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[German version] (Δόλων/ Dólōn, cf. δόλος/ dólos, ‘guile’). Son of the Trojan herald Eumedes. During a night reconnaissance raid in the Greek camp, for which he had volunteered in order to gain Achilles' immortal horses, he fell into the hands of the Greek scouts Diomedes and Odysseus. In an (unsuccessful) bid to save his skin, he readily betrayed his own cause, which cost the life of the Trojan ally, the Thracian King Rhesus (Hom. Il. 10, so-called Doloneia, probably post- Iliad [1]; [Eur.] Rhes.). By contrast with this portrait of D. ─ for the Stoa he was the archetypical…

(Πάνδαρος; Pándaros, Lat. Pandarus). [German version] [1] Trojan troop commander Trojan troop commander, son of Lycaon (but cf. also Carcabus);Verg. Aen. 5,495-497 mentions Eurythion [5] as his brother. According to Hom. Il. 4,103 and 121, P. lived in Zelia (Troas) the contingent of which was under his command (Hom. Il. 2,824-827), whilst Hom. Il. 5,105 and (implicitly) 173 identifies Lycia (Lycii, Lycia) as his country of origin eventhough the Lycian troop contingent was led by Sarpedon and Glaucus [4] (…

[German version] (Κάλχας; Kálchas, Lat. Calchas). Son of Thestor, seer and augur for the Greeks during the Trojan War who ‘knew what is, what will be, and what was’ (Hom. Il. 1.70). To the army gathered in  Aulis awaiting departure, C. correctly prophesied, based on the flight of birds, that Troy would be defeated in the tenth year of the war (Hom. Il. 2.303ff.; Kypria argumentum p. 40 Bernabé). When the Greek fleet was prevented from departing due to lack of wind, C. explained that Artemis was ang…

(Κοπρεύς; Kopreýs). [German version] [1] Servant of Eurystheus Son of  Pelops. He transmits to  Hercules the tasks ordered by  Eurystheus, who fears personal contact. For this reason, Homer reverses the normally descending genealogical line in hero epics and refers to C. as ‘the worse father of the better son’ (Hom. Il. 15,639-641). In Eur. Heracl., C. demands in Eurystheus' name the release of the  Heraclidae, who are seeking asylum from the Attic king  Demophon [2]. According to Apollod. 2,5,1, Eurystheus had cleansed C. from a blood guilt. The name is not originally derived from kópro…

(Λίχας; Líchas). [German version] [1] Messenger of Hercules Herald of Hercules [1]; he brings Hercules the garment which Deianira, jealous of Iole, had painted with the blood of the centaur Nessus (Hes. Cat. fr. 25,20-25 M-W; Soph. Trach.; Bacchyl. 16; for possible precursors and variants, see [1]). The supposed love charm causes the death of Hercules, who, in his agony, smashes the innocent L. against a rock in the sea (Soph. Trach. 772ff.; Apollod. 2,7,7? corrupt text). Later sources (Ov. Met. 9,2…

[German version] (Θερσίτης; Thersítēs). Greek warrior at Troy. In the Iliad (Hom. Il. 2,211-277) T. is a physically deformed (the corresponding description is unique in the Iliad) and quarrelsome grumbler, hated by all for his sarcastic remarks - esp. by Achilles [1] and Odysseus. After the latter has stopped the army from returning home, T. attacks Agamemnon with arguments consciously referring to those of Achilles (Hom. Il. B. 1) but also criticizing him. Odysseus silences him by attacking him verbally and physically, …

(Ἰδαῖος; Idaîos). [German version] [1] Epithet of Zeus Epithet of  Zeus from the Ida on Crete (Eur. fr. 472 TGF; Inscr. Creticae 1,12,1) or near Troy (Hom. Il. 24,291; Verg. Aen. 7,139; in Celaenae: Plut. Mor. 306e f.) and of  Heracles as Daktylos I. and founder of the Olympic Games (Paus. 5,7,6ff.; 8,31,3; also in Elis and Erythrae: Paus. 6,23,3; 9,27,8). Willi, Andreas (Basle) [German version] [2] Son of Chryse and Dardanus Son of Chryse and  Dardanus [1] with whom he emigrates from Arcadia across Samothrace to the  Ida mountains [2], which are said to be named af…

[German version] (Τηλέμαχος; Tēlémachos). Only son of Odysseus and Penelope (cf. Telegonus). As often, the name of the son ('far fighter') reflects a characteristic of the father [1]. T. is portrayed in the Odyssey as well brought-up but uncertain and lacking initiative. He watches the activities of Penelope's suitors without feeling able to do anything about them, until Athena, in the guise of Mentes [2], encourages him to a more self-assertive demeanour (Hom. Od. 1,269-305). He summons the first …

[German version] (Λαέρτης; Laértēs). Son of Arcesius and of Chalcomedusa, husband of Anticlea, father of Odysseus (cf. the latter's patronymic, Laertiádēs, ‘son of L.’); in his various depictions, the last is the most important function of L., who has little significance of his own. The image of him in the ‘Odyssey’ is the formative one it has shaped all later representations. Before the beginning of the Trojan War, for reasons of age, L. passes his power to Odysseus. Even when Odysseus does return to assume the th…

[German version] (Θρινακίη; Thrinakíē). Mythical island, near Scylla [1] and Charybdis (Hom. Od. 12,260f.), on which the daughters of the sun god Helios (Sol) mind his sacred oxen. In vain Teiresias and Circe warn Odysseus that his and his companions' fate depends on the oxen's being unharmed (ibid. 11,110-112; 12,137-139): when Odysseus falls asleep, his starving companions, instigated by Eurylochus [1], slaughter the animals (ibid. 12,260-402), and all therefore later die, while Odysseus alone su…

