Thursday, December 13, 2012

M. E. XXX

Chione Class. Myth. 1. a daughter of Daedalion who was the mother of twin sons: Philammon, fathered by Apollo, and Autolycus, fathered by Hermes. 2. a daughter of Boreas and Orithyia.

Anius Class. Myth. the son of Apollo and Rhoeo who became king of Delos.

Polydectes Class. Myth. a king of Seriphus who wanted to marry Danaë but who was turned to stone when her son Perseus showed him the head of Medusa.

Perses Class. Myth. a son of Perseus and Andromeda and the ancestor of the kings of Persia. 2. brother of King Aeëtes of Colchis. Having murdered Aeëtes and seized the throne, Perses was killed by his niece Medea and her son Medus.

Carpophorus Class. Myth. an epithet of both Demeter and her daughter, Persephone, meaning " fruit-bearer."

Cephissus The divinity of the river Cephissus, is described as a son of Pontus and Thalassa, and the father of Diogenia and Narcissus, who therefore is called Cephisius. ( Hygin. Fab. Praef.; Apollod. iii. 5 & 1; Ov. Met. iii. 343, &c.) He had an altar in common with Pan, the Nymphs, and Achelous, in the temple of Amphiaraus near Oropus. ( Paus. i. 34. 2.).

Laurina The daughter of Latinus and wife of Locrus. [ See LATINUS.]

Phaeax Class. Myth. a son of Corcyra and Poseidon, and the eponymous founder of the Phaeacians.

Ascra The mother of Oeoclus by Poseidon. [See OEOCLUS.]

Mezentius [L.] Roman Myth. A cruel Etruscan king who aided Turnus against Aeneas. He bound living persons face to face with dead ones, leaving them to starve. ─ Mezentian, adj.  Mezentism, n.

Altis [Gr.] Gr. Antiq. The sacred enclosure or grove at Olympia, near which the Olympic games were held.

Ovillus [NL., fr. L. ovillus of sheep;  in ref. to the sheep of the Hesperides, by confusion of Gr. mēlon sheep with mēlon apple.] Astron. Hercules;  occasional name.

Tarpeia Class. Myth. a vestal virgin who betrayed Rome to the Sabines and was crushed under their shields when she claimed a reward.

Delphicus A surname of Apollo, from his sanctuary and worship at Delphi ( q. v.).

Clymeneides A patronymic name given to Phaëthon's sisters, who were the daughters of Clymené.

Heraeum The name given to any temple of Heré, that of Argos being the most famous.

Cheloné A nymph who was the only one of the deities that did not attend the nuptials of Zeus and Heré, and who even made the celebration a subject of ridicule. Hermes thereupon precipated her into a river, on the banks of which her mansion was situated, and transformed her into a tortoise, under which shape she was doomed to perpetual silence, and to the necessity of always carrying her dwelling about with her. The Greek for a tortoise is χελώνη, and hence the fable arose.

Aloeus Class. Myth. a son of Poseidon, husband of Iphimedia, and foster father of Otus and Ephialtes. Cf. Aloadae.

Liber an ancient Italian god of wine and vineyards, in later times identified with Bacchus.

Amata Rom. Legend. the mother, by Latinus, of Lavinia.

Dactyl Class. Myth. any of a number of beings dwelling on Mount Ida and working as metalworkers and magicians. Also, Daktyl.  [ < Gk. Dáktyloi ( Idaîoi ) ( Idaean ) craftsmen or wizards ( pl. of dáktylos; see DACTYL )]

Chloris [L., fr. Gr. Chlōris.] 1. Gr. Myth. a The goddess of flowers and wife of Zephyrus;  identified with the Roman Flora. b A daughter of Amphion and Niobé, who with one brother escaped the destruction visited by Apollo and Artemis upon Niobe's children.

protogod A primary or primitive god from whose attributes other gods are developed.

King of Men a In Homer's Iliad, Agamemnon, King of Mycenae. b Class. Myth. Zeus, or Jupiter. c Odin.

Galene A personification of the calm sea, and perhaps identical with Galatea, one of the Nereides, is called by Hesiod (Theog. 244) a daughter of Nereus and Doris.

Laelaps Class. Myth. a hound fated to capture what it pursued, borrowed from Cephalus by Amphitryon to chase a vixen fated to escape anything pursuing it. The hound was petrified, with the vixen, by the gods to solve the inherent dilemma.

Astrateia Class. Myth. Artemis: so called because she stopped an Amazon invasion in Laconia. [<Gk Astrateia she that stops an invasion]

Apomyius Class. Myth. an epithet of Zeus, meaning "averter of flies," in reference to his freeing Elis from the pestilence brought on by flies.

Caunus Class. Myth. the brother of Byblis.

Hecamede A maiden of Tenedos, and daughter of Arsinous. When Achilles took the island, Hecamede was given to Nestor as a slave. ( Hom. Il. xi. 622, xiv.6.)

Euthymus A hero of Locri in Italy, was a son of Astycles or of the river-god Caecinus. He was famous for his strength and skill in boxing, and delivered the town of Temessa from the evil spirit Polites, to whom a fair maiden was sacrificed every year. Euthymus himself disappeared at an advanced age in the river Caecinus. (Strab. vi. p. 255; Aelian, V.H. viii. 18; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1409.) He gained several victories at Olympia ( Ol. 74, 76, and 77); and a statue of his at Olympia was the work of Pythagoras. (Paus. vi. 6. § 2, 10. § 2.)

Rhetia The mother of the Samothracian Corybantes by Apollo. [See CABEIRI.]

Asteria Class. Myth. a Titaness, the daughter of Coeus and Phoebe, sister of Leto, and mother of Hecate: she was transformed into the island of Delos.

Asius ( in the Iliad ) 1. the son of Hyrtacus who was slain by Idomeneus. 2. a son of Dymas and the brother of Hecuba.

Eleutho A surname of Ilithyia, from her coming ( ελθείν ), when invoked to the aid of women in labour ( Pind. Ol. vi. 72 ).

Bromian adj. [L. Bromius, fr. Gr. Bromios.] Of or pertaining to Bromios, or Dionysus ( which see ). n. Bromian drink; wine.

Larunda or Lara Daughter of Almon, the nymph who informed Iuno of the connection between Iupiter and Iuturna: hence her name was connected with λαλείν. Iupiter deprived her of her tongue, and ordered Mercury to conduct her to the lower world. One the way thither Mercury fell in love with her and she afterwords gave birth to two Lares ( Ovid, Fasti, ii. 599 foll.; Macrob. 1. 7, 34 ). See LARES.

Ephialtes [L., fr. Gr. Ephialtēs.] 1. Gr. Myth. One of the Aloadae ( which see ).

Rhoecus (1) A Centaur, who, in conjunction with Hylaeus, pursued Atalanta in Arcadia, but was killed by her with an arrow.

Priamedes A patronymic applied to Paris, as being a son of Priam. It is also given to Hector, Deïphobus, and all the other children of the Trojan king ( Verg. Aen. iii. 295 foll.).

Enarephorus Son of Hippocoön. He was a passionate admirer of Helen when she was still very young, so that Tyndareus intrusted her to the care of Theseus. See HELENA.

Apharidae [L., fr. Gr. Apharidai.] Gr. Myth. Sons of Aphareus. See IDAS.

Rhodope [NL., fr. Gr. Rhodopē, name of a nymph.]

Saggitary [See SAGGITARIUS.] 3. Myth. A monster fabled in medieval Troy romances to have fought in the Trojan army; also [ not cap.], a centaur.

Cydippida [NL., fr. L. Cydippe, fr. Gr. Kydippē, name of a Nereid.]

a-1898 Harper's Dict. of Class. Literature & Antiquities

Friday, December 7, 2012

M. E. XXIX

Eryx Class. Myth. a boxer who challenged Hercules to a match and was killed by him.

Thebe Class. Myth. a daughter of Asopus and Metope who was abducted by Zeus.

Phemius ( in the Odyssey ) a bard who, against his will, entertained the suitors of Penelope.

Stator [L.] Rom. Relig. An epithet of Jupiter, probably originally meaning stayer, establisher. It was sometimes interpreted as meaning one who stays an army in flight.

Locrus Class. Myth. the eponymous king of the Locrians.

Aqueus Class. Myth. an epithet of Zeus, meaning "watery," referring to the time when ancient priestesses interpreted the murmer of the water of a sacred spring as the voice of Zeus.

Prodromia Class. Myth. an epithet of Hera, meaning "pioneer."

Chthonius Class. Myth. 1. one of the Sparti. 2. an epithet of Zeus, meaning "of the underworld."

Hemerasia Class. Myth. an epithet of Artemis, meaning "she who soothes."

Perimedes Class. Myth. 1. a son of Eurystheus. 2. ( in the Odyssey ) one of the companions of Odysseus on his trip to the underworld.

Chaos According to Hesiod, the yawning, unfathomable abyss which was the first of all existing things. From Chaos arose Gaea ( Earth ), Tartarus ( Hell ), and Eros ( Love ). Chaos bore Erebus and Night; from their union sprang Aether and Hemera ( Sky and Day ). The conception of Chaos is the confused mass out of which, in the begining, the separate forms of things arose is erroneous, and belongs to a later period.

ox-eyed adj. Having eyes like those of an ox; translation of Gr. boōpis boöpis, used by Homer as an epithet for Hera.

Atreus [L., fr. Gr. Atreus.] A son of Pelops ( which see ) and Hippodamia, and father of Menelaus and Agamemnon. Atreus and his brother Thyestes slew their half brother Chrysippus. They fled to Mycenae, where Atreus became king and married Aërope, daughter of Minos, king of Crete. Thyestes seduced Aërope, and sent Pleisthenes ( Atreus's son ) to kill Atreus; Atreus unwittingly slew Pleisthenes, and, feigning reconciliation with Thyestes, killed three of the sons of Thyestes and served them in a banquet to their father, whereupon Thyestes cursed the house of Atreus. Atreus was slain by Aegisthus, son of Thyestes. Cf. AGAMEMNON.

