Friday, November 23, 2012

M. E. IX

unicorn a mythical animal resembling a horse with a single horn projecting from its forehead.

Periboea Class. Myth. 1. the mother of the Telamonian Ajax. 2. a daughter of Hipponous of Olenus, sent to Oeneus of Calydon to be murdered. Instead, she married him and became the mother of Tydeus. 3. the wife of Polybus, king of Corinth, and the foster mother of Oedipus. 4.  ( in the Iliad ) the mother of Pelagon.

Alcanthous Class. Myth.1. a son of Pelops and Hippodamia who married Euachme and became king of Megara. 2. ( in the Iliad ) a Trojan chieftain slain by Idomeneus.

Alpheus 1. Class. Myth. a river god, son of Oceanus and Tethys, who fell in love with the nymph Arethusa and, when she became a spring to escape him, changed into a river to mingle with her.

Aegeus In Greek mythology, a king of Athens, father of Theseus.

Dis In Roman mythology: a God of the lower world: identified with Pluto. b The kingdom of the dead: identified with the Greek Hades.

Palladian adj.1. Gk. Myth. Of, relating to, or characteristic of Athena. 2. Of, relating to, or characterized by wisdom or study.  [ Lat. Palladius < Gk. Palladios < Pallas, Pallad-, Pallas Athena ]

Helicon A mountain range in Boeotia, east central Greece; highest point, 5, 736 ft; legendary home of the Muses; site of the fountain Hippocrene.  Heliconian adj.

Aruns Rom. Legend.  the Trojan ally who killed Camilla.

Maenalus Class. Myth. a son of Lycaon.

Paphian Goddess Class. Myth. Aphrodite, worshiped in Cyprus as the goddess of sexual love.

Silvius The son of Ascanius. He is said to have been so-called because he was born in a wood ( silva ). All the succeeding kings of Alba bore the cognomen Silvius. See Livy, i. 3.

lotus eater 1. In the Odyssey, one of a people living on the northern coast of Africa, who lived a life of indolence and forgetfulness introduced by eating the fruit of the lotus tree. 2. Anyone considered to be living an indolent, irresponsible existence.

Egeria 1. Also, AegeriaRom. Legend. one of the Camenae, the wife and instructress of Numa Pompilius. 2. a woman advisor.

Promachus Class. Myth. 1. an epithet of Athena, meaning "defender". 2. any deity who protects or defends an army or person by force of arms. 3. one of the Epigoni. 4. ( in the Iliad ) a Boeotian military leader.

Myrmidon A son of Zeus and Eurymedusa, daughter of Clitos, to whom Zeus managed to obtain access in the form of an ant ( μνρμηξ ). He was the legendary ancestor of the Thessalian Myrmidons; and was by Pisidicé the father of Antiphus and Actor ( Apollod. i.7,3; Apoll. Rhod. i. 56 ).

Ceyx In Greek mythology, the husband of Alcyone.

mistress 10. [cap.] Gr. Relig. Demeter; a translation of Gr. Despoina, in modern Greek folklore a benefient daemon.

earth-goddess a [cap.] The earth personified as a goddess. Cf. MERIAH. b A goddess concerned with vegetation and fertility. c Sometimes a chthonian goddess.

Aegiochus The " aegis-bearer," an epithet applied to Zeus ( q. v.). See AEGIS.

Epimetheus In Greek mythology, a Titan, the brother of Prometheus and the husband of Pandora.

Atlas 1. In Greek mythology, a Titan who supported the heavens on his shoulders. 2. Anyone bearing a great burden. 3. An intercontinental ballistic missile of the U.S Air Force.  [< L< Gk. Atlas tlēnai to bear, carry ]

Tereus In Greek mythology, a Thracian king who was transformed into a hoopoe by the gods after he had raped Philomela, his sister-in-law.

Patroclus In the Iliad, a Greek soldier and friend of Achilles in the Trojan War who, wearing Achillie's armor, was mistakened for him and killed by Hector.