(Ληόκριτος, Λειώκριτος; Lēókritos, Leiṓkritos). [German version] [1] Greek participant of the Trojan War Son of Arisbas, participates in the Trojan War on the Greek side and is killed by Aeneas [1] (Hom. Il. 17,344). Nünlist, René (Basle) [German version] [2] Suitor of Penelope A suitor of Penelope. He opposes Mentor, who speaks for Telemachus, in the public assembly, sarcastically approves his travel plans and doubts that the return of Odysseus would constitute a danger to the suitors (Hom. Od. 2,242ff.). He is killed by Telemachus during the slaying of the suitors (ibid. 22,294). Nünl…

[German version] (Ἔρις; Éris). Personification of (often warlike) strife, Latin  Discordia; in allegorical genealogy interpreted as sister of  Ares (Hom. Il. 4,441) or as daughter of  Nyx (Hes. Theog. 224ff., together with other negative ‘abstracta’). In the Iliad, E. (alone or in association with Ares and other personifications) triggers the fighting (Hom. Il. 11,3ff.; 4,439ff.). The post-Homeric Cypria make E. the person actually responsible for the Trojan War due to her instigating the judgement of Paris at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis (Cypria …

(Ἰφιάνασσα; Iphiánassa). [German version] [1] Daughter of Proetus and Stheneboea Daughter of  Proetus and  Stheneboea (Hes. fr. 129,16-24 M-W), cursed together with her sisters Lysippe and Iphinoe with madness owing to disrespect to the cult of Dionysus (Hes. fr. 131 M-W) or slander of Hera (Bacchyl. 11,40ff.). Finally, by sacrificing to Artemis Proteus makes her change Hera's mind. According to another version (Pherecydes, FGrH 3 F 114; Hdt. 9,34), the seer  Melampus heals the daughters after haggling fo…

[German version] (Λαιστρυγόνες; Laistrýgónes). A mythic and fairy-tale-like people of man-eating giants, who raise cattle but do not engage in agriculture (cf. Cyclopes). In the course of his wanderings, Odysseus lands in their country, where the sun never sets. After an initial friendly greeting of his scouts by the king's daughter, the mood shifts when they catch sight of the giant queen. The king, summoned by his wife, devours one of the Greeks, and the rest of the L. destroy the entire fleet.…

[German version] (τειχοσκοπία/ teichoskopía, ‘viewing from the walls’). Term, coined already in Antiquity (Schol. Eur. Phoen. 88), for the scene in the Iliad in which Helen (Helena [I 1]) identifies for Priamus the most important leaders of the Greek army (Agamemnon, Odysseus, Menelaus, Ajax [1], Idomeneus [1]) from the Trojan walls (Hom. Il. 3,161-244, imitated e.g. by Eur. Phoen. 88-192). The Homeric narrator has Helen observe an event happening elsewhere at the same time and present it verbally toPriam (and hence …

[German version] (Ἑκατόγχειρες, centimani = ‘hundred-handed’). Briareus (also called Aegaeon: Hom. Il. 1,403f.), Cottus and Gy(g)es (for the name forms see [1]) are powerful monsters (hundred arms, fifty heads: Hes. Theog. 147ff.), offspring of  Uranus and  Gaia. They were chained by their father and thrown into Tartarus (617ff.). Zeus frees them and, on account of their hundred arms, makes them allies in the battle with the  Titans (626ff.). The belief that the H. later guarded the defeated Titans…

[German version] (Τιθωνός; Tithōnós). Member of the Trojan royal family, grandson of Ilus [1], son of Laomedon [1] and hence a brother of Priamus. Eos, the  goddess of dawn, abducted the extremely attractive T. and makes him her lover (cf. Cephalus [1], Cleitus [1], Orion [1]). According to the Homeric formula Eos brings light in the morning, by rising from "T.' bed" (Hom. Il. 11,1 et passim). The result of their union is the Aethiopian king Memnon [1]. Eos asks Zeus for immortality for T., but neg…

(Σειρῆνες/ Seirḗnes; Latin Sirenes, Sirenae). [German version] I. Mythology Mythical female creatures who sing seductively Sirens are mythical beings (in Greek myth female) in ancient sailors' tales (the earliest evidence - admittedly without context - extends back to the Mycenaean period [1]). Their seductive song makes sailors forget their home  (cf. Lotophagi) and perish. Instructed by Circe, Odysseus outwits the Sirens: he stops the ears of his companions with wax and has himself tied to the mast with inst…

(Τυδεύς; Tydeús). [German version] [1] Son of Oeneus and Periboea Son of Oeneus and Periboea [6]. He has to leave his home after killing one of his relatives (for his motive: [1. 175]). In Argos, Adrastus [1] gives him his daughter Deipyle in marriage. In the siege of Troy, their son Diomedes [1] fights hard to match the achievements of his father in every way. As one of the Seven against Thebes, T. is part of an embassy to the city and emerges victorious from a series of contests with the Thebans. On his…

[German version] (Σχερίη; Scheríē). Land of the Phaeaces, last stop on Odysseus's wanderings. As with almost all these stops, brains have been racked over the location of S. since Antiquity. Among the numerous proposed solutions Corcyra [1] (Corfu) appears at a very early stage (Alc. fr. 441 Voigt: [1. 19]) and most frequently [2. 294]. Similarly, for the ship of the Phaeaces, turned to stone on the return from Ithaca (Hom. Od. 13,161-164), several rock formations off Corfu are plausible. All of th…