A Greek warrior, principal character of the Iliad. The son of Peleus and Thetis. As a baby his mother dipped him in the Styx, making him invulnerable save for his heel, by which she held him. He was educated by Cheiron. His mother, knowing that he would die at Troy, tried to prevent him joining the Greek expedition there by disguising him as a girl. The subterfuge was discovered by Odysseus. Achilless proved himself the most formidable warrior at Troy. In the tenth year of fighting he quarrelled with Agamemnon and withdrew from the fighting. However, he loaned his armour to Patroclus, his cousin and friend who was slain by Hector. His death prompted Achilles to cease sulking and return to the fray. He slew Hector, Penthesilea and the Greek Thersites. After killing Memnon, Achilles was shot in his vulnerable ankle at a battle near the Scaean gate. Odysseus and Ajax recovered his body and argued over his armour.
A Syrian deity associated with the mystery of vegetation. He was a beautiful Cypriot youth, the son of Myrrha and her father. For this incest Myrrha was turned into a tree. Nine months later Adonis was born from the bark of the tree, taken up by Aphrodite and placed in the care of Persephone. He spent alternate parts of the year with Persephone and Aphrodite who loved him. He was killed by a boar sent by Artemis.
Exposed as a child, but rescued by Atreus, who believed him to be his own son. While Agamemnon was at Troy, Aegisthus seduced his wife Clytemnestra, and helped her murder him on his return. Agamemnon's son Orestes avenged his father, slaying Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.
The Trojan hero regarded by the Romans as their ancestor. The son of Anchises and Aphrodite. Led the survivors of the «Trojan War» to Italy. The lover of Dido. See under Aeneid.
Virgil's unfinished epic poem. In 12 volumes, it is written to honour Rome, to increase the prestige of Augustus (by recalling the deeds of his supposed ancestor) and to foretell prosperity to come. It describes the wanderings of Aeneas after Troy fell, recounting his stay in Carthage and love for Dido, the funeral games of his father Anchises in Sicily, a journey to visit his dead father's spirit and his arrival at the mouth of the Tiber where he landed on the Latin shore. Here he fought wars with the Latins and their allies before finally defeating Turnus the Rutulian prince and uniting the races by marrying Lavinia the Latin princess. He founded Lavinium, named in her honour.
Son of Atreus and brother of Menelaus. King of Mycenae. He married Clytemnestra, half sister of Helen.
(1) Son of king Telamon of Salamis. At Troy he fought all day with Hector, and at the end of the day they exchanged gifts. With Menelaus he rescued the body of Patroclus. With Odysseus he rescued the body of Achilles. Odysseus killed him when they argued over the armour of Achilles.
- See Alcmene.
The wife of Amphitrion son of Alcaeus. Her brothers had been slain by the Taphians and she would not consummate her marriage until Amphitrion avenged them. While he was away warring with the Taphians, Zeus appeared in his likeness and fathered Heracles upon her. Hermes was ordered to delay the dawn in order that Zeus might take his time. Later that night the real Amphitrion returned and fathered Iphicles. On the death of Amphitrion, Alcmene married Rhadamanthus.
Mythical race of female warriors at one time believed by the Greeks to live in Thrace or Asia Minor.
The food of the Olympians which gave immortality.
Son of Alcaeus, husband of Alcmene and father of Iphicles. Foster father of Heracles. When Heracles killed his teacher Linus with Linus' own lyre, Amphitrion sent him away to keep cattle. Later Amphitrion was killed helping Heracles defeat the Minyans.
A cousin of Priam. For his piety he was allowed to sleep with Aphrodite who bore him Aeneas. When Troy fell Aeneas carried his father (now blind) to safety through the Dardanian gate of the city. He died in Sicily and was buried at Eryx. In the Aeneid he appears among the blessed spirits of the dead to foretell Rome's greatness.
The goddess of love, desire and Procreation, known to the Romans as Venus. She sprang from the seed of Uranus, rising naked from the sea at Paphos in Cyprus. However, Homer holds her to be the daughter of Zeus and Dione, and makes her the wife of Hephaestus. She was not faithful to Hephaestus, but bore children by Ares, Poseidon, Dionysus and Hermes. She loved the mortals Adonis and Anchises by whom she bore Aeneas, and tempted Paris to desert Oenone. It was to her that Paris gave the golden apple of discord, she being the "fairest" goddess. In return she promised him the most beautiful woman in the world. Around her waist she wore a magic girdle which made her beautiful and irresistably desirable.
