Charontissa [ NGr.] In modern Greek folklore, the wife of Charus.
Lover's Leap a Cape Ducato, the promontory from which Sappho is fabled to have thrown herself into the sea for love of Phaon.
Amphionic adj. Of, like, or pertaining to, Amphion, or his music.
hero [L. heros ( pl. heroes ), fr. Gr. hērōs; akin to L. servare to protect. See SERVE.] 1. Myth & Relig. a A man, esp. a warrior, of the Greek epic or heroic age. b A man honored after death by public worship, because of exceptional service to mankind, and usually held to be in part at least of divine descent. Cf. CULTURE HERO; DEMIGOD.
Paeonian adj. [L. Paeonius, Gr. Paionios.] Gr. Antiq. Pertaining to Apollo as god of healing, hence, medical.
Skidbladnir Scand. Myth. the huge ship, made by two dwarves for Frey, that always had a favoring wind.
Vidar Scand. Myth. a son of Odin, who will survive Ragnarok after killing Fenrir.
Muspellsheim. Also Muspelheim [ON. Mūspells-heimr.] Norse Myth. One of the Nine Worlds, generally viewed as in the south. Its forces are against the gods at Ragnarok.
Gleipnir Scand. Myth. a bond with magic properties, forged by elves, and used by the gods to bind Loke. [< ON, perh. deriv. of gleipa to scorn, sneer.]
Sigrdrifa ( in the Elder Edda ) a Valkyrie who, for disobedience to Odin, sleeps with a circle of fire until awakened by Sigurd. Cf. Brynhild.
Hymir [ON. Hȳmir.] Norse Myth. A giant, personifying the inhospitable sea.
earth-god a A deity concerned with vegetation and fertility. b Sometimes, a chthonian deity. c An earth spirit.
Sabazios [L. Sabazius, fr. Gr. Sabazios.] Gr. & Rom. Relig. a god of Phrygian origin, often identified with Dionysus. His orgiastic cult was closely associated with the worship of snakes. ─ Sabazian, adj. ─ Sabazianism, n.
Galathe In medieval romance and in Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, Hector's horse, a gift of the fairy Morgana.
Sigyn Scand. Myth. wife of Loki, who held a cup over Loki after his imprisonment in order to spare him the pain of the drops of poison with which he was punished.
Sigmund [ON. Sigmundr.] 1. In the Volsunga Saga, a Volsung, father of Sigurd, the counterpart of Siegmund in the King of the Nibelung. 2. Masculine proper name.
nebris [L., fr. Gr. nebris, fr. nebros fawn.] A fawnskin, worn in classic art by Dionysus, Silenus, satyrs, etc.
Egil, Egill In Norse mythology, brother of Völund ( Wayland the Smith ) and hero of the oldest form of the Wilhelm Tell story. See TELL, WILHELM.
Sleipnir Scand. Myth. the eight-legged horse of Odin. Also, Sleipner.
Charus, Charos [NL., fr. NGr. Charos, fr. Gr. Charōn.] In modern Greek folklore, the personification of death. See CHARON.
Gjallarhorn Scand. Myth. Heimdall's horn, used to warn the gods of Ragnarok. [ON, equiv. to glallar, gen. sing. of glov noise, din. ( cf. glalla to resound loudly, scream; c OE g(i)ellan to YELL ) + horn HORN]
Naglfar [ON.] Norse Myth. The ship, built from the nails of the dead, in which the forces of Hel advance on the Aesir at Ragnarok.
Ginnungagap Scand. Myth. a primordial void, filled with mists, existing between Niflheim and Muspelheim. [<ON, perh. lit., magical gap]
Einherjar [ON.] Norse. Myth. The heroes in Valhalla ( which see ).
Pantheian adj. [ See PANTHEON ] Common to all gods.
Vigrid Scand. Myth. the field in which the last battle between the gods and their enemies is destined to be fought at the time of Ragnarok. [<ON Vīgrīthr, equiv. to vīg battle + rīthr, deriv. of ritha to RIDE.]
Angerbotha, Angerboda, Angerbodha Norse Myth. A giantess of Jotunheim, mother, by Loki, of the wolf Fenrir, the Midgard serpent, and Hel, goddess of the dead.
