[ Complete list ]-[ Letter A ]-[ Letters B - F ]-[ Letters G - M ]-[ Letters N - Z ]

Abaris

In Greek mythology, Abaris was a priest to the god Apollo. Apollo gave him a golden arrow which rendered him invisible and also cured diseases and gave oracles. Abaris gave the arrow to Pythagoras.

Abas

son of Celeus and Metaneira. He mocked Demeter and was turned into a lizard. By some accounts he was the 12th king of Argolis who owned a magic shield.

Abdera

an ancient Greek city supposedly founded by Hercules in honor of his friend Abderus.

Abderus

friend of Hercules. Hercules left him to look after the mare of Diomedes, which ate him.

Absyrtus (Apsyrtus)

son of Aeetes, King of Colchis and brother of Medea. When Medea fled with Jason she took Absyrtus with her and when her father nearly overtook them she murdered Absyrtus and cut his body into pieces and threw it around the road so that her father would be delayed picking up the pieces of his son.

Acacetus

a name sometimes given to Hermes because of his eloquence.

Acamas

son of Theseus and Phaedra. He went to Troy with Diomedes to demand the return of Helen.

Acastus

son of Pelias. He was one of the Argonauts.

Acestes

In Greek mythology, Acestes was a Sicilian bowman who in a trial of skill discharge an arrow with such force that it ignited.

Achaeus

In Greek mythology, Achaeus was a son of Xuthus and Creusa. He returned to Thessaly and recovered the dominions of which his father had been deprived.

Achates

In Roman mythology, the constant companion of the Trojan hero Aeneas in his wanderings subsequent to his flight from Troy. He typified a faithful friend and companion.

Acheloides

daughters of the river-god Achelous and a Muse. They had been nymphs and playmates of Persephone, and for not protecting her when she was carried off by Pluto, they were transformed into beings half-woman and half-bird by Demeter. Later they were transformed into half-woman and half-fish.

Achemon

Achemon and his brother Basalas were two Cercopes who were for ever arguing. One day they insulted Hercules, who tied them by their feet to his club and marched off with them like a brace of hares.

Acheron

In Greek mythology, river in Hades. It was also the name of a river in southern Epirus, Greece, which flowed underground for part of the 58-km (36-mi) course to the Ionian Sea.

Acherusia

In Greek mythology, Acherusia was a cave on the borders of Pontus which led to the infernal regions. It was through this cave that Hercules dragged Cerberus to earth.

Achilles

In Greek mythology, greatest of the Greek warriors in the Trojan War. He was the son of the sea nymph Thetis and Peleus, king of the Myrmidons of Thessaly. When he was a child his mother dipped him into the River Styx to make him immortal. The waters made him invulnerable except for the heel by which his mother held him. Achilles fought many battles during the 10-year siege of Troy. When the Mycenaean king Agamemnon seized the captive maiden Briseis from him, Achilles withdrew the Myrmidons from battle and sulked in his tent. The Trojans, emboldened by his absence, attacked the Greeks and drove them into headlong retreat. Then Patroclus, Achilles' friend and companion, begged Achilles to lend him his armor and let him lead the Myrmidons into battle. Achilles consented. When Patroclus was killed by the Trojan prince Hector, the grief-stricken Achilles returned to battle, slew Hector, and dragged his body in triumph behind his chariot. He later permitted Priam, king of Troy, to ransom Hector's body. Achilles fought his last battle with Memnon, king of the Ethiopians. After killing the king, Achilles led the Greeks to the walls of Troy. There he was mortally wounded in the heel by Paris. The quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, the subsequent battle, and the ransoming of Hector's body are recounted in the Iliad.

Achmon

an alternative spelling for Achemon.

Acis

In Greek mythology, Acis was a son of Faunus and a river nymph. He loved the sea-nymph Galatea and was killed by his jealous rival Polyphemus.

Acrisius

In Greek mythology, Acrisius was a son of Abas and the twin brother of Proetus with whom he quarrelled even in the womb. He was the father of Danae. When Abas died, Acrisius expelled Proetus from his inheritance, but Proetus returned supported by Iobates and Acrisius was compelled to give him Tiryns while he kept Argos.

Actaeon

In Greek mythology, Actaeon was a great hunter who was turned into a stag by Artemis for looking on her while she was bathing. He was subsequently torn to pieces by his own dogs.

Adaro

In the mythology of the Solomon Islands, Adaro is a sea-spirit.

Addanc

The addanc was a dwarf or marine monster which lived near lake llyon. He was killed in some accounts by Peredu who obtained a magic stone which made him invisible.

Admetus

See Alcestis.

Adonis

in Greek mythology, beautiful youth beloved by the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. Born of the incestuous union of King Cinyras of Cyprus and his daughter, Adonis was concealed in a chest and placed in the custody of Persephone, queen of the underworld. When Adonis was slain by a wild boar while hunting, Aphrodite pleaded with the god Zeus to restore him to her. Zeus decreed that Adonis should spend the winter months with Persephone in Hades and the summer months with Aphrodite. The story of his death and resurrection is symbolic of the natural cycle of death and rebirth. The name Adonis is etymologically related to adon, a Semitic word meaning "lord" that occurs in the Old Testament in the form Adonai.

Adrastea

Adrastea was an alternative name for Nemesis.

Adrastus

Adrastus was the son of Talaus and the king of Argos. He attempted to restore Polynices to his throne at Thebes, he failed but led a second assault leading the Epigoni. He died of grief when he heard that his son had been killed in the Epigoni assault.

Aeacus

In Greek mythology, king of Aegina (now Aíyina). He was the son of the nymph Aegina, for whom his island kingdom was named, and the god Zeus. Hera, queen of the gods, angry with Zeus for his love of Aegina, sent a plague that destroyed most of the Aeginetans. Aeacus prayed to his father to change a group of industrious ants into human beings to people his deserted city. Zeus granted his wish, creating a race called the Myrmidons. Aeacus ruled over his people with such justice that after his death he became one of the three judges of the underworld. He was the father of Peleus and the grandfather of Achilles.

Aëdon

In Greek mythology, wife of Zethus, king of Thebes. She was insanely jealous of her sister-in-law, Niobe, who had seven sons, while she had only one. Attempting to kill Niobe's eldest boy, Itylus, Aëdon slew her own son by mistake. The god Zeus turned her into a nightingale whose melancholy song is a lament for the boy. According to a later version of the story, Aëdon was called Procne. She and her sister, Philomela, were the daughters of Pandion, the king of Athens. Procne married a Thracian hero named Tereus and gave birth to a son, Itys. Tereus eventually conceived a passion for Philomela, raped her, and cut out her tongue so that she would be unable to betray him. However, Philomela revealed the crime to Procne by embroidering the course of events on a tapestry. To punish Tereus, Philomela and Procne killed Itys and served his remains to Tereus in a stew. When Tereus discovered the truth, he took an ax and went in pursuit of the women, who implored the gods to help them. In response to their pleas, the gods transformed Procne into a nightingale and Philomela into a swallow. Tereus was changed into a hoopoe. In another version of the story the roles of the sisters are reversed so that it is Philomela who becomes a nightingale and Procne a swallow. This version was adopted by the Roman poets, and it is the one most frequently encountered in subsequent Western art and literature.

Aegeus

See Theseus.

Aegis

In Greek mythology, a garment of Zeus, the king of the gods, and of Athena, his daughter. A short cloak with golden tassels, generally worn over the shoulders, the aegis served as the symbol of Zeus's power; it not only protected him but terrified his enemies. Originally made for Zeus by Hephaestus, the god of artisans, it became the ordinary dress of Athena in later mythology. In art, Athena's aegis was frequently depicted as a breastplate or as a shield fringed with serpents. The garment was also occasionally used by other gods.

Aegisthus

In Greek mythology, the son of Thyestes and his daughter Pelopia. Desiring to avenge himself upon his brother Atreus and acting on the advice of the oracle at Delphi, Thyestes consummated an incestuous union with Pelopia. Shortly afterward, Atreus married Pelopia, not knowing she was his niece. When Aegisthus was born, Atreus accepted him as his own son. Aegisthus later learned his true identity and, urged by Thyestes, killed Atreus. While Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, was away fighting in the Trojan War, Aegisthus became the lover of Queen Clytemnestra. He helped Clytemnestra kill her husband upon his return from Troy. Together with the queen, Aegisthus then ruled Mycenae for seven years; he was murdered by Agamemnon's son Orestes.

Aegyptus

In Greek mythology, king of Arabia and Egypt, which he conquered and named for himself. He was the twin brother of Danaüs, who became king of Argos.

Aello

Aello was one of the harpies.

Aeneas

In Roman mythology, the son of Anchises, a Trojan prince, and Venus, goddess of love. After the capture of Troy by the Greeks, Aeneas escaped from the fallen city with the help of his mother. Carrying his aged father on his back and leading his little son by the hand, Aeneas made his way to the seacoast. In the confusion of flight, his wife was left behind. A long, adventure-filled voyage took Aeneas to Thrace, Delos, Crete, and Sicily, where his father died. The goddess Juno, who had always hated Aeneas and wanted to prevent him from founding Rome, which she knew to be his destiny, tried to drown him in a violent storm. He and his crew were cast up on the African coast, where they were welcomed by Dido, the beautiful queen of Carthage. Dido fell in love with Aeneas and begged him to remain. When he refused and set sail, she took her own life in despair. After several years of wandering, Aeneas reached Italy and the mouth of the Tiber. There he was hospitably received by Latinus, king of Latium. He became betrothed to Lavinia, the daughter of Latinus, but before he could marry her, Juno caused Turnus, king of the Rutuli and a rejected suitor of Lavinia, to make war against Aeneas and Latinus. The war was resolved by hand-to-hand combat, in which Turnus was defeated and slain by Aeneas. Aeneas then ruled for several years in Latium and, by marrying Lavinia, accomplished the union of Trojans and Latins that would one day produce the Roman people. The great Roman epic the Aeneid, by Vergil, tells the story of Aeneas's perilous wanderings in detail and ends with the death of Turnus.

Aeolus

name of two figures in Greek mythology. The best known was keeper of the winds. He lived on the floating island Aeolia with his six sons and six daughters. The god Zeus had given him the power to still and arouse the winds. When the Greek hero Odysseus visited Aeolus, he was welcomed as an honored guest. As a parting gift Aeolus gave him a favoring wind and a leather bag filled with all the winds. Odysseus's sailors, thinking the bag contained gold, opened it and were at once swept back to Aeolia. There Aeolus refused to help them again. Another Aeolus in Greek mythology was the king of Thessaly. He was the son of Hellen, ancestor of the Hellenes, the ancient Greek peoples. Aeolus was himself the ancestor of the Aeolian Greeks.

Aërope

See Atreus; Thyestes.

Asculapius

See Asclepius.

Agamemnon

In Greek mythology, king of Mycenae, and commander of the Greek forces in the Trojan War. He was the son of Atreus and suffered the curse laid on his house (see Atreus, House of). When the Greeks had assembled in Aulis for their voyage to Troy, they were held back by adverse winds. To calm the winds, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to the goddess Artemis. His quarrel with Achilles over the captive princess Briseis and the consequences of that quarrel form much of the plot of Homer's Iliad. After a ten-year siege, Troy fell and Agamemnon returned in triumph to Mycenae. With him came the Trojan princess Cassandra, who had been awarded to him by the victorious Greek army. Clytemnestra, Agamemnon's wife, greeted him with protestations of love, but while he was in his bath she killed him with the assistance of her lover, Aegisthus. His death was avenged seven years later by his son Orestes. The story of Agamemnon's death is told in the first play of the trilogy Oresteia, by ancient Greek poet Aeschylus.

Ajax

In Greek mythology, mighty warrior who fought in the Trojan War. He was the son of Telamon, king of Salamis, and led the Salaminian forces to Troy. An enormous man, slow in speech but unshakable in battle, Ajax was called "bulwark of the Achaeans" by Homer. Angered because he was not awarded the armor of the dead Achilles, Ajax resolved to kill the Greek leaders Agamemnon and Menelaus. To prevent this, the goddess Athena struck him with madness. In his delirium, Ajax committed suicide by falling on his sword.

Ajax the Lesser

In Greek mythology, chieftain from Locris in central Greece. He fought in the Trojan War. After the fall of Troy, he violated the temple of Athena by dragging the prophet Cassandra from the altar of the goddess. Athena appealed to the sea god Poseidon to avenge the sacrilege. When the Greeks sailed for home, Poseidon sent a great tempest. Ajax was shipwrecked, but managed to swim to shore. Clinging to a jagged rock, he boasted that he was a man whom the sea could not drown. Angered by his words, Poseidon split the rock with his trident, and Ajax was swept away by the waves.

Alcaeus

Alcaeus was a son of Perseus and Andromeda.

Alcides

Alcides is an alternative name for Hercules.

