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[German version] ἀλληγορία ( allēgoría; first documented as a rhetorical term in Cic. Att. 2,20,3), from ἀλληγορέω ( allēgoréō; ‘I say something other [than I mean]’); Lat. translatio, inversio, immutatio, permutatio. In rhetoric, allegory does not refer to a hermeneutical method ( Allegorical poetry,  Allegoresis). Instead, rhetoric deals with the production of allegories and with their effectiveness as a strategy of argumentation (  argumentatio ). However, the rhetorical treatment of allegory also faces fundamental questions of languag…

[German version] (Πολύμνια/ Polýmnia, less often Πολυύμνια/ Polyýmnia, one 'with many songs' or 'polyphonic choral song'; cf. Diod. Sic. 4,7,2 ff.). One of the nine canonical Muses, seldom mentioned individually in verse (Ov. Fast. 5,9-54). Despite her unambiguous name, her sphere of activity is non-specific and multifaceted. In Horace (Carm. 1,1), P. is to be understood as a Muse who immortalizes great matters with great songs. She is known as the inventor of the lyre (schol. Apoll. Rhod. 3,1-5a) and …

(Κένταυρος; Kéntauros). [German version] [1] Father of the centaurs According to Pind. Pyth. 2,21ff. son of  Ixion and  Nephele (the supposed Hera). C. fathers the  centaurs with the mares of Pelion (Diod. Sic. 4,70). Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] [2] Ship According to Virgil (Aen. 5,122; 10,195), name of a ship with the figure of a centaur. Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] [3] Constellation The constellation C., usually identified with  Chiron or  Pholus. Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] (πάθος/ páthos, i.a. 'passion', Latin. i.a. perturbatio animi, affectus), provoking emotion for the purpose of persuasion, occupies a central position in all major ancient and aesthetic literary works (catharsis). The first reference text is Aristotle's Rhetoric [6], which posits that the audience is convinced in three ways: through ethos (ethical self-presentation of the speaker), pathos (the presentation of the subject matter in a way calculated to produce an emotional response from the listener) and logos (logic…

[German version] A. Memoria as part of the rhetorical system In Graeco-Roman antiquity, a speech was supposed to be delivered from memory, i.e. without written aids (exception: Cicero's speech to the Senate on his return from exile; he merely prefaced it with some improvised words of thanks, Cic. Planc. 74). Recall of phrases, thoughts, and arguments of the rhetorical system were also indispensable for the orator: memoria, the ‘treasure-house of recollection’, is the foundation of every form of rhetoric (Cic. Inv. 1,9; Rhet. Her. 3,28). On that basis, memory is one of the five  partes or…

[German version] (Latin 'old age'; Greek Γῆρας/ Gḗras). Daughter of Erebus and Nyx/Night (Cic. Nat. D. 3,17,44), personification of old age (Hor. Epod. 8,4), often mentioned in connection with illnesses and human suffering (cf. Sen. Epist. 108,28: “senectus enim morbus est”): Verg. Aen. 6,275; Sen. Herc. f. 696; Sil. Pun. 13,583 et passim. Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] Daughter of Hippomenes [2]. Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] (Κέραμβος, Kérambos). Son of Euseirus (son of Poseidon) and the nymph Eidothea; a shepherd on the Othrys, he invents the panpipes and the lyre, and his playing sets the nymphs dancing. He does not follow Pan's advice to flee from the imminent, icy cold winter. C. and his flock freeze to death under the mass of snow. The nymphs transform him into a beetle with long feelers resembling a lyre (Antoninus Liberalis 22; Cerambyx: stag beetle; cf. Hsch. s.v. Κεράμβυξ). However Ovid in con…

[German version] (Κάμβλης; Kámblēs, also Κάμβης; Kámbēs). Mythological king of Lydia. His insatiable appetite (perhaps caused by poison given to him by his enemies) drives him to cannibalism. Driven mad by hunger, he devours even his own wife. Upon waking the next morning with the rest of her hand in his mouth and realizing what he had done, he kills himself (Xanthus, Lydiaca, fr. 12., FHG vol. I, 36ff.; Nicolaus of Damascus FGrH 2 A 90 F 28; Ael. VH 1,27). Walde, Christine (Basle)

Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] A. Definition and Historical Overview of the Development of the Genres of Speech (CT) Already in the epics of Homer, the Attic tragedies, among historiographers and in philosophy, the prominent areas of public speech become crystallised in reflection, however sublimated, of socio-cultural reality: speeches of advice, defence and accusation, epitaphs and encomia. Yet it was Aristotle, in his Rhetoric (Book I), who created the first reference text, influential to this day, of a canonic threefold division of the genres of speech (Greek: génē …

