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[German version] Roman goddess whose temple was vowed and founded on the Caelius mons by the first  Brutus immediately after the expulsion of the  Tarquinii; (Macrob. Sat. 1,12,31). Its foundation day is 1 June, the festival of the Carnaria (CIL III 3893). C. received offerings of bacon and bean gruel (Macrob. Sat. 1,12,32; cf. Ov. Fast. 6,169-182: Kalendae fabariae), which suggest a simple, old-fashioned way of life (Ovid) or which are meant to depict C. as a protector of physical strength (Macr.). The authors state that her role is the protection of …

[German version] A. General Points, Definition Mysteries or rather mystery cults (in order to avoid the misleading term ‘mystery religions’) are cults of the Greek and Roman world which, for classical and modern observers alike, constitute a circumscribed category of cults within Greek and Roman religion.  Their name derives from the Attic celebration of the Mysteria, the festival of Demeter and Kore/Persephone, celebrated annually over a period of days at the shrine of Eleusis, and known since the Ho…

(Ἀστυδάμεια; Astydámeia). [German version] [1] Daughter of the Dolopian king Amyntor Daughter of the Dolopian king Amyntor, by Hercules mother of Tlepolemus (Hes. fr. 232; Pind. Ol. 7,24). In Homer she is Astyocheia (Il. 2,658), in Apollod. 2,149 and Hyg. Fab. 162 Astyoche, daughter of Phylas of Ephyra (Apollod. 1,166). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Wife of  Acastus of Iolcus Wife of  Acastus of Iolcus, who purified Peleus from his accidental killing of  Eurytion. When Peleus rejected her love, she slandered him to his wife  Antigone [2],…

[German version] (Αἰολίδαι; Aiolídai). Not only the sons of Aeolus, such as Sisyphus, Athamas and Cretheus, but also their descendants, e.g. Bellerophontes and Jason in Pindar, Minyas, Phrixus, Idmon in Apoll. Rhod. In Virgil's Aeneid (6,529) Anchises calls Odysseus Aeolides, in accordance with the tradition which makes him the son of Sisyphus (since Soph. Phil. 417). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography M. Scarsi, s. v. Eolide, EV 2,324.

[German version] Hermetic writings (HW; the terminus is modern) are Graeco-Egyptian texts, whose author is supposed to have been the Egyptian god Thot, Greekified as Hermes Trismegistus. His epithet (‘the thrice great H.’), which has only existed since the Imperial period, derives from the thrice repeated call to Hermes-Thot as ‘the greatest’ (which is already documented in Hellenistic Demotic and Greek sources). Clemens [3] of Alexandria (Strom. 6,4,35) describes a procession, in which 42 fundame…

[German version] (Ἀστραῖος; Astraîos). Titan, son of the Titans Creius (Crius) and Eurybia. With Eos he begot the winds ( Astraei fratres, Ov. Met. 14,545) which blow at the first light of dawn, the morning star and the other stars (Hes. Theog. 375-82; Apollod. 1,9). Besides that he is a giant, son of Tartarus and Ge (Hyg. praef. 4). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography E. Simon, s.v. A., LIMC 2. 1, 927.

[German version] (Καύκων; Kaúkōn). Eponymous hero of the Peloponnesian people of the  Caucones [1]; his genealogy is dependent on the ancient localization of the people first named in Hom. Od. 3. 366. His grave was shown in Lepreum in Triphylia (Paus. 5,5,5; Str. 8,345), and according to the Triphylian cult centre on Samicon, he is seen as the son of Poseidon (Ael. NA 1,24). Yet as a result of the Arcadian localization, C. is also the son of Arcas (schol. Hom. Od. 3,366) or of Lycaon (Apollod. 3,97…

[German version] (Ἀδράστεια; Adrásteia). Goddess related to the mountain mother of Asia Minor,   Cybele. She had a cult at Cyzicus (actually on the Adrásteia óros outside the city, Str. 12,8,11; 13,1,13) and on the Trojan Mount Ida (Aesch. fr. 158 TGF). A. was compared to Artemis (Demetrius of Scepsis apud Harpocr. 6,9; Solin. 7,26) and revered in Athens in association with Bendis (IG I3 383,142; cf. 369,67). In mythic poetry she was associated with the birth of Zeus: as daughter of Melisseus, sister of Ide and of Curetes, she helps with the care of the chil…

[German version] Named only in Tacitus (hist. 2,3; ann. 3,62,4), founder of the sanctuary of Aphrodite at Paphos, which was called  Aeria [3] after him. Father of Amathus, the founder of the second largest Cypriot Aphrodite sanctuary. Research derives the name partly from Greek ἀήρ, ‘air’, partly from ‘copper’ Latin aes, (Greek κύπρος). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography V. Pirenne-Delforge, L'Aphrodite grecque, 1994, 330-333.

(Αἴπυτος; Aípytos). [German version] [1] Arcadian hero Arcadian hero, son of Elatus, father of Peirithous (Hes. fr. 166). His grave, known already to Homer (Il. 2,604) was displayed on Mount Sepia at Cyllene, where he had been bitten by a snake. Pindar (O. 6,30) gives his residence as Phaesane at Alpheius; Pitane promises him her daughter by Poseidon, Evadne, who, by Apollo, will become mother of the seer Iamus. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] King of Arcadian Trapezus King of Arcadian Trapezus, son of Hippothous, father of Cypselus. He went blind because he…

[German version] (Ἀδμήτη; Ádmḗtē). Daughter of Eurystheus, Hera priestess in Argus, for whom Hercules secured the belt of Hippolyte, the queen of the Amazons (Apollod. 2,99). She fled with the cult image to Samos and there became a priestess of Hera; the cultic aetiology of the Samian festival of the Tonaia (Ath. 15,672) is dependent on this.  Hera. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography M. Schmidt, s. v. A., LIMC 1.1, 216-218.

