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[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.

[German version] (Ἄλκανδρος; Álkandros). Suggestive name (‘strong man’), which was given to various historical and mythical persons. Important points are: a) in the Lycurgus myth he strikes out an eye of Lycurgus in anger (aition for the cult of Athena Opilletis, Plut. Lycurgus 11,2-8; Paus. 3,18,2); b) in Lebadeia he is venerated as the son of Trophonius and as a saving hero, to whom one sacrifices before the katabasis (Paus. 9,39,5). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

[German version] (Ἀστυάναξ; Astyánax). Son of  Hector and  Andromache; called Scamandrius by his parents, and A. (‘lord of the town’) by the Trojans in honour of Hector (Hom. Il. 6,402f., 22,506f.). According to the Ilioupersis, the young A. was hurled from the walls of Troy -- the Achaeans making the decision to do this (Paus. 10. 25) -- to ensure that he could not grow up to take revenge on the conquerors (Clem. Al. Strom. 6,2,19); Stesichorus recounts the same story (fr. 25 PMG). The tragic poet used by Accius in his A. has the seer Calchas give the order to murder A. in order to g…

[German version] In the records of the   Arvales fratres of the year 183 in the lists of sacrifice receivers, Adolena, Commolenda, Deferunda appear twice (8 February, 13 May); in those of the year 224 Admetus and Coinquenda [1]. Each time the sacrifice is a lustrum missum, the one offered in the year 183 is for the removal ( deferre), splitting up ( commolere) and burning ( adolere) of the fig tree growing on the roof of the temple of Dea Dia, which was damaging the roof; the one in the year 224 is for the hacking up ( coinquere) and burning of those trees struck by lightning in the grove. Since Marini […

[German version] (ἱερομνήμονες; hieromnḗmones, singular hieromnḗmōn, ἱερομνήμων). Religious officials with wide-ranging duties. Aristot. Pol. 6,5, 1321b 35 counts them, together with mnḗmones, epistátai et al., as archives officers; Plut. Symp. 8,8,4 attests the title for the priests of  Poseidon Phytalmios in Leptis; this is an isolated instance. The copious epigraphical evidence shows that the hieromnemones in some places really were archivists, frequently organized festivals, conducted temple finances or looked after temple property; prominent hieromnemones were t…

(Ἄγριος; Ágrios), ‘the wild’. [German version] [1] Mythical Calydonian Calydonian, son of Porthaon and Eureite (Hes. fr. 10a 49; Euryte: Apollod. 1,63), brother of Melas and Oeneus (Hom. Il. 14,117; about this Alcathous Hes. fr. 10a 52 f.; cf. Apollod. loc. cit.). He dethrones Oeneus, is expelled by Diomedes and kills himself (Hyg. Fab. 175, 242); after others his sons too are the usurpers and are killed by Diomedes (Apollod. 1,77-8; Ant. Lib. 37) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Son of Odysseus and Circe Son of Odysseus and Circe, brother of Latinus and toge…

[German version] (Ἀδρανός) City deity of the Sicilian city of the same name. Founded by Dionysius I, with temple and dog sacrifice (Diod. Sic. 14,37,5; Ael. NA 11,20). According to coin evidence, A. is a river god [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 B. V. Head, Historia Numorum, 1911, 119.

[German version] (λαμπαδηδρομία/ lampadēdromía, schol. Aristoph. Ran. 131; Ionian λαμπαδηφορίη/ lampadēphoríē, Hdt. 8,98; more commonly λαμπάς/ lampás since Hdt. 6,105; Pl. Resp. 328a and inscriptions) is the cultic agōn (contest) of the torch race, which was mostly performed as a relay race. In addition there were individual races, and in the cult of Bendis at Athens, a spectacular horse race. The ritual goal of the lampadedromía was ultimately the renewal of the fire; for this reason it always began at important altars. In antiquity, this renewal was unders…

[German version] (ἐπιφάνεια; epipháneia, ‘manifestation, appearance’) refers to the manifestation of a deity in a spontaneous vision, or during an actual ritual process ( Ecstasy), as well as in stories; such appearances are the essence of superhuman beings. Because divine existence mainly manifests itself in the active help given to human beings, deities, who had been helpfully present, were from the Hellenistic period onwards denoted with the  epiclesis ‘becoming apparent’ (ἐπιφανής,   epiphanḗs , Lat. praesens). Epiphany seems to have played an important role withi…

[German version] (Ἴακχος; Íakchos). One of the deities of the Mysteries of  Eleusis [1]. I. is the personification of the ecstatic cultic cry ( íakchos, onomatopoetic) by the participants in the Mysteries during their procession from Athens to the Eleusinian sanctuary where they underwent initiation into the mysteries (Hdt. 8,65; Aristoph. Ran. 316-353). His image, which was kept in a temple of Demeter, Kore and I. by the Pompeion at the Sacred Gate (Paus. 1,2,4, probably identical with the Iaccheion Plut. Aristides 27,4), was carried ahead of this procession by the iakchagōgós (‘lead…

(Ἀρηίθοος; Arēíthoos). [German version] [1] Arcadian hero Arcadian hero whose weapon is an iron club. Nestor tells how he killed the Arcadian  Ereuthalion, who carried A.s' club;  Lycurgus had taken it from A. in a narrow pass and given it to his follower Ereuthalion (Il. 7,137-150). Pausanias saw his grave in a narrow pass near Mantinea (8,11,4). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Club-carrier from Arne Shortly prior to this, but unconnected to Nestor's story, Menesthius is mentioned as son of A. the club-carrier from Arne, who was shot by Paris (…