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[German version] (Ἴμβριος; Ímbrios). Son of Mentor from Pedaeum. Married to Priamus' daughter Medesicaste, he lived at his father-in-law's house from the beginning of the Trojan War. He was killed in the battle for the ships of  Teucer (Hom. Il. 13,170ff.; Paus. 10,25,9). Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] (Κέρκωπες, Kérkōpes; regarding κέρκος, ‘tail’: ‘those with tails’; used also as a swear word, cf. Diog. Laert. 9, 114). The number and names of these sons of  Theia and  Oceanus (Suda s.v. Κέρκωπες) vary; they usually appear as a pair (e.g. Olus and Eurybatus; Acmon/Aclemon and Passalus; Sillus and Tribalus). In Asia Minor their home is given as Ephesus, or on the Greek mainland as Thermopylae. The C. are elf-like proverbial scoundrels and good-for-nothings, who are very closely as…

[German version] (Κίλιξ; Kílix). Son of Telephassa and  Agenor [1], who sent him, with his brothers on the (futile) search for the kidnapped  Europa [2]. C. becomes the founder and eponym of Cilicia (Hyg. Fab. 178). C. also gains a part of Lycia, by helping Sarpedon in time of war (Apollod. 3,2ff.; Hdt. 7,91). In a later version Sarpedon, searching for his sister, is killed by his uncle C. who does not recognize him (vita Theclae PG 85, 478ff.; cf. the Song of Hildebrand). Schol. Apoll. Rhod. 2,178, citing various sources, calls C. the son of Phoenix and uncle of Agenor. Walde, Christine (Basl…

[German version] (Μνήμη/ Mnḗmē, lat. Memoria). In literary sources, starting with the Hellenistic period, personified memory, with Lethe as its counterpart (Anth. Pal. 10,67). M. is largely identical to Mnemosyne (Phil. De plantatione 129 Wendland), but is rarely more than an abstraction (cf. relief of Homer  by Archelaus [9] of Priene, where she is portrayed next to Physis, Arete, Pistis and Sophia [1]). In Ascra, the cult association of the Aloads worshipped her, together with Melete (‘diligence’)…

[German version] (Νυκτοφύλαξ/ Nyktophýlax, ‘night guard’). A nyktophýlax was a Greek daemon that appeared in the night. Altars and statues were erected to him because of his ability to cure diseases. According to Lucian's De morte Peregrini 27ff., Peregrinus (Proteus) sought to become a nyktophýlax through self-immolation. Walde, Christine (Basle)

(Λέρνος; Lérnos). [German version] [1] Aetolian Aetolian, father of Palaemonius the Argonaut, whose real father was considered to be Hephaestus (Apoll. Rhod. 1,202ff.). Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] [2] Argive Argive, son of Proetus, father of Naubolus, Argonaut (Apoll. Rhod. 1,135). Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] [3] King in the region of Lerna In a euhemeristic interpretation of Heracles' Hydra adventure king in the region of Lerna, whose castle ‘Hydra’ was set on fire by the hero (Palaephatus 38). Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] (Κόμβη; Kómbē, Lat. Combe). Daughter of the Phlian river-god Asopus and Metope; regarded since Hecataeus (FGrH 1 F 129), also called Chalcis, as the namesake of the eponymous city on Euboea (cf. Diod. Sic. 4,72; Zenob. 6,50). According to a tale recounted exclusively by Nonnus, C. was the mother of the seven Euboean Corybantes ( Couretes; Nonnus, Dion. 13,135ff.). With them she fled from her husband Socus to Crete, Phrygia, and finally Athens to  Cecrops, who killed Socus, thus enabl…

[German version] ('fear', 'terror'). Like Greek Phobos, the Latin personification of fear; its effect (often associated with Mars or the Erinyes/Erinys) is vividly embellished particularly by poets of the Imperial age (Ov. Met. 4,485f.; Stat. Theb. 3,424f.; Val. Fl. 2,204ff.). Seneca tells of the deification of P. by Tullus Hostilius [4] (fr. 33 Haase; cf. Liv. 1,27,7; Min. Fel. 25,8). Walde, Christine (Basle)

(Greek Κένταυρος, pl. Κένταυροι; Ἱπποκένταυροι; Κενταυρίδες; Kéntauros, pl. Kéntauroi; Hippokéntauroi; Kentaurídes). I. Mythology [German version] A. Definition Centaurs are four-legged  monsters consisting of man and horse, their homeland was seen as the Greek mainland, generally speaking the forested mountains of Thessaly, especially the Pholoe Range and Cape Malea. They often appear as an aggressive group of evil-doers, who cause offence especially by raping women. They challenge not only heroes (such as Hera…

[German version] In the macchia shrubland of Mediterranean countries the genus Arbutus L. of the Ericaceae family is represented by two of its total of 20 evergreen species, namely a) the ST Arbutus unedo L. (κόμαρος; kómaros) with its strawberry-like sour-tasting drupes ( arbuta Verg.  G. 3,301 and 4,181), which ripen in a year, and b) the andrachle, Arbutus andrachle L. (ἀνδράχνη; andráchn ē), spread from Greece to the east as far as the coast of the Black Sea, with small orange-yellow inedible fruits. The fruits of the arbutus, which grows as far west as the Atlantic coast of Ir…