Saturn In Roman mythology, the god of agriculture: identified with the Greek Cronus.  n. The second largest planet of the solar system and sixth in order from the sun. Abbr. Sat.  [< L Saturnus? Akin to satus, pp. of severe to sow ]

Ascalaphus Class. Myth. 1. a gardener in the underworld who, on learning that Persephone could leave Hades provided she had eaten no food there, claimed that he had seen her eat pomegranate seeds. As punishment, he was changed into an owl by Demeter. 2. a son of Ares who joined the Argonauts and who served as a sentry under Agamemnon in the Trojan War. He was killed by Deïphobus.

Promachorma Class. Myth. an epithet of Athena, meaning "protectress of the anchorage."

Androcrates Class. Myth. the hero who founded Plataea.

Leucothea Class. Myth. a sea goddess, the deified Ino, who gave Odysseus a veil as a float after a storm had destroyed his raft. Also, Leukothea.  [< Gk: lit., the white goddess]

Alexander 2. Also, Alexandros. Class. Myth. Homeric name for Paris.

Ellotia or Hellotia A festival with a torch-race celebrated at Corinth in honour of Athené as a goddess of fire ( Athen. xv. p. 678 a, b ). A festival of the same name in honour of Europa. The ελλωτίς, from which the festival derived its name, was, according to Seleucus ( ap. Athen. 1. c.), a myrtle garland twenty cubits in circumference, which was carried about at the festival of the Ellotia.

Agretae The name of nine maidens chosen each year in the island of Cos, as priestesses of Athené.

Latinus Rom. Legend. the father of Lavinia and king of Latium at the time of the arrival of Aeneas.

Clite Class. Myth. the wife of Cyzicus, who hanged herself when her husband was mistakenly killed by the Argonauts.

Lyaeus ( Αναίος," care-dispeller"). A name of Dionysus ( q. v.).

Polybotes One of the giants who fought against the gods. He was pursued by Poseidon across the sea as far as the island of Cos. There Poseidon tore away a part of the island, which was afterwords called Nisyrion, and throwing it upon the giant buried him under it.

Ilaïra The daughter of Leucippus and Philodicé and sister of Phoebé. She and her sister, who are called by the poets Leucippidae, were carried off by the Dioscuri. Ilaïra became the wife of Castor.

Olympius A name applied especially to Zeus as the chief of the gods who lived upon Olympus. See OLYMPUS; ZEUS.

Aphrogeneia " Foam-sprung." An epithet of Aphrodité ( q.v.).

Polybus Class. Myth. a Corinthian king who was the foster father of Oedipus. 2. ( in the Iliad ) a son of Antenor and Theano who fought against the Greeks in the Trojan War.

Astyanax [L., fr. Gr. Astyanax.] Gr. Myth. The son of Hector and Andromache, less often called by his proper name Scamandrius. He was hurled by the Greeks from the walls of Troy, that he might not restore the kingdom, as predicted by Calchas. Another story is that he was carried away from Troy, with his mother, by Neoptolemus, whom he succeeded as king of Epirus.

Eurynome Class. Myth. a goddess, the mother, by Zeus, of the Graces.

demigod 1. An inferior or lesser deity. 2. In classical mythology, a hero, supposed to be the offspring of a god and a mortal. 3. A man with the attributes of a god. ─ demigoddess n. fem.

Cocalus Class. Myth. a Sicilian king whose daughters saved the fugitive from the pursuing King Minos.

Amphissus Class. Myth. a son of Apollo and the nymph Dryope.

Arete Class. Myth. 1. the wife of Alcinous, who had much influence over her husband. 2. the personification of courage.

Apollonia A propiatory festival solemnized at Sicyon in honour of Apollo and Artemis. See Pausan. ii. 7, & 7.

Clymené (1) A daugher of Oceanus and Tethys, who married Iapetus, by whom she had Atlas, Prometheus, Menoetius, and Epimetheus. (2) The mother of Phaëthon. (3) A female servant of Helen, who accompanied her in her flight with Paris.

nine ─ the Nine The Muses.

Epigoni In Greek legend, the sons of the Seven against Thebes who successfully attacked Thebes.

Philyra Class. Myth. a daughter of Oceanus who was changed into a linden tree after giving birth to Chiron.

Asopus [L., fr. Gr. Asōpus.] The god of the river Asopus, in Sicyonia, struck by a thunderbolt from Zeus, whom he had attacked when the latter was carrying off Aegina.

Leucothoë [L.] 1. Gr. & Rom. Myth. Daughter of Orchards, king of Babylon. She is fabled to have been changed by Apollo into a sweet-scented shrub.

Agriope Class. Myth. Eurydice.

a-1898 Harper's Dict. of Class. Literature & Antiquities

M. E. XXVIII

Phineus [L., fr. Gr. Phineus.] Gr. Myth. a The betrothed of Andromeda who tried to prevent the marriage of Andromeda to Perseus. Thereupon Perseus with the Gorgon's head turned him into stone. b A Thracian king, who for an offense against the gods or for cruelty to his sons was visited by blindness, while his food was snatched away or befouled by the Harpies. Cf. ARGONAUT, 1.

Cyllené (1) The highest mountain in the Peloponnesus, on the frontiers of Arcadian and Achaia, sacred to Hermes, who had a temple on the summit, was said to have been born there, and was hence called Cyllenius. (2) A sea-port town of Elis.

Athamantid adj. Pertaining to the descendants of Athamas.

Erythia (1) One of the Hesperides ( q. v. ). (2) The daughter of Geryon ( q. v. ), who got her name from the island near the coast of Hispania, where her father lived ( Hesiod, Theog. 290; Pausan. x. 17, 5 ).

Clio The Muse of history.  [< Gk. kleein to celebrate, make famous ]

Mallus A very ancient city of Cilicia, on a hill east of the river Pyramus, said to have been founded at the time of the Trojan War by Mopsus and Amphilochus.

Corycides A name applied to the nymphs who were supposed to inhabit the Corycian Cave on Mount Parnassus. They were the daughters of the river-god Plistus ( Ovid, Met. i. 320; Apoll. Rh. ii. 740 ). The same name is also given to the Muses. See CORYCIA.

Macrae Petrae " The Long Rocks;" on the northwestern side of the Athenian Acropolis at its foot, with a grotto sacred to Apollo and Pan ( Eurip. Ion, 13 ).

thunderbird ( in the mythology of some American Indian tribes ) a large bird thought to bring thunder, lightning, and rain.

Linus 1. Class. Myth. a a musician and poet, the inventor of melody and rhythm, of whom various stories are told: often identified through his untimely death, with the harvesting or withering of crops and vegetation. b Also called Linus song a dirge: originally sung in Asia to mourn the death of Linus or that of Adonis. 2. A male given name.

Meliae Class. Myth. the nymphs born from the blood of Uranus at the time of his mutilation by Cronus; the nymphs of ash trees. [< Gk. meliai, pl. of melia manna, ash tree ]

Athamas [L., fr. Gr. Athamas.] Gr. Myth. A king of the Minyae at Boeotian Orchomenus. Phrixos and Helle were his children by Nephele. He married Ino, daughter of Cadmus, but later became mad, murdered his son Learchus, and persecuted Ino until, with her other son, Melicertes, she threw herself into the sea. See LEUCOTHEA.

wood nymph 1. A goddess or nymph of the forest; a dryad. 2. Any several South American hummingbirds ( genus Thalurania ). 3. Any of a group of butterflies ( family Satyridae ), generally brown in color and having eyelike spots on the wings.

Merope Class. Myth. 1. a queen of Corinth and the foster mother of Oedipus. 2. a queen of Messenia, the wife of Cresphontes and mother of Aepytus, who with Aepytus sought revenge upon Polyphontes, the brother and murderer of Cresphontes. 3. one of the six visible stars in the Pleiades.

Erythraean adj. [L. Erythraeus, fr. Gr. Erythraios, fr. Erythrai.] Of or pertaining to Erythrae, an ancient Ionian city of Asia Minor and a dwelling place of a sibyl, Herophile, regarded usually as identical with the Cumaean sibyl. n. The Erythraean sibyl.

Pandion Class. Myth. 1. a son of Phineus and Cleopatra who, with his brother Plexippus, was blinded by his father when Idaea, his stepmother, made false accusations against him. 2. a king of Athens and the father of Erechtheus, Butes, Procne, and Philomela. 3. a companion of the skillful archer Teucer.

Lygodesma Class. Myth. an epithet of Artemis, "willow-bound, referring to an image of her that was supported by willow branches.

Cenchrias Class. Myth. a son of Poseidon and Pirene mistakingly killed by Artemis.

Phylomache Class. Myth. the mother, by Pelias, of Acastus and Alcestis.

Cressius Class. Myth. an epithet of Dionysus, meaning "Cretan."

Argiope Class. Myth. 1. the wife of Agenor and the mother of Cadmus and Europa. 2. a nymph. 3. a daughter of Teuthras.

Pirous ( in the Iliad ) a leader of the Thracian allies of Troy.

Cymodoce ( in the Aeneid ) a sea nymph who was at first a ship in the fleet of Aeneas. When Turnus set the fleet to fire, Cybele turned the ships into nymphs.

Mentor In the Odyssey, the sage guardian of Telemachus, appointed by Odysseus before he departed for the Trojan War.   [ < Gk., lit., adviser ]

Bacchic adj. Of, pertaining to, or like Bacchus or his rites.

Anaxarete Class. Myth. a princess turned to stone for scorning the love of a commoner. 


Pygmalion [L., fr. Gr. Pygmaliōn.] 1. Class. Myth. a A king and sculptor of Cyprus who made an ivory statue of a maiden ( in modern literature called Galatea ) which Aphrodite endowed with life. b A king of Tyre, brother of Dido and murderer of her husband, Sichaeus.

