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[German version] (‘Little story’). Modern term describing brief tales built into magic formulas, providing a mythic precedence for a magically effective treatment. Historiolas are already documented in Mesopotamian and ancient Egyptian  magic. In the Graeco-Egyptian  magic papyri (PGM), they provide references to both Greek (e.g. PGM XX) and Egyptian (e.g. PGM IV 1471) mythology, and to Christian legends in Christian rites. However, historiolas should not be understood as abridgments of well-known myths or as ad hoc inventions, rather the narrator understands them as p…

[German version] (Αἰολία sc. νῆσος; Aiolía nêsos). Residence of  Aeolus [2], the lord of the winds. It is a floating island, which is hedged around by steep cliffs and a bronze wall (Hom. Od. 10.3 f.); in a certain contrast to these fairy-tale motives -- especially the floating of the island -- is the very Greek idea that the city and the ‘beautiful houses’ of A. and his family are on this island (loc. cit.13). Since the 5th cent. it is sited in actual geography and in particular identified with the Liparic or Aeolic Islands (Αἰόλου νῆσοι) (Antiochus of Syracuse FGrH 555 F 1; Thuc. 3,88). Graf, Fri…

(Ἀργεῖος; Argeîos). [German version] [1] Son of Likymnios Son of Licymnius. In two myths he is the doomed battle comrade of Hercules. He accompanies him together with his brother Melas on the quest to conquer Oichalia; both are slain and are buried by Hercules (Apollod. 2,156). According to another version he accompanies Hercules on his Trojan campaign, in spite of his father's resistance; Hercules had to swear an oath promising to bring him back. When he is slain outside Troy, Hercules burns the corpse and brings back the ashes (Schol. Hom. Il. 1,52). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) …

(Ἀκταῖος; Aktaîos), ‘he from the coast’ ( akte) or ‘of Akte’. [German version] [1] Attic primal king Attic primal king, the first (Paus. 1,2,6) or successor of Porphyrion (Paus. 1,14,7); father of the (first) Aglaurus, the wife of Cecrops and mother of Aglaurus [2], Herse and Pandrosus (Apollod. 3,180, who in 3,177 first made Cecrops the primal king). Attica was first called Acte after him, as was the Piraeus peninsula in the historical period (Apollod. 3,177; Harpocrat. s. v. Akte). According to Pherecydes (FGrH 3 F 60) he is father of Telamon of Glauce, the daughter of th…

(Ἀτύμνιος; Atýmnios). [German version] [1] Son of the Carian king Amisodarus Son of the Carian king Amisodarus. He and his brother Maris, companions at arms of Sarpedon, were killed by two sons of Nestor (Hom. Il. 16,317). Later, he is regarded as identical to Tymnius, the eponymous founder of the Carian city of Tymnus [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Son of Zeus Son of Zeus (of the Phoenix: Schol. Apoll. Rhod. 2,178) and  Cassiopea, courted by the brothers Minos and Sarpedon in competition with each other. Otherwise Miletus, the son of Ap…

[German version] (Εἰλειθυία; Eileithyíai, Doric Ἐλευθ(υ)ία; Eleuth(y)ía, Mycenaean in Knosos e-reu-ti-ja). Greek goddess, worshipped almost exclusively by women in the context of pregnancy and birth, also in the context of children's and women's diseases (Diod. Sic. 5,73,4; [1]). Already known by Homer in this function (μογοστόκος, ‘concerned with the effort of giving birth’, Hom. Il. 16,187). The name itself seems to be telling ─ it can be connected with eleuth-, ‘to go, to come’ [2]. She has almost no independent myths: she was born at her important cult centre…

[German version] (Βοώτης; Boṓtēs). (‘Ox-driver’) One of the names of a constellation near that of Ursa Major; attested since Hom. Od. 5,272. If the latter constellation is thought of as a bear, the former, as its companion, is termed instead ‘bear-keeper’, Arktophylax (Arat. 91-83; Ov. Fast. 3,145; Manil. Astr. 1,316-318 etc.). Its brightest star is Arcturus (Arktouros), which occasionally gives its name to the whole constellation (Eratosth. Catast. 8). Various legends about the stars give a mythical background to the meaning of Bootes. 1. He is generally underst…

[German version] (ἐποπτεία; epopteía, ‘the seeing’). One of the levels of initiation into the  mysteries; whoever attained it, was epóptēs. In  Eleusis, whence the term originated, epopteia refers to the stage of initiation after the initial  myesis ─ epopteia either refers to the public ‘display’ during the celebration of the mysteries, in which myesis was the individual dedication which could take place outside of the celebrations, or rather a second facultative stage following on from the obligatory mýēsis [1; 2]. In any case, the term underlines the importance of vis…

(Ἀλκίππη; Alkíppē). Common woman's name in mythological epics. [German version] [1] Figure of Greek myth: daughter of Ares Daughter of Ares and Cecrop's daughter Agraulus, raped by  Halirrhotius (Apollod. 3,180), Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Figure of Greek myth: grandmother of Daedalus Grandmother of Daedalus, mother of Eupalamus by Metion (Apollod. 3,214). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] Figure from the Iliad: slave of Helena A slave of Helena (Hom. Od. 4,124). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Κατρεύς; Katreús). Son of  Minos and Pasiphae, eponym of the Cretan town Catre; he is killed by his son  Althaemenes, even though he fled to Rhodes to avoid his father who had been warned by an oracle (Apollod. 3,12-16); when his grandson  Menelaus takes part in his funeral, Paris kidnaps Helena (ibid. 3,3). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

(Αἰθαλίδης; Aithalídēs). [German version] [1] Herald during the Argonauts' campaign Son of Hermes and Eupolemea, daughter of Myrmidon, born near the Thessalian stream Amphryssus. Herald during the Argonauts' campaign (Apoll. Rhod. 1,51-55, 640-47). Hermes allowed him to continue to remember after his death and thus to move between the Underworld and the Upperworld (Pherecydes FGrH 3 F 109; Apoll. Rhod. 1,644-7). His soul is said to have entered the body of Pythagoras, as first recounted by Heraclides Ponticus (fr. 89 W. = Diog. Laert. 8,1,4) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) …

This item can be found on the following maps: Writing | Theatre | Doric Migration | Dark Ages | Grain Trade, Grain Import | Achaeans, Achaea | Apollo | Macedonia, Macedones | Macedonia, Ma…

[German version] (Αἰνεύς; Aineús). Son of Apollo and Stilbe the daughter of Peneius; husband of the Aenete (Αἰνήτη), father of   Cyzicus (Apoll. Rhod. 1,948). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Ἰάλεμος; Iálemos). Son of  Apollo and the Muse  Calliope, thus the brother of several mythical singers:  Hymenaus,  Linus,  Orpheus (schol. Eur. Rhes. 985). Just as Hymenaus is a personification of the wedding song and Linus of the dirge, so I. is the personification of those dirges that, poetically, are called iálemoi. The myth explains this either with I.'s early death which gives cause for lament (as for Linus) (Pind. fr. 139,8), or with I.'s invention of the dirge. He is occasionally identified with Linus (Schol. Eur. Or. 1390). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] [1] Fish Fish (Greek ἰχθῦς/ ichthŷs; Latin piscis) was a common food in Greece and Rome, certain fishes in Rome were even considered a luxury food. This explains the Greek curiosity about neighbouring cultures such as Egypt or Syria, where conspicuous food prohibitions were observed and generalized (priests in Egypt: Hdt. 2,37; Plut. De Is. et O…

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[German version] (μυσταγωγός/ mustagōgós). An Athenian cult functionary in the Eleusinian mysteries ( Mystḗria ) who accompanied the mystae in the annual procession to Eleusis [1] , kept order and probably helped the mystae during the rites (inscriptions from the 1st cent. BC: LSCG, Suppl 15; Plut. Alcibiades 34,6). There is also evidence for this function outside Athens (Andania: IG V 1, 1390 l. 149; 92 BC); the verb derived from it, μυσταγωγεῖν/ mystagōgeín), denotes an initiation (e.g. of a priest in Panamara, Caria, Syl…

[German version] Literally ‘Procession around agricultural land’, an agrarian lustration ritual, the corresponding ritual for lustration of urban areas being the amburbia (SHA Aurelian. 20,3 cf. Fest. s. v. Amburbiales hostiae). The Roman cult is familiar with a series of such cleansing processions around agricultural land, which for the most part are the responsibility of individual landowners ( lustratio agri, Cato agr. 141; sacrificium ambarvale, Serv. Ecl. 3,77; cf. also Tib. 2,1 [1]). The animal carried in the procession, which is killed at its conclusi…

(Ἄνθης or Ἄνθας; Ánthēs, Ánthas). [German version] [1] Son of Poseidon and Alcyone [1] Son of Poseidon and  Alcyone [1], the daughter of Atlas. As a child…

[German version] [1] Goat or nymph, who nourished Zeus as a child (αἴξ aíx). According to the post-Hesiodic myth, Zeus was fed and nourished as a child in the Cretan cave by a goat ( Amalthea) or a nymph by the name of ‘Goat’. Zeus kills her, uses her coat as a shield ( Aegis) in the battle of the Titans and in gratitude sets her among the stars (Eratosth. Catast. 13 Capella; Ant. Lib. 36). The nymph is the mother of Aegipan and Aegocerus (Capricorn, Eratosth. Catast. 27). The representation of the constellation of Ἡνίοχος ( …

(Ἀριστόμαχος; Aristómachos). [German version] [1] Great-grandson of Heracles Great-grandson of Hercules, son of Cleodaeus (Hdt. 6,52; Apollod. 2,171; Paus. 2,7,6). His attempt to conquer the Peloponnese failed because an oracle was misunderstood. He fell in the battle and the country was conquered by his sons Temenus, Cresphontes and (in the Spartan version) Aristodemus [1] (Hyg. Fab. 124. 137) [1]. Gr…

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(Ἄρχανδρος [ Árchandros], Ἀρχιτέλης [ Architélēs]). [German version] [1] Sons or Grandsons of Achaeus Sons or grandsons of Achaeus. They move from Phthia to Argus, where Danaus gives them two of his daughters in marriage, whereby they become rulers of Argus and Lacedaemon and the inhabitants there become known as the Achaeans (Paus. 7,1,6 f.). The city in Lower Egypt known as Archandroupolis is supposed to have been named after Archander (Hdt. 2,98). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Sons of Acastus  Sons of Acastus, who together with them drives Peleus out of Phthia (Schol. Hom. Il. 24,488; Schol. Eur. Tro. 1128). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

(Ἶρις; Îris, ‘Rainbow’) [German version] [1] Messenger of the gods, personification of rainbow The deified rainbow. In Hesiod's genealogy (Hes. Theog. 266) she is the daughter of  Thaumas (cf. θαῦμα/ thaûma, ‘marvel’) and  Electra [1] (cf. the shining metal electrum) and sister of the  Harpies, who flew as fast the wind. Her genealogy characterizes her: she herself is thought to be fast, and in Greek physics, the rainbow can produce winds. In mythological accounts, she is to a very great extent detached from her element, and…