Son of Zeus and the mortal Leto. Twin brother of Artemis. As a child he killed the she-dragon Python on Mt. Parnassus and took over her role as the oracle at Delphi. Apart from being god of prophecy, he was a god of song and music, having been given a lyre by Hermes. He was leader of the Muses. He was father of Asclepius.
The son of Zeus and Hera, and the god of war. Associated with Mars by the Romans, he was hated by all the gods save Hades and Eris because of his love of battle for its own sake. He loved Aphrodite, and Hephaestus once caught the pair in an invisible net exposing them to the ridicule of the other gods. The father of Penthesilea by Otrere. He was once defeated by Heracles, was wounded by Diomedes, and imprisoned for 13 months (till Hermes released him) in a brazen vessel by the Aloeidae. Athene got the better of him on several occasions. He once stood trial on the site of the Areopagus.
The heroes who sailed with Jason in the Argo to fetch the golden fleece from Colchis. Included Heracles, Orpheus, Castor and Polydeuces.
The daughter of Zeus and Leto, twin sister of Apollo. She was often conflated with Hecate and Selene the moon goddess. A goddess of the chase and protectress of children and young animals...She was generally portrayed with a bow and arrow made by Hephaestus, and like Apollo could spread the plague and death. With her arrows she punished impiety (e.g. Niobe ). A virgin who sternly protected her own chastity, she was known to punish unchastity in others, e.g. Callisto.
Son of Apollo. A god of healing whose worship spread to Rome after a plague in 293 B.C. He was taught healing by Cheiron the Centaur.
Identified with Minerva by the Romans. The daughter of Zeus and Metis. Though it was foretold she would be a girl, an oracle said that if Metis bore another child it would be a son
A king of Elis with more sheep and cattle than any man. Heracles was given the task of cleaning his filthy stables that had not been cleaned for many years. He did so by diverting the rivers Peneius and Alphaeus through the stables, but Augias refused to pay for the job. Heracles later invaded Elis, killing Augias and his sons.
Daughter of the river god Achelous and wife of Alcmaeon. Alcmaeon gave her the necklace and robe of Harmonia.
Daughter of Lycaon. One of Artemis' huntresses. She bore Arcas to Zeus who sought to conceal their affair from Hera by turning Callisto into a bear.
Daughter of Priam an Hecuba and twin of Helenus. She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, but he decreed that no-one would ever believe her prophecies.
Castor and Polydeuces were twin brothers of Helen, sons of Leda. Castor was a famous horse tamer and Polydeuces a great boxer. They sailed with the Argonauts.
A race of savage creatures, half man, half horse, which inhabited the woodlands and mountains, particularly those of Thessaly. They were the offspring of Ixion and a cloud.
A huge and savage dog that guarded the entrance of Hades. He had three heads. Heracles dragged him from the underworld.
Italian corn-goddess worshipped in a temple on the Aventine. Games and a spring festival, the Ceriala, were held in her honour. She was associated with Demeter from an early date, and her daughter Proserpina with Persephone.
In Greek creation myths Chaos was the infinite space existing before creation. From Chaos sprang Ge, the earth.
The surly ferryman who transported the dead across the styx to hades. He only transported them if they had received the correct funeral rite and if their relatives had placed a small coin, the fare, under the tongues. However, Heracles forced his passage and Orpheus charmed him with his lyre.
A Centaur. A son of Cronus. Unlike his fellow centaurs, a wise and kindly being who learnt music, hunting and prophecy from Apollo and Artemis. This learning he imparted to numerous heroes including Achilles and Jason.
- see « Muses »
A half-sister of Helen and Castor and Polydeuces. Wife of Agamemnon, by whom she bore Orestes, Iphigenia and Electra. While Agamemnon was at Troy, she began an affair with Aegisthus, and on his return the pair murdered him. She was killed by Orestes.
The son of Uranus and Ge. The youngest of the 12 titans.
The counterpart of the Roman Ceres, a Greek corn-goddess responsible for the fertility of the earth. The daughter of Cronus and Rhea, she became mother of Persephone by her brother Zeus.