Beroë Class. Myth. 1. the nurse of Semele. 2. a daughter of Adonis and Aphrodite.

Ismene Class. Myth. a daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta who did not join Antigone in her forbidden buriel of their brother Polynices.

Dendrites An epithet of Dionysus as fertility-god, literally meaning "he of the trees."

Chryseis In the Iliad, the daughter of a priest of Apollo, captured and given to Agamemnon, and returned after Apollo sent a plague upon the Greeks.


Hipponome The mother of Amphitryon. [See ALCAEUS, No. 1.]

Amulius Rom. Legend. a son of Proca who revolted against his brother Numitor and seized the throne of Alba Longa.

Cronides Also Cronion [Gr. Kronid
ēs, Kroniōn.] Epithet of Zeus as son of Cronus.

Polynices Class. Myth. a son of Oedipus and Jocasta and brother of Eteocles and Antigone on whose behalf the Seven against Thebes were organized.

Amphidamas Class. Myth. 1. a son of Aleus who, with his brother Cepheus, joined the Argonauts. 2. ( in the Iliad ) a king of Cythera.

Temenus Class. Myth. 1. a son of Aristomachus who was allotted the city of Argos for his participation in the Heraclidae invasion of Peloponnesus. 2. a son of Pelasgus believed to have reared Hera.

Bonus Eventus the ancient Roman god of agricultural prosperity. Also called Eventus.

Cerynean stag Class. Myth. a stag living in Arcadia, captured by Hercules as one of his labors. Also called Cerynean hind.

Faustulus [L.] Rom. Myth. The shepherd who found the infants Romulus and Remus and with his wife, Acca Larentia, brought them up.

Felicitas [L.] Roman goddess of good fortune.

Aphaia [Gr.] Gr. Myth. A goddess worshiped in Aegina and Crete, identified with Dictynna and Britomartis.

Scylla [L., fr. Gr. Skylla.] 1. A rock on the Italian coast opposite the whirlpool Charybdis off the Sicilian coast. 2. Gr. & Rom. Myth. a A female monster of partly human form, with the heads of fierce dogs growing about her waist, who was a menace to seafarers. In the classical period Scylla was localized as inhabiting the rock in the strait of Messina. In Greek legend, Jason's ship, the Argo, whose helmsman was Glaucus, passed Scylla. Cf. CHARYBDIS. Hence, between Scylla and Charybdis, between towo dangers, either of which is difficult to avoid without encountering the other. b A daughter of Nisus, king of Megara. She fell in love with Minos, who was beseiging the town, and to give to him the victory cut from her father's head a golden or purple lock on which his life depended. Minos, repelled by the act, drowned her. According to some versions of the myth she was transformed into a sea bird.

Amphinome Class. Myth. a maiden who, along with her sister Evadne, was deceived by Medea into murdering their father, Pelias.

Panopeus, Panopeae, or Panopé An ancient town in Phocis on the Cephissus and near the frontiers of Boeotia, twenty stadia west of Chaeronea, said to have been founded by Panopeus, son of Phocus ( Herod. viii. 34 ).

Tarchon The son of Tyrrhenus, who is said to have built the town of Tarquinii. ( See TARQUINII.) Vergil represents him as coming to the assistance of Aeneas against Turnus ( Aen. iii. 506 ).

Opus A town of Locris, from which the Opuntian Locrians derived their name. It was the birthplace of Patroclus. The bay of the Euboen Sea, near Opus, was called OPUNTIUS SINUS.

Despina The satellite of Neptune that is third in distance from the planet.  [ From Greek Despoina The Mistress, Arcadian goddess who was the daughter of Poseidon, from despoina, queen, lady, mistress, feminine of despotēs, master. See dem- in Appendix I. ]

Amythaon Class. Myth. the son of Cretheus and Tyro who supported Jason's claim to the throne of Iolcus.

Phoenix 1. Class. Myth. a. the brother of Cadmus and Europa, and eponymous ancestor of the Phoenicians. b. a son of Amyntor and Cleobule who became the foster father of Achilles and who fought with the Greek forces in the Trojan War.

Niobid Class. Myth. any of the children of Niobe.

Ichthyocentaur Class. Myth. a sea creature with a human head and torso, the legs of a horse and the tail of a fish.  [< Gk ichthyokéntauros. See ICHTHYO-, CENTAUR]

Amphiaraus Class. Myth. a hero who joined the Seven against Thebes, although he knew that his death was fated: deified after death.

Euachme Class. Myth. a daughter of Megareus who married Alcathous.

Delos The smallest island of the Cyclades, Greece; 1.2 sq. mi.; regarded as the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. Greek Dhilos.

Pandora's box ( in Greek mythology ) a box which, when opened, let loose all kinds of misfortunes upon mankind.

Dioscuri Castor and Pollux.  [< Gk. Dioskouroi < Dios of Zeus + kouros boy, son ]

Aonian adj. [L. Aonius, fr. Gr. Aonios, fr. Aonia.] Of or pertaining to Aonia, the region of the mountains Helicon an Cithaeron, in ancient Boeotia, or the Muses, who were supposed to dwell there. See PIERIAN.

Aesculapian snake a long, slender olive brown to grayish snake found in Europe and southwestern Asia. In ancient times it was protected because of its mythical link with the god of healing, Aesculapius.• Elaphe longissima, family Columbridae.

Taygeta In Greek mythology, one of the Pleiades.  n. Astron. One of the six visible stars in the Pleiades cluster.

Styx In Greek mythology, the river of hate, one of the five rivers surrounding Hades.

Aeaea Class. Myth. 1. the island inhabited by Circe. 2. Circe ( def. 1 ).

Prothoënor ( in the Iliad ) a Boeotian leader in the Trojan War.

Celaeno [L., fr. Gr. Kelainō, prob. the black one.] Gr. Myth. a One of the Harpies. b See PLEIADES,. 1. 2. Astron. A star in the Pleiades, barely visible and so sometimes called th Lost Pleiad. See STAR, Table.

bassara [Gr.] Gr. Myth. A bassarid.

Ophion Class. Myth. a serpent created from the north wind by Eurynome as a mate.

Cyparissia Class. Myth. an epithet of Athena, meaning "cypress-goddess."

Cinyras Class. Myth. the king who introduced the worship of Aphrodite on Cyprus: he committed suicide when he discovered that he was guilty of incest with his daughter. Cf. Myrrha.

Munin Scand. Myth. one of the two ravens of Odin that brought him news from the whole world: later regarded as personifying memory. Cf. Hugin.

Aganice [Gr., Aganikē.] Gr. Myth. A Thessalian witch who drew down the moon from the sky and was punished by the gods.

Cycnus Class. Myth. 1. any of several men transformed into swans. 2. a son of Ares killed in a duel with Hercules.

Gordys A son of Triptolemus, who assisted in searching for Io, and then settled in Phrygia, where the district of Gordyaea received its name from him. ( Steph. Byz. s. v. Gordieion; Strab. pp. 747, 750.).

Callithyia  Another name for Io. [ See IO.]

amethyst  [ OF ametist < L amethystus < Gk. amethystos not drunken < a- not + methystos drunken < methy wine; because of the ancient belief that a wearer of the stone would be unaffected by wine ]

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

Thursday, December 6, 2012

M. E. XXVII

Pirene, Peirene [L., fr. Gr. Peirēnē.] a A spring on Acrocorinth, the Acropolis of ancient Corinth, where Bellerophon is said to have caught the winged horse Pegasus. b A fountain in the market place of ancient Corinth, supplied by conduits believed to bring water from the spring on Acrocorinth.

Paphos 1. an ancient city in SW Cyprus. 2. Also, Paphus. Class. Myth. the son of Pygmalion, who inherited the throne of Cyprus.

manticore Also manticora [L. manticora, fr. Gr. mantikhorās, mantichoras, fr. OPer. martya man + xvar- to eat ( Av. axvaratii ).] In ancient fables, a monster described usualy as having the head of a man with horns, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion or dragon.

Ledaei Dii Castor and Pollux, the sons of Leda.

Thesmophoros [Gr.] Gr. Relig. Demeter; an epithet usually interpreted as meaning the "giver of laws" but probably originally meaning "the giver of riches", that is, of the fruits of the earth. Cf. THESMOPHORIA.
The goddess Thesmophoros founded and presided over social order, family life, the functions of women, and the birth of children.
                                                                     W. M. Ramsay.

Rhoecus [Gr. Rhoikos.] Gr. Myth. A youth who saved an oak from falling, and was rewarded by the dryad of the tree with her love. She sent a bee to remind him of his appointments to meet her. It came when he was absorbed in dicing, and he impatiently brushed it away, which slight the dryad avenged by making him blind.

Titania 1. The queen of the fairies and wife of Oberon in Medieval folklore. 2. A satellite of Uranus.  [< Lat. Tītaniā, the goddess Diana, sister to the sun < fem. of Titanius, of the Titans < Titan, Titan. See TITAN ]

Amphimarus Class. Myth. a son of Poseidon, sometimes believed to be the father, by Urania, of the poet Linus.

theogony A genealogy of the gods, especially as recited in ancient poetry.  [< Gk. theogoria < theos god + gonos generation < gignesthai to be born ] ─ theogonic adj. ─ theogonist n.

Carmenta, Carmentis [L.] Rom. Myth. A water or spring goddess, who was also guardian of women in childbirth. In this function she was invoked as Prorsa or as Postvorta, according as the child was born facing forward or back; hence, later conceived as two goddesses, the Carmentes. She was also a goddess of prophecy, and, in reference by the poets, mother of Evander, whom she accompanied from Arcadia to Latium. Her festivals, Carmentalia, occurred Jan. 11 and 15. Her cult strives in modern Italy where she is still invoked for aid in childbirth.