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[German version] (Ἀμυμώνη; Amymṓnē). Daughter of Danaus and Europa. By Poseidon she is the mother of Nauplius (Nostoi fr. 1; Hes. fr. 297; Paus. 2,38,2); a river in Lerna is named after her, and the spring of Lerna is ascribed to her (Str. 8,6,8; Paus. 2,37,1. 4). Hyg. Fab. 169 and Apollod. 2,14 recount her myth in the form which goes back to a satyr game, which is probably Aeschylus' A. Sent out by Danaus in order to find a spr…

[German version] (Ὑάκινθος; Hyákinthos).Hero whose tomb and cult are located in  Amyclae [1] near Sparta, but whose festival, the Hyacinthia, and the name of the month connected to it (hyakínthios, Cretan bakínthios/wakínthios [1]) is known in many Doric cities. The widespread familiarity with H. indicates the hero's ancient, supra-regional significance. The name must be pre-Greek due to the suffix -nth-. Although the Amyclaean sanctuary is pre-Doric, it can be traced only from the late Mycenaean period [1].In the myth, H. is either the son of local hero Amyclas and the Lapith Diomede (Hes. fr. 171; Apollod. 3,116) or of the muse Clio ( Cleio), whom Aphrodite joins in anger with  Pierus, son of Magnes (Apollod. 1,16). His brothers are Argalus and Cynortes (Paus. 3,1,3; Apollod. 3,116f.), his sister is Polyboea, who died young (Paus. 3,19,4). A dominant role of H. is that of the homoerotic beloved of either the singer  Thamyris, who thereby invented the practice (Apollod. 1,16), or, in the more common version, of  Apollo, who accidentally kills him when he throws a discus (Ov. Met. 10,162-219). Occasionally, it is said that it was  Zephyrus, Apollo's unsuccessful rival for H., who aimed the discus at H. (Paus. 3,19,5). In memory of his beloved, Apollo founded the Amyclaean cult with his annual festival of the Hyacinthia (Eur. Hel. 1469-1474) and lets the hyacinth grow from his blood (see below H. [2]), inscribing its petals with the mournful AIAI. This version of young H.'s death makes the Attic myth impossible according to which he was the father of the  Hyacinthides. This is the reason for an entirely different transmission detached from H.The Amyclaean festival of the Hyacinthia connects H. and Apollo, the main occupant of the sanctuary, in the much documented parallels between god and hero: H. was buried below Appollo's altar-like throne with an archaic image of the god - armed and equipped with a lance and bow (Paus. 3,19,1-5). It is the main Spartan festival in the month of Hekatombaion, named after the great number of sacrifices, during which Sparta did not fight any wars (description: Polycrates, FGrH 588 F 1 [2]). The festival lasted for three days. The first was devoted esp. to H.; some of the customs that deviated from the Greek norm were explained with the mourning for H., who received a sacrifice for the dead on his altar on the ‘throne’ prior to the main sacrifice to Apollo (Paus. 3,19,3). The middle day was the most important, with a procession from Sparta to Amyclae (pompa, Ov. Met. 10,219) and with musical and agonistic performances by boys and young men as well as a banquet for slaves and foreigners [3]. The young women (parthénoi) rode on the wagons of the procession, the women offered a new robe to Apollo (Paus. 3,16,2); also attested are night-time dances of women and girls (Eur. Hel. 1468). At some point, the armour of Timomachus, who captured Amyclae for Sparta, was paraded as well (Aristot. fr. 532). Altogether, the festival's purpose was to give Sparta an opportunity for self-representation as did the Panathenaea for Athens [4].In other Doric cities, there are few indications of H. except for the name of the month. The Spartan colony of Thera celebrated the Hyacinthia; in the Spartan colony of Tarentum, a tomb of H. or even of Apollo was shown, located east of the city (Pol. 8,28); one must presume the same cult constellation as in Amyclae. In Cnidus, Artemis appeared in inscriptions as Hyakinthotróphos and had a festival of Hyacinthotrophia, suggesting a myth in which she raises young H. (SGDI 3501; 3502; 3512).Iconographically, …

[German version] Son of Hermes or Poseidon (Pind. Paean 2), Opuntic Locrian, favourite of Hercules and eponymous hero of the Thracian city Abdera. For Hercules he guarded the human-flesh-eating mares, stolen from the Bistonian king Diomedes, and in so doing, he was himself eaten by them. Hercules founded Abdera on his grave site (Apollod. 2,97) and instigated annually an agone, which was conducted without horse races (Philostr. Imag. 2,25).…

[German version] (Βαυβώ; Baubṓ). According to a version of the Eleusinic myth attributed to Orpheus, she was an original inhabitant of Eulisis with the heroes Triptolemus, Eumolpus, Eubuleus and her husband Dysaules, who are visited by  Demeter on her search for his daughter. Like  Iambe in the version of the myth in the Homeric hymn, B. entertains the goddess with food and drink and then obscenely exposes her lower body in order to cheer her up (Clem. Protrepticus 20f.; Arnob. 5,25, who describes …

[German version] (Ἐφέσια γράμματα; Ephésia grámmata, ‘Ephesian letters of the alphabet’). Designation for a series of words devoid of meaning ─ ( askion kataskion lix tetrax damnameneus aision or aisia) that was used orally and in writing for apotropaic and salvation-bringing purposes. Their name comes from the fact that they were engraved on the statue of Artemis of Ephesus (Paus. ap. Eust. Od. 19,247). They were spoken in …

(Ἀμώνιος; Ammónios). [German version] [1] Favourite of  Alexander [II 13] I (Balas), middle of the 2nd cent. BC Favourite of  Alexander [II 13] I (Balas); ruled in his place in Syria, executed relatives and followers of (the deceased) Demetrius I and oppressed the Antiochenes. When he attempted an attack on Ptolemy VI, certainly Alexander's most important supporter, and Ptolemy demanded that A. be handed over, Alexander actually declined to do this, so Ptolemy broke with Alexander: despite dressing as a woman, A…

