Wednesday, May 29, 2013

M. E. XXXIII

fons [L. See 1st FOUNT.] 1. Fount; hence, source. 2. [cap.] Rom. Relig. God of fountains.

Agyieus  [Gr. agyia street.] Gr. Relig. An epithet of Apollo derived from the setting up, at street doors, of Pillars which were regarded as altars or representations of the god.

Thamyris [Gr.] Gr. Myth. A Thracian singer who boasted that he excelled the Muses. He was punished by losing both his sight and his musical power.

Coronus Class. Myth. a companion of Jason who became king of the Lapiths.

Enarete Class. Myth. the wife of Aeolus.

Thiodamas Class. Myth. a Dryopian king slain by Hercules for refusing him one of his oxen.

Iole [L., fr. Gr. Iolē.] Gr. Myth. A daughter of Eurytus, king of Oechalia, who promised her hand to the suiter successful in a contest of archery, but who refused to fullfil his agreement when Hercules won. Hercules sacked the town and took Iole as a captive.

Zoeteus A son of Tricolonus, and founder of the town of Zoetia in Arcadia. ( Paus. viii. 3. § 6; Steph. Byz. s.v).

Macistus 1. A surname of Heracles, who had a temple in the neighbourhood of the town of Macistus in Triphylia. 2. A son of Athamas and brother of Phrixus, from whom the town of Macistus in Triphylia was believed to have derived its name. ( Steph. Byz. s. v. Makistos.)

Cadmilus Or Casmilus, or Cadmus, according to Acusilaus ( ap. Strab. x. p 472 ) a son of Hephaestus and Cabiro, and father of the Samothracian Cabiri and the Cabirian nymphs. Others consider Cadmilus himself as the fourth of the Samothracian Cabiri. ( Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. 1. 917; comp. CABIRI ).

Caicias The god of the north-east wind. See ANEMI.

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

Leonteus ( in the Iliad ) one of Helen's early suitors and a leader of the Greek forces at Troy.

Pandrosos Class. Myth. a daughter of Cecrops and Agraulos who was first priestess of Athena.

Alcyonides The daughters of the giant Alcyoneus. After their father's death, they threw themselves into the sea and were changed into ice-birds. Their names are Phthonia, Anthe, Methone, Alcippe, Pallene, Drimo, and Asteria. ( Eustath. ad Hom. p. 776; Suidas, s. v. Alkuonides.)

Caliadne A Naiad nymph, one of the wives of the Egyptian king Aegyptus. She was the mother of twelve of his fifty sons.

Hylonome During the fight between the Lapiths and the Centaurs at the wedding of Pirithous, Hylonome, the wife of the Centaur Cyllarus, killed herself with the same arrow as had killed her husband, because she did not want to survive him.

Dares ( in the Aeneid ) one of the companions of Aeneas, noted for his boxing skill.

Protesilaus [L., fr. Gr. Prōtesilaos.] Gr. Antiq. A Thessalian warrior, first of the Greeks to be slain at the siege of Troy. An oracle having predicted that the first person to step on land should be killed, he alone dared to sacrifice himself. See LAODAMIA.

Erulus ( in the Aeneid ) a king of Italy whose mother, the goddess Feronia, granted him three lives.

Aristodemus Class. Myth. one of the Heraclidae, a son of Aristomachus and father of Eurystheus and Procles: he was killed by lightning just as he was preparing to invade Peloponnesus.

Hostius Also called Hostus Hostilius, a Roman originally from the colony of Medullia, which was set up by the Albani in Sabine territory. During the reign of Romulus he came  and settled in Rome. After the removal of the Sabines he married HERSILIA by whom he had a son who was the father of King Tullus Hostilius. During the Sabine war on the level ground of the Forum, Hostius disguised himself in the front rank of the Roman army and was the first to be killed. After his death the Romans panicked momentarily until Jupiter Stator intervened to restore order. Hostius had already shown outstanding bravery at the capture of Fidenae for which he was rewarded a laurel wreath.