[German version] (Κέλμις, Kélmis; older form evidently Σκέλμις in Callim. Fr. 100,1 Pf. and Nonnus, Dion. 14,39; 37,164). One of the  Daktyloi Idaioi skilled in the blacksmith's craft. Proverbially, C. ἐν σιδήρῳ (Zenob. 4,80) according to a passage in the Sophoclean satyr play Kōphoí (TGF, fr. 337 N.2) is used to describe excessively power-conscious persons. C., who is the playmate of the boy Zeus in Ovid (Met. 4,281f.), is transformed into steel because he reviles Rhea. Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] ('Lack of clarity' sc. of expression); corresponds with the Greek noun σκότος ( skótos, 'darkness') with the adjective σκοτεινός ( skoteinós); ἀσάφεια ( asápheia, 'unclearness'). Obscuritas is a central term in ancient rhetorical and literary-aesthetic discussions. For the Greeks, obscuritas has a positive connotation in the context of solemn inspirational mantic art and oracles in particular, but as a quality of the language of poetry , it is a matter of controversy. In the Frogs of Aristophanes, the archaic-obscure Aeschylus and the modern-perspicuous …

(Θάλεια/ Tháleia, Θαλία/ Thalía, Lat. Thalia; related to the Greek θάλλειν/ thállein, ‘to sprout, grow, thrive’, esp. in reference to fruit trees; cf. Diod. Sic. 4,7). Hesiod counts T. among (1) the Muses, (2) the Nereids and (3) the Charites; generally, she is related to the realm of fertility. Later literary references show a deliberately vague distinction between Muses and Charites. [German version] [1] Muse One of the Muses (Hes. Theog. 77), associated with comedies (e.g. Anth. Pal. 9,504; attribute: comic theatre mask; ‘the light muse’, cf. T.-Theater, Hamburg) as well as mi…

(λαβύρινθος; labýrinthos, labyrinthus). [German version] A. The concept The term ‘labyrinth’ denotes in current usage either the labyrinth in the narrow sense; or in the broad sense, any maze or confusing, large building (especially since the Hellenistic period as a motif in literature or in the pictorial arts); or else in a figurative sense, it is used as a metaphor or allegory for the vagaries and deceptions of human life. This last sense can increasingly be observed after the 3rd cent. AD. Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] B. The labyrinth in the narrow sense The labyrinth in …

[German version] (Greek Κύκλωπες; Kýklōpes, singular Κύκλωψ; Kýklōps, Latin Cyclopes, singular Cyclops; etymology see below). C. is the term used to describe about 18 groups or individual figures in Greek myth who differ not just in their descent and location but also in their outward form and characteristics. As early as antiquity, Hellanicus (FGrH 4 F 88) was the first to undertake systematization and to attempt to trace them back to a single ancestor, Cyclops, son of  Uranus and/or the king of Thrace (Schol. Eur. Or. 965). People distinguished in particular between: 1. the C. w…

Terminology: Greek μεταμόρφωσις ( metamórphōsis; ‘transformation’); Latin transfiguratio, mutatio, with the verbs mutare, refigurari, transformare. [German version] A. Definition Metamorphoses are specific types of myths, particularly widespread in Ancient Greece, whence they found their way into Roman literature. Two types may be distinguished: (1) temporary transformations of gods (for instance Zeus in various erotic adventures), magicians, or tricksters for deceptive purposes, etc.; (2) lasting transformations …

[German version] (Greek Κλείω; Kleíō, Latin Clio; on the etymology from κλεός, ‘fame’ cf. Diod. Sic. 4,19; Plut. Symp. 9,14; Cornutus 14). One of the Muses ( Muses; Hes. Theog. 77); as a nymph of the springs (Plut. De Pyth. or. 17,402c-d) or an  Oceanid (Verg. G. 4,341), C. is also a goddess of the waters, which is frequently associated with poetic inspiration [1]. Since Pindar (e.g., Pind. Nem. 3, 1-2; Pind. Ep. 3,3; 12,1-29; Pind. Ol. 2,1-2; cf. Hor. Carm. 1,12,2) and Bacchyl. (3,1-3; 12,1-3; 13,9,2…

[German version] (ἀντίθετον, ἀντίθεσις; antítheton, antíthesis), contrapositum, contentio, assigned to the list of conceptual and verbal figures, but also part of rhetorical argumentation as such. It is therefore relevant for the theory of expression (rhetoric) as well as for the theory of cognition and contemplation (dialectics, e.g. in Heraclitus: war and peace as opposites). Antithesis creates a semantic broadening through a critically-dividing or a mediating juxtaposition of two (or more) words, wo…

(μεταφορά/ metaphorá, ‘transference’; Latin loan translation: translatio). [German version] A. Definition of the problem and its classification in the rhetorical system The discussion of metaphor and other forms of figurative speech, which today is taking place with great emphasis in various fields (linguistics, neurophysiology, psychology, and philosophy), has its origin in Aristotle, who dealt with metaphor in the ‘Poetics and ‘Rhetoric. In keeping with these origins, metaphor finds its place in the rhetorical sys…

