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ACHERON
ACHILLES Fearing further for the boy's safety, Thetis disguised
Achilles as a girl, and sent him to the court of King Lykomedes, on the island of Skyros.
There he was brought up as a girl, among the king's daughters, falling in love with one
of them, Deidamia, who bore him a son, Neoptolemos, who later fought in the war against
Troy.However, another Greek hero, Odysseus, was sent to Skyros, his mission to locate
Achilles and enlist him in the coming Trojan War. Gaining admittance to the court of
King Lykomedes under a false pretext, Odysseus recognised Achilles, and ordered a
magnificent suit of armour to be brought before the boy. Seeing the breathtaking
splendour of the suit, Achilles' head was turned, and he yielded to the call to arms that
Odysseus sounded on his battle-horn. The boy offered his services to the war, and was
enlisted, as had been Odysseus' intention in the first place. On the way to Troy, the Greek
party mistakenly landed in Mysia, which was ruled by Telephos, a son of Hercules.
Telephos fought the invasion of his country, and in the battle was wounded by Achilles'
spear. Now Achilles had studied healing and medicine under the Centaur Cheiron, and this
knowledge had stood him in good stead when he had had to heal a wound that his friend
Patroklos suffered. Telephos found that his wound would not heal, and on consulting an
oracle, was advised that it would only be healed by he who had caused it.With the Greek
fleet beached at Aulis, Telephos made his way there, where he presented himself to King
Agamemnon, in disguise. He then abducted Agamemnon's infant son, Orestes, and
threatened to kill the child if his wound were not seen to. Thereupon Odysseus scraped
some of the rust from the spear of Achilles, applied it to the wound, which then healed.
Delighted with the results, Telephos offered to lead the Greeks to Troy, which was in
fulfillment of another oracle. Achilles then went on to distinguish himself in the long
and hard-fought Trojan War, leading the Greeks to the brink of victory, and fulfilling
the fate laid out for him by the gods, his mother's choice of which he had himself
superseded, once having given in to the call of the warrior, there in Lykomedes' court. In
the course of the Trojan War, Achilles gained great fame and respect, killing the Hero of
Troy, Hector, as well as the Amazon Pentheselia, before finally being killed himself
by Paris, instigator of the Trojan War by his stealing of the beautiful Helen from her
husband Menalaus.
ADONIS
ADRASTEA AEAKOS
AEETES
AEGEUS
AEGIPANES
AEGLE
AELLO
AENEAS
AEOLOS AESON
AETHER
AETHON
AGAMEMNON
AGANIPPE
AGATHODAEMON
AGENOR
god, Poseidon.
AGNI
AGROTORA AJAX AKRISIOS Incensed at this thwarting of his plan, and afraid that what the Oracle had
prophesised was about to come to pass, he summoned Danae to the altar of Zeus, there
to explain herself. Disbelieving her story, Akrisios had Danae and the newborn Perseus
locked in a box, and this box then thrown into the sea. The box, however, was
rescued, though these events are summed up more fully in the entry on Perseus
himself.Having gone through various adventures, Perseus went in search of his father, and
found he had left Argos, fearful of the fulfillment of the prophecy. He found him at
Larisa, in Thessaly, there with the king of that land, who was engaged in public games in
honour of his deceased father. Fulfilling the prophecy, Perseus threw a discus which
landed on Akrisios' foot, killing him.
AKTAEE
AKTAEON ALEKTO ALKAEOS
ALKESTIS
ALKIPPE
ALKMENE
ALKYONEUS ALOEUS
ALPHEIOS
ALSEIDS AMALTHEA
AMARYNTHIA AMMON
AMORETTES AMPHIARAOS
AMPHION
AMPHITRITE
AMPHITRYON AMYKOS
AMYMONE ANADYOMENE ANCHISES
ANCILE ANDROGEOS
ANDROMACHE
ANDROMEDA
ANKAEOSA .ANTAEOS
ANTEIA ANTIGONE Although Kreon had the body of
Eteokles buried with great ceremony and reverence, he refused to allow the same
be done for that of Polyneikes, forbidding any to try, on pain of death. Antigone, unable
to bear the knowledge that her brother's shade would know no rest, buried the body
secretly, but was discovered and was sentenced to be buried alive. Sealed in a subterranean
chamber, she hanged herself, to end it quickly.
ANTIOPE After years of this persecution, Antiope fled to
Mount Cithaeron, where her two boys had been entrusted to the care of the herdsman.
She met the two there, but did not recognise them. However, she was recognised by
Dirke, who had arrived at Mount Cithaeron on some cermonial task. Dirke ordered the
two herdsmen (Amphion and Zethos) to bind their mother to the horns of a wild bull, that
it might tear her apart. The two boys were about to carry out the order when the old
herdsman recognised Antiope, and revealed her as the mother of the twins.
Incensed, Zethos and Amphion tied Dirke to the bull, where she met her death.When
Antiope, now reunited with her lost sons, returned to Thebes, Lykos abdicated in favour of
the twins AOEDTE APELIOTES
APHRODITE Though Aphrodite could
be kind and loving to those who found favour with her, she could be just as merciless with
those who displeased her, as is illustrated in the list of people she
destroyed:Hippolytos, whom she killed; Polyphonte, whom she changed into an
owl;Arsinoe, whom she turned to stone;and Myrrha, whom she transformed into a myrtle
tree.Like most beautiful women, Aphrodite hated to be outshone, and this vanity led
to a contest between herself, Athene and Hera, wife of Zeus himself. How this contest
came about was due to the goddess of strife, Eris. She, not being invited to the wedding
of Thetis and Peleus, grew angry and threw a golden apple on the floor, labelled "to
the most beautiful". Naturally, all three goddesses tried to claim the apple, and Zeus
referred them to the shepherd Paris (who was later to gain infamy as the abductor of
Helen of Troy, and so set in motion the events that would lead to the Trojan
War).Paris, daunted at such a task, demurred, but was eventually convinced by each of
the goddesses in turn, who offered him the throne of Asia (Hera), immortal fame as a
hero (Athene), and the most beautiful wife in the world (Aphrodite). He finally found in
favour of the goddess of love, and in so deciding made bitter enemies of Hera and
Athene, which was to have dire consequences for he and his country.Aphrodite's sigils
were the dove, ram, hare, dolphin, swan and tortoise. Her flower was the rose, and she
was also associated with the myrtle tree, various beautiful plants, the apple and other
fruits. APOLLO Though his true name was Phoebus-Apollo, he has become known down
through the ages as merely Apollo. He was the god of light, the god of music and song, and
he who watched over shepherds, goatherds and other herdsmen. So protective was he of
animals that he is represented as herding the cattle of Laomedon, which multiplied
greatly under his care. Apollo was the friendly god, the god of earthly blessings, his
very arrows the rays of the sun that warm and nurture the land and those on it;he
was the personification of youth and beauty;he was the god of medicine, who provided for
the growth of healing plants;the god of music, whose power could soothe the beasts of
the field, and finally he is the god of oracles, who could reveal what the future holds for
his children. However, there was a darker side to Apollo's nature. As a child of the sun, it
was he who controlled the weather that affected the world, and as such, any
plagues, droughts or famines had to be ascribed to him. For this reason he is often
looked on as a god of death, going under the name Carneios. In this character he
also appeared under the apellation Hyacinthios, due to his inadvertent killing of the
youth Hyacinthos, when throwing his disc at the annual games. It is also said that
Zephyros, god of winds, jealous of Apollo's attraction to the boy, blew the god's disc back
towards Hyacinthos, causing it to sever the youth's head.In vengeance, too, did
Apollo, along with Artemis, destroy the children of Leto, Niobe's daughter, in response to
the mother's claim that Leto's children rivalled even the beauty of the two gods.
Apollo shot the boys with his arrows, while Artemis slew the girls. But when the last child
was to die, Niobe begged the deities to spare her youngest daughter. Apollo and
Artemis, however, refused, and the shaft pierced the mother's heart, which became as
stone, and she was transformed into a rugged rock.Apollo exercised his power and
anger, too, in the Trojan War when, fighting against the Greeks, he levelled heavy losses
on the attackers of his city. Apollo was supposed to have travelled in a chariot drawn by
swans, in which he would retire to the mythical land of Hyperborea during
winter, returning when the spring arrived. He also had a mitra, or cap, and of course a
lyre, from which he plucked music to charm the very stars from the heavens. The number 7
was sacred to Apollo, swans circling seven times Delos at his birth, which occurred on the
seventh day of the month.Apollo was also the leader of the Muses, not surprisingly, due
to his power of music, and played with them on the lyre that Hermes had made for him.
In addition, he was supposed to have great powers of healing, and for this reason was
regularly petitioned by those afflicted with disease or malaise. Apollo killed the great
dragon Python, which had been barring the way to his oracle at Delphi, thus establishing
forever his rightful claim on the place. This was contested somewhat by Hercules, who
carried off Apollo's priestess, unhappy with her prophecy, necessitating Apollo's
intervention, and the quarrel had to be settled by Zeus, after which the two gods lived in
close friendship. Apollo also incurred the wrath of the Father of the Gods himself, having
shot at some cyclops in revenge for Zeus having struck his son, Asklepios with a
thunderbolt. For this crime, Apollo was exiled for a time from Olympus, and spent time
on the Earth, acting as herdsman to Admetos, king of Pherae in Thessaly, and as already
mentioned, Laomedon, prince of Troy.Apollo even went as far as to join with Poseidon in
an attempt to oust Zeus from the throne of Olympus, but the attempt failed, and both gods
were ordered to assist in the building of the walls of Troy. Once this had been
accomplished, however, Laodemon refused to pay them as agreed, and in fury, Apollo
sent a fierce pestilence that depopulated Troy. Apollo also argued with Pan, during his
exile on Earth, the goat god insisting that the flute was a better instrument that the lyre.
For a decision the two deities sought Midas, king of Lydia, who found in favour of
Pan, and was punished by Apollo by having his ears grow long as a donkey's.
Marsyas, boasting that he could play the flute better than Apollo, did not get off so
lightly:he was flayed alive. ARCHEMOROS
AREOPAGOS
One of the four rivers that ran through the underworld of Hades, in
Greek mythology, Acheron was also called the "River of eternal woe."
Son of
Peleus, a mortal, and Thetis, a sea nymph, Achilles' mother was given a choice by the
gods (Greek) as to how his life should be:short but glorious, or long but obscure. Fearing
for her son's safety, Thetis chose the latter, and to this end bargained with the gods to
protect her son from harm. This they granted, by advising the nymph to immerse the child
in the waters of the Styx, which would immunise him from all harm. This Achilles' mother
did, but having to hold on to her son by the ankle, that he would not be dragged away
by the current, this part of the boy did not receive the protection of the gods, and indeed
was to prove the death of Achilles.
A simple
shepherd, Adonis gained partial immortality due to the intervention of Aphrodite, Greek
goddess of love, who, on witnessing the young shepherd's death by a wild boar, would
not allow the gods to take the lifeless body from her arms until they had agreed that
Adonis should continue to live half of the year on Earth, during spring and summer, while
the winter and autumn months should be spent in the kingdom of the
dead, Hades, where she might spend the time with him, beside Persephone, Queen of the
Dead, and wife to Hades, king of the Underworld.
One of the nymphs who
tended the newborn Zeus, on Mount Ida, after his father, Kronos, had tried to devour the
child, to try to thwart a prophecy Kronos had heard, that he would be dethroned by his
youngest born child.
One of the three heroes who assisted Hades
and Persephone in the Underworld in judging the souls of the dead. Aeakos, along with
his two compatriots, had distinguished his life previously by his great sense of wisdom
and justice, and it was he who held the keys to the lower region of Hades, being the
gatekeeper of that region.
Ruler of Kolchis, it was he who possessed the Golden
Fleece, in search of which Jason and the Argonauts sailed. He set the adventurers many
difficult tasks, before finally conceding defeat and allowing the Fleece to be
taken.
King of Crete, Aegeus married the witch Medea, whose son by Aethra
banished her from Aegeus' court after she had tried to poison Theseus. Aegeus met
his death when, on observing the return of his son's ship, he noted that the expected
white sail was not flying, and thinking Theseus dead, he threw himself off the rocks, to his
own death.
Minor, inferior forest deities, subjects of the goat god, Pan, they
were represented, like Pan himself, as having cloven, goat's feet. They were also known as
Paniski.
One of the three sisters of Phaeton, son of the sun god Helios, who, after
receiving his father's permission to drive the chariot of the sun for a day, and losing
control of it, was slain by Zeus. Aegle, with both her sisters, wept for so long at the
demise of their brother that they all became transformed into larch trees, which
overhang the banks of the rivers, their tears, constantly flowing, being changed by Zeus
into amber.
One of the three Harpies, daughters of the storm giant Thaumas and
the nymph Elektra. Aello, like her two sisters, had the head of a woman, with the body and
wings of a bird.
Son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite, Aeneas took
part in the Trojan war, distinguishing himself in that conflict. He accompanied Paris on the
latter's mission to abduct Helen from Troy. He also descended to the
Underworld, accompanied by the Sibyl. There he encountered the woman who had loved
him in the upper world, but whom he had had to leave, Dido. When he tried to speak to
her, she turned away in silence. Aeneas met his father, Anchises, in Hades too, and he
revealed to his son the future glories of Rome. Aeneas was one of the few people who
escaped the sack of Troy.
A minor deity of the winds, Aeolos was the son
of a king called Hippotes, and lived on one of the rocky Lipara islands, close to Sicily. In
the caves on this island were imprisoned the winds, and Aeolos, directed by the higher
gods, let out these winds as soft breezes, gales, or whatever the higher gods wished.Being
visited by the Greek hero Odysseus, Aeolos received him favourably, and on the
hero's departure presented Odysseus with a bag containing all the adverse winds, so that
his friend might reach Ithaca with a fair wind. Odysseus did as Aeolos bid, but in sight of
his homeland, having been untroubled by foul weather, he fell asleep and his
men, curious, opened the bag, thus releasing all the fierce winds, which blew their ship far
off course.
Father of
the famous Greek hero Jason, Aeson was the rightful king of Iolkos in Thessaly. His own
father was Aeolos, King of the Winds, and himself a minor deity.
One of the
sons of Nyx, daughter of Chaos, and Erebos, lord of darkness, Aether can, as his name
suggests, be looked on more as an elemental of the pure air, rather than an actual
god.
A personification, in the world of ancient Greece, of
famine.
Brother to Menelaus, Agamemnon was king of
Sparta.
One of the Muses, who were said to be nymphs of the streams that
ran down the sides of Mount Helikon and Parnassos.
Considered the
"good demon" in Greek life, as to every person was assigned at birth a
demon, unmixed wine was usually poured out during mealtimes, as an offering to the
Agathodaemon.
One of the two sons borne by Libya to the sea
The Hindu god of fire, one of the more powerful gods of the
East, Agni is said to have been created by the rubbing together of sticks, from which he
burst forth like the wind. He is described as extremely powerful, as one would expect
from he who is lord of the invincible fire. He is depicted as red of skin, with two faces and
seven tongues, to lick up the butter used in sacrifices. It is said that once, having exhausted
his strength by consuming too many oblations, Agni, together with Krishna and Arjuna, and
in defiance of Indra, consumed the Khandava forest.
Another name for the
Greek goddess Artemis, under which title she was regarded as the patron goddess of
hunters.
Son of Telamon, Ajax was, with
Achilles, the leader of the Greeks during the initial years of the Trojan War. After the death
of Achilles, the hero's body was borne back to the Greek camp by Ajax and
Odysseus. Thereafter, Achilles' wonderful armour was awarded to Odysseus.
Ajax, believing that his neglect had caused---or at least contributed to---the death of
his friend, went mad, and fell on his own sword, committing suicide.
One of two sons of
Hypermnestra and Lynkeus, Akrisios and his brother Proetos were fierce rivals from an
early age;they did, in fact, hate each other, so much so that, when they were both
grown, Proetos fled to Lycia, while Akrisios stayed in Argos. However, having no heir to
the throne bothered him, and he consulted the famous and wise Oracle of Delphi
prophesised that he would have a daughter, who would bear him a son who in turn
would slay his grandfather, and rule in his stead.This daughter, Danae, was imprisoned by
Akrisios in an underground chamber, in an effort to stay the prophecy, but Zeus found
his way to her as a golden shower, she became pregnant and bore a son, who was called
Perseus.
One of the Nereides, nymphs of the
sea;Aktaee represented the imperious rush of billows on island shores, together with her
sister, Nesaie.
A huntsman who had witnessed the goddess Artemis
bathing, and as a punishment was transformed into a stag, and devoured by his own
hounds.
One of the Furies, the
one known as "the unwearied persecutor".
One of the two sons of Perseus and
Andromeda.
Wife of Admetos, king of Pherae, she was willing to lay down her
life for her husband, offering herself to Death in exchange for Admetos' life.
However, Hercules saved her by holding Death in a stranglehold until he promised to
let Alkestis return to her husband.
A daughter of Ares, Alkippe loved
Halirrhotios, a son of Poseidon, and was slain by the war god, necessitating the convening
of the Areopagus, the court that sat in judgement on gods.
The mother of
Hercules, she was a daughter of Elektryon, one of the two sons of Perseus and
Andromeda, and her husband, Amphitryon, was a son of the
other, Alkaeos.
The finest warrior of the race of Giants, neither Athene nor
great Zeus himself could best him in combat. This was because the Giants' mother Earth
had made them proof against all of the weapons of the gods. However, they were
susceptible to the weapons of mortals, and it was Hercules, called forth by Athene, who
slew Alkyoneus with his arrows.
Father of the Giants
Otos and Ephialtes, who imprisoned Ares in a large brazen vase for thirteen months.
Aloeus was known as 'the planter'.
A minor river god, who became smitten
with the nymph Arethusa, and chased her until she finally eluded him by appealing to
Artemis, who caused the stream she represented to flow underground.
See
Dryads
The goat which provided the infant Zeus with milk, while the nymphs
took care of him on Mount Ida.
See Artemis.
An oracle at Lybia, to which the king Cepheus turned.His
wife, Cassipoeia had dared to compare herself to the Nereides and thus called down a curse
on her land of Aethiopia, sent by Poseidon, consisting of floods and a giant monster
called the Kraken, which terrorised the land. Cepheus, seeking an end to this plague, was
told by the oracle that he would have to offer his daughter, Andromeda, to the
Kraken.
Tiny winged children that surrounded Aphrodite, in classical
painting and sculpture.
One of the 'Seven against Thebes', the
seven heroes who sailed to Thebes, intent on reclaiming the throne from
Eteokles.
Twin brother to Zethos, Amphion was blessed with a
deep, romantic character, which he used to full effect in playing the lyre that Hermes had
given him. Unlike his brother, Amphion disdained the rougher life of the hunter and
warrior, preferring instead to accomplish by music whatever Zethos did by force. Like
Orpheus, his music had great power, and during the building of the walls of
Thebes, Amphion's music easily moved rocks that his brother would strain trying to budge
by physical means.
Goddess of the sea, Amphitrite was the
wife of Poseidon, and had the care of the creatures of the sea. She could control the great
waves, making them swamp ships or carry men to safety. She was the daughter of
Okeanos and Tethys, and was usually represented with flowing hair and the toes of a crab
protruding from her temples, sometimes seated on the back of one of the creatures of
the deep---a triton, perhaps.
Husband to Alkmene, mother of
Hercules, Amphitryon was the son of Alkaeos, one of the two sons of Perseus and
Andromeda.
The
king of Scutari, Amykos was famed as a boxer, and as a cruel man who challenged all who
passed through his kingdom to a boxing match. He overstepped his mark
however, when he challenged Pollux, one of the Argonauts!
A beautiful
Greek girl whom Poseidon came across in Lerna in Argos, weeping because she
could not get the water that her father had sent her to obtain. Poseidon, struck by her
beauty, struck the earth with his trident, and water gushed forth.
See
Aphrodite.
A son
of Aphrodite, Anchises was father to Aenas, and distinguished himself during the Trojan
War, being one of the few people who escaped after the sack of the city.
The
sacred shield of Mars, the Roman equivalent of Ares;Ancile was said to have fallen from
Heaven, and was looked on by the Romans as an object of great reverence and luck.
Roman soldiers, going into battle, would visit the temple of Mars and swing the
shield, imploring the god to protect them in the coming
conflict.
The son of King Minos of Crete, who was murdered by King
Aegus of Attica. As a punishment, Minos decreed that the people of Attica would
send, every year, seven maidens and seven strong youths, to be offered as sacrifice to
the monster, the Minotaur, in reparation for the murder of his son.
Wife to
the Hero of Troy (on the Trojan side), Hector.
Daughter to Cepheus and
Cassiopeia, rulers of Aethiopia, Andromeda was chained to a rock on the seashore as
an offering to the monster, the Kraken, which had been terrorising the land. She was
rescued by Perseus, who later married her.
Greek hero who joined with
Jason in the hunting of the Caledonian Boar.
A fierce Giant who lived in
Cyrene, on the coast of North Africa. Hercules bested him in a wrestling match, despite
the power given the Giant by his mother Earth.
See
Stheneboea.
Daughter
of Oedipus and Jokaste, she was unaware of her bastardic origins until she and her
sister and two brothers consulted an oracle, on a different matter. The siblings reacted
differently, Antigone being the only one who stayed with her father, after Oedipus had put
out his own eyes, and wandered the land. When he finally died, in Attica, Antigone
returned to Thebes, to whose throne Kreon, her uncle, succeeded after the two brothers
Eteokles and Polyneikes killed each other in combat.
Daughter of Thebe and
Nykteus, Antiope bore two sons, the divergent Zethos and Amphion. Having been
approached by Zeus in the form of a satyr, she was driven from her house, and found
refuge with Epopeus, the king of Sikyon. She remained here awhile, despite the
protestations and demands of her father, but was eventually surrendered to his
brother, Lykos. Travelling back with him, she gave birth to the aforementioned twins on
the way, the boys entrusted to a herdsman to be brought up. She herself was carried off
to the court of Thebes, where she was subjected to relentless cruelty by Lykos'
wife, Dirke.
One of the Muses.
Greek god of the south-east wind, Apeliotes was depicted as
wearing boots, and he carried all kinds of fruit with him.
The Greek goddess
of love, Aphrodite epitomised all that was beautiful and pure in woman. Daughter of Zeus
and Dione, she bore a son, Eros, and was always accompanied by the Charites , the Horae, Himeros , Pothos and Peitho . She rescued the young shepherd
Adonis, struck by his beauty, making the gods promise to allow the youth to live on the
Earth for half of each year, spending the remainder in Hades, where she could visit
him.Aphrodite married Hephaestos (Vulcan) who, after being told by Helios of his wife's
amorous liaisons with Ares, caught both of the perpetrators in a cunning net of his own
design, and brought them before Zeus, demanding punishment.
Born as a son to Zeus and Leto, Apollo was the twin brother of
Artemis, and his mother spent some time on the run from Hera, Zeus' jealous wife. She
finally found shelter on the island of Delos, in the Aegan Sea, and there delivered her
child. A golden burst of light showered the island on the birth of Apollo, and seven swans
circled it. But Leto, still running from Hera, had to entrust her newborn children to
Themis, who brought them up on ambrosia and nectar, with the result that Apollo attained
manhood in only a few hours, and escaped from Themis, declaring his destiny was to
become a bowman, a player of the lyre, and a supplier of truthful oracles to
mankind.
The child of Jason and Hypsipyle, originally called Opheltes. In
Nemea, Hypsipyle was met by the 'Seven against Thebes', and the heroes asked her to take
them to a well, all the ones they had come across so far having been dry, seemingly as a
punishment levied on them by Dionysos, the guardian deity of Thebes. Hypsipyle
agreed, but first laid the child on the ground in the wood, contrary to advice previously
received from an oracle. When she and the heroes got back, they found the child
dead, within the coils of a snake. Tydeus and Kapaneus would have slain the
serpent, but Amphiaraos announced it to be a miraculous creature, sent by Zeus as an evil
omen. In honour of this, he renamed the child Archemoros, which means 'the dawn of
mystery.'
The hill in Athens, known as 'Mars' Hill', on which was held a
court of justice, for the deliberation of cases involving life and death. Ares was sent
there, to face justice after having killed Halirrhotios, a son of Poseidon, after the sea
god's son had become involved with Ares' own daughter, Alkippe.