[German version] (Ἡρόδωρος; Heródōros) from Heraclea on the Pontus. Mythographer, father of  Bryson of the Megarian School, wrote in Ionian dialect around 400 BC, often cited in the MSS as  Herodotus. Monographs on individual mythical figures (Heracles in at least 17 bks., Pelops, Oedipus) or groups ( Argonaútai, Orphéōs kaì Musaíou historía = ‘Orpheus and Musaeus’), of which a few fragments are extant (FGrH 31), are conceivable in the titles. Accordingly H. adopted the mythical traditions especially of  Hellanicus and  Pherecydes of Athens. The…

[German version] (Caca). In the mythology of the Augustan authors (Verg. Aen. 8,190-279; Liv. 1,7,3-15; Prop. 4,9; Ov. Fast. 1,543-586), the battle of Hercules with the cave-dwelling monster C. on the Palatine (where the scala Caci lies [1]) or Aventine (according to Verg.) is important: it had stolen Hercules' cattle and was punished accordingly. The myth provides the aetiology for the cult of Hercules in the Ara Maxima on the Forum Boarium, it also takes up -- with its basic theme of the triumph over the monster -- themes of Au…

[German version] (Ἀλήθεια), ‘Truth’. Personified as daughter of Zeus (Pind. Ol. 10,4 and fr. 205) and wet nurse of Apollo (Plut. Symp. 3,9 657e); her throne is made of iron (Them. Or. 22,281c Hercher). To the Romans, daughter of Kronos (Saturnus) (Plut. qu. R.11,267e) or Tempus, ‘Time’, which presupposes the Greek understanding of Kronos as Chronos (Gell. NA 12,11,7, after a vetus poeta); the nuda Veritas in Hor. (Carm. 1,24,7) is probably an ad hoc idea. Represented as an image on the famous painting of the slander of  Apelles (Lucian. Cal. 5), imitated by Botticelli's…

[German version] (Δελφίνιος; Delphínios, in Crete also Delphidios). Epiclesis of Apollo, attested in both Ionic and Doric (Crete) territory and often linked in antiquity, after the Homeric hymn to Apollo, to Delphi and the  dolphin: he is said to have led his priests to Delphi as a dolphin. Many academics adopted this etymology, even though the cults could not confirm it; there the god is thoroughly bound up in the concerns of the young citizens of the polis. In Miletus (then in  Olbia) he is the g…

[German version] (Ἵμερος; Hímeros, ‘desire’). The personification of affectionate longing. Together with  Eros [1], he accompanies Aphrodite (since Hes. Theog. 201); with the  Charites (the goddesses of ‘grace’), he lives close to the Muses (Hes. Theog. 64, a poetological statement). Later he was firmly associated with Aphrodite and Eros, pictorially also with  Dionysus and  Pothos; he is indistinguishable iconographically from Eros and Pothos. A statue of H. by  Scopas used to stand in the temple of Aphrodite at Megara (Paus. 1,43,6). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography A. H…

(Ἀμαρυγκεύς; Amarynkeús). [German version] [1] King of the Epeians King of the Epeians, for whom his sons organize splendid commemorative games after his death. In all competitions, except in chariot racing, Nestor wins (Hom. Il. 23,629 ff.). His son Diores dies at Troy (Hom. Il. 2,622. 4,517) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Thessalian ally of king Augeias Thessalian ally of king Augeias in the fight against Hercules (Paus. 5,1,10). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 R. Hampe, LIMC 1.1, 584 f.

(Ἀργεία [ Argeía], Argia). Appears as the ‘wife of Argus’ in a supporting role in various myths concerning Argus. [German version] [1] Daughter of Oceanus Daughter of Oceanus, sister and wife of Inachus, mother of the early Argive king Phoroneus and Io (Hyg. Fab. 143). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Older daughter of Adrastus and Amphithea Older daughter of Adrastus and Amphithea, wife of Polynices (Hyg. Fab. 69,5). She participated in Oedipus' burial (Hes. fr. 192) and helped Antigone to guard the dead Polynices, but fled before Creon…

[German version] (Κομβάβος; Kombábos) in the aetiological myth recounted by Lucian (De Dea Syria 17-27) is the founder of the temple of Atargatis in Hierapolis who introduced self-castration and women's clothing for the eunuchs ( gálloi); for the motivation the author himself draws an analogy with the story of Phaedra and Hippolytus. Certainly the name C. suggests Cybebe ( Cybele), a term for the Great Mother (Hdt. 5,102) cognate with the Hittite Kubaba, and kýbēbos, a term for the gállos (Semonides fr. 36 West); however, it is unclear here, as in other unrelated details,…

[German version] Healing heroes in a sanctuary in Messenian Pharae. They are regarded as the sons of  Machaon and Anticlea, the daughter of king Diocles (Paus. 4,30,3). Their sanctuary was donated by Isthmius, son of the Glaucus who initiated the cultic worship of Machaon (Paus. 4,3,10). Through these myths, an independent healing cult is obviously incorporated into the cult of  Asclepius so central to Messenia. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Εύγνωστος; Eúgnōstos) The name of the author of a letter (‘The blessed E. to his people’) that has twice been passed down to us in the Coptic library of Nağ Ḥammādī (III 70,1-90,13 and, in a much worse condition, V 1-17). The letter, which was probably written in the late 1st or in the early 2nd cent. AD, contains ─ following the rejection of the philosophical teachings regarding the rulership of the world ─ a cosmogony described as a revelation of the ‘God of Truth’ that consider…

[German version] (Ἵπτα; Hípta) Goddess of western Asia Minor, probably developed out of the old Anatolian Ḫepat, a form of the Great Goddess. Mentioned on inscriptions only in Lydia as Mḗtēr H. and apparently related to  Sabazius. In the Orphic myths, she appears as a wet-nurse, to whom Zeus hands the new-born Dionysus. On her head is a basket entwined with snakes ( líknon) (Orph. fr. 199). She is addressed by the so-called Orphic hymns as the wet-nurse of Dionysus - son of Sabazius or the same - who resides on the Tmolus or the Ida Mountains ( Orphism) (Or…

(Αἴθων; Aíthōn), ‘the fiery one’. [German version] [1] Great-grandfather of Odysseus Great-grandfather of Odysseus, under whose name Odysseus appeared unrecognized before Penelope (Hom. Od. 19,183). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Epithet of  Erysichthon, also son of Helios After the ‘burning hunger’ epithet of  Erysichthon (since Hellanicus FGrH 4 F 7). Suidas (s. v.) makes him a son of Helios. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] Epic horse name Epic horse name (‘fire fox’) after Hector's horse (Hom. Il. 8,185); later poets gave this na…

[German version] (ὕψιστος; hýpsistos, ‘the highest’) can be conferred as an adjective on every god, but, since later Hellenism, is above all the epigraphically attested epiclesis of  Zeus as mountain god or high god, and the name of a god ( theòs hýpsistos) who can be identical to Zeus H., but can also indicate the Jewish or Christian God; a distinct differentiation is often difficult. A complete study of the material which has grown enormously since the first analyses, and which L. Robert has announced on numerous occasions, has still not appeared [1]. Zeus is consistently identified a…

[German version] (Ἀστραία; Astraía, Latin: Astraea). In the Myth of the Ages in Hes. Op. 197-200, Aidos and Nemesis desert humanity in the Iron Age; in Arat. Phaen. 105 it is Dike, and Ovid Met. 1,149f. calls the constellation Virgo Astraea (cf. Fast. 1,249: Iustitia), as Juv. 6,19f. later also does when he calls A. the sister of Pudicitia (Αἰδώς). Verg. Ecl. 34,6 had imagined the return of Virgo at the beginning of the new Golden Age. All the Roman representations are based on Arat. Phaen. 96-98 which equates Dike with the constellation of Virgo (Parthe…

[German version] (ᾈδωνεύς; Aidōneús). Another name of   Hades. In a rationalistic interpretation of the myth of how Theseus and Peirithous descend into the underworld, in order to steal Persephone, and in so doing were overcome and chained, he is the king of the Molossians, whose wife the two heroes wanted to abduct (Plut. Theseus 31,4. 35, according to an Atthidographer [1]). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 C. Ampolo, in: Id, M. Manfredini, Plutarco. Le vite di Teseo e di Romolo, 1988, 252.

