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[German version] (Κιναίθων; Kinaíthōn). Epic poet from Sparta, thought to have lived in the 7th or 6th cent. BC. Nothing of his works survives in the original, but testimonia indicate that their basic characteristic was the representation of genealogies. A reference in the Tabulae Iliacae names C. as the author of an Oedipodea…

[German version] (Μάρων; Márōn). Priest of Apollo in the Thracian city of Ismarus; first mentioned in the Cicones episode in the Odyssey: For being spared during a plundering raid by Odysseus' warriors, M. gives Odysseus amon…

(Κομήτης; Komḗtēs). [German version] [1] Lover of Aegiale(ia) Lover of  Aegiale(ia) wife of  Diomedes [1], the Achaean warrior at Troy. After Diomedes' return, C. tries to kill him; when Diomedes manages to save himself by …

[German version] (Μηκιστεύς; Mēkisteús). Son of the mythical king Talaus of Argos, brother of Adrastus [1]. In the ‘Iliad he is only mentioned as the victor in boxing at Oedipus' funeral games (Hom. Il. 23,678-680; likewise in Paus. 1,28,7). A passage in Herodotus (Hdt. 5,67), according to which he was killed by Melanippus together with Tydeus, indicates that his name was among the ‘Seven against Thebes’. However, Aischyl. Sept. 488 names Hippomedon [1], another son of Talaus (as does Apollod. 3,63…

[German version] (Καινεύς; Kaineús, Lat. Caeneus). The name of a Lapith ruler, father of the Argonaut  Coronus. In early Greek mythology, this figure is clearly only connected to centauromachy. Because C. is invulnerable, the  Centaurs destroy him by ramming him into the earth with trees and stones (first recorded by Pind. fr. 167). His story is later elaborated on whereby C. was originally a girl (Lat. Caenis) who was raped by Poseidon and then requests that he change her into a man (schol. Apoll. Rhod. 1.57-64a; Ov. Met. 12.169-209; 459-535).…

(Καρκίνος; Karkínos). [German version] [1] Cancer, the crab that was turned i…

[German version] (Ἑκηβόλος; Hekēbólos). Epic epithet for  Apollo in his role as an archer (Hom. Il. 1,14 et passim), for  Artemis in early Greek texts only attested in the Nikandre inscription (SEG 19, 507 5); later with a considerably widened field of reference. In antiquity understood as ‘hitting far away into the distance’ (for ἑκάς and βάλλειν) (schol. T for Hom. Il. 1,14; cf. Aesch. Eum. 628: τόξοις ἑκηβόλοισιν), more probable is a derivation from ἑκών (roughly: ‘hitting at will’). Visser, Edzard (Basle) Bibliography Frisk, s.v. H. …

[German version] (Ἴτωνος; Ítōnos). Father of  Boeotus (only in Diod. Sic. 4,67,7 his son); eponym of the town of  Iton, situated close to Coronea in Boeotia, with an important sanctuary of Athena Itonia [1]. The homonymous place and sanctuary in Thessaly (situated between Larisa and Pherae) is an important indication of the conquest and settlement of Boeotia, starting from the north, which allegedly began sixty years after the fall of Troy (Thuc. 1,12,3). I. is, however, mentioned as eponymous hero only in connection with Boeotian settlement. Visser, Edzard (Basle) Bibliography 1 Sch…

(Μενέλαος/Menélaos, Attic Μενέλεως/Menéleos; Latin Menelaus). [German version] [1] Ruler of Sparta, married to Helena A significant character in the cycle of myths about the Trojan War ( Troy: Cycle of myths). A younger brother of Agamemnon, who ruled the most significant power centre in Greek myth, Mycene, by marriage to Zeus's daughter Helen ( Helene [1]; their only child was a daughter, Hermione) M. became king of a region in the Eurotas valley with its capital Sparta and Amyclae [1], which was significant…

