Bulfinch Pantheon Site Map

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Pantheon Site Map

A

Abas, a son of Metaneira, was changed by Demeter into a lizard

Acestes, a son of the Sicilian river-god Crimisus and of a Trojan woman of the name of Egesta or Segesta

Acastus, a son of Pelias, king of lolcus, and of Anaxibia, or as others call her, Philomache.

Acheron a son of Helios and Gaea or Demeter, and was changed into the river bearing his name in the lower world, because he had refreshed the Titans with drink during their contest with Zeus.

Acis, according to Ovid (Metamorphoses I) a son of Faunus and Symaethis.

Acrisius, a mythical king of Argos, and a son of Abas and Ocalea (or Aglaea, depending on the author). He quarrelled constantly with his twin brother Proetus, inventing bucklers in the process, and in the end expelled him to Tiryns.

Achelous, the god of the river Achelous which was the greatest, and according to tradition, the most ancient among the rivers of Greece.

Achilles, the son of Peleus, king of the Myrmidones in Phthiotis, in Thessaly, and of the Nereid Thetis.

Achilles' Armour, Hephaestus Makes Armour For Achilles

Achiroe, according to Apollodorus ii Anchinoe, which is perhaps a mistake for Anchiroe, was a daughter of Nilus, and the wife of Belus, by whom she became the mother of Aegyptus and Danaus.

Acraea, a daughter of the river-god Asterion near Mycenae, who together with her sisters Euboea and Prosymna acted as nurses to Hera.

Actaeon, 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 (Metamorphoses III) and Hyginus.

Actor, 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 (Metamorphoses III) and Hyginus.

Admetus, a son of Pheres, the founder and king of Pherae in Thessaly, and of Periclymene or Clymene. (Apollodorus i) He took part in the Calydonian chase and the expedition of the Argonauts. (Apollodorus i)

Adrastus, a son of Talaus, king of Argos, and of Lysimache. (Apollodorus i. 9.) Pausanias calls his mother Lysianassa, and Hygimis Eurynome.

Adrasteia, a Cretan nymph, daughter of Melisseus, to whom Rhea entrusted the infant Zeus to be reared in the Dictaean grotto.

Adonis, a son of Cinyras and Medarme, according to Hesiod a son of Phoenix and Alphesiboea, and according to the cyclic poet Panyasis, a son of Tlieias, king of Assyria, who begot him by his own daughter Smyrna. (Myrrha.)

Aeetes, or Aeeta, a son of Helios and Perseis. (Theogony of Hesiod 957.)

Aeacus, a son of Zeus and Aegina, a daughter of the river-god Asopus.

Aegisthus, 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.

Aeschylus, The Plays

Aeson, a son of Cretheus, the founder of lolcus, and of Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus.

Aether, Ether or Acmon, a personified idea of the mythical cosmogonies

Aethra, a daughter of king Pittheus of Troezen. Bellerophon sued for her hand, but was banished from Corinth before the nuptials took place.

Aethusa, a daughter of Poseidon and Alcyone, who was beloved by Apollo, and bore to him Eleuther. (Apollodorus iii)

Aeolus, 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.

Briareus, also called Aegaeon, a son of Uranus by Gaea. Aegaeon and his brothers Gyges and Cottus are known under the name of the Uranids (Theogony of Hesiod), and are described as huge monsters with a hundred arms and fifty heads. (Apollodorus i. Theogony of Hesiod )

Aegeus, according to some accounts a son of Pandion II. king of Athens, and of Pylia, while others call him a son of Scyrius or Phemius, and state that he was only an adopted son of Pandion.

Aethusa, a daughter of Poseidon and Alcyone, who was beloved by Apollo, and bore to him Eleuther. (Apollodorus iii)

Aegis, in Homer, is the shield or buckler of Zeus, fashioned for him by Hephaestus, furnished with tassels and bearing the Gorgon's head in the centre. Originally symbolic of the storm-cloud, it is probably derived from aisso, signifying rapid, violent motion.

Aeneas, the son of Anchises and Aphrodite, and born on mount Ida. On his father's side he was a greatgrandson of Tros, and thus nearly related to the royal house of Troy, as Priam himself was a grandson of Tros. He was educated from his infancy at Dardanus, in the house of Alcathous, the husband of his sister.

Agave, daughter of Cadmus, and wife of the Spartan Echion, by whom she became the mother of Pentheus, who succeeded his grandfather Cadmus as king of Thebes. Agave was the sister of Autonoe, Ino, and Semele (Apollodorus iii), and when Semele, during her pregnancy with Dionysus, was destroyed by the sight of the splendour of Zeus, her sisters spread the report that she had only endeavoured to conceal her guilt, by pretending that Zeus was the father of her child, and that her destruction was a just punishment for her falsehood.

Aegle, 1. The most beautiful of the Naiads, daughter of Zeus and Neaera by whom Helios begot the Charites.
2. A sister of Phaeton, and daughter of Helios and Clymene. In her grief at the death of her brother she and her sisters were changed into poplars.
3. One of the Hesperides.
4. A nymph, daughter of Panopeus, who was beloved by Theseus, and for whom he forsook Ariadne.
5. One of the daughters of Aesculapius by Lampetia, the daughter of the Sun, according to Hermippus or by Epione, according to Suidas. She is said to have derived her name Aegle, "Brightness," or Splendour," either from the beauty of the human body when in good health, or from the honour paid to the medical profession.

Aepytus, one of the mythical kings of Arcadia. He was the son of Eilatus and originally ruled over Phaesana on the Alpheius in Arcadia. When Cleitor, the son of Azan, died without leaving any issue, Aepytus succeeded him and became king of the Arcadians, a part of whose country was called after him Aepytis.

Agamemnon, a son of Pleisthenes and grandson of Atreus, king of Mycenae, in whose house Agamemnon and Menelaus were educated after the death of their father. (Apollodorus. iii. ) Homer and several other writers call him a son of Atreus, grandson of Pelops, and great-grandson of Tantalus.

Agdistis, a mythical being connected with the Phrygian worship of Attes or Atys. Pausanias relates the following story about Agdistis. On one occasion Zeus unwittingly begot by the Earth a superhuman being which was at once man and woman, and was called Agdistis. The gods dreaded it and unmanned it, and from its severed genitalia there grew up an almond-tree.

Agenor, a son of Poseidon and Libya, king of Phoenicia, and twin-brother of Belus. (Apollod. ii. 1. § 4.) He married Telephassa, by whom he became the father of Cadmus, Phoenix, Cylix, Thasus, Phineus, and according to some of Europa also. 2 3 4 5 6

Aglaia, one of the Charites. 2. The wife of Charopus and mother of Nireus, who led a small band from the island of Syme against Troy. Another Agiaia is mentioned in Apollodorus. (Apollodorus. ii)

Agraulos, a daughter of Actaeus, the first king of Athens. By her husband, Cecrops, she became the mother of Erysichthon, Agraulos, Herse, and Pandrosos. 2. A daughter of Cecrops and Agraulos, and mother of Alcippe by Ares.

Aigipan, one of the rustic gods known as Panes, son of Aix and Zeus and a companion of Pan, with whom he is sometimes identified, and Dionysus.

Aix, a nymph and the wife of Pan. She was seduced by Zeus and bore him Aigipan. Aix is also mentioned as the nurse of the infant Zeus and may also identified with the Gorgon Aix.

Alcestis by Euripides

Alcinous, a son of Nausithous, and grandson of Poseidon. His name is celebrated in the story of the Argonauts, and still more in that of the wanderings of Odysseus.

Alcippe, daughter of Ares and Agraulos, the daughter of Cecrops. Halirrhothius, the son of Poseidon, intended to violate her, but was surprised by Ares, and killed, for which Poseidon bore a grudge against Ares. (Apollodorus iii.)

Alcmaeon, a son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle, and brother of Amphilochus, Eurydice, and Demonassa. (Apollodorus iii) His mother was induced by the necklace of Harmonia, which she received from Polyneices, to persuade her husband Amphiaraus to take part in the expedition against Thebes.

Alcmene, a daughter of Electryon, king of Messene, by Anaxo, the daughter of Alcaeus. According to other accounts her mother was called Lysidice or Eurydice.

Aloeidae, Aloiadae, Aloadae, are patronymic forms from Aloeus, but are used to designate the two sons of his wife Iphimedeia by Poseidon: viz. Otus and Ephialtes.

Alope, a daughter of Cercyon, who was beloved by Poseidon on account of her great beauty, and became by him the mother of a son, whom she exposed immediately after his birth.

Aloeus, 1. A son of Poseidon and Canace. He married Iphimedeia, the daughter of Triops, who was in love with Poseidon, and used to walk by the sea-side, take her hands full of its water, and sprinkle her bosom with it. The two sons whom she had by Poseidon were called Aloeidae. 2. A son of Helios by Circe or Antiope, who received from his father the sovereignty over the district of Asopia.

Alpheus, Alpheus as man. Hunting in the forests of Greece, Alpheus saw Artemis and desired her. Alpheus as a river (present Alfeios River) and river-god, thus like most river-gods a son of Oceanus and Tethys.

Althaea, a daughter of the Aetolian king Thestius and Eurythemis, and sister of Lecla, Hypermnestra, Iphiclus, Euippus, etc. She was married to Oeneus, king of Calydon, by whom she became the mother of Troxeus, Thyreus, Clymenus, and Meleager, and of two daughters, Gorge and Deianeira. (Apollodorus i) Apollodorus states, that according to some, Meleager was regarded as the fruit of her intercourse with Ares, and that she was mother of Deianeira by Dionysus.

Ambrosia, in ancient mythology, Ambrosia is sometimes the food, sometimes the drink, of the gods. The word has generally been derived from Greek a- ("not") and mbrotos ("mortal"); hence the food or drink of the immortals. Thetis anointed the infant Achilles with ambrosia and passed the child through the fire to make him immortal - a familiar Phoenician custom - but Peleus, appalled, stopped her.

Amphidamas, a son of Lycurgus and Cleophile, and father of Antimache, who married Eurystheus. (Apollodorus iii) According to Pausanias and Apollonius Rhodius (Argonautica) he was a son of Aleus, and consequently a brother of Lycurgus, Cepheus, and Auge, and took part in the expedition of the Argonauts.

Amphilochus, a son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle, and brother of Alcmaeon. (Apollodorus iii) When his father went against Thebes, Amphiloehus was, according to Pausanias, yet an infant, although ten years afterwards he is mentioned as one of the Epigoni, and according to some traditions assisted his brother in the murder of his mother.

Amphitrite, according to Hesiod (Theogony) and Apollodorus a Nereid, though in other places Apollodorus calls her an Oceanid. She is represented as the wife of Poseidon and the goddess of the sea (the Mediterranean), and she is therefore a kind of female Poseidon.

Amaltheia, the nurse of the infant Zeus after his birth in Crete. The ancients themselves appear to have been as uncertain about the etymology of the name as about the real nature of Amaltheia. Hesychius derives it from the verb to nourish or to enrich, others from firm or hard; and others again from to signify the divine goat, or the tender goddess. The common derivation is from to milk or suck.

Amnisiades, the nymphs of the river Amnistis in Crete, who are mentioned in connexion with the worship of Artemis there. (Argonautica.)

Amphiaraus, a son of Oicles and Hypermnestra, the daughter of Thestius. On his father's side he was descended from the famous seer Melampus.

Amphictyon, a son of Deucalion and Pyrrha or according to others an autochthon, who after having married Cranae, the daughter of Cranaus, king of Attica, expelled his father-in-law from his kingdom and usurped his throne. He ruled for twelve years, and was then in turn expelled by Erichthomus.

Amphion, a son of Zeus and Antiope, the daughter of Nycteus of Thebes, and twin-brother of Zethus.

Amymone, one of the daughters of Danaus and Elephantis. When Danaus arrived in Argos, the country, according to the wish of Poseidon, who was indignant at Inachus, was suffering from a drought, and Danaus sent out Amymone to fetch water.

Amycus, a son of Poseidon by Bithynis, or by the Bithyaiian nymph Melia. He was ruler of the country of the Bebryces, and when the Argonauts landed on the coast of his dominions, he challenged the bravest of them to a boxing match.

Amyclas, a son of Lacedaemon and Sparta, and father of Hyacinthus by Diomede, the daughter of Lapithus. He was king of Laconia, and was regarded as the founder of the town of Amyclae.

Amythaon, a son of Cretheus and Tyro and brother of Aeson and Pheres. He dwelt at Pylos in Messenia, and by Idomene became the father of Bias, Melampus, and Aeolia.

Amphitryon, or Amphitruo a son of Alcaeus, king of Troezen, by Hipponome, the daughter of Menoeceus. Pausanias calls his mother Laonome.

Ananke, the Protogenos of inevitability, compulsion and necessity and the personification of destiny, unalterable necessity and fate. She was also the mother of Adrasteia and of the Moirae. She was rarely worshipped until the creation of the Orphic mystery religion. In Roman mythology, she was called Necessitas ("necessity"). From Herodotus, The History Book Eight

Ancient Fragments by I. P. CoryThe Theology Of The Phœnicians.

Anigrides, the nymphs of tle river Anigrus in Elis.

Antaeus, son of Poseidon and Ge, a mighty giant and wrestler in Libya, whose strength was invincible so long as he remained in contact with his mother earth.

Ancaeus, 1. A son of the Arjadian Lycurgus and Creophile or Eurynome, and father of Agapenor. He was one of the Argonauts and partook in the Calydonian hunt in which he was killed by the boar. ( Apollodorus i. 9.) 2. A son of Poseidon and Astypalaea or Alta, king of the Leleges in Samos, and husband of Samia, the daughter of the river-god Maeander, by whom he became the father of Perilaus, Enodos, Samos, Alitherses, and Parthenope.

Anchises, a son of Capys and Themis, the daughter of Ilus. His descent is traced by Aeneas, his son, from Zeus himself. (Apollodorus iii) Hyginus makes him a son of Assaracus and grandson of Capys.

Andraemon, the husband of Gorge, the daughter of the Calydonian king Oeneus, and father of Thoas. When Diomedes delivered Oeneus, who had been imprisoned by the sons of Agrius, he gave the kingdom to Andraemon, since Oeneus was already too old.

Anteros, (Anterôs) was the son of Ares and Aphrodite, given to his brother Eros, who was lonely, as a playmate. He is the personification of unrequited love and punisher of those who scorn love, and is depicted as similar to Eros in every way, but with long hair and butterfly wings. The term was also used for the love which arises in the beloved boy in a pederastic relationship.

Antiope, a daughter of Nycteus and Polyxo or of the river god Asopus in Boeotia. She became by Zeus the mother of Amphion and Zethus, Dionysus threw her into a state of madness on account of the vengeance which her sons had taken on Dirce. In this condition she wandered about through Greece, until Phocus, the grandson of Sisyphus, cured and married her. She was buried with Phocus in one common tomb.

Antimachus, a Trojan, who, when Menelaus and Odysseus came to Troy to ask for the surrender of Helen, advised his countrymen to put the ambassadors to death. It was Antimachus who principally insisted upon Helen not being restored to the Greeks. He had three sons, and when two of them, Peisander and Hippolochus, fell into the hands of Menelaus, they were both put to death.

Anaxibia, 1. A daughter of Bias and wife of Pelias, by whom she became the mother of Acastus, Peisidice, Pelopia, Hippothoe, and Alcestis. (Apollodorus) 2. A daughter of Cratieus, and second wife of Nestor. (Apollodorus) 3. A daughter of Pleisthenes, and sister of Agamemnon, married Strophius and became the mother of Pylades.

Aon, a son of Poseidon, and an ancient Boeotian hero, from whom the Boeotian Aonians and the country of Boeotia (for Boeotia was anciently called Aonia) were believed to have derived their names.

Aphrodite, One of the great Olympian divinities, according to the popular and poetical notions of the Greeks, the goddess of love and beauty. Some traditions stated that she had sprung from the foam of the sea, which had gathered around the mutilated parts of Uranus, that had been thrown into the sea by Cronus after he had unmanned his father. (Theogony of Hesiod)

Aphareus, a son of the Messenian king Perieres and Gorgophone, the daughter of Perseus. (Apollodorus i) His wife is called by Apollodorus (Apollodorus iii) Arene, and by others Polydora or Laocoossa. (Argonautica) Aphareus had three sons, Lynceus, Idas, and Peisus.

Apollo, one of the great divinities of the Greeks, was, according to Homer, the son of Zeus and Leto. Hesiod (Theogony of Hesiod 918) states the same, and adds, that Apollo's sister was Artemis. Neither of the two poets suggests anything in regard to the birth-place of the god, unless we take "born in Lycia," which, however, according to others, would only mean "born of or in light." Apollo is one of the few Greek gods who did not sleep with Aphrodite

Theogony By Apollodorus,

Arethusa, one of the Nereid, and the nymph of the famous well, thus in the island of Ortygia near Syracuse. Alpheius reckons her among the Sicilian nymphs, and as the divinity who inspired pastoral poetry.

Araethyrea, a daughter of Aras, an autochthon who was believed to have built Arantea, the most ancient town in Phliasia. She had a brother called Aoris, and is said to have been fond of the chase and warlike pursuits. When she died, her brother called the country of Phliasia after her Araethyrea.

Ardalus, a son of Hephaestus who was said to have invented the flute, and to have built a sanctuary of the Muses at Troeze who derived from him the surname Ardalides Ardaliotides

Areithous, king of Arne in Ioeotia, and husband of Philomedusa, is called in the Iliad vii the club, because he fought with no other weapon but a club. He fell by the hand of the Arcadian Lycurgus, who drove him into a narrow defile, where he could not make use of his club.

Argalus, the eldest son of Amyclas, and his successor in the throne of Sparta.

Ariadne, a daughter of Minos and Pasiphae or Greta. (Apollodorus iii). When Theseus was sent by his father to convey the tribute of the Athenians to Minotaurus, Ariadne fell in love with him, and gave him the string by means of which he found his way out of the Labyrinth, and which she herself had received from Hephaestus.

Aristaeus, an ancient divinity worshipped in various parts of Greece, as in Thessaly, Ceos, and Boeotia, but especially in the islands of the Aegean, Ionian, and Adriatic seas, which had once been inhabited by Pelasgians. He is described either as a son of Uranus and Ge, or according to a more general tradition, as the son of Apollo by Cyrene, the grand-daughter of Peneius.

Ares, the god of war and one of the great Olympian gods of the Greeks. He is represented as the son of Zeus and Hera. A later tradition, according to which Hera conceived Ares by touching a certain flower, appears to be an imitation of the legend about the birth of Hephaestus, and is related by Ovid.

Argeia, A surname of Hera derived from Argos, the principal seat of her worship.

Arete, the wife of Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians. In the Odyssey she appears as a noble and active superintendent of the household of her husband, and when Odysseus arrived in the island, he first applied to queen Arete to obtain hospitable reception and protection. Respecting her connexion with the story of Jason and Medeia.

Artemis, one of the great divinities of the Greeks. Her name is usually derived from uninjured, healthy, vigorous; according to which she would be the goddess who is herself inviolate and vigorous, and also grants strength and health to others. According to the Homeric account and Hesiod (Theogony 918) she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto. She was the sister of Apollo, and born with him at the same time in the island of Delos.

Arne, 1. A daughter of Aeolus, from whom the Boeotian town Arne, afterwards called Chaeroneia, as well as the Thessalian Arne, were believed to have derived their name. 2. A woman who betrayed her native country for gold, and was therefore metamorphosed into a jackdaw. (Metamorphoses)

Arion, a fabulous horse, which Poseidon begot by Demeter; for in order to escape from the pursuit of Poseidon, the goddess had metamorphosed herself into a mare, and Poseidon deceived her by assuming the figure of a horse. Demeter afterwards gave birth to the horse Arion, and a daughter, Despoena.