[German version] (αἶσα; aîsa), ‘Share’, ‘Portion’ (in the language of epic and in border dialects): the destiny allotted by the deity (Hom. Il. 9,608 Diós aísa); therefore synonymous with  Moira. From Homer on, she is personified as spinner of the threads of destiny (Il. 20,127 f.; in Od. 7,196 f. connected to the Clothes, the ‘Spinners’), but differentiated from the Moira Clotho, ‘Spinner’ (Hes. Theog. 905). In Aeschylus she is connected as ‘Bearer of the (avenging) sword’ with Dike and Erinys (Choeph. 647 ff.). From t…

[German version] Festival of the city of Rome, celebrated on July 7 ( Nonae), a festival of ritual reversal resembling the Saturnalia; its main characteristics were sacrifices by women (Varro, Ling. 6,18), a festive meal under a wild fig-tree, and by the major role of female slaves in begging processions and mock battles (Plut. Camillus 33; Romulus 29,9; Macrob. Sat. 1,11,36-40) [1]. The aitia in Plutarch and Macrobius link the festival to an attack by the Latin towns immediately after the departure of the G…

[German version] Italian goddess whose worship in places other than Rome is attested to in various towns in central Italy (Agnone, Amiternum, Furfo, Pompeii). The blossom ( flos) to which her name refers is related by the ancient sources to grain (Aug. Civ. 4,8), wine (Lactant. Div. inst. 1,20,7) or any flowering (Fast. Praenestini on 28th April). It is not just in Rome that she is closely connected to  Ceres: in Agnone she is called F. Cerialis (dat. Fluusaí Kerríiai), in Rome her main temple is situated directly with those of Ceres and Liber [1]. She is connected with  R…

[German version] (Ἀμφιτρίτη; Amphitrítē). Sea goddess and ruler of the aquatic creatures (Hom. Od. 3,91 and passim), daughter of Nereus and the Oceanid Doris (Hes. Theog. 243). By Poseidon, mother of Triton (Hes. Theog. 930-933; daughter Rhode: Apollod. 1,28; daughter Benthesicyme: Apollod. 3,201); later she is regarded, more in line with her importance, as mother of the Nereids (Ps.-Arion 21 = PMG 939,11). The local myth tells that Poseidon kidnapped her when he saw her dance on Naxos with the oth…

[German version] (Ἀστράβακος; Astrábakos). Spartan hero, Agiad, son of Irbus, brother of Alopecus. His shrine was situated next to the house of king Ariston; according to the Spartan tradition, modelled on Pharaonic myth, A. was the real father of Ariston's son  Demaratus (Hdt. 6,68f.). According to the Hellenistic aition for the flagellation ritual for Artemis Orthia, A. and Alopecus had found the Taurian cult image of Artemis (Paus. 3,16,3-9). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography W. Burkert, Demaratos, A. und Herakles. Königsmythos und Politik zur Zeit der Perser…

[German version] (Γενετυλλίς; Genetyllís). The Genetyllides (pl.) were Attic goddesses, linked, as their name indicates, to birth and fertility. Their sanctuary was situated on Cape Colias. They were venerated by women in an exuberant celebration and received the sacrifice of a dog. Closely related in function were the Phocaean Gennaides (Paus. 1,1,5), and in particular  Eileithyia, who also received canine sacrifices. Documentary evidence: Aristoph. Lys. 2; Aristoph. Nub. 52; Aristoph. Thesm. 130 with schol.; Paus. 1,1,5 with schol.; Hsch., Suda s.v. G. Graf, Fritz (Columbus…

[German version] (Ἄργυννος; Árgynnos). Beautiful Boeotian youth. Agamemnon fell in love with him in Aulis and forgot his army. When A. drowned in the Boeotian Cephisus, Agamemnon established an Aphrodite Argynnis cult (Phanocles fr. 5 Powell, cf. Prop. 3,7,22). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] ‘Luring the water’ (also aquilicium), is the general term for a Roman ritual for calling rain during periods of drought (Fest. s. v. Aquaelicium 2,24). Festus links this to a ritual that had become obsolete by his time, in which a lapis manalis (for manare, to flow, cf. Fest. 146,17) which otherwise lay outside the Porta Capena near the Temple of Mars, was brought into the town (Fest. 115,8). More lively are the petitioning processions to Jupiter the weather god, which are carried out with bare feet ( Nudipedalia) and hair …

[German version] (Ἀντιφάτης; Antiphátēs). King of the Laestrygones (Od. 10,100-132). Odysseus' three scouts are shown the way to the palace by A.'s daughter at the spring of Artacia. There the enormous queen calls her husband from the marketplace, who immediately devours one of the scouts; the other two escape. Behind the story of the cannibal and his wife there is probably a firm narrative tradition [1]. Later A. becomes a metaphor of the cruel household tyrant (Ov. Pont. 2,2,114; Juv. 14,20). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 U. Hölscher, Die Odyssee. Epos zw. Märchen u…

[German version] (Ἰσχύς; Ischys). Husband (Hes. Fr. 30) or lover of Apollo's lover  Coronis. Apollo, who learns of the relationship through a raven, interprets it as adultery ( adulterium, Ov. Met. 2,545) and kills Coronis, who is pregnant with  Asclepius, but rescues the unborn child from the funeral pyre. (Pind. Pyth. 3,31-46; Apollod. 3,118). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Ἴδας; Ídas). Son of  Aphareus [1], king of Messene, and brother of  Lynceus. The Messenian pair of brothers is juxtaposed with the Spartan pair of brothers of the  Dioscuri as Apharetidai, reflecting the rivalries and disputes between Sparta and Messene. I. is characterized throughout as superhumanly strong (since Hom. Il. 9, 556) and quarrelsome, and is also regarded as son of Poseidon (Apollod. 3,117). While courting  Marpessa, the daughter of the river god Evenus at the same ti…

(Ἀμφιθέα; Amphithéa). [German version] [1] Wife of  Autolycus Wife of  Autolycus, mother of Anticlea, grandmother of Odysseus (Hom. Od. 11,85; 19,416). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Wife of the Tyrrhenian king  Aeolus Wife of the Tyrrhenian king  Aeolus [3]. Her children Macareus and Canace live in an incestuous relationship (Eur. Aeolus 14-41 TGF) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] Wife of Lycurgus Wife of Lycurgus, the son of Pheres, mother of Opheltes-Archemorus of Nemea (Apollod. 1,404), who is otherwise called Eurydice. Graf, Fritz (Colum…

[German version] (Ἀσκάλαβος; Askálabos). Son of Misme from Eleusis. When Misme gave Demeter the kykeon to drink while she was in search of her daughter, A. mocked the goddess who was drinking voraciously. She poured the rest of the drink over him and changed him into a spotted lizard ( askálabos; Nic. Ther. 486 ff.; Ov. Met. 5,446-61; Ant. Lib. 24). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography M. Forbes Irving, Metamorphosis in Greek Myth, 1990, 309f.

[German version] (Ἀγαύη; Agaúe). Daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, spouse of Echion, mother of  Pentheus. She chides her sister  Semele, who had conceived Dionysus by Zeus and was consumed by lightning. Dionysus takes revenge on A., through getting her and her sisters to tear Pentheus, who opposes Dionysus, into pieces in a frenzy. Triumphantly A. carries the head of her son, whom she had thought to be a wild animal, to her home. A. is already a tragic figure in Aeschylus, but especially so in Eur. Bacchae (cf. also Ov. Met. 3,701 ff.). The artistic tradition also knows her in the…

[German version] (Ἡμιθέα; Hēmithéa, ‘demigoddess’). Name of a healing goddess in Castabus on the Carian Chersonnese. Her sanctuary, whose archaeological traces go back to the late 7th cent. BC at the earliest, was expanded under Rhodian hegemony and achieved more than regional fame until the decline of Rhodes after 167 BC. In the sanctuary, patients received healing dreams through  incubation ( klísis, ‘incubation (room)’ in an inscription from c. 150 BC, SEG 14,690); H. also aided women in childbirth (Diod. Sic. 5,63). The cult forbade the use of wine and the …

(stone) denotes various stones used for ritual purposes in Roman cult worship. [German version] [1] Silex kept in the sanctuary of Iuppiter on the Capitol A silex which was kept in the sanctuary of Iuppiter Feretrius on the Capitol (Fest. 81,18 L.) was of particular significance in some ancient oath ceremonies, which ran according to the principle, common in the swearing of oaths, of analogy in action [1]: a) The Fetiales concluded international treaties by killing a pig with the silex from the sanctuary of Iuppiter Feretrius, thereby calling down the same death upon themse…

[German version] is the study of the motif understood as the 'smallest unit of content' within traditional narratives (myth, legend, folktale [1]). Such a unit might be a plot (the burning of an object which is connected to a person's life will kill that person: Meleager [1]) or a characteristic person (the youngest son is the cleverest: Zeus). Motif research has long dominated the study of folk-tales and myths. However, a precise and standard definition of ‘motif’ and its distinction from related…

[German version] Deity with scarcely any attestation, who wards off evil ( deus, in Varro, Ling. 7,102, hence θεὸς ἀποτρόπαιος Gloss. 3,290,31). The name also exists in the form Auruncus (Gell. NA 5,12,14). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] Goddess, mentioned by Plutarch (Quaest. Rom. 52,277a) and Pliny (HN 29,14,58) in conjunction with a canine sacrifice. According to Plutarch, the prayer during the sacrifice was for ‘none of the house slaves to become good (χρηστός, chrēstós)’, interpreted as a euphemism for ‘dead’. Plutarch links the name of the goddess to childbirth. Modern interpretations proceed hardly any further [1; 2]. A Diva Geneta appears in Agnone (mid-3rd cent. BC [3]), whereas Mana is referred to as a deity of the Underworld in Mart. Cap.…

[German version] (Ἐναγώνιος; Enagṓnios). Epiclesis of the deities responsible for the Gymnasium, the athletic exercises and the young men engaging in them there; it was especially widespread from the Hellenistic period onwards.  Hermes in particular bears this epithet in many Greek cities but it is also found with Apollo (in various cities), Aphrodite (Athens) and even Dionysus (Magnesia on the Maeandrus). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Βάκις; Bákis). Ecstatic seer from Boeotia, supposed author of hexametric oracles, which have been in circulation since the Persian Wars (Hdt. 7,20; 77; 96; 9,43). Other oracles refer to the reconstruction of Messene (Paus. 4,27,4) or to Theban rites (ibid., 9,15,7; 10,32,8-11); Athenian inscriptions possibly attest to an oracle (IG II4968; SEG.10,175) [1]. The nymphs had driven B. to madness (Paus. 4,27,4; 20,12,11), supposedly those of the Corycian grotto (Schol. Aristoph. Pax 1279). B. also cures madness, like the seer  Melamp…

[German version] Each descendant of  Abas [1], such as Acrisius (Ov. Met. 4,607), Canethus (Apoll. Rhod. 1,78), Idmon (Apoll. Rhod. 2,815) and Perseus, the great-grandson of Abas (Ov. Met. 4,673 and passim). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

(Ἀγανίππη; Aganíppē). [German version] [1] A spring on Mount Helicon, sacred to the muses A spring on Mount Helicon, sacred to the muses, at Thespia in Boeotia; whoever drank from it, was drawn into poetic ecstasy (Verg. Ecl. 10,12; Paus. 9,29,5;  Hippocrene). The spring nymph of the same name is the daughter of the river god Termessus (Paus. 9,29,5) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Mythical person, also known as Eurydice Wife of  Acrisius, mother of Danae (Hyg. Fab. 63). Otherwise, she is called Eurydice (Apollod. 2,26). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 P. F…

[German version] (ἀλάστωρ, also ἐλάστωρ; alástōr, elástōr). Spirit of vengeance, who especially compels atonement for blood guilt; also epithet of avenging deities who thereby re-establish order, like the Erinnyes or Zeus Alastor (Orph. h. 73,3) or Alasterus/Elasterus (Athens, Thasos, Paros). In Athens he is god of a phratria (Demosth. or. 43,57), in Thasus of an aristocratic group; both these carry out murder atonement [1]. The alastor is credited with the sending of illness (Hippoc. De morbo Sacro 1; Soph. Trach. 1235). From Cyrene and Sel…

[German version] (Γολγοί; Golgoí). Town on Cyprus that is considered by the scholarly Alexandrian writers to be one of the main cult centres of  Aphrodite (Theoc. 15,100 and Lycophr. 589; Catull. 36,14; 64,69); its eponymous hero Golgus is considered to be the son of Aphrodite and  Adonis (Schol. Theoc. 15,100). According to Paus. 8,15,2, the sanctuary was the oldest on Cyprus; it was founded long before the establishment of the sanctuary in Paphus by Agapenor; the town itself was regarded as a col…

(Ἀκραία; Akraía). [German version] [1] Rock hill in Argolis Rock hill in Argolis, whose name in the saga is derived from Acraea, a daughter of the river god Asterion (Paus. 2,17,1); Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Also Acraeus: epiclesis of goddesses (also Acraeus, Ἀκραῖος) epiclesis of goddesses (Aphrodite, Artemis, Athens, Hera, the Phrygian Meter [1]) and gods (Zeus [2]; Men) whose sanctuaries were located on a hill. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 Denkschriften der Akad. Wien 80, 1962, 5 no. 2 2 H. Schwabl, s. v. Acraea, RE X A, 265 f.

[German version] (τὰ Γαλάξια; tà Galáxia). Athenian festival in honour of the mother of the gods, named after the milk gruel served on the occasion (Hsch. s.v. G.). The importance of the festival is indicated by the evidence provided by ephebic inscriptions, that in the Hellenistic period the epheboi offered sacrifices for the goddess and dedicated a golden bowl to her (from IG II1 470,13). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

(Ἀνδραίμων; Andraímōn). [German version] [1] Mythical founder of Amphissa Mythical founder of Amphissa in Ozolian Locris (Paus. 10,38,5), husband of Gorge and successor to her father  Oeneus in Calydon (Apollod. 1,64; 78). His son Thoas leads the Aetolians at Troy (Hom. Il.2,638; 7,168; Ov. Met. 13,357). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Son of Oxylus Son of Oxylus, husband of  Dryope; A. is also stepfather of  Amphissus through Apollo (Ant. Lib. 32,3; Ov. Met. 9,333). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] Pylian, founding hero of Colophon Pylian, founding …

[German version] (Χίρων; Chírōn or Χείρων; Cheírōn). Centaur; son of the nymph Philyra and  Kronos; for the seduction of Philyra Cronus changed himself into a horse, which explains C.'s likeness to that animal (Apollod. 1,9; Verg. G. 3,92); his poetic name, after his mother, is Phil(l)yrides or Philyreios. Of his daughters, born to him by the nymph Chariclio, Ocyroe is an ecstatic seer (Ov. Met. 2,635-639); Endeis too, wife of  Aeacus and mother of Peleus, is held to be either his daughter (Hyg. Fab. …

[German version] (Ἀπατούρια; Apatoúria). Attic/Ionian festival of ‘common fathers/progenitors’ ( sṃ-pator-, explained as homopatṓria (Schol. Aristoph. Ach. 146). It was regarded as a feature of all Ionians (Hdt. 1,147) and is also, to judge by the personal name Apaturias, found in all the areas they founded [1]. It was the festival of the tribal associations, the phratries; accordingly, Zeus Phratrios and Athena Phratria (Plat. Euthyd. 302d; Schol. Ar. Ach. 146) are connected with it, and also Hephaestus (Istros FGrH 334 F 2) and perhaps also Apollo …

[German version] (κουροτρόφος; kourotróphos, ‘child nourishing’) is, as the title of a function, the name or epiclesis of numerous Greek gods and goddesses concerned with the growing up of the new generation and its introduction into the world of adults (lists in [1. 189-195]). The epiclesis is used of Artemis (Diod. Sic. 5,73,5), Demeter (Hsch. s.v. kourotrophos), Eileithyia, Ge (Hes. Theog. 479f.) and the nymphs. It is also attested for Hecate in Hes. Theog. 450-452 and, from Hom. Il. 19,142 onwards, for local river gods. A kourotrophos mentioned in an inscription might be a ma…

[German version] (sc. psalmi or hymni). Songs whose verses or stanzas each begin with a letter of the alphabet in sequence. They are documented in Jewish literature from Jer. 1-4 onwards; Ps 145 is a devotional prayer to this day. In pagan literature they are documented for instance in the late hymns to Dionysus (Anth. Pal. 9,524) or Apollo (Anth. Pal. 9,525) and in magical texts (PGM IV 1363). In Christian literature Augustine's Psalm contra partem Donati (PL 43,25-32) is the best known, composed in 393 or 394 for the ‘entirely uneducated to learn by heart’.  Acrostich. Graf, Fritz (Columb…

[German version] (Αἰναρέτη). Wife of  Aeolus (Hes. fr. 10a 31; Schol. Pl. Min. 315c), who is called Enarete in Apollod. 1,51. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

(Αἴγλη; Aíglē). Suggestive name (‘glory’, ‘radiance’) for youthful radiant heroines, who can have genealogical connections to Helios: [German version] [1] Naiade, with Helios, mother of the Charites Naiade, with Helios, mother of the Charites (Paus. 9,35,5; Verg. Ecl. 6,20). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Daughter of Helios One of the Heliades, daughter of Helios and Clymene, who was turned into a poplar tree together with her sisters, after the death of her brother Phaethon (Hyg. Fab.154; 156, following Hesiod). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] He…

[German version] (Ἴαμος; Íamos). Forefather of the Elean family of seers named Iamidai, who were active in Olympia alongside the  Clytidae (Hdt. 9,33) up to the fall of the sanctuary. They usually read prophecies in the flames of the sacrificial fire (cf. Pind. Ol. 8,2f.), but Thrasybulus invented divination from the intestines of dogs (Paus. 6,2,4). Their prophecies were also expressed in detailed oracles ( lógia) (Paus. 3,11,6). They were closely connected to Sparta (where the tomb of the Iamidai was located, Paus. 3,12,8), although their service to Messene…

[German version] (Λεπρέος, Λεπρεύς; Lepréos, Lepreús). The son of Pyrgeus or Caucon. He is the founder and eponym of Lepreum ( Triphylia). His grave lay allegedly in Phigalia (this is a reflection of Lepreum's claim to Arcadian). L. advised Augeias to imprison Heracles but Heracles was reconciled with him. He entered into an athletic competition with Heracles (e.g. about who could eat a bull faster) but lost and was killed in the subsequent armed fight. This local legend, the source of which was…

[German version] (Διονύσια; Dionýsia). Term for the festival of  Dionysus, characteristic for the cult of Dionysus in many Greek poleis; the Dionysia often took place in the winter months. (1) In Athens, the Dionysia were a part of a cycle of festivals extending over four winter months, which started with the rural Dionysia (τὰ κατ' ἄγρους Δ., in the month of Poseideon), was followed by the Lenaea (month of Gamelion) and the Anthesteria (month of Anthesterion), and culminated in the urban or Great Dionysia (τά ἐν ἄστει Δ., …

[German version] (Ὑακινθίδες; Hyakinthídes). Name of a group of Athenian goddesses, in whose honour a yearly sacrificial festival with maiden dances was held, and who received wineless offerings prior to an army's march into battle. The mythical reason for these rites can be found in the legend that the H. had been sacrificed by  Erechtheus in order to fend off an invasion. Their names and number vary; certain names indicate a relationship to Artemis (who in Sparta received sacrifices prior to a ba…

(Ἀμφίμαχος; Amphímachos). [German version] [1] Son of Elektryon Son of Electryon, king of Mycenae, brother of  Alcmene (Apollod. 2,52). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Son of Molionic Cteatus Son of Molionic Cteatus, grandson of Actor or of Poseidon. As suitor of Helen (Apollod. 3,129), together with Thalpius he led a section of the Epeians at Troy (Hom. Il. 2,620). He was killed by Hector (Hom. Il. 13,185-205). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] Son of Nomion Son of Nomion, brother of Nasturtes, with whom A., as an ally of the Trojans, leads t…

[German version] (Κανηφόροι/ Kanēphóroi, ‘basket-carriers’) were girls carrying the offering basket (κανοῦν, kanoûn ) in Greek offering processions, especially in the great state processions; on illustrations of offering scenes and processions, this basket has three handles and is carried on the top of the girls' heads [1; 2. 10-12]. To be kanephoros was an honour for beautiful freeborn daughters (Aristoph. Lys. 646). In Athens, kanephoroi are mentioned especially for the processions of Panathenaea (IG II2 334; Aristid. or. 18,2), of Dionysia (Syll.2 388,32) and of the pythaḯs se…

[German version] Son of Albanian king Procas, younger brother of Numitor. He forced his brother to abdicate, had his brother's son killed, made his daughter Rhea Silvia a vestal and punished her for her pregnancy. Later Numitor was again restored to his rightful situation by Romulus and Remus, but A. was killed (Liv. 1,4,10-11; Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1,79-83; Origo gen. Rom. 19-21) Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography G. Brugnoli, Reges Albanorum, in: Atti del Convegno Virgiliano di Brindisi nel bimillenario della morte, 1983, 157-190.

[German version] (Καταιβάτης/ Kataibátēs, ‘he who descends’). Epiclesis of Zeus and of Hermes. For Zeus the epiclesis is epigraphically documented numerous times and is applied to the god who manifests himself through the lightning strike (‘who [in lightning] descends’). The piece of ground hit by lightning ( enēlýsion, Poll. 9, cf. the Roman fulmen condere) cannot be walked on ( ábaton), is consecrated to Zeus and is marked by a monument or an altar. The fact that the Athenians consecrated the location where Demetrius [2] Poliorcetes dismounted from his…

[German version] (‘Formation in human shape’, anthrōpophyḗs Hdt. 1,131). A feature of Graeco-Roman representations of deities, not only in external appearance but also in terms of self-definition, which contrasts the Graeco-Roman cult with an absence of images (Hdt. 1,131; Tac. Germ. 9) or with an animal cult (Xen. Mem. 1,1,14 [1]). While animal-headed demons are attested and bird forms are disputed [2] in Minoan-Mycenaean art, Hesiod and Homer make use of a radical anthropomorphism [3]. This applies for instance to the external form, where the …

[German version] (Ἀνταῖος; Antaîos). Libyan giant, son of Poseidon, who forced strangers into a wrestling match and decorated his father's temple with their skulls; he remained unconquered, as long as he remained in contact with the earth (as whose son he was regarded), but finally Hercules conquered him by lifting him up off the ground and strangling him (Pind. Isthm. 3,70; Apollod. 2,115; Aug. civ. 18,12). Attic vase paintings portrayed the battle numerous times [1], and in Plato he is a heroic wrestler together with  Cercyon (leg. 7,796a). Quite separate from him is the A. menti…

[German version] (Ἀνδρεύς; Andreús). Eponymous king of the island of Andros, established by Rhadamanthys (Diod. Sic. 5,79). Son of the son of Apollo and the Delian priest-king Anius (Ov. Met. 13,647-50). The Andrians made a gift of his statue to Delphi (Paus. 10,13,4). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Ἀντίλοχος; Antílochos). Oldest son of  Nestor. He is the actual leader of the Pylians at Ilion. Poseidon, the god of Mycenean Pylos, protects him (Hom. Il. 13,554 f.); Achilles loves him as a comrade (Hom. Il. 23,556). Achilles avenges him when he falls by the hand of Memnon (Hom. Od. 4,187), sacrificing himself for Nestor (Pind. Pyth. 6,28). A., Achilles and Patroclus are laid together in a tumulus in Sigeum (Od. 24,71-84); in Hades they and Ajax are together (Od. 11,46 f., cf. 3…

[German version] (ἄγαλμα; ágalma). Derived from the Greek agállein, ‘to praise, honour’ (especially a deity, cf. Hsch. s. v.), is actually everything that adorns, from honour (Hom. Il. 4,144) to weapons (Alc. fr.15) to children (Aesch. Ag. 208). But it is found especially in the religious sphere; here, already in Homer, agalma is the votive offerings, like   anathema (Hom. Od. 3,438; IG I3 552, 617 and passim). More narrowly, agalma designates statues (Hdt. 1,131; Isoc. Or. 9,57), but also sculpture in contrast to painting (Aristot. Pol. 1336 b 15). Later the term agalma could mean th…

[German version] (Ἀράχνη; Aráchnē). The metamorphosis of A. (‘Spider’) is told in Ov. Met. 6,5-145 according to an unknown Greek source. The daughter of the Colophonian wool-dyer Idmon is a brilliant weaver and is living in Hypaipa in Lydia. She challenges Athena, patron of the art of weaving, to a competition: A. surpasses the goddess with her technical skills, whereupon the goddess hits the girl in anger and tears up her weaving. A., full of despair, hangs herself and Athena turns her into a spid…

(Ἰκάριος; Ikários). [German version] [1] Att. hero Attic hero, whose cult (probably in the deme Icaria) is recorded as early as the 5th cent. (IG I3 253, 6.9); sacrifices to him, his daughter  Erigone [1] and their dog are mentioned by Ael. NA 7,28. His myth is known in various facets since the ‘Erigone’ of Eratosthenes, which has survived only in fragments (Hyg. Poet. Astr. 2,4; Apollod. 3,192f., etc.). The god  Dionysus comes to I., is fed by him, and gives him the first wine as thanks. When I. serves this to his nei…

(Παρθένος; Parthénos). [German version] [1] Divine epithet primarily of Athena 'Maiden' (in the sense of an unmarried woman of marriageable age) is the epithet of several Greek goddesses (Hom. H. ad Venerem 7-30 mentions Athena, Artemis, and Hestia), particularly Athena as the goddess of Athens [1]: the statue of Phidias is the 'so-called Parthenos' (Paus. 5,11,10; 10,34,8); from the image on them (head of Athena), parthénoi (plural) is also a nickname for Attic coins (Poll. 9,74). The epithet parthenos often refers to the role of these goddesses in the lives of women [1;…

(Κάβειροι; Kábeiroi, Lat. Cabiri). A group of divine beings (usually two), appearing occasionally but also one alone. They can be found in a series of local  mystery cults, were not actually Pan-Hellenic, and according to ancient views, were pre-Greek or not even Greek at all (Phrygian or Thracian) (overviews [1; 2]). [German version] A. Name The origin and meaning of the name C. are vague, the spelling not entirely clear: The texts traditionally use Kábeiroi, dialectal inscriptions also refer to Kábiroi. According to ancient thought, the name derives from a Phrygian mounta…

A suggestive hero name (‘Defender’), which occurs in various genealogies. [German version] [1] Figure from the Odyssee: servant of Menelaus Father (Schol. Hom. Od. 4,22) or uncle (Pherecyd. FGrH 3 F 132) of Eteoneus, servant of Menelaus (Hom. Od. 4,22) and Iphiloche (Echemela), whom Megapenthes, Menelaus' son by a slave woman, married (Hom. Od. 4,10); he was son of  Argeius and Hegesandra (Pherecydes loc. cit.). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Mythical argive king Argive. King, son of Megapenthes, father of Anaxagoras (Paus. 2,18,4) and of Iphis (Apollod. 3,60). Graf,…

[German version] (Ἀγχίσης; Anchísēs). Son of Capys (Hom. Il. 20,239) and of a Themis (Apollod. 3,141) or a Naiad (Dion. Hal. 1,62,2); besides Priam, one of the most respected heroes of Troy, already in the Iliad described as father of  Aeneas [1] by Aphrodite. The Homeric Aphrodite hymn (h. 5) describes how the shepherd A. is seduced by Aphrodite on Mount Ida and thus becomes father of Aeneas; because of this his lineage will rule in the Troad [1]. Later hymns report that Aphrodite had also given h…

[German version] (Αἰθήρ; Aithḗr). The ‘radiantly clear’ heaven, since the epic (Hom. Il. 2,412) domicile of the gods; in the cosmology up to late antiquity the highest and purest part of the cosmos (Macrob. Sat. 1,17,70). In cosmogonic poetry aether has various roles. For Hesiod the light aether is the son of the dark power Nyx ‘Night’ (and Erebus, Acusilaus of Argus FGrH 2 F 6b), but brother of Hemera, ‘Day’ (Theog. 124); with Hemera he generates the enigmatic Brotus (Hes. fr. 400), according to l…

(Ἀστυόχη; Astyóchē). Common mythic-epic woman's name, which is easily adapted to the hexameter, for instance: [German version] [1] Sister of  Agamemnon and Menelaus Sister of  Agamemnon and Menelaus, wife of the Phocian Strophius, who was the father of Pylades (Hyg. Fab. 117). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Daughter of  Laomedon Daughter of  Laomedon (Apollod. 3,146), wife of Telephus, mother of Eurypylus, whom she sent to help Priam (Apollod. Ep. 5,12). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] Daughter of an Actor Daughter of an  Actor, through Ares mo…

[German version] (Ἀνθώ; Anthṓ). Daughter of the usurper  Amulius, from whom she gained the promise that Rea Silvia would not be killed (Plut. Romulus 3,4, following Fabius Pictor and Diocles of Peparethus). The Greek name (‘flower’) has aetiological foundations. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography C. Ampolo, in: C. Ampolo, M. Manfredini (eds.), Plutarco. Le vite di Teseo e Romolo, 1988, 280 f. T. P. Wiseman, Remus, 1995, 142.

[German version] Mythical founder of  Praeneste (Cato Orig. 59 Peter; Verg. Aen. 7,678-81; Serv. Aen. 7,678; Solin. 2,9, according to the libri Praenestini; Festus s.v.). Conceived from a spark of the hearth fire and thus a son of  Vulcanus (or euhemeristically -- according to Cato -- found on a hearth), he was abandoned and brought up by his maternal uncles. He gathered shepherds around him, and with them founded the town. This myth is a combination of familiar motives (birth from the hearth fire like  Tarquinius Pr…

[German version] (Χρόνος, ‘Time’). Personification of Time, which appears in Greek religious thought as one of the primary powers and often as an allegorical reinterpretation of the primal deity  Kronos; cf. e.g. Pherecydes of Soros (Diels, Vorsokr. 7 vol. 1), where C. appears next to the primal pair Zas and Chtonia as a primal deity [2; 3]. He is particularly important in the Orphic theogonies and cosmogonies from their beginnings on; instead of the Hesiodic  Chaos, he appears as the father of Er…

(Ἄντιφος; Ántiphos). The name of a number of Homeric heroes on both the Trojan (Il. 2,864; 12,191) and the Greek sides (Il. 2,678; 17,68). Those of interest are: [German version] [1] Son of Priam and Hecabe The son of Priam and Hecabe. Achilles captures him on Mount Ida, Priam ransoms him, and finally A. is killed by Agamemnon in battle (Il. 11,101, cf. 4,489). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Figure of the Odyssee, son of the Ithacan Aegyptus Son of the Ithacan Aegyptus, brother of the suitor of Eurynomus, whom Polyphem killed (Od. 2,15-22). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] [1] Deity of the inlet of the same name into Lake Nemi near Aricia Deity (‘Nymph’) of the inlet of the same name into Lake Nemi near Aricia, related to the sanctuary of  Diana there (Str. 5,3,12; Verg. Aen. 7,761-777; Schol. Juv. 3,17). Wife or lover of the Roman king  Numa [1], whom she advised with respect to his cultic arrangements (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 2,60; Ov. Fast. 3,273-299; Plut. Numa 4,2). Ennius already reports that she gave him the ancilia (Ann. 114). A rationalizing reading makes this myth an invention with which Numa legitimized his religious re…

(Ἀργιόπη; Argiópē). [German version] [1] Nymph Nymph. Rejected by her lover Philammon, she journeys from Parnassus to the Odrysae in Thrace and there gives birth to the singer  Thamyris (Apollod. 1,16; Paus. 4,33,3) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Thracian wife of Orpheus Thracian wife of Orpheus, for whose sake he enters the Underworld (Hermesianax fr. 7,1-14 Powell). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] Daughter of Teuthras Daughter of Teuthras, the king of Mysia, wife of  Telephus (Diod. Sic. 4,33). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [4] D…

[German version] (Ἄμυνος; Ámynos). Athenian god of healing. His domain (Amyneion) with a fountain lay at the southern slope of the Areopagus; the earliest finds date to the 6th cent. According to inscriptional evidence, Asclepius and Hygiea were also venerated in this domain. A cultic organization to venerate ( orgeones) A., Asclepius and Dexion is likewise attested; located nearby was the domain of this hero (under whose name Sophocles was revered due to his reception of Asclepius). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography Kearns, 14-21.

