brother of Poseidon, Hades (Pluto), Hestia, Demeter, Hera, and at the same time married to his sister Hera. When Zeus and his brothers distributed among themselves the government of the world by lot, Poseidon obtained the sea, Hades the lower world, and Zeus the heavens and the upper regions, but the earth became common to all (Hom. Il. 15.187, &c., 1.528, 2.111; Verg. A. 4.372). Later mythologers enumerate three Zeus in their genealogies two Arcadian ones and one Cretan; and tne first is said to be a son of Aether, the second of Coelus, and the third of Saturnus (Cic. de Nat. Deor. 3.21). This accounts for the fact that some writers use the name of the king of heaven who sends dew, rain, snow, thunder, and lightning for heaven itself in its physical sense. (Hor. Carm. 1.1.25 ; Verg. G. 2.419.) According to the Homeric account Zeus, like the other Olympian gods, dwelt on Mount Olympus in Thessaly, which was believed to penetrate with its lofty summit into heaven itself (Il. 1.221, &c., 354, 609, 21.438). He is called the father of gods and men (1.514, 5.33; comp. Aeschyl. Sept. 512), the most high and powerful among the immortals, whom all others obey (Il. 19.258, 8.10, &c.). He is the highest ruler, who with his counsel manages every thing (1.175, 8.22), the founder of kingly power, of law and of order, whence Dice, Themis and Nemesis are his assistants (1.238, 2.205, 9.99, 16.387; comp. Hes. Op. et D. 36 ; Callim. Hymn. in Jov. 79). For the same reason he protects the assembly of the people (ἀγοραῖος, the meetings of the council (βουλαῖος), and as he presides over the whole state, so also over every house and family (ἑρκεῖος, Od. 22.335; comp. Ov. Ib. 285). He also watched over the sanctity of the oath (ὅρκιος), the law of hospitality (ξένιος), and protected suppliants (ἱκέσιος, Od. 9.270; comp. Paus. 5.24.2). He avenged those who were wronged, and punished those who had committed a crime, for he watched the doings and sufferings of all men (ἐπόψιος, Od. 13.213; comp. Apollon. 1.1123). He was further the original source of all prophetic power, front whom all prophetic signs and sounds proceeded (πανομφαῖος, Il. 8.250 ; comp. Aeschyl. Eum. 19 ; Callim. Hymn. in Jov. 69). Every thing good as well as bad comes from Zeus, and according to his own choice he assigns their good or evil lot to mortals (Od. 4.237, 6.188, 9.552, Il. 10.71, 17.632, &c.), and fate itself was subordinate to him. He is armed with thunder and lightning, and the shaking of his aegis produces storm and tempest (Il. 17.593) : a number of epithets of Zeus in the Homeric poems describe him as the thunderer, the gatherer of clouds, and the like. He was married to Hera, by whom he had two sons, Ares and Hephaestus, and one daughter, Hebe (Il. 1.585, 5.896, Od. 11.604). Hera sometimes acts as an independent divinity, she is ambitious and rebels against her lord, but she is nevertheless inferior to him, and is punished for her opposition (Il. 15.17, &c., 19.95, &c.) ; his amours with other goddesses or mortal women are not concealed from her, though they generally rouse her jealousy and revenge (Il. 14.317). During the Trojan war, Zeus, at the request of Thetis, favoured the Trojans, until Agamemnon made good the wrong he had done to Achilles. Zeus, no doubt, was originally a god of a portion of nature, whence the oak with its eatable fruit and the fertile doves were sacred to him at Dodona and in Arcadia (hence also rain, storms, and the seasons were regarded as his work, and hence the Cretan stories of milk, honey, and cornucopia) ; but in the Homeric poems, this primitive character of a personification of certain powers of nature is already effaced to some extent, and the god appears as a political and national divinity, as the king and father of men, as the founder and protector of all institutions hallowed by law, custom. or religion. Hesiod (Theog. 116, &c.) also calls Zeus the son of Cronos and Rhea 1, and the brother of Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Crones swallowed his children immediately after their birth, but when Rhea was near giving birth to Zeus, she applied to Uranus and Ge for advice as to how the child might be saved. Before the hour of birth came, Uranus and Ge sent Rhea to Lyetos in Crete, requesting her to bring up her child there. Rhea accordingly concealed her infant in a cave of Mount Aegaeon, and gave to Cronos a stone wrapped up in cloth, which he swallowed in the belief that it was his son. Other traditions state that Zeus was born and brought up on Mount Dicte or Ida (also the Trojan Ida), Ithome in Messenia, Thebes in Boeotia, Aegion in Achaia, or Olenos in Aetolia. According to the common account, however, Zeus grew up in Crete. In the meantime Cronos by a cunning device of Ge or Metis was made to bring up the children he had swallowed, and first of all the stone, which was afterwards set up by Zeus at Delphi. The young god now delivered the Cyclopes from the bonds with which they had been fettered by Cronos, and they in their gratitude provided him with thunder and lightning. On the advice of Ge. Zeus also liberated the hundred-armed Gigantes, Briareos, Cottus, and Gyes, that they might assist him in his fight against the Titans. (Apollod. 1.2. § 1; Hes. Theog. 617, &c.) The Titans were conquered and shut up in Tartarus (Theog. 717), where they were henceforth guarded by the Hecatoncheires. Thereupon Tartarus and Ge begot Typhoeus, who began a fearful struggle with Zeus, but was conquered. (Theog. 820, &c.) Zeus now obtained the dominion of the world, and chose Metis for his wife. (Theog. 881, &c.) When she was pregnant with Athena, he took the child out of her body and concealed it in his own, on the advice of Uranus and Ge, who told him that thereby he would retain the supremacy of the world. For Metis had given birth to a son, this son (so fate had ordained it) would have acquired the sovereignty. After this Zeus, by his second wife Themis. became the father of the Horae and Moerae; of the Charites by Eurynome, of Persephone by Demeter, of the Muses by Mnemosyne, of Apollo and Artemis by Leto, and of Hebe, Ares, and Eileithyia by Hera. Athena was born out of the head of Zeus; while Hera, on the other hand, gave birth to Hephaestus without the co-operation of Zeus. (Theog. 8866, &c.) The family of the Cronidae accordingly embraces the twelve great gods of Olympus, Zeus (the head of them all), Poseidon, Apollo, Ares, Hermes, Hephaestus, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Athena, Aphrodite, and Artemis. These twelve Olympian gods, who in some places were worshipped as a body, as at Athens (Thueyd. 6.54), were recognised not only by the Greeks, but were adopted also by the Romans, who, in particular, identified their Jupiter with the Greek Zeus. In surveying the different local traditions about Zeus, it would seem that originally there were several, at least three, divinities which in their respective countries were supreme, but which in the course of time became united in the minds of the people into one great national divinity. We may accordingly speak of an Arcadian, Dodonaean, Cretan, and a national Hellenic Zeus. 1 * As Rhea is sometimes identified with Ge, Zeus is also called a son of Ge. (Aeschyl. Suppl. 901.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Telemachus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Thle/maxos), the son of Odysseus and Penelope (Hom. Od. 1.216). He was still an infant at the time when his father went to Troy, and in his absence of nearly twenty years he grew up to manhood. After the gods in council had determined that Odysseus should return home from the island of Ogygia, Athena, assuming the appearance of Mentes, king of the Taphians, went to Ithaca, and advised Telemachus to eject the troublesome suitors of his mother from his house, and to go to Pylos and Sparta, to gather information concerning his father. Telemachus followed the advice, but the suitors refused to quit his house; and Athena, in the form of Mentes, accompanied Telemachus to Pylos. There they were hospitably received by Nestor, who also sent his own son to conduct Telemachus to Sparta. Menelaus again kindly received him, and communicated to him the prophecy of Proteus concerning Odysseus. (Hom. Od. i.--iv.) From Sparta Telemachus returned home; and on his arrival there, he found his father, with the swineherd Eumaeus. But as Athena had metamorphosed him into a beggar, Telemachus did not recognise his father until the latter disclosed to him who he was. Father and son now agreed to punish the suitors ; and when they were slain or dispersed, Telemachus accompanied his father to the aged Laertes. (Hom. Od. xv.-- xxiv.; comp. ODYSSEUS.) In the Post-Homeric traditions, we read that Palamedes, when endeavouring to persuade Odysseus to join the Greeks against Troy, and the latter feigned idiotcy, placed the infant Telemachus before the plough with which Odysseus was ploughing. (Hygin. Fab. 95 ; Serv. ad Aen. 2.81; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 384 ; Aelian, Ael. VH 13.12.) According to some accounts, Telemachus became the father of Perseptolis either by Polycaste, the daughter of Nestor, or by Nausicaa, the daughter of Alcinous. (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1796; Dict. Cret. 6.6.) Others relate that he was induced by Athena to marry Circe, and became by her the father of Latinus (Hygin. Fab. 127 ; comp. TELEGONUS), or that he married Cassiphone, a daughter of Circe, but in a quarrel with his mother-in-law he slew her, for which in his turn he was killed by Cassiphone. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 808.) He is also said to have had a daughter called Roma, who married Aeneas. (Serv. ad Aen. 1.273.) One account states that Odysseus, in consequence of a prophecy that his son was dangerous to him, sent him away from Ithaca. Servius (Serv. ad Aen. 10.167) makes Telemachus the founder of the town of Clusium in Etruria. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Tellus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

another form for terra, the name under which the earth was personified among the Romans, as Ge was among the Greeks. She is often mentioned in contrast with Jupiter, the god of heaven, and connected with Dis and the Manes. When an oath was taken by Tellus, or the gods of the nether world, people stretched their hands downward, just as they turned them upwards in swearing by Jupiter. (Varro, de Re Rust. 1.1, 15 ; Macr. 3.9; Liv. 8.9, 10.29.) During the war against the Picentians, an earthquake having been felt during the battle, the consul P. Seampronius Sophus caused a temple of Tellus to be built on the spot where the house of Spurius Cassius had stood, in the street leading to the Carinae. (Liv. 2.41; Flor. 1.19.2; V. Max. 6.3.1; Dionys. A. R. 8.79; Plin. Nat. 34.6, 14.) A festival was celebrated in honour of Tellus on the 15th of April, which was called Fordicidia or Hordicalia, from hordus or fordus, a bearing cow. (Ov. Fast. 4.633; Arnob. 7.22; Hor. Ep. 2.1. 143.) In private life sacrifices were offered to Tellus at the time of sowing and at harvest-time, especially when a member of the family had died without due honours having been paid to him, for it was Tellus that had to receive the departed into her bosom. (Ov. Fast. 4.629, &c.) At the festival of Tellus, and when sacrifices were offered to her, the priests also prayed to a male divinity of the earth, called Tellumo. (Varro, apud August. de Civ. Dei, 7.23.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Terminus in Wikipedia

In Roman religion, Terminus was the god who protected boundary markers; his name was the Latin word for such a marker. Sacrifices were performed to sanctify each boundary stone, and landowners celebrated a festival called the "Terminalia" in Terminus' honor each year on February 23. The Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitoline Hill was thought to have been built over a shrine to Terminus, and he was occasionally identified as an aspect of Jupiter under the name "Jupiter Terminalis"...

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Terminus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

a Roman divinity presiding over boundaries and frontiers. His worship is said to have been instituted by Numa who ordered that every one should mark the boundaries of his landed property by stones to be consecrated to Jupiter (Ζεὺς ὅριος), and at which every year sacrifices were to be offered at the festival of the Terminalia. (Dionys. A. R. 2.9, 74.) These sacred boundaries existed not only in regard to private property, but also in regard to the state itself, the boundary of which was not to be trangressed by any foreign foe. But in later times the latter must have fallen into oblivion, while the termini of private property retained their sacred character even in the days of Dionysius, who states that sacrifices of cakes, meal, and fruit (for it was unlawful to stain the boundary stones with blood), still continued to be offered. The god Terminus himself appears to have been no other than Jupiter himself, in the capacity of the protector of boundaries. (Ov. Fast. 2.639, &c.; Lactant. 1.20, 37.) The Terminus of the Roman state originally stood between the fifth and sixth milestone on the road towards Laurentum, near a place called Festi, and that ancient/boundary of the ager Romanus continued to be revered with the same ceremonies as the boundaries of private estates. (Ov. Fast. l.c. ; Strab. v. p.230.) Another public Terminus stood in the temple of Jupiter in the Capitol, and above it there was an opening in the roof, because no Terminus was allowed to be under cover. (Fest. p. 368, ed. Müller.) This is another proof that Terminus was only an attribute of Jupiter, although tradition gave a different reason for this circumstance; for when that temple was to be founded, and it was necessary to exaugurate other sanctuaries standing on the same site, all the gods readily gave way to Jupiter and Juno, but the auguries would not allow the sanctuaries of Terminus and Juventas to be removed. This was taken as an omen that the Roman state would remain ever undiminished and young, and the chapels of the two divinities were inclosed within the walls of the new temple. (Serv. ad Aen. 2.575, 9.448; Ov. Fast. 2.671.) Here we may ask, what had a Terminus to do on the Capitol, unless he was connected or identical with Jupiter? (Comp. Liv. 1.55, 5.54, 43.13, 45.44; Plb. 3.25 ; Hartung, Die Relig. der Röm. ii. p. 50, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Terpsichore in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Terpsichore (pronounced /tərpˈsɪkəri/) (Τερψιχόρη) "delight of dancing" was one of the nine Muses, ruling over dance and the dramatic chorus. She lends her name to the word "terpsichorean" which means "of or relating to dance". She is usually depicted sitting down, holding a lyre, accompanying the dancers' choirs with her music. She is sometimes said to be the mother of the Sirens by Achelous. Her name comes from the Greek words τέρπω ("delight") and χoρός ("dance")...

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Terpsichora in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Terpsi'chora (*Teryixo/ra), one of the nine Muses, presided over choral song and dancing. (Hes. Theog. 78 ; Pind. Isthm. 2.7; Plat. Phaedr. p. 259 ; comp. MUSAE.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Terra in Wikipedia

Terra Mater or Tellus was a goddess personifying the Earth in Roman mythology. The names Terra Mater and Tellus Mater both mean "Mother Earth" in Latin; Mater is an honorific title also bestowed on other goddesses...

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Terra in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[TELLUS.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Thalia in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Thalia (Θαλία / Thalía, "Abundance") was one of the three Graces or Charites with her sisters Aglaea and Euphrosyne, and a daughter of Zeus and the Oceanid Eurynome or the hour Eunomia. She presided over festive celebrations and rich and luxurious banquets...

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Thaleia in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Thaleia or THALIA (Θάλεια, Θαλία). 1. One of the nine Muses. and, at least in later times, regarded as the Muse of Comedy. (Hes. Theog. 77.) She became the mother of the Corybantes by Apollo. (Apollod. 1.3.4; Plut. Sympos. 9.14.) 2. A daughter of Nereus and Doris. (Hom. Il. 18.39; Hes. Theog. 248 ; Verg. G. 4.338, Aen. 5.826.) 3. A daughter of Hephaestus, and by Zeus, the mother of the Palici. (Serv. ad Aen. 9.584; Steph. Byz. s. v. παλική.) 4. One of the Charites. (Hes. Theog. 909 ; Apollod. 1.1.3; Paus. 9.35.1.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Thanatos in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Thánatos (in Greek, Θάνατος – "Death") was the daemon personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appearing in person. His name is transliterated in Latin as Thanatus, but his equivalent in Roman mythology is Mors or Letus/Letum, and he is sometimes identified erroneously with Orcus (Orcus himself had a Greek equivalent in the form of Horkos, God of the Oath)...

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Thanatos in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Qa/natos), Latin Mors, a personification of Death. In the Homeric poems Death does not appear as a distinct divinity, though he is described as the brother of Sleep, together with whom he carries the body of Sarpedon from the field of battle to the country of the Lycians. (Il. 16.672, 14.231.) In Hesiod (Theog. 211, &100.756) he is a son of Night and a brother of Ker and Sleep, and Death and Sleep reside in the lower world. (Comp. Verg. A. 6.277.) In the Alcestis of Euripides, where Death cones upon the stage, he appears as an austere priest of Hades in a dark robe and with the sacrificial sword, with which he cuts off a lock of a dying person, and devotes it to the lower world. (Alcest. 75, 843, 845.) On the whole, later poets describe Death as a sad or terrific being (Hor. Carm. 1.4.13, Sat. 2.1. 58), but the best artists of the Greeks, avoiding any thing that might be displeasing, abandoned the ideas suggested to them by the poets. and represented Death under a more pleasing aspect. On the chest of Cypselus, Night was represented with two boys, one black and the other white (Paus. 5.18.1), and at Sparta there were statues of both Death and Sleep. (3.18.1.) Both were usually represented as slumbering youths, or as genii with torches turned upside down. There are traces of sacrifices having been offered to Death (Serv. ad Aen. 11.197; Stat. Theb. 4.528; Lucan, 6.600; Philostr. Vit. Apoll. 5.4), but no temples are mentioned anywhere. Comp. the excellent Treatise of Lessing, Wie die Alton den Tod gebildet. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Themis in Wikipedia

Themis (Greek: Θέμις) is an ancient Greek Titan. She is described as "of good counsel", and is the embodiment of divine order, law, and custom. Themis means "law of nature" rather than human ordinance, literally "that which is put in place", from the verb τίθημι, títhēmi, "to put". To the ancient Greeks she was originally the organizer of the "communal affairs of humans, particularly assemblies".[1] Moses Finley remarked of themis, as the word was used by Homer in the 8th century, to evoke the social order of the 10th- and 9th-century Greek Dark Ages:...

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Themis in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Qe/mis). 1. A daughter of Uranus (others say Helios, Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 129) and Ge, was married to Zeus, by whom she became the mother of the Horae, Eunomia, Dice (Astraea), Eirene, and the Moerae. (Hes. Theog. 135, 901, &c.; Apollod. 1.3.1.) In the Homeric poems, Themis is the personification of the order of things established by law, custom, and equity, whence she is described as reigning in the assemblies of men (Od. 2.68, &c.), and as convening, by the command of Zeus, the assembly of the gods. (Il. 20.4.) She dwells in Olympus, and is on friendly terms with Hera. (15.87, &c.) This character of Themis was recognised in the fact that at Thebes she had a sanctuary in common with the Moerae and Zeus Agoraeus (Paus. 9.25.4), and at Olympia in common with the Horae. (Paus. 5.14.8, 17.1; comp. Diod. 5.67.) Besides this she is also described as an ancient prophetic divinity, and is said to have been in possession of the Delphic oracle as the successor of Ge, and previous to Apollo. (Ov. Met. 1.321, 4.642; Apollon. 4.800; Serv. ad Aen. 4.246; Apollod. 1.4.1 ; Paus. 10.5.3; Aeschyl. Eum. init.) The worship of Themis was established at Thebes, Olympia, Athens (Paus. 1.22.1), at Tanagra (9.22.1), and at Troezene, where an altar was dedicated to the Themides. (2.31.8.) Nymphs believed to be daughters of Zeus and Themis lived in a cave on the river Eridanus (Apollod. 2.5.11 ; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 4.1396; Hesych. s. v. Θεμιστιάδες), and the Hesperides also are called daughters of Zeus and Themis. (Schol. ad Eur. Hipp. 737.) She is often represented on coins resembling the figure of Athena with a cornucopia and a pair of scales. (Gellius, 14.4; Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 112; Müller, Anc. Art and its Rem. § 406.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Theseus in Wikipedia

Theseus (Greek: Θησεύς) was the mythical founder-king of Athens, son of Aethra, and fathered by Aegeus and Poseidon, both of whom Aethra lay with in one night. Theseus was a founder-hero, like Perseus, Cadmus or Heracles, all of whom battled and overcame foes that were identified with an archaic religious and social order.[1] As Heracles was the Dorian hero, Theseus was the Ionian founding hero, considered by Athenians as their own great reformer. His name comes from the same root as θεσμός ("thesmos"), Greek for institution. He was responsible for the synoikismos ("dwelling together")-the political unification of Attica under Athens, represented emblematically in his journey of labours, subduing highly localized ogres and monstrous beasts. Because he was the unifying king, Theseus built and occupied a palace on the fortress of the Acropolis that may have been similar to the palace that was excavated in Mycenae. Pausanias reports that after the synoikismos, Theseus established a cult of Aphrodite Pandemos ("Aphrodite of all the People") and Peitho on the southern slope of the Acropolis...

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Theseus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Θησεύς), the great legendary hero of Attica, is one of those mythological personages, whose legends it is by no means easy to disentangle, and represent in their original shape. The later belief of the Athenians, adopted and strengthened by writers of authority, represented him as a very much more historical person than he really was; and, in consequence, the rationalistic mythologists took considerable pains to draw up a narrative of his life in which the supernatural should be kept as much as possible in the back ground, and the character in which the Athenians loved to regard him, as the founder of Attic nationality, be exhibited in as prominent a light as the received traditions allowed. This was avowedly the method upon which Plutarch proceeded. According to the commonly received traditions Theseus was the son of Aegeus, king of Athens, and Aethra, the daughter of Pittheus, king of Troezen [AEGEUS]. Other legends, however, maintained their ground, which represented him as the son of Poseidon by Aethra. (Plut. Thes. 6 ; Diod. 4.59; Paus. 1.17.3; comp. AETHRA.) When no reached maturity, Theseus, by his mother's directions took the sword and sandals, the tokens which had been left by Aegeus, and proceeded to Athens. Eager to emulate Hercules, he went by land, displaying his prowess by destroying the robbers and monsters that infested the country. Periphetes, Sinis, Phaea the Cromyonian sow, Sciron, Cercyon, and Procrustes fell before the invincible hero. Arrived at Cephisus, he was purified by the Phytalidae. At Athens he was immediately recognised by Medea, who laid a plot for poisoning him at a banquet to which he was invited. By means of the sword which he carried, Theseus was recognised by Aegeus, acknowledged as his son, and declared his successor. The sons of Pallas, thus disappointed in their hopes of succeeding to the throne, attempted to secure the succession by violence, and declared war; but, being betrayed by the herald Leos, were destroyed. The capture of the Marathonian bull was the next exploit of Theseus [comp. HECALE]. It was this same enterprise in which Androgeos, the son of Minos, had perished. When the occasion returned on which the Athenians had to send to Minos their tribute of seven youths and seven maidens, Theseus voluntarily offered himself as one of the youths, with the design of slaying the Minotaur, or perishing in the attempt. When they arrived at Crete, Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, became enamoured of Theseus, and provided him with a sword with which he slew the Minotaur, and a clue of thread by which he found his way out of the labyrinth. Having effected his object, and rescued the band of victims, Theseus set sail, carrying off Ariadne. (For the variations in the story, given by Cleidemus, the reader is referred to Plut. Thes. 19.) There were various accounts about Ariadne [ARIADNE], but most of them spoke of Theseus as having either lost or abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos. He was generally believed to have had by her two sons, Oenopion and Staphylus. As the vessel in which they sailed approached Attica, they neglected to hoist the white sail, which was to have been the signal that the expedition had had a prosperous issue. The neglect led to the death of Aegeus [AEGEUS]. A vessel was in existence up to the time of Demetrius Phalereus, which it was pretended was the very ship in which Theseus had sailed to Crete. It was this vessel which was sent every year to Delos with the sacred envoys. It is worth noting, that although Homer mentions Ariadne as having been carried off by Theseus from Crete (Od. 11.321), he says nothing about the Minotaur. All that part of the story is probably a later addition. The expedition to Crete was probably, in its original form, only one of the somewhat numerous amatory adventures of Theseus. several of which are noticed by Plutarch (Thes. 29). Soon after he landed, Theseus is said to have instituted the festival termed Oschophoria (Dictionary of Antiquities, s. v. Oschophoria). The origin of the Pyanepsia, and the reinstitution of the Isthmian games, were also ascribed to Theseus. One of the most renowned of the adventures of Theseus was his expedition against the Amazons. He is said to have assailed them before they had recovered from the attack of Hercules, and to have carried off their queen Antiope. The Amazons in their turn invaded Attica, and penetrated into Athens itself, the final battle in which Theseus overcame them having been fought in the very midst of the city. Of the literal truth of this fact Plutarch (Thes. 27) finds evidence in the names of the localities and the tombs of the fallen Amazons. Cleidemus pretended even to point out the precise position of the contending forces and the fluctuatins of the combat. (Compare the remarkable passage of Aeschylus, Eumen. 685.) By Antiope Theseus was said to have had a son named Hippolytus or Demophoon, and after her death to have married Phaedra [HIPPOLYTUS,;PHAEDRA]. Theseus figures in almost all the ancient heroic undertakings. He was one of the Argonauts (the anachronism of the attempt of Medea to poison him does not seem to have been noticed); he joined in the Calydonian hunt, and aided Adrastus in recovering the bodies of those slain before Thebes. He contracted a close friendship with Peirithous, and aided him and the Lapithae against the Centaurs. Aided by Peirithous he carried off Helen from Sparta while she was quite a girl, and placed her at Aphidnae under the care of Aethra. In return he assisted Peirithous in his attempt to carry off Persephone from the lower world. Peirithous perished in the enterprise, and Theseus was kept in hard durance until he was delivered by Hercules. Later writers endeavored to turn this legend into history by making Peirithous attempt to carry off Core, the daughter of Aidoneus, a king of the Molossians. (Plut. 100.31.) Meantime Castor and Pollux invaded Attica, and carried off Helen and Aethra, Academus having informed the brothers where they were to be found [ACADEMUS]. Menestheus also endeavoured to incite the people against Theseus, who on his return found himself unable to re-establish his authority, and retired to Scyros, where he met with a treacherous death at the hands of Lycomedes. The departed hero was believed to have appeared to aid the Athenians at the battle of Marathon. In B. C. 469 a skeleton of large size was found by Cimon in Sevros [CIMON], and brought to Athens. It was believed to be that of Theseus, in whose honour a temple was erected, in which the bones were deposited. A considerable part of this temple still remains, forming one of the most interesting monuments of Athens. A festival in honour of Theseus was celebrated on the eighth day of each month, especially on the eighth of Pyanepsion. Connected with this festival were two others : the Connideia, in memory of Connidas, the guardian of Theseus; and the Cybernesia, having reference to his voyage. (Dict. of Antiq. s. v. Thescia.) There can be little question that Theseus is a purely legendary personage, as thoroughly so as his contemporary Hercules. Nevertheless, in later times the Athenians came to regard him as the author of a very important political revolution in Attica. Before his time Attica had been broken up into a number of petty independent states or townships (twelve is the number generally stated) acknowledging no head, and connected only by a federal union. Theseus, partly through persuasion, partly by force, abolished the separate council chambers and governments, did away with all separate political jurisdiction, and erected Athens into the capital of a single commonwealth. The festival of the Synoecia was celebrated in commemoration of this change. The festival which was called Athenaea was now reinstituted and termed the Panathenaea (Thuc. 2.15). Theseus is said to have established a constitutional government, retaining in his own hands only cartain definite powers and functions. The citizens generally he is said to have distributed into the three classes of. Eupatridae, Geomori, and Demiurgi (Plut. Thes. 24-26). That this consolidation took place some time or other, there can be no doubt. Whether is was accomplished by Theseus is another question. The authority of Thucydides has usually been allowed to settle the matter. Thucydides, however, did but follow the prevailing opinion of his countrymen ; and if his belief raises Theseus to the rank of an historical king, it must also make the Trojan war a matter of history. It is a vain task now to attempt to decide whether there is any historical basis for the accounts of Theseus that were handed down, and still more so to endeavour to separate the historical from the legendary in what has been preserved. The Theseus of the Athenians was a hero who fought the Amazons, and slew the Minotaur, and carried off Helen. A personage who should be nothing more than a wise king, consolidating the Athenian commonwealth, however possible his existence might be, would have no historical reality. It has been urged that we have no ground for denying the personality of Theseus. In matters of this kind the question is rather " Have we any ground for affirming it ?" And for this we find nothing but the belief of the Athenians. The connection of Theseus with Poseidon, the national deity of the Ionic tribes, in various ways (the name Aegeus points to Aegae, the sanctuary of Poseidon), his coming from the Ionic town Troezen, forcing his way through the Isthmus into Attica, and establishing the Isthmia as an Ionic Panegyris, rather suggest that Theseus is, at least in part, the mythological representative of an Ionian immigration into Attica, which, adding perhaps to the strength and importance of Ionian settlers already in the country, might easily have led to that political aggregation of the disjointed elements of the state which is assigned to Theseus. It was probably from the relation in which he stood to the Athenian commonwealth as a whole, that his name was not connected with any particular phyle. (Plut. Theseus ; Diod. l.c. ; Grote, Hist. of Greece, vol. i. p. 281, &c., vol. ii. p. 29, vol. iii. p. 91; Wachsmuth, Hellenische Alterthumskunde, § 40. vol. i. p. 351, &c., § 128. vol. ii. p. 488.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pyramus and Thisbe in Wikipedia

The love story of Pyramus and Thisbe, is a part of Roman mythology, and is also a sentimental romance. The tale is told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses...

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Thisbe in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Θίσβη). 1. A beautiful maiden at Babylon, was beloved by Pyramus. The lovers living in adjoining houses, often secretly conversed with each other through an opening in the wall, as their parents would not sanction their marriaqge. Once they agreed upon a rendezvous at the tomb of Ninus. Thisbe arrived first, and while she was waiting for Pyramus, she perceived a lioness who had just torn to pieces an ox, and took to flight. While running she lost her garment, which the lioness soiled with blood. In the mean time Pyramus arrived, and finding her garment covered with blood, he imagined that she had been murdered, and made away with himself under a mulberry tree, the fruit of which henceforth was as red as blood. Thisbe, who afterwards found the body of her lover, likewise killed herself. (Ov. Met. 4.55-165; comp. Anthol. Lat. i. p. 106, &c. ed. Burrn.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Thyestes in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Thyestes (Θυέστης) was the son of Pelops, King of Olympia, and Hippodamia and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. Thyestes and his twin brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympia. They took refuge in Mycenae, where they ascended to the throne upon the absence of King Eurystheus, who was fighting the Heracleidae. Eurystheus had meant for their lordship to be temporary; it became permanent due to his death in conflict...

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Thyestes in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Θυέστης), a son of Pelops and Hippodameia, was the brother of Atreus and the father of Aegisthus. (Horn. Il. 2.107; Aeschyl. Agam. 1242 ; Eurip. Or. 1008 ; comp. ATREUS ; PELOPS; AGAMEMNON.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Tiresias in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Tiresias (Greek: Τειρεσίας, also transliterated as Teiresias) was a blind prophet of Thebes, famous for clairvoyance and for being transformed into a woman for seven years. He was the son of the shepherd Everes and the nymph Chariclo;[1] Tiresias participated fully in seven generations at Thebes, beginning as advisor to Cadmus himself...

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Teiresias in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Teire'sias (Τειρησίας), or TIRE'SIAS, a son of Everes (or Phorbas, Ptolem. Hephaest. 1) and Chariclo, whence he is sometimes called Εὐηρείδης. (Callim. Lav. Pall. 81 ; Theocrit. Id. 24.70.) He belonged to the ancient family of Udaeus at Thebes, and was one of the most renowned soothsayers in all antiquity. He was blind from his seventh year, but lived to a very old age. The cause of his blindness was believed to have been the fact that he had revealed to men things which, according to the will of the gods, they ought not to know, or that he had seen Athena while she was bathing, on which occasion the goddess is said to have blinded him, by sprinkling water into his face. Chariclo prayed to Athena to restore his sight to him, but as the goddess was unable to do this, she conferred upon him the power to understand the voices of the birds, and gave him a staff, with the help of which he could walk as safely as if he had his eyesight (Apollod. 3.6.7; Callim. Lav. Pall. 7.5, &c., with Spanbeim's note.) Another tradition accounts for his blindness in the following manner. Once, when on Mount Cythaeron (others say Cyllene), he saw a male and a female serpent together; he struck at them with his staff, and as he happened to kill the female, he himself was metamorphosed into a woman. Seven years later he again saw two serpents. and now killing the male, he again became a man. It was for this reason that Zeus and Hera. when they were disputing as to whether a man or a woman had more enjoyments, referred the matter to Teiresias, who could judge of both, and declared in favour of the assertion of Zeus that women had more enjoyments. Hera, indignant at the answer, blinded him, but Zeus gave him the power of prophecy, and granted him a life which was to last for seven or nine generations. (Apollod. l.c. ; Hygin. Fab. 75 ; Ov. Met. 3.320, &c.; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 682 ; Pind. N. 1.91.) In the war of the Seven against Thebes. he declared that Thebes should be victorious, it Menoeceus would sacrifice himself (Apollod. l.c. ; Hygin. Fab. 68); and during the war of the Epigoni, when the Thebans laid been defeated, he advised them to commmence negotiations of peace, and to avail themselves of the opportunity that would thus be afforded them, to take to flight. He himself fled with them (or, according to others, he was carried to Delphi as a captive), but on his way he drank from the well of Tilphossa and died. (Apollod. 3.7.3; Paus. 9.33.1; Diod. 4.66.) His daughter Manto (or Daphne) was sent by the victorious Argives to Delphi, as a present to Apollo. (Diod. l.c. ; Apollod. 3.7.4.) Another daughter of his is called Historis. (Paus. 9.11.2.) Even in the lower world Teiresias was believed to retain the powers of perception, while the souls of other mortals were mere shades, and there also he continued to use his golden staff. (Hom. Od. 10.492, 11.190, &c.; Ly-coph. Cuss. 682 ; Cic. de Div. 1.40; Paus. 9.33.1.) His tomb was shown in the neighbourhood of the Tilphusian well near Thebes (Paus. 9.18.3, 33.1, 7.3. § I), but also in Macedonia (Plin. Nat. 37.10); and the place near Thebes where lie had observed the birds (οἰωνοσκόπιον) was pointed out as a remarkable spot even in later times. (Paus. 9.16. § I; Soph. Oed. Tyr. 493.) The oracle connected with his tomb lost its power and became silent at the time of the Orchomenian plague. (Plut. De Orac. Defect.) He was represented by Polygnotus in the Lesche at Delphi. (Paus. 10.29.2.) The blind seer Teiresias acts so prominent a part in the mythical history of Greece that there is scarcely any event with which he is not connected in some way or other, and this introduction of the seer in so many occurrences separated by long intervals of time, was facilitated by the belief in his long life. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Tisiphone in Wikipedia

Tisiphone (Ancient Greek: Τισιφόνη, "avenging murder") is the name of two figures in Greek mythology. Erinyes Tisiphone was one of the Erinyes or Furies, and sister of Alecto and Megaera. She was the one who punished crimes of murder: parricide, fratricide and homicide. A myth recounts how Tisiphone fell in love with Cithaeron, and caused his death by snakebite, specifically, by one of the snakes from her head. In Book VI of Virgil's Aeneid, Tisiphone is recognized as the furious and cruel guardian of the gates of Tartarus...

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Tisiphone in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Τισιφόνη). 1. The name of one of the Erinnyes (the avenger of murder, Orph. Arg. 966 ; comp. ERINNYES). 2. A daughter of Alcmaeon and Manto. (Apollod. 3.7.7.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Titans in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Titans (Greek: Τιτάν - Ti-tan; plural: Τιτᾶνες - Ti-tânes) were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during the legendary Golden Age. In the first generation of twelve[1] Titans the males were Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Cronus, Crius and Iapetus and the females were Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea and Themis. The second generation of Titans consisted of Hyperion's children Eos, Helios, and Selene; Coeus's daughters Leto and Asteria; Iapetus's sons Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius; and Crius's sons Astraeus, Pallas, and Perses...

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Titans in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Τιτάν). 1. This name commonly appears in the plural Τιτᾶνες, from Τιτανίδες, as the name of the sons and daughters of Uranus and Ge, whence they are also called Οὐρανίωνες or Οὐρανίδαι. (Hom. Il. 5.898; Apollon. 2.1232.) These Titans are Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Cronus, Theia, Rheia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys, to whom Apollodorus (1.1.3) adds Dione. (Hes. Theog. 133, &c.) Some writers also add Phorcys and Demeter. (Heyne, ad Apollod. 1.1.1; Clemens, Homil. 6.2.) Stephanus of Byzantium (s. v. Ἄσανα) has the following as the names of the children of Uranus and Ge : Adanus, Ostasus, Andes, Cronus, Rhea, Iapetus, Olymbrus; and Pausanias (8.37.3) mentions a Titan Anytus, who was believed to have brought up the Arcadian Despoena. Uranus, the first ruler of the world, threw his sons, the Hecatoncheires, Briareus, Cottys, Gyes (Hes. Theog. 617), and the Cyclopes, Arges, Steropes, and Brontes, into Tartarus. Gaea, indignant at this, persuaded the Titans to rise against their father, and gave to Cronus an adamantine sickle (ἅρπη). They did as their mother bade them, with the exception of Oceanus. Cronus, with his sickle, unmanned his father, and threw the part into the sea, and out of the drops of his blood there arose the Erinnyes, Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera. The Titans then deposed Uranus, liberated their brothers who had been cast into Tartarus, and raised Cronus to the throne. But he again threw the Cyclopes into Tartarus, and married his sister Rhea (Ovid, Ov. Met. 9.497, calls her Ops). As, however, he had been foretold by Gaea and Uranus, that he should be dethroned by one of his own children, he, after their birth, swallowed successively his children Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Pluto and Poseidon. Rhea therefore, when she was pregnant with Zeus. went to Crete, gave birth to the child in the Dictaean Cave, and entrusted him to be brought up to the Curetes, and the daughters of Melissus, the nymphs Adrasteia and Ida. The armed Curetes guarded the infant in the cave, and struck their shields with their spears, that Cronus might not hear the voice of the child. Rhea, moreover, deceived Cronus by giving him a stone wrapped up in cloth, which he swallowed, believing it to be his newly- born son. (Apollod. 1. §§ 1-5; Ov. Fast. 4.179, &c.) When Zeus had grown up he availed himself of the assistance of Thetis, the daughter of Oceanus who gave to Cronus a potion which caused him to bring up the stone and the children he had swallowed. United with his brothers and sisters, Zeus now began the contest against Cronus and the ruling Titans. This contest (usually called the Titanomachia), which was carried on in Thessaly, the Titans occupying Mount Othrys, and the sons of Cronus Mount Olympus, lasted for ten years, when at length Gaea promised victory to Zeus, if he would deliver the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires from Tartarus. Zeus accordingly slew Campe, who guarded the Cyclopes, and the latter furnished him with thunder and lightning, Pluto wave him a helmet, and Poseidon a trident. The Titans then were overcome, and hurled down into a cavity below Tartarus (Hom. Il. 14.279; Hes. Theog. 697, 851 ; Hom. Hymn. in Apoll. 335 ; Paus. 8.37.3), and the Hecatoncheires were set to guard them. (Hom. Il. 8.479; Hes. Theog. 617, &c.; Apollod. 1.2.1.) It must be observed that the fight of the Titans is sometimes confounded by ancient writers with the fight of the Gigantes. 2. The name Titans is also given to those divine or semi-divine beings who were descended from the Titans, such as Prometheus, Hecate (Hes. Theog. 424 ; Serv. ad Aen. 4.511), Latona (Ov. Met. 6.346), Pyrrha (1.395), and especially Helios and Selene (Mene), as the children of Hyperion and Theia, and even the descendants of Helios, such as Circe. (Serv. ad Aen. 4.119, 6.725 ; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 4.54; Ov. Fast. 1.617, 4.943, Met. 3.173, 14.382; Tib. 4.1. 50.) 3. The name Titans, lastly, is given to certain tribes of men from whom all mankind is descended. Thus the ancient city of Cnosos in Crete is said to have originally been inhabited by Titans, who were hostile to Zeus, but were driven away by Pan with the fearful sounds of his shell- trumpet. (Hom. Hymn. in Apoll. 336 ; Diod. 3.57, 5.66 ; Orph. Hymn. 36. 2 ; comp. Höck, Creta, p. 171, &c.; Lobeck, Aglaoph. p. 763; Völcker, Mythol. des Iapet. Geschl. p. 280, &c.) [L.S] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Tithonus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Tithonus or Tithonos (Ancient Greek: Τιθωνός) was the lover of Eos, Titan[1] of the dawn. He was a Trojan by birth, the son of King Laomedon of Troy by a water nymph named Strymo (Στρυμώ). In the mythology known to the fifth-century vase-painters of Athens, Tithonus was envisaged as a rhapsode, as the lyre in his hand, on an oinochoe of the Achilles Painter, ca. 470 BC–460 BCE (illustration) attests. Competitive singing, as in the Contest of Homer and Hesiod, is also depicted vividly in the Homeric Hymn to Apollo and mentioned in the two Hymns to Aphrodite.[2]...

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Tithonus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Τιθωνός), a son of Laomedon, and brother of Priam (Hom. Il. 20.237), or according to others (Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 1.447, 3.48), a brother of Laomedon. Others, again, call him a son of Cephalus and Eos. (Apollod. 3.14.3.) By the prayers of Eos who loved him he obtained from the immortal gods immortality, but not eternal youth, in consequence of which he completely shrunk together in his old age, whence an old decrepit man was proverbially called Tithonus. (Hom. Hymn. in Ven. 219 ; Hes. Theog. 984 ; Apollod. 3.12.4 ; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 18 ; Hor. Carm. 1.28. 8; Ov. Fast. 1.461.) [L.S] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Triton in Wikipedia

Triton (Τρίτων, gen: Τρίτωνος) is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the sea. He is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Amphitrite, goddess of the sea, whose herald he is. He is usually represented as a merman, having the upper body of a human and the tail of a fish, "sea-hued", according to Ovid[1] "his shoulders barnacled with sea-shells"...

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Triton in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Τρίτων). 1. A son of Poseidon and Amphitrite (or Celaeno), who dwelt with his father and mother in a golden palace on the bottom of the sea, or according to Homer (Hom. Il. 13.20) at Aegae. (lies. Theog. 930, &c.; Apollod. 1.4.6.) Later writers describe this divinity of the Mediterranean as riding over the sea on horses or other sea-monsters. (Ov. Heroid. vii. .50; Cic. de Nat. Deor. 1.28; Claudian, 28.378.) Sometimes also Tritons are mentioned in the plural, and as serving other marine divinities in riding over the sea. Their appearance is differently described, though they are always conceived as presenting the human figure in the upper part of their bodies, while the lower part is that of a fish. Pausanias (9.21.1) says : the Tritons have green hair on their head, very fine and hard scales, breathing organs below their ears, a human nose, a broad month, with the teeth of animals, sea-green eyes, hands rough like the surface of a shell, and instead of feet, a tail like that of dolphins. (Comp. Orph, Hymn 23. 4 ; Plin. Nat. 36.4, 7.) The chief characteristic of Tritons in poetry as well as in works of art is a trumpet consisting of a shell (concha), which the Tritons blow at the command of Poseidon, to soothe the restless waves of the sea (Ov. Met. 1.333), and in the fight of the Gigantes this trumpet served to frighten the enemies. (Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.23; comp. Paus. 8.2.3; Mosch. 2.20; Verg. A. 10.209, &c.; Ov. Met. 2.8; Plin. Nat. 9.5.) Tritons were sometimes represented with two horse's feet instead of arms, and they were then called Centaur-Tritons or Ichthyocentaurs. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 34, 886, 892.) Their figures are frequently mentioned in works of art, as in the sanctuary of Poseidon on the Corinthian isthmus (Paus. 2.1.7), in the temple of Dionysus at Tanagra (9.20.4; comp. Aelian, Ael. NA 13.21), in the pediment of the temple of Saturn at Rome. (Macr. 1.8; comp. Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 152; Müller, Anc. Art. and its Rem. § 402.) 2. The god of like Tritonis in Libya, is, like Glaucus, a marine divinity connected with the story of the Argonauts. (Apollon. 4.1552, &c. ; Orph. Argon. 337; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 34, 754 ; Hdt. 4.179.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Turnus in Wikipedia

In Virgil's Aeneid, Turnus was the King of the Rutuli, and the chief antagonist of the hero Aeneas. Prior to Aeneas' arrival in Italy, Turnus was the primary potential suitor of Lavinia, daughter of Latinus, King of the Latin people. Upon Aeneas' arrival, however, Lavinia is promised to the Trojan prince. Juno, determined to prolong the suffering of the Trojans, prompts Turnus to demand a war with the new arrivals. King Latinus is greatly displeased with Turnus, but steps down and allows the war to commence...

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Turnus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Tu/rnos), a son of Daunus and Venilia, and king of the Rutulians at the time of the arrival of Aeneas in Italy. (Verg. A. 10.76, 616.) He was a brother of Juturna and related to Amata, the wife of king Latinus. (12.138.) Alecto, by the command of Hera, stirred him up to fight against Aeneas after his landing in Italy. (7.408, &c.) He appears in the Aeneid as a brave warrior, but in the end he fell by the hand of the victorious Aeneas (12.926, &c.). Livy (1.2) and Dionysius also mention him as king of the Rutulians, who allied himself with the Etruscans against the Latins, consisting of Aborigenes and Trojans. The Rutulians according to their account indeed were defeated, but Aeneas fell. (Comp. AENEAS.) [L.S] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Ulysses in Wikipedia

Odysseus (pronounced /oʊˈdɪsiəs/ or /oʊˈdɪsjuːs/; Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς, Odusseus) or Ulysses (pronounced /juːˈlɪsiːz/; Latin: Ulyssēs, Ulixēs) was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle...

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Urania in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Urania (Οὐρανία, which stems from the Greek word for 'heavenly' or 'of heaven', pronounced /jʊ ˈreɪnɪ.ə/ in English), was the muse of astronomy. Some accounts list her as the mother of the musician Linus. She is usually depicted as having a globe in her left hand. She is able to foretell the future by the arrangement of the stars. She is often associated with Universal Love and the Holy Spirit. She is dressed in a cloak embroidered with stars and keeps her eyes and attention focused on the Heavens. Those who are most concerned with philosophy and the heavens are dearest to her...

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Uranus in Wikipedia

Uranus (pronounced /ˈjʊərənəs, jʊˈreɪnəs/) is the Latinized form of Ouranos (Οὐρανός), the Greek word for sky (a cognate of the English word air). His equivalent in Roman mythology was Caelus, likewise from caelum the Latin word for "sky". In Greek mythology, Ouranos, or Father Sky, is personified as the son and husband of Gaia, Mother Earth (Hesiod, Theogony). Uranus and Gaia were ancestors of most of the Greek gods, but no cult addressed directly to Uranus survived into Classical times,[2] and Uranus does not appear among the usual themes of Greek painted pottery. Elemental Earth, Sky and Styx might be joined, however, in a solemn invocation in Homeric epic.[3]...

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Venus in Wikipedia

Venus was a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths. From the third century BC, the increasing Hellenization of Roman upper classes identified her as the equivalent of the Greek goddess Aphrodite...

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Venus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the goddess of love among the Romans, and more especially of sensual love. Previously to her identification with the Greek Aphrodite, she was one of the least important divinities in the religion of the Romans, and it is observed by the ancients themselves, that her name was not mentioned in any of the documents relating to the kingly period of Roman history. (Macr. 1.12.) This is further evident from the fact that at no time a festival was celebrated in honour of Venus, for the Vinalia (on the 23d of April and 19th of August) were quite a different festival, and were connected with this goddess only by a misinterpretation of the name (Dict. of Ant. s. v. Vinalia), which led courtesans to regard the 23d of April as a holiday of their own, and to worship the goddess on that day in their peculiar way in a temple outside the city. (Ov. Fast. 4.865.) In later times several other solemnities were celebrated to Venus in the month of April, partly because that month being the beginning of spring, was thought to be particularly sacred to the goddess of love, and partly because the belief had gradually gained ground that Venus, as the beloved of Mars, was concerned in the origin of the Roman people. This latter point gained support from the legend which made Aeneas a son of Anchises and Aphrodite (identified with Venus ; see Ov. Fast. 4.135; Plut. Num. 19; Macrob. l.c.; Laur. Lyd. De Mens. 4.45). There was at Lavinium a sanctuary of Venus common to all Latium, the ceremonies at which were performed by the people of Ardea, but its age cannot be defined. (Strab. p. 232.) At Rome we may notice the following circumstances as proving the worship of Venus to have been established there at an early time. There was a stone chapel with an image of Venus Murtea or Murcia in the Circus near to the spot where the altar of Consus was concealed. (Fest. p. 149, ed. Miller; Apul. Met. 6.395 ; Tertull. De Spect. 8; Varro, De L. L. 5.154; Liv. 1.33; August. De Civ. Dei, 4.16.) The surname Murtea or Murcia shows that the myrtle- tree stood in some relation to the goddess, and it is actually said that in ancient times there was a myrtle grove in front of her sanctuary below the Aventine. (Plin. Nat. 15.36; Serv. ad Aen. 1.724; Plut. Quaest. Rom. 20.) It must however be observed that some of the ecclesiastical writers preferred taking the surname Murcia in the sense of " stupid" or " dull" (from murcus). Another ancient surname of Venus was Cloacina, which, according to Lactantius (1.20), was derived from the fact that her image was found in the great sewer (cloaca), and was set up by the Sabine king, T. Tatius, in a temple near the forum. (Comp. Liv. 3.48 ; Plaut. Curcul. 4.1. 10.) If Venus had been one of the divinities of the lower world, this story might be intelligible enough, but as such was not the case, it appears to be nothing but an etymological inference from the name. Cloaca is connected with cluere, Cluilia, Cloelia, κλύζειν, luere (i. e. purgare), and there is a tradition that T. Tatius and Roranlus, after the war which had arisen out of the rape of the Sabine women, ordered their subjects to purify themselves before the image of Venus Cluacina. (Plin. Nat. 15.29 ; comp. Serv. ad Aen. 1.724, where purgare must be read for pugnare.) This explanation agrees perfectly with the belief of the ancients that T. Tatius was the founder of marriage; and Venus Cloacina, accordingly, is the goddess presiding over and purifying the sexual intercourse in marriage. A third ancient surname of the goddess is Calva, under which she had two temples in the neighbourhood of the Capitol. Some believed that one of them had been built by Ancus Marcius, because his wife was in danger of losing her hair ; others thought that it was a monument of a patriotic act of the Roman women, who during the siege of the Gauls cut off their hair and gave it to the men to make strings for their bows, and others again to the fancies and caprices of lovers, calvere signifying " to teaze." (Serv. ad Aen. 1.724; Lactant. 1.20; Nonius, p. 6.) But it probably refers to the fact that on her wedding day the bride, either actually or symbolically, cut off a lock of hair to sacrifice it to Venus. (Pers. Sat. 2.70, with the Schol.) In these, the most ancient surnames of Venus, we must recognise her primitive character and attributes. In later times her worship became much more extended, and the identification with the Greek Aphrodite introduced various new attributes. At the beginning of the second Punic war, the worship of Venus Erycina or Erucina was introduced from Sicily, and a temple was dedicated to her on the Capitol, to which subsequently another was added outside the Colline gate. (Liv. 22.9, 10, 23.30, 31, 40.34; Ov. Rem. Am. 549; P. Victor, Reg. Urb. v.) In the year B. C. 114, a Vestal virgin was killed by lightning, and her body was found naked; as the general moral corruption, especially among the Vestals, was believed to be the cause of this disaster, the Sibylline books were consulted which contained the order to build a temple of Venus Verticordia (the goddess who turns the hearts of men) on the via Salaria. (Ov. Fast. 4.160; V. Max. 8.15.12.) After the close of the Samnite war, Fabius Gurges founded the worship of Venus Obsequens and Postvota; Scipio Africanus the younger that of Venus Genitrix, in which he was afterwards followed by Caesar, who added that of Venus Victrix. (Serv. ad Aen. 1.724.) The antiquity of the worship of Venus Militaris, Barbata and Equestris is unknown (Serv. l.c.; Macr. 3.8); but the sanctuaries of Venus Rhamnusia, Placida, and Alma are all of a very late date. (P. Vict. Reg. Urb. v. x. xii.) Lastly, we may remark, that Venus is also said to have presided over gardens. (Varro, De R. R. 1.1; Plin. Nat. 19.4; Fest. p. 58, ed. Müller ; compare Hartung, Die Relig. der Röm. vol. ii. p. 248, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Scylla in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Sku/lla) 1. Scylla and Charybdis, the names of two rocks between Italy and Sicily, and only a short distance from one another. In the midst of the one of these rocks which was nearest to Italy, there dwelt, according to Homer, Scylla, a daughter of Crataeis, a fearful monster, barking like a dog, with twelve feet, six long necks and mouths, each of which contained three rows of sharp teeth. The opposite rock, which was much lower, contained an immense fig-tree, under which there dwelt Charybdis, who thrice every day swallowed down the waters of the sea, and thrice threw them up again : both were formidable to the ships which had to pass between them (Hom. Od. 12.73, &c., 235, &c.). Later traditions represent Scylla as a daughter of Phorcys or Phorbas, by Hecate Crataeis (Apollon. 4.828, &c., with the Scholiast), or by Lamia; while others make her a daughter of Triton, or Poseidon and Crataeis (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1714), or of Typhon and Echidna (Hygin. Fab. praef.). Some, again, describe her as a monster with six heads of different animals, or with only three heads (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 650 ; Eustath. l.c.). One tradition relates that Scylla originally was a beautiful maiden, who often played with the nymphs of the sea, and was beloved by the marine god Glaucus. He applied to Circe for means to make Scylla return his love; but Circe, jealous of the fair maiden, threw magic herbs into the well in which Scylla was wont to bathe, and by these herbs the maiden was metamorphosed in such a manner, that the upper part of her body remained that of a woman, while the lower part was changed into the tail of a fish or serpent, surrounded by dogs (Ov. Met. 13.732, &c., 905, 14.40, &c.; Tib. 3.4. 89). Another tradition related that Scylla was beloved by Poseidon, and that Amphitrite, from jealousy, metamorphosed her into a monster (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 45 ; Serv. ad Aen. 3.420). Heracles is said to have killed her, because she had stolen some of the oxen of Geryon; but Phorcys is said to have restored her to life (Eustath., Tzetz., Hygin., l.c.). Virgil (Aen. 6.286) speaks of several Scyllae, and places them in the lower world (comp. Lucret. 5.893). Charybdis is described as a daughter of Poseidon and Gaea, and as a voracious woman,who stole oxen from Heracles, and was hurled by the thunderbolt of Zeus into the sea, where she retained her voracious nature. (Serv. ad Aen. 3.420.) 2. A daughter of King Nisus of Megara, who, in consequence of her love of Minos, cut off the golden hair from her father's head, and thereby caused his death (Apollod. 3.15.8). She has sometimes been confounded with the monster Scylla. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Selene in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Selene (Greek Σελήνη /selɛ́ːnɛː/ 'moon'; Doric Σελάνα; Aeolic Σελάννα) was an archaic lunar deity and the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia.[1] In Roman mythology, the moon goddess is called Luna, Latin for "moon". Like most moon deities, Selene plays a fairly large role in her pantheon, which preceded the Olympic pantheon. However, Selene, a Titan, was eventually largely supplanted by Artemis, an Olympian; the Romans similarly deemed Luna predecessor to Diana. In the collection known as the Homeric hymns, there is a Hymn to Selene (xxxii), paired with the hymn to Helios. In it, Selene is addressed as "far-winged", an epithet ordinarily applied to birds. Selene is mentioned in Nonnus, Dionysiaca 48.581; Pausanias 5.1.4; and Strabo 14.1.6...

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Selene in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Σελήνη), also called Mene, or Latin Luna, was the goddess of the moon, or the moon personified into a divine being. She is called a daughter of Hyperion and Theia, and accordingly a sister of Helios and Eos (Hes. Theog. 371, &c.; Apollod. 1.2.2; Schol. ad Pind. Isthm. 5.1, ad Apollon. Rhod. 4.55); but others speak of her as a daughter of Hyperion by Euryphaessa (Hom. Hymn. 31. 5), or of Pallas (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 99, &c.), or of Zeus and Latona (Schol. ad Eur. Phoen. 175), or lastly of Helios (Eurip. l.c.; comp. Hygin. Praef. p. 10, ed. Muncker). She is also called Phoebe, as the sister of Phoebus, the god of the sun. By Endymion, whom she loved, and whom she sent to sleep in order to kiss him, she became the mother of fifty daughters (Apollod. 1.7.5; Cic. Tusc. 1.38; Catull. 66. 5; Paus. 5.1.2); by Zeus she became the mother of Pandeia, Ersa, and Nemea (Hom. Hymn. 32. 14 ; Plut. Sympos. iii. in fin.; Schol. ad Pind. Nem. Hypoth. p. 425, ed. Böckh). Pan also is said to have had connexion with her in the shape of a white ram (Verg. G. 3.391). Selene is described as a very beautiful goddess, with long wings and a golden diadem (Hom. Hymn. 32. 1, 7), and Aeschylus (Sept. 390) calls her the eye of night. She rode, like her brother Helios, across the heavens in a chariot drawn by two white horses, cows, or mules (Ov. Fast. 4.374, 3.110, Rem. Am. 258 ; Auson. Ep. 5.3; Claudian, Rapt. Proserp. 3.403; Nonn. Dionys. 7.244). She was represented on the pedestal of the throne of Zeus at Olympia, riding on a horse or a mule (Paus. 5.11.3); and at Elis there was a statue of her with two horns (Paus. 6.24.5). In later times Selene was identified with Artemis, and the worship of the two became amalgamated (Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 114, 141 ; Soph. Oed. Tyr. 207 ; Plut. Sympos. l.c.; Catull. 34. 16; Serv. ad Aen. 4.511, 6.118). In works of art, however, the two divinities are usually distinguished; the face of Selene being more full and round, her figure less tall, and always clothed in a long robe; her veil forms an arch above her head, and above it there is the crescent. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 38.) At Rome Luna had a temple on the Aventine. (Liv. 40.2; Ov. Fast. 3.884.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Semele in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Semele (Σεμέλη), daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, was the mortal mother[1] of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. (In another version of his mythic origin, he had two mothers, Persephone and Semele.) The name "Semele", like other elements of Dionysiac cult (e.g., thyrsus and dithyramb), is manifestly not Greek[2] but apparently Thraco-Phrygian;[3] the myth of Semele's father Cadmus gives him a Phoenician origin. Herodotus, who gives the account of Cadmus, estimates that Semele lived sixteen hundred years before his time, or around 2000 B.C.[4]...

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Semele in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Σεμέλη), a daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, at Thebes, and accordingly a sister of Ino, Agave, Autonoe, and Polydorus. She was beloved by Zeus (Hom. Il. 14.323, Hymn. in Bacch. 6, 57 ; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 2.40), and Hera, stimulated by jealousy, appeared to her in the form of her aged nurse Beroe, and induced her to pray Zeus to visit her in the same splendour and majesty with which he appeared to Hera. Zeus, who had promised that he would grant her every request, did as she desired. He appeared to her as the god of thunder, and Semele was consumed by the fire of lightning; but Zeus saved her child Dionysus, with whom she was pregnant (Apollod, 3.4.3; Ov. Met. 3.260, &c.; Hygin. Fab. 179). Pausanias (9.2.3) relates that Actaeon was in love with her, and that Artemis caused him to be torn to pieces by his dogs, to prevent his marrying her. The inhabitants of Brasiae, in Laconia, related that Semele, after having given birth to Dionysus, was thrown by her father Cadmus in a boat upon the sea, and that her body was driven to the coast of Brasiae, where it was buried ; whereas Dionysus, whose life was saved, was brought up at Brasiae (Paus. 3.24.3). After her death, the common account continues, she was led by her son out of the lower world, and carried up to Olympus as Thyone (Pind. O. 2.44, Pyth. xi 1; Paus. 2.31.2, 37.5; A pollod. 3.5.3). A statue of her and her tomb were shown at Thebes. (Paus. 9.12.3, 16.4.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Sibyls in Wikipedia

The word sibyl comes (via Latin) from the Greek word sibylla, meaning prophetess. The earliest oracular seeresses known as the sibyls of antiquity, "who admittedly are known only through legend"[1] prophesied at certain holy sites, under the divine influence of a deity, originally- at Delphi and Pessinos- one of the chthonic earth-goddesses. Later in antiquity, sibyls wandered from place to place...

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Sibylla in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Si/bulla) is the name by which several prophetic women are designated who occur in various countries and at different times in antiquity. The name is said to be formed from Διὸς and βουλή, so that it would signify the counsel of Zeus (Plut. Phaedr. p. 244; Serv. ad Aen. 3.445). The first Sibyl, from whom all the rest are said to have derived their name, is said to have been a daughter of Dardanus and Neso. Some authors mention only four Sibyls, the Erythraean, the Samian, the Egyptian and the Sardian (Aelian, Ael. VH 12.35); but it was more commonly believed that there were ten, namely the Babylonian, the Libyan, the Delphian (an elder Delphian, who was a daughter of Zeus and Lamia, and a younger one, Paus. 10.12.1), the Cimmerian, the Erythraean (here too we find an elder and a younger one, who is called Herophile, Strab. xiv. p.645), the Samian, the Cumaean (who is sometimes identified with the Erythraean, Aristot. Mir. 97), the Hellespontian or Trojan (comp. Tib. 2.5. 19), the Phrygian and the Tiburtine (Paus. 10.12; Lactant. Instil. 1.6). The most celebrated of these Sibyls is the Cumaean, who is mentioned under the names of Herophile, Demo, Phemonoe, Deiphobe, Demophile, and Amalthea (Paus. l.c. ; Serv. ad Aen. 3.445, 6.72; Tib. 2.5. 67; Suidas, s. v.). She was consulted by Aeneas before he descended into the lower world (Ov. Met. 14.104, &c., 15.712; Verg. A. 6.10). She is said to have come to Italy from the East (Liv. 1.7), and she is the one who, according to tradition, appeared before king Tarquinius, offering him the Sibylline books for sale (Plin. Nat. 13.28; Gel. 1.19). Pausanias also mentions a Hebrew Sibyl of the name of Sabbe, who is called a daughter of Berosus and Erymanthe. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Silenus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Silenus (in Greek, Σειληνός) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. The plural Seleni (in Greek, Σειληνοί) usually refers to drunken followers of Dionysus...

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Silvanus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

a Latin divinity of the fields and forests, to whom in the very earliest times the Tyrrhenian Pelasgians are said to have dedicated a grove and a festival (Verg. A. 8.600). He is described as a god watching over the fields and husbandmen, and is also called the protector of the boundaries of fields (Horat. Epod. 2.22). Hyginus (De Limit. Const. Praef.) tells us that Silvanus was the first to set up stones to mark the limits of fields, and that every estate had three Silvani, a Silvanus domesticus (in inscriptions called Silvanus Larum and Silvanus sanctus sacer Larum), Silvanus agrestis (also called salutaris), who was worshipped by shepherds and Silvanus orientalis ; that is, the god presiding over the point at which an estate begins. Hence Silvani are often spoken of in the plural. In connection with woods (sylvestris deus), he especially presided over plantations, and delighted in trees growing wild (Tib. 2.5. 30; Lucan, Phars. 3.402; Plin. Nat. 12.2; Ov. Met. 1.193); whence he is represented as carrying the trunk of a cypress (δενδροφόρος, Verg. G. 1.20). Respecting the cypress, however, the following story is told. Silvanus, or according to others, Apollo (Serv. ad Aen. 3.680; Ov. Met. 10.106, &c.), was in love with the youth Cyparissus, and once by accident killed a hind belonging to Cyparissus. The latter died of grief, and was metamorphosed into a cypress (Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 1.20, Eclog. 10.26, Aen. 3.680). He is further described as the divinity protecting the flocks of cattle, warding off wolves, and promoting their fertility (Verg. A. 8.601; Tib. 1.5. 27; Cato, De Re Rust. 83; Nonn. 2.324). Being the god of woods and flocks, he is also described as fond of music; the syrinx was sacred to him (Tib. 2.5. 30), and he is mentioned along with the Pans and Nymphs (Verg. G. 1.21; Lucan, l.c.). Later speculators even identified Silvanus with Pan, Faunus, Inuus and Aegipan (Plut. Parall. Min. 22). Cato (l.c.) calls him Mars Silvanus, from which it is clear that he must have been connected with the Italian Mars, and it is further stated that his connection with agriculture referred only to the labour performed by men, and that females were excluded from his worship (Schol. ad Juven. 6.446). In the Latin poets, as well as in works of art, he always appears as an old man, but as cheerful and in love with Pomona (Verg. G. 2.494; Horat. Epod. 2.21, Carm. 3.8; Ov. Met. 14.639). The sacrifices offered to him consisted of grapes, corn-ears, milk, meat, wine and pigs. (Horat. Epod. 2.22, Epist. 2.1. 143; Tib. 1.5. 27 ; Juv. 6.446; comp. Voss. Mythol. Briefe, 2.68; Hartung, Die Relig. der Röm. vol. ii. p. 170, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Silenus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Σειληνός), or SEILE'NUS. It is remarked in the article Satyrus, that the older Satyrs were generally termed Sileni (comp. Schol. ad Nicand. Alex. 31), but one of these Sileni is commonly the Silenus, who always acts a prominent part in the retinue of Dionysus, from whom he is inseparable, and whom he is said to have brought up and instructed. (Diod. 4.14; Orph. Hymn. 53. 1.) Like the other Satyrs he is called a son of Hermes (Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 6.13), but others call him a son of Pan by a nymph, or of Gaea (Nonn. Dionys. 14.97, 29.262; Aelian, Ael. VH 3.18; comp. Porphyr. Vit. Pythag. 16 ; Clemens, Cohort. ad Gent. p. 24.) Being the constant companion of Dionysus, he is, like the god, said to have been born at Nysa (Catull. 64, 253), and Diodorus (3.72) even represents him as king of Nysa ; he moreover took part in the contest with the Gigantes, and slew Enceladus, putting the others to flight by the braying of his ass. (Eurip. Cycl.) He is described as a jovial old man, with a bald head, a puck nose, fat and round like his wine bag, which he always carried with him, and generally as intoxicated. As therefore he cannot trust to his own legs, he is generally riding on an ass (Ov. Fast. 1.399, 3.749), or he is supported by other Satyrs and Satyrisci. (Verg. Ecl. 6.13 ; Lucian, Deor. Cone. 4.) In every other respect he is described as resembling his brethren in the fondness for sleep, wine and music. He is mentioned along with Marsyas and Olympus as the inventor of the flute which he is often seen playing (Strab. x. p.470), and a special kind of dance was called after him Silenus, while he himself is designated as the dancer. (Anacr. 38. 11; Paus. 3.25.2; Lucian, Icarom. 27.) But it is a peculiar feature in his character that he was conceived also as an inspired prophet, who knew all the past and the most distant future (Aelian, Ael. VH 3.18; Virg. Eclog. vi, 31, &c.), and as a sage who despised all the gifts of fortune (Cic. Tuscul. 1.48); so that he becomes the representative of that wisdom which conceals itself behind a rough and uncouth external appearance, whence he is likened to Socrates. (Plat. Sympos. 32 ; Xenoph. Sympos. 5 § 7.) When he was drunk and asleep, he was in the power of mortals who might compel him to prophesy and sing by surrounding him with chains of flowers. (Aelian, Ael. VH 3.18; Philostr. Imay. 1.22, Vit. Apoll. 6.27; Ov. Met. 11.91.) Silenus had a temple at Elis, where Methe (Drunkenness) stood by his side handing him a cup of wine. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 164, &c.; C. O. Muller, Ancient Art and its Remains, § 386.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Silvanus in Wikipedia

Silvanus (Latin: "of the woods") was a Roman tutelary spirit or deity of woods and fields. As protector of forests (sylvestris deus), he especially presided over plantations and delighted in trees growing wild.[1][2][3][4] He is also described as a god watching over the fields and husbandmen, protecting in particular the boundaries of fields.[5] He was apparently inherited from the Etruscan deity Selvans. Silvanus is described as the divinity protecting the flocks of cattle, warding off wolves, and promoting their fertility.[1][6][7][8] Hyginus states that Silvanus was the first to set up stones to mark the limits of fields, and that every estate had three Silvani:[9]...

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Sinis in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

or SINNIS (Σίνις or Σιννις), a son of Polypemon, Pemon or Poseidon by Sylea, the daughter of Corinthus. He was surnamed according to some Pityocamptes, and according to others Procrustes. He dwelt on the isthmus of Corinth as a robber, destroying the travellers whom he had conquered, by fastening them to the top of a fir-tree, which he curbed, and then let spring up .gain. He himself was killed in this manner by Theseus (Apollod. 3.16.2; Plut. Thes. 8; Paus. 2.1.3, &c.; Diod. 4.59 ; Eur. Hipp. 977; Ov. Met. 7.440, &c. ; Hyg. Fab. 38; Schol. Pind. Hypoth. Isthm.). When Theseus had accomplished this, he caused himself to be purified by Phytalus at the altar of Zeus Meilichios, because Theseus himself was related to Sinis (Paus. 1.37.3), or according to others, he propitiated the spirit of Sinis by instituting in his honour the Isthmian games (Schol. Pind. l.c. ; Plut. Thes. 25; Welcker, Nachtrag, p. 133). The name is connected with σίνομαι, expressing the manner in which he tore his victims to pieces. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Sirens in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Sirens (Greek singular: Σειρήν Seirēn; Greek plural: Σειρῆνες Seirēnes) were three dangerous bird- women, portrayed as seductresses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music and voices to shipwreck on the rocky coast of their island. Roman poets placed them on an island called Sirenum scopuli. In some later, rationalized traditions the literal geography of the "flowery" island of Anthemoessa, or Anthemusa,[1] is fixed: sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the islands known as the Sirenuse, near Paestum, or in Capreae.[2] All such locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks...

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Sirenes in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Sire'nes or SEIRE'>NES (Σειρῆνες), mythical beings who were believed to have the power of enchanting and charming, by their song, any one who heard them. When Odysseus, in his wanderings through the Mediterranean, came near the island on the lovely beach of which the Sirens were sitting, and endeavouring to allure him and his companions, he, on the advice of Circe, stuffed the ears of his companions with wax, and tied himself to the mast of his vessel, until he was so far off that he could no longer hear their song (Hom. Od. 12.39, &c., 166, &c.). According to Homer, the island of the Sirens was situated between Aeaea and the rock of Scylla, near the south-western coast of Italy. Homer says nothing of their number, but later writers mention both their names and number some state that they were two, Aglaopheme and Thelxiepeia (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1709); and others, that there were three, Peisinoe, Aglaope, and Thelxiepeia (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 712), or Parthenope, Ligeia, and Leucosia (Eustath. l.c. ; Strab. v. pp. 246, 252; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 4.562). They are called daughters of Phorcus (Plut. Sympos. 9.14), of Achelous and Sterope (Apollod. 1.7.10), of Terpsichore (Apollon. 4.893), of Melpomene (Apollod. 1.3.4), of Calliope (Serv. ad Aen. 5.364), or of Gaea (Eurip. Hel. 168). Their place of abode is likewise different in the different traditions, for some place them on cape Pelorum others in the island of Anthemusa, and others again in the Sirenusian islands near Paestum, or in Capreae (Strab. i. p.22; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1709; Serv. l.c.). The Sirens are also connected with the legends about the Argonauts and the rape of Persephone. When the Argonauts, it is said. passed by the Sirens, the latter began to sing, but in vain, for Orpheus rivalled and surpassed them ; and as it had been decreed that they should live only till some one hearing their song should pass by unmoved, they threw themselves into the sea, and were metamorphosed into rocks. Some writers connected the self- destruction of the Sirens with the story of Orpheus and the Argonauts, and others With that of Odysseus (Strab. v. p.252; Orph. Arg. 1284; Apollod. 1.9.25; Hygin. Fab. 141). Late poets represent them as provided with wings, which they are said to have received at their own request, in order to be able to search after Persephone (Ov. Met. 5.552), or as a punishment from Demeter for not having assisted Persephone (Hygin. l.c.), or from Aphrodite, because they wished to remain virgins (Eustath. l.c. ; Aelian, Ael. NA 17.23; Apollon. 4.896). Once, however, they allowed themselves to be prevailed upon by Hera to enter into a contest with the Muses, and being defeated, they were deprived of their wings (Paus. 9.34.2; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 85). There was a temple of the Sirens near Surrentum, and the tomb of Parthenope was believed to be near Neapolis. (Strab. i. p.23, v. p. 246.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Sisyphus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology Sisyphus (pronounced /ˈsɪsəfəs/; Greek: Σίσυφος sísypʰos /ˈsisifos/ ( listen)) was a king punished by being compelled to roll a huge boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity. He is also found in Roman mythology. The word sisyphean means, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, "endless and unavailing, as labor or a task."...

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Sisyphus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Si/sufos), a son of Aeolus and Enarete, whence he is called Aeolides (Hom. Il. 6.154; Hor. Carm. 2.14. 20). He was accordingly a brother of Cretheus, Athamas, Salmoneus, Deion, Magnes, Perieres, Canace, Alcyone, Peisidice, Calyce and Perimede (Apollod. 1.7.3; Paus. 10.31.2). He was married to Merope, a daughter of Atlas or a Pleiad (Apollod. 1.9.3; Ov. Fast. 4.175; comp. MEROPE), and became by her the father of Glaucus, Ornytion (or Porphyrion, Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 3.1094), Thersandrus, and Halmus (Paus. 2.4.3, 9.34.5). In later accounts he is also called a son of Autolycus, and the father of Sinon (Serv. ad Aen. 2.79) and Odysseus. who is hence called Sisyphides (Ov. Met. 13.31; Serv. ad Aen. 6.529; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 344; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1701). He is said to have built the town of Ephyra, afterwards Corinth (Hom. Il. 6.153; Apollod. 1.9.3), though, according to another tradition, Medea, on leaving Corinth, gave him the government of that city (Paus. 2.3. in fin.). As king of Corinth he promoted navigation and commerce, but was fraudulent, avaricious, and altogether of bad character, and his whole house was in as bad repute as he himself (Hom. Il. 6.153; Theogn. 703, 712; Schol. ad Aristoph. Ach. 390, ad Soph. Aj. 190; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1701; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 980; Ov. Ep. 12.204; Horat. Sat. 2.17. 12). He is said to have found the body of Melicertes on the coast of Corinth, to have buried it on the isthmus, and to have founded the Isthmian games in honour of him (Ino and Palaemon, Paus. 2.1.3; Apollod. 3.4.3; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 3.1240; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 107, 229). His wickedness during life was severely punished in the lower world, where he had to roll up hill a huge marble block, which as soon as it reached the top always rolled down again (Cic. Tusc. 1.5; Verg. G. 3.39; Ov. Met. 4.459, Ib. 175; Lucret. 3.1013). The special reasons for this punishment are not the same in all authors; some say that it was because he had betrayed the designs of the gods (Serv. ad Aen. 6.616; Schol. ad Hom. Il. 1.180, 6.153), others because he attacked travellers. and killed them with a huge block of stone. He was slain, according to some, by Theseus (Schol. ad Stat. Theb. 2.380), while other traditions relate that Sisyphus lived in enmity with his brother Salmoneus, and consulted the oracle how he might get rid of him. Apollo answered, that if he begot sons by Tyro, the wife of his brother, they would avenge him. Sisyphus indeed became the father of two sons by Tyro, but the mother killed them immediately after their birth. Sisyphus took cruel vengeance on her, and was punished for it in the lower world (Hyg. Fab. 60). Another tradition states that when Zeus had carried off Aegina, the daughter of Asopus, from Phlius, Sisyphus betrayed the matter to Asopus, and was rewarded by him with a well on Acrocorinthus, but Zeus punished him in the lower world. (Apollod. 1.9.3, 3.12.6; Paus. 2.5.1 ; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 176.) Others, again, say that Zeus, to avenge his treachery, sent Death to Sisyphus, who, however, succeeded in putting Death into chains, so that no man died until Ares delivered Death, whereupon Sisyphus himself also expired (Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 631, 1702). Before he died he desired his wife not to bury him. She having complied with his request, Sisyphus in the lower world complained of his being neglected, and desired Pluto, or Persephone, to allow him to return to the upper world to punish his wife. When this request was granted, he refused to return to the lower world, until Hermes carried him off by force; and this piece of treachery is said to be the cause of his punishment (Eustath. l.c. ; Theogn. 700, &c.; Schol. ad Pind. Isthm. 1.97, ad Soph. Aj. 625; Hor. Carm. 2.24. 20). His punishment was represented by Polygnotus in the Lesche at Delphi (Paus. 10.31.2). He was believed to have been buried on the isthmus, but very few even among his contemporaries knew the exact place. (Paus. 2.2.2; comp. Völcker, Mythol. des Iapet. Geschl. p. 241.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Sol in Wikipedia

Sol was the solar deity in Ancient Roman religion. He became identified with Janus at an early period, and only in the late Roman Empire re-appears as an independent Sun god, as Sol Invictus...

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Sol in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[HELIOS.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hypnos in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Hypnos (Ὕπνος, "sleep") was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus. His twin was Thánatos (Θάνατος, "death"); their mother was the primordial goddess Nyx (Νύξ, "night"). His palace was a dark cave where the sun never shines. At the entrance were a number of poppies and other hypnogogic plants...

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Somnus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the personification and god of sleep, the Greek Hypnos, is described by the ancients as a brother of Death (θάνατος), and as a son of Night (Hes. Theog. 211, &c.; Verg. A. 6.277). At Sicyon there was a statue of Sleep surnamed ἐπιδώτης, the giver (Paus. 2.10.2). In works of art Sleep and Death are represented alike as two youths sleeping or holding inverted torches in their hands. (Comp. THANATOS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Sphinx in Wikipedia

A sphinx (Ancient Greek: Σφίγξ /sphinx, sometimes Φίξ /Phix) is a mythological creature that is depicted as a recumbent feline with a human head. It has its origins in sculpted figures of lionesses with female human heads (unless the pharaoh was depicted as the son of the deity) of Old Kingdom Egypt in association with their solar deities, Bast or Sekhmet. The ancient Greeks adapted this image and applied their own name for a male monster, the "strangler", an archaic figure of Greek mythology. Similar creatures of either gender appear throughout South and South-East Asia. In European decorative art, the sphinx enjoyed a major revival during the Renaissance. Later, the sphinx image, something very similar to the original Ancient Egyptian concept, was exported into many other cultures, albeit often interpreted quite differently due to translations of descriptions of the originals and the evolution of the concept in relation to other cultural traditions...

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Sphinx in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Σφίγξ 1), a monstrous being of Greek mythology, is said to have been a daughter of Orthus and Chimaera, born in the country of the Arimi (Hes. Theog. 326), or of Typhon and Echidna (Apollod. 3.5.8; Schol. ad Enrip. Phoen. 46), or lastly of Typhon and Chimaera (Schol. ad Hes. and Eurip. l. .c.). Some call her a natural daughter of Laius (Paus. 9.26.2). Respecting her stave at Thebes and her connection with the fate of the house of Laius, see OEDIPUS. The middle which she there proposed, she is said to have learnt front the Muses (Apollod. 3.5.8), or Laius himself taught her the mysterious oracles which Cadmus had received at Delphi (Paus. 9.26.2). According to some she had been sent into Boeotia by Hera, who was angry with the Thebans for not having punished Lains, who had carried off Chrysippus from Pisa. She is said to have come from the most distant part of Ethiopia (Apollod. l.c. ; Schol. ad Eur. Phoen. 1760); according to others she was sent by Ares, who wanted to take revenge because Cadmus had slain his son, the dragon (Argum. ad Eurip. Phoen.), or by Dionysus (Schol. ad Hes. Th. 326), or by Hades (Eurip. Phoen. 810), and some lastly say that she was one on the women who, together with the daughters of Cadmus, were thrown into madness, and was metamorphosed into the monstrous figure. (Schol. ad Eur. Phoen. 45.) The legend itself clearly indicates from what quarter this being was believed to have been introduced into Greek mythology. The figure which she was conceived to have had is originally Egyptian or Ethiopian; but after her incorporation with Grecian story, her figure was variously modified. The Egyptian Sphinx is the figure of an unwinged lion in a lying attitude, but the upper part of the body is human. They appear in Egypt to have been set up in avenues forming the approaches to temples. The greatest among the Egyptian representations of Sphinxes is that of Ghizeh, which, with the exception of the paws, is of one block of stone. The Egyptian Sphinxes are often called ἀνδρόσφιγγες (Hdt. 2.175; Menandr. Fragm. p. 411, ed. Meineke), not describing them as male beings, but as lions with the upper part human, to distinguish them from those Sphinxes whose upper part was that of a sheep or ram. The common idea of a Greek Sphinx, on the other hand, is that of a winged body of a lion, having the breast and upper part of a woman (Aelian, Ael. NA 12.7; Auson. Griph. 40 ; Apollod. 3.5.8; Schol. ad Eur. Phoen. 806). Greek Sphinxes, moreover, are not always represented in a lying attitude, but appear in different positions, as it might suit the fancy of the sculptor or poet. Thus they appear with the face of a maiden, the breast, feet, and claws of a lion, the tail of a serpent, and the wings of a bird (Schol. ad Aristoph. Frogs 1287 ; Soph. Oed. Tyr. 391 ; Athen. 6.253; Palaephat. 7); or the fore part of the body is that of a lion, and the lower part that of a man, with the claws of a vuiture and the wings of an eagle (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 7). Sphinxes were frequently introduced by Greek artists, as ornaments of architectural and other works. (Paus. 3.18.8, 5.11.2; Eurip. Elect. 471.)- A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Sterope in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Sterope (pronounced /ˈstɛrəpiː/, Greek: Στερόπη [sterópɛː]), also called Asterope (Ἀστερόπη), was one of the seven Pleiades (the daughters of Atlas and Pleione, born to them at Mount Cyllene in Arcadia) and the wife of Oenomaus (or, according to some accounts, his mother by Ares). - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Sterope in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Στερόπη). 1. A Pleiad, the wife of Oenomaus (Apollod. 3.10.1), and according to Pausanias (5.10.5), a daughter of Atlas. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Stheno in Wikipedia

Stheno (Greek: Σθεννώ, English translation: "forceful"), in Greek mythology, was the eldest of the Gorgons, vicious female monsters with brass hands, sharp fangs and "hair" made of living venomous snakes. The daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, she was born in the caverns beneath Mount Olympus. She and her sister Euryale were immortal while the third sister, Medusa, was mortal. Of the three Gorgons, she was known to be the most independent and ferocious, having killed more men than both of her sisters combined. In Roman mythology she became this way by standing with her sister, Medusa, when Medusa was cursed by Athena. Medusa was cursed by Athena for meeting at Athena's temple with the sea god, Poseidon, and was changed into a terrible monster. - Wikipedia

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Stheino in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Stheino or STHENO (Σθεινώ or Σθενώ), one of the Gorgons. (Hes. Theog. 276 ; Apollod. 2.4.2.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Styx in Wikipedia

The River Styx (Greek: Στύξ, Stux, also meaning "hate" and "detestation") (adjectival form: Stygian (pronounced / ˈstɪdʒi.ən/) was a river in Greek mythology which formed the boundary between Earth and the Underworld (often called Hades which is also the name of this domain's ruler). It circles the Underworld nine times. The rivers Styx, Phlegethon, Acheron, and Cocytus all converge at the center of the underworld on a great marsh. The other important rivers of the underworld are Lethe and Eridanos, and Alpheus. The ferryman was called Charon...

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Styx in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Στύξ), connected with the verb στυγέω, to hate or abhor, is the name of the principal river in the nether world, around which it flows seven times. (Hom. Il. 2.755, 8.369. 14.271; Verg. G. 4.480, Aen. 6.439.) Styx is described as a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys (Hes. Theog. 361 ; Apollod. 1.2.2; Callim. Hymn. in Jov. 36), and as a nymph she dwelt at the entrance of Hades, in a lofty grotto which was supported by silver columns. (Hes. Theog. 778.) As a river Styx is described as a branch of Oceanus, flowing from its tenth source (789), and the river Cocytus again is a branch of the Styx. (Hom. Od. 10.511.) By Pallas Styx became the mother of Zelus (zeal), Nice (victory), Bia (strength), and Cratos (power). She was the first of all the immortals that took her children to Zeus, to assist him against the Titans; and, in return for this, her children were allowed for ever to live with Zeus, and Styx herself became the divinity by whom the most solemn oaths were sworn. (Hes. Theog. 383 ; Hom. Od. 5.185, 15.37; Apollod. 1.2.5; Apollon. 2.191; Verg. A. 6.324, 12.816; Ov. Met. 3.290; Sil. Ital. 13.568.) When one of the gods was to take an oath by Styx, Iris fetched a cup full of water from the Styx, and the god, while taking the oath, poured out the water. (Hes. Theog 775.) Zeus became by her the father of Persephone (Apollod. 1.3.1), and Peiras the father of Echidna. (Paus. 8.18.1.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Symplegades in Wikipedia

The Symplegades (pronounced /sɪmˈplɛɡədiːz/; Greek: Συμπληγάδες, Sumplēgades) or Clashing Rocks, also known as the Cyanean Rocks, were, according to Greek mythology, a pair of rocks at the Bosphorus that clashed together randomly. They were defeated by Jason and the Argonauts, who would have been lost and killed by the rocks except for Phineas' advice. Jason let a dove fly between the rocks; it lost only its tail feathers. The Argonauts rowed mightily to get through and lost only part of the stern ornament. After that, the Symplegades stopped moving permanently...

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Syrinx in Wikipedia

In classical mythology, Syrinx (Greek Συριγξ) was a nymph and a follower of Artemis, known for her chastity. Pursued by the amorous Greek god Pan, she ran to the river's edge and asked for assistance from the river nymphs. In answer, she was transformed into hollow water reeds that made a haunting sound when the god's frustrated breath blew across them. Pan cut the reeds to fashion the first set of pan pipes, which were thenceforth known as syrinx.[1] The word syringe was derived from this word...

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Syrinx in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

an Arcadian nymph, who being pursued by Pan, fled into the river Ladon. and at her own request was metamorphosed into a reed. which Pan then made his flute. (Ov. Met. 1.690. &c.; comp. Voss. Virg. Ecl. p. 33.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Tantalus in Wikipedia

Tantalus (Greek Τάνταλος) was the ruler of an ancient western Anatolian city called either under his name, as "Tantalis",[1] "the city of Tantalus", or as "Sipylus", in reference to Mount Sipylus at the foot of which his city was located and whose ruins were reported to be still visible in the beginning of the Common Era,[2] although few traces remain today. Pausanias further reports that there was a port under his name and a sepulchre of him "by no means obscure", in the same region. In Greek mythology he was the father of Pelops, Niobe and Broteas, and a son of Zeus[3] and the nymph Plouto...