A daughter of the king of Tyre originally called Elissa. Her husband was murdered but with a few followers she escaped to Libya and founded Carthage. Local legend says she burnt herself on a funeral pyre to avoid marrying Iarbas, a native king. The Roman version, given in the Aeneid, takes Aeneas to Carthage where Dido's unrequited love for him results in her death. Aeneas abandons her to fulfil his destiny as ancestor of Rome.
Mother of Aphrodite, according to Homer.
Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Treated as a slave by her mother and Aegisthus, she later helped her brother Orestes avenge Agamemnon.
A female divinity personifying quarrels and strife for the Greeks.
A grand-daughter of Poseidon. While she was on the sea shore Zeus appeared in the form of a white bull and when she jumped on his back carried her off to Crete where he fathered three sons on her, Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon.
A grandson of Perseus. After Heracles had slain his children in a fit of madness, he was told by the oracle to serve Eurystheus in order to be cleansed of guilt. Eurystheus, a cowardly and contemptible creature, set him twelve tasks. After the death of Heracles, Eurystheus tried to expel the descendants of Heracles from Greece. He was defeated and slain by Alcmene.
The "Earth" who sprang from Chaos. She was mother of Uranus, the heavens, and Pontus, the sea.
A handsome youth, the son of Tros and Callirhoe. Zeus, in the form of an eagle, carried him off to become cup-bearer to the gods, leaving Tros two white horses in compensation.
(1) The son of Cronus and Rhea, brother of Zeus and Poseidon.
A personification of the Greek word for youth. The daughter of Zeus and Hera. She was cup-bearer to the gods until replaced by Ganymede. She married Heracles.
An ancient goddess, later closely associated with Artemis. Originally she was venerated by women, and was powerful in heaven, earth and the underworld, but primarily she was seen as a goddess of the underworld and companion of Persephone. She was represented holding torches and accompanied by wolves. A practitioner of sorcery, she was worshipped at crossroads where she was portrayed with three heads or three bodies.
The eldest son of Priam, Trojan hero of the Trojan war.
The second wife of Priam, who bore him 19 sons including Hector and Paris. By Apollo the mother of Troilus. Taken as a slave by Odysseus when Troy fell.
The daughter of Leda by Zeus. Hatched from an egg, and the sister of Clytemnestra, Castor and Polydeuces. As a child she was abducted by Theseus, but rescued. The most beautiful of women, she had many suitors. Her chosen husband was Menelaus, but she was abducted by Paris to Troy, thus causing the Trojan war.
Son of Priam and Hecuba, twin of Cassandra, and a prophet.
One of the Olympiam gods, the son of Zeus and Hera. The god of fire and metal work, known to the Romans as Vulcan. He was hated by Hera because he was lame, and she threw him down from Olympus and he landed in the sea where Thetis and Eurynome cared for him.
The Roman Juno, daughter of Cronus and Rhea, sister and wife of Zeus. A pre-Hellenic goddess, originally having power over all living things and vegetable life, she gradually lost these functions and eventually was only the goddess of marriage and childbirth. She was the mother of Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe and Ilithyia by Zeus. She was violently jealous of Zeus's many affairs and cruel to her rivals and their offspring, e.g. Semele, Leto, Alcmene and Heracles. She once led a conspiracy against Zeus in which Poseidon and Apollo participated. Zeus was enchained and when he was freed he punished her by suspending her from the sky by the wrists with an anvil on each ankle. She helped Jason, but was opposed to the Trojans because Paris did not give her the apple of discord. Her name means simply "lady".
A hero who later became a god, a figure popular all over Greece and in Italy, where the Romans knew him as Hercules. The son of Alcmene and Zeus and half-brother of Iphicles. Hera sent two snakes to kill him in his cradle, but he strangled them. Taught by various teachers, but he killed Linus, his music teacher, when censured by him. Amphitrion then sent him to keep cattle. At age 18 he killed a huge lion that had ravaged the herds. He wore the lion pelt. At Thebes he defeated the Minyan heralds who had come to demand tribute. Creon, king of Thebes, rewarded him by giving him his daughter Megara, who bore him several children. His half-brother Iphicles married Creon's youngest daughter. Hera now made him mad and he killed his own children and two children of Iphicles. At delphi he was sent to serve, for 12 years, his wretched cousin Eurystheus, in order to purify himself of the murder. At the end of that time he would become immortal. He embarked on 12 labours set by Eurystheus. These were: to fetch the pelt of the Nemean Lion, to kill the Hydra, to capture alive the Erymanthian Boar, to cleanse the stables of Augias, to drive off the Stymphalian birds, to capture the Cretan bull, to fetch the horses of Diomedes, to fetch the girdle of Hippolyte, to steal the cattle of Geryon, to fetch the golden apples of the Hesperides, and to bring back cerberus.