[German version] (Ἀλλογενής; Allogenḗs, the ‘different’). Name of  Seth as son of Adam and Eve in Sethian  Gnosticism (Epiphanius, Panarii libri 40,7,2). His seven sons are the Allogeneis (40,7,5). Books are also ascribed to him, which are likewise called Allogeneis (39,5,1; 40,2,2). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Ἄμφισσος; Ámphissos). Son of Apollo and  Dryope, the daughter of Dryops, ruler on Mount Oete, strong as an ox. A., as well as Aeolus' granddaughter Amphissa (Paus. 10,38,4), must be eponyms of the city of Amphissa in Ozolian Locris; however, while A.'s stepfather  Andreamon is regarded as founder of Amphissa, A. is founder of the city of …

[German version] A festival was held in her honour at the Ides of March in her grove (Martial. 4,64; 16) at the first milestone of the Via Flaminia near the Tiber, which is characterized by a sacrifice for a good year ut commode liceat annare perennareque (Macrob. Sat. 1,12,6) and by both sexes drinking wine together in tents and grass huts (Ov. Fast. 3,523-540); the date, rites and portentous character indicate a festival of dissolution associated with the beginning of a new year. The origin and character of the goddess were just as unclear in antiquity as in modern scholarship; but what is certain is that she can appear as an elderly woman. Roman mythology portrays her as the elderly Anna of Bovilla who fed the famished Plebeians (Ov. Fast. 3,657-674) during their secession, and also tells of her erotic deception of Mars, the latter as an aition of the aischrology in her festival (Ov. Fast. 3,675-696), or the mythology connects her with Anna, the sister of Dido, and tells of her suicide and being carried away in the Num…

(Greek ἰατρός; iatrós, ‘physician’). [German version] [1] Physician Physician,  Medicine. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Epiclesis of Apollo E…

[German version] (Γελάνωρ; Gelánōr). Mythical original king of Argus, son of Sthenelus (Paus. 2,16,1), whose only significance is that he abdicated the rulership to  Danaus (Apollod. 2,13); in Aesch. Supp. 266 he is called  Pelasgus. The change in dynasty took place either after a battle (Plut. Pyrrhus 32,9f., 404e-f) or by referendum (Paus. 2,19,3f.). A battle, understood as an omen…

[German version] [1] see Precious stones see  Precious stones Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Titaness Titaness, daughter of Coeus and Phoebe, sister of Leto, wife of the Titan Perses (Perseus, Persaeus). By Zeus, mother of  Hecate (Hes. Theog. 409; Apollod. 1,8; 21). In the battle of the giant…

[German version] (Αὐγείας, Αὐγέας; Augeías, Augéas). King of the Epeians (Hom. Il. 11,698), often of the Eleans or of Ephyra. His genealogy vacillates -- his father is often and from early on  Helius, with whom his name connects him (from αὐγέα, ‘shine, beam’); other names mentioned are  Poseidon or Phorbas, his mother is Hyrmine, his brother Actor. He is rich in herds of cows like his father Helius; his treasury was built by  Trophonius and Agamedes; to this is connected since the  Telegony a novell…

[German version] (Ἄκεσις). Healing hero in Epidaurus ( akéomai ‘healing’), whom the Pergamens equated with Telesphorus, the Sicyonans with Euhamerion (Paus. 2,11,7). The Telephorus hymn inscription of the imperial period, from Athens, IG II/III ed. minor 3,1 4533,36 (Kaibel 1027) [1] also knows of this equation with Telesphoros. The classical form would be Akesios [2]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 Edelstein, Asclepius Vol. 1, 89 n. 50 2 Schwyzer, Gramm., 1953, 473.

[German version] I. Greek-Roman antiquity Katabasis (κατάβασις/ katábasis, ‘descent’, more precisely εἰς ᾍδου κ., ‘descent into the Underworld’; pl. katabáseis; since Isoc. Or. 10,20, cf. Hdt. 2,122,1). Katabasis is, as a specific form of the voyage into the other world, the (mythological) narration or (ritual) staging of a voyage into the Underworld, with the purpose of either finding a particular inhabitant (a dead person, a deity, or a monster), or gaining knowledge of the future (guarded by the subterraneans)…

[German version] (Ἀλκείδης; Alkeídēs). Patronymic of Alceus = Alcaeus [1], therefore epithet of Hercules as grandson (Hes. Sc. 112) of Amphitryon and as son of Alcaeus. A. is also regarded as Hercules' real name, which was altered by the Pythia (Apollod. 2,73). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Γαλεῶται; Galeôtai). Name of a Sicilian family of seers, probably from Hybla Galeatis/Gereatis (Paus. 5,23,6), whose members are linked with prophecies relating to the rule of  Dionysius I (Philistus FGrH 556 F 57 in Cic. Div. 1,39; Ael. VH 12,46). Myth associates them with  Telmissus, the location in Caria famous for its prophecy (Cic. Div. 1,91): the eponymous Galeos was said to be, like his brother Telmissus, the son of …

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[German version] (ἀρχηγέτης; archēgétēs). ‘Leader’, functional title of heroes and epiclesis of Apollo and Hercules. In the case of heroes, A. indicates in particular the role of progenitor and patron -- examples are the heroes of Attic demes (Demosth. 43,66 [1]) and the Thracian horse-riding hero in northern Greece and in Pontus [2]. Apollo A. denotes Apollo as the main god of the Seleucid foundations. The basis for this is the god's role in …