Argonautae, the heroes and demigods who, according to the traditions of the Greeks, undertook the first bold maritime expedition to Colchis, a far distant country on the coast of the Euxine, for the purpose of fetching the golden fleeces. They derived their name from the ship Argo, in which the voyage was made, and which was constructed by Argus at the command of Jason, the leader of the Argonauts.

The Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius

Argus, a beast and son of Arestor with a hundred eyes of which he could only close two at a time. He was placed by Juno to guard Io, whom Jupiter had changed into a heifer. But Mercury, who was sent to carry her off, managed to surprise and kill Argus whereupon Juno transfered his eyes to the tail of a peacock, her favourite bird. In Greek mythology, Argus was the name of the builder of the Argo, the ship that carried the hero Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece.

Arsinoe, a daughter of Phegeus, and wife of Alcmaeon. As she disapproved of the murder of Alcmaeon, the sons of Phegeus put her into a chest and carried her to Tegea, where they accused her of having killed Alcmaeon herself.

Asclepius, or Aesculapius, the god of the medical art. In the Homeric poems Aesculapius does not appear to be considered as a divinity, but merely as a human being. No allusion is made to his descent, and he is merely mentioned as the the father of Machaon and Podaleirius.

Asia, 1. A surname of Athena in Colchis. Her worship was believed to have been brought from thence by Castor and Polydeuces to Laconia, where a temple was built to her at Las. 2. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, who became by Japetus the mother of Atlas, Prometheus, and Epimetheus. (Theogony of Hesiod 359.) According to some traditions the continent of Asia derived its name from her.

Asphodel Meadows, is a section of the Ancient Greek underworld where indifferent and ordinary souls were sent to live after death. Hades, the Greek name for the underworld, also the name of the god Hades, is divided into two main sections: Erebus and Tartarus.

Assaracus, a son of Tros and Calirrhoe, the daughter of Scamander. He was king of Troy, and husband of Hieromneme, by whom he became the father of Capys, the father of Anchises.

Astraeus, a Titan and son of Crius and Eurybia. By Eos he became the father of the winds Zephyrus, Boreas, and Notus, Eosphorus (the morning star), and all the stars of heaven. (Theogony 376) Ovid ( Metamorphoses xiv) calls the winds fratres Astraei, which does not mean that they were brothers of Astraeus, but brothers through Astraeus, their common father.

Astypalaea, a daughter of Phoenix and Perimede, the daughter of Oeneus. She was a sister of Europa, and became by Poseidon the mother of the Argonaut Ancaeus and of Eurypylus, king of the island of Cos. The island Astypalaea among the Cyclades derived its name from her.

Asterion, or Asterius, 1. A son of Teutamus, and king of the Cretans, who married Europa after she had been carried to Crete by Zeus. He also brought up the three sons, Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthys whom she had by the father of the gods. (Apollodorus i) 2. A son of Cometes, Pyremus, or Priscus, by Antigone, the daughter of Pheres. He is mentioned as one of the Argonauts. (Argonautica) There are two more mythical personages of this name, one a river-god [Acraea], and the second a son of Minos, who was slain by Theseus.

Asopus, the god of the river Asopus, was a son of Oceanus and Tethys, or according to others, of Poseidon and Pero, of Zeus and Eurynome, or lastly of Poseidon and Cegluse.

Asteria, a daughter of the Titan Coeus and Phoebe. She was the sister of Leto, and, according to Hesiod (Theogony 409), the wife of Perses, by whom she became the mother of Hecate.

Atabyrius, a surname of Zeus derived from mount Atabyris or Atabyrion in the island of Rhodes, where the Cretan Althaemenes was said to have built a temple to him.

Athamas, a son of Aeolus and Enarete, the daughter of Deimachus. He was thus a brother of Cretheus, Sisyphus, Salmoneus, etc. (Apollodorus i)

Atlas, according to Hesiod (Theogony 507), a son of Japetus and Clymene, and a brother of Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus. According to Apollodorus his mother's name was Asia and, according to Hyginus, he was a son of Aether and Gaia.

Athena, one of the great divinities of the Greeks. Homer calls her a daughter of Zeus, without any allusion to her mother or to the manner in which she was called into existence, while most of the later traditions agree in stating that she was born from the head of Zeus. According to the Theogony of Hesiod, Metis, the first wife of Zeus, was the mother of Athena, but when Metis was pregnant with her, Zeus, on the advice of Gaea and Uranus, swallowed Metis up, and afterwards gave birth himself to Athena, who sprang from his head.

Ate, according to Hesiod (Theogony), a daughter of Eris, and, according to Homer, of Zeus, was an ancient Greek divinity, who led both gods and men to rash and inconsiderate actions and to suffering.

Atthis, or Attis, a daughter of Cranaus, from whom Attica, which was before called Actaea, was believed to have derived its name. The two birds into which Philomele and her sister Procne were metamorphosed, were likewise called Attis.

Attica: Description of Greece by Pausanias

Augeas, a son of Phorbas and Hermione, and king of the Epeians in Elis. According to some accounts he was a son of Eleios or Helios or Poseidon.

Aura, a daughter of Lelas and Periboea, was one of the swift-footed companions of Artemis. She was beloved by Dionysus, but fled from him, until Aphrodite, at the request of Dionysus, inspired her with love for the god.

Autolycus, a son of Hermes or Daedalion by Chione, Philonis, or Telauge.

He was the husband of Neaera, or according to Homer, of Amphithea, by whom he became the father of Anticleia, the mother of Odysseus and Aesimus.

Autonoe, a daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, was the wife of Aristaeus, by whom she became the mother of Polydorus. (Theogony of Hesiod) According to Apollodorus (Apollodorus iii), Polydorus was a brother of Autonoe, and Actaeon was her son.

Auxo 1. One of the Horae. 2. An ancient Attic divinity, who was worshipped, according to Pausanias, together with Hegemone, under the name of Charites

Azan, a son of Ares and the nymph Erato, was the brother of Apheidas and Elatus, and father of Cleitor. The part of Arcadia which he received from his father was called, after him, Azania. After his death, funeral games, which were believed to have been the first in Greece, were celebrated in his honour.

B

The Bacchae Of Euripides

Bacchanalia, Dionysius and the Bacchanalia

Bassareus, a surname of Dionysus which, according to the explanations of the Greeks, is derived from the long robe which the god himself and the Maenads used to wear in Thrace, and whence the Maenads themselves are often called bassarae or bassarides.

Bateia, a daughter of Teucer or of Tros, the wife of Dardanus, and mother of Ilus and Erichthonius.

Battus, a shepherd of Neleus, who saw Hermes driving away the cattle he had stolen from Apollo. The god promised to reward him if he would not betray what he had seen. Battus promised on oath to keep the secret but as Hermes mistrusted him nevertheless, he assumed a different appearance, returned to Battus, and promised him a handsome present, if he would tell him who had stolen the cattle of Apollo.

Belus, a son of Poseidon by Libya or Eurynome. He was a twin-brother of Agenor, and father of Aegyptus and Danaus. He was believed to be the ancestral hero and national divinity of several eastern nations, from whence the legends about him were transplanted to Greece and became mixed up with Greek myths.

Bellerophones, or Bellerophon, properly called Hipponous, was a son of the Corinthian king Glaucus and Eurymede, and a grandson of Sisyphus. According to Hyginus, he was a son of Poseidon and Eurymede.

Bellona, the goddess of war among the Romans. It is very probable that originally Bellona was a Sabine divinity whose worship was carried to Rome by the Sabine settlers.

Benthesicyme, an Ethiopian sea nymph, a goddess of the waves and a daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite, the wife of king Enalos. She raised Eumolpus, son of Chione and Poseidon. (Apollodorus iii) Her husband Enalos: of the sea, may have been Triton, the god of lake Tritonis in

Bias, son of Amythaon, and brother of the seer Melampus. He married Pero, daughter of Neleus, whom her father had refused to give to any one unless he brought him the oxen of Iphiclus.

Biston, a son of Ares. Bistonians The Thracians; so called from Biston, son of Mars, who built Bistonia on the Lake Bistonis.

Boeotus, a son of Poseidon or Itonus and Arne (Antiope or Melanippe), and brother of Aeolus. He was the ancestral hero of the Boeotians, who derived their name from him.

Boreas, Bopeas, or Bopas), the North wind, was, according to Hesiod (Theogony 379), a son of Astraeus and Eos, and brother of Hesperus, Zephyrus, and Notus. He dwelt in a cave of mount Haemus in Thrace.

Bubastis, a daughter of Osiris and Isis, and sister of Horus (Apollo). Her mother, Isis, entrusted Bubastis and Horns to Buto, to protect them from Typhon.

Briareus, also called Aegaeon, a son of Uranus by Gaea. Aegaeon and his brothers Gyges and Cottus are known under the name of the Uranids (Theogony of Hesiod 502), and are described as huge monsters with a hundred arms and fifty heads. (Apollodorus i. Theogony of Hesiod 149)

Briseis, a patronymic from Briseus, and the name of Hippodameia, the daughter of Briseus of Lyrnessus, who fell into the hands of Achilles, and about whom the quarrel arose between Achilles and Agamemnon.

Britomartis, appears to have originally been a Cretan divinity of hunters and fishermen. Her name is usually derived from sweet or blessing, and a maiden, so that the name would mean, the sweet or blessing maiden.

Butes, son of Boreas, a Thracian, was hostile towards his step-brother Lycurgus, and therefore compelled by his father to emigrate. He accordingly went with a band of colonists to the island of Strongyle, afterwards called Naxos. But as he and his companions had no women, they made predatory excursions, and also came to Thessaly, where they carried off the women who were just celebrating a festival of Dionysus. Butes himself took Coronis; but she invoked Dionysus, who struck Butes with madness, so that he threw himself into a well.

Buto, an Egyptian divinity, whom the Greeks identified with their Leto, and who was worshipped principally in the town of Buto, which derived its name from her. Festivals were celebrated there in her honour, and there she had also an oracle which was in high esteem among the Egyptians.

Byzas, a son of Poseidon and Ceroessa, the daughter of Zeus and Io. He was believed to be the founder of Byzantium.

C

Cabeiri, mystic divinities who occur in various parts of the ancient world. The obscurity that hangs over them, and the contradictions respecting them in the accounts of the ancients themselves, have opened a wide field for speculation to modern writers on mythology, each of whom has been tempted to propound a theory of his own.

Caca, a sister of Cacus, who, according to some accounts, betrayed the place where the cattle were concealed which Cacus had stolen from Hercules or Recaranus. She was rewarded for it with divine honours, which she was to enjoy for ever. In her sanctuary a perpetual fire was kept up, just as in the temple of Vesta.

Cacus, a fabulous Italian shepherd, brother of Caca, who was believed to have lived in a cave, and to have committed various kinds of robberies. Among others, he also stole a part of the cattle of Hercules or Recaranus and, as he dragged the animals into his cave by their tails, it was impossible to discover their traces. But when the remaining oxen passed by the cave, those within began to bellow, and were thus discovered.

Cadmilus, according to Acusilaus a son of Hephaestus and Cabeiro, and father of the Samothracian Cabeiri and the Cabeirian nymphs. Others consider Cadmilus himself as the fourth of the Samothracian Cabeiri.

Cadmus, a son of Agenor and Telephassa, and brother of Europa, Phoenix, and Cilix. When Europa was carried off by Zeus to Crete, Agenor sent out his sons in search of their sister, enjoining them not to return without her. Telephassa accompanied her sons. All researches being fruitless, Cadmus and Telephassa settled in Thrace. Here Telephassa died, and Cadmus, after burying her, went to Delphi to consult the oracle respecting his sister.

Caicus, two mythical personages, one a son of Oceanus and Tethys (Theogony of Hesiod 343), and the other a son of Hermes and Ocyrrhoe, who threw himself into the river Astraeus, henceforth called Caicus.

Caeculus, an ancient Italian hero of Praeneste. The account which Servius gives of him runs as follows: At Praeneste there were pontifices and indigetes as well as at Rome. There were however two brothers called indigetes who had a sister.

Callisto, is sometimes called a daughter of Lycaon in Arcadia and sometimes of Nycteus or Ceteus, and sometimes also she is described as a nymph. (Apollodorus iii) She was a huntress, and a companion of Artemis.

Calydon, a son of Aetolus and Pronoe, married to Aeolia, by whom he became the father of Epicaste and Protogeneia. He was regarded as the founder of the Aetolian town of Calydon.

Calypso, under this name we find in Hesiod (Theogony 359) a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and in Apollodorus (Apollodorus i.) a daughter of Nereus, while the Homeric Calypso is described as a daughter of Atlas. This last Calypso was a nymph inhabiting the island of Ogygia, on the coast of which Odysseus was thrown when he was shipwrecked.

Calyce, three mythical beings, the one a daughter of Aeolus and Enarete, and mother of Endymion (Apollodorus i.); the second a daughter of Hecaton and mother of Cygnus by Poseidon and the third is mentioned by Apollodorus among the daughters of Danaus; but the whole passage is probably corrupt.

Campe, a monster which was appointed in Tartarus to guard the Cyclops. It was killed by Zeus when he wanted the assistance of the Cyclops against the Titans. Diodorus mentions a monster of the same name, which was slain by Dionysus, and which Nonnus identifies with the former.

Canace, a daughter of Aeolus and Enarete, whence she is called Aeolis, who had several children by Poseidon.

Caeculus, an ancient Italian hero of Praeneste.

Callirhoe, a daughter of Oceanus, who was the mother of Geryones and Echidna by Chrysaor. (Theogony of Hesiod 351, 981) By Neilus she was the mother of Chione, and by Poseidon of Minyas.

Carme, a daughter of Eubulus, who became by Zeus the mother of Britomartis. Antoninus Liberalis describes her as a grand-daughter of Agenor, and daughter of Phoenix

Cassandra, also called Alexandra, was the fairest among the daughters of Priam and Hecabe. There are two points in her story which have furnished the ancient poets with ample materials to dilate upon. The first is her prophetic power, concerning which, we have the following traditions:

Catillus, There are two Catilli in Roman legend: Catillus the Arcadian, son of Amphiaraus. Catillus, his son. Catillus the Arcadian and his sons Catillus, Tiburtus and Coras escaped the slaughter at Thebes and arrived at the Aniene Plateau. They drove away the Sicilians who lived there and founded a city named Tibur (now Tivoli) in honor of Tiburtius.

Cebren, a Greek river-god (an Oceanid), whose river was located near Troy. He was the son of Oceanus and Tethys and he was the father of Asterope, Hesperia, who are sometimes considered to be each other, and Oenone. The city Cebrene (also spelled Kebrene or Kevrin) was named for Cebren.

Cecrops, according to Apollodorus the first king of Attica, which derived from him its name Cecropia, having previously borne the name of Acte. He is described as an autochthon, the upper part of whose body was human, while the lower was that of a dragon. Hence he is gemimis.

Celaeno, a Pleiad, daughter of Atlas and Pleione, and by Poseidon the mother of Lycus and Eurypylus, or, according to others, of Lycus and Chimaereus by Prometheus.

Celeus, a king of Eleusis, and husband of Metaneira. When Demeter, on her wanderings in search of her daughter, came to Eleusis, she stayed in the house of Celeus.

Centaurs, that is, the bull-killers, are according to the earliest accounts a race of men who inhabited the mountains and forests of Thessaly.

Cephissus, the divinity of the river Cephissus, is described as a son of Pontus and Thalassa, and the father of Diogeneia and Narcissus, who is therefore called Cephisius.

Cephalus, a Molossian chief, who, together with another chief, Antinous, was driven by the calumnies of Charops to take the side of Perseus, in self-defence, against the Romans.

Cer, the personified necessity of death The passages in the Homeric poems in which death appears as a real personification are not very numerous and in most cases the word may be taken as a common noun.

Ceres, the Latin name for Demeter; also the name of one of the asteroids, the first discovered, by Piazzi, in 1801.

Cercyon, a son of Poseidon by a daughter of Amphictyon, and accordingly a half-brother of Triptolemus. Others call him a son of Hephaestus. He came from Arcadia, and dwelt at Eleusis in Attica.

Cerberus, the many-headed dog that guarded the entrance of Hades, is mentioned as early as the Homeric poems, but simply as " the dog," and without the name of Cerberus.

Ceroessa, a daughter of Zeus by Io, and born on the spot where Byzantium was afterwards built. She was brought up by a nymph of the place, and afterwards became the mother of Byzas.

Chaeron, a son of Apollo and Thero, the daughter of Phylas, is the mythical founder of Chaeroneia in Boeotia.

Chalcon, 1. A wealthy Myrmidon, and father of Bathycles. 3. Of Cyparissus, the shield-bearer of Antilochus. He was in love with the Amazon Penthesileia, but on hastening to her assistance he was killed by Achilles, and the Greeks nailed his body to a cross.

Chalciope, 1. A daughter of Rhexenor, or according to others of Chalcodon, was the second wife of Aegeus. 2. A daughter of king Eurypylus in the island of Cos, and mother of Thessalus.

Chaos, the vacant and infinite space which existed according to the ancient cosmogonies previous to the creation of the world (Theogony 116), and out of which the gods, men, and all things arose.

Charis, the personification of Grace and Beauty, which the Roman poets translate by Gratia and we after them by Grace. Homer, without giving her any other name, describes a Charis as the wife of Hephaestus.

Charites, or the Graces. Aphrodite's retinue was usually completed by the Charites and 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 Aegle

Charon, a son of Erebos, the aged and dirty ferryman in the lower world, who conveyed in his boat the shades of the dead — though only of those whose bodies were buried across the rivers of the lower world.

Charopus, or Charops, bright-eyed or joyful-looking, a surname of Heracles, under which he had a statue near mount Laphystion on the spot where he was believed to have brought forth Cerberus from the lower world.

Charybdis and Scylla, 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.

Cheiron, the wisest and justest of all the centaurs. He was the instructor of Achilles, whose father Peleus was a friend and relative of Cheiron, and received at his wedding with Thetis the heavy lance which was subsequently used by Achilles.

Ceyx, Lord of Trachis, was connected by friendship with Heracles. He was the father of Hippasus, who fell in battle fighting as the ally of Heracles.

Chimaera, a fire-breathing monster, which, according to the Homeric poems, was of divine origin.

Chione, a daughter of Boreas and Oreithyia, and sister of Cleopatra, Zetes, and Calais. She became by Poseidon the mother of Eumolpus, and in order to conceal the event, she threw the boy into the sea; but the child was saved by Poseidon.

Chloris, a daughter of the Theban Amphion and Niobe. According to an Argive tradition, her original name was Meliboea, and she and her brother Amyclas were the only children of Niobe that were not killed by Apollo and Artemis. But the terror of Chloris at the death of her brothers and sisters was so great, that she turned perfectly white, and was therefore called Chloris.

Chronos, the Protogenos of time and the very first being to emerge at creation self-formed.

Chthonia, may mean the subterraneous, or the goddess of the earth, that is, the protectress of the fields, whence it is used as a surname of infernal divinities, such as Hecate, Nyx and Melinoe, but especially of Demeter.

Cyrene, a daughter of Hypseus or Peneius by Chlidanope, a granddaughter of Peneius and Creusa, was beloved by Apollo, who carried her from mount Pelion to Libya, where Gyrene derived its name from her.

Chrysaor, 1. A son of Poseidon and Medusa, and consequently a brother of Pegasus. When Perseus cut off the head of Medusa, Chrysaor and Pegasus sprang forth from it. Chrysaor became by Callirrhoe the father of the three-headed Geryones and Echidna. ( Theogony of Hesiod 280) 2. The god with the golden sword or arms. In this sense it is used as a surname or attribute of several divinities, such as Apollo, Artemis and Demeter. We find Chrysaoreus as a surname of Zeus with the same meaning, under which he had a temple in Caria, which was a national sanctuary, and the place of meeting for the national assembly of the Carians.