[German version] (Ἰλιονεύς; Ilioneús). Trojan warrior, son of a farmer by the name of Phorbas who was very wealthy due to his close connection to  Hermes; killed in battle by  Peneleus, the Minyaean prince (Hom. Il. 14,487-507). Virgil uses this name for the oldest leader of the Trojan refugees (A. 1,521 et passim). Visser, Edzard (Basle) Bibliography P. Wathelet, Diction…

(Μαρσύας; Marsýas). [German version] [1] Phrygian rivergod and Celaenae's god of protection Phrygian river god and Celaenae's god of protection, represented as satyr or silenus. The name is derived from a toponym that can be found repeatedly throughout Asia Minor and Syria; the river, at the source of which Celaenae lies, also carries this name (M. [5]). M. was considered the discoverer of flute playing ( …

[German version] (Γουνεύς; Gouneús). Leader of the 28th contingent described in the Homeric catalogue of ships (Hom. Il. 2,748-755). His territory, clearly defined by the place names Kyphos and Dodona as well as the tribal names of the Aenianes and Peraebians, comprises approximately the centre of the Pindus Massif and links Thessaly with Epirus. In the epic Kyklos, G. then only reappears in the  Nostoi; here it told of a shipwreck o…

[German version] (Γηρυονεύς; Gēryoneús; also Geryónēs, Geryṓn, Γηρυόνης, Γηρυών; Etruscan Cerun). Mythical giant with three heads and three bodies, residing on the island  Erytheia in the far west of the inhabited world (later generally identified with Gadeira/Cadiz: Hdt. 4,8, et al., in Ptolemy's Geographia 4,1,16, identified with Mauretania, euhemeristically relocated to Ambracia by Hecataeus FGrH 1 F 26), where he tends an especially splendid breed of red cattle. His father is Chrysaor, originated from Medusa, and his mother, an  Oceanid (Callirhoe). In the Greek myth, G.…

(Γανυμήδης; Ganymḗdēs, Etruscan Catmite, Latin apart from G. also Catamitus). [German version] [1] Cupbearer to Zeus In Greek mythology (main source: Hom. Il 20,231-235) the son of the Dardanian king Tros (Iliad parva 29,4 PEG I: son of Laomedon), who as the most beautiful human was abducted to the Olympus to serve Z…

[German version] (Κεστρῖνος; Kestrînos). Eponym of the Greek region of  Cestrine, previously Cammania, in southern Thesprotia opposite the island of Cercyra (Steph. Byz. s.v. Καμμανία). C. is the son of  Helenus [1] and  Andromache; after the death of Helenus, Molossus, the son of Neoptolemus and Andromache, took power in Thesprotia, as a result of which C. emigrated to Cammania; as the new ruler he gave it its name (Paus. 1,11,1f.; 2,23,6).…

[German version] [1] Oldest mythical king of Arcadia (Λυκάων; Lykáōn). Oldest mythical king of Arcadia, son of Pelasgus and of the daughter of Oceanus, Meliboea, or the mountain nymph Cyllene. L.'s sons are the founding heroes of all important Arcadian cities; his son Oenotrus, dissatisfied with his share of the inheritance, is said to have left his homeland and settled in Italy with several followers (hence the name Oenotria) (first in Pherecydes, FGrH 3 F 156). The number of 50 sons mentioned in Apollod. 3,97 is certainly stereotypical in Greek…

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[German version] (γλαυκῶπις; glaukôpis). Epic epithet. In Homer used as a metrical substitute or complementary for the name Athene, above all in the connection γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη ( glaukôpis Athḗnē). The noun μήνη ( mḗnē, ‘moon’) is also documented several times as a reference word for glaukopis (first in Empedocles, 31 B 42 Diels/Kranz). The epithet can be interpreted in two ways: either as ‘owl-eyed’ (from γλαῦξ, …

(Κηφεύς; Kēpheús). [German version] [3] see  Constellations [German version] [1] Arcadian hero…