The Roman Mercury. Originally a god of fertility. The son of Zeus and Maia, daughter of Atlas.
First wife of Zeus.
The "water snake", offspring of Echidne and Typhon, and raised by Hera. It was a monster with the body of a dog and 9 serpent heads. Heracles was sent to kill it by Eurystheus. It lived in the swamp of Lerna. As Heracles lopped off a head, 2 more grew.
Homer's epic poem on the siege of Troy. It covers a period of weeks in the tenth year of the war, recounting the quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon, the death of Patroclus and the death of Hector.
The Ilithyiae were daughters of Hera who helped women in childbirth. Later only one goddess, Ilithyia, is mentioned in this connection.
Son of Iphicles and nephew of Heracles, to whom he was charioteer and constant companion. He helped Heracles kill the Hydra and perform his other labours, and in return Heracles gave him his wife Megara.
Father of the Centaurs.
Son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcus, who was usurped by his half-brothers. He was smuggled out of Iolcus and raised by Cheiron. When he returned to claim his birthright he was sent to fetch the golden fleece from Colchis. With his Argonauts Jason had many adventures on the way to obtaining this fleece.
Italian goddess of womanhood and childbirth, associated by the Romans with the Greek Hera, and regarded as the consort of Jupiter.
Originally an italian sky-god. Later identified with Zeus. Juno was regarded as his consort. Worshipped in various capacities.
Known to the Romans as Latona. The daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe and the mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus. While she carried the unborn gods the jealous Hera forced her to wander the earth until she finally gave birth to them at Ortygia, henceforth called Delos.
Music tutor to Heracles. Heracles slew him in a rage with his own lyre.
An old Roman moon-goddess later identified with Selene.
Roman god of war, at one time associated with agriculture. Later completely identified with Ares.
The eldest daughter of Creon of Thebes. Wife of Heracles, she bore him several children. Later married Iolaus.
Etruscan goddess of wisdom, the arts and crafts. The Romans identified her with Athene.
The son of Zeus and Europa, brother of Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon. Ruler of Crete and supported in this by Poseidon, who gave him a magnificent white bull.
Prehistoric inhabitants of Boeotia and Thessaly.
The daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, who presided over the arts and sciences. Originally three in number, Hesiod later names nine. Clio was muse of history, Euterpe of lyric poetry and music, Thalia of comedy, Melpomene of tragedy, Terpsichore of song and dance, Erato of mime, Polyhymnia of the hymn, Calliope of epic poetry and Urania of astronomy.
The mother of Adonis.
The drink of the Greek gods which conferred immortality.
Italian sea-god whom the Romans identified with Poseidon.
Daughter of Tantalus, sister of Pelops and wife of Amphion, by whom she had seven sons and seven daughters. She boasted of being superior to Leto, who only had two children, and in revenge Apollo slew her sons and Artemis her daughters. She wept for nine days and nights and then zeus turned her into a stone on Mt. Sipylus.
The hero of Homer's Odyssey. He had many adventures while returning from Troy.
A nymph who loved Paris. He deserted her for Helen and when he was wounded by Philoctetes she refused to help him. Then, in remorse at his death, she committed suicide.
The highest peak in Greece, on the borders of Thessaly and Macedonia. It was believed to be the home of the twelve Olympian gods.
Regarded by the Greeks as the first great poet. He could enchant the beasts and trees with his lyre, a gift from Apollo. After his voyage with the Argonauts he married Eurydice, and after her death he tried to recover her from the underworld, but failed.
The mother of Penthesilea.
Son of Priam and Hecuba. As a child he was exposed on Mt. Ida. Raised by shepherds, he was named Paris or sometimes Alexander ("defender of men") because of his courage. He loved and deserted Oenone, which eventually caused his death. Promised the fairest of women by Aphrodite if he gave her the apple of discord, he did as she bade. Reunited with his parents he then left for Sparta, whence he abducted Helen, thus starting the Trojan war. During the war he was mortally wounded by Philoctetes.