Chrysothemis, there are four mythical females of this name, and one male, a son of Carmanor, the priest of Apollo at Tarrha in Crete. He is said to have been a poet, and to have won the first victory in the Pythian games by a hymn on Apollo.

Cinyras, a famous Cyprian hero. According to the common tradition, he was a son of Apollo by Paphos, king of Cyprus, and priest of the Paphian Aphrodite, which latter office remained hereditary in his family, the Cinyradae.

Circe, a mythical sorceress, whom Homer calls a fair-locked goddess, a daughter of Helios by the oceanid Perse, and a sister of Aeetes.

Cithara, one of the most ancient stringed instruments, traced back to 1700 B.C. among the Semitic races, in Egypt, Assyria, Asia Minor, Greece and the Roman empire, whence the use of it spread over Europe.

Cithaeron, a mythical king in Boeotia, from whom mount Cithaeron was believed to have derived its name.

Cleolla, according to Hesiod, Catalogues of Women, Pleisthenes was a son of Atreus and Aerope, and Agamemnon, Menelaus and Anaxibia were the children of Pleisthenes by Cleolla the daughter of Dias.

Clio: Herodotus The History

Cleopatra, 1. A daughter of Idas and Marpessa, and wife of Meleager, is said to have hanged herself after her husband's death, or to have died of grief. Her real name was Alcyone. 2. A Danaid, who was betrothed to Etelces or Agenor. There are two other mythical personages of this name in Apollodorus iii.

Clodones, there were revels in Parnassus, in Phocis, Messenia, Arcadia, even Sparta. The festivals were held on mountains, with blazing torches, in dark winter nights. The votaries were in large part women, and were known by many names,--Maenads, Thyiads, Clodones, Mimallones, Bassarides, etc. They were clothed in fawn skins, carried thyrsi and in their ecstasies used to hunt wild animals, tear them in pieces, and sometimes eat them raw.

Clymene, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and the wife of Japetus, by whom she became the mother of Atlas, Prometheus, and others.

Clytemnestra, a daughter of Tyndareus and Leda, and sister of Castor, Timandra, and Philonoe, and half-sister of Polydeuces and Helena. She was married to Agamemnon.

Clytius, 1. A son of Laomedon and father of Caletor and Procleia, was one of the Trojan elders. 2. A son of the Oechalian king Eurytus, was one of the Argonauts, and was killed during the expedition by Heracles, or according to others by Aeetes.

Cocytus, meaning river of wailing or lamentation, was the river in the underworld on the banks of which the dead who could not pay Charon wandered, according to most accounts, for one hundred years. It flowed into the river Acheron, across which lay Hades, the mythological abode of the dead.

Coeus, was the Titan of intelligence. Titans are the giant sons and daughters of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth).

Conisalus, a daemon, who together with Orthanes and Tychon appeared in the train of Priapus.

Coronis, 1. A daughter of Phlegyas and mother of Asclepius. 2. A daughter of Phoroneus, king of Phocis; she was metamorphosed by Athena into a crow, for when she was pursued by Poseidon, she implored the protection of Athena.

Coronus, 1. A son of Apollo by Chrysorthe, father of Corax and Lamedon, and king of Sicyon. 2. A son of Thersander, grandson of Sisyphus, and founder of Coroneia. 3. A son of Caeneus, was a prince of the Lapithae, and father of Leonteus and Lyside. He was slain by Heracles. (Apollodorus. ii) 4. The father of the Argonaut Caeneus. (Apollodorus i. Argonautica)

Corinth: Description of Greece by Pausanias,

Corythus, 1. An Italian hero, a son of Jupiter, and husband of Electra, the daughter of Atlas, by whom he became the father of Jasius and Dardanus. He is described as king of Tuscia, and as the founder of Corythus. 2. A son of Paris and Oenone. He loved Helena and was beloved by her, and was therefore killed by his own father.

Cranaus, an autochthon and king of Attica, who reigned at the time of the flood of Deucalion. He was married to Pedias, by whom he became the father of Cranae, Cranaechme, and Atthis, from the last of whom Attica was believed to have derived its name.

Creon, a mythical king of Corinth, a son of Lycaethus.

Cretheus, a son of Aeolus and Enarete, was married to Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus, by whom he became the father of Aeson, Pheres, Amythaon, and Hippolyte. He is called the founder of the town of lolcus.

Creusa, 1. A daughter of Oceanus and Ge. She was a Naid, and became by Peneius the mother of Hypseus, king of the Lapithae, and of Stilbe. 2. A daughter of Erechtheus and Praxithea, was married to Xuthus, by whom she became the mother of Achaeus and Ion.

Crimisus, a son of Oceanus and Tethys. According to Virgil's Aeneid* (5.38) and Hyginus' Fabulae (273), Crinisus was the father of Acestes by Segesta (Egesta).

Crius, or Creius, a son of Uranus and Gaia, and one of the Titans, who was the father of Astraeus, Pallas, and Perses. (The Theogony of Hesiod)

Cronus, a son of Uranus and Ge, and the youngest among the Titans. He was married to Rhea, by whom he became the father of Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Cheiron is also called a son of Cronus.

Cupid, Eros, Amor, the god of love, viewed as a chubby little boy, armed with bow and arrows, and often with eyes bandaged.

Cyclopes, creatures with round or circular eyes. The tradition about these beings has undergone several changes and modifications in its development in Greek mythology, though some traces of their identity remain visible throughout.

Cycnus, a son of Apollo by Thyria or Hyria, the daughter of Amphinomus. He was a handsome hunter, living in the district between Pleuron and Calydon, and although beloved by many, repulsed all his lovers.

Cynortes, or Cynortas, a son of Amyclas by Diomede, and brother of Hyacinthus. After the death of his brother Argalus, he became king of Sparta and father of Oebalus or of Perieres. His tomb was shown at Sparta not far from the Scias.

Cyparissus, a youth of Cea, a son of Telephus, was beloved by Apollo and Zephyrus or Silvanus. When he had inadvertently killed his favourite stag, he was seized with immoderate grief, and metamorphosed into a cypress.

Cythereia, or Cythera, Cytherias, different forms of a surname of Aphrodite, derived from the town of Cythera in Crete, or from the island of Cythera, where the goddess was said to have first landed, and where she had a celebrated temple.

D

Dactyls, the Dactyls of mount Ida in Phrygia, fabulous beings to whom the discovery of iron and the art of working it by means of fire was ascribed. Their name Dactyls, that is, Fingers, is accounted for in various ways; by their number being five or ten, or by the fact of their serving Rhea just as the fingers serve the hand, or by the story of their having lived at the foot of mount Ida.

Danae, a daughter of King Acrisius of Argos and Eurydice (no relation to Orpheus' Eurydice). She was the mother of Perseus by Zeus. She was sometimes credited with founding the city of Ardea in Latium.

Danaus, a son of Belus and Anchinoe, and a grandson of Poseidon and Libya. He was brother of Aegyptus, and father of fifty daughters, and the mythical ancestor of the Danai. (Apollodorus. ii.)

Daphne, a fair maiden who is mixed up with various traditions about Apollo. According to Pausanias she was an Oreas and an ancient priestess of the Delphic oracle to which she had been appointed by Ge. Diodorus describes her as the daughter of Teiresias, who is better known by the name of Manto.

Daphnis, a Sicilian hero, to whom the invention of bucolic poetry is ascribed. He is called a son of Hermes by a nymph, or merely the beloved of Hermes. Ovid calls him an Idaean shepherd; but it does not follow from this that Ovid connected him with either the Phrygian or the Cretan Ida, since Ida signifies any woody mountain.

Dardanus, a son of Zeus and Electra, the daughter of Atlas. He was the brother of Jasus, Jasius, Jason, or Jasion, Aetion and Harmonia, and his native place in the various traditions is Arcadia, Crete, Troas, or Italy. Dardanus is the mythical ancestor of the Trojans, and through them of the Romans. It is necessary to distinguish between the earlier Greek legends and the later ones which we meet with in the poetry of Italy.

Deidameia, 1. A daughter of Bellerophontes and wife of Evander, by whom she became the mother of Sarpedon. Homer calls her Laodameia. 2. A daughter of Lycomedes in the island of Scyrus. When Achilles was concealed there in maiden's attire, Deidameia became by him the mother of Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus, and, according to others, of Oneirus also. (Apollodorus iii) 3. The wife of Peirithous, who is commonly called Hippodameia.

Deima, the personification of fear. She was represented in the form of a fearful woman on the tomb of Medeia's children at Corinth.

Deianeira, a daughter of Althaea by Oeneus, Dionysus, or Dexamenus (Apollodorus i), and a sister of Meleager.

Deion, a son of Aeolus and Enarete, was king in Phocis and husband of Diomede, by whom he became the father of Asteropeia, Aenetus, Actor, Phylacus, and Cephalus. After the death of his brother, Salmoneus, he took his daughter Tyro into his house, and gave her in marriage to Cretheus. His name occurs also in the form Deioneus.

Demeter, one of the great divinities of the Greeks. The name Demeter is supposed by some to be the same as mother earth, while others consider Deo, which is synonymous with Demeter and as derived from the Cretan word barley, so that Demeter would be the mother or giver of barley or of food generally.

Homeric Hymn to Demeter,

Demonassa, 1. The wife of Irus, and mother of Eurydamas and Eurytion. (Argonautica) 2. A daughter of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle, was the wife of Thersander, by whom she became the mother of Tisamenus. 3. The mother of Aegialus by Adrastus.

Deiphobe, a daughter of the seer Glaucus and one of the Cumaean Sibyls. (Aeneid Book IV)

Deimas, a son of Dardanus and Chryse and brother of Idaeus, who when his family and a part of the Arcadian population emigrated, remained behind in Arcadia.

Demo, a name of Demeter. It also occurs as a proper name of other mythical beings, such as the Cumaean Sibyl and a daughter of Celeus and Metaneira, who, together with her sisters, kindly received Demeter at the well Callichoros in Attica.

Letters On Demonology And Witchcraft, by Sir Walter Scott

Elizabethan Demonology, by Thomas Alfred Spalding

Shakespeare and Demonology, by Thomas Alfred Spalding

Empire of the Supernatural by Thomas Alfred Spalding

Classification of Devils, by Thomas Alfred Spalding

Fairies and Devils, by Thomas Alfred Spalding

Demophon, the youngest son of Celeus and Metaneira, who was entrusted to the care of Demeter. He grew up under her without any human food, being fed by the goddess with her own milk, and ambrosia. During the night she used to place him in fire to secure to him eternal youth ; but once she was observed by Metaneira, who disturbed, the goddess by her cries, and the child Demophon was consumed by the flames.

Despina, or Despoena, the daughter of Poseidon and Demeter after they mated disguised as horses. Despoena, the ruling goddess or the mistress, occurs as a surname of several divinities, such as Aphrodite, Demeter and Persephone.

Despoena, 1. A goddess of fruit. A daughter of Demeter and Poseidon. Known as Pomona to the Romans 2. The ruling goddess or the mistress, occurs as a surname of several divinities, such as Aphrodite, Demeter and Persephone.

Deucalion, son of Prometheus and Clymene. He was king in Phthia, and married to Pyrr. When Zeus, after the treatment he had received from Lycaon, had resolved to destroy the degenerate race of men who inhabited the earth, Deucalion, on the advice of his father, built a ship, and carried into it stores of provisions and when Zeus sent a flood all over Hellas, which destroyed all its inhabitants, Deucalion and Pyrrha alone were saved.

Dias, father of Cleolla, the mother of Agamemnon by Pleisthenes.

Dice, the personification of justice, was, according to Hesiod, a daughter of Zeus and Themis, and the sister of Eunomia and Eirene. She was considered as one of the Horae; she watched the deeds of man, and approached the throne of Zeus with lamentations whenever a judge violated justice.

Diomede, a daughter of Phorbaa of Lemnos, was beloved by Achilles.

Diomedes, a son of Tydeus and Deipyle, the husband of Aegialeia, and the successor of Adrastus in the kingdom of Argos, though he was descended from an Aetolian family.

Dione, a female Titan, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and, according to others, of Uranus and Ge, or of Aether and Ge. She was beloved by Zeus, by whom she became the mother of Aphrodite.

Dionysia, festivals celebrated in various parts of Greece in honour of Dionysus. We have to consider under this head several festivals of the same deity, although some of them bore different names, for here, as in other cases, the name of the festival was sometimes derived from that of the god, sometimes from the place where it was celebrated, and sometimes from some particular circumstance connected with its celebration.

Dionysius, these mysterious rites were, at first, imparted to a few, but afterwards communicated to great numbers, both men and women

Dionysus, the youthful, beautiful, but effeminate god of wine. He is also called both by Greeks and Romans Bacchus, 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.

Pater On Dionysus

Dioscuri, sons of Zeus, the well-known heroes, Castor and Pollux, or Polydeuces

Dodon, a son of Zeus by Europa, from whom the oracle of Dodona was believed to have derived its name. Other traditions traced the name to a nymph of the name of Dodone.

Dolops, a son of Hermes, who had a sepulchral monument in the neighbourhood of Peiresiae and Magnesa, which was visible at a, great distance, and at which the Argonauts landed and offered up sacrifices. (Argonautica)

Doris, a daughter of Oceanus and Thetys, and the wife of her brother Nereus, by whom she became the mother of the Nereides. (Theogony 240, Metamorphoses by Ovid ii. 269.) The Latin poets sometimes use the name of this marine divinity for the sea itself.

Dorus, the mythical ancestor of the Dorians; he is described either as a son of Hellen, by the nymph Orseis, and a brother of Xuthus and Aeolus (Apollodorus i); or as a son of Apollo, by Phthia, and a brother of Laodocus and Polypoites (Apollodorus i), whereas Servius calls him a son of Poseidon.

Dryas, a son of Ares, and brother of Tereus, was one of the Calydonian hunters. He was murdered by his own brother, who had received an oracle, that his son Itys should fall by the hand of a relative.

Dryops, a son of the river-god Spercheius, by the Danaid Polydora or, according to others, a son of Lycaon (probably a mistake for Apollo) by Dia, the daughter of Lycaon, who concealed her new-born infant in a hollow oak tree.

E

Echidna, a daughter of Tartarus and Ge (Apollod.), or of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe and according to others again, of Peiras and Styx.

Echo, an Oreade, who when Zeus was playing with the nymphs, used to keep Hera at a distance by incessantly talking to her. In this manner Hera was not able to detect her faithless husband, and the nymphs had time to escape.

Eetion, a king of the Placian Thebe in Cilicia, and father of Andromache and Podes.

Eileithyia, also called Eleithyia, Eilethyia, or Eleutho. The ancients derive her name from the coming or helping goddess. She was the goddess of birth, who came to the assistance of women in labour; and when she was kindly disposed, she furthered the birth, but when she was angry, she protracted the labour and delayed the birth.

Elatus, a son of Ares by Leaneira, Metaneira, or by the nymph Chrysopeleia. He was a brother of Azan and Apheidas, and king of Arcadia. By his wife Laodice he had four sons, Stymphalus, Aepytus, Cyllen, and Pereus.

Electra,

Electra by Euripides, i. e. the bright or brilliant one. 1. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and the wife of Thaumas, by whom she became the mother of Iris and the Harpies, Aello and Ocypete. 2. A daughter of Atlas and Pleione, was one of the seven Pleiades, and became by Zeus the mother of Jasion and Dardanus.

Elara, a daughter of Orchomenus or Minyas, who became by Zeus the mother of the giant Tityus and Zeus, from fear of Hera, concealed her under the earth. (Apollodorus i. Argonautica) This was where she gave birth to Tityas, who some traditions state to be the son of Elara and Gaia, the earth goddess.

Eleuther, a son of Apollo and Aethusa, the daughter of Poseidon, was regarded as the founder of Eleutherae in Boeotia. He was the grandfather of Jasius and Poemander, the founder of Tanagra. He is said to have been the first that erected a statue of Dionysus, and spread the worship of the god.

Elysion, a section of the Underworld (the spelling Elysium is a Latinization of the Greek word Elysion). Elysium is an obscure and mysterious name that evolved from a designation of a place or person struck by lightning, enelysion, enelysios.

Enceladus, a son of Tartarus and Ge, and one of the hundred-armed giants who made war upon the gods. He was killed, according to some, by Zeus, by a flash of lightning, and buried under mount Aetna and according to others, he was killed by the chariot of Athena, or by the spear of Seilenus.

Endymion, a youth distinguished for his beauty, and renowned in ancient story by the perpetual sleep in which he spent his life.

Enipeus, an Oceanid and a son of Oceanus and Tethys.

Enyo, the goddess of war, who delights in bloodshed and the destruction of towns, and accompanies Mars in battles.

Epaphus, a son of Zeus and Io, who was born on the river Nile, after the long wanderings of his mother. He was then concealed by the Curetes, by the request of Hera, but Io sought and afterwards found him in Syria.

Ephialtes, 1 One of the giants, who in the war against the gods was deprived of his left eye by Apollo, and of the right by Heracles. (Apollodorus i) 2. One of the Aloeidae. When Iphimedeia and her daughter, Pancratis, celebrated the orgies of Dionysus on Mount Drius, they were carried off by Thracian pirates to Naxos or Strongyle; but both were delivered by the Aloadae Otus and Ephialtes.

Epidaurus, the mythical founder of Epidaurus, a son of Argos and Evadne, but according to Argive legends a son of Pelops, and according to those of Elis a son of Apollo.

Epimetheus, was the brother of Prometheus ("foresight", literally "fore-thought"), a pair of Titans who "acted as representatives of mankind" (Kerenyi 1951, p 207). They were the inseparable sons of Japetus, who in other contexts was the father of Atlas.

Eos, in Latin Aurora, the goddess of the morning red, who brings up the light of day from the east. She was a daughter of Hyperion and Theia or Euryphassa, and a sister of Helios and Selene.

Erato, a nymph and the wife of Ares, by whom she became the mother of Elatus, Apheidas, and Azan. She was said to have been a prophetic priestess of the Arcadian Pan.

Erechtheus Erichthonius. There can be little doubt but that the names Erichthonius and Erechtheus are identical; but whether the two heroes mentioned by Plato, Hyginus, and Apollodorus, the one of whom is usually called Erichthonius or Erechtheus I. and the other Erechtheus II., are likewise one and the same person, as Muller and others think, is not so certain, though highly probable.

Erebus, a primordial god, the personification of darkness.

Erigone, 1. A daughter of Icarius, seduced by Bacchus, who came into her father's house. 2. A daughter of Aegisthus and Clytaemnestra, and by Orestes the mother of Penthilus.

Erinnyes, Erinnyes or Eumenides (the Romans called them the Furies) were female personifications of vengeance. When a formulaic oath in the Iliad invokes "those who beneath the earth punish whoever has sworn a false oath" — "the Erinyes are simply an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath"

Eidothea, a daughter of the aged Proteus, who instructed Menelaus, in the island of Pharos at the mouth of the river Aegyptus, in what manner he might secure her father and compel him to say in what way he should return home.

Eriphyle, a daughter of Talaus and Lysimache, and the wife of Amphiaraus, whom she betrayed for the sake of the necklace of Harmonia.

Eris, Born of Ate and Zeus, or, according to Homer, Hera and Zeus (Iliad IV), she is the goddess who calls forth war and discord. According to the Iliad, she wanders about, at first small and insignificant, but she soon raises her head up to heaven (IV).

Eros, in Latin, Amor or Cupido, the god of love. In the sense in which he is usually conceived, Eros is the creature of the later Greek poets; and in order to understand the ancients properly we must distinguish three Erotes: viz. the Eros of the ancient cosmogonies, the Eros of the philosophers and mysteries, who bears great resemblance to the first, and the Eros whom we meet with in the epigrammatic and erotic poets, whose witty and playful descriptions of the god, however, can scarcely be considered as a part of the ancient religious belief of the Greeks.