Ampycus Class. Myth. a son of Pelias, husband of Chloris, and father of Mopsus. Also, Ampyx.

Menoetius Class. Myth. 1. a Titan, the brother of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Atlas. 2. one of the Argonauts and the father of Patroclus.

Halosydné " Sea-born." An epithet applied to Thetis and to Aphrodité.

Terpsichore The Muse of dancing.   [ < Gk. Terpsichorē < terpsichoros delighting in the dance < terpsis enjoyment + choros dance]  ─ Terpsichorean adj.

Heraclidae [Gr. Hērakleidai.] 1. Gr. Myth. The descendants of Hercules. The myths relating to them are chiefly accounts of their repeated efforts to obtain the mastery of the Peloponnesus, which Zeus had designed for Hercules, though Hera had succeeded in securing it for Eurystheus. The first and second invasions were headed by Hyllus, Hercules's son, who was slain. Success only attended the fifth invasion, under Oxylus, eighty years after the fall of Troy. Those legends are doubtless founded on Dorian conquests of the Peloponnesus.

Pegasides The Muses. See PEGASUS.

Parthenopaeus Class. Myth. a son of Hippomenes and Atalanta, and one of the Seven against Thebes.

Cora  1. Class. Myth. Kore. 2. a female given name: from a Greek word meaning "girl."

Mallophora " Wool-bearing." An epithet of Demeter, as worshipped at Megara, whose inhabitants she was fabled to have taught the use of wool ( Pausan. i. 44 ).

Cepheis A name applied to Andromeda as daughter of Cepheus ( Ovid, A. A. i. 193 ).

Kore 2. Also, Core, Cora. ( cap.) Class. Myth. Persephone, esp. as a symbol of virginity.  [1915-20; < Gk Kórē girl]

Chalcotauri Fire-breathing, bronze bulls which King Aeetes of Colchis commanded Jason to yoke and plow a field with dragon's teeth.

Hilaira Class. Myth. the daughter of Leucippus who served as a priestess of Artemis. Also, Hilara.

Dirce [L., fr. Gr. Dirkē.] 1. Gr. Myth. The second wife of Lycus. The sons of Antiope (which see) tied her to a wild bull, which dragged about until she died. See FARNESE BULL. 2. Hence, a fountain near Thebes in Boeotia, into which Dirce's body was fabled to have been thrown.

Stratius 1. A son of Nestor and Anaxibia. ( Hom. Od. iii. 413.) 2. A son of Clymenus. ( Paus. ix. 37.§ 1.) 3. Stratios, i. e. the warlike, occurs also as a surname of Zeus and Ares. ( Strab. xiv. p. 659; Herod. v. 119.)

Amphilochus Class. Myth. a seer, the son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle, and the brother of Alcmaeon.

twilight of the gods. See RAGNORÖK.

Sciras A surname of Athené given from a temple in the Attic port of Phalerum, built by a soothsayer, Scirus, of Dodona ( Pausan. i. 1, 4, ii. 36, 3 ).

Polynoe [NL., fr. Gr. Polynoē daughter of Nereus and Doris.]

Venilia A nymph, daughter of Pilumnus, sister of Amata, wife of Latinus, and mother of Turnus and Iuturna by Daunus.

Crocus A youth who, unable to obtain the object of his affections, the nymph Smilax, pined away, and was changed into the crocus or saffron. Smilax herself was metamorphosed into the smilax, or bindweed ( Ovid, Met. iv. 283 ).

Ixionides A patronymic name applied to Pirithoüs, the son of Ixion ( q.v.). The Centaurs are also called Ixionidae ( Lucan, vi. 386 ).

Cretan bull Gk. Legend. a savage bull, captured on Crete by Hercules and allowed to roam near Marathon in Greece until captured by Theseus. Also called Marathonian bull.  [1930-35]

Hylaeus (Υλ, i.e." the Woodman "). The name of an Arcadian centaur who was slain by Atalanta when he pursued her. According to some legends, Hylaeus fell in the flight against the Lapithae, and according to others he was one of the centaurs slain by Heracles.

Rhoetus Class. Myth. one of the Gigantes who made war on the gods.

Agraulos Class. Myth. the wife of Cecrops. Also, Aglauros.

Cithaeron Class. Myth. a savage murderer who threw himself and his brother, Helicon, over a precipice: both were changed into mountains.

Pandemos [Gr. pandēmos.] Gr. Relig. An epithet of Aphrodite. See APHRODITE PANDEMOS.

Halimede One of the Nereides. ( Hes. Theog. 25; Apollod. i. 2. § 6.).

Zeuxippus A son of Apollo, by the nymph Syllis, was king of Sicyon. ( Paus. ii. 6. § 3.).

Ephyra A daughter of Oceanus, from whom Ephyraea, the ancient name of Corinth was derived. ( Paus. ii. 1. § 1; Virg. Georg. iv. 343.).

Ocnus A son of Tiberis and Manto, and the reputed founder of the town of Mantua, though according to others he was a brother or a son of Auletes, and the founder of Cesena in Gaul. ( Serv. ad. Aen. x. 198.).

Morpho [NL., fr. Gr. Morphō, an epithet of Venus.]

Pallantia A daughter of Evander, beloved by Heracles, and said to be buried on the Palatine hill at Rome, which derived its name from her. ( Serv. ad. Aen. viii. 51.). Evander himself, being a grandson of Pallas, is also called Pallantius. ( Ov. Fast. v. 647.).

Evander Rom. Legend. a son of Hermes who, as a Greek settler in Italy, founded a town at the foot of the Palatine Hill in Rome and allied himself with Aeneas upon the latter's arrival.

Cyrene Greek Mythology. a water nymph beloved by Apollo, by whom she bore Aristaeus.

asphodel 2. the immortal flower of the Greek paradise whose pale blossoms covered the Elysian meadows.

Ilioneus A son of Niobé, whom Apollo would have liked to save, because he was praying; but the arrow was no longer under the control of the god ( Ovid, Met. vi. 261 ). See NIOBÉ.

Tauropolis 1. A daughter of the Megarian Cleson, who was believed, together with her sister Cleso, to have found and buried the body of Ino, which had been washed on the ciast of Megara. ( Paus. i. 42, in fin.) 2. A son of Dionysus and Ariadne. ( Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. iii. 997.)

Arcesius Class. Myth. a son of Zeus and Euryodia, father of Laertes, and grandfather of Odysseus.

Arne 2. Class. Myth. a. the mother of Aeolus and Boeotus. b. a princess who was changed into a magpie as a punishment for accepting a bribe.

Meleager [L., fr. Gr. Meleagros.] Gr. Myth. The son of Althaea, queen of Calydon. At his birth it was foretold that his life would last no longer than the brand then burning on the hearth. Althaea quenched it, and hid it away. At the hunt of the Calydonian boar, Meleager, in love with Atalanta ( which see ), gave her the trophies of the chase. In the quarrel which this caused with his uncles he slew them. Althaea, enraged, thrust the fatal brand into the fire, so causing Meleager's death.

Ilia Rom. Legend. the mother of Romulus and Remus, either identified with Rhea Silvia or believed to be the daughter of Aeneas and Lavinia.

Pelopidae [L.] Gr. Myth. Descendants of Pelops. Cf. ATREUS.

Graces In Greek mythology, three sister goddesses Aglaia ( splendor ), Euphrosyne ( mirth ), and Thalia ( abundance ) who confer grace, beauty, charm, and joy upon human beings and on nature. Also the three Graces.

Iynx Class. Myth. a daughter of Pan and Echo.

Musagetes Class. Myth. Apollo: so called because he was a patron of the Muses.

Iphimedia The wife of Aloeus. She became by Poseidon the mother of the Aloadae, Otus and Ephialtes. See ALOADAE.

Dardan or Dardanian Archaic A Trojan.  [after Dardanus, the mythical founder of Troy. ]  Dardan adj.

Nomia Class. Myth. a nymph who blinded Daphnis because he was unfaithful to her.

Rhamnes Rom. Legend. an arrogant Rutulian chief and prophet.

boöpis  [Gr. boōpis.] Ox-eyed; an epithet of certain Greek goddesses.

Astomoi [Gr.] Gr. Myth. A fabulous people of India. It was said that they had no mouths, and lived on the scent of flowers and fruits.

earth mother 1. A goddess or female spirit resembling the earth as the giver of life. 2. A woman combining matereal and sensual qualities.

Poemander The father by Tanagra, daughter of Aeolus, of Ephippus and Leucippus. He was the reputed founder of the town of Tanagra, in Boeotia. See TANAGRA.

Iphis Class. Myth. 1. a Cretan maiden, reared as a boy by her mother because her father ordered that all of his daughters be killed: Io changed her into a man when she fell in love with the beautiful Ianthe. 2. a son of Alector.

Dryope [L., fr. Gr. Dryopē.] Gr. Myth. A playmate of the wood nymphs, beloved by Apollo. She was a daughter of King Dryops, eponymous ancestor of the Dryopes, or Dryopians, a Greek tribe, orig., of Thessaly.

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godling A minor deity.

Andron Class. Myth. a son of Anius who was given the power of prophecy by Apollo. Also, Andrus.

Archeptolemus ( in the Iliad ) the son of Iphitus who served as charioteer for Hector.

Leucippus Class. Myth. 1. a youth who disguised himself as a girl to be near Daphne and was killed by Daphne and her companions when his disguise was discovered. 2. the son of Gorgophone and Perieres who fathered the Leucippides.

Maeonis An epithet applied to Omphalé ( q. v.) as queen of Lydia or Maeonia.

Alcaeus 2. Class. Myth. a son of Androgeus and a grandson of Minos.

Cressa " The Cretan woman;" a term used by Ovid of Ariadné ( Am.i. 7, 16 ) and of Aëropé ( A. A. i. 327 ).

hero 4. In classical mythology and legend: a The son of a god or goddess and a mortal. b A man of great nobility or physical prowess who was often worshiped as a demigod after death.