[German version] (Κόδρος; Kódros). Son of  Melanthus, a mythical king of Athens. In the list of Attic kings, his role is primarily to establish the connection to the Pylian colonists of Ionia. According to a tradition common in the 5th cent. BC, his father, a Neleid, came to Athens as a refugee and was made king by the last descendant of  Theseus; C. followed his father. His only notable act was his voluntary sacrificial death in order to save the city…

(Ἀλκάθοος; Alkáthoos). [German version] [1] Megarian hero, connected with the town that was also called Alcathoe Megarian hero, son of Pelops and Hippodamia of Elis. A fugitive after striking his brother dead, by killing the Cithaeronian lion he won the daughter of the Megarian king Megareus and succeeded him to the throne. Many aetiologies connect him with the city (Paus. 1,41,3-43,3), which is addressed as Alcathoi urbs or Alcathoe. With Apollo's help, he renewed the city wall that made sounds like a kithara (Ov. Met. 6,16), built temples (Apollo and Artemis) …

[German version] (Ἀκεσ(σ)αμενός). King of Pieria, founder and hero of Acesamenae in Macedonia (Steph. Byz. s. v. Ἀκεσαμεναί); father of Periboea, who became mother of Pelegon by the river god Axius (Hom. Il. 21,142). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Ἀχλύς). The darkness that in Homer comes upon the eyes of mortals (e.g. Il. 5,696) or those whom the gods have blinded (e.g. Il. 20,324). It is depicted on the shield of Hercules in a female personification with hideous baroque-like features as leader of the team of horses of Nyx (Hes. asp. 264), in the late Orph. A. 341. The Latin correspondence to her is Caligo ‘dark fog’, Mother of Chaos and Nox in the cosmogonical myth, of unknown, but probably Greek origin (Hyg. Fab. praef. 1). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography F. Queyrel, s. v. A., LIMC 1.1, 214 A. Shapiro, Personi…

[German version] (Αἰαία). ‘The woman from  Aea’, the corresponding epithet of Circe (Hom. Od. 9,32; Verg. Aen. 3,386), Calypso (Prop. 3,12,31), Medea (Apoll. Rhod. 3,1136). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Ὑριεύς; Hyrieús). Son of  Poseidon and  Alcyone [1], founder of the Boeotian town  Hyria.  Trophonius and Agamedes build him a treasury, but such that they can secretly steal from it; a story follows this which varies the tale of the master thief (Hdt. 2,121) (Paus. 9,27,5-7). The story of how H. comes by his son Orion is often told: Zeus and Apollo visit the childless widower, and in thanks for his hospitality (he slaughters his only cow for them) they urinate into the skin of the beast; from this is created the child Orion (wordplay on …

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[German version] (mid-Persian, Avesta Angra Mainyu, Greek Ἀρειμάνιος; Areimánios, Latin Arimanius). One of the twin gods in the system of Zoroaster; the ‘evil spirit’ alongside Spnta Mainyu, the ‘spirit of wholeness’, the two opposing creators of the world (Yasna 30,3-5) and apparently sons of  Ahura Mazdā (Yasna 47,2-3), with whom A. merges in the post-Gathas period. Thus in the theology presented at Plut. De Is. et Os. 46 f. Areimanius is a cult god and enemy of Ōr…

[German version] (usually spelled Halaesus). Italic hero, companion or illegitimate son of  Agamemnon, who fled to Italy (Serv. Aen. 7,723). He is regarded as the founder of  Falerii and the eponymous hero of the  Falisci, and imported the local cult of Juno from Argos (Ov. Am. 3,13,31-35; Fast. 4,73f.; connection of Falerii with Argos: Cato fr. 47 HRR). Alternatively, he is the founder of Alsium (Sil. Pun. 8,474). The former case presupposes the Faliscan sound change f > h [1]; the latter assumes the name takes the form * Ale…

[German version] [1] Ancient name for Egypt Ancient name for Egypt used in Aesch. Supp. 75; see also Steph. Byz., s. v. Αἴγυπτος ( Aígyptos) and Apoll. Rhod. 4,267. The etymology is unclear, perhaps from ἀήρ. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) [German version] [2] Town in  Gallia Narbonensis Town in  Gallia Narbonensis (Str. 4,185), probably the place today known as Mont Ventoux. Lafond, Yves (Bochum) [German version] [3] Aphrodite's name in Paphus  Aërias (Ἀερία; Aería). Aphrodite's name in Paphus  Aërias. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [4] Figure from Greek …

[German version] (Ἄφίδνος; Aphídnos). Autochthonous, eponymous king of the Attic town of Aphidna (Steph. Byz. s. v. Aphidna). He was entrusted by Theseus with the task of guarding Aithra, Theseus' mother and also the abducted Helen (Plut. Thes. 31; 33). During the attack on Aphidna by the Dioscuri (heavenly twins), he wounded Castor in the right thigh (Polemon fr. 10). A. adopted the Dioscuri and initiated them into the Eleusinian Mysteries (Plut. Thes. 33,2). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography Kearns, 151…

[German version] The cultic worship of the emperor during his lifetime and after his death, namely as a deity and part of the municipal pantheon, was as such the Roman Imperial version of ruler cult already commonly practised amongst the Hellenistic kings. Like the ruler cult, emperor worship was seen from the perspective of the towns as an expression of political ties and political self-definition. From the ruler’s point of view, it was a means of safeguarding his power symbolically. Greek ruler cult can traced back solely to neither the Middle East nor the Greek hero cult…

[German version] Roman equivalent of the Greek ruler of the Underworld,  Hades or respectively  Pluto. According to ancient tradition, the name Dis derives from dives, ‘rich’, in the same way as Pluto derives from ploûtos, ‘wealth’ (Cic. Nat. D. 2,66; Quint. Inst. 1,6,34). Dis Pater (DP) was only worshipped in cult within the context of the ludi Tarentini, a celebration of atonement introduced by the Sibylline oracles in 249 BC, and its associated secular festival; together with  Proserpina, he was venerated at  Tarentum with the sacrifice of black an…