Phlegyas Class. Myth. a king of the Lapithae who condemned Apollo when he learned that his daughter had been violated by the god. Phlegyas was slain for his irreverence.

Caenis Class. Myth. a daughter of Elatus: her request that she become a man was granted by Poseidon after he had violated her. Cf. Caeneus.

Ithomatas Class. Myth. Zeus: so called because Mount Ithome was dedicated to him.

Cynortes Class. Myth. a son of Amyclas and Diomede.

Liriope an ocean nymph, who became by Cephisus the mother of the beautiful Narcissus.

Brimo an ancient Greek goddess identified with Demeter, Hecate, or Persephone.

Busiris [L., fr. Gr. Bousiris.] a A mythical Egyptian king, killed by Hercules. b In Milton and others, the Pharaoh drowned in the Red Sea at the Exodus.

Phyllis [L., fr. Gr. Phyllis.] 1. Literally, a green bough;  fem. proper name. 2. In Greek legends a Thracian princess betrothed to Demophoön, son of Theseus. On his failure to return to marry her at the time set, Phyllis, thinking herself deserted, hanged herself and was transformed by the gods into an almond tree.

Caicus 1. Son of Oceanus and Tethys god of the Mysian river. 2. A companion of Aeneas in his voyage from Troy to Italy.

Iobes One of Heracles' sons whose mother was Certhe, one of the daughters of Thespius.

Hecalé A poor old woman who hospitably received Theseus when he had gone out to hunt the Marathonian bull, and offered to Zeus a sacrifice for the safe return of the hero. As she died before his return, Theseus decreed that the people of the Attic tetrapolis should offter a sacrifice to her and to Zeus Hecalesius. See THESEUS.

Illyrius Class. Myth. a son of Cadmus.

Phorcids Class. Myth. the children of Phorcys and Ceto, among them Ladon and the Gorgons.

Cithaeron A mountain, 1, 410 m ( 4, 623 ft ) high, of southeast Greece. It was considered sacred to Dionysus and the Muses.

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

Thursday, May 9, 2013

M. E. XXXII

Aeacides Class. Myth. a patronymic for any of the descendants of Aeacus, as Achilles, Peleus, and Telamon.

Iphinoë Class. Myth. 1. a daughter of Antia and Proetus who was inficted with madness for her irreverence toward the gods. Cf. Iphianassa ( def. 2 ). 2. the woman who brought Queen Hypsipyle's message of welcome to Jason and the Argonauts.

Hoples Class. Myth. a son of Ion.

Marathon 3. Class. Myth. a son of Epopeus and the father of Corinthus.

Polyhymnia The Muse of sacred song. Also Polymnia.

Aoede Class. Myth. one of the original three Muses; the Muse of song. Also, Aoide. Cf. Melete, mneme ( def. 2 ).

Opheltes Class. Myth. the son of King Lycurgus of Nemea who was killed in infancy by a serpent and in whose memory the Nemean games were held. Also called Archemorus.

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

Sinon a Greek, posing as a deserter, who persuaded the Trojans to take the Trojan Horse into their city.

Meleagrides Class. Myth. the sisters of Meleager of Calydon who were changed into guinea hens by Artemis in order to relieve their grief over the death of their brother.

Admete Class. Myth. a daughter of Eurystheus for whom Hercules took the golden girdle of Ares from Hippolyte.

Symplegades Class. Myth. a pair of rocky islands, at the entrance to the Black Sea, that often clashed together: Athena helped the Argonauts navigate them, after which they became fixed.

Theoclymenus Class. Myth. 1. ( in the Odyssey ) a seer who foretold the return of Odysseus and the death of Penelope's suiters. 2. a son of Proteus and Psamathe who succeeded his father as king of Egypt.

Eurotas Class. Myth. the son of Myles.

Cloacina A Roman divinity who presided over sewers ( cloacae ). More properly, however, the word should be written Cluacina ( from cluo = purgo, Plin. xv. 29, 36 ), being so called because at the end of the war with the Sabines the Romans purified themselves in the vicinity of the statue of Venus with myrtle boughs ( Pliny, 1. c.). Later, the similarity of spelling caused a confusion with cloaca, cloacina. See Lactant. i. 20.

Actis Class. Myth. a son of Rhoda and Helius who, when banished from his throne for fractricide, fled to Egypt, where he taught astrology. The Colossus of Rhodes was built in his honor.

Thespian Lion a lion that attacked the flocks of Amphitryon and was killed by Hercules.

mneme 1. Psychol. the retentive basis or basic principle in a mind or organism accounting for memory. 2. ( cap. ) Class. Myth. the Muse of memory, one of the original three Muses. Cf. Aoede, Melete.   [1950-15; < Gk mnḗmé memory; see MNEMONIC]─mnemic adj.

Pandorus A son of Erechtheus.

Philomides Class. Myth. a king of Lesbos who wrestled and killed every opponent until he himself was defeated by Odysseus.

Tatius Rom. Legend. a Sabine king who, following the rape of the Sabine women, attacked Rome and eventually ruled with Romulus. Also, Titus.

Melete Class. Myth. one of the original three Muses, the Muse of meditation. Cf. Aoede, mneme ( def. 2 ).   [< Gk melétē  care, attention]

Iphition ( in the Iliad ) a Trojan warrior slain  by Achilles.

Lucretia 1. Also, Lucrece. Rom. Legend. a Roman woman whose suicide led to the expulsion of the Tarquins and the establishment of the Roman republic. 2. a female given name.

Thespius Class. Myth. the founder of the city of Thespiae and the father, by Megamede, of 50 daughters, all of whom bore sons to Hercules.

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

Scamander The god of the river with the same name, near Troy. He was the father of Teucer and participated in the Trojan War ( Iliad XX, 73; XX, 1).

Iphicles Class. Myth. a son of Alcmene and Amphitryon, the brother of Hercules.

Megara 1. a city in ancient Greece: the chief city of Megaris. 2. Class. Myth. a daughter of Creon whose children were slain by her husband, Hercules, in a fit of madness. ─Megarian, Megarean, Megaric, adj.

Arce Class. Myth. a daughter of Thaumas and the sister of Iris and the Harpies. Zeus took away her wings when she aided the Titans in their war against him.

Nicostratus Class. Myth. a son of Menelaus and Helen who, with his illegitimate brother Megapenthes, expelled Helen from Sparta when Menelaus died. Also, Nikostratos.

Sacred Nine Class. Myth. the Muses.

Troezen ( in ancient geography ) a town in E Peloponnesus near the coast of the Saronic Gulf, regarded in mythology as the birthplace of Theseus.

Minyades Class. Myth. the daughters of Minyas who were driven mad by Dionysus as a punishment for refusing to take part in his revels.

Nidhogg Scand. Myth. a serpent in Niflheim who gnaws upon the lowermost root of Yggdrasil. Also, Nidhug.  [< ON Nithhǫgg, equiv. to nith  evil + hǫgg hewer]

Telchines Class. Myth. nine dog-headed sea monsters who as great artisans crafted the sickle of Cronus and the trident of Poseidon.

Tarne ( in the Iliad ) Sardis.

Apples of the Hesperides Class. Myth. the golden apples given to Hera as a wedding gift. They were in the safekeeping of the Hesperides and of the dragon Ladon.

Veiovis Rom. Religion. a god of the dead, sometimes believed to be of Etruscan origin.

Argus 1. Class. Myth. a giant with 100 eyes, set to guard the heifer Io: his eyes were transferred after his death to the peacock's tail. 2. a son of Phrixus and builder of the Argo. 3. ( in the Odyssey ) Odysseus's faithful dog, who recognized his master after twenty years and immediately died.

Calydonian hunt Class. Myth. the pursuit by Meleager, Atalanta, and others of a savage boar ( Calydonian boar ) sent by Artemis to lay waste to Calydon.

Achaeus Class. Myth. the epomyous founder of Achaea.

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