Priapean adj. Of or pertaining to Priapus; phallic.

Tydeus Class. Myth. the father of Diomedes: one of the Seven Against Thebes.

Melisseus Class. Myth. a Cretan king who fathered Adrastea and Ida.

thread of life, the, the imaginary thread spun and cut by the Fates. It is supposed to symbolize the course and termination of one's existence.

hellhound 1. A hound of hell, as Cerberus. 2. A cruel and fiendish person.

Urania 1. The Muse of astronomy. 2. The heavenly one: an epithet of Aphrodite.  [< L< Gk. Ourania < ouranios heavenly < ouranos heaven ]

Aethra Class. Myth. 1. the mother, by Aegeus, of Theseus. 2. an Oceanid.

Asterius Class. Myth. 1. the king of Crete who married Europa and who named as his heirs her three sons by Zeus. 2. the giant son of Anax. 3. the Minotaur born to Pasiphaë and the Cretan Bull. 4. a son of Hyrasius who joined the Argonauts.

Mater Turrita Rom. Religion. Cybele.

Echemus Class. Myth.an Arcadian king who killed Hyllus in a duel and thus temporarily delayed the Heraclidan invasion of the Peloponnesus.

City of ( the ) Seven Hills Rome.

Pietas the ancient Roman personification of familial affection, patriotism, and piety,

Amyclas Class. Myth.1. a son of Lacedaemon and Sparta. 2. a son of Niobe and Amphion.

Clytius Class. Myth. 1. ( in the Iliad ) a brother of Priam killed by Hercules. 2. a companion of Jason. 3. one of the Gigantes.

silver age In classical mythology, the age of Jupiter's rule, succeeding that of Kronos or Saturn.

Cacus [L.] Rom. Myth. A thieving, crafty giant, son of Vulcan, slain by Hercules in his cave in the Aventine where he had hidden the cattle of Geryon. In Rome an obscure goddess, Caca, had an altar, and the two probably represent a pair of ancient divinities.

Anna 2. Class. Myth. the sister of Dido, supposed to have drowned herself in Italy.

Ianiscus The name of two mythical personages. ( Paus. ii. 6.§ 3.; Schol. ad Aristoph. Plut. 701.)

sun god A god identified with or personifying the sun.

lotusland Informal. A place or condition of irresponsibility and luxury.

Hephaestian adj. relating to Hephaestus, the god of fire and metallurgy among the Greeks; hence, relating to metalworking or smithery.

Oberon 1. The king of the fairies and husband of Titania in medieval folklore. 2. A satellite of Uranus.  [ Fr.< Auberon. of Gmc. orig. See albho-*. ]

Aleian adj. Gr. Myth. Designating the plain ( Alēion pedion ) where Bellerophon wandered.

Megareus The son either of Onchestus or of Poseidon, and father of Hippomenes and Evaechmé.

Ampelos Class. Myth. a satyr who was placed among the stars by Dionysus.

silenus In Greek mythology, any woodland deity resembling a satyr.

Miletus Class. Myth. a son of Apollo and Aria, and the father of Biblys and Caunus.

Gorgé Daughter of Oeneus ( q. v.) and sister of Deianira, both of whom retained their original forms when their other sisters were metamorphosed by Artemis into birds.

Lorelei In Germanic romantic literature, a siren on a rock in the Rhine who lured boatmen to shipwreck by her singing: also Lurlei.  [< G ]

Cardea an ancient Roman goddess of door hinges, protectress of family.

Echetus Class. Myth. a king of Epirus who blinded his daughter. Cf. Amphissa.  ( def. 1 ).

Skrymir Scand. Myth. a giant who took Thor, Thialfi, and Loki to Jotunheim. Also called Utgard-Loki.

Perialla Class. Myth. a priestess of Delphi who was discredited for taking a bribe.

thunderbolt 2. an imaginary bolt or dart conceived of as the material destructive agent cast to earth in a flash of lightning: the thuderbolts of Jove.

Calais Class. Myth. the winged son of Boreas the north wind. As Argonauts he and his twin brother Zetes chased away the Harpies. Also, Kalais.

Marpessa Daughter of Evenus and Alcippé. See IDAS.

Aepytus Class. Myth. 1. a son of Elatus who reared Evadne. 2. the grandson of Hercules who, with his mother, killed Polyphontes. 3. an Arcadian king. 4. father of Cypselus and king of Arcadia. He was blinded when he entered a sanctuary of Poseidon forbidden to mortals.

Molione Class. Myth. the mother, by Poseidon, of Cteatus and Eurytus.

Homagyrius Class. Myth. an epithet of Zeus, meaning "assembler."

Proetus Class. Myth. a son of Abas who was a lifelong enemy of his twin, Acrisius. In their warfare, the brothers invented the shield.

Molorchus Class. Myth. a peasant whose son was killed by the Nemean lion.

Ialemus The personification of a sort of dirge, as was Linus ( q. v.), and as Hymenaeus personified the marriage song. He is called a son of Apollo and Calliopé, and was the inventor of a melancholy song which bore the name of ίαλεμος.

fate 5. [cap.] Gr. & Rom. Relig. The goddess, or one of the goddesses, of fate or destiny; esp., pl. [L. Fata, pl. of fatum ], the three goddesses supposed to determine the course of human life. In Greek they are called the Moirai ( See MOIRA ), their individual names being eventually determined as Clotho ( Spinner ), who spins the thread of life, Lachesis ( Disposer of Lots ), who determines it's length, and Atropos ( Inflexible ), who cuts it off. The Romans identified the Moirai with their own goddesses of fate, the Parcae ( see PARCA ),  whose names are Nona, Decuma, and Morta. Cf. NORN. 6. pl. Norse Myth. The Norns; the Weird Sisters.

Chrysothemis Class. Myth. a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra.

aura 3. [cap.] Gr. Myth. A personification of one of the mild and gentle winds.

Hermod Scand. Myth. a son of Odin who rode to Hel to negotiate for the return of Balder to Asgard.

Arene Class. Myth. the mother of Lynceus and Idas.

Chthonia (1) Daughter of Erechtheus of Athens, who was sacrificed by her father to gain victory over the men of Eleusis. ( See ERECHTHEUS.) (2) An epithet of Demeter ( q. v.).

Maeon Class. Myth. a Theban who was among the 50 warriors instructed to ambush Tydeus and was the only one of them who was not slain.

Herophilus Class. Myth. a son of Aphrodite and Poseidon.

Halesus A chief of the Auruncans and Oscans, the son of a soothsayer, and an ally of Turnus, slain by Evander. He came to Italy from Argos in Greece, whence he is called Agamemnonius, Astrides, or Argolicus. He is said to have founded Falerii ( Serv. ad. Verg. Aen. vii. 723 ).

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Cypris an epithet of Aphrodite, meaning " Lady of Cyprus." Also, Kypris.

Aidoneus Class. Myth. a king of Thesprotia.

Parthenia Class. Myth. an epithet of Athena, meaning " virgin."

Superi ( in ancient Rome ) the gods.

Thespiae a city at the foot of Mount Helicon where, according to mythology, the Muses performed their games.

Alcyoneus Class. Myth.1. a giant who threw a stone at Hercules and was killed when Hercules hit the stone back with his club. 2. a giant who, invulnerable in his own country, was dragged by Hercules to another country and there killed.

Cephalus Class. Myth. the husband of Procris. Also Kephalos.

Sparti Class. Myth. a group of fully armed warriors who sprung from the dragon's teeth that Cadmus planted.

Aura Class. Myth. a companion of Artemis who bore twins to Dionysus. Zeus changed her into a spring because, in a fit of madness, she had killed one of her children.

Saturnus [L.] Saturn.

Pegasis A name applied to the fountain Hippocrené ( the fons cabalinus of Persius ) as having been made by the hoof of Pegasus from this fountain the Muses got their name Pegasides. See HIPPOCRENÉ; PEGASUS.

Aleus Class. Myth. a king of Tegea, and the father of Amphidamas, Auge, Cepheus, and Lycurgus.

Tempe, Vale of  A valley between Mount Olympus and Mount Ossa in Thessaly, Greece, famous for its beauty and in ancient times regarded as sacred to Apollo. Greek Tembe.

Agelaus Class. Myth.1. the herdsman of Priam who raised Paris. 2. A son of Hercules and Omphale. 3. ( in the Iliad ) a son of Phradmon who was killed by Diomedes. 4. ( in the Odyssey ) one of the suiters ofor Penelope.

sea king c. Neptune.

Aletes Class. Myth.1. a son of Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. He became ruler of Mycenae after the death of his parents. 2. a descendant of Hercules who conquered Corinth.

Antiphus Class. Myth. 1. ( in the Iliad ) a Trojan ally, the son of Talaemenes and a nymph. 2. one of the 50 sons of Priam. 3. a Greek commander who sailed from Troy with Odysseus and was devoured by Polyphemus.

Asteropaeus ( in the Iliad ) a Trojan ally slain by Achilles.

Parca 1. an ancient Roman goddess of childbirth and destiny. Cf. Parcae. 2. Any one of the Parcae.

Aidos the ancient Greek personification of modesty, respect, and shame.  [< Gk. aidṓs]

Agrius Class. Myth.1. one of the Gigantes. 2. a centaur who attacked Hercules. 3. a son of Circe and Odysseus. 4. the father of Thersites.

Silvius ( in the Aeneid ) a son of Aeneas.

Creon Class. Myth. a king of Thebes, the brother of Jocasta and the uncle of Eteocles, Polynices, and Antigone.

Cimmerian adj.1. Of or pertaining to the Cimmerians, a mythical people mentioned by Homer as living in perpetual darkness. 2. Densley dark; gloomy.

netherworld 1. The world of the dead. 2. The world of punishment after death; hell.