[German version] In pagan Rome, the antistes is the leader of rites and administrator of a temple, the priest or high priest, though not as a specialist term in sacred language, despite its rare inscriptional use (CIL III 1115,7. X 5654). As old Roman temples did not have permanent priests, the expression was used for specific sacral colleagues such as the vestals (Liv. 1,20,2) or the Decemviri as A. of Apollo (Liv. 10,8,2), for foreign (peregrine) gods like Ceres with a fixed priesthood, or for cults outside Rome (Cic. Verr. 2,3,111).…

[German version] (Ἀντέρως; Antérōs). ‘Mutual love’, as personified requited love, likewise the avenger of an unrequited love (Serv. Aen. 4,520). In a palaistra from Elis a plastic group of both these was to be seen, in which A. sought to seize the victory palm from Eros (Paus. 6,23,5; altars: 6,23,3); on Tenos C. Pandusinus dedicated Nikes, Erotes and Anteros (IG XII 5,917). Near to the Acropolis in Athens Anteros had an altar as  Alastor (Avenger) of an unrequited love (Paus. 1,30,1), and in an erotic defixio of the imperial perio…

[German version] (Αἰγιάλεια; Aigiáleia). In prose also Aegiale, daughter of Adrastus (Hom. Il. 5,412) and Amphithea (Apollod. 1,79), and wife of Diomedes. In order to avenge herself for being wounded by Diomedes (Il. 5,330 ff,) Aphrodite coerces her, during Diomedes' absence in Troy, into getting involved with many young men in Argus. Upon returning home, Diomedes wants to murder A., or he flees in abhorrence to Calydon, and then to Italy…

[German version] (Κελεός; Keleós). An Eleusinian local hero, local king and husband of  Metaneira, who upon the wish of his four daughters hospitably receives  Demeter who is wandering in search of her daughter, entrusts to her the care of his newborn son  Demophon [1] and finally builds her first temple after her epiphany (H. Hom. Cer.; a slightly different version according to the old poet Pamphus is given in Paus. 1,38,3); as a local hero, C. receives cult worship at the Eleu…

(Ἀθήνη/Ἀθηνᾶ; Athḗnē/ Athēnâ). [German version] A. Etymology and Origin Central Greek polis deity, daughter of Zeus and Metis, born from her father's head, virginal patron of war, crafts and female work (Hom. Hymn. Ven. 7); her common epithet, Pallas, is understood to mean ‘girl’ (Chantraine s.v. παλλακή). The Romans identified her with  Minerva (Etruscan, Menrva), the Greeks with numerous Eastern deities, for instance the Lycian Maliya [1], the Egyptian  Saïs (Hdt. 2,28), the Ugarite  Anat or the Palmyrene Allat. Like many Eastern goddesses, she …

[German version] (Λητώ; Lētṓ). Daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe (Hes. Theog. 405). She gives birth to Zeus' twins Apollo and Artemis and appears closely connected to them from Homer (Il. 5,447; 20,39f.). However, the birth of Apollo is closely linked to Delos, while that of Artemis is also linked …

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[German version] [1] Name of a goddess associated with agrarian wealth in the imperial period Name of a goddess associated with agrarian wealth ( karpophóros) in the imperial inscriptions of Lesbos and Aegae; identified with Agrippina I and II (as Θεὰ Αἰολὶς Σεβαστή; Theà Aiolìs Sebastḗ, IG XII suppl. 134). She corresponds to the Αἰοληία θεά ( Aiolēía theá) mentioned in Alc. fr. 129 LP, who was worshipped together with Zeus and Dionysus Omestes in the main Lesbian sanctuary at Messa. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography L. Robert, Recherches épigraphiques V. (Inscriptions de L…

[German version] [1] Wife and sister of the Phaeacian king  Alcinous (Ἀρήτη; Arḗtē). Wife and sister of the Phaeacian king  Alcinous (Hes. fr. 222). Her benevolence helped both Odysseus (Hom. Od. 7) and Jason and Medea: she mediated between the Argonauts and the Colchians (Apoll. Rhod. 4,1068-1120), married Jason to Medea (Apollod. 1,138 f.), and presented the couple with 12 female servants who jokingly teased the heroes during the wedding celebrations; an aition in the cult of Apollo Aigletes [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography U. Hölscher, Das Schweigen der Arete, in: Hermes 88, 1960, 257-265 O. Touchefeu-Meynier, s. v. Allkinoos, LIMC 1.1, 545, no. 1 f. …

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[German version] (Κυνοκέφαλοι; Kynoképhaloi, ‘dog heads’) is the term for various fanciful frontier peoples; they settled in Libya (Hdt. 4,191), in Ethiopia (Aesch. fr. 603ab Mette; Str. 16,4,16) and in India (Ctesias, FGrH 688 F 45), and are considered to be particularly just and long-lived. The link between animal and ideal human traits typifies this utopian thought. Moreover the word also describes the baboons sacred to Egypt.  Monsters …

[German version] I. General comments Predestination (Lat. praedestinatio, a Christian concept) is most precisely the Christian doctrine according to which history and individual lives are predetermined. A groundbreaking idea in the history of the Church resulting mainly from the dispute between Augustinus and the Pelagians (Pelagius [4]), its roots go …

(Ἀριστόδημος; Aristódēmos). [German version] [1] Great-grandson of Heracles Great-grandson of Hercules, one of the three Heraclids who led the Dorians into the Peloponnese. According to the widely known version of the myth (Pl. Leg. 3,692 bk.; Apollod. 2,173; Paus. 3,1,6), A. died before reaching the Peloponnese, leaving twin sons, Eurysthenes and Procles, …

