Mythology & Beliefs

Aeolus in Wikipedia

Aeolus or Eolus[1] (Greek: Αἴολος Aiolos /ájjolos/, Modern Greek: /ˈe.olos/ ( listen)) was the ruler of the winds in Greek mythology. In fact this name was shared by three mythic characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which Aeolus was which. D...

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Aethra in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Ai)/qra). 1. A daughter of king Pittheus of Troezen. Bellerophon sued for her hand, but was banished from Corinth before the nuptials took place. (Paus. 2.31.12.) She was surprised on one occasion by Poseidon in the island of Sphaeria, whither she had gone, in consequence of a dream, for the purpose of offering a sacrifice on the tomb of Sph...

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Alcestis in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

or ALCESTE (Ἄλκηστις or Ἀλκέστη), a daughter of Pelias and Anaxibia, and mother of Eumelus and Admetus. (Apollod. 1.9.10, 15.) Homer (Hom. Il. 2.715) calls her the fairest among the daughters of Pelias. When Admetus, king of Pherae, sued for her hand, Pelias, in order to get rid of the numerous suitors, declared that he would give his daughter...

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Actaeon in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

1. Son of Aristaeus and Autonoe, a daughter of Cadmus. He was trained in the art of hunting by the centaur Cheiron, and was afterwards torn to pieces by his own 50 hounds on mount Cithaeron. The names of these hounds are given by Ovid (Ov. Met. 3.206, &c.) and Hyginus. (Fab. 181; comp. Stat. Theb. 2.203.) The cause of this misfortune is diff...

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Aegisthus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Aegisthus (Ancient Greek: Αἴγισθος ; also transliterated as Aegisthos) was the son of Thyestes and of his daughter, Pelopia. Thyestes felt he had been deprived of the Mycenean throne unfairly by his brother, Atreus. The two battled back and forth several times. In addition, Thyestes had an affair with Atreus' wife, Aerope. ...

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Agamemnon in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (Ancient Greek: Ἀγαμέμνων; modern Greek: Αγαμέμνονας, "leader of the assembly") is the son of King Atreus of Mycenae and Queen Aerope; the brother of Menelaus and the husband of Clytemnestra; different mythological versions make him the king either of Mycenae or of Argos. When Helen, the wife of Menelaus, was abdu...

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Alcmene in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Alcmene or Alcmena (Greek: Αλκμήνη) was the mother of Heracles. Alcmene was born to Electryon, king of Mycenae and a son of Perseus.[1] Her mother was either Anaxo, daughter of Alcaeus and Astydamia,[1] or Lysidice, daughter of Pelops and Hippodameia.[2] Hesiod describes Alcmene as the tallest, most beautiful woman with wis...

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Aeolus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Ai)/olos). In the mythical history of Greece there are three personages of this name, who are spoken of by ancient writers as connected with one another, but this connexion is so confused, that it is impossible to gain a clear view of them. (Müller, Orchom. p. 138, &c.) We shall follow Diodorus, who distinguishes between the three, althou...

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Admetus in Wikipedia

In Greek mythology, Admetus (pronounced /ædˈmiːtəs/, in Greek: Άδμητος Admetos, "untamed", "untameable"[1][2]) was a king of Pherae in Thessaly, succeeding his father Pheres after whom the city was named. Admetus was one of the Argonauts and took part in the Calydonian Boar hunt. Admetus was famed for his hospitality and justice. When Apollo w...

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Aegisthus in Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology

(*Ai)/gisqos), a son of Thyestes, who unwittingly begot him by his own daughter Pelopia. Immediately after his birth he was exposed by his mother, but was found and saved by shepherds and suckled by a goat, whence his name Aegisthus (from αἴξ; Hyg. Fab. 87, 88; Aelian, Ael. VH 12.42). Subsequently he was searched after and found by Atreus, the...

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