[German version] (Κορωνός; Korōnós). Ruler of the  Lapithae, son of  Caeneus; C.'s son Leonteus, together with Polypoetes, led the contingent of the Lapiths before Troy. Homer mentions C.'s name in the catalogue of ships in order to give prominence the little-known Leonteus; in earl…

[German version] (Κάρμη; Kármē). By Zeus the mother of the Cretan local goddess Britomartis, who according to Paus. 2,30,3 and Diod. Sic. 5,76 is to be equated with  Dictynna. C. is the daughter of Eubulus and granddaughter of Carmanor [1], one of the close companions of Apollo, who atones him of the killing of the python; her mother is  Demeter. According to another genealogy, C. descends from the Agenor-son Phoenix and the Arabius-daughter Cassiopeia (Antoninus Liberalis 40). In view of these con…

[German version] (Κάνθος; Kánthos). Argonaut from Euboea, in Apollonius Rhodius the son of Canethus, the eponym of a Euboean mountain, and grandson of Abas [1c], the eponym of the whole island under its old name Abantis (1,77). In Valerius Flaccus, C. is the son of Abas. C. scarcely makes an appearance in the story of the Argonauts, only his death in battle - either on the return journey in Libya (Apoll. Rhod. 4,1485-1501: he is the only one of the Argonauts to fall in battle there; cf. Orph. Arg. 141-143), or in Colchis fighting the Iazyges (Val. Fl. 6,317-341) is described in some detail. Visser…

[German version] (Ἰάλμενος; Iálmenos). Son of  Ares and  Astyoche. Along with his twin brother  Ascalaphus [2], he led the Minyan contingent at Troy (Hom. Il. 2, 511), and is therefore also mentioned as a suitor of  Helen (Apollod. 3,130). After the capture of Troy, he makes his home in the Crimean region with Minyan settlers (Pherecydes, FGrH 3 F 143; Str. 9,2,42). Like his brother, I. was probably a figure of pre-Iliadic myth. Visser, Edzard (Basle) Bibliography W. Kullmann, Die Quellen der Ilias, 1960, 70f. Kamptz, 252. …

[German version] (Κάμπη; Kámpē). Gigantic jaileress who stands guard in  Tartarus over the  Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires, monsters with one hundred hands. In the Titanomachy, Zeus follows the advice of Gaia and kills C. (according to Diod. Sic. 3.72.3 she is killed by Dionysus near the Libyan city of Zabrina) so that the former prisoners can support Zeus (Apollod. 1.6); a detailed description of C. as a sort of dragon (starting with the appellative meaning ‘caterpillar’) can be found in Nonnus, Dion. 18.236-264. Visser, Edzard (Basle) Bibliography W. Kroll, s.v. K., RE 10, 1842.

[German version] (γαιήοχος; Gaiēochos). Ep. epithet meaning ‘earth shaker’, used in Homer as a metric substitute or complimentary cognomen for Poseidon (especially in conjunction with γαιήοχος ἐννοσίγαιος; gaiēochos ennosígaios). Only late antique texts extend the reference of gaieochos beyond Poseidon to Zeus (Opp. Hal. 1,74) and Oceanus (Quint. Smyrn. 2,208). In antiquity, it was generally understood as a composite of γαῖα and ἔχειν (etymologically not tenable) or ὀχεῖσθαι (either in the form of the earth carrying Poseidon as a r…

(Μάγνης; Mágnēs). [German version] [1] Eponymous ruler of the central Greek territory of Magnesia Eponymous ruler of the central Greek region of Magnesia. His origins are variously described; the oldest reference (Hes. Cat. 7) calls him a son of Zeus and Thyia, daughter of Deucalion and a native of Pieria. Here Macedon, the mythical progenitor of the Macedonians, is referred to as his brother; accordin…