Aegialeus Class. Myth. a son of Adrastus who was the only one of the Epigoni killed in the second attack against Thebes.

Thestor Class. Myth. the father of Calchas, Leucippe, and Theonoë.

Ascalabus Class. Myth. a youth who was changed into a lizard for mocking Demeter for her greed.

Electryoné A patronymic given to Alcmené, daughter of Electryon.

Itys In Greek mythology, the son of Tereus and Procne, slain by Procne and Philomela. See PHILOMELA.

Ganymede In Greek mythology, a beautiful shepherd boy whom Zeus, in the form of an eagle, carried to Olympus to be cupbearer to the gods. n.1. Any youth who serves drinks: a humorous use. 2. Astron. The fourth and largest satellite of Jupiter.  [< Gk. Ganymēdēs]

Aëllo [L., fr. Gr. Aellō.] Gr. Myth. A Harpy.

Poeas Class. Myth. a Meliboean king who lit the funeral pyre of Hercules.
Perimele Class. Myth. a daughter of Hippodamas who was ravished by Achelous and later changed into an island.
Leucophrys (1) A city of Caria, close to a curious lake of warm water, and having a renowned temple of Artemis Leucophryné ( Xen. Hell. iii. 2,19). (2) Another name for the island of Tenedos ( q. v. ).
Baucis In Greek mythology, a poor peasant woman who with her husband Philemon sheltered Zeus and Hermes disguised as travelers.

Castalia A fountain on Mount Parnassus, near Delphi, sacred to Apollo and the Muses, and supposed to give inspiration to those who drank of it. Also Castaly Castalian adj.

Titanomachy In Greek mythology, the war of the Titans against the Olympian gods.  [< Gk. Titanomachia < Titan Titan + machē battle ]

Electra 1. Also, Elektra. Class. Myth. the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra who incited her brother Orestes to kill Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. 2. Astron. one of the six visible stars in the Pleiades.

Amber Islands ( in ancient geography ) a name given by the Greeks in later times to the islands in the North Sea. Cf. Electrides.

undine In European folklore, a water nymph who could obtain a soul by marrying a mortal and bearing a child.  [< G or F < NL undina < L unda wave ]

Ulysses The Latin name for Odysseus.

Elephenor The son of Chalcodon and Melanippé, and prince of the Abantes. He was one of the suiters of Helen, and led a force against Troy, before which city he was slain by Agenor.

Lerna a marshy region near Argos, Greece: the legendary abode of the Hydra slain by Hercules. Also, Lerne. ─Lernaean, Lernean adj.

Dirae Rom. Myth. the Furies. See fury ( def. 3 ).

cornucopia a horn of plenty, a horn-shaped container overflowing with fruits and flowers.

Phaea The sow of Crommyon, in Megaris, which ravaged the country till slain by Theseus. See Plut. Thes. 9; and THESEUS.

hippalectryon [Gr. hippalektryōn, fr. hippos horse + alektryōn cock.] Gr. Antiq. A monster combining the forms of the horse and the cock. It was mentioned by Aeschylus and ridiculed by Aristophanes.

Athenaea [L., fr. Gr. Athēnaia.] Gr. Relig. An Athenian festival in honor of Athena.

Icarius [L., fr. Gr. Ikarios.] Gr. Myth. a An Athenian who recieved the wandering Dionysus hospitably and to whom the god taught the cultivation of the vine. b The father of Penelope.

Lynceus The son of Aegyptus, the only one of his fifty sons that was spared during the treacherous attach of the Danaides, the fifty daughters of Aegyptus' brother Danaus. Lynceus was married to Hypermnestra, and together they became the ancestors of the Argives.

Teledice A nymph who the mother by Phoroneus of Apis and Niobe.

mares of Diomedes Class. Myth. wild mares owned by Diomedes, a Thracian king, who fed them on human flesh: captured by Hercules in fullfillment of one of his labors.

a-1966 Random House Dict. of the English Language: The Unabridged Edition

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