Nemean lion In Greek legend, a fierce lion that Hercules strangled as one of his twelve labors.

petasus 1. A hat with a broad brim and low crown, worn in ancient Greece. 2. The winged hat of the god Mercury. Also petasos.  [< L< Gk. petasos. Akin to Gk. petannynai to expand ]

roc In Arabian and Persian legend, an enormous and powerful bird of prey.  [< Arabic rokh < Persian rukh ]

Thrinacia A mythical island on which the herds of the Sun-god ( Helios ) grazed ( Ovid. xi. 127; xix 275 ), afterwords identified with Sicily ( Trinacria ). See HELIOS; SICILIA.

Rhodope 2. Class. Myth. a maiden skilled in hunting, the companion of Artemis.

Amyntor Class. Myth. a king of Ormenium who refused to give his daughter Astydamia to Hercules and who was slain by Hercules.

Alba Longa A city of ancient Latium, SE of Rome; traditional birthplace of Romulus and Remus.

Calliope The Muse of eloquence and epic poetry.  [< L< Gk. Kallīope the beautiful-voiced < kalos beautiful + ops voice ]

Bizya A Thracian city on the Euxine Sea, northwest of Byzantium. The poets declare it to have been shuned by swallows because of the fate of Tereus ( q.v.). See Ovid, Met. vi. 424 foll.

trident A three-pronged fork; especially, the emblem of Neptune ( Poseidon ).  adj.Having three teeth or prongs: also tridentate, tridentated[< L tridens, -dentis < tri- three + dens, dentis tooth ]

heroic age 1. The age when demigods and heroes are supposed to have been on earth. 2. The age that produced epic poetry.

theomachy A combat with or among the gods.  [< Gk. theomachia < theos god + machē combat ]

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Erato The Muse of lyric and love poetry.

Cilla Class. Myth. a sister of Priam who, with her infant son, was slain by Priam because it had been prophesied that a mother and child of the royal house would cause the destruction of Troy.

Lotis Class. Myth. a nymph who was changed into a lotus tree.

Antiochus Class. Myth. a son of Hercules and Meda.

Deianira Class. Myth. a sister of Meleager and wife of Hercules, whom she killed unwittingly by giving him a shirt that had been dipped in the poisoned blood of Nessus. Also, Deianeira.

Xuthus Class. Myth. a son of Hellen and Orseïs, and the husband of Creusa.

Androgeus Class. Myth. a son of Minos and Pasiphae who fell victim to King Aegeus: in revenge, Minos waged war on the Athenians and forced them to sent a trbute of seven maidens and seven youths to the Minotaur every nine years.

Camilla 1. Rom. Legend. a woman warrior who fought on the side of Turnus against Aeneas. 2. Also, Camila, Camile, Camille a female given name.

Idmon Class. Myth. an Argonaut who was the son of Apollo and Cyrene.

Phylonome Class. Myth. the second wife of Cycnus, buried alive for falsely accusing her stepson, Tenes, of trying to seduce her. Also, Philonome.

Phalerus Class. Myth. a son of Alcon who became one of the Argonauts.

Alcinoüs ( in the Odyssey ) king of the Phaeacians and father of Nausicaä and Laodamas.

Minthe Class. Myth. a nymph who was changed into a mint plant by Persephone to protect her from Hades.

Amarynceus ( in the Iliad ) a king of Messene who ruled Elis with Augeas and who was slain by Nestor in a war against the Pylians.

Daulis or Daulia An ancient town in Phocis, situated on a lofty hill, celebrated in mythology as the residence of the Thracian king Tereus, and as the scene of the tragic story of Philomela and Procné. Hence DAULIAS is the name of both Procné and Philomela ( q. v.).

Porphyrion Class. Myth. one of the Gigantes.

Atymnius ( in the Iliad ) a companion of Sarpedon, slain by Antilochus.

caduceus n. pl. ∙cei 1. In ancient Greece and Rome, a herald's wand or staff: especially, the staff of Hermes or Mercury. 2. A similar wand used as the emblem of a Medical corps or of the medical profession.  [< L< Gk. ( Doric ) karykion herald's staff ]  caducean adj.

Lesbus A son of Lapithus, grandson of Aeolus, who married Methymna, daughter of Macareus. He succeeded his father-in-law, and gave his name to the island over which he reigned.

Aenaria ( also called PITHECUSA and INARIMÉ ) A volcanic island at the entrance to the Bay of Naples; under it the Roman poets represented Typhoeus ( q. v.) as lying. It is the modern Ischia.

Agamede Class. Myth. a daughter of Augeas noted for her skill at using herbs for healing.

Cecrops In Greek legend, the first king of Attica and founder of Athens, represented as half man, half dragon.

Strophades Insulae, formerly called PLOTAE. Now Strofia and Strivali. Two islands in the Ionian Sea, off the coast of Messenia and south of Zacynthus. The Harpies were pursued to these islands by the sons of Boreas; and it was from the circumstance of the latter returning from these islands after the pursuit that mythology derived the name ( στρέΦω, "to turn " ).

Haemon Class. Myth. a son of Creon of Thebes who killed himself on the tomb of Antigone.

Lernaea Class. Myth. Demeter: so called because of mysteries celebrated in her honor at Lerna.

Clymenus Class. Myth. 1. an Arcadian who violated his daughter Harpalyce. 2. a Boeotian king who was accidentally injured by a Theban and who ordered his sons to avenge the fatal injury.

Achilles' spear Greek Legend. the spear of Achilles, the rust of which was made into a cure for wounds inflicted by it.

Brontes [L., fr. Gr. Brontēs, fr. brontē thunder.] One of the Cyclops.

lamia 1. Greek and Roman Mythology. a fabulous monster having the head and breasts of a woman and the body of a serpent, said to lure away children, especially the newborn, to suck their blood. 2. a witch; female demon. [< Latin lamia sorceress, a blood-sucking witch < Greek lamia flesh-eating monster]

Cygnus 1. Greek Mythology. the swan into which Zeus changed himself when he visited Leda to court her. 2. a northern constellation in the Milky Way, seen by ancient astronomers as having the rough outline of a swan in flight; Swan. [< Latin Cygnus ( literally ) swan]

Himeros [Gr. himeros. ] Gr. Myth. A personification of desire. In art Himeros was figured as a winged boy, like Eros.

Bona Dea an ancient Roman goddess of chastity and fertility. Also called Fauna. [ < L: lit., ( the ) Good Goddess ]

Calliste Class. Myth. an epithet of Artemis meaning "fairest."

Anteros 1. Class. Myth. a brother of Eros, most often regarded as the avenger of unrequited love.

Alexiares Class. Myth. a son of Hercules and Hebe.

Eurybia Class. Myth. a Titan, daughter of Pontus and Gaea.

Astraeus [L., fr. Gr. Astraios.] Gr. Myth. According to Hesiod, a son of the Titans Crios, and father, by Eos, of the winds Argestes, Zephyrus, Boreas and Notus, and of Astraea.

Poena an ancient Greek personification of punishment or revenge, sometimes conceived of as a monster and sometimes associated with the Furies. Also, Poine.

Aeolian 1. pertaining to Aeolus, the god of the winds.

Charis Class. Myth. 1. one of the Graces, married to Hephaestus. 2. sing. of Charites.

Ilione Class. Myth. the oldest daughter of Priam and Hecuba, and the wife of Polymnestor.

Antagoras Class. Myth. a shepherd from the island of Cos who challenged Hercules to a wrestling match.

Enceladus In Greek mythology, a giant who, after revolting against the gods, was killed by the lightning of Zeus and buried under Mt. Etna.

Aganippe [L., fr. Gr. Aganippē.] Gr. Myth. A fountain near Mount Helicon, in Boeotia, supposed, as sacred to the Muses, to give poetic inspiration.

Acheloides The daughters of the river Achelous. [See NYMPHAE.]

Agamemnonides A patronymic applied to Orestes ( q.v.), the son of Agamemnon.

Misenus [L.] Rom. Myth. One of the followers of Aeneas, drowned near the cape which, according to legend, was named Misenum in his honor.

nympholepsy 1. A state of ecstasy or frenzy believed to be inspired by nymphs. 2. An emotional frenzy, as that caused by desiring something unattainable.  [< Gk. nympholeptos frenzied < nymphē
nymph + lambenein to take ]  nympholeptic adj.

Aeson The son of Cretheus and Tyro, and father of Iason. He was excluded from the throne by his half-brother, Pelias. During the absence of Iason on the Argonautic expedition, Pelias attempted to murder Aeson, but the latter put an end to his own life. According to Ovid, Aeson survived the return of the Argonauts, and was made young again by Medea. See ARGONAUTAE; IASON; MEDEA.

Aeneades A patronymic applied specifically to Ascanius or Iulus, the son of Aeneas, and generally to those who claimed descent from him, such as Augustus Caesar and the Romans as a race.

Aeneas Silvius 2. Rom. Legend. a king of Alba Longa.

Icadius A Cretan, and brother of Iapyx, who guided by a dolphin ( Apollo ), came to Mount Parnassus, and there gave Delphi and Crissa their names ( Serv. ad Aen. iii. 332.)

Juturna [L.] Rom. Myth. a water nymph, of Lanuvian origin, taken by the Romans as the presiding sPirithoüs of a spring near the temple of Vesta.

Cotys. Also Cotytto  [Gr. Kotys, Kotyttō.] Gr. Relig. A Thracian vegetation goddess, whose worship was introduced at Athens and Corinth, her festivals, Cotyttia (Gr. Kotytto), being orgiastic.

Panhellenios [Gr. Panhellēnios.] Gr. Relig. An epithet of Zeus as god of all the Greeks.

Ion 1. Class. Myth. the eponymous ancestor of the Ionians: son of Apollo and Creusa who is abandoned by his mother but returns to become an attendant in Apollo's temple at Delphi. 2. ( italics ) a drama on this subject ( 415? B.C. ) by Euripides.

Auge Class. Myth. a daughter of King Aleus who became a priestess of Athena. After being raped by Hercules she bore a son, Telephus.

Laodamia Class. Myth. 1. a daughter of Acastus who committed suicide so that she could join her huband, Protesilaus, in the underworld. 2. ( in the Iliad ) the mother, by Zeus, of Sarpedon.

Apsyrtus Class. Myth. a son of Aeetes, killed by his sister Medea, who, while fleeing with Jason, threw pieces of her brother's body into the sea so that her father, in pursuing her, might be delayed while picking them up.

Aloadae Class. Myth. Ephialtes and Otus, the sons of Poseidon and Iphimedia, raised by Aloeus. Also, Aloidae.

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

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

M. E. XXIII

Actaeus The first king of Attica. The poets use the word Actaeus as an adjective, in the sense of Attic.

Corybas The son of Iasion and Cybele, who introduced the rites of the mother of the gods into Phrygia from the island of Samothrace. See CORYBANICA; RHEA.

Macareus Class. Myth. a son of  Aeolus and Enarete.

Aetheria 2. Class. Myth. a daughter of Helius and Clymene who, with her sisters, was one of the Heliades.

Rhodopis Class. Myth. a maiden whose sandal was snatched by an eagle and carried to King Psammetichus. Considering this an omen, the king married Rhodopis.

Idalium A town in Cyprus, sacred to Aphrodité, who hence bore the surname Idalia.

Agenorides A descendant of an Agenor, such as Cadmus, Phineus, and Perseus.

Iapyx Class. Myth. a son of Daedalus.

Cydippe Class. Myth. a priestess of Hera at Argos and the mother of Biton and Cleobis.

coryphaeus 3. (cap.) Class. Myth. an epithet of Zeus, meaning "highest."[<L<Gk coryphaîos leader (n.), leading ( adj.), equiv. to Koryph () head, top + aîos adj. suffix ] 

Minervae Castrum or Minervium Now Castro; a hill on the coast of Calabria, the traditional landing-place of Aeneas in Italy.

Ithacus The son of Pterolaüs. He was the hero after whom Ithaca was said to have been named ( Odyss. xiii. 207 ).

Biton Class. Myth. one of the sons of Cydippe. Cf. Cleobis.

Alcithoë Class. Myth. a daughter of Minyas who was driven mad for mocking Dionysus.

Electrides Class. Myth. the Amber Islands.

Curetes [L., fr. Gr. Kourētes.] Gr. Relig. Earthborn daemons, attendants upon Rhea, in Crete, who, when she gave the infant Zeus into their charge, executed a wild dance so that the clamor drowned the child's cries and concealed his presence from Cronus; also, priests of the Cretan Rhea.

Rhode Class. Myth. a nymph born to Halia and Poseidon. She bore eight children by Helius.

Aglaos [Gr.] Gr. Lit. A poor Arcadian peasant whom the Delphic oracle pronounced happier than Gyges, king of Lydia, because he was contented.

Psyche In Greek and Roman mythology, a maiden who, after many tribulations caused by the jealousy of Aphrodite, is united with her lover, Eros, and accorded a place among the gods as a personification of the soul.

Dodonides The priestesses who gave oracles in the temple of Zeus in Dodona. See DODONA.

Iasides A patronymic given to Palinurus, as descendant from a person of the name of Iasius ( Verg. Aen. v. 843 ).

labors of Hercules Class. Myth. the 12 extraordinary feats performed by Hercules for Eurystheus in order to gain immortality.

Pelasgus Class. Myth. the first man, father of Lycaon and founder of the Pelasgian race. Also called Corynetes.

Lysippe Class. Myth. a daughter of Antia and Proteus who was driven mad.

Podarge Class. Myth. one of the Harpies. 

Phylas (1) A king of the Dryopes, who was attacked and slain by Heracles, because he had violated the sanctuary of Delphi. By his daughter Midea, Heracles became the father of Antilochus. (2) Son of Antilochus and grandson of Heracles and Midea, was married to Deïphilé, by whom he had two sons, Hippotas and Thero. (3) King of Ephyra, in Thesprotia, and father of Polymelé and Astyoché, by the latter of whom Heracles was the father of Tlepolemus.

Iardanes King of Lydia, and father of Omphalé, who is hence called Iardanis ( Apollod. ii. 6 § 3 ).

Lausus (1) Son of Mezentius ( q. v.), king of the Etruscans, slain by Aeneas. (2) Son of Numitor and brother of Ilia, killed by Amulius.

Pagasae or Pagasa A town of Thessaly, on the coast of Magnesia, and on the bay called after it SINUS PAGASAEUS or PAGASYCUS. It was the port of Iolcus, and afterwords of Pherae, and is celebrated in mythology as the place where Iason built the ship Argo. Hence the adjective Pagasaeus is applied to Iason, and is also used in the general sense of Thessalian. Apollo is also called Pagasaeus from having a temple at the place.

dragon 1. A mythical, serpentlike, winged monster.


Xanthe one of the daughters of Oceanus. ( Hes. Theog. 356; Verg. G. 4. 336.)

Ischys Class. Myth. a youth who was slain after committing an act of infidelity with Coronis, the beloved of Apollo.

Meges ( in the Iliad ) a nephew of Odysseus who commanded the Epeans in the Trojan War.

Leander Gk. Myth. A young man who loved Hero and drowned during one of his nightly swims across the Hellespont to be with her.


Laodamas Class. Myth.1. a son of Eteocles who defended Thebes against the Epigoni, killed Aegialeus and was killed by Alcmaeon. 2. ( in the Odyssey ) the son of Alcinous who, not recognizing Odysseus, challenged him to athletic contests when Odysseus landed in Phaeacia.

Tityus [L., Tityos, fr. Gr. Tityos.] Gr. Myth. a giant, son of Gaea or of Zeus, who for offering violence to Leto, was slain by her son Apollo. In Hades he lies prone while two vultures gnaw his liver.

Aeaean adj. [L. Aeaecus, fr. Gr. Aiaios.] Gr. & Rom. Myth. Pertaining to or desgnating the island Aeaea (now Monte Circello), lying between Italy and Sicily and fabled as the abode of Circe.  Aeaean, n.

Caesar dives [L.] Rom. Relig. The deified Caesar or emperor of Rome.

Stymphalus Class. Myth. 1. a king of Arcadia who was treacherously murdered by his military inferior enemy, Pelops. 2. a lake in Arcadia where the Stymphalian birds dwelt.

Pyronia Class. Myth. an epithet of Artemis, meaning "fire-goddess."

Antheus Class. Myth. a son of Antenor, accidentally killed by Paris.

Sthenius Class. Myth. an epithet of Athena, meaning "strong."

Clinis Class. Myth. a Mesopotamian man loved by Artemis and Apollo.

Aechmagoras Class. Myth. a son of Hercules and Phialo.

Ancus Marcius Rom. Legend. a king of Rome, during whose reign the first bridge over the Tiber was constructed.

Hesione In Greek legend, Laomedon's daughter, rescued from a sea monster by Hercules.

Meriones ( in the Iliad ) a skillful archer who aided the Greek forces in the Trojan War.


a-1898 Harper's Dict. of Class. Literature & Antiquities

M. E. XXII

Bubona [L.] Roman Relig. A goddess who protected cattle.

Menoeceus Class. Myth. a descendant of the Sparti and the father of Jocasta and Creon, who sacrificed himself to end a plague in Thebes. 2. the son of Creon of Thebes, who took his own life because of the prophecy that the Seven against Thebes would fail if only a descendant of the Sparti sacrificed himself.

Iapis The son of Iasus. He was loved by Apollo, who taught him the healing art and prophecy. Iapis cured Aeneas of a wound received by him in his war with Latinus ( Verg. Aen. xii. 391 ).

Atlantides [L., fr. Gr. Atlantides. See ATLANTES.] 1. a The Pleiades, or seven stars fabled to be the daughtrs of Atlas and Pleione. b = HESPERIDES a. 2. The inhabitants of Atlantis.

Canace Class. Myth. a daughter of Aeolus who committed suicide at her father's command because of her incestuous relations with her brother Macareus.

Enipeus (1) A river in Thessaly, rising in Mount Othrys, receiving the Apidanus, near Pharsalus, and flowing into the Peneus ( Ovid, Met. i. 579 ). Poseidon assumed the form of the god of this river in order to obtain possession of Tyro, who was in love with Enipeus. She became by Poseidon the mother of Pelias and Neleus.

Molus Class. Myth. a son of Ares and Demonice, father of Meriones.

Caca an ancient Roman goddess of the hearth, often identified with Vesta.

Mynes ( in the Iliad ) a king of Lyrnessus and husband of Briseis, killed by Achilles in the Trojan War. 

Limnaea Class. Myth. an epithet of Artemis, meaning "of the lake."

Aegimius Class. Myth. a son of Dorus who was king of the Dorians.

Magna Mater Rom. Religion. Cybele; Ops; Rhea. [<L: great mother ]

Thoas Class. Myth. 1. Also called Thoön. one of the Gigantes who was killed by Hercules. 2. a son of Hypsipyle and Jason. 3. a son of Ariadne and either Dionysus or Theseus who became a king of Tauris and the benefactor of Iphigenia. 4. ( in the Iliad ) a suitor of Helen who aided the Greek forces in the Trojan War.

Cleta Class. Myth. one of the Graces worshiped at Sparta.

Imbrius ( in the Iliad ) a son of Mentor who joined the Trojans in the war against the Greeks and was slain by Teucer.

Virbius an ancient Roman god of the forest and hunting, worshipped with Diana and identified with Hippolytus.

Thyiad bacchante. [<L Thyiad- ( s. of Thyias ) <Gk <thý(ein) (to) seethe ]

Thaumatian adj. Of or pertaiming to Iris, called Thaumantias after her father Thaumas, her father.