Cousin and bosom companion of Achilles. Slain by Hector while wearing Achilles' armour, his death persuaded achilles to re-enter the Trojan war.
Married to Thetis. Father of Achilles.
Son of Tantalus, king of Lydia. Tantalus cut him in pieces and served him to the gods at a meal. Zeus restored him to life by having Hermes boil him in a pot.
Daughter of Otrere and Ares, queen of the Amazons who helped the Trojans.
Daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She spent the winter months with Hades when nothing grew and with Demeter she spent the fertile months. Thus she was a goddess of vegetation. She was also queen of the underworld and a symbol of death. Known to the Romans as Proserpina. Her companion in the underworld was Hecate.
--to be added--
Companion of Heracles, he lit Heracles funeral pyre and received his bow and arrow. On the way to Troy, one of the poisoned arrows wounded him, and the smell of the wound became so offensive that on the advice of Odysseus he was left on Lemnos. When an oracle revealed that Troy would not fall until the bow and arrows of Heracles were brought, Odysseus and Diomedes fetched him to Troy. Here the sons of Asclepius cured his wound. He slew Paris, and later settled in Italy.
- see « Castor »
The sea, offspring of Ge, the earth.
The Roman Neptune, a god of earthquakes and later of the sea. The eldest son of Cronus and Rhea.
Husband of Hecuba and king of Troy. He had fifty sons and fifty daughters, nineteen of whom were by Hecuba. They included Hector, Paris, Helenus and Cassandra.
Roman counterpart of Persephone.
- see « Romulus »
The son of Zeus and Europa, brother of Minos and Sarpedon.
The legendary founder of Rome, twin brother of Remus and together the sons of Rhea or Rhea Silvia.
The son of Zeus and Europa, brother of Minos and Rhadamanthus. The three brothers quarrelled over the love of the youth Miletus. Sarpedon went to Asia Minor and became king of the Lycians. He helped Troy in the Trojan war.
Eastern goddess whom the Greeks identified with Artemis and the Romans with Diana, or the older moon goddess Luna. Both also identified her with Hecate, and thus the moon became associated with sorcery.
The river of "hate" in the underworld and flowing several times around its perimeter. When dipped in it Achilles was made invulnerable. Ghosts could only cross it if they paid Charon to ferry them across.
A wealthy king, the son of Zeus and the nymph Pluto. Father of Pelops and Niobe. He was favoured by Zeus, and invited to Olympian banquets, but stole nectar and ambrosia. For numerous crimes he was punished in the underworld by being placed in a lake the waters of which receded whenever he tried to drink, while above his head were boughs of fruit "tantalisingly" beyond his reach.
The muse of song and choral dance, portrayed with a lyre and plectrum.
A Titaness, the daughter of Ge and Uranus and sister of Cronus. The wife of Zeus before Hera, she bore him the Horae and Moerae. She became the personification of justice.
A Nereid who was raised by Hera. Zeus and Poseidon desired her but she was married to a mortal, Peleus. Her first six children were killed in attempts to make them immortal. Her seventh child, Achilles, was dipped in the styx, leaving only his heel vulnerable.
Son of Pelops and brother of Atreus, ancestor of the illustrious Atridae family. He and Atreus murdered their half-brother and fled to Mycenae. Here Atreus seized the kingdom and banished Thyestes. This led to a feud in which each killed the sons of the other.
The sons of Ge and Uranus.
The sky, offspring of Ge, the earth, and Pontus, the sea. The father by Ge of the Hecatoncheires, the Cyclopes, and the Titans.
Originally an Italian deity whose name meant "beauty" or "charm", she was a goddess of vegetable rather than animal fertility. She became identified with Aphrodite.
The son of Cronos and Rhea. He deposed his father and defeated the Titans. Then he and his brothers Hades and Poseidon cast lots for their kingdoms and Zeus won the sky. The earth was common to all. Zeus was the king of the gods and was identified with Jupiter by the Romans. He was the father of men. He first married Hetis who bore him Athene and his second wife was Themis who bore him the Horae and Maerae. Hera bore him Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus. His sister Demeter bore him Persephone and Eurynome bore him the Charities while by Mnemosyne he was father of the Muses. By mortal women he was father of Hermes, Apollo, Artemis and Dionysus. Given the thunderbolt by the Cyclopes, he was known as the thunderer.
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