Ersa and Pandeia, 1. The wife of Danaus and mother of Hippodice and Adiante. (Apollod. ii. 1.) 2. A daughter of Cecrops and sister of Agraulos, Pandrosos, and Erysichthon. She was the beloved of Hermes, and the mother of Cephalus.

Erysichthon, that is, the tearer up of the earth.

Eryx, in Apollodorus. ii he is called a son of Poseidon though others call him a son of Aphrodite and Butes of Sicily.

Eteocles, 1. A son of Andreus and Evippe, or of Cephisus, who was said to have been the first that offered sacrifices to the Charites at Orchomenos, in Boeotia. 2. A son of Oedipus and Jocaste.

Euboea, 1. A daughter of Asopus, from whom the island of Euboea was believed to have derived its name. 2. A daughter of the river-god Asterion near Mycenae, who together with her sisters Acraea and Prosymna acted as nurses to Hera.

Eurynomus, a daemon of the lower world, concerning whom there was a tradition at Delphi, according to which, he devoured the flesh of dead human bodies, and left nothing but the bones.

Euryale, the name of the three sisters known as the Gorgons; her name means Wide-Wanderer.

Eudora, a daughter of Nereus and Doris.

Euneus, a son of Jason by Hypsipyle, in the island of Lemnos, from whence he supplied the Greeks during their war against Troy with wine.

Euphemus, a son of Poseidon by Europa, the daughter of Tityus, or by Mecionice or Oris, a daughter of Orion or Eurotas.

Euphrosyne, One of the three Charites or Graces. The cheerful one, or life lived in exuberance and joy, the Goddess of mirth, and the incarnation of grace and beauty. A daughter of Zeus and Eurynome, or of Dionysus and Aphrodite.

Eumolpus, that is, " the good singer," a Thracian who is described as having come to Attica either as a bard, a warrior, or a priest of Demeter and Dionysus.

Euphorbus, a son of Panthous and brother of Hyperenor, was one of the bravest among the Trojans. He was the first who wounded Patroclus, but was afterwards slain by Menelaus, who subsequently dedicated the shield of Euphorbus in the temple of Hera, near Mycenae.

Eurotas, a son of Myles and grandson of Lelex. He was the father of Sparta, the wife of Lacedaemon, and is said to have carried the waters, stagnating in the plain of Lacedaemon, into the sea by means of a canal, and to have called the river which arose therefrom after his own name, Eurotas

Eurybia, a daughter of Pontus and Ge, who became by Crius the mother of Astraeus, Pallas, and Perses.

Eurydamas, 1. A son of Irus and Demonassa, was one of the Argonauts. Apollonius Rhodius calls him a son of Ctimenus. 2. One of the suitors of Penelope, who was killed by Odysseus.

Eurydice, the most famous was a woman—or a nymph—who was the wife of Orpheus. While fleeing from Aristaeus, she was bitten by a serpent and died. Distraught, Orpheus played such sad songs and sang so mournfully that all the nymphs and gods wept and gave him advice. Orpheus accomplished something no other person ever has: he traveled to the underworld and by his music softened the heart of Hades and Persephone, who allowed Eurydice to return with him to the world of the living.

Eurymedon, a Cabeirus, a son of Hephaestus and Cabeiro, and a brother of Alcon. 2. One of the attendants of Nestor. 3. A son of Ptolemaeus, and charioteer of Agamemnon; his tomb was shown at Mycenae.

Eurynome, a daughter of Oceanus. When Hephaestus was expelled by Hera from Olympus, Eurynome and Thetis received him in the bosom of the sea.

Eurytion, 1, A son of Irus and Demonassa, and a grandson of Actor, is mentioned among the Argonauts. (Argonautica) According to others he was a son of Actor, and he is also called Eurytus. (Apollodorus i) When Peleus was expelled from his dominions, he fled to Eurytion and married his daughter Antigone but in shooting at the Calydonian boar, Peleus inadvertently killed his father-in-law, (Apollodorus iii) 2. A centaur who took to flight during the fight of Heracles with the centaurs ; but he was afterwards killed by Heracles in the dominions of Dexamenus, whose daughter Eurytion was on the point of making his wife. (Apollodorus. ii)

Eurytus, a son of Melaneus and Stratonice was king of Oechalia, probably the Thessalian town of this name. He was a skilful archer and married to Antioche, by whom he became the father of lole, Iphitus, Molion or Deion, Clytius, and Toxeus.

Eurypylus, a son of Euaemon and Ops. He appears in the different traditions about him, as a hero of Ormenion, or Hyria, or as a king of Cyrene.

Europa, the daughter of Agenor, King of Phoenicia, or Telephassa, Her famous brother was Cadmus. She was a beautiful girl who caught the eye of Zeus one day while on the shore at Sidon (Tyre). He transformed himself into a snow-white bull with crescent horns among the herds of Agenor and lay down at her feet as she gathered flowers in the meadows with her attendants.

Euphemus, a son of Poseidon by Europa, the daughter of Tityus, or by Mecionice or Oris, a daughter of Orion or Eurotas.

Euryale, the name of the three sisters known as the Gorgons; her name means Wide-Wanderer.

Evadne, 1. A daughter of Poseidon and Pitane. Immediately after her birth, she was carried to the Arcadian king Aepytus, who brought her up. She afterwards became by Apollo the mother of Iamus. 2. A daughter of Iphis, or Philax. (Apollodorus iii) There are three other mythical personages of the same name.

Evippe, the name of five mythological personages, concerning whom nothing of interest is related. (Apollodorus. ii. Metamorphoses)

F

Fasti By Ovid,

The Fates, 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 Motpai in the plural. In his poems Moira is fate personified, which, at the birth of man, spins out the thread of his future life, follows his steps, and directs the consequences of his actions according to the counsel of the gods. 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.

Faula, was, according to some, a concubine of Heracles in Italy while, according to others, she was the wife or sister of Faunus. Latinus, who is called a son of Heracles by a concubine, was probably considered to be the son of Faula whereas the common tradition describes him as a son of Faunus. Faula was identified by some of the ancients with the Greek Aphrodite.

Faun, place-spirits (genii) of untamed woodland. Romans connected their fauns with the Greek satyrs, wild and orgiastic drunken followers of Dionysus. However, fauns and satyrs were originally quite different creatures. Both have horns and both resemble goats below the waist, humans above; but originally satyrs had human feet, fauns goatlike hooves. The Romans also had a god named Faunus and a goddess Fauna, who, like the fauns, were goat-people.

Faunus, 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.

G

Ganymedes, 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.

Gaia, the Protogenos and the personification of the earth. Mother Earth emerged at the beginning of creation to form the foundation of the universe.

Geryones Geryon, a son of Chrysaor and Calirrhoe, a fabulous king of Hesperia, who is described as a being with three heads, and possessing magnificent oxen in the island of Erytheia. He acts a prominent part in the stories of Heracles.

Gigantes, according to Homer, they were a gigantic and savage race of men, governed by Eurymedon, and dwelling in the distant west, in the island of Thrinacia; but they were extirpated by Eurymedon on account of their insolence towards the gods.

Glaucus, a grandson of Aeolus, son of Sisyphus and Merope, and father of Bellerophontes.

Gorgophone, a daughter of Perseus and Andromeda. Her name means "Gorgon Slayer", a tribute to her father who killed Medusa, the mortal Gorgon. Gorgophone is a central figure in the history of Sparta, having been married to two kings, Oebalus of Sparta (actually Lakonia, Sparta's region) and Perieres of Messenia, the region to the west of Lakonia which Sparta, in the late 8th or early 7th century B.C. enslaved.

Graeae, that is, " the old women," were daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They had grey hair from their birth. Hesiod mentions only two Graeae, viz. Pephredo and Enyo; Apollodorus adds Deino as a third, and Aeschylus also speaks of three Graeae.

Greece: A Smaller History:

The Greek Calendar

Greek Heroines

Gyges, the ordinary name of the hundred-armed giant, who is sometimes called Gyas or Gyes. (Apollodorus, Theogony 149, Fasti by Ovid)

H

Hades, or Pluton, Pluto, Plouton, Dis (Roman), and Aidoneus, the god of the lower world; Plato 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.

Halia, 1. One of the Nereides (Apollodorus i.) but the plural, Haliae, is used as a name for marine nymphs in general. 2. A sister of the Telchines in Rhodes, by whom Poseidon had six sons and one daughter, Rhodos or Rhode, from whom the island of Rhodes received its name. Halia, after leaping into the sea, received the name of Leucothea, and was worshipped as a divine being by the Rhodians.

Harmonia, a daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, or, according to others, of Zeus and Electra, the daughter of Atlas, in Samothrace. When Athena assigned to Cadmus the government of Thebes, Zeus gave him Harmoia for his wife, and all the gods of Olympus were present at the marriage. Cadmus on that day made her a present of a peplus and a necklace, which he had received either from Hephaestus or from Europa.

Harpina, a daughter of Asopus, from whom the town of Harpina or Harpinna in Elis was believed to have derived its name. She became by Ares the mother of Oenomaus.

Harpyia, that is, "the swift robbers," are, in the Homeric poems, nothing but personified storm winds. 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.

Hebe, the personification of youth, is described as a daughter of Zeus and Hera ( Apollodorus i), and is, according to the Iliad IV, the minister of the gods, who fills their cups with nectar; she assists Hera in putting the horses to her chariot and she bathes and dresses her brother Ares. According to the Odyssey xi she was married to Heracles after his apotheosis.

Hecabe, or in Latin Hecuba, a daughter of Dymas in Phrygia, and second wife of Priam, king of Troy. Some described her as a daughter of Cisseus, or the Phrygian river-god Sangarius and Metope.

Hecate, a mysterious divinity, who, according to the most common tradition, was a daughter of Persaeus or Perses and Asteria, whence she is called Perseis. Others describe her as a daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and state that she was sent out by her father in search of Persephone; others again make her a daughter of Zeus either by Pheraea or by Hera; and others, lastly, say that she was a daughter of Leto or Tartarus.

Hecatoncheires - Hundred-armed, were three gargantuan figures of Greek mythology. They were known as Briareus the Vigorous, Cottus the Furious, and Gyges (or Gyes) the Big-Limbed. Their name derives from Greek and means "Hundred-Handed", "each of them having a hundred hands and fifty heads".

Hegemone, that is, the leader or ruler, is the name of one of the Athenian Charites. When the Athenian ephebi took their civic oath, they invoked Hegemone. Hegemone occurs also as a surname of Artemis at Sparta, and in Arcadia.

Heliadae, the male and female descendants of Helios, and might accordingly be applied to all his children, but in mythology the name is given more particularly to the seven sons and the one daughter of Helios by Rhode or Rhodos. Their names are, Cercaphus, Actis, Macareus, Tanages, Triopas, Phaeton, Ochimus, and Electryone.

Helen, a daughter of Zeus and Leda, and the sister of Polydeuces and Castor; some traditions called her a daughter of Zeus by Nemesis. 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.

Helena, a daughter of Zeus and Leda, and the sister of Polydeuces and Castor; some traditions called her a daughter of Zeus by Nemesis. She was of surpassing beauty, and is said to have in her youth been carried off by Theseus, in conjunction with Peirithous to Attica.

Hellen, a son of Deucalion and Pyrrha, or, according to others, a son of Zeus and Dorippe (Argonautica), or of Prometheus and Clymene, and a brother of Deucalion. By the nymph Orseis, that is, the mountain nymph, he became the father of Aeolus, Dorus, and Xuthus to whom some add Amphictyon.

Helios, in Greece the cult of Helios was very ancient and was practised throughout the land, at Elis, at Apollonia, on the Acropolis of Corinth, at Argos, at Troezen, on Cape Taenarum, at Athens, in Thrace and finally, and especially, in the island of Rhodes which was sacred to him. In Rhodes could be seen.the colossal statue of HeIios, the renowned work of the sculptor Chares. It was about thirty yards high, and ships in full sail could pass between the god's legs.

Hemera, the light of the terrestrial regions as Aether is the light of the heavenly regions. The Protogenos and the female personification of day. Both were the offspring of Erebus and Nyx. Hemera was closely identified with Hera, the wife of Zeus, and Eos the goddess of the morning red, who brings up the light of day from the east.

Hephaistos, the god of smiths and metal-workers was the son of Hera. He was born lame, and his mother was so displeased at the sight of him that she flung him out of Olympus. Other accounts say that Zeus threw him out for taking his mother's part in a quarrel which occurred between them. Hephaistos's lameness, according to this account, was the consequence of his fall. He was a whole day falling, and at last alighted in the island of Lemnos, which was thenceforth sacred to him.

Hephaestus, the god of fire, was, according to the Homeric account, the son of Zeus and Hera The Romans, when speaking of the Greek Hephaestus, call him Vulcan or Vulcanus, although Vulcanus was an original Italian divinity. 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.

Hermione, the only daughter of Menelaus and Helena, and beautiful, like the golden Aphrodite. As she was a granddaughter of Leda, the mother of Helena Virgil calls her Ledaea. During the war against Troy, Menelaus promised her in marriage to Neoptolemus and after his return he fulfilled his promise.

Herophilus, a daughter of Poseidon and Aphrodite and a sister of the Oceanide Rhode. The younger of the Erythraean Sibylla she prophesied that Helen would be the ruin of both Asia and Europe.

Hesperus, 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. Diodorus calls him a son of Atlas, who was fond of astronomy, and once, after having ascended Mount Atlas to observe the stars, he disappeared.

Hestia, 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.

Heracles, 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.

Hera, probably identical with kera, mistress, just as her husband, Zeus, was called eppos in the Aeolian dialect. 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, were not introduced into Greece from Egypt.

Herma, in ancient Greece, before his role as protector of merchants and travelers, Hermes was a phallic god, associated with fertility, luck, roads and borders. His name comes from the word herma (plural hermai) referring to a square or rectangular pillar of stone, terracotta, or bronze; a bust of Hermes' head, usually with a beard, sat on the top of the pillar, and male genitals adorned the base.

Hermes, a son of Zeus and Maia, the daughter of Atlas, was born in a cave of Mount Cyllene in Arcadia whence he is called Atlantiades or Cyllenius ; but Philostratus 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.

Hermaphroditos, the name is compounded of Hermes and Aphrodite. He was originally a male Aphrodite (Aphroditus), and represented as a Hermes with the phallus, the symbol of fertility, but afterwards as a divine being combining the two sexes, and usually with the head, breasts, and body of a female, but with the sexual parts of a man.

Herodotus - The History

Herophile, a daughter of Poseidon and Aphrodite and a sister of the Oceanide Rhode. The younger of the Erythraean Sibylla she prophesied that Helen would be the ruin of both Asia and Europe.

Herse, 1. The wife of Danaus and mother of Hippodice and Adiante. 2. A daughter of Cecrops and sister of Agraulos, Pandrosos, and Erysichthon. She was the beloved of Hermes, and the mother of Cephalus.

Hesione, a daughter of Laomedon, and consequently a sister of Priam. When Troy was visited by a plague and a monster oh account of Laomedon's breach of promise, Laomedon, in order to get rid of these calamities, chained Hesione to a rock, in accordance with the command of an oracle, where she was to be devoured by wild beasts.

Hesiod's Theogony

Life of Hesiod

The Hesperides, these goddesses of evenings and the golden light of sunset were the famous guardians of the golden apples which Ge had given to Hera at her marriage with Zeus. Their names are Aegle, Erytheia, Hestia, and Arethusa, but their descent is not the same in the different traditions; sometimes they are called the daughters of Night or Erebus (Theogony of Hesiod 215), sometimes of Phorcys and Ceto, sometimes of Atlas and Hesperis, whence their names Atlantides or Hesperides, and sometimes of Hesperus, or of Zeus and Themis

Himerus or Phanes, a mystic divinity in the system of the Orphics, is also called Eros, Ericapaeus, Himerus Metis, and Protogonus. He is said to have sprung from the mystic mundane egg, and to have been the father of all gods, and the creator of men. Phanes means "Manifestor" or "Revealer," and is related to the Greek words "light" and "to shine forth."

Himerus, the personification of longing love, is first mentioned by Hesiod, where he and Eros appear as the companions of Aphrodite. He is sometimes seen in works of art representing erotic circles and in the temple of Aphrodite at Megara, he was represented by Scopas, together with Eros and Pothus.

Hippocoon, the eldest, but natural son of Oebalus and Bateia, and a stepbrother of Tyndareus, Icarius and Arene, at Sparta. After his father's death, Hippocoon expelled his brother Tyndareus, in order to secure the kingdom to himself; but Heracles led Tyndareus back and slew Hippocoon and his sons.

Hippotes, 1. The father of Aeolus. 2. A son of Phylas by a daughter of Iolaus, and a great-grandson of Heracles. When the Heracleidae, on their invading Peloponnesus, were encamped near Naupactus, Hippotes killed the seer Carnus, in consequence of which the army of the Heracleidae began to suffer very severely, and Hippotes by the command of an oracle was banished for a period of ten years.

Hippothoe, 1. a daughter of Nereus and Doris (Theogony of Hesiod 251) 2. a daughter of Danaus (Hygin. Fab. 170.) 3. an Amazon (Hygin. Fab. 163) ; 4. a daughter of Pelias and Anaxibia (Apollod. i. 9. § 10) 5. a daughter of Nestor and Lysidice, became by Poseidon the mother of Taphius.

Hippothoon, an Attic hero, a son of Poseidon and Alope, the daughter of Cercyon. He had a heroum at Athens and one of the Attic phylae was called after him Hippothoontis.

Hippothous, a son of Cercyon, and father of Aepytus, who succeeded Agapenor as king in Arcadia, where he took up his residence, not at Tegea, but at Trapezus.

Hippolyte, 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.

Hierax, 1. the name of two mythical personages, respecting whom nothing of interest is related. 2. A musician of the Mythic period, before the Trojan war. He is said to have invented the Hieracian measure and to have been the friend and disciple of Olympus the musician. He died young.

Homeric Hymns, by Andrew Lang

Horae, originally the personifications or goddesses of the order of nature and of the seasons, but in later times they were regarded as the goddesses of order in general and of justice. In Homer, who neither mentions their parents nor their number, they are the Olympian divinities of the weather and the ministers of Zeus; and in this capacity they guard the doors of Olympus, and promote the fertility of the earth, by the various kinds of weather they send down.

Hubris, the daughter of Erebus and Nyx and the female spirit of insolence, violence, wantonness, reckless pride, arrogance and outrageous behaviour in general.

Hyacinthus, the youngest son of the Spartan king Amyclas and Diomede (Apollodorus iii), but according to others a son of Pierus and Clio, or of Oebalus or Eurotas. He was a youth of extraordinary beauty, and beloved by Thamyris and Apollo, who unintentionally killed him during a game of discus.

Hyades, that is, the rainy, the name of a class of nymphs whose number, names, and descent, are described in various ways by the ancients. Their parents were Atlas and Aethra ( Fasti by Ovid), Atlas and Pleione, or Hyas and Boeotia; and others call their father Oceanus, Melisseus, Cadmilus, or Erechtheus.

Hylas, a son of Theiodamas, king of the Dryopes, by the nymph Menodice (Argonautica) or, according to others, a son of Heracles, Euphemus, or Ceyx. He was the favourite of Heracles, who, after having killed his father, Theiodamas, took him with him when he joined the expedition of the Argonauts. (Argonautica) When the Argonauts landed on the coast of Mysia, Hylas went out to fetch water for Heracles but when he came to a well, his beauty excited the love of the Naiads, who drew him down into the water, and he was never seen again.

Hyas, the name of the father and brother of the Hyades. The father was married to Boeotia, and was looked upon as the ancestor of the ancient Hyantes. His son, or the brother of the Hyades, was killed in Libya by an animal, a serpent, a boar, or a lion.

Hymen, 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 or perhaps in Sappho.

Hyperion, 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. (Theogony of Hesiod 134, 371) 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.