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Tantalus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Ta/ntalos). 1. A son of Zeus by Pluto, or according to others (Schol. ad Eur. Orest. 5 ; Tzetz. Chil. 5.444; Apostol. Cent. 18.7) a son of Tmolus. (Hygin. Fab. 82, 154; Ant. Lib. 36.) His wife is called by some Euryanassa (Schol. ad Eurip. l.c. ; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 52), by others Taygete or Dione (Hygin. Fab. 82; Ov. Met. 6.174), and by others Clytia or Eupryto (Schol. ad Eur. Orest. 11; Apostol. l.c. He was the father of Pelops, Broteas, and Niobe. (Schol. ad Eur. Orest. 5 ; Diod. 4.74.) All traditions agree in stating that he was a wealthy king, but while some call him king of Lydia. of Sipylus in Phrygia or Paphlagonia, others describe him as king of Argos or Corinth. (Hygin. Fab. 124; Serv. ad Aen. 6.603; Diod. l.c.) Tantalus is particularly celebrated in ancient story for the severe punishment inflicted upon him after his death in the lower world, the causes of which are differently stated by the ancient authors. The common account is that Zeus invited him to his table and communicated his divine counsels to him. Tantalus divulged the secrets intrusted to him, and the gods punished him by placing him in the nether world in the midst of a lake, but rendering it impossible for him to drink when he was thirsty, the water always withdrawing when he stooped. Branches laden with fruit, moreover, hung over his head, but when he stretched out his hand to reach the fruit, the branches withdrew. (Hom. Od. 11.582.) Over his head there was suspended a huge rock ever threatening to crush him. (Pind. O. 1.90, &c., Isthm. 8.21; Eurip. Or. 5, &c.; Diod. 5.74; Philostr. Vit. Apollon. 3.25; Hygin. Fab. 82; Horat. Sat. 1.1. 68; Tib. 1.3. 77 ; Ov. Met. 4.457, Art. Am. 2.605; Senec. Here. Fur. 752 ; Cic. de Fin. 1.18, Tuscul. 4.16.) Another tradition relates that he, wanting to try the gods, cut his son Pelops in pieces, boiled them and set them before the gods at a repast. (Hygin. Fab. 83 ; Serv. ad Aen. 6.603, ad Georg. 3.7.) A third account states that Tantalus stole nectar and ambrosia from the table of the gods and gave them to his friends (Pind. O. 1.98; Tzetz. Chil. 5.465); and a fourth lastly relates the following story. Rhea caused the infant Zeus and his nurse to be guarded in Crete by a golden dog, whom sub. sequently Zeus appointed guardian of his temple in Crete. Pandareus stole this dog, and, carrying him to Mount Sipylus in Lydia, gave him to Tantalus to take care of. But afterwards, when Pandareus demanded the dog back, Tantalus took an oath that he had never received him. Zeus thereupon changed Pandareus into a stone, and threw Tantalus down from Mount Sipylus. (Ant. Lib. 36.) Others again relate that Hermes demanded the dog of Tantalus, and that the perjury was committed before Hermes. (Pind. O. 1.90.) Zeus buried Tantalus under Mount Sipylus as a punishment. (Schol. ad Pind. O. 90, 97.) There his tomb was shown in later times. (Paus. 2.22.4, 5.13.4.) In the Lesche of Delphi Tantalus was represented by Polygnotus in the situation described in the common tradition : he was standing in water, with a fruit-tree over his head, and threatened by an overhanging rock. (Paus. 10.31.2.) The punishment of Tantalus was proverbial in ancient times, and from it the English language has borrowed the verb "to tantalize," that is, to hold out hopes or prospects which cannot be realized. Tzetzes (ad Lycoph. 355) mentions that Tantalus was in love with Ganymede, and engaged with Ilus in a contest for the possession of the charming youth. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Tartarus in Wikipedia

In classic mythology, below Uranus, Gaia, and Pontus is Tartarus, or Tartaros (Greek Τάρταρος, deep place). It is a deep, gloomy place, a pit, or an abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides beneath the underworld. In the Gorgias, Plato (c. 400 BC) wrote that souls were judged after death and those who received punishment were sent to Tartarus. Like other primal entities (such as the earth and time), Tartarus is also a primordial force or deity...

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Tartarus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Ta/rtaros), a son of Aether and Ge, and by his mother Ge the father of the Gigantes, Typhoeus and Echidna. (Hygin. Praef. p. 3, &c., Fab. 152 ; Hes. Theog. 821 ; Apollod. 2.1.2.) In the Iliad Tartarus is a place far below the earth, as far below Hades as Heaven is above the earth, and closed by iron gates. (Hom. 2.8.13 &c., 481; comp. Hes. Theog. 807.) Later poets describe Tartarus as the place in the lower world in which the spirits of wicked men are punished for their crimes, and sometimes they use the name as synonymous with Hades or the lower world in general; and pater Tartarus is used for Pluto. (V. Fl. 4.258.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Taygete in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Taygete (pronounced /teɪˈɪdʒətiː/; Greek Ταϋγέτη [taːyɡétɛː], Mod. [taiˈɟeti]) was a nymph, one of the Pleiades according to Apollodorus (3.10.1) and a companion of Artemis, in her archaic role as potnia theron, "Mistress of the animals". Mount Taygetos in Laconia, dedicated to the Goddess, was her haunt...

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Taygete in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ταϋγέτη), a daughter of Atlas and Pleione, one of the Pleiades. (Apollod. 3.10.1.) By Zeus she became the mother of Lacedlaemon (Apollod. 3.10.3; Paus. 3.1.2, 18.7, 20.2) and of Eurotas. (Steph. Byz. s. v. Ταν̈́γετον.) Mount Taygetus, in Laconia, derived its name from her. (Schol. ad Eur. Orest. 615.) According to some traditions, Taygete refused to yield to the embraces of Zeus, and in order to secure her against him, Artemis metamorphosed her into a cow. Taygete showed her gratitude towards Artemis by dedicating to her the Cerynitian hind with golden antlers. (Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 3.53.) Some traditions, moreover, state that by Tantalus she became the mother of Pelops. (Hygin. Fab. 82.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Telemachus in Wikipedia

Telemachus (pronounced /təˈlɛməkəs/; Greek: Τηλέμαχος, Tēlemakhos, literally "far-fighter")[1] is a figure in Greek mythology, the son of Odysseus and Penelope, and a central character in Homer's Odyssey. The first four books in particular focus on Telemachus's journeys in search of news about his father; they are, therefore, traditionally accorded the collective title the Telemachy.[2]...

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Procrustes in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology Procrustes (Προκρούστης) or "the stretcher [who hammers out the metal]", also known as Prokoptas or Damastes (Δαμαστής) "subduer", was a rogue smith and bandit from Attica who physically attacked people, stretching them, or cutting off their legs so as to make them fit an iron bed's size. In general, when something is Procrustean different lengths or sizes or properties are fitted to an arbitrary standard...

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Procrustes in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Προκρούστης), that is, "the Stretcher," is a surname of the famous robber Polypemon or Damastes. He used to force all the strangers that fell into his hands into a bed which was either too small or too large, and in which he had their limbs stretched by force until they died. He was slain by Theseus, on the Cephissus in Attica; the bed of Procrustes is used proverbially even at the present day. (Plut. Thes. 11; Paus. 1.38.5; Ov. Met. 7.438.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Proetus in Wikipedia

Proetus (Ancient Greek: Προῖτος) was a mythical king of Argos and Tiryns. His father Abas, son of the last surviving and diedDanaid, had ruled over Argos and married Ocalea. However, Proetus quarreled continually with his twin brother Acrisius, inventing shields or bucklers in the process. Proetus started out as king of Argos, and held the throne for about seventeen years, but Acrisius defeated and exiled him and he fled to King Jobates or Amphianax in Lycia, and mar ried his daughter Antea or Stheneboea. Jobates, thereupon, attempted to restore Proetus to his kingdom by armed force. After the war had gone on for a while the kingdom was divided in two. Acrisius then shared his kingdom with his brother, surrendering to him Tiryns and the eastern half of Argolis, i.e. the Heraeum, Midea and the coast of Argolis. Later Proetus' son, Megapenthes, exchanged kingdoms with Acrisius' grandson Perseus...

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Proetus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Proi=tos). 1. A son of Abas and Ocaleia, and a twin-brother of Acrisius. In the dispute between the two brothers for the kingdom of Argos, Proetus was defeated and expelled (Paus. 2.25.6). The cause of this quarrel is traced by some to the conduct of Proetus towards Danai, the daughter of Acrisius (Apollod. 2.4.1), and Ovid (Ov. Met. 5.238) represents Acrisius as expelled by Proetus, and Perseus, the grandson of Acrisius, avenges his grandfather by changing Proetus into a block of stone, by means of the head of Medusa. But according to the common tradition, Proetus, when expelled from Argos, fled to Jobates or Amphianax in Lycia, and married his daughter Anteia or Stheneboea (Hom. Il 6.160; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 630, &c.; comp. Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 6.48). Jobates, thereupon, restored Proetus to his kingdom by armed force. Tirynth was taken and fortified by the Cyclopes (Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 953; Paus. 2.16.4), and Acrisius then shared his kingdom with his brother, surrendering to him Tirynth, i. e. the Heraeum, Midea and the coast of Argolis (Paus. 2.16.2). By his wife Proetus became the father of three daughters, Lysippe, Iphinoe, and Iphianassa (Servius, l.c., calls the two last Hipponoe and Cyrianassa, and Aelian, V.H. 3.42, mentions only two daughters, Elege and Celaene). When these daughters arrived at the age of maturity, they were stricken with madness, the cause of which is differently stated by different authors; some say that it was a punishment inflicted upon them by Dionysus, because they had despised his worship (Apollod. l.c. ; Diod. 4.68), and according to others, by Hera, because they presumed to consider themselves more handsome than the goddess, or because they had stolen some of the gold of her statue (Serv. ad Virg. Ecl. 6.48). In this state of madness they wandered through Peloponnesus. Melampus promised to cure them, if Proetus would give him one third of his kingdom. As Proetus refused to accept these terms, the madness of his daughters not only increased, but was communicated to the other Argive women also, so that they murdered their own children and ran about in a state of frenzy. Proetus then declared himself willing to listen to the proposal of Melampus; but the latter now also demanded for his brother Bias an equal share of the kingdom of Argos. Proetus consented (Herod. 9.34; Schol. ad Pind. Nem. 9.30), and Melampus having chosen the most robust among the young men, gave chase to the mad women, amid shouting and dancing, and drove them as far as Sicyon. During this pursuit, Iphinoe, one of the daughters of Proetus, died, but the two others were cured by Melampus by means of purifications, and were then married to Melampus and Bias. There was a tradition that Proetus had founded a sanctuary of Hera, between Sicyon and Titane, and one of Apollo at Sicyon (Paus. 2.7.7, 12.1). The place where the cure was effected upon his daughters is not the same in all traditions, some mentioning the well Anigros (Strab. viii. p.346), others the well Cleitor in Arcadia (Ov. Met. 15.325), or Lusi in Arcadia (Paus. 8.18.3). Some even state that the Proetides were cured by Asclepius. (Pind. P. 3.96.) Besides these daughters, Proetus had a son, Megapenthes (Apollod. 2.2.2; comp. MEGAPENTHES). When Bellerophontes came to Proetus to be purified of a murder which he had committed, the wife of Proetus fell in love with him, and invited him to come to her : but, as Bellerophontes refused to comply with her desire, she charged him before Proetus with having made improper proposals to her. Proetus then sent Bellerophontes to Jobates in Lycia, with a letter in which Jobates was desired to murder Bellerophontes. (Hom. Il. 6.157, &c.; Apollod. 2.3.1; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 17 ; comp. HIPPONOUS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Prometheus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Ancient Greek: Προμηθεύς, "forethought")[1] is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of human-kind known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals.[2] Zeus then punished him for his crime by having him bound to a rock while a great eagle ate his liver every day only to have it grow back to be eaten again the next day. His myth has been treated by a number of ancient sources, in which Prometheus is credited with – or blamed for – playing a pivotal role in the early history of humankind...

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Prometheus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Προμηθεύς), is sometimes called a Titan, though in reality he did not belong to the Titans, but was only a son of the Titan lapetus (whence he is designated by the patronymic Ἰαπετιονίδης, Hes. Th. 528; Apollon Rhod. 3.1087), by Clymene, so that he was a brother of Atlas, Menoetius, and Epimetheus (Hes. Th. 507). His name signifies "forethought," as that of his brother Epimetheus denotes "afterthought." Others call Prometheus a son of Themis (Aeschyl. Prom. 18), or of Uranus and Clymene, or of the Titan Eurymedon and HIera (Potter, Comment. ad Lyc. Cass. 1283; Eustath. ad Horn. p. 987). By Pandora, Hesione, or Axiothea, he is said to have been the father of Deucalion (Aesch. Prom. 560 ; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 1283; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.1086), by Pyrrha or Clymene he begot Hellen (and according to some also Deucalion; Schol. ad Apollon. l.c.; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 9.68), and by Celaeno he was the father of Lvcus and Chimareus (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 132, 219), while Herodotus (4.45) calls his wife Asia. The following is an outline of the legends related of him by the ancients. Once in the reign of Zeus, when gods and men were disputing with one another at Mecone (afterwards Sicyon, Schol. ad Pind. Nem. 9.123), Prometheus, with a view to deceive Zeus and rival him in prudence, cut up a bull and divided it into two parts : he wrapped up the best parts and the intestines in the skin, and at the top he placed the stomach, which is one of the worst parts, while the second heap consisted of the bones covered with fat. When Zeus pointed out to him how badly he had made the division, Prometheus desired him to choose, but Zeus, in his anger, and seeing through the stratagem of Prometheus, chose the heap of bones covered with the fat. The father of the gods avenged himself by withholding fire from mortals, but Prometheus stole it in a hollow tube (ferula, νάρθηξ, Aeschyl. Prom. 110). Zeus now, in order to punish men, caused Hephaestus to mould a virgin, Pandora, of earth, whom Athena adorned with all the charms calculated to entice mortals; Prometheus himself was put in chains, and fastened to a pillar, where an eagle sent by Zeus consumed in the daytime his liver, which, in every succeeding night, was restored again. Prometheus was thus exposed to perpetual torture, but Heracles killed the eagle and delivered the sufferer, with the consent of Zeus, who thus had an opportunity of allowing his son to gain immortal fame (Hes. Th. 521, &c., Op. et Dies, 47, &c. ; Ilygin. Poet. Astr. 2.15; Apollod. 2.5.11). Prometheus had cautioned his brother Epimetheus against accepting any present from Zeus, but Epimetheus, disregarding the advice, accepted Pandora, who was sent to him by Zeus, through the mediation of Hermes. Pandora then lifted the lid of the vessel in which the foresight of Prometheus had concealed all the evils which might torment mortals in life. Diseases and sufferings of every kind now issued forth, but deceitful hope alone remained behind (Hes. Op. et Dies, 83, &c.; comp. Hor. Carm. 1.3.25, &c.). This is an outline of the legend about Prometheus, as contained in the poems of Hesiod. Aeschylus, in his trilogy Prometheus, added various new features to it, for, according to him, Prometheus himself is an immortal god, the friend of the human race, the giver of fire, the inventor of the useful arts, an omniscient seer, an heroic sufferer, who is overcome by the superior power of Zeus, but will not bend his inflexible mind. Although he himself belonged to the Titans, he is nevertheless represented as having assisted Zeus against the Titans (Prom. 218), and he is further said to have opened the head of Zeus when the latter gave birth to Athena (Apollod. 1.3.6). But when Zeus succeeded to the kingdom of heaven, and wanted to extirpate the whole race of man, the place of which he proposed to give to quite a new race of beings, Prometheus prevented the execution of the scheme, and saved the human race from destruction (Prom. 228, 233). He deprived them of their knowledge of the future, and gave them hope instead (248, &c.). He further taught them the use of fire, made them acquainted with architecture, astronomy, mathematics, the art of writing, the treatment of domestic animals, navigation, medicine, the art of prophecy, working in metal, and all the other arts (252, 445, &c., 480, &c.). But, as in all these things he had acted contrary to the will of Zeus, the latter ordered Hephaestus to chain him to a rock in Scythia, which was done in the presence of Cratos and Bia, two ministers of Zeus. In Scythia he was visited by the Oceanides; Io also came to him, and he foretold her the wanderings and sufferings which were yet in store for her, as well as her final relief (703, &c.). Hermes then likewise appears, and desires him to make known a prophecy which was of great importance to Zeus, for Prometheus knew that by a certain woman Zeus would beget a son, who was to dethrone his father, and Zeus wanted to have a more accurate knowledge of this decree of fate. But Prometheus steadfastly refused to reveal the decree of fate, whereupon Zeus, by a thunderbolt, sent Prometheus, together with the rock to which he was chained, into Tartarus (Hor. Carm. 2.18, 35). After the lapse of a long time, Prometheus returned to the upper world, to endure a fresh course of suffering, for he was now fastened to mount Caucasus, and tormented by an eagle, which every day, or every third day, devoured his liver, which was restored again in the night (Apollon. 2.1247, &100.3.853; Strab. xv. p.688 ; Philostr. Vit. Apoll. 2.3; Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.15; Aeschyl. Prom. 1015, &c.). This state of suffering was to last until some other god, of his own accord, should take his place, and descend into Tartarus for him (Prom. 1025). This came to pass when Cheiron, who had been incurably wounded by an arrow of Heracles, desired to go into Hades; and Zeus allowed him to supply the place of Prometheus (Apollod. 2.5.4; comp. CHEIRON). According to others, however, Zeus himself delivered Prometheus, when at length the Titan was prevailed upon to reveal to Zeus the decree of fate, that, if he should become by Thetis the either of a son, that son should deprive him of the sovereignty. (Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 6.42 ; Apollod. 3.13.5; Hyg. Fab. 54; comp. Aeschyl. Pronm. 167, &100.376.) There was also an account, stating that Prometheus had created men out of earth and water, at the very beginning of the human race, or after the flood of Deucalion, when Zeus is said to have ordered him and Athena to make nmen out of the mud, and the winds to breathe life into them (Apollod. 1.7.1; Ov. Met. 1.81; Etym. Mag. s. v. Προμηθεύς). Prometheus is said to have given to men something of all the qualities possessed by the other animals (Horat Carm. 1.16. 13). The kind of earth out of which Prometheus formed men was shown in later times near Panopeus in Phocis (Paus. 10.4.3), and it was at his suggestion that Deucalion, when the flood approached, built a ship, and carried into it provisions, that he and Pyrrha might be able to support themselves during the calamity (Apollod. 1.7.2). Prometheus, in the legend, often appears in connection with Athena, e. g., he is said to have been punished on mount Caucasus for the criminal love he entertained for her (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.1249) and he is further said, with her assistance, to have ascended into heaven, and there secretly to have lighted his torch at the chariot of Helios, in order to bring down the fire to man (Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 6.42). At Athens Prometheus had a sanctuary in the Academy, from whence a torch-race took place in honour of him (Paus. 1.30.2; Schol. ad Soph. Oed. Col. 55; Harpocrat. s. v. λαμπάς). The mythus of Prometheus is most minutely discussed by Welcker, in his Aeschylische Trilogie Prometheus, Darmstadt, 1824; by Völcker, Mythologie des Iapet. Geschlechtes, 1824; and with especial reference to the Prometheus of Aeschylus, by Schoemann, Des Aeschylus Gefesselter Prometheus. Greifswald, 1844, and by Blackie, in the Class. Mus. vol. v. p. 1, &c., which contain a very sound explanation of the mythus, as developed by Aeschylus. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Proserpina in Wikipedia

Proserpina (sometimes spelt Proserpine, Prosperine or Prosperina) is an ancient Roman goddess whose story is the basis of a myth of Springtime. Her Greek goddess' equivalent is Persephone[1]. The probable origin of her name comes from the Latin, "proserpere" or "to emerge," in respect to the growing of grain. Proserpina was subsumed by the cult of Libera[2], an ancient fertility goddess, wife of Liber and is also considered a life–death–rebirth deity. She was the daughter of Ceres, goddess of agriculture and crops[3] and Jupiter, the god of sky and thunder...

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Proserpina in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[PERSEPHONE.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Proteus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Proteus (Πρωτεύς) is an early sea-god, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea"[1], whose name suggests the "first" (from Greek "πρῶτος" - protos, "first"), as protogonos (πρωτόγονος) is the "primordial" or the "firstborn". He became the son of Poseidon in the Olympian theogony (Odyssey iv. 432), or of Nereus and Doris, or of Oceanus and a Naiad, and was made the herdsman of Poseidon's seals, the great bull seal at the center of the harem. He can foretell the future, but, in a mytheme familiar from several cultures, will change his shape to avoid having to; he will answer only to someone who is capable of capturing him. From this feature of Proteus comes the adjective protean, with the general meaning of "versatile", "mutable", "capable of assuming many forms". "Protean" has positive connotations of flexibility, versatility and adaptability. The earliest attested form of the name is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀡𐀫𐀳𐀄 po- ro-te-u, written in Linear B syllabic script.[2]...

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Proteus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Πρωτεύς), the prophetic old man of the sea (ἅλιος γέρων), occurs in the earliest legends as a subject of Poseidon, and is described as seeing through the whole depth of the sea, and tending the flocks (the seals) of Poseidon (Hom. Od. 4.365, 385, 400; Verg. G. 4.392 ; Theocr. 2.58; Hor. Carm. 1.2.7; Philostr. Icon. 2.17). He resided in the island of Pharos, at the distance of one day's journey from the river Aegyptus (Nile), whence he is also called the Egyptian (Hom. Od. 4.355, 385). Virgil, however, instead of Pharos, mentions the island of Carpathos, between Crete and Rhodes (Georg. 4.387; comp. Hom. Il. 2.676), whereas, according to the same poet, Proteus was born in Thessaly (Georg. 4.390, comp. Ace. 11.262). His life is described as follows. At midday he rises from the flood, and sleeps in the shadow of the rocks of the coast, and around him lie the monsters of the deep (Hom. Od. 4.400; Verg. G. 4.395). Any one wishing to compel him to foretell the future, was obliged to catch hold of him at that time; he, indeed, had the power of assuming every possible shape, in order to escape the necessity of prophesying, but whenever he saw that his eudeavours were of no avail, he resumed his usual appearance, and told the truth (Hom. Od. 4.410, &100.455, &c.; Ov. Art. Am. i. 761, Fast. 1.369; Philostr. Vit. Apoll. 1.4). When he had finished his prophecy he returned into the sea (Hom. Od. 4.570). Homer (Hom. Od. 4.365) ascribes to him one daughter, Eidothea, but Strabo (x. p.472) mentions Cabeiro as a second, aud Zenodotus (apud Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1500) mentions Eurynome instead of Eidothea. He is sometimes represented as riding through the sea, in a chariot drawn by Hippocampae. (Virg. Georg. 4.389.) Another set of traditions describes Proteus as a son of Poseidon, and as a king of Egypt, who had two sons, Telegonus and Polygonus or Tmolus. (Apollod. 2.5.9; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 124.) Diodorus however observes (1.62), that only the Greeks called him Proteus, and that the Egyptians called him Cetes. His wife is called Psamathe (Eur. Hel. 7) or Torone (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 115), and, besides the above mentioned sons, Theoclymenus and Theonoe are likewise called his children. (Eur. Hel. 9, 13.) He is said to have hospitably received Dionysus during his wanderings (Apollod. 3.5.1), and Hermes brought to him Helena after her abduction ( Eur. Hel. 46), or, according to others, Proteus himself took her from Paris, gave to the lover a phantom, and restored the true Helen to Menelaus after his return from Troy. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 112, 820; Hdt. 2.112, 118.) The story further relates that Proteus was originally an Egyptian, but that he went to Thrace and there married Torone. But as his sons by her used great violence towards strangers, he prayed to his father Poseidon to carry him back to Egypt. Poseidon accordingly opened a chasm in the earth in Pallene, and through a passage passing through the earth under the sea he led him back into Egypt. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 124; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 686.) A second personage of the name of Proteus is mentioned by Apollodorus (2.1.5) among the sons of Aegyptus. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Cupid and Psyche in Wikipedia

The legend of Cupid and Psyche (also known as The Tale of Amour and Psyche and The Tale of Eros and Psyche) first appeared as a digressionary story told by an old woman in Lucius Apuleius' novel, The Golden Ass, written in the 2nd century AD. Apuleius likely used an earlier tale as the basis for his story, modifying it to suit the thematic needs of his novel. It has since been interpreted as a Märchen, an allegory and a myth. Considered as a fairy tale, it is either an allegory or a myth, but the folkloric tradition tends to blend these.[1]...

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Psyche in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ψυχή), that is, "breath" or "the soul," occurs in the later times of antiquity, as a personification of the human soul, and Apuleius (Met. 4.28, &c.) relates about her the following beautiful allegoric story. Psyche was the youngest of the three daughters of some king, and excited by her beauty the jealousy and envy of Venus. In order to avenge herself, the goddess ordered Amor to inspire Psyche with a love for the most contemptible of all men : but Amor was so stricken with her beauty that he himself fell in love with her. He accordingly conveyed her to some charming place, where he, unseen and unknown, visited her every night, and left her as soon as the day began to dawn. Psyche might have continued to have enjoyed without interruption this state of happiness, if she had attended to the advice of her beloved, never to give way to her curiosity, or to inquire who he was. But her jealous sisters made her believe that in the darkness of night she was embracing some hideous monster, and accordingly once, while Amor was asleep, she approached him with a lamp, and, to her amazement, she beheld the most handsome and lovely of the gods. In her excitement of joy and fear, a drop of hot oil fell from her lamp upon his shoulder. This awoke Amor, who censured her for her mistrust, and escaped. Psyche's peace was now gone all at once, and after having attempted in vain to throw herself into a river, she wandered about from temple to temple, inquiring after her beloved, and at length came to the palace of Venus. There her real sufferings began, for Venus retained her, treated her as a slave, and inmposed upon her the hardest and most humiliating labours. Psyche would have perished under the weight of her sufferings, had not Amor, who still loved her in secret, invisibly comforted and assisted her in her labours. With his aid she at last succeeded in overcoming the jealousy and hatred of Venus; she became immortal, and was united with him for ever. It is not difficult to recognise in this lovely story the idea of which it is merely the mythical embodiment, for Psyche is evidently the human soul, which is purified by passions and misfortunes, and is thus prepared for the enjoyment of true and pure happiness. (Comp. Manso, Versuche, p. 346, &c.) In works of art Psyche is represented as a maiden with the wings of a butterfly, along with Amor in the different situations described in the allegoric story. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 222, Tafel. 32.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pygmalion in Wikipedia

Pygmalion is a legendary figure of Cyprus. Though Pygmalion [2] is the Greek version of the Phoenician royal name Pumayyaton,[3] he is most familiar from Ovid's Metamorphoses, X, in which Pygmalion was a sculptor who fell in love with a statue he had carved. In Ovid's narrative, Pygmalion was a Cypriot sculptor who carved a woman out of ivory. According to Ovid, after seeing the Propoetides prostituting themselves (more accurately, they denied the divinity of Aphrodite and she thus ‘reduced’ them to prostitution), he was 'not interested in women',[4] but his statue was so fair and realistic that he fell in love with it. In the vertex, Venus (Aphrodite)'s festival day came. For the festival, Pygmalion made offerings to Venus and made a wish. "I sincerely wished the ivory sculpture will be changed to a real woman." However, he couldn’t bring himself to express it. When he returned home, Cupid sent by Venus kissed the ivory sculpture on the hand. At that time, it was changed to a beautiful woman. A ring was put on her finger. It was Cupid’s ring which made love achieved. Venus granted his wish...

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Pygmalion in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Πυγμαλίων). 1. A king of Cyprus and father of Metharme. (Apollod. 3.14.3.) He is said to have fallen in love with the ivory image of a maiden which he himself had made, and therefore to have prayed to Aphrodite to breathe life into it. When the request was granted, Pygmalion married his beloved, and became by her the father of Paphus. (Ov. Met. 10.243, &c.) 2. A son of Belus and brother of Dido. (Verg. A. 1.347 Ov. Fast. 3.574.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pyramus and Thisbe in Wikipedia

The love story of Pyramus and Thisbe, is a part of Roman mythology, and is also a sentimental romance. The tale is told by Ovid in his Metamorphoses...

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Pyramus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[THISBE.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Python in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology Python (Greek: Πύθων, gen.: Πύθωνος) was the earth-dragon of Delphi, always represented in Greek sculpture and vase-paintings as a serpent. She[1] presided at the Delphic oracle, which existed in the cult center for her mother, Gaia, "Earth," Pytho being the place name that was substituted for the earlier Krisa.[2] Hellenes considered the site to be the center of the earth, represented by a stone, the omphalos or navel, which Python guarded. Python became the chthonic enemy of the later Olympian deity Apollo, who slew her and remade her former home and the oracle, the most famous[3] in Classical Greece, as his own. Changes such as these in ancient myths may reflect a profound change in the religious concepts of Hellenic culture. Some were gradual over time and others occurred abruptly following invasion...

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Python in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

In Greek and Roman biography and mythology, the Python is a serpentine creature of great significance. It plays a notable role in several myths and stories, particularly in relation to the Greek god Apollo.

In Greek mythology, the Python was a monstrous serpent that guarded the Oracle of Delphi. It was said to have been born from the mud and waters after the great deluge sent by Zeus to punish humanity. Python's presence at Delphi prevented anyone from approaching the oracle. According to legend, the god Apollo, seeking to establish his authority, slew the Python with his bow and arrows. This act marked Apollo's victory over the forces of chaos and established his dominance as a god of prophecy.

The slaying of the Python led to the establishment of the Oracle of Delphi as a sacred site dedicated to Apollo. It was believed that the oracle's priestess, the Pythia, would deliver prophetic messages while under the influence of the god. This event is central to Greek mythology, highlighting Apollo's power and his association with prophecy, music, and healing.

The story of the Python is a symbolic representation of the triumph of order over chaos, as well as the assertion of divine authority. It has been depicted in various works of art and literature throughout history, showcasing its enduring significance in Greek and Roman culture.

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Quirinus in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Quirinus was an early god of the Roman state. In Augustan Rome, Quirinus was also an epithet of Janus, as Janus Quirinus.[1] His name is derived from Quiris meaning "spear."...

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Quirinus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus (2.48), a Sabine word, and perhaps to be derived from quiris, a lance or spear. It occurs first of all as the name of Romulus, after he had been raised to the rank of a divinity, and the festival celebrated in his honour bore the name of Quirinalia (Verg. A. 1.292: Cic. De Nat. Deor. 2.24; Ov. Am. 3.8. 51, Fast. 4.56, 808, 6.375, Met. 15.862.) Owing to the probable meaning of the word it is also used as a surname of Mars, Janus, and even of Augustus. (Ov. Fast. 2.477; Serv. ad Aen. 7.610; Sueton. Aug. 22 Macr. 1.9; Verg. G. 3.27; Lydus, De Mens. p. 144; comp. ROMULUS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Romulus and Remus in Wikipedia

Romulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth. They are descendants of the Trojan prince and refugee Aeneas, and are fathered by the god Mars or the demi- god Hercules on a royal Vestal Virgin, Rhea Silvia (also known as Ilia), whose uncle exposes them to die in the wild. They are found by a she-wolf who suckles and cares for them. The twins are eventually restored to their regal birthright, acquire many followers and decide to found a new city...

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Remus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the twin brother of Romulus. [See ROMULUS.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Rhadamanthus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Rhadamanthus (Ῥαδάμανθυς; also transliterated as Rhadamanthys or Rhadamanthos) was a wise king, the son of Zeus and Europa. Later accounts even make him out to be one of the judges of the dead. His brothers were Sarpedon and Minos (also a king and later a judge of the dead). Rhadamanthus was raised by Asterion. He had two sons, Gortys and Erythrus. Other sources (e.g., Plutarch; Thes. 20) credit Rhadamanthys rather than Dionysus as the husband of Ariadne, and the father of Oenopion, Staphylus and Thoas. In this account, Ariadne was the daughter King Minos, Rhadamanthys' brother; another Ariadne was the daughter of Minos' grandson and namesake, who features in the Theseus legend, and was rescued by Dionysus...

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Rhadamanthus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*(Rada/manqos), a son of Zeus and Europa, and brother of king Minos of Crete (Hom. Il. 14.322), or, according to others, a son of Hephaestus (Paus. 8.53.2). From fear of his brother he fled to Ocaleia in Boeotia, and there married Alcmene. In consequence of his justice throughout life, he became, after his death, one of the judges in the lower world, and took up his abode in Elysium. (Apollod. 3.1.2, 2.4.11; Hom. Od. 4.564, 7.323; Pind. O. 2.137; comp. GORTYS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Rhea in Wikipedia

Rhea (pronounced /ˈriː.ə/; ancient Greek Ῥέα) was the Titaness daughter of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth, in Greek mythology. She was known as "the mother of gods." In earlier traditions, she was strongly associated with Gaia and Cybele, the Great Goddess, and was later seen by the classical Greeks as the mother of the Olympian gods and goddesses, though never dwelling permanently among them on Mount Olympus. The Romans identified Rhea with the Goddess Ops...

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Rhea in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Rhea Ῥεία, Ῥείη, (or Ῥέη). The name as well as the nature of this divinity is one of the most difficult points in ancient mythology. Some consider Ῥέα to be merely another form of ἔρα, the earth, while others connect it with ῥέω, I flow (Plat. Cratyl. p. 401, &c.); but thus much seems undeniable, that Rhea, like Demeter, was a goddess of the earth. According to the Hesiodic Theogony (133; comp. Apollod. 1.1.3), Rhea was a daughter of Uranus and Ge, and accordingly a sister of Oceanus, Coeus, Hyperion, Crius, Iapetus, Theia, Themis, and Mnemosyne. She became by Cronos the mother of Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Aides, Poseidon, and Zeus. According to some accounts Cronos and Rhea were preceded in their sovereignty over the world by Ophion and Eurynome ; but Ophion was overpowered by Cronos, and Rhea cast Eurynome into Tartarus. Cronos is said to have devoured all his children by Rhea, but when she was on the point of giving birth to Zeus, she, by the advice of her parents, went to Lyctus in Crete. When Zeus was born she gave to Cronos a stone wrapped up like an infant, and the god swallowed it as he had swallowed his other children. (Hes. Th. 446, &c.; Apollod. 1.1.5, &c.; Diod. 5.70.) Homer (Hom. Il. 15.187) makes only a passing allusion to Rhea, and the passage of Hesiod, which accordingly must be regarded as the most ancient Greek legend about Rhea, seems to suggest that the mystic priests of Crete had already formed connections with the more northern parts of Greece. In this manner, it would seem, the mother of Zeus became known to the Thracians, with whom she became a divinity of far greater importance than she had been before in the south (Orph. Hymn. 13, 25, 26), for she was connected with the Thracian goddess Bendis or Cotys (Hecate), and identified with Demeter. (Strab. x. p.470.) The Thracians, in the mean time, conceived the chief divinity of the Samothracian and Lemnian mysteries as Rhea- Hecate, while some of them who had settled in Asia Minor, became there acquainted with still stranger beings, and one especially who was worshipped with wild and enthusiastic solemnities, was found to resemble Rhea. In like manner the Greeks who afterwards settled in Asia identified the Asiatic goddess with Rhea, with whose worship they had long been familiar (Strab. x. p.471; Hom. Hymn. 13, 31). In Phrygia, where Rhea became identified with Cybele, she is said to have purified Dionysus, and to have taught him the mysteries (Apollod. 3.5.1), and thus a Dionysiac element became amalgamated with the worship of Rhea. Demeter, moreover, the daughter of Rhea, is sometimes mentioned with all the attributes belonging to Rhea. (Eur. Hel. 1304.) The confusion then became so great that the worship of the Cretan Rhea was confounded with that of the Phrygian mother of the gods, and that the orgies of Dionysus became interwoven with those of Cybele. Strangers from Asia, who must be looked upon as jugglers, introduced a variety of novel rites, which were fondly received, especially by the populace (Strab. 1. c.; Athen. 12.553 ; Demosth. de Coron. p. 313). Both the name and the connection of Rhea with Demeter suggest that she was in early times revered as goddess of the earth. Crete was undoubtedly the earliest seat of the worship of Rhea; Diodorus (5.66) saw the site where her temple had once stood, in the neighbourhood of Cnossus, and it would seem that at one time she was worshipped in that island even under the name of Cybele (Euseb. Chron. p. 56; Syncell. Chronogr. p. 125). The common tradition, further, was that Zeus was born in Crete, either on Mount Dicte or Mount Ida. At Delphi there was a stone of not very large dimensions, which was every day anointed with oil, and on solemn occasions was wrapped up in white wool; and this stone was believed to have been the one which Cronos swallowed when he thought he was devouring Zeus (Paus. 10.24.5). Such local traditions implying that Rhea gave birth to Zeus in this or that place of Greece itself occur in various other localities. Some expressly stated that he was born at Thebes (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 1194). The temple of the Dindymenian mother had been built by Pindarus (Paus. 9.25.3; Philostr. Icon. 2.12). Another legend stated that Rhea gave birth at Chaeroneia in Boeotia (Paus. 9.41.3), and in a temple of Zeus at Plataeae Rhea was represented in the act of handing the stone covered in cloth to Crones (Paus. 9.2.5). At Athens there was a temple of Rhea in the peribolos of the Olympieium (Paus. 1.18.7), and the Athenians are even said to have been the first among the Greeks who adopted the worship of the mother of the gods (Julian, Orat. 5). Her temple there was called the Metroum. The Arcadians also related that Zeus was born in their country, on Mount Lycaon, the principal seat of Arcadian religion (Paus. 8.36.2, 41.2; comp. Callim. Hymn. in Jov. 10, 16, &c.). Similar traces are found in Messenia (Paus. 4.33.2), Laconia (3.22.4), in Mysia (Strab. xiii. p.589), at Cyzicus (i. p. 45, xii. p. 575). Under the name of Cybele, we find her worship on Mount Sipylus (Paus. 5.13.4), Mount Coddinus (3.22.4), in Phrygia, which had received its colonists from Thrace, and where she was regarded as the mother of Sabazius. There her worship was quite universal, for there is scarcely a town in Phrygia on the coins of which she does not appear. In Galatia she was chiefly worshipped at Pessinus, where her sacred image was believed to have fallen from heaven (Herodian, 1.35). King Midas I. built a temple to her, and introduced festive solemnities, and subsequently a more magnificent one was erected by one of the Attali. Her name at Pessinus was Agdistis (Strab. xii. p.567). Her priests at Pessinus seem from the earliest times to have been, in some respects, the rulers of the place, and to have derived the greatest possible advantages from their priestly functions. Even after the image of the goddess was carried from Pessinus to Rome, Pessinus still continued to be looked upon as the metropolis of the great goddess, and as the principal seat of her worship. Under different names we might trace the worship of Rhea even much further east, as far as the Euphrates and even Bactriana. She was, in fact, the great goddess of the Eastern world, and we find her worshipped there in a variety of forms and under a variety of names. As regards the Romans, they had from the earliest times worshipped Jupiter and his mother Ops, the wife of Saturn. When, therefore, we read (Liv. 29.11, 14) that, during the Hannibalian war, they fetched the image of the mother of the gods from Pessinus, we must understand that the worship then introduced was quite foreign to them, and either maintained itself as distinct from the worship of Ops, or became united with it. A temple was built to her on the Palatine, and the Roman matrons honoured her with the festival of the Megalesia. The manner in which she was represented in works of art was the same as in Greece, and her castrated priests were called Galli. The various names by which we find Rhea designated, are, "the great mother," "the mother of the gods," Cybele, Cybebe, Agdistis, Berecyntia, Brimo, Dindymene, "the great Idaean mother of the gods." Her children by Cronos areenumerated by Hesiod : under the name of Cybele she is also called the mother of Alce, of the Phrygian king Midas, and of Nicaea (Diod. 3.57; Phot. Bibl. 224). In all European countries Rhea was conceived to be accompanied by the Curetes, who are inseparably connected with the birth and bringing up of Zeus in Crete, and in Phrygia by the Corybantes, Atys, and Agdistis. The Corybantes were her enthusiastic priests, who with drums, cymbals, horns, and in full armour, performed their orgiastic dances in the forests and on the mountains of Phrygia. The lion was sacred to the mother of the gods, because she was the divinity of the earth, and because the lion is the strongest and most important of all animals on earth, in addition to which it was believed that the countries in which the goddess was worshipped, abounded in lions (comp. Ov. Met. 10.682). In Greece the oak was sacred to Rhea (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1.1124). The highest ideal of Rhea in works of art was produced by Pheidias; she was seldom represented in a standing posture, but generally seated on a throne, adorned with the mural crown, from which a veil hangs down. Lions usually appear crouching on the right and left of her throne, and sometimes she is seen riding in a chariot drawn by lions. (Comp. CURETES; ZEUS; CRONOS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Romulus and Remus in Wikipedia

Romulus and Remus are Rome's twin founders in its traditional foundation myth. They are descendants of the Trojan prince and refugee Aeneas, and are fathered by the god Mars or the demi- god Hercules on a royal Vestal Virgin, Rhea Silvia (also known as Ilia), whose uncle exposes them to die in the wild. They are found by a she-wolf who suckles and cares for them. The twins are eventually restored to their regal birthright, acquire many followers and decide to found a new city...

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Romulus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the founder of the city of Rome. It is unnecessary in the present work to prove that all the stories about Romulus are mythical, and merely represent the traditional belief of the Roman people respecting their origin. Romulus, which is only a lengthened form of Romus, is simply the Roman people represented as an individual, and must be placed in the same category as Aeolus, Dorus, and Ion, the reputed ancestors of the Aeolians, Dorians, and Ionians, owing to the universal practice of antiquity to represent nations as springing from eponymous ancestors. But although none of the tales about Romulus can be received as an historical fact, yet it is of importance to know the general belief of the Roman people respecting the life of the founder of their city. It is, however, very difficult to ascertain the original form of the legend; since poets, on the one hand, embellished it with the creations of their own fancy, and historians, on the other hand, omitted many of its most marvellous incidents, in order to reduce it to the form of a probable history. The various tales related respecting the foundation of Rome may be reduced to two classes, one of Greek and the other of native origin. The former bring Romulus into close connection with Aeneas. A few Greek writers make Aeneas the founder of Rome, and speak of his wife under the name of Roma; others represent Romulus as his son or a remote descendant; but the greater part make him his grandson by his daughter Ilia. In most of these accounts the twin brothers are spoken of, but they appear under the names of Romulus and Romus, not Remus (comp. Dionys. A. R. 1.72, 73; Plut. Rom. 2, 3; Serv. ad Virg. Aen. 1.274; Festus, s. v. Roma). These accounts, however, scarcely deserve the name of traditions, as Niebuhr has remarked; they are for the most part the inventions of Greek writers, who were ignorant of the native legend, but having heard of the fame of Rome, wished to assign to it an origin. The old Roman legend was of a very different kind. It was preserved in popular poems, which were handed down from generation to generation, and some of which were in existence in the time of Dionysius (1.79); and it seems to have been recorded in prose in its most genuine form by the annalist Q. Fabius Pictor, who lived during the second Punic War. This legend probably ran nearly as follows: --At Alba Longa there reigned a succession of kings, descended from Iulus, the son of Aeneas. One of the last of these kings left two sons, Numitor and Amulius. The latter, who was the younger, deprived Numitor of the kingdom, but allowed him to live in the enjoyment of his private fortune. Fearful, however, lest the heirs of Numitor might not submit so quietly to his usurpation, he caused his only son to be murdered, and made his daughter 1 Silvia one of the Vestal virgins. As Silvia one day went into the sacred grove, to draw water for the service of the goddess, a wolf met her, and she fled into a cave for safety; there, while a total eclipse obscured the sun, Mars himself overpowered her, and then consoled her with the promise that she should be the mother of heroic children (Serv. ad Virg. Aen 1.274; Dionys. A. R. 2.56; Plut. Rom. 27). When her time came, she brought forth twins. Amnlius doomed the guilty Vestal and her babes to be drowned in the river. in the Anio Silvia exchanged her earthly life for that of a goddess, and became the wife of the river-god. The stream carried the cradle in which the children were lying into the Tiber, which had overflowed its banks far and wide. It was stranded at the foot of the Palatine, and overturned on the root of a wild figtree, which, under the name of the Ficus Ruminalis, was preserved and held sacred for many ages after. A she-wolf, which had come to drink of the stream, carried them into her den hard by, and sotck led them; and there, when they wanted other food, the woodpecker, a bird sacred to Mars, brought it to them (Ov. Fast. 3.54). At length this marvellous spectacle was seen by Faustulus, the king's shepherd, who took the children to his own house, and gave them to the care of his wife, Acca Larentia. They were called Romulus and Remus, and grew up along with the twelve sons of their foster-parents, on the Palatine hill (Massurius Sabinus, apud Gell. 6.7). They were, however, distinguished from their comrades by the beauty of their person and the bravery of their deeds, and became the acknowledged leaders of the other shepherd youths, with whom they fought boldly against wild beasts and robbers. The followers of Romulus were called Quintilii; those of Remus, Fabii. A quarrel arose between them and the herdsmen of Numitor, who stalled their cattle on the neighbouring hill of the Aventine. Remus was taken by a stratagem, during the absence of his brother, and carried off to Numitor. His age and noble bearing made Numitor think of his grandsons; and his suspicions were confirmed by the tale of the marvellous nurture of the twin brothers. Meanwhile Romulus hastened with his foster-father to Numitor; suspicion was changed into certainty, and the old man recognised them as his grandsons. They now resolved to avenge the wrongs which their family had suffered. With the help of their faithful comrades, who had flocked to Alba to rescue Remus, they slew Amulius, and placed Numitor on the throne. Romulus and Remus loved their old abode, and therefore left Alba to found a city on the banks of the Tiber. They were accompanied only by their old comrades, the shepherds. The story which makes them joined by the Alban nobles, is no part of the old legend; since the Julii and similar families do not appear till after the destruction of Alba. As the brothers possessed equal authority and power, a strife arose between them where the city should be built, who should be its founder, and after whose name it should be called. Romulus wished to build it on the Palatine, Remus on the Aventine, or, according to another tradition, on another hill three or four miles lower down the river, called Remuria or Remoria, which Niebulir supposes to be the hill beyond S. Paolo (comlp. Dionys. A. R. 1.85; Plut. Rom. 9). 2 It was agreed that the question should be decided by augtly ; and each took his station on the top of his chosen hill. The night passed away, and as the day was dawning Remus saw six vultures; but at sun-rise, when these tidings were brought to Romulus, twelve vultures flew by him. Each claimed the augury in his own favour; but most of the shepherds decided for Romulus, and Remus was therefore obliged to yield. Romulus now proceeded to mark out the pomoerium of his city (see Dict. of Ant. s. v.). He yoked a bullock and a heifer to a plough with a copper ploughshare, and drew a deep furrow round the foot of the Palatine, so as to include a considerable compass below the hill; and men followed after who turned every clod to the inward side. Where the gates were to be made, the plough was carried over the space; since otherwise nothing unclean could have entered the city, as the track of the plough was holy. In the comitium a vault was built underground, which was filled with the first-fruits of all the natural productions that support human life, and with earth which each of the settlers had brought with him from his home. This place was called Mundus, and was believed to be the entrance to the lower world (Festus, s. v. Mundus ; Plut. Rom. 11). Rome is said to have been founded on the 21 st of April, and this day was celebrated as a yearly festival down to the latest times of Roman history. It was the Palilia, or festival of Pales, the divinity of the shepherds, and was, therefore, a day weil fitted for the foundation of a city by shepherds (see Dict. of Ant. s. v. Palilia). On the line of the pomoerium Romulus began to raise a wall. Remus, who still resented the wrong he had suffered, leapt over it in scorn, whereupon Romulus slew him, saying, "So die whosoever hereafter shall leap over my walls;" though, according to another account, he was killed by Celer, who had the charge of the building. Remorse now seized Romulus, and he rejected all food and comfort, till at length he appeased the shade of Remus by instituting the festival of the Lemuria for the souls of the departed (Ov. Fast. 5.461, &c.). Afterwards an empty throne was set by the side of Romulus, with a sceptre and crown, that his brother might seem to reign with him (Serv. ad Virg. Aen. 1.276). Thus in the earliest legends we find the supreme power divided between two persons; but it is not impossible that the belief in the double kingdom of Romulus and Remus, as well as subsequently in that of Romulus and Titus Tatius, may have arisen simply from the circumstance of there being two magistrates at the head of the state in later times. Romulus now found his people too few in numbers. He therefore set apart, on the Capitoline hill, an asylum, or a sanctuary, in which homicides and runaway slaves might take refuge. The city thus became filled with men, but they wanted women. Romulus, therefore, tried to form treaties with the neighbouring tribes, in order to obtain connubium, or the right of legal marriage with their citizens; but his offers were treated with disdain, and he accordingly resolved to obtain by force what he could not gain by entreaty. in the fourth month after the foundation of the city, he proclaimed that games were to be celebrated in honour of the god Consus, and invited his neighbours, the Latins and Sabines, to the festival. Suspecting no treachery, they came in numbers, with their wives and children. But the Roman youths rushed upon their guests, and carried off the virgins. The old legend related that thirty Sabine virgins were thus seized, and became the wives of their ravishers but the smallness of the number seemed so incredible to a later age, which looked upon the legend as a genuine history, that it was increased to some hundreds by such writers as Valerius Antias and Juba (Plut. Rom. 14; comp. Liv. 1.13). The parents of the virgins returned home and prepared for vengeance. The inhabitants of three of the Latin towns, Caenina, Anteinmae, and Crustumerium, took up arms one after the other, and were successively defeated by the Romans. Romulus slew with his own hand Acron, king of Caenina, and dedicated his arms and armour, as spolia opima, to Jupiter. At last the Sabine king, Titus Tatius, advanced with a powerful army, against Rome. His forces were so great that Romulus, unable to resist him in the field, was obliged to retire into the city. He had previously fortified and garrisoned the top of the Saturnian hill, afterwards called the Capitoline, which was divided from the city on the Palatine, by a swampy valley, the site of the forum. But Tarpeia, the daughter of the commander of the fortress, dazzled by the golden bracelets of the Sabines, promised to betray the hill to them, if they would give her the ornaments which they wore on their left arms. Her offer was accepted; in the night time she opened a gate and let in the enemy but when she claimed her reward, they threw upon her the shields which they carried on their left arms, and thus crushed her to death. Her tomb was shown on the hill in later times, and her memory was preserved by the name of the Tarpeian rock, from which traitors were afterwards hurled down. On the next day the Romans endeavoured to recover the hill. A long and desperate battle was fought in the valley between the Palatine and the Capitoline. At one time the Romans were driven before the enemy, and the day seemed utterly lost, when Romulus vowed a temple to Jupiter Stator, the Stayer of Flight; whereupon the Romans took courage, and returned again to the combat. At length, when both parties were exhausted with the struggle, the Sabine women rushed in between them, and prayed their husbands and fathers to be reconciled. Their prayer was heard; the two people not only made peace, but agreed to form only one nation. The Romans continued to dwell on the Palatine under their king Romulus; the Sabines built a new town on the Capitoline and Quirinal hills, where they lived under their king Titus Tatius. The two kings and their senates met for deliberation in the valley between the Palatine and Capitoline hills, which was hence called comitium, or the place of meeting. But this union did not last long. Titus Tatius was slain at a festival at Lavinium, by some Laurentines to whom he had refused satisfaction for outrages which had been committed by his kinsmen. Henceforward Romulus ruled alone over both Romans and Sabines; but, as he neglected to pursue the murderers, both his people and those of Laurentum were visited by a pestilence, which did not cease until the murderers on both sides were given up. After the death of Tatius the old legend appears to have passed on at once to the departure of Romultis from the world. Of the long period which intervened few particulars are recorded, and these Niebuhr supposes, with some justice, to be the inventions of a later age. Romulus is said to have attacked Fidenae, and to have taken the city; and likewise to have carried on a successful war against the powerful city of Veii, which purchased a truce of a hundred years, on a surrender of a third of its territory. At length, after a reign of thirty-seven years, when the city had become strong and powerful, and Romulus had performed all his mortal works, the hour of his departure arrived. One day as he was reviewing his people in the Campus Martius. near the Goat's Pool, the sun was sud denly eclipsed, darkness overspread the earth, and a dreadful storm dispersed the people. When daylight returned, Romulus had disappeared, for his father Mars had carried him up to heaven in a fiery chariot ("Quirinus Martis equis Acheronta fugit," Hor. Coarm. 3.3; "Rex patriis astra petebat equis," Ov. Fast. 2.496). The people mourned for their beloved king; but their mourning gave way to religious reverence, when he appeared again in more than mortal beauty to Proculus Julius, and bade him tell the Romans that they should become the lords of the world, and that he would watch over them as their guardian god Quirinis. The Romans therefore worshipped him under this name. The festival of the Quirinalia was celebrated in his honour on the 17th of February; but the Nones of Quintilis, or the seventh of July, was the day on which, according to tradition, he departed from the earth. Such was the glorified end of Romulus in the genuine legend. But as it staggered the faith of a later age, a tale was invented to account for his mysterious disappearance. It was related that the senators, discontented with the tyrannical rule of their king, murdered him during the gloom of a tempest, cut up his body, and carried home the mangled pieces under their robes. But the forgers of this tale forgot that Romulus is nowhere represented in the ancient legend as a tyrant, but as a mild and merciful monarch, whose rule became still more gentle after the death of Tatius, whom it branded as a tyrant. The genuine features of the old legend about Romulus may still be seen in the accounts of Livy (1.3-16), Dionysius (1.76-2.56), and Plutarch (Romul.), notwithstanding the numerous falsifications and interpolations by which it is obscured, especially in the two latter writers. It is given in its most perfect form in the Roman Histories of Niebuhr (vol. i. p. 220, &c.) and Malden (p. 6, &c.). As Romulus was regarded as the founder of Rome, its most ancient political institutions and the organisation of the people were ascribed to him by the popular belief. Thus he is said to have divided the people into three tribes, which bore the names Ramnes, Titles, and Luceres. The Ramnes were supposed to have derived their name from Romulus, the Tities from Titus Tatius the Sabine king, and the Luceres from Lucumo, an Etruscan chief who had assisted Romulus in the war against the Sabines. Each tribe contained ten curiae, which received their names from the thirty Sabine women who had brought about the peace between the Romans and their own people. Further, each curia contained ten gentes, and each gens a hundred men. Thus the people, according to the general belief, were divided originally into three tribes, thirty curiae, and three hundred gentes, which mustered 3000 men, who fought on foot, and were called a legion. Besides those there were three hundred horsemen, called celeres, the same body as the equites of a later time; but the legend neglects to tell us from what quarter these horsemen came. To assist him in the government of the people Romulus is said to have selected a number of the aged men in the state, who were called patres, or senatores. The council itself, which was called the senatus, originally consisted of one hundred members; but this number was increased to two hundred when the Sabines were incorporated in the state. In addition to the senate, there was another assembly, consisting of the members of the gentes, which bore the name of comitia curiata, because they voted in it according to their division into curiae. To this assembly was committed the election of the kings in subsequent times. That part of the legend of Romulus which relates to the political institutions which he is said to have founded, represents undoubted historical facts. For we have certain evidence of the existence of such institutions in the earliest times, and many traces endured to the imperial period : and the popular belief only attempted to explain the origin of existing phenomena by ascribing their first establishment to the heroic founder of the state. Thus, while no competent scholar would attempt in the present day to give a history of Romulus; because, even on the supposition that the legend still retained some real facts, we have no criteria to separate rate what is true from what is false; yet, on the other hand, it is no presumption to endeavor to form a conception of the political organisation of Rome in the earliest times, because we can take our start from actually existing institutions, and trace them back, in many cases step by step, to remote times. We are thus able to prove that the legend is for the most part only an explanation of facts which had a real existence. It would be out of place here to attempt an explanation of the early Roman constitution, but a few remarks are necessary in explanation of the legendary account of the constitution which has been given above. The original site of Rome was on the Palatine hill. On this there was a Latin colony established at the earliest times, which formed an independent state. On the neighbouring hills there appear to have been also settlements of Sabines and Etruscans, cans, the former probably on the Quirinal and Capitoline pitoline hills, and the latter on the Caelian. In course of time these Sabine and Etruscan settlements ments coalesced with the Latin colony on the Palatine, and the three peoples became united into one state. At what time this union took place it is of course impossible to say; the legend referred it to the age of Romulus. There appears, pears, however, sufficient evidence to prove that the Latins and Sabines were united first, and that it was probably long afterwards that the Etruscans became amalgamated with them. Of this we may mention, as one proof, the number of the senate, which is said to have been doubled on the union of the Sabines, but which remained two hundred till the reign of Tarquinius Priscus, who is reported to have increased it to three hundred (Liv. 1.35; Dionys. A. R. 3.67). These three peoples, after their amalgamation, became three tribes; the Latins were called Ramnes or Ramnenses; the Sabines, Tities or Titienses; the Etruscans, Luceres or Lucerenses. The name of Ramnes undoubtedly comes from the same root as that of Romus or Romulus, and in like manner that of Tities is connected with Titus Tatius. The origin of the third name is more doubtful, and was a disputed point even in antiquity. Most ancient writers derived it from Lucumo, which etymology best agrees with the Etruscan origin of the tribe, as Lucumo was a title of honour common to the Etruscan chiefs. Others suppose it to come from Lucerus, a king of Ardea (Paul. Diac. s. v. Lucercses, p. 119, ed. Miller), a statement on which Niebuhr principally relies for the proof of the Latin origin of the third tribe; but we think with the majority of the best modern writers, that the Luceres were of Etruscan, and not of Latin, descent. Each of these tribes was divided into ten curiae, as the legend states ; but that they derived their names from the thirty Sabine women is of course fabulous. In like manner each curia was divided into ten gentes, which must be regarded as smaller political bodies, rather than as combinations of persons of the same kindred. For further information the reader is referred to the several articles on these subjects in the Dictionary of Antiquities. 1 * Many writers call her Rhea or Rea Silvia. Niebuhr remarks that Rhea is a corruption introduced by the editors, apparently from thinking of the goddess Rhea; whereas Rea seems to have signified nothing more than the culprit, reminding us of the expression Reafemina, which often occurs in Boccaccio. Niebuhr also calls attention to the remark of Perizonius, that when the mother of Romulus is represented as the daughter of Aeneas, she is always called Hia, and that Rea is never prefixed to the latter name. (Hist. of Rome, vol. i. p. 211.) 2 * In his Lectures on Roman history (pp. 39, 40, ed. Schmitz, 1848) Niebuhr brings forward many reasons to prove what he had hinted at in his History (vol. i. note 618), that the latter hill was the one mentioned in the ancient tradition, and that the story relating to it was afterwards transferred to the Aventine, since this hill was the special abode of the plebeians, and there existed between it and the Palatine a perpetual feud. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Sarpedon in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Sarpedon (Greek: Σαρπηδὠν; gen.: Σαρπηδόνος) referred to at least three different people. Son of Zeus and Europa The first Sarpedon was a son of Zeus and Europa, and brother to Minos and Rhadamanthys. He was raised by King Asterion and then banished by Minos, and sought refuge with his uncle, King Cilix. Sarpedon conquered the Milyans, and ruled over them; his kingdom was named Lycia, after his successor, Lycus, son of Pandion II...

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Sarpedon in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Σαρπήδων). 1. A son of Zeus by Europa, and a brother of Minos and Rhadamanthys. Being involved in a quarrel with Minos about Miletus, he took refuge with Cilix, whom he assisted against the Lycians; and afterwards he became king of the Lycians, and Zeus granted him the privilege of living three generations. (Hdt. 1.173; Apollod. 3.1.2 ; Paus. 7.3.4; Strab. xii. p.573; comp. MILETUS, ATYMNIUS.) 2. A son of Zeus by Laodameia, or according to others of Evander by Deidameia, and a brother of Clarus and Themon. (Hom. Il. 6.199; Apollod. 3.1.1; Diod. 5.79; Verg. A. 10.125.) He was a Lycian prince, and a grandson of No. 1. In the Trojan war he was an ally of the Trojans, and distinguished himself by his valour. (Hom. Il. 2.876, 5.479, &c., 629, &c., 12.292, &c., 397, 16.550, &c., 17.152, &c.; comp. Philostr. Her. 14; Ov. Met. 13.255.) He was slain at Troy by Patroclus. (Il. 16.480, &c.) Apollo, by the command of Zeus, cleaned Sarpedon's body from blood and dust, anointed it with ambrosia, and wrapped it up in an ambrosian garment. Sleep and Death then carried it into Lycia, to be honourably buried. (Il. 16.667, &c. ; comp. Verg. A. 1.100.) Eustathius (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 894) gives the following tradition to account for Sarpedon being king of the Lycians, since Glaucus, being the son of Hippolochus, and grandson of Bellerophontes, ought to have been king: when the two brothers Isandrus and Hippolochus were disputing about the government, it was proposed that they should shoot through a ring placed on the breast of a child, and Laodameia, the sister of the two rivals, gave up her own son Sarpedon for this purpose, who was thereupon honoured by his uncles with the kingdom, to show their gratitude to their sister for her generosity. This Sarpedon is sometimes confounded with No. 1, as in Eurip. Rhes. 29, comp. Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 369, 636, &c. There was a sanctuary of Sarpedon (probably the one we are here speaking of) at Xanthus in Lycia. (Appian, App. BC 4.78.) 3. A son of Poseidon, and a brother of Poltys in Thrace, was slain by Heracles. (Apollod. 2.5.9.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Saturn in Wikipedia

Saturn (Latin: Saturnus) was a major Roman god of agriculture and harvest, whose reign was depicted as a Golden Age of abundance and peace by many Roman authors. In medieval times he was known as the Roman god of dance, agriculture, justice and strength; he held a sickle in his left hand and a bundle of wheat in his right. His mother was Terra and his father was Caelus. He was identified in classical antiquity with the Greek deity Cronus, and the mythologies of the two gods are commonly mixed...

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Saturnus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

a mythical king of Italy to whom was ascribed the introduction of agriculture and the habits of civilised life in general. The name is, notwithstanding the different quantity, connected with the verb sero, sevi, saturn, and although the ancients themselves invariably identify Saturnus with the Greek Cronos, there is no resemblance whatever between the attributes of the two deities, except that both were regarded as the most ancient divinities in their respective countries. The resemblance is much stronger between Demeter and Saturn, for all that the Greeks ascribe to their Demeter is ascribed by the Italians to Saturn, who in the very earliest times came to Italy in the reign of Janus. (Verg. A. 8.314, &c.; Macr. 1.10; P. Vict De Orig. Gent. Rom. 1, &c.) Saturnus, then, deriving his name from sowing, is justly called the introducer of civilisation and social order, both of which are inseparably connected with agriculture. His reign is, moreover, conceived for the same reason to nave been the golden age of Italy, and more especially of the Aborigines, his subjects. As agricultural industry is the source of wealth and plenty, his wife was Ops, the representative of plenty. The story related of the god, is that in the reign of Janus he came to Italy, was hospitably received by Janus, and formed a settlement on the Capitoline hill, which was hence called the Saturnian hill. At the foot of that hill, on the road leading up the Capitol, there stood in aftertimes the temple of Saturn. (Dionys. A. R. 6.1 ; Liv. 41.27; Vict. l.100.3, Reg. Urb. viii.) Saturn then made the people acquainted with agriculture, suppressed their savage mode of life, and led them to order, peaceful occupations, and morality. The result was that the whole country was called Saturnia or the land of plenty. (Verg. A. 8.358; Justin, 43.1; Macr. 1.7; Varro, De Ling. Lat. 5.42; Fest. s. v. Saturnia ; Victor, l.c.) Saturn, like many other mythical kings, suddenly disappeared, being removed from earth to the abodes of the gods, and immediately after Janus is said to have erected an altar to Saturn in the forum. (Macrob. l.c. ; Arnob. 4.24; Ov. Fast. 1.238.) It is further related that Latium received its name (from lateo) from this disappearance of Saturn, who for the same reason was regarded by some as a divinity of the nether world. (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 24.) Respecting the festival solemnized by the Romans in honour of Saturn, see Dict. of Antiq. s. v. Saturnulia. The statue of Saturnus was hollow and filled with oil, probably to denote the fertility of Latium in olives (Plin. Nat. 15.7. 7); in his hand he held a crooked pruning knife, and his feet were surrounded with a woollen riband. (Verg. A. 7.179; Arnob. 6.12; Macrob. l.c.; Martial, 11.6. 1.) In the pediment of the temple of Saturn were seen two figures resembling Tritons, with horns, and whose lower extremities grew out of the ground (Macr. 1.8); the temple itself contained the public treasury, and many laws also were deposited in it. (Serv. ad Aen. 8.319.) It must be remarked in conclusion that Saturn and Ops were not only the protectors of agriculture, but all vegetation was under their care, as well as every thing which promoted their growth. (Macr. 1.7, 10; comp. Hartung, Die Religion der Römer, vol. ii. p. 122, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Satyrs in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, satyrs (Ancient Greek: Σάτυροι, Satyroi) are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus - "satyresses" were a late invention of poets - that roamed the woods and mountains. In mythology they are often associated with pipe playing. The satyrs' chief was Silenus, a minor deity associated (like Hermes and Priapus) with fertility. These characters can be found in the only remaining satyr play Cyclops by Euripedes and the fragments of Sophocles' The Tracking Satyrs (Ichneutae). The satyr play was a lighthearted follow-up attached to the end of each trilogy of tragedies in Athenian festivals honoring Dionysus. These plays would take a lighthearted approach to the heavier subject matter of the tragedies in the series, featuring heroes speaking in tragic iambic verse and taking their situation seriously as to the flippant, irreverent and obscene remarks and antics of the satyrs. The groundbreaking tragic playwright Aeschylus is said to have been especially loved for his satyr plays, but none of them have survived...

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Satyrus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Sa/turos), the name of a class of beings in Greek mythology, who are inseparably connected with the worship of Dionysus, and represent the luxuriant vital powers of nature. In their appearance they somewhat resembled goats or rams, whence many ancients believed that the word σάτυρος was identical with τίτυρος, a ram. (Schol. ad Theocrit. 3.2, 7.72; Aelian, Ael. VH 3.40; comp. Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1157; Hesych. sub voce and Strab. x. p.466.) Homer does not mention any Satyr, while Hesiod (Fragm. 94, ed. Göttling) speaks of them in the plural and describes them as a race good for nothing and unfit for work, and in a passage quoted by Straho (x. p. 471) he states that the Satyrs, Nymphs and Curetes were the children of the five daughters of Hecataeus and the daughter of Phoroneus. The more common statement is that the Satyrs were the sons of Hermes and Iphthima (Nonn. Dionys. 14.113), or of the Naiads (Xenoph. Sympos. 5.7); Silen also calls them his own sons. (Eur. Cycl. 13, 82, 269.) The appearance of the Satyrs is described by later writers as robust, and rough, though with various modifications, but their general features are as follows: the hair is bristly, the nose round and somewhat turned upwards, the ears pointed at the top like those of animals (whence they are sometimes called θῆρες, Eurip. Cycl. 624); they generally have little horns, or at least two hornlike protuberances (φήρεα), and at or near the end of the back there appears a little tail like that of a horse or a goat. In works of art they were represented at different stages of life; the older ones, commonly called Seilens or Silens (Paus. 1.23.6), usually have bald heads and beards, and the younger ones are termed Satyrisci (Σατυρίσκοι, Theocrit. 4.62, 27.48). All kinds of satyrs belong to the retinue of Dionysus (Apollod. 3.5.1; Strab. x. p.468; Ov. Fast. 3.737, Ars Am. 1.542, 3.157), and are always described as fond of wine, whence they often appear either with a cup or a thyrsus in their hand (Athen. 11.484), and of every kind of sensual pleasure, whence they are teen sleeping, playing musical instruments or engaged in voluptuous dances with nymphs. (Apollod. 2.1.4; Hor. Carm. 2.19. 3, 1.1. 30; Ov. Met. 1.692, 14.637; Philostr. Vit. Poll. 6.27 ; Nonn. Dionys. 12.82.) Like all the gods dwelling in forests and fields, they were greatly dreaded by mortals. (Verg. Ecl. 6.13; Theocrit. 13.44; Ov. Ep. 4.49.) Later writers, especially the Roman poets, confound the Satyrs with the Pans and the Italian Fauns, and accordingly represent them with larger horns and goats' feet (Hor. Carm. 2.19. 4; Propert. 3.15. 34; Ov. Met. 1.193, 6.392, xiv 637), although originally they were quite distinct kinds of beings, and in works of art, too, they are kept quite distinct. Satyrs usually appear with flutes, the thyrsus, syrinx, the shepherd staff, cups or bags filled with wine; they are dressed with the skins of animals, and wear wreaths of vine, ivy or fir. Representations of them are still very numerous, but the most celebrated in antiquity was the Satyr of Praxiteles at Athens (Paus. 1.20.1; Plin. Nat. 34.8, s. 19; comp. Heyne, Antiquar. Aufsätze, ii. p. 53, &c.; Voss, Mythol. Briefe, ii. p. 284, &c.; C. O. Müller, Ancient Art and its Remains, § 385, Eng. Transl.; and the article PRAXITELES, p. 521.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Sciron in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Sciron (Ancient Greek: Σκίρων; gen.: Σκίρωνoς) was a robber killed by Theseus. He forced travelers to wash his feet. While they knelt before him, he kicked them off a cliff behind them, where they were eaten by a sea monster (or a giant turtle). Theseus pushed him off the cliff. The Megarians, however, claimed that Sciron was not a robber, but a prince of Megara, and son of King Pylus; father of Endeis, wife of Aeacus. (Plut. Thes. 10 ) A passage in Ovid (Met. 7.444), where the poet claims that certain cliffs by the name of Sciron owe their name to the man, suggests an aetiological origin for the tale. - Wikipedia

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Sciron in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Σκίρων or Σκείρων). 1. A famous robber who haunted the frontier between Attica and Megaris, and not only robbed the travellers who passed through the country, but compelled them, on the Scironian rock to wash his feet, during which operation he kicked them with his foot into the sea. At the foot of the rock there was a tortoise, which devoured the bodies of the robber's victims. He was slain by Theseus, in the same manner in which he had killed others (Plut. Thes. 10 ; Diod. 4.59; Strab. ix. p.391; Paus. 1.44.12; Schol. ad Eur. Hipp. 976 ; Ov. Met. 7.445). In the pediment of the royal Stoa at Athens, there was a group of figures of burnt clay, representing Theseus in the act of throwing Sciron into the sea. (Paus. 1.3.1.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Scylla in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Scylla (pronounced /ˈsɪlə/, sil-uh; Greek: Σκύλλα, Skulla)[1] was a monster that lived on one side of a narrow channel of water, opposite its counterpart Charybdis. The two sides of the strait were within an arrow's range of each other-so close that sailors attempting to avoid Charybdis would pass too close to Scylla and vice versa...

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Phineus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Φινεύς). 1. A son of Belis and Anchinoe, and brother of Aegyptus, Danaus, and Cepheus. (Apollod. 2.1.4; conip. PERSEUS.) 2. One of the sons of Lycaon. (Apollod. 3.8.1.)3. A son of Agenor, and king of Salmydessus in Thrace (Apollon. 2.178, 237; Schol. ad eund. 2.177). Some traditions called himl a son of Phoenix and Cassiepeia, and a grandson of Agenor (Schol. ad Alpollon. Rhod. 2.178), while others again call him a son of Poseidon (Apollod. 1.9.21). Some accounts, moreover, make him a king in Paphlagonia or in Arcadia. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. l.c.; Serv. ad Aen. 3.209.) He was first married to Cleopatra, the daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia, by whom he had two children, Oryithus (Oarthus) and Crambis (some call them Parthenius and Crambis, Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.140; Plexippus and Pandion, Apollod. 3.15.3; Gerymbas and Aspondus, Schol. ad Soph. Antiq. 977; or Polydectus and Polydorus, Ov. Ib. 273). Afterwards he was married to Idaea (some call her Dia, Eurytia, or Eidothea, Schol, ad Apollon. Rhod. l.c.; Schol. al Hoia. Od. 12.70; Schol. ad Soph. Antig. 980), by whom he again had two sons, Thynus and Mariandynns. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.140, 178; Apollod. 3.15.3.) Phineus was a blind soothsayer, who had received his prophetic powers from Apollo (Apollon. 2.180). The cause of his blindness is not the same in all accounts; according to some he was blinded by the gods for having imprudently communicated to mortals the divine counsels of Zeus about the future (Apollod. 1.9.21); according to others Aeetes, on hearing that the sons of Phrixus had been saved by Phineus, cursed him, and Helios hearing the curse, carried it into effect by blinding him (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.207, comp. 181); others again relate, that Boreas or the Argonauts blinded him for his conduct towards his sons (Serv. ad Aen. 3.209). He is most celebrated in ancient story on account of his being exposed to the annoyances of the Harpycs, who were sent to him by the gods for his cruelty towards his sons by the first marriage. His second wife charged them with having behaved improperly to her, and Phincus punished them by putting their eyes out (Soph. Antig. 973), or, according to others, by exposing them to be devoured by wild beasts (Orph. Ar.qon. 671), or by ordering them to be half buried in the earth, and then to be scourged (Diod. 4.44; Schol. ad Apollon. hod. 2.207). Whenever Phineus wanted to take a meal the Harpyes came, took away a portion of his food, and soiled the rest, so as to render it unfit to be eaten. In this condition the unfortunate man was found by the Argonauts, whom he promised to instruct respecting their voyage, if they would deliver him from the monsters. A table accordingly was laid out with food, and when the Harpyes appeared they were forthwith attacked by Zetes and Calais, the brothers of Cleopatrai, who were provided with wings. There was a prophecy that the Harpyes should perish by the hands of the sons of Boreas, but that the latter themselves must die if they should be unable to overtake the Harpyes. In their flight one of the monsters fell into the river Tigris, which was henceforth called Harpys; the other reached the Echinadian islands, which, from her returning from that spot, wore called Stroplhades. But the Harpye, as well as her pursuer, was worn out with fatigue, and fell down. Both Harpyes were allowed to live on condition that they would no longer molest Phineus (comp. Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.286, 297; Tzetz. Chi. 1.217). Phineus now explained to the Argolnauts the further course they had to take, and especially cautioned them against the Symplegades (Apollod. 1.3.21, &c.). According to another story the Argonauts, on their arrival at the place of Phineus, found the sons of Phineus half buried, and demanded their liberation, which Phineus refilsed. The Argonauts used force, and a battle ensued, in which Phineus was slain by Heracles. The latter also delivered Cleopatra from her confinement, and restored the kingdom to the sons of Phineus, and on their advice he also sent the second wife of Phineus back to her father, who ordered her to be put to death (Diod. 4.43; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.207; Apollod. 3.15.3). Some traditions, lastly, state that Phineus was killed by Boreas, or that he was carried off by the Harpyes into the country of the Bistones or Milchessians. (Orph. Argon. 675, &c.; Strab. vii. p.302.) Those accounts in which Phineus is stated to have blinded his sons, add that they had their sight restored to them by the sons of Boreas, or by Asclepius. (Orph. Argon. 674; Schol. ad Pind. Piyth. 13.96.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Phlegethon in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the river Phlegethon (English translation: "flaming") or Pyriphlegethon (English translation: "fire- flaming") was one of the five rivers in the infernal regions of the underworld, along with the rivers Styx, Lethe, Cocytus, and Acheron. Plato describes it as "a stream of fire, which coils round the earth and flows into the depths of Tartarus."[1] It was parallel to the river Styx. It is said that the goddess Styx was in love with Phlegethon, but she was consumed by his flames and sent to Hades. Eventually when Hades allowed her river to flow through, they reunited...

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Phlegethon in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Φλεγέθων), i. e. the flaming, a river in the lower world, is described as a son of Cocytus; butheis more commonly called Pyriphlegethon. (Verg. A. 6.265, 550; Stat. Tolwb. 4.522.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Phosphorus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Fwsfo/ros), or as the poets call him ἑωσφόρος or Φαεσφόρος (Lat. Lucfer), that is, the bringer of light or of Eos, is the name of the planet Venus, when seen in the morning before sunrise (Hom. Il. 23.226; Virg. Gerl. 1.288; Ov. Met. 2.115, Trist. 1.3. 72.) The same planet was called Hesperus (Vesperugo, Vesper, Noctif or Nocturnus) when it appeared in the heavens after sunset. (Hom. Il. 22.318 ; Plin. Nat. 2.8; Cic. De Nat. Deor. 2.20; Catull. 62, 64; Hor. Carm. 2.9.10.) Phosphorus as a personification is called a son of Astraeus and Eos (Hes. Th. 381), of Cephalus and Eos (Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.42), or of Atlas (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 879). By Philonis he is said to have been the father of Ceyx (Hyg. Fab. 65; Ov. Met. 11.271), and he is also called the father of Daedalion (Ov. Met. 11.295), of the Hesperides (Serv. ad Aen. 4.484), or of Hesperis, who became by his brother Atlas the mother of the Hesperides. (Diod. 4.27; Serv. ad Aen. 1.530.) Phosphorus also occurs as a surname of several goddesses of light, as Artemis (Diana Lucifera, Paus. 4.31.8; Serv. ad Aen. 2.116), Eos (Eur. Ion 1157) and Hecate. (Eur. Hel. 569.) [L.S] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Phrixus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Phrixus (Greek: Φρίξος, Phrixos) or Phryxus was the son of Athamas, king of Boiotia, and Nephele (a goddess of clouds). His twin sister Helle and he were hated by their stepmother, Ino. Ino hatched a devious plot to get rid of the twins, roasting all of Boeotia's crop seeds so they would not grow. The local farmers, frightened of famine, asked a nearby oracle for assistance. Ino bribed the men sent to the oracle to lie and tell the others that the oracle required the sacrifice of Phrixus and Helle. Before they were killed, though, Phrixus and Helle were rescued by a flying, or swimming,[1] ram with golden wool sent by Nephele, their natural mother; their starting point is variously recorded as Halos in Thessaly and Orchomenus in Boeotia. During their flight Helle swooned, fell off the ram and drowned in the Dardanelles, renamed the Hellespont (sea of Helle), but Phrixus survived all the way to Colchis, where King Aeetes, the son of the sun god Helios, took him in and treated him kindly, giving Phrixus his daughter, Chalciope, in marriage. In gratitude, Phrixus sacrificed the ram to Zeus and gave the king the golden fleece of the ram, which Aeetes hung in a tree in the holy grove of Ares in his kingdom, guarded by a dragon that never slept. Phrixus and Chalciope had four sons, who later joined forces with the Argonauts. The oldest was Argos. - Wikipedia

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Phrixus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Fri/cos), a son of Athamas and Nephele or of Athamas and Themisto (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.1144), and brother of Helle, and a grandson of Aeolus (Apollon. 2.1141). In consequence of the intrigues of his stepmother, Ino (others state that he offered himself), he was to be sacrificed to Zeus; but Nephele removed him and Helle, and the two then rode away on the ram with the golden fleece, the gift of Hermes, through the air. According to Hyginus (Hyg. Fab. 3), Phrixus and Helle were thrown by Dionysus into a state of madness, and while wandering about in a forest, they were removed by Nephele. Between Sigeum and the Chersonesus, Helle fell into the sea which was afterwards called after her the Hellespont; but Phrixus arrived in Colchis, in the kingdom of Aeetes, who gave him his daughter Chalciope in marriage (comp. Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.1123, 1149). Phrixus sacriticed the rain which had carried him, to Zeus Phyxius or Laphystius (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.653; Paus. 1.24.2), and gave its skin to Aeetes, who fastened it to an oak tree in the grove of Ares. By Chalciope Phrixus became the father of Argus, Melas, Phrontis, Cytisorus, and Presbon (Apollod. 1.9.1; Hyg. Fab. 14; Paus. 9.34.5; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.1123 ; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 22; Diod. 4.47). Phrixus died in old age in the kingdom of Aeetes, or, according to others, he was killed by Aeetes in consequence of an oracle (Apollon. 2.1151 ; Hyg. Fab. 3), or he returned to Orchomenus, in the country of the Minyans. (Paus. 9.34.5 ; comp. ATHAMAS ; JASON.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pirithous in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Pirithous - Πειρίθοος (also transliterated as Perithoos, Peirithoos or Peirithous) was the King of the Lapiths in Thessaly and husband of Hippodamia, at whose wedding the famous Battle of Lapiths and Centaurs occurred. He was a son of "heavenly" Dia, fathered either by Ixion or by Zeus[1]. His best friend was Theseus. In Iliad I, Nestor numbers Pirithous and Theseus "of heroic fame" among an earlier generation of heroes of his youth, "the strongest men that Earth has bred, the strongest men against the strongest enemies, a savage mountain-dwelling tribe whom they utterly destroyed". No trace of such an oral tradition, which Homer's listeners would have recognized in Nestor's allusion, survived in literary epic...

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Pirithous in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[PEIRITHOUS.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Peirithous in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Peiri/qoos), a son of Ixion or Zeus by Dia, of Larissa in Thessaly (Hom. Il. 2.741, 14.17; Apollod. 1.8 § 2; Eustath. ad hom. p. 101 i. He was one of the Lapithae, and married to Hippodameia, by whom he became the father of Polypoetes (Hom. Il. 2.740, &100.12.129). When Peirithous was celebrating his marriage with Hippodameia, the intoxicated centaur Eurytion or Eurytus carried her off, and this act occasioned the celebrated light between the centaurs and Lapithae (Hom. Od. xi, 630, 21.296, Il. 1.263, &c.; Ov. Met. 12.224). He was worshipped at Athens, along with Theseus, as a hero. (Paus. 1.30.4; comp. Apollod. 1.8.2; Paus. 10.29.2; Ov. Met. 8.566; Plin. >H. N. 36.4, and the articles HERACLES and CENTAURI.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pleiades in Wikipedia

The Pleiades (pronounced /ˈplaɪ.ədiːz/, also [ˈpliːədiːz]; from the Greek Πλειάδες [pleːˈades], Modern [pliˈaðes]), companions of Artemis, were the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione born on Mount Cyllene. They are the sisters of Calypso, Hyas, the Hyades, and the Hesperides. The Pleiades were nymphs in the train of Artemis, and together with the seven Hyades were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, or Nysiades, nursemaids and teachers to the infant Bacchus...

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Pleiades in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Pleia/des or Πελειάδες), the Pleiads, are called daughters of Atlas by Pleione (or by the Oceanid Aethra, Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1155), of Erechtheus (Serv. ad Aen. 1.744), of Cadmus (Theon, ad Arat. p. 22), or of the queen of the Amazons. (Schol. ad Theocrit. 13.25.) They were the sisters of the Hyades, and seven in number, six of whom are described as visible, and the seventh as invisible. Some call the seventh Sterope, and relate that she became invisible from shame, because she alone among her sisters had had intercourse with a mortal man ; others call her Electra, and make her disappear from the choir of her sisters on account of her grief at the destruction of the house of Dardanus (Hyg. Fab. 192, Poet. Astr. 2.21). The Pleiades are said to have made away with themselves from grief at the death of their sisters, the Hyades, or at the fate of their father, Atlas, and were afterwards placed as stars at the back of Taurus, where they form a cluster resembling a hunch of grapes, whence they were sometimes called βότρυς (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1155). According to another story, the Pleiades were virgin companions of Artemis, and, together with their mother Pleione, were pursued by the hunter Orion in Boeotia; their prayer to be rescued from him was heard by the gods, and they were metamorphosed into doves (πελειάδες), and placed among the stars (Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.21; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 3.226; Pind. Ncm. 2.17). The rising of the Pleiades in Italy was about the beginning of May, and their setting about the beginning of November. Their names are Electra, Maia, Taygete, Alcyone, Celaeno, Sterope, and Merope (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 219, comp. 149; Apollod. 3.10.1). The scholiast of Theocritus (13.25) gives the following different set of names : Coccymo, Plaucia, Protis, Parthemia, Maia, Stonychia, Lampatho. (Comp. Hom. Il. 18.486, Od. 5.272; Ov. Fast. 4.169, &c.; HYADES; and Ideler, Untersuch. über die Sternennamen, p. 144.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pluto in Wikipedia

Pluto was the Roman god of the underworld, the counterpart of the Greek Hades. Pluto was god of the underworld Tertius ("third world") and its riches. The name is the Latinized form of Greek Πλούτων (Ploutōn), another name by which Hades was known in Greek mythology, possibly from the Greek word for wealth, πλοῦτος (ploutos). It is debatable whether in the Roman pantheon he was considered a son of Saturn, as Hades was of Cronus.[citation needed] If so, he would have been one of the children devoured by Saturn, along with Neptune. Jupiter was saved and hidden from Saturn by Rhea. Together, they represented earth, water, and air[citation needed] (not as elements, but as environments). After Saturn's defeat, the three brothers took control of the world, and divided it into three separate parts for each brother to rule. Jupiter took control of the skies, Neptune of the seas, and Pluto ruled the underworld...

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Pluto in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Πλουτώ). 1. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and one of the playmates of Persephone. (Hes. Th. 355; Hom. Hymn. in Cer. 422.) 2. A daughter of Cronos or Himantes, became by Zeus or Tmolus, the mother of Tantalus. (Schol. ad Eurip. Or. 5; Paus. 2.22.4; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 3.41; Hyg. Fab. 155.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Plutus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Ploutos ("wealth" Πλοῦτος), usually Romanized as Plutus, was equally a son of the pre-Hellenic Cretan Demeter-[1] and the demigod Iasion, with whom she lay in a thrice-ploughed field- and, in the mythic context of Eleusinian Demeter, also the divine child, the issue of the ravisher, the child and boy-double of the "wealthy" Hades (Plouton). Plutus was the personification of wealth. He was also thought to have been the child of Hades and Persephone. Many vase paintings show him with the king and queen of the Underworld...