[German version] The autumn; evidence exists for him personified in illustrative art and poetry from the Augustan era onwards, yet without any proven cult. He is usually associated with the  Horae and therefore often represented as feminine. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography L. A. Casal, s.v. A., LIMC 5.1, 819f.

[German version] (Λαόγονος/ Laógonos, ‘who grew out of the people's army’). Descriptive name of two Trojan warriors in the Iliad (Hom. Il. 16,303 and 20,460). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Ἀγλαονίκη; Agolaoníkē). Daughter of Hegetor (Plut. Coniugalia praecepta 48,145c; de def. or. 13,417a), a Thessalian, who as witch was not only able to draw down the moon (schol. Apoll. Rhod. 4,59), but was also able ritually to purify the moon when a lunar eclipse occurred (Plut. loc. cit. credits her with rationalizing astronomical knowledge). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Ἀστεροπαῖος; Asteropaîos). Son of Pelegon, grandson of the river god Axius, leader of the Paeonians who were allies of Troy, killed by Achilles. Physically he was the tallest of the Trojans and Achaeans (Hom. Il. 21,140-83; Philost. Heroicus 48,14-22). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography A. Kossatz-Deissmann, LIMC 1. 1, 132, no. 556.

[German version] (Λεύκασπις; Leúkaspis, ‘the one with the white shield’). Repeatedly used name of Greek heroes. L. especially refers to one of the five commanders of the Sicani, who are killed by Heracles and who are honoured cultically (Diod. Sic. 4,23,5); he is portrayed on Syracusan coins from the 5th cent. onwards [1]. The cult of a hero L. is also attested for the Attic deme of Erchia [2], while Virgil uses the name for a drowned Trojan (Verg. Aen. 6,334). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 HN 175 2 LSCG 18 G 50.

[German version] (Ἐλαφηβόλος; Elaphēbólos, ‘Stag Slayer’). Poetic (Anac. fr. 1 Calame; Soph. Trach. 213) and cultic epiclesis of  Artemis. Her feast of Elaphebolia (with characteristic ritual destruction in the Phocian federal sanctuary of Hyampolis, Plut. Mor. 244 BD; Paus. 10,1,6; [1; 2; 3]) and the Athenian month name  Elaphebolion derived from the festival attest to the significance of the association of the goddess with her quarry. The association has been attested in literature since Homer (O…

[German version] (Ἀναιδεία; Anaideía). ‘Indecency’, divine power (Xen. Symp. 8,35; Men. Fr. 223 K., perhaps Soph. fr. 269 = TGF 4,291). According to Theophrastus she had altars in Athens, together with Hybris (Zenob. 43,6, cf. Cic. Leg. 2,28 Contumeliae et Impudentiae fanum): meant are the ‘stone of indecency’ (λίθος Ἀναιδείας, líthos anaideías) and the ‘stone of temerity’ ( líthos Hýbreos) on the Athenian Areopagus, where accusers and the accused (Paus. 1,28,5) gathered. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography C. E. of Erfa, ΑΙΔΩΣ und verwandte Begriffe in ihrer Entwickl…

[German version] (Ἄσκιοι; Áskioi). The ‘shadowless ones’ is the name given to the inhabitants of those zones of the earth, within which the sun on certain days of the year is at its zenith so that the  gnomon does not cast a shadow, such as on the day of the summer solstice in Syene (Poseidon. fr. 115 Edelstein-Kidd); Onesicritus (FGrH 134 F 10) told of such ascia loca in India. In the system formulated by Posidonius (fr. 208 Edelstein-Kidd) the people between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are called ἀμφίσκιοι ( amphískioi), whereas those between the polar circle and the tropics …

[German version] The Roman goddess of war (from bellum, old form Duellona from duellum; cf. Varro, Ling. 5,73; Ant. rer. div. fr. 189 Cardauns), who stands beside Mars and is relatively independent of him: the devotional formula of P. Decius Mus names her directly after  Ianus who is invoked at each new beginning and the triad of old Roman state gods Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus -- no doubt as the actual female ruler of war (Liv. 8,9,6). In Latium her cult is attested in a 5th-cent. inscription (CIL I2 441) [1], whilst an urban Roman temple to her was vowed by Appius Claudius Caecus …

[German version] (ἡ λάβρυς; he lábrys) refers to the double-headed axe (Latin bipennis), which has two blades opposite each other; it is a tool as well as a ritual device and religious symbol. The expression, known in Greek only as a Lydian word in a gloss (Plut. Mor. 45,302a), was introduced into scholarly language in the late 19th cent. to refer to the Minoan ritual symbol as well as to indicate its Anatolian origin. In Minoan but more especially in Greek ritual, there is good evidence for the double-head…

[German version] (Λήϊτος; Lḗïtos). Son of Alector [4], a Boeotian hero; he has a tomb and cult in Plataeae (Paus. 9,4,3). He is integrated into several Panhellenic narrative cycles: he is one of the leaders of the Boeotians outside Troy, distinguishes himself occasionally and is wounded slightly - in the battle for the corpse of Patroclus - by Hector, returns to his homeland; he wooes Helene [1] and takes part in the expedition of the Argonauts (Hom. Il. 2,494; 17,601; Eur. IA 259; Catalogues: Apollod. 1,113; 3,130). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography W. Kullmann, Die Quellen der I…

[German version] Descendant of the Athenian king Codrus. Was brought to the city of Phocaea, together with the Codrideans Deoites and Periclus, from Erythrae and Teos, because the Ionians did not want to accept Phocaea in the Ionian league until it had Codrians as kings (Paus. 7,3,10). The myth legitimated the claim of Athens to hegemony over Ionia. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography A. Sakellariou, La migration grecque en Ionie, 1958, 238, n. 3.