Roman god of the outdoors, early identified with the Greek  Pan. In poetry and especially in the figurative arts the two generally coincide: F., lover of the  Nymphs (Hor. Carm. 3,18,1) and insatiable erotomaniac [1], comes from Hellenistic mythology. F. does not have his own iconography [2; 3]. Like Pan, he is associated with forest and mountains as well as with goats and sheep. More his own is his role as originator of nightmares and numinous voices (and then generally as a seer), his associat…

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[German version]  Elk-like animal of nordic countries (Scandinavia or Gangavia), known to the Romans only from hearsay. In the descriptions (Plin. HN 8,39; Solin. 20,3) zoological mirabilia of other animals (elk, elephant, rhinoceros) are mixed with possibly genuine memories of the giant deer, which died out in historical times. The Pliny report survives in the Song of the Nibelungs (16,937), where the achlis is replaced by the ‘Schelch’. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography W. Richter, A., in: Philologus 103, 1959, 281 ff.

[German version] (Ἀγαπήνωρ; Agapḗnōr…

The goddess of fortune with an ancient cult in Italy; in the Republican period mostly understood as favourable chance but later conside…

[German version] Daughter of Phegeus of Psophis, possesses the necklace of Eriphyle (Paus. 2,24,8-10); also called  Arsinoe [3]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Ἀγαμήδη; Agamḗdē). Daughter of Augeias, wife of Mulius, like Medea, one with knowledge of healing herbs (Hom. Il. 11,740 f.; Eust. Dion. Per. 322). With Poseidon, mother of Belus, Actor and Dictys (Hyg. Fab. 157). Her name is suggestive (‘Great Thinker’), like the variant Perimede (‘Intense Thinker’, Theoc. 2,16; Prop. 2,4,8) or the name of Medea's mother Idyia (‘Knowing One’).…

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[German version] [1] Water monster (Ὕδρα; Hýdra, ‘water snake’). A monster, born of the monsters  Typhon and  Echidna (‘snake’) and raised by  Hera out of anger at Zeus. It lives at the spring of  Amymone in the swamps of Lerna, stealing cattle and humans until it is finally killed by  Heracles (Hes. Theog. 313-318; Diod. Sic. 4,11,5f.; Apollod. 2,77-80; Hyg. Fab. 30) despite the help of a crab sent to its aid by Hera. This killing constitutes Heracles' second deed in the canonical sequence. His lion'…

(Ἀκέστωρ; Akéstōr), ‘Healer’, literary epithet of Apollo (Eur. Androm. 900), but also anthronym (unknown Athenian: Aristoph. vesp. 1221). [German version] [1] Figure from Greek myth; Son of Ephippos of Tanagra Son of Ephippos of Tanagra, killed by Achilles (Plut. qu. Gr. 37, 299c, following a local epic). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Hero in the genealogy of the Philaedians Hero in the genealogy of the Philaedians, namely great-grandson of  Philaeus (Pherec. FGrH 3 F 2; Markell. v. Thuc. 3). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] Athenian Athenian, alleg…

(Ἀστέριος; Astérios). [German version] [1] Cretan epiclesis of Zeus A Cretan epiclesis of Zeus, attested to only in the Byzantine writers; it arose through euhemeristic interpretation of the myth of Asterion [1]. In contrast to this view, evolutionist interpretations regarded him the origin of that hero. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography H. Schwabl, s.v. Zeus I, RE 10 A, 281. [German version] [2] Sophis from Cappadocia Sophist from Cappadocia, belonged to the circle of students of Lucianus of Antioch (martyr AD 312) from whom came the spokesmen for the …

[German version] (Κισσεύς; Kisseús, from Greek κισσός, ‘ivy’, the holy plant of  Dionysus; Latin Cisseus). Name of several mythical kings associated with Thrace and Macedonia (Dionysus' supposed native land) -- the fabrication of these figures is evident. The father of  Hec…

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[German version] Play a role in Greek and Roman religion as well as in some other religious cultures. Although the meaning of the iconographically transmitted Minoan ‘cult knot’ is unclear [1], knots are a common symbolic medium of binding something, esp. in the magic and healing rituals of historical times. Thus, the knot of Hercules, depicted in the tied-up snakes on the caduceus - the staff of Hermes - is attributed with special powers of healing wounds when used for the bandage, and is said to have powers even when tied in one's everyday clothes (Plin. HN 28,63; Macrob. Sat. 1,19,16). In love magic, the knot is supposed to secure that love will last (Tib. 1,8,5; cf. Verg. Ecl. 8,78). In magic rituals, th…

(Ἱππόλυτος; Hippólytos). [German version] [1] Son of Theseus and an Amazon Son of  Theseus and an Amazon ( Antiope [2] or  Hippolyte). His mythical-literary image was shaped essentially through the H. dramas by Sophocles ( Phaedra, lost) and esp. by Euripides, the lost earlier H. Kalyptómenos (‘The Veiled H.’) and the extant H. Stephanēphóros (‘The Garlanded H.’). The point of departure for both authors is his stepmother  Phaedra's love for H., which he rejects, whereupon Phaedra accuses him of sexually pursuing her. The enraged Theseus curses H.…

[German version] (Ἑστία; Hestía). Greek goddess of the  hearth. Like  Vesta, she is a personification closely connected to her subject and cannot be separated from the ritual role of the hearth in both public and private domains. The cultic worship of the hearth probably derives from notions originating in the Indo-European period [1]. The cult of H. is generally characterized by the fact that she is addressed first in every prayer and is the first to receive a donation in every sacrifice (Pind. Nem. 11,5; Eur. Phaeton fr. 781,35; Pl. Crat. 401a).…

