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[German version] (Ἰδυῖα/ Idyîa, also Εἰδυῖα/ Eidyîa, ‘the knowing one’).  Oceanid (Hes. Theog. 352), wife of  Aeëtes, mother of  Medea (Hes. Theog. 960; Soph. fr. 546 TrGF; Apoll. Rhod. 3,243; Lycoph. 1024; Cic. Nat. D. 3,48; Ov. Epist. 17,232; Apollod. 1,129; Hyg. Fab. 25) and of  Chalciope [2], only in Tzetz. Lycoph. 798, 1024, mother of  Apsyrtus [1] as well. Ambühl, Annemarie (Groningen)

(Ἴδη; Ídē, Lat. Ida). [German version] [1] Nymph of the Ida mountains in the Troad Eponymous nymph of the  Ida mountains [2] in the Troad (Ps.-Plut. 13,3 = GGM 2,652), in Vergil (A. 9,177), mother of  Nisus, and a huntress; image with caption on the coins of Scamandria and Scepsis [1]. Ambühl, Annemarie (Groningen) [German version] [2] Nymph of the Cret. Ida Eponymous nymph of the Cretan  Ida [1], daughter of Melisseus/Melissus or of Corybas, mother of the  Daktyloi Idaioi by Dactylus (schol. Apoll. Rhod. 1,1129) or Zeus (Stesimbrotus FGrH 107 F 12). Accor…

[German version] (Ὠκεανίδες/ Ōkeanídes, older form Ὠκεανῖναι/ Ōkeanînai, Lat. Oceanitides). Daughters of Oceanus and of Tethys, of whom Hesiod lists the 41 eldest by name while their total number like that of their brothers, the rivers, amounts to 3,000 (Hes. Theog. 346-370). Additional O. catalogues are to be found in Hom. H. 2,418ff.; Orph. fr. 49,21ff.; Apollod. 1,8; Hyg. Fab. praef. 6; Hyg. Fab. 182; Verg. G. 4,334ff. Occasional O. are probably old deities of the Underworld [1] like Styx, the oldest …

[German version] (ἅλιος γέρων; hálios gérōn, ‘Old Man of the Sea’). Old sea deity, originally without a name of his own, later identified with  Nereus,  Proteus,  Phorcys and  Glaucus, with whom he shares the characteristics of old age, gift of prophecy, and ability to change shape [1; 2]. In the Iliad, Halios geron (HG) appears as the father of  Thetis and the  Nereids (Hom. Il. 1,358; 538 = 556; 18,141; 20,107; 24,562; Hom. Od. 24,58), but he is not explicitly equated with Nereus until Hesiod (Theog. 234; 1003; cf. schol. Pind. Pyth. 9,164 Drach…

[German version] (Σελλοί/ Selloí). Inhabitants of Dodona, priests of the oracle of Zeus there. The S. appear as early as in Homer as its interpreters (Hom. Il. 16,234 f.; cf. Soph. Trach. 1166 f.; Callim. H. 4,286; Callim. Fr. 186,14). Their attributes (not washing their feet and sleeping on the ground) suggest a ritual connexion with the earth. The archaic priesthood of the S. later passed to the female Peleiades (Str. 7,7,12). As a variant name Helloí is recorded (ScholiaIl 16,234; Pind. Fr. 59; Callim. Fr. 675; Str. 7,7,10); it is often assumed that there is an ety…

[German version] (Ἑσπερίδες; Hesperídes, Latin: Hesperides). According to Hesiod (Theog. 215f.; 275), clear-voiced daughters of Night ( Nyx), who guard the golden apples on the far side of Oceanus. Genealogy (parents: Nyx and Erebus, Atlas, or Hesperus; Phorcys and Ceto), number (three to seven) and names (Aegle, Erythea, Hesperethusa: Hes. fr. 360 M.-W.; Hespere, Erytheis, Aegle: Apoll. Rhod. 4,1427f.) vary in the ancient sources. The Garden of the H., where the dragon  Ladon guarded the tree with t…

[German version] (Γαλήνη / Galḗne, ‘calmness of the sea’).  Nereid in Hes. Theog. 244; according to the Euhemerist Mnaseas, daughter of Ichthys and Hesychia (FHG 3 155,33). As embodiment of the sea's brighter aspect, G. smoothes the waves in Anth. Pal. 5,156 (Meleager) and 7,668 (Leonidas) as well as in Lucian 5. ‘Conversation of the sea-gods’. An epigram by Adaeus (Anth. Pal. 9,544) describes a cameo of Tryphon with the portrait of G. that, however, cannot be unequivocally identified with extant m…

[German version] (Θειοδάμας/ Theiodámas; Lat. Theodamas, Thiodamas). King of the Dryopes, who were driven from their homeland by Heracles [1]; father of Hylas. A connexion is made in Hellenistic literature between T. and the resettlement of the brigand Dryopes in the Peloponnese (Bacchyl. Paean 4; Hdt. 8,43; 8,47; Diod. Sic. 4,37) - perhaps following Hesiod's Kḗykos gámos ('the wedding of Ceyx', Hes. fr. 263-269; [1]): in Apollonius Rhodius (1,1211-1219) as a pretext for war Heracles provokes a conflict over the ploughing bull of T., a poor farmer, w…

[German version] (Γλαυκονόμη; Glaukonómē).  Nereid at Hes. Theog. 256 and Apollod. 1,11. Her name means ‘she who lives/rules in the glossy (γλαυκός; cf.  Glauce) sea’ [1]. For the word formation, cf. the names Amphinome: ‘she who rules widely’ and Eurynome: ‘she who rules for miles around’ (Hom. Il. 18,44; 398f.). Ambühl, Annemarie (Groningen) Bibliography 1 G. Herzog-Hauser, s.v. Nereiden, RE 17, 15.