Alcestis

In Greek mythology, daughter of Pelias, king of Iolcus in Thessaly. She married Admetus, king of Pherae, whose herds the god Apollo was required to tend as punishment for killing the Cyclopes. During this period of servitude, Apollo and Admetus became friends. When it was time for Admetus to die, Apollo persuaded the Fates to let him live if he could persuade another to die in his place. Alcestis willingly died to spare Admetus's life. Later, Hercules rescued her from Hades.

Alcmaeon

In Greek mythology, son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle. After Amphiaraus was killed in the expedition of the Seven Against Thebes, Alcmaeon led the Epigoni (the sons of the Seven) in a second expedition. To avenge his father's death, on his return home he killed his mother, because she had coerced her husband to go on the expedition. He afterwards went mad and wandered from place to place, haunted by the avenging goddesses, the Erinyes, until he took refuge at Psophis in Arcadia. There, he married Arsinoe, the king's daughter. When the land was cursed with barrenness because of his presence, he fled to the mouth of the Achelous River and married Callirrhoe, daughter of the river god. The king and his sons pursued Alcmaeon and killed him.

Alcmene

See Amphitryon; Hercules.

Amazons

In Greek mythology, a race of warlike women who excluded men from their society. The Amazons occasionally had sexual relations with men of neighboring states, and all male children born to them were either sent to live with their fathers or killed. The girls were trained as archers for war, and the custom of burning off the right breast was practiced to facilitate bending the bow—hence the name Amazon, derived from the Greek word for breastless. In art, however, in which they are frequently represented, they are depicted as beautiful women with no apparent mutilation. Ancient art, such as that on temple friezes, vases, and sarcophagi, usually presents them in battle scenes. According to legend, they were almost constantly at war with Greece and fought other nations as well. According to one version, they were allied with the Trojans, and during the siege of Troy their queen was slain by the Greek warrior Achilles. Some scholars who attribute a historical foundation to the legends identify the country of the Amazons with Scythia or Asia Minor on the shores of the Black Sea.

Ambrosia

In Greek mythology, ambrosia was the food of the gods which was supposed to confer eternal life upon all who ate it.

Amor

Roman god of love. (Cupid)

Amphion

In Greek mythology, Amphion was a son of Zeus and Antiope. He was the husband of Niobe. Amphion had great skill in music which he was taught by Hermes. He helped build the walls of Thebes, the stones moving themselves into position at the sound of his lyre.

Amphitrite

In Greek mythology, sea goddess, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, or by another account, Nereus and Doris, and wife of Poseidon. In sculpture, she often appears sitting next to Poseidon in a chariot drawn by Tritons. She was the Greek goddess of the sea and the rightful wife of Poseidon. She had care of the sea's creatures and could stir the waves and hurl them against rocks and cliffs.

Amphitryon

In Greek mythology, prince of Tiryns; Amphitryon was King of Thebes, son of Alcaeus. He married Alcmene, daughter of King Electryon of Mycenae. During his absence on a military expedition, the god Zeus visited Alcmene disguised as Amphitryon. Alcmene gave birth to twin sons: Hercules, the son of Zeus, and Iphicles, the son of Amphitryon.

Amymone

Amymone was a daughter of Danaus. She and her sisters were sent to search for water when Poseidon caused a drought in the district of Argos. Whilst searching she threw a spear at a dear, missed it and hit a satyr which pursued her. She called to Poseidon for help. He came, drove off the satyr and produced a perennial spring for her at Lerna, where he met her.

Anadyomene

Anadyomene is a name of Aphrodite when she was represented as rising from the sea.

Anchises

See Aeneas.

Androcles

In Roman mythology, Androcles was a Roman slave who fled from a cruel master into the African desert, where he encountered a crippled lion and took a thorn from its paw. The lion later recognized the recaptured slave in the arena and spared his life. The emperor Tiberius was said to have freed them both.

Andromache

In Greek mythology, wife of Hector, the Trojan hero. Her husband was slain by the Greek warrior Achilles shortly before Troy was captured by the Greeks in the Trojan War. Astyanax, Andromache's only son, was hurled from the battlements of the city, and Andromache was given to Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, as a prize of war. She bore Neoptolemus three sons, and after he was slain at Delphi, she married Helenus, brother of Hector and king of Epirus.

Andromeda

In Greek mythology, princess of Ethiopia, daughter of Cepheus. Her mother, Cassiopeia, angered the god Poseidon by boasting that she herself was more beautiful than the sea nymphs, the Nereids. As punishment, Poseidon sent a horrible sea monster to ravage the land. The Ethiopians learned from an oracle that they would be freed of the monster only if they offered Andromeda as a sacrifice. The maiden was chained to a rock on the seashore, but was rescued by the hero Perseus, who slew the monster and claimed the hand of Andromeda as his reward.

Antaeus

the giant son of Poseidon and Ge. He was invincible so long as he remained in contact with the earth. Hercules killed him by picking him up so that his feet were off the ground and then stifling him.

Anteros

In Greek mythology, Anteros was the god of mutual love. He was said to punish those who did not return the love of others.

Anthesteria

Anthesteria was a Greek festival held each year in honour of the gods, particularly Bacchus and to celebrate the beginning of spring.

Antigone

In Greek mythology, daughter of Oedipus, king of Thebes, and Queen Jocasta. Antigone accompanied her father into exile but returned to Thebes after his death. Oedipus left the throne of Thebes to his sons, Eteocles and Polynices, Antigone's brothers. The two came into conflict over who should rule, and after Eteocles succeeded in establishing himself in power, Polynices led the expedition of the Seven Against Thebes to unseat his brother. In the course of the siege, Eteocles and Polynices killed each other. The new king, Creon, gave Eteocles an honorable burial but ordered that the body of Polynices, whom he regarded as a traitor, remain where it had fallen. Antigone, believing divine law must take precedence over earthly decrees, buried her brother. Creon condemned her to be buried alive. She hanged herself in the tomb, and her grief-stricken lover, Haemon, Creon's son, killed himself. Antigone was the subject of plays by ancient Greek playwright Sophocles and 20th-century French playwright Jean Anouilh.

Antilochus

In Greek mythology, Antilochus was a son of Nestor. He was a hero of the Trojan war and was renowned for his speed of foot. He was killed by Memnon.

Antiope

In Greek mythology, Antiope was a daughter of Nycteus, King of Thebes. Zeus was attracted by her beauty and came to her in the guise of a Satyr. Antiope conceived twins by Zeus, and scared of her father's wrath fled to Sicyon where she married King Epopeus.

Aphrodisia

Aphrodisia was the festival in celebration of Aphrodite celebrated throughout Greece and Cyprus.

Aphrodite

In Greek mythology, the goddess of love and beauty and the counterpart of the Roman goddess Venus. In Homeric legend she is said to be the daughter of Zeus and Dione, one of Zeus's consorts, but in the Theogony of Hesiod she is described as having sprung from the foam of the sea, and etymologically her name may mean "foam-risen." According to Homer, Aphrodite is the wife of Hephaestus, the lame and ugly god of fire. Her lovers include Ares, god of war, who in later mythology was represented as her husband. She was the rival of Persephone, queen of the underworld, for the love of the beautiful Greek youth Adonis. Perhaps the most famous legend about Aphrodite concerns the cause of the Trojan War. Eris, the personification of discord—the only goddess not invited to the wedding of King Peleus and the sea nymph Thetis—resentfully tossed into the banquet hall a golden apple on which were inscribed the words "for the fairest." When Zeus refused to judge between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, the three goddesses who claimed the apple, they asked Paris, prince of Troy, to make the award. Each goddess offered Paris a bribe: Hera, that he would be a powerful ruler; Athena, that he would achieve great military fame; and Aphrodite, that he should have the fairest woman in the world. Paris declared Aphrodite the fairest and chose as his prize Helen of Troy, the wife of the Greek king Menelaus. Paris's abduction of Helen led to the Trojan War. Probably of Near Eastern origin, Aphrodite was identified in early Greek religious belief with the Phoenician goddess Astarte and was known under a variety of cult titles, including Aphrodite Urania, queen of the heavens, and Aphrodite Pandemos, goddess of the whole people.

Apollo

In Greek mythology, son of the god Zeus and Leto, daughter of a Titan. He also bore the epithets "Delian" from Delos, the island of his birth, and "Pythian," from his killing of the Python, the fabled serpent that guarded a shrine on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. In Homeric legend Apollo was primarily a god of prophecy. His most important oracle was at Delphi, the site of his victory over the Python. He sometimes gave the gift of prophecy to mortals whom he loved, such as the Trojan princess Cassandra. Apollo was a gifted musician who delighted the gods with his performance on the lyre. He was also a master archer and a fleet-footed athlete, credited with having been the first victor in the Olympian Games. His twin sister, Artemis, was the guardian of young women, and Apollo was the special protector of young men. He was also the god of agriculture and cattle and of light and truth. He taught humans the art of healing (see Asclepius). Some tales depict Apollo as stern or cruel. According to Homer's Iliad, Apollo answered the prayers of the priest Chryses to obtain the release of his daughter from the Greek general Agamemnon by shooting fiery, pestilential arrows into the Greek army. He also abducted and ravished the young Athenian princess Creusa and abandoned her and the child born to them. Perhaps because of his beauty, Apollo was represented in ancient art more frequently than any other deity.

Arachne

In Greek mythology, a young girl who was so skilled in the art of weaving that she dared to challenge the goddess Athena, a patron of the arts and crafts, to a contest. While Athena wove a tapestry depicting the gods and goddesses in all their splendor, Arachne wove one illustrating their romances. Furious over the perfection of the girl's work, Athena tore it to shreds, and Arachne hanged herself in grief. Out of pity, however, Athena loosened the rope, turning it into a cobweb, and transformed Arachne into a spider.

Arcadia

Arcadia was a green mountainous isolated region in the centre of Peloponnese inhabited by shepherds and peasants.

Ares

In Greek mythology, god of war and son of Zeus, king of the gods, and his wife, Hera. (Ares was the Greek god of storms and tempests. He became symbolic with storms and turmoil in human relationships and hence to being the god of war.) The Romans identified him with Mars, also a god of war. Aggressive and sanguinary, Ares personified the brutal nature of war. He was unpopular with both gods and humans. Among the deities associated with Ares were his consort, Aphrodite, goddess of love, and such minor deities as Deimos (Fear) and Phobos (Rout), who accompanied him in battle. Although fierce and warlike, Ares was not invincible, even against mortals. The worship of Ares, believed to have originated in Thrace, was not extensive in ancient Greece, and where it existed, it lacked social or moral significance. Ares was an ancestral deity of Thebes and had a temple at Athens, at the foot of the Areopagus, or Hill of Ares.

Arethusa

In Greek mythology, a wood nymph, the favorite of the nature goddess Artemis. One day, while Arethusa was bathing in a stream belonging to the river god Alpheus, Alpheus appeared and proclaimed his love for her. Arethusa fled under the ocean to the island of Ortygia, where Artemis transformed her into a fountain. But Alpheus pursued her beneath the sea and was himself changed into a river whose waters united with those of the fountain. In ancient times, it was thought that the Alpheus River ran under the sea from Greece and emerged in the fountain of Arethusa in the Sicilian harbor of Syracuse.

Argonauts

In Greek mythology, the band of heroes who sailed on the ship Argo to obtain the Golden Fleece. The leader of the expedition was Jason, son of Aeson, king of Iolcus in Thessaly. Aeson was deposed by his half brother Pelias, who then tried to prevent Jason from claiming the throne. To this end, he persuaded Jason to undertake the dangerous quest for the Golden Fleece, which was held by Aeëtes, king of Colchis, a region located at the eastern end of the Euxine (Black) Sea. Jason assembled 50 of the noblest young men of Greece to accompany him on the voyage. The group that was chosen included Hercules, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux, and Peleus. The Argo sailed from Iolcus to the island of Lemnos, and on to the Euxine Sea by way of Mysia, an area east of the Aegean Sea, and Thrace. Early in the voyage the crew lost Hercules, who left the ship to search for Hylas, his friend and armor bearer. The Argonauts saved a Thracian king, Phineus, from starvation caused by the Harpies, flying creatures with heads of women, who were carrying off and befouling his food. In gratitude, Phineus told them how to pass through the Symplegades, the rocks that guarded the entrance to the Euxine Sea by clashing against each other when anything went between them. As Phineus had instructed them, the Argonauts released a dove that flew between the Symplegades. As the rocks clanged together and began to return to their positions, the Argo sailed swiftly through. When the ship finally reached Colchis, Aeëtes refused to relinquish the fleece unless Jason could first yoke and plow a field with two fire-breathing, brass-hoofed bulls. He was then to sow a field with dragon teeth and vanquish the armed men that would spring up from them. Helped by Aeëtes' daughter, the sorceress Medea, who had fallen in love with him, Jason accomplished these tasks and carried off the fleece. Medea, fleeing with him, slew her brother, Apsyrtus, to delay the pursuit of her father. On the homeward voyage the Argo safely passed between the six-headed monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis. Sea nymphs, sent by the goddess Hera, saved the ship from destruction in a storm off the coast of Libya. From there the Argo sailed to Crete and then home to Iolcus.