Men [Gr. Mēn.] Gr. & Roman Relig. A Phrygian lunar god, possessing great powers not only in the celestial world but in the lower world of the dead. In art he is usually represented with a crescent moon.
Nine Worlds In Norse cosmology, the divisions of the universe, viz., Asgard, Midgard, Jotunheim, Muspellheim, and Niflheim, and possibly Alfheim, Svartalfheim, Vanaheim, and Hel. See YGGDRASIL.
Acarnan Class. Myth. an infant who, with his brother, was enabled by Zeus to grow to manhood in a single day in order to avenge his father's murder. Cf. Amphoterus.
Orneus Class. Myth. a son of King Erechtheus who, with his brother Metion, drove another brother, Cecrops, heir apparent to the throne, out of Athens.
Biadice Class. Myth. the wife of Cretheus.
Carmanor Class. Myth. The Cretan king who purified Artemis and Apollo after they killed Python.
Attis, Atys [L., fr. Gr. Attis, Atys.] Gr. & Rom. Relig. A Phrygian god of vegetation and young life, the counterpart of Semitic Adonis. He was beloved of the goddess Cybele. According to one story he was, like Adonis, slain by a boar; according to another he died from loss of blood following self-mutilation. From his blood sprang violets. His death and resurrection were annually celebrated at a spring festival. See CYBELE.
love god a cupid.
Styx [L., fr. Gr. Styx, Stygos; akin to Gr. styx ( in pl.) frost, cold, stygien to hate, fear.] Gr. Myth. The principal river of the lower world, which, according to some accounts, flowed round it seven times and had to be crossed in passing to the regions of the dead; also, the nymph of the river, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, by whom the most solemn oaths were sworn. The name was also given to a stream in a wild region of Arcadia, probably closely associated in popular belief with the infernal Styx.
nature deity or god A deification of some natural force or phenomenon; as, Thor is a nature deity.
Asynjur Scand. Myth. the goddesses of the Aesir, led by Frigg.
Ioxus a grandson of Theseus and Periguene.
Mantius Class. Myth. a son of Melampus and the father of Clitus.
Rhoeo Class. Myth. a daughter of Chrysothemis and Staphylus who was set adrift in a chest by her father when he learned that she had been seduced by Apollo.
Emathion Class. Myth. a son of Tithonus and Eos.
Udaeus Class. Myth. one of the Sparti.
Sthenele Class. Myth. a daughter of Acastus sometimes believed to have been the mother of Patroclus by Menoetius.
Artacia ( in the Odyssey ) the spring in the land of the Laestrygones where the daughter of Antiphates met the companions of Odysseus.
Dares Phrygius ( in the Iliad ) a priest of Hephaestus.
Melas Class. Myth. a son of Phrixus and Chalciope.
Butes Class. Myth. 1. a son of Pandion and the brother of Procne, Philomela, and Erechtheus: he was a priest of Athena and of Poseidon. 2. a son of Boreas who was stricken with madness as punishment for having ravished Coronis. 3. an Argonaut who, enticed by the song of the Sirens, leaped into the sea and was rescued by Aphrodite.
Ereuthalion ( in the Iliad ) an Arcadian warrior who was killed in a duel with Nestor.
Iodama Class. Myth. a priestess of Athena who saw the Gorgon's head on the shield of Athena was turned to stone.
Lycophron ( in the Iliad ) a Greek who committed a murder, took sanctuary with Telamonian Ajax, accompanied him to Troy, and was killed there by Hector.
Menesthius ( in the Iliad ) a son of Areïthoüs who assisted the Greeks at Troy and was killed by Paris.
Asphodel Fields Class. Myth. a meadow where the shades of dead heroes wandered sadly.
Propoetides Class. Myth. Cyprian maidens made wanton and later changed into stone for denying the divinity of Aphrodite.
Helicaon Class. Myth. a son of Antenor and Theano and the husband of Laodice. Wounded in the Trojan War, he was spared by the Greeks because he had advised the Trojans to return Helen.
Rumor Class. Myth. the messenger of Zeus.
Demonassa Class. Myth. a daughter of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle, the wife of Thersander, and the mother of Tisamenus.
Maro ( in the Odyssey ) a priest of Apollo spared by Odysseus. In gratitude, he gave Odysseus several casks of powerful wine.