Hyperenor, one of the Spartae, or the men that grew up from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus, was worshipped as a hero at Thebes. (Apollodorus iii) There are two other mythical personages of this name, one a son of Poseidon and Alcyone (Apollodorus iii), and the other a son of the Trojan Panthous, who was slain by Menelaus.

Hypermnestra, a daughter of Thestius and Eurythemis, and the wife of Oicles, by whom she became the mother of Amphiaraus. Her tomb was shown at Argos. One of the daughters of Danaus was likewise called Hypermnestra.

Hymns of Orpheus

Hypnos, the personification and god of sleep, the Greek Hypnos, is described by the ancients as a brother of Death and as a son of Night. At Sicyon there was a statue of Sleep surnamed the giver. In works of art Sleep and Death are represented alike as two youths sleeping or holding inverted torches in their hands.

Hypseus, a son of Peneius, and the Naiad Creusa, or Phillyra, the daughter of Asopus, was king of the Lapithae, and married to Chlidanope, by whom he became the father of Cyrene, Alcaea, Themisto, and Astyageia. ( Apollodorus) Another personage of this name occurs in Ovid ( Metamorphoses v by Ovid).

Hyrieus, a son of Poseidon and Alcyone, was king of Hyria in Boeotia, and married to the nymph Clonia, by whom he became the father of Nycteus, Lycus, and Orion.

I

Iamus, a son of Apollo and Evadne, was initiated in the art of prophecy by his father, and was regarded as the ancestor of the famous family of seers, the lamidae at Olympia.

Iasion, also called Iasius, was, according to some, a son of Zeus and Electra, tLe daughter of Atlas, and a brother of Dardanus (Theogony of Hesiod 970 ) but others called him a son of Corythus and Electra, of Zeus and the nymph Hemera, or of Ilithyius, or of Minos and the nymph Pyronia.

Icarius, also called Icarus and Icarion. An Athenian, who lived in the reign of Pandion, and hospitably received Dionysus on his arrival in Attica. The god showed him his gratitude by teaching him the cultivation of the vine, and giving him bags filled with wine. Icarius now rode about in a chariot, and distributed the precious gifts of the god; but some shepherds whom their friends intoxicated with wine, and who thought that they were poisoned by Icarius, slew him, and threw his body into the well Anygrus, or buried it under a tree.

Idas, 1. A person who was killed by Phineus at the wedding of Perseus. (Ov. Met. v. 90.) 2. A son of Aegyptus, who was married to Hippodice. (Apollodorus. ii.) 3. One of the companions of Diomedes, who were metamorphosed into birds by the anger of Aphrodite. ( Metamorphoses V) 4. A son of Aphareus and Arene, the daughter of Oebalus, whence he and his brother Lyriceus are called Apharetides, or Aphareidae.

Idaeus, a son of Dardanus and Chryse, and brother of Deimas, went with his father from Peloponnesus, by way of Samothrace, to Phrygia, and settled on the mountains of Phrygia, which derived from him the name of Ida, or the Idaean mountains.

Ilus, 1. A son of Dardanus by Bateia, the daughter of Teucer. Ilus died without issue, and left his kingdom to his brother, Erichthonius. 2. A son of Tros, and grandson of Erichthonius. His mother was Calirrhoe, and being a great-grandson of Dardanus, he is called Dardanides.

Inachus, a river god and king of Argos, is described as a son of Oceanus and Tethys. By a Melian nymph, a daughter of Oceanus, or, according to others, by his sister Argeia, he became the father of Phoroneus and Aegialeus, to whom others add Io, Argos Panoptes, and Phegeus or Pegeus.

Iphigeneia, according to the most common tradition, a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra but, according to others, a daughter of Theseus and Helena, and brought up by Clytaemnestra only as a foster-child. Agamemnon had once killed a stag in the grove of Artemis, or had boasted that the goddess herself could not hit better, or, according to another story, in the year in which Iphigeneia was born, he had vowed to sacrifice the most beautiful thing which that year might produce, but had afterwards neglected to fulfil his vow.

Iphimedeia, a daughter of Triops, and the wife of Aloeus. Being in love with Poseidon, she often walked to the sea, and collected its waters in her lap, whence she became, by Poseidon, the mother of the Aloadae, Otus and Ephialtes.

Iphis, a young man of humble parentage who died for love of Anaxarete

Iphitus, 1. A son of Eurytus of Oechalia, is mentioned among the Argonauts, but was killed by Heracles. 2. A son of Naubolus, and father of Schedius, Epistrophus, and Eurynome, in Phocis, was likewise one of the Argonauts.

Iphthima, 1. One of the Nereides, and the mother of the Satyrs. 2. A daughter of Icarius, and sister of Penelope. Athena assumed the appearance of Iphthime, when she appeared to the unfortunate mother of Telemachus.

Iris, A daughter of Thaumas (whence she is called Thaumantias) and Electra, and sister of the Harpies.

Irus, a son of Actor, and father of Eurydamas and Eurytion. He propitiated Peleus for the murder of his brother but during the chase of the Calydonian boar, Peleus unintentionally killed Eurytion, the son of Irus, Peleus endeavoured to soothe him by offering him his flocks but Irus would not accept them, and at the command of an oracle, Peleus allowed them to run wherever they pleased. A wolf devoured the sheep, but was thereupon changed into a stone, which was shown in later times on the frontier between Locris and Phocis.

Ischys, a son of Elatus, and the beloved of Coronis at the time when she was with child (Asclepius) by Apollo. The god wishing to punish her faithlessness, caused Artemis to kill her, together with Ischys.

Ismenius, 1. A son of Apollo and Melia, who is said to have given his name to the Boeotian river which was before called Ladon or Cadmus. 2. A surname of Apollo at Thebes, who had a temple on the river Ismenus. The sanctuary of the god, at which the Daphnephoria was celebrated, bore the name of Ismenium, and was situated outside the city.

Itonius, Itonia, Itonias, Itonis or Itonius, a surname of Athena, derived from the town of Iton, in the south of Phthiotis. The goddess there had a celebrated sanctuary and festivals, and is hence also called Incolaltoni. From Iton her worship spread into Boeotia and the country about lake Copais, where the Pamboeotia was celebrated, in the neighbourhood of a temple and grove of Athena.

Ixion, a son of Phlegyas or, according to others, a son of Antion by Perimela, of Pasion, or of Ares. According to the common tradition, his mother was Dia, a daughter of Deioneus. He was king of the Lapithae or Phlegyes, and the father of Peirithous.

J

Jason, i.e. the healer or atoner, a name which the hero was said to have received from Cheiron, his instructor, having before been called Diomedes. The chief exploits of this hero are related in the article Argonautae, and we therefore confine ourselves now to his personal history.

Japetus, a son of Uranus and Ge, a Titan and brother of Cronus, Oceanus, Coeus, Hyperion, Tethys, Rhea, etc. According to Apollodorus 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.

Juno, a Roman goddess of marriage and the long-suffering wife of Jupiter. Like her Greek equivalent, Hera, she was the protector of women, in particular married women. A festival took place in her honor on the calends (first) of March. When referred to as Juno Lucina she was the goddess of childbirth.

Jupiter, Jupiter is, properly speaking, a derivation of Jove and pater (Latin for father) The name of the god was also adopted as the name of the planet Jupiter, and was the original namesake of the weekday that would come to be known in English as Thursday (the etymological root can be seen in French jeudi, from Jovis Dies). The Indo-European deity who also evolved into the Germanic Tiwaz (after whom Tuesday was named), the Greek Zeus, and Dyaus Pita of the Vedic religion. Jove is a vocative form of the name, evolved from Dyeus.

L

Lacedaemon, a son of Zeus by Taygete, was married to Sparta, the daughter of Eurotas, by whom he became the father of Amyclas, Eurydice, and Asine. He was king of the country which he called after his own name, Lacedaemon, while he gave to his capital the name of his wife, Sparta.

Ladon, 1. A river god of Arcadia, is described as a son of Oceanus and Thetys, and as the husband of Stymplialis, by whom he became the father of Daphne and Metope. 2. The dragon who was believed to guard the apples of the Hesperides. He is said to have been able to assume various tones of voice, and to have been the offspring of Typhon and Echidna but he is also called a son of Ge, or of Phorcys and Ceto. He had been appointed to watch in the gardens of the Hesperides by Juno, and never slept; but he was slain by Heracles and the image of the fight was placed by Zeus among the stars.

Lamia, 1. A daughter of Poseidon, became by Zeus the mother of the Sibyl Herophile. 2. A female phantom, by which children were frightened. According to tradition, she was originally a Libyan queen, of great beauty and a daughter of Belus. She was beloved by Zeus, and Hera in her jealousy robbed her of her children. Lamia, from revenge and despair, robbed others of their children, and murdered them; and the savage cruelty in which she now indulged rendered her ugly, and her face became fearfully distorted. Zeus gave her the power of taking her eyes out of her head, and putting them in again.

Lamia by John Keats, A son of Apollo and Phthia, a brother of Dorus and Polypoethes, in Curetis, was killed by Aetolus. (Apollodorus i) 2. A son of Bias and Pero, and a brother of Talaus, took part in the expedition of the Argonauts, and in that of the Seven against Thebes. (Apollodorus iii : Argonautica) 3. A son of Antenor. 4. The friend and charioteer of Antilochus.

Laodocus, a son of Apollo and Phthia, a brother of Dorus and Polypoethes, in Curetis, was killed by Aetolus.

Lampus, 1. One of the sons of Aegyptus. (Apollodorus. ii.) 2. A son of Laomedon, and father of Dolops, was one of the Trojan elders. 3. The name of two horses, one belonging to Eos, the other to Hector.

Laodice, a Hyperborean maiden, who, together with Hyperbche, and five companions, was sent from the country of the Hyperboreans to carry sacrifices to the island of Delos.

Laodameia, 1. A daughter of Bellerophontes, became by Zeus the mother of Sarpedon, and was killed by Artemis while she was engaged in weaving. 2. A daughter of Acastus, and wife of Protesilaus. As the latter, shortly after his marriage, joined the Greeks in their expedition against Troy, and was the first that was killed there, Laodameia sued for the favour of the gods to be allowed to converse with him only for three hours. The request was granted: Hermes led Protesilaus back to the upper world, and when Protesilaus died a second time, Laodameia died with him.

Laodamia by Wordsworth

Lapithes, a son of Apollo and Stilbe, the brother of Centaurus, and husband of Orsinome, the daughter of Eurynomus, by whom he became the father of Phorbas, Triopas, and Periphas. He was regarded as the ancestor of the Lapithae in the mountains of Thessaly.

Latinus, a king of Latium, is described in the common tradition as a son of Faunus and the nymph Marica, as a brother of Lavinius, and the husband of Amata, by whom he became the father of Lavinia, whom he gave in marriage to Aeneas. But along with this there are a variety of other traditions. Hesiod calls him a son of Odysseus and Circe, and brother of Agrius, king of the Tyrrhenians, and Hyginus calls him a son of Telemachus and Circe, while others describe him as a son of Heracles, by an Hyperborean woman, who was afterwards married to Faunus, or as a son of Heracles by a daughter of Faunus.

Latona, the Roman name of the Greek goddess Leto. One of the Titans - the first generation of Greek gods, she was the daughter of the Titan Coeus and Phoebe and mother to the twin gods, Apollo and Artemis, whose father was Zeus.

Lausus, 1. A son of Mezentius, who was slain while defending his father against Aeneas. (The Aeneid Book VII) According to the author of the De Orig. Gent. Rom., Lausus fell at a later time, during the siege of Lavinium, by the hand of Ascanius. 2. A son of Numitor and brother of Ilia, was fraudulently killed by Amulius.

Lavinia, a daughter of Latinus and Amata, and the wife of Aeneas, by whom she became the mother of Ascanius or Silvius. (The Aeneid Book VII) Some traditions describe her as the daughter of the priest Anius, in Delos.

Leda, a daughter of Thestius, whence she is called Thestias but others call her a daughter of Thespius, Thyestes, or Glaucus, by Laophonte, Deidamia, Leucippe, Eurythemis, or Paneidyia. She was the wife of Tyndareus, by whom she became the mother of Timandra, Clytaemnestra, and Philonoe.

Lelex, one of the original inhabitants of Laconia which was called after him, its first king, Lelegia. He was married to the Naiad Cleochareia, by whom he became the father of Myles, Polycaon, and Eurotas. He had a heroum at Sparta.

Lemures, spectres or spirits of the dead, which were believed by the Romans to return to the upper world and injure the living. Some writers describe Lemures as the common name for all the spirits of the dead and divide all Lemures into two classes; viz. the souls of those who have been good men are said to become Lares, while those of the wicked become Larvae.

Lethe, the personification of oblivion, is called by Hesiod (Theogony of Hesiod 227) a daughter of Strife. Lethe is one of the rivers of Hades. Drinking from the river Lethe caused complete forgetfulness. Some ancient Greeks believed that souls were made to drink from the river before being reincarnated, so they would not remember their past lives.

Leto, in Latin Latona, according to Hesiod (Theogony of Hesiod 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.

Leucippe, 1. One of the nymphs who was with Persephone at the time she was carried off. 2. The wife of Ilus, and mother of Laomedon. 3. A daughter of Thestor. 4. The wife of Thestius. 5. A daughter of Minyas of Orchomenos.

Leucippus, 1. A son of Oenomaus. 2. A son of Perieres and Gorgophone, and brother of Aphareus. He was the father of Arsinoe, Phoebe, and Hilaeira, and prince of the Messenians. He is mentioned among the Calydonian hunters, and the Boeotian town of Leuctra is said to have derived its name from him.

Libya, 1. A daughter of Epaphus and Memphis, from whom Libya (Africa) is said to have derived its name. By Poseidon she is said to have been the mother of Agenor, Belus and Lelex. 2. A daughter of Palamedes, and by Hermes the mother of Libys. 3. A sister of Asia.

Ligeia, i. e. the shrill sounding, occurs as the name of a seiren and of a nymph.

Ligyron, i. e. the whining, is said to have been the original name of Achilles, and to have been changed into Achilles by Cheiron.

Limnaea,Limnetes, Limnegenes, i. e. inhabiting or born in a lake or marsh, is a surname of several divinities who were believed either to have sprung from a lake, or had their temples near a lake. Instances are, Dionysus at Athens, and Artemis at Sicyon, near Epidaurus, on the frontiers between Laconia and Messenia, near Calamae, at Tegea, Patrae; it is also used as a surname of nymphs that dwell in lakes or marshes.

Linus, the personification of a dirge or lamentation, and therefore described as a son ef Apollo by a Muse Calliope, or by Psamathe or Chalciope, (Apollodorus i), or of Amphimarus by Urania.

Litae, a personification of the prayers offered up in repentance. They are described as the lame and wrinkled daughters of Zeus and Eris, and as following closely behind crime, and endeavouring to make amends for what has been done; but whoever disdains to receive them, has himself to atone for the crime that has been committed.

Locrus, 1. A son of Physcius and grandson of Amphictyon, became by Cabya the father of Locrus, the mythical ancestor of the Ozolian Locrians. According to some the wife of the former Locrus was called Cambyse or Protogeneia. 2. A son of Zeus and Maera, the daughter of the Argive king Proetus arid Antaia. He is said

Lotis, a nymph, who in her escape from the embraces of Priapus was metamorphosed into a tree, called after her Lotis.

Lucian of Samosata Works,

Luna, the moon. The sun and the moon were worshipped both by Greeks and Romans, and among the latter the worship of Luna is said to have been introduced by the Sabine T. Tatius, in the time of Romulus. But, however this may be, it is certain, notwithstanding the assertion of Varro, that Sol and Luna were reckoned among the great gods, that their worship never occupied any prominent place in the religion of the Romans, for the two divinities had between them only a small chapel in the Via Sacra.

Lybie and Lamia, Lybie was the mother of Lamia by Poseidon and as there are virtually no references to Lybie in classical literature it seem likely that Lamia, Lybie and the Lamiae are all variations of the same myth concerning the beautiful queen of Libya, daughter of Belus and Libya. Lamia, in Greek mythology, queen of Libya. She was beloved by Zeus, and when Hera robbed her of her children out of jealousy, she killed every child she could get into her power. Hence Lamia came to mean a female bogey or demon, whose name was used by Greek mothers to frighten their children; from the Greek she passed into Roman demonology.

Lycomedes, a king of the Dolopians, in the island of Scyros, near Euboea, father of Deidameia, and grandfather of Pyr-rhus or Neoptolemus. (Apollodorus iii) Once when Theseus came to him, Lycomedes, dreading the influence of the stranger upon his own sub:ects, thrust him down a rock. Some related that the cause of this violence was that Lycomedes would not give up the estates which Theseus had in Scyros, or the circumstance that Lycomedes wanted to gain the favour of Menestheus.

Lycus, 1. One of the sons of Aegyptus. 2. A son of Poseidon and Celaeno, who was transferred by his father to the islands of the blessed. 3. A son of Hyrieus, and husband of Dirce, one of the mythical kings of Thebes. 4. A tyrant of Thebes, is likewise called by some a son of Poseidon, though Euripides calls him a son of Lycus

Lycaon, a son of Pelasgus by Meliboea, the daughter of Oceanus, and king of Arcadia. Others call him a son of Pelasgus by Cyllene (Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 1642), and Dionysius of Halicarnassus distinguishes between an elder and a younger Lycaon, the former of whom is called a son of Aezeus and father of Deianeira, by whom Pelasgus became the father of the younger Lycaon.

Lynceus, 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 Abas.

Lyre, a lyre is a stringed musical instrument well known for its use in Classical Antiquity. The recitations of the Ancient Greeks were accompanied by it.

Lyrus, a son of Anchises and Aphrodite and brother of Aeneas

From Apollodorus iii:
This Ganymede, for the sake of his beauty, Zeus caught up on an eagle and appointed him cupbearer of the gods in heaven and Assaracus had by his wife Hieromneme, daughter of Simoeis, a son Capys and Capys had by his wife Themiste, daughter of Ilus, a son Anchises, whom Aphrodite met in love's dalliance, and to whom she bore Aeneas and Lyrus, who died childless.

Lysithea, a daughter of Oceanus by Tethys and one of Zeus' lovers.

M

Macedon, a son of Zeus and Thyia, and a brother of Magnes, from whom Macedonia was believed to have derived its name.

Medeia, a daughter of Aeetes by the Oceanid Idyia, or, according to others, by Hecate, the daughter, of Perses.

Maenades, the priestesses of Dionysus, who at the celebration of his festivals gave way to expressions of frenzied enthusiasm, as if they were under the spell of some demonic power.

Maia, or Mcuas, a daughter of Atlas and Pleione (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.

Magnes, 1. A son of Aeolus and Enarete, became the father of Polydectes and Dictys by a Naiad. The scholiast of Euripides calls his wife Philodice, and his sons Eurynomus and Eioneus but Eustathius calls his wife Meliboea, and mentions one son Alector, and adds that he called the town of Meliboea, at the foot of mount Pelion, after his wife, and the country of Magnesia after his own name. 2. A son of Argos and Perimele, and father of Hymenaeus from him also a portion of Thessaly derived its: name Magnesia. 3. A son of Zeus and Thyia, and brother of Macedon.

Maliades, nymphs who were worshipped as the protectors of flocks and of fruit-trees. The same name is also given to the nymphs of the district of the Malians on the river Spercheius.

Manes, 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.

Mantius, a son of Melampus, brother of Antiphates and the father of Cleitus.

Marpessa, a daughter of Evenus and Alcippe. She was the wife of Idas and became by him the mother of Cleopatra, or Alcyone, wife of Meleager. Their daughter was called Alcyone because Marpessa was once carried off by Apollo, and lamented over the separation from her beloved husband, as Alcyon had once wept about Ceyx.

Marsyas, or Mapotfas, 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.

Medusa, a daughter of Phorcys and Ceto, and one of the Gorgons.

Megapenthes, a son of Proetus, was king of Argos, and father of Anaxagoras and Iphianeira. He exchanged his dominion for that of Perseus, so that the latter received Tiryns instead of Argos. (Apollodorus. ii.) He is said to have afterwards slain Perseus.

Melaneus, a son of Apollo, and king of the Dryopes, He was the father of Eurytus and a famous archer. According to a Messenian legend Melaneus came to Perieres who assigned to him a town as his habitation which he called Oechalia, after his wife's name.

Melampus, a son of Amythaon by Eidomene, or according to others, by Aglaia or Hhodope and a brother of Bias. He was looked upon by the ancients as the first mortal that had been endowed with prophetic powers, as the person that first practised the medical art, and established the worship of Dionysus in Greece.

Melanippe, a daughter of Cheiron, is also called Euippe. Being with child by Aeolus, she fled to mount Pelion but Cheiron made search after her and in order that her condition might not become known, she prayed to be metamorphosed into a mare. Artemis granted the prayer, and in the form of a horse she was placed among the stars.

Meleager, a son of Oeneus and Althaea, the daughter of Thestius, and was married to Cleopatra, by whom he became the father of Polydora.

Melia, a nymph, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, became by Inachus the mother of Phoroneus and Aegialeus or Pegeus. (Apollodorus. ii) By Seilenus she became the mother of the centaur, Pholus (Apollodorus. ii), and by Poseidon of Amycus.

Meliboea, 1. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and, by Pelasgus, the mother of Lycaon. 2. A daughter of Magnes, who called the town of Meliboea, in Magnesia, after her. 3. One of the daughters of Niobe.

Melinoe, or Chthonia, may mean the subterraneous, or the goddess of the earth, that is, the protectress of the fields, whence it is used as a surname of infernal divinities, such as Hecate, but especially of Demeter.

Melissus, an ancient king of Crete, who, by Amalthea, became the father of the nymphs Adrastea and Ida, to whom Rhea entrusted the infant Zeus to be brought up. Other accounts call the daughters of this king Melissa and Amalthea.

Memphis, 1. A daughter of Nilus and wife of Epaphus, by whom she became the mother of Libya. The town of Memphis in Egypt was said to have derived its name from her. Others call her a daughter of the river-god Uchoreus, and add that by Nilus she became the mother of Aegyptus. 2. One of the daughters of Danaus.

Mentes, 1. The leader of tho Cicones in the Trojan war, whose appearance Apollo assumed when he went to encourage Hector. 2. A son of Anchialus, king of the Taphians north of Ithaca. He was connected by ties of hospitality with the house of Odysseus. When Athena visited Telemachus, she assumed the personal appearance of Mentes.

Menesthius, 1. A son of Areithous and Philomedusa, of Arne in Boeotia, was slain at Troy by Paris. 2. A son of the river-god Spercheius or of Borus and Polydora, was one of the commanders of the hosts of Achilles.

Menelaus, a son of Atreus, and younger brother of Agamemnon and Anaxibia. He was king of Lacedaemon, and married to the beautiful Helen, by whom he was the father of Hermione and Megapenthes.

Menoetius, 1. A son of Japetus and Clymene or Asia, and a brother of Atlas, Prometheus and, Epimetheus, was killed by Zeus with a flash of lightning, in the fight of the Titans, and thrown into Tartarus. 2. A son of Ceuthonyraus, a guard of the oxen of Pluto. 3. A son of Actor and Aegina, a step-brother of Aeacus, and husband of Polymele, by whom he became the father of Patroclus.

Metion, a son of Erechtheus and Praxithea, and husband of Alcippe. His sons, the Metionidae, expelled their cousin Pandion from his kingdom of Athens, but were themselves afterwards expelled by the sons of Pandion.

Merope, 1. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and by Clymenus the mother of Phaeton. 2. One of the Heliades or sisters of Phaeton

Messene, a daughter of Triopas, and wife of Polycaon, whom she induced to take possession of the country which was called after her, Messenia. She is also said to have introduced there the worship of Zeus and the mysteries of the great goddess of Eleusis. In the town of Messene she was honoured with a temple and heroic worship.

Metaneira, the wife of Celeus, and mother of Triptolemus, received Demeter on her arrival in Attica. Pausanias calls her Meganaera.

Metis, the personification of prudence, is described as a daughter of Oceanus and Thetys. At the instigation of Zeus, she gave to Cronos a vomitive, whereupon he brought back his children whom he had devoured.

Mezentius, 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.

Mimallones, the Macedonian name of the Bacchantes, or, according to others, of Bacchic Amazons.

Mimas, 1. A Centaur. 2. A giant who is said to have been killed by Ares, or by Zeus with a flash of lightning. The island of Prochyte, near Sicily, was believed to rest upon his body. 3. A son of Aeolus, king of Aeolis, and father of Hippotes. 4. A son of Amycus and Theano, was born in the same night as Paris. He was a companion of Aeneas, and slain by Mezentius.

Minotaurus, 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.

Minos, 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.

Molpadia, an Amazon, who was said to have killed Antiope, another Amazon, and was afterwards slain herself by Theseus. Her tomb was shown at Athens.

Momus, a son of Nyx, is a personification of mockery and censure. 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,

Menoetius, 1. A son of Japetus and Clymene or Asia, and a brother of Atlas, Prometheus and, Epimetheus, was killed by Zeus with a flash of lightning, in the fight of the Titans, and thrown into Tartarus. (Theogony of Hesiod 507) 2. A son of Ceuthonyraus, a guard of the oxen of Pluto. 3. A son of Actor and Aegina, a step-brother of Aeacus, and husband of Polymele, by whom he became the father of Patroclus.

Metaneira, the wife of Celeus, and mother of Triptolemus, received Demeter on her arrival in Attica. Pausanias calls her Meganaera.

Minerva. The name Minerva is connected with the root man as or mens. She first appeared in Etruria under the names of Minrva, Menrfa, Menervra. Menarv, and was perhaps a goddess of the thunderbolt. It seems that this Etruscan Minerva very early merged with the Greek Athene. Minerva is hence the least ltalic of the divinities with whom she formed the triad Jupiter-Juno-Minerva.

Mnemosyne, sometimes confused with Mneme, was the personification of memory in Greek mythology. This titaness was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus and the mother of the Muses by Zeus.

Moirai, 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 Motpai in the plural. In his poems Moira is fate personified, which, at the birth of man, spins out the thread of his future life, follows his steps, and directs the consequences of his actions according to the counsel of the gods. 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.

Murcury. The name Mercury is connected with the root merx (merchandise) and mercari (to deal, trade). The early Romans, being above all countrymen, had no need for a god of commerce. The Roman Mercury appeared only about the fifth century BCE. and was exclusively the god of merchants. For long he was known only in this capacity. so that Plautus. in his prologue to Amphitryon, reminds his audience that Mercury presided over messages and commerce. Like certain other minor divinities - Pecunia, Aesculanus, Argentinus - he watched over tradesmen's profits.

Musaeus, a semi-mythological personage, to be classed with Olen, Orpheus, and Pamphus. He was regarded as the author of various poetical compositions, especially as connected with the mystic rites of Demeter at Eleusis, over which the legend represented him as presiding in the time of Heracles.

Muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, presided over the liberal arts particularly, were nine in number, and dwelt along with Apollo near Parnassus, Pieria, and Helicon; Clio presided over history, Euterpe over music, Thalia over comedy, Melpomene over tragedy, Terpsichore over choral dance and song, Erato over erotic poetry and elegy, Polyhymnia over lyric poetry, Urania over astronomy, and Calliopë over eloquence and epic poetry.

Myles, a son of Lelex, brother of Polycaon, father of Eurotas, and king of Lacedaemon, was regarded as the inventor of mills. Stephanus Byzantius mentions Myles as the protectors of mills.

Myrmidon, a son of Zeus and Eurymedusa, the daughter of Cleitos, whom Zeus deceived in the disguise of an ant. Her son was for this reason called Myrmidon and was regarded as the ancestor of the Myrmidons in Thessaly. He was married to Peisidice, by whom he became the father of Antiphus and Actor.

N

Namea, 1. Mamea was the nymph of the springs of the town of Nemea in Argos and a daughter of the local river-god Asopos. 2. Nemea was possibly identical to Pandeia, a daughter of Zeus by Selene.

Narcaeus, a son of Dionysus and Narcaea, established a sanctuary of Athena Narcaea in Elis, and also introduced there the worship of Dionysus.

Narcissus, 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.

Nauplius, a son of Poseidon and Amymone, of Argos, the husband of Philyra and a famous navigator, and father of Proetus and Damastor (Apollon. Rhod. i. 136). He is the reputed founder of the town of Nauplia, which derived its name from him. He is also said to have discovered the constellation of the great bear.

Nausithous, a son of Poseidon with Periboea the daughter of Eurymedon, was the father of Alcinous and Rhexenor, and king of the Phaeacians, whom he led from Hypereia in Thrinacia to the island of Scheria, in order to escape from the Cyclopes.

Neleus, a son of Cretheus and Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus. Tyro, previous to her marriage with Neleus, is said to have loved the river-god Enipeus and in the form of Enipeus Poseidon once appeared to her, and became by her the father of Pelias and Neleus. Tyro exposed the two boys, but they were found and reared by horse-herds, and when they had grown up they learned who their mother was, and Pelias killed their foster-mother, who had ill-used Tyro.

Nemesis, is most commonly described as a daughter of Night, though some call her a daughter of Erebus or of Oceanus. 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 Shame.

Neptunus - Neptune, the chief marine divinity of the Romans. His name is probably connected with the verb valu or nato, and a contraction of namtunus. 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.

Nereides, or Nereides or Nerine, is a patronymic from Nereus, and applied to his daughters by Doris, who were regarded by the ancients as marine nymphs of the Mediterranean, in contra-distinction from the Naiades, or the nymphs of fresh water, and the Oceanides, or the nymphs of the great ocea.

Nereus, a son of Pontus and Gaea, and husband of Doris, by whom he became the father of the 50 Nereides. He is described as the wise and unerring old man of the sea, at the bottom of which he dwelt.

Neso, a child of Nereus and Doris, one of the Nereides (Theogony of Hesiod 261); but Lycophron (1468) mentions one Neso as the mother of the Cumaean sibyl.

Nestor, a son of Neleus and Chloris of Pylos in Triphylia, and husband of Eurydice (or, according to others, of Anaxibia, the daughter of Cratieus), by whom he became the father of Peisidice, Polycaste, Perseus, Stratius, Aretus, Echephron, Peisistratus, Antilochus, and Thrasymedes.

Nicaea, a nymph, the daughter of the river-god Sangarius and Cybele. A passionate huntress of exquisite beauty, she was beloved by a shepherd, Hymnus, who followed her and watched her closely. She finally became angry and shot him with one of her arrows.

Nilus, the god of the river Nile in Egypt, is said to have been a son of Oceanus and Thetys, and father of Memphis and Chione. Pindar calls him a son of Cronos.

Niobe, 1. A daughter of Phoroneus, and by Zeus the mother of Argus and Pelasgus. 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, or, according to others, a daughter of Pelops and the wife of Zethus or Alalcomeneus, while Parthenius relates quite a different story, 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.

Nireus, 1. A son of Charopus and Aglaia, was, next to Achilles, the handsomest among the Greeks at Troy, but unwarlike. He came from the island of Syme (between Rhodes and Cnidus), and commanded only three ships and a small number of men. According to Diodorus (v. 53), he also ruled over a part of Cnidus, and he is said to have been slain by Eurypylus or Aeneias. His beauty became proverbial. 2. A son, or favourite of Heracles, with whom he fought against the lion of mount Helicon.

Nycteus, a son of Hyrieus by the nymph Clonia, brother of Lycus and Orion, and husband of Polyxo, by whom he became the father of Antiope.

Nymphae, the name of a numerous class of inferior female divinities, though they are designated by the title of Olympian, are called to the 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.

Nysa, a daughter of Aristaeus, who was believed to have brought up the infant god Dionysus, and from whom one of the many towns of the name of Nysa was believed to have derived its name.

Nyseides, the nymphs of Nysa, who are said to have reared Dionysus, and whose names are Cisseis, Nysa, Erato, Eriphia, Bromia, and Polyhymno. (Apollodorus iii, Metamorphoses III, Fasti by Ovid, Hymns of Orpheus)

Nyx, Nox or Night personified. Homer calls her the subduer of gods and men, and relates that Zeus himself stood in awe of her.

O

Oceanides, the Oceanids were the three thousand children of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys. Each of these nymphs was the patron of a particular spring, river, ocean, lake, pond, pasture, flower or cloud.

Oceanus, 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.

Oeagrus, 1. A king of Thrace, and father of Orpheus and Linus (Apollodorus i) hence the sisters of Orpheus are called Oeagrides, in the sense of the Muses. 2. a tragic actor at Athens, who appears to have been particularly successful in the character of Niobe.

Oebalus, 1. A son of Cynortes, and husband of Gorgophone, by whom he became the father of Tyndareus, Peirene, and Arene, was king of Sparta, where he was afterwards honoured with an heroum. According to others he was a son of Perieres and a grandson of Cynortas, and was married to the nymph Bateia, by whom he had several children (Apollodorus iii). The patronymic Oebalides is not only applied to his descendants, but to the Spartans generally, and hence it occurs as an epithet or surname of Hyacinthus, Castor, Pollux and Helena. 2. A son of Telon by a nymph of the stream Sebethus, near Naples. Telon, originally a king of the Teleboans, had come from the island of Taphos to Capreae, in Italy ; and Oebalus settled in Campania. (The Aeneid Book VII)

Oeneus, 1. One of the sons of Aegyptus. 2. A son of Pandion, and one of the eponymic heroes at Athens. 3. A son of Portheus, brother of Agrius and Melas, and husband of Althaea, by whom he became the father of Tydeus and Meleager, and was thus the grandfather of Diomedes. He was king of Pleuron and Calydon in Aetolia.

Oeolycus, a son of Theras of Sparta and brother of Aegeus, was honoured at Sparta with an heroum.

Oenomaus, a son of Ares and Harpina, the daughter of Asopus, and husband of the Pleiad Sterope, by whom he became the father of Hippodameia, was king of Pisa in Elis. According to others he was a son of Ares and Sterope, or a son of Alxion, or of Hyperochus and Sterope.

Oenopion, a son of Dionysus and husband of the nymph Helice, by whom he became the father of Thalus, Euanthes, Melaa, Salagus, Athamas, and Merope, Aerope or Haero. Some writers call Oenopion a son of Rhadamanthys by Ariadne, and a brother of Staphylus and Servius also calls him the father of Orion.

Oetylus, a son of Amphianax, and grandson of Antimachus of Argos. The Laconian town of Oetylus was believed to have received its name from him, and he there enjoyed heroic honours.

Oicles, or Oicleus, a son of Antiphates, grandson of Melampus and father of Amphiaraus, of Argos. Diodorus on the other hand, calls him a son of Amphiaraus, and Pausanias a son of Mantius, the brother of Antiphates.

Olen, a mythical personage, who is represented as the earliest Greek lyric poet, and the first author of sacred hymns in hexameter verse. He is closely connected with the worship of Apollo, of whom, in one legend, he was made the prophet.

Omphale, a daughter of the Lydian king Jardanus, and wife of Tmolus, after whose death she undertook the government herself. When Heracles, in consequence of the murder of Iphitus, was ill of a serious disease, and received the oracle that he could not be released unless he served some one for wages for the space of three years, Hermes, accordingly, sold Heracles to Omphale, by whom he became the father of several children.

Onomacritus, an Athenian who occupies an interesting position in the history of the early Greek religious poetry.

Ophion, a Titan, was married to Eurynome, with whom he shared the supremacy previous to the reign of Cronos and Rhea; but being conquered by the latter, he and Eurynome were thrown into Oceanus or Tartarus.

Orchomenus, 1. A son of Lycaon, and the reputed founder of the Arcadian towns of Orchomenus and Methydrium. (Apollodorus iii) 2. A son of Athamas and Themisto. 3. A son of Zeus or Eteocles and Hesione, the daughter of Danaus, was the husband of Hermippe, the daughter of Boeotus, by whom he became the father of Minyas. He is called a king of Orchomenus.

Oreithyia, 1. One of the Nereides. 2. A daughter of Erechtheus and Praxithea. Once as she had strayed beyond the river Ilissus she was carried off by Boreas, by whom she became the mother of Cleopatra, Chione, Zetes, and Calais.

Orion, a son of Hyrieus, of Hyria, in Boeotia, a very handsome giant and hunter, and said to have been called by the Boeotians Candaon.

Orneus, a son of Erechtheus, father of Peteus, and grandfather of Menestheus; from him the town of Orneae was believed to have derived its name.

Orpheus. 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.

Hymns of Orpheus

Otrera, a daughter or wife of Ares, who is said to have built the temple of Artemis at Ephesus.

Otreus, a king of Phrygia, whom Priam assisted against the Amazons.

Otus, a son of Poseidon, and Iphimedeia, was one of the Aloeidae.

Ourea, the Protogenoi of the mountains, and according to the Theogony of Hesiod, children of Gaia and the Greek personifications of mountains. Each mountain was said to have its own god.

Oxylus, 1. A son of Ares and Protogeneia. 2. A son of Haemon (according to Apollod of Andraemon), and husband of Pieria, by whom he became the father of Aetolus and Laias. He was descended from a family of Elis, but lived in Aetolia ; and when the Dorians invaded Peloponnesus, they, in accordance with an oracle, chose him as one of their leaders. He afterwards became king of Elis, which he conquered. 3. A son of Onus, who became the father of the Hamndryades, by his sister Hamadryas.

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Palici. Twin gods, originating in Sicily. They were sometimes said to have been the sons of Zeus by Thaleia the daughter of Hephaestus, sometimes the sons of Zeus by Aetna. While she was pregnant with the twins, Thaleia, fearing Hera's jealousy hid in the earth and when the time came the twin boys emerged from the ground, which explains their name 'the Returners'.

Pallas, surname of Athena. In Homer this name always appears united with the name Athena, but in later writers we also find Pallas alone instead of Athena. Plato derives the surname from "to brandish", in reference to the goddess brandishing the spear or aegis, whereas Apollodorus derives it from the giant Pallas, who was slain by Athena. But it is more probable that Pallas is the same word as virgin or maiden. Another female Pallas, described as a daughter of Triton, is mentioned under palladium.

Pan, the great god of flocks and shepherds among the Greeks; his name is probably connected with the verb Trace,. 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 the universe, and the god the symbol of the universe, cannot be taken into consideration here.

Pandora, i. e. the giver of all, or endowed with every thing, is the name of the first woman on earth and she plays an important role in numerous versions of the Greek creation myths. Her name means 'all gifts' and reflects her story.

Palaemon, signifies the wrestler, as in the surname of Heracles in Lycophron but it also occurs as a proper name of several mythical personages.

Pelasgus, the mythical ancestor of the Pelasgians, the earliest inhabitants of Greece who established the worship of the Dodonaean Zeus, Hephaestus, the Cabeiri, and other divinities that belong to the earliest inhabitants of the country.

Pallene, 1. A daughter of Sithon, from whom the town of Pallene in the peninsula of the same name was said to have derived its name. 2. A daughter of the giant Alcyoneus, and one of the Alcyonides.

Pancratis, a daughter of Aloeus and Iphimedeia, in the Phthiotian Achaia. Once when Thracian pirates, under Butes, invaded that district, they carried off from Mount Drius the women who were solemnizing a festival of Dionysus. Among them was Iphimedeia and her daughter Pancratis.

Pandrosos, i. e. "refreshing," was a daughter of Cecrops and Agraulos, and a sister of Erysichthon, Herse, and Aglauros.

Paris. 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, by Apollo, or by a Sibyl, 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.

Parthenos, i. e. the virgin, a surname of Athena at Athens, where the famous temple Parthenon was dedicated to her.

Parthenope, 1. A daughter of Stymphalus, and by Heracles the mother of Eueres. (Apollodorus. ii) 2. A daughter of Ancaeus and Samia, became by Apollo the mother of Lycomedes. 3. One of the Seirens (Schol. ad Horn. At Naples her tomb was shown, and a torch race was held every year in her honour. 4. The wife of Oceanus, by whom she became the mother of Europa and Thrace.

Pasithea, 1. One of the Charites. 2. A daughter of Nereus and Doris. 3. A Naiad, the wife of Erichthonius and mother of Pandion. (Apollodorus iii, where she is called Praxithea.)

Pasiphae, 1. A daughter of Helios and Perseis, and a sister of Circe and Aeetes, was the wife of Minos, by whom she was the mother of Androgeos, Catreus, Deucalion, Glaucus, Minotaurus, Acalle, Xenodice, Ariadne, and Phaedra. (Argonautica. Apollodorus i. Metamorphoses by Ovid XV) 2. An oracular goddess at Thalamae in Laconia, was believed to be a daughter of Atlas, or to be the same as Cassandra or Daphne, the daughter of Amyclas.

Patroclus, 1. A son of Heracles by Pyrippe. (Apollodorus. ii) 2. The celebrated friend of Achilles, was a son of Menoetius of Opus, and a grandson of Actor and Aegina, whence he is called Actorides. (Metamorphoses by Ovid VIII) His mother is commonly called Sthenele, but some mention her under the name of Periapis or Polymele.

Pegasus. 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 of Oceanus.

Peitho. The personification of Persuasion (Suada or Suadela among the Romans), was worshipped as a divinity at Sicyon, where she was honoured with a temple in the agora. (The History of Herodotus VIII) Peitho also occurs as a surname of other divinities, such as Aphrodite, whose worship was said to have been introduced at Athens by Theseus, when he united the country communities into towns and of Artemis.

Peleus, a son of Aeacus and Endeis, was king of the Myrmidons at Phthia in Thessaly. He was a brother of Telamon and step-brother of Phocus, the son of Aeacus, by the Nereid Psamathe.

Pelias, a son of Poseidon (or Cretheus) and Tyro.

Pelops,a grandson of Zeus, and son of Tantalus and Dione, the daughter of Atlas. He was thus a great-grandson of Cronos. Some writers call the mother of Pelops Euryanassa or Clytia.

Penates, 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.

Penelope, a daughter of Icarius and Periboea of Sparta. 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 Lye. 792), where she was fed by sea-birds from which she derived her name.

Penthesilea, a daughter of Ares and Otrera, and queen of the Amazons.

Peneus, also called Peneius, a Thessalian river god, and a son of Oceanus and Tethys. (Theogony of Hesiod 343; Metamorphoses by Ovid i.) By the Naiad Creusa he became the father of Hypseus, Stilbe, and Daphne. Cyrene also is called by some his wife, and by others his daughter, and hence Peneius is called the genitor of Aristaeus.

Penetralis, a surname or epithet given to the several divinities at Rome, that were worshipped in the Penetrale, or the central part of the house, such as Jupiter, Vesta, the Penates, etc.

Peparethos, A son of Dionysus by Ariadne.

Periboea, l. The wife of Icarius, and mother of Penelope. 2. A daughter of Eurymedon, and by Poseidon the mother of Nausithous. 3. A daughter of Acessamenus, and the mother of Pelagon by the river god Axius. 4. A daughter of Alcathous, and the wife of Telamon, by whom she became the mother of Ajax and Teucer. Some writers call her Eriboea. 5. A daughter of Hipponous, and the wife of Oeneus, by whom she became the mother of Tydeus. 6. The wife of king Polybus of Corinth.

Periclymenus, or Poriclymenus. One of the Argonauts, was a son of Neleus and Chloris, and a brother of Nestor.

Perieres, a son of Aeolus and Enarete, king of Messene, was the father of Aphareus and Leucippus by Gorgophone. (Apollodorus) In some traditions Perieres was called a son of Cynortas, and besides the sons above mentioned he is said to have been, by Gorgophone, the father of Tyndareos and Icarius.

Periphas, 1. One of the sons of Aegyptus. (Apollodorus. ii.) 2. A son of Oeneus. 3. A son of Lapithes in Thessaly. 4. One of the. Lapithae. ( Metamorphoses by Ovid) 5. An Attic autochthon, previous to the time of Cecrops, was a priest of Apollo. 6. A son of the Aetolian Ochesius, fell by the hand of Ares in the Trojan war. 7. A son of Epytus, and a herald of Aeneias. 8. A Greek who took part in the destruction of Troy.

Periphetes, 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. 2. A son of Copreus of Mycenae, was slain at Troy by Hector. 3. A Trojan, who was slain by Teucer.

Peirithous, a son of Ixion or Zeus by Dia, of Larissa in Thessaly. He was one of the Lapithae, and married to Hippodameia, by whom he became the father of Polypoetes.

Perse, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and wife of Helios, by whom she became the mother of Aeetes and Circe. She is further called the mother of Pasiphae, Perses and Aloeus. Homer and Apollonius Rhodius call her Perse, while others call her Perseis.

Perseus, the famous Argive hero, was a son of Zeus and Danae, and a grandson of Acrisius. 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.

Phaedra, a daughter of Minos by Pasiphae or Crete, and the wife of Theseus. 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.

Phaenna, a daughter of Zeus and Eurynome and one of the Charites.

Phanothea, was the wife of the Athenian Icarius. She was said to have invented the hexameter. Porphyrius designates her as the Delphic priestess of Apollo.

Phaethon, that is, "the shining," occurs in Homer as an epithet or surname of Helios, and is used by later writers as a real proper name for Helios (Argonautica. The Aeneid Book V) but it is more commonly known as the name of a son of Helios by the Oceanid Clymene, the wife of Merops.

Proteus, the prophetic old man of the sea, 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.

Phemonoe, a mythical Greek poetess of the ante-Homeric period, was said to have been the daughter of Apollo, and his first priestess at Delphi, and the inventor of the hexameter verse.

Phegeus, a brother of Phoroneus, and king of Psophis in Arcadia. The town of Phegeia, which had before been called Erymanthus, was believed to have derived its name from him. Subsequently, however, it was changed again into Psophis.

Pheres, 1. A son of Cretheus and Tyro, and brother of Aeson and Amythaon; he was married to Periclymene, by whom he became the father of Admetus, Lycurgus, Eidomene, and Periapis. He was believed to have founded the town of Pherae in Thessaly. 2. A son of Jason and Medeia.

Philammon, a mythical poet and musician of the ante-Homeric period, was said to have been the son of Apollo and the nymph Chione, or Philonis, or Leuconoe.

Philomela, 1. A daughter of king Pandion in Attica, who, being dishonoured by her brother-in-law Tereus, was metamorphosed into a nightingale or swallow. 2. The mother of Patroclus, though it should be observed that she is commonly called Polymele. 3. A daughter of Actor, and the 'wife of Peleus, by whom she is said to have been the mother of Achilles. 4. One of the daughters of Priam.

Philyra, 1. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and the mother of Cheiron by Cronus. Philyra was an Oceanid and was married to Nauplius and was the goddess of perfume, writing, healing, beauty and paper.

Phineus, 1. A son of Belus and Anchinoe, and brother of Aegyptus, Danaus, and Cepheus. 2. One of the sons of Lycaon. 3. A son of Agenor, and king of Salmydessus in Thrace. Some traditions called him a son of Phoenix and Cassiepeia, and a grandson of Agenor, while others again call him a son of Poseidon

Phlegethon, i. e. the flaming, a river in the lower world, is described as a son of Cocytus; but he is more commonly called Pyriphlegethon. It flowed with fire that burned but did not consume fuel. In the Divine Comedy the river is made of boiling blood and is part of the seventh circle of hell, containing the shades of tyrants, murderers, robbers and those guilty of sins involving violence against others.

Phlegyas, a king of the Lapithae, a son of Ares and Chryse, the daughter of Halmus, succeeded Eteocles, who died without issue, in the government of the district of Orchomenos, which he called after himself Phlegyantis.

Pharis, or Phares, a son of Hermes and the Danaid Philodameia, by whom he became the father of Telegone. He is the reputed founder of the town of Pharae in Messenia.

Pheme, the personification of gossip, rumour or report. Homer calls her Ossa (fame) and the Romans Fama, after the Greek Pheme.

Phemius, 1. The famous minstrel, was a son of Terpius, and entertained with his song the suitors in the house of Odysseus in Ithaca. 2. One of the suitors of Helen. 3. The father of Aegeus, and accordingly the grand-father of Theseus.

Philyra, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and the mother of Cheiron by Cronus.

Phlias, a son of Dionysus and Chthonophyle, also called Phlius, was a native of Araithyrea in Argolis, and is mentioned as one of the Argonauts. (Argonautica) According to Pausanias, he was a son of Ceisus and Araithyrea, and the husband of Chthonophyle, by whom he became the father of Androdamas and Hyginus calls him Phliasus, and a son of Dionysus and Ariadne.

Phocus, a son of Ornytion of Corinth, or according to others of Poseidon, is said to have been the leader of a colony from Corinth into the territory of Tithorea and Mount Parnassus, which derived from him the name of Phocis. He is said to have cured Antiope of her madness, and to have made her his wife.

Phoebe, daughter of Uranus and Ge, became by Coeus the mother of Asteria and Leto. According to Aeschylus she was in possession of the Delphic oracle after Themis, and prior to Apollo.

Phoenix, according to Homer the father of Europa but according to others he was a son of Agenor by Agriope or Telephassa, and therefore a brother of Europa.

Phobos, the personification of fear, is described as a son of Ares and Cythereia, a brother of Deimos, and is one of the ordinary companions of Ares. Phobus was represented on the shield of Agamemnon, on the chest of Cypselus, with the head of a lion.

Phorbas, a son of Lapithes and Orsinome, and a brother of Periphas.

Phorcys, an old man ruling over the sea, or "the old man of the sea," to whom a harbour in Ithaca was dedicated. He is described as the father of the nymph Thoosa. Later writers call him the son of Pontus and Gaia and a brother of Thaumas, Nereus, Eurybia, and Ceto

Phoroneus, a son of Inachus and the Oceanid Melia or Archia, was a brother of Aegialeus and the ruler of Peloponnesus.

Phrixus, a son of Athamas and Nephele or of Athamas and Themisto and brother of Helle, and a grandson of Aeolus. 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.

Phthonus, son of Dionysus and Nyx and the Greek personification of envy.

Phyleus, a son of Augeias, was expelled by his father from Ephyra, because he gave his evidence in favour of Heracles. He then emigrated to Dulichium. By Ctimene or Timandra Phyleus became the father of Meges, who is hence called Phyleides.

Phusis, the Protogeos of nature. Mother Nature was one of the first beings to emerge at creation, a primal being of creation and regarded as both male and female. Similar in certain aspects to Gaia, Tethys, Eros and Phanes.

Pitane, a daughter of the river god Eurotas, became by Poseidon the mother of Evadne. From her the town of Pitana had its name.

Plataea, a daughter of Asopus, who had a sanctuary at Plataeae which according to some derived its name from her.

Pleione, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and mother of the Pleiades by Atlas. Her name means "to increase in number" and her grandson, Hermes, was the god of animal husbandry.

Pleiades, called daughters of Atlas by Pleione or by the Oceanid Aethra, of Erechtheus, of Cadmus or of the queen of the Amazons.

Pleisthenes, a son of Atreus, and husband of Aerope or Eriphyle, the daughter of Catreus, by whom he became the father of Agamemnon, Menelaus, and Anaxibia.

Pluto, 1. A daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and one of the playmates of Persephone. 2. A daughter of Cronos or Himantes, became by Zeus or Tmolus, the mother of Tantalus.

Plutus, sometimes also called Pluton, the personification of wealth, is described as a son of Iasion and Demeter.

Podaleirius, a son of Asclepius and Epione or Arsinoe, and a brother of Machaon, along with whom he led the Thessalians of Tricca against Troy (Apollodorus iii). He was, like his brother, skilled in the medical art.

Poemander, a son of Chaeresilaus and Stratonice, was the husband of Tanagra, a daughter of Aeolus or Aesopus, by whom he became the father of Ephippus and Leucippus. He was the reputed founder of the town of Tanagra in Boeotia which was hence called Poemandria. When Poemander inadvertently had killed his own son, he was purified by Elephenor.

Polycaon, 1. A son of Lelex, brother of Myles, and husband of Messene, the daughter of Triopas of Argos. He emigrated from Laconia to Messenia, which country he thus called after his wife. He was the first king of Messenia. 2. A son of Butes, was married to Euaechme, the daughter of Hyllus.

Polydora, 1. A daughter of Oceanus and Thetys. (Theogony of Hesiod 354) 2. The mother of Idas and Lynceus. (Argonautica) 3. A daughter of Danaus and the wife of Peneius, by whom she became the mother of Dryops. 4. The daughter of Meleager and Cleopatra, was married to Protesilaus, after whose death she was so much affected by grief that she made away with herself. 5. A daughter of Peleus and Polymela, was a sister of Achilles, and married to Sparcheius or Borus, by whom she became the mother of Menesthius.

Polydorus, 1. A son of Cadmus and Harmonia, was king of Thebes, and husband of Nycteis, by whom he became the father of Labdacus. (Theogony of Hesiod 978 ; Apollodorus iii) 2. The youngest among the sons of Priam and Laotoe, was slain by Achilles. The tragic poets call him a son of Priam and Hecabe.

Polymede, a daughter of Autolycus, was married to Aeson, and by him became the mother of Jason. Apollonius Rhodius ( Argonautica) calls her Alcimede.

Polymela, 1. A daughter of Peleus, and the wife of Menoetius, by whom she became the mother of Patroclus. In some traditions she is called Philomela. 2. A daughter of Phylas, was married to Echecles, but became by Hermes the mother of Eudorus. 3. A daughter of Aeolus, was beloved by Odysseus, but afterwards married her brother Diores.

Polyphemus, 1. The celebrated Cyclops in the island of Thrinacia, was a son of Poseidon, and the nymph Thoosa. 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, but being left behind by them in Mysia, he founded Cios, and fell against the Chalybes.

Polyxo, 1. A nymph married to Danaus. 2. The wife of Nycteus and mother of Antiope. 3. One of the Hyades. 4. The nurse of queen Hypsipyle in Lemnos, was celebrated as a prophetess. 5. An Argive woman, who was married to Tlepolemus.

Pomona. 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. Her worship must originally have been of considerable importance, as we learn from Varro that a special priest, under the name Pomonalis, was appointed to attend to her service. It is not impossible that Pomona may in reality be nothing but the personification of one of the attributes of Ops.

Pontus, or Pontos, the Protogonoi and personification of the sea, is described in the ancient cosmogony as a son of Gaea, and as the father of Nereus, Thamnas, Phorcys, Ceto, and Eurybia, by his own mother. Hyginus calls him a son of Aether and Gaea, and also assigns to him somewhat different descendants.

Portunus, the protecting genius of harbours among the Romans.

Poseidon, the god of the Mediterranean sea and he is the god of the fluid element.

Pothos, a personification of love or desire, was represented along with Eros and Himeros, in the temple of Aphrodite at Megara, by the hand of Scopas.

Praxithea, 1. A daughter of Phrasimus and Diogeneia, was the wife of Erechtheus, and mother of Cecrops, Pandorus, Metion, Orneus, Procris, Creusa, Chthonia, and Oreithyia. Some call her a daughter of Cephissus. 2. A daughter of Thespius. 3. A daughter of Leus in Athens, and a sister of Theore and Eubule

Priam, 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" 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.

Priapus, a son of Dionysus and Aphrodite. 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.

Procne, Procne or Prokne was a daughter of Pandion and Zeuxippe. She married Tereus and had one son: Itys. Tereus loved his wife's sister, Philomela. He raped her, cut her tongue out and held her captive so she could never tell anyone. Philomela wove a tapestry that told her story and gave it to Procne. In revenge, Procne killed her son by Tereus, Itys, and fed him to Tereus unknowingly.

Procris, a daughter of Erechtheus in Athens, was married to Cephalus. A second Procris was a daughter of Thespius.

Prometheus, is sometimes called a Titan, though in reality he did not belong to the Titans, but was only a son of the Titan Japetus (Theogony of Hesiod 528) by Clymene, so that he was a brother of Atlas, Menoetius, and Epimetheus (Theogony of Hesiod 507).

Proserpine, in Latin Proserpina, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter.

Protogenoi. The first group of beings to come into existence at the beginning of the universe were the Protogenoi - First Born or Primeval and they form the very fabric of the universe and are immortal. The Protogenoi are the gods from which all the other gods descend.

Protogeneia, 1. A daughter of Deucalion and Pyrrha. She was married to Locrus, but had no children; Zeus, however, who carried her off, became by her, on mount Maenalus in Arcadia, the father of Opus. According to others she was not the mother, but a daughter of Opus. Eridymion also is called a son of Protogeueia. 2. A daughter of Calydon and Aeolia.

Psamathe, a daughter of Crotopus of Argos. She was loved by the god Apollo and by whom she had a son Linus.

Psyche, that is, " breath" or " the soul," occurs in the later times of antiquity, as a personification of the human soul, and Apuleins relates about her the following beautiful allegoric story.

Python, the famous dragon who guarded the oracle of Delphi, is described as a son of Gaea. He lived in the caves of mount Parnassus, but was killed by Apollo, who then took possession of the oracle.

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Rhadamanthys, a son of Zeus and Europa, and brother of king Minos of Crete, or, according to others, a son of Hephaestus. 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.

Rhea, Pefa, Pea, Pefy, or Pe. The name as well as the nature of this divinity is one of the most difficult points in ancient mythology. Some consider 'Pea' to be merely another form of pa, the earth, while others connect it with pew, I flow; but thus much seems undeniable, that Rhea, like Demeter, was a goddess of the earth. According to the Hesiodic Theogony, Rhea was a daughter of Uranus and Ge, and accordingly a sister of Oceanus, Coeus, Hyperion, Crius, lapetus, Theia, Themis, and Mnemosyne.

Rhexenor, two mythical personages, one the father of Chalciope, and the second a son of Nausithous the king of the Phaeacians, and accordingly a brother of Alcinous. (Apollodorus iii. 15. § 6)

Rhode, the oldest of the Oceanides and a daughter of Tethys and Oceanus. Later, she was thought of as a daughter of Poseidon and Halia, or Poseidon and Amphitrite.

Rhodos, a sea-nymph, according to Diodorus, a daughter of Poseidon and Halia, and sometimes called Rhode. The island of Rhodes was believed to have derived its name from her.

According to others, she was a daughter of Helios and Amphitrite, or of Poseidon and Aphrodite, lastly of Oceanus.

Rhoeo, 1. A daughter of Staphylus and Chrysothemis, was beloved by Apollo. When her father discovered that she was with child, he put her in a chest, and exposed her to the waves of the sea. The chest floated to the coast of Euboea (or Delos), where Rhoeo gave birth to Anius. Subsequently she was married to Zarex 2. A daughter of the river-god Scamander, became by Laomedon the mother of Tithonus.

Rhoeteia, a daughter of the Thracian king Sithon and Achiroe, a daughter of Neilos. She was a sister of Pallene, and the Trojan promontory of Rhoeteium was believed to have derived its name from her.

Romulus and Remus, 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 lonians, owing to the universal practice of antiquity to represent nations as springing from eponymous ancestors.

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Salmacis, the nymph of the well Salmacis, near the mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The nymph fell in love with Hermaphroditos and tried to win his affections, but in vain.

Salmoneus, a son of Aeolus by Enarete, and a brother of Sisyphus. Sangarius, a river-god, is described as the son of Oceanus and Tethys, and as the husband of Metope, by whom he became the father of Hecabe. (Theogony 344).

Sarpedon, 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. 2. A son of Zeus by Laodameia, or according to others of Evander by Deidameia, and a brother of Clarus and Themon. 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.

Satyrus, 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.

Scamander, an Oceanid, son of Oceanus and Tethys and the god of the river Scamander, in Troas, was called by the gods Xanthus. Being insulted by Achilles, he entered into a contest with the Greek hero but Hera sent out Hephaestus to assist Achilles, and the god of fire dried up the waters of Scamander, and frightened Scamander, until Hera ordered Hephaestus to spare the river-god. By Idaea, he fathered Teucrus.(Theogony 345.)

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.

Segesta, the Trojan Phoenodamas (others call him Hippotes, Ippoteus or Ipsostratus) had three daughters. When he was to be compelled by Laomedon to expose one of them to the marine monster which was ravaging the country, he called the people together and induced them to compel Laomedon, whose guilt had brought the monster into the country, to expose his own daughter Hesione.

Selene, also called Mene, a female divinity presiding over the months, 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 (Theogony 371 ; Apollodorus; Argonautica) ; but others speak of her as a daughter of Hyperion by Euryphaessa, or of Pallas, or of Zeus and Latona, or lastly of Helios.

Semele, a daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, at Thebes, and accordingly a sister of Ino, Agave, Autonoe, and Polydorus. She was beloved by Zeus 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.

Sibylla, 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 signify the counsel of Zeus.

Silenus, It is remarked in the article Satyrus, that the older Satyrs were generally termed Sileni, 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. Like the other Satyrs he is called a son of Hermes, but others call him a son of Pan by a nymph, or of Gaea.

Sinis, or Sinnis 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. Sinis was called the Pine-Bender because this was his manner of executing his victims and used to ask travellers to help him bend two pine trees to the ground.

Sirens, 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.

Sisyphus, a son of Aeolus and Enarete, whence he is called Aeolides. He was accordingly a brother of Cretheus, Athamas, Salmoneus, Deion, Magnes, Perieres, Canace, Alcyone, Peisidice, Calyce and Perimede.

Sithon, a son of Poseidon and Assa, or of Ares and Achiroe, the daughter of Neilus, was married to the nymph Mendeis, by whom he became the father of Pallene and Rhoeteia. He was king of the Hadomantes in Macedonia, or king of Thrace. Pallene, on account of her beauty, had numerous suitors, and Sithon, who promised her to the one who should conquer him in single combat, slew many.

Smyrna, a daughter of Theias and Oreithya, or of Cinyras and Cenchreis: she is also called Myrrhe, and is said to have given the name to the town of Smyrna. (Apollodorus iii. Metamorphoses X). mentions an Amazon who bore the same name.

Sparta, a daughter of Eurotas by Clete, and wife of Lacedaemon, by whom she became the mother of Amyclas and Eurydice. (Apollod. iii. 10. § 3). From her the city of Sparta was believed to have derived its name (Paus. iii. 1. § 3 ; Schol. Eurip. Orest. 615). She was represented on a tripod at Amyclae.

Spercheus, a Thessalian rivergod, became the father of Menesthius by Polydora, the daughter of Peleus. (Apollodorus iii. The History of Herodotus VII).

Staphylus, a son of Dionysus and Ariadne, or of Theseus and Ariadne, was one of the Argonauts (Apollodorus i). By Chrysothemis he became the father of three daughters, Molpadia, Rhoeo, and Parthenos. Rhoeo was beloved by Apollo, and Staphylus, believing that she was with child by some one else, locked her up in a chest and threw her into the sea.

Sterope, 1. A Pleiad, the wife of Oenomaus, and according to Pausanias a daughter of Atlas. 2. A daughter of Pleuron and Xanthippe. 3. A daughter of Cepheus of Tegea. 4. A daughter of Acastus. 5. A daughter of Porthaon, and mother of the Seirens.

Steropes, a son of Uranus and Gaea, was one of the Cyclopes. (Theogony 140, Apollodorus i)

Stilbe, a nymph of the spring, well or fountain of the town of the Lapithai in Thessalia and a daughter of Peneius and Creusa. She became by Apollo the mother of Lapithus and Centaurus. (Argonautica)

Stratonice, 1. One of the daughters of Thespius, and by Heracles the mother of Atromus. 2. A daughter of Pleuron and Xanthippe. 3. The wife of Melaneus and the mother of Eurytus.

Stymphalides, the celebrated rapacious birds near the Stymphalian lake in Arcadia, whence they were driven by Heracles and compelled to take refuge in the island of Aretias in the Euxine, where they were afterwards found by the Argonauts.

Styx, connected with the verb to hate or abhor, is the name of the principal river in the nether world, around which it flows seven times. Styx is described as a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and as a nymph she dwelt at the entrance of Hades, in a lofty grotto which was supported by silver columns.

Sylea, mother, by Poseidon, of Sinis and Taras. She helped Heracles gather up his wandering cattle after he slew the giant Cacus and had three sons by him: Scythes, Agathyrsus and Gelonus. As adults, the three sons would conquer an area off the Black Sea called Scythia.

The Symposium, by Plato,

syrinx, an Arcadian nymph, who being pursued by Pan, fled into the river Ladon, and at her own request was metamorphosed into a reed, of which Pan then made his flute. ( Metamorphoses I)

T

Talaus, a son of Bias and Pero, and king of Argos.

Tantalus, son of Zeus by Pluto, or according to others a son of Tmolus. His wife is called by some Euryanassa, by others Taygete or Dione (Metamorphoses by Ovid vi. 174), and by others Clytia or Eupryto. He was the father of Pelops, Broteas, and Niobe.

Taphius, a son of Poseidon and Hippothoe, was the father of Pterelaus. He led a colony to Taphos, and called the inhabitants Teleboans.

Taras, a son of Poseidon by a nymph, is said to have traversed the sea from the promontory of Taenarum to the south of Italy, riding on a dolphin, and to have founded Tarentum in Italy, where he was worshipped as a hero.

Tartarus. According to the earliest Greek views, a dark abyss, which lay as far below the surface of the earth as the earth is from the heavens. Above Tartarus were the foundations of the earth and sea. It was surrounded by an iron wall with iron gates set up by Poseidon, and by a trebly thick layer of night, and it served as the prison of the dethroned Cronus, and of the conquered Titans who were guarded by the hecatoncheires, the hundred-armed sons of Uranus.

Taygete, a daughter of Atlas and Pleione, one of the Pleiades. By Zeus she became the mother of Lacedaemon and of Eurotas. Mount Taygetus, in Laconia, derived its name from her.

Teiresias, or Tiresias, a son of Everes and Chariclo. He belonged to the ancient family of Udaeus at Thebes, and was one of the most renowned soothsayers in all antiquity.

Telamon, 1. A surname of Atlas, describing him as the sufferer or bearer of heaven. 2. A son of Aeacus and Endeis, and a brother of Peleus. He emigrated from Aegina to Salamis, and was first married to Glauce, a daughter of Cenchreus, and afterwards to Periboea or Eriboea, a daughter of Alcathous, by whom he became the father of Ajax.

Telchines, a family, a class of people, or a tribe, said to have been descended from Thalassa or Poseidon.

Telemachus, the son of Odysseus and Penelope. 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.

Teleon, 1. An Athenian, a son of Ion, the husband of Zeuxippe, and father of the Argonaut Butes. (Apollodorus i.) From him the Teleonites in Attica derived their name. 2. The father of the Argonaut Eribotes.

Telete, the daughter of Nicaea and Dionysus and regarded as the personification of Initiation into a mystery cult.

Temenus, 1. A son of Pelasgus, educated Hera at Stymphalus in Arcadia. 2. A son of Phegeus. 3. A son of Aristomachus, one of the Heracleidae.

Terambus, a son of Euseirus and Eidothea. Once he was tending his flocks on Mount Othrys in Melis, under the protection of the nymphs whom he delighted with his songs, for he was a distinguished musician, and played both the syrinx and the lyre.

Tereus, a son of Ares, a king of the Thracians, in Daulis, afterwards Phocis. Some traditions place Tereus at Pegae, in Megaris.

Terra, 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.

Tethys, a Titaness and sea goddess who was both sister and wife of Oceanus. She was mother of the chief rivers of the universe, such as the Nile, the Alpheus, the Maeander, and about three thousand daughters called the Oceanids.

Thalia, 1. One of the nine Muses, and, at least in later times, regarded as the Muse of Comedy. (Theogony of Hesiod 77) She became the mother of the Corybantes by Apollo. (Apollodorus i) 2. A daughter of Nereus and Doris. (Theogony of Hesiod 248) 3. A daughter of Hephaestus, and by Zeus, the mother of the Palici. 4. One of the Charites. (Theogony of Hesiod 901 ; Apollodorus i)

Thalassa. The Protogenos of the sea or its surface and a personification of the Mediterranean, is described as a daughter of Aether and Hemera.

Thallo, one of the Attic Home, who was believed to grant prosperity to the young shoots of plants, and was also invoked in the political oath which the citizens of Athens had to take.

Thamyris, an ancient Thracian bard, was a son of Philammon and the nymph Argiope. He went so far in his conceit as to think that he could surpass the Muses in song; in consequence of which he was deprived of his sight and of the power of singing. He was represented with a broken lyre in his hand.

Thanatos, 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.

Thaumas, a son of Pontus and Ge, and by the Oceanide Electra, the father of Iris and the Harpies.

Thebe, 1. A daughter of Prometheus, from whom the Boeotian Thebes was believed to have derived its name. 2. A daughter of Asopus and Metope, the daughter of Ladon, became by Zeus the mother of Zethus. She, too, is said to have given her name to the city of Thebes.

Thebes, an ancient city of Egypt of great renown, once capital of Upper Egypt; covered 10 sq. m. of the valley of the Nile on both sides of the river, 300 m. SE. of Cairo; now represented by imposing ruins of temples, palaces, tombs, and statues of colossal size, amid which the humble dwellings of four villages—Luxor, Karnack, Medinet Habu, and Kurna—have been raised. The period of its greatest flourishing extended from about 1600 to 1100 B.C., but some of its ruins have been dated as far back as 2500 B.C.

Theia, daughter of Uranus and Gaia, one of the female Titans, became by Hyperion the mother of Helios, Eos, and Selene, that is, she was regarded as the deity from which all light proceeded.

Theias, a king of the Assyrians, and father of Smyrna, the mother of Adonis.

Theophane, a daughter of Bisaltes, who, in consequence of her extraordinary beauty, was beleaguered by lovers, but was carried off by Poseidon to the isle of Crinissa. As the lovers followed her even there, Poseidon metamorphosed the maiden into a sheep and himself into a ram, and all the inhabitants of the island into animals.

Themis, daughter of Uranus, others say Helios, and Ge, was married to Zeus, by whom she became the mother of the Horae, Eunomia, Dice (Astraea), Eirene, and the Moerae. In the Homeric poems, Themis is the personification of the

Themisto, 1. A daughter of Nereus and Doris. 2. A daughter of the Lapithe Hypseus, and the wife of Athamas. 3. The mother of Areas, who is commonly called Callisto, and by some Megisto. 4. Of Cyprus, was said by some to be the mother of Homer.

Theocritus, Bion and Moschus, by Andrew Lang

Therapne, a daughter of Lelex and Peridia, from which the town of Therapne in Laconia derived its name.

Theras, a son of Autesion, grandson of Tisamenus, who led Lacedaemonians and Minyans of Lemnos (i. e. descendants of the Argonauts by Lemnian women) from Sparta to the island of Thera, which had before been called Callisto, but was now named after him Thera.

Thestor, son of Idmon and Laothoe, though some ancients declare that Idmon (the knowing) was only a surname of Thestor. He was the father of Calchas, Theoclymenus, Leucippe, and Theonoe.

Thessalus, 1. A son of Haemon, from whom Thessaly was believed to have received its name. 2. A son of Jason and Medeia, and the ancestor of the Thessalian race. He was educated at Corinth, and afterwards succeeded Acastus on the throne of Lolcus. 3. A son of Heracles and Chalciope, was the father of Pheidippus and Antiphus.

Theseus, 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.

Plutarch's Life of Theseus

Adventures Of Theseus

Thessaly, is one of the 13 peripheries of Greece, and is further sub-divided into 4 prefectures. The capital of the periphery is Larissa. The prefecture lies in central Greece and borders Macedonia on the north, Epirus on the west, Sterea Hellas or Central Greece on the south and the Aegean Sea on the east.

Thestius, a son of Ares and Demonice or Androdice, and, according to others, a son of Agenor and a grandson of Pleuron, the king of Aetolia.

Thetis, one of the daughters of Nereus and Doris, was the wife of Peleus, by whom she became the mother of Achilles. Later writers describe her as a daughter of Cheiron.

Thoas, 1. A son of Andraemon and Gorge, was king of Calydor and Pleuron, in Aetolia, and went with forty ships against Troy. 2. A son of Dionysus and Ariadne. He was king of Lemnos and married to Myrina, by whom he became the father of Hypsipyle and Lemus.

Thoosa, a Nereid, and with Poseidon she became mother of the Cyclops Polyphemus when Poseidon surprised her in a sea cave. She was the daughter of Phorcys and Ceto. However being a Nereid she could also be the daughter of Nereus and Doris.

Thriae, the name of three prophetic nymphs on Mount Parnassus, by whom Apollo was reared, and who were believed to have invented the art of prophecy by means of little stones, which were thrown into an urn.

Thero, 1. The nurse of Ares, from whom he was believed to have received the surname of Thereitas, though Pausanias thinks that this name arose from the fierceness of the god. A sanctuary of Ares Thereitas stood on the road from Sparta to Therapne, with a statue which the Dioscuri were said to have brought from Colchis. 2. A daughter of Phylas, became by Apollo the mother of Chaeron.

Thyestes, a son of Pelops and Hippodameia, was the brother of Atreus and the father of Aegisthus.

Thyia, 1. A daughter of Castalius or Cephisseus, became by Apollo the mother of Delphus. (The History of Herodotus VII) She is said to have been the first to have sacrificed to Dionysus, and to have celebrated orgies in his honour. Hence the Attic women, who every year went to Mount Parnassus to celebrate the Dionysiac orgies with the Delphian Thyiades, received themselves the name of Thyades or Thyiades. 2. A daughter of Deucalion, and, by Zeus, the mother of Macedon.

Thyiades, the same as Thytas, a name of the female followers of Dionysus and named after Thyia, who is said to have been the first to have sacrificed to Dionysus, and to have celebrated orgies in his honour.

Tiberinus, one of the mythical kings of Alba, son of Capetus, and father of Agrippa, is said to have been drowned in crossing the river Alba, which was hence called Tiberis after him, and of which he became the guardian god.

Tibertus,

Tisamenus. In Roman mythology, Tibertus is the god of the river Anio, a tributary of the Tiber. He is not to be confused with Tiberinus, the legendary founder of Tibur.

Tithonus, a son of Laomedon, and brother of Priam or according to others a brother of Laomedon. Others, again, call him a son of Cephalus and Eos.

Titans, the sons and daughters of Uranus and Gaia and a race of godlike giants who were considered to be the personifications of the forces of nature.

These Titans are Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Japetus, Cronus, Theia, Rheia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys, to whom Apollodorus adds Dione. (Theogony 133)

Tityus, a son of Gaea, or of Zeus and Elara, the daughter of Orchomenus, was a giant in Euboea, and the father of Europa.

Tmolus, 1. The god of Mount Tmolus in Lydia, is described as the husband of Pluto (or Omphale) and father of Tantalus, and said to have decided the musical contest between Apollo and Pan. 2. A son of Proteus, was killed by Heracles.

Triopas, son of Poseidon and Canace, a daughter of Aeolus or of Helios and Rhodos, and the father of Iphimedeia and Erysichthon (Apollodorus i. 7.Metamorphoses by Ovid viii.) he is also called the father of Pelasgus. He expelled the Pelasgians from the Dotian plain, but was himself obliged to emigrate, and went to Caria, where he founded Cnidus on the Triopian promontory. His son Erysichthon was punished by Demeter with insatiable hunger, because he had violated her sacred grove but others relate the same of Triopas himself.

Triton, 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 at Aegae.

Triptolemus, a son of Celeus and Metaneira or Polymnia, or according to others, a son of king Eleusis by Cothonea.

Tros, 1. A son of Erichthonius and Astyoclie, and a grandson of Dardanus. He was married to Calirrhoe, by whom he became the father of Ilus, Assaracus and Ganymedes, and was king of Phrygia. The country and people of Troy derived their name from him. He gave up his son Ganymedes to Zeus for a present of horses. 2. A Trojan, a son of Alastor, who was slain by Achilles.

Tyche, personification of chance or luck, the Fortuna of the Romans, is called by Pindar a daughter of Zeus the Liberator. She was represented with different attributes.

The Fall of Troy

Tychon, 1. A god of chance or accident, was, according to Strabo, worshipped at Athens. 2. An obscene daemon, is mentioned as a companion of Aphrodite and Priapus, and seems to signify "the producer," or "the fructifier."

Tyndareus, the son of Perieres and Gorgophone, and a brother of Aphareus, Leucippus, Icarius, and Arete (Apollodorus) or according to others (Apollodorus iii), a son of Oebalus, by the nymph Bateia or by Gorgophone.

Typhon, a monster of the primitive world, is described sometimes as a destructive hurricane, and sometimes as a fire-breathing giant. According to Homer he was concealed in the country of the Arimi in the earth, which was lashed by Zeus with flashes of lightning.

Tyro, a daughter of Salmoneus and Alcidice, was the wife of Cretheus, and the beloved of the river-god Enipeus in Thessaly, in the form of whom Poseidon appeared to her, and became by her the father of Pelias and Neleus. By Cretheus she was the mother of Aeson, Pheres, and Amythaon.

U

Urania, one of the Muses, a daughter of Zeus by Mnemosyne. (Theogony of Hesiod 78. Fasti by Ovid) The ancient bard Linus is called her son by Apollo and Hymenaeus also is said to have been a son of Urania.

Uranus, also known as Ouranos, the Latin Caelus, a son of Gaea (Theogony of Hesiod 126), but is also called the husband of Gaea, and by her the father of Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Lapetus, Theia, Rheia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys, Cronos, of the Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes, Arges, and of the Hecatoncheires Cottus, Briareus and Gyes. (Theogony 133)

V

Venus, 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.

Vesta, 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. The praetors, consuls, and dictators, before entering upon their official functions, sacrificed not only to the Penates, but also to Vesta at Lavinium. (The Aeneid by Virgil. Book II)

Wife Of Bath, Her Tale By John Dryden

X

Xuthus, a son of Hellen by the nymph Orseis, and a brother of Dorus and Aeolus. He was king of Peloponnesus, and the husband of Creusa, the daughter of Erechtheus, by whom he became the father of Achaeus and Ion (Apollodorus i).

Z

Zagreus, a surname of the mystic Dionysus, whom Zeus, in the form of a dragon, is said to have begotten by Persephone, previously to her being carried off by Pluto.

Zeuxippe, a sister of Pasithea or Praxithea, was a Naiad and married to Pandion, by whom she became the mother of Procne, Philomela, Erechtheus and Butes.

Zephyrus, the personification of the west wind, is described by Hesiod as a son of Astraeus and Eos.

Zeus, the greatest of the Olympian gods, and the father of gods and men, was a son of Cronus and Rhea, a brother of Poseidon, Hades (Pluto), Hestia, Demeter, Hera, and at the same time married to his sister Hera.

Zetes, a son of Boreas and Oreithyia, and a brother of Calais. Zetes and Calais, called the Boreadae, are mentioned among the Argonauts ( Apollodorus i. 9. § 16), and are generally described as winged beings though some say that they had wings at their heads and feet and others that they had them only at their feet or at their shoulders.

Zethus, a son of Zeus and Antiope, at Thebes, and a brother of Amphion. According to some he was married to Aedon, and according to others to Thebe