Argus

In Greek mythology, a 100-eyed giant, also called Panoptes (Greek for "the all-seeing"). Argus was assigned to guard Io, the mistress of Zeus, by Zeus's jealous wife Hera, after Zeus had changed Io into a heifer to conceal her from Hera. The god Hermes, dispatched by Zeus to rescue Io, slew Argus by lulling him to sleep with music and then severing his head. In one version of the story, Argus subsequently became a peacock; in another, Hera transplanted his eyes onto the peacock's tail. Argus was also the name of the builder of the Argo, the ship that carried the Greek hero Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece (see Argonauts). Also known by the name Argus was the old dog of Odysseus, Greek leader during the Trojan War. When his master returned to Ithaca after 19 years, Argus recognized him and promptly died.

Ariadne

In Greek mythology, the daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and Pasiphaë, daughter of Helios, the sun god. The hero Theseus came to Crete as one of the 14 victims that the Athenians were annually required to offer to the Minotaur, a monster—half bull, half human—that was confined in the mazes of the labyrinth. When Ariadne saw Theseus, she fell in love with him and offered to help him if he would promise to take her back to Athens and marry her. She then gave him a ball of thread, which she had obtained from Daedalus, the designer of the labyrinth. Fastening one end of the thread to the door and unwinding it as he went along, Theseus was able to find and kill the Minotaur and then to escape from the maze by rewinding the thread. Taking Ariadne with them, Theseus and his companions fled over the seas toward Athens. On the way they stopped at the island of Naxos. According to one legend, Theseus deserted Ariadne, sailing without her while she was asleep on the island; the god Dionysus found her and married her. According to another legend, Theseus set Ariadne ashore to recover from seasickness while he returned to the ship to perform some necessary task. A strong wind then carried him out to sea. When he was finally able to return, he found that Ariadne had died.

Arimaspians

In Greek mythology the Arimaspians were a one-eyed people who conducted a perpetual war against the griffins in an attempt to steal the griffin's gold.

Aristaeus

In Greek mythology, son of the god Apollo and the nymph Cyrene. He was worshiped as the protector of hunters, herdsmen, and flocks and as the inventor of beekeeping and olive culture. When Aristaeus tried to seduce Eurydice, the wife of the celebrated musician Orpheus, she fled from him and received a fatal snake bite. The nymphs punished him by causing all of his bees to die; but he appeased the nymphs with a sacrifice of cattle, from whose carcasses emerged new swarms of bees. Aristaeus was learned in the arts of healing and prophecy, and he wandered over many lands sharing his knowledge and curing the sick. He was widely honored as a beneficent god and was often represented as a youthful shepherd carrying a lamb.

Artemis

In Greek mythology, one of the principal goddesses, counterpart of the Roman goddess Diana. She was the daughter of the god Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of the god Apollo. She was chief hunter to the gods and goddess of hunting and of wild animals, especially bears. Artemis was also the goddess of childbirth, of nature, and of the harvest. As the moon goddess, she was sometimes identified with the goddesses Selene and Hecate. Although traditionally the friend and protector of youth, especially young women, Artemis prevented the Greeks from sailing to Troy during the Trojan War until they sacrificed a maiden to her. According to some accounts, just before the sacrifice, she rescued the victim, Iphigenia. Like Apollo, Artemis was armed with a bow and arrows, which she often used to punish mortals who angered her. In other legends, she is praised for giving young women who died in childbirth a swift and painless death.

Aruspices (Haruspices)

a class of priests in ancient Rome. Their job was to foretell the future from the entrails of sacrificial victims.

Ascanius

- a son of Aeneas and Creusa. He escaped from Troy with his father.

Asclepius

In Greek mythology, the god of medicine. He was a son of the god Apollo and Coronis, a beautiful maiden of Thessaly. Angry because Coronis was unfaithful to him, Apollo killed her and tore the unborn Asclepius from her womb. He later sent Asclepius to the centaur Chiron to be raised. Asclepius learned all that Chiron knew about the art of healing and soon became a great physician. Because Asclepius threatened the natural order by raising people from the dead, the god Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt. The cult of Asclepius was centered in Epidaurus, but it was popular throughout the Greco-Roman world. The sanctuaries of Asclepius functioned as health resorts, where therapeutic regimens such as exercise and diets were prescribed. The most important practice associated with the cures was the ritual of incubation, in which afflicted people slept within a temple or sacred enclosure in the hope that the god would come to them in dreams and prescribe cures for their illnesses.

Ashtoreth

See Astarte.

Astarte

Greek and Roman name of Ashtoreth, the supreme female divinity of the Phoenician nations, the goddess of love and fruitfulness. Like that of Baal, the corresponding male divinity, the name is frequently found in the earlier books of the Old Testament in the plural form Ashtaroth; not until the time of King Solomon of Israel (10th century BC) did the singular form Ashtoreth occur. She symbolized the female principle in all its aspects, as Baal symbolized maleness. Astarte has been identified with various Greek goddesses: the goddess of the moon, Selene; the goddess of wild nature, Artemis; and the goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. The Babylonian and Assyrian counterpart of Astarte was Ishtar.

Astraea

- In Greek mythology Astraea was the daughter of Zeus and Themis, the goddess of justice.

Atalanta

In Greek mythology, the daughter of Schoeneus of Boeotia or of Iasus of Arcadia. Disappointed that she was not a boy, her father abandoned her on a mountainside shortly after her birth. She was rescued and nursed by a she-bear and later raised by hunters. By the time she had grown up, she was a skilled hunter herself. The feat for which she became especially famous was her participation in the boar hunt of Calydon, a city of Aetolia in central Greece. According to another legend, Atalanta was a fleet-footed runner who offered to marry anyone who could defeat her in a race. Those who lost were killed. The youth Hippomenes (or Melanion) won with the aid of Aphrodite, goddess of love, who gave him three golden apples of the Hesperides. He dropped them one by one, and, by stopping to pick them up, Atalanta lost the race. She and Hippomenes were later turned into lions because of an affront to the gods. Parthenopaeus, their son, joined the expedition of the Seven Against Thebes.

Ate

In Greek mythology, daughter of the god Zeus and Eris, goddess of strife. Ate was the goddess of infatuation, mischief and guilt. Ate was the goddess of rash actions and their consequences. She would mislead men into actions which would be the ruin of them. Zeus banished her from heaven after she had tricked him into taking a thoughtless oath. She is said to have been responsible for the bitter quarrel between the Greek heroes Agamemnon and Achilles during the Trojan War.

Athena

one of the most important goddesses in Greek mythology. In Roman mythology she became identified with the goddess Minerva. Also known as Pallas Athena. Athena sprang full-grown and armored from the forehead of the god Zeus and was his favorite child. He entrusted her with his shield, adorned with the hideous head of Medusa the Gorgon, his buckler, and his principal weapon, the thunderbolt. A virgin goddess, she was called Parthenos ("the maiden"). Her major temple, the Parthenon, was in Athens, which, according to legend, became hers as a result of her gift of the olive tree to the Athenian people. Athena was primarily the goddess of the Greek cities, of industry and the arts, and, in later mythology, of wisdom; she was also goddess of war. Athena was the strongest supporter, among the gods, of the Greek side in the Trojan War. After the fall of Troy, however, the Greeks failed to respect the sanctity of an altar to Athena at which the Trojan prophet Cassandra sought shelter. As punishment, storms sent by the god of the sea, Poseidon, at Athena's request destroyed most of the Greek ships returning from Troy. Athena was also a patron of the agricultural arts and of the crafts of women, especially spinning and weaving. Among her gifts to man were the inventions of the plow and the flute and the arts of taming animals, building ships, and making shoes. She was often associated with birds, especially the owl.

Atlantiades

Atlantiades was another name for Hermes.

Atlantides

Atlantides was a name given to the Pleiades who were fabled to be the seven daughters of Atlas.

Atlantis

an island continent, said to have sunk following an earthquake. The Greek philosopher Plato created an imaginary early history for it and described it as a utopia. In the tradition of antiquity, Atlantis was a large island in the Western Ocean (the ocean to the west of the known world), near the Pillars of Hercules. The first recorded accounts of Atlantis, which is said to have been engulfed by the ocean as the result of an earthquake, appear in Timaeus and Critias, two dialogues by Plato. According to the account in Timaeus, the island was described to the Athenian statesman Solon by an Egyptian priest, who maintained that Atlantis was larger than Asia Minor and Libya combined. The priest further revealed that a flourishing civilization centered on Atlantis reputedly about the 10th millennium BC, and that the nation had conquered all the Mediterranean peoples except the Athenians. In Critias, Plato records the history of Atlantis and depicts the nation as a utopian commonwealth. Although Plato's descriptive material and history are probably fictional, the possibility exists that he had access to records no longer extant. The tradition that a lost island such as Atlantis once flourished has always fascinated the popular imagination, and the tradition continues to survive. In the 20th century some oceanographers have advanced the theory that Atlantis was once a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. The island, called Thíra, was buried by a volcanic eruption about 1500 BC. Other theories have been based on archaeological discoveries. Scholars have variously identified the island with Crete, the Canary Islands, the Scandinavian Peninsula, and America.

Atlas

In Greek mythology, son of the Titan Iapetus and the nymph Clymene, and brother of Prometheus. Atlas fought with the Titans in the war against the deities of Mount Olympus. As punishment, he was condemned to bear forever on his back the earth and the heavens and on his shoulders the great pillar that separates them. Atlas was the father of the Hesperides, the nymphs who guarded the tree of golden apples, and Hercules sought his help in performing one of his labors. Hercules offered to assume Atlas's burden if Atlas would obtain the golden apples for him. Atlas happily agreed, thinking to rid himself forever of the wearying load. After Atlas returned with the apples, Hercules asked him to take the burden back for a moment while he arranged a pad to ease the pressure on his shoulders. Atlas assumed the load again, and Hercules departed with the apples. Because the figure of Atlas supporting the earth was often used in the title pages of early map collections, the name now denotes a volume of maps. In classical architecture, atlantes (the plural form of atlas) are male figures used as columns to support a superstructure. Atlantes are the male counterpart of caryatids and are sometimes also called telamones.

Atreus

In Greek mythology, son of Pelops. When the king of Mycenae died without an heir, the notables of the kingdom chose Atreus as their new king. Atreus's brother Thyestes, a rival for the throne, seduced Aërope, wife of Atreus and mother of Agamemnon and Menelaus. In revenge, Atreus murdered two of Thyestes' sons and served them boiled in a cauldron to their father at a banquet. When Thyestes had eaten the loathsome meal, Atreus ordered a dish holding the bloody heads of the children brought in. Thyestes laid a curse on his brother. Atreus later married Pelopia, daughter of Thyestes, not knowing her true identity. Her son Aegisthus killed Atreus at the command of Thyestes.

Atreus, House of

In Greek mythology, royal family of Mycenae, named for Atreus, who was elected king by the Mycenaean notables. The ill-fated house of Atreus was a favorite subject of ancient Greek writers, including Homer, Aeschylus, Euripides, Sophocles, and Pindar. The cause of the misfortunes that befell the house was the behavior of Tantalus, king of Lydia, who offended the gods and was punished forever in Tartarus. His son Pelops was cursed by the charioteer Myrtilus after accepting Myrtilus's assistance in gaining the hand of Hippodamia in marriage and then throwing him into the sea to drown. Niobe, the daughter of Tantalus, was punished by the gods for her arrogance. Atreus, son of Pelops, and his children and grandchildren felt the full weight of divine wrath. First, Atreus's brother Thyestes seduced the wife of Atreus. In revenge, Atreus served the boiled flesh of two sons of Thyestes to their father at a banquet. Thyestes' third son, Aegisthus, later killed Atreus to avenge this deed. Of Atreus's sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus were the most famous. The abduction of Menelaus's wife, Helen of Troy, was the cause of the Trojan War. After the war, Menelaus and Helen were reconciled and, following many adventures, returned to Sparta, where they lived happily. Agamemnon, on the other hand, was killed on the day of his triumphant homecoming by his wife, Clytemnestra, and Aegisthus, whom she had taken as her lover. Agamemnon's death was avenged seven years later by his children Electra and Orestes. When Orestes was at last acquitted of blood guilt in the murder of his mother by the Areopagus in Athens, the curse on the house of Atreus was finally lifted.

Augean Stables

In Greek mythology, the stables owned by Augeas, who in some versions of the myth is a son of the god Helios and king of Elis in northwest Peloponnesus. Augeas possessed an immense herd of cattle, including 12 white bulls sacred to Helios, kept in stalls that had not been cleaned for years. One of the 12 labors imposed on the Greek hero Hercules was cleaning the stables, unaided, in a single day. He did this by diverting the rivers Alpheus and Peneus to run through them. Augeas had promised Hercules a tenth of his herd as payment but did not keep his word. Hercules then sent an army against him, slaying Augeas and his sons.

Aurora

Aurora was goddess of the dawn. She was the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, and sister of Helios and Selene.

Autolycus

In Greek mythology, Autolycus was an accomplished thief and trickster. He was a son of the god Hermes, who gave him the power of invisibility.

Bacchanlia

See Bacchus.

Bacchantes

See Bacchus.

Bacchus

See Dionysus

Basalas

Aee Achemon

Bateia

In Greek mythology, Bateia was a daughter of Teucer. She was married to Dardanus by whom she had two sons, Ilus and Erichthonius.

Baucis

See Philemon and Baucis.

Bellerophon

In Greek mythology, the son of Glaucus, king of Corinth; he was the hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus with the aid of a bridle given him by the goddess Athena. Falling in love with the wife of King Proetus of Argos, Bellerophon aroused the jealously of Proetus, who sent him to his father-in-law Iobates, king of Lycia, with a message requesting that the bearer be slain. The king, having entertained Bellerophon before he read the message, was afraid to anger the god Zeus by carrying out a request that would break the traditional bond between host and guest. Instead of killing Bellerophon, he asked him to kill the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster, which the hero did with the help of Pegasus. He also defeated the Solymi and the Amazons, two warrior tribes. Iobates was impressed by Bellerophon's superhuman courage and married him to his daughter. After a time of prosperity, Bellerophon defied the gods by trying to ride Pegasus up to Olympus, but, thrown to the earth by the horse, he wandered in misery until he died.

Bellona

In Roman mythology, the goddess of war. She is often identified with the Greek war goddess Enyo. Although she was an ancient goddess, Bellona had no flamen, or dedicated priest, and no festival in her honor. Her temple, which was dedicated in Rome in 296 BC, stood in the Campus Martius near the altar of Mars outside the gates of the city. Here the Senate met to receive foreign ambassadors. In front of Bellona's temple stood the columna bellica, or column of war. Here the fetial priests, who supervised the religious aspect of Rome's international affairs, performed ceremonies for the declaration of war.

Beltaine

Beltaine is the name of the feast of the spring equinox.

Bia

In Greek mythology, Bia was a son of Styx and the Titan Pallas. Bia was the personification of might and force.

Boan

Boan was another name for Dana. In this version of events, Boan visited a sacred well which, to punish her for breaking the law, rose up and pursued her to the sea and thus became the river Boyne where lived the salmon of knowledge which fed on nuts dropped from the nine hazel trees at the water's edge.

Boreas

Boreas was the north wind god. He was the son of Astraeus and Aurora.

Briseis

See Achilles; Agamemnon.

Bromius

Bromius was another name for Dionysus.

Bucentaur

The bucentaur was a mythical creature, half man and half ox

Cadmus

In Greek mythology, Phoenician prince who founded the city of Thebes in Greece. When his sister Europa was kidnapped by the god Zeus, Cadmus was ordered by his father, the king of Phoenicia, to find her or not to return home. Unable to locate his sister, he consulted the oracle at Delphi and was instructed to abandon his search and instead to found a city. Upon leaving Delphi, the oracle advised, Cadmus would come upon a heifer, follow her, and build the city where she lay down to rest. Near the site of the new city Cadmus and his companions found a sacred grove guarded by a dragon. After the beast killed his companions, Cadmus slew the dragon and, on the advice of the goddess Athena, planted its teeth in the ground. Armed men sprang from the teeth and fought each other until all but five were killed. Cadmus enlisted the help of the victors in founding the citadel of the new city of Thebes, and they became the heads of its noble families. Before Cadmus could enjoy his new home, however, he had to do penance for killing the dragon, which was sacred to Ares, god of war. After eight years of servitude, Cadmus was made king of Thebes and was given Harmonia, the daughter of Ares and of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, as his wife. Although Thebes prospered under Cadmus's rule, misfortune overcame his descendants. In his old age, after two of his daughters and two of his grandsons had suffered violent deaths, Cadmus fled with his wife to Illyria, where at his death he and Harmonia were changed into serpents. According to tradition, Cadmus introduced the alphabet into Greece.

Caduceus

symbolic staff surmounted by two wings and entwined with two snakes. Among the ancient Greeks the caduceus was carried by heralds and ambassadors as a badge of office and a mark of personal inviolability, because it was the symbol of Hermes, the messenger of the gods. According to Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid, the Greek god Apollo gave the staff to Hermes in return for the lyre. In Roman mythology the symbol is associated with the god Mercury. The staff of Asclepius, the Greek god of healing, which was entwined by a single snake, was also called a caduceus. The caduceus has been adopted as a symbol by the medical profession; it is also the emblem of the medical branches of the United States Army and Navy.

Calchas

In Greek mythology, the most famous soothsayer among the Greeks at the time of the Trojan War. When the Greek fleet was stranded at Aulis because of a lack of favorable wind, Calchas revealed that the goddess Artemis was offended and that King Agamemnon must sacrifice his virgin daughter Iphigenia before the winds would rise. Calchas predicted the 10-year siege of Troy, and shortly before the conclusion of the war, when the Greeks were stricken with a plague, explained that the god Apollo was angry because Agamemnon had taken as his mistress the daughter of one of Apollo's priests. Calchas was highly respected because of the accuracy of his prophecies, and at his suggestion the Greek commanders built the Trojan horse by which the Greek forces gained access to the city.

Calliope

Calliope was the muse of heroic poems. She was the chief of the muses. She carried a writing tablet and stylus.

Callisto

a daughter of Lycaon. She was one of Artemis' huntresses. She bore Arcas to Zeus. To conceal their affair, Zeus turned her into a bear.

Calypso

In Greek mythology, a sea nymph and daughter of the Titan Atlas. Calypso lived alone on the mythical island of Ogygia in the Ionian Sea. When the Greek hero Odysseus was shipwrecked on Ogygia, she fell in love with him and kept him a virtual prisoner for seven years. Although she promised him immortality and eternal youth if he would stay with her, she could not make him overcome his desire to return home. At the bidding of the god Zeus, she finally released Odysseus and gave him materials to build a raft to leave the island. She died of grief after he left.

Cassandra

In Greek mythology, daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy. The god Apollo, who loved Cassandra, granted her the gift of prophecy, but when she refused to return his love, Apollo made the gift useless by decreeing that no one would believe her predictions. Cassandra warned the Trojans of many dangers, including the wooden horse by which the Greeks entered the city, but she was dismissed as a madwoman. After the fall of Troy, she was dragged from her sanctuary in the temple of the goddess Athena by Ajax the Lesser and brought to the Greek camp. When the spoils were divided, Cassandra was awarded to King Agamemnon as his slave and mistress. Cassandra warned him that he would be killed if he returned to Greece; again she was not believed. Upon their arrival in Mycenae she and Agamemnon were murdered by Clytemnestra, queen of Mycenae and wife of Agamemnon.

Cassiopeia

In Greek mythology, the wife of Cepheus, king of Ethiopia. When Cassiopeia boasted that she was more beautiful than the Nereids, these water nymphs complained to Poseidon, the god of the sea, who sent a sea monster to ravage the land. Poseidon demanded that Cassiopeia's daughter Andromeda be punished for her mother's vanity by being sacrificed to the monster, but the girl was rescued by the hero Perseus. According to tradition, at her death Cassiopeia was changed into the constellation that bears her name.

Castor and Polydeuces

In Greek and Roman mythology, the twin sons of Leda, wife of the Spartan king Tyndareus. Polydeuces is also called Pollux. They were the brothers of Clytemnestra, queen of Mycenae, and Helen of Troy. Although both boys were known as the Dioscuri, or Sons of Zeus, in most accounts only Polydeuces was held to be immortal, having been conceived when Zeus appeared to Leda in the form of a swan. Castor, his fraternal twin, was considered the mortal son of Tyndareus. Both were worshiped as deities in the Roman world, however, and were regarded as the special protectors of sailors and warriors. Living just before the Trojan War, the brothers took part in many of the famous events of the day, including the Calydonian boar hunt, the expedition of the Argonauts, and the rescue of their sister Helen when she was carried off by the Greek hero Theseus. Throughout their adventures the brothers were inseparable, and when Castor was slain by Idas, a cattle owner, in a dispute about his oxen, Polydeuces was inconsolable. In response to his prayers for death for himself or immortality for his brother, Zeus reunited the brothers, allowing them to be together always, half the time in the underworld and half with the gods on Mount Olympus. According to a later legend, Castor and Polydeuces were transformed by Zeus into the constellation Gemini, or The Twins.

Cecrops

In Greek mythology, the founder of Athens and of Greek civilization. Reputed to have sprung half man, half serpent from the soil, he became the first king of Attica, which he divided into 12 communities. He established marriage and property laws, introduced bloodless sacrifice and burial of the dead, and invented writing. During his 50-year rule he arbitrated a dispute over possession of Athens between Athena and Poseidon, awarding it to Athena.

Celaeno

one of the harpies.

Celeus

In Greek mythology, Celeus was King of Eleusis and the husband of Metaneira.

Centaurs

In Greek mythology, a race of monsters believed to have inhabited the mountain regions of Thessaly and Arcadia. They were usually represented as human down to the waist, with the lower torso and legs of a horse. The centaurs were characterized by savageness and violence; they were known for their drunkenness and lust and were often portrayed as followers of Dionysus, the god of wine. The centaurs were driven from Thessaly when, in a drunken frenzy, they attempted to abduct the bride of the king of the Lapiths from her wedding feast. An exception to their bestial behavior was the centaur Chiron, who was noted for his goodness and wisdom. Several Greek heroes, including Achilles and Jason, were educated by him.

Cepheus

king of Aethiopia. He displeased Poseidon by having a beautiful daughter, Andromeda. Poseidon then sent floods and a sea monster to terrorise the area until cepheus gave his daughter as a sacrifice to the sea monster.

Cerberus

In Greek mythology, a three-headed, dragon-tailed dog that guarded the entrance to the lower world, or Hades. He was the offspring of Echidne and Typhon. The monster permitted all spirits to enter Hades, but would allow none to leave. Only a few heroes ever escaped Cerberus's guard; the great musician Orpheus charmed it with his lyre, and the Greek hero Hercules captured it bare-handed and brought it for a short time from the underworld to the regions above. In Roman mythology both the beautiful maiden Psyche and the Trojan prince Aeneas were able to pacify Cerberus with a honey cake and thus continue their journey through the underworld. Cerberus is sometimes pictured with a mane of snakes and 50 heads.

Cercyon

a son of Hephaestus. He was king near Eleusis. He challenged all travellers and wrestled them to death untill he challenged and was killed by Theseus.

Ceres

In Roman mythology, the goddess of agriculture. She and her daughter Proserpine were the counterparts of the Greek goddesses Demeter and Persephone. The Greek belief that her joy at being reunited with her daughter each spring caused the earth to bring forth an abundance of fruits and grains was introduced into Rome in the 5th century BC, and her cult became extremely popular, especially with the plebeians. The word cereal is derived from her name. Her chief festival, the Cerealia, was celebrated from April 12 to 19.

Cestus

In Greek mythology, the cestus was a girdle worn by Aphrodite and which was endowered with the power of exciting love towards the wearer.

Chalybes

The Chalybes were mythical inhabitants of north Asia Minor who invented iron working.

Chaos

in one ancient Greek myth of creation, the dark, silent abyss from which all things came into existence. According to the Theogony of Hesiod, Chaos generated the solid mass of Earth, from which arose the starry, cloud-filled Heaven. Mother Earth and Father Heaven, personified respectively as Gaea and her offspring Uranus, were the parents of the Titans. Other children of Chaos include Tartatus and Eros. In a later theory Chaos is the formless matter from which the cosmos, or harmonious order, was created.

Charites

the Greek goddesses of gracefulness and the charms of beauty.

Charon

in Greek mythology, the son of Night and of Erebus, who personified the darkness under the earth through which dead souls passed to reach the home of Hades, the god of death. Charon was the aged boatman who ferried the souls of the dead across the River Styx to the gates of the underworld. He would admit to his boat only the souls of those who had received the rites of burial and whose passage had been paid with a coin placed under the tongue of the corpse. Those who had not been buried and whom Charon would not admit to his boat were doomed to wait beside the Styx for 100 years.

Charybdis

In Greek mythology, the charybdis was a whirlpool formed by a monster of the same name on one side of the narrow straits of Messina, Sicily, opposite the monster Scylla.

Cheiron

a centaur. He was a son of Cronus and Philyra. He learnt hunting and medicine from Apollo and Artemis.

Chimera

in Greek mythology, a fire-breathing monster that had the head of a lion, the body of a she-goat, and the tail of a dragon. It terrorized Lycia, a region in Asia Minor, but was finally killed by the Greek hero Bellerophon.

Cimmerians

in the poetry of Homer, a mythical people who lived in northwestern Europe, on the shores of the ocean, where perpetual darkness reigned. The name is also used to designate a historical people who settled along the northern shore of the Black Sea and presumably made several inroads into Asia Minor (the accounts are confused). The Cimmerians, driven from their homes, probably in the 8th century BC by the Scythians, overran Asia Minor; they plundered Sardis and destroyed Magnesia. After their defeat by the empire of Lydia about the 7th century BC, the Cimmerians disappeared.

Circe

in Greek mythology, a sorceress, the daughter of the sun god Helios and the sea nymph Perse. She lived on the island of Aeaea, near the west coast of Italy. With potions and incantations Circe was able to turn people into beasts. Her victims retained their reason, however, and knew what had happened to them. In the course of his wanderings, the Greek hero Odysseus visited her island with his companions, whom she turned into swine. On his way to find help for his men, Odysseus met the god Hermes, from whom he received an herb (moly) that made him immune to Circe's enchantments. He forced her to restore his companions to human form, and in amazement that anyone could resist her spell, Circe fell in love with Odysseus. He and his friends stayed with her for a year. When they finally determined to leave, she told Odysseus how to find the spirit of the Theban seer Tiresias in the underworld in order to learn from him how to conduct safely the homeward voyage.

Clio

Clio was the muse of history. She was represented by a scroll.

Clotho

See Fates.

Clytemnestra

in Greek mythology, queen of Mycenae, a city in the Pelopónnesus, and wife of King Agamemnon. The daughter of Tyndareus, king of Sparta, and his wife Leda, she bore Agamemnon four children: Electra, Iphigenia, Orestes, and Chrysothemis. After Agamemnon sacrificed Iphigenia so that his ships could sail to Troy, Clytemnestra's love for her husband turned to hatred; while he led the Greek forces in the Trojan War, she took Aegisthus as her lover. When Agamemnon returned in triumph with the Trojan princess Cassandra, Clytemnestra sought revenge for the death of Iphigenia, and, with the help of Aegisthus, she killed both her husband and his Trojan mistress. She and her lover ruled for seven years until they were both slain by Orestes, who had been commanded by the god Apollo to avenge the death of his father.

Comus

Greek and Roman god of banquets.

Cornucopia

In Greek mythology, the cornucopia was one of the horns of the goat Amaltheia, which was caused by Zeus to refill itself indefinitely with food and drink.

Cratos

Cratos was a son of Uranus and Gaea. He was very strong.

Creon

in Greek mythology, brother of Jocasta, queen of Thebes. After King Oedipus was exiled, Creon served as regent of Thebes until his nephew Eteocles, Oedipus's younger son, claimed the throne. The elder son, Polynices, angered at this usurpation of his legal right, led an invading army in the battle of the Seven Against Thebes. Both brothers were killed in combat, and Creon again took command of Thebes, decreeing that all who had fought against the city would be denied burial rites. Burial of the dead was regarded as a sacred duty, and Antigone, sister of Polynices, defied Creon and buried her brother, claiming that she owed a higher obedience to the laws of the gods than to the laws of man. Enraged at her defiance of his authority, Creon ordered that his niece be buried alive. His son Haemon, who had loved Antigone, killed himself in despair at her death. In the story of Jason and Medea, the king of Corinth is named Creon.

Creusa

In Greek mythology, Creusa was the daughter of Erechtheus and wife of Xuthus. She was also loved by Apollo.

Cronus

in Greek mythology, ruler of the universe during the Golden Age. He was one of the 12 Titans and the youngest son of Uranus and Gaea, the personifications of heaven and earth. The first sons of his parents were the three Hecatonchires, the 100-handed, 50-headed monsters whom Uranus had imprisoned in a secret place. Gaea sought to rescue them and appealed for help from her other offspring, including the Cyclopes. Cronus alone accepted the challenge. He attacked Uranus and wounded him severely; Cronus thus became the ruler of the universe. Cronus and his sister-queen, Rhea, became the parents of 6 of the 12 gods and goddesses known as the Olympians. Cronus had been warned that he would be overthrown by one of his children, and he swallowed each of his first five children as soon as it was born. Rhea, however, substituted a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes for their sixth child, Zeus. Zeus was hidden in Crete, and when he was grown, with the aid of Gaea, forced Cronus to disgorge the other five children together with the stone. The stone was later removed to Delphi. Zeus and his five brothers and sisters waged war on Cronus and the other Titans. Zeus was aided by the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes, whom he freed from the prison where they were kept by Cronus. Cronus and the Titans were thereafter confined in Tartarus, a cave in the deepest part of the underworld. The Roman counterpart of Cronus is Saturn, the god of sowing and seed.

Cupid

(Latin cupido, "desire"), in Roman mythology, son of Venus, goddess of love. His counterpart in Greek mythology was Eros, god of love. He is best known as the handsome young god who falls in love with the beautiful maiden Psyche. This story is told in The Golden Ass, a romance by the Roman writer Lucius Apuleius. In other tales he appears as a mischievous boy who indiscriminately wounds both gods and humans with his arrows, thereby causing them to fall deeply in love. Cupid is commonly represented in art as a naked, winged infant, often blindfolded, carrying a bow and a quiver of arrows. He is also known as Amor and Cupido.

Curetes

In Greek mythology the Curetes were attendants of Rhea. They were supposed to have saved the infant Zeus from his father Cronus and then to have become a sort of bodyguard of the god.

Cybele

Latin name of a goddess native to Phrygia in Asia Minor and known to the Greeks as Rhea, the wife of the Titan Cronus and mother of the Olympian gods. Cybele was a goddess of nature and fertility who was worshiped in Rome as the Great Mother of the Gods. Because Cybele presided over mountains and fortresses, her crown was in the form of a city wall, and she was also known to the Romans as Mater Turrita. The cult of Cybele was directed by eunuch priests called Corybantes, who led the faithful in orgiastic rites accompanied by wild cries and the frenzied music of flutes, drums, and cymbals.

Cyclops

in Greek mythology, giants with one enormous eye in the middle of the forehead. In Hesiod, the three sons—Arges, Brontes, and Steropes—of Uranus and Gaea, the personifications of heaven and earth, were Cyclopes. They were thrown into the lower world by their brother Cronus, one of the Titans, after he dethroned Uranus. But Cronus's son, the god Zeus, released the Cyclopes from the underworld, and they, in gratitude, gave him the gifts of thunder and lightning with which he defeated Cronus and the Titans and thus became lord of the universe. In Homer's Odyssey, the Cyclopes were shepherds living in Sicily. They were a lawless, savage, and cannibalistic race fearing neither gods nor humans. The Greek hero Odysseus was trapped with his men in the cave of the Cyclops Polyphemus, a son of Poseidon, god of the sea. In order to escape from the cave after the giant devoured several men, Odysseus blinded him.

Daedalus

in Greek mythology, Athenian architect and inventor who designed the labyrinth for King Minos of Crete. It was built as a prison for the Minotaur, a man-eating monster that was half man and half bull. The labyrinth was so skillfully designed that no one who entered it could escape from the Minotaur. Daedalus revealed the secret of the labyrinth only to Ariadne, daughter of Minos, and she aided her lover, the Athenian hero Theseus, to slay the Minotaur and escape. In anger at the escape, Minos imprisoned Daedalus and his son Icarus in the labyrinth. Although the prisoners could not find the exit, Daedalus made wax wings so that they could both fly out. Icarus, however, flew too near the sun; his wings melted, and he fell into the sea. Daedalus flew to Sicily, where he was welcomed by King Cocalus. Minos later pursued Daedalus but was killed by the daughters of Cocalus.

Daemons

were an order of invisible beings. Zeus assigned one daemon to each man to attend, protect and guide him.

Danaans

one of the 3 Nemedian families who survived the Fomorian victory. The brought the stone of destiny from Falias.

Danae

in Greek mythology, the daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos, and, by the god Zeus, the mother of Perseus. Acrisius shut her up in a bronze tower because of a prophecy that her son would kill his grandfather. Zeus became enamored of her and descended in a shower of gold; she gave birth to Perseus.

Danaus

in Greek mythology, the son of Belus, king of Egypt, and Anchinoe. Aegyptus, Danaüs's twin brother, wished to settle a quarrel between them by marrying his 50 sons to the 50 daughters of Danaüs. Danaüs and his daughters, who opposed the arrangement, fled from Egypt to Argos, where Danaüs became king. The young men pursued them, however, and Danaüs finally agreed to the marriage, but gave each daughter a dagger with which to kill her husband on the wedding night. Hypermnestra, the only daughter who did not obey, was imprisoned by Danaüs but later released. As punishment for the murders, the 49 obedient sisters, known as the Danaïds, were condemned by the gods to the fruitless and eternal task of filling leaking jars in the underworld.

Daphne

in Greek mythology, nymph, daughter of the river god Peneus. She was a hunter who dedicated herself to Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and, like the goddess, refused to marry. The god Apollo fell in love with Daphne, and when she refused his advances, he pursued her through the woods. She prayed to her father for help, and as Apollo advanced upon her, she was changed into a laurel tree (Greek daphne). Grief-stricken at her transformation, Apollo made the laurel his sacred tree.

Daphnis

in Greek mythology, the Sicilian shepherd who invented pastoral poetry, born of the union of the god Hermes with a nymph. According to one legend, Daphnis was blinded after breaking a vow of fidelity to a nymph who loved him. In another account, he loved the nymph Piplea, and to rescue her from Lityerses, king of Phrygia, Daphnis entered a reaping contest with the king. Daphnis lost the contest and was about to be beheaded by the king when the hero Hercules appeared and killed Lityerses. In one Greek pastoral poem, Daphnis is the lover of the shepherdess Chloë.

Dardanus

in Greek mythology, ancestor of the Trojans and son of the god Zeus and the nymph Electra. He married the daughter of Teucer, who ruled a region in Asia Minor. After Teucer's death he became ruler of the region, which he named Dardania and which was later called Troas or Troy after Tros, Dardanus's grandson. The chief city of the region was named Troy, and the town of Dardanus, adjoining Troy, preserved the name of the ancient king.

Deianira

Deianeira was the daughter of Oeonus and the wife of Hercules.

Deidamia

fell in love with Achilles and bore him Neoptolemus.

Demeter

in Greek mythology, goddess of corn and the harvest, and daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. When her daughter Persephone was abducted by Hades, god of the underworld, Demeter's grief was so great that she neglected the land; no plants grew, and famine devastated the earth. Dismayed at this situation, Zeus, the ruler of the universe, demanded that his brother Hades return Persephone to her mother. Hades agreed, but before he released the girl, he made her eat some pomegranate seeds that would force her to return to him for four months each year. In her joy at being reunited with her daughter, Demeter caused the earth to bring forth bright spring flowers and abundant fruit and grain for the harvest. However, her sorrow returned each fall when Persephone had to go back to the underworld. The desolation of the winter season and the death of vegetation were regarded as the yearly manifestation of Demeter's grief when her daughter was taken from her. Demeter and Persephone were worshiped in the rites of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The cult spread from Sicily to Rome, where the goddesses were worshiped as Ceres and Proserpine.

Demigod

A demigod was a Greek hero. They were men who posessed god-like strength and courage and who had performed great tasks in the past.

Deucalion

in Greek mythology, son of the Titan Prometheus. Deucalion was king of Phthia in Thessaly when the god Zeus, because of the wicked ways of the human race, destroyed them by flood. For nine days and nights Zeus sent torrents of rain. Only Deucalion and his wife, Pyrrha, survived drowning. They were saved because they were the only people who had led good lives and remained faithful to the laws of the gods. Having been warned by his father, Prometheus, of the approaching disaster, Deucalion built a boat, which carried him and Pyrrha safely to rest atop Mount Parnassus. The oracle at Delphia commanded them to cast the bones of their mother over their shoulders. Understanding this to mean the stones of the earth, they obeyed, and from the stones sprang a new race of people.

Dia

Alternate name for Hebe.

Diana

in Roman mythology, goddess of the moon and of the hunt. The Latin counterpart of the Greek virgin goddess Artemis, Diana was the guardian of springs and streams and the protector of wild animals. She was, in addition, especially revered by women, and was believed to grant an easy childbirth to her favorites. In art she is typically shown as a young hunter, often carrying bow and arrows. The most celebrated shrine to Diana was on Lake Nemi, near Aricia.

Dido

in Greek mythology, legendary founder and queen of Carthage, and daughter of Belus, king of Tyre. When Dido's husband was killed by her brother Pygmalion, king of Tyre, Dido fled with her followers to North Africa. She purchased the site of Carthage from a native ruler, Iarbus, who, when the new city began to prosper, threatened Dido with war unless she married him. Rather than subject either herself or her followers to these alternatives, Dido killed herself. The most famous version of Dido's story is told by Roman poet Vergil in his mythological epic the Aeneid. According to Vergil, the Trojan prince Aeneas was shipwrecked at Carthage after escaping from the sack of Troy with his father, son, and companions. Dido, who had pledged herself to celibacy after the murder of her husband, received the Trojans hospitably and eventually fell in love with Aeneas. The two began to live together as husband and wife. When it became clear that Aeneas intended to make Carthage his home, Jupiter warned him that he must leave Dido in order to continue on his destined mission and found Rome. In despair at his departure, Dido killed herself on a funeral pyre. Later, on his journeys, Aeneas encountered the ghost of Dido in Hades, but she refused to speak to him.

Dike

the attendant of justice to Nemesis.

Diomedes

in Greek mythology, king of Argos, and the son of Tydeus, one of the warriors known as the Seven Against Thebes. Diomedes was one of the outstanding Greek heroes of the Trojan War. He killed several of the outstanding Trojan warriors, and, with the assistance of the goddess Athena, he wounded Aphrodite, goddess of love, and Ares, god of war, both of whom were aiding the Trojans. When he returned from the war and discovered that his wife had been unfaithful, Diomedes went to Apulia, where he remarried.

Dionysia

See Dionysus.

Dionysus

in Greek mythology, god of wine and vegetation, who showed mortals how to cultivate grapevines and make wine. A son of Zeus, Dionysus is usually characterized in one of two ways. As the god of vegetation—specifically of the fruit of the trees—he is often represented on Attic vases with a drinking horn and vine branches. He eventually became the popular Greek god of wine and cheer, and wine miracles were reputedly performed at certain of his festivals. Dionysus is also characterized as a deity whose mysteries inspired ecstatic, orgiastic worship. The maenads, or bacchantes, were a group of female devotees who left their homes to roam the wilderness in ecstatic devotion to Dionysus. They wore fawn skins and were believed to possess occult powers. Dionysus was good and gentle to those who honored him, but he brought madness and destruction upon those who spurned him or the orgiastic rituals of his cult. According to tradition, Dionysus died each winter and was reborn in the spring. To his followers, this cyclical revival, accompanied by the seasonal renewal of the fruits of the earth, embodied the promise of the resurrection of the dead. The yearly rites in honor of the resurrection of Dionysus gradually evolved into the structured form of the Greek drama, and important festivals were held in honor of the god, during which great dramatic competitions were conducted. The most important festival, the Greater Dionysia, was held in Athens for five days each spring. It was for this celebration that the Greek dramatists Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides wrote their great tragedies. By the 5th century BC, Dionysus was also known to the Greeks as Bacchus, a name referring to the loud cries with which Dionysus was worshiped at the orgia, or Dionysiac mysteries. These frenetic celebrations, which probably originated in spring nature festivals, became occasions for licentiousness and intoxication. This was the form in which the worship of Dionysus became popular in the 2nd century BC in Roman Italy, where the Dionysiac mysteries were called the Bacchanalia. The indulgences of the Bacchanalia became increasingly extreme, and the celebrations were prohibited by the Roman Senate in 186 BC. In the 1st century AD, however, the Dionysiac mysteries were still popular, as evidenced by representations of them found on Greek sarcophagi.

Dioscuri

See Castor and Polydeuces.

Dis

In Roman mythology, Dis was the god of the underworld, also known as Orcus.

Discordia

the Roman goddess of strife.

Dodona

ancient Greek oracle, in the interior of Epirus, about 80 km (about 50 mi) east of Kérkira (Corfu). It was sacred to Zeus and his consort Dione. Priests of the temple interpreted the rustling of a great oak tree, the activities of doves in its branches, the clanging of brass pots hung from the branches, and the murmurs of a fountain as responses from Zeus. Both Homer and Hesiod mention Dodona. The oracle at Dodona was one of the most respected of ancient times, and it was consulted by Greeks from many cities and by foreigners. Croesus, king of Lydia, was said to have visited the temple. The shrine was destroyed in warfare by the Aetolians in 219 BC but was probably restored later. Archaeological finds have been made at the site, and the magnificent theater built by the 3rd-century BC king Pyrrhus has been restored.

Dryad

in Greek mythology, a nymph of the trees and forests. In early legend, each dryad was born with a certain tree over which she watched. She lived either in the tree (in which case she was called a hamadryad) or near it. Because the dryad died when her tree fell, the gods often punished anyone who destroyed a tree. The word dryad has also been used in a general sense for nymphs living in the forest.

Echo

in Greek mythology, a mountain nymph. The supreme god, Zeus, persuaded her to distract his wife, Hera, with incessant talk, so that Hera could not spy on him. In anger, Hera robbed Echo of the full power of speech, leaving her only the capacity to repeat the final syllable of every word she heard. An unrequited love for the beautiful Narcissus, who loved only his own reflected image, caused Echo to pine away until only her voice remained.

Eirene

the goddess of peace.

Electra

in Greek mythology, daughter of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and Queen Clytemnestra. After the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus, Electra sent her brother, Orestes, to safety at the court of an uncle. She stayed behind in Mycenae, living in poverty under constant surveillance while Clytemnestra and Aegisthus ruled the kingdom. Electra sent frequent reminders to Orestes that he must return to avenge the death of their father. At the end of seven years, Orestes and his friend Pylades went secretly to Agamemnon's tomb. There they met Electra, who had come to pour libations and offer prayers for vengeance. Orestes revealed his identity to his sister, then proceeded at once to the palace, where he killed Aegisthus and Clytemnestra. Electra later married Pylades, Orestes' constant companion.

Electryon

a son of Perseus and Andromeda.

Elementals

The Elementals are creatures or spirits of the elements. They are the forces of nature.

Elysium

also known as the Elysian Fields, in Greek mythology, a pre-Hellenic paradise, a land of perfect peace and happiness. Elysium was originally another name for the Islands of the Blessed, later a region in Hades. In the works of Homer, Elysium was a land at the farthest and westernmost edge of the world to which the great heroes were carried, body and soul, and made immortal. There they were free to pursue their favorite activities, and worries and illness were unknown. Soon, however, Elysium came to be regarded as the abode of the blessed dead, where the souls of dead heroes, poets, priests, and others lived in perfect happiness, surrounded by grass, trees, and gentle winds and enveloped in rose-tinted, perpetual light. In Roman mythology, Elysium was a part of the underworld and a place of reward for the virtuous dead. For some it was only a temporary paradise. At the edge of its soft, green meadows flowed the Lethe, river of forgetfulness, from which all souls returning to life in the world above had to drink.

Endymion

in Greek mythology, a youth of exceptional beauty who sleeps eternally. Endymion was either the king of Elis, a hunter, or a shepherd. According to most accounts he was a shepherd on Mount Latmos in Caria. Selene, the goddess of the moon, fell in love with him and visited him every night as he lay asleep in a cave. She bore him 50 daughters, but she put him to sleep forever so that she might have him to herself. Other legends give different reasons for his eternal sleep. In one, the god Zeus offered him anything he desired, and Endymion chose an everlasting sleep, in which he might remain forever young. In another, his perpetual sleep was a punishment inflicted by Zeus for having dared to fall in love with Zeus's consort, Hera.

Enyo

Enyo was the Greek goddess of war.

Eos

the goddess of dawn. She was the daughter of Hyperion and Thia, and sister of Helios and Selene.

Epaphus

In Greek mythology, Epaphus was a son of Zeus and Io who was born on the River Nile. He became King of Egypt and married Memphis, or by some accounts Cassiopeia. he had a daughter, Libya, who gave her name to the African country of Libya.

Epigoni

in Greek mythology, the sons of the seven Greek chieftains known as the Seven Against Thebes. To avenge the deaths of their fathers, who had been slain in the ill-fated expedition against Thebes, the Epigoni conquered the city and completely destroyed it. Although their name, Epigoni, or the "Afterborn," implied that they had come into the world too late and after all the great deeds had been done, one of their number, the warrior Diomedes, became one of the greatest Greek heroes of the Trojan War.

Epimetheus

the brother of Prometheus.

Erato

Erato was the muse of love and marriage songs. She carried a lyre.

Erebus

the Greek god of darkness.

Erechthius

In Greek mythology, Erechtheus (Erichthonius) was an Attic hero, said to have been the son of Hephaestus and Atthis. He was brought up by Athena.

Erechthonius

see Erechtheus

Eridanus

Eridanus was a Greek river god known as the king of rivers. He was a son of Oceanus and Tethys.

Erinyes

also Furies, in Greek mythology, the three avenging deities Tisiphone (the avenger of murder), Megaera (the jealous one), and Alecto (unceasing in anger). In most accounts the Erinyes are the daughters of Gaea and Uranus; sometimes they are called the daughters of Night. They lived in the world below, from which they ascended to earth to pursue the wicked. They were just but merciless and without regard for mitigating circumstances. They punished all offenses against human society such as perjury, violation of the rites of hospitality, and, above all, the murder of blood relatives. These terrible goddesses were hideous to behold; they had writhing snakes for hair and blood dripped from their eyes. They tormented wrongdoers, pursuing them from place to place across the earth, driving them mad. One of the most famous legends about the Erinyes concerns their relentless pursuit of the Theban prince Orestes for the murder of his mother, Queen Clytemnestra. Orestes had been commanded by the god Apollo to avenge the death of his father, King Agamemnon, whom Clytemnestra had murdered. The Erinyes, however, heedless of his motives, pursued and tormented him. Orestes finally appealed to the goddess Athena, who persuaded the avenging goddesses to accept Orestes' plea that he had been cleansed of his guilt. When they were thus able to show mercy, they became changed themselves. From the Furies of frightful appearance, they were transformed into the Eumenides, protectors of the suppliant.

Erinys

the attendant of vengeance to Nemesis.

Eris

Eros

in Greek mythology, the god of love and counterpart of the Roman Cupid. In early mythology he was represented as one of the primeval forces of nature, the son of Chaos, and the embodiment of the harmony and creative power in the universe. Soon, however, he was thought of as a handsome and intense young man, attended by Pothos ("longing") or Himeros ("desire"). Later mythology made him the constant attendant of his mother, Aphrodite, goddess of love. In Greek art Eros was depicted as a winged youth, slight but beautiful, often with eyes covered to symbolize the blindness of love. Sometimes he carried a flower, but more commonly the silver bow and arrows, with which he shot darts of desire into the bosoms of gods and men. In Roman legend and art, Eros degenerated into a mischievous child and was often depicted as a baby archer.

Eteocles

In Greek mythology, Eteocles was a son of the incestuous union of Oedipus and Jocasta and brother of Polynices. He denied his brother a share in the kingship of Thebes, thus provoking the expedition of the Seven against Thebes, in which he and his brother died by each other's hands.

Eumenides

in Greek mythology, ancient earth spirits or goddesses, associated with fertility but also having certain moral and social functions. Traditionally three in number, the Eumenides were worshiped in Athens, at Colonus, and in lands outside Attica. Although their name is variously described as meaning "the kindly ones," "the reverend ones," and "the gracious ones," the goddesses were usually portrayed as Gorgon-like creatures with snakes for hair and eyes that dripped blood. Their appearance stems from their identification in later legends with the Erinyes, the three avenging goddesses from the underworld. In his play The Eumenides, Athenian playwright Aeschylus recounted the Erinyes' relentless pursuit of Orestes after he killed his mother, Clytemnestra, to avenge the death of his father, King Agamemnon, whom Clytemnestra had murdered. Heedless of motives or extenuating circumstances, the Erinyes hounded Orestes all the way to Athens. There Orestes appealed to the goddess Athena, who presided over his trial by the Areopagus and cast the decisive vote in favor of acquittal. After this trial, the Erinyes accepted a new role as guardians of justice and became known as the Eumenides.

Euphrosyne

See Graces.

Europa

in Greek mythology, daughter of Agenor, the Phoenician king of Tyre, and sister of Cadmus, the legendary founder of Thebes. One morning, when Europa was gathering flowers by the seashore, the god Zeus saw her and fell in love with her. Assuming the guise of a beautiful chestnut-colored bull, he appeared before her and enticed her to climb onto his back. He then sped away with her across the ocean to the island of Crete. Among the sons she bore him were Minos and Rhadamanthus, both of whom became judges of the dead. The abduction of Europa has been the subject of many paintings, including The Rape of Europa by the Italian painter Titian.

Euterpe

muse of lyric poetry and song. Represented playing a flute.

Eurus

the east wind god.

Euryale

Euryale was one of the gorgons.

Eurydice

in Greek mythology, a beautiful nymph, and wife of Orpheus, the master musician. Shortly after their marriage Eurydice was bitten in the foot by a snake and died. Grief-stricken, Orpheus descended into the underworld to seek his wife. Accompanying his song with the strains of his lyre, he begged Hades, god of the dead, to relinquish Eurydice. His music so touched Hades that Orpheus was permitted to take his wife back with him on the condition that he would not turn around to look at her until they had reached the upper air. They had almost completed their ascent when Orpheus, overwhelmed by love and anxiety, looked back to see if Eurydice was following him. The promise broken, Eurydice vanished forever to the regions of the dead.

Fama

an alternative name for Pheme.

Fates

in Greek mythology, the three goddesses who determined human life and destiny. Known as Moirai in Greek and Parcae in Latin, the Fates apportioned to each person at birth a share of good and evil, although one might increase the evil by one's own folly. Portrayed in art and poetry as stern old women or as somber maidens, the goddesses were often thought of as weavers. Clotho, the Spinner, spun the thread of life; Lachesis, the Dispenser of Lots, decided its span and assigned a destiny to each person; and Atropos, the Inexorable, carried the dread shears that cut the thread of life at the appointed time. The decisions of the Fates could not be altered, even by the gods.

Faun

See Faunus.

Faunus

in Roman mythology, the grandson of the god Saturn, worshiped as the god of the fields and of shepherds. He was believed to speak to people through the sounds of the forest and in nightmares. Faunus is the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Pan. He was attended by the fauns, creatures half men and half goats, the counterparts of the Greek satyrs. In some legends Faunus was identified as an early king of Latium, who taught his people how to plant crops and breed stock. He was also credited with introducing the religious system of the country and was honored after his death as a god.

Flora

in Roman mythology, goddess of flowers and springtime. Her festival, the Floralia, was licentious in spirit and featured dramatic spectacles and animal hunts in the Circus Maximus. Flora was represented as a beautiful maiden, wearing a crown of flowers.

Fortuna

in Roman mythology, the goddess of chance and good luck. From earliest times, her worship was extensive throughout the Roman Empire. At first, she was regarded as a kind of fertility goddess or bearer of prosperity; gradually, she was invoked exclusively for good luck. As the goddess of chance, she was often consulted about the future at her oracular shrines in Antium and Praeneste (now Anzio and Palestrina). A favorite subject in art, Fortuna is usually depicted holding a rudder in one hand and a cornucopia, or horn of plenty, in the other. The rudder signified that she guided the destiny of the world; the cornucopia, that she was the provider of abundance.

Furiae

(also known as the Erinys, Dirae, Eumenides or Semnae - that is, the 'revered' goddesses) the daughters of Night, or according to some accounts, of the Earth and Darkness, or by another account the offspring of Cronus and Eurynome. They were attendants of Hades and Persephone and lived at the entrance to the lower world.

Furies

See Erinyes.

Gaea or Ge

in Greek mythology, the personification of Mother Earth, and the daughter of Chaos. She was the mother and wife of Father Heaven, who was personified as Uranus. They were the parents of the earliest living creatures: the Titans; the Cyclopes; and the Giants, or Hecatoncheires (Hundred-Handed Ones). Fearing and hating the Giants, despite the fact that they were his sons, Uranus imprisoned them in a secret place on earth, leaving the Cyclopes and Titans at large. Gaea, enraged at this favoritism, persuaded her son, the Titan Cronus, to overthrow his father. He emasculated Uranus, and from his blood Gaea brought forth the Giants and the three avenging goddesses the Erinyes. Her last and most terrifying offspring was Typhon, a 100-headed monster, who, although conquered by the god Zeus, was believed to spew forth the molten lava flows of Mount Etna.

Galatea

in Greek mythology, one of the 50 Nereids, the daughters of Nereus, the old man of the sea. The gay, mocking sea nymph was loved by the Cyclops Polyphemus, an ugly giant with one huge eye in the middle of his forehead. Galatea did not return his love, however; she teased and ridiculed him, arousing his hopes with kind words and then rejecting him. In later legends, although her attitude toward the lovelorn Cyclops grew kinder, Polyphemus never won her. Galatea finally fell in love with Acis, a handsome young prince, whom Polyphemus killed in a jealous rage. In Roman mythology, Galatea was the name of a statue of a beautiful woman that was brought to life by Venus, goddess of love, in response to the prayers of the sculptor Pygmalion, who had fallen in love with his creation.

Ganymeda

an alternative name for Hebe.

Ganymede

in Greek mythology, a handsome young Trojan prince whom the god Zeus, in the guise of an eagle, snatched from the midst of his companions and bore up to Mount Olympus. He was granted immortality and replaced Hebe, goddess of youth, as cupbearer to the gods. Ganymede was later identified with the constellation Aquarius, "the Water Bearer."

Genii

an alternative name for the daemons.

Genius

in Roman mythology, a protecting, or guardian, spirit. It was believed that every individual, family, and city had its own genius. The genius received special worship as a household god because it was thought to bestow success and intellectual powers on its devotees. For this reason, the word came to designate a person with unusual intellectual powers. The genius of a woman was sometimes referred to as a juno. In art, the genius of a person was frequently depicted as a winged youth; the genius of a place, as a serpent.

Glaucus

See Bellerophon.

Golden Fleece

in Greek mythology, the fleece of the winged ram Chrysomallus. The ram was sent by the god Hermes to rescue Phrixus and Helle, the two children of the Greek king Athamas and his wife, Nephele. Athamas had grown indifferent to his wife and had taken Ino, the daughter of King Cadmus, for his second wife. Ino hated her stepchildren, especially Phrixus, because she wanted her own son to succeed to the throne. Realizing that her children were in grave danger because of the jealousy of their stepmother, Nephele prayed to the gods for help. Hermes sent her Chrysomallus, the winged ram, whose fleece was made of gold. The ram snatched the children up and bore them away on his back. Soaring into the air, he flew eastward, but as he was crossing the strait that divides Europe and Asia, Helle slipped from his back and fell into the water. The strait where she was drowned was named for her: the Sea of Helle, or the Hellespont. The ram safely landed Phrixus in Colchis, a country on the Black Sea that was ruled by King Aeëtes. There he was hospitably received and, in gratitude to the gods for saving his life, sacrificed Chrysomallus at the temple of the god Zeus. Phrixus then gave the precious Golden Fleece to Aeëtes, who placed it in a sacred grove under the watchful eye of a dragon that never slept. Many years later, the Argonauts led by Phrixus's cousin, the Greek hero Jason, recovered the Golden Fleece with the help of the daughter of King Aeëtes, the sorceress Medea who, out of love for Jason, put the dragon to sleep.

Gordian Knot

in Greek mythology, complex knot tied by Gordius, king of Phrygia and father of Minos. Gordius was a Phrygian peasant who became king because he was the first man to drive into town after an oracle had commanded his countrymen to select as ruler the first person who would drive into the public square in a wagon. In gratitude, Gordius dedicated his wagon to the god Zeus and placed it in the grove of the temple, tying the pole of the wagon to the yoke with a rope of bark. The knot was so intricately entwined that no one could undo it. A saying developed that whoever succeeded in untying the difficult knot would become the ruler of all Asia. Many tried, but all failed. According to legend, even Alexander the Great was unable to untie the Gordian knot, so he drew his sword and cut it through with a stroke in 334 B.C. The expression "to cut the Gordian knot" is used to refer to a situation in which a difficult problem is solved by a quick and decisive action.

Gorgon

in Greek mythology, one of three monstrous daughters of the sea god Phorcys and his wife, Ceto. The Gorgons were terrifying, dragonlike creatures, covered with golden scales and having snakes for hair. They had huge wings and round, ugly faces; their tongues were always hanging out, and they had large, tusklike teeth. They lived on the farthest side of the western ocean, shunned because their glance turned persons to stone. Two of the Gorgons, Stheno and Euryale, were immortal; Medusa alone could be killed. The hero Perseus, a gallant but foolish young man, volunteered to kill Medusa and bring back her head. With the help of the deities Hermes and Athena, Perseus cut off Medusa's head. From her blood sprang the winged horse Pegasus, her son by the god Poseidon.

Graces

in Greek mythology, the three goddesses of joy, charm, and beauty. The daughters of the god Zeus and the nymph Eurynome, they were named Aglaia (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth), and Thalia (Good Cheer). The Graces presided over banquets, dances, and all other pleasurable social events, and brought joy and goodwill to both gods and mortals. They were the special attendants of the divinities of love, Aphrodite and Eros, and together with companions, the Muses, they sang to the gods on Mount Olympus, and danced to beautiful music that the god Apollo made upon his lyre. In some legends Aglaia was wed to Hephaestus, the craftsman among the gods. Their marriage explains the traditional association of the Graces with the arts; like the Muses, they were believed to endow artists and poets with the ability to create beautiful works of art. The Graces were rarely treated as individuals, but always together as a kind of triple embodiment of grace and beauty. In art they are usually represented as lithe young maidens, dancing in a circle. Also known as the Charites.

Graeae

three daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They had only one eye and one tooth between them which they shared. Perseus forced them to tell him where he could find Medusa by stealing their solitary eye and tooth. Also known as the Grey Women.

Great Mother

See Cybele.

Griffin

legendary creature, usually represented in literature and art as having the head, beak, and wings of an eagle, the body and legs of a lion, and occasionally a serpent's tail. The griffin seems to have originated in the Middle East, as it is found in the paintings and sculptures of the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians, and Persians. The Romans used the griffin merely for decorative purposes in friezes and on table legs, altars, and candelabra. The griffin motif appeared in early Christian times in the bestiaries, or beast allegories, of St. Basil and St. Ambrose. Stone replicas of griffins frequently served as gargoyles in the Gothic architecture of the late Middle Ages. The griffin is still a familiar device in heraldry and is thought to represent strength and vigilance.

Hades

in Greek mythology, god of the dead. He was the son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea and the brother of Zeus and Poseidon. When the three brothers divided up the universe after they had deposed their father, Cronus, Hades was awarded the underworld. There, with his queen, Persephone, whom he had abducted from the world above, he ruled the kingdom of the dead. Although he was a grim and pitiless god, unappeased by either prayer or sacrifice, he was not evil. In fact, he was known also as Pluto, lord of riches, because both crops and precious metals were believed to come from his kingdom below ground. The underworld itself was often called Hades. It was divided into two regions: Erebus, where the dead pass as soon as they die, and Tartarus, the deeper region, where the Titans had been imprisoned. It was a dim and unhappy place, inhabited by vague forms and shadows and guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed, dragon-tailed dog. Sinister rivers separated the underworld from the world above, and the aged boatman Charon ferried the souls of the dead across these waters. Somewhere in the darkness of the underworld Hades' palace was located. It was represented as a many-gated, dark and gloomy place, thronged with guests, and set in the midst of shadowy fields and an apparition-haunted landscape. In later legends the underworld is described as the place where the good are rewarded and the wicked punished.

Haemus

In Greek mythology, Haemus was a son of Boreas and Oreithyia. He married Rhodope and by her had a son, Hebrus. He and his wife presumed to assume the names of Zeus and Hera and were turned into mountains for their insolence.

Hamadryad

See Dryad.

Harmonia

in Greek mythology, daughter of Ares, god of war, and Aphrodite, goddess of love, and wife of Cadmus, founder of Thebes. At Harmonia's wedding, which was attended by the gods, Aphrodite gave her a beautiful necklace made by Hephaestus, god of metalwork. Although the gift brought her good fortune, it brought only death and misery to her family. In their old age Harmonia and Cadmus were transformed into serpents.

Harpies

in Greek mythology, foul creatures with the heads of old women and the bodies, wings, beaks, and claws of birds. They could fly with the speed of the wind, and their feathers, which could not be pierced, served as armor. The Harpies frequently snatched up mortals and carried them off to the underworld, always leaving behind a sickening odor. One of the many perils to be overcome by the Argonauts in their quest for the Golden Fleece was an encounter with these dread, half-human creatures, who were slowly starving a pathetic old man by befouling his food before he could eat it. The Argonauts were on the point of killing the creatures when Iris, goddess of the rainbow, intervened. At her request they merely drove the Harpies away. The Trojan prince Aeneas also came upon the Harpies, but he and his crew put out to sea to escape them.

Hebe

in Greek mythology, the goddess of youth, the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe served for a long time as cupbearer to the gods, serving them their nectar and ambrosia. She was replaced in this office by the Trojan prince Ganymede. According to one story, she resigned as cupbearer to the gods upon her marriage to the hero Hercules, who had just been deified. In another, she was dismissed from her position because of a fall she suffered while in attendance on the gods.

Hebrus

In Greek mythology, Hebrus was a river god. He was the son of Haemus and Rhodope.

Hecate

in Greek mythology, goddess of darkness, and the daughter of the Titans Perses and Asteria. Unlike Artemis, who represented the moonlight and splendor of the night, Hecate represented its darkness and its terrors. On moonless nights she was believed to roam the earth with a pack of ghostly, howling dogs. She was the goddess of sorcery and witchcraft and was especially worshiped by magicians and witches, who sacrificed black lambs and black dogs to her. As goddess of the crossroads, Hecate and her pack of dogs were believed to haunt these remote spots, which seemed evil and ghostly places to travelers. In art Hecate is often represented with either three bodies or three heads and with serpents entwined about her neck.

Hector

in Greek mythology, the eldest son of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, and husband of Andromache. In Homer's Iliad, Hector is the greatest of the Trojan warriors. As commander of the Trojan forces he is instrumental in holding off the Greek army for nine years and finally succeeds in forcing the Greeks back to their ships (see Trojan War). During the battle, however, Hector kills Patroclus, the bosom friend of Achilles, the greatest of the Greek warriors. Achilles has withdrawn from the fighting because of a quarrel with King Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek forces, but in order to avenge the death of Patroclus, he returns to the battlefield. Grief-stricken and frenzied, Achilles pursues Hector three times around the walls of Troy, kills him, and then ties his body to his chariot and drags it around the walls and back to Patroclus's funeral pyre. Learning that the Greeks are withholding burial rites from his son, the sorrowing Priam makes his way behind Greek battle lines with the aid of the god Hermes and begs Achilles to relinquish Hector's corpse. Moved by the sorrow of the aged king, Achilles agrees to yield the corpse and declares a truce to permit the Trojans to honor Hector with a suitable burial. A description of the funeral honors paid to Hector concludes the Iliad. In contrast to the fierce and alienated Achilles, Hector is depicted as a devoted family man and chivalrous warrior.

Hecuba

in Greek mythology, wife of Priam, king of Troy, to whom she bore Hector, Paris, Cassandra, and 16 other children. Following the fall of Troy and the death of Priam, the aging Hecuba was taken prisoner by the Greeks. During the siege of Troy, her youngest son, Polydorus, had been entrusted to the care of the king of Thrace. On the way to Greece, where she was being taken by her captors, Hecuba discovered that Polydorus had been murdered on the Thracian shore. In revenge, she put out the eyes of the king and murdered his two sons. According to legend Hecuba met death in one of three ways: in despair at her capture she leapt into the Hellespont (now the Dardanelles); she was killed for abusing her captors; or she was metamorphosed into a dog.

Helen of Troy

in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in Greece, daughter of the god Zeus and of Leda, wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta. She was abducted in childhood by the hero Theseus, who hoped in time to marry her, but she was rescued by her brothers, Castor and Pollux. Because Helen was courted by so many prominent heroes, Tyndareus made all of them swear to abide by Helen's choice of a husband and to defend the husband's rights should anyone attempt to take Helen away by force. Helen's fatal beauty was the direct cause of the Trojan War. The story of the ten-year conflict began when the three goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite asked the Trojan prince Paris to choose the most beautiful among them. After each of the goddesses had attempted to influence his decision, Paris awarded the golden apple to Aphrodite, who had promised him the world's most beautiful woman. Soon afterward Paris sailed to Greece, where he was hospitably received by Helen and her husband, Menelaus, king of Sparta. Unfortunately, Helen, as the fairest of her sex, was the prize destined for Paris. Although she was living happily with Menelaus, Helen fell under the influence of Aphrodite and allowed Paris to persuade her to elope with him, and he carried her off to Troy. Menelaus then called upon the Grecian chieftains, including Helen's former suitors, to help him rescue his wife, and with few exceptions they responded to his call. During nine years of indecisive conflict, Helen wove a web depicting her sad story. Then Paris and Menelaus agreed to meet in single combat between the opposing armies, and Helen was summoned to view the duel. As she approached the tower, where the aged King Priam and his counselors sat, her beauty was still so matchless and her sorrow so great that no one could feel for her anything but compassion. Although the Greeks claimed the victory in the battle between the two warriors, Aphrodite helped Paris escape from the enraged Menelaus by enveloping him in a cloud and taking him safely to Helen's chamber, where Aphrodite compelled the unwilling Helen to lie with him. After the fall of Troy, Menelaus was reunited with his wife, and they soon left Troy for their native Greece. They had, however, incurred the displeasure of the gods and were therefore driven by storms from shore to shore in the Mediterranean Sea, stopping in Cyprus, Phoenicia, and Egypt. Arriving at length in Sparta, Menelaus and Helen resumed their reign and lived the rest of their days in royal splendor. They had one daughter, Hermione.

Helicon

Helicon was a mountain in central Greece, on which was situated a spring and a sanctuary sacred to the Muses.

Helios

in Greek mythology, the ancient sun god, son of the Titans Hyperion and Thea, and brother of Selene, goddess of the moon, and Eos, goddess of the dawn. Helios was believed to ride his golden chariot across the heavens daily, giving light to gods and mortals. At evening he sank into the western ocean, from which he was carried in a golden cup back to his palace in the east. Helios alone could control the fierce horses that drew his fiery chariot. When his son Phaëthon persuaded Helios to let him drive the chariot across the sky, Phaëthon was killed. Helios was widely worshiped throughout the Greek world, but his principal cult was at Rhodes. One of the Seven Wonders of the World, the Colossus of Rhodes was a representation of Helios. He is often identified with Apollo, Greek god of light.

Hellen

ancestor of the Hellenes, or Greeks. He was the son of Pyrrha and Deucalion, who because of their piety were spared in a devastating flood that destroyed all creation. Hellen was believed to be the father of the principal nations of Greece. From his sons Aeolus and Dorus sprang the Aeolians and Dorians, and from the descendants of his son Xuthus came the Achaeans and Ionians.

Hemerus

Hemera was the Greek goddess of day. She was born from Erebus and Nyx. She emerged from Tartarus as Nyx left it and returned to it as she was emerging from it.

Hephaestus

in Greek mythology, god of fire and metalwork, the son of the god Zeus and the goddess Hera, or sometimes the son of Hera alone. In contrast to the other gods, Hephaestus was lame and awkward. Shortly after his birth, he was cast out of Olympus, either by Hera, who was repelled by his deformity, or by Zeus, because Hephaestus had sided with Hera against him. In most legends, however, he was soon honored again on Olympus and was married to Aphrodite, goddess of love, or to Aglaia, one of the three Graces. As the artisan among the gods, Hephaestus made their armor, weapons, and jewelry. His workshop was believed to lie under Mount Etna, a volcano in Sicily. Hephaestus is often identified with the Roman god of fire, Vulcan.

Hera

in Greek mythology, queen of the gods, the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, and the sister and wife of the god Zeus. Hera was the goddess of marriage and the protector of married women. She was the mother of Ares, god of war; Hephaestus, god of fire; Hebe, goddess of youth; and Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth. Hera was a jealous wife, who often persecuted Zeus's mistresses and children. She never forgot an injury and was known for her vindictive nature. Angry with the Trojan prince Paris for preferring Aphrodite, goddess of love, to herself, Hera aided the Greeks in the Trojan War and was not appeased until Troy was finally destroyed. Hera is often identified with the Roman goddess Juno.

Heracles or Herakles

See Hercules.

Hercules

in Greek mythology, hero noted for his strength and courage and for his many legendary exploits. Hercules is the Roman name for the Greek hero Heracles. He was the son of the god Zeus and Alcmene, wife of the Theban general Amphitryon. Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus, was determined to kill her unfaithful husband's offspring, and shortly after Hercules' birth she sent two great serpents to destroy him. Hercules, although still a baby, strangled the snakes. As a young man Hercules killed a lion with his bare hands. As a trophy of his adventure, he wore the skin of the lion as a cloak and its head as a helmet. The hero next conquered a tribe that had been exacting tribute from Thebes. As a reward, he was given the hand of the Theban princess Megara, by whom he had three children. Hera, still relentless in her hatred of Hercules, sent a fit of madness upon him during which he killed his wife and children. In horror and remorse at his deed Hercules would have slain himself, but he was told by the oracle at Delphi that he should purge himself by becoming the servant of his cousin Eurystheus, king of Mycenae. Eurystheus, urged on by Hera, devised as a penance the 12 difficult tasks, the "Labors of Hercules." Briefly, they were: 1) Kill the Nemean lion. 2) Destroy the Lernean hydra. 3) Capture alive the Erymanthian boar. 4) Capture alive the Ceryneian stag. 5) Kill the Stymphalian birds. 6) Clean the Augean stables. 7) Bring alive into Peloponnesus the Cretan bull. 8) Obtain the horses of Diomedes. 9) Obtain the girdle of Hippolyte. 10) Kill the monster and cattle of Geryon. 11) Obtain the apples of Hesperides. 12) Bring from the infernal regions Cerbeus the three headed dog of Hades. The Twelve Labors The first task was to kill the lion of Nemea, a beast that could not be wounded by any weapon. Hercules stunned the lion with his club first and then strangled it. He then killed the Hydra that lived in a swamp in Lerna. This monster had nine heads: One head was immortal; when one of the others was chopped off, two grew back in its place. Hercules seared each mortal neck with a burning torch to prevent reproduction of two heads; he buried the immortal head under a rock. He then dipped his arrows into the Hydra's blood to make them poisonous. Hercules' next labor was to capture alive a stag with golden horns and bronze hoofs that was sacred to Artemis, goddess of the hunt, and the fourth labor was to capture a great boar that had its lair on Mount Erymanthus. Hercules then had to clean up in one day the 30 years of accumulated filth left by thousands of cattle in the Augean stables. He diverted the streams of two rivers, causing them to flow through the stables. Hercules next drove off a huge flock of man-eating birds with bronze beaks, claws, and wings that lived near Lake Stymphalus. To fulfill the seventh labor Hercules brought to Eurystheus a mad bull that Poseidon, god of the sea, had sent to terrorize Crete. To bring back the man-eating mares of Diomedes, king of Thrace, Hercules killed Diomedes, then drove the mares to Mycenae. Hippolyta, queen of the Amazons, was willing to help Hercules with his ninth labor. As Hippolyta was about to give Hercules her girdle, which Eurystheus wanted for his daughter, Hera made Hippolyta's forces believe Hercules was trying to abduct the queen. Hercules killed Hippolyta, thinking she was responsible for the ensuing attack, and escaped from the Amazons with the girdle. On his way to the island of Erythia to capture the oxen of the three-headed monster Geryon, Hercules set up two great rocks (the mountains Gibraltar and Ceuta, which now flank the Strait of Gibraltar) as a memorial of his journey. After Hercules had brought back the oxen, he was sent to fetch the golden apples of the Hesperides. Because Hercules did not know where these apples were, he sought help from Atlas, father of the Hesperides. Atlas agreed to help him if Hercules would support the world on his shoulders while Atlas got the apples. The old man did not wish to resume his burden, but Hercules tricked Atlas into taking the world back. The 12th and most difficult labor of Hercules was to bring back the three-headed dog Cerberus from the lower world. Hades, god of the dead, gave Hercules permission to take the beast if he used no weapons. Hercules captured Cerberus, brought him to Mycenae, and then carried him back to Hades. Death of the Hero Hercules later married Deianira, whom he won from Antaeus, son of the sea god Poseidon. When the centaur Nessus attacked Deianira, Hercules wounded him with an arrow that he had poisoned in the blood of the Hydra. The dying centaur told Deianira to take some of his blood, which he said was a powerful love charm but was really a poison. Believing that Hercules had fallen in love with the princess Iole, Deianira later sent him a tunic dipped in the blood. When he put it on, the pain caused by the poison was so great that he killed himself on a funeral pyre. After death he was brought by the gods to Olympus and married to Hebe, goddess of youth. Hercules was worshiped by the Greeks as both a god and as a mortal hero. He is usually represented as strong and muscular, clad in a lion skin and carrying a club. The most famous statue of the mythical hero is in the National Museum in Naples.

Hermaphroditus

in Greek mythology, a youth who was transformed by the gods into a being half male and half female, after a nymph, whose love he had rejected, prayed to be forever united with him.

Hermes

in Greek mythology, messenger of the gods, the son of the god Zeus and of Maia, the daughter of the Titan Atlas. Hermes was the Greek god of oratory. As the special servant and courier of Zeus, Hermes had winged sandals and a winged hat and bore a golden Caduceus, or magic wand, entwined with snakes and surmounted by wings. He conducted the souls of the dead to the underworld and was believed to possess magical powers over sleep and dreams. Hermes was also the god of commerce, and the protector of traders and herds. As the deity of athletes, he protected gymnasiums and stadiums and was believed to be responsible for both good luck and wealth. Despite his virtuous characteristics, Hermes was also a dangerous foe, a trickster, and a thief. On the day of his birth he stole the cattle of his brother, the sun god Apollo, obscuring their trail by making the herd walk backward. When confronted by Apollo, Hermes denied the theft. The brothers were finally reconciled when Hermes gave Apollo his newly invented lyre. Hermes was represented in early Greek art as a mature, bearded man; in classical art he became an athletic youth, nude and beardless.

Hermione

in Greek mythology, daughter of Helen of Troy and Menelaus, king of Sparta. Although she was betrothed to Orestes, king of Mycenae, after the Trojan War Hermione married Neoptolemus, the son of the Greek hero Achilles. Orestes later killed Neoptolemus and became Hermione's second husband.

Hero

in Greek mythology, priestess of Aphrodite, goddess of love, at Sestos, a town on the Hellespont (now Dardanelles). Hero was loved by Leander, a youth who lived at Abydos, a town on the Asian side of the channel. They could not marry because Hero was bound by a vow of chastity, and so every night Leander swam from Asia to Europe, guided by a lamp in Hero's tower. One stormy night a high wind extinguished the beacon, and Leander was drowned. His body was washed ashore beneath Hero's tower; in her grief, she threw herself into the sea.

Hesperides

in Greek mythology, the daughters of the Titan Atlas Atlas and Hesperis. Aided by a dragon, the Hesperides guarded a tree, with branches and leaves of gold, that bore golden apples. The tree had been given to the goddess Hera on her wedding day by Gaea, Mother Earth. One of the 12 labors imposed upon the hero Hercules was to bring back the golden apples of the Hesperides.

Hestia

in Greek mythology, virgin goddess of the hearth, the eldest daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. She was believed to preside at all s