[German version] Roman tragedy by an unknown author, handed down in the corpus of  Seneca's tragedies. This drama, the longest in antiquity (1996 v.), has been subject to highly controversial assessments, mostly depending on whether Seneca's authorship is accepted or rejected (extremes [1] and [2], mediating [3]). The subject, the events leading up to the death of Hercules and his apotheosis, is treated originally, despite artistic and intelligent  intertextuality with Soph. Trach., Ovid (Epist. 9 and Met. 9) and to Seneca's Hercules Furens. The stylization of Hercules as sav…

[German version] (Κέρβερος, Kérberos). A guard dog that belongs to the standard repertoire of the Graeco-Roman  Underworld who signals and prevents any unauthorized entry into, or departure from, the realm of the dead. He often appears at the side of  Hades and/or  Persephone. In the Hellenistic age C. in a changed form was also associated with the god  Sarapis (Macrob. Sat. 1,20,13-14). C. is mentioned for the first time -- although without a name or any more detailed description -- in Homer in connection with the adventures of  Hercules in the Underworld…

(Κελαινώ, Kelainṓ, of κελαινός/‘dark’). [German version] [1] Lover of Poseidon One of the  Pleiades (Hes. fr. 275,2 Rzach; Ov. Fast. 4,173), by Poseidon mother of Lycus (Apollod. 3,111; Eratosth. Katasterismoi 23) and of Nycteus (Hyg. Poet. Astr. 2,21). Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] [2] One of the Harpies One of the  Harpies living with the Strophades, who predicts to the Aeneads that they would devour their tables before the founding of the city (Verg. Aen. 3,209-258; cf. Val. Fl. 4,453ff.). Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] (Μορφεύς). One of the many sons of Hypnus (of ‘Sleep’, Latin Somnus) who personify the dream life of people. With his brothers Icelus and Phantasus M. is responsible for the realistic form of dream images. M., who appears to Alcyone in the form of her dead husband Ceyx, in particular, became proverbial in the tradition of Ovid (‘lie in M.'s arms’). The ‘dream artists’, mentioned only by Ovid (Met. 11,633-676) in his description of the caves of sleep localised in Cimmeria, are amon…

[German version] (Μνημοσύνη/ Mnēmosýnē, Latin Moneta; Liv. Andronicus, Odusia fr. 21 Morel-Büchner-Blänsdorf). Goddess of memory (cf. Mneme). As a daughter of Uranus and Gaia M. belongs to the oldest generation of Titans (Hes. Theog. 135), who represent cosmic and social concepts. After spending nine nights with Zeus, she became the mother of the nine Muses who bring human beings joy and temporary light-heartedness (Hes. Theog. 54 ff.; Pind. Nem. 7,15; Pind. Isthm. 6,75). Parallels to Zeus’s other lo…

(Greek Μοῦσαι/ Moûsai, Latin Musae; Camenae: see below; etymology contentious [3. 7f.]; ancient attempts at a solution, e.g. Pl. Crat. 406a; Diod. Sic. 4,7,3-4; Etym. M. 589,40; further details [3. 5f.]). [German version] A. General The M. are a specific of the religion and of the cultural self-conception of the Greeks. Far from being mere personifications of the arts, they are rather the expression of the capacity, granted to man alone, for self-reflection and taking a place in history. As goddesses of memoria (memory and the means of remembering, the…

[German version] (from Greek παράλληλοι/ parállēloi, 'standing or lying side-by-side'). As a transpositional figure of speech (Figures) parallelism, like hyperbaton, antithesis and chiasmus, is part of embellished speech ( ornatus). It designates (at least two) coordinated sentence units of equal rank that relate to one another and also deviate from normal word order (Quint. Inst. 9,3,80f.). If the number of syllables in the words and the length of the two sentence units are identical, this is called isokolon; if they are approximately equal, the term used is parison. In order to…

[German version] (Κάλχος; Kálchos). King of the Daunians ( Daunia), lover of  Circe prior to the arrival of Odysseus. Because he continues to importune her against her will, she drives him to madness with enchanted food and drink. As a Daunian army begins looking for him, Circe releases him from her spell, but only after C. promises never to set foot on her island again (Parthenius 12). Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] The term was coined by the Neapolitan humanist G. Pontano (14th cent.) for the frequent repetition of the same consonant (also, vowel in initial position) or of the same syllable in a word group. However, the phenomenon of alliteration was already known in the practical use of ancient rhetoric (it corresponds to a positively understood homoeoprophoron, related to paronomasia). Alliteration results in a closer linking of sentence parts and creates a mnemotechnical effect (e.g. in Germanic alliteration). It is used most often in aphorisms (Suet. Iul. 37,2: veni, vidi…

[German version] (Greek σιγή/ sigḗ, σιωπή/ siōpḗ and associated verbs; Latin silentium, taciturnitas, quies and associated verbs). Even though Graeco-Roman Antiquity bears the stamp of a culture of speech (Rhetoric), many testimonies from ancient literature, religion, philosophy, medicine and general understanding betray a high awareness of the importance of silence, which had its own forms of expression and performance [2; 4; 12]. Programