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