[German version] (Ἶφις; Îphis). Name of a series of minor heroes (genitive Ἴφιος; Íphios) and heroines (genitive Ἴφιδος; Íphidos). The ambivalence in sex is the basis for the story in …

[German version] (Κερδώ, Kerdṓ, the ‘purveyor of gain’). The wife of the Argival primordial man  Phoroneus; she has a tomb (and therefore a cult) on the agora of  Argos, next to the shrine of  Asclepius (Paus. 2,21,1). …

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[German version] (Ἠπιώνη; Ēpiṓnē). Wife of  Asclepius, with whom she had the daughters  Hygieia, Aceso, Panacea, and Aegle, and the sons  Machaon and  Podalirius (in great detail in the epigraphical paeans of Macedonius, the so-called Erythraean paean, and of Dion, CollAlex 136-139 Powell); she was reputedly a daughter of  Heracles. In contrast with the sons who in Homer are frequently referred to solely as sons of Asclepius, i.e. only indirectly linked to her, there is a close and direct link with…

[German version] (Ἔχιδνα; Échidna). Primeval female creature in the shape of a snake, introduced into Greece due to the influence of Near East narrative art and iconography (Iluyanka for the Hittites, Tiamat in Mesopotamia). In Hesiod, E. is the daughter of the sea creatures Phorcys and Ceto (Theog. 295-303) and, together with  Typhon who also often occurs in the body of a snake, mother of a series of monsters ─ of Orthrus the dog of the triple-bodied  Geryoneus, of  Cerberus, of  Hydra, of  Chimaera, of the  Sphinx (Φίξ; Phíx in Hesiod) and of the lion of  Nemea. Later authors add  Scylla (Hyg. Fab. 151) as well as the snake of the Hesperids and the eagle of  Prometheus (Apollod. 2,113; 119). Her abode is either at the edge of the known world ─ amongst the Arimoi in Lydia (Hes. Theog. 304; cf. Hom. Il. 2,783) or amongst the Scythians as whose progenitress she was regarded by the Greeks (Hdt. 4,8f.) ─ or in the Underworld (Aristoph. Ran. 473). A local story makes her into a Peloponnesian highway robber who is killed by Argus (Apollod. 2,4). In the Greek reflection of the Scythian myth of origin, she is the mother by Hercules of t…

[German version] (Ἀλεξάνωρ; Alexánōr). Healing hero with suggestive name (‘Protector of Men’, cf.  Alcon), who together with the healing god Euhamerion was venerated in the Asclepieum of Sicyon (Titane). He is included in north-eastern Peloponnesian healing mythology: th…

(Αἰγιαλεύς; Aigialeús). [German version] [1] Figure from Greek myth, Son of Adrastus Son (or father) of   Adrastus the Argive, the only epigone at Thebes who fell in battle. Father or brother of   Aegialea. A. was venerated as a hero in Pagae in Megaris (Pind. Pyth. 8,53-55; Apollod. 1,103 and passim; Hyg. Fab. 71) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Eponymous hero of Aegialea, name of part of Sicyon. also other name for Achaia Indigenous inhabitant who founds the oldest part of Sicyon, Aegialea, and gives the name Aegialus to the entire Peloponnese (Pau…

[German version] (Κρής). Eponym of the island of  Crete. The contradictory myths mirror the island's various archaic institutions and mythologems. C. is regarded as the son of Zeus and an Idaeic nymph, but also as the protector of newborn Zeus (in this context he is addressed as Curete or as the King of the  Curetes); his son is  Talos. He is an autochthonous king and the bringer of culture, but also a lawmaker like  Minos, who influenced the late Spartan lawmaker  Lycurgus as well (Ephoros, FGrH 145; Diod. Sic. 5,64,1; Steph. Byz. s.v. Κρήτη).…

[German version] Mythical founder of  Carthage; called Elissa by Phoenicians, Theiosso by Greeks, and Deido by Africans because of her wanderings (so Timaeus in FGrH 566 F 82; but see Serv. auct. Verg. Aen. 1,340). The myth to be lastingly established by Virgil (Aen. 1 and 4) is in its outlines present already in Timaeus; a far more detailed pre-Virgilian version is to be found in Pompeius Trogus (Just. Epit. 18,4-6), but as in Timaeus without mention of  Aeneas. Her father, king of Tyre, was variously called Mutto (Ti…

[German version] (Καρκάβος, Καρνάβας [ Karkábos, Karnábas] in Eust. at Hom. Il. 4,88). Founder of Zelia at Cyzicus, son of  Triopas and father of  Pandarus. He kills his cruel father and flees to Tros, the king of the Dardani, who expiates him and gives him the land of Zelia (schol. Hom. Il. 4,88). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

(Ἀλκυόνη; Alkyónē). Name of heroines attested numerous times; for instance, the wife of Meleager (Hyg. Fab. 174,7), the mother of Elephenor (Apollod. 3,11) or the sister of Eurystheus (Apollod. 2,53). In each of these cases it is unclear to what extent Alcyone coincides with either of the two well-attested figures. …

(Ἀφαρεύς; Aphareús). [German version] [1] Son of Perieres and Gorgophone Son of  Perieres and Gorgophone, daughter of Perseus. As king of the Messenians he founded Arene at Pylos, which he named after his wife, the daughter of Oebalus and his half-sister. He took in Neleus and gave him Pylos, and was initiated into the cult of the ‘Great Gods’ of Andania by Lycus, son of Pandium (Paus. 4,2,4-6); Athenian propaganda is reflected here. He also took in Tyndareos (Paus. 3,1,4). His sons Idas and Lynceus (Paus…

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