[German version] (Λοξώ; Loxṓ). Hyperborean woman ( Hyperborei); mentioned in Callim. H. 4,292 as the third daughter of Boreas, aside from Upis ( Opis) and Hecaerge [4], who brought gifts to Delos and are buried there (accordingly Nonnus, Dion. 5,489; 48,334). The name connects her with Apollo Loxias. Ambühl, Annemarie (Groningen)

(Ἑκαέργη). [German version] [1] Epithet of Artemis Epithet of  Artemis (Clem. Al. Strom. 5,8,48,4f.; EpGr 460,6). Baudy, Gerhard (Constance) [German version] [2] Maiden active in the cult of Artemis A mythical maiden named Aspalis Ameilete H., from the city of Melite in Thessaly, active in the cult of  Artemis. Because she hanged herself in order to escape being raped by the tyrant Tartarus, the virgins made an annual sacrifice to her by hanging a young goat (Nikander in Antoninus Liberalis 13). Baudy, Gerhard (Constance) [German version] [3] Kore from the island of Ceos A kore from the …

(Φόρκυς/ Phórkys, Latin Phorcus, Phorcys, Phorcyn). [German version] [1] Sea god Sea god, son of Pontus and Gaia, brother of Nereus (Hes. Theog. 237; in Orph. Fr. 16 son of Oceanus and Tethys, in Orph. Fr. 114 Titan); with his sister Ceto he fathered monsters (Phorcydes) such as the Graeae, Gorgons (Gorgo [1]), Echidna and the snake Ladon [1] (Hes. Theog. 270-303; 333-336); according to others he was also the father of the Sirens (Soph. fr. 861 TrGF), the Hesperides (schol. Apoll. Rhod. 4,1399d), Scylla (Apoll. Rhod. 4,828f. with schol.) and Thoosa (Hom. Od. 1,71f.). In the Odyssey, where a…

(Κόροιβος; Kóroibos). [German version] [1] Hero founder of Tripodiscus in the Megaris Hero founder of Tripodiscus in the Megaris. The legend is told in Callim. Fr. 26-31 in connection with an Argive aition according to the local historians Agias and Dercylus (FGrH 305 F 8 to) [1]:  Linus, the son of Apollo and  Psamathe, is torn apart by dogs, and Psamathe is killed by her father  Crotopus. As a punishment Apollo sends a child-murdering demon, the Poineḗ or   Ker , to Argus. When the brave C. kills the monster, the god sends a further plague, whereupon…

[German version] [1] Mythical seer from Lesbos (Πρύλις; Prýlis). Mythical seer from Lesbos, apostrophized in Lycoph. 219-223. P. is son of the nymph Issa and Hermes (called Kádmos/Cadmus, in the Boeotian variant of the name, in line 219) and through Hermes, great-grandson of Atlas [2]. Prompted by presents from Palamedes [1], P. reveals to the Greeks in an early stage how to capture Troy, advising them to build the wooden horse. He is referred to as one who "helped to destroy his own kindred" in line 222 because the Troja…

(Τρίτων/ Trítōn, Latin Triton). [German version] [1] Sea deity Sea deity with the upper body of a human and the tail of a fish, sometimes also as an ichthyocentaur with the forelegs of a horse (Tzetz. Lycophr. 34; 886), son of Poseidon and Amphitrite (Hes. Theog. 930-933), who stirs up the waters with his conch shell and calms them again (Verg. Aen. 10,209-212; Ov. Met. 1,330-342). Like the related sea gods  Glaucus [1], Halios geron, Nereus, Phorcys [1] and Proteus, T. in particular is a figure of liter…

(Ὦπις/ Ôpis, Οὖπις/ Oûpis). [German version] [1] Epithet of Artemis In Ephesus an epithet of Artemis, derived in antiquity from her companion O. [2] (Callim. H. 3,204 with scholia; Antimachus fr. 99 Matthews [1]; Macrob. Sat. 5,22; different in Cic. Nat. D. 3,58). Ambühl, Annemarie (Groningen) [German version] [2] Hyperborean Hyperborean woman (Hyperborei), whose tomb on Delos was worshipped in cult (Hdt. 4,35). She is mostly mentioned along with Hecaerge [4] (Paus. 1,43,4; 5,7,8; Pl. Ax. 371a); in Callim. H. 4,292 Loxo is also added. O. was cl…

(Ὠκεανός/ Ōkeanós, Latin Oceanus). [German version] I. Myth Divine representative of the world river, later world sea, that flows in a ring around the earth. In Homer's Iliad O. lives with his wife Tethys on the boundaries of the earth (Hom. Il. 14,200ff.) and is the only god who does not take part in the meeting on Olympus (ibid. 20,7). He is the origin of the gods and of absolutely everything (ibid. 14,201 = 302; 246); from him flow the seas, the rivers, the springs and the wells (ibid. 21,195ff.). Nevertheless he is subordinate to the power of Zeus (ibid. 14,244-248; 21,198f.). Hera's tale of…