[German version] With around 30 different species, oaks are by far the most common deciduous trees in the natural vegetation of the countries around the Mediterranean. As such, the Greeks gave them the collective Indogermanic name for a tree δρῦς ( drŷs) which was already documented in linear B, as well as special names to distinguish between them. Thus the name for the sacred oak oracle of Zeus in Dodona varies between δρῦς and φηγός ( phēgós), whilst in Latin it is consistently called quercus. This refers to the ‘Trojan oak’, Q uercus troiana [1. 385-391]. The most detailed and reliab…

[German version] I. Terminology Generic term: Greek τέχνη ῥητορική/ téchnē rhētorikḗ; from Plato onwards, the technical term is ῥητορική/ rhētorikḗ [43]; Latin: ars oratoria, ars dicendi (rhetoric as an acquired skill), or eloquentia (as an ability). Performers: Greek ῥήτωρ/ rhḗtōr (Homeric ῥήτηρ/ rhḗtēr); Latin orator (initially referring to any orator; later used in the specific context of rhetoric), rhetor (technical term for a teacher of rhetoric). Activity: Greek είρειν/ eírein (‘say’ in formal language) or more generally λέγειν/ légein (‘speak’); the Latin equivalen…

[German version] [1] Poisoner Roman family name. Name of a preparer of poison in Hor. Sat. 2,1,48, probably not identical with the one named in 2,2,67. Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [2] T., follower of Epicurus (end of 2nd cent. BC) T., follower of Epicurus, became involved in a fight with the praetor Q.  Mucius Scaevola because of his Hellenophilia in 120 BC. A. charged him unsuccessfully in 119 and was mocked for this reason by  Lucilius in the 2nd book of his Satires. Praetor and propraetor in 105-104 (107-106?) in …

[German version] I. Ancient Orient Dreams and their interpretation were a popular topic in the written tradition of the Ancient Orient and Egypt since the 22nd cent. BC. Both spontaneously experienced dreams as well as dream incubation are attested. Preserved dreams relate divine messages (in the form of theophanies). Though usually contained in literary texts [3; 5. 746; 6], they also occur in letters [1]. Dreams also contained ethical maxims and wisdom for life reflecting personal experience and st…

(Κέφαλος, Képhalos). [German version] [1] Athenian hero Athenian hero, eponym of the Attic deme  Cephale (north-west of Thoricus) and founding father of the Cephalid lineage (Pherecydes, FGrH 3 F 34; Hsch. s.v. Κεφαλίδαι). C. is regarded a) as the son of the Athenian king  Pandarus (Pandium) or of  Hermes and Herse, the daughter of Cecrops; or b) as the son of the Phocian king Deion(eus) and Diomede, the daughter of Xuthus, whereby he becomes the brother of Aenetus, Phylacus, Actor and Asteropeia. C. is an exceptional hunter with breathtaking beauty. When hunting on the slope…

(Ἰδαία; Idaía). [German version] [1] Epithet of Cybele One of many epithets of the mother of gods ( Cybele), named after her cult on the Phrygian  Ida [2] (e.g. Eur. Or. 1453; Str. 10,469). Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] [2] Nymph of the Ida mountains Nymph of Ida [2] in Phrygia, wife of the river god Scamander, mother of  Teucer, the first king in the Troad, after whom the people of the Teucri are named (Apollod. 3,139; Diod. Sic. 4,75). Zingg, Reto (Basle) [German version] [3] Daughter of Dardanus Daughter of Dardanus, great-granddaughter of [2], second wife of  Phineu…

[German version] [1] Bishop of Gabala/Syria, c. 400 The bishop of Gabala (present-day Ǧabla) in Syria who appeared from AD 401 as a preacher in  Constantinopolis. His name is primarily tied to the acrimonious conflict with Iohannes [4] Chrysostomus after the latter was nominated as ecumenical patriarch. Both were regarded as gifted preachers, and their rivalry, characterised by reciprocal slights and their open competition for the favour of Empress Aelia [4] Eudoxia, finally led to the deposition and ex…

Roman cognomen; see also Ateius, Fonteius. [German version] [1] Orator of the Augustan period Orator of the Augustan period, praised by  Seneca the Elder because of his ability -- in contrast with  Cassius [III 2] Severus -- to distinguish clearly between the demands of declamations as opposed to those of legal speeches, with regards to their tone and presentation. According to Seneca's assessment, C.'s best orations were in no way inferior to those of the tetrad of the great declamators  Latro,  Fuscus,  Alb…

(Greek εἰρωνεία, eirōneía, orig. ‘dissimulation’, Lat. simulatio, dissimulatio, illusio). [German version] I. Rhetoric Like e.g. metaphor ( Comparison), irony is classed in the rhetorical system among the tropes ( Figures) (Rhet. Her. 4,46 assigns it to allegory). While metaphor works through the similarity between what is said and what is meant, irony is characterized by a relationship of contrast ( contrarium) (Anaximen. Ars Rhetorica = [Arist.] Rh. Al. 21,1,1434a, 17f.; Quint. Inst. 8,6,54-56; Aquila Rhetor 7 p. 24,21f. H). Irony is context dependen…

[German version] [1] C., Ti. Teacher of Latin rhetoric and orator, 2nd cent. AD Teacher of Latin rhetoric and orator of high-flown speeches at the time of Antonines who was even listened to by  Gellius (13,22); befriended by  Fronto (ep. ad am. 2,2), highly regarded by  Hadrianus because of his fine education and moral attitudes. C. favoured the reading of Republican authors (Sallust, Metellus Numidicus, C. Gracchus: Gell. NA 2,27; 1,6; 11,13) is linked with the revival of old Roman virtues: Stylistic and moral judgment go hand in hand in the spirit of Cato's vir bonus, peritus dicendi; C. …