Bunus Class. Myth. the son of Hermes and Aleidamea who raised a temple to Hera at Corinth.
Callipolis Class. Myth. a son of Alcathous.
Cicones Class. Myth. a Thracian people, living on the Aegean coast, whose chief city, Ismarus, was plundered by Odysseus on his return from Troy. Also, Ciconians.
Eioneus Class. Myth. 1. the father of Dia. 2. the father of Rhesus.
Argyra Class. Myth. the nymph of the spring of Argyra, whose love for the handsome Selemnus waned when his youth faded.
Hyrtius ( in the Iliad ) a Trojan ally.
Robigus 1. an ancient Roman god who protected grain from blight. 2. the personification of grain blight.
Bucolion ( in the Iliad ) a son of Laomedon.
Idaea Class. Myth. the second wife of Phineus. 2. a nymph of Mount Ida who became the wife of Scamander and the mother of Teucer.
Caletor ( in the Iliad ) a cousin of Hector, slain by Telamonian Ajax.
Olen Class. Myth. a Lycian poet believed to have originated the singing of hymns in the worship of Apollo at Delphi.
Delphyne Class. Myth. 1. Python. 2. a monster, half woman and half beast, that guarded Zeus during his imprisonment by Typhon.
Cypselus Class. Myth. a son of Aepytus and king of Arcadia. By marrying his daughter to Cresphontes, Cypselus protected his kingdom from the Heraclidae invasion of the Peloponnesus.
Paria Class. Myth. a nymph, the beloved of Minos, who was the mother of Eurydon, Nephalion, Chryses, and Philolaus.
Dascylus Class. Myth. a member of the Argonauts and son of Lycus.
Ismenus Class. Myth. a son of Asopus and Metope.
Galinthias Class. Myth. a handmaid of Alcmene.
Bona Dea [L., the good goddess.] Rom. Relig. An ancient goddess of the fertility of fields and of the fruitfulness and chastity of women. She was sister ( or perh. wife ) of Faunus, and was hence called Fauna. Later she was identified with Damia, a Greek goddess of health, whose worship, like her own, was confined to women.
Thersander Class. Myth. one of the Epigoni who later fought as a Greek ally in the Trojan War.
Munippus Class. Myth. the son of Cilla and Thymoetes who was slain by Priam because of a prophecy that a son of the royal house would cause the fall of Troy.
Alalcomenean Athena Class. Myth. Athena: so called because she was reared by Alalcomeneus.
Car Class. Myth. a son of Phoroneus and Cerdo, sometimes believed to be the founder of Megara.
Delphinus 1. Class. Myth. an intermediary who convinced Amphitrite to marry Poseidon and who was placed among the stars for his success. 2. Astron. the Dolphin, a northern constellation between Aquila and Pegasus. [<L: dolphin ]
Cornophion Class. Myth. Hercules: so called because he dispelled a plague of locusts in Euboea. [<Gk Kornōpíon locust scarer ]
Anthas Class. Myth. a son of Poseidon and Alcyone.
Palilicium Rom. Legend. the Hyades.
Hyllus Class. Myth. 1. a son of Hercules and Deianira who built his father's funeral pyre. 2. a son of Hercules and Melite.
Mesthles ( in the Iliad ) a commander of the Maeonian allies of Troy.
Cillus Class. Myth. the charioteer of Pelops.
Phthia Class. Myth. 1. the mother, by Apollo, of Dorus, Laodocus, and Polypoetes. 2. ( in the Iliad ) the concubine of Amyntor who was seduced by Phoenix, Amyntor's son, at his mother's request.
Diores ( in the Iliad ) a son of Amarynceus who fought against the Trojans.
Iphthime ( in the Odyssey ) a sister of Penelope.
Gelonus Class. Myth. a son of Hercules.
Antia Class. Myth. the wife of Proetus who slandered Bellerophon and demanded his death when he rejected her advances. Also Stheneboea.
Piren Class. Myth. a son of Glaucus believed to have been accidentally killed by his brother Bellerophon. Also, Peiren.
Nicippe Class. Myth. the mother, by King Sthenelus, of Eurystheus.
mother goddess Any goddess personifying the female principle of life and fertility.
Endeïs Class. Myth. the second wife of Aeacus.