Visser, Edzard (Basle) [German version] A. Foundation (1923-1925) (CT) The foundation of the Istituto di Studi Romani (ISR) in 1925 was inextricably linked with contemporary Fascist cultural policies. In his plans, C. Galassi-Paluzzi (1893-1972), founder of the ISR and later its president (1934-1944), followed the views of the philosopher G. Gentile, Minister for Pubblica Istruzione (1922-1924) and Fascist Italy's leading intellectual. Gentile's policy can be described as a 'nationalization' of instruction, culture and science. His aim was an exten…

[German version] (Γανυμήδα; Ganymḗda). Female deity in Phleius, patroness of prisoners, later equated with  Hebe because of the linguistic similarity to  Ganymede, the cup-bearer of the gods. The only source is Paus. 2,13,3f. Visser, Edzard (Basle)

(Νέστωρ; Néstōr). [German version] [1] Son of Nesleus Important figure in Greek mythology, particularly in the legend of the Trojan War. N. represents the aging warrior who has lost some of his former physical strength but due to his wealth of experience fulfills an important function in the group of leaders and in the Greek army. N. is the son of Neleus (thus his fixed epithet Neleid [Νηλεΐδης; Nēleΐdēs]) and of Chloris [4]. He has two brothers by the names of Chromius and Periclymenus, who are of no mythological significance, and a sister Pero who appears to have as many suitors as Helena [1] and is supposed to only marry a man who had distinguished himself in the theft of cattle (Hom. Od. 11,281-297). N. rules over a territory on the western Peloponnesus with the capital of  Pylus. Since Antiquity knew of three dif…

(Λυκοῦργος/ Lykoûrgos, ep. Λυκόοργος/ Lykóorgos, Lat. Lucurgus, Lycurgus). [German version] [1] Son of Dryas…

(Ὀδυσσεύς, Latin Ulixes, Etruscan utuze). [German version] I. Mythology Son of Laertes and Anticlea, husband of Penelope, father of Telemachus. One of the central figures of Greek mythology; in Homer's Odyssey, the focus of a major Archaic epic. This fact alone indicates the significance of the figure of  O., which contrasts with the other figures of Greek heroic myth through the emphasis on special intellectual abilities. Thus, he represents an archetype in the history of European thought; his presence in later literature and art, not just in Antiquity, is correspondingly extensive. Visser, Edzard (Basle) [German version] …

[German version] (Κασσιφόνη, Kassiphónē, ‘Fratricide’). Daughter of  Odysseus and of  Circe, therefore sister of  Telegonus. C. is mentioned in description at Lycoph. 807ff.; the name itself is mentioned only in the Commentary of Tzetzes. This figure is probably a late classical or Hellenistic invention, intended to expand the structure of Telegonia: there Telegonus, whom he does not know,…

[German version] (Ἕλλην; Héllēn). Eponymous progenitor of the Hellenes, therefore of the entirety of the inhabitants of Greece; the individual tribes took their names from H.'s sons and grandsons  Dorus,  Xuthus (father of  Ion …

[German version] (Ὕρτακος; Hýrtakos). Named in the Trojan allies' catalogue of the Iliad as father of Asius, who was the ruler over Arisbe at the Hellespont (Hom. Il. 2,835-839). H. himself only appears in Asius' patronymic information; his name is possibly to be connected with a Cretan town by the name of Hyrtacina. A hero of the same name appears in Virgil's Aeneid as the father of Nisus (Verg. Aen. 9,176f.). Visser, Edzard (Basle) Bibliography Kamptz, 313f. P. Wathelet, Dictionnaire des Troyens de l'Iliade, 1988, no. 325.

(Ἵππασος; Híppasos). Name often used in epic texts for figures lacking any further characterization, particularly common in patronymic information about less important heroes. Esp. interesting in this context are [1] - [4]: [German version] [1] Father of Actor, the Argonaut  Father of Actor, the Argonaut (Apoll. Rhod. 1,112; Hyg. Fab. 14). Visser, Edzard (Basle) …