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Plutus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Plou=tos), sometimes also called Pluton (Aristoph. Pl. 727), the personification of wealth, is described as a son of Iasion and Demeter (Hes. Th. 969, &c.; Hom. Hymn. in Cer. 491, Od. 5.125). Zeus is said to have blinded him, in order that he might not bestow his favours on righteous men exclusively, but that he might distribute his gifts blindly and without any regard to merit (Aristoph. Pl. 90; Schol. ad Theocrit. 10.19). At Thebes there was a statue of Tyche, at Athens one of Eirene, and at Thespiae one of Athena Ergane; and in each of these cases Plutus was represented as the child of those divinities, symbolically expressing the sources of wealth (Paus. 9.16.1, 26.5). Hyginus (Poet. Astr. 2.4) calls him the brother of Philomelus. He seems to have commonly been represented as a boy with a Cornucopia. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. ii. p. 105, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Castor and Pollux in Wikipedia

Castor (pronounced /ˈkæstər/; Latin: Castōr; Greek: Κάστωρ, Kastōr, "beaver") and Pollux (/ˈpɒləks/; Latin: Pollūx) or Polydeuces (/ˌpɒlɨˈdjuːsiːz/; Greek: Πολυδεύκης, Poludeukēs, "much sweet wine"[1]) were twin brothers in Greek and Roman mythology and collectively known as the Dioskouroi. They were the sons of Leda by Tyndareus and Zeus respectively, the brothers of Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra, and the half- brothers of Timandra, Phoebe, Heracles, and Philonoe. They are known collectively in Greek as the Dioscuri (/daɪˈɒskjəraɪ/; Latin: Dioscūrī; Greek: Διόσκουροι, Dioskouroi, "sons of Zeus") and in Latin as the Gemini (/ˈdʒɛmɨnaɪ/; "twins") or Castores (/ˈkæstəriːz/). They are sometimes also termed the Tyndaridae or Tyndarids (/tɪnˈdɛrɨdiː/ or /ˈtɪndərɪdz/; Τυνδαρίδαι, Tundaridai), later seen as a reference to their father and stepfather Tyndareus...

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Pollux in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[DIOSCURI] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Polyhymnia in Wikipedia

Polyhymnia ("the one of many hymns", /pɒliˈhɪmniə/; Greek: Πολυύμνια, Πολύμνια), was in Greek mythology the Muse of sacred poetry, sacred hymn and eloquence as well as agriculture and pantomime. She is depicted as very serious, pensive and meditative, and often holding a finger to her mouth, dressed in a long cloak and veil and resting her elbow on a pillar. Polyhymnia is also sometimes accredited as being the Muse of geometry and meditation...

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Polynices in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Polynices or Polyneices (Greek: Πολυνείκης, transl. Polyneíkes, "manifold strife") was the son of Oedipus and Jocasta. His wife was Argea. His father, Oedipus, was discovered to have killed his father and married his mother, and was expelled from Thebes, leaving his sons Eteocles and Polynices to rule. Because of a curse put on them by their father, Oedipus, the sons, Polynices and Eteocles, did not share the rule peacefully and died as a result by killing each other in a battle to for the control of Thebes...

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Polymnia in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Πολύμνια), or POLYHY'MNIA, a daughter of Zeus, and one of the nine Muses. She presided over lyric poetry, and was believed to have invented the lyre. (Hes. Th. 78; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 3.1.) By Oeagrus she became the mother of Orpheus. (Schol. l.c. 1.23.) In works of art she was usually represented in a pensive attitude. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 209; comp. MUSAE.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Polyhymnia in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[POLYMNIA.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Polyneices in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Πολυνείκης), the son of Oedipus and Iocaste, and brother of Eteocles and Antigone. (Hom. Il. 4.377; ADRASTUS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Polyphemus in Wikipedia

Polyphemus (Greek: Πολύφημος, Polyphēmos) is the gigantic one- eyed son of Poseidon and Thoosa in Greek mythology, one of the Cyclopes. His name means "very famous".[1] Polyphemus plays a pivotal role in Homer's Odyssey...

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Polyphemus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Polu/fhmos). 1. The celebrated Cyclops in the island of Thrinacia, was a son of Poseidon, and the nymph Thoosa. For an account of him see the article CYCLOPES. 2. A son of Elatus or Poseidon and Hippea, was one of the Lapithae at Larissa in Thessaly. He was married to Laonome, a sister of Heracles, with whom he was connected by friendship. He was also one of the Argonauts, butt being left behind by them in Mysia, he founded Cios, and fell against the Chalybes. (Hom. Il. 1.264; Schol. ad Apolton. Rkod. 1.40, 1241, 4.1470; V. Fl. 1.457; Apllod. 1.9. §§ 16, 19.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Polyxena in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Polyxena (pronounced /pəˈlɪksɨnə/), Greek Πολυξένη, was the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy and his queen, Hecuba.[1] She is considered the Trojan version of Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Polyxena is not in Homer's Iliad, appearing in works by later poets, perhaps to add romance to Homer's austere tale. An oracle prophesied that Troy would not be defeated if Polyxena's brother, Prince Troilus, reached the age of twenty. During the Trojan War, Polyxena and Troilus were ambushed when they were attempting to fetch water from a fountain, and Troilus was killed by the Greek warrior Achilles, who soon became interested in the quiet sagacity of Polyxena...

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Polyxena in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Πολυξένη), a daughter of Priam and Hecabe (Apollod. 3.12.5). She was beloved by Achilles, and when the Greeks, on their voyage home, were still lingering on the coast of Thrace, the shade of Achilles appeared to them demanding that Polyxena should be sacrificed to him. Neoptolemus accordingly sacrificed her on the tomb of his father. (Eur. Hec. 40; Ov. Mct. 13.448, &c.) According to some Achilles appeared to the leaders of the Greeks in a dream (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 323), or a voice was heard from the tomb of Achilles demanding a share in the booty, whereupon Calchas proposed to sacrifice Polyxena. (Serv. ad Aen. 3.322.) For there was a tradition that Achilles had promised Priam to bring about a peace with the Greeks, if the king would give him his daughter Polyxena in marriage. When Achilles, for the purpose of negotiating the marriage, had gone to the temple of the Thymbraean Apollo, he was treacherously killed by Paris. (Hyg. Fab. 110.) Quite a different account is given by Philostratus (Her. 19. 11; comp. Vit. Apollon. 4.16), according to whom Achilles and Polvxena fell in love with each other at the time when Hector's body was delivered up to Priam. After the murder of Achilles Polyxena fled to the Greeks, and killed herself on the tomb of her beloved with a sword. The sacrifice of Polyxena was represented in the acropolis of Athens. (Paus. 1.22.6. comp. 10.25.2.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pomona in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Pomona was the goddess of plenty. Her name comes from the Latin word, pomum, which translates to "fruit." She scorned the love of Silvanus and Picus but married Vertumnus after he tricked her, disguised as an old woman.[1] Her high priest was called the flamen Pomonalis. The pruning knife was her attribute. She is a uniquely Roman goddess, never identitified with any Greek counterpart, and was particularly associated with the blossoming of trees versus the harvest. In 19th century statues and building decorations she is usually shown carrying either a large platter of fruit or a cornucopia. A nude statue of Pomona is in the fountain in the little park before the Plaza Hotel in New York City. For a listing of cities named after her, see Pomona (disambiguation)...

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Pomona in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the Roman divinity of the fruit of trees, hence called Pomorum Patrona. Her name is evidently connected with Pomum. She is represented by the poets as having been beloved by several of the rustic divinities, such as Silvanus, Picus, Vertumnus, and others (Ov. Met. 14.623, &c.; Propert. 4.2. 21, &c.; Serv. ad Aen. 7.190). Her worship must originally have been of considerable importance, as we learn from Varr (De L. L. 7.15) that a special priest, under the name of flamen Pomonalis, was appointed to attend to her service (comp. Plin. Nat. 23.1). It is not impossible that Pomona may in reality be nothing but the personification of one of the attributes of Ops. (Hartung, Die Relig. d. Röom. vol. ii. p. 133, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pontus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Pontus (or Pontos (Πόντος), English translation: "sea") was an ancient, pre-Olympian sea-god, one of the protogenoi, the "first-born". Pontus was the son of Gaia, the Earth: Hesiod [1] says that Gaia brought forth Pontus out of herself, without coupling. For Hesiod, Pontus seems little more than a personification of the sea, ho pontos, "the Road", by which Hellenes signified the Mediterranean Sea.[2] With Gaia, he was the father of Nereus (the Old Man of the Sea), of Thaumas (the awe-striking "wonder" of the Sea, embodiment of the sea's dangerous aspects), of Phorcys and his sister-consort Ceto, and of the "Strong Goddess" Eurybia.[3] With Thalassa (whose own name simply means "sea" but is derived from a pre-Greek root), he was the father of the Telchines. Compare the sea-Titan Oceanus, the Ocean-Stream that girdled the earth, who was more vividly realized than Pontus among the Hellenes. In a Roman sculpture of the second century AD (illustration, left) Pontus, rising from seaweed, grasps a rudder with his right hand and leans on the prow of a ship. He wears a mural crown, and accompanies Fortuna, whose draperies appear at the left, as twin patron deities of the Black Sea port of Tomis in Moesia. - Wikipedia

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Pontus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Po/ntos), a personification of the sea, is described in the ancient cosmogony as a son of Gaea, and as the father of Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto, and Eurybia, by his own mother. (Hes. Th. 132, 233, &c.; Apollod. 1.2.6.) Hyginus (Fab. praef. p. 3, ed. Staveren) calls him a son of Aether and Gaea, and also assigns to him somewhat different descendants. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Poseidon in Wikipedia

Poseidon (Greek: Ποσειδῶν; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the sea, storms, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon. Linear B tablets show that Poseidon was venerated at Pylos and Thebes in pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, but he was integrated into the Olympian gods as the brother of Zeus and Hades. Poseidon has many children. There is a Homeric hymn to Poseidon, who was the protector of many Hellenic cities, although he lost the contest for Athens to Athena...

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Poseidon in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ποσειδῶν), the god of the Mediterranean sea. His name seems to be connected with πότος, πόντος and ποταμός, according to which he is the god of the fluid element. (Müller, Proleg. p. 290.) He was a son of Cronos and Rhea (whence he is called Κρόνιος and by Latin poets Saturnius, Pind. O. 6.48; Verg. A. 5.799.) He was accordingly a brother of Zeus, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter, and it was determined by lot that he should rule over the sea. (Hom. Il. 14.156, 15.187, &c.; Hes. Theog, 456.) Like his brothers and sisters, he was, after his birth, swallowed by his father Cronos, but thrown up again. (Apollod. 1.1.5, 2.1.) According to others, he was concealed by Rhea, after his birth, among a flock of lambs, and his mother pretended to have given birth to a young horse, which she gave to Cronos to devour. A well in the neighbourhood of Mantineia, where this is said to have happened, was believed, from this circumstance, to have derived the name of the "Lamb's Well," or Arne. (Paus. 8.8.2.) According to Tzetzes (ad Lycoph. 644) the nurse of Poseidon bore the name of Arne; when Cronos searched after his son, Arne is said to have declared that she knew not where he was, and from her the town of Arne was believed to have received its name. According to others, again, he was brought up by the Telchines at the request of Rhea. (Diod. 5.55.) In the earliest poems, Poseidon is described as indeed equal to Zeus in dignity, but weaker. (Hom. Il. 8.210, 15.165, 186, 209; comp. 13.355, Od. 13.148.) Hence we find him angry when Zeus, by haughty words, attempts to intimidate him; nay, he even threatens his mightier brother, and once he conspired with Hera and Athena to put him into chains (Hom. Il. 15.176, &c., 212, &c.; comp. 1.400.); but, on the other hand, we also find him yielding and submissive to Zeus (8.440). The palace of Poseidon was in the depth of the sea near Aegae in Euboea (13.21; Od. 5.381), where he kept his horses with brazen hoofs and golden manes. With these horses he rides in a chariot over the waves of the sea, which become smooth as he appreaches, and the monsters of the deep recognise him and play around his chariot. (Il. 13.27, comp. Verg. A. 5.817, &c., 1.147; Apollon. 3.1240, &c.) Generally he himself put his horses to his chariot, but sometimes he was assisted by Amphitrite. (Apollon. 1.1158, 4.1325; Eur. Andr. 1011; Verg. A. 5.817.) But although he generally dwelt in the sea, still he also appears in Olympus in the assembly of the gods. (Hom. Il. 8.440, 13.44, 352, 15.161, 190, 20.13.) Poseidon in conjunction with Apollo is said to have built the walls of Troy for Laomedon (7.452; Eurip. Androm. 1014),whence Troy is called Neptunia Pergama (Neptunus and Poseidon being identified, Ov. Fast. 1.525, Heroid. 3.151; comp. Verg. A. 6.810.) Accordingly, although he was otherwise well disposed towards the Greeks, yet he was jealous of the wall which the Greeks built around their own ships, and he lamented the inglorious manner in which the walls erected by himself fell by the hands of the Greeks. (Hom. Il. 12.17, 28, &c.) When Poseidon and Apollo had built the walls of Troy, Laomedon refused to give them the reward which had been stipulated, and even dismissed them with threats (21.443); but Poseidon sent a marine monster, which was on the point of devouring Laomedon's daughter, when it was killed by Heracles. 2.5 § 9.) For this reason Poseidon like Hera bore an implacable hatred against the Trojans, from which not even Aeneas was excepted (Hom. Il. 20.293, &c.; comp. Verg. A. 5.810; Il. 21.459, 24.26, 20.312, &c.), and took an active part in the war against Troy, in which he sided with the Greeks, sometimes witnessing the contest as a spectator from the heights of Thrace, and sometimes interfering in person, assuming the appearance of a mortal hero and encouraging the Greeks, while Zeus favoured the Trojans. (Il. 13.12, &c., 44, &c., 209, 351, 357, 677, 14.136, 510.) When Zeus permitted the gods to assist whichever party they pleased, Poseidon joining the Greeks, took part in the war, and caused the earth to tremble; he was opposed by Apollo, who, however, did not like to fight against his uncle. (Il. 20.23, 34, 57, 67, 21.436, &c.) In the Odyssey, Poseidon appears hostile to Odysseus, whom he prevents from returning home in consequence of his having blinded Polyphemus, a son of Poseidon by the nymph Thoosa. (Hom. Od. 1.20, 68, 5.286, &c., 366, &c., 423, 11.101, &e., 13.125; Ov. Tr. 1.2. 9.) Being the ruler of the sea (the Mediterranean), he is described as gathering clouds and calling forth storms, but at the same he has it in his power to grant a successful voyage and save those who are in danger, and all other marine divinities are subject to him. As the sea surrounds and holds the earth, he himself is described as the god who holds the earth (γαιήοχος), and who has it in his power to shake the earth (ενοσίχθων, κινητὴρ γᾶς). He was further regarded as the creator of the horse, and was accordingly believed to have taught men the art of managing horses by the bridle, and to have been the originator and protector of horse races. (Hom. Il. 23.307, 584; Pind. P. 6.50 ; Soph. Oed. Col. 712, &c.) Hence he was also represented on horseback, or riding in a chariot drawn by two or four horses, and is designated by the epithets ἵππιος, ἵππειος, or ἵππιος ἄναξ. (Paus. 1.30.4, 8.25.5, 6.20.8, 8.37.7 ; Eur. Phoen. 1707; comp. Liv. 1.9, where he is called equester.) In consequence of his connection with the horse, he was regarded as the friend of charioteers (Pind. O. 1.63, &c.; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 156), and he even metamorphosed himself into a horse, for the purpose of deceiving Demeter. The common tradition about Poseidon creating the horse is as follows : -- when Poseidon and Athena disputed as to which of them should give the name to the capital of Attica, the gods decided, that it should receive its name from him who should bestow upon man the most useful gift. Poseidon their created the horse, and Athena called forth the olive tree, for which the honour was conferred upon her. (Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 1.12.) According to others, however, Poseidon did not create the horse in Attica, but in Thessaly, where he also gave the famous horses to Peleus. (Lucan, PPhars. 6.396, &c.; Hom. Il. 23.277; Apollod. 3.13.5.) The symbol of Poseidon's power was the trident, or a spear with three points, with which he used to shatter rocks, to call forth or subdue storms, to shake the earth, and the like. Herodotus (2.50, 4.188) states, that the name and worship of Poseidon was imported to the Greeks from Libya, but he was probably a divinity of Pelasgian origin, and originally a personification of the fertilising power of water, from which the transition to regarding him as the god of the sea was not difficult. It is a remarkable circumstance that in the legends about this divinity there are many in which he is said to have disputed the possession of certain countries with other gods. Thus, in order to take possession of Attica, he thrust his trident into the ground on the acropolis, where a well of sea-water was thereby called forth; but Athena created the olive tree, and the two divinities disputed, until the gods assigned Attica to Athena. Poseidon, indignant at this, caused the country to be inundated. (Hdt. 8.55; Apollod. 3.14.1 ; Paus. 1.24.3, &c.; Hyg. Fab. 164.) With Athena he also disputed the possession of Troezene, and at the command of Zeus he shared the place with her. (Paus. 2.30.6 ) With Helios he disputed the sovereignty of Corinth, which along with the isthmus was adjudged to him, while Helios received the acropolis. (2.1.6.) With Hera he disputed the possession of Argolis, which was adjudged to the former by Inachus, Cephissus, and Asterion, in consequence of which Poseidon caused the rivers of these river-gods to be dried up. (2.15.5, 22.5; Apollod. 2.1.4.) With Zeus, lastly, he disputed the possession of Aegina, and with Dionysus that of Naxos. (Plut. Sympos. 9.6.) At one time Delphi belonged to him in common with Ge, but Apollo gave him Calauria as a compensation for it. (Paus. 2.33.2, 10.5.3; Apollon. 3.1243, with the Schol.) The following legends also deserve to be mentioned. In conjunction with Zeus he fought against Cronos and the Titans (Apollod. 1.2.1), and in the contest with the Giants he pursued Polybotes across the sea as far as Cos, and there killed him by throwing the island upon him. (Apollod. 1.6.2; Paus. 1.2.4.) He further crushed the Centaurs when they were pursued by Heracles, under a mountain in Leucosia, the island of the Seirens. (Apollod. 2.5.4.) He sued together with Zeus for the hand of Thetis, but he withdrew when Themis prophesied that the son of Thetis would be greater than his father. (Apollod. 3.13.5; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 178.) When Ares had been caught in the wonderful net by Hephaestus, the latter set him free at the request of Poseidon (Hom. Od. 8.344, &c.), but Poseidon afterwards brought a charge against Ares before the Areiopagus, for having killed his son Halirrhothius. (Apollod. 3.14.2.) At the request of Minos, king of Crete, Poseidon caused a bull to rise from the sea, which the king promised to sacri fice; but when Minos treacherously concealed the animal among a herd of oxen, the god punished Minos by causing his daughter Pasiphae to fall in love with the bull. (Apollod. 3.3, &c.) Periclymenus, who was either a son or a grandson of Poseidon, received from him the power of as-suming various forms. (1.9.9, 3.6.8.) Poseidon was married to Amphitrite, by whom he had three children, Triton, Rhode, and Benthesicyme (Hes. Th. 930; Apollod. 1.4.6, 3.15.4); but he had besides a vast number of children by other divinities and mortal women. He is mentioned by a variety of surnames, either in allusion to the many legends related about him, or to his nature as the god of the sea. His worship extended over all Greece and southern Italy, but he was more especially revered in Peloponnesus (which is hence called οἰκητήριον Ποσειδῶνος) and in the Ionic coast towns. The sacrifices offered to him generally consisted of black and white bulls (Hom. Od. 3.6, Il. 20.404; Pind. O. 13.98; Verg. A. 5.237); but wild boars and rams were also sacrificed to him. (Hom. Od. 11.130, &c., 23.277; Verg. A. 3.119.) In Argolis bridled horses were thrown into the well Deine as a sacrifice to him (Paus. 8.7.2), and horse and chariot races were held in his honour on the Corinthian isthmus. (Pind. N. 5.66, &c.) The Panionia, or the festival of all the lonians near Mycale, was celebrated in honour of Poseidon. (Hdt. 1.148.) In works of art, Poseidon may be easily recognised by his attributes, the dolphin, the horse, or the trident (Paus. 10.36.4), and he was frequently represented in groups along with Amphitrite, Tritons, Nereids, dolphins, the Dioscuri, Palaemon, Pegasus, Bellerophontes, Thalassa, Ino, and Galene. (Paus. 2.1.7.) His figure does not present the majestic calm which characterises his brother Zeus; but as the state of the sea is varying, so also is the god represented sometimes in violent agitation, and sometimes in a state of repose. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. i. p. 26.) It must be observed that the Romans identified Poseidon with their own Neptunus, and that accordingly the attributes belonging to the former are constantly transferred by the Latin poets to the latter. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Priam in Wikipedia

Priam (Greek Πρίαμος Priamos) was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and youngest son of Laomedon. Modern scholars derive his name from the Luwian compound Priimuua, which means "exceptionally courageous".[1]...

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Priamus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Pri/amos), the famous king of Troy, at the time of the Trojan war. He was a son of Laomedon and Strymo or Placia. His original name is said to have been Podarces, i. e. "the swift-footed," which was changed into Priamus, "the ransomed" (from πρίαμαι), because he was the only surviving son of Laomedon and was ransomed by his sister Hesione, after he had fallen into the hands of Heracles (Apollod. 2.6.4, 3.12.3). He is said to have been first married to Arisbe, the daughter of Merops, by whom he became the father of Aesacus; but afterwards he gave up Arisbe to Hyrtacus, and married Hecabe (Hecuba), by whom he had the following children : Hector, Alexander or Paris, Deiphobus, Helenus, Pammon, Polites, Antiphus, Hipponous, Polydorus, Troilus, Creusa, Laodice, Polyxena, and Cassandra. By other women he had a great many children besides (Apollod. 3.12.5). According to the Homeric tradition, he was the father of fifty sons, nineteen of whom were children of Hecabe, to whom others add an equal number of daughters (IIom. Il. 24.495, &c.,with the note of Eustath.; comp. Hyg. Fab. 90; Theocr. 15.139; Cic. Tusc. 1.35). Previous to the outbreak of the war of the Greeks against his kingdom, he is said to have supported the Phrygians in their war against the Amazons (Hom. Il. 3.184). When the Greeks landed on the Trojan coast Priam was already advanced in years, and took no active part in the war (24.487, 500). Only once did he venture upon the field of battle, to conclude the agreement respecting the single combat between Paris and Menelaus (3.250, &c.). After the death of his son Hector, Priam, accompanied by Hermes, went to the tent of Achilles to ransom Hector's body for burial, and obtained it (24.470). His death is not mentioned by Homer, but later poets have filled up this gap in the legend. When the Greeks entered the city of Troy, the aged king, it is said, put on his armour, and was on the point of rushing into the crowd of the enemy, but he was prevailed on by Hecabe to take refuge with herself and her daughters, as a suppliant at the altar of Zeus Herceius. While he was tarrying in the temple, his son Polites, pursued by Pyrrhus, rushed into the temple, and expired at the feet of his father, whereupon Priam aimed at Pyrrhus, but was killed by him. (Verg. A. 2.512, &c.; Eur. Tro. 17; Paus. 2.24.5, 4.17.3.) His body remained unburied. (Verg. A. 2.558; Seneca Troades 50, &c.; Q. Smyrn. 13.240, &c.) Another Priam is mentioned by Virgil (Aen. 5.564), as a son of Polites, and is accordingly a grandson of kiln Priam. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Priapus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Priapos (Ancient Greek: Πρίαπος), Latinized as Priapus, was a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. His Roman equivalent was Mutunus Tutunus. Priapus was best noted for his large, permanent erection, which gave rise to the medical term priapism...

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Priapus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Pri/apos), a son of Dionysus and Aphrodite (Paus. 9.31.2; Diod. 4.6; Tib. 1.4. 7; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1.932). Aphrodite, it is said, had yielded to the embraces of Dionysus, but during his expedition to India, she became faithless to him, and lived with Adonis. On Dionysus' return from India, she indeed went to meet him, but soon left him again, and went to Lampsacus on the Hellespont, to give birth to the child of the god. But Hera, dissatisfied with her conduct, touched her, and, by her magic power, caused Aphrodite to give birth to a child of extreme ugliness, and with unusually large genitals. This child was Priapus. According to others, however, Priapus was a son of Dionysus and a Naiad or Chione, and gave his name to the town of Priapus (Strab. xiii. p.587; Schol. ad Theocr. 1.21), while others again describe him as a son of Adonis, by Aphrodite (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 831), as a son of Hermes (Hyg. Fab. 160), or as the son of a long-eared father, that is, of Pan or a Satyr (Macr. 6.5). The earliest Greek poets, such as Homer, Hesiod, and others, do not mention this divinity, and Strabo (xiii. p.558) expressly states, that it was only in later times that he was honoured with divine worship, and that he was worshipped more especially at Lampsacus on the Hellespont, whence he is sometimes called Hellespontiacus (Ov. Fast. 1.440, 6.341; Arnob. 3.10). We have every reason to believe that he was regarded as the promoter of fertility both of the vegetation and of all animals connected with an agricultural life, and in this capacity he was worshipped as the protector of flocks of sheep and goats, of bees, the vine, all garden-produce, and even of fishing (Paus. 9.31.2; Verg. Ecl. 7.33, Georg. 4.110, with the commentators). Like other divinities presiding over agricultural pursuits, he was believed to be possessed of prophetic powers, and is sometimes mentioned in the plural (Tib. 1.4. 67; Moschus, 3.27). As Priapus had many attributes in common with other gods of fertility, the Orphics identified him with their mystic Dionysus, Hermes, Helios, &c. (Schol. ad Theocr. 1.21; Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 691, 242.) The Attic legends connect Priapus with such sensual and licentious beings as Conisalus, Orthanes, and Tychon. (Strab. l.c. ; Aristoph. Lys. 982; comp. Diod. 4.6). In like manner he was confounded by the Italians with Mutunus or Muttunus, the personification of the fructifying power in nature (Salmas. ad Solin. p. 219; Arnob. 4.11). The sacrifices offered to him consisted of the first-fruits of gardens, vineyards, and fields (Anthol. Palat. 6.102), of milk, honey, cakes, rams, asses, and fishes (Anthol. Palat. 10.14; Ov. Fast. 1.391, 416; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 2.84). He was represented in carved images, mostly in the form of hermae, with very large genitals, carrying fruit in his garment, and either a sickle or cornucopia in his hand (Tib. 1.1. 22, 4. 8; Verg. G. 4.110; Horat. Sat. 1.8; Hirt. Mythol. Bilderb. p. 172). The hermae of Priapus in Italy, like those of other rustic divinities, were usually painted red, whence the god is called ruber or rubicundus. (Ov. Fast. 1.415, 6.319, 333). - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Procris in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Procris (Ancient Greek: Πρόκρις, gen.: Πρόκριδος) was the daughter of Erechtheus, king of Athens and his wife, Praxithea. She married Cephalus, the son of Deioneus. Procris had at least two sisters, Creusa and Orithyia. Sophocles wrote a tragedy called Procris which has been lost, as has a version contained in the Greek Cycle, but at least six different accounts of her story still exist...

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Procris in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Pro/kris), a daughter of Erechtheus in Athens, was married to Cephalus (Apollod. 3.15.2; comp. CEPHALUS). A second Procris was a daughter of Thespius. (Apollod. 2.7.8.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pales in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Pales was a deity of shepherds, flocks and livestock. Regarded as a male by some sources and a female by others, and even possibly as a pair of deities (as Pales could be either singular or plural in Latin). Pales' festival, called the Parilia, was celebrated on April 21. Cattle were driven through bonfires on this day. Another festival to Pales, apparently dedicated "to the two Pales" (Palibus duobus) was held on July 7. Marcus Atilius Regulus built a temple to Pales in Rome following his victory over the Salentini in 267 BC. It is generally thought to have been located on the Palatine Hill, but, being a victory monument, it may have been located on the route of the triumphal procession, either on the Campus Martius or the Aventine Hill. - Wikipedia

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Pales in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

a Roman divinity of flocks and shepherds, is described by some as a male, and by others as a female divinity; whence some modern writers have inferred that Pales was a combination of both sexes; but such a monstrosity is altogether foreign to the religion of the Romans. (Verg. A. 3.1, 297, Georg. 3.1; Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 5.35; Ov. Fast. 4.721, 746, 766; Dionys. A. R. 1.88 ; Athen. 8.361.) Some of the rites performed at the festival of Pales, which was celebrated on the 21 st of April, the birth-day of the city of Rome, would indeed seem to indicate, that the divinity was a female character; but besides the express statements to the contrary (Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 3.1; Arnob. ad v. Gent. 3.23; Martian. cap. i. p. 27), there also are other reasons for believing that Pales was a male divinity. The name seems to be connected with Palatinus, the centre of all the earliest legends of Rome, and the god himself was with the Romans the embodiment of the same idea as Pan among the Greeks. Respecting the festival of the Palilia see Dict. of Ant. s. v. (Hartung, Die Relig. der Röm. vol. ii. p. 148, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Palinurus in Wikipedia

Palinurus, in Roman mythology, is the helmsman of a ship of the Trojan hero Aeneas, whose descendants would one day found the city of Rome. As the price for the safe passage of Aeneas and his people from Sicily to Italy, Palinurus loses his life, one on behalf of many ('unum pro multis dabitur caput' according to Vergil's "Neptune" (Aeneid 5.815). Somnus causes Palinurus to fall asleep and fall overboard. (Palinurus' own version at Aeneid 6.349 does not blame the god.) He is then stranded on the coast of Lucania, in southern Italy, where he is killed by a native tribe, the Lucani. When Aeneas and the Sibyl meet Palinurus in the Underworld, the Sibyl promises that the local people will be moved by signs to provide the helmsman's body with a proper burial, at what is now Cape Palinuro.[1][2] Palinurus is mentioned in Utopia by Sir Thomas More as a type of careless traveller. "'Then you're not quite right,' he replied, 'for his sailing has not been like that of Palinurus, but more that of Ulysses, or rather of Plato. This man, who is named Raphael.'"[3] This is unfair, as Palinurus conscientiously refused to let the disguised Somnus take the tiller, claiming that although the sea was calm, he could not risk going off duty. Somnus was forced to use magic to make Palinurus sleep. Palinurus was the pseudonym chosen by Cyril Connolly for his book The Unquiet Grave: A Word Cycle, and used to refer disparagingly to him by Alaric Jacob in Scenes from a Bourgeois Life. The singer-songwriter Peter Hammill recorded a song called "Palinurus (Castaway)" on his 1978 album The Future Now, with lyrics vaguely invoking Palinurus's sea voyage, including the pun "it's all Greek to me", though Palinurus was Trojan. - Wikipedia

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Palinurus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Palinou=ros), the son of Jasus, and helmsman of Aeneas. The god of Sleep in the disguise of Phorbas approached him, sent him to sleep at the helm, and then threw him down into the sea. (Verg. A. 5.833, &c.) In the lower world he saw Aeneas again, and related to him that on the fourth day after his fall, he was thrown by the waves on the coast of Italy and there murdered, and that his body was left unburied on the strand. The Sibyl prophesied to him, that bv the command of an oracle his death should be atoned for, that a tomb should be erected to him, and that a cave (Palinurus, the modern Punta della Spartivento) should be called after him. (Verg. A. 6.337, &c.; Strab. vi. p.252.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pan in Wikipedia

Pan (Greek Πάν, genitive Πανός), in Greek religion and mythology, is the god of shepherds and flocks, of mountain wilds, hunting and rustic music, as well as the companion of the nymphs.[1] His name originates within the Greek language, from the word paein (Πάειν), meaning "to pasture."[2] He has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat, in the same manner as a faun or satyr. With his homeland in rustic Arcadia, he is recognized as the god of fields, groves, and wooded glens; because of this, Pan is connected to fertility and the season of spring. The ancient Greeks also considered Pan to be the god of theatrical criticism.[3] In Roman religion and myth, Pan's counterpart was Faunus, a nature god who was the father of Bona Dea, sometimes identified as Fauna. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Pan became a significant figure in the Romantic movement of western Europe, and also in the 20th-century Neopagan movement.[4]...

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Pan in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Πάν), the great god of flocks and shepherds among the Greeks; his name is probably connected with the verb πάω. Lat. pasco, so that his name and character are perfectly in accordance with each other. Later speculations, according to which Pan is the same as τὸ πᾶν, or the universe, and the god the symbol of the universe, cannot be taken into consideration here. He is described as a son of Hermes by the daughter of Dryops (Hom. Hymn. 7.34), by Callisto (Schol. ad Theocr. 1.3), by Oeneis or Thymbris (Apollod. 1.4.1; Schol. ad Theocrit. l.c.), or as the son of Hermes by Penelope, whom the god visited in the shape of a ram (Hdt. 2.145; Schol. ad Theocrit. 1.123 ; Serv. ad Aen. 2.43), or of Penelope by Odysseus, or by all her suitors in common. (Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 1.16; Schol. ad Lycoph. 766; Schol. ad Theocrit. 1.3.) Some again call him the son of Aether and Oeneis, or a Nereid, or a son of Uranus and Ge. (Schol. ad Theocrit. 1.123; Schol. ad Lycoph. l.c.) From his being a grandson or great grandson of Cronos, he is called Κρόνιος. (Eur. Rh. 36.) He was from his birth perfectly developed, and had the same appearance as afterwards, that is, he had his horns, beard, puck nose, tail, goats' feet, and was covered with hair, so that his mother ran away with fear when she saw him ; but Hermes carried him into Olympus, where all (πάντες) the gods were delighted with him, and especially Dionysus. (Hom. Hymn. 7.36, &c.; comp. Sil. Ital. 13.332; Lucian, Dial. Deor. 22.) He was brought up by nymphs. (Paus. 8.30.2.) The principal seat of his worship was Arcadia and from thence his name and his worship afterwards spread over other parts of Greece; and at Athens his worship was not introduced till the time of the battle of Marathon. (Paus. 8.26.2; Verg. Ecl. 10.26; Pind. Frag. 63, ed. Boeckh.; Hdt. 2.145.) In Arcadia he was the god of forests, pastures, flocks, and shepherds, and dwelt in grottoes (Eur. Ion 501; Ov. Met. 14.515), wandered on the summits of mountains and rocks, and in valleys, either amusing himself with the chase, or leading the dances of the nymphs. (Aeschyl. Pers. 448; Hom. Hymn. 7.6, 13, 20 ; Paus. 8.42.2.) As the god of flocks, both of wild and tame animals, it was his province to increase them and guard them (Hom. Hymn. 7.5; Paus. 8.38.8; Ov. Fast. 2.271, 277 ; Virg. Eclog. 1.33); but he was also a hunter, and hunters owed their success to him, who at the same time might prevent their being successful. (Hesych. s. v. Ἀγρεύς.) In Arcadia hunters used to scourge the statue, if they hunted in vain (Theocrit. 7.107); during the heat of mid day he used to slumber, and was very indignant when any one disturbed him. (Theocrit. 1.16.) As god of flocks, bees also were under his protection, as well as the coast where fishermen carried on their pursuit. (Theocrit. 5.15; Anthol. Palat. 6.239, 10.10.) As the god of every thing connected with pastoral life, he was fond of music, and the inventor of the syrinx or shepherd's flute, which he himself played in a masterly manner, and in which he instructed others also, such as Daphnis. (Hom. Hymn. 7.15 ; Theocrit. 1.3; Anthol. Palat. 9.237, 10.11; Verg. Ecl. 1.32, 4.58; Serv. ad Virg. Edloq. 5.20.) He is thus said to have loved the poet Pindar, and to have sung and danced his lyric songs, in return for which Pindar erected to him a sanctuary in front of his house. (Pind. P. 3.139, with the Schol.; Plut. Num. 4.) Pan, like other gods who dwelt in forests, was dreaded by travellers to whom he sometimes appeared, and whom he startled with a sudden awe or terror. (Eur. Rh. 36.) Thus when Pheidippides, the Athenian, was sent to Sparta to solicit its aid against the Persians, Pan accosted him, and promised to terrify the barbarians, if the Athenians would worship him. (Hdt. 6.105 ; Paus. 8.54.5, 1.28.4.) He is said to have had a terrific voice (V. Fl. 3.31), and by it to have frightened the Titans in their fight with the gods. (Eratosh. Catast. 27.) It seems that this feature, namely, his fondness of noise and riot, was the cause of his being considered as the minister and companion of Cybele and Dionysus. (V. Fl. 3.47; Pind. Fragm. 63, ed. Boeckh; Lucian, Dial. Deor. 22.) He was at the same time believed to be possessed of prophetic powers, and to have even instructed Apollo in this art. (Apollod. 1.4.1.) While roaming in his forests he fell in love with Echo, by whom or by Peitho he became the father of lynx. His love of Syrinx, after whom he named his flute, is well known from Ovid (Ov. Met. 1.691, &c.; comp. Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 2.31; and about his other amours see Georg. 3.391; Macr. 5.22). Fir-trees were sacred to him, as the nymph Pitys, whom he loved, had been metamorphosed into that tree (Propert. 1.18. 20), and the sacrifices offered to him consisted of cows, rams, lambs, milk, and honey. (Theocrit. 5.58; Anthol. Palat. 2.630, 697, 6.96, 239, 7.59.) Sacrifices were also offered to him in common with Dionysus and the nymphs. (Paus. 2.24.7; Anthol. Palat. 6.154.) The various epithets which are given him by the poets refer either to his singular appearance, or are derived from the names of the places in which he was worshipped. Sanctuaries and temples of this god are frequently mentioned, especially in Arcadia, as at Heraea, on the Nomian hill near Lycosura, on mount Parthenius (Paus. 8.26.2, 38.8, 54.5), at Megalopolis (8.30.2, 3.31.1), near Acacesium, where a perpetual fire was burning in his temple, and where at the same time there was an ancient oracle, at which the nymph Erato had been his priestess (8.37.8, &c.), at Troezene (2.32.5), on the well of Eresinus, between Argos and Tegea (2.24.7), at Sicyon 2.10.2), at Oropus (1.34.2), at Athens (1.28.4; Hdt. 6.105), near Marathon (1.32. in fin.), in the island of Psyttaleia (1.36.2 ; Aeschyl. Pers. 448), in the Corycian grotto near mount Parnassus (10.32.5), and at Homala in Thessaly. (Theocrit. 7.103.) The Romans identified with Pan their own god Inuus, and sometimes also Faunus. Respecting the plural (Panes) or beings with goat's feet, see SATYRI. In works of art Pan is represented as a voluptuous and sensual being, with horns, puck-nose, and goat's feet, sometimes in the act of dancing, and sometimes playing on the syrinx. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. ii. p. 161, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pandora in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Pandora (ancient Greek, Πανδώρα, derived from πᾶν "all" and δῶρον "gift", thus "all-gifted", "all- endowed") was the first woman.[1] As Hesiod related it, each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts. Zeus ordered Hephaestus to mould her out of Earth as part of the punishment of mankind for Prometheus' theft of the secret of fire, and all the gods joined in offering her "seductive gifts". Her other name, inscribed against her figure on a white-ground kylix in the British Museum,[2] is Anesidora, "she who sends up gifts,"[3] up implying "from below" within the earth. According to the myth, Pandora opened a jar (pithos), in modern accounts sometimes mistranslated as "Pandora's box" (see below), releasing all the evils of mankind- although the particular evils, aside from plagues and diseases, are not specified in detail by Hesiod - leaving only Hope inside once she had closed it again.[4] She opened the jar out of simple curiosity and not as a malicious act.[5]...

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Pandora in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Pandw/ra), i. e. the giver of all, or endowed with every thing, is the name of the first woman on earth. When Prometheus had stolen the fire from heaven, Zeus in revenge caused Hephaestus to make a woman out of earth, who by her charms and beauty should bring misery upon the human race (Hes. Th. 571, &c.; Stob. Serin. 1). Aphrodite adorned her with beauty, Hermes gave her boldness and cunning, and the gods called her Pandora, as each of the Olympians had given her some power by which she was to work the ruin of man. Hermes took her to Epimetheus, who forgot the advice of his brother Prometheus, not to accept any gift from Zeus, and from that moment all miseries came down upon men (Hes. Op. et Dies, 50, &c.). According to some mythographers, Epimetheus became by her the father of Pyrrha and Deucalion (Hygin. Fub. 142; Apollod. 1.7.2 ; Procl. ad Hes. Op. p. 30, ed. Heinsius; Ov. Met. 1.350); others make Pandora a daughter of Pyrrha and Deucalion (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 23). Later writers speak of a vessel of Pandora, containing all the blessings of the gods, which would have been preserved for the human race, had not Pandora opened the vessel, so that the winged blessings escaped irrecoverably. The birth of Pandora was represented on the pedestal of the statue of Athena, in the Parthenon at Athens (Paus. 1.24.7). In the Orphic poems Pandora occurs as an infernal awful divinity, and is associated with Hecate and the Erinnyes (Orph. Argon. 974). Pandora also occurs as a surname of Gaea (Earth), as the giver of all. (Schol. ad Aristoph. Av. 970; Philostr. Vit. Apoll. 6.39; Hesych. s.v.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Parcae in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, the Parcae were the personifications of destiny, often called The Fates in English. Their Greek equivalent were the Moirae. They controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal and immortal from birth to death. Even the gods feared the Parcae. Jupiter also was subject to their power. The names of the three Parcae were: Nona (Greek equivalent Clotho), who spun the thread of life from her distaff onto her spindle;[citation needed] Decima (Greek Lachesis), who measured the thread of life with her rod; Morta (Greek Atropos), who cut the thread of life and chose the manner of a person's death.[1][2][3] The earliest extant document of these deities are three small steles (cippi) found near the location of ancient Lavinium shortly after the end of World War II.[4] They bear the inscription: Neuna fata, Neuna dono, Parca Maurtia dono The names of two of the three Roman Parcae are recorded (Neuna = Nona, Maurtia = Morta) and connected to the concept of fata.[5] Nona was supposed to determine the lifespan of man as the dies lustricus, that is, the day on which the name of the child was chosen, which occurred on the ninth day from birth for a male and the eighth for a female.[6][7] The recurrence of the nundinae was also considered a dies festus and as such nefas by some Roman scholars as Julius Caesar and Cornelius Labeo, because on it the flaminica dialis offered the sacrifice of a goat to Jupiter in the Regia.[8] - Wikipedia

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Parcae in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[MOIRA.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Paris in Wikipedia

Paris (Greek: Πάρις; also known as Alexander or Alexandros, c.f. Alaksandu of Wilusa), the son of Priam, king of Troy, appears in a number of Greek legends. Probably the best-known was his elopement with Helen, queen of Sparta, this being one of the immediate causes of the Trojan War. Later in the war, he fatally wounds Achilles in the heel with an arrow, as foretold by Achilles's mother, Thetis...

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Paris in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Pa/ris), also called Alexander , was the second son of Priam and Hecabe. Previous to his birth Hecabe dreamed that she had given birth to a firebrand, the flames of which spread over the whole city. This dream was interpreted to her by Aesacus, or according to others by Cassandra (Eur. Andr. 298), by Apollo (Cic. De Divin. 1.21), or by a Sibyl (Paus. 10.12.1), and was said to indicate that Hecabe should give birth to a son, who should bring about the ruin of his native city, and she was accordingly advised to expose the child. Some state that the soothsayers urged Hecabe to kill the child, but as she was unable to do so, Priam exposed him. (Schol. ad Eur. Andr. 294, Iphig. Aul. 1285.) The boy accordingly was entrusted to a shepherd, Agelaus, who was to expose him on Mount Ida. But after the lapse of five days, the shepherd, on returning to mount Ida, found the child still alive, and fed by a she-bear. He accordingly took back the boy, and brought him up along with his own child, and called him Paris. (Eur. Tro. 921.) When Paris had grown up, he distinguished himself as a valiant defender of the flocks and shepherds, and hence received the name of Alexander, i. e. the defender of men. He now also succeeded in discovering his real origin, and found out his parents. (Apollod. 3.12.5.) This happened in the following manner: -- "Priam, who was going to celebrate a funeral solemnity for Paris, whom he believed to be dead, ordered a bull to be fetched from the herd, which was to be given as a prize to the victor in the games. The king's servants took the favourite bull of Paris, who therefore followed the men, took part in the games, and conquered his brothers. One of them drew his sword against him, but Paris fled to the altar of Zeus Herceius, and there Cassandra declared him to be her brother, and Priam now received him as his son." (Hyg. Fab. 91; Serv. ad Aen. 5.370.) Paris then married Oenone, the daughter of the river god Cebren. As she possessed prophetic powers, she cautioned him not to sail to the country of Helen; but as he did not follow her advice (Hom. Il. 5.64), she promised to heal him if he should be wounded, as that was the only aid she could afford him. (Apollod. 3.12.6; Parthen. Erot, 4.) According to some he became, by Oenone, the father of Corythus, who was afterwards sent off by his mother to serve the Greeks as guide on their voyage to Troy. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 57.) Paris himself is further said to have killed his son from jealousy, as he found him with Helen. (Conon, Narr. 23; Parthen. Erot. 34.) It should, however, be mentioned that some writers call Corythus a son of Paris by Helen. When Peleus and Thetis solemnized their nuptials, all the gods were invited, with the exception of Eris. But the latter appeared, nevertheless. but not being admitted, she threw a golden apple among the guests, with the inscription, "to the fairest." (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 93 ; Serv. ad Aen. 1.27.) Here, Aphrodite and Athena began to dispute as to which of them the apple should belong. Zeus ordered Hermes to take the goddesses to mount Gargarus, a portion of Ida, to the beautiful shepherd Paris, who was there tending his flocks, and who was to decide the dispute. (Eurip. Iphig. Aul. 1302, 1298 ; Paus. 5.19 § 1; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 986.) Hera promised him the sovereignty of Asia and great riches, Athena great glory and renown in war, and Aphrodite the fairest of women, Helen, in marriage. Hereupon Paris declared Aphrodite to be the fairest and deserving of the golden apple. This judgment called forth in Hera and Athena fierce hatred of Troy. (Hom. Il. 24.25, 29; Schol. ad Eurip. Hecub. 637, Troad. 925, &c., Helen. 23, &c., Androm. 284; Hyg. Fab. 92; Lucian, Dial. Deor. 20.) Under the protection of Aphrodite, Paris now carried off Helen, the wife of Menelaus, from Sparta. (Hom. Il. 3.46, &c.; Apollod. 3.12.6.) The accounts of this rape are not the same in all writers, for according to some Helen followed her seducer willingly and without resistance, owing to the influence of Aphrodite (Hom. Il. 3.174), while Menelaus was absent in Crete (Eur. Tro. 939); some say that the goddess deceived Helen, by giving to Paris the appearance of Menelaus (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1946); according to others Helen was carried off by Paris by force, either during a festival or during the chase. (Lycoph. 106; Serv. ad Acn. 1.526; Dict. Cret. 1.3; Ptolem. Hephaest. 4.) Respecting the voyage of Paris to Greece, there likewise are different accounts. Once, it is said, Sparta was visited by a famine, and the oracle declared that it should not cease, unless the sons of Prometheus, Lycus and Chimaereus, who were buried at Troy, were propitiated. Menelaus accordingly went to Troy, and Paris afterwards accompanied him from Troy to Delphi. (Lycoph. 132; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 521.) Others say that Paris involuntarily killed his beloved friend Antheus, and therefore fled with Menelaus to Sparta. (Lycoph. 134, &c.) The marriage between Paris and Helen was consummated in the island of Cranae, opposite to Gytheium, or at Salamis. (Hom. Il. 3.445; Paus. 3.22.2; Lycoph. 110.) On his return with his bride to Troy, Paris passed through Egypt and Phoenicia, and at length arrived in Troy with Helen and the treasures which he had treacherously taken from the hospitable house of Menelaus. (Hom. Od. 4.228, Il. 6.291; Hdt. 2.113; Dict. Cret. 1.5.) In regard to this journey the accounts again differ, for according to the Cypria Paris and Helen reached Troy three days after their departure (Hdt. 2.117), whereas, according to later traditions, Helen did not reach Troy at all, for Zeus and Hera allowed only a phantom resembling her to accompany Paris to Troy, while the real Helen was carried to Proteus in Egypt, and remained there until she was fetched by Menelaus. (Eurip. Elect. 1280, &c., Helen. 33, &c., 243, 584, 670; Hdt. 2.118, 120; Lycoph. 113; Philostr. Her. 2.20, Vit. Apoll. 4.16; Serv. ad Aen. 1.651, 2.592.) The carrying off of Helen from Sparta gave rise to the Trojan war. When the Greeks first appeared before Troy, Paris was bold and courageous (li. 3.16, &c.); but when Menelaus advanced against him, he took to flight. As Hector upbraided him for his cowardice, he offered to fight in single combat with Menelaus for the possession of Helen (3.70). Menelaus accepted the challenge, and Paris though conquered was removed from the field of battle by Aphrodite (3.380). The goddess then brought Helen back to him, and as she as well as Hector stirred hint up, he afterwards returned to battle, and slew Menesthius (6.503, 7.2, &c.). He steadily refused to give up Helen to the Greeks, though he was willing to restore the treasures he had stolen at Sparta (7.347, &c.). Homer describes Paris as a handsome man, as fond of the female sex and of music, and as not ignorant of war, but as dilatory and cowardly, and detested by his own friends for having brought upon them the fatal war with the Greeks. He killed Achilles by a stratagem in the sanctuary of the Thymbraean Apollo (Hom. Il. 22.359; Dict. Cret. 4.11; Serv. ad Aen. 3.85, 322, 6.57); and when Troy was taken, he himself was wounded by Philoctetes with an arrow of Heracles (Soph. Philoct. 1426), and then returned to his long abandoned first wife Oenone. But she, remembering the wrong she had suffered, or according to others being prevented by her father, refused to heal the wound, or could not heal it as it had been inflicted by a poisoned arrow. He then returned to Troy and died. Oenone soon after changed her mind, and hastened after him with remedies, but came too late, and in her grief hung herself. (Apollod. 3.12.6; Dict. Cret. 4.19.) According to others she threw herself from a tower, or rushed into the flames of the funeral pile on which the body of Paris was burning. (Lycoph. 65; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 61; Q. Smyrn. 10.467.) By Helena, Paris is said to have been the father of Bunicus (Bunomus or Bunochus), Corythus, Aganus, Idaeus, and of a daughter Helena. (Dict. Cret. 5.5; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 851; Parthen. Erot. 34; Ptolem. Hephaest. 4.) Paris was represented in works of art as a youthful man, without a beard and almost feminine beauty, with the Phrygian cap, and sometimes with an apple in his hand, which he presented to Aphrodite. (Comp. Mus. Pio-Clement. 2.37.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Patroclus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, as recorded in the Iliad by Homer, Patroclus, or Patroklos (Gr. Πάτροκλος "glory of the father"), was the son of Menoetius, grandson of Actor, King of Opus, and was Achilles' beloved comrade. Menoetius was a member of the Argonauts in his youth. He had several marriages, and in different versions of the tale four different women are named as the mother of Patroclus. Apollodorus of Athens names three wives of Menoetius as possible mothers of Patroclus: Periopis, daughter of Pheres, founder of Pherae; Polymele, daughter of Peleus, King of Phthia and older half-sister of Achilles; and Sthenele, daughter of Acastus and Astydameia. Gaius Julius Hyginus names Philomela as Patroclus' mother; although Hyginus gives no origin for Philomela, she might be related to her namesake daughter of Pandion I, King of Athens and Zeuxippe. According to some historians, he may have been romantically involved with Achilles, the son of Peleus, King of Phthia...

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Patroclus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

2. The celebrated friend of Achilles. was a son of Menoetius of Opus (Hom. Il. 11.608; Ov. Ep. 1.17), and a grandson of Actor and Aegina, whence he is called Actorides. (Ov. Met. 13.273.) His mother is commonly called Sthenele, but some mention her under the name of Periapis or Polymele. (Hyg. Fab. 91; Eusitath. ad Hom. p. 1498.) Aeacus, the grandfather of Achilles, was a brother of Menoetius (Hom. Il. 16.14), and, according to Hesiod (apud Eustuth. ad Hom. p. 112), Menoetius was a brother of Peleus, so that the friendship between Achills and Patroclus arose from their being kinsmen. When yet a boy Patroclus, during a game of dice, involuntarily slew Clysonyius. a son of Amphidamas, and in consequence of this accident Patroclus was taken by his father to Peleus at Phlthia, where he was educated together with Achilles. (Hom. Il. 23.85, &e.; apollod. 3.13. § Ov. Ep. ex Pont. 1.3. 73.) He is also mentioned among the suitors of Helen. (Apollod. 3.10.8.) He is said to have taken part in the expedition against Troy on account of his attachment to Achilles. (Hygin. Fub. 257; Philostr. Her. 19. 9.) On their voyage thither, the Greeks plundered in Mysia the territory of Telephus, but were repelled, and oin their flight to their ships they were protected lby Patroclus and Achilles. (Pind. O. 10.105, &c.) During the war against Troy he took ani active part in thle struggle, until his friend withdrew from the scene of action, when Patroclus followed his example. (Hom. Il. 9.190.) But when te Greeks were hard pressed, and many of their heroes were wounded, he begged Achilles to allow him to put on his (Achilles') armour, and with his men to hasten to the assistance of the Greeks (16.20, &c.). Achilles granted thle request, and Patroclus succeeded in driving back the Troians and extinguishing the fire which was railin aillmong the ships (16.293). He slew many enemies, and thrice made an assault t upon the walls , of Troi (16.293, &c., 702, 785); but on a sudden he was struck by Apolio, and became senseless, In this state Euphorbus ran him through with his lance from behind, and Hector gave him the last and fatal blow (16.791, &c.). Heetor also took possession of his armour (18.122). A long struggle now ensued hetween the Greeks and Trojans about the body of Patrocins; but the former obtained possession of it, and when it was brought to Achilles, he was deeply grieved, and vowed to avenge the death of his friethl (17.735, 18.22). Thetis protected the body with ambrosia against decomposition. unitil Achilles had leisure solemnly to burn it with funeral sacrifices (19.38). His ashes were collected in a golden urn which Dionysus had once given to Thetis, and were deposited under a mound, where subsequently the remains of Achilles also were buried (23.83, 92, 126, 240, &c., Ot. 24.74, &c.; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 273). Funeral games were celebrated in his honour. (II. 23.262, &c.) Achilles and Patroclus met again in the lower world (Od. 24.15), or, according to others, they continued after their death to live together in the island of Leuce. (Paus. 3.19.11.) Patroclus was represented by Polygnotus in the Lesche at Delphi (Paus. 10.26.2, 30.1); and on Cape Sigeum in Troas, where his tomb was shown, he was worshipped as a hero. (Hom, Od. 24.82; Strab. xiii. p.596.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pegasus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Pegasus (Greek: Πήγασος, Pégasos) was a winged horse sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa.[1] He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing. By extension, the term Pegasus is often used to refer to any winged horse...

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Pegasus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

2. The famous winged horse, whose origin is thus related. When Perseus struck off the head of Medusa, with whom Poseidon had had intercourse in the form of a horse or a bird, there sprang forth from her Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus. The latter obtained the name Pegasus because he was believed to have made his appearance near the sources (πήγαι) of Oceanns. Pegasus rose up to the seats of the immortals, and afterwards lived in the palace of Zeus, for whom he carried thunder and lightning (IIes. Theog. 281, &c.; Apollod. 2.3.2, 4.2 ; Schol. ad Aristoph. Pac. 722; comp. Ov. Met. 4.781, &100.6.119). According to this view, which is apparently the most ancient, Pegasus was the thundering horse of Zeus; but later writers describe him as the horse of Eos (Schol. ad Hom. Il. 6.155; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 17), and place him among the stars as the heavenly horse (Arat. Phaen. 205, &c.; Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.18 Ov. Fast. 3.457, &c.). Pegasus also acts a prominent part in the fight of Bellerophon against the Chimaera (Hes. Th. 325; Apollod. 2.3.2). After Bellerophon had tried and suffered much to obtain possession of Pegasus for his fight against the Chimaera, he consuited the soothsayer Polvidus at Corinth. The latter advised him to spend a night in the temple of Athena, and, as Bellerophon was sleeping, the goddess appeared to him in a dream, commanding him to sacrifice to Poseidon, and gave him a golden bridle. When he awoke he found the bridle, offered the sacrifice, and caught Pegasus, who was drinking at the well Peirene (Pind. O. 13.90, &c. with the Schol.; Strab. viii. p.379). According to some Athena herself tamed and bridled Pegasus, and surrendered him to Bellerophon (Paus. 2.4.1), or Bellerophon received Pegasus from his own father Poseidon (Schol. ad Hom. Il. 6.155). After he had conquered the Chimaera (Pindar says that he also conquered the Amazons and the Solymi, Ol. 13.125), he endeavoured to rise up to heaven with his winged horse, but fell down upon the earth, either from fear or from giddiness, or being thrown off by Pegasus, who was rendered furious by a gad-fly which Zeus had sent. But Pegasus continued his flight (Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.18 ; Pind. Isthm. 7.6; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 17; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 636). Whether Hesiod considered Pegasus as a winged horse, cannot be inferred with certainty from the word ἀποπτάμενοσε; but Pindar, Euripides, and the other later writers, expressly mention his wings. Pegasus lastly was also regarded as the horse of the Muses, and in this capacity he is more celebrated in modern times than he ever was in antiquity ; for with the ancients he had no connection with the Muses, except that by his hoof he called forth the inspiring well Hippocrene. The story about this well runs as follows. When the nine Muses engaged in a contest with the nine daughters of Pierus on Mount Helicon, all became darkness when the daughters of Pierus began to sing ; whereas during the song of the Muses, heaven, the sea, and all the rivers stood still to listen, and Helicon rose heavenward with delight, until Pegasus, on the advice of Poseidon, stopped its rising by kicking it with his hoof (Ant. Lib. 9); and from this kick there arose Hippocrene, the inspiring well of the Muses, on Mount Helicon, which, for this reason, Persius (Prol. 1) calls fons cblallinus (Ov. Met. 5.256). Others again relate that Pegasus caused the well to gush forth because he was thirsty; and in other parts of Greece also similar wells were believed to have been called forth by Pegasus, such as Hippocrene, at Troezene, and Peirene, near Corinth (Paus. 2.31.12; Stat. Theb 4.60). Pegasus is often seen represented in ancient works of art and on coins along with Athena and Bellerophon. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pelias in Wikipedia

Pelias (Ancient Greek: Πελίας) was king of Iolcus in Greek mythology, the son of Tyro and Poseidon. His wife is recorded as either Anaxibia, daughter of Bias, or Phylomache, daughter of Amphion. He was the father of Acastus, Pisidice, Alcestis, Pelopia, Hippothoe, Asteropia, Antinoe, and Medusa.[1]...

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Pelias in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Peli/as), 1. A son of Poseidon (or Cretheus, Hyg. Fab. 12; Schol. ad Theocrit. 3.45) and Tyro. The latter, a daughter of Salmoneus, was in love, in her youth, with the river-god Enipeus, and Poseidon assuming the appearance of Enipeus, visited her, and became by her the father of Pelias and Neleus. Afterwards she was married to Cretheus, her father's brother; she became by him the mother of Aeson, Pheres, and Amythaon. (Hom. Od. 11.234, &c.; Apollod. 1.9.8; Hyg. Fab. 157.) Pelias and Neleus were exposed by their mother, and one of them was struck by a mare which passed by, so that his face became black, and a shepherd who found the child called him Pelias (from πελιόω, Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1682); and the other child which was suckled by a she- dog, was called Neleus, and both were brought up by the shepherd. When they had grown up to manhood, they discovered who their mother was, and Pelias killed Sidero, the wife of Salmoneus and step-mother of Tyro, at the altar of Hera, because she had ill used her step-daughter Tyro. After the death of Cretheus, Pelias did not allow his step-brother Aesoni to undertake the government of the kingdom, and after expelling even his own brother Neleus he ruled at Iolcus (Schol. ad Eurip. Alcest. 255; comp. Paus. 4.2.3), whereas according to others, he did not reign at lolcus till after Aeson's death, and even then only as the guardian of Jason, the son of Aeson. (Schol. ad Horn. Od. 12.70.) It is probably in allusion to his conduct towards his own brothers that Hesiod (Hes. Th. 996) calls him ὑβριστής. He married, according to some (Hygin. Fad. 14), Anaxibia, the daughter of Bias, and according to ethers, Philomache, the daughter of Amphion, by whom he became the father of Acastus, Peisidice, Pelopeia, Hippothoe and Alcestis. (Apollod. 1.9.8, &c.) Besides these daughters of Pelias (Peliades), several others are mentioned, such as Medusa (Hyg. Fab. 24), Amphinome, Evadne (Diod. 4.53), Asteropaea and Antinoe. (Paus. 8.11.2.) The Peliades were represented on the chest of Cypselus, where however the name of Alcestis alone was written. (Paus. 5.17.4; comp. Hom. Il. 2.715; Ov. Tr. 5.5. 55.) After the murder of their father, they are said to have fled from Iolcus to Mantineia in Arcadia, where their tombs also were shown. (Paus. 8.11.2.) Jason, after his return from Colchis, gave Alcestis in marriage to Admetus, Amphinome to Andraemon, and Evadne to Canes (Diod. 4.53), though according to the common story, Pelias himself gave Alcestis to Admetus. [ALCESTIS.] After Pelias had taken possession of the kingdom of Iolcus, he sent Jason, the son of his step-brother Aeson, to Colchis to fetch the golden fleece, and as he did not anticipate his return, he despatched Aeson and his son Promachus. After the return of Jason, Pelias was cut to pieces and boiled by his own daughters, who had been told by Medeia that in this manner they might restore their father to vigour and youth. His son, Acastus, held solemn funeral games in his honour at Iolcus, and expelled Jason and Medeia from the country. (Apollod. 1.9.27, &c.; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 175; Ov. Met. 7.297, &c.; comp. JASON, MEDERIA, ARGONAUTAE.) Pelias is further mentioned as one of the first who celebrated the Olympian games. (Paus. 5.8.1.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pelops in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Pelops (Greek Πέλοψ, from pelios: dark; and ops: face, eye), was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus. He was the founder of the House of Atreus through his son of that name. He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the Olympic Games, the most important expression of unity, not only for the Peloponnesus, "island of Pelops", but for all Hellenes. At the sanctuary at Olympia, chthonic night-time libations were offered each time to "dark- faced" Pelops in his sacrificial pit (bothros) before they were offered in the following daylight to the sky-god Zeus (Burkert 1983:96)...

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Pelops in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Πέλοψ.) 1. A grandson of Zeus and son of Tantalus and Dione, the daughter of Atlas. (Hyg. Fab. 83; Eurip. Orest. init.) As he was thus a great-grandson of Crones, he is called by Pindar Κρόνιος (Ol. 3.41), though it may also contain an allusion to Pluto, the mother of Tantalus, who was a daughter of Cronos. [PLUTO.] Some writers call the mother of Pelops Euryanassa or Clytia. (Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 5, 11; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 52; comp. Apostol. Centur. 18.7.) He was married to Hippodameia, by whom he became the father of Atreus (Letreus, Paus. 6.22.5), Thyestes, Dias, Cynosurus, Corinthius, Hippalmus (Hippalcmus or Hippalcimus), Hippasus, Cleon, Argeius, Alcathus, Aelits, Pittheus, Troezen, Nicippe and Lysidice. (Apoilod. 2.4.5; Schol. ald Erip. Orest. 5.) By Axioche or the nymph Danais he is said to have been the father of Chrysippus (Schol. ad Eurip. I.c. ; Plut. Puarall. min. 33), and according to Pindar (1.89) he had only six sons by Hippodanieia, whereas the Scholiast (ad Ol. 1.144) mentions Pleisthenes and Chrysippus as sons of Pelops by Hllippodameia. Further, while the common accounts mention only the two daughters above named, Plutarch (Plut. Thes. 3) speaks of many daughters of Pelops. Pelops was king of Pisa in Elis, and from him the great southern peninsula of Greece was believed to have derived its name Peloponnesus; the nine small islands, moreover, which were situated off the Troezenian coast, opposite Methana, are said to have been called after hint the Pelopian islands. (Paus. 2.34.4.) According to a tradition which becmne very general in later times. Pelops was a Phrygian, who was expelled from Sipylus by lius (Paus. 2.22.4, 5.13.4), whereupon the exile then came witl his great wealth to Plia (5.1.5 ; Thuc. 1.9; comp. Sophl. Ajax, 1292; Pind. O. 1.36, 9.15); others describe himi as a Paphlagonian, and call himn an Eneteian, from the Paphlagonian town of Enete, and the Paphlagonians theimselves Πελοεήϊοι (Apollon. 2.358, with the Schol., and 790; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 1.37 ; Diod. 4.74), while others again represent him as a nrative of Greece, who came from Olenos in Achaia. (Schol. ad Pind. l.c.) Some, further, call him an Arcsadian, and state that by a stratagem he slew the Arcadian kilg Stymphalus, and scattered about the limbs of his body which he had cut to pieces. (Apollod. 3.12.6.) There can be little doubt that in the earliest and most genuine traditions, Pelops was described as a native of Greece and not as a foreign immigrant; and in them he is called the tamer of horses and the favourite of Poseidon. (Hom. Il. 2.104; Paus. 5.1.5, 8.1; Pind. O. 1.38.) The legends about Pelops consist mainly of the story of his being cut to pieces and boiled, and of the tuole concerning his contest with Oenomaus and Hippodaineia, to which may be added the legends about his relation to his sons and about his remains. 1. Pelops cut to pieces and boiled. (Κρεουργία Πέλοπος.) Tantalus, the favourite of the gods, it is said, once invited them to a repast, and on that occasion he slaughlitered his own son, and having boiled him set the flesh before them that they might eat it. Bult the immortal gods, knowing what it was, did not touch it; Demeter alone being absorbed by her grief about her lost daughter (others mentioned Thetis, Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 1.37), consumed the shoulder of Pelops. Hereupon the gods ordered Hermes to put the limbs of Pelops into a cauldron, and thereby restore to him his life and former appearance. When the process was over, Clotho took him out of the cauldron, and as the shoulder consumed by Demeter was wanting, Denmeter supplied its place by one made of ivory ; his descendaints (the Pelopidae), as a mark of their origin, were believed to have one shoulder as white as ivory. (Pind. O. 1.37, &c. with the Schol. ; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 152; Hyg. Fab. 83; Verg. G. 3.7; Ov. Met. 6.404.) This story is not related by all authors in the same manner, for according to some, Rhea restored Pelops, and Pan, the companion of Rhea, danced on the occasion. (Schol. ad Aristid. p. 216, ed. Frommnel; Lucian, De Saltlt. 54; Paus. 5.13.4.) Pindar. again, denies the story of the κρεουργία, and states that Poseidon, being in love with the beautiful boy Pelops, carried him off, whereupon Pelops, like Ganymnedes, for a time stayed with the gods. (Ol. 1.46, &c.; conmp. Schol. ad Ol. 1.69; Eur. IT 387; Philost. Imnaug. 1.17; Lucian, Charid. 7; Tib. 1.4, 57.) 2. Contest with Oenomaus and Hippodameia. As an oracle had declared to Oenomaus that he should be killed by his son-in-law, he refused giving his fair daughter Hippodameia in marriage to any one. (Some said that he himself was in love with his daughter, and for this reason refused to give her to any one; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 156; Lucian, Charid. 19 ; hygin. Fab. 253.) Many suitors however, appearing, Oenomnaus declared that he would give her to him, who should conquer him in the chariot-race, but that he should kill those that should be conquered by him. [OENOMAUS.] Among other suitors Pelops also presented himself, but when he saw the heads of his conquered predecessors stuck up above the door of Oenomaus, he was seized with fear, and endeavoured to gain the favour of Myrtilus, the chiarioteer of Oenomaus, promising him half the kingdom if he would assist him in gaining Hippodameeia. Myrtilus agreed, and did not properly fasten the wheels to the chariot of Oenomaus. so that he might be upset during the race. The plan succeeded, and Oenomans dying pronounced a curse upon Myrtilus. When Pelops returned home with Hippodameia and Myrtilus, he resolved to throw the latter into the sea. As Myrtilus sank, he cursed Pelops and his whole race. (Hygiin. Fab. 84; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 1.114; Diod. 4.73 ; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 183.) This story too is related with various modifications. According to Pindar, Pelops did not gain the victory by any stratagem, but called for assistance upon Poseidon, wllo gave him a chariot and horses by which he overcame Oenomaus. (Ol. 1.109, &c.) On the chest of Cypselus where the race was represented, the horses had wings. (Paus. 5.17.4; comp. Apollon. 1.752, &c.; HIPPODAMEIA and MYRTILUS.) In order to atone for the murder of Myrtilus, Pelops founded the first temple of Hermes in Peloponnesus (Paus. 5.15.5), and he also erected a monument to the unsuccessful suitors of Hippodameia, at which an annual sacrifice was offered to them (6.21.7). When Pelops had gained possession of Hippodameia, he went with her to Pisa in Elis, and soon also made himself master of Olympia, where he restored the Olympian games with greater splendour than they had ever had before. (Pind. O. 9.16; Paus. 5.1.5, 8.1.) He received his sceptre from Hermes and bequeathed it to Atreus. (Hom. Il. 2.104.) 3. The sons of Pelops. Chrysippus who was the favourite of his father, roused the envy of his brothers, who in concert with Hippodameia, prevailed upon the two eldest among them, Atreus and Thyestes, to kill Chrysippus. They accomplished their crime, and threw the body of their murdered brother into a well. According to some Atreuts alone was the murderer (Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 800), or Pelops himself killed him (Schol. ad Thuc. 1.9), or Chrysippus made away with himself (Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 1760), or Hippodameia slew him, because her own sons refused to do it. (Plut. Parall. Min. 33.) According to the common tradition, however, Pelops, who suspected his sons of the murder, expelled them from the country, and they dispersed all over Peloponnesus. (Schol. ad Eurip. Or. 5; Paus. 5.8.1.) Hippodameia, dreading the anger of her husband, fled to Midea in Argolis. from whence her remains were afterwards conveyed by Pelops, at the command of an oracle, to Olympia. (Paus. 6.20.4.) Some state that Hippodameia made away with herself. (Hyg. Fab. 85, 243.) She had a sanctuary at Olympia in the grove Altis, to which women alone had access, and in the race coarse at Olympia there was a bronze statue of her. (Paus. 6.20.10.) 4. The remains of Pelops. While the Greeks were engaged in the siege of Troy, they were informed by an oracle, that the city could not be taken, unless one of the bones of Pelops were brought from Elis to Troas. The shoulder bone accordingly was fetched from Letrina or Pisa, but was lost together with the ship in which it was carried, off the coast of Euboea. Many years afterwards it was dragged up from the bottom of the sea by a fisherman, Demarmenus of Eretria, who concealed it in the sand, and then consulted the Delphic oracle about it. At Delphi he met ambassadors of the Eleians, who had come to consult the oracle respecting a plague, which was raging in their country. The Pythia requested Demarmienus to give the shoulder bone of Pelops to the Eleians. This was done accordingly, and the Eleians appointed Demarmenus to guard the venerable relic. (Paus. 5.13.3; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 52, 54.) According to some the Palladium was made of the bones of Pelops. (Clem. Alex. ad Gent. p. 30d; cosmp. Plin. Nat. 28.4.) Pelops was honoured at Olympia above all other heroes. (Paus. 5.13.1.) His tomb with an iron sarcophagus existed on the banks of the Alpheius, not far from the temple of Artemis near Pisa; and every year the ephebi there scourged themselves, shedding their blood as a funeral sacrifice to the hero. (Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 1.146.) The spot on which his sanctuary (Πελόπιον) stood in the grove Altis, was said to have been dedicated by Heracles, who also offered to him the first sacrifices. (Paus. l.c. ; 5.26, in fin.; Apollod. 2.7.2.) The magistrates of the Eleians likewise offered to him there an annual sacrifice, consisting of a black ram, with special ceremonies. (Paus. 5.13.2.) His chariot was shown in the temple of Demeter at Phlius, and his sword in the treamsurv of the Sicyonians at Olympia. (Paus. 2.14.3, 6.19.3.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Penates in Wikipedia

In ancient Roman religion, the Di Penates or Penates were among the dii familiares, or household deities, invoked most often in domestic rituals. When the family had a meal, they threw a bit into the fire on the hearth for the Penates.[1] They were thus associated with Vesta, the Lares, and the Genius of the paterfamilias in the "little universe" of the domus.[2]...

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Penates in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the household gods of the Romans, both in regard to a private family and to the state, as the great family of citizens : hence we shall have to distinguish between private and public Penates. The name is unquestionably connected with penus, they being the gods who were worshipped, and whose images were kept in the central part of the house, or the penetralia, and who thus protected the whole household. (Isidor. Orig. 8.11; Fest. s. vv. Penetralia, Penus.) The Greeks, when speaking of the Roman Penates, called them θεοὶ πατρῷοι, γενέθλιοι, κτήσιοι, μύχιοι, ἕρκιοι. (Dionys. A. R. 1.67.) The Lares therefore were included among the Penates; both names, in fact, are often used synonymously (Schol. ad Horat. Epod. 2.43; Plaut. Mler. 5.1. 5; Aulul. 2.8. 16; Plin. Nat. 28.20), and the figures of two youths whom Dionysius (1.68) saw in the temple of the Penates, were no doubt the same as the Lares praestites, that is, the twin founders of the city of Rome. The Lares, however, though they may be regarded as identical with the Penates, were yet not the only Penates, for each family had usually no more than one Lar, whereas the Penates are always spoken of in the plural. (Plaut. Mere. 5.1. 5.) Now considering that Jupiter and Juno were regarded as the protectors and the promoters of happiness, peace, and concord in the family, and that Jupiter is not only called a deus penetralis (Fest. s. v. Herceus), but that sacrifices were offered to him on the hearth along with the Lares, there can be little doubt but that Jupiter and Juno too were worshipped as Penates. Vesta also is reckoned among the Penates (Serv. ad Aen. 2.297; Macr. 3.4; Ov. Met. 15.864), for each hearth, being the symbol of domestic union, had its Vesta. All other Penates, both public and private, seem to have consisted of certain sacred relics connected with indefinite divinities, and hence the expression of Varro, that the number and names of the Penates were indefinite (apud Arnob, 3.40; Macrob. l.c. ; Isid. Orig. 8.11). This statement of a great antiquarian might have deterred any one from entering upon any further investigation; but some have nevertheless ventured upon the wide field of speculation, and conjectured that the Penates were Neptune and Apollo, because these divinities had surrounded Troy with walls. According to this view the Penates were the sacred relics that were believed to have been brought from Troy to Italy (Arnob. 3.40; Macrob. l.c.) According to an Etruscan opinion the Penates were four in number, or divided into four classes, viz. Jupiter and his suite, Neptune and his train, and the gods of the uper and lower worlds; but this opinion is certainly based upon a view of the Penates which is different from that entertained by the Romans. Others again believed that the Penates were those divinities who were the representatives of the vital principle in man and nature, that is, Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, to whom Tarquinius built a common temple on the Capitol; and as Tarquinius was believed to have been initiated in the Samothracian mysteries, the Penates were identified with the great gods of Sanmothrace. This was accounted for by the supposition that the Trojan Penates who had been brought to Italy, had been introduced at Troy from Samothrace. (Dionys. A. R. 1.68.; Serv. ad Aen. 2.325, 3.148; Macrob. l.c.) But all these opinions and conjectures are of little value. The public Penates of the city of Rome had a chapel somewhere about the centre of the city, in a place called sub felia. They were represented as two youths with lances in their hands, and similar images of them existed in many other sanctuaries. (Dionys. A. R. 1.68; Liv. 45.16.) Lavinium, the central point of Latium, too, had the Penates, who had been brought by Aeneas from Troy (Varr. De L. L. 5.144; Dionys. A. R. 1.67), and every Roman consul, dictator, and praetor, immediately after entering upon his office, was bound to offer up a sacrifice to the Penates and Vesta at Lanu-vium (Macr. 3.4.) As the public Lares were worshipped in the central part of the city or country, and at the public hearth, so the private Penates had their place at the hearth of every house; but not only the hearth was sacred to them, but the table also. On the hearth a perpetual fire was kept up in their honour, and the table always contained the salt-cellar and the firstlings of fruit for these divinities. (Plit. Sympos. 7.4; Arnob. 2.67; Liv. 26.36; V. Max. 4.4. %4F 3; Cic. De Fin. 2.7.) Every meal that was taken in the house thus resembled a sacrifice offered to the Penates, beginning with a purification and ending with a libation which was poured either on the table or upon the hearth. After every absence from the hearth, the Penates were saluted like the living inhabitants of the house; and whoever went abroad prayed to the Penates and Lares for a happy return, and when he came back to his house, he hung up his armour, staff, and the like by the side of their images (Terent. Phorm. 2.1. 81; Plaut. Stick. 4.1. 29; Ov. Tr. 1.3. 41, 4.8. 21), and on the whole, there was no event occurring in a family, whether sad or joyful, in which people did not pray to the Lares and Penates. (Comp. Hartutg, Die Relig. der Röm. vol. i. p. 71, &c.; Klausen, Aeneas und die Pcnaten, p. 620, &c) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Penelope in Wikipedia

In Homer's Odyssey, Penelope (pronounced /pəˈnɛləpiː/ pə-NEL- ə-pee; Greek: Πηνελόπεια, Pēnelopeia, or Πηνελόπη, Pēnelopē) is the faithful wife of Odysseus, who keeps her suitors at bay in his long absence and is eventually rejoined with him. Her name has traditionally been associated with faithfulness,[1] and so it was with the Greeks and Romans, but some recent feminist readings offer a more ambiguous interpretation...

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Penelope in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Πηνελόπη, Πενελόπη, Πηνελόπεια), a daughter of Icarins and Periboea of Sparta (Hom. Od. 1.329; Apollod. 3.10.6 ; compi. ICARIUS. According to Didymus, Penelope was originally called Ameirace, Arnacia, or Arnaea, and Nauplius or her own parents are said to have cast her into the sea (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 792), where she was fed by sea-birds (πννέλοπες) from which she derived her name. (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1422.) She was married to Odysseus, king of Ithaca, by whom she had an only child, Telemachus, who was yet an infant at the time when her husband went with the Greeks to Troy. (Od. 11.447, 21.158.) During the long absence of Odysseus, she was beleaguered by numerous and importunate suitors, whom she deceived by declaring that she must finish a large shroud which she was making for Laertes, her aged father-in-law, before she should make up her mind. During the day time she accordingly worked at the shroud, and in the night she undid the work of the day. (Od. 19.149, &c., comp. 2.121; Propert. 2.9. 5.) By this means she succeeded in putting off the suitors. But at length her stratagem was betrayed by her servants; and when, in consequence, the faithful Penelope, who was pining and longing for her husband's return, was pressed more and more by the impatient suitors, Odysseus at length arrived in Ithaca, and as she recognised him by several signs, she heartily welcomed him, and the days of her grief and sorrow were at an end. (Od. 17.103, 23.205, 24.192; Eur. Orest. 588 &c. ; Ov. Ep. 1.83; Trist 5.14; Propert. 3.12. 23, &c.; colip. ICARIUS and ODYSSERS. While the Homeric tradition describes Penelope as a most chaste and faithful wife, later writers charge her with the very opposite vices, and relate that by Heermes or by all the suitors together she became the mother of Pan. (Lycoph. 772; Schol. ad Herod. 2.145; Cic. De Nat. Deor. 3.22 ; comtip. PA>N.) Odysseus on his return for this reason repudiated her, whereupon she went to Sparta, and thence to Mantineia, where her tomb was shown in after times. (Paus. 8.12.3.) According to another tradition, Penelope. with Telemachus and Telegonus, who had killed his father Odysseus, went to Aeaea, and there married Telegonus; whereas, according to others again, she married Telegonus in the islands of the Blessed. (Hyg. Fab. 127; Tzetz. ad Lycophr. 805.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Pephredo in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

or PEMPHRAEDO (Πεφρηδω or Πεμφρηδώ, a daughter of Phorcys, and one of the Graeae. (Hes. Th. 273; Apollod. 2.4.2 ; Tzetz. ad L. yc. 838; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 4.1515; Zenob. 1.41.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Periphetes in Wikipedia

Periphetes is the name of two characters from Greek mythology. The most prominent Periphetes, also known as Corynetes or the Club-Bearer, was a son of Hephaestus and Anticleia. Like his father, he was lame in one leg with only one eye as a Cyclopes would have. roamed the road from athens to trozen where he robbed travellers and killed them with his bronze club. Theseus killed him by throwing a boulder at him and afterwards used the club as his own weapon. He was mentioned in Apollodorus 3.15.8 and Pausanias 2.1.4 The second Periphetes was the son of Copreus, and was killed during the Trojan war by Hector.[citation needed] - Wikipedia

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Periphetes in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Περιφήτης). 1. A son of Hephaestus and Anticleia, was surnamed Corynetes, that is, Club-bearer, and was a robber at Epidaurus, who slew the travellers he met with an iron club. Theseus at last slew him and took his club for his own use. (Apollod. 3.16.1; Plut. Thes 38; Paus 2.1.4; Ov. Met. 7.437.) 2. A son of Copreus of Mycenae, was slain at Troy by Hector. (Horn. Il. 15.638.) 3. A Trojan, who was slain by Teucer. (Horn. Il. 14.515.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Persephone in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Persephone (usually pronounced /pər ˈsɛfəniː/ in modern English; also called Kore[1]) was the Queen of the Underworld, the korē (or young maiden), and a daughter of Demeter and Zeus. In the Olympian version, she also becomes the consort of Hades when he becomes the deity that governs the underworld. The figure of Persephone is well-known today. Her story has great emotional power: an innocent maiden, a mother's grief over her abduction, and great joy after her daughter is returned. It is also cited frequently as a paradigm of myths that explain natural processes, with the descent and return of the goddess bringing about the change of seasons...

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Persephone in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Περσεφόνη), in Latin Proserpina, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. (Hom. Il. 14.326, Od. 11.216; Hes. Theog. 912, &c. ; Apollod. 1.5.1.) Her name is commonly derived from φερειν φόνον, "to bring" or "cause death," and the form Persephone occurs first in Hesiod (Hes. Th. 913; comp. Horn. Hymm. in Cer. 56), the Homeric form being Persephoneia. But besides these forms of the name, we also find Persephassa, Phersephassa, Persephatta, Phersephatta. Pherrephassa, Pherephatta, and Phersephoneia, for which various etymologies have been proposed. The Latin Proserpina, which is probably only a corruption of the Greek, was erroneously derived by the Romans from proscrpere,"to shoot forth." (Cic. de Nat. Deor. 2.26.) Beingthe infernal goddess of death, she is also called a daughter of Zeus and Styx (Apollod. 1.3.1 ); in Arcadia she was worshipped under the name of Despoena, and was called a daughter of Poseidon, Hippius, and Demeter, and said to have been brought up by the Titan Anytus. (Paus. 8.37.3, 6, 25.5.) Homer describes her as the wife of llades, and the formidable, venerable, and majestic queen of the Shades, who exercises her power, and carries into effect the curses of men upon the souls of the dead, along with her husband. (Hom. Od. 10.494, 11.226, 385, (134, Il. 9.457, 569; comp. Apollod. 1.9.15.) Hence she is called by later writers Juno Inferna, Auerna, and Stygia (Verg. A. 6.138; Ov. Met. 14.114), and the Erinnyes are said to have been daughters of her by Pluto. (Orph. Hymn. 29. 6, 6, 70. 3.) Groves sacred to her are said by Homer to be in the western extremity of the earth, on the frontiers of the lower world, which is itself called the house of Persephone. (Od. 10.491, 509.) The story of her being carried off by Pluto, against her will, is not mentioned by Homer, who simply describes her as his wife and queen; and her abduction is first mentioned by Hesiod (Hes. Th. 914). Zeus, it is said, advised Pluto, who was in love with the beautiful Persephone, to carry her off, as her mother, Demeter, was not likely to allow her daughter to go down to Hades. (Comp. Hyg. Fab. 146.) Pluto accordingly carried her off while she was gathering flowers with Artemis and Athena. (Comp. Diod. 5.3.) Demeter, when she found her daughter had disappeared, searched for her all over the earth with torches, until at length she discovered the place of her abode. Her anger at the abduction obliged Zeus to request Pluto to send Persephone (or Cora, i. e. the maiden or daughter) back. Pluto indeed complied with the request. but first gave her a kernel of a pomegranate to eat, whereby she became doomed to the lower world, and an agreement was made that Persephone should spend one third (later writers say one half) of every year in Hades with Pluto, and the remaining two thirds with the gods above. (Apollod. 1.5. 1, &c,; Or. Met. 5.565; comp. DEMETER.) The place where Persephone was said to have been carried off, is different in the various local traditions. The Sicilians, among whom her worship was probably introduced by the Corinthian and Megarian colonists, believed that Pluto found her in the meadows near Enna, and that the well Cyane arose on the spot where he descended with her into the lower world. (Diod. 5.3, &c.; comp. Lydus, De Mens. p. 286; Ov. Fast. 4.422.) The Cretans thought that their own island had been the scene of the rape (Schol. ad Hes. Theog. 913), and the Eleusinians mentioned the Nysaean plain in Boeotia, and said that Persephone had descended with Pluto into the lower world at the entrance of the western Oceanus. Later accounts place the rape in Attica, near Athens (Schol. ad Soph. Oed. Col. 1590) or at Erineos near Eleusis (Paus. 1.38.5), or in the neighbourhood of Lerna (2.36.7 ; respecting other localities see Conon, Narr. 15 ; Orph. Argon. 1192; Spanheim, ad Callim. Hymn. in Cer. 9). The story according to which Persephone spent one part of the year in the lower world, and another with the gods above, made her, even with the ancients, the symbol of vegetation which shoots forth in spring, and the power of which withdraws into the earth at other seasons of the year. (Schol. ad Theocrit. 3.48.) Hence Plutarch identifies her with spring, and Cicero De Nat. Deor. 2.26) calls her the seed of the fruits of the field. (Comp. Lydus, De Mes. pp. 90, 284; Porphyr. De Ant. Nymph. p. 118. ed. Barnes.) In the mysteries of Eleusis, the return of Cora from the lower world was regarded as the symbol of immortality, and hence she was frequently represented on sarcophagi. In the mystical theories of the Orphics, and what are called the Platonists, Cora is described as the all-pervading goddess of nature, who both produces and destroys every thing (Orph. Hymn. 29. 16), and she is therefore mentioned along, or identified with, other mystic divinities, such as Isis, Rhea, Ge, Hestia, Pandora, Artemis, Hecate. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 708, 1176; Schol. ad Apollon. Rlod. 3.467; Schol. ad Theocrit. 2.12 ; Serv. ad Aen. 4.609.) This mystic Persephone is further said to have become by Zeus the another of Dionysus, Iacchus, Zagreus or Sabazius. (Hesych. sub voce Ζαγρεύς; Schol. ad Eurip. Or. 952 ; Aristopll. Ran. 326; Diod. 4.4; Arrian. Exped. Al. 2.16; Lydus De Mens. p. 198; Cic. de Nat. Deor. 3.23.) The surnames which are given to her by the poets, refer to her character as queen of the lower world and of the dead, or to her symbolic meaning which we have pointed out above. She was commonly worshipped along with Demeter, and with the same mysteries, as for example, with Demeter Cabeiria in Boeotia. (Paus. 9.25.5.) Her worship further is mentioned at Thebes, which Zeus is said to have given to her as an acknowledgment for a favour she had bestowed on him (Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 687): in like manner Sicily was said to have been given to her at her wedding (Pind. N. 1.17; Diod. 5.2; Schol. ad Theocrit. 15.14), and two festivals were celebrated in her honour in the island, the one at the time of sowing, and the other at the time of harvest. (Diod. 5.4; Athen. 14.647.) The Eleusinian mysteries belonged to Demeter and Cora in common, and to her alone were dedicated the mysteries celebrated at Athens in the month of Anthesterion. (Comp. Paus. 1.31.1, &c.) Temples of Persephone are mentioned at Corinth, Megara, Sparta, and at Locri in the south of Italy. (Paus. 3.13.2; Liv. 29.8, 18; Appian, 3.12.) In works of art Persephone is seen very frequently: she bears the grave and severe character of an infernal Juno, or she appears as a mystical divinity with a sceptre and a little box, but she was mostly represented in the act of being carried off by Pluto. (Paus. 8.37.2; corn p. Hirt. Mythol. Bilderb. i. p. 72, &c.; Welcker, Zeitschrift fur die alte Kunst, p. 20, &c.) Another mythical personage of the name of Persephione, is called a daughter of Minyas, and the mother of Chloris by Aniphion. (Schol. ad Hom. Od. 11.281.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Perseus in Wikipedia

Perseus (Greek: Περσεύς),[note 1] the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits in defeating various archaic monsters provided the founding myths of the Twelve Olympians. Perseus was the Greek hero who killed the Gorgon Medusa, and claimed Andromeda, having rescued her from a sea monster sent by Poseidon in retribution for Queen Cassiopeia declaring herself more beautiful than the sea nymphs...

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Perseus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Περσεύς). 1. The famous Argive hero, was a son of Zeus and Danae, and a grandson of Acrisius (Hom. Il. 14.310; Hes. Scut. Here. 229). Acrisius, who had no male issue, consulted the Pythian oracle, and received the answer, that if Danae should give birth to a son, he would kill his father. Acrisius, accordingly, shut up his daughter in a subterraneous apartment, made of brass or stone (Soph. Ant. 947; Lycoph. 838 ; Hor. Carm. 3.16). But Zeus having metamorphosed himself into a shower of gold, came down upon her through the roof of the apartment, and became by her the father of Persens. From this circumstance Persens is sometimes called χρυσόπατρος or αυριγενα (Lycoph. 838; Ov. Met. 5.250). When Acrisitis discovered that Danae had given birth to a son, he threw both mother and son into a chest, and put them out to sea; but Zeus caused the chest to land in the island of Seriphos, one of the Cyclades, where Dictys, a fisherman, found them, and carried them to his brother, king Polydectes. According to a later or Italian tradition, the chest was carried to the coast of Italy, where king Pilumnus married Danae, and founded Ardea (Verg. A. 7.410; Serv. ad Aen. 7.372); or Danae is said to have come to Italy with two sons, Argus and Argeus, whom she had by Phineus, and took up her abode on the spot where Rome was afterwards built (Serv. ad Aen. 8.345). But, according to the common story, Polydectes, king of Seriphos, made Danae his slave, and courted her favour, but in vain; and in order to obtain the undisturbed possession of her, he sent off Perseus, who had in the meantime grown up to manhood, to the Gorgons, to fetch the head of Medusa, which he said he would give to llippodameia as a wedding present (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 838). Another account agtin states that Polydectes married Danae, and caused Perseus to be brought up in the temple of Athena. When Acrisius learnt this, he went to Polydectes, who, however, interfered on behalf of the boy, and the latter promised not to kill his grandfather. Acrisius. however, was detained in Seriphos by storms, and during that time Polydectes died. During the funeral gaines the wind carried a disk thrown by Perseus against the head of Acrisius, and killed him, whereupon Perseus proceeded to Argos and took possessions of the kingdom of his grandfather (Hygin. Fab. 63). But to return to the common tradition. Athena, with whom Medusa had venttired to contend for the prize of beauty, first showed to Perseus the head of Gorgo in images, near the town of Diecterion in Samos, and advised him to be unconcerned about the two immortal Gorgons, Stheno and Euryale. Perseus then went first to the Graeae, the sisters of the Gorgons, took from them their one tooth and their one eye, and did not restore them to the Graeae until they showed him the way to the nymphs; or he cast the tooth and the eye into lake Triton, so that the Graeae were no longer able to guard the Gorgons (Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.12). The nymphs provided Perseus with winged sandals, a bag, and the helmet of Hades, which rendered him invisible, Hermes with a sickle, and Athena with a mirror (Hes. Scut. Her. 220, 222 ; Eurip. Elect. 460; Anthol. Palat. 9.557; comp. Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.12; Theon, ad Arat. p. 29). Being thus armed, he went to the Gorgons, who dwelt near Tartessus on the coast of the Ocean, whose heads were covered, like those of serpents, with scales, and who had large tusks like boars, brazen hands, and golden wings. He found them asleep, and cut off the head of Medusa, looking at her figure through the mirror, for a look at the monster herself would have changed him into stone. Perseus put her head into the bag which he carried on his back, and as he went away, he was pursued by the winged Gorgons (Hes. Scut. Here. 230 ; Paus. 5.118.1). On his return he visited Aethiopia, where he saved and married Andromeda, by whom he became the father of Perses, whom he left with Cepheus. During this journey Perseus is also said to have come to the Hyperboreans, by whom he was hospitably received (Pind. P. 10.50), and to Atlas, whom, by the head of Gorgo, he changed into the mountain of the same name (Ov. Met. 4.655; Serv. ad Aen. 4.246). Phineus, the brother of Cepheus, was likewise changed into stone, and when Perseus returned to Seriphos he found his mother with Dictys in the temple, whither she had fled from the embraces of Polydectes. Perseus found the latter at a repast, and metamorphosed him and all his guests, and, some say, the whole island, into stone (Pind. P. 12.21; Strab. x. p.487), and presented the kingdom to Dictys. Perseus then gave the winged sandals and the helmet to Hermes, who restored them to the nymphs and to Hades, and Athena received the head of Gorgo, which was put on the shield or breast-plate of the goddess. Hereupon Persens went to Argos, accompanied by Cyclopes, skilled in building (Schol. ad Eurip. Or. 953), by Danae, and Andromeda. Acrisius, remembering the oracle, escaped to Larissa, in the country of the Pelasgians; but Perseus followed him, in order to persuade him to return (Paus. 2.16.6). Some writers state that Perseus, on his return to Argos. found Proetus who had expelled his brother Acrisius, in possession of the kingdom (Ov. Met. 5.236, &c.); Perseus slew Proetus, and was afterwards killed by Megapenthes, the son of Proetus, who avenged the death of his father. (Hyg. Fab. 244.) Some again relate that Proetus was expelled, and went to Thebes. (Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 1109.) But the common tradition goes on thus: when Teutamidas, king of Larissa, celebrated games in honour of his guest Acrisius, Perseus, who took part in them, accidentally hit the foot of Acrisius, and thus killed him. Acrisius was buried outside the city of Larissa, and Perseus, leaving the kingdom of Argos to Megapenthes, the son of Proetus, received from him in exchange the government of Tiryns. According to others, Perseus remained in Argos, and successfully opposed the introduction of the Bacchic orgies. (Paus. 2.20.3, 22.1 ; comp. Nonn. Dionys. 31.25.) Perseus is said to have founded the towns of Mideia and Mycenae. (Paus. 2.15.4.) By Andromeda he became the father of Alcaeus, Sthenelus, Heleius, Mestor, Electryon, Gorgophone, and Autochthe, (Apollod. 2.4. §§ 1-5; Tzetz.ad Lyc. 494, 838; Ov. Met. 4.606, &c.; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 4.1091.) Perseus was worshipped as a hero in several places, e. g. between Argos and Mycenae, in Seriphos, and at Athens, where he had an altar in common with Dictys and Clymene. (Paus. 2.18.1.) Herodotus (2.91) relates that a temple and a statue of Perseus existed at Chemnis in Egypt, and that the country was blessed whenever he appeared. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Phaedra in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Phaedra (Phaidra) is the daughter of Minos, wife of Theseus and the mother of Demophon of Athens and Acamas. Phaedra's name derives from the Greek word φαιδρός (phaidros), which meant "bright". Though married to Theseus, Phaedra fell in love with Hippolytus, Theseus' son born by either Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, or Antiope, her sister. Euripides placed this story twice on the Athenian stage, of which one version survives. According to some sources, Hippolytus had spurned Aphrodite to remain a steadfast and virginal devotee of Artemis, and Aphrodite made Phaedra fall in love with him as a punishment.[1] He rejected her. Alternatively, Phaedra's nurse told Hippolytus of her love, and he swore he would not reveal her as a source of information. In revenge, Phaedra wrote Theseus a letter that claimed Hippolytus raped her...

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Phaedra in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Fai/dra), a daughter of Minos by Pasiphae or Crete, and the wife of Theseus. (Apollod. 3.1.2.) She was the stepmother of Hippolytus, the son of Theseus, by Antiope or Hippolyte, and having fallen in love with him he repulsed her, whereupon she calumniated him before Theseus. After the death of Hippolytus, his innocence became known to his father, and Phaedra made away with herself. (Hom. Od. 11.325 ; Eurip. Hippol.; compare TIPPOLYTUS.)- A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Phaethon in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Phaetōn or Phaethōn (pronounced / ˈfeɪ.ətən/ or /ˈfeɪ.əθən/; Greek: Φαέθων "shining") was the son of Helios (Phoebus). Perhaps the most famous version of the myth is given us through Ovid in his Metamorphoses (Book II). Phaeton seeks assurance that his mother, Clymenē, is telling the truth that his father is the sun god Helios. When Phaeton obtains his father's promise to drive the sun chariot as proof, he fails to control it and the Earth is in danger of burning up when Phaeton is killed by a thunderbolt from Zeus to prevent further disaster...

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Phaethon in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Φαέθων), that is, the shining. 1. This name occurs in Homer (ll. 11.735, Od. 5.479) as an epithet or surname of Helios, and is used by later writers as a real proper name for Helios (Apollon, Rhod. 4.1236; Virg. Acn. 5.105); but it is more commonly known as the name of son of Helios by the Oceanid Clymene, the wife of Merops. The genealogy of Phaethon, however, is not the same in all writers, for some call him a son of Clymenus, the son of Helios, by Merope (Hyg. Fab. 154), or a son of Helios by Prote (Tzeiz. Chil. 4.127). or, lastly, a son of Helios by the nymph Rhode or Rhodos. (Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 6.131.) He received the signifieant name Phaethon from his father, and was afterwards also presmnptouus and ambitious enoug to request his father one day to allow him to drive the chariot of the sum across the heavens. Helios was induced by the entreaties of his son and of Clymene to yield, but the youth being too weak to cheek the horses, came down with his chariot, and so near to the earth, that he almost set it on fire. Zeus, therefore, killed him with a flash of lightning, so that he fell down into the river Eridanus or the Po. His isters, who had yoked teh horses to the chariot, were metamorphosed into poplars, and their tears into amber. (Eurip. Ilippol. 737, &c.; Apoolon. Rhod. 4.598, &c.; Lueian, Dial. Dcor. 25 ; Hygin, Fab. 152, 154; Verg. Ecl. 6.62, Aen 10.190; Ov. Met. 1.755, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Philoctetes in Wikipedia

Philoctetes (Greek: Φιλοκτήτης, Philoctētēs) or Philocthetes according to Greek mythology, the son of King Poeas of Meliboea in Thessaly. He was a Greek hero, famed as an archer, and was a participant in the Trojan War. He was the subject of at least two plays by Sophocles, one of which is named after him, and one each by both Aeschylus and Euripides. However, only one Sophoclean play survives-the others are lost. He is also mentioned in Homer's Iliad; Book 2 describes his exile on the island of Lemnos, his wound by snake-bite, and his eventual recall by the Greeks. The recall of Philoctetes is told in the lost epic Little Iliad, where his retrieval was accomplished by Odysseus and Diomedes. Philoctetes killed three men at Troy[1]...

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Philoctetes in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Φιλοκτήτης), a son of Poeas (whence he is called Poeantiades, Ov. Met. 13.313) and Demonassa, the most celebrated archer in the Trojan war (Hom. Od. 3.190, 8.219 ; Hyg. Fab. 102). He led the warriors from Methone, Thaumacia, Meliboea, and Olizon, against Troy, in seven ships. But on his voyage thither he was left behind by his men in the island of Lemnos, because he was ill of a wound which lie had received from the bite of a snake, and Medon, the son of Oileus and Rhene, undertook the command of his men (Hom. Il. 2.716, &c.). This is all that the Homeric poems relate of him, with the addition that he returned home in safety (Od. 3.190); but the cyclic and tragic poets have spun out in various ways this slender groundwork of the story of Philoctetes. He is said to have been the disciple, friend, and armour-bearer of Heracles (Philostr. Imag. 17), who instructed him in the art of using the bow, and who bequeathed to him his bow, with the never-erring poisoned arrows (Philostr. Her. 5). These presents were a reward for his having erected and set fire to the pile on mount Oeta, where Heracles burnt himself (Diod. 4.38; Hyg. Fab. 36; Ov. Met. 9.230, &c.). According to others, however, it was Poeas, Morsimus, Hyllus, or Zeus himself who performed that service to Heracles (Apollod. 2.7.7; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 50; Soph. Trch. in fin.). Philoctetes also was one of the suitors of Helen, and, according to some traditions, it was this circumstance that obliged him to take part in the Troian war (Apollod. 3.10.8). On his journey thither, while staying in the island of Chryse, he was bitten by a snake. This misfortune happened to him as he was showing to the Greeks the altar of Athena Chryse, and approached too near to the serpent which was guarding the temple of the goddess (Soph. Phil. 1327; Philostr. Imag. 17; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 330; Tzetz. aa Lyc. 911), or while he was looking at the tomb of Troilus in the temple of Apollo Thymbraeus, or as he was showing to his companions the altar of Heracles (Philostr. l.c. ; Schol. ad Soph. Phil. 266), or lastly during a sacrifice which Palamedes offered to Apollo Sminthius (Dict. Cret. 2.14). Hera, it is said, was the cause of this misfortune, being enraged at Philoctetes having performed the above-mentioned service to Heracles (Hyg. Fab. 102), though some related that the snake's bite was the consequence of his not having returned the love of the nymph Chryse (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 911). According to some accounts, moreover, the wound in his foot was not inflicted by a serpent, but by his own poisoned arrows (Serv. ad Aen. 3.402). The wound is said to have become ulcerated, and to have produced such an intolerable smell, and such intolerable pains, that the moanings of the hero alarmed his companions. The consequence was, that on the advice of Odysseus, and by the command of the Atreidae, he was exposed and left alone on the solitary coast of Lemnos (Ov. Met. 13.315; Hyg. Fab. 102). According to some he was there left behind, because the priests of Hephaestus in Lemnos knew how to heal the wound (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 330), and Pylius, a son of Hephaestus, is said to have actually cured him (Ptolem. Heph. 6), while, according to others, he was believed to have died of the wound (comp. Paus. 1.22.6). According to the common tradition, the sufferer remained in Lemnos during the whole period of the Trojan war, until in the tenth year Odysseus and Diomedes came to him as ambassadors, to inform him that an oracle had declared that without the arrows of Heracles Troy could not be taken. The tradition which represents him as having been cured, adds that while the war against Troy was going on, he, in conjunction with Euneus, conquered the small islands about the Trojan coast, and expelled their Carian inhabitants. As a reward for these exploits he received a part of Lemnos, which he called Acesa (from ἀκέομαι, I heal), and at the request of Diomedes and Neoptolemus, he then proceeded to Troy to decide the victory by his arrows (Philostr. Her. 5; comp. Hygin. Fub. 102; Q. Smyrn. 9.325, 460; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 911; Schol. ad Pind. Pyth. 1.100). According to the common story, however, Philoctetes was still suffering when the ambassadors arrived, but he nevertheless followed their call. After his arrival before Troy, Apollo sent him into a profound sleep, during which Machaon (or Podalirius, or both, or Asclepius himself) cut out the wound, washed it with wine, and applied healing herbs to it (Tzetz. ad Lyc. l.c.; Schol. ad Find. Pyth. 1.109; Propert. 2.1. 61; Q. Smym. 10.180; Soph. Phil. 133, 1437). Philoctetes was thus cured. and soon after slew Paris, whereupon Troy fell into the hands of the Greeks (Soph. Phil. 1426 ; Apollod. 3.12.6; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 64; Hyg. Fab. 112; Conon, Narr. 23). On his return from Troy he is said to have been cast upon the coast of Italy, where he settled, and built Petelia and Crimissa. In the latter place he founded a sanctuary of Apollo Alaeus, to whom he dedicated his bow (Strab. vi. p.254; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 911 ; Serv. ad Aen. 3.402). Afterwards a band of Rhodians also came to Italy, and as they became involved in war with the colonists from Pallene, Philoctetes assisted the Rhodians, and was slain. His tomb and sanctuary, in which heifers were sacrificed to him, were shown at Macalla. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 911, 927.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Phineus in Wikipedia

Phineus may refer to: Phineus, killed by Perseus. See Andromeda (mythology) Blind King Phineus or Phineas of Thrace, visited by Jason and the Argonauts

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Nemesis in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Ne/mesis), is most commonly described as a daughter of Night, though some call her a daughter of Erebus (Hygin. Fab. praef.) or of Oceanus (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 88; Paus. 1.33.3, 7.5.1). Nemesis is a personification of the moral reverence for law, of the natural fear of committing a culpable action, and hence of conscience, and for this reason she is mentioned along with Αἰδώς, i. e. Shame (Hes. Th. 223, Op. et D. 183). In later writers, as Herodotus and Pindar, Nemesis is a kind of fatal divinity, for she directs human affairs in such a manner as to restore the right proportions or equilibrium wherever it has been disturbed; she measures out happiness and unhappiness, and he who is blessed with too many or too frequent gifts of fortune, is visited by her with losses and sufferings, in order that he may become humble, and feel that there are bounds beyond which human happiness cannot proceed with safety. This notion arose from a belief that the gods were envious of excessive human happiness (Hdt. 1.34, 3.40; Pind. Ol. viii. in fin., Pytth. 10.67). Nemesis was thus a check upon extravagant favours conferred upon man by Tyche or Fortune, and from this idea lastly arose that of her being an avenging and punishing power of fate, who, like Dike and the Erinyes, sooner or later overtakes the reckless sinner (Apollon. 4.1043; Sophocl. Philoct. 518; Eur. Orest. 1362; Catull. 50, in fin.; Orph. Hymn. 60). The inhabitants of Smyrna worshipped two Nemeses, both of whom were daughters of Night (Paus. 7.5.1). She is frequently mentioned under the surnames Adrasteia [ADRASTEIA, No. 2] and Rhamnusia or Rhamnusis, the latter of which she derived from the town of Rhamnus in Attica, where she had a celebrated sanctuary (Paus. 1.33.2). Besides the places already mentioned she was worshipped at Patrae (Paus. 7.20, in fin.) and at Cyzicus (Strab. p. 588). She was usually represented in works of art as a virgin divinity, and in the more ancient works she seems to have resembled Aphrodite, whereas in the later ones she was more grave and serious, and had numerous attributes. But there is an allegorical tradition that Zeus begot by Nemesis at Rhamnus an egg, which Leda found, and from which Helena and the Dioscuri sprang, whence Helena herself is called Rhamnusis (Callim. Hymnn. in Dian. 232; Paus. 1.33.7). On the pedestal of the Rhamnusian Nemesis, Leda was represented leading Helena to Nemesis (Paus. l.c.) Respecting the resemblance between her statue and that of Aphrodite, see Plin. Nat. 36.4; comp. Paus. 1.33.2; Strab. pp. 396, 399. The Rhamnusian statue bore in its left hand a branch of an apple tree, in its right hand a patera, and on its head a crown, adorned with stags and an image of victory. Sometimes she appears in a pensive standing attitude, holding in her left hand a bridle or a branch of an ash tree, and in her right a wheel, with a sword or a scourge. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 97, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Neoptolemus in Wikipedia

Neoptolemus (also Neoptólemos or Pyrrhus; Greek Νεοπτόλημος, "New War") was the son of the warrior Achilles and the princess Deidamia in Greek mythology. Achilles' mother foretold many years before Achilles birth that there would be a great war. She saw that her only son was to die if he fought in the war. She sought a place for him to avoid fighting in the Trojan War, due to a prophecy of his death in the conflict. She disguised him as a woman in the court of Lycomedes, the King of Scyros. During that time, he had an affair with the princess, Deidamea, who then gave birth to Neoptolemus. Neoptolemus was originally called Pyrrhus, because the female version of that name, Pyrrha, had been taken by his father while disguised as a woman...

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Neoptolemus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Neopto/lemos), i. e. a young warrior, a son of Achilles and Deidameia, the daughter of Lycomedes, was also called Pyrrhus (Apollod. 3.13.8; Hom. Od. 11.491, &c.). According to some, however, he was a son of Achilles and Iphigeneia (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 133; Eustath. ad Hoom. p. 1187), and after the sacrifice of his mother he was carried by his father to the island of Scyros. The name of Pyrrhus is said to have been given to him by Lycomedes, because he had fair (πυρρός) hair, or because Achilles, while disguised as a girl, had borne the name of Pyrrha (Paus. 10.26.1; Hyg. Fab. 97; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1187; Serv. ad Aen. 2.469). He was called Neoptolemus because either Achilles or Pyrrhus himself had fought in early youth (Eustath. l.c.). From his father he is sometimes called Achillides (Ov. Ep. 8.3), and from his grandfather or great-grandfather, Pelides and Aeacides (Verg. A. 2.263,3.296). Neoptolemus was brought up in Scyros in the house of Lycomedes (Hom. Il. 19.326; Soph. Philoct. 239, &c.), whence he was fetched by Odysseus to join the Greeks in the war against Troy (Hom Od. 11.508), because it had been prophesied by Helenus that Neoptolemus and Philoctetes, with the arrows of Heracles, were necessary for the taking of Troy (Soph. Phil. 115). In order to obtain those arrows Neoptolemus and Odysseus were sent from Troy to the island of Lemnos, where Philoctetes was living, who was prevailed upon to join the Greeks (Soph. Phil. 1433). At Troy Neoptolemus showed himself in every respect worthy of his great father, and at last was one of the heroes that were concealed in the wooden horse (Hom. Od. 11.508, &100.521). At the taking of the city he killed Priam at the sacred hearth of Zeus Herceius (Paus. 4.17.3, 10.27; Verg. A. 2.547, &c.), and sacrificed Polyxena to the spirit of his father (Eurip. Hecub. 523). When the Trojan captives were distributed, Andromache, the widow of Hector, was given to Neoptolemus, and by her he became the father of Molossus, Pielus, Pergamus (Paus. 1.11.1), and Amphialus (Hyg. Fab. 123; comp. ANDROMACHE). Respecting his return from Troy and the subsequent events of his life the traditions differ. According to Homer (Hom. Od. 3.188, 4.5, &c.) he lived in Phthia, the kingdom of his father, whither Menelaus sent to him Hermione from Sparta, because he had promised her to him at Troy. According to others Neoptolemus himself went to Sparta to receive Hermione, because he had heard a report that she was betrothed to Orestes (Hyg. Fab. 123; Paus. 3.25.1, 26.5). Servius (Serv. ad Aen. 2.166, 3.321, &c.) relates that on the advice of Helenus, to whom be subsequently gave Andromache and a district in Epeirus, Neoptolemus returned home by land, because he had been forewarned of the which the Greeks would have to encounter at sea. Some again state that from Troy he first went to Molossia, and thence to Phthia, where he recovered the throne which had in the mean time been taken from Peleus by Acastus (Dict. Cret. 6.7, &c.; Eur. Tro. 1125; comp. Hom. Od. 4.9). Others, that on his return to Scyros, he was cast by storm on the coast of Ephyra in Epeirus, where Andromache gave birth to Molossus, to whom the Molossian kings traced their descent (Pind. N. 4.82, 7.54, &c.). Others lastly say that he went to Epeirus of his own accord, because he would or could not return to Phthia in Thessaly (Paus. 1.11.1; Verg. A. 3.333; Just. 17.3). In Epeirus he is also said to have carried off Lanassa, a granddaughter of Heracles, from the temple of the Dodonean Zeus, and to have become by her the father of eight children (Justin. l.c.). Shortly after his marriage with Hermione, Neoptolemus went to Delphi, some say to plunder the temple of Apollo, who had been the cause of the death of Achilles, or to take the god to account for his father; and according to others to take offerings of the Trojan booty to the god, or to consult him about the means of obtaining children by Hermione (Schol. ad Pind. Nem. 7.54, 58, ad Eurip. Or. 1649, Androm. 51). It is owing to this uncertainty that some ancient writers distinguish between two differentjourneysto Delphi, where he was slain, either by the command of the Pythia (Paus. 1.13.7), or at the instigation of Orestes, who was angry at being deprived of Hermione (Eur. Andr. 891, &100.1085, &c.; Verg. A. 3.330) ; and according to others again, by the priest of the temple, or by Machaereus, the son of Daetas (Schol. ad Pind. Nem. 7.62; Paus. 10.24.4 ; Strab. p. 421). His body was buried at Delphi, under the threshold of the temple, and remained there until Menelaus caused it to be taken up and buried within the precincts of the temple (Pind. N. 7.62; Paus. 10.24.5). He was worshipped at Delphi as a hero, as presiding over sacrificial repasts and public games. At the time when the Gauls attacked Delphi he is said to have come forward to protect the city, and from that time to have been honoured with heroic worship. (Paus. 1.4.4, 10.23.3.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Neptune in Wikipedia

Neptune (Latin: Neptūnus) is the god of water and the sea[1] in Roman mythology, a brother of Jupiter and Pluto. He is analogous with but not identical to the god Poseidon of Greek mythology, and is imaged often according to Hellenistic canons in the Roman mosaics of north Africa.[2] The Roman conception of Neptune owed a great deal to the Etruscan god Nethuns. A north African inscription at Thugga referring to the "father of the Nereids" shows that Neptune also subsumed the archaic and by late Hellenistic times purely literary figure of Nereus.[3]...

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Neptunus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the chief marine divinity of the Romans. His name is probably connected with the verb ναίω or nato, and a contraction of navitunus. As the early Romans were not a maritime people, and had not much to do with the sea, the marine divinities are not often mentioned, and we scarcely know with any certainty what day in the year was set apart as the festival of Neptunus, though it seems to have been the 23rd of July (X. Kal. Sext.). His temple stood in the Campus Martins, not far from the septa; but respecting the ceremonies of his festival we know nothing, except that the people formed tents (umbrae) of the branches of trees, in which they probably rejoiced in feasting and drinking (Varro, de Ling. Lat. 6.19; Hor. Carm. 3.28; Paul. Diac. p. 377, ed. Müller; Tertull. de Spect. 6; P. Vict. Reg. Urb. IX.; Dict. of Ant. s. v. Neptunalia). When a Roman commander sailed out with a fleet, he first offered up a sacrifice to Neptunus, which was thrown into the sea (Cic. de Nat. Deor. 3.20; Liv. 29.27). In the Roman poets Neptunus is completely identified with the Greek Poseidon, and accordingly all the attributes of the latter are transferred by them to the former. [POSEIDON.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Nereids in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Nereids (pronounced /ˈnɪəri.ɪdz/, NEER-ee-idz; Ancient Greek: Νηρηΐδες) are sea nymphs, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris. They often accompany Poseidon and are always friendly and helpful towards sailors fighting perilous storms. They are particularly associated with the Aegean Sea, where they dwelt with their father in the depths within a silvery cave. The most notable of them are Thetis, wife of Peleus and mother of Achilles; Amphitrite, wife of Poseidon; and Galatea, love of the Cyclops Polyphemus. In Iliad XVIII, when Thetis cries out in sympathy for the grief of Achilles for the slain Patroclus, " There gathered round her every goddess, every Nereid that was in the deep salt sea. Glauce was there and Thaleia and Cymodoce; Nesaea, Speio, Thoe and ox-eyed Halie; Cymothoe, Actaee and Limnoreia; Melite, Iaera, Amphithoe and Agaue; Doto, Proto, Pherusa and Dynamene; Dexamene, Amphinome and Callianeira; Doris, Panope and far-sung Galatea; Nemertes, Apseudes and Callianassa. Clymene came too, with Ianeira, Ianassa, Maera, Oreithuia, Amatheia of the lovely locks, and other Nereids of the salt sea depths. The silvery cave was full of nymphs...

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Nestor in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology (or, better yet, Greek Epic poetry), Nestor of Gerenia (Greek: Νέστωρ Γερήνιος, Nestōr Gerēnios) was the son of Neleus and Chloris and the King of Pylos. He became king after Heracles killed Neleus and all of Nestor's siblings. His wife was either Eurydice or Anaxibia; their children included Peisistratus, Thrasymedes, Pisidice, Polycaste, Stratichus, Aretus, Echephron, and Antilochus...

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Nestor in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Νέστωρ), a son of Neleus and Chloris of Pylos in Triphylia, and husband of Eurydice (or, according to others, of Auaxibia, the daughter of Cratieus), by whom he became the father of Peisidice, Polycaste, Perseus, Stratius, Aretus, Echephron, Peisistratus, Antilochus, and Thrasymedes. (Hom. Od. 3.413, &c., 452, 464, 11.285, &c.; Apollod. 1.9.9.) With regard to Anaxibia having been his wife, we are informed by Eustathius (ad Hom. p. 296), that after the death of Eurydice, Nestor married Anaxibia, the daughter of Atreus, and sister of Agamemnon; but this Anaxibia is elsewhere described as the wife of Strophius, and the mother of Pylades. (Paus. 2.29.4.) When Heracles invaded the country of Neleus, and slew his sons, Nestor alone was spared, because at the time he was not at Pylos, but among the Gerenians, where he had taken refuge. (Hom. Il. 11.692; Apollod. 2.7.3; Paus. 3.26.6.) This story is connected with another about the friendship between Heracles and Nestor, for the latter is said to have taken no part in the carrying off from Heracles the oxen of Geryones; and Heracles rewarded Nestor by giving to him Messene, and became more attached to him even than to Hylas and Abderus. Nestor, on the other hand, is said to have introduced the custom of swearing by Heracles. (Philostr. Her. 2; comp. Ov. Met. 12.540, &c.; Paus. 4.3.1, who states that Nestor inhabited Messenia after the death of the sons of Aphareus.) When a young man, Nestor was distinguished as a warrior, and, in a war with the Arcadians, he slew Ereuthalion. (Hom. Il. 4.319, 7.133, &c., 23.630, &c.) In the war with the Eleians, he killed Itymoneus, and took from them large flocks of cattle. (11.670.) \When, after this, the Eleians laid siege to Thryoessa, Nestor, without the warsteeds of his father, went out on foot, and gained a glorious victory. (11.706, &c.) He also took part in the tight of the Lapithae against the Centaurs (1.260, &c.), and is mentioned among the Calydonian hunters and the Argonauts (Ov. Met. 8.313; V. Fl. 1.380); but he owes his fame chiefly to the Homeric poems, in which his share in the Trojan war is immortalized. After having, in conjunction with Odysseus, prevailed upon Achilles and Patroclus to join the Greeks against Troy, he sailed with his Pylians in sixty ships to Asia. (Il. 2.591, &c., 11.767.) At Troy lie took part in all the most important events that occurred, both in the council and in the field of battle. Agamemnon through Nestor became reconciled with Achilles, and therefore honoured him highly; and whenever he was in any difficulty, he applied for advice to Nestor. (2.21, 10.18.) In the picture which Homer draws of him, the most striking features are his wisdom, justice, bravery, knowledge of war, his eloquence, and his old age. (Od. 3.126, &c., 244, 24.52, Il. 1.273, 2.336, 361, 370, &c., 7.325, 9.104, 10.18, 11.627.) He is said to have ruled over three generations of men, so that his advice and authority were deemed equal to that of the immortal gods. (Od. 3.245, Il. 1.250; comp. Hyg. Fab. 10.) In this sense we have also to understand the tria saecula, which he is said by Latin writers to have ruled. (Gellius, 19.7; Cic. De Senect. 10; Hor. Carm. 2.9.13; Ov. Met. 12.158.) But, notwithstanldim, his advanced age, he was brave and bold in battle, and distinguished above all others for drawing up horses and men in battle array. After the fall of Troy he, together with Menelaus and Diomedes, returned home, and safely arrived in Pylos (Od. 3.165, &c.), where Zeus granted to him the full enjoyment of old age, surrounded by intelligent and brave sons. (Od. 4.209, &c.) In this condition he was found by Telemachus, who visited him to inquire after his father, and was hospitably received by him. The town of Pylos in Messenia claimed to be the city of Nestor; and, when Pausanias visited it, the people showed to him the house in which Nestor was believed to have lived. (Paus. 4.3.4, 36.2.) In the temple of Messene at Messene he was represented in a painting with two of his sons, and he was also seen in the painting of Polygnotus in the Lesche at Delphi. (Paus. 4.31.9, 10.25, in fin.; Philostr. Her. 2.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Nike in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Nike (Greek: Νίκη, "Victory", pronounced /níːkɛː/) was a goddess who personified victory throughout the ages of the ancient Greek culture. She is known as the Winged Goddess of Victory. The Roman equivalent was Victoria. Depending upon the time of various myths, she was described as the daughter of Pallas (Titan) and Styx (Water),[1] and the sister of Kratos (Strength), Bia (Force), and Zelus (Zeal). Nike and her siblings were close companions of Zeus, the dominant deity of the Greek pantheon. According to classical (later) myth, Styx brought them to Zeus when the god was assembling allies for the Titan War against the older deities. Nike assumed the role of the divine charioteer, a role in which she often is portrayed in Classical Greek art. Nike flew around battlefields rewarding the victors with glory and fame...

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Niobe in Wikipedia

Niobe (Νιόβη) was a daughter of Tantalus and the sister of Pelops, all of whom figure in Greek mythology. Her father was the ruler of a city called either under his name, as "Tantalis" [2] or "the city of Tantalus", or as "Sipylus", in reference to Mount Sipylus at the foot of which his city was located and whose ruins were reported to be still visible in the beginning of the 1st century AD,[3] although few traces remain today.[4] Her father is referred to as "Phrygian" and sometimes even as "King of Phrygia" [5], although his city was located in the western extremity of Anatolia where Lydia was to emerge as a state before the beginning of the first millennium BC, and not in the traditional heartland of Phrygia, situated more inland. References to his son and Niobe's brother as "Pelops the Lydian" led some scholars to the conclusion that there would be good grounds for believing that she belonged to a primordial house of Lydia...

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Niobe in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Νιόβη). 1. A daughter of Phoroneus, and by Zeus the mother of Argus and Pelasgus. (Apollod. 2.1.1; Paus. 2.22.6; Plat. Tim. 22, b.) In other traditions she is called the mother of Phoroneus and wife of Inachus. 2. A daughter of Tantalus by the Pleiad Taygete or the Hyad Dione (Ov. Met. 6.174; Hyg. Fab. 9), or, according to others, a daughter of Pelops and the wife of Zethus or Alalcomeneus (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1367), while Parthenius relates quite a different story (Erot. 33), for he makes her a daughter of Assaon and the wife of Philottus, and relates that she entered into a dispute with Leto about the beauty of their respective children. In consequence of this Philottus was torn to pieces during the chase, and Assaon fell in love with his own daughter; but she rejected him, and he in revenge burnt all her children, in consequence of which Niobe threw herself down from a rock (comp. Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 159). But according to the common story, which represents her as a daughter of Tantalus, she was the sister of Pelops, and married to Amphion, king of Thebes, by whom she became the mother of six sons and six daughters. Being proud of the number of her children, she deemed herself superior to Leto, who had given birth only to two children. Apollo and Artemis, indignant at such presumption, slew all the children of Niobe. For nine days their bodies lay in their blood without any one burying them, for Zeus had changed the people into stones; but on the tenth day the gods themselves buried them. Niobe herself, who had gone to mount Sipylus, was metamorphosed into stone, and even thus continued to feel the misfortune with which the gods had visited her. (Hom. Il. 24.603-617; Apollod. 3.5.6; Ov. Met. 6.155, &c.; Paus. 8.2. in fin.) Later writers, and especially the dramatic poets have greatly modified and enlarged the simple story related by Homer. The number and names of the children of Niobe vary very much in the different accounts, for while Homer states that their number was twelve, Hesiod and others mentioned twenty, Alcman only six, Sappho eighteen, Hellanicus six, Euripides fourteen, Herodotus four, and Apollodorus fourteen. (Apollod. l.c.; Ov. Met. 6.182; Aelian, Ael. VH 12.36; Gellius, 20.6; Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 159; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1367; Hyg. Fab. 11; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 520.) According to Homer all the children of Niobe fell by the arrows of Apollo and Artemis; but later writers state that one of her sons, Amphion or Amyclas, and one of her daughters, Meliboea, were saved, but that Meliboea, having turned pale with terror at the sight of her dying brothers and sisters, was afterwards called Chloris, and this Chloris is then confounded with the daughter of Amphion of Orchomenos, who was married to Neleus. (Apollod. l.c.; Hom. Od. 11.282; Paus. 2.21. in fin., 5.16.3.) The time and place at which the children of Niobe were destroyed are likewise stated differently. According to Homer, they perished in their mother's house; and, according to Apollodorus, the sons were killed by Apollo during the chase on mount Cithaeron (Hyg. Fab. 9, says on mount Sipylus), and the daughters by Artemis at Thebes, not far from the royal palace. According to Ovid, the sons were slain while they were engaged in gymnastic exercises in a plain near Thebes, and the daughters during the funeral of their brothers. Others, again, transfer the scene to Lydia (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1367), or make Niobe, after the death of her children, go from Thebes to Lydia, to her father Tantalus on mount Sipylus, where Zeus, at her own request, metamorphosed her into a stone, which during the summer always shed tears. (Ov. Met. 6.303; Apollod. l.c.; Pauls. 8.2.3 Soph. Antiy. 823, Electr. 147.) In the time of Pausanias (1.21.5) people still fancied they could see the petrified figure of Niobe on mount Sipylus. The tomb of the children of Niobe, however, was shown at Thebes. (Paus. 9.16. in fin., 17.1; but comp. Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 159.) The story of Niobe and her children was frequently taken as a subject by ancient artists (Paus. 1.21.5, 5.11.2); but none of the ancient representations is more celebrated than the group of Niobe and her children which filled the pediment of the temple of Apollo Sosianus at Rome, and was found at Rome in the year 1583. This group is now at Florence, and consists of the mother, who holds her youngest daughter on her knees, and thirteen statues of her sons and daughters, independent of a figure usually called the paedagogus of the children. It is, however, not improbable that several of the statues which now compose the group, originally did not belong to it. Some of the figures in it belong to the most masterly productions of ancient art. The Romans themselves were uncertain as to whether the group was the work of Scopas or Praxiteles. (Plin. Nat. 36.4; comp. Welcker, Zeitschrift für die alter Kunst, p. 589, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Nona in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Nona was the equivalent of Clotho in Greek mythology. She, along with Decima and Morta formed the Parcae (Roman) / Moirae (Greek). Nona was also referred to as "Ninth", the Roman goddess of pregnancy. She was called upon by pregnant women in their ninth month when the child was due to be born. - Wikipedia

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Notus in Wikipedia

Notus (Greek Νότος, Nótos) was the Greek god of the south wind. He was associated with the desiccating hot wind of the rise of Sirius after midsummer, was thought to bring the storms of late summer and autumn, and was feared as a destroyer of crops...

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Nox in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Nyx (Νύξ, "night", Nox in Roman translation) was the primordial goddess of the night. A shadowy figure, Nyx stood at or near the beginning of creation, and was the mother of personified gods such as Hypnos (sleep) and Thánatos (death). Her appearances in mythology are sparse, but reveal her as a figure of exceptional power and beauty...

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Nox in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[NYX.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Nymphs in Wikipedia

A nymph in Greek mythology is a minor nature goddess typically associated with a particular location or landform. Other nymphs, always in the shape of young nubile maidens, were part of the retinue of a god, such as Dionysus, Hermes, or Pan, or a goddess, generally Artemis.[1] Nymphs were the frequent target of satyrs. They live in mountains and groves, by springs and rivers, also in trees and in valleys and cool grottoes. They are frequently associated with the superior divinities: the huntress Artemis; the prophetic Apollo; the reveller and god of wine, Dionysus; and rustic gods such as Pan and Hermes. The symbolic marriage of a nymph and a patriarch, often the eponym of a people, is repeated endlessly in Greek origin myths; their union lent authority to the archaic king and his line...

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Nyx in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Νύξ), Nox or Night personified. Homer (Hom. Il. 14.259, &c.) calls her the subduer of gods and men, and relates that Zeus himself stood in awe of her. In the ancient cosmogonies Night is one of the very first created beings, for she is described as the daughter of Chaos, and the sister of Erebus, by whom she became the mother of Aether and Hemera. (lies. Theog. 123, &c.) According to the Orphics (Argon. 14) she was the daughter of Eros. She is further said, without any husband, to have given birth to Moros, the Keres, Thanatos, Hypnos, Dreams, Momus, Oizys, the Hesperides, Moerae, Nemesis, and similar beings. (Hes. Th. 211, &c.; Cic. de Nat. Deor. 3.17.) In later poets, with whom she is merely the personification of the darkness of night, she is sometimes described as a winged goddess (Eur. Orest. 176), and sometimes as riding in a chariot, covered with a dark garment and accompanied by the stars in her course. (Eur. Ion 1150; Theocrit. ii. in fin.; Orph. Hymn. 2. 7; Verg. A. 5.721; Tib. 2.1. 87; V. Fl. 3.211.) Her residence was in the darkness of Hades. (Hes. Th. 748; Eurip. Orest. 175; Verg. A. 6.390.) A statue of Night, the work of Rhoecus, existed at Ephesus (Paus. 10.38.3). On the chest of Cypselus she was represented carrying in her arms the gods of Sleep and Death, as two boys (5.18.1). - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Oceanids in Wikipedia

In Greek and, later, Roman mythology, the Oceanids (Ancient Greek: Ὠκεανίδες, pl. of Ὠκεανίς) were the three thousand daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. One of these many daughters was also said to have been the consort of the god Poseidon, typically named as Amphitrite. Each was the patroness of a particular spring, river, ocean, lake, pond, pasture, flower or cloud. Oceanus and Tethys also had 3000 sons, the river-gods Potamoi (Ποταμοί). Whereas most sources limit the term Oceanids or Oceanides to the daughters, others include both the sons and daughters under this term.[1] Sibelius wrote an orchestral work called Aallottaret (The Oceanides) in 1914...

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Oceanides in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[NYMPHAE.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Oceanus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ὠκεανός), the god of the river Oceanus, by which, according to the most ancient notions of the Greeks, the whole earth was surrounded. An account of this river belongs to mythical geography, and we shall here confine ourselves to describing the place which Oceanus holds in the ancient cosmogony. In the Homeric poems he appears as a mighty god, who yields to none save Zeus. (Il. 14.245, 20.7, 21.195.) Homer does not mention his parentage. but calls Tethys his wife, by whom he had three daughters, Thetis, Eurynome and Perse. (Il. 14.302, 18.398, Od. 10.139.) His palace is placed somewhere in the west (Il. 14.303, &c.), and there he and Tethys brought up Hera, who was conveyed to them at the time when Zeus was engaged in the struggle with the Titans. Hesiod (Hes. Th. 133, 337, &c., 349, &c.) calls Oceanus a son of Uranus and Gaea, the eldest of the Titans, and the husband of Tethys, by whom he begot 3000 rivers, and as manv Oceanides, of whom Hesiod mentions only the eldest. (Comp. Apollod. 3.8.1, 10.1.) This poet (Theoy. 282) also speaks of sources of Oceanus. Representations of the god are seen on imperial coins of Tyre and Alexandria. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 149.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Oceanus in Wikipedia

In classical antiquity, Oceanus (from Greek: Ὠκεανός, lit. "ocean"[1]) was believed to be the world-ocean, which the ancient Romans and Greeks considered to be an enormous river encircling the world. Strictly speaking, Oceanus was the ocean-stream at the Equator in which floated the habitable hemisphere (oikoumene οἰκουμένη).[2] In Greek mythology, this world-ocean was personified as a Titan, a son of Uranus and Gaia. In Hellenistic and Roman mosaics, this Titan was often depicted as having the upper body of a muscular man with a long beard and horns (often represented as the claws of a crab), and the lower torso of a serpent (cf. Typhon). On a fragmentary archaic vessel (British Museum 1971.11-1.1) of ca 580 BC, among the gods arriving at the wedding of Peleus and the sea-nymph Thetis, is a fish-tailed Oceanus, with a fish in one hand and a serpent in the other, gifts of bounty and prophecy. In Roman mosaics, such as that from Bardo (illustration, left) he might carry a steering-oar and cradle a ship...

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Odysseus in Wikipedia

Odysseus (pronounced /oʊˈdɪsiəs/ or /oʊˈdɪsjuːs/; Greek: Ὀδυσσεύς, Odusseus) or Ulysses (pronounced /juːˈlɪsiːz/; Latin: Ulyssēs, Ulixēs) was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle. King of Ithaca, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus, and son of Laertes and Anticlea, Odysseus is renowned for his guile and resourcefulness, and is hence known by the epithet Odysseus the Cunning (mētis, or "cunning intelligence"). He is most famous for the ten eventful years he took to return home after the ten-year Trojan War and his famous Trojan Horse trick...

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Odysseus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ὀδυσσεύς), or, as the Latin writers call him, Ulysses, Ulyxes or Ulixes, one of the principal Greek heroes in the Trojan war. According to the Homeric account, he was the grandson of Arcesius, and a son of Laertes and Anticleia, the daughter of Autolycus, and brother of Ctimene. He was married to Penelope, the daughter of Icarius, by whom he became the father of Telemachus. (Od. 1.329, 11.85, 15.362, 16.118, &c.) But according to a later tradition he was a son of Sisyphus and Anticleia, who, when with child by Sisyphus, was married to Laertes, and thus gave birth to him either after her arrival in Ithaca, or on her way thither. (Soph. Phil. 417, with the Schol., Ajax, 190; Ov. Met. 13.32, Ars Am. 3.313; Plut. Quaest. Graec. 43 ; comp. Hom. Il. 3.201.) Later traditions further state that besides Telemachus, Arcesilaus or Ptoliporthus was likewise a son of his by Penelope ; and that further, by Circe he became the father of Agrius, Latinus, Telegonus and Cassiphone, and by Calypso of Nausithous and Nausinous or Auson, Telegonus and Teledamus, and lastly by Euippe of Leontophron, Doryclus or Euryalus. (Hes. Th. 1013, &c.; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1796; Schol. ad Lycophr. 795; Parthen. Erot. 3; Paus. 8.12.3; Serv. ad Aen. 3.171.) According to an Italian tradition Odysseus was by Circe the father of Remus, Antias and Ardeas. (Dionys. A. R. 1.72.) The name Odysseus is said to signify the angry (Hom. Od. 19.406, &c.), and among the Tyrrhenians he is said to have been called Nanus or Nannus. (Tzetz. ad Lycophr. 1244.) When Odysseus was a young man, he went to see his grandfather Autolycus near the foot of Mount Parnassus. There, while engaged in the chase, he was wounded by a boar in his knee, by the scar of which he was subsequently recognized by Eurycleia. Laden with rich presents he returned from the palace of his grandfather to Ithaca. (Hom. Od. 19.413, &c.) Even at that age he is described as distinguished for his courage, his knowledge of navigation, his eloquence and skill as a negotiator; for, on one occasion, when the Messenians had carried off some sheep from Ithaca, Laertes sent him to Messene to demand reparation. He there met with Iphitus, who was seeking the horses stolen from him, and who gave him the famous bow of Eurytus. This bow Odysseus used only in Ithaca, regarding it as too great a treasure to be employed in the field, and it was so strong that none of the suitors was able to handle it. (Od. 21.14, &c.) On one occasion he went to the Thesprotian Ephyra, to fetch from Ilus, the son of Mermerus, poison for his arrows ; but as he could not get it there, he afterwards obtained it from Anchialus of Taphus. (Od. 1.259, &c.) Some accounts also state that he went to Sparta as one of the suitors of Helen, and he is said to have advised Tyndareus to make the suitors swear, that they would defend the chosen bridegroom against any one that should insult him on Helen's account. Tyndareus, to show him his gratitude, persuaded his brother Icarius to give Penelope in marriage to Odysseus; or, according to others, Odysseus gained her by conquering his competitors in the footrace. (Apollod. 3.10.9 ; Paus. 3.12.2.) But Homer mentions nothing of all this, and he states that Agamemnon, who visited him in Ithaca, prevailed upon him only with great difficulty to join the Greeks in their expedition against Troy. (Od. 24.116, &c.) Other traditions relate that he was visited by Menelaus and Agamemnon, and that more especially Palamedes induced him to join the Greeks. For when Palamedes came, it is said, Odysseus pretended to be mad : he yoked an ass and an ox to a plough, and began to sow salt. Palamedes, to try him, placed the infant Telemachus before the plough, whereupon the father could not continue to play his part. He stopped the plough, and was obliged to undertake the fulfilment of the promise he had made when he was one of the suitors of Helen. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 818.) This occurrence is said to have been the cause of his hatred of Palamedes. (Hyg. Fab. 95.) Being now himself gained for the undertaking, he contrived to discover Achilles, who was concealed among the daughters of king Lycomedes, and without whom, according to a prophecy of Calchas, the expedition against Troy could not be undertaken. (Apollod. 3.13.8; comp. ACHILLES.) Before, however, the Greeks set out against Troy, Odysseus, in conjunction with Menelaus (and Palamnedes, Dict. Cret. 1.4.), went to Troy, where he was hospitably received, for the purpose of inducing the Trojans by amicable means to restore Helen and her treasures. (Il. 3.205, &c.) When the Greeks were assembled in the port of Aulis, he joined them with twelve ships and men from Cephallene, Ithaca, Neriton, Crocyleia, Zacynthus, Samos, and the coast of Epeirus (Il. 2.303, 631, &c.). When Agamemnon was unwilling to sacrifice Iphigeneia to Artemis, and the Greeks were in great difficulty, Odysseus, feigning anger, threatened to return home, but went to Mycenae, and induced Clytaemnestra by various pretences to send Iphigenia to Aulis (Dict. Cret. 1.20; comp. Eurip. ph. Aul. 100, &c.). On his voyage to Troy he wrestled in Lesbos with Philomeleides, the king of the island, and conquered him (Od. 4.342). According to others, Odysseus and Diomedes slew him by a stratagem. During the siege of Troy he distinguished himself as a valiant and undtaunted warrior (Il. 4.494, 5.677, 7.168, 11.396, 404, &100.14.82), but more particularly as a cunning, prudent, and eloquent spy and negotiator, and many instances are related in which he was of the greatest service to the Greeks by these powers. Several distinguished Trojans fell by his hand. After the death of Achilies he contended for his armour with the Telamonian Ajax, and gained the prize (Od. 11.545; Ov. Met. xiii. init.). He is said by some to have devised the stratagem of the wooden horse (Philostr. Her. 10.12), and he was one of the heroes that were concealed in its belly, and prevented them answering Helen, that they might not be discovered (Od. 4.280, &100.8.494, 11.525). When the horse was opened he and Menelaus were the first that juniped out and haste to the house of Deiphobus, where he conquered in the fearful struggle (Od. 8.517). He is also said to have taken part in carrying off the palladitum. (Verg. A. 2.164.) But no part of his adventures is so celebrated in ancient story as his wanderings after the destruction of Troy, and his ultimate return to Ithaca, which form the subject of the Homeric poem called after him the Odyssey. After the taking of Troy one portion of the Greeks sailed away, and another with Agamemnon remained behind on the Trojan coast. Odysseus at first joined the former, but when he had sailed as far as Tenedos, he returned to Agamemnon (Od. 3.163). Afterwards, however, he determined to sail home, but was thrown by a storm upon the coast of Ismarus, a town of the Cicones, in Thrace, north of the island of Lemnos. He there ravaged and plundered the town, and as he was not able to induce his men to depart in time, the Cicones hastened towards the coast from the interior, and slew 72 of his companions (Od. 9.39, &c.). From thence he was driven by a north wind towards Maleia and to the Lotophagi on the coast of Libya. Some of his companions were so much delighted with the taste of the lotus that they wanted to remain in the country, but Odysseus compelled them to embank again, and continued his voyage (Od. 9.67, 84, 94, &c.). In one day he reached the goat-island, situated north of the country of the Lotophagi (Od. 9.116). He there left behind eleven ships, and with one he sailed to the neighbouring island of the Cyclopes (the western coast of Sicily), where with twelve companions he entered the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus, a son of Poseidon and Thoosa. This giant devoured one after another six of the companions of Odysseus, and kept the unfortunate Odysseus and the six others as prisoners in his cave. In order to save himself Odysseus contrived to make the monster drunk with wine, and then with a burning pole deprived him of his one eye. He now succeeded in making his escape with his. friends, by concealing himself and them under the bodies of the sheep which the Cyclops let out of his cave; and Odysseus, with a part of the flock, reached his ship. The Cyclops implored his father Poseidon to take vengeance upon Odysseus, and henceforth the god of the sea pursued the wandering king with implacable enmity (Od. 1.68, &100.9.172- 542). Others represent Poseidon as angry with Odysseus on account of the death of Palamedes (Philostr. Her. 2.20; comp. PALAMEDES). On his further voyage he arrived at the island of Aeolus, probably in the south of Sicily, where he stayed one month, and is said to have been in love with Polymela, the daughter of Aeolus (Parthen. Erot. 2). On his departure Aeolus provided him with a bag of winds, which were to carry him home, but his companions, without Odysseus' knowing it, opened the bag, and the winds escaped, whereupon the ships were driven back to the island of Aeolus, who was indignant and refused all further assistance (Od. x. i. &c.). After a voyage of six days he arrived at Telepylos, the city of Lamus, in which Antiphates ruled over the Laestrygones, a sort of cannibals. This place must probably be sought somewhere in the north of Sicily. Odysseus escaped from them with only one ship (10.80, &c.), and his fate now carried him to a western island, Aeaea, inhabited by the sorceress Circe. A part of his people was sent to explore the island, but they were changed by Circe into swine. Eurylochus alone escaped, and brought the sad news to Odysseus, who, when he was hastening to the assistance of his friends, was instructed by Hermes by what means he could resist the magic powers of Circe. He succeeded in liberating his companions, who were again changed into men, and were most hospitably treated by the sorceress. When at length Odysseus begged for leave to depart, Circe desired him to descend into Hades and to consult the seer Teiresias (10.135, &c.). He now sailed westward right across the river Oceanus, and having landed on the other side in the country of the Cimmerians, where Helios does not shine, he entered Hades, and consulted Teiresias about the manner In which he night reach his native island. Teiresias informed him of the danger and difficulties arising from the anger of Poseidon, but gave him hope that all would yet turn out well, if Odysseus and his companions would leave the herds of Helios in Thrinacia uninjured (Od. xi.). Odysseus now returned to Aeaea, where Circe again treated the strangers kindly, told them of the dangers that yet awaited them, and of the means of escaping (12.1, &c.). The wind which she sent with them carried them to the island of the Seirens, somewhere near the west coast of Italy. The Seirens sat on the shore, and with their sweet voices attracted all that passed by, and then destroyed them. Odysseus, in order to escape the danger, filled the ears of his companions with wax, and fastened himself to the mast of his ship, until he was out of the reach of the Seirens' song (12.39, &100.166, &c.). Hereupon his ship came between Scylla and Charybdis, two rocks between Thrinacia and Italy. As the ship passed between them, Scylla, the monster inhabiting the rock of the same name, carried off and devoured six of the companions of Odysseus (12.73, &100.235, &c.). From thence he came to Thrinacia, the island of Helios, who there kept his sacred herds of oxen. Odysseus, mindful of the advice of Teiresias and Circe, wanted to pass by, but his companions compelled him to land. He made them swear not to touch any of the cattle; but as they were detained in the island by storms, and as they were hungry, they killed the finest of the oxen while Odysseus was asleep. After some days the storm abated, and they sailed away, but soon another storm came on, and their ship was destroyed by Zeus with a flash of lightning. All were drowned with the exception of Odysseus, who saved himself by means of the mast and planks, and was driven by the wind again towards Scylla and Charybdis. But he skilfully avoided the danger, and after ten days he reached the woody island of Ogygia, inhabited by the nymph Calypso (12.127, &100.260, &c.). She received him with kindness, and desired him to marry her, promising immortality and eternal youth, it he would consent, and forget Ithaca. But he could not overcome his longing after his own home (1.51, 58, 4.82, &100.555, &100.7.244, &100.9.28, 34). Athena, who had always been the protectress of Odysseus, induced Zeus to promise over that Odysseus, notwithstanding the anger of Poseidon, should one day return to his native island, and take vengeance on the suitors of Penelope (1.48, &100.5.23, 13.131, comp. 13.300, &c.). Hermes carried to Calypso the command of Zeus to dismiss Odysseus. The nymph obeyed, and taught him how to build a raft, on which, after a stay of eight years with her, he left the island (5.140, &100.234, 263) In eighteen days he came in sight of Scheria, the island of the Phaeacians, when Poseidon, who perceived him, sent a storm, which cast him off the raft. On the advice of Leucothea, and with her and Athena's assistance, he reached Scheria by dint of swimming (5.278, &100.445, 6.170). The exhausted hero slept on the shore, until he was awoke by the voices of maidens. He found Nausicaa, the daughter of king Alcinous and Arete; she gave him clothing and allowed him to follow her to the town, where he was kindly received by her parents. He was honoured with feasts and contests, and the minstrel Demodocus sang of the fall of Troy, which moved Odysseus to tears, and being questioned about the cause of his emotion, he related his whole history. At length he was honoured with presents and sent home in a ship. One night as he had fallen asleep in his ship, it reached the coast of Ithaca; the Phaeacians who had accompanied him, carried him and his presents on shore, and left him. He had now been away from Ithaca for twenty years, and when he awoke he did not recognise his native land, for Athena, that he might not be recognised, had enveloped him in a cloud. As he was lamenting his fate the goddess informed him where he was, concealed his presents, and advised him how to take vengeance upon theenemies of his house. During his absence his father Laertes, bowed down by grief and old age, had withdrawn into the country, his mother Anticleia had died of sorrow, his son Telemachus had grown up to manhood, and his wife Penelope had rejected all the offers that had been made to her by the importunate suitors from the neighbouring islands (Od. 11.180, &100.13.336, &100.15.355, &100.16.108, &c.). During the last three years of Odysseus' absence more than a hundred nobles of Ithaca, Same, Dulichium, and Zacynthus had been suing for the hand of Penelope, and in their visits to her house had treated all that it contained as if it had been their own (1.246, 13.377, 14.90, 16.247). That he might be able to take vengeance upon them, it was necessary that he should not be recognised, in order to avail himself of any favourable moment that might present itself. Athena accordingly metamorphosed him into an unsightly beggar, in which appearance he was kindly treated by Eumaeus, the swineherd, a faithful servant of his house (13.70, &c. xiv.). While he was staying with Eumaeus, his son Telemachus returned from Sparta and Pylos, whither he had gone to obtain information concerning his father. Odysseus made himself known to him, and with him deliberated upon the plan of revenge (16.187, &100.300). In the disguise of a beggar he accompanied Telemachus and Eumaeus to the town; on his arrival he was abused and insulted by the goat- herd Melantheus and the suitors. who even tried to kill Telemachus; but his old dog and his nurse Eurycleia recognised him, and Penelope received him kindly. The plan of revenge was now carried into effect. Penelope, with great difficulty, was made to promise her hand to him who should conquer the others in shooting with the bow of Odysseus. As none of the suitors was able to manage it, Odysseus himself took it up, and having ordered all the doors to be shut, and all arms to be removed, he began his contest with the suitors, in which he was supported by Athena, his son, and some faithful servants. All fell by his hands, the faithless male and female servants as well as the suitors; the minstrel and Medon, the herald, alone were saved (xxii.). Odysseus now made himself known to Penelope, and went to see his aged father. In the meantime the report of the death of the suitors was spread abroad, and their relatives now rose in arms against Odysseus; but Athena, who assumed the appearance of Mentor, brought about a reconcilliation between the people and the king (xxiii. xxiv.). It has already been remarked that in the Homeric poems, Odysseus is represented as a prudent, cunning, inventive and eloquent man, but at the same time as a brave, bold, and persevering warrior. whose courage no misfortune or calamity could subdue, but later poets describe him as a cowardly, deceitful, and intriguing personage (Virg. Acn. 2.164; Ov. Met. 13.6, &c.; Philostr. Her.2.20). Respecting the last period of iiis life the Homeric poems give us no information, except the prophecy of Teiresias, who promised him a painless death in a happy old age (Od. 11.119); but later writers give us different accounts. According to one, Telegonus, the son of Odysseus by Circe, was sent out by his mother to seek his father. A storm cast him upon Ithaca, which he began to plunder in order to obtain provisions. Odysseus and Telemachus attacked him, but he slew Odysseus, and his body was afterwards carried to Aeaea (Hyg. Fab. 127; Dict. Cret. 6.15; Horat. Cnrm. 3.29. 8). According to some Circe called Odysseus to life again, or on his arrival in Tyrrhenia, he was burnt on Mount Perge (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 795, &c.). In works of art Odysseus was commonly represented as a sailor, wearing the semi-oval cap of a sailor. (Plin. Nat. 35.36; Paus . 10.26 . § 1, 29.2; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 804.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Nymphae in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Νύμφαι), the name of a numerous class of inferior female divinities, though they are designated by the title of Olympian, are called to meetings of the gods in Olympus, and described as the daughters of Zeus. But they were believed to dwell on earth in groves, on the summits of mountains, in rivers, streams, glens, and grottoes. (Hom. Od. 6.123, &c., 12.318, Il. 20.8, 24.615.) Homer further describes them as presiding over game, accompanying Artemis, dancing with her, weaving in their grottoes purple garments. and kindly watching over the fate of mortals. (Od. 6.105, 9.154, 13.107, 356, 17.243, Il. 6.420, 616.) Men offer up sacrifices either to them alone, or in conjunction with other gods, such as Hermes. (Od. 13.350, 17.211, 240, 14.435.) From the places which they inhabit, they are called ἀγρονόμοι (Od. 6.105),ὀρεστιάδες (Il. 6.420), and νηϊάδες (Od. 13.104). All nymphs, whose number is almost infinite, may be divided into two great classes. The first class embraces those who must be regarded as a kind of inferior divinities, recognised in the worship of nature. The early Greeks saw in all the phenomena of ordinary nature some manifestation of the deity; springs, rivers, grottoes, trees, and mountains, all seemed to them fraught with life; and all were only the visible embodiments of so many divine agents. The salutary and beneficent powers of nature were thus personified, and regarded as so many divinities; and the sensations produced on man in the contemplation of nature, such as awe, terror, joy, delight, were ascribed to the agency of the various divinities of nature. The second class of nymphs are personifications of tribes, races, and states, such as Cyrene, and many others. The nymphs of the first class must again be sublatter divided into various species, according to the different parts of nature of which they are the representatives. 1. Nymphs of the watery element. Here we first mention the nymphs of the ocean, Ὠκεανῖναι or Ὠκεανιδες, νύμφαι ἅγιαι, who are regarded as the daughters of Oceanus (Hes. Th. 346, &c., 364; Aeschyl. Prom.; Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 13; Apollon. 4.1414; Soph. Philoct. 1470); and next the nymphs of the Mediterranean or inner sea, who are regarded as the daughters of Nereus, whence they are called Nereides (Νηρεΐδες; Hes. Th. 240, &c.). The rivers were represented by the Potameides (Ποραμηΐδες), who, as local divinities, were named after their rivers, as Acheloides, Anigrides, Ismenides, Amniisiades, Pactolides. (Apollon. 3.1219; Verg. A. 8.70; Paus. 5.5.6, 1.31.2; Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 15; Ov. Met. 6.16; Steph. Byz. s.v. Ἀμνισός.) But the nymphs of fresh water, whether of rivers, lakes, brooks, or wells, are also designated by the general name Naiades, Νηΐδες, though they have in addition their specific names, as Κρηναῖαι, Πηγαῖαι, Ἑγειονίμοι, Λιμνατίδες, or Λιμνάδες. (Hom. Od. 17.240; Apollon. 3.1219; Theocrit. 5.17; Orph. Hymn. 50. 6, Argon. 644.) Even the rivers of the lower regions are described as having their nymphs; hence, Nymphae infernae paludis and Avernales. (Ov. Met. 5.540, Fast. 2.610.) Many of these preconcealed sided over waters or springs which were believed to inspire those that drank of them, and hence the nymphs themselves were thought to be endowed with prophetic or oracular power, and to inspire men with the same, and to confer upon them the gift of poetry. (Paus. 4.27.2, 9.3.5, 34.3; Plut. Aristid. 11; Theocrit. 7.92; comp. MUSAE.) Inspired soothsayers or priests are therethe fore sometimes called νυμφόγηπτοι. (Plat. Phaedr. p. 421e.) Their powers, however, vary with those of the springs over which they preside; some were thus regarded as having the power of restoring sick persons to health (Pind. O. 12.26; Paus. 5.5.6, 6.22.4); and as water is necessary to feed all vegetation as well as all living beings, the water nymphs (ϝ̔δριάδες) were also worshipped along with Dionysus and Demeter as giving life and blessings to all created beings, and this attrixxiv. bute is expressed by a variety of epithets, such as καρποτρόφοι, αἰπογικαί, νόμιαι, κουροτρόφιο, &c. As their influence was thus exercised in all departments of nature, they frequently appear in conneccalled tion with higher divinities, as, for example, with Apollo, the prophetic god and the protector of herds and flocks (Apollon. 4.1218); with Artemis, the huntress and the protectress of game, for she herself was originally an Arcadian nymph (Apollon. 1.1225, 3.881; Paus. 3.10.8); with Hermes, the fructifying god of flocks (Hom. Hymn. in Aphrod. 262); with Dionysus (Orph. Hymn. 52; Hor. Carm. 1.1.31, 2.19. 3); with Pan, the Seileni and Satyrs, whom they join in their Bacchic revels and dances. 2. Nymphs of mountains and grottoes These are called Ὀροδεμνιάδες and Ὀρειάδες but sometimes also by names derived from the particular mountains they inhabited, as Κιθαιρωνίδες, Πηγιάδες, Κορύκιαι, &c. (Theocrit. 7.137; Verg. A. 1.168, 500; Paus. 5.5.6, 9.3.5, 10.32.5; Apollon. 1.550, 2.711; Ov. Ep. 20.221; Verg. Ecl. 6.56.) 3. Nymphs of frests, groves, and glens These were believed sometimes to appear to and frighten solitary travellers. They are designated by the names Ἀλσηΐδες, Ὁληωροί, Αὐλωνιάδες, and Ναπαῖαι. (Apollon. 1.1066, 1227; Orph. Hymn). 50. 7; Theocrit. 13.44; Ov. Met. 15.490; Virg. Georg. 4.535.) 4. Nymphs of trees These were believed to die together with the trees which had been their abode, and with which they had come into existence. They were called Δρυάδες, Ἁμαδρυάδες or Ἁδρυάδες, from δρῦς, which signifies not only an oak, but any wild- growing lofty tree; for the nymphs of fruit trees were called Μηλίδες, Μηλιάδες, Ἐπιμλίδες, or Ἁμαμηλίδες. They seem to be of Arcadian origin, and never appear together with any of the great gods. (Paus. 8.4.2; Apollon. 2.477, &c.; Ant. Lib. 31, 32; Hom. Hymn. in Ven. 259, &c.) Overview The second class of nymphs, who were connected with certain races or localities (Νύμφαι χθόνιαι, Apollon. 2.504), usually have a name derived from the places with which they are associated, as Nysiades, Dodonides, Lemniae. (Ov. Fast. 3.769, Met. 5.412, 9.651; Apollod. 3.4.3; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 13.74.) The sacrifices offered to nymphs usually consisted of goats, lambs, milk, and oil, but never of wine. (Theocrit. 5.12, 53, 139, 149; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 4.380, Eclog. 5.74.) They were worshipped and honoured with sanctuaries in many parts of Greece, especially near springs, groves, and grottoes, as, for example, near a spring at Cyrtone (Paus. 9.24.4), in Attica (1.31.2), at Olympia (5.15.4, 6.22.4), at Megara (1.40.1), between Sicyon and Phlius (2.11.3), and other places. Nymphs are represented in works of art as beautiful maidens, either quite naked or only half-covered. Later poets sometimes describe them as having sea-coloured hair. (Ov. Met. 5.432.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Nyx in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Nyx (Νύξ, "night", Nox in Roman translation) was the primordial goddess of the night. A shadowy figure, Nyx stood at or near the beginning of creation, and was the mother of personified gods such as Hypnos (sleep) and Thánatos (death). Her appearances in mythology are sparse, but reveal her as a figure of exceptional power and beauty...

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Oedipus in Wikipedia

Oedipus (pronounced /ˈɛdɨpəs/ in American English and / ˈiːdɨpəs/ in British English; Greek: Οἰδίπους Oidípous meaning "swollen-footed") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family. This legend has been retold in many versions, and was used by Sigmund Freud to name the Oedipus complex, sometimes called the Oedipesian Paradox...

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Oedipus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Oi)di/pous), the son of Lains and Iocaste of Thebes. The tragic fate of this hero is more celebrated than that of any other legendary personage, on account of the frequent use which the tragic poets have made of it. In their hands it also underwent various changesand embellishments ; but the common story is as follows. Laius, a son of Labdacus, was king of Thebes, and husband of Iocaste, a daughter of Menoeceus (or Creon, Diod. 4.64), and sister of Creon. As Laius had no issue, he consulted the oracle, which informed him that if a son should be born to him he would lose his life by the hand of his own child. When, therefore, at length Iocaste gave birth to a son, they pierced his feet, bound them together, and then exposed the child on Mount Cithaeron. There he was found by a shepherd of king Polybus of Corinth, and he was called from his swollen feet Oedipus. When he was brought to the palace, the king and his wife Merope (or Periboea, Apollod. 3.5.7) brought him up as their own child. Once, however, Oedipus was taunted by a Corinthian with not being the king's son, whereupon he proceeded to Delphi to consult the oracle. The answer he there obtained was that he should slay his father and commit incest with his own mother. Thinking that Polvbus was his father, he resolved not to return to Corinth; but on his road between Delphi and Daulis he met his real father Laius, and as Polyphontes (or Polyphetes, or Polypoetes. Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 39), the charioteer of Laius, wanted to push him out of the way, a scuffle ensued in which Oedipus slew both Laius and Polyphontes, and one part of the oracle was fulfilled. The two corpses are said to have been buried on the same spot by Damasistratus, king of Plataeae (Apollod. 3.5.8; Paus. 10.5.2). In the mean time the celebrated Sphinx had appeared in the neighbourhood of Thebes. She had settled on a rock, and put a riddle to every Theban that passed by, and whoever was unable to solve it was killed by the monster. This calamity induced the Thebans to make known that whoever should deliver the country of it should be made king, and receive Iocaste as his wife. Oedipus was one of those that came forward. and when he approached the Sphinx she gave the riddle as follows; "A being with four feet has two feet and three feet, and only one voice; but its feet vary, and when it has most it is weakest." Oedipus solved the riddle by saying that it was man, and the Sphinx thereupon threw herself from the rock. Oedipus now obtained the kingdom of Thebes, and married his mother, by whom he became the father of Eteocles, Polyneices, Antigone, and Ismene. In consequence of this incestuous alliance of which no one was aware, the country of Thebes was visited by a plague, and the oracle ordered that the murderer of Laius should he expelled. Oedipus accordingly pronaunced a solemn curse upon the unknown murderer, and declared him an exile; but when he endeavoured to discover him., he was informed by the seer Teiresias that he himself was both the parricide and the husband of his mother. locaste now hung herself, and Oedipus put out his own eyes (Apollod. 3.5.8; Soph. Oed. Tyr. 447,713, 731, 774,&c.). From this point traditions again differ,for according to some, Oedipus in his blindness was expelled from Thebes by his sons and brother-in-law, Creon, who undertook the government, and he was guided and accompanied by Antigone in his exile to Attica; but according to others he was imprisoned by his sons at Thebes, in order that his disgrace might remain concealed from the eves of the world. The father now cursed his sons, who agreed to rule over Thebes alternately, but became involved in a dispute, in consequence of which they fought in single combat, and slew each other. Hereupon Creon succeeded to the throne, and expelled Oedipus. After long wanderings Oedipus arrived in the grove of the Eumenides, near Colonus, in Attica; he was there honoured by Theseus in his misfortune, and, according to an oracle, the Eumenides removed him from the earth, and no one was allowed to approach his tomb (Soph. Oed. Col. 1661, &c.; Eurip. Phoen. init.; Apollod. 3.5.9; Diod. 4.64; Hyg. Fab. 67). According to Homer, Oedipus, tormented by the Erinnyes of his mother, continued to reign at Thebes after her death; he fell in battle, and was honoured at Thebes with funeral solemnities (Od. 11.270, &c., Il. 23.679). Some traditions mention Euryganeia as the mother of the four children of Oedipus above-mentioned (Paus. 9.5.5; Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 63), and previous to his connection with her, he is said to have been the father of Phrastor and Laonytus by Iocaste, and to have in the end married Astymedusa, a daughter of Sthenelus (Schol. ad Eurip. l.c.). Oedipus himself is sometimes called a son of Laius by Eurycleia, and is said to have been thrown in a chest into the sea when yet an infant, to have been carried by the waves to the coast of Sicyon, to have been received by Polybus, and afterwards to have been blinded by him (Schol. ad Eur. Phoen. 13, 26). His tomb was shown at Athens, where he also had an heroum. (Paus. 1.28.7, 30, in fin.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Oenone in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Oenone (pronounced /ɨˈnoʊniː/, from Ancient Greek Oinōnē - Οἰνώνη "wine woman") was the first wife of Paris of Troy, whom he abandoned for the queen Helen of Sparta.[1] Oenone was a mountain nymph (an oread)[2] on Mount Ida in Phrygia, a mountain associated with the Mother Goddess Cybele, alternatively Rhea.[3] Her father was Cebren, a river-god.[4] Her very name links her to the gift of wine. Paris, son of the king Priam and the queen Hecuba, fell in love with Oenone when he was a shepherd on the slopes of Mount Ida, having been exposed in infancy (owing to a prophecy that he would be the means of the destruction of the city of Troy) but rescued by the herdsman Agelaus. The couple married, and Oenone gave birth to a son, Corythus...

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Oenone in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Οἰνώνη,) a daughter of the rivergod Cebren, and the wife of Paris. (Apollod. 3.12.6; Parthen. Erot. 4; Strab. xiii. p.596 ; comp. PARIS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Ops in Wikipedia

In ancient Roman religion, Ops or Opis, (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth-goddess of Sabine origin. Her husband was Saturn, the bountiful monarch of the Golden Age. Just as Saturn was identified with the Greek deity Cronus, Opis was identified with Rhea, Cronus' wife. In her statues and coins, Opis is figured sitting down, as Chthonian deities normally are, and generally holds a scepter or a corn spike as her main attributes. The Chthonian deities are the manifestations of the Great Goddess, such as Gaia or Ge...

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Ops in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

a female Roman divinity of plenty and fertility, as is indicated by her nane, which is connected with opinus, opuleidus, iopsq, anid copia. (Fest. p. 186. &c. ed. Miller.) She was regarded as the wife of Saturnus, and, accordingly, as the protectress of every thing connected with agriculture. Her abode was in the earth, and hence those who invoked her, or made vows to her, used to touch the ground (Macr. 1.10), and as she was believed to give to human beings both their place of abode and their food, newly-born children were recommended to her care. (August. de Ciu Dei, 4.11, 21.) Her worship was intimately connected with that of her husband Saturnus, for she had both temples and festivals in common with him; she had, however, also a separate sanctuary on the Capitol, and in the vicus jugarius, not far from the temple of Saturnus, she had an altar in common with Ceres. (Liv. 39.22; P. Vict. Req. Urb. viii ) The festivals of Ops are called Opalia and Opiconsivia, from her surname Consita, connected with the verb serere, to sow. (Fest. 1. c. ; Macr. 1.10, 12.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Oreads in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, an Oread or Orestiad (Ὀρεάδες / Όρεστιάδες from ὄρος, "mountain") was a type of nymph that lived in mountains, valleys, ravines. They differ from each other according to their dwelling: the Idae were from Mount Ida, Peliades from Mount Pelia, etc. They were associated with Artemis, since the goddess, when she went out hunting, preferred mounts and rocky precipices. - Wikipedia

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Oreades in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[NYMPHAE.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Orestes in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Orestes (pronounced /oʊˈrɛstiːz/; Greek: Ὀρέστης) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and purification, which retain obscure threads of much older ones.[1] Orestes has a root in ὄρος (óros), "mountain". The metaphoric meaning of the name is the person "who can conquer mountains"...

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Orestes in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(᾿ορέστης the only son of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, and brother of Chrysothemis, Laodice (Electra), and Iphianassa (Iphigeneia; Hom. Il. 9.142, &c., 284; comp. Soph. Elect. 154; Eur. Orest. 23). According to the Homneric account, Agamemnon his return from Troy did not see his son, but was murdered by Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra before he had an opportunity of seeing him. (Od. 11.542.) In the eighth year after his father's murder Orestes came from Athens to Mycenae and slew the murderer of his father, and at the same time solemnised the burial of Aegisthus and of his mother, and for the revenge he had taken he gained great fame among mortals. (Od. 1.30, 298, 3.306, &c., 4.546.) This slender outline of the story of Orestes has been spun out and embellished in various ways by the tragic poets. Thus it is sail that at the murder of Agamemnon it was intended also to despatch Orestes, but that Electra secretly entrusted him to the slave who had the management of him. This slave carried the boy to Strophius, king in Phocis, who was married to Anaxibia, the sister of Agamemnon. According to some, Orestes was saved by his nurse Geilissa (Aeschyl. Choeph. 732) or by Arsinoe or Laodameia (Pilnd. Pyth. 11.25, with the Schol.), who allowed Aegisthus to kill her own child, thinking that it was Orestes. In the house of Strophius, Orestes grew up together with the king's son Pylades, with whom he formed that close and intimate friendship which has almost become proverbial. (Eur. Orest. 804, &c.) Being frequently reminded by messengers of Electra of the necessity of avenging his father's death, he consulted the oracle of Delphi, which strengthened him in his plan. He therefore repaired in secret, and without being known to any one, to Argos. (Soph. Elect. 11, &c., 35, 296, 531, 1346; Eurip. Elect. 1245, Orest. 162.) He pretended to be a messenger of Strophius, who had come to announce the death of Orestes, and brought the ashes of the deceased. (Soph. Elect. 1110.) After having visited his father's tomb, and sacrificed upon it a lock of his hair, he made himself known to his sister Electra. who was ill used by Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra, and discussed his plan of revenge with her, which was speedily executed, for both Aegisthus and Cltaemnestra were slain by his hand in the palace. (Soph. Elect. 1405; Aeschyl. Choeph. 931; comp. Eurip. Elect. 625, 671, 774, &c., 969, &c., 1165, &c., who differs in several points from Sophocles.) Immediately after the murder of his mother he was seized by madness; he perceived the Erinnyes of his mother and took to flight. Sophocles does not mention this as the immediate consequence of the deed, and the tragedy ends where Aegisthus is led to death; but, according to Euripides, Orestes not only becomes mad; but as the Argives, in their indignation, wanted to stone him and Electra to death, and as Menelaus refused to save them, Pylades and Orestes murdered Helena, and her body was removed by the gods. Orestes also threatened Menelaus to kill his daughter Hermione; but by the intervention of Apollo, the dispute was allayed, and Orestes betrothed himself to Hermione, and Pylades to Electra. But, according to the common account, Orestes fled from land to land, pursued by the Erinnyes of his mother. On the advice of Apollo, he took refuge with Athena at Athens. The goddess afforded him protection, and appointed the court of the Areiopagus to decide his fate. The Erinnyes brought forward their accusation, and Orestes made the command of the Delphic oracle his excuse. When the court voted, and was equally divided, Orestes was acquitted by the command of Athena. (Aeschyl. Eumenides.) He therefore dedicated an altar to Athena Areia. (Paus. 1.28.5.) According to another modification of the legend, Orestes consulted Apollo, how he could be delivered from his madness and incessant wandering. The god advised him to go to Tauris in Scythia, and thence to fetch the image of Artemis, which was (Eur. IT 79, &c., 968, &c.) believed to have there fallen from heaven, and to carry it to Athens. (Comp. Paus. 3.16.6.) Orestes and Pylades accordingly went to Tauris, where Thoas was king, and on their arrival they were seized by the natives, in order to be sacrificed to Artemis, according to the custom of the country. But Iphigeneia, the priestess of Artemis, was the sister of Orestes, and, after having recognized each other, all three escaped with the statue of the goddess. (Eur. IT 800, 1327, &c.) After his return Orestes took possession of his father's kingdom at Mycenae, which had been usurped by Aletes or Menelaus; and when Cylarabes of Argos died without leaving any heir, Orestes also became king of Argos. The Lacedaemonians made him their king of their own accord, because they preferred him, the grandson of Tyndareus, to Nicostratus and Megapenthes, the sons of Menelaus by a slave. The Arcadians and Phocians increased his power by allying themselves with him. (Paus. 2.18.5, 3.4; Philostr. Her. 6; Pind. P. 11.24.) He married Hermione, the daughter of Menelaus, and became by her the father of Tisamenus. (Paus. 2.18.5.) He is said to have led colonists from Sparta to Aeolis, and the town of Argos Oresticnm in Epeirus is said to have been founded by him at the time when he wandered about in his madness. (Strab. vii. p.326, xiii. p. 582; Pind. N. 11.42, with the Schol.) In his reign the Dorians under Hyllus are said to have invaded Peloponnesus. (Paus. 8.5.1.) He died of the bite of a snake in Arcadia (Schol. ad Eur. Or. 1640), and his body, in accordance with an oracle, was afterwards conveyed from Tegea to Sparta, and there buried. (Paus. 3.11.8.) In a war between the Lacedaemonians and Tegeatans, a truce was concluded, and during this truce the Lacedaemonian Lichas found the remains of Orestes at Tegea or Thyrea in the house of a blacksmith, and thence took them to Sparta, which according to an oracle could not gain the victory unless it possessed the remains of Orestes. (Hdt. 1.67, &c.; Paus. 3.3.6, 8.54.3.) According to an Italian legend, Orestes brought the image of the Taurian Artemis to Aricia, whence it was carried in later times to Sparta; and Orestes himself was buried at Aricia, whence his remains were afterwards carried to Rome. (Serv. ad Aen. 2.116.) There are three other mythical personages of the name of Orestes, concerning whom nothing of interest is related. (Hom. Il. 5.705, 12.139, 193; Apollod. 1.7.3.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Orion in Wikipedia

Orion (Greek: Ὠρίων[1] or Ωαρίων, Latin: Orion[2]) was a giant huntsman of Greek mythology whom Zeus placed among the stars as the constellation of Orion. Ancient sources tell several different stories about Orion. There are two major versions of his birth and several versions of his death. The most important recorded episodes are his birth somewhere in Boeotia, his visit to Chios where he met Merope and was blinded by her father, Oenopion, the recovery of his sight at Lemnos, his hunting with Artemis on Crete, his death by the bow of Artemis or of the giant scorpion which became Scorpio, and his elevation to the heavens. Most ancient sources omit some of these episodes and several tell only one. These various incidents may originally have been independent, unrelated stories and it is impossible to tell whether omissions are simple brevity or represent a real disagreement...

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Orion in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ὀρίων,) a son of Hyrieus, of Ilyria, in Boeotia, a very handsome giant and hunter, and said to have been called by the Boeotians Candaon. (Hom. Od. 11.309; Strab. ix. p.404; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 328.) Once he came to Chios (Ophiusa), and fell in love with Aero, or Merope, the daughter of Oenopion, by the nymph Helice. He cleared the island from wild beasts, and brought the spoils of the chase as presents to his beloved; but as Oenopion constantly deferred the marriage, Orion one day being intoxicated forced his way into the chamber of the maiden. Oenopion now implored the assistance of Dionysus, who caused Orion to be thrown into a deep sleep by satyrs, in which Oenopion blinded him. Being informed by an oracle that he should recover his sight, if he would go towards the east and expose his eye-balls to the rays of the rising sun, Orion following the sound of a Cyclops' hammer, went to Lemnos, where Hephaestus gave to him Cedalion as his guide. When afterwards He had recovered his sight, Orion returned to Chios to take vengeance, but as Oenopion had been concealed by his friends, Orion was unable to iind him, and then proceeded to Crete, where he lived as a hunter with Artemis. (Apollod. 1.4.3; Parthen. Erot. 20; Theon, ad Arat. 638 ; Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.34.) The cause of his death, which took place either in Crete or Chios, is differently stated. According to some Eos, who loved Orion for his beauty, carried him off, but as the gods were angry at this, Artemis killed him with an arrow in Ortygia (Homrn. Od. 5.121); according to others he was beloved by Artemis, and Apollo, indignant at his sister's affection for him, asserted that she was unable to hit with her bow a distant point which he showed to her in the sea. She thereu:pon took aim, and hit it, but the point was the head of Orion, who had been swimming in the sea. (hygin. 1. c.; Ov. Fast. 5.537.) A third account states that he harboured an improper love for Artemis, that he challenged her to a game of discus, or that he violated Upis, on which account Artemis shot him, or sent a monstrous scorpion which killed him. (Serv. ad Aen. 1.539 ; Hor. Carm. 2.4.72; Apollod. 1.4.5.) A fourth account, lastly, states that he boasted he would conquer every animal, and would clear the earth from all wild beasts; but the earth sent forth a scerpion by which He was killed. (Ov. Fast. 5.539, &c.) Asclepius wanted to recall him to life. but was slain by Zeus with a flash of lighting. [ASCLEPIUS.] The accounts of his parentage and birth-place are varying in the different writers, for some call him a son of Poseidon and Euryale (Apollod, 1.4.3), and others say that He was born of the earth, or a son of Oenopion. (Serv. ad Aen. 1.539, 10.763.) He is further called a Theban, or Taiagraean, but probably because Hyria, his native place, sometimes belonged to Tanagra, and sometimes to Thebes. (Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.34; Paus. 9.20 § 3; Strab. ix. p.404.) After his death, Orion was placed amniong the stars (Hom. Il. 18.486, &c., 22.29, Od. 5.274), where he appears as a giant with a girdle, sword, a lion's skin and a club. As the rising and setting of the constellation of Orion was believed to be accompanied by storms and rain, he is often called imbrifer, nimbosus, or aquosus. His tomb was shown at Tanagra. (Paus. 9.20.3.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Orpheus in Wikipedia

Orpheus (Greek: Ὀρφεύς; in English pronounced /ˈɔrfi.əs/ or / ˈɔrfjuːs/) is an important figure from Greek mythology,[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] the inspiration for subsequent Orphic cults, much of the literature, poetry and drama of ancient Greece and Rome and, due to his association with singing and the lyre, much dramatic Western classical music. The historicity of Orpheus was generally accepted by the ancients, though Aristotle believed that he never actually existed.[9] He is not mentioned in Homer or Hesiod. The earliest surviving reference is a two-word fragment of the sixth-century B.C. lyric poet Ibycus: onomaklyton Orphēn ("Orpheus famous of name").[10] Orpheus was called by Pindar "the father of songs"[11] and asserted to be a son of the Thracian river god Oeagrus.[12] The Muse Calliope was his mother,[13] but as Karl Kerenyi observes,[14] "in the popular mind he was more closely linked to the community of his disciples and adherents than with any particular race or family"...

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Orpheus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ὀρφεύς) The history of the extant productions of Greek literature begins with the Homeric poems. But it is evident that works so perfect in their kind are the end, and not the beginning, of a course of poetical development. This assumption is confirmed by innumerable traditions, which record the names of poets before the time of Homer, who employed their music for the civilisation of men and for the worship of different divinities. In accordance with the spirit of Greek mythology, the gods themselves stand at the head of this succession of poets, namely, Hermes, the inventor of the lyre, and Apollo, who received the invention from his brother, and became the divinity presiding over the whole art of music. With Apollo are associated, still in the spirit of the old mythology, a class of subordinate divinities -- the Muses. The earliest human cultivators of the art are represented as the immediate pupils, and even (what, in fact, merely means the same thing) the children of Apollo and the Muses. Their personal existence is as uncertain as that of other mythical personages, and for us they can only be considered as the representatives of certain periods and certain kinds of poetical development. Their names are no doubt all significant, although the etymology of some of them is very uncertain, while that of others, such as Musaeus, is at once evident. The chief of these names are Olen, Linus, Orpheus, Musaeus, Eumolpus, Pamphus, Thamyris, and Philammon. Of these names that of Orpheus is the most important, and at the same time the one involving the greatest difficulties. These difficulties arise from the scantiness of the early traditions respecting specting him, in tracing which we are rather impeded than aided by the many marvels which later writers connected with his story; and also from the very different religious positions which are assigned to him. On this last point it may be remarked in general that the earliest opinions respecting him seem to have invariably connected him with Apollo; while his name was afterwards adopted as the central point of one system of Dionysiac worship. One of the most essential points in such an inquiry as the present is, to observe the history of the traditions themselves. The name of Orpheus does not occur in the Homeric or Hesiodic poems ; but, during the lyric period, it had attained to great celebrity. Ibycus, who flourished about the middle of the sixth century B. C., mentions him as "the renowned Orpheus" (ὀνομακλυτὸν Ὄρφην, Ibyc. Fr. No. 22, Schneidewin, No. 9, Bergk, apud Priscian. vol. i. p. 283, Krehl). Pindar enumerates him among the Argonauts as the celebrated harp player, father of songs, and as sent forth by Apollo (Pyth. 4.315. s. 176): elsewhere he mentioned him as the son of Oeagrus (Schol. ad loc.). The historians Hellanicus and Pherecydes record his name, the former making him the ancestor both of Homer and of Hesiod (Fr. Nos. 5, 6, Müller, apud Procl. Vit. Hes. p. 141b., Vit. Hom. Ined.); the latter stating that it was not Orpheus, but Philammon, who was the bard of the Argonauts (Fr. 63, Müller, apud Schol. ad Apollon. 1.23), and this is also the account which Apollonius Rhodius followed. In the dramatic poets there are several references to Orpheus. Aeschylus alludes to the fable of his leading after him trees charmed by the sound of his lyre (Ag. 1612, 1613, Wellauer, 1629, 1630, Dind.) ; and there is an important statement preserved by Eratosthenes (100.24), who quotes the Bassarides of the same poet, that "Orpheus did not honour Dionysus, but believed the sun to be the greatest of the gods, whom also he called Apollo; and rising up in the night, he ascended before dawn to the mountain called Pangaeum, that he might see the sun first, at which Dionysus being enraged sent upon him the Bassaridae, as the poet Aeschylus says, who tore him in pieces, and scattered his limbs abroad; but the Muses collected them, and buried them at the place called Leibethra :" but the quotation itself shows the impossibility of determining termining how much of this account is to be considered as given by Aeschylus. Sophocles does not mention Orpheus, but he is repeatedly referred to by Euripides, in whom we find the first allusion to the connection of Orpheus with Dionysus and the inffrnal regions: he speaks of him as related to the Muses (Rhes. 944, 946); mentions the power of his song over rocks, trees, and wild beasts (Med. 543, Iph. in Aul. 1211, Bacch. 561, and a jocular allusion in Cyc. 646); refers to his charming the infernal powers (Alc. 357,); connects him with Bacchanalian orgies (Hippol.) 953; ascribes to him the origin of sacred mysteries (Rhes. 943), and places the scene of his activity among the forests of Olympus. (Bacch. 561.) He is mentioned once only, but in an important passage, by Aristophanes (Aristoph. Frogs 1032), who enumerates, as the oldest poets, Orpheus, Musaeus, Hesiod, and Homer, and makes Orpheus the teacher of religious initiations and of abstinence from murder: Ὀρφεὺς μὲν γὰρ τελετάς θ᾽ ἡμῖν κατέδειξε φόνου τ᾽ ἀπέχεσθαι. Passages exactly parallel to this are found in Plato (Apol. p. 41a., Protag. p.316, d.), who frequently refers to Orpheus, his followers, and his works. He calls him the son of Oeagrus (Sympos. p. 179d.), mentions him as a musician and inventor (Ion, p. 533c., Leg. iii. p. 677d.), refers to the miraculous power of his lyre (Protag. p. 315a.), and gives a singular version of the story of his descent into lades: the gods, he says, imposed upon the poet, by showing him only a phantasm of his lost wife, because he had not the courage to die, like Alcestis, hut contrived to enter Hades alive, and, as a further punishment for his cowardice, He met his death at the hands of women (Sympos. p. 179d.; comp. Polit. x. p. 620a.). This account is quite discordant with the notions of the early Greeks respecting the value of life, and even with the example quoted by Plato himself, as far as Admetus is concerned. Plato seems to have misunderstood the reason why Orpheus's "contriving to enter Hades alive," called down the anger of the gods, namely, as a presumptuous transgression of the limits assigned to the condition of mortal men: this point will have to be considered again. As the followers of Orpheus, Plato mentions both poets and religionists (Prot. p. 316d., Ion, p. 536b., Cratyl. p. 400c.), and in the passage last quoted, he tells us that the followers of Orpheus held the doctrine, that the soul is imprisoned in the body as a punishment for some previous sins. He makes several quotations from the writings ascribed to Orpheus, of which one, if not more, is from the Theogony (Cratyl. p. 402b., Phileb. p. 66c., Leg. ii. p. 669d.), and in one passage he speaks of collections of books, which went under the names of Orpheus and Musaeus, and contained rules for religious ceremonies. (Polit. ii. p. 364e.) The writings mentioned in the last passage were evidently regarded by Plato as spurious, but, from the other passages quoted, he seems to have believed at least in the existence of Orpheus and in the genuineness of his Theogony. Not so, however, Aristotle, who held that no such person as Orpheus ever existed, and that the works ascribed to him were forged by Cercops and Onomacritus. [ONOMACRITUS.] Proceeding to the mythographers, and the later poets, from Apollodorus downwards, we find the legends of Orpheus amplified by details, the whole. of which it is impossible here to enumerate; we give an outline of the most important of them. Orpheus, the son of Oeagrus and Calliope, lived in Thrace at the period of the Argonauts, whom he accompanied in their expedition. Presented with the lyre. by Apollo, and instructed by the Muses in its use, he enchanted with its music not only the wild beasts, but the trees and rocks upon Olympus, so that they moved from their places to follow the sound of his golden harp. The power of his music caused the Argonauts to seek his aid, which contributed materially to the success of their expedition: at the sound of his lyre the Argo glided down into the sea; the Argonauts tore themselves away from the pleasures of Lennos; the Symplegadae, or moving rocks, which threatened to crush the ship between them, were fixed in their places; and the Colchian dragon, which guarded the golden fleece, was lulled to sleep: other legends of the same kind may be read in the Argonautica, which bears the name of Orpheus. After his return from the Argonautic expedition he took up his abode in a cave in Thrace, and employed himself in the civilisation of its wild inhabitants. There is also a legend of his having visited Egypt. The legends Irspecting the loss and recovery of his wife, and his own death, are very various. His wife was a nymph named Agriope or Eurydice. In the older accotlnts the cause of her death is not referred to, but the legend followed in the well-known passages of Virgil and Ovid, which ascribes the death of Eurydice to the bite of a serpent, is no doubt of high antiquity, but the introduction of Aristaeus into the legend cannot be traced to any writer older than Virgil himself. (Diod. 4.25 ; Conon 45; Paus. 9.30.4; Hyg. Fab. 164.) He followed his lost wife into the abodes of Hades, where the charms of his lyre suspended the torments of the damned, and won back his wife from the most inexorable of all deities; but his prayer was only granted upon this condition, that he should not look back upon his restored wife, till they had arrived in the upper world: at the very moment when they were about to pass the fatal bounds, the anxiety of love overcame the poet; he looked round to see that Eurydice was following him; and he beheld her caught back into the infernal regions. The form of the myth, as told by Plato, has been given above. The later poets, forgetting the religious meaning of the legend, connected his death with the second loss of Eurydice, his grief for whom led him to treat with contempt the Thracian women, who in revenge tore him to pieces under the excitement of their Bacchanalian orgies. Other causes are assigned for the fury of the Thracian Maenads ; but the most ancient form of the legend seems to be that already mentioned as quoted by Eratosthenes from Aeschylus. The variation, by which Aphrodite is made the instigator of his death, from motives of jealousy, is of course merely a fancy of some late poet (Conon,45). Another form of the legend, which deserves much more attention, is that which was embodied in an inscription upon what was said to be the tomb, in which the bones of Orpheus were buried, at Dium near Pydna, in Macedonia, which ascribed his death to the thunderbolts of Zeus :-- Θρήϊκα χρυσολύρην τῇδ᾽ Ὀρφέα Μοῦσαι ἔθαφαν, ὃν κτάνεν ὑψιμέδων Ζεὺς ψολόεντι βέλει. (Diog. Laert. Prooem. 5; Paus. 9.30.5 ; Anth. Graec. Epig. Inc. No. 483; Brunck, Anal. vol. iii. p. 253.) After his death, according to the more common form of the legend, the Muses collected the fragments of his body, and buried them at Leibethra at the foot of Olympus, where the nightingale sang sweetly over his grave. The subsequent transference of his bones to Dium is evidently a local legend. (Paus. l.c.) His head was thrown upon the Hebrus, down which it rolled to the sea, and was borne across to Lesbos, where the grave in which it was interred was shown at Antissa. His lyre was also said to have been carried to Lesbos; and both traditions are simply poetical expressions of the historical fact that Lesbos was the first great seat of the music of the lyre: indeed Antissa itself was the birth-place of Terpander, the earliest historical musician. (Phanocles, ap. Stob. Tit. lxii. p. 399). The astronomers taught that the lyre of Orpheus was placed by Zeus anlong the stars, at the intercession of Apollo and the Muses (Eratosth. 24; Hygin. Astr. 2.7; Manil. Astron. 1.324). In these legends there are some points which require but little explanation. The invention of music, in connection with the services of Apollo and the Muses, its first great application to the worship of the gods, which Orpheus is therefore said to have introduced, its power over the passions, and the importance which the Greeks attached to the knowledge of it, as intimately allied with the very existence of all social order,--are probably the chief elementary ideas of the whole legend. But then comes in one of the dark features of the Greek religion, in which the gods envy the advancement of man in knowledge and civilisation, and severely punish any one who transgresses the bounds assigned to humanity, as may be seen in the legend of Prometheus, and in the sudden death, or blindness, or other calamities of the early poets and musicians. In a later age, the conflict was no longer viewed as between the gods and man, but between the worshippers of different divinities; and especially between Apollo, the symbol of pure intellect, and Dionysus, the deity of the senses: hence Orpheus, the servant of Apollo, falls a victim to the jealousy of Dionysus, and the fury of his worshippers. There are, however, other points in the legend which are of the utmost difficulty, and which would require far more discussion than can be entered upon here. For these matters the reader is referred to Lobeck's Aglaophamus, Müller's Prolegomena zu einer wissenschaftlichen Mythologie, and Klausen's article in Ersch and Gruber's Encyclopädie. Concerning the localities of the legend, see Miller's Literature of Ancient Greece, p. 26, and Klausen. The works of art representing Orpheus are enumerated by Klausen. Orphic Societies and Mysteries. All that part of the mythology of Orpheus which connects him with Dionysus must be considered as a later invention, quite irreconcilable with the original legends, in which he is the servant of Apollo and the Muses: the discrepancy extends even to the instrument of his music, which was always the lyre, and never the flute. It is almost hopeless to explain the transition. It is enough to remark here that, about the time of the first development of Greek philosoplly, societies were formed, which assumed the name of Orpheus, and which celebrated peculiar mysteries, quite different from those of Eleusis. They are thus described by Muüller (Hist. Lit. Anc. Gr. p. 231.): -- "On the other hand there was a society of persons, who performed the rites of a mystical worship, but were not exclusively attached to a particular temple and festival, and who did not confine their notions to the initiated, but published them to others, and committed them to literary works. These were the followers of Orpheus (οἱ Ὀρφικυί); that is to say, associations of pertons, who, under the [pretended] guidance of the ancient mystical poet Orpheus, dedicated themselves to the worship of Bacchus, in which they hoped to find satisfaction for an ardent longing after the soothing and elevating influences of re ligion. The Dionysus, to whose worship the Orphic and Bacchic rites were annexed (τὰ Ὀρφικὰ καλεόμενα καὶ Βακχικά, Hdt. 2.81), was the Chthonian deity, Dionysus Zagreus, closely connected with Demeter and Cora, who was the personitied expression, not only of the most rapturous pleasure, but also of a deep sorrow for the miseries of human life. The Orphic legends and poems related in great part to this Dionysus, who was combined, as an infernal deity, with Hades (a doctrine given by the philosopher Heracleitus as the opinion of a particular sect, ap. Clem. Alex. Protrep. p. 30, Potter); and upon whom the Orphic theologers founded their hopes of the purification and ultimate immortality of the soul. But their mode of celebrating this worship was very different from the popular rites of Bacchus. The Orphic worshippers of Bacchus did not indulge in unrestrained pleasure and frantic enthusiasm, but rather aimed at an ascetic purity of life and manners. (See Lobeck, Aglaoph. p. 244.) The followers of Orp heus, when they had tasted the mystic sacrificial feast of raw flesh torn front the ox of Dionysus (ὠμοφαγία), partook of no other animal food. They wore white linen garments, like Oriental and Egyptian priests, from whom, as Herodotus remarks (l.c.), much may have been borrowed in the ritual of the Orphic worship." Herodotus not only speaks of these rites as being Egyptian, but also Pythagorean in their character. The explanation of this is that the Pythagorean societies, after their expulsion from Magna Graecia, united themselves with the Orphic societies of the mother country, and of course greatly influenced their character. But before this time the Orphic system had been reduced to a definite form by PHERECYDES and ONOMACRITUS, who stand at the head of a series of writers, in whose works the Orphic theology was embodied; such as Cercops, Brontinus, Orpheus of Camarina, Orpheus of Croton, Arignote, Persinus of Miletus, Timocles of Syracuse, and Zopyrus of Heracleia or Tarentum (Müller, p. 235). Besides these associations there were also an obscure set of mystagogues derived from them, called Orpheotelests (Ὀρφεοτελεσταί), "who used to come before the doors of the rich, and promise to release them from their own sins and those of their forefathers, by sacrifices and expiatory songs; and they produced at this ceremony a heap of books of Orpheus and Musaeus, upon which they founded their promises" (Plat. Ion, p. 536b.; Müller, p. 235). The nature of the Orphic theology, and the points of difference between it and that of Homer and Hesiod, are fully discussed by Müller (Hist. Lit. Anc. Gr. pp. 235-238) and Mr. Grote (vol. i. pp. 22, §c.) ; out most fully by Lobeck, in his Aglaophamus. Orphic Literature. We have seen that many poems ascribed to Orpheus were current as early as the time of the Peisistratids [ONOMACRITUS], and that they are often quoted by Plato. The allusions to them in later writers are very frequent ; for example, Pausanias speaks, of hymns of his, which he believed to be still preserved by the Lycolnidae (an Athenian family who seem to have been the chief priests of the Orphic worhip. as the Eumolpidae were of the Eleusinlian), and which, he says, were only inferior in beauty to the poetus of Homer, and held even in higher honour, on account of their divine subjects. He also speaks of them as very few in number, and as distinguished by great brevity of style (9.30. §§ 5, 6. s. 12). Considering the slight acquaintance which the ancients evidently possessed with these works, it is somewhat surprising that certain extant poeins, which bear the name of Orpheus, should have been generally regarded by scholars, until a very recent period, as genuine, that is, as works more ancient than the Homeric poems, if not the productions of Orpheus himself. It is not worth while to repeat here the history of the controversy, which will be found in Bernhard and the other historians of Greek literature. The result is that it is now fully established that the bulkof these poems are the forgeries of Christian grammarians and philosophers of the Alexandrian school; but that along the fragments, which form apart of the collection, are some genuine remains of that Orphic poetry which was known to Plato, and which must be assigned to the period of Onomacritus, orperhaps a little earlier. The Orphic literature which, in this sense, we may call genuine, seems to have included Hymns, a Theogony, an ancient poem called Minyas or the Descent into Hades, Oracles and Songs for Initiations (Τελεταί), a collection of Sacred Legends (Ἰεροὶ λόγοι), ascribed to Cercops, and perhaps some other works. The apocryphal productions which have come down to us under the name of Orphica, are the following: 1. Ἀργοναυτικά An epic poem in 1384 hexameters, giving an account of the expedition of the Argonauts, which is full of indications of its late date. 2. Ὕμνοι Eighty-seven or eighty-eight hymns in hexameters, evidently the productions of the Nco Platonic school. 3. Λιθικά the best of the three apocryphal Orphic poems, which treats of properties of stones, both precious and common, and their uses in divination. 4. Fragments, chiefly of the Theogony. It is in this class that we find the genuine remains, above referred to, of the literature of the early Orphic theology, but intermingled with others of a mnch later date. Further Information Eschenbach, Epigenes, de Poesi Orphica Commentarius, Norimb. 1702-1704; Tiedemain, Griechenlands erste Philosophen, Leipz. 1780; G. H. Bode, de Orpheo Poetarum Graecorum antiquissimo, Goett. 1824; Lobeck, Aglaophamus ; Bode, Gesch. d. Hell. Dichtkunst, vols. i. ii.; Ulrici, Gesch. d. Hellen. Dichtkunst, vols. i. ii.; Bernhardy, Grudriss d. Griech. Litt. vol. ii. pp. 266, &c.; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. i. pp. 140, &c.; for a further list of writers on Orpheus, see Hoffmann, Lexicon Bibliographicum Scriptorum Graecorum.) Editions The chief editions of Orpheus, after the early ones of 1517, 1519, 1540, 1543, 1566, and 1606, are those of Eschenbach, Traj. ad Rhen. 1689, 12mo.; Gesner and Hanberger, Lips. 1764, 8vo. and Hermann, Lips. 1805, 8vo., by far the best. There are also small editions, chiefly for the use of schools, by Schaefer, Lips. 1818, 12mo., and in the Tauchnitz Classics, 1824, 16mo. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Melpomene in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Melpo/menos), i. e. the singing (goddess), one of the nine Muses, became afterwards the Muse of Tragedy. (Hes. Theog. 77; comp. MUSAE.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Memnon in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Memnon (Greek: Mέμνων) was an Ethiopian king and son of Tithonus and Eos. As a warrior he was considered to be almost Achilles' equal in skill. At the Trojan War, he brought an army to Troy's defense and was killed by Achilles in retribution for killing Antilochus. The death of Memnon echoes that of Hector, another defender of Troy whom Achilles also killed out of revenge for a fallen comrade, Patroclus. After Memnon's death, Zeus was moved by Eos' tears and granted her immortality. Memnon's death is related at length in the lost epic Aethiopis, composed after The Iliad circa the 7th century BC. Quintus of Smyrna records Memnon's death in Posthomerica. His death is also described in Philostratus' Imagines...

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Memnon in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Μέμνων), a son of Tithonus and Eos, and brother of Emathion. In the Odyssey and Hesiod he is described as the handsome son of Eos, who assisted Priam with his Ethiopians against the Greeks. He slew Antilochus, the son of Nestor, at Troy. (Hes. Th. 984, &c.; Hom. Od. 4.188, 11.522; Apollod. 3.12. § 4.) Some writers called his mother a Cissian woman (Κισσια), from the Persian province of Cissia. (Strab. p. 728 ; Hdt. 5.49, 52.) As Eos is sometimes identical with Hemera, Memnon's mother is also called Hemera. [Eos.] Homer makes only passing allusions to Memnon, and he is essentially a postomeric hero. According to these later traditions, he was a prince of the Ethiopians, and accordingly black (Ov. Amor. 1.8. 4, Epist. ex Pont. 3.3. 96; Paus. 10.31.2); he came to the assistance of his uncle Priam, for Tithonus and Priam were step-brothers, being both sons of Laomedon by different mothers. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 18.) Respecting his expedition to Troy there are different legends. According to some Memnon the Ethiopian first went to Egypt, thence to Susa, and thence to Troy. (Pats. 1.42.2.) At Susa, which had been founded by Tithonus, Memnon built the acropolis which was called after him the Memnonium. (Hdt. 5.53, 7.151; Strab. p. 728; Paus. 4.31.5.) According to some Tithonus was the governor of a Persian province. and the favourite of Teutamnus; and Memnon obtained the command of a large host of Ethiopians and Susans to succor Priam. (Diod. 2.22, 4.75; Paus. 10.31.2.) A third tradition states that Tithonus sent his son to Priam, because Prian had made him a present of a golden vine. (Serv. ad Aen. 1.493.) Dictys Cretensis (4.4) makes Memnon lead an army of Ethiopians and Indians from the heights of Mount Caucasus to Troy. In the fight against the Greeks he was slain by Achilles. The principal points connected with his exploits at Troy are, his victory over Antilochus, his contest with Achilles, and lastly, his death and the removal of his body by his mother. With regard t tthe first, we are told that Antilochus, the dearest friend of Achilles after the fall of Patroclus, hastened to the assistance of his father, Nestor, who was hard pressed by Paris. Memnon attacked Antilochus, and slew him. (Pind. P. 6.30, &c.) According to others, Memnon was fighting with Ajax; and before his Ethiopians could come to his assistance, Achilles came up, and killed Ieninon (Dict. Cret. 4.6); the same accounts represent Antilochus as having been conquered by Hector. (Ov. Ep. 1.15; Iygin. Sab. 113.) According to the common account, however, Achilles avenged the death of Antilochus upon Memnon, of whose fate Achilles had been informed by his mother, Thetis. While both were fighting Zeus weighed the fate of the two heroes, and the wale containing that of Memnon sank. (Pind. O. 2.148, Nem. 3.110, 6.83; Quint. Smyrn. 2.224, &c.; Philostr. Icon. 2.7; Plut. De And. Poit. 2.) According to Diodorus (2.22) Memnon was not killed in an open contest, but fell into an ambush in which the Thessalians lay in wait for him. Eos prayed to Zeus to grant her son immortality, and removed his body from the field of battle. She wept for him every morning; and the dew-drops which appear in the morning are the tears of Eos. (Serv. ad Aen. 1.493; Ov. Met. 13.622.) Philostratus (Her. 3.4) distinguishes between a Trojan and an Ethiopian Memnon, and believes that the former, who was very young and did not distinguish himself till after the death of Hector, slew Antilochus; and he adds, that Achilles, after having avenged his friend, burnt the armour and Lead of Memnononn the funeral pile of Antilochus. Sonme say that the Ethiopian warriors burned the body of Memnon, and carried the ashes to Tithonus (Diod. 1. c.); or that those who had gone to Troy under his general, Phallas, received his ashes near Paphos, in Cyprus, and gave them to Memnon's sister, Himera, who was searching after his body, and buried them in Palliochis (an unknown place), whereiepon she disappeared. (Dict. Cret. vi. ]0.) Tombs of Memnon were shown in several places, as at Ptolemais in Syria, on the Hellespont, on a hill near the mouth of the river Aesepus, near Paltou in Syria, in Ethiopia and other places. (Strab. pp. 587, 728.) His armour was said to have been made for him by Hephaestus, at the request of his mother; and his sword was shown in the temple of Asclepius, at Nicomedeia. (Paus. 3.3.6.) His companions, who indulged in excessive wailings at his death, were changed by the gods into birds, called Memnonides, and some of them died of grief. (Serv. ad Aen. 1.755.) According to Ovid (Ov. Met. 13.57G, &c.), Eos implored Zeus to confer an honour on her son, to console her for his loss. He accordingly caused a number of birds, divided into two swarms, to fight ill the air over the funeral sacrifice until a portion of them fell down upon the ashes of the hero, and thus formed a funeral sacrifice for him. According to a story current on the Hellespont, the Memnonides every year visited the tomb of Memnon, cleared the ground round about, and moistened it with their wings, which they wetted in the waters of the river Aesepus. (Paus. 10.31.2; comp. Plin. Nat. 36.7.) At a comparatively late period, when the Greeks became acquainted with Egypt, and the colossal statue in the neighbourhood of Thebes, the stone of which, when reached by the rays of the rising sun, gave forth a sound resembling that of a breaking chord, they looked upon that statue as representing the son of Eos, or confounded it with their own Helios, although they well knew that the Egyptians did not call the statue Memnon, but Amenophis. (Paus. 1.42.2; comp. Callistrat. Stut.1.9.) This colossal figure, made of black stone, in a sitting posture, with its feet close together, and the hands leaning on its seat, was broken in the middle, so that the upper part had fallen down; but it was afterwards restored. (Paus.l.c.; Strab. p. 816; Philostr. Her.3.4, Icon.1.7, Vit. Apollon. 6.4; Lucian, Tox. 27; Tac. Ann. 2.61; Juv. 15.5.) Several very ingenious conjectures have been propounded respecting the alleged meaning of the so-called statue of Memnon; and some have asserted that it served for astronomical purposes, and others that it had reference to the mystic worship of the sun and light, though there can be little doubt that the statue represented nothing else than the Egyptian king Amenophis. (Creuzer, Symbolik,p. 149, &c.; Jablonski, De llfemnone;and the various works on Egyptian antiquities.) The fight of Memnon with Achilles was often represented by Greek artists, as for example, on the chest of Cypselus (Paus. 5.19.1), on the throne of Apollo, at Amyclae (3.18.7), in a large group at Olympia, the work of Lycius, which had been dedicated there by the inhabitants of Apollonia (5.22.2), in the Lesche at Delphi, by Polygnotus (10.31.2; comp. Millingen, Momnunt. Inedit. 1, 4, 5, 40). - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Menelaus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Menelaus (Ancient Greek: Μενέλαος) was a legendary king of Mycenaean (pre-Dorian) Sparta, the husband of Helen, and a central figure in the Trojan War. He was the son of Atreus and Aerope, and brother of Agamemnon king of Mycenae and leader of the Greek army during the War. Prominent in both the Iliad and Odyssey, Menelaus was also popular in Greek vase painting and Greek tragedy; the latter more as a hero of the Trojan War than as a member of the doomed House of Atreus...

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Mentor in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Mentor (Greek: Μέντωρ / Méntōr; gen.: Μέντορος)[1] was the son of Alcumus and, in his old age, a friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War he placed Mentor in charge of his son, Telemachus, and of his palace. When Athena visited Telemachus she took the disguise of Mentor to hide herself from the suitors of Telemachus' mother Penelope.[2] As Mentor, the goddess encourages Telemachus to stand up against the suitors and go abroad to find out what happened to his father. When Odysseus returns to Ithaca, Athena (in the form of Mentor) takes the form of a swallow and the suitors' arrows have no effect on him...

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Mentor in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

3. A son of Alcimus and a friend of Odysseus, who, on quitting Ithaca, entrusted to him the care of his house. (Hom. Od. 2.226, &c., 22.235.) Athena assumed his appearance when she conducted Telemachus to Pylos. (Od. 2.269, 402, 3.13, &c., 4.654.) On Odysseus' return, Mentor assisted him in the contest with the suitors, and brought about a reconciliation between him and the people (22.206, 24.445, &c.). - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Mercury in Wikipedia

Mercury (pronounced /ˈmɜrkjʉri/, Latin: Mercurius listen (help·info)) was a messenger,[1] and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology. His name is related to the Latin word merx ("merchandise"; compare merchant, commerce, etc.), mercari (to trade), and merces (wages)[2]. In his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms, but most of his characteristics and mythology were borrowed from the analogous Greek deity, Hermes. Mercury has influenced the name of a number of things in a variety of scientific fields, such as the planet Mercury, and the element mercury, which was formerly associated with it. The word mercurial is commonly used to refer to something or someone erratic, volatile or unstable, derived from Mercury's swift flights from place to place...

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Mercurius in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

a Roman divinity of commerce and gain, probably one of the dii lucrii. The character of the god is clear from his name, which is connected with merx and mercari. (Paul. Diac. p. 124, ed. Müller; Schol. ad Pers. Sat. 5.112.) A temple was built to him as early as B. C. 495 (Liv. 2.21, 27; Ov. Fast. 5.669), near the Circus Maximus (P. Vict. Reg. Urb. xi.); and an altar of the god existed near the Porta Capena, by the side of a well; and in later times a temple seems to have been built on the same spot. (Ov. Fast. 5.673; P. Vict. Reg. Urb. i.) Under the name of the ill-willed (malevolus), he had a statue in what was called the vices sobrius, or the sober street, in which no shops were allowed to be kept, and milk was offered to him there instead of wine. (Fest. pp. 161, 297, ed. Miller.) This statue had a purse in its hand, to indicate his functions. (Schol. ad Pers. l.c.) His festival was celebrated on the 25th of May, and chiefly by merchants, who also visited the well near the Porta Capena, to which magic powers were ascribed; and with water from that well they used to sprinkle themselves and their merchandise, that they might be purified, and yield a large profit. (Ov. Fast. v. 670 &c.; Fest. p. 148, ed. Müller.) The Romans of later times identified Mercurius, the patron of merchants and tradespeople, with the Greek Hermes, and transferred all the attributes and myths of the latter to the former (Hor. Carm. 1.10), although the Fetiales never recognised the identity; and instead of the caduceus used a sacred branch as the emblem of peace. The resemblance between Mercurius and Hermes is indeed very slight; and their identification is a proof of the thoughtless manner in which the Romans acted in this respect. [Comp. HERMES.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Merope in Wikipedia

Merope, in Greek mythology, is one of the seven Pleiades, daughters of Atlas and Pleione. Pleione, their mother, is the daughter of Oceanus and Tethyus and is the protector of sailors.[1] There are several myths associated with the Pleiades in Greek mythology...

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Merope in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

3. A daughter of Atlas, one of the Pleiades, and the wife of Sisyphus of Corinth, by whom she became the mother of Glaucus. In the constellation of the Pleiades she is the seventh and the least visible star, because she is ashamed of having had intercourse with a mortal man. (Apollod. 1.9.3, 3.10. 1; Ov. Fast. 4.175; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1155; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 1.138; comp. Hom. Il. 6.154; Schol. ad Pind. Nom. 2.16; SISYPHUS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Mezentius in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Mezentius was an Etruscan king, and father of Lausus. Sent into exile because of his cruelty, he moved to Latium. He reveled in bloodshed and was overwhelmingly savage on the battlefield, but more significantly to a Roman audience he was a contemptor divum, a "despiser of the gods." He appears in Virgil's Aeneid, primarily book ten, where he aids Turnus in a war against Aeneas and the Trojans. While in battle with Aeneas, he is critically injured by a spear blow, but his son Lausus bravely blocks Aeneas's final blow. Lausus is then killed by Aeneas, and Mezentius is able to escape death for a short while. Once he hears of Lausus' death, he feels ashamed that his son died in his place and returns to battle on his horse Rhaebus in order to avenge him. He is able to keep Aeneas on the defensive for some time by riding around Aeneas and loosing javelins. Eventually, Aeneas kills the horse with a spear and pins Mezentius underneath. He is overcome by Aeneas, but remains defiant and fearless unto his death, not begging for mercy as Turnus later does, but simply asking that he be buried with his son. In the traditional myth that predates the Aeneid, Mezentius actually outlived Aeneas, who 'disappeared' into the river which Aeneas became associated with in a hero cult. However, since his benefactor Maecenas was a native Etruscan, Virgil portrayed Mezentius as a tyrant,[1] attributing to him personally the evils which the Greek authors had previously accused the Etruscans of, such as torture and savagery, an ethnic prejudice already present in the Homeric Hymns.[citation needed] Thus he created something of a scapegoat of Mezentius and portrayed the Etruscan people as a good race who fight alongside Aeneas. - Wikipedia

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Mezentius in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Mese/ntios), a mythical king of the Tyrrhenians or Etruscans, at Caere or Agylla, and father of Lausus. When he was expelled by his subjects on account of his cruelty he took refuge with Turnus, king of the Rutulians, and assisted him in his war against Aeneas and the Trojans. Aeneas wounded him, but Mezentius escaped under the protection of his son. When, however, Lausus had fallen, Mezentius returned to the battle on horseback, and was slain by Aeneas (Verg. A. 8.480, &c., 10.689, &c., 785, 800, &c.). The story about the alliance between Mezentius and the Rutulians is also mentioned by Livy and Dionysius, but they say nothing about his expulsion from Caere or Agylla. According to them Aeneas disappeared during the battle against the Rutulians and Etruscans at Lanuvium, and Ascanius was besieged by Mezentius and Lausus. In a sally at night the besieged defeated the enemy, slew Lausus, and then concluded a peace with Mezentius, who henceforth remained their ally. (Liv. 1.2, 3; Dionys. A. R. 1.64, &c.) According to Servits (ad Aen. 4.620, 6.760, 9.745) Mezentius was slain by Ascanius. During the siege of Ascanius, Mezentius, when he was asked to conclude a peace, demanded among other things, that the Latins should give up to him every year the whole produce of their vintage; and in commemoration of this, it was said, the Romans in later times celebrated the festival of the Vinalia, on the twenty-third of April, when the new wine was tasted, and a libation made in front of the temple of Venus, and a sacrifice offered to Jupiter. (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 45; Ov. Fast. 4.881, &c.; Macr. 3.5; comp. Dict. of Ant. s. v. Vinalia.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Midas in Wikipedia

Midas or King Midas (in Greek Μίδας) is popularly remembered in Greek mythology for his ability to turn everything he touched into gold. This was called the Golden touch, or the Midas touch.[1] He bears some relation to the historical Mita, king of the Mushki in Western Anatolia in the later 8th century BC.[2] Midas was king[3] of Pessinus, a city of Phrygia, who as a child was adopted by the king Gordias and Cybele, the goddess whose consort he was, and who (by some accounts) was the goddess-mother of Midas himself.[4] Some accounts place the youth of Midas in Macedonian Bermion (See Bryges)[5] In Thracian Mygdonia,[6] Midas was known for his garden of roses: Herodotus[7] remarks on the settlement of the ancient kings of Macedon on the slopes of Mount Bermion "the place called the garden of Midas son of Gordias, where roses grow of themselves, each bearing sixty blossoms and of surpassing fragrance". In this garden, according to Macedonians, Silenos was taken captive.[8] According to Iliad (V.860), he had one son, Lityerses, the demonic reaper of men, but in some variations of the myth he had a daughter, Zoe or "life" instead. For the son of Midas, see Adrastus...

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Midas in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Mi/das), a son of Gordius, according to some by Cybele (Hyg. Fab. 274), a wealthy but effeminate king of Phrygia, a pupil of Orpheus, and a promoter of the worship of Dionysus (Hdt. 1.14; Paus. 1.4.5; Aelian, Ael. VH 4.17; Strab. vii. p.304). His wealth is alluded to in a story connected with his childhood, for it is said that while yet a child, ants carried grains of wheat into his mouth to indicate that one day he should be the richest of all mortals (Cic. De Div. 1.36 ; V. Max. 1.6.3; Aelian, Ael. VH 12.45). His effeminacy is described by Philostratus (Icon. 1.22; comp. Athen. 12.516). It seems probable that in this character he was introduced into the Satyric drama of the Greeks, and was represented with the ears of a satyr, which were afterwards lengthened into the ears of an ass. He is said to have built the town of Ancyra (Strab. xiii. pp. 568, 571; Paus. 1.4.5), and as king of Phrygia lie is called Berecynthius heros (Ov. Mlet. 11.106). In reference to his later life we have several legends, the first of which relates his reception of Seilenus. During the expedition of Dionysus from Thrace to Phrygia, Seilenus in a state of intoxication had gone astray, and was caught by country people in the rose gardens of Midas. He was bound in wreaths of flowers and led before the king. These gardens were in Macedonia, near Mount Bermion or Bromion, where Midas was king of the Briges, with whom he afterwards emigrated to Asia, where their name was changed into Phryges (Hdt. 7.83, 8.138; Conon, Nrarrat. 1). Midas received Seilenus kindly, conversed with him (comp. Plut. Consol. ad Apoll.; Aelian, Ael. VH 3.18), and after having treated him hospitably for ten days, he led him back to his divine pupil, Dionysus, who in his gratitude requested Midas to ask a favour. Midas in his folly desired that all things which he touched should be changed into gold (comp. Plut. Purall. Min. 5). The request was granted, but as even the food which he touched was changed into gold, he implored the god to take his favour back. Dionysus accordingly ordered him to bathe in the source of Pactolus near Mount Tmolus. This bath saved Midas, but the river from that time had an abundance of gold in its sand (Ov. Mlet. 11.90, &c.; Hyg. Fab. 191; Verg. Ecl. 6.13). A second story relates his capture of Satyrus. Midas, who was himself related to the race of Satyrs, once had a visit from a Satyr, who indulged in all kinds of jokes, and ridiculed the king for his Satyr's ears. Midas, who had learnt from his mother how Satyrs might he caught and brought to reason, mixed wine in a well, and when the Satyr had drunk of it, he fell asleep and was caught (Philostr. Vit. Apoll. 6.27). This well of Midas was at different times assigned to different localities. Xenophon (Xen. Anab. 1.2.13) places it in the neighbourhood of Thymbrium and Tyraeum, and Pausanias (1.4.5) at Ancyra Compp. Ath. 2.45; Plut. De Fluv. 10). Once when Pan and Apollo were engaged in a musical contest on the flute and lyre, Tmolus, or according to others (Hyg. Fab. 191, who speaks of the contest between Apollo and Marsyas), Midas, was chosen to decide between them. Tmolus decided in favour of Apollo, and all agreed in it except Midas. To punish him for this, Apollo changed his ears into those of an ass. Midas contrived to conceal them under his Phrygian cap, but the servant who used to cut his hair discovered them. The secret so much harassed this man, that as he could not betray it to a human being, he dug a hole in the earth, and whispered into it, "King Midas has ass's ears." He then filled the hole up again, and his heart was released. But on the same spot a reed grew up, which in its whispers betrayed the secret to the world (Ov. Met. 11.146, &c.; Pers. Sat. 1.121 ; Aristoph. Pl. 287). Midas is said to have killed himself by drinking the blood of an ox. (Strab. i. p.61; Plut. De Superst. 7.) [L.S] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Minerva in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

one of the great Roman divinities, whose name seems to be of the same root as mens, whence monere and promneercare (Fest. p. 205, ed. Müller. She is accordingly the thinking, calculating, and inventive power personified. Varro (ap. Aug. de Civ. Dei, 7.28) therefore considered her as the impersonation of all ideas, or as the plan of the universe, while Jupiter, according to him, is the creator, and Juno the representative of matter. Minerva was the third in the number of the Capitoline divinities, and sometimes is said to have wielded the thunderbolts of Jupiter, her father. Tarquin, the son of Demaratus, was believed to have united the three divinities in one common temple, and hence, when repasts were prepared for the gods, these three always went together (August. de Civ. Dei, 4.10; V. Max. 2.1.2). As Minerva was a virgin divinity, and her father the supreme god, the Romans easily identified her with the Greek Athena. and accordingly all the attributes of Athena were gradually transferred to the Roman Minerva. But we shall here confine ourselves to those which were peculiar to the Roman goddess, as far as they can be ascertained. As she was a maiden goddess her sacrifices consisted of calves which had not borne the yoke or felt the sting (Fulgentius, p. 561, ed. Merc.; Arnob. 4.16, 7.22). She is said to have invented numbers, and it is added that the law respecting the driving in of the annual nail was for this reason attached to the temple of Minerva (Liv. 7.3) ; but it is generally well attested that she was worshipped as the patroness of all the arts and trades, for at her festival she was particularly invoked by all those who desired to distinguish themselves in any art or craft, such as painting, poetry, the art of teaching, medicine, dyeing, spinning, weaving, and the like. (Ov. Fast. 3.809, &c.; August. l.c. 7.16.) This character of the goddess may be perceived also from the proverbs "to do a thing pingui Minerva," i. e. to do a thing in an awkward or clumsy manner; and sus Minervam, of a stupid person who presumed to set right an intelligent one. Minerva, however, was the patroness, not only of females, on whom she conferred skill in sewing, spinning, weaving, &c., but she also guided men in the dangers of war, where victory is gained by cunning, prudence, courage, and perseverance. Hence she was represented with a helmet, shield, and a coat of mail; and the booty made in war was frequently dedicated to her. (Liv. 45.33; Verg. A. 2.615.) Minerva was further believed to be the inventor of musical instruments, especially wind instruments, the use of which was very important in religious worship, and which were accordingly subjected to a sort of purification every year on the last day of the festival of Minerva. This festival lasted five days, from the 19th to the 23d of March, and was called Quinquatrus, because it began on the fifth day after the ides of the month. (Fest. pp. 149, 257, ed. Miller; Varro, De L. L. 6.14; Ov. Fast. 3.849.) This number of days does not seem to have been accidental. for Servius (ad Virg. Georg. 1.277) informs us that the number 5 was sacred to Minerva. (See Dict. of Ant. s. v. Quinquatrus.) The most ancient temple of Minerva at Rome was probably that on the Capitol; another existed on the Aventine (P. Vict. Rey. Urb. viii.; Ov. Fast. 6.728); and she had a chapel at the foot of the Caelian hill, where she bore the surname of Capta. (Ov. Fast. 3.337.) She also had the surname of Nautia, which was believed to have originated in the following manner. Diomedes had carried the Palladium from Troy; and as he found that it availed him nothing in his misfortunes, and as the oracle commanded him to restore it to the Trojans, he wanted to deliver it up to Aeneas on his wanderings through Calabria. When he came to the Trojans, he found Aeneas engaged in offering up a sacrifice, and Nautes received the Palladium instead of Aeneas. The goddess (Minerva) bestowed many favours upon him, instructed him in various arts, and chose him for her servant. The family of the Nautii afterwards retained the exclusive knowledge of the manner in which Minerva Nautia was to be worshipped. Her mysterious image was preserved in the most secret part of the temple of Vesta, and regarded as one of the safeguards of the state. (Dionys. A. R. 1.69; Verg. A. 5.704; Serv. ad Aen. 2.166, 3.407; Lucan. 1.598; comp. Hartung, Die Relig. der Römer, vol. ii. p. 78, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Minerva in Wikipedia

Minerva (Etruscan: Menrfa, or Menrva) was the Roman goddess whom Hellenizing Romans from the second century BC onwards equated with the Greek goddess Athena. She was the virgin goddess of poetry, medicine, wisdom, commerce, weaving, crafts, magic, and the inventor of music.[1] She is often depicted with an owl, her sacred creature and is, through this connection, a symbol of wisdom. This article focuses on Minerva in ancient Rome and in cultic practice. For information on Latin literary mythological accounts of Minerva, which were heavily influenced by Greek mythology, see Pallas Athena, where she is one of three virgin goddesses along with Artemis and Hestia, known by the Romans as Diana and Vesta...

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Minos in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Minos (Greek: Μίνως) was a mythical king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europa. After his death, Minos became a judge of the dead in Hades. The Minoan civilization of pre-Hellene Crete has been named after him. By his wife, Pasiphae, he fathered Ariadne, Androgeus, Deucalion, Phaedra, Glaucus, Catreus, Acacallis, and many others. Minos, along with his brothers, Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon, was raised by king Asterion (or Asterius) of Crete. When Asterion died, his throne was claimed by Minos[1] who banished Sarpedon and (according to some sources) Rhadamanthys too...

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Minos in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Μίνως). 1. The son of Zeus and Europa, brother of Rhadamanthus, and king of Crete, where he is said to have given many and useful laws. After his death he became one of the judges of the shades in Hades. (Hom. Il. 13.450, 14.322, Od. 11.321, 567, 17.523, 19.178; comp. MILETUS.) He was the father of Deucalion and Ariadne; and, according to Apollodorus (3.1.1, &c.), Sarpedon also was a brother of his. Diodorus (4.60; comp. Strab. x. p.476, &c.) relates the following story about him. Tectamus, a son of Dorus, and a great-grandson of Deucalion, came to Crete with an Aeolian and Pelasgian colony; and as king of the island, he became the father of Asterius, by a daughter of Crethets. In the reign of Asterius, Zeus came to Crete with Europa, and became by her the father of Minos, Sarpedon and Rhadamanthus. Asterins afterwards married Europa; and having no issue by her, he adopted her three sons. Thus Minos succeeded Asterius, and married Itone, daughter of Lyctius, by whom he had a son, Lycastus. The latter became, by Ida, the daughter of Corybas, the father of another Minos, whom, however, some also called a son of Zeus. It should be observed, that Homer and Hesiod know only of one Minos, the ruler of Cnossus, and the son and friend of Zeus; and of this one they on the whole relate the same things, which later traditions assign to a second Minos, the grandson of the former; for here, as in many other mythical traditions of Greece and other countries, a rationalistic criticism attempted to solve contradictions and difficulties in the stories about a person, by the assumption that the contradictory accounts must refer to two different personages. 2. A grandson of No. 1, and a son of Lycastus and Ida, was likewise a king and law-giver of Crete. He is described as possessed of a powerful navy, as the husband of Pasiphae, a daughter of Helios, and as the father of Catrteus, Deucalion, Glaucus, Androgeus, Acalle, Xenodice, Ariadne, and Phaedra. (Apollod. 2.1.3.) He is said to have been killed in Sicily by king Cocalus, when he had gone thither in pursuit of Daedalus. (Hdt. 7.170; Strab. vi. pp. 273,279; Paus. 7.4.5.) But the scholiast on Callimachus (Call. Jov. 8) speaks of his tomb in Crete. The detail of his history is related as follows. After the death of Asterius, Minos aimed at the supremacy of Crete, and declared that it was destined to him by the gods; in proof of it, he said that any thing lie prayed for was done. Accordingly, as he was offering up a sacrifice to Poseidon, he prayed that a bull might come forth from the sea, and promised to sacrifice the animal. The bull appeared, and Minos became king of Crete. Others say that Minos disputed the government with his brother, Sarpedon, and conquered. (Hdt. 1.173.) But Minos, who admired the beauty of the bull, did not sacrifice him, and substituted another in his place. Poseidon therefore rendered the bull furious, and made Pasiphae conceive a love for the animal. Pasiphae concealed herself in an artificial cow made by Daedalus, and thus she became by the bull the mother of the Minotaurus, a monster which had the body of a man, but the head of a bull. Minos shut the monster up in the labyrinth. (Apollod. 3.1.3, &c.; comp. DAEDALUS.) Minos is further said to have divided Crete into three parts, each of which contained a capital, and to have ruled nine years. (Hom. Od. 19.178; Strab. x. pp. 476, 479.) The Cretans traced their legal and political institutions to Minos, and he is said to have been instructed in the art of law-giving by Zeus himself; and the Spartan, Lycurgus, was believed to have taken the legislation of Minos as his model. (Paus. 3.4.2; comp. Plat. Min. p. 319b.; Plut. De ser. Num. Vind. 4; V. Max. 1.2.1; Athen. 13.601.) In his time Crete was a powerful maritime state; and Minos not only checked the piratical pursuits of his contemporaries, but made himself master of the Greek islands of the Aegean. (Thuc. 1.4; Strab. i. p.48; Diod. l.c.) The most ancient legends describe Minos as a just and wise law-giver, whereas the later accounts represent him as an unjust and cruel tyrant. (Philostr. Vit. Apoll. 3.25; Catull. Epithal. Pel. 75; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1699.) In order to avenge the wrong done to his son Androgeus [ANDROGEUS] at Athens, he made war against the Athenians and Megarians. He sub dued Megara, and compelled the Athenians, either every year or every nine years, to send him as a tribute seven youths and seven maidens, who were devoured in the labyrinth by the Minotaurus. (Apollod. 3.15.8; Paus. 1.27.9, 44.5; Plut. Thes. 15; Diod. 4.61; Ov. Met. 7.456, &c.; comp. ANDROGEUS, THESEUS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Minotaur in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (Greek: Μῑνώταυρος, Latin: Minotaurus, Etruscan Θevrumineś), as the Greeks imagined him, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man[1] or, as described by Ovid, "part man and part bull".[2] He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction[3] built for King Minos of Crete and designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus who were ordered to build it to hold the Minotaur. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian founder-hero Theseus. Theseus was the son of Aethra, and fathered by both Poseidon and Aegeus. The term Minotaur derives from the Greek Μῑνώταυρος, etymologically compounding the name Μίνως (Minos) and the noun ταύρος "bull", translating as "(the) Bull of Minos". In Crete, the Minotaur was known by its proper name, Asterion,[4] a name shared with Minos' foster-father.[5]...

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Minotaurus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Minw/tauros), a monster with a human body and a bull's head, or, according to others, with the body of an ox and a human head; is said to have been the offspring of the intercourse of Pasiphae with the bull sent from the sea to Minos, who shut him up in the Cnossian labyrinth, and fed him with the bodies of the youths and maidens whom the Athenians at fixed times were obliged to send to Minos as tribute. The monster was slain by Theseus. It was often represented by ancient artists either alone in the labyrinth, or engaged in the struggle with Theseus. (Paus. 1.24.2, 27, in fin. 3.18.7; Apollod. 3.1.4, 15.8.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Mnemosyne in Wikipedia

Mnemosyne (Greek Mνημοσύνη, pronounced /nɪˈmɒzɪni/ or /nɪ ˈmɒsəni/), source of the word mnemonic,[2] was the personification of memory in Greek mythology. This titaness was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus and the mother of the nine Muses by Zeus: Calliope (Epic Poetry) Clio (History) Erato (Love Poetry) Euterpe (Music) Melpomene (Tragedy) Polyhymnia (Hymns) Terpsichore (Dance) Thalia (Comedy) Urania (Astronomy) In Hesiod's Theogony, kings and poets receive their powers of authoritative speech from their possession of Mnemosyne and their special relationship with the Muses...

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Mnemosyne in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Μνημοσύνη), i. e. memory, a daughter of Uranus, and one of the Titanides, became by Zeus the mother of the Muses. (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 429; Hes. Th. 54, 915; Diod. 5.67; Orph. Hymn. 76; Cic. De Nat. Deor. 3.21.) Pausanias (1.2.4) mentions a statue of Mnemosyne at Athens; and near the oracle of Tropllonius she had a sacred well and a throne. (Paus. 9.39.4, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Moirae in Wikipedia

The Moirae, Moerae or Moirai (in Greek Μοῖραι – the "apportioners", often called The Fates), in Greek mythology, were the white-robed personifications of destiny (Roman equivalent: Parcae, euphemistically the "sparing ones", or Fata; also equivalent to the Germanic Norns). Their number became fixed at three. The Greek word moira (μοῖρα) literally means a part or portion, and by extension one's portion in life or destiny. They controlled the metaphorical thread of life of every mortal from birth to death...

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Moira in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Moi=ra) properly signifies "a share," and as a personification " the deity who assigns to every man his fate or his share," or the Fates. Homer usually speaks of only one Moira, and only once mentions the Μοῖραι in the plural. (Il. 24.29.) In his poems Moira is fate personified, which, at the birth of man, spins out the thread of his future life (Il. 24.209), follows his steps, and directs the consequences of his actions accordinig to the counsel of the gods. (11. 5.613, 20.5.) Homer thus, when he personifies Fate, conceives her as spinning, an act by which also the power of other gods over the life of man is expressed. (Il. 24.525, Od. 1.17,3.208, 4.208.) But the personification of his Moira is not complete, for he mentions no particular appearance of the goddess, no attributes, and no parentage; and his Moira is therefore quite synonymous with Αἶσα. (II. 20.127, 24.209.) If in Od. 7.197, the Κατακλῶθες are the Moirae, and not the Eileithyiae, as some suppose, Αἶσα and Moira would indeed be two distinct beings, but still beings performing entirely the same functions. The Homeric Moira is not, as some have thought, an inflexible fate, to which the gods themselves must bow; but, on the contrary, Zeus, as the father of gods and men, weighs out their fate to them (Il. 8.69, 22.209; comp. 19.108); and if he chooses, he has the power of saving even those who are already on the point of being seized by their fate (II. 16.434, 441, 443); nay, as Fate does not abruptly interfere in human affairs, but avails herself of intermediate causes, and determines the lot of mortals not absolutely, but only conditionally, even man himself, in his freedom, is allowed to exercise a certain influence upon her. (Od. 1.34, Il. 9.411, 16.685.) As man's fate terminates at his death, the goddess of fate at the close of life becomes the goddess of death, μοῖρα Δανάτοιο (Od. 24.29, 2.100, 3.238), and is mentioned along with death itself, and with Apollo, the bringer of death. (Il. 3.101, 5.83, 16.434, 853, 20.477, 21.101, 24.132.) Hesiod (Hes. Th. 217, &c., 904; comp. Apollod. i 3.1) has the personification of the Moirae complete; for he calls them, together with the Keres, daughters of Night; and distinguishes three, viz. Clotho, or the spinning fate; Lachesis, or the one who assigns to man his fate; and Atropos, or the fate that cannot be avoided. According to this genealogy, the Moirae must be considered as in a state of dependence upon their father, and as agreeing with his counsels. Hence he is called Μοιραγέτης, i. e. the guide or leader of the Moirae (Paus. 5.15.4), and hence also they were represented along with their father in temples and works of art, as at Megara (Paus. 1.40.3), in the temple of Despoena in Arcadia (8.37.1), and at Delphi (10.24.4; comp. 8.42.2). They are further described as engraving on indestructible tables the decrees of their father Zeus. (Claudian, 15.202; comp. Ov. Met. 15.808, &c.) Later writers differ in their genealogy of the Moirae from that of Hesiod; thus they are called children of Erebus and Night (Cic. De Aat. Deor. 3.17), of Cronos and Night (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 406), of Ge and Oceanus (Athenag. 15; Lycoph. 144), or lastly of Ananke or Necessity. (Plat. De Re Publ. p. 617d.) It cannot be surprising to find that the character and nature of the Moirae were conceived differently at different times and by different authors. Sometimes they appear as divinities of fate in the strict sense of the term, and sometimes only as allegorical divinities of the duration of human life. In the former character they are independent, at the helm of necessity, direct fate, and watch that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws may take its course without obstruction (Aeschyl. Prom. 511, 515); and Zeus, as well as the other gods and men, must submit to them. (Hdt. 1.91; Lactant. Institute. 1.11, 13; Stob. Eclog. i. pp. 152, 170.) They assign to the Erinnyes, who inflict the punishment for evil deeds, their proper functions; and with them they direct fate according to the laws of necessity, whence they are sometimes called the sisters of the Erinnyes. (Aeschyl. Eum. 335, 962, Prom. 516, 696, 895; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 406.) Later poets also conceive the Moirae in the same character. (Verg. A. 5.798, 12.147; Tib. 1.8. 2; Ov. Tr. 5.3. 17, Met. 15.781; Horat. Carm. Saec. 25, &c.) These grave and mighty goddesses were represented by the earliest artists with staffs or sceptres, the symbol of dominion; and Plato (De Re Pub. p. 617) even mentions their crowns. (Mus. Pio-Clem. tom. vi. tab. B.) The Moirae, as the divinities of the duration of human life, which is determined by the two points of birth and of death, are conceived either as goddesses of birth or as goddesses of death, and hence their number was two, as at Delphi. (Paus. 10.24.4; Plut. de Tranq. An. 15, de Ei ap. Delph. 2.) From this circumstance we may perhaps infer that originally the Greeks conceived of only one Moira, and that subsequently a consideration of her nature and attributes led to the belief in two, and ultimately in three Moirae; though a distribution of the functions among the three was not strictly observed, for in Ovid, for example (ad Liv. 239), and Tibullus (1.8. 1.), all three are described as spinning, although this should be the function of Clotho alone, who is, in fact, often mentioned alone as the representative of all. (Pind. 01. 1.40; Ov. ad Liv. 164, Fast. 6.757, Ex Pont. 4.15. 36.) As goddesses of birth, who spill the thread of beginning life, and even prophesy the fate of the newly born, they are mentioned along with Eileithyia, who is called their companion and πάρεδρος. (Paus. 8.21.2; Plat. Sympos. p. 206d.; Pind. O. 6.70, Nem. 7.1; Ant. Lib. 29; comp. Eurip. Iphig. Taur. 207.) In a similar capacity they are also joined with Prometheus, the former, or creator of the human race in general. (Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.15.) The symbol with which they, or rather Clotho alone, are represented to indicate this function, is a spindle, and the idea implied in it was carried out so far, that sometimes we read of their breaking or cutting off the thread when life is to end. (Ov. Am. 2.6. 46; Plat. de Re Publ. p. 616.) Being goddesses of fate, they must necessarily know the future, which at times they reveal, and thus become prophetic divinities. (Ov. Met. 8.454, Trist. 5.3. 25; Tib. 1.8. 1, 4.5. 3; Catull. 64. 307.) As goddesses of death, they appear together with the Keres (Hes. Scut. Herc. 258) and the infernal Erinnyes, with whom they are even confounded, and in the neighbourhood of Sicyon the annual sacrifices offered to them were the same as those offered to the Erinnyes. (Paus. 2.11.4; comp. Schol. ad Aesch. Agam. 70; Aelian, Ael. NA 10.33; Serv. ad Aen. 1.86.) It belongs to the same character that, along with the Charites, they lead Persephone out of the lower world into the regions of light, and are mentioned along with Pluto and Charon. (Orph. Hymn. 428; Ov. Fast. 6.157; comp. Aristoph. Frogs 453.) The various epithets which poets apply to the Moirae generally refer to the severity, inflexibility, and sternness of fate. They had sanctuaries in many parts of Greece, such as Corinth (Paus. 2.4.7), Sparta (3.11.8), Olympia (5.15.4), Thebes (9.2.5.4), and elsewhere. The poets sometimes describe them as aged and hideous women, and even as lame, to indicate the slow march of fate (Catull. 64, 306; Ov. Met. 15.781; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 584) ; but in works of art they are represented as grave maidens, with different attributes, viz., Clotho with a spindle or a roll (the book of fate); Lachesis pointing with a staff to the horoscope on the globe ; and Atropos with a pair of scales, or a sun-dial, or a cutting instrument. It is worthy of remark that the Muse Urania was sometimes represented with the same attributes as Lachesis, and that Aphrodite Urania at Athens, according to an inscription on a Hermes-pillar, was called the oldest of the Moirae. (Paus. 1.19.2; comp. Welcker, Zeitschrift für alt. Kunst, p. 197, &c.; Blüner, Ueber die Idee des Schicksals, p. 115, &c.; flirt. Mytholog. Bilderh. p. 200.) Moira also occurs as the proper name of a daughter of Cinyras, who is more commonly called Smyrna. (Schol. ad Theocrit. 1.109.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Momus in Wikipedia

Momus or Momos (μῶμος) was in Greek mythology the god of satire, mockery, censure, writers, poets; a spirit of evil- spirited blame and unfair criticism. His name is related to μομφή, meaning 'blame' or 'censure'. He is depicted in classical art as lifting a mask from his face...

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Momus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Mw=mos), a son of Nyx, is a personification of mockery and censure. (Hes. Th. 214.) Thus he is said to have censured in the man formed by Hephaestus, that a little door had not been left in his breast, so as to enable one to look into his secret thoughts. (Lucian, Hermotim. 20.) Aphrodite alone was, according to him, blameless. (Philostr. Ep. 21.) [L.S] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Morpheus in Wikipedia

Morpheus (pronounced /ˈmɔrfiəs/ or /ˈmɔrfjuːs/; Greek: Μορφεύς, Morpheus, or Μορφέας, Morpheas, "shaper [of dreams]") in Greek mythology as the god of dreams, leader of the Oneiroi.[1] Morpheus has the ability to take any human form and appear in dreams. His true semblance is that of a winged daemon, imagery shared with many of his siblings...

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Morpheus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Μορφεύς), the son of Sleep, and the god of dreams. The name signifies the fashioner or moulder, because he shaped or formed the dreams which appeared to the sleeper. (Ov. Met. 11.635; Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 199.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Mors in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Mors is the personification of death and equivalent to the Greek Thánatos (lat. Thanatus). He is the son of the goddess of night, Nox, and is the brother of the personification of sleep, Somnus. Mors should not be confused with Mars, the god of war, Pluto, the god of the underworld, or Orcus, god of death and punisher of perjurers. Mors is also the Latin word for "death" and is grammatically a feminine gender noun. In one story, Heracles (lat. Herculeus) fought Mors in order to save his friend's wife. In other stories, Mors is shown as a servant to Pluto, ending the life of a person after the thread of their life has been cut by the Fates, and Mercury, the messenger to the gods, escorts the dead persons soul, or shade, down to the underworld's gate. - Wikipedia

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Morta in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Morta was the goddess of death. She is one of the Parcae, related to the Roman conception of the Fates in Greek mythology, the Moirae.She is responsible for pain and death that occurs in a half wake half sleep time frame. Her father is the god of night and her mother the goddess of darkness,.She visits and warns in advance of the pain or death about to be endured. Nox. - Wikipedia

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Muses in Wikipedia

The Muses (Ancient Greek αἱ μοῦσαι, hai moũsai [1]: perhaps from the o-grade of the Proto-Indo-European root *men- "think"[2]) in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature are the goddesses or spirits who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths. In Boeotia, the homeland of Hesiod, a tradition persisted[3] that the Muses had once been three in number. Diodorus Siculus, quotes Hesiod to the contrary, observing: Writers similarly disagree also concerning the number of the Muses; for some say that they are three, and others that they are nine, but the number nine has prevailed since it rests upon the authority of the most distinguished men, such as Homer and Hesiod and others like them.[4]...

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Musae in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Μοῦσαι). The Muses, according to the earliest writers, were the inspiring goddesses of song, and, according to later noticus, divinities presiding over the different kinds of poetry, and over the arts and sciences. They were originally regarded as the nymphs of inspiring wells, near which they were worshipped, and bore different names in different places, until the Thraco-Boeotian worship of the nine Muses spread from Boeotia over other parts of Greece, and ultimately became generally established. (Respecting the Muses conceived as nymphs see Schol. ad Theocrit. 7.92; Hesych. s. v. Νύμφη; Steph. Byz. s. v. Τόρρηβος ; Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 7.21.) The genealogy of the Muses is not the same in all writers. The most common notion was, that they were the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, and born in Pieria, at the foot of Mount Olympus (Hes. Th. 52, &c., 915; Hom. Il. 2.491, Od. 1.10; Apollod. 1.3.1); but some call them the daughters of Uranus and Gaea (Schol. ad Pind. Nem. 3.16; Paus. 9.29.2; Diod. 4.7; Arnob. ad v. Gent. 3.37), and others daughters of Pierus and a Pimpleian nymph, whom Cicero (De Nat. Deor. 3.21) calls Antiope (Tzetz. ad Hes. Op. et D. p. 6; Paus. l.c.), or of Apollo, or of Zeus and Plusia, or of Zeus and Moneta, probably a mere translation of Mnemosyne or Mneme, whence they are called Mnemonides (Ov. Met. 5.268), or of Zeus and Minerva (Isid. Orig. 3.14), or lastly of Aether and Gaea. (Hygin. Fab. Praef.) Eupheme is called the nurse of the Muses, and at the foot of Mount Helicon her statue stood beside that of Linus. (Paus. 9.29.3.) With regard to the number of the Muses, we are informed that originally three were worshipped on Mount Helicon in Boeotia, namely, Melete (meditation), Mneme (memory), and Aoede (song); and their worship and names are said to have been first introduced by Ephialtes and Otus. (Paus. 9.29.1, &c.) Three were also recognised at Sicyon, where one of them bore the name of Polymatheia (Plut. Sympos. 9.14), and at Delphi, where their names were identical with those of the lowest, middle, and highest chord of the lyre, viz. Nete, Mese, and Hypate (Plut. l.c.), or Cephisso, Apollonis, and Borysthenis, which names characterise them as the daughters of Apollo. (Tzetz. l.c. ; Arnob. 3.37; Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 7.21; Diod. 4.7.) As daughters of Zeus and Plusia we find mention of four Muses, viz. Thelxinoe (the heart delighting), Aoede (song), Arche (beginning), and Melete. (Cic., Arnob., Tzetz. ll. cc. ; Serv. ad Aen. 1.12.) Some accounts, again, in which they are called daughters of Pierus, mention seven Muses, viz. Neilo, Tritone, Asopo, Heptapora, Achelois, Tipoplo, and Rhodia (Tzetz. Arnob. ll. cc.), and others, lastly, mention eight, which is also said to have been the number recognised at Athens. (Arnob. l.c.; Serv. ad Aen. 1.12; Plat. De Re Publ. p. 116.) At length, however, the number nine appears to have become established in all Greece. Homer sometimes mentions Musa only in the singular, and sometimes Musae in the plural, and once only (Od. 24.60) he speaks of nine Muses, though without mentioning any of their names. Hesiod (Hes. Th. 77. &c.) is the first that states the names of all the nine, and these nine names henceforth became established. They are Cleio, Euterpe, Thaleia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Urania, and Calliope. Plutarch (l.c.) states that in some places all nine were designated by the common name Mneiae, i. e. Remembrances. If we now inquire into the notions entertained about the nature and character of the Muses, we find that, in the Homeric poems, they are the goddesses of song and poetry, and live in Olympus. (Il. 2.484.) There they sing the festive songs at the repasts of the immortals (Il. 1.604, Hymn. in Apoll. Pyth. 11), and at the funeral of Patroclus they sing lamentations. (Od. 24.60; comp. Pind. Isthm. 8.126.) The power which we find most frequently assigned to them, is that of bringing before the mind of the mortal poet the events which he has to relate; and that of conferring upon him the gift of song, and of giving gracefulness to what he utters. (Il. 2.484, 491, 761, Od. 1.1, 8.63, &c., 481, 488; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 259.) There seems to be no reason for doubting that the earliest poets in their invocation of the Muse or Muses were perfectly sincere, and that they actually believed in their being inspired by the goddesses; but in later times among the Greeks and the Romans, as well as in our own days, the invocation of the Muses is a mere formal imitation of the early poets. Thamyris, who presumed to excel the Muses, was deprived by them of the gift they had bestowed on him, and punished with blindness. (Hom. Il. 2.594, &c.; Apollod. 1.3.3.) The Seirens, who likewise ventured upon a contest with them, were deprived of the feathers of their wings, and the Muses themselves put them on as an ornament (Eustath. ad Hom. P. 85); and the nine daughters of Pierus, who presumed to rival the Muses, were metamorphosed into birds. (Ant. Lib. 9; Ov. Met. 5.300, &c.) As poets and bards derived their power from them, they are frequently called either their disciples or sons. (Hom. Od. 8.481, Hymn. in Lun. 20 ; Hes. Th. 22; Pind. Nem. iii.; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 2.476.) Thus Linus is called a son of Amphimarus and Urania (Paus. 9.29.3), or of Apollo and Calliope, or Terpsichore (Apollod. 1.3.2); Hyacinthus a son of Pierus and Cleio (Apollod. 1.3.3); Orpheus a son of Calliope or Cleio, and Thamyris a son of Erato. These and a few others are the cases in which the Muses are described as mothers; but the more general idea was, that, like other nymphs, they were virgin divinities. Being goddesses of song, they are naturally connected with Apollo, the god of the lyre, who like them instructs the bards, and is mentioned along with them even by Homer. (Il. 1.603, Od. 8.488.) In later times Apollo is placed in very close connection with the Muses, for he is described as the leader of the choir of the Muses by the surname Μουσαγέτης. (Diod. 1.18.) A further feature in the character of the Muses is their prophetic power, which belongs to them, partly because they were regarded as inspiring nymphs, and partly because of their connection with the prophetic god of Delphi. Hence, they instructed, for example, Aristaeus in the art of prophecy. (Apollon. 2.512.) That dancing, too, was one of the occupations of the Muses, may be inferred from the close connection existing among the Greeks between music, poetry, and dancing. As the inspiring nymphs loved to dwell on Mount Helicon, they were naturally associated with Dionysus and dramatic poetry, and hence they are described as the companions, playmates, or nurses of Dionysus. The worship of the Muses points originally to Thrace and Pieria about mount Olympus, from whence it was introduced into Boeotia, in such a manner that the names of mountains, grottoes, and wells, connected with their worship, were likewise transferred from the north to the south. Near mount Helicon, Ephialtes and Otus are said to have offered the first sacrifices to them; and in the same place there was a sanctuary with their statues, the sacred wells Aganippe and Hippocrene, and on mount Leibethrion, which is connected with Helicon, there was a sacred grotto of the Muses. (Paus. 9.29.1, &c., 30.1, 31.3; Strab. pp. 410, 471; Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 10.11.) Pierus, a Macedonian, is said to have been the first who introduced the worship of the nine Muses, from Thrace to Thespiae, at the foot of mount Helicon. (Paus. 9.29.2.) There they had a temple and statues, and the Thespians celebrated a solemn festival of the Muses on mount Helicon, called Μουσεῖα (Paus. 9.27.4, 31.3; Pind. Fragm. p. 656, ed. Boeckh; Diod. 17.16.) Mount Parnassus was likewise sacred to them, with the Castalian spring, near which they had a temple. (Plut. De Pyth. Orac. 17.) From Boeotia, which thus became the focus of the worship of the nine Muses, it afterwards spread into the adjacent and more distant parts of Greece. Thus we find at Athens a temple of the Muses in the Academy (Paus. 1.30.2); at Sparta sacrifices were offered to them before fighting a battle (3.17.5); at Troezene, where their worship had been introduced by Ardalus, sacrifices were offered to them conjointly with Hypnos, the god of sleep (Paus. 3.31.4 , &c.); at Corinth, Peirene, the spring of Pegasus, was sacred to them (Pers. Sat. Prol. 4; Stat. Silv. 2.7. 1); at Rome they had an altar in common with Hercules, who was also regarded as Musagetes, and they possessed a temple at Ambracia adorned with their statues. (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 59; Plin. Nat. 35.36.) The sacrifices offered to them consisted of libations of water or milk, and of honey. (Schol. ad Soph. Oed. Col. 100; Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 7.21.) The various surnames by which they are designated by the poets are for the most part derived from the places which were sacred to them or in which they were worshipped, while some are descriptive of the sweetness of their songs. In the most ancient works of art we find only three Muses, and their attributes are musical instruments, such as the flute, the lyre, or the barbiton. Later artists gave to each of the nine sisters different attributes as well as different attitudes, of which we here add a brief account. 1. Calliope, the Muse of epic poetry, appears with a tablet and stylus, and sometimes with a roll of paper; 2. Cleio, the Muse of history, appears in a sitting attitude, with an open roll of paper, or an open chest of books; 3. Euterpe, the Muse of lyric poetry, with a flute; 4. Melpomene, the Muse of tragedy, with a tragic mask, the club of Heracles, or a sword, her head is surrounded with vine leaves, and she wears the cothurnus; 5. Terpsichore, the Muse of choral dance and song, appears with the lyre and the plectrum; 6. Erato, the Muse of erotic poetry and mimic imitation, sometimes, also, has the lyre; 7. Polymnia, or Polyhymnia, the Muse of the sublime hymn, usually appears without any attribute, in a pensive or meditating attitude; 8. Urania, the Muse of astronomy, with a staff pointing to a globe; 9. Thaleia, the Muse of comedy and of merry or idyllic poetry, appears with the comic mask, a shepherd's staff, or a wreath of ivy. In some representations the Muses are seen with feathers on their heads, alluding to their contest with the Seirens. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. p. 203, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Naiads in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Naiads or Naiades (Ναϊάδες from the Greek νάειν, "to flow," and νἃμα, "running water") were a type of nymph who presided over fountains, wells, springs, streams, and brooks. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied rivers, and the very ancient spirits that inhabited the still waters of marshes, ponds and lagoon-lakes, such as pre-Mycenaean Lerna in the Argolid. Naiads were associated with fresh water, as the Oceanids were with saltwater and the Nereids specifically with the Mediterranean, but because the Greeks thought of the world's waters as all one system, which percolated in from the sea in deep cavernous spaces within the earth, there was some overlap. Arethusa, the nymph of a spring, could make her way through subterranean flows from the Peloponnesus, to surface on the island of Sicily...

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Naiades in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[NYMPHAE.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Napaeae in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Napaeae (Ancient Greek: ναπαῖαι, from νάπη; English translation: "a wooded dell") were a type of nymph that lived in wooded valleys, glens or grottoes.[1] Statius invoked them in his Thebaid, when the naiad Ismenis addresses her mortal son Krenaios: "I was held a greater goddess and the queen of Nymphae. Where alas! is that late crowd of courtiers round thy mother’s halls, where are the Napaeae that prayed to serve thee?" [2] - Wikipedia

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Napaeae in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[NYMPHAE.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Narcissus in Wikipedia

Narcissus or Narkissos (Greek: Νάρκισσος), possibly derived from ναρκη (narke) meaning "sleep, numbness," in Greek mythology was a hunter from the territory of Thespiae in Boeotia who was renowned for his beauty. He was exceptionally proud, in that he disdained those who loved him. As divine punishment he fell in love with his own reflection in a pool, not realizing it was merely an image, and he wasted away to death, not being able to leave the beauty of his own reflection. Several versions of this myth have survived from ancient sources. The classic version is by Ovid, found in book 3 of his Metamorphoses (completed 8 AD). An earlier version ascribed to the poet Parthenius of Nicaea, composed around 50 BC, was recently rediscovered among the Oxyrhynchus papyri at Oxford.[1] Unlike Ovid's version, this one ends with Narcissus committing suicide. A version by Conon, a contemporary of Ovid, also ends in suicide (Narrations, 24). A century later the travel writer Pausanias recorded a novel variant of the story, in which Narcissus falls in love with his twin sister rather than himself (Guide to Greece, 9.31.7).[2]...

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Narcissus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Na/rkissos), a son of Cephissus and the nymph Liriope of Thespiae. He was a very handsome youth, but wholly inaccessible to the feeling of love. The nymph Echo, who loved him, but in vain, died away with grief. One of his rejected lovers, however, prayed to Nemesis to punish him for his unfeeling heart. Nemesis accordingly caused Narcissus to see his own face reflected in a well, and to fall in love with his own image. As this shadow was unapproachable Narcissus gradually perished with love, and his corpse was metamorphosed into the flower called after him narcissus. This beautiful story is related at length by Ovid (Ov. Met. 3.341, &c.). According to some traditions, Narcissus sent a sword to one of his lovers, Ameinias, who killed himself with it at the very door of Narcissus' house, and called upon the gods to avenge his death. Narcissus, tormented by love of himself and by repentance, put an end to his life, and from his blood there sprang up the flower narcissus (Conon, Narrat. 24). Other accounts again state that Narcissus melted away into the well in which he had beheld his own image (Paus. 9.31.6); or that he had a beloved twin sister perfectly like him, who died, whereupon he looked at his own image reflected in a well, to satify his longing after his sister. Eustathius (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 266) says that Narcissus was drowned in the well. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Nemesis in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Nemesis (Greek, Νέμεσις), also called Rhamnousia/Rhamnusia ("the goddess of Rhamnous") at her sanctuary at Rhamnous, north of Marathon, was the spirit of divine retribution against those who succumb to hubris (arrogance before the gods). The Greeks personified vengeful fate as a remorseless goddess. The name Nemesis is related to the Greek word νέμειν [némein], meaning "to give what is due". The Romans equated the Greek Nemesis with Invidia. (Aronoff 2003 ). "Nemesis" is now often used as a term to describe one's worst enemy, normally someone or something that is the exact opposite of oneself but is also somehow similar. For example, Professor Moriarty is frequently described as the nemesis of Sherlock Holmes...

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Laocoön in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Λαοκόων), a Trojan hero, who plays a prominent part in the post-Homeric legends about Troy, especially in the Ἰλίον πέρσις, the substance of which is preserved in Proclus's Chrestomathia. He was a son of Antenor (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 347) or of Acoetes (Hyg. Fab. 135), and a priest of the Thymbraean Apollo, or, according to others, of Poseidon. (Tzetz. l. c.; comp. Verg. A. 2.201, with Serv. note.) His story runs as follows :--As the Greeks were unable to take Troy by force, they pretended to sail home, leaving behind the wooden horse. While the Trojans were assembled around the horse, deliberating whether they should draw it into their city or destroy it, Laocoon hastened to them from the city, and loudly cautioned them against the danger which it might bring upon them. While saying this he thrust his lance into the side of the horse. (Verg. A. 2.40, &c.) The Trojans, however, resolved to draw it into the city, and rejoiced at the peace which they thought they had gained at length, with sacrifices and feasting. In the meantime Sinon, who had been taken prisoner, was brought before the Trojans, and by his cunning treachery he contrived to remove every suspicion from himself and the wooden horse. When he had finished his speech, and Laocoon was preparing to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon, suddenly two fearful serpents were seen swimming towards the Trojan coast from Tenedos. They rushed towards Laocoon, who, while all the people took to flight, remained with his two sons standing by the altar of the god. (Virg. l.c. 229; Hyg. Fab. 135.) The serpents first entwined the two boys, and then the father, who went to the assistance of his children, and all three were killed. (Verg. A. 2.199-227; comp. Q. Smyrn. 12.398, &c.; Lycoph. 347.) The serpents then hastened to the acropolis of Troy, and disappeared behind the shield of Tritonis. The reason why Laocoon suffered this fearful death is differently stated. According to Virgil, the Trojans thought that it was because he had run his lance into the side of the horse, but according to others because, contrary to the will of Apollo, he had married and begotten children (Hygin. l.c.), or because Poseidon, being hostile to the Trojans, wanted to show to the Trojans in the person of Laocoon what fate all of them deserved. The sublime story of the death of Laocoon was a fine subject for epic and lyric as well as tragic poets, and was therefore frequently treated by ancient poets, such as Bacchylides, Sophocles, Euphorion, Lysimachus, the Pseudo- Peisander, Virgil, Petronius, Quintus Smyrnaeus, and others. But Laocoon is equally celebrated in the history of ancient art, as in that of ancient poetry; and a magnificent group, representing the father with his two sons entwined by the two serpents, is still extant. It was discovered in 1506, in the time of pope Julius II., at Rome, in the Sette Sale, on the side of the Esquiline hill; and the pope, who knew how to appreciate its value, purchased it from the proprietor of the ground where it had been found, for an annual pension, which he granted to him and his family. This group excited the greatest admiration from the moment it was discovered, and may be seen at Rome in the Vatican. Good casts of it exist in all the museums of Europe. Pliny (Plin. Nat. 36.4, 11), who calls it the masterwork of all art, says that it adorned the palace of the emperor Titus, and that it is the work of the Rhodian artists Agesander, Polydorus, and Athenodorus. He further states that the whole group consists of one block of marble, but a more accurate observation shows that it consists of five pieces. Respecting the excellent taste and wisdom which the artists have displayed in this splendid work, see Lessing, Laocoon oder über die Grenzen der Malerei und Poesie ; Heyne, Antiquarische Aufsätze, ii. p. 1-52; Thiersch, Epochen, p. 322; Welcker, das Academ. Kunstnuseum zu Bonn, p. 27, &c. Another personage of the name of Laocoon is mentioned among the Argonauts. (Apollon. 1.192.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Lares in Wikipedia

Lares (sing. Lar) – or archaically, Lases – were ancient Roman protective deities. Their origin is uncertain; they may have been guardians of the house, fields, boundaries or fruitfulness, unnamed hero-ancestors, or an amalgam of these. In the late Republican era they were venerated in the form of small statues of a standardised form, usually paired. Lares were thought to observe and influence all that happened within the boundaries of their location or function. The statues of domestic Lares were placed at table during family meals; their presence, cult and blessing seem to have been required at all important family functions. Some ancient (and some modern) scholarship therefore categorises them as household gods. Roman writers sometimes identify or conflate them with ancestor-deities, domestic Penates and gods of the hearth. Compared to Rome's major deities, their scope and potency were limited but they were important objects of cult: by analogy, a homeward-bound Roman could be described as returning ad Larem (to the Lares)...

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Lares in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

The worship of the Lares at Rome was closely connected with that of the Manes, and that of both was analogous to the hero worship of the Greeks. The name Lar is Etruscan, and signifies lord, king, or hero. The Lares may be divided into two classes, the Lares domestici and Lares publici, and the former were the Manes of a house raised to the dignity of heroes. So long as the house was the place where the dead were buried (Serv. ad Aen. 5.64, 6.152), the Manes and Lares must have been more nearly identical than afterwards, although the Manes were more closely connected with the place of burial, while the Lares were more particularly the divinities presiding over the hearth and the whole house. According to what has here been said, it was not the spirits of all the dead that were honoured as Lares, but only the spirits of good men. It is not certain whether the spirits of women could become Lares; but from the sugrundaria in Fulgentius (De Prisc. Serm. p. xi. ed. Lersch.), it has been inferred that children dying before they were 40 days old might become Lares. (Comp. Nonius, p. 114; Diomed. i. p. 379.) All the domestic Lares were headed by the Lar familiaris, who was regarded as the first originator of the family, corresponding in some measure with the Greek ἥρως ἐπώνυμος, whence Dionysius (4.2) calls him ὁ κατ̓ οἰκίαν ἥρως. (Comp. Plut. De Fort. Rom. 10; and more especially Plin. Nat. 36.70; Plant. Aulul. Prolog.) The Lar familiaris was inseparable from the family; and when the latter changed their abode, the Lar went with them. (Plaut. Trin. 39, &c.) The public Lares are expressly distinguished by Pliny (Plin. Nat. 21.8) from the domestic or private ones, and they were worshipped not only at Rome, but in all the towns regulated according to a Roman or Latin model. (Hertzberg, De Diis Rom. Pair. p. 47.) Among the Lares publici we have mention of Lares praestites and Lares compitales, who are in reality the same, and differ only in regard to the place or occasion of their worship. Servius Tullius is said to have instituted their worship (Plin. Nat. 36.70); and when Augustus improved the regulations of the city made by that king, he also renewed the worship of the public Lares. Their name, Lares praestites, characterises them as the protecting spirits of the city (Ov. Fast. 5.134), in which they had a temple in the uppermost part of the Via Sacra, that is, near a compitum, whence they might be called compitales. (Solin. 1; Ov. Fast. 5.128; Tac. Ann. 12.24.) This temple (Sacellum Larum or aedes Larum) contained two images, which were probably those of Romulus and Remus, and before them stood a stone figure of a dog, either the symbol of watchfulness, or because a dog was the ordinary sacrifice offered to the Lares. Now, while these Lares were the general protectors of the whole city, the Lares compitales must be regarded as those who presided over the several divisions of the city, which were marked by the compita or the points where two or more streets crossed each other, and where small chapels (aediculae) were erected to those Lares, the number of which must have been very great at Rome. As Augustus wished to be regarded as the second founder of the city, the genius Augusti was added to the Lares praestites, just as among the Lares of a family the genius of the paterfamilias also was worshipped. But besides the Lares praestites and compitales, there are some other Lares which must be reckoned among the public ones, viz., the Lares rurales, who were worshipped in the country, and whose origin was probably traced to certain heroes who had at one time benefitted the republic. (Cic. De Leg. 2.11; Tib. 1.1. 24.) The Lares arvales probably belonged to the same class. (Klausen, De Carm. Frat. Arval. p. 62.) We have also mention of Lares viales, who were worshipped on the highroads by travellers (Plaut. Merc. 5.2, 22; Serv. ad Aen. 3.302); and of the Lares marini or permarini, to whom P. Aemilius dedicated a sanctuary in remembrance of his naval victory over Antiochus. (Liv. 40.52.) The worship of the Lares was likewise partly public and partly private. The domestic Lares, like the Penates, formed the religious elements of the Roman household (Cic. De Repub. iv. in fin., ad Fam. 1.9, in Verr. 3.24; Cato De Re Rust. 143); and their worship, together with that of the Penates and Manes, constituted what are called the sacra privata. The images of the Lares, in great houses, were usually in a separate compartment, called aediculae or lararia. (Juv. 8.110; Tib. 1.10. 22; Petron. 29; Ael. Lamprid. Alex. Sev. 28; comp. Dict. of Ant. s. v. Lararium.) The Lares were generally represented in the cinctus Gabinus (Pers. 5.31; Ov. Fast. 2.634), and their worship was very simple, especially in the early times and in the country. The offerings were set before them in patellae, whence they themselves are called patellarii (Plaut. Cistell. 2.2. 55), and pious people e made offerings to them every day (Plaut. Aulul. Prolog.); but they were more especially worshipped on the calends, nones, and ides of every month. (Cato De Re Rust. 143; Hor. Carm. 3.23. 2; Tib. 1.3. 33; Verg. Ecl. 1.43.) When the inhabitants of the house took their meals, some portion was offered to the Lares, and on joyful family occasions they were adorned with wreaths, and the lararia were thrown open. (Plaut. Aulul. 2.8. 15; Ov. Fast. 2.633; Pers. 3.24, &c., 5.31; Propert. 1.1. 132; Petron. 38.) When the young bride entered the house of her husband, her first duty was to offer a sacrifice to the Lares. (Macr. 1.15.) Respecting the public worship of the Lares, and the festival of the Larentalia, see Dict. of Ant. s. v. Larentalia, Compitalia. (Comp. Hempel, De Diis Laribus, Zwickau, 1797; Müller, De Diis Romanorum Laribus et Penatibus, Hafniae, 1811; Schömann, De Diis Manibus, Laribus et Geniis, Greifswald, 1840; Hertzberg, De Diis Romanorum Patriis, sive de Larum atque Penatium tam publicorum quam privatorum Religione et Cultu, Halae, 1840.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Latona in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[LETO.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Latona in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Leto (Greek: Λητώ, Λατώ, Lato in Dorian Greek, etymology and meaning disputed) is a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe:[1]. Leto was the titan goddess of being unseen. Kos claimed her birthplace.[2] In the Olympian scheme, Zeus is the father of her twins,[3] Apollo and Artemis, the Letoides, which Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eyes of Zeus. For the classical Greeks, Leto is scarcely to be conceived apart from being pregnant and finding a place to be delivered of Apollo and Artemis, for Hera being jealous, made it so all lands shunned her. Finally, she finds an island that isn't attached to the ocean floor so it isn't considered land and she can give birth.[4] This is her one active mythic role: once Apollo and Artemis are grown, Leto withdraws, to remain a dim[5] and benevolent matronly figure upon Olympus, her part already played. In Roman mythology, Leto's equivalent is Latona, a Latinization of her name, influenced by Etruscan Letun.[6]...

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Lavinia in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Lavinia (Latin: Lāuīnĭa) was the daughter of Latinus and Amata and the wife of Aeneas. Lavinia, the only child of the king and "ripe for marriage", had been courted by many men in Ausonia who hoped to become the king of Latium. Turnus, ruler of the Rutuli, was the most likely of the suitors, having the favor of Queen Amata. King Latinus is later warned by the oracle Faunus that his daughter is not to marry a Latin. "Seek not, my seed, in Latian bands to yoke Our fair Lavinia, nor the gods provoke. A foreign son upon thy shore descends, Whose martial fame from pole to pole extends. His race, in arms and arts of peace renown'd, Not Latium shall contain, nor Europe bound: 'T is theirs whate'er the sun surveys around."[1]...

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Lavinia in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

a daughter of Latinus and Amata, and the wife of Aeneas, by whom she became the mother of Ascanius or Silvius. (Liv. 1.1; Verg. A. 7.52, &c., 6.761; Dionys. A. R. 1.70.) Some traditions describe her as the daughter of the priest Anius, in Delos. (Dionys. A. R. 1.50; Aur. Vict. Orig. Gent. Rom. 9.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Leander in Wikipedia

Leander, from the Hero and Leander myth, is a character from Greek myth - Wikipedia

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Hero and Leander in Wikipedia

Hero and Leander is a Greek myth, relating the story of Hērō (Greek: Ἡρώ, pron. hay-RAW (ancient) and like "hero" in English), a priestess of Aphrodite who dwelt in a tower in Sestos, at the edge of the Hellespont, and Leander (Greek: Λέανδρος, Léandros), a young man from Abydos on the other side of the strait. Leander fell in love with Hero and would swim every night across the Hellespont to be with her. Hero would light a lamp at the top of her tower to guide his way...

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Leander in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Lei/andros), the famous youth of Abydos, who, from love of Hero, the priestess of Aphrodite, in Sestus, swam every night across the Hellespont, being guided by the light of the lighthouse of Sestus. Once during a very stormy night the light was extinguished, and he perished in the waves. On the next morning his corpse was washed on the coast of Sestus, and Hero, on seeing it, threw herself into the sea. This story is the subject of the epic poem of Musaeus, entitled De A more Herois et Leandri, and is also mentioned by Ovid (Ov. Ep. 18.19), Statius (Stat. Theb. 6.535), and Virgil (Georg. 3.258, &c.)

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Leda in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Leda (Λήδα) was daughter of the Aetolian king Thestius, and wife of the king Tyndareus (Τυνδάρεως), of Sparta. Her myth gave rise to the popular motif in Renaissance and later art of Leda and the Swan. She was the mother of Helen (Ἑλένη) of Troy, Clytemnestra (Κλυταιμνήστρα), and Castor and Pollux (Κάστωρ & Πολυδεύκης, spelled Kastor and Polydeuces). Leda was admired by Zeus, who seduced her in the guise of a swan. As a swan, Zeus fell into her arms for protection from a pursuing eagle. Their consummation, on the same night as Leda lay with her husband Tyndareus, resulted in two eggs from which hatched Helen - later known as the beautiful "Helen of Troy" - Clytemnestra, and Castor and Pollux (also known as the Dioscuri (Διόσκουροι). Which children are the progeny of Tyndareus, the mortal king, and which are of Zeus, and are thus half-immortal, is not consistent among accounts, nor is which child hatched from which egg. The split is almost always half mortal, half divine, although the pairings do not always reflect the children's heritage pairings. Castor and Polydeuces are sometimes both mortal, sometimes both divine. One consistent point is that if only one of them is immortal, it is Polydeuces...

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Leda in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Lh/da), a daughter of Thestius, whence she is called Thestias (Apollod. 3.10.5; Paus. 3.13.8; Eur. IA 49); but others call her a daughter of Thespius, Thyestes, or Glaucus, by Laophonte, Deidamia, Leucippe, Eurythemis, or Paneidyia. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1.146, 201 ; Serv. ad Aen. 8.130; Hygin, Fab. 14; Apollod. 1.7.10.) She was the wife of Tyndareus, by whom she became the mother of Timandra, Clytaemnestra, and Philonoe. (Apollod. 3.10.6; Hom. Od. 24.199.) One night she was embraced both by her husband and by Zeus, and by the former she became the mother of Castor and Clytaemnestra, and by the latter of Polydeuces and Helena. (Hyg. Fab. 77.) According to Homer (Hom. Od. 11.298, &c.) both Castor and Polydeuces were sons of Tyndareus and Leda, while Helena is described as a daughter of Zeus. (Il. 3.426; comp. Ov. Fast. 1.706; Hor. Carm. 1.12, 25; Martial, 1.37.) Other traditions reverse the story, making Castor and Polydeuces the sons of Zeus, and Helena the daughter of Tyndareus. (Eur. Hel. 254, 1497, 1680; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 2.808 ; Hdt. 2.112.) According to the common legend Zeus visited Leda in the disguise of a swan, and she produced two eggs, from the one of which issued Helena, and from the other Castor and Polydeuces. (Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 453; Ov. Her. 17.55 ; Paus. 3.16.1; Horat. Ars Poet. 147; Athen. 2.57, &c., ix. p. 373; Lucian, Dial. Deor. 2.2, 24.2, xxvi.; comp. Virgil, Cir. 489; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 88.) The visit of Zeus to Leda in the form of a swan was frequently represented by ancient artists. It should be observed that Phoebe is also mentioned as a daughter of Tyndareus and Leda (Eur. IA 50), and that, according to Lactantius (1.21.), Leda was after her death raised to the rank of a divinity, under the name of Nemesis. (Comp. TYNDAREUS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Lethe in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Lethe (Λήθη; Classical Greek /ˈlɛːtʰɛː/, modern Greek: /ˈliθi/) was one of the five rivers of Hades. Also known as the Ameles potamos (river of unmindfulness), the Lethe flowed around the cave of Hypnos and through the Underworld, where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness. Lethe was also the name of the Greek spirit of forgetfulness and oblivion, with whom the river was often identified. In Classical Greek, the word Lethe literally means "oblivion", "forgetfulness," or "concealment". It is related to the Greek word for "truth", aletheia (αλήθεια), meaning "un- forgetfulness" or "un-concealment"...

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Lethe in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Λήθη), the personification of oblivion, is called by Hesiod (Hes. Th. 227) a daughter of Eris. A river in the lower world likewise bore the name of Lethe. [HADES.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Leto in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Leto (Greek: Λητώ, Λατώ, Lato in Dorian Greek, etymology and meaning disputed) is a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe:[1]. Leto was the titan goddess of being unseen. Kos claimed her birthplace.[2] In the Olympian scheme, Zeus is the father of her twins,[3] Apollo and Artemis, the Letoides, which Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eyes of Zeus. For the classical Greeks, Leto is scarcely to be conceived apart from being pregnant and finding a place to be delivered of Apollo and Artemis, for Hera being jealous, made it so all lands shunned her. Finally, she finds an island that isn't attached to the ocean floor so it isn't considered land and she can give birth.[4] This is her one active mythic role: once Apollo and Artemis are grown, Leto withdraws, to remain a dim[5] and benevolent matronly figure upon Olympus, her part already played. In Roman mythology, Leto's equivalent is Latona, a Latinization of her name, influenced by Etruscan Letun.[6]...

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Leto in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Λητώ), in Latin LATONA, according to Hesiod (Hes. Th. 406, 921), a daughter of the Titan Coeus and Phoebe, a sister of Asteria, and the mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus, to whom she was married before Hera. Homer, who likewise calls her the mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus (Il. 1.9, 14.327, 21.499, Od. 11.318, 580), mentions her as the friend of the Trojans in the war with the Greeks, and in the story of' Niobe, who paid so dearly for her conduct towards Leto. (Il. 5.447, 20.40, 72, 24.607; comp. 21.502, Od. 11.580, Hymn. in Apoll. 45, &c., 89, &c.) In later writers these elements of her story are variously worked out and embellished, for they do not describe her as the lawful wife of Zeus, but merely as a concubine, who was persecuted during her pregnancy by Hera. (Apollod. 1.4.1; Callim. Hymn. in Del. 61, &c.; Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 232, &c.; Hyg. Fab. 140.) All the world being afraid of receiving her on account of Hera, she wandered about till she came to the island of Delos, which was then a floating island, and bore the name Asteria (Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 35, 37, 191); but when Leto touched it, it suddenly stood still upon four pillars. (Pind. Fragm. 38; Strab. xi. p.485.) According to Hyginus (Hyg. Fab. 93,140), Delos was previously called Ortygia, while Stephanus Byzantinus (s. v. Κορισσός) mentions a tradition, according to which Artemis was not born in Delos, but at Corissus. Servius (Serv. ad Aen. 3.72) relates the following legends: Zeus changed Leto into a quail (ὄρτυξ), and in this state she arrived in the floating island, which was hence called Ortygia; or, Zeus was enamoured with Asteria, but she being metamorphosed, through her prayers, into a bird, flew across the sea; she was then changed into a rock, which, for a long time, lay under the surface of the sea; but, at the request of Leto, it rose and received Leto, who was pursued by Python. Leto then gave birth to Apollo, who slew Python. (Comp. Ant. Lib. 35; Ov. Met. 6.370; Aristot. HA 6.35; Ath. 15.701; Apollon. 2.707; Iamblich. Vit. Pyth. 10; Strab. xiv. p.639: in each of these passages we find the tradition modified in a particular way.) But notwithstanding the many discrepancies, especially in regard to the place where Leto gave birth to her children, most traditions agree in describing Delos as the place. (Callim. Hymn. in Apoll. init. 59, in Del. 206, 261; Aeschyl. Eum. 9; Hdt. 2.170.) After the birth of Apollo, his mother not being able to nurse him, Themis gave him nectar and ambrosia; and by his birth the island of Delos became sacred, so that henceforth it was not lawful for any human being to be born or to die on the island; and every pregnant woman was conveyed to the neighbouring island of Rheneia, in order not to pollute Delos. (Strab. x. p.486.) We shall pass over the various speculations of modern writers respecting the origin and nature of this divinity, and shall mention only the most probable, according to which Leto is " the obscure " or " concealed," not as a physical power, but as a divinity yet quiescent and invisible, from whom is issued the visible divinity with all his splendour and brilliancy. This view is supported by the account of her genealogy given by Hesiod; and her whole legend seems to indicate nothing else but the issuing from darkness to light, and a return from the latter to the former. Leto was generally worshipped only in conjunction with her children, as at Megara (Paus. 1.44.2), at Argos (2.21.10), at Amphigeneia (Strab. viii. p.349), in Lycia (ibid. xiv. p. 665), near Lete in Macedonia (Steph. Byz. s. v. Λήτη), in a grove near Calynda in Caria (Strab. xiv. p.651), and other places. (Comp. Hirt. Mythol. Bilderb. Tab. 5.4.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Lucina in Wikipedia

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Lucina was the goddess of childbirth. She safeguarded the lives of women in labour. Later, Lucina was an epithet for Juno. The name was generally taken to have the sense of "she who brings children into the light" (Latin: lux "light"), but may actually have been derived from lucus ("grove") after a sacred grove of lotus trees on the Esquiline Hill associated with the goddess. The asteroid 146 Lucina is named after the goddess. Lucina was chief among a number of deities who influenced or guided every aspect of birth and child development, such as Vagitanus, who opened the newborn's mouth to cry, and Fabulinus, who enabled the child's first articulate speech. Among other minor deities within this sphere of influence were the Di nixi, Alemonia, Partula, Prorsa Postverta, Levana, Cunina, Rumina, Potina, Edusa, Sentia, Statanus, Abeona, and Paventia. - Wikipedia

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Lucina in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the goddess of light, or rather the goddess that brings to light, and hence the goddess that presides over the birth of children; it was therefore used as a surname of Juno and Diana, and the two are sometimes called Lucinae. (Varro, de Ling. Lat. 5.69; Catull. 34.13; Horat. Carm. Saec. 14, &c.; Ov. Fast. 2.441, &c., 6.39; Tib. 3.4. 13.) When women of rank gave birth to a son, a lectisterniumn was prepared for Juno Lucina in the atrium of the house. (Serv. and Philarg. ad Virg. Eclog. 4.63.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Lynceus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Lynceus (Ancient Greek: Λυγκεύς) was a king of Argos, succeeding Danaus. He is named as a descendant of Belus through his father Aegyptus, who was the twin brother of Danaus. Danaus had fifty daughters, the Danaides, while Aegyptus had fifty sons including Lynceus, whose name when translated means 'wolf'. Aegyptus commanded that his sons marry the Danaides and Danaus fled to Argos, ruled by King Pelasgus with his daughters. When Aegyptus and his sons arrived to take the Danaides, Danaus gave them to spare the Argives the pain of a battle. However, he instructed his daughters to kill their husbands on their wedding night. Forty-nine followed through, but one, Hypermnestra refused because her husband, Lynceus, honored her wish to remain a virgin. Danaus was angry with his disobedient daughter and threw her to the Argive courts. Aphrodite intervened and saved her. Lynceus later killed Danaus as revenge for the death of his brothers. Lynceus and Hypermnestra then began a dynasty of Argive kings (the Danaan Dynasty) beginning with Abas. In some versions of the legend, the Danaides, minus Hypermnestra (or sometimes alternately Amymone) were punished in Tartarus by being forced to carry water through a jug with holes, or a sieve, so the water always leaked out.[1][2][3][4]...

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Lynceus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Λυγκεύς). 1. A son of Aegyptus and Argyphia, and husband of the Danaid Hypermnestra, by whom he became the father of Abas. He was king of Argos, whence that city is called Λυλκήϊον Ἄργος (Apollon. 1.125). His story is, that when the Danaides, by the desire of their father, killed their husbands in one night, Hypermnestra alone spared the life of her husband Lynceus. Danaus thereupon kept his disobedient daughter in strict confinement, but was afterwards prevailed upon to give her to Lynceus, who succeeded him on the throne of Argos (Apollod. 2.1.5, 2.1; Paus. 2.16.1; Ov. Ep. 14). The cause of Hypermnestra sparing Lynceus is not the same in all accounts (Schol. ad Pind. Nem. 10.10, ad Eurip. Hecub. 869, ad Pind. Pyth. 9.200). It is also said that she assisted her husband in his eseape from the vengeance of Danaus, that he fled to Lyrceia (Lynceia), and from thence gave a sign with a torch that he had safely arrived there; Hypermnestra returned the sign from the citadel of Argos, and in commemoration of this event the Argives celebrated every year a festival with torches (Paus. 2.25.4; comp. 2.19.6, 21.1, 20.5). When Lynceus received the news of the death of Danaus from his son Abas, Lynceus gave to Abas the shield of Danaus, which had been dedicated in the temple of Hera, and instituted games in honour of Hera, in which the victor received a shield as his prize (Hyg. Fab. 273). According to some, Lynceus slew Danaus and all the sisters of Hypermnestra, in revenge for his brothers (Schol. ad Eurip. Hecub. 869; Serv. ad Aen. 10.497). Lynceus and his wife were revered at Argos as heroes, and had a common sanctuary, and their tomb was shown there not far from the altar of Zeus Phyxius (Hyg. Fab. 168; Paus. 2.21.2). Their statues stood in the temple at Delphi, as a present from the Argives. (Paus. 10.10.2.) 2. A son of Aphareus and Arene, and brother of Idas, was one of the Argonauts and famous for his keen sight, whence the proverb ὀξύτερον Βλέπειν τοῦ Λυγκέως (Apollod. 1.8.2, 4.17, 3.10.3). He is also mentioned among the Calydonian hunters, and was slain by Pollux (1.8.2, 3.11.2; comp. Pind. N. 10.21, 115, &c.; Apollon. 1.151, &c., 4.1466, &c.; Aristoph. Pl. 210). There are two other mythical personages of this name. (Hyg. Fab. 173; Apollod. 2.7.8.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Maia in Wikipedia

Maia[1] (pronounced /ˈmeɪ.ə/ or /ˈmaɪ.ə/; Greek: Μαῖα; Latin: Maia, "great") in Greek mythology, was the eldest of the Pleiades, the seven daughters of Atlas[2] and Pleione.[3] She and her sisters, born on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia, are sometimes called mountain goddesses, oreads, for Simonides of Ceos sang of "mountain Maia" (Maia oureias) "of the lively black eyes".[4] Maia was the oldest, most beautiful and shyest. Aeschylus repeatedly identified her with Gaia...

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Maia in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Mai=a or Μαιάς), a daughter of Atlas and Pleiono (whence she is called Atlantis and Pleias), was the eldest of the Pleiades, and in a grotto of mount Cyllene in Arcadia she became by Zeus the mother of Hermes. Areas, the son of Zeus by Callisto, was given to her to be reared. (Hom. Od. 14.435, Hymn. in Merc. 3; Hes. Th. 938; Apollod. 3.10.2, 8.2; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 219; Hor. Carm. 1.10. 1, 2. 42, &c. ) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Maia in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Maia was identified with Maia Maiestas (also called Fauna, Bona Dea (the 'Good Goddess') and Ops), a goddess who may be equivalent to an old Italic goddess of spring. The month of May was named for her;[7] the first and fifteenth of May were sacred to her. On the first of May the flamen of Vulcan sacrificed to her a pregnant sow,[8] an appropriate sacrifice also for an earth goddess such as Bona Dea: a sow-shaped wafer might be substituted. The goddess was accessible only to women; men were excluded from her precincts.

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Maia in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Maia is also the name of a divinity worshipped at Rome, who was also called Majesta. She is mentioned in connection with Vulcan, and was regarded by some as the wife of that god, though it seems for no other reason but because a priest of Vulcan offered a sacrifice to her on the first of May, while in the popular superstition of later times she was identified with Maia, the daughter of Atlas. It is more probable that Maia was an ancient name of the bona dea, who was also designated by the names of Ops, Fauna, and Fatua. (Macr. 1.12; Gellius, 13.22; Fest. p. 134, ed. Müller.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Manes in Wikipedia

In ancient Roman religion, the Manes or Di Manes are chthonic deities sometimes thought to represent the souls of deceased loved ones. They were associated with the Lares, Genii, and Di Penates as deities (di)) that pertained to domestic, local, and personal cult. They were honored during the Parentalia and Feralia in February. Latin spells of antiquity were often addressed to The Manes, who were the spirits of deceased ancestors.[1]...

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Manes in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

i.e. " the good ones" [MANA], is the general name by which the Romans designated the souls of the departed; but as it is a natural tendency to consider the souls of departed friends as blessed spirits, the name of Lares is frequently used as synonymous with Manes, and hence also they are called dii Manes, and were worshipped with divine honours. (Cic. de Leg. 2.9, 22; Apul. de Deo Socrat. ; August. de Civ. Dei, 8.26, 9.11; Serv. ad Virg. Aen. 3.63, 168; Ov. Fast. 2.842; Hor. Carm. 2.8.9.) At certain seasons, which were looked upon as sacred days (feriae denicales), sacrifices were offered to the spirits of the departed with the observance of various ceremonies. But an annual festival, which belonged to all the Manes in general, was celebrated on the 19th of February, under the name of Feralia or Parentalia, because it was more especially the duty of children and heirs to offer sacrifices to the shades of their parents and benefactors. (Ov. Fast. 2.535; Tertull. Resur. Carn. 1.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Mars in Wikipedia

Mars (Latin: Mārs) was the Roman god of war, the son of Juno and Jupiter, husband of Bellona, and the lover of Venus. He was the most prominent of the military gods that were worshipped by the Roman legions. The martial Romans considered him second in importance only to Jupiter (their main god). His festivals were held in March (named for him) and October. Mars is considered as the equivalent of the Greek god Ares...

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Mars in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

an ancient Roman god, who was at an early period identified by the Romans with the Greek Ares, or the god delighting in bloody war, although there are a variety of indications that the Italian Mars was originally a divinity of a very different nature. In the first place Mars bore the surname of Silvanus, and sacrifices were offered to him for the prosperity of the fields and flocks; and in the second a lance was honoured at Rome as well as at Praeneste as the symbol of Mars (Liv. 24.10), so that Mars resembles more the Greek Pallas Athene than Ares. The transition from the idea of Mars as an agricultural god to that of a warlike being, was not difficult with the early Latins, as the two occupations were intimately connected. The name of the god in the Sabine and Oscan was Mamers [MAMERS]; and Mars itself is a contraction of Mavers or Mavors. Next to Jupiter, Mars enjoyed the highest honours at Rome: he frequently is designated as father Mars, whence the forms Marspiterand Maspiter, analogous to Jupiter (Gellius, 4.12; Macr. 1.12, 19; Varro, De Ling. Lat. 8.33); and Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus, were the three tutelary divinities of Rome, to each of whom king Numa appointed a flamen, whose rank was sometimes thought higher even than that of the great pontiff. (Liv. 8.9; Festus, p. 188, ed. Müller) Hence a very ancient sanctuary was dedicated to Mars on the Quirinal hill, near the temple of Dius Fidius, from which he derived his surname of Quirinus (Varro, De ling Lat. v 52; Serv. ad Aen. 1.296), and hence he was regarded as the father of the Roman people, having begotten the founders of Rome by Rhea Silvia, a priestess of Vesta. The rites of the worship of Mars all point to victory, in proof of which we need only direct attention to the dances in armour of the Salii, the dedication of the place of warlike exercises and games to Mars (campus Martius), and that war itself is frequently designated by the name of Mars. But being the father of the Romans, Mars was also the protector of the most honourable pursuit, i. e. nariculture, and hence he was invoked to be propitious to the household of the rustic Roman (Cato, De Re Rust. 141); and under the name of Silvanus, he was worshipped to take care of the cattle (ibid. 83). The warlike Mars was called Gradivus, as the rustic god was called Silvanus; while, in his relation to the state, he bore the name of Quirinus. These are the three principal aspects under which the god appears; and in reference to the second, it may be remarked that females were excluded from his worship, and that accordingly he presided more particularly over those occupations of country life which belonged to the male sex. (Cato, De Re Rust. 83; Schol. ad Juvenal. 6.446.) But notwithstanding this, Mars was conceived not only accompanied by female divinities, but one of them, Nerio, or Neriene, is even described as his wife. (G(ellius, 13.22; Plaut. Truc. 2.6. 34; L. Lydus, De Mens. 4.42.) Mars was further looked upon as a god with prophetic powers; and in the neighbourhood of Reate there had been a very ancient oracle of the god (Dionys. A. R. 1.41), in which the future was revealed through a woodpecker (picus), which was sacred to him, and was for this reason surnamed Martius. The wolf also was sacred to Mars, and these animals, together with the horse, were his favourite sacrifices. Numerous temples were dedicated to him at Rome, the most important of which was that outside the Porta Capena, on the Appian road (Liv. 10.23, 6.5, 41.13; Serv. ad Aen. 1.296 ), and that of Mars Ultor, which was built by Augustus, in the forum. (D. C. 46.24 ; Sneton. Aug. 29; Virruv. 1.7; comp. Hartung, Die Reliq. der Röm. vol. ii. p. 155, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Marsyas in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (gr. Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double flute (aulos) that had been abandoned by Athena and played it;[1] in the other, he challenged Apollo to a contest of music and lost his hide and life. In Antiquity, literary sources often emphasise the hubris of Marsyas and the justice of his punishment. In one strand of modern comparative mythography, the domination of Marsyas by Apollo is regarded as an example of myth that recapitulates a supposed supplanting by the Olympian pantheon of an earlier "Pelasgian" religion of chthonic heroic ancestors and nature spirits.[2] Marsyas was a devoté of the ancient Mother Goddess Rhea/Cybele, and his episodes are sited by the mythographers in Celaenae (or Kelainai) in Phrygia (today, the town of Dinar in Turkey), at the main source of the Meander (the river Menderes).[3]...

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Marsyas in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Marsu/as), a mythological personage, connected with the earliest period of Greek music. He is variously called the son of Hyagnis, or of Oeagrus, or of Olympus. Some make him a satyr, others a peasant. All agree in placing him in Phrygia. The following is the outline of his story, according to the mythographers. Athena having, while playing the flute, seen the reflection of herself in water, and observed the distortion of her features, threw away the instrument in disgust. It was picked up by Marsyas, who no sooner began to blow through it than the flute, having once been inspired by the breath of a goddess, emitted of its own accord the most beautiful strains. Elated by his success, Marsyas was rash enough to challenge Apollo to a musical contest, the conditions of which were that the victor should do what he pleased with the vanquished. The Muses, or, according to others, the Nysaeans, were the umpires. Apollo played upon the cithara, and Marsyas upon the flute; and it was not till the former added his voice to the music of his lyre that the contest was decided in his favour. As a just punishment for the presumption of Marsyas, Apollo bound him to a tree, and flayed him alive. His blood was the source of the river Marsyas, and Apollo hung up his skin in the cave out of which that river flows. His flutes (for, according to some, the instrument on which he played was the double flute) were carried by the river Marsyas into the Maeander, and again emerging in the Asopus, were thrown on land by it in the Sicyonian territory, and were dedicated to Apollo in his temple at Sicyon. (Apollod. 1.4.2; Palaeph. de Incredib. 48; Liban. Narrat. 14, p. 1104; Nonn. Narrat. ad Greg. Invect. 2.10, p. 164; Diod. 3.58, 59; Paus. 2.7.9; Hdt. 7.26; Xen. Anab. 1.2.8; Plut. de Fluv. 10; Hyg. Fab. 165; Ovid, Metam. 6.382, 400.) The fable evidently refers to the struggle between the citharoedic and auloedic styles of music, of which the former was connected with the worship of Apollo among the Dorians, and the latter with the orgiastic rites of Cybele in Phrygia. It is easy to apply this explanation to the different parts of the legend; and it may be further illustrated by other traditions respecting Marsyas. He is made by some the inventor of the flute, by others of the double flute. ( Plut. de Mus. p. 1132a.; Suid. s.v. Athen. 4.184a., xiv. p. 616, 617; Plin. Nat. 7.56.) By a confusion between the mythical and the historical, the flute-player Olympus is made his son, or by some his father. He is spoken of as a follower of Cybele (Diod. l.c.), and he occupies, in fact, the same place in the orgiastic worship of Cybele that Seilenus does in the worship of Dionysus: Pausanias (l.c.) actually calls him Seilenus, and other writers connect him with Dionysus. The story of Marsyas was often referred to by the lyric and epigrammatic poets (Bode, Gesch. d. Lyr. Dichtk. vol. ii. pp. 296, 297; Brunck, Anal. vol. i. p. 488, vol. ii. p. 97), and formed a favourite subject for works of art. (Müller, Archäol. d. Kunst, § 362. n. 4.) In the fora of ancient cities there was frequently placed a statue of Marsyas, with one hand erect, in token, according to Servius, of the freedom of the state, since Marsyas was a minister of Bacchus, the god of liberty. (Serv. in Aen. 4.528.) It seems more likely that the statue, standing in the place where justice was administered, was intended to hold forth an example of the severe punishment of arrogant presumption. (Böttiger, Kleine Schriften, vol. i. p. 28.) The statue of Marsyas in the forum of Rome is well known by the allusions of Horace (Sat. 1.6. 120), Juvenal (Sat. 9.1,2), and Martial (2.64. 7). This statue was the place of assembly for the courtezans of Rome, who used to crown it with chaplets of flowers. (Plin. Nat. 21.3; Senec. de Benef. 6.32; Lipsius, Antiq. Lect. 3.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Medea in Wikipedia

Medea (Greek: Μήδεια, Mēdeia, Georgian: მედეა, Medea) is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of King Aeetes of Colchis,[1] niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children: Mermeros and Pheres. In Euripides's play Medea, Jason leaves Medea when Creon, king of Corinth, offers him his daughter, Glauce.[2] The play tells of how Medea gets her revenge on her husband for this betrayal...

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Medea in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Mh/deia), a daughter of Aeetes by the Oceanid Idyia, or, according to others, by Hecate, the daughter of Perses (Apollod. 1.9 § 23; Hes. Theog. 961; Diod. 4.45). She was the wife of Jason, and the most famous among the mythical sorcerers. The principal parts of her story nave already been given under ABSYRTUS, ARGONAUTAE, and JASON. After her flight from Corinth to Athens, she is said to have married king Aegeus (Plut. Thes. 12), or to have been beloved by Sisyphus. (Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 13.74.) Zeus himself is said to have sued for her, but in vain, because Medeia dreaded the anger of Hera; and the latter rewarded her by promising immortality to her children. Her children are, according to omine accounts, Mermerus, Pheres, or Thessalus, Alcimenes and Tisander, and, according to others, she had seven sons and seven daughters, while others mention only two children, Medus (some call him Polyxeimus) and Eriopis, or one son Argus. (Apollod. 1.9.28; Diod. 4.54; Ptolem. Heph. 2; Schol. ad Eurip. Med. 276.) Respecting her flight from Corinth, there are different traditions. Some say, as we remarked above, that she fled to Athens and married Aegeus, but when it was discovered that she had laid snares for Theseus, she escaped and went to Asia, the inhabitants of which were called after her Medes. (Medi, Paus. 2.3.7; Ov. Met. 7.391, &c.) Others relate that first she fled from Corinth to Heracles at Thebes, who had promised her his assistance while yet in Colchis, in case of Jason being unfaithful to her. She cured Heracles, who was seized with madness, and as he could not afford her the assistance he had promised, she went to Athens. (Diod. 4.54.) She is said to have given birth to her son Medus after her arrival in Asia, where, after her flight from Athens, she had married a king; whereas others state that her son Medus accompanied her from Athens to Colchis, where her son slew Perses, and restored her father Aeetes to his kingdom. The restoration of Aeetes, however, is attributed by some to Jason, who accompanied Medeia to Colchis. (Diod. 4.54-56; Htygin. Fab. 26; Justin, 42.2; T';c. Ann. 6.34.) There is also a tradition that in Thessaly Medeia entered intoa contest with Thetis about her beauty, which was decided by Idomeneus in favour of Thetis (Ptolem. Heph. 5), and another that Medeia went to Italy, and there taught the Marrubians the art of fascinating and subduing serpents, whence she is said to have been called Anguitia or Angitia. (Serv. ad Aen. 7.750; comp. ANGITIA.) At length Medeia is said to have become immortal, to have been honoured with divine worship, and to have married Achilles in Elysium. (Schol. ad Eurip. Med. 10, ad Apollon. Rhod. 4.814; comp. Müller, Orchom. p. 264, 2d edit.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Medusa in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology Medusa (Greek: Μέδουσα (Médousa), "guardian, protectress")[1] was a Gorgon, a chthonic female monster, and a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto;[2] Only Hyginus, (Fabulae, 151) interposes a generation and gives another chthonic pair as parents of Medusa;[3] gazing directly upon her would turn onlookers to stone. She was beheaded by the hero Perseus, who thereafter used her head as a weapon[4] until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her shield. In classical antiquity the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the evil-averting device known as the Gorgoneion...

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Medusa in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Me/dousa). 1. A daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, and one of the Gorgons. [GORGON, PERSEUS.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Megaera in Wikipedia

Megaera (Ancient Greek: Μέγαιρα, English translation: "the jealous one") is one of the Erinyes in Greek mythology. She is the cause of jealousy and envy, and punishes people who commit crimes, especially marital infidelity. Like her sisters Alecto and Tisiphone, she was born of the blood of Uranus when Cronus castrated him. In modern French (mégère) and Portuguese (megera), derivatives of this name are used to designate a jealous or spiteful woman. In Italian and Russian, the word megera indicates an evil and/or ugly woman. - Wikipedia

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Megaera in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[ERINNYES.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Meleager in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Meleager (Ancient Greek: Μελέαγρος Meléagros) was a hero venerated in his temenos at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the epic tradition that was reworked by Homer.[2] Meleager was the son of Althaea and the vintner Oeneus and, according to some accounts father of Parthenopeus and Polydora. When Meleager was born, the Moirae (the Fates) predicted he would only live until a brand, burning in the family hearth, was consumed by fire. Overhearing them, Althaea immediately doused and hid the brand.[3] Meleager married Cleopatra, daughter of Idas. However, in some versions, he had to defeat Atalanta in a footrace, in which he was aided by Athena...

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Meleager in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Mele/agros), a son of Oeneus (whence he is called Οἰνεΐδης), and Althaea, the daughter of Thestius, and was married to Cleopatra, by whom he became the father of Polydora. (Apollod. 1.8.2; Paus. 4.2 in fin.; Orph. Argon. 157.) Other accounts call Meleager a son of Ares, by Althaea (Plut. Parall. Min. 26; Ov. Met. 8.437; Hyg. Fab. 171); and Hyginus calls Parthenopaeus a son of Meleager. (Fab. 99, 270.) His brothers and sisters were Phereus or Thyreus, Agelaus, Toxeus, Periphas, Gorge, Eurymede, Deianeira, Melanippe. Meleager is one of the most famous Aetolian heroes of Calydon, and distinguished himself by his skill in throwing the javelin, as one of the Argonauts, and in the Calydonian hunt. Thus he gained the victory at the funeral games of Acastus (Hyg. Fab. 273; Athen. 4.172); and the spear with which he had slain the Calydonian boar he dedicated in the temple of Apollo at Sicyon. (Paus. 2.7.8.) In the expedition of the Argonauts he was said in some legends to have slain Aeetes in the contest for the golden fleece. (Diod. 4.48.) While Meleager was at Calydon, Oeneus, the king of the place, once neglected to offer up a sacrifice to Artemis, whereupon the angry goddess sent a monstrous boar into the fields of Calydon, which were ravaged by the beast, while no one had the courage to hunt it. At length Meleager, with a band of other heroes, whose number and names are different in the different accounts (Apollod. 1.8.2; Ov. Met. 8.300, &c.; Hyg. Fab. 174; Paus. 8.45.4), went out to hunt the boar, which was killed by Meleager. Artemis, however, created a dispute about the animal's head and skin among the Calydonians and Curetes. Late writers represent Atalante as taking part in this famous hunt; but the huntsmen refused to go out with her, until Meleager, who loved her, prevailed upon them. According to Ovid (Ov. Met. 8.380), Atalante inflicted the first wound upon the animal; while, according to others, Meleager first struck and killed it. He gave his prize, the boar's skin, to Atalante, who was deprived of it by the sons of Thestius; but Meleager slew them. (Apollod. Ov. ll. cc.; Diod. 4.34.) During the war between the Calydonians and Curetes, the former were always victorious, so long as Meleager went out with them. But on one occasion he killed his mother's brothers; and his mother pronounced a curse upon him, in consequence of which he became indignant, and stayed at home, so that the victorious Curetes began to press Calydon very hard. It was in vain that the old men of the town made him the most brilliant promises if he would again join in the fight, and also the entreaties of his own friends remained without effect. At length, however, he yielded to the prayers of his wife, Cleopatra: he put the Curetes to flight, but never returned home, for the Erinnys, who had heard the curse of his mother, overtook him. (Honu. Il. 9.527-600; comp. 2.641.) The post-Homeric account gives a different cause of his death. When Meleager was seven days old, it is said, the Moerae appeared, declaring that the boy would die as soon as the piece of wood that was burning on the hearth should be consumed. When Althaea heard this, she extinguished the firebrand, and concealed it in a chest. Meleager himself became invulnerable; but after he had killed the brothers of his mother, she lighted the piece of wood, and Meleager died, whereupon Althaea and Cleopatra hung themselves. (Apollod. 1.8.2, &c.; Hyg. Fab. 171; Diod. 4.34; Ov. Met. 8.450, &c., 531.) The sisters of Meleager wept unceasingly after his death, until Artemis changed them into guinea-hens (μελεαγρίδες), who were transferred to the island of Leros. Even in this condition they mourned during a certain part of the year for their brother. Two of them, Gorge and Deianeira, through the mediation of Dionysus, were not metamorphosed. (Ant. Lib. 2; Ov. Met. 8.532, &c.; Apollod. 1.8.3.) The story of Meleager, his hunt of the Calydonian boar, his contest with the sons of Thestius, and other scenes of his life, were frequently represented by ancient artists. (Paus. 3.18.9, 8.45.4.) He usually appears as a robust hunter, with curly hair, the Aetolian chlamys, and a boar's head. (Philostr. Icon. 15; comp. Welcker, Zeitschrit für die alte Kunst, p. 123, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Melpomene in Wikipedia

Melpomene (Greek Μελπομένη, English: /mɛlˈpɒmɨniː/; "to sing" or "the one that is melodious") , initially the Muse of Singing, she then became the Muse of Tragedy, for which she is best known now. Her name was derived from the Greek verb melpô or melpomai meaning "to celebrate with dance and song." She is often represented with a tragic mask and wearing the cothurnus, boots traditionally worn by tragic actors. Often, she also holds a knife or club in one hand and the tragic mask in the other. On her head she is shown wearing a crown of cypress. Melpomene is the daughter of Zeus and Mnemosyne. Her sisters include Calliope (muse of epic poetry), Clio (muse of history), Euterpe (muse of lyrical poetry), Terpsichore (muse of dancing), Erato (muse of erotic poetry), Thalia (muse of comedy), Polyhymnia (muse of hymns), and Urania (muse of astronomy). In Roman and Greek poetry, it was traditional[citation needed] to invoke the goddess Melpomene so that one might create beautiful lyrical phrases (see Horace's Odes). - Wikipedia

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Hippomenes in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἱππομένης), a son of Megareus of Onchestus, and a great grandson of Poseidon. (Ov. Met. 10.605.) Apollodorus (3.15.8) calls the son of Hippomenes Megareus. (Comp. [ATALANTE, No. 2].) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hyacinthus in Wikipedia

Hyacinth or Hyacinthus (in Greek, Ὑάκινθος - Hyakinthos) is a divine hero from Greek mythology. His cult at Amyclae, southwest of Sparta, where his tumulus was located- in classical times at the feet of Apollo's statue in the sanctuary that had been built round the burial mound- dates from the Mycenaean era.[1] The literary myths serve to link him to local cults, and to identify him with Apollo...

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Hyacinthus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*(Ua/kinqos). 1. The youngest son of the Spartan king Amyclas and Diomede (Apollod. 3.10.3; Paus. 3.1.3, 19.4), but according to others a son of Pierus and Clio, or of Oebalus or Eurotas (Lucian, Dial. Deor. 14; Hyg. Fab. 271.) He was a youth of extraordinary beauty, and beloved by Thamyris and Apollo, who unintentionally killed him during a game of discus. (Apollod. 1.3.3.) Some traditions relate that he was beloved also by Boreas or Zephrus, who, from jealousy of Apollo, drove the discus of the god against the head of the youth, and thus killed him. (Lucian, l. c; Serv. ad Virg. Eelog. 3.63; Philostr. Imag. 1.24; Ov. Met. 10.184.) From the blood of Hyacinthus there sprang the flower of the same name (hyacinth), on the leaves of which there appeared the exclamation of woe AI, AI, or the letter Υ, being the initial of Ὑάκινθος. According to other traditions, the hyacinth (on the leaves of which, howeve those characters do not appear) sprang from the blood of Ajax. (Schol. ad Theocrit. 10.28; comp. Ov. Met. 13.395, &c., who combines both legends; Plin. Nat. 21.28.) Hyacinthus was worshipped at Amyclae as a hero, and a great festival, Hyacinthia, was celebrated in his honour. (Dict. of Ant. s. r.) 2. A Lacedaemonian, who is said to have gone to Athens, and in compliance with an oracle, to have caused his daughters to be sacrificed on the tomb on the Cyclops Geraestus, for the purpose of a learned of delivering the city from famine and the plague, under which it was suffering during the war with Minos. His daughters, who were sacrificed either to Athena or Persephone, were known in the Attic legends by the name of the Hyacinthides, which they derived from their father. (Apollod. 3.15.8; Hyg. Fab. 238; Harpocrat. s. v.) Some traditions make them the daughters of Erechtheus, and relate that they received their name from the village of Hyacinthus, where they were sacrificed at the time when Athens was attacked by the Eleusinians and Thracians, or Thebans. (Snid. s.v. Παρθένοι; Demnosth. Epilaph. p. 1397; Lycurg. c. Leocrat. 24; Cic. p. Sext. 48; Hyg. Fab. 46.) The names and numbers of the Hyacinthides differ in the different writers. The account of Apollo dorus is confused: he mentions four, and repre sents them as married, although they were sacriticed as maidens, whence they are sometimes called simply αἱ πάρθενοι. Those traditions in which they are described as the daughters of Erechtheus confouiud them with Agraulos, Herse, and Pandrosos (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1.211), or with the Hyades. (Serv. ad Aen. 1.748.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hydra in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Lernaean Hydra (Greek: Λερναία Ὕδρα (help·info)) was an ancient nameless serpent-like chthonic water beast (as its name evinces) that possessed seven heads - and for each head cut off it grew two more - and poisonous breath so virulent even her tracks were deadly.[1] The Hydra of Lerna was killed by Hercules as one of his Twelve Labours. Its lair was the lake of Lerna in the Argolid, though archaeology has borne out the myth that the sacred site was older even than the Mycenaean city of Argos since Lerna was the site of the myth of the Danaids. Beneath the waters was an entrance to the Underworld, and the Hydra was its guardian.[2] The Hydra was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna (Theogony, 313), both of whom were noisome offspring of the earth goddess Gaia.[3]...

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Hygeia in Wikipedia

In Greek and Roman mythology, Hygieia (Greek Ὑγιεία or Hygeia Ὑγεία, Latin Hygēa or Hygīa), was a daughter of the god of medicine, Asclepius. She was the goddess of health, cleanliness and sanitation. She also played an important part in her father's cult. While her father was more directly associated with healing, she was associated with the prevention of sickness and the continuation of good health. Her name is the source of the word "hygiene"...

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Hygieia in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*(Ugi/eia), also called Hygea or Hygia, the goddess of health, and a daughter of Asclepius. (Paus. 1.23.5, 31.5.) In one of the Orphic hymns (66. 7) she is called the wife of Asclepius; and Proclus (ad Plat. Tim.) makes her a daughter of Eros and Peitho. She was usually worshipped in the same temples with her father, as at Argos, where the two divinities had a celebrated sanctuary (Paus. 2.23.4, 3.22.9), at Athens (1.23.5, 31.5), at Corinth (2.4.6), at Gortys (8.28.1), at Sicyon (2.11.6), at Oropus (1.34.2). At Rome there was a statue of her in the temple of Concordia (Plin. Nat. 34.19). In works of art, of which a considerable number has come down to our time, she was represented as a virgin dressed in a long robe, with the expression of mildness and kindness, and either alone or grouped with her father and sisters, and either sitting or standing, and leaning on her father. Her ordinary attribute is a serpent, which she is feeding from a cup. Although she is originally the goddess of physical health, she is sometimes conceived as the giver or protectress of mental health, that is, she appears as mens sana, or ὑλίεα φρενῶν (Aeschyl. Eum. 522), and was thus identified with Athena, surnamed Hygieia. (Paus. 1.23.5; comp. Lucian, pro Laps. 5; Hirt. Mythol. Bilderb. i. p. 84.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hymen in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Hymenaios (also Hymenaeus, Hymenaues, or Hymen; Ancient Greek: Ὑμέναιος) was a god of marriage ceremonies, inspiring feasts and song. A hymenaios is also a genre of Greek lyric poetry sung during the procession of the bride to the groom's house in which the god is addressed, in contrast to the Epithalamium, which was sung at the nuptial threshold...

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Hymen in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

or HYMENAEUS (Γ̔μήν or Γ̔μέναιος), the god of marriage, was conceived as a handsome youth, and invoked in the hymeneal or bridal song. The names originally designated the bridal song itself, which was subsequently personified. The first trace of this personification occurs in Euripides (Eur. Tro. 311), or perhaps in Sappho ( Fragm. 73, p. 80, ed. Neue). The poetical origin of the god Hymen or Hymenaeus is also implied in the fact of his being described as the son of Apollo and a Muse, either Calliope, Urania, or Terpsichore. (Catull. 61.2; Nonn. Dionys. 33.67; Schol. Vatic. ad Eurip. Rhes. 895, ed. Dindorf; Schol. ad Pind. Pyth. 4.313; Alciphron, Epist. 1.13; Tzetz. Chil. 13.599.) Hence he is mentioned along with the sons of the Muses, Linus and Ialemus, and with Orpheus. Others describe him only as the favourite of Apollo or Thamyris, and call him a son of Magnes and Calliope, or of Dionysus and Aphrodite. (Suid. s. v. Θάμυρρις; Ant. Lib. 23; Serv. ad Aen. 4.127, ad Virg. Eclog. 8.30.) The ancient traditions, instead of regarding the god as a personification of the hymeneal song, speak of him as originally a mortal, respecting whom various legends were related. According to an Argive tradition, Hymenaeus was a youth of Argos, who, while sailing along the coast of Attica, delivered a number of Attic maidens from the violence of some Pelasgian pirates, and was afterwards praised by them in their bridal songs, which were called, after him, hymeneal songs. (Eustath. ad Horn. p. 1157.) The Attic legends described him as a youth of such delicate beauty, that he might be taken for a girl. He fell in love with a maiden, who refused to listen to him; but in the disguise of a girl he followed her to Eleusis to the festival of Demeter. He, together with the other girls, was carried off by robbers into a distant and desolate country. On their landing, the robbers laid down to sleep, and were killed by Hymenaeus, who now returned to Athens, requesting the citizens to give him his beloved in marriage, if he restored to them the maidens who had been carried off by the robbers. His request was granted, and his marriage was extremely happy. For this reason he was invoked in the hymeneal songs. (Serv. ad Aen. 1.655, ad Virg. Eclog. 8.30.) According to others he was a youth, and was killed by the breaking down of his house on his wedding-day whence he was afterwards invoked in bridal songs, in order to be propitiated (Serv. l.c.); and some related that at the wedding of Dionysus and Ariadne he sang the bridal hymn, but lost his voice (Serv. l.c.; comp. Scriptor Rerum Mythic. pp. 26, 148, 229; Ov. Met. 2.683, who makes him a son of Argus and Perimele; Terent. Adelph. 5.7, 8.) According to the Orphic legends, the deceased Hymenaeus was called to life again by Asclepius. (Apollod. 3.10.3.) He is represented in works of art as a youth, but taller and with a more serious expression than Eros, and carrying in his hand a bridal torch. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. ii. p. 224.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hyperion in Wikipedia

Hyperion (Greek Ὑπερίων, "The High-One") was one of the twelve Titan gods of Ancient Greece, which were later supplanted by the Olympians.[1][2] He was the brother of Cronus. He was also the lord of light, and the titan of the east. He was the son of Gaia (the physical incarnation of Earth) and Uranus (literally meaning 'the Sky'), and was referred to in early mythological writings as Helios Hyperion (Ἥλιος Υπερίων), 'Sun High-one'. But in the Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony and the Homeric Hymn to Demeter the Sun is once in each work called Hyperionides (περίδής) 'son of Hyperion', and Hesiod certainly imagines Hyperion as a separate being in other writings. In later Ancient Greek literature, Hyperion is always distinguished from Helios - the former was ascribed the characteristics of the 'God of Watchfulness and Wisdom', while the latter became the physical incarnation of the Sun. Hyperion plays virtually no role in Greek culture and little role in mythology, save in lists of the twelve Titans. Later Greeks intellectualized their myths: "Of Hyperion we are told that he was the first to understand, by diligent attention and observation, the movement of both the sun and the moon and the other stars, and the seasons as well, in that they are caused by these bodies, and to make these facts known to others; and that for this reason he was called the father of these bodies, since he had begotten, so to speak, the speculation about them and their nature." -Diodorus Siculus (5.67.1) There is little to no reference to Hyperion during the Titanomachy, the epic in which the Olympians battle the ruling Titans, or the Gigantomachy, in which Gaia attempts to avenge the Titans by enlisting the aid of the giants ("Γίγαντες") that were imprisoned in Tartarus to facilitate the overthrow of the Olympians. - Wikipedia

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Hyperion in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ὑπερίων), a Titan, a son of Uranus and Ge, and married to his sister Theia, or Euryphaessa, by whom he became the father of Helios, Selene, and Eos. (Hes. Th. 134, 371, &c.; Apollod. 1.1.3, 2.2.) Homer uses the name in a patronymic sense applied to Helios, so that it is equivalent to Hyperionion or Hyperionides; and Homer's example is imitated also by other poets. (Hom. Od. 1.8, 12.132, Il. 8.480; Hes. Th. 1011; Ov. Met. 15.406.) Apolldorus dorus (3.12.5) mentions a son of Priam of the name of Hyperion. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hypermnestra in Wikipedia

Hypermnestra (Ancient Greek: Ὑπερμνήστρα), in Greek mythology, was the daughter of Danaus. Danaus was the twin brother of Aegyptus and son of Belus. He had fifty daughters, the Danaides, and Aegyptus had fifty sons. Aegyptus commanded that his sons marry the Danaides and Danaus fled to Argos, ruled by King Pelasgus. When Aegyptus and his sons arrived to take the Danaides, Danaus gave them to spare the Argives the pain of a battle. However, he instructed his daughters to kill their husbands on their wedding night. Forty-nine followed through, but one, Hypermnestra refused because her husband, Lynceus,[1] honored her wish to remain a virgin. Danaus was angry with his disobedient daughter and threw her to the Argive courts. Aphrodite intervened and saved her. Lynceus later killed Danaus as revenge for the death of his brothers. Lynceus and Hypermnestra then began a dynasty of Argive kings (the Danaan Dynasty), beginning with Abas. In some versions of the legend, the Danaides were punished in the underworld by being forced to carry water through a jug with holes, or a sieve, so the water always leaked out. Hypermnestra, however, went straight to Elysium. Hypermnestra was also the daughter of Thestius and Eurythemis. Her sisters are Althaea and Leda. With her husband Oicles, she had a son named Amphiaraus, who later took part in the war of the Seven Against Thebes...

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Hypermnestra in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

*(upermnh/stra, (a daughter of Thestius and Eurythemis, and the witie of Oicles, by whom she became the mother of Amphhiaraus Her tomb was shown at Argos. (Apollod. 1.7.10; Paus. 2.21.2.) One of the daughters of Danaus was likewise called Hypermnestra. [LYNCEUS.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hypnos in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Hypnos (Ὕπνος, "sleep") was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus. His twin was Thánatos (Θάνατος, "death"); their mother was the primordial goddess Nyx (Νύξ, "night"). His palace was a dark cave where the sun never shines. At the entrance were a number of poppies and other hypnogogic plants. Hypnos's three sons or brothers represented things that occur in dreams (the Oneiroi). Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos appear in the dreams of kings. According to one story, Hypnos lived in a cave underneath a Greek island; through this cave flowed Lethe, the river of forgetfulness...

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Hypnos in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[SOMNUS.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Iapetus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Iapetus (pronounced /aɪˈæpɪtəs/[1]), also Iapetos or Japetus (Greek: Ἰαπετός), was a Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia, and father (by an Oceanid named Clymene or Asia) of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius and through Prometheus, Epimetheus and Atlas an ancestor of the human race. He was the Titan of Mortal Life, while his son, Prometheus, was the creator of mankind...

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Iapetus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἰαπετός), a son of Uranus and Ge, a Titan and brother of Cronus, Oceanus, Coeus, Hyperion, Tethys, Rhea, &c. (Apollod. 1.1.3; Diod. 5.66.) According to Apollodorus (1.2.3) he married Asia, the daughter of his brother Oceanus, and became by her the father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius, who was slain by Zeus in the war against the Titans, and shut up in Tartarus. Other traditions call the wife of Iapetus Clymene, who was likewise a daughter of Oceanus, and others again Tethys, Asopis, or Libya. (Hes. Th. 507, &c.; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 1277; Orph. Fragm. 8.21, &c.; Verg. G. 1.279.) Hyginus, who confounds the Titans and Gigantes, makes Iapetus a Giant, and calls him a son of Tartarus. According to Homer (Hom. Il. 8.479) Iapetus is imprisoned with Cronus in Tartarus, and Silius Italicus (12.148, &c.) relates that he is buried under the island of Inarime. Being the father of Prometheus, he was regarded by the Greeks as the ancestor of the human race. His descendants, Prometheus, Atlas, and others, are often designated by the patronymic forms Iapelidae (es), Iapetionidae (es), and the feminine Iapetionis. (Hes. Th. 528; Ov. Met. 4.631; Pind. O. 9.59; comp. Voelcker, Mytholog. des Japetischen Geschlechtes, p. 4, &c.) Another mythical personage of the same name, the father of Buphagus, is mentioned by Pausanias (8.27.11). - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Icarus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Icarus (the Latin spelling, conventionally adopted in English; Greek: Ἴκαρος, Íkaros, Etruscan: Vikare[1]) is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. The main story told about Icarus is his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings constructed by his father. He ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and fell to his death. The myth shares thematic similarities with that of Phaethon, and is often depicted in art...

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Icarus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*)/Ikaros), a son of Daedalus. On his flight from Crete, his father attached to his body wings made of wax, and advised him not to fly too high; but Icarus, forgetting the advice of his father, flew so high that the sun melted the wings, and Icarus fell down into the sea, which was called after him, the Icarian. (Ov. Met. 8.195; Hyg. Fab. 40.) His body, which was washed on shore, was said to have been buried by Heracles. (Paus. 9.11.) The ancients explained the fable of the wings of Icarus, by understanding by it the invention of sails; and in fact some traditions stated that Daedalus and Icarus fled from Crete in a ship. Diodorus (4.77) relates that Icarus, while ascending into the air in the island of Icaria, fell down through his carelessness, and was drowned. Respecting the connection of Icarus with the early history of art, see DAEDALUS. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Io in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Io (pronounced /ˈaɪ.oʊ/ or /ˈiː.oʊ/, in Ancient Greek Ἰώ /iːɔ́ː/) was a priestess of Hera in Argos,[1] a nymph who was seduced by Zeus, who changed her into a heifer to escape detection. Her mistress Hera set ever-watchful Argus Panoptes to guard her, but Hermes was sent to distract the guardian and slay him. Heifer Io was loosed to roam the world, stung by a maddening gadfly sent by Hera, and wandered to Egypt, thus placing her descendant Belus in Egypt; his sons Cadmus and Danaus would thus "return" to mainland Greece...

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Io in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἰώ). The traditions about this heroine are so manifold, that it is impossible to give any goneral view of them without some classification we shall therefore give first the principal local traditions, next the wanderings of Io, as they are described by later writers, and lastly mention the various attempts to explain the stories about her. 1. Local traditions.--The place to which the legends of lo belong, and where she was closely connected with the worship of Zeus and Hera, is Argos. The chronological tables of the priestesses of Hera at Argos placed Io at the head of the list of priestesses, under the name of Callirhoe, or Callithyia. (Preller, de Hellan. Lesb. p. 40.) She is commonly described as a daughter of Inachus, the founder of the worship of Hera at Argos, and by others as a daughter of Iasus or Peiren. Zeus loved Io, but on account of Hera's jealousy, he metamorphosed her into a white cow. Hera thereupon asked and obtained the cow from Zeus, and placed her under the care of Argus Panoptes, who tied her to an olive tree in the grove of Hera at Mycenae. But Hermes was commissioned by Zens to deliver Io, and carry her off. Hermes being guided by a bird (ἱέραξ, πῖκον), who was Zeus himself (Suid. s. v. Ἰώ), slew Argus with a stone. Hera then sent a gad-fly. which tormented Io, and persecuted her through the whole earth, until at length she found rest on the banks of the Nile. (Apollod. 2.1.2; Hyg. Fab. 145; comp. Verg. G. 3.148, &c.) This is the common story, which appears to be very ancient, since Homer constantly applies the epithet of Argeiphontes (the siaver of Argus) to Hermes. But there are some slight modifications of the story in the different writers. Some, for example, place the scene of the murder of Argus at Nemea (Lucian, Dial. Deor. 3; Etymol. Mag. s. v. Ἀφέσιος). Ovid (Ov. Met. 1.722) relates that Hermes first sent Argus to sleep by the sweetness of his music on the flute, and that he then cut off the head of Argus, whose eyes Hera transferred to the tail of the peacock, her favourite bird. (Comp. Moschus, Idyll. 2.59.) A peculiar mournfill festival was celebrated in honour of Io at Argos, and although we have no distinct statement that she was worshipped in the historical ages of Greece, still it is not improbable that she was. (Suid. l. c.; Palaephat. p. 43; Strab. xiv. p.673.) There are indeed other places, besides Argos, where we meet with the legends of Io, but they must be regarded as importations from Argos, either through colonies sent by the latter city, or they were transplanted with the worship of Hera, the Argive goddess. We may mention Euboea, which probably derived its name from the cow Io, and where the spot was shown on which Io was believed to have been killed, as well as the cave in which she had given birth to Epaphus. (Strab. vii. p. 320; Steph. Byz. l. s. Ἄργουρα; Etymol. Mag. s. v. Εὔβοια.) Another place is Byzantium, in the foundation of which Argive colonists had taken part, and where the Bosporus derived its name, from the cow Io having swam across it. From the Thracian Bosporus the story then spread to the Cimmerian Bosporus and Panticapaeum. Tarsus and Antioch likewise had monuments to prove that Io had been in their neighbourhood, and that they were colonies of Argos. Io was further said to have been at Joppa and in Aethiopia, together with Perseus and Medusa (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 835, &c.); but it was more especially the Greeks residing in Egypt, who maintained that Io had been in Egypt, where she was said to have given birth to Epaphus, and to have introduced the worship of Isis, while Epaphus became the founder of a family from which sprang Danaus, who subsequently returned to Argos. This part of the story seems to have arisen from certain resemblances of religious notions, which subsequently even gave rise to the identification of Io and Isis. Herodotus (i. l, &c., 2.41) tells us that Isis was represented like the Greek Io, in the form of a woman, with cows' horns. 2. The wanderings of Io.--The idea of Io having wandered about after her metamorphosis appears to have been as ancient as the mythus respecting her, but those wanderings were extended and poetically embellished in proportion as geographical knowledge increased. The most important passage is in the Prometheus of Aeschylus, 705, &c., although it is almost impossible to reconcile the poet's description with ancient geography, so far as we know it. From Argos Io first went to Molossis and the neighbourhood of Dodona, and from thence to the sea, which derived from her the name of the Ionian. After many wanderings through the unknown regions of the north, she arrived in the place where Prometheus was fastened to a rock. As the Titan prescribes to her the course she has yet to take, it is of importance to ascertain the spot at which he begins to describe her course; but the expressions of Aeschylus are so vague, that it is a hopeless attempt to determine that spot. According to the extant play, it is somewhere in European Scythia, perhaps to the north of the river Istrus; but in the last play of the Trilogy, as well as in other accounts, the Caucasus is mentioned as the place where the Titan endured his tortures, and it remains again uncertain in what part of the Caucasus we have to conceive the suffering Titan. It seems to be the most probable supposition, that Aeschylus himself did not form a clear and distinct notion of the wanderings he describes, for how little he cared about geographical accuracy is evident from the fact, that in the Supplices (548, &c.) he describes the wanderings of Io in a very diffent manner from that adopted in the Prometheus. If, however, we place Prometheus somewhere in the north of Europe, the course he prescribes may be conceived in the following manner. Io has first to wander towards the east, through unknown countries, to the Scythian nomades (north of Olbia), whom, however, she is to avoid, by travelling through their country along the sea-coast; she is then to have on her left the Chalybes, against whom she must likewise be on her guard. These Chalybes are probably the Cimmerians, who formerly inhabited the Crimea and the adjacent part of Scythia, and afterwards the country about Sinope. From thence she is to arrive on the river Hybristes (the Don or Cuban), which she is to follow up to its sources, in the highest parts of Mount Caucasus, in order there to cross it. Thence she is to proceed southward, where she is to meet the Amazons (who at that time are conceived to live in Colchis, afterwards in Themiscyra, on the river Thermodon), who are to conduct her to the place where the Salmydessian rock endangers all navigation. This latter point is so clear an allusion to the coast north of the mouth of the Bosporus, that we must suppose that Aeschylus meant to describe Io as crossing the Thracian Bosporus from Asia into Europe. From thence he leads her to the Cimmerian Bos porus, which is to receive its name from her, and across the palus Maeotis. In this manner she would in part touch upon the same countries which she had traversed before. After this she is to leave Europe and go to Asia, according to which the poet must here make the Maeotis the boundary between Europe and Asia, whereas elsewhere he makes the Phasis the boundary. The description of the wanderings of Io is taken up again at verse 788. She is told that after crossing the water separating the two continents, she is to arrive in the hot countries situated under the rising sun. At this point in the description there is a gap, and the last passage probably described her further progress through Asia. Io then has again to cross a sea, after which she is to come to the Gorgonaean plains of Cisthenes (which, according to the scholiast, is a town of Aethiopia or Libya), and to meet the Graeae and Gorgones. The sea here mentioned is probably the so-called Indian Bosporus (Steph. Byz. s. v. Βόσπορος; Eustath. ad Dionys. Perieg. 143), where the extremities of Asia and Libya, India and Aethiopia, were conceived to be close to each other, and where some writers place the Gorgones. (Schol. ad Pind. Pyth. 10.72.) The mention, in the verses following, of the griffins and Arimaspae, who are generally assigned to northern regions, creates some difficulty, though the poet may have mentioned them without meaning to place them in the south, but only for the purpose of connecting the misfortunes of Io with the best-known monsters. From the Indian Bosporus, Io is to arrive in the country of the black people, dwelling around the well of the sun, on the river Aethiops, that is, the upper part of the Nile or the Niger. She is to follow the course of that river, until she comes to the cataracts of the Nile, which river she is again to follow down to the Delta, where delivery awaits her. (Comp. Eurip. Iphig. Taur. 382, &c.; Apollod. 2.1.3; Hyg. Fab. 145.) The mythus of Io is one of the most ancient, and at the same time one of the most difficult to explain. The ancients believed Io to be the moon, and there is a distinct tradition that the Argives called the moon Io. (Eustath. ad Dionys. Perieg. 92; Suid. and IIesych. s. v. Ἰώ.) This opinion has also been adopted by some modern critics, who at the same time see in this mythus a confirmation of the belief in an ancient connection between the religions of Greece and Egypt. (Buttmann, Mytholog. vol. ii. p. 179, &c.; Welcker, Die Aeschyl. Trilog. p. 127, &c.; Schwenk, Etymol. Mythol. Andeutungen, p. 62, &c.; Mytholog. der Griech. p. 52, &c. ; Klausen, in the Rhein. Museum, vol. iii. p. 293, &c.; Voelcker, Mythol Geogr. der Griech. u. Röm. vol. i.) That Io is identical with the moon cannot be doubted (comp. Eurip. Phoen, 1123; Macr. 1.19), and the various things related of her refer to the phases and phenomena of the moon, and are intimately connected with the worship of Zeus and Hera at Argos. Her connection with Egypt seems to be an invention of later times, and was probably suggested by the resemblance which was found to exist between the Argive Io and the Egyptian Isis. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Iobates in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Iobates (Greek: Ἰοβάτης), a.k.a. Jobates, was a Lycian king, the father of Antea and Philonoe. (This Iobatēs is sometimes named Amphianax[1].) Bellerophon was sent into exile to the land of King Iobates. Proetus, King of Tiryns, wanted Iobates to kill Bellerophon, but Iobates feared the wrath of the gods if he murdered a guest. So he sent Bellerophon on a mission that he deemed impossible: to kill a fire-breathing monster, the Chimera. An alternate version of the beginning of the quest is that Bellerophon encountered Proetus, who grew intensely jealous of him. Proetus was the son-in-law of Iobates, and sent Bellerophon to him with a sealed message that asked him to kill Bellerophon. Lycia at the time was in the middle of a horrific plague and Iobates didn't want to strain the population with a war, which would surely result if he murdered Bellerophon. Instead, he sent him to kill the Chimera...

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Iphigenia in Wikipedia

Iphigenia (pronounced /ɪfɨdʒɨˈnaɪ.ə/; Greek Ἰφιγένεια, Ifigeneia) is a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra in Greek mythology.[1] In Attic accounts,[2] Her name means "strong-born", "born to strength", or "she who causes the birth of strong offspring."[3] Artemis punished Agamemnon after he killed a deer in a sacred grove and boasted he was the better hunter. On his way to Troy to participate in the Trojan War, Agamemnon's ships were suddenly motionless, as Artemis stopped the wind in Aulis. The soothsayer, Calchas, revealed an oracle that appeased Artemis, so that the Achaean fleet could sail. This much is in Homer, who does not discuss the aspect of this episode in which other writers explain that the only way to appease Artemis was to sacrifice Iphigenia to her. According to the earliest versions he did so, but other sources claim that Iphigenia was taken by Artemis to Tauris in Crimea to prepare others for sacrifice, and that the goddess left a deer[4] or a goat (the god Pan transformed) in her place. The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women called her Iphimede/Iphimedeia (Ἰφιμέδεια)[5] and told that Artemis transformed her into the goddess Hecate.[6] Antoninus Liberalis said that Iphigenia was transported to the island of Leuke, where she was wedded to immortalized Achilles under the name of Orsilochia...

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Iris in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Iris (Ἴρις) is the personification of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. As the sun unites Earth and heaven, Iris links the gods to humanity. She travels with the speed of wind from one end of the world to the other,[1] and into the depths of the sea and the underworld. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Iris is the daughter of Thaumas and the air nymph Electra. Her sisters are the Harpies; Aello, Celaeno and Ocypete...

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Ismene in Wikipedia

Ismene (Greek: Ἰσμήνη Ismênê) is the name of two women of Greek mythology. The more famous is a daughter and half-sister of Oedipus, daughter and granddaughter of Jocasta, and sister of Antigone, Eteocles, and Polynices. She appears in several plays of Sophocles: at the end of Oedipus the King and to a limited extent in Oedipus at Colonus and Antigone. She also appears at the end of Aeschylus' Seven Against Thebes...

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Ixion in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Ixion (pronounced /ɪkˈsaɪ.ən/, ik-SYE-ən; Greek: Ἰξίων, Ixīōn) was king of the Lapiths, the most ancient tribe of Thessaly, and a son of Ares or Antion or the notorious evildoer Phlegyas, whose name connotes "fiery". Peirithoös[1] was his son (or stepson, if Zeus were his father, as the sky-god claims to Hera in Iliad 14).[2] Ixion married Dia,[3] a daughter of Deioneus (or Eioneus) and promised his father-in-law a valuable present. However, he did not pay the bride price, so Deioneus stole some of Ixion's horses in retaliation. Ixion concealed his resentment and invited his father-in-law to a feast at Larissa. When Deioneus arrived, Ixion pushed him into a bed of burning coals and wood. These circumstances are secondary to the fact of Ixion's primordial act of murder; it could be accounted for quite differently: in the Greek Anthology (iii.12), among a collection of inscriptions from a temple in Cyzicus is an epigrammatic description of Ixion slaying Phorbas and Polymelos, who had slain his mother, Megara, the "great one".[4]...

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Janus in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Janus (or Ianus) is the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings and endings. His most prominent remnant in modern culture is his namesake, the month of January, which begins the new year.The reason for this is because, one is looking back at the previous year and looking forward to the new year ahead. He is most often depicted as having two faces or heads, facing in opposite directions. These heads were believed to look into both the future and the past...

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Jason in Wikipedia

Jason (Greek: Ἰάσων, Iásōn) was a late ancient Greek mythological hero, famous as the leader of the Argonauts and their quest for the Golden Fleece. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus. He was married to the sorceress Medea. Jason appeared in various literature in the classical world of Greece and Rome, including the epic poem Argonautica and tragedian play, Medea. In the modern world, Jason has emerged as a character in various adaptations of his myths, such as the film Jason and the Argonauts. Jason has connections outside of the classical world, as he is seen as being the mythical founder of the city of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia...

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Jocasta in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Jocasta, also known as Jocaste (Greek: Iοκαστη), Epikastê[1], or Iokastê was a daughter of Menoeceus and Queen consort of Thebes, Greece. She was the wife of Laius. Wife and mother of Oedipus by Laius, and both mother and grandmother of Antigone, Eteocles, Polynices and Ismene by Oedipus. She was also sister of Creon. The tale goes that one day her husband, King Laius of Thebes, consulted an oracle while she was heavily pregnant with Oedipus. The oracle told Laius that the child was destined to kill his father and marry his own mother, i.e., Jocasta. So King Laius decided the child must be brought up to the mountain separating the city of Thebes from Corinth. He got a servant to travel to the top of the mountain and leave it there, but the servant saw nothing wrong with the baby and saw no reason to leave it to die. A shepherd was walking by and said that he and his wife would take the baby and raise it as if it were their own and they did for 19 years. Alternatively, Oedipus gets adopted by the king of Corinth and raised as a prince of that city. Jocasta allowed Laius to go through with the abandonment of the child in fear of the prophecy...

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Juno in Wikipedia

Juno (Latin pronunciation: /juːnoː/) was an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister (but also the wife) of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars, Minerva and Vulcan. Her Greek equivalent is Hera. As the patron goddess of Rome and the Roman empire she was called Regina ("queen") and, together with Jupiter and Minerva, was worshipped as a triad on the Capitol (Juno Capitolina) in Rome...

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Juno in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

The name of Juno is probably of the same root as Jupiter, and differs from it only in its termination. As Jupiter is the king of heaven and of the gods, so Juno is the queen of heaven, or the female Jupiter. The Romans identified at an early time their Juno with Hera, with whom she has indeed many resemblances, but we shall endeavour here to treat of the Roman Juno exclusively, and to separate the Greek notions [HERA] entertained by the Romans, from those which are of a purely Italian or Roman nature. Juno, as the queen of heaven, bore the surname of Regina, under which she was worshipped at Rome from early times, and at a later period her worship was solemnly transferred from Veii to Rome, where a sanctuary was dedicated to her on the Aventine. (Liv. 5.21, 22, 22.1, 27.37; Varr. de L. L. 5.67.) She is rarely described as hurling the thunderbolt, and the main feature of her character is, that she was to the female sex all that Jupiter was to the male, and that she was regarded as the protectress of every thing connected with marriage. She was, however, not only the protecting genius of the female sex in general, but accompanied every individual woman through life, from the moment of her birth to the end of her life. Hence she bore the special surnames of Virginalis and Matrona, as well as the general ones of Opigena and Sospita (Ov. Fast. 6.33; Hor. Carm. 3.4, 59; Serv. ad Aen. 8.84; August. de Civ. Dei, 4.11; Festus, p. 343, ed. Müller), under which she was worshipped both at Lanuvium and at Rome. (Liv. 24.10, 27.3, 32.30; Ov. Fast. 2.56; Cic. de Div. 1.2.) On their birthday women offered sacrifices to Juno surnamed natalis, just as men sacrificed to their genius natalis (Tib. 4.6. 13. 15); but the general festival, which was celebrated by all the women, in honour of Juno, was called Matronalia (Dict. of Ant. s. v.), and took place on the 1st of March. Her protection of women, and especially her power of making them fruitful, is further alluded to in the festival Populifugia (Dict. of Ant. s.v.) as well as in the surname of Februarius, Februata, Februta, or Februalis. (Fest. s.v. Februarius, p. 85, ed. Müller; comp. Ov. Fast. 2.441.) Juno was further, like Saturn, the guardian of the finances, and under the name of Moneta she had a temple on the Capitoline hill, which contained the mint. (Liv. 6.20.) Some Romans considered Juno Moneta as identical with Μνημοσύνη, but this identification undoubtedly arose from the desire of finding the name Moneta a deeper meaning than it really contains. [MONETA.] The most important period in a woman's life is that of her marriage, and, as we have already remarked, she was believed especially to preside over marriage. Hence she was called Juga or Jugalis [JUGA], and had a variety of other names, alluding to the various occasions on which she was invoked by newly-married people, such as, Domiduca, Iterduca, Pronuba, Cinxia, Prema, Pertunda, Fluonia, and Lucina. (Verg. A. 4.166, 457, with Serv. note; Ov. Ep. 6.43; August. de Civ. Dei, 6.7, 11, 7.3; Arnob. 3.7, 25, 6.7, 25; Fest. s. vv. The month of June, which is said to have originally been called Junonius, was considered to be the most favourable period for marrying. (Macr. 1.12; Ov. Fast. 6.56.) Juno, however, not only presided over the fertility of marriage, but also over its inviolable sanctity, and unchastity and inordinate love of sexual pleasures were hated by the goddess. Hence a law of Numa ordained that a prostitute should not touch the altar of Juno, and that if she had done so, she should with dishevelled hair offer a female lamb to Juno. (Gel. 4.3.) Women in childbed invoked Juno Lucina to help them (Plaut. Aulul. 4.7, 11; Plut. Quaest. Rom. 77; Propert. v 1, 95; Arnob. 3.9, 21, 23), and after the delivery of the child, a table was laid out for her in the house for a whole week (Tertull. de Anim. 39), for newly- born children were likewise under her protection, whence she was sometimes confounded with the Greek Artemis or Eileithyia. (Catull. 34.13; Dionys. A. R. 4.15; comp. MATUTA.) As Juno has all the characteristics of her husband, in so far as they refer to the female sex, she presides over all human affairs, which are based upon justice and faithfulness, and more especially over the domestic affairs, in which women are more particularly concerned, though public affairs were not beyond her sphere, as we may infer from her surnames of Curiatia and Populonia. [Comp. EMPANDA.] In Etruria, where the worship of Juno was very general, she bore the surname of Cupra, which is said to have been derived from the name of a town, but it may be connected with the Sabine word cyprus, which, according to Varro (de L. L. 5.159), signified good, and also occurs in the name of vicus Cyprius. At Falerii, too, her worship was of great importance (Dionys. A. R. 1.21), and so also at Lanuvium, Aricia, Tibur, Praeneste, and other places. (Ov. Fast. 6.49, 59; Liv. 5.21, 10.2; Serv. ad Aen. 7.739; Strab. v. p.241.) In the representations of the Roman Juno that have come down to us, the type of the Greek Hera is commonly adopted. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Jupiter in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Jupiter or Jove was the king of the gods, and the god of sky and thunder. He is the equivalent of Zeus, in the Greek pantheon. He was called Iuppiter (or Diespiter) Optimus Maximus ("Father God the Best and Greatest") As the patron deity of ancient Rome, he ruled over laws and social order. He was the chief god of the Capitoline Triad, with sister/wife Juno. Jupiter is also the father of the god Mars with Juno. Therefore, Jupiter is the grandfather of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. Jupiter was venerated in ancient Roman religion, and is still venerated in Roman Neopaganism. He is a son of Saturn, along with brothers Neptune and Pluto.[1][2][3] He is also the brother/husband of Ceres (daughter of Saturn and mother of Proserpina), brother of Veritas (daughter of Saturn), and father of Mercury...

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Jupiter in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Ju'piter or Ju'piter Conciliatrix or perhaps more correctly, JUPPITER, a contraction of Diovis pater, or Diespiter, and Diovis or dies, which was originally identical with divum (heaven); so that Jupiter literally means "the heavenly father." The same meaning is implied in the name Lucesius or Lucerius, by which he was called by the Oscans, and which was often used by the poet Naevius (Serv. ad Aen. 9.570; comp. Fest. s. v. Lucetium, p. 114, ed. Müller; Macr. 1.15; Gel. 5.12.) The corresponding name of Juno is Lucina. It is further not impossible that the forgotten name, divus pater Falacer, mentioned by Varro (de L. L. 5.84, 7.45), may be the same as Jupiter, since, according to Festus (s. v. falae, p. 88, ed. Müller), falandum was the Etruscan name for heaven. The surname of Supinalis (August. de Civ. Dei, 7.11) likewise alludes to the dome of heaven. As Jupiter was the lord of heaven, the Romans attributed to him power over all the changes in the heavens, as rain, storms, thunder and lightning, whence he had the epithets of Pluvius, Fulgurator, Tonitrualis, Tonans, Fulminator, and Serenator. (Appul. de Mund. 37; Fest. s. v. prorsum; Suet. Aug. 91.) As the pebble or flint stone was regarded as the symbol of lightning, Jupiter was frequently represented with such a stone in his hand instead of a thunderbolt (Arnob. 6.25); and in ancient times a flint stone was exhibited as a symbolic representation of the god. (Serv. ad Aen. 8.641; August. de Civ. Dei, 2.29.) In concluding a treaty, the Romans took the sacred symbols of Jupiter, viz. the sceptre and flint stone, together with some grass from his temple, and the oath taken on such an occasion was expressed by per Jovem Lopidem jurare. (Fest. s.v. Feretrius; Liv. 30.43; Appul. de Deo Socrat. 4; Cic. Fam. 7.12; Gel. 1.21; Plb. 3.26.) When the country wanted rain, the help of Jupiter was sought by a sacrifice called aquilicium (Tertull. Apol. 40); and respecting the mode of calling down lightning, see ELICIUS. These powers exercised by the god, and more especially the thunderbolt, which was ever at his command, made him the highest and most powerful among the gods, whence he is ordinarily called the best and most high (optimus maximus), and his temple stood on the capitol; for he, like the Greek Zeus, loved to erect his throne on lofty hills. (Liv. 1.10, 38, 43.55.) From the capitol, whence he derived the surnames of Capitolinus and Tarpeius, he looked down upon the forum and the city, and from the Alban and sacred mounts he surveyed the whole of Latium (Fest. s. v. Sacer Mons), for he was the protector of the city and the surrounding country. As such he was worshipped by the consuls on entering upon their office, and a general returning from a campaign had first of all to offer up his thanks to Jupiter, and it was in honour of Jupiter that the victorious general celebrated his triumph. (Liv. 21.63, 41.32, 42.49.) The god himself was therefore designated by the names of Imperator, Victor, Invictus, Stator, Opitulus, Feretrius, Praedator, Triumphator, and the like. (Liv. 1.12, 6.29, 10.29; Ov. Fast. 4.621; August. de Civ. Dei, 8.11; Serv. ad Aen. 3.223; Appul. de Mund. 37; Festus, s. v. Opitulus; Cic. de Leg. 2.11, in Verr. 4.58.) Under all these surnames the god had temples or statues at Rome; and two temples, viz. those of Jupiter Stator at the Mucian gate and Jupiter Feretrius, were believed to have been built in the time of Romulus. (Liv. 1.12, 41; Dionys. A. R. 2.34, 50.) The Roman games and the Feriae Latinae were celebrated to him under the names of Capitolinus and Latialis. Jupiter, according to the belief of the Romans, determined the course of all earthly and human affairs: he foresaw the future, and the events happening in it were the results of his will. He revealed the future to man through signs in the heavens and the flight of birds, which are hence called the messengers of Jupiter, while the god himself is designated as Prodigialis, that is, the sender of prodigies. (Plaut. Amphitr. 2.2, 107.) For the same reason Jupiter was invoked at the beginning of every undertaking, whether sacred or profane, together with Janus, who blessed the beginning itself (August. de Civ. Dei, 7.8; Liv. 8.9; Cato, de R. R. 134, 141; Macr. 1.16); and rams were sacrificed to Jupiter on the ides of every month by his flamen, while a female lamb and a pig were offered to Juno on the kalends of every month by the wife of the rex sacrorum. (Macr. 1.15; Ov. Fast. 1.587; Fest. s. v. Idulis Ovis.) Another sacrifice, consisting of a ram, was offered to Jupiter in the regia on the nundines, that is, at the beginning of every week (Macr. 1.16; Festus. s. v. nundinas); and it may be remarked in general that the first day of every period of time both at Rome and in Latium was sacred to Jupiter, and marked by festivals, sacrifices, or libations. It seems to be only a necessary consequence of what has been already said, that Jupiter was considered as the guardian of law, and as the protector of justice and virtue: he maintained the sanctity of an oath, and presided over all transactions which were based upon faithfulness and justice. Hence Fides was his companion on the capitol, along with Victoria; and hence a traitor to his country, and persons guilty of perjury, were thrown down the Tarpeian rock. Faithfulness is manifested in the internal relations of the state, as well as in its connections with foreign powers, and in both respects Jupiter was regarded as its protector. Hence Jupiter and Juno were the guardians of the bond of marriage; and when the harmony between husband and wife was disturbed, it was restored by Juno, surnamed Conciliatrix or Viriplaca, who had a sanctuary on the Palatine. (Fest. s. v. Conciliatric; V. Max. 2.1.6.) Not only the family, however, but all the political bodies into which the Roman people was divided, such as the gentes and curiae, were under the especial protection of the king and queen of the gods; and so was the whole body of the Roman people, that is, the Roman state itself. The fact of Jupiter being further considered as the watchful guardian of property, is implied in his surname of Hercius (from the ancient herctum, property), and from his being expressly called by Dionysius (2.74), ὅριος Ζεύς, i.e. Jupiter Terminus, or the protector of boundaries, not only of private property, but of the state. As Jupiter was the prince of light, the white colour was sacred to him, white animals were sacrificed to him, his chariot was believed to be drawn by four white horses, his priests wore white caps, and the consuls were attired in white when they offered sacrifices in the capitol the day they entered on their office. (Festus, s.v. albogalerum pileum.) When the Romans became acquainted with the religion of the Greeks, they naturally identified Jupiter with Zeus, and afterwards with the Egyptian Ammon, and in their representations of the god they likewise adopted the type of the Greek Zeus. [ZEUS; comp. Hartung, Die Relig. der Röm. vol. ii. p. 8, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Juventas in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Hēbē (Greek: Ἥβη) is the goddess of youth[1] (Roman equivalent: Juventas).[2] She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera.[3] Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles, (Roman equivalent: Hercules); her successor was the young Trojan prince Ganymede. Another title of hers, for this reason, is "Ganymeda." She also drew baths for Ares and helped Hera enter her chariot.[4]...

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Juventas in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[HEBE.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Lachesis in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Lachesis (also Lakhesis, Greek: Λάχεσις, English: "disposer of lots", Etymology: λαγχάνω - to obtain by lot, by fate, or by the will of the gods) was the second of the Three Fates, or Moirae. Her Roman equivalent was Decima. Lachesis was the apportioner, deciding how much time for life was to be allowed for each person or being [1] . She measured the thread of life with her rod. She is also said to choose a person's destiny after a thread was measured. In mythology, it is said that she appears with her sisters within three days of a baby's birth to decide its fate...

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Lachesis in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[MOIRA.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Laius in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, King Laius, or Laios of Thebes was a divine hero and key personage in the Theban founding myth. Son of Labdacus, he was raised by the regent Lycus after the death of his father. While Laius was still young, Amphion and Zethus usurped the throne of Thebes. Some Thebans, wishing to see the line of Cadmus continue, smuggled Laius out of the city before their attack, in which they killed Lycus and took the throne.[1] Laius was welcomed by Pelops, king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus.[2] Laius abducted and raped the king's son, Chrysippus, and carried him off to Thebes while teaching him how to drive a chariot, or as Hyginus records it, during the Nemean games. This abduction was the subject of one of the lost tragedies of Euripides. With both Amphion and Zethus having died in his absence, Laius became king of Thebes upon his return...

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Laius in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*La/i+os). 1. A son of Labdacus, and father of Oedipus. After his father's death he was placed under the guardianship of Lycus, and on the death of the latter, Laius was obliged to take refuge with Pelops in Peloponnesus. But when Amphion and Zethus, the murderers of Lycus, who had usurped his throne, had lost their lives, Laius returned to Thebes, and ascended the throne of his father. He married Jocaste (Homer calls her Epicaste), and became by her the father of Oedipus, by whom he was slain without being known to him. His body was buried by Damasistratus, king of Plataeae. (Hdt. 5.59; Paus. 9.5.2; Apollod. 3.5.5, &c.; Diod. 5.64; comp. OEDIPUS.) 2. A Cretan, who, together with Aegolius, Celeus, and Cerberus, entered the sacred cave of bees in Crete, in order to steal honey. They succeeded in their crime, but perceived the cradle of the infant Zeus, and that instant their brazen armour broke to pieces. Zeus thundered, and wanted to kill them by a flash of lightning; but the Moerae and Themis prevented him, as no one was allowed to be killed on that sacred spot, whereupon the thieves were metamorphosed into birds. (Ant. Lib. 19; Plin. Nat. 10.60, 79.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Laocoön in Wikipedia

Laocoön (Λαοκόων [laoˈko.ɔːn], English: /leɪˈɒkɵ.ɒn/), the son of Acoetes[1] is a figure in Greek and Roman mythology, a Trojan priest of Poseidon[2] (or Neptune), whose rules he had defied, either by marrying and having sons,[3] or by having committed an impiety by making love with his wife in the presence of a cult image in a sanctuary.[4] His minor role in the Epic Cycle narrating the Trojan War was of warning the Trojans in vain against accepting the Trojan Horse from the Greeks-"A deadly fraud is this," he said, "devised by the Achaean chiefs!"[5]-and for his subsequent divine execution by two serpents sent to Troy across the sea from the island of Tenedos, where the Greeks had temporarily camped.[6]...

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Haemon in Wikipedia

According to Sophocles' play Antigone (Sophocles), Haemon ("bloody") (or Haimon, Greek :Άιμον Haimon) was the son of Creon and Eurydice. When Oedipus stepped down as King of Thebes, he gave the kingdom to his two sons, Eteocles and Polynices, who both agreed to alternate the throne every year. However, they showed no concern for their father, who cursed them for their negligence. After the first year, Eteocles refused to step down and Polynices attacked Thebes with his supporters of the Argive (the Seven Against Thebes). Both brothers died in the battle. King Creon, Oedipus' brother-in-law and the sons' uncle, decreed that Polynices was not to be buried. Antigone, Oedipus' daughter and the sister of Polynices, defied the order, but was caught. Creon decreed that she was to be thrown into a cave with a days worth of food, in spite of the fact that she was betrothed to his son, Haemon. The gods, through the blind prophet Tiresias, expressed their disapproval of Creon's decision, which convinced him to rescind his order, and he went to bury Polynices. However, Antigone had already hanged herself on the way to her burial. When Creon arrived at the tomb where she was to be left, his son, Haemon, threatens him and tries to kill him but ends up taking his own life. Creon's wife Eurydice, informed of Haemon's death, took her own life out of grief. Haemon is betrothed to Antigone. He must choose between his father (whom he has always followed) and his lover Antigone. He chooses the morally right side of Antigone's but cannot separate himself from either because of the strong ties of family and love. He commits suicide because of his helpless situation, which also leads his mother to commit suicide. These actions cause Creon's madness at the play's conclusion. - Wikipedia

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Haemon in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

3. A son of Creon of Thebes, perished, according to some accounts, by the sphinx. (Apollod. 3.5.8; Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 1760.) But, according to other traditions, he survived the war of the Seven against Thebes, and he is said to have been in love with Antigone, and to have made away with himself on hearing that she was condemned by his father to be entombed alive. (Soph. Antig. 627, &c.; Eur. Phoen. 757, 1587; Hyg. Fab. 72.) In the Iliad (4.394) Macon is called a son of Haemon. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hamadryads in Wikipedia

Hamadryads (Ἁμαδρυάδες) are Greek mythological beings that live in trees. They are a specific species of dryad, which are a particular type of nymph. Hamadryads are born bonded to a specific tree. Some believe that hamadryads are the actual tree, while normal dryads are simply the entity, or spirit, of the tree. If the tree died, the hamadryad associated with it died as well. For that reason, dryads and the gods punished any mortals who harmed trees. The Deipnosophistae of Athenaeus lists eight Hamadryads, the daughters of Oxylus and Hamadryas:...

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Harpies in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, a harpy ("snatcher", from Latin: harpeia, originating in Greek: ἅρπυια, harpūia) was one of the winged spirits best known for constantly stealing all food from Phineas. The literal meaning of the word seems to be "that which snatches" as it comes from the ancient Greek word harpazein (ἁρπάζειν), which means "to snatch". A harpy was the mother by the West Wind Zephyros of the horses of Achilles.[1] In this context Jane Ellen Harrison adduced the notion in Virgil's Georgics (iii.274) that mares became gravid by the wind alone, marvelous to say.[2] Hesiod[3] calls them two "lovely-haired" creatures, perhaps euphemistically. Harpies as ugly winged bird-women, e.g. in Aeschylus' The Eumenides (line 50) are a late development, due to a confusion with the Sirens. Roman and Byzantine writers detailed their ugliness.[4]...

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Harpyiae in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἅρπυιαι), that is, "the swift robbers," are, in the Homeric poems, nothing but personified storm winds. (Od. 20.66, 77.) Homer mentions only one by name, viz. Podarge, who was married to Zephyrus, and gave birth to the two horses of Achilles, Xanthus and Balius. (Il. 16.149, &c.) When a person suddenly disappeared from the earth, it was said that he had been carried off by the Harpies (Od. 1.241, 14.371); thus, they carried off the daughters of king Pandareus, and gave them as servants to the Erinnyes. (Od. 20.78.) According to Hesiod (Hes. Th. 267, &c.), the Harpies were the daughters of Thaumas by the Oceanid Electra, fair- locked and winged maidens, who surpassed winds and birds in the rapidity of their flight. Their names in Hesiod are Aello and Ocypete. (Comp. Apollod. 1.2.6.) But even as early as the time of Aeschylus (Aesch. Eum. 50), they are described as ugly creatures with wings, and later writers carry their notions of the Harpies so far as to represent them as most disgusting monsters. They were sent by the gods as a punishment to harass the blind Phineus, and whenever a meal was placed before him, they darted down from the air and carried it off; later writers add, that they either devoured the food themselves, or that they dirtied it by dropping upon it some stinking substance, so as to render it unfit to be eaten. They are further described in these later accounts as birds with the heads of maidens, with long claws on their hands, and with faces pale with hunger. (Verg. A. 3.216, &c.; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 653; Ov. Met. 7.4, Fast. 6.132; Hyg. Fab. 14.) The traditions about their parentage likewise differ in the different traditions, for some called them the daughters of Pontus (or Poseidon) and Terra (Serv. ad Aen. 3.241), of Typhon (Val. Flacc 4.428, 516), or even of Phineus. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 166, Chil. 1.220; Palaephat. 23. 3). Their number is either two, as in Hesiod and Apollodorus, or three; but their names are not the same in all writers, and, besides those already mentioned, we find Aellopos, Nicothoe, Ocythoe, Ocypode, Celaeno, Acholoe. (Apollod. 1.9, 21; Serv. ad Aen. 3.209; Hygin. Fab. Praef. p. 15, Fab. 14.) Their place of abode is either the islands called Strophades (Verg. A. 3.210), a place at the entrance of Orcus (6.289), or a cave in Crete. (Apollon. 2.298.) The most celebrated story in which the Harpies play a part is that of Phineus, at whose residence the Argonauts arrived while he was plagued by the monsters. Hte promised to instruct them respecting the course they had to take, if they would deliver him from the Harpies. When the food for Phineus was laid out on a table, the Harpies immediately came, and were attacked by the Boreades, Zetes and Calais, who were among the Argonauts, and provided with wings. According to an ancient oracle, the Harpies were to perish by the hands of the Boreades, but the latter were to die if they could not overtake the Harpies. The latter fled, but one fell into the river Tigris, which was hence called Harpys, and the other reached the Echinades, and as she never returned, the islands were called Strophades. But being worn out with fatigue, she fell down simultaneously with her pursuer; and, as they promised no further to molest Phineus, the two Harpies were not deprived of their lives. (Apollod. 1.9.21.) According to others, the Boreades were on the point of killing the Harpies, when Iris or Hermes appeared, and commanded the conquerors to set them free, or both the Harpies as well as the Boreades died. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1.286, 297; Tzetz. Chil. 1.217.) In the famous Harpy monument recently brought from Lycia to this country, the Harpies are represented in the act of carrying off the daughters of Pandareus. (Th. Panofka, in the Archaeol. Zeitung for 1843, No. 4; E. Braun, in the Rhein. Mus. Neue Folge, vol. iii. p. 481, &c., who conceives that these rapacious birds with human heads are symbolical representations of death carrying off everything.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hebe in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Hēbē (Greek: Ἥβη) is the goddess of youth[1] (Roman equivalent: Juventas).[2] She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera.[3] Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles, (Roman equivalent: Hercules); her successor was the young Trojan prince Ganymede. Another title of hers, for this reason, is "Ganymeda." She also drew baths for Ares and helped Hera enter her chariot.[4] In Euripides' play Heracleidae, Hebe granted Iolaus' wish to become young again in order to fight Eurystheus. Hebe had two children with her husband Heracles: Alexiares and Anicetus.[5] In Roman mythology, Juventas received a coin offering from boys when they put on the adult men's toga for the first time...

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Hebe in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἥβη), the personification of youth, is described as a daughter of Zeus and Hera (Apollod. 1.3.1.), and is, according to the Iliad (4.2), the minister of the gods, who fills their cups with nectar; she assists Hera in putting the horses to her chariot (5.722); and she bathes and dresses her brother Ares (5.905). According to the Odyssey (11.603); comp. Hes. Th. 950), she was married to Heracles after his apotheosis. Later traditions, however, describe her as having become by Heracles the mother of two sons, Alexiares and Anticetus (Apollod. 2.7.7), and as a divinity who had it in her power to make persons of an advanced age young again. (Ov. Met. 9.400, &c.) She was worshipped at Athens, where she had an altar in the Cynosarges, near one of Heracles. (Paus. 1.19.3.) Under the name of the female Ganymedes (Ganymeda) or Dia, she was worshipped in a sacred grove at Sicyon and Phlius. (Paus. 2.13.3; Strab. viii. p.382.) At Rome the goddess was worshipped under the corresponding name of Juventas, and that at a very early time, for her chapel on the Capitol existed before the temple of Jupiter was built there; and she, as well as Terminus, is said to have opposed the consecration of the temple of Jupiter. (Liv. 5.54.) Another temple of Juventas, in the Circus Maximus, was vowed by the consul M. Livius, after the defeat of Hasdrubal, in B. C. 207, and was consecrated 16 years afterwards. (Liv. 36.36 ; comp. 21.62; Dionys. A. R. 4.15, where a temple of Juventas is mentioned as early as the reign of Servius Tullius; August. de Civ. Dei, 4.23; Plin. Nat. 29.4, 14, 35.36, 22.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hecate in Wikipedia

Hecate or Hekate (ancient Greek Ἑκάτη, Hekátē, pronounced / ˈhɛkətiː/ or /ˈhɛkət/[1] in English) is a chthonic Greco-Roman goddess associated with magic and crossroads. She is attested in poetry as early as Hesiod's Theogony. An inscription from late archaic Miletus naming her as a protector of entrances is also testimony to her presence in archaic Greek religion.[2]...

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Hecate in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἑκάτη), a mysterious divinity, who, according to the most common tradition, was a daughter of Persaeus or Perses and Asteria, whence she is called Perseis. (Apollod. 1.2.4; Apollon. 3.478.) Others describe her as a daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and state that she was sent out by her father in search of Persephone (Schol. ad Tleocrit. 2.12); others again make her a daughter of Zeus either by Pheraea or by Hera (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 1175; Schol. ad Theocrit. 2.36) ; and others, lastly, say that she was a daughter of Leto or Tartarus. (Procl. in Plat. Cratyl. p. 112 ; Orph. Argon. 975.) Homer does not mention her. According to the most genuine traditions, she appears to have been an ancient Thracian divinity, and a Titan, who, from the time of the Titans, ruled in heaven, on the earth, and in the sea, who ebestowed on mortals wealth, victory, wisdom, good luck to sailors and hunters, and prosperity to youth and to the flocks of cattle; but all these blessings might at the same time be withheld by her, if mortals did not deserve them. She was the only one among the Titans who retained this power under the rule of Zeus, and she was honoured by all the immortal gods. She also assisted the gods in their war with the Gigantes, and slew Clytius. (Hes. Th. 411-452; Apollod. 1.6.2.) This extensive power possessed by Hecate was probably the reason that subsequently she was confounded and identified with several other divinities, and at length became a mystic goddess, to whom mysteries were celebrated in Samothrace (Lycoph. 77; Schol. ad Aristoph. Pac. 277) and in Aegina. (Paus. 2.30.2; comp. Plut. de Flum. 5.) For being as it were the queen of all nature, we find her identitied with Demeter, Rhea (Cybele or Brimo); being a huntress and the protector of youth, she is the same as Artemis (Curotrophos); and as a goddess of the moon, she is regarded as the mystic Persephone. (Hom. Hymn. in Cer. 25, with the commentat.; Paus. 1.43.1.) She was further connected with the worship of other mystic divinities, such as the Cabeiri and Curetes (Schol. ad Theocrit. 2.12; Strab. x. p.472), and also with Apollo and the Muses. (Athen. 14.645; Strab. x. p.468.) The ground-work of the above-mentioned confusions and identifications, especially with Demeter and Persephone, is contained in the Homeric hymn to Demeter; for, according to this hymn, she was, besides Helios, the only divinity who, from her cave, observed the abduction of Persephone. With a torch in her hand, she accompanied Demeter in the search after Persephone; and when the latter was found, Hecate remained with her as her attendant and companion. She thus becomes a deity of the lower world; but this notion does not occur till the time of the Greek tragedians, though it is generally current among the later writers. She is described in this capacity as a mighty and formidable divinity, ruling over the souls of the departed ; she is the goddess of purifications and expiations, and is accompanied by Stygian dogs. (Orph. Lith. 48; Schol. ad Theocr l.c. ; Apollon. 3.1211; Lycoph. 1175; Horat. Sat. 1.8. 35; Verg. A. 6.257.) By Phorcos she became the mother of Scylla. (Apollon. 4.829 ; comp. Hom. Od. 12.124.) There is another very important feature which arose out of the notion of her being an infernal divinity, namely, she was regarded as a spectral being, who at night sent from the lower world all kinds of demons and terrible phantoms, who taught sorcery and witchcraft, who dwelt at places where two roads crossed each other, on tombs, and near the blood of murdered persons. She herself too wanders about with the souls of the dead, and her approach is announced by the whining and howling of dogs. (Apollon. 3.529, 861, 4.829; Theocrit. l.c. ; Ov. Ep. 12.168, Met. 14.405; Stat. Theb. 4.428 ; Verg. A. 4.609; Orph. Lith. 45, 47; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1197, 1887; Diod. 4.45.) A number of epithets given her by the poets contain allusions to these features of the popular belief, or to her form. She is described as of terrible appearance, either with three bodies or three heads, the one of a horse, the second of a dog, and the third of a lion. (Orph. Argon. 975, &c.; Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 1467, 1714.) In works of art she was some-times represented as a single being, but sometimes also as a three-headed monster. (Paus. 2.28.8. 30.2.) Besides Samothrace and Aegina, we find express mention of her worship at Argos (Paus. 2.30.2.) and at Athens, where she had a sanctuary under the name of Ἐπιπυργιδία, on the acropolis, not far from the temple of Nice. (Paus. 2.30.2.) Small statues or symbolical representations of Hecate (ἑκάταια) were very numerous, especially at Athens, where they stood before or in houses, and on spots where two roads crossed each other; and it would seem that people consulted such Hecataea as oracles. (Aristoph. Wasps 816, Lysistr. 64; Eur. Med. 396; Porphyr. de Abstin. 2.16; Hesych. s. v. Ἑκάταια). At the close of every month dishes with food were set out for her and other averters of evil at the points where two roads crossed each other; and this food was consumed by poor people. (Aristoph. Pl. 596 ; Plut. Synmpos. 7.6.) The sacrifices offered to her consisted of dogs, honey, and black female lambs. (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 49; Schol. ad Theocrit. 2.12 ; Apollon. 3.1032.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hector in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Hectōr (Ἕκτωρ, "holding fast"[1]), or Hektōr, is a Trojan prince and the greatest fighter of Troy in the Trojan War. As the son of Priam and Hecuba, a descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy,[2] he is a prince of the royal house. He was married to Andromache, with whom he had an infant son, Astynyax. He acts as leader of the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing 31 Greeks in all[3]. In the European Middle Ages, Hector figures as one of the Nine Worthies noted by Jacques de Longuyon, known not only for his courage but also for his noble and courtly nature. Indeed Homer places Hector as the very noblest of all the heroes in the Iliad: he is both peace-loving and brave, thoughtful as well as bold, a good son, husband and father, and totally without darker motives. When the Trojans are disputing whether the omens are favourable, he retorts:...

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Hector in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἕκτωρ), the chief hero of the Trojans in their war with the Greeks, was the eldest son of Priam by Hecabe, the husband of Andromache, and father of Scamandrius. (Hom. Il. 2.817; Apollod. 3.12.5; Theocrit. 15.139.) Some traditions describe him as a son of Apollo (Tzetz. ad Lycoplh. 265; Schol. Venet. ad II. 3.314.), and speak of him as the father of two sons by Andromache, viz. Scamandrius and Laodamas, or Amphineus. (Dict. Cret. 3.20.) According to the most common account, Protesilaus, who was the first of the Greeks that jumped upon the Trojan coast, was slain by Hector. (Lucian, Dial. Mort. 23, 1; Hyg. Fab. 113.) This, however, is not mentioned in the Iliad; and his first act described in that poem is his censure of Alexander (Paris) who, after having gone out to fight Menelaus in single combat, took to flight. (Il. 3.39, &c.) He himself then challenged Menelaus. During the battle he was accompanied by Ares, with whom he rushed forward to protect his friend Sarpedon, and slew many Greeks (5.590, &c.) When Diomedes had wounded Ares, and was pressing the Trojans very hard, Hector hastened to the city to request Hecabe to pray to Athena for assistance. (6.110.) Hereupon he went to Paris and had a conversation with him and Helena, reproaching the former for his cowardice. He then went to his own house to seek Andromache, but she was absent; and he afterwards found her with her child Scamandrius at the Scaean gate. The scene which there took place is one of the most delicate and beautiful scenes in the Iliad (6.406, &c.). After having taken leave of his wife and child, he returned to battle, and challenged the bravest of the Greeks to single combat. No one ventured to come forward except Menelaus, who, however, was dissuaded from it by his friends. The lot then fell upon the Telamonian Ajax. Hector was wounded, and at nightfall the battle ceased, and the two heroes honoured each other with presents. After this he again distinguished himself by various feats (8.307, &c., 10.299, &c.,11.163, &c.) In the fierce battle in the camp of the Greeks, he was struck with a stone by Ajax, and carried away from the field of battle (14.402). Apollo cured his wound, and then led him back to battle. He there repelled Ajax, and fire was set to the ships of the Greeks (15.253, &100.16.114, &c.). In the encounter with Patroclus, he at first gave way, but, encouraged by Apollo, he returned, fought with Patroclus, slew him, took off his armour, and put it on himself (16.654. &c., 17.192). Thereupon a vehement contest took place about the body of Patroclus, which Hector refused to give up. Polydamas advised him to withdraw to the city before the arrival of Achilles, but the Trojan hero refused (18.160, &c.). Apollo forbade Hector to enter upon a contest with Achilles; but when the two heroes met, they were protected by Apollo and Athena (20.375, &c.). The Trojans fled, but Hector, although called back by his parents in the most imploring terms, remained and awaited Achilles. When, however, the latter made his appearance, Hector took to flight, and was chased thrice around the city (22.90, &c.). His fall was now determined on by Zeus and Athena; and assuming the appearance of Deiphobus, Athena urged him to make his stand against the pursuer. Hector was conquered, and fell pierced by the spear of Achilles (22.182-330; comp Dict. Cret. 3.15). Achilles tied his body to his own chariot, and thus dragged him into the camp of the Greeks; but later traditions relate that he first dragged the body thrice around the walls of Ilium. (Verg. A. 1.483.) In the camp the body was thrown into the dust, that it might be devoured by the dogs. But Aphrodite embalmed it with ambrosia, and Apollo protected it by a cloud. At the command of Zeus, however, Achilles surrendered the body to the prayers of Priam (24.15, &c.; comp. Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1273; Verg. A. 1.484). When the body arrived at Ilium, it was placed on a bier ; and while Andromache held the head of her beloved Hector on her knees, the lamentations began, whereupon the body was burned, and solemnly buried (24.718, &c.). Funeral games were celebrated on his tomb (Verg. A. 5.371; Philostr. Her. 10), and on the throne of Apollo at Amyclae, the Trojans were seen offering sacrifices to him. (Paus. 3.18.9.) In pursuance of an oracle, the remains of Hector were said to have been conveyed to the Boeotian Thebes, where his tomb was shown in later times. (Paus. 9.18.4; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 1194.) Hector is one of the noblest conceptions of the poet of the Iliad. He is the great bulwark of Troy, and even Achilles trembles when he approaches him. He has a presentiment of the fall of his country, but he perseveres in his heroic resistance, preferring death to slavery and disgrace. But besides these virtues of a warrior, he is distinguished also, and perhaps more so than Achilles, by those of a man: his heart is open to the gentle feelings of a son, a husband, and a father. He was represented in the Lesche at Delphi by Polygnotus (Paus. 10.31.2), and on the chest of Cypselus (5.19.1), and he is frequently seen in vase paintings. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hecuba in Wikipedia

Hecuba (also Hekábe, Hecabe, Hécube; Ancient Greek: Ἑκάβη) was a queen in Greek mythology, the wife of King Priam of Troy, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous son was Hector of Troy. Her most famous daughter was Cassandra, priestess of Apollo. Hecuba was of Phrygian birth; her father was Dymas, and her mother Eunoe was said to be a daughter of Sangarius, god of the Sangarius River, the principal river of ancient Phrygia. In the Iliad, Hecuba appears as the mother of Hector, lamenting his death in a well-known speech in Book 24 of the epic. She has several smaller appearances in the poem; in Book 6, under Heleneus' advice, she leads the Trojan women to the temple of Athena to pray for help. In Book 22, she pleads with Hector not to fight Achilles, for fear of "never get[ting] to mourn you laid out on a bier." [1]...

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Hecuba in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[HECABE.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Helen in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Helen (in Greek, Ἑλένη – Helénē), known as Helen of Troy (and earlier Helen of Sparta), was the daughter of Zeus and Leda (or Nemesis), daughter of King Tyndareus, wife of Menelaus and sister of Castor, Polydeuces and Clytemnestra. Her abduction by Paris brought about the Trojan War. Helen was described by Dr. Faustus in Christopher Marlowe's eponymous play as having "the face that launched a thousand ships."...

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Helen in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἑλένη), a daughter of Zeus and Leda, and the sister of Polydeuces and Castor ; some traditions called her a daughter of Zeus by Nemesis. (Apollod. 3.10.6; Hyg. Fab. 77 ; Schol. ad Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 232.) She was of surpassing beauty, and is said to have in her youth been carried off by Theseus, in conjunction with Peirithous to Attica. When therefore Theseus was absent in Hades, Polydeuces and Castor (the Dioscuri) undertook an expedition to Attica. Athens was taken, Helena delivered, and Aethra, the mother of Theseus, was taken prisoner, and carried by the Dioscuri, as a slave of Helena, to Sparta. (Hyg. Fab. 79; comp. Paus. 1.17.6, 41.5, 2.22.7.) After her return to Sparta, princely suitors appeared from all parts of Greece and (Hyg. Fab. 81; Apollod. 3.10.8), but, after a consultation with Odysseus, who was likewise one of them, Tyndareus, the husband of Leda, gave her in marriage to Menelaus, who became by her the father of Hermione, and, according to others, of Nicostratus also. She was subsequently seduced and carried off by Paris to Troy. [PARIS ; MENELAUS.] Ptolemaeus Hephaestion (4) mentions six other mythical personages of the same name: 1. a daughter of Paris and Helena; 2. a daughter of Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra; 3. a daughter of Epidamnius; 4. a daughter of Faustulus, the shepherd who brought up Romulus and Remus ; 5. a daughter of Tityrus; and 6. a daughter of Micythus, the beloved of Stesichorus. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Heliades in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Heliades ("children of the sun") were the daughters of Helios, the god who drove the sun before Apollo. According to one source, there were three: Aegiale, Aegle, and Aetheria. According to another source, there were five: Helia, Merope, Phoebe, Aetheria, and Dioxippe. The fourth or sixth Heliades was a son called Helias. Their possible brother, Phaeton, died after attempting to drive his father's chariot (the sun) across the sky. He was unable to control the horses and fell to his death. The Heliades grieved for four months and the gods turned them into poplar trees and their tears into amber. According to some sources, their tears (amber) fell into the river Eridanos. According to Hyginus, the heliades were turned to poplar trees because they yoked the chariot for their brother without their father helios' permission.[1] - Wikipedia

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Heliadae in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Heliadae and HELIADES (Ἡλιάδαι and (*Hlia/des), that is, the male and female descendants of Helios, and might accordingly be applied to all his children, but in mythology the name is given particularly to the seven sons and the one daughter of Helios by Rhode or Rhodos. Their names are, Cercaphus, Actis, Macarcus, Tanages, Triopas, Phaeton, Ochimus, and Electryone. These names, however, as well as their number, are not the same in all accounts. (Diod. 5.56, &c.; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 7.131, &c.) It should be observed that the sisters of Phaeton are likewise called Heliades. (Ov. Met. 2.340, &c.; Apollon. 4.604.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Helios in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the sun was personified as Helios (pronounced /ˈhiːli.ɒs/, Greek: Ἥλιος "sun", Latinized as Helius). Homer often calls him simply Titan or Hyperion, while Hesiod (Theogony 371) and the Homeric Hymn separate him as a son of the Titans Hyperion and Theia (Hesiod) or Euryphaessa (Homeric Hymn) and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn. The names of these three were also the common Greek words for sun, moon and dawn. Helios was imagined as a handsome god crowned with the shining aureole of the sun, who drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day to earth-circling Oceanus and through the world-ocean returned to the East at night. Homer described Helios's chariot as drawn by solar steeds (Iliad xvi.779); later Pindar described it as drawn by "fire-darting steeds" (Olympian Ode 7.71). Still later, the horses were given fiery names: Pyrois, Aeos, Aethon, and Phlegon...

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Helios in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*(/Hlios or Ἠέλιος), that is, the sun, or the god of the sun. He is described as the son of Hyperion and Theia, and as a brother of Selene and Eos. (Hom. Od. 12.176, 322, Hymn. in Min. 9, 13; Hes. Th. 371, &c.) From his father, he is frequently called Hyperionides, or Hyperion, the latter of which is an abridged form of the patronymic, Hyperionion. (Hom. Od. 12.176, Hymn. in Cer. 74; Hes. Th. 1011; Hom. (Od. 1.24, 2.19, 398, Hymn. in Apoll. Pyth. 191.) In the Homeric hymn on Helios, he is called a son of Hyperion and Euryphaessa. Homer describes Helios as giving light both to gods and men: he rises in the east from Oceanus, though not from the river, but from some lake or bog (λίμνη) formed by Oceanus, rises up into heaven, where he reaches the highest point at noon time, and then he descends, arriving in the evening in the darkness of the west, and in Oceanus. (Il. 7.422, Od. 3.1, &c., 335, 4.400, 10.191, 11.18, 12.380.) Later poets have marvellously embellished this simple notion: they tell of a most magnificent palace of Helios in the east, containing a throne occupied by the god, and surrounded by personifications of the different divisions of time (Ov. Met. 2.1, &c.); and while Homer speaks only of the gates of Helios in the west, later writers assign to him a second palace in the west, and describe his horses as feeding upon herbs growing in the islands of the blessed. (Nonn. Dionys. 12.1, &c.; Ath. 7.296; Stat. Theb. 3.407.) The points at which Helios rises and descends into the ocean are of course different at the different seasons of the year; and the extreme points in the north and south, between which the rising and setting take place, are the τροπαὶ ἠελίοιο. (Od. 15.403; Hes. Op. et Dies, 449, 525.) The manner in which Helios during the night passes front the western into the eastern ocean is not mentioned either by Homer or Hesiod, but later poets make him sail in a golden boat round one-half of the earth, and thus arrive in the east at the point from which he has to rise again. This golden boat is the work of Hephaestus. (Ath. 11.469; Apollod. 2.5.10; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1632.) Others represent him as making his nightly voyage while slumbering in a golden bed. (Ath. 11.470.) The horses and chariot with which Helios makes his daily career are not mentioned in the Iliad and Odyssey, but first occur in the Homeric hymn on Helios (9, 15; comp. in Merc. 69, in Cer. 88), and both are described minutely by later poets. (Ov. Met. 2.106, &c.; Hyg. Fab. 183; Schol. ad Eurip. Pholen. 3 ; Pind. O. 7.71.) Helios is described even in the Homeric poems as the god who sees and hears every thing, but, notwithstanding this, he is unaware of the fact that the companions of Odysseus robbed his oxen, until he was informed of it by Lampetia. (Od. 12.375.) But, owing to his omniscience, he was able to betray to Hephaestus the faithlessness of Aphrodite, and to reveal to Demeter the carrying off of her daughter. (Od. 8.271, Hymn. in Cer. 75, &c., in Sol. 10; comp. Soph. Ajax, 847, &c.) This idea of Helios knowing every thing, which also contains the elements of his ethical and prophetic nature, seems to have been the cause of Helios being confounded and identified with Apollo, though they were originally quite distinct; and the identification was, in fact, never carried out completely, for no Greek poet ever made Apollo ride in the chariot of Helios through the heavens, and among the Romans we find this idea only after the time of Virgil. The representations of Apollo with rays around his head, to characterise him as identical with the sun, belong to the time of the Roman empire. The island of Thrinacia (Sicily) was sacred to Helios, and he there had flocks of oxen and sheep, each consisting of 350 heads, which never increased or decreased, and were attended to by his daughters Phaetusa and Lampetia. (Hom. Od. 12.128. 261, &c.; Apollon. 4.965, &c.) Later traditions ascribe to him flocks also in the island of Erytheia (Apollod. 1.6.1; comp. 2.5.10 ; Theocrit. 25.130), and it may be remarked in general, that sacred flocks, especially of oxen, occur in most places where the worship of Helios was established. His descendants are very numerous, and the surnames and epithets given him by the poets are mostly descriptive of his character as the sun. Temples of Helios (ήλιεῖα) seem to have existed in Greece at a very early time (Hom. Od. 12.346), and in later times we find his worship established in various places, as in Elis (Paus. 6.25.5), at Apollonia (Hdt. 9.93), Hermione (Paus. 2.34.10), in the acropolis of Corinth (2.4.7; comp. 2.1.6), near Argos (2.18.3), at Troezene (2.31.8), Megalopolis (8.9.2, 31.4), and several other places, especially in the island of Rhodes, where the famous colossus of Rhodes was a representation of Helios: it was 70 cubits in height, and, being overthrown by an earthquake, the Rhodians were commanded by an oracle not to erect it again. (Pind. O. 7.54, &c.; Strab. xiv. p.652; Plin. Nat. 34.7, 17.) The sacrifices offered to Helios consisted of white rams, boars, bulls, goats, Lambs, especially white horses, and honey. (Hom. Il. 19.197; Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 36,1668; Hyg. Fab. 223; Paus. 3.20.5; Hdt. 1.216; Strab. 11.513.) Among the animals sacred to him, the cock is especially mentioned. (Paus. 5.25.5.) The Roman poets, when speaking of the god of the sun (Sol), usually adopt the notions of the Greeks, but the worship of Sol was introduced also at Rome, especially after the Romans had become acquainted with the East, though traces of the worship of the sun and moon occur at a very early period. (Varro, de Ling. Lat. 5.74; Dionys. A. R. 2.50; Sext. Ruf. Reg. Urb. iv.) Helios was represented on the pedestal of the Olympian Zeus, in the act of ascending his chariot (Paus. 5.11.3), and several statutes of him are mentioned (6.24.5, 8.9.2, 31.4); he was also represented riding in his chariot, drawn by four horses. (Plin. Nat. 34.3, 19; comp. Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. 1.35.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Helle in Wikipedia

Helle (Greek: Ἕλλη) (sometimes also called Athamantis) was a character in Greek mythology who figured prominently in the story of Jason and the Argonauts. Phrixus, son of Athamas and Nephele, along with his twin sister, Helle, were hated by their stepmother, Ino. Ino hatched a devious plot to get rid of the twins, roasting all the town's crop seeds so they would not grow. The local farmers, frightened of famine, asked a nearby oracle for assistance. Ino bribed the men sent to the oracle to lie and tell the others that the oracle required the sacrifice of Phrixus. Before he was killed though, Phrixus and Helle were rescued by a flying golden ram sent by Nephele, their natural mother. Helle fell off the ram into the Hellespont (which was named after her) and died, but Phrixus survived all the way to Colchis, where King Aeetes took him in and treated him kindly, giving Phrixus his daughter, Chalciope, in marriage. In gratitude, Phrixus gave the king the golden fleece of the ram, which Aeetes placed in a consecrated grove, under the care of a sleepless dragon. With the Greek god Poseidon she was the mother of the giant Almops and Paeon (called Edonus in some accounts).[1][2] - Wikipedia

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Helle in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἕλλη), a daughter of Athainas and Nephele, and sister of Phrixus. (Apollod. 1.9.1; Apollon. 1.927; Ov. Fast. iv. 909, Met. 11.195.) When Phrixus was to be sacrificed, Nephele rescued her two children, who rode away through the air upon the ram with the golden fleece, the gift of Hermes, but, between Sigeium and the Chersonesus, Helle fell into the sea, which was hence called the sea of Helle (Hellespont; Aeschyl. Pers. 70, 875). Her tomb was shown near Pactya, on the Hellespont. (Hdt. 7.57; comp. ATHAMAS and ALMOPS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hephaestus in Wikipedia

Hephaestus (8 spellings; pronounced /həˈfɛstəs/ or /hɨ ˈfɛstəs/; Ancient Greek Ἥφαιστος Hēphaistos) was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. He is the son of Zeus and Hera, the King and Queen of the Gods (or perhaps of Hera alone). He was the god of technology, blacksmiths, craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. Like other mythic smiths but unlike most other gods, Hephaestus was lame, which gave him a grotesque appearance in Greek eyes. He served as the blacksmith of the gods, and he was worshiped in the manufacturing and industrial centers of Greece, particularly in Athens. The center of his cult was in Lemnos.[1] Hephaestus's symbols are a smith's hammer, an anvil and a pair of tongs, although sometimes he is portrayed holding an axe...

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Hephaestus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*(/Hfaistos), the god of fire, was, according to the Homeric account, the son of Zeus and Hera. (Il. 1.578, 14.338, 18.396, 21.332, Od. 8.312.) Later traditions state that he had no father, and that Hera gave birth to him independent of Zeus, as she was jealous of Zeus having given birth to Athena independent of her. (Apollod. 1.3.5; Hygin. Fab. Praef.) This, however, is opposed to the common stor, that Hephaestus split the head of Zeus, and thus assisted him in giving birth to Athena, for Hephaestus is there represented as older than Athena. A further development of the later tradition is, that Hephaestus sprang from the thigh of Hera, and, being for a long time kept in ignorance of his parentage, he at length had recourse to a stratagem, for the purpose of finding it out. He constructed a chair, to which those who sat upon it were fastened, and having thus entrapped Hera, he refused allowing her to rise until she had told him who his parents were. (Serv. ad Aen. 8.454, Eclog. 4.62.) For other accounts respecting his origin, see Cicero (de Nat. Deor. 3.22), Pausanias (8.53.2). and Eustathius (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 987). Hephaestus is the god of fire, especially in so far as it manifests itself as a power of physical nature in volcanic districts, and in so far as it is the indispensable means in arts and manufactures, whence fire is called the breath of Hephaestus, and the name of the god is used both by Greek and Roman poets as synonymous with fire. As a flame arises out of a little spark, so the god of fire was delicate and weakly from his birth, for which reason he was so much disliked by his mother, that she wished to get rid of him, and dropped him from Olympus. But the marine divinities, Thetis and Eurynome, received him, and he dwelt with them for nine years in a grotto, surrounded by Oceanus, making for them a variety of ornaments. (Hom. Il. 18.394, &c.) It was, according to some accounts, during this period that he made the golden chair by which he punished his mother for her want of affection, and from which he would not release her, till he was prevailed upon by Dionysus. (Paus. 1.20.2; Hyg. Fab. 166.) Although Hephaestus afterwards remembered the cruelty of his mother, yet he was always kind and obedient towards her, nay once, while she was quarrelling with Zeus, he took her part, and thereby offended his father so much, that he seized him by the leg, and hulled him down from Olympus. Hephaestus was a whole day falling, but in the evening he came down in the island of Lemnos, where he was kindly received by the Sintians. (Hom. Il. 1.590, &c. V. Fl. 2.8.5; Apollod. 1.3.5, who, however, confounds the two occasions on which Hephaestus was thrown from Olympus.) Later writers describe his lameness as the consequence of his second fall, while Homer makes him lame and weak from his birth. After his second fall he returned to Olympus, and subsequently acted the part of mediator between his parents. (Il 1.585.) On that occasion he offered a cup of nectar to his mother and the other gods, who burst out into immoderate laughter on seeing him busily hobbling through Olympus from one god to another, for he was ugly and slow, and, owing to the weakness of his legs, he was held up, when he walked, by artificial supports, skilfully made of gold. (Il. 18.410, &c., Od. 8.311, 330.) Iis neck and chest, however, were strong and muscular. (Il. 18.415, 20.36.) In Olympus, Hephaestus had his own palace, imperishable and shining like stars: it contained his workshop, with the anvil, and twenty bellows, which worked spontaneously at his bidding. (Il. 18.370, &c.) It was there that he made all his beautiful and marvellous works, utensils, and arms, both for gods and men. The ancient poets and mythographers abound in passages describing works of exquisite workmanship which had been manufactured by Hephaestus. In later accounts, the Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes, Pyracmon, and others, are his workmen and servants, and his workshop is no longer represented as in Olympus, but in the interior of some volcanic isle. (Verg. A. 8.416, &c.) The wife of Hephaestus also lived in his palace: in the Iliad she is called a Charis, in the Odyssey Aphrodite (Il. 18.382, Od. 8.270), and in Hesiod's Theogony (945) she is named Aglaia. the youngest of the Charites. The story of Aphrodite's faithlessness to her husband, and of the manner in which he surprised her, is exquisitely described in Od. 8.266-358. The Homeric poems do not mention any descendants of Hephaestus, but in later writers the number of his children is considerable. In the Trojan war he was on the side of the Greeks, but he was also worshipped by the Trojans, and on one occasion he saved a Trojan from being killed by Diomedes. (Il. 5.9, &c.) His favourite place on earth was the island of Lemnos, where he liked to dwell among the Sintians (Od. 8.283, &c., Il. 1.593; Ov Fast. 8.82); but other volcanic islands also, such as Lipara, Hiera, Imbros. and Sicily, are called his abodes or workshops. (Apollon. Rhod 3.41; Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 47; Serv. ad Aen. 8.416; Strab. p. 275; Plin. Nat. 3.9; Val. Flace. 2.96.) Hephaestus is among the male what Athena is among the female deities, for, like her, he give skill to mortal artists, and, conjointly with her, he was believed to have taught men the arts which embellish and adorn life. (Od. 6.233, 23.160. Hymn. in Vaulc. 2. &c.) But he was. nevertheless, conceived as far inferior to the sublime character of Athena. At Athens they had temples and festivals in common. (See Dict of Ant. s. v. Ἡφαιστεῖα, Χαλκεῖα.) Both also were believed to have great healing powers, and Lemnian earth (terra Lemnia) from the spot on which Hephaestus had falleen was believed to cure madness, the bites of snakes, and haemorrhage, and the priests of the god knew how to cure wounds inflicted by snakes. (Philostr. Heroic. 5.2; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 330; Dict. Cret. 2.14.) The epithets and surnames by which Hephaestus is designated by the poets generally allude to his skill in the plastic arts or to his figure and his lameness. He was represented in the temple of Athena Chalcioecus at Sparta, in the act of delivering his mother (Paus. 3.17.3); on the chest of Cypselus, giving to Thetis the armour for Achilles (5.19.2); and at Athens there was the famous statue of Hephaestus by Alcamenes, in which his lameness was slightly indicated. (Cic. de Nat. Deor. 1.30; V. Max. 8.11.3.) The Greeks frequently placed small dwarf- like statues of the god near the hearth, and these dwarfish figures seem to have been the most ancient. (Hdt. 3.37; Aristoph. Birds 436; Callim. Hymnn. in Dian. 60.) During the best period of Grecian art, he was represented as a vigorous man with a beard, and is characterised by his hammer or some other instrument, his oval cap, and the chiton, which leaves the right shoulder and arm uncovered. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. 1.42, &c.) The Romans, when speaking of the Greek Hephaestus, call him Vulcanus, although Vulcanus was an original Italian divinity. [VULCANUS.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hera in Wikipedia

Hera (pronounced /ˈhɛrə/; Greek Ήρα, Hēra, equivalently Ήρη, Hērē, in Ionic and Homer) was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. In Roman mythology, Juno was the equivalent mythical character. The cow, and later, the peacock were sacred to her. Hera's mother was Rhea and her father, Cronus. Portrayed as majestic and solemn, often enthroned, and crowned with the polos (a high cylindrical crown worn by several of the Great Goddesses), Hera may bear a pomegranate in her hand, emblem of fertile blood and death and a substitute for the narcotic capsule of the opium poppy.[1] A scholar of Greek mythology Walter Burkert writes in Greek Religion, "Nevertheless, there are memories of an earlier aniconic representation, as a pillar in Argos and as a plank in Samos."[2]...

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Hera in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*(/Hra or Ἥρη), probably identical with kera, mistress, just as her husband, Zeus, was called ἔρρος in the Aeolian dialect (Hesych. s. v.). The derivation of the name has been attempted in a variety of ways, from Greek as well as oriental roots, though there is no reason for having recourse to the latter, as Hera is a purely Greek divinity, and one of the few who, according to Herodotus (2.50), were not introduced into Greece from Egypt. Hera was, according to some accounts, the eldest daughter of Cronos and Rhea, and a sister of Zeus. (Hom. Il. 16.432; comp. 4.58; Ov. Fast. 6.29.) Apollodorus (1.1.5), however, calls Hestia the eldest daughter of Cronos; and Lactantius (1.14) calls her a twin-sister of Zeus. According to the Homeric poems (Il. 14.201, &c.), she was brought up by Oceanus and Thetys, as Zeus had usurped the throne of Cronos; and afterwards she became the wife of Zeus, without the knowledge of her parents. This simple account is variously modified in other traditions. Being a daughter of Cronos, she, like his other children, was swallowed by her father, but afterwards released (Apollod. l.c.), and, according to an Arcadian tradition, she was brought up by Temenus, the son of Pelasgus. (Paus. 8.22.2; August. de Civ. Dei, 6.10.) The Argives, on the other hand, related that she had been brought up by Euboea, Prosymna, and Acraea, the three daughters of the river Asterion (Paus. 2.7.1, &c.; Plut. Sympos. 3.9); and according to Olen, the Horae were her nurses. (Paus. 2.13.3.) Several parts of Greece also claimed the honour of being her birthplace; among them are two, Argos and Samos, which were the principal seats of her worship. (Strab. p. 413; Paus. 7.4.7; Apollon. 1.187.) Her marriage with Zeus also offered ample scope for poetical invention (Theocrit. 17.131, &c.), and several places in Greece claimed the honour of having been the scene of the marriage, such as Euboea (Steph. Byz. s. v. Κάρυστος), Samos (Lactant. de Fals. Relig. 1.17), Cnossus in Crete (Diod. 5.72), and Mount Thornax, in the south of Argolis. (Schol. ad Theocrit. 15.64; Paus. 2.17.4, 36.2.) This marriage acts a prominent part in the worship of Hera under the name of ἱερὸς γάμος; on that occasion all the gods honoured the bride with presents, and Ge presented to her a tree with golden apples, which was watched by the Hesperides in the garden of Hera, at the foot of the Hyperborean Atlas. (Apollod. 2.5.11; Serv. ad Aen. 4.484.) The Homeric poems know nothing of all this, and we only hear, that after the marriage with Zeus, she was treated by the Olympian gods with the same reverence as her husband. (Il. 15.85, &c.; comp. 1.532, &c., 4.60, &c.) Zeus himself, according to Homer, listened to her counsels, and communicated his secrets to her rather than to other gods (16.458, 1.547). Hera also thinks herself justified in censuring Zeus when he consults others without her knowing it (1.540, &c.); but she is, notwithstanding, far inferior to him in power; she must obey him unconditionally, and, like the other gods, she is chastised by him when she has offended him (4.56, 8.427, 463). Hera therefore is not, like Zeus, the queen of gods and men, but simply the wife of the supreme god. The idea of her being the queen of heaven, with regal wealth and power, is of a much later date. (Hyg. Fab. 92; Ov. Fast. 6.27, Heroid. 16.81; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 81.) There is only one point in which the Homeric poems represent Hera as possessed of similar power with Zeus, viz. she is able to confer the power of prophecy (19.407). But this idea is not further developed in later times. (Comp. Strab. p. 380; Apollon. 3.931.) Her character, as described by Homer, is not of a very amiable kind, and its main features are jealousy, obstinacy, and a quarrelling disposition, which sometimes makes her own husband tremble (1.522, 536, 561, 5.892.) Hence there arise frequent disputes between Hera and Zeus; and on one occasion Hera, in conjunction with Poseidon and Athena, contemplated putting Zeus into chains (8.408, 1.399). Zeus, in such cases, not only threatens, but beats her; and once he even hung her up in the clouds, her hands chained, and with two anvils suspended from her feet (8.400, &c., 477, 15.17, &c.; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1003). Hence she is frightened by his threats, and gives way when he is angry; and when she is unable to gain her ends in any other way, she has recourse to cunning and intrigues (19.97). Thus she borrowed from Aphrodite the girdle, the giver of charm and fascination, to excite the love of Zeus (14.215, &c.). By Zeus she was the mother of Ares, Hebe, and Hephaestus (5.896, Od. 11.604, Il. 1.585; Hes. Th. 921, &c.; Apollod. 1.3.1.) Respecting the different traditions about the descent of these three divinities see the separate articles. Properly speaking, Hera was the only really married goddess among the Olympians, for the marriage of Aphrodite with Ares can scarcely be taken into consideration; and hence she is the goddess of marriage and of the birth of children. Several epithets and surnames, such as Εἰγείθυια, Γαμηλία, Ζυλία, Τελεία, &c., contain allusions to this character of the goddess, and the Eileithyiae are described as her daughters. (Hom. Il. 11.271, 19.118.) Her attire is described in the Iliad (14.170, &c.); she rode in a chariot drawn by two horses, in the harnessing and unharnessing of which she was assisted by Hebe and the Horase (4.27, 5.720, &c., 8.382, 433). Her favourite places on earth were Argos, Sparta, and Mycenae (4.51). Owing to the judgment of Paris, she was hostile towards the Trojans, and in the Trojan war she accordingly sided with the Greeks (2.15, 4.21, &c., 24.519, &c.). Hence she prevailed on Helius to sink down into the waves of Oceanus on the day on which Patroclus fell (18.239). In the Iliad she appears as an enemy of Heracles, but is wounded by his arrows (5.392, 18.118), and in the Odyssey she is described as the supporter of Jason. It is impossible here to enumerate all the events of mythical story in which Hera acts a more or less prominent part; and the reader must refer to the particular deities or heroes with whose story she is connected. Hera had sanctuaries, and was worshipped in many parts of Greece, often in common with Zeus. Her worship there may be traced to the very earliest times: thus we find Hera, surnamed Pelasgis, worshipped at Iolcos. But the principal place of her worship was Argos, hence called the δώ̀μα Ἡρας. (Pind. Nem. x. imt.; comp. Aeschyl. Suppl. 297.) According to tradition, Hera had disputed the possession of Argos with Poseidon, but the river-gods of the country adjudicated it to her. (Paus. 2.15.5.) Her most celebrated sanctuary was situated between Argos and Mycenae, at the foot of Mount Euboea. The vestibule of the temple contained ancient statues of the Charites, the bed of Hera, and a shield which Menelaus had taken at Troy from Euphorbus. The sitting colossal statue of Hera in this temple, made of gold and ivory, was the work of Polycletus. She wore a crown on her head, adorned with the Charites and Horae; in the one hand she held a pomegranate, and in the other a sceptre headed with a cuckoo. (Paus. 2.17, 22; Strab. p. 373; Stat. Theb. 1.383.) Respecting the great quinqnennial festival celebrated to her at Argos, see Dict. of Ant. s. v. Ἤραια. Her worship was very ancient also at Corinth (Paus. 2.24, 1, &c.; Apollod. 1.9.28), Sparta (3.13.6, 15.7), in Samos (Hdt. 3.60; Paus. 7.4.4; Strab. p. 637), at Sicyon (Paus. 2.11.2), Olympia (5.15.7, &c.), Epidaurus (Thuc. 5.75; Paus. 2.29.1), Heraea in Arcadia (Paus. 8.26.2), and many other places. Respecting the real significance of Hera, the ancients themselves offer several interpretations: some regarded her as the personification of the atmosphere (Serv. ad Aen. 1.51), others as the queen of heaven or the goddess of the stars (Eur. Hel. 1097), or as the goddess of the moon (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 74), and she is even confounded with Ceres, Diana, and Proserpina. (Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 1.5). According to modern views, Hera is the great goddess of nature, who was every where worshipped from the earliest times. The Romans identified their goddess Juno with the Greek Hera [JUNO]. We still possess several representations of Hera. The noblest image, and which was afterwards looked upon as the ideal of the goddess, was the statue by Polycletus. She was usually represented as a majestic woman at a mature age, with a beautiful forehead, large and widely opened eyes, and with a grave expression commanding reverence. Her hair was adorned with a crown or a diadem. A veil frequently hangs down the back of her head, to characterise her as the bride of Zeus, and, in fact, the diadem, veil, sceptre, and peacock are her ordinary attributes. A number of statues and heads of Hera still exist. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. i. p. 22; comp. Muller, Dorians, 2.10.1.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hercules in Wikipedia

Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek demigod Heracles, son of Jupiter (the Roman equivalent of Zeus), and the mortal Alcmena. Early Roman sources suggest that the imported Greek hero supplanted a mythic Italic shepherd called "Recaranus" or "Garanus", famous for his strength, who dedicated the Ara Maxima that became associated with the earliest Roman cult of Hercules.[1] While adopting much of the Greek Heracles' iconography and mythology as his own, Hercules adopted a number of myths and characteristics that were distinctly Roman. With the spread of Roman hegemony, Hercules was worshiped locally from Hispania through Gaul...

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Hercules in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἡρακλῆς), and in Latin HERCULES, the most celebrated of all the heroes of antiquity. The traditions about him are not only the richest in substance, but also the most widely spread; for we find them not only in all the countries round the Mediterranean, but his wondrous deeds were known in the most distant countries of the ancient world. The difficulty of presenting a complete view of these traditions was felt even by the ancients (Diod. 4.8); and in order to give a general survey, we must divide the subject, mentioning first the Greek legends and their gradual development, next the Roman legends, and lastly those of the East (Egypt, Phoenicia). The traditions about Heracles appear in their national purity down to the time of Herodotus; for although there may be some foreign ingredients, yet the whole character of the hero, his armour, his exploits, and the scenes of his action, are all essentially Greek. But the poets of the time of Herodotus and of the subsequent periods introduced considerable alterations, which were probably derived from the east or Egypt, for every nation of antiquity as well as of modern times had or has some traditions of heroes of superhuman strength and power. Now while in the earliest Greek legends Heracles is a purely human hero, as the conqueror of men and cities, he afterwards appears as the subduer of monstrous animals, and is connected in a variety of ways with astronomical phaenomena. According to Homer (Hom. Il. 18.118), Heracles was the son of Zeus by Alcmene of Thebes in Boeotia, and the favourite of his father. (Il. 14.250, 323, 19.98, Od. 11.266, 620, 21.25, 36.) His stepfather was Amphitryon. (Il. 5.392, Od. 11.269; Hes. Scut. Herc. 165.) Amphitryon was the son of Alcaeus, the son of Perseus, and Alcmene was a grand-daughter of Perseus. Hence Heracles belonged to the family of Perseus. The story of his birth runs thus. Amphitryon, after having slain Electryon, was expelled from Argos, and went with his wife Alcmene to Thebes, where he was received and purified by his uncle Creon. Alcmene was yet a maiden, in accordance with a vow which Amphitryon had been obliged to make to Electryon, and Alcmene continued to refuse him the rights of a husband, until he should have avenged the death of her brothers on the Taphians. While Amphitryon was absent from Thebes, Zeus one night, to which he gave the duration of three other nights, visited Alcmene, and assuming the appearance of Amphitryon, and relating to her how her brothers had been avenged, he begot by her the hero Heracles, the great bulwark of gods and men. (Respecting the various modifications of this story see Apollod. 2.4.7, &c.; Hyg. Fab. 29; Hes. Scut. 3.5, &c.; Pind. I. 7.5, &c., Nem. 10.19, &c.; Schol. ad Hom. Od. 11.266.) The day on which Heracles was to be born, Zeus boasted of his becoming the father of a man who was to rule over the heroic race of Perseus. Hera prevailed upon him to confirm by an oath that the descendant of Perseus born that day should be the ruler. When this was done she hastened to Argos, and there caused the wife of Sthenelus to give birth to Eurystheus, whereas, by keeping away the Eileithyiae, she delayed the confinement of Alcmene, and thus robbed Heracles of the empire which Zeus had intended for him. Zeus was enraged at the imposition practised upon him, but could not violate his oath. Alcmene brought into the world two boys, Heracles, the son of Zeus, and Iphicles, the son of Amphitryon, who was one night younger than Heracles. (Hom. Il. 19.95, &c.; Hes. Scut. 1- 56, 80, &c.; Apollod. 2.4.5, &c.) Zeus, in his desire not to leave Heracles the victim of Hera's jealousy, made her promise, that if Heracles executed twelve great works in the service of Eurystheus, he should become immortal. (Diod. 4.9.) Respecting the place of his birth traditions did not agree; for although the majority of poets and mythographers relate that he was born at Thebes, Diodorus (4.10) says that Amphitryon was not expelled from Tiryns till after the birth of Heracles, and Euripides (Eur. Her. 18) describes Argos as the native country of the hero. Nearly all the stories about the childhood and youth of Heracles, down to the time when he entered the service of Eurystheus, seem to be inventions of a later age: at least in the Homeric poems and in Hesiod we only find the general remarks that he grew strong in body and mind, that in the confidence in his own power he defied even the immortal gods, and wounded Hera and Ares, and that under the protection of Zeus and Athena he escaped the dangers which Hera prepared for him. But according to Pindar (Pind. N. 1.49, &c.), and other subsequent writers, Heracles was only a few months old when Hera sent two serpents into the apartment where Heracles and his brother Iphicles were sleeping,, but the former killed the serpents with his own hands. (Comp. Theocrit. 24.1, &c.; Apollod. 2.4.8.) Heracles was brought up at Thebes, but the detail of his infant life is again related with various modifications in the different traditions. It is said that Alcmcne, from fear of Hera, exposed her son in a field near Thebes, hence called the field of Heracles; here he was found by Hera and Athena, and the former was prevailed upon by the latter to put him to her breast, and she then carried him back to his mother. (Diod. 4.9; Paus. 9.25.2.) Others said that Hermes carried the newly-born child to Olympus, and put him to the breast of Hera while she was asleep, but as she awoke, she pushed him away, and the milk thus spilled produced the Milky Way. (Eratosth. Catast. 44; Hygin. Poet. Astr. ii. in fin.) As the hero grew up, he was instructed by Amphitryon in riding in a chariot, by Autolycus in wrestling, by Eurytus in archery, by Castor in fighting with heavy armour, and by Linus in singing and playing the lyre. (See the different statements in Theocrit. 24.114, 103, 108; Schol. ad Theocrit. 13.9, 56; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 49.) Linus was killed by his pupil with the lyre, because he had censured him. (Apollod. 2.4.9; Diod. 3.66; Aelian, Ael. VH 3.32.) Being charged with murder, IIeracles exculpated himself by saying that the deed was done in self-defence; and Amphitryon, in order to prevent similar occurrences, sent him to attend to his cattle. In this manner he spent his life till his eighteenth year. His height was four cubits, fire beamed from his eyes, and he never wearied in practising shooting and hurling his javelin. To this period of his life belongs the beautiful fable about Heracles before two roads, invented by the sophist Prodicus, which may be read in Xenoph. Mem. 2.1, and Cic de Off. 1.32. Pindar (Pind. I. 4.53) calls him small of stature, but of indomitable courage. His first great adventure, which happened while he was still watching the oxen of his father, is his fight against and victory over the lion of Cythaeron. This animal made great havoc among the flocks of Amphitryon and Thespius (or Thestius), king of Thespiae, and Heracles promised to deliver the country of the monster. Thespius, who had fifty daughters, rewarded Heracles by making him his guest so long as the chase lasted, and gave up his daughters to him, each for one night. (Apollod. 2.4.10; comp. Hyg. Fab. 162; Diod. 4.29; Athen. 13.556.) Heracles slew the lion, and henceforth wore its skin as his ordinary garment, and its mouth and head as his helmet; others related that the lion's skin of Heracles was taken from the Nemean lion. On his return to Thebes, he met the envoys of king Erginus of Orchomenos, who were going to fetch the annual tribute of one hundred oxen, which they had compelled the Thebans to pay. Heracles, in his patriotic indignation, cut off the noses and ears of the envoys, and thus sent them back to Erginus. The latter thereupon marched against Thebes; but Heracles, who received a suit of armour from Athena, defeated and killed the enemy, and compelled the Orchomenians to pay double the tribute which they had formerly received from the Thebans. In this battle against Erginus Heracles lost his father Amphitryon, though the tragedians make him survive the campaign. (Apollod. 2.4.11; Diod. 4.10, &c.; Paus. 9.37. 2; Theocrit. 16.105; Eur. Her. 41.) According to some accounts, Erginus did not fall in the tattle, but coneluded peace with Heracles. But the gorious manner in which Heracles had delivered his country procured him immortal fame among the Thebans, and Creon rewarded him with the hand of his eldest daughter, Megara, by whom he became the father of several children, the number and names of whom are stated differently by the different writers. (Apollod. 2.4.11. 7.8; Hyg. Fab. 32; Eur. Her. 995; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 38; Schol. ad Pind. Isthm. 3.104.) The gods, on the other hand, made him presents of arms : Hermes gave him a sword, Apollo a bow and arrows, Hephaestus a golden coat of mail, and Athena a peplus, and he cut for himself a club in the neighbourhood of Nemea, while, according to others, the club was of brass, and the gift of Hephaestus. (Apollon. 1.1196; Diod. 4.14.) After the battle with the Minyans, Hera visited Heracles with madness, in which he killed his own children by Megara and two of Iphicles. In his grief he sentenced himself to exile, and went to Thestius, who purified him. (Apollod. 2.4.12.) Other traditions place this madness at a later time, and relate the circumstances differently. (Eur. Her. 1000, &c.; Paus. 9.11.1; Hyg. Fab. 32; Schol. ad Pind. Isthm. 3.104.) He then consulted the oracle of Delphi as to where he should settle. The Pythia first called him by the name of Heracles--for hitherto his name had been Alcides or Alcaeus,--and ordered him to live at Tiryns, to serve Eurystheus for the space of twelve years, after which he should become immortal. Heracles accordingly went to Tiryns, and did as he was bid by Eurystheus. The accounts of the twelve labours of Heracles are found only in the later writers, for Homer and Hesiod do not mention them. Homer only knows that Heracles during his life on earth was exposed to infinite dangers and sufferings through the hatred of Hera, that he was subject to Eurystheus, who imposed upon him many and difficult tasks, but Homer mentions only one, viz. that he was ordered to bring Cerberus from the lower world. (Il. 8.363, &100.15.639, &c., Od. 11.617, &c.) The Iliad further alludes to his fight with a seamonster, and his expedition to Troy, to fetch the horses which Laomedon had refused him. (5.638, &c., 20.145, &c.) On his return from Troy, he was cast, through the influence of Hera, on the coast of Cos, but Zeus punished Hera, and carried Heracles safely to Argos. (14.249, &c., xv 18, &c.) Afterwards Heracles made war against the Pylians, and destroyed the whole family of their king Neleus, with the exception of Nestor. He destroyed many towns, and carried off Astyoche from Ephyra, by whom he became the father of Tlepolemus. (5.395, &c., 2.657, &c.; comp. Od 21.14, &c.; Soph. Trach. 239, &c.) Hesiod mentions several of the feats of Heracles distinctly, but knows nothing of their number twelve. The selection of these twelve from the great number of feats ascribed to Heracles is probably the work of the Alexandrines. They are enumerated in Euripides (Here. Fur.), Apollodorus, Diodorus Siculus, and the Greek Anthology (2.651), though none of them can be considered to have arranged them in any thing like a chronological order. 1. The fight with the Nemean lion. The mountain valley of Nemea, between Cleonae and Phlius, was inhabited by a lion, the offspring of Typhon (or Orthrus) and Echidna. (Hes. Theog. 327; Apollod. 2.5.1; comp. Aelian, Ael. NA 12.7, Serv. ad Aen. 8.295.) Eurystheus ordered Heracles to bring him the skin of this monster. When Heracles arrived at Cleonac, he was hospitably received by a poor man called Molorchus. This man was on the point of offering up a sacrifice, but Heracles persuaded him to delay it for thirty days until he should return from his fight with the lion, in order that then they might together offer sacrifices to Zeus Soter; but Heracles added, that if he himself should not return, the man should offer a sacrifice to him as a hero. The thirty days passed away, and as Heracles did not return, Molorchus made preparations for the heroic sacrifice; but at that moment Heracles arrived in triumph over the monster, which was slain, and both sacrificed to Zeus Soter. Heracles, after having in vain used his club and arrows against the lion, had blocked up one of the entrances to the den, and entering by the other, he strangled the animal with his own hands. According to Theocritus (25.251, &c.), the contest did not take place in the den, but in the open air, and Heracles is said to have lost a finger in the struggle. (Ptolem. Heph. 2.) He returned to Eurystheus carrying the dead lion on his shoulders; and Eurystheus, frightened at the gigantic strength of the hero, took to flight, and ordered him in future to deliver the account of his exploits outside the gates of the town. (Diod. 4.11; Apollod., Theocrit. ll. cc.; comp. MOLORCHUS.) 2. Fights against the Lernean hydra. This monster, like the lion, was the offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and was brought up by Hera. It ravaged the country of Lernae near Argos, and dwelt in a swamp near the well of Amymone: it was formidable by its nine heads, the middle of which was immortal. Heracles, with burning arrows, hunted up the monster, and with his club or a sickle he cut off its heads; but in the place of the head he cut off, two new ones grew forth each time, and a gigantic crab came to the assistance of the hydra, and wounded Heracles. However, with the assistance of his faithful servant Iolaus, he burned away the heads of the hydra, and buried the ninth or immortal one under a huge rock. Having thus conquered the monster, he poisoned his arrows with its bile, whence the wounds inflicted by them became incurable. Eurystheus declared the victory unlawful, as Heracles had won it with the aid of Iolaus. (Hes. Th. 313, &c.; Apollod. 2.5.2; Diod. 4.11; Eurip. Herc. Fur. 419, 1188, Ion, 192; Ov. Met. 9.70; Verg. A. 8.300; Paus. 2.36.6, 37.4, 5.5.5; Hyg. Fab. 30.) 3. The stag of Ceryneia in Arcadia. This animal hand golden antlers and brazen feet. It had been dedicated to Artemis by the nymph Taygete, because the goddess had saved her from the pursuit of Zeus. Heracles was ordered to bring the animal alive to Mycenae. He pursued it in vain for a whole year: at length it fled from Oenoe to mount Artemisium in Argolis, and thence to the river Ladon in Arcadia. Heracles wounded it with an arrow, caught it, and carried it away on his shoulders. While yet in Arcadia, he was met by Apollo and Artemis, who were angry with him for having outraged the animal sacred to Artemis; but Heracles succeeded in soothing their anger, and carried his prey to Mycenae. According to some statements, he killed the stag. (Apollod. 2.5.3; Diod 4.13; Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 100, &c.; Ov. Met. 9.188; Verg. A. 6.803; Pind. O. 3.24, 53; Eur. Her. 378.) 4. The Erymanthian boar. This animal, which Heracles was ordered to bring alive, had descended from mount Erymanthus (according to others, from mount Lampe,) into Psophis. IIeracles chased him through the deep snow, and having thus worn him out, he caught him in a net, and carried him to Mycenae. (Apollod. 2.5.4; Diod. 4.12.) Other traditions place the hunt of the Erymanthian boar in Thessaly, and some even in Phrygia. (Eur. Her. 368; Hyg. Fab. 30.) It must be observed that this and subsequent labours of Heracles are connected with other subordinate ones, called Πάρεργα, and the first of these parerga is the fight of Heracles with the Centaurs ; for it is said that in his pursuit of the boar he came to the centaur Pholus, who had received from Dionysus a cask of excellent wine. Heracles opened it, contrary to the wish of his host, and the delicious fragrance attracted the other centaurs, who besieged the grotto of Pholus. Heracles drove them away: they fled to the house of Cheiron, and Heracles, eager in his pursuit, wounded Cheiron, his old friend. Heracles was deeply grieved, and tried to save Cheiron; but in vain, for the wound was fatal. As, however, Cheiron was immortal, and could not die, he prayed to Zeus to take away his immortality, and give it to Prometheus. Thus Cheiron was delivered of his burning pain, and died. Pholus, too, was wounded by one of the arrows, which by accident fell on his foot and killed him. This fight with the centaurs gave rise to the establishment of mysteries, by which Demeter intended to purify the hero from the blood he had shed against his own will. (Apollod. 2.5.4; Diod. 4.14; Eur. Her. 364, &c.; Theocrit. 7.150; Apollon. 1.127; Paus. 8.24.2; Ov. Met. 9.192.) 5. The stables of Augeas. Eurystheus imposed upon Heracles the task of cleaning the stables of Augeas in one day. Augeas was king of Elis, and extremely rich in cattle. Heracles, without mentioning the command of Eurystheus, went to Augeas, offering in one day to clean his stables, if he would give him the tenth part of the cattle for his trouble, or, according to Pausanias (v. 1.7) a part of his territory. Augeas, believing that Heracles could not possibly accomplish what he promised, agreed, and Heracles took Phyleus, the son of Augeas, as his witness, and then led the rivers Alpheius and Peneius through the stables, which were thus cleaned in the time fixed upon. But Augeas, who learned that Heracles had undertaken the work by the command of Eurystheus, refused the reward, denied his promise, and declared that he would have the matter decided by a judicial verdict. Phyleus then bore witness against his father, who exiled him from Elis. Eurystheus declared the work thus performed to be unlawful, because Heracles had stipulated with Augeas a payment for it. (Apollod. 2.5.5; Theocrit. 25.88, &c.; Ptolem. Heph. 5; Athen. 10.412; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 11.42.) At a subsequent time Hferacles, to revenge the faithlessness of Augeas, marched with an army of Argives and Tirynthians against Augeas, but in a narrow defile in Elis he was taken by surprise by Cteatus and Eurytus, and lost a great number of his warriors. But afterwards Heracles slew Cteatus and Eurytus, invaded Elis, and killed Augeas and his sons. After this victory, Heracles marked out the sacred ground on which the Olympian games were to be celebrated, built altars, and instituted the Olympian festival and games. (Apollod. 2.7.2; Paus. 5.1.7. 3.1, &c., 4.1; 8.15.2; Pind. O. 11.25, &c., comp. 5.5, 3.13, &c.) 6. The Stymphalian birds. They were an innumerable swarm of voracious birds, the daughters of Stymphalus and Ornis. They had brazen claws, wings, and beaks, used their feathers as arrows, and ate human flesh. They had been brought up by Ares, and were so numerous, that with their secretions and feathers they killed men and beasts, and covered whole fields and meadows. From fear of the wolves, these birds had taken refuge in a lake near Stymphalus, from which Heracles was ordered by Eurvstheus to expel them. When Heracles undertook the task, Athena provided him with a brazen rattle, by the noise of which he startled the birds, and, as they attempted to fly away, he killed them with his arrows. According to some accounts, he did not kill the birds, but only drove them away, and afterwards they appeared again in the island of Aretias, whither they had fled, and where they were found by the Argonauts. (Apollod. 2.5.6; Hyg. Fab. 30; Paus. 8.22.4, &c.; Serv. ad Aen. 8.300; Apollon. 2.1037, with the Schol.) 7. The Cretan bull. According to Acusilaus, this bull was the same as the one which had carried Europa across the sea; according to others, he had been sent out of the sea by Poseidon, that Minos might sacrifice him to the god of the sea. But Minos was so charmed with the beauty of the animal, that he kept it, and sacrificed another in its stead. Poseidon punished Minos, by making the fine bull mad, and causing it to make great havoc in the island. Heracles was ordered by Eurystheus to catch the bull, and Minos, of course, willingly allowed him to do so. Heracles accomplished the task, and brought the bull home on his shoulders, but he then set the animal free again. The bull now roamed about through Greece, and at last came to Marathon, where we meet it again in the stories of Theseus. (Apollod. 2.5.7; Paus. 1.27.9, 5.10.2; Hyg. Fab. 30; Diod. 4.13, &c.; Serv. ad Aen. 8.294.) 8. The mares of the Thracian Diomedes. This Diomedes, king of the Bistones in Thrace, fed his horses with human flesh, and Eurystheus now ordered Heracles to fetch those animals to Mycenae. For this purpose, the hero took with him some companions. He made an unexpected attack on those who guarded the horses in their stables, took the animals, and conducted them to the sea coast. But here he was overtaken by the Bistones, and during the ensuing fight he entrusted the mares to his friend Abderus, a son of Hermes of Opus, who was eaten up by them; but Heracles defeated the Bistones, killed Diomedes, whose body he threw before the mares, built the town of Abdera, in honour of his unfortunate friend, and then returned to Mycenae, with the horses which had become tame after eating the flesh of their master. The horses were afterwards set free, and destroyed on Mount Olympus by wild beasts. (Apollod. 2.5.8; Diod. 4.15; Hyg. Fab. 30; Eur. Alc. 483, 493, Herc. Fur. 380, &c.; Gel. 3.9; Ptolem. Heph. 5.) 9. The girdle of the queen of the Amazons. Hippolyte, the queen of the Anmilzons, (Diodorus calls the queen Melanippe, and her sister Hippolyte), possessed a girdle, which she had received from Ares, and Admete, the daughter of Eurystheus, wished to have it. Heracles was therefore sent to fetch it, and, accompanied by a number of volunteers, he sailed out in one vessel. He first landed in Paros, where he became involved in a quarrel with the sons of Minos. Having killed two of them, he sailed to Mysia, where his aid was solicited by Lycus, king of the Mariandynians, against the Bebryces. Heracles assisted Lycus, took a district of land from the enemy, which was given to Lycus, who called it Heracleia. When Heracles at length arrived in the port of Themiscyra (Thermodon), after having given to the sea he had crossed the name of Euxeinus, he was at first kindly received by Hippolyte, who promised him her girdle. But Hera, in the disguise of an Amazon, spread the report that the queen of the Amazons was robbed by a stranger. They immediately rose to her assistance, and Heracles, believing that the queen had plotted against him, killed her, took her girdle, and carried it with him. This expedition, which led the hero into distant countries, afforded a favourable opportunity to poets and mythographers for introducing various embellishments and minor adventures, such as the murder of the Boreades, Calais and Zetes, and his amour with Echidna, in the country of the Hyperboreans, by whom he became the father of three sons. On his return he landed in Troas, where he rescued Hesione from the monster sent against her by Poseidon, in return for which her father Laomedon promised him the horses he had received from Zeus as a compensation for Ganymedes. But, as Laomedon did not keep his word, Heracles on leaving threatened to make war against Troy. He therefore landed in Thrace, where he slew Sarpedon, and at length he returned through Macedonia to Peloponnesus. (Apollod. 2.5.9; Diod. 4.16; Hdt. 4.9, 10, 82; Eurip. Herc. Fur. 413, Ion. 1143; Plut. Thes. 26; Hom. Il. 5.649, &c.) 10. The oxen of Geryones in Erytheia. The fetching of these oxen was a subject which, like the preceding one, was capable of great poetical embellishments, owing to the distant regions into which it carried the hero. The adventure is mentioned by Hesiod, but it is further developed in the later writers, and more especially by the Roman poets, who took a more direct interest in it, as it led the hero to the western parts of the world. The story runs as follows:--Geryones, the monster with three bodies, lived in the fabulous island of Erytheia (the reddish), so called because it lay under the rays of the setting sun in the west. It was originally conceived to be situated off the coast of Epeirus, but afterwards it was identified either with Gades or the Balearian islands, and was at all times believed to be in the distant west. Gervones kept a herd of red oxen, which fed together with those of Hades, and were guarded by the giant Eurytion and the two-headed dog Orthrus. Heracles was commanded by Eurystheus to fetch those oxen of Geryones. He traversed Europe, and, having passed through the countries of several savage nations, he at length arrived in Libya. Diodorus makes Heracles collect a large fleet in Crete, to sail against Chrysaor, the wealthy king of Iberia, and his three sons. On his way he is further said to have killed Antaeus and Busiris, and to have founded Hecatompolis. On the frontiers of Libya and Europe he erected two pillars (Calpe and Abyla) on the two sides of the straits of Gibraltar, which were hence called the pillars of Heracles. As on his journey Heracles was annoyed by the heat of the sun, he shot at Helios, who so much admired his boldness, that he presented him with a golden cup or boat, in which he sailed across the ocean to Ervtheia. He there slew Eurytion, his dog, and Geryones, and sailed with his booty to Tartessus, where he returned the golden cup (boat) to Helios. On his way home he passed the Pyrenees and the Alps, founded Alesia and Nemausus in Gaul, became the father of the Celts, and then proceeded to the Ligurians, whose princes, Alebion and Dercynus, attempted to carry off his oxen, but were slain by him. In his contest with them, he was assisted by Zeus with a shower of stones, as he had not enough missiles; hence the campus lapideus between Massilia and the river Rhodanus. From thence he proceeded through the country of the Tyrrhenians. In the neighbourhood of Rhegium one of his oxen jumped into the sea, and swam to Sicily, where Eryx, the son of Poseidon, caught and put him among his own cattle. Heracles himself followed, in search of the ox, and found him, but recovered him only after a fight with Eryx, in which the latter fell. According to Diodorus, who is very minute in this part of his narrative, Heracles returned home by land, through Italy and Illyricum; but, according to others, he sailed across the Ionian and Adriatic seas. After reaching Thrace, Hera made his oxen mad and furious. When, in their pursuit, he came to the river Strymon, he made himself a road through it, by means of huge blocks of stone. On reaching the Hellespont, he had gradually recovered his oxen, and took them to Eurystheus, who sacrificed then to Hera. (Hes. Th. 287, &c.; Apollod. 2.5.10; Diod. 4.17, &c., 5.17, 25; Hdt. 4.8; Serv. ad Acn. 7.662; Strab. iii. pp. 221, 258, &c.; Dionys. A. R. 1.34; Pind. N. 3.21.) These ten labours were performed by Heracles in the space of eight years and one month; but as Eurystheus declared two of them to have been performed unlawfully, he commanded him to accomplish two more, viz. to fetch 11. The golden apples of the Hesperides. This was particularly difficult, since Heracles did not know where to find them. They were the apples which Hera had received at her wedding from Ge, and which she had entrusted to the keeping of the Hesperides and the dragon Ladon, on Mount Atlas, in the country of the Hyperboreans. (Apollod. 2.5.11.) In other accounts the apples are described as sacred to Aphrodite, Dionysus, or Helios; but the abode of the Hesperides is placed by Hesiod, Apollodorus, and others, in the west, while later writers specify more particularly certain places in Libya, or in the Atlantic Ocean. The mention of the Hyperboreans in this connection renders the matter very difficult, but it is possible that the ancients may have conceived the extreme north (the usual seat of the Hyperboreans), and the extreme west to be contiguous. Heracles, in order to find the gardens of the Hesperides, went to the river Echedorus. in Macedonia, after having killed Termerus in Thessaly. In Macedonia he killed Cycnus, the son of Ares and Pyrene, who had challenged him. He thence passed through Illyria, and arrived on the banks of the river Eridanus, and was informed, by the nymphs in what manner he might compel the prophetic Nereus to instruct him as to what road he should take. On the advice of Nereus he proceeded to Libya. Apollodorus assigns the fight with Antaeus, and the murder of Busiris, to this expedition; both Apollodorus and Diodorus now make IIeracles travel further south and east: thus we find him in Ethiopia, where he kills Emathion, in Arabia, and in Asia he advances as far as Mount Caucasus, where he killed the vulture which consumed the liver of Prometheus, and thus saved the Titan. At length Heracles arrived at Mount Atlas, among the Hyperboreans. Prometheus had advised him not to fetch the apples himself, but to send Atlas, and in the meantime to carry the weight of heaven for him. Atlas accordingly fetched the apples, but on his return he refused to take the burden of heaven on his shoulders again, and declared that he himself would carry the apples to Eurystheus. Heracles, however, contrived by a stratagem to get the apples and hastened away. On his return Eurystheus made him a present of the apples, but Heracles dedicated them to Athena, who, however, did not keep them, but restored them to their former place. Some traditions add to this account that Heracles killed the dragon Ladon. (Apollod. 2.5.11; Diod. 4.26, &c.; Hes. Th. 215, &c.; Plin. Nat. 6.31, 36; Plut. Thes. 11; Apollon. 4.1396, &c.; Hyg. Fab. 31, Poet. Astr. 2.6; Eratosth. Catast. 3.) 12. Cerberus. To fetch this monster from the lower world is the crown of the twelve labours of Heracles, and is therefore usually reckoned as the twelfth or last in the series. It is the only one that is expressly mentioned in the Homeric poems. (Od. 11.623, &c.) Later writers have added to the simple story several particulars, such, e. g. that Heracles, previous to setting out on his expedition, was initiated by Eumolpus in the Eleusinian mysteries, in order to purify him from the murder of the Centaurs. Accompanied by Hermes and Athena, Heracles descended into Hades, near Cape Taenarum, in Laconia. On his arrival most of the shades fled before him, and he found only Meleager and Medusa, with whom he intended to fight; but, on the command of Hermes, he left them in peace. Near the gates of Hades he met Theseus and Peirithous, who stretched their arms imploringly towards him. He delivered Theseus, but, when he attempted to do the same for Peirithous, the earth began to tremble. After having rolled the stone from Ascalaphus, he killed one of the oxen of Hades, in order to give the shades the blood to drink, and fought with Menoetius, the herdsman. Upon this, he asked Pluto permission to take Cerberus, and the request was granted, on condition of its being done without force of arms. This was accomplished, for Heracles found Cerberus on the Acheron, and, notwithstanding the bites of the dragon, he took the monster, and in the neighbourhood of Troezene he brought it to the upper world. The place where he appeared with Cerberus is not the same in all traditions, for some say that it was at Taenarum, others at Hermione, or Coroneia, and others again at Heracleia. When Cerberus appeared in the upper world, it is said that, unable to bear the light, he spit, and thus called forth the poisonous plant called aconitun. After having shown the monster to Eurystheus, Heracles took it back to the lower world. Some traditions connect the descent of Heracles into the lower world with a contest with Hades, as we see even in the Iliad (5.397), and more particularly in the Alcestis of Euripides (24, 846, &c. See Apollod. 2.5.12; Diod. 4.25, &c.; Plut. Thes. 30; Paus. 2.31.2, 9.34.4, 3.25.4, 2.35.7; Ov. Met. 7.415, Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 2.152, Aen. 6.617). After the Labors Such is the account of the twelve labours of Heracles. According to Apollodorus, Eurystheus originally required only ten, and commanded him to perform two more, because he was dissatisfied with two of them; but Diodorus represents twelve as the original number required. Along with these labours (ἆθλοι), the ancients relate a considerable number of other feats (πάρεργα) which he performed without being commanded by Eurystheus; some of them are interwoven with the twelve Α῏θλοι, and others belong to a later period. Those of the former kind have already been noticed above; and we now proceed to mention the principal πάρεργα of the second class. After the accomplishment of the twelve labours, and being released from the servitude of Eurystheus, he returned to Thebes. He there gave Megara in marriage to Iolaus; for, as he had lost the children whom he had by her, he looked upon his connection with her as displeasing to the gods (Paus. 10.29), and went to Oechalia. According to some traditions, Heracles, after his return from Hades, was seized with madness, in which he killed both Megara and her children. This madness was a calamity sent to him by Hera, because he had slain Lycus, king of Thebes, who, in the belief that Heracles would not return from Hades, had attempted to murder Megara and her children. (Hyg. Fab. 32; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 38.) Eurytus, king of Oechalia, an excellent archer, and the teacher of Heracles in his art, had promised his daughter Iole to the man who should excel him and his sons in using the bow. Heracles engaged in the contest with them, and succeeded, but Eurytus refused abiding by his promise, saying, that he would not give his daughter to a man who had murdered Ills own children. Iphitus, the son of Eurytus, endeavoured to persuade his father, but in vain. Soon after this the oxen of Eurytus were carried off, and it was suspected that Heracles was the offender. Iphitus again defended Heracles, went to him and requested his assistance in searching after the oxen. Heracles agreed; but when the two had arrived at Tiryns, Heracles, in a fit of madness, threw his friend down from the wall, and killed him. Deiphobus of Amyclae, indeed, purified Heracles from this murder, but he was, nevertheless, attacked by a severe illness. Heracles then repaired to Delphi to obtain a remedy, but the Pythia refused to answer his questions. A struggle between Heracles and Apollo ensued, and the combatants were not separated till Zeus sent a flash of lightning between them. Heracles now obtained the oracle that he should be restored to health, if he would sell himself, would serve three years for wages, and surrender his wages to Eurytus, as an atonement for the murder of Iphitus. (Apollod. 2.6.1, 2; Diod. 4.31, &c.; Hom. Il. 2.730, Od. 21.22, &c.; Soph. Trach. 273, &c.) Heracles was sold to Omphale, queen of Lydia, and widow of Tmolus. Late writers, especially the Roman poets, describe Heracles, during his stay with Omphale, as indulging at times in an effeminate life: he span wool, it is said, and sometimes he put on the garments of a woman, while Omphale wore his lion's skin; but, according to Apollodorus and Diodorus, he nevertheless performed several great feats. (Ov. Fast. 2.305, Heroid. 9.53; Senec. Hippol. 317, Herc. Fur. 464; Lucian, Dial. Deor. 13.2; Apollod. 2.6.3; Diod. 4.31, &c.) Among these, we mention his chaining the Cercopes [CERCOPES], his killing Syleus and his daughter in Aulis, his defeat of the plundering Idones, his killing a serpent on the river Sygaris, and his throwing the blood-thirsty Lytierses into the Maeander. (Comp. Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.14; Schol. ad Theocrit. 10.41; Athen. 10.415.) He further gave to the island of Doliche the name of Icaria, as he buried in it the body of Icarus, which had been washed on shore by the waves. He also undertook an expedition to Colchis, which brought him in connection with the Argonauts (Apollod. 1.9.16; Hdt. 7.193; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1.1289; Ant. Lib. 26); he took part in the Calydonian hunt, and met Theseus on his landing from Troezene on the Corinthian isthmus. An expedition to India, which was mentioned in some traditions, may likewise be inserted in this place. (Philostr. Vit. Apoll. 3.4, 6; Arrian, Ind. 8, 9.) When the period of his servitude and his illness had passed away, he undertook an expedition against Troy, with 18 ships and a band of heroes. On his landing, he entrusted the fleet to Oicles, and with his other companions made an attack upon the city. Laomedon in the mean time made an attack upon the ships, and slew Oicles, but was compelled to retreat into the city, where he was besieged. Telamon was the first who forced his way into the city, which roused the jealousy of Heracles to such a degree that lie determined to kill him; but Telamon quickly collected a heap of stones, and pretended that he was building an altar to Heracles καλλίνικος or ἀλεξίκακος. This soothed the anger of the hero; and after the sons of Laomedon had fallen, Heracles gave to Telamon Hesione, as a reward for his bravery. (Hom. Il. 5.641, &c., 14.251, 20.145, &c.; Apollod. 2.6.4; Diod. 4.32, 49; Eur. Tro. 802, &c.) On his return from Troy, Hera sent a storm to impede his voyage, which compelled him to land in the island of Cos. The Meropes, the inhabitants of the island, took him for a pirate, and received him with a shower of stones; but during the night he took possession of the island, and killed the king, Eurypylus. Heracles himself was wounded by Chalcodon, but was saved by Zeus. After he had ravaged Cos, he went, by the command of Athena, to Phlegra, and fought against the Gigantes. (Apollod. 2.7.1; Hom. Il. 14.250, &c.; Pind. N. 4.40.) Respecting his fight against the giants, who were, according to an oracle, to be conquered by a mortal, see especially Eur. Her. 177, &c., 852, 1190, &c., 1272. Among the giants defeated by him we find mention of Alcyoneus, a name borne by two among them. (Pind. N. 4.43, Isthm. 6.47.) Soon after his return to Argos, Heracles marched against Augeas to chastise him for his breach of promise (see above), and then proceeded to Pylos, which he took, and killed Periclymenus, a son of Neleus. He then advanced against Lacedaemon, to punish the sons of Hippocoon, for having assisted Neleus and slain Oeonus, the son of Licymnius. (Paus. 3.15.2, 2.18.6; Apollod. 2.7.3; Diod. 4.33.) Heracles took Lacedaemon, and assigned the government of it to Tyndarens. On his return to Tegea, he became, by Auge, the father of Telephus [AUGE], and then proceeded to Calydon, where he demanded Deianeira, the daughter of Oeneus, for his wife. [DEIANEIRA; ACHELOUS.] The adventures which now follow are of minor importance, such as the expedition against the Dryopians, and the assistance he gave to Aegimius, king of the Dorians, against the Lapithae; but as these events led to his catastrophe, it is necessary to subjoin a sketch of them. Heracles had been married to Deianeira for nearly three years, when, at a repast in the house of Oeneus, he killed, by an accident, the boy Eunomus, the son of Architeles. The father of the boy pardoned the murder, as it had not been committed intentionally; but Heracles, in accordance with the law, went into exile with his wife Deianeira. On their road they came to the river Euenus, across which the centaur Nessus used to carry travellers for a small sum of money. Heracles himself forded the river, and gave Deianeira to Nessus to carry her across. Nessus attempted to outrage her: Heracles heard her screaming, and as the centaur brought her to the other side, Heracles shot an arrow into his heart. The dying centaur called out to Deianeira to take his blood with her, as it was a sure means for preserving the love of her husband. (Apollod. 2.7.6; Diod. 4.36; Soph. Trach. 555, &c.; Ov. Met. 9.201, &c.; Senec. Herc. Oct. 496, &c.; Paus. 10.38.1.) From the river Euenus, Heracles now proceeded through the country of the Dryopes, where he showed himself worthy of the epithet "the voracious," which is so often given to him, especially bv late writers, for in his hunger he took one of the oxen of Theiodamas, and consumed it all. At last he arrived in Trachis, where he was kindly received by Ceyx, and conquered the Dryopes. He then assisted Aegimius, king of the Dorians, against the Lapithae, and without accepting a portion of the country which was offered to him as a reward. Laogoras, the king of the Dryopes, and his children, were slain. As Heracles proceeded to Iton, in Thessaly, he was challenged to single combat by Cycnus, a son of Ares and Pelopia (Hesiod. Scut. Her. 58, &c.); but Cycnus was slain. King Amyntor of Ormenion refused to allow Heracles to pass through his dominions, but had to pay for his presumption with his life. (Apollod. 2.7.7; Diod. 4.36, &c.) Heracles now returned to Trachis, and there collected an army to take vengeance on Eurytus of Oechalia. Apollodorus and Diodorus agree in making Heracles spend the last years of his life at Trachis, but Sophocles represents the matter in a very different light, for, according to him, Heracles was absent from Trachis upwards of fifteen months without Deianeira knowing where he was. During that period he was staying with Omphale in Lydia; and without returning home, he proceeded from Lydia at once to Oechalia, to gain possession of Iole, whom he loved. (Soph. Trach. 44, &c.; 248, &c., 351, &c.) With the assistance of his allies, Heracles took the town of Oechalia, and slew Eurytus and his sons, but carried his daughter Iole with him as a prisoner. On his return home he landed at Cenaeum, a promontory of Euboea, and erected an altar to Zeus Cenaeus, and sent his companion, Lichas, to Trachis to fetch him a white garment, which he intended to use during the sacrifice. Deiancira, who heard from Lichas respecting Iole, began to fear lost she should supplant her in the affection of her husband, to prevent which she steeped the white garment he had demanded in the preparation she had made from the blood of Nessus. Scarcely had the garment become warm on the body of Heracles, when the poison which was contained in the ointment, and had come into it from the poisoned arrow with which Heracles had killed Nessus, penetrated into all parts of his body, and caused him the most fearful pains. Heracles seized Lichas by his feet, and threw him into the sea. He wrenched off his garment, but it stuck to his flesh, and with it he tore whole pieces from his body. In this state he was conveyed to Trachis. Deianeira, on seeing what she had unwittingly done, hung herself; and Heracles commanded Hyllus, his eldest son, by Deianeira, to marry Iole as soon as he should arrive at the age of manhood. He then ascended Mount Oeta, raised a pile of wood, ascended, and ordered it to be set on fire. No one ventured to obey him, until at length Poeas the shepherd, who passed by, was prevailed upon to comply with the desire of the suffering hero. When the pile was burning, a cloud came down from heaven, and amid peals of thunder carried him into Olympus, where he was honoured with immortality, became reconciled with Hera, and married her daughter Hebe, by whom he became the father of Alexiares and Anicetus. (Hom. Od. 11.600, &c.; Hes. Th. 949, &c.; Soph. Trach. l.c., Philoct. 802; Apollod. 2.7. §. 7; Diod. 4.38; Ov. Met. 9.155, &c.; Hdt. 7.198; Conon, Narrat. 17; Paus. 3.18.7; Pind. Nem. i. in fin., 10.31, &c., Isthm. 4.55, &c.; Virg. Aen. 8.300, and many other writers.) The wives and children of Heracles are enumerated by Apollodorus (2.7.8), but we must refer the reader to the separate articles. We may, however, observe that among the very great number of his children, there are no daughters, and that Euripides is the only writer who mentions Macaria as a daughter of Heracles by Deianeira. We must also pass over the long series of his surnames, and proceed to give an account of his worship in Greece. Immediately after the apotheosis of Heracles, his friends who were present at the termination of his earthly career offered sacrifices to him as a hero; and Menoetius established at Opus the worship of Heracles as a hero. This example was followed by the Thebans, until at length Heracles was worshipped throughout Greece as a divinity (Diod. 4.39; Eur. Her. 1331); but he, Dionysus and Pan, were regarded as the youngest gods, and his worship was practised in two ways, for he was worshipped both as a god and as a hero. (Hdt. 2.44, 145.) One of the most ancient temples of Heracles in Greece was that at Bura, in Achaia, where he had a peculiar oracle. (Paus. 7.25.6; Plut. de Malign. Herod. 31.) In the neighbourhood of Thermopylae, where Athena, to please him, had called forth the hot spring, there was an altar of Heracles, surnamed μελάμπυγος (Schol. ad Aristoph. Nub. 1047; Hdt. 7.176); and it should be observed that hot springs in general were sacred to Heracles. (Diod. 5.3; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. 12.25; Liv. 22.1; Strab. pp. 60, 172, 425, 428.) In Phocis he had a temple under the name of μισολύνης; and as at Rome, women were not allowed to take part in his worship, probably on account of his having been poisoned by Deianeira. (Plut. Quaest. Rom. 57, de Pyth. Orac. 20; Macr. 1.12.) But temples and sanctuaries of Heracles existed in all parts of Greece, especially in those inhabited by the Dorians. The sacrifices offered to him consisted principally of bulls, boars, rams and lambs. (Diod. 4.39; Paus. 2.10.1.) Respecting the festivals celebrated in his honour, see Dict. of Ant. s. v. Ἠράκλεια. The worship of Hercules at Rome and in Italy requires a separate consideration. His worship there is connected by late, especially Roman writers, with the hero's expedition to fetch the oxen of Geryones; and the principal points are, that Hercules in the West abolished human sacrifices among the Sabines, established the worship of fire, and slew Cacus, a robber, who had stolen eight of his oxen. (Dionys. A. R. 1.14; CACUS.) The aborigines, and especially Evander, honoured the hero with divine worship. (Serv. ad Aen. 8.51, 269.) Hercules, in return, feasted the people, and presented the king with lands, requesting that sacrifices should be offered to him every year, according to Greek rites. Two distinguished families, the Potitii and Pinarii, were instructed in these Greek rites, and appointed hereditary managers of the festival. But Hercules made a distinction between these two families, which continued to exist for a long time after; for, as Pinarius arrived too late at the repast, the god punished him by declaring that lie and his descendants should be excluded for ever from the sacrificial feast. Thus the custom arose for the Pinarii to act the part of servants at the feast. (Diod. 4.21; Dionys. A. R. 1.39, &c.; Liv. 1.40, 5.34; Nepos, Hann. 3; Plut. Quaest. Rom. 18; Ov. Fast. 1.581.) The Fabia gens traced its origin to Hercules, and Fauna and Acca Laurentia are called mistresses of Hercules. In this manner the Romans connected their earliest legends with Hercules. (Macr. 1.10; August. de Civ. Dei, 6.7.) It should be observed that in the Italian traditions the hero bore the name of Recaranus, and this Recaranus was afterwards identified with the Greek Heracles. He had two temples at Rome, one was a small round temple of Hercules Victor, or Hercules Triumphalis, between the river and the Circus Maximus, in the forum boarium, and contained a statue, which was dressed in the triumphal robes whenever a general celebrated a triumph. In front of this statue was the ara maxima, on which, after a triumph, the tenth of the booty was deposited for distribution among the citizens. (Liv. 10.23; Plin. H. N. 34.7, 16 ; Macr. 3.6; Tac. Ann. 12.24; Serv. ad Aen. 12.24; Ath. 5.65; comp. Dionys. A. R. 1.40.) The second temple stood near the porta trigemina, and contained a bronze statue and the altar on which Hercules himself was believed to have once offered a sacrifice. (Dionys. A. R. 1.39, 40; Plut. Quaest. Rom. 60; Plin. Nat. 33.12, 45.) Here the city praetor offered every year a young cow, which was consumed by the people within the sanctuary. The Roman Hercules was regarded as the giver of health (Lydus, de Mens. p. 92), and his priests were called by a Sabine name Cupenci. (Serv. ad Aen. 12.539.) At Rome he was further connected with the Muses, whence he is called Musagetes, and was represented with a lyre, of which there is no trace in Greece. The identity of the Italian with the Greek Heracles is attested not only by the resenmblalce in the traditions and the mode of worship, but by the distinct belief of the Romans themselves. The Greek colonies had introduced his worship into Italy, and it was thence carried to Rome, into Gaul, Spain, arid even Germany. (Tac. Germ. 2.) But it is, nevertheless, in the highest degree probable that the Greek mythus was engrafted upon, or supplied the place of that about the Italian Recaranus or Garanus. [GARANUS.] The works of art in which Heracles was represented were extremely numerous, and of the greatest variety, for he was represented at all the various stages of his life, from the cradle to his death; but whether he appears as a child, a youth, a struggling hero, or as the immortal inhabitant of Olympus, his character is always that of heroic strength and energy. Specimens of every kind are still extant. In the works of the archaic style he appeared as a man with heavy armour (Paus. 3.15.7), but he is usually represented armed with a club, a Scythian bow, and a lion's skin. His head and eyes are small in proportion to the other parts of his body; his hair is short, bristly, and curly, his neck short, fat, and resembling that of a bull; the lower part of his forehead projects, and his expression is grave and serious; his shoulders, arms, breast, and legs display the highest physical strength, and the strong muscles suggest the unceasing and extraordinary exertions by which his life is characterised. The representations of Heracles by Myron and Parrhasius approached nearest to the ideal which was at length produced by Lysippus. The socalled Farnesian Heracles, of which the torso still exists, is the work of Glycon, in imitation of one by Lysippus. It is the finest representation of the hero that has come down to us: he is resting, leaning on his right arm, while the left one is reclining on his head, and the whole figure is a most exquisite combination of peculiar softness with the greatest strength. (Müller, Handb. der Archäol. p. (p. 640, &100.2d edit.; E. A. Hagen, de Herculis Laboribus Comment. Arch., Regiomont. 1827.) The mythus of Heracles, as it has come down to us, has unquestionably been developed on Grecian soil; his name is Greek, and the substance of the fables also is of genuine Greek growth: the foreign additions which at a later age may have been incorporated with the Greek mythus can easily be recognised and separated from it. It is further clear that real historical elements are interwoven with the fables. The best treatises on the mythus of Heracles are those of Buttmann (Mythologus, vol. i. p. 246, &c.), and C. O. Müller (Dorians, ii. cc. 11 and 12), both of whom regard the hero as a purely Greek character, though the former considers him as entirely a poetical creation, and the latter believes that the whole mythus arose from the proud consciousness of power which is innate in every man, by means of which he is able to raise himself to an equality with the immortal gods, notwithstanding all the obstacles that may be placed in his way. Before we conclude, we must add a few remarks respecting the Heracles of the East, and of the Celtic and Germanic nations. The ancients themselves expressly mention several heroes of the name of Heracles, who occur among the principal nations of the ancient world. Diodorus, e.g. (3.73, comp. 1.24, 5.64, 76) speaks of three, the most ancient of whom was the Egyptsian, a son f Zeus, the second a Cretan, and one of the Idacan Dactyls, and the third or youngest was Heracles the son of Zeus by Alcmena, who lived shortly before the Trojan war, and to whom the feats of the earlier ones were ascribed. Cicero (de Nat. Deor. 3.16) counts six heroes of this name, and he likewise makes the last and youngest the son of Zeus and Alcmena. Varro (apud Serv. ad Aen. 8.564) is said to have reckoned up forty-four heroes of this name, while Servius (l.c.) assumes only four, viz. the Tirynthian, the Argive, the Theban, and the Libyan Heracles. Herodotus (2.42, &c.) tells us that he made inquiries respecting Heracles: the Egyptian he found to be decidedly older than the Greek one; but the Egyptians referred him to Phoenicia as the original source of the traditions. The Egyptian Heracles, who is mentioned by many other writers besides Herodotus and Diodorus, is said to have been called by his Egyptian name Som or Dsom, or, according to others, Chon (Etym. M. s. v. Χῶν), and, according to Pausanias (10.17.2), Maceris. According to Diodorus (1.24), Som was a son of Amon (Zeus); but Cicero calls him a son of Nilus, while, according to Ptolemaeus Hephaestion, Heracles himself was originally called Nilus. This Egyptian Heracles was placed by the Egyptians in the second of the series of the evolutions of their gods. (Diod. l.c.; Hdt. 2.43, 145, 3.73; Tac. Ann. 2.6.) The Thebans placed him 17,000 years before king Amasis, and, according to Diodorus, 10,000 years before the Trojan war; whereas Macrobius (Macr. 1.20) states that he had no beginning at all. The Greek Heracles, according to Diodorus, became the heir of all the feats and exploits of his elder Egyptian namesake. The 'Egyptian Heracles, however, is also mentioned in the second classof the kings; so that the original divinity, by a process of anthropomorphism, appears as a man, and in this capacity he bears great resemblance to the Greek hero. (Diod. 1.17, 24, 3.73.) This may, indeed, be a mere reflex of the Greek traditions, but the statement that Osiris, previous to his great expedition, entrusted Heracles with the government of Egypt, seems to be a genuine Egyptian legend. The other stories related about the Egyptian Heracles are of a mysterious nature, and unintelligible, but the great veneration in which he was held is attested by several authorities. (Hdt. 2.113; Diod. 5.76; Tac. Ann. 2.60; Macr. 1.20.) Further traces of the worship of Heracles appear in Thasus, where Herodotus (2.44) found a temple, said to have been built by the Phoenicians sent out in search of Europa, five generations previous to the time of the Greek Heracles. He was worshipped there principally in the character of a saviour (σωτήρ, Paus. 5.25.7, 6.11.2). The Cretan Heracles, one of the Idacan Dactyls, was believed to have founded the temple of Zeus at Olympia (Paus. 5.13.5), but to have originally come from Egypt. (Diod. 4.18.) The traditions about him resemble those of the Greek Heracles (Diod. 5.76; Paus. 9.27.5); but it is said that he lived at a much earlier period than the Greek hero, and that the latter only imitated him. Eusebius states that his name was Diodas, and Hieronymus makes it Desanaus. He was worshipped with funeral sacrifices, and was regarded as a magician, like other ancient daemones of Crete. (Cic. de Nat. Deor. 3.16; Diod. 5.64.) In India, also, we find a Heracles, who was called by the unintelligible name Διρσάνηρ. (Plin. Nat. 6.16, 22; Hesych. s.v. Δορσάνηρ.) The later Greeks believed that he was their own hero, who had visited India, and related that in India he became the father of many sons and daughters by Pandaea, and the ancestral hero of the Indian kings. (Arrian, Ind. 8, 9; Diod. 2.39, 17.85, 96; Philostr. Vit. Apoll. 3.46.) The Phoenician Heracles, whom the Egyptians considered to be more ancient than their own, was probably identical with the Egyptian or Libyan Heracles. See the learned disquisition in Movers (Die Phoenicier, p. 415, &c.) He was worshipped in all the Phoenician colonies, such as Carthage and Gades, down to the time of Constantine, and it is said that children were sacrificed to him. (Plin. Nat. 36.5.) The Celtic and Germanic Heracles has already been noticed above, as the founder of Alesia, Nemausus, and the author of the Celtic race. We become acquainted with him in the accounts of the expedition of the Greek Heracles to Geryones. (Hdt. 1.7, 2.45, 91, 113, 4.82; Pind. O. 3.11, &c.; Tacit. Germ. 3, 9.) We must either suppose that the Greek Heracles was identified with native heroes of those northern countries, or that the notions about Heracles had been introduced there from the East. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hermes in Wikipedia

Hermes (pronounced /ˈhɜrmiːz/; Greek Ἑρμῆς) is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and additionally as a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves and liars,[1] of orators and wit, of literature and poets, of athletics and sports, of weights and measures, of invention, and of commerce in general.[2] His symbols include the tortoise, the rooster, the winged sandals, the winged hat, and the caduceus (given to him by Apollo in exchange for the lyre)...

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Hermes in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

Ἑρμῆς, (*(Ermei/as, Dor. Ἑρμᾶς), a son of Zeus and Maia, the daughter of Atlas, was born in a cave of Mount Cyllene in Arcadia (Hom. Od. 8.335, 14.435, 24.1; Hymn. in Merc. 1, &c.; Ov. Met. 1.682, 14.291), whence he is called Atlantiades or Cyllenius; but Philostratus (Icon. 1.26) places his birth in Olympus. In the first hours after his birth, he escaped from his cradle, went to Pieiria, and carried off some of the oxen of Apollo. (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 17.) In the Iliad and Odyssey this tradition is not mentioned, though Hermes is characterised as a cunning thief. (Il. 5.390, 24.24.) Other accounts, again, refer the theft of the oxen to a more advanced period of the life of the god. (Apollod. iii. 10.2; Ant. Lib. 23.) In order not to be discovered by the traces of his footsteps, Hermes put on sandals, and drove the oxen to Pylos, where he killed two, and concealed the rest in a cave. (Comp. the different stratagems by which he escaped in Horn. Hymn. in Merc. 75, &c., and Anton. Lib. l.c.) The skins of the slaughtered animals were nailed to a rock, and part of their flesh was prepared and consumed, and the rest burnt; at the same time he offered scrifices to the twelve gods, whence he is probably called the inventor of divine worship and sacrifices. (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 125, &c.; Diod. 1.16.) Hereupon he returned to Cyllene, where he found a tortoise at the entrance of his native cave. He took the animal's shell, drew strings across it, and thus invented the lyre and plectrum. The number of strings of his new invention is said by some to have been three and by others seven, and they were made of the guts either of oxen or of sheep. (Hom. l.c. 51; Diod. 1.16, 5.75; Orph. Argon. 381; Hor. Carm. 1.10. 6.) Apollo, by his prophetic power, had in the meantime discovered the thief, and went to Cyllene to charge him with it before his mother Maia. She showed to the god the child in its cradle; but Apollo took the boy before Zeus, and demanded back his oxen. Zeus commanded him to comply with the demand of Apollo, but Hermes denied that he had stolen the cattle. As, however, he saw that his assertions were not believed, he conducted Apollo to Pylos, and restored to him his oxen; but when Apollo heard the sounds of the lyre, he was so charmed that he allowed Hermes to keep the animals. Hermes now invented the syrinx, and after having disclosed his inventions to Apollo, the two gods concluded an intimate friendship with each other. (Hom. l.c. 514, &c.) Apollo presented his young friend with his own golden shepherd's staff, taught him the art of prophesying by means of dice, and Zeus made him his own herald, and also of the gods of the lower world. According to the Homeric hymn (533, &c.), Apollo refused to teach Hermes the art of prophecy, and referred him for it to the three sisters dwelling on Parnassus; but he conferred upon him the office of protecting flocks and pastures (568; comp. Lucian, Dial. Deor. 7; Ov. Met. 2.683, &c.). The principal feature in the traditions about Hermes consists in his being the herald of the gods, and in this capacity he appears even in the Homeric poems; his original character of an ancient Pelasgian, or Arcadian divinity of nature, gradually disappeared in the legends. As the herald of the gods, he is the god of skill in the use of speech and of eloquence in general, for the heralds are the public speakers in the assemblies and on other occasions. (Il. 1.333, 4.193, 7.279, 385, 8.517, 11.684; comp. Orph. Hymn. 27. 4; Aelian, Ael. NA 10.29; Hor. Carm. 1.10. 1.) As an adroit speaker, he was especially employed as messenger, when eloquence was required to attain the desired object. (Od. 1.38, Il. 24.390; Hom. Hymn. in Cer. 335.) Hence the tongues of sacrificial animals were offered to him. (Aristoph. Peace 1062; Athen. 1.16.) As heralds and messengers are usually men of prudence and circumspection, Hermes was also the god of prudence and skill in all the relations of social intercourse. (Il. 20.35, 24.282, Od. 2.38.) These qualities were combined with similar ones, such as cunning both in words and actions, and even fraud, perjury, and the inclination to steal; but acts of this kind were committed by Hermes always with a certain skill, dexterity, and even gracefulness. Examples occur in the Homeric hymn on Hermes (66, 260, 383; comp. Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1337; Hom. Il. 5.390, 24.24; Apollod. 1.6.3). Being endowed with this shrewdness and sagacity, he was regarded as the author of a variety of inventions, and, besides the lyre and syrinx, he is said to have invented the alphabet, numbers, astronomy, music, the art of fighting, gymnastics, the cultivation of the olive tree, measures, weights, and many other things. (Plut. Sympos. 9.3; Diod. l.c. and 5.75; Hyg. Fab. 277.) The powers which he possessed himself he conferred upon those mortals and heroes who enjoyed his favour, and all who had them were under his especial protection, or are called his sons. (Od. x. 277, &c., 15.318, &c., 19.397; Soph. Philoct. 133; Hes. Op. 67; Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 18, 1053.) He was employed by the gods and more especially by Zeus on a variety of occasions which are recorded in ancient story. Thus he conducted Priam to Achilles to fetch the body of Hector (Il. 24.336), tied Ixion to the wheel (Hyg. Fab. 62), conducted Hera, Aphrodite, and Athena to Paris (Hyg. Fab. 92; Paus. 5.19.1), fastened Prometheus to Mount Caucasus (Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 6.42), rescued Dionysus after his birth from the flames, or received him from the hands of Zeus to carry him to Athamas (Apollod. 3.4.3; Apollon. 4.1137), sold Heracles to Omphale (Apollod. 2.6.3), and was ordered by Zeus to carry off Io, who was metamorphosed into a cow, and guarded by Argus; but being betrayed by Hierax, he slew Argus. (Apollod. 2.1.3.) From this murder he is very commonly called Ἀργειφόντης. (Il. 24.182; comp. Schol. ad Aeschyl. Prom. 563; Ov. Met. 1.670, &c.) In the Trojan war Hermes was on the side of the Greeks. (Il. 20.72, &c.) His ministry to Zeus is not confined to the offices of herald and messenger, but he is also the charioteer and cupbearer. (Hom. Od. 1.143, Il. 24.178, 440, Hymn. in Cer. 380; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1205.) As dreams are sent by Zeus, Hermes, the ἡγήτωρ ὀνείρων, conducts them to man, and hence he is also described as the god who had it in his power to send refreshing sleep or to take it away. (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 14, Il. 2.26, 24.343, &c.) Another important function of Hermes was to conduct the shades of the dead from the upper into the lower world, whence he is called ψυχοπομπός, νεκροπομτός, ψυχαγωγός, &c. (Hom. Od. 24.1, 9, Hymn. in Cer. 379, &c.; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 561; D. L. 8.31; Hyg. Fab. 251.) The idea of his being the herald and messenger of the gods, of his travelling from place to place and concluding treaties, necessarily implied the notion that he was the promoter of social intercourse and of commerce among men, and that he was friendly towards man. (Od. 19.135, Il. 24.333.) In this capacity he was regarded as the maintainer of peace, and as the god of roads, who protected travellers, and punished those who refused to assist travellers who had mistaken their way. (Il. 7.277, &c.; Theocrit. 25.5; Aristoph. Pl. 1159.) Hence the Athenian generals, on setting out on an expedition, offered sacrifices to Hermas, surnamed Hegemonius, or Agetor; and numerous statues of the god were erected on roads, at doors and gates, from which circumstance he derived a variety of surnames and epithets. As the god of commerce, he was called διέμπορος, ἐμπολαῖος, παλιγκάπηλος, κερδέμπορος, ἀγοραῖος, &c. (Aristoph. Pl. 1155; Pollux, 7.15; Orph. Hymn. 27.6; Paus. 1.15.1, 2.9. §. 7, 3.11.8, &c.); and as commerce is the source of wealth, Hermes is also the god of gain and riches, especially of sudden and unexpected riches, such as are acquired by commerce. As the giver of wealth and good luck (πλουτοδότης), he also presided over the game of dice, and those who played it threw an olive leaf upon the dice, and first drew this leaf. (Hom. Il. 7.183; Aristoph. Peace 365; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 675.) We have already observed that Hermes was considered as the inventor of sacrifices, and hence he not only acts the part of a herald at sacrifices (Aristoph. Peace 433), but is also the protector of sacrificial animals, and was believed in particular to increase the fertility of sheep. (Hom. Hymn. in Merc. 567, &c., Il. 14.490, 16.180, &c; Hes. Th. 444.) For this reason he was especially worshipped by shepherds, and is mentioned in connection with Pan and the Nymphs. (Hom. Od. 14.435; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1766; Aristoph. Thes. 977; Paus. 8.16.1; 9.34.2; Schol. ad Soph. Philoct. 14, 59.) This feature in the character of Hermes is a remnant of the ancient Arcadian religion, in which he was the fertilising god of the earth, who conferred his blessings on man; and some other traces of this character occur in the Homeric poems. (Il. 24.360, Od. 8.335, 16.185, Hymn. in Merc. 27.) Another important function of Hermes was his being the patron of all the gymnastic games of the Greeks. This idea seems to be of late origin, for in the Homeric poems no trace of it is found; and the appearance of the god, such as it is there described, is very different from that which we might expect in the god of the gymnastic art. But as his images were erected in so many places, and among them, at the entrance of the gymnasia, the natural result was, that he, like Heracles and the Dioscuri, was regarded as the protector of youths and gymnastic exercises and contests (Pind. N. 10.53), and that at a later time the Greek artists derived their ideal of the god from the gymnasium, and represented him as a youth whose limbs were beautifully and harmoniously developed by gymnastic exercises. Athens seems to have been the first place in which he was worshipped in this capacity. (Pind. P. 2.10, Isthm. 1.60; Aristoph. Pl. 1161.) The numerous descendants of Hermes are treated of in separate articles. It should be observed that the various functions of the god led some of the ancients to assume a plurality of gods of this name. Cicero (de Nat. Deor. 3.22) distinguishes five, and Servius (Serv. ad Aen. 1.301, 4.577) four; but these numbers also include foreign divinities, which were identified by the Greeks with their own Hermes. The most ancient seat of his worship is Arcadia, the land of his birth, where Lycaon, the son of Pelasgus, is said to have built to him the first temple. (Hyg. Fab. 225.) From thence his worship was carried to Athens, and ultimately spread through all Greece. The festivals celebrated in his honour were called Ἕρμαια. (Dict. of Ant. s, v.) His temples and statues (Dict. of Ant. s.v. Hermae) were extremely numerous in Greece. The Romans identified him with Mercury. [MERCURIUS.] Among the things sacred to him we may mention the palm tree, the tortoise, the number four, and several kinds of fish; and the sacrifices offered to him consisted of incense, honey, cakes, pigs, and especially lambs and young goats. (Paus. 7.22.2; Aristoph. Pl. 1121, 1144; Hom. Od. 14.435, 19.397; Athen. 1.16.) The principal attributes of Hermes are: 1. A travelling hat, with a broad brim, which in later times was adorned with two little wings; the latter, however, are sometimes seen arising from his locks, his head not being covered with the hat. 2. The staff (ῥάβδος or σκῆπτρον): it is frequently mentioned in the Homeric poems as the magic staff by means of which he closes and opens the eyes of mortals, but no mention is made of the person or god from whom he received it, nor of the entwining serpents which appear in late works of art. According to the Homeric hymn and Apollodorus, he received it from Apollo; and it appears that we must distinguish two staves, which were afterwards united into one: first, the ordinary herald's staff (Il. 7.277, 18.505), and secondly, a magic staff, such as other divinities also possessed. (Lucian, Dial. Deor. 7.5; Verg. A. 4.242, &c.) The white ribbons with which the herald's staff was originally surrounded were changed by later artists into two serpents (Schol. ad Thuc. 1.53; Macr. 1.19; comp. Hygin. Poet. Astr. 2.7; Serv. ad Aen. 4.242, 8.138), though the ancients themselves accounted for them either by tracing them to some feat of the god, or by regarding them as symbolical representations of prudence, life, health, and the like. The staff, in later times, is further adorned with a pair of wings, expressing the rapidity with which the messenger of the gods moved from place to place. 3. The sandals (πέδιλα.) They were beautiful and golden, and carried the god across land and sea with the rapidity of wind; but Homer no where says or suggests that they were provided with wings. The plastic art, on the other hand, required some outward sign to express this quality of the god's sandals, and therefore formed wings at his ancles, whence he is called πτηνοπέδιλος, or alipes. (Orph. Hymn. 27.4; Ov. Met. 11.312.) In addition to these attributes, Hermes sometimes holds a purse in his hands. Several representations of the god at different periods of his life, as well as in the discharge of his different functions, have come down to us. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. i. p. 63, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hero in Wikipedia

A hero (heroine for females) (Ancient Greek: ἥρως, hḗrōs), in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion.[1] Later, hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice-that is, heroism-for some greater good of all humanity. This definition originally referred to martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence. Stories of heroism may serve as moral examples. In classical antiquity, hero cults-veneration of deified heroes such as Heracles, Perseus, and Achilles-played an important role in Ancient Greek religion. Politicians, ancient and modern, have employed hero worship for their own apotheosis (i.e., cult of personality)...

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Hero in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἥρω), the name of three mythical personages, one a daughter of Danaus (Hyg. Fab. 170), the second a daughter of Priam (Hyg. Fab. 90), and respecting the third, see LEANDER. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hesperus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Hesperus (Greek Ἓσπερος Hesperos) is the Evening Star, the planet Venus in the evening. He is the son of the dawn goddess Eos (Roman Aurora) and is the brother of Eosphorus (also called Phosphorus, and Lucifer), the Morning Star. Hesperus' Roman equivalent is Vesper (cf. "evening", "supper", "evening star", "west"[1]). Hesperus' father was Cephalus, a mortal, while Eosphoros' was the star god Astraios...

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Hesperus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*(/Esperos), the evening-star, is called by Hesiod a son of Astraeus and Eos, and was regarded, even by the ancients, as the same as the morning star, whence both Homer and Hesiod call him the bringer of light, ἑωσφόρος (Il. 22.317, 23.226; comp. Plin. Nat. 2.8; Mart. Capell. 8.882, &c., ed. Kopp.) Diodorus (3.60) calls him a son of Atlas, who was fond of astronomy, and once, after having ascended Mount Atlas to observe the stars, he disappeared. He was worshipped with divine honours, and regarded as the fairest star in the heavens. (Eratosth. Catast. 24.) Hyginus (de Sign. Coel. 2) says that some called him a son of Eos and Cephalus. The Romans designated him by the names Lucifer and Hesperus, to characterise him as the morning or evening star. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hestia in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology Hestia (Roman Vesta), daughter of Cronus and Rhea (ancient Greek Ἑστία, "hearth" or "fireside"), is the virgin goddess of the hearth and of the right ordering of domesticity and the family. She received the first offering at every sacrifice in the household. In the public domain, the hearth of the prytaneum functioned as her official sanctuary. With the establishment of a new colony, flame from Hestia's public hearth in the mother city would be carried to the new settlement. She sat on a plain wooden throne with a white woolen cushion and did not trouble to choose an emblem for herself.[1]...

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Hestia in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

*(Esti/a, (Ion. Ἱστίη), the goddess of the hearth, or rather the fire burning on the hearth, was regarded as one of the twelve great gods, and accordingly as a daughter of Cronus and Rhea. According to the common tradition, she was the first-born daughter of Rhea, and was therefore the first of the children that was swallowed by Cronus. (Hes. Th. 453, &c.; Hom. Hymn. in Ven. 22; Apollod. 1.1.5.) She was, like Artemis and Athena, a maiden divinity, and when Apollo and Poseidon sued for her hand, she swore by the head of Zeus to remain a virgin for ever (Hom. Hymn. in Ven. 24, &c.), and in this character it was that her sacrifices consisted of cows which were only one year old. The connection between Hestia and Apollo and Poseidon, which is thus alluded to in the legend, appears also in the temple of Delphi, where the three divinities were worshipped in common, and Hestia and Poseidon appeared together also at Olympia. (Paus. 5.26.26, 10.5.3; Hom. Hymn. 31.2.) As the hearth was looked upon as the sacred centre of domestic life, so Hestia was the goddess of domestic life and the giver of all domestic happiness and blessings, and as such she was believed to dwell in the inner part of every house (Hom. Hymn. in Ven. 30; Callim. Hymn. in Del. 325, in Cer. 129), and to have invented the art of building houses. (Diod. 5.68; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 735.) In this respect she appears often together with Hermes, who was likewise a deus penetralis, as protecting the works of man. (Hom. Hymn. 32.10: Paus. 10.11.3.) As the hearth of a house is at the same time the altar on which sacrifices are offered to the domestic gods (ἑστιοῦχοι or ἐφέστιοι), Hestia was looked upon as presiding at all sacrifices, and, as the goddess of the sacred fire of the altar, she had a share in the sacrifices in all the temples of the gods. (Hom. Hymn. in Ven. 31.) Hence when sacrifices were offered, she was invoked first, and the first part of the sacrifice was offered to her. (Hom. Hymn. 32.5; Pind. N. 11.5; Plat. Cratyl. p. 401d. ; Paus. 5.14.5; Schol. ad Aristoph. Vesp. 842 ; Hesych. s. v. ἀφ̓ ἑστίας ἀρχόμενος.) Solemn oaths were sworn by the goddess of the hearth, and the hearth itself was the sacred asylum where suppliants implored the protection of the inhabitants of the house. (Hom. Od. 14.159; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1579.) A town or city is only an extended family, and therefore had likewise its sacred hearth, the symbol of an harmonious community of citizens and of a common worship. This public hearth usually existed in the prytaneium of a town, where the goddess had her especial sanctuary (Δάλαμος), under the name of Πρυτανῖτις, with a statue and the sacred hearth. There the prytanes offered sacrifices to her, on entering upon their office, and there, as at a private hearth, Hestia protected the suppliants. As this public hearth was the sacred asylum in every town, the state usually received its guests and foreign ambassadors there, and the prytanes had to act the part of hosts. When a colony was sent out, the emigrants took the fire which was to burn on the hearth of their new home from that of the mother town. (Pind. N. 11.1, &c., with the Scholiast; Parthen. Erot. 18; Dionys. A. R. 2.65.) If ever the fire of her hearth became extinct, it was not allowed to be lighted again with ordinary fire, but either by fire produced by friction, or by burning glasses drawing fire from the sun. The mystical speculations of later times proceeded from the simple ideas of the ancients, and assumed a sacred hearth not only in the centre of the earth, but even in that of the universe, and confounded Hestia in various ways with other divinities, such as Cybele, Gaea, Demeter, Persephone, and Artemis. (Orph. Hymn. 83; Plut. de Plac. Philos. 3, 11, Numa, 11.) There were but few special temples of Hestia in Greece, as in reality every prytaneum was a sanctuary of the goddess, and as a portion of the sacrifices, to whatever divinity they were offered, belonged to her. There was, however, a separate temple of Hestia at Hermione, though it contained no image of her, but only an altar. (Paus. 2.35.2.) Her sacrifices consisted of the primitiae of fruit, water, oil, wine, and cows of one year old. (Hesych. l.c. ; Hom. Hymn. 31.3, 32.6; Pind. N. 11.6.) The Romans worshipped the same goddess, or rather the same ideas embodied in her, under the name of Vesta, which is in reality identical with Hestia; but as the Roman worship of Vesta differed in several points from that of Hestia in Greece, we treat of Vesta in a separate article. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hippolyte in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Hippolyta or Hippolyte (Ἱππολύτη) is the Amazonian queen who possessed a magical girdle she was given by her father Ares, the god of war. Hippolyta first appears in myth when she encounters Theseus, king of Athens, who was accompanying Heracles on his quest against the Amazons. When Theseus first arrived at the land of the Amazon they expected no malice, and so Hippolyta came to his ship bearing gifts. Once she was aboard Theseus abducted her and made her his wife. Thereafter Theseus and a pregnant Hippolyta returned to Athens. Theseus' brazen act sparked an Amazonomachy, a great battle between the Athenians and Amazons...

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Hippolyte in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Ἱππούτη). 1. A daughter of Ares and Otrera, was queen of the Amazons, and a sister of Antiope and Melanippe. She wore, as an emblem of her dignity, a girdle given to her by her father; and when Heracles, by the command of Eurystheus, came to fetch this girdle, Hippolyte was slain by Heracles. (HERACLES; Hyg. Fab. 30.) According to another tradition, Hippolyte, with an army of Amazons, marched into Attica, to take vengeance on Theseus for having carried off Antiope; but being conquered by Theseus, she fled to Megara, where she died of grief, and was buried. Her tomb, which was shown there in later times, had the form of an Amazon's shield. (Paus. 1.41.7; Plut. Thes. 27; Apollod. 2.5.9; Apollon. 2.968.) In some accounts Hippolyte is said to have been married to Theseus instead of Antiope. Euripides, in his Hippolytus, makes her the mother of Hippolytus. 2. The wife of Acastus, according to Pindar (Pind. N. 4.57, 5.26); but Apollodorus calls her Astydameia. [ACASTUS.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hippolytus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Hippolytus (Greek Ἱππόλυτος meaning "looser of horses"[1]) was a son of Theseus and either Antiope or Hippolyte. He was identified with the Roman forest god Virbius. The most common legend regarding Hippolytus states that he was killed after rejecting the advances of Phaedra, the second wife of Theseus and Hippolytus's stepmother. Spurned, Phaedra convinced Theseus that Hippolytus had raped her. Infuriated, Theseus believed her and, using one of the three wishes he had received from Poseidon, cursed Hippolytus. Hippolytus' horses were frightened by a sea monster and dragged their rider to his death. Alternatively, Dionysus sent a wild bull that terrified Hippolytus' horses, causing them to drag Hippolytus to his death...

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Hippolytus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*(Ippo/lutos). 1. One of the giants who was killed by Hermes. (Apollod. 1.6.2.) 2. A son of Theseus by Hippolyte or Antiope. (Schol. ad Aristoph. Ran. 873; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 449, 1329, 1332; Eurip. Hippol.) After the death of the Amazon, Theseus married Phaedra, who fell desperately in love with Hippolytus; but as the passion was not responded to by the stepson, she brought accusations against him before Theseus, as if he had made improper proposals to her. Theseus thereupon cursed his son, and requested his father (Aegeus or Poseidon) to destroy him. (Cic. de Nat. Deor. 3.31, de Off. 1.10 ; Serv. ad Aen. 6.445, 7.761.) Once therefore, when Hippolytus was riding in his chariot along the sea- coast, Poseidon sent a bull forth from the water. The horses were frightened, upset the chariot, and dragged Hippolytus till he was dead. Theseus afterwards learned the innocence of his son, and Phaedra, in despair, made away with herself. Asclepius restored Hippolytus to life again, and, according to Italian traditions, Artemis placed him, under the name of Virbius, under the protection of the nymph Egeria, in the grove of Aricia, in Latium, where he was honoured with divine worship. (Hyg. Fab. 47, 49; Apollod. 3.10.3; Ov. Met. 15.490, &c., Fast. 3.265, 6.737 ; Hor. Carm. 4.7.25; comp. VIRBIUS.) There was a monument of his at Athens, in front of the temple of Themis. (Paus. 1.22.1.) At Troezene, where a tomb of Hippolytus was shown, there was a different tradition about him. (Paus. 1.22.2; comp. Eurip. Hippolytus.) There are two other mythical personages of this name. (Apollod. 2.1.5; Diod. 4.31.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Hippomenes in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Hippomenes (Ἰππομένης), also known as Melanion, was the husband of Atalanta. When men who were struck by Atalanta's beauty watched her run through the forest, she became angry and told them "I will race anyone who wants to marry me! Whoever is so swift that he can outrun me will receive the prize of my hand in marriage! But whomever I beat - will die."...

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Euphrosyne in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[CHARITES.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Europa in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology Europa (Greek Εὐρώπη) was a Phoenician woman of high lineage, from whom the name of the continent Europe has ultimately been taken. The name Europa occurs in Hesiod's long list of daughters of primordial Oceanus and Tethys.[1] The story of her abduction by Zeus in the form of a white bull was a Cretan story; as Kerényi points out "most of the love-stories concerning Zeus originated from more ancient tales describing his marriages with goddesses. This can especially be said of the story of Europa".[2] The daughter of the earth-giant Tityas and mother of Euphemus by Poseidon was also named Europa. Europa's earliest literary reference is in the Iliad, which is commonly dated to the 8th century BC.[3] Another early reference to her is in a fragment of the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women, discovered at Oxyrhyncus.[4] The earliest vase-painting securely identifiable as Europa, dates from mid-7th century BC.[5]...

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Europa in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Εὐρώπη), according to the Iliad (14.321), a daughter of Phoenix, but according to the common tradition a daughter of Agenor, was carried off by Zeus, who had metamorphosed himself into a bull, from Phoenicia to Crete. (Apollod. 3.1.1; Mosch. 2.7; Hdt. 1.173; Paus. 7.4.1, 9.19.1; Ov. Met. 2.839, &c.; Comp. AGENOR.) Europe, as a part of the world, was believed to have received its name from this fabulous Phoenician princess. (Hom. Hymn. in Apoll. 251; Hdt. 4.45.) There are two other mythical personages of this name (lies. Theog. 357; Pind. P. 4.46), which occurs also as a surname of Demeter. (Paus. 9.39.4.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Eurus in Wikipedia

East wind (Eurus)- Eurus (Greek: Εύρος, Eúros) was the Greek deity representing the unlucky east wind. He was thought to bring warmth and rain, and his symbol was an inverted vase, spilling water. His Roman counterpart was Vulturnus, not to be confused with Volturnus, a tribal river-god who later became a Roman deity of the River Tiber...

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Euryale in Wikipedia

Euryale (Greek: Εὐρυάλη, English translation: "far-roaming"), in Greek mythology, was one of the Gorgons, three vicious sisters with brass hands, sharp fangs, and hair of living, venomous snakes. She, like her sisters, was able to turn any creature to stone with her gaze. Her sister Stheno was also immortal, but Medusa, the last of the sisters, was mortal. They were daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. In many stories, Euryale is noted for her bellowing cries, particularly in the tale of Medusa's death at Perseus' hands. Another Euryale, daughter of King Minos of Crete, was the mother of Orion, in Hesiod and other sources; there are other stories of his birth as well. - Wikipedia

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Euryale in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Εὐριάλη), the name of three mythical beings. (Hes. Th. 276; Pind. P. 22.20; Apollod. 1.4.3; V. Fl. 5.312 ; comp. ORION.) - - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Eurydice in Wikipedia

Eurydice (Εὐρυδίκη, Eurydíkē) (yur-ID-ih-see) in Greek mythology, was an oak nymph or one of the daughters of Apollo (the god of light). She was the wife of Orpheus, who loved her dearly; on their wedding day, he played joyful songs as his bride danced through the meadow. One day, a satyr saw and pursued Eurydice, who stepped on a venomous snake, dying instantly. Distraught, Orpheus played and sang so mournfully that all the nymphs and gods wept and told him to travel to the Underworld and retrieve her, which he gladly did. After his music softened the hearts of Hades and Persephone, his singing so sweet that even the Erinyes wept, he was allowed to take her back to the world of the living. In another version, Orpheus played his lyre to put Cerberus, the guardian of Hades, to sleep, after which Eurydice was allowed to return with Orpheus to the world of the living. Either way, the condition was attached that he must walk in front of her and not look back until both had reached the upper world. However, just as they reached the portals of Hades and daylight, he could not help but turn around to gaze on her face, and Eurydice vanished again from his sight, this time forever...

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Eurydice in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Εὐρυδίκη). The most celebrated of the many mythical personages bearing this name is Eurydice, the wife of Orpheus. [ORPHEUS.] There are seven others beside, viz. one of the Danaides (Apollod. 2.1.5), a daughter of Adrastus and mother of Laomedon (Apollod. 3.12.3), a daughter of Lacedaemon and wife of Acrisius (Apollod. 2.2.2, 3.10.3; Paus. 3.13.6), a daughter of Clymenus and wife of Nestor (Hom. Od. 3.452), the wife of Lycurgus and mother of Archemorus (Apollod. 1.9.14), the wife of Creon, king of Thebes (Soph. Antigone), and, according to the "Cypria," the wife of Aeneias. (Paus. 10.26.1.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Eurystheus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (Εὐρυσθεύς meaning "wide strength" in folk etymology) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid: Sthenelus was his father and the "victorious horsewoman" Nicippe his mother, and he was a grandson of the hero Perseus, as was his opponent Heracles. He was married to Antimache,[1] daughter of Amphidamas. In the contest of wills between Hera and Zeus over whose candidate would be hero, fated to defeat the remaining creatures representing an old order and bring about the reign of the Twelve Olympians, Eurystheus was Hera's candidate and Heracles - though his name implies that at one archaic stage of myth-making he had carried "Hera's fame" - was the candidate of Zeus.[2] The arena for the actions that would bring about this deep change are the Twelve Labors imposed on Heracles by Eurystheus. The immediate necessity for the Labours of Heracles is as penance for Heracles' murder of his own family, in a fit of madness, which had been sent by Hera; however, further human rather than mythic motivation is supplied by mythographers who note that their respective families had been rivals for the throne of Mycenae. Details of the individual episodes may be found in the article on the Labours of Heracles, but Hera was connected with all of the opponents Heracles had to overcome.[3]...

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Eurystheus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[HERACLES.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Euterpe in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Euterpe (Eὐτέρπη) (pronounced /juː ˈtɜrpiː/, /eu̯térpɛ̀ː/ in Ancient Greek, or [ɛfˈtɛrpi] in Modern Greek; "rejoicing well" or "delight" from Ancient Greek εὖ (well) + τέρπειν terpein (to please)) was one of the Muses, the daughters of Mnemosyne, fathered by Zeus. Called the "Giver of delight", when later poets assigned roles to each of the Muses, she was the muse of music. In late Classical times she was named muse of lyric poetry and depicted holding a flute. A few say she invented the aulos or double-flute, though most mythographers credit Marsyas with its invention. The river god Strymon impregnated Euterpe; her son Rhesus led a band of Thracians and was killed by Diomedes at Troy, according to Homer's Iliad. - Wikipedia

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Euterpe in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[MUSAE.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Fates in Wikipedia

The Fates were three mythological goddesses and may refer to: Moirae the Fates of Greek mythology Parcae, the Fates of Roman mythology

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Fauns in Wikipedia

The faun (also phaunos or faunus) is a rustic forest god or place-spirit (genii) of Roman mythology often associated with Greek satyrs and the Greek god Pan[1]. The faun is a half human - half goat (from the head to the waist being the human half, but with the addition of goat's horns) manifestation of forest and animal spirits which would help or hinder humans at whim. Romans believed fauns inspired fear in men traveling in lonely, remote or wild places but were also capable of guiding humans in need...

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Faunus in Wikipedia

In ancient Roman religion and myth, Faunus was the horned god of the forest, plains and fields; when he made cattle fertile he was called Inuus. He came to be equated in literature with the Greek god Pan. Faunus was one of the oldest Roman deities, known as the di indigetes. According to the epic poet Virgil, he was a legendary king of the Latins who came with his people from Arcadia. His shade was consulted as a god of prophecy under the name of Fatuus, with oracles[1] in the sacred grove of Tibur, around the well Albunea, and on the Aventine Hill in ancient Rome itself [2] Marcus Terentius Varro asserted that the oracular responses were given in Saturnian verse.[3] Faunus revealed the future in dreams and voices that were communicated to those who came to sleep in his precincts, lying on the fleeces of sacrificed lambs. W. Warde Fowler suggested that Faunus is identical with Favonius,[4] one of the Roman wind gods (compare the Anemoi)...

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Faunus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the son of Picus and father of Latinus, was the third in the series of the kings of the Laurentes. In his reign Faunus, like his two predecessors, Picus and Saturn, had promoted agriculture and the breeding of cattle among his subjects, and also distinguished himself as a hunter. (Plin. Nat. 9.6; Propert. 4.2. 34.) In his reign likewise the Arcadian Evander and Heracles were believed to have arrived in Latium. (Plut. Parall. Gr. et Rom. 38.) Faunus acts a very prominent part in the mythical history of Latium, for, independent of what he did for agriculture, he was regarded as one of the great founders of the religion of the country; hence Lactantius (1.24.9) places him on an equality with Numa. He was therefore in later times worshipped in two distinct capacities: first, as the god of fields and shepherds, and secondly, as an oracular and prophetic divinity. The festival of the Faumalia, which was celebrated on the 5th of December, by the country people, with great feasting and merriment, had reference to him as the god of agriculture and cattle. (Hor. Carm. 3.18.) As a prophetic god, he was believed to reveal the future to man, partly in dreams, and partly by voices of unknown origin. (Verg. A. 7.81, &c.; Cic. de Nut. Deor. 2.2, 3.6, de Divin. 1.45.) What he was in this respect to the male sex, his wife Fauna or Faula was to the female, whence they bore the surnames Fatuus, Fatua, or Fatuellus, Fatuella, derived from fari, fatum. (Justin, 43.1; Lactant. 1.22.) They are said to have given their oracles in Saturnian verse, whence we may perhaps infer that there existed in Latium collections of oracles in this metre. (Varro, de L. L. 7.36.) The places where such oracles were given were sacred groves, one near Tibur, around the well Albunea, and another on the Aventine, near Rome. (Virg. l.c.; Ov. Fast. 4.649, &c.) The rites observed in the former place are minutely described by Virgil : a priest offered up a sheep and other sacrifices; and the person who consulted the oracle had to sleep one night on the skin of the victim, during which the god gave an answer to his questions either in a dream or in supernatural voices. Similar rites are described by Ovid as having taken place on the Aventine. (Comp. Isidor. 8.11, 87.) There is a tradition that Numa, by a stratagem, compelled Picus and his son Faunus to reveal to him the secret of calling down lightning from heaven [ELICIUS], and of purifying things struck by lightning. (Arnob. 5.1; Plut. Num. 15; Ov. Fast. 3.291, &c.) At Rome there was a round temple of Faunus, surrounded with columns, on Mount Caelius and another was built to him, in B. C. 196, on the island in the Tiber, where sacrifices were offered to him on the ides of February, the day on which the Fabii had perished on the Cremera. (Liv. 33.42, 34.53; P. Vict. Reg. Urb. 2; Vitr. 3.1; Ov. Fast. 2.193.) In consequence of the mauner in which be gave his oracles, he was looked upon as the author of spectral appearances and terrifying sounds (Dionys. A. R. 5.16); and he is therefore described as a wanton and voluptuous god, dwelling in woods, and fond of nymphs. (Horat. l.c.) The way in which the god manifested himself seems to have given rise to the idea of a plurality of fauns (Fauni), who are described as monsters, half goat, and with horns. (Ov. Fast. 5.99, Heroid. 4.49.) Faunus thus gradually came to be identified with the Arcadian Pan, and the Fauni as identical with the Greek satyrs, whence Ovid (Ov. Met. 6.392) uses the expression Fauni et Satyri fratres. As Faunus, and afterwards the Fauni, were believed to be particularly fond of frightening persons in various ways, it is not an improbable conjecture that Faunus may be a euphemistic name, and connected with faveo. (Hartung, Die Relig. d. Röm. vol. ii. p. 183, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Favonius in Wikipedia

Favonius Zephyrus' Roman equivalent was Favonius, who held dominion over plants and flowers. The name Favonius, which meant "favorable", was also a common Roman name...

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Flora in Wikipedia

In Roman mythology, Flora was a goddess of flowers and the season of spring. While she was otherwise a relatively minor figure in Roman mythology, being one among several fertility goddesses, her association with the spring gave her particular importance at the coming of springtime. Her festival, the Floralia, was held in April or early May and symbolized the renewal of the cycle of life, drinking, and flowers. Her Greek equivalent was Chloris. Flora was married to Favonius, the wind god, and her companion was Hercules. Her name is derived from the Latin word "flos" which means "flower." In modern English, "Flora" also means the plants of a particular region or period. [1] Flora achieved more prominence in the neo-pagan revival of Antiquity among Renaissance humanists than she had ever enjoyed in ancient Rome. One of the fairies in the Sleeping Beauty is named Flora after this goddess. - Wikipedia

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Flora in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the Roman goddess of flowers and spring. The writers, whose object it was to bring the Roman religion into contempt, relate that Flora had been, like Acca Laurentia, a courtezan, who accumulated a large property, and bequeathed it to the Roman people, in return for which she was honoured with the annual festival of the Floralia. (Lactant. 1.20.) But her worship was established at Rome in the very earliest times, for a temple is said to have been vowed to her by king Tatius (Varro, de. L. L. 5.74), and Numa appointed a flamen to her. The resemblance between the names Flora and Chloris led the later Romans to identify the two divinities. Her temple at Rome was situated near the Circus Maximus (Tac. Ann. 2.49), and her festival was celebrated from the 28th of April till the first of May, with extravagant merriment and lasciviousness. (Dict. of Ant. s. v. Floralia.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Fortuna in Wikipedia

Fortuna (equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) was the goddess of fortune and personification of luck in Roman religion. She might bring good luck or bad: she could be represented as veiled and blind, as in modern depictions of Justice, and came to represent life's capriciousness. She was also a goddess of fate: as Atrox Fortuna, she claimed the young lives of the princeps Augustus' grandsons Gaius and Lucius, prospective heirs to the Empire.[1] Her father was said to be Jupiter and like him, she could also be bountiful (Copia). As Annonaria she protected grain supplies. June 11 was sacred to her: on June 24 she was given cult at the festival of Fors Fortuna.[2][3]...

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Fortuna in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

the goddess of chance or good luck, was worshipped both in Greece and Italy, and more particularly at Rome, where she was considered as the steady goddess of good luck, success, and every kind of prosperity. The great confidence which the Romans placed in her is expressed in the story related by Plutarch (de Fortitud. Rom. 4), that on entering Rome she put off her wings and shoes, and threw away the globe, as she intended to take up her permanent abode among the Romans. Her worship is traced to the reign of Ancus Martius and Servius Tullius, and the latter is said to have built two temples to her, the one in the forum boarium, and the other on the banks of the Tiber. (Plut. l.c. 5, 10; Dionys. A. R. 4.27; Liv. 10.46 ; Ov. Fast. 6.570.) The Romans mention her with a variety of surnames and epithets, as publica, privata, muliebris (said to have originated at the time when Coriolanus was prevented by the entreaties of the women from destroying Rome, Plut. l.c.), regina, conservatrix, primigenia, virilis, &c. Fortuna Virginensis was worshipped by newlymarried women, who dedicated their maiden garments and girdle in her temple. (Arnob. 2.67 ; Augustin. de Civ. Dci, 4.11.) Ovid (Fast iv. 145) tells us that Fortuna Virilis was worshipped by women, who prayed to her that she might preserve their charms, and thus enable them to please their husbands. Her surnames, in general, express either particular kinds of good luck or the persons or classes of persons to whom she granted it. Her worship was of great importance also at Antium and Praeneste, where her sortes or oracles were very celebrated. (Dict. of Ant. s. v. Oraculum; Hartung, die Relig. d. Röm. vol. ii. p. 233, &c. Comp. TYCHE.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Furies in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology the Erinýes (Ἐρινύες, pl. of Ἐρινύς, Erinýs; literally "the angry ones") or Eumenídes (Εὐμενίδες, pl. of Εὐμενίς; literally "the gracious ones" but also translated as "Kind-hearted Ones" or "Kindly Ones") or Furies or Dirae in Roman mythology were female chthonic deities of vengeance or supernatural personifications of the anger of the dead. A formulaic oath in the Iliad (iii.278ff; xix.260ff) invokes them as "those who beneath the earth punish whosoever has sworn a false oath". Burkert suggests they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath".[1]...

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Fu'riae in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

[EUMENIDES.] - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Gaia in Wikipedia

Gaia (pronounced /ˈɡeɪ.ə/ or /ˈɡaɪ.ə/; from Ancient Greek Γαῖα "land" or "earth"; also Gæa, Gaea or Gea, from Koine and Modern Greek Γῆ[1]) is the primal Greek goddess personifying the Earth, the Greek version of "Mother Nature", of which the earliest reference to the term is the Mycenaean Greek ma-ka (transliterated as ma-ga), "Mother Gaia", written in Linear B syllabic script.[2] Gaia is a primordial deity in the Ancient Greek pantheon and considered a Mother Titan or Great Titan. Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra Mater or Tellus. Romans, unlike Greeks, did not consistently distinguish an Earth Titan (Tellus) from a grain goddess (Ceres).[3]...

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Gaea in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

or GE (Γαια or Γῆ), the personification of the earth. She appears in the character of a divine being as early as the Homeric poems, for we read in the Hiad (3.104) that black sheep were sacrificed to her, and that she was invoked by persons taking oaths. (3.278, 15.36, 19.259, Od. 5.124.) She is further called, in the Homeric poems, the mother of Erechthens and Tithyus. (Il. 2.548, Od. 7.324, 11.576; comp. Apollon. 1.762, 3.716. According to the Theogony of Hesiod (117, 12,5, &c.), she was the first being that sprang front Chaos, sand gave birth to Uranus and Pontus. By Uranus she then became the mother of a series of beings,--Oceanus, Coeus, Creius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rheia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Thetys, Cronos, the Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes, Arges, Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges. These children of Ge and Uranus were hated by their father, and Ge therefore concealed. them in the bosom of the earth; but she made a large iron sickle, gave it to her sons, and requested them to take vengeance upon their father. Cronos undertook the task, and mutilated Uranus. The drops of blood which fell from him upon the earth (Ge), became the seeds of the Erinnyes, the Gigantes, and the Melian nymphs. Subsequently Ge became, by Pontus, the mother of Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto, and Eurybia. (Hes. Th. 232, &c.; Apollod. 1.1.1, &c.) Besides these, however, various other divinities and monsters sprang from her. As Ge was the source from which arose the vapours producing divine inspiration, she herself also was regarded as an oracular divinity, and it is well known that the oracle of Delphi was believed to have at first been in her possession (Aeschyl. Eum. 2; Paus. 10.5.3), and at Olympia, too, she had an oracle in early times. (Paus. 5.14.8.) That Ge belonged to the Δεοὶ χθίνιοι, requires no explanation, and hence she is frequently mentioned where they are invoked. (Philostr. Va. Apoll. 6.39; Ov. Met. 7.196.) The surnames and epithets given to Ge have more or less reference to her character as the all- producing and all-nourishing mother (mater omniparens et alma), and hence Servius (Serv. ad Aen. 4.166) classes her together with the divinities presiding over marriage. Her worship appears to have been universal among the Greeks, and she had temples or altars at Athens, Sparta, Delphi, Olympia, Bura, Tegea, Phlyus, and other places. (Thuc. 2.15; Paus. 1.22.3, 24.3, 31.2, 3.11.8, 12.7, 5.14.8, 7.25.8, 8.48.6.) We have express statements attesting the existence of statues of Ge in Greece, but none have come down to us. At Patrae she was represented in a sitting attitude, in the temple of Demeter (Paus. 7.21.4), and at Athens, too, there was a statue of her. (1.24.3.) Servius (Serv. ad Aen. 10.252) remarks that she was represented with a key. At Rome the earth was worshipped under the name of Tellus (which is only a variation of Terra). There, too, she was regarded as an infernal divinity (Δέα χθόνια) being mentioned in connection with Dis and the Manes, and when persons invoked them or Tellus they sank their arms downwards, while in invoking Jupiter they raised them to heaven. (Varro, de Re Rust. 1.1. 15; Macr. 3.9; Liv. 8.9, 10.29.) The consul P. Sempronius Sophus, in B. C. 304, built a temple to Tellus in consequence of an earthquake which had occurred during the war with the Picentians. This temple stood on the spot which had formerly been occupied by the house of Sp. Cassius, in the street leading to the Carinae. (Flor. 1.19.2; Liv. 2.41; V. Max. 6.3.1; Plin. Nat. 34.6, 14; Dionys. A. R. 8.79.) Herfestival was celebrated on the 15th of April, immediately after that of Ceres, and was called Fordicidia or Hordicidia. The sacrifice, consisting of cows, was offered up in the Capitol inthe presence of the Vestals. A male divinity, to whom the pontiff prayed on that occasion, was called Tellumo. (Hartung, Die Relig. der Röm. vol. ii. p. 84, &c.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Galatea in Wikipedia

Galatea (Greek: Γαλάτεια; "she who is milk-white")[1] is a name popularly applied to the statue carved of ivory by Pygmalion of Cyprus in Greek mythology. An allusion to Galatea in modern English has become a metaphor for a statue that has come to life. Galatea is also the name of Polyphemus's object of desire in Theocritus's Idylls VI and XI and is linked with Polyphemus again in the myth of Acis and Galatea in Ovid's Metamorphoses...

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Galatea in Wikipedia

Galatea (Greek: Γαλάτεια; "she who is milk-white")[1] is a name popularly applied to the statue carved of ivory by Pygmalion of Cyprus in Greek mythology. An allusion to Galatea in modern English has become a metaphor for a statue that has come to life. Galatea is also the name of Polyphemus's object of desire in Theocritus's Idylls VI and XI and is linked with Polyphemus again in the myth of Acis and Galatea in Ovid's Metamorphoses...

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Ganymede in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Ganymede, or Ganymedes (Greek: Γανυμήδης, Ganymēdēs), is a divine hero whose homeland was Troy. He was a prince, son of the eponymous Tros of Dardania and of Callirrhoe, and brother of Ilus and Assaracus. Ganymede was the most attractive of mortals, which led Zeus to abduct him, in the form of an eagle, to serve as cup-bearer to the gods and, in Classical and Hellenistic Greece, as Zeus's eromenos. For the etymology of his name, Robert Graves' The Greek Myths offers ganyesthai + medea, "rejoicing in virility". One of the moons of Jupiter is named after him, and was discovered by Galileo Galilei...

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Ganymedes in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Γανυμήδης). According to Homer and others, he was a son of Tros by Calirrhoe, and a brother of Ilus and Assaracus; being the most beautiful of all mortals, he was carried off by the gods that he might fill the cup of Zeus, and live among the eternal gods. (Hom. Il. 20.231, &c.; Pind. O. 1. 44, xi. in fin.; Apollod. 3.12.2.) The traditions about Ganymedes, however, differ greatly in their detail, for some call him a son of Laomedon (Cic. Tusc. 1.22; Eur. Tro. 822), others a son of Ilus (Tzetz. ad Lycph. 34), and others, again, of Erichthonius or Assaracus. (Hyg. Fab. 224, 271.) The manner in which he was carried away from the earth is likewise differently described; for while Homer mentions the gods in general, later writers state that Zeus himself carried him off, either in his natural shape, or in the form of an eagle, or that he sent his eagle to fetch Ganymedes into heaven. (Apollod. l.c. ; Verg. A. 5.253; Ov. Met. 10.255; Lucian, Dial. Deor. 4.) Other statements of later date seem to be no more than arbitrary interpretations foisted upon the genuine legend. Thus we are told that he was not carried off by any god, but either by Tantalus or Minos, that he was killed during the chase, and buried on the Mysian Olympus. (Steph. Byz. s. v. Ἀρπαλία; Strab. xiii. p.587 ; Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 986, 1205.) One tradition, which has a somewhat more genuine appearance, stated that he was carried off by Eos. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 3.115.) There is, further, no agreement as to the place where the event occurred. (Strab., Steph. Byz. ll. cc., Hor. Carm. 3.20, in fin.) The early legend simply states that Ganymedes was carried off that he might be the cupbearer of Zeus, in which office he was conceived to have succeeded Hebe (comp. Diod. 4.75; Verg. A. 1.28) : but later writers describe him as the beloved and favourite of Zeus, without allusion to his office. (Eur. Orest. 1392; Plat. Phaedr. p. 255; Xenoph. Symp. 8.30; Cic. Tusc. 4.33.) Zeus compensated the father for his loss with the present of a pair of divine horses (Hom. Il. 5.266, Hymn. in Ven. 202, &c.; Apollod. 2.5.9 ; Paus. 5.24.1 ), and Hermes, who took the horses to Tros, at the same time comforted him by informing him that by the will of Zeus, Ganymedes had become immortal and exempt from old age. Other writers state that the compensation which Zeus gave to Tros consisted of a golden vine. (Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 1399; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1697.) The idea of Ganymedes being the cupbearer of Zeus (urniger) subsequently gave rise to his identification with the divinity who was believed to preside over the sources of the Nile (Philostr. Vit. Apoll. 6.26; Pind. Fragm. 110. ed. Böckh.), and of his being placed by astronomers among the stars under the name of Aquarius. (Eratosth. Catast. 26; Verg. G. 3.304; Hyg. Fab. 224; Poet. Astr. 2.29.) Ganymedes was frequently represented in works of art as a beautiful youth with the Phrygian cap. He appears either as the companion of Zeus (Paus. 5.24.1), or in the act of being carried off by an eagle, or of giving food to an eagle from a patera. The Romans called Ganymnedes by a corrupt form of his name Catamitus. (Plaut. Men. 1.2. 34.) Ganymedes was an appellation sometimes given to handsome slaves who officiated as cupbearers. (Petron. 91; Martial, Epigr. 9.37; Juv. 5.59.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Glaucus in Wikipedia

Glaucus (Greek: Γλαῦκος) was a Greek sea-god. His parentage is different in the different traditions, which Athenaeus lists (Athen. vii. c. 48 , Claud. de Nupt. Mar. x. 158.): Theolytus the Methymnaean, in his Bacchic Odes - Copeus (also records an affair between Glaucus and Ariadne) Promathides of Heraclea, in his Half Iambics - Polybus of Sicyon (by his wife Euboea) Mnaseas, in Book III of his History of the Affairs of Europe - Anthedon and Alcyone Euanthes, in his Hymn to Glaucus - Poseidon and the nymph Naias...

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Glaucus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

7. Of Anthedon in Boeotia, a fisherman, who had the good luck to eat a part of the divine herb which Cronos had sown, and which made Glaucus immortal. (Ath. 7.295; Claud. de Nupt. Mar. 10.158.) His parentage is different in the different traditions, which are enumerated by Athenaeus; some called his father Copeus, others Polybus, the husband of Euboea, and others again Anthedon or Poseidon. He was further said to have been a clever diver, to have built the ship Argo, and to have accompanied the Argonauts as their steersman. In the sea-fight of Jason against the Tyrrhenians, Glaucus alone remained unhurt; he sank to the bottom of the sea, where he was visible to none save to Jason. From this moment he became a marine deity, and was of service to the Argonauts. The story of his sinking or leaping into the sea was variously modified in the different traditions. (Bekker, Anecdot. p. 347; Schol. ad Plat. de Leg. x. p. 611.) There was a belief in Greece that once in every year Glaucus visited all the coasts and islands, accompanied by marine monsters, and gave his prophecies. (Paus. 9.22.6.) Fishermen and sailors paid particular reverence to him, and watched his oracles, which were believed to be very trustworthy. The story of his various loves seems to have been a favourite subject with the ancient poets, and many of his l06e adventures are related by various writers. The place of his abode varies in the different traditions, but Aristotle stated that he dwelt in Delos, where, in conjunction with the nymphs, he gave oracles; for his prophetic power was said by some to be even greater than that of Apollo, who is called his disciple in it. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1.1310; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 753; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 271; Ov. Met. 13.904, &c.; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 1.437, Aen. 3.420, 5.832, 6.36; Strab. p. 405.) A representation of Glaucus is described by Philostratus (Imag 1.15): he was seen as a man whose hair and beard were dripping with water, with bristly eye-brows, his breast covered with sea-weeds, and the lower part of the body ending in the tail of a fish. (For further descriptions of his appearance, see Nonn. Dionys. 13.73, 35.73, 39.99; Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 318, 364 ; Stat. Silv. 3.2, 36, Theb. 7.335, &c.; Vell. 2.83.) This deified Glaucus was likewise chosen by the Greek poets as the subject of dramatic compositions (Welcker, Die Aeschyl. Trilogie, pp. 311, &c., 471, &c., Nachtrag, p. 176, &c.), and we know from Velleius Paterculus that the mimus Plancus represented this marine daemon on the stage. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Golden Fleece in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece (Greek: Χρυσόμαλλον Δέρας, Georgian: ოქროს საწმისი) is the fleece of the gold- haired[1] winged ram. It figures in the tale of Jason and his band of Argonauts, who set out on a quest by order of King Pelias for the fleece in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly. The story is of great antiquity – it was current in the time of Homer (eighth century BC) – and consequently it survives in various forms, among which details vary. Thus, in later versions of the story the ram is said to have been the offspring of the sea god Poseidon and Themisto (less often, Nephele or Theophane). The classic telling is the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes, composed in mid-third century BC Alexandria, recasting early sources that have not survived. Another, much less-known Argonautica, using the same body of myth, was composed in Latin by Valerius Flaccus during the time of Vespasian...

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Gorgons in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, the Gorgon (plural: Gorgons) (Greek: Γοργών or Γοργώ Gorgon/Gorgo) was a terrifying female creature. It derives from the Greek word gorgós, which means "dreadful." While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature, the term commonly refers to any of three sisters who had hair of living, venomous snakes, and a horrifying gaze that turned those who beheld it to stone. Traditionally, while two of the Gorgons were immortal, Stheno and Euryale, their sister Medusa was not, and was slain by the mythical hero Perseus. Gorgons were a popular image of Greek mythology, appearing in the earliest of written records of Ancient Greek religious beliefs such as those of Homer. Because of their legendary gaze, images of the Gorgons were put upon objects and buildings for protection. For example, an image of a Gorgon holds the primary location at the pediment of the temple at Corfu. It is the oldest stone pediment in Greece and is dated to c. 600 BC...

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Graces in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, a Charis (Χάρις) is one of several Charites (Χάριτες; Greek: "Graces"), goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity and fertility. They ordinarily numbered three, from youngest to oldest: Aglaea ("Beauty"), Euphrosyne ("Mirth"), and Thalia ("Good Cheer"). In Roman mythology they were known as the Gratiae, the "Graces". In some cases Charis was one of the Graces and was not the plural form of their name. The Charites were usually considered the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, though they were also said to be daughters of Dionysus and Aphrodite or of Helios and the naiad Aegle. Homer wrote that they were part of the retinue of Aphrodite. The Charites were also associated with the underworld and the Eleusinian Mysteries. The river Cephissus near Delphi was sacred to them...

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Graeae in Wikipedia

The Graeae (English translation: "old women", "gray ones", or "gray witches"; alternatively spelled Graiai (Γραῖαι), Graiae, Graii), were three sisters who shared one eye and one tooth among them. They are one of several trios of archaic goddesses in Greek mythology. The Graeae were daughters of Phorcys, one aspect of the "old man of the sea," and Ceto. Thus, they were among the Phorcydes, all of which were primordial deities of the sea or of the earth. The Graiae were sisters to the Gorgons.[1] The Graeae took the form of old grey-haired women; though, at times poets euphemistically described them as "beautiful." Their age was so great that a human childhood for them was hardly conceivable. Hesiod reports their names as Deino (Δεινώ "dread", the dreadful anticipation of horror), Enyo (Ἐνυώ "horror" the "waster of cities" who had an identity separate from this sisterhood) and Pemphredo (Πεμφρηδώ "alarm").[2] Hyginus adds a fourth, Persis or Perso...

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Graeae in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(Γραῖαι), that is, " the old women." were daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They had grey hair from their birth. Hesiod (Hes. Th. 270, &c.) mentions only two Graeae, viz. Pephredo and Enyo; Apollodorus (2.4.2) adds Deino as a third, and Aeschylus (Prom. 819) also speaks of three Graeae. The Scholiast on Aeschylus (Prom. 793) describes the Graeae, or Phorcides, as he calls them, as having the figure of swans, and he says that the three sisters had only one tooth and one eye in common, which they borrowed from one another when they wanted them. It is conmmonly believed that the Graeae, like other members of the family of Phorcys, were marine divinities, and personifications of the white foam seen on the waves of the sea. (Comp. GORGO and PERSEUS.) - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Greek Mythology in Wikipedia

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece. Modern scholars refer to the myths and study them in an attempt to throw light on the religious and political institutions of Ancient Greece, its civilization, and to gain understanding of the nature of myth-making itself.[1] Some theologists speculate that the Ancient Greeks created myths to explain nearly everything so that – so to speak – no loose ends remained...

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Hades in Wikipedia

Hades (Άδης or Ἀΐδας; from Greek ᾍδης, Hadēs, originally Ἅιδης, Haidēs or Άΐδης, Aidēs, meaning "the unseen"[1][2]) refers both to the ancient Greek underworld, the abode of Hades, and to the god of the underworld. Hades in Homer referred just to the god; the genitive ᾍδου, Haidou, was an elision to denote locality: "[the house/dominion] of Hades". Eventually, the nominative, too, came to designate the abode of the dead...

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Hades in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

or PLUTON (Ἅιδης, Πλούτων or poetically Ἀΐδης, Ἀἵδωνεύς and Πλουτεν́ς), the god of the lower world. Plato (Cratyl. p. 403) observes that people preferred calling him Pluton (the giver of wealth) to pronouncing the dreaded name of Hades or Aides. Hence we find that in ordinary life and in the mysteries the name Pluton became generally established, while the poets preferred the ancient name Aides or the form Pluteus. The etymology of Hades is uncertain: some derive it from α-ιδεῖν, whence it would signify "the god who makes invisible," and others from ἅδω or χάδω; so that Hades would mean "the allembracer," or " all-receiver." The Roman poets use the names Dis, Orcus, and Tartarus as synonymous with Pluton, for the god of the lower world. Hades is a son of Cronus and Rhea, and a brother of Zeus and Poseidon. He was married to Persephone, the daughter of Demeter. In the division of the world among the three brothers, Hades obtained " the darkness of night," the abode of the shades, over which he rules. (Apollod. i. ]. § 5, 2.1.) Hence he is called the infernal Zeus (Ζεὺς καταχθόνιος), or the king of the shades (ἂναε ἐνέρων, Hom. Il. 9.457, 20.61. 15.187, &c.). As, however, the earth and Olympus belonged to the three brothers in common, he might ascend Olympus, as he did at the time when he was wounded by Heracles. (Il. 5.395; comp. Paus. 6.25.3; Apollod. 2.7.3; ind. Ol. 9.31.) But when Hades was in his own kingdom, he was quite unaware of what was going on either on earth or in Olympus (Il. 20.61, &c.), and it was only the oaths and curses of men that reached his ears, as they reached those of the Erinnyes. He possessed a helmet which rendered the wearer invisible (Il. 5.845), and later traditions stated that this helmet was given him as a present by the Cyclopes after their delivery from Tartarus. (Apollod. 1.2.1.) Ancient story mentions both gods and men who were honoured by Hades with the temporary use of this helmet. (Apollod. 1.6.2, 2.4.2.) His character is described as fierce and inexorable, whence of all the gods he was most hated by mortals. (Il. 9.158.) He kept the gates of the lower world closed (whence he is called Πυλάρτης, Il. 8.367; comp. Paus. 5.20.1.; Orph. Hymn. 17. 4), that no shade might be able to escape or return to the region of light. When mortals invoked him, they struck the earth with their hands (Il. 9.567), and the sacrifices which were offered to him and Persephone consisted of black male and female sheep, and the person who offered the sacrifice had to turn away his face. (Od. 10.527; Serv. ad Virg. Georg. 2.380.) The ensign of his power was a staff, with which, like Hermes, he drove the shades into the lower world (Pind. O. 9.35), where he had his palace and shared his throne with his consort Persephone. When he carried off Persephone from the upper world, he rode in a golden chariot drawn by four black immortal horses. (Orph. Argon. 1192, Hymn. 17. 14; Ov. Met. 5.404; Hom. Hymn. in Cer. 19; Claudian, Rapt. Proserp. i. in fin.) Besides these horses he was also believed to have herds of oxen in the lower world and in the island of Erytheia, which were attended to by Menoetius. (Apollod. 2.5. §§ 10, 12.) Like the other gods, he was not a faithful husband; the Furies are called his daughters (Serv. ad Aen. 1.86); the nymph Mintho, whom he loved, was metamorphosed by Persephone into the plant called mint (Strab. viii. p.344; Ov. Met. 10.728), and the nymph Leuce, with whom he was likewise in love, was changed by him after her death into a white poplar, and transferred to Elysium. (Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 7.61.) Being the king of the lower world, Pluton is the giver of all the blessings that come from the earth: he is the possessor and giver of all the metals contained in the earth, and hence his name Pluton. (Hes. Op. et Dies, 435; Aeschyl. Prom. 805; Strab. iii. p.147; Lucian, Tim. 21.) He bears several surnames referring to his ultimately assembling all mortals in his kingdom, and bringing them to rest and peace; such as Polydegmon, Polydectes, Clymenus, Παγκοίτης, &c. (Hom. Hymn. in Cer. 9; Aeschyl. Prom. 153 ; Soph. Antig. 811; Paus. 2.35.7.) Hades was worshipped throughout Greece and Italy. In Elis he had a sacred enclosure and a temple, which was opened only once in every year (Paus. 6.25.3) ; and we further know that lie had temples at Pylos Triphyliacus, near Mount Menthe, between Tralles and Nysa, at Athens in the grove of the Erinnyes, and at Olympia. (Strab. iii. p.344, xiv. p. 649 Paus. 1.28.6, 5.20.1.) We possess few representations of this divinity, but in those which still exist, he resembles his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, except that his hair falls down his forehead, and that the majesty of his appearance is dark and gloomy. His ordinary attributes are the key of Hades and Cerberus. (Hirt, Mythol. Bilderb. i. p. 72, &c.) In Homer Aides is invariably the name of the god; but in later times it was transferred to his house, his abode or kingdom, so that it became a name for the lower world itself. We cannot enter here into a description of the conceptions which the ancients formed of the lower world, for this discussion belongs to mythical geography. - A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, William Smith, Ed.

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Dionysus in Wikipedia

Dionysus or Dionysos (English pronunciation: /ˌdaɪ.ɵˈnaɪsəs/; Greek: Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος, pron. [di.'o.ny.sos]) is the ancient Greek god of wine, wine cups, wineskin, grapes, theater, and fertility. The god who inspires ritual madness, joyful worship, and ecstasy, carnivals, celebration and a major figure of Greek mythology. He is included as one of the twelve Olympians in some lists. Dionysus is typical of the god of the epiphany, "the god that comes". He was also known as Bacchus, the name adopted by the Romans[1] and the frenzy he induces, bakkheia. In addition to winemaking, he is the patron deity of agriculture and the theater. Hailed as an Asiatic foreigner, he was thought to have had strong ties to the East and to Ethiopia in the South. He was also known as the Liberator (Eleutherios), freeing one from one's normal self, by madness, ecstasy or wine.[2] The divine mission of Dionysus was to mingle the music of the aulos and to bring an end to care and worry.[3] Scholars have discussed Dionysus' relationship to the "cult of the souls" and his ability to preside over communication between the living and the dead.[4]...

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Dionysus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Dio/nusos or Διώνυσος), the youthful, beautiful, but effeminate god of wine. He is also called both by Greeksand Romans Bacchus (Βάκχος), that is, the noisy or riotous god, which was originally a mere epithet or surname of Dionysus, but does not occur till after the time of Herodotus. According to the common tradition, Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus of Thebes (Hom. Hymn. 6.56; Eurip. Bacch. init.; Apollod. 3.4.3); whereas others describe him as a son of Zeus by Demeter, Io, Dione, or Arge. (Diod. 3.62, 74; Schol. ad Pind. Pyth. 3.177; Plut. de Flum. 16.) Diodorus (3.67) further mentions a tradition, according to which he was a son of Ammon and Amaltheia, and that Ammon, from fear of Rhea, carried the child to a cave in the neighbourhood of mount Nysa, in a lonely island formed by the river Triton. Ammon there entrusted the child to Nysa, the daughter of Aristaeus, and Athena likewise undertook to protect the boy. Others again represent him as a son of Zeus by Persephone or Iris, or describe him simply as a son of Lethe, or of Indus. (Diod. 4.4; Plut. Sympos. 7.5; Philostr. Vit. Apollon. 2.9.) The same diversity of opinions prevails in regard to the native place of the god, which in the common tradition is Thebes, while in others we find India, Libya, Crete, Dracanum in Samos, Naxos, Elis, Eleutherae, or Teos, mentioned as his birthplace. (Hom. Hymn. 25.8; Diod. 3.65, 5.75; Nonnus, Dionys. 9.6; Theocrit. 26.33.) It is owing to this diversity in the traditions that ancient writers were driven to the supposition that there were originally several divinities which were afterwards identified under the one name of Dionysus. Cicero (de Nat. Deor. iii 23) distinguishes five Dionysi, and Diodorus (3.63, &c.) three. The common story, which makes Dionysus a son of Semele by Zeus, runs as follows: Hera, jealous of Semele, visited her in the disguise of a friend, or an old woman, and persuaded her to request Zeus to appear to her in the same glory and majesty in which he was accustomed to approach his own wife Hera. When all entreaties to desist from this request were fruitless, Zeus at length complied, and appeared to her in thunder and lightning. Semele was terrified and overpowered by the sight, and being seized by the fire, she gave premature birth to a child. Zeus, or according to others, Hermes (Apollon. 4.1137) saved the child from the flames: it was sewed up in the thigh of Zeus, and thus came to maturity. Various epithets which are given to the god refer to that occurrence, such as πυριγενής, μηρορραφής, μηροτραφής and ianigena. (Strab. xiii. p.628; Diod. 4.5; Eur. Ba. 295; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 310; Ov. Met. 4.11.) After the birth of Dionysus, Zeus entrusted him to Hermes, or, according to others, to Persephone or Rhea (Orph. Hymn. 45.6; Steph. Byz. s. v. Μάσταυρα), who took the child to Ino and Athamas at Orchomenos, and persuaded them to bring him up as a girl. Hera was now urged on by her jealousy to throw Ino and Athamas into a state of madness, and Zeus, in order to save his child, changed him into a ram, and carried him to the nymphs of mount Nysa, who brought him up in a cave, and were afterwards rewarded for it by Zeus, by being placed as Hyades among the stars. (Hyg. Fab. 182; Theon, ad Arat. Phaen. 177; comp. HYADES.) The inhabitants of Brasiae, in Laconia, according to Pausanias (3.24.3), told a different story about the birth of Dionysus, When Cadmus heard, they said, that Semele was mother of a son by Zeus, he put her and her child into a chest, and threw it into the sea. The chest was carried by the wind and waves to the coast of Brasiae. Semele was found dead, and was solemnly buried, but Dionysus was brought up by Ino, who happened at the time to be at Brasiae. The plain of Brasiae was, for this reason, afterwards called the garden of Dionysus. The traditions about the education of Dionysus, as well as about the personages who undertook it, differ as much as those about his parentage and birthplace. Besides the nymphs of mount Nysa in Thrace, the muses, Lydae, Bassarae, Macetae, Mimallones (Eustath. ad Hom. pp. 982, 1816), the nymph Nysa (Diod. 3.69), and the nymphs Philia, Coronis, and Cleis, in Naxos, whither the child Dionysus was said to have been carried by Zeus (Diod. 4.52), are named as the beings to whom the care of his infancy was entrusted. Mystis, moreover, is said to have instructed him in the mysteries (Nonn. Dionys. 13.140), and Hippa, on mount Tmolus, nursed him (Orph. Hymn. 47.4); Macris, the daughter of Aristaeus, received him from the hands of Hermes, and fed him with honey. (Apollon. 4.1131.) On mount Nysa, Bromie and Bacche too are called his nurses. (Serv. ad Virg. Eclog. 6.15.) Mount Nysa, from which the god was believed to have derived his name, was not only in Thrace and Libya, but mountains of the same name are found in different parts of the ancient world where he was worshipped, and where he was believed to have introduced the cultivation of the vine. Hermes, however, is mixed up with most of the stories about the infancy of Dionysus, and he was often represented in works of art, in connexion with the infant god. (Comp. Paus. 3.18.7.) When Dionysus had grown up, Hera threw him also into a state of madness, in which he wandered abou