Alethia the ancient Greek personification of truth.

Morta One of the Roman Parcae, or Fates. She was identified with the Greek Atropos, the fate who cut the thread of life.

Bifrons An epithet of Ianus ( q. v.) as being represented with two faces.

kraken A legendary sea monster believed to inhabit the waters of Norway.  [< Norw ]

Ygdrasil In Norse mythology, a huge ash tree whose roots and branches bind together heaven, earth, and hell: also spelled Igdrasil. Also Ygdrasill, Yggdrasill.

Ambarvalia an ancient Roman festival in which sacrifices were offered to Ceres, as an invocation for fertile fields. The sacrificed animals were first led about the fields.

Ninus 1. In Assyrian legend, the founder of Nineveh and husband of Semiramis. 2. The Latin name for NINEVEH.

Ragnorök In Norse mythology, the twilight of the gods, and the doomsday of the world, preceding its regeneration. Also Ragnorok.  [< ON < ragna of the gods (genitive pl. of regin ) + rök judgement ]

Coronis Class. Myth. 1. a princess killed by Apollo for being unfaithful to him. Hermes saved Asclepius, her unborn child by Apollo. 2. one of the nymphs who cared for the infant Dionysus.

Rumina [L.] Rom. Relig. The goddess of nursing mothers.

Minyas Class. Myth. a king of Orchomenus, famed for his wealth.

Libera an ancient Italian goddess of wine, vineyards, and fertility and the wife of Liber, in later times identified with Persephone.

Potami The gods of the rivers, sons of Oceanus and Tethys. [ See OCEANUS.]

Hyas The son of Atlas, and father or brother of the Hyades ( q.v.), and said to be the ancestor of the Hyades ( q.v.).

Menippe Class. Myth. a daughter of Orion who, with her sister Metioche, offered herself as as sacrifice to end a plague in Boeotia.

Nysa Class. Myth.1. the mountain where Zeus sent the infant Dionysus to protect him from the vindictive wrath of Hera. 2. one of the Nysaean Nymphs.

Cleobis Class. Myth. a son of Cydippe, known for his affection for his mother; he and his brother Biton died painlessly in their sleep when Cydippe prayed to Hera to give her sons what was best for mortals.

Tullia 1. Rom. Legend. the wife of Tarquin and the daughter of Servius Tullius, whom she helped to assasinate.

Hiordis ( in the Volsunga Saga ) the second wife of Sigmund and the mother of Sigurd. Also, Hjordis.

Cymothoë One of the Nereides, represented by Vergil as assisting the Trojans, with Triton, after the storm with which Aeolus, at the request of Iuno, had afflicted the fleet ( Aen. i. 148 ).

Tarchetius Rom. Legend. a king of Alba Longa.

Minervae Promontorium A rocky promontory in Campania, running out a long way into the sea, six miles southeast of Surrentum, on whose summit was a temple of Minerva, said to have been built by Odysseus. Here the Sirens are reported to have dwelt.

Lamus Class. Myth. a son of Hercules and Omphale. 2. the king of a people who attacked 11 ships of Odysseus and devoured their crews.

Harpina Class. Myth. a daughter of Asopus who became the mother, by Ares, of Oenomaus.

Leucippe Class. Myth. 1. a daughter of Minyas of Orchomenus. 2. a daughter of Thestor. 3. the mother of Teuthras.

Panopé A sea-nymph, daughter of Nereus and Doris.

Agenor Class. Myth. 1. a son of Poseidon and Libya who became king of Phoenicia. 2. ( in the Iliad ) a son of Antenor and Theano who was noted for his bravery.

Empusa [ML., hobgoblin, fr. Gr. empousa.] a Gr. Myth. A terrifying being associated with Hecate, often with the vampire's appetite for human flesh. b [ not cap.] A specter or hobgoblin.

Thamesis [L.] The river Thames;  a personification.

Hypenor a Trojan warrior, slain by Diomedes.

Corycia [L., fr. Gr. Kōrykia.] Gr. Myth. A nymph, mother by Apollo of Lycorus.

Phoebad [Gr. phoibas, phoibados, fr. Phoibos PHOEBUS.] Gr. Relig. A priestess of Apollo at Delphi; hence, an inspired woman; a prophetess or seeress. Cf. PYTHIA.

Macaria The daughter of Heracles and Deianira. When Eurystheus, after the death of Heracles, made war upon the Heraclidae and their allies, the Athenians, an oracle declared that the descendants of Heracles would be victorious if one of them should devote himself to death. This lot Macaria voluntarily accepted, and the oracle was fullfilled in the success of the Athenians by whom Macaria was therefore held in great honour. A fountain at Marathon was called by her name ( Pausan. i. 32 ).

Iasion [L., fr. Gr. Iasiōn.] Gr. Relig. According to myth, a mortal who was united with Demeter "in the thrice ploughed field," and was punished for his presumption of Zeus. He was possibly originally a hero or deity of agriculture, the myth is probably derived from a ritual symbolizing fertilization of the field.

a-1898 Harper's Dict. of Class. Literature & Antiquities

M. E. XXI

Achilleum A town neart the promontory Sigaeum ( q. v.) in the Troad, where Achilles was supposed to be buried.

Halirrhothius Class. Myth. a son of Poseidon slain by Ares. 

Cretheïs Class. Myth. the wife of Acastus. She was slain and dismembered by Peleus in revenge for her treacherous scheming to make him her lover, even though he had rejected her advances.

Meditrina A Roman goddess of the healing art, whose festival, the MEDITRINALIA, was observed annually on October 11. See Varo, L. L. vi. 21.

weird ─ the Weird Sisters 1. The Fates. 2. The three witches in Shakespeare's Macbeth.

Melaneus A son of Apollo. He was king of the Dryopes, and was a famous archer. He founded the town of Oechalia, which he named after his wife.

Laphystium A mountain in Boeotia, about twenty stadia to the north of Coronea, on which Zeus had a temple, whence he was called Laphystius. It was here that Athamas prepared to immolate Phrixus and Hellé, whom Zeus saved by sending a golden ram ( Pausan. ix. 34, & 5 ).

Nireus ( in the Iliad ) a son of Aglaia and Charopus who, after Achilles, was the handsomest Greek warrior at Troy.

Polydora ( in the Iliad ) a daughter of Peleus.

Aëdon Class. Myth. a daughter of Pandareus who mistakenly killed her son. Zeus took pity on her and turned her into a nightingale.

Iphianassa Class. Myth. a daughter of Agamemnon, offered to Achilles as a wife if he would return to battle against the Trojans. 2. A daughter of Proetus and Antia who, with her sisters Iphinoë and Lysippe, was inflicted with madness for her irreverence toward the gods.

Eurylochus A companion of Odysseus, and the only one that escaped from the house of Circé when his friends were metamorphosed into swine ( Hom. Od. 203, xi. 23, etc.).

Acidalia A name applied to Aphrodité from the fountain Acidalius, near Orchomenus, where she was wont to bathe with the Graces.

Epimethis A patronymic of Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus ( Ovid, Met. i. 390 ).

Nelides or Neliades Patronymics of Neleus, by which both Nestor, the son of Neleus and Antilochus, his grandson, are designed.

Daedala (1) A town of Caria, near the confines of Lycia and on the northern shore of the Glaucus Sinus. It was said to have derived its name from Daedalus, who, being stung by a snake on crossing the small river Ninus, died and was buried here. (2) A mountain, in the vicinity of the city of the same name and on the confines of Lycia.

Aeetis, Aeetias, Aeëtiné Patronymics applied to Medea ( q. v.), as being the daughter of Aeëtes.

Laïades A patronymic of Oedipus, son of Laïus ( Ovid, Met. vi. 18 ).

Branchus Class. Myth. a son of Apollo, given the power of augury by his father.

Polyidus Class. Myth. a Corinthian seer who revived the dead Glaucus.

Cedreatis Class. Myth. an epithet of Artemis, meaning "of the cedar tree."

Procles Class. Myth. the twin brother of Eurystheus.

Agraeus Class. Myth. an epithet of Apollo, meaning "hunter."

Themiste Class. Myth. a daughter of Laomedon and Eurydice, and the mother of Anchises. 

Aregonis The mother of Mopsus ( q. v.) by Ampyx.

Oenopion Class. Myth. a king of Chios who kept postponing the marriage of his daughter Merope to Orion: when Orion, in a drunken stupor, assaulted Merope, Oenopion blinded him.

Aegaea An adjective applied to Aphrodité as being worshipped in the Aegean Sea.

Leucon (1) The son of Poseidon or Athamas and Themisto, and father of Erythrus and Evippé.

Dionysian adj.1. Dionysiac. 2. Relating to or characteristic of Dionysius or Dionysus.

Byblis [L., fr. Gr. Byblis.] 1. Gr. & Rom. Myth. A nymph who loved her brother Caunus, and vainly pursued him through many lands.

Corniger " Horn-bearing." A surname of Bacchus ( Ovid, Fasti. iii. 481 ), and of Iupiter Ammon, who was worshipped in the form of a ram.

Machaon ( in the Iliad ) a son of Asclepius who was famed as a healer and who served as physician of the Greeks in the Trojan War.

Judement of Paris Class. Myth. the decision by Paris to award Aphrodite the golden apple of discord competed for by Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera.

Polias Class. Myth. an epithet of Athena as protectress of cities.

Inferi Rom. Myth. 1. those who live in infernal regions. 2. the gods of the underworld.

Eunonus Class. Myth. a youth unintentionally killed by Hercules.

Argeiphontes Class. Myth. an epithet of Hermes, meaning "slayer of Argus."Also, Argiphontes.

Hecabe Class. Myth. Hecuba (def. 1).

Grynaeus Class. Myth. an epithet of Apollo.

a-1898 Harper's Dict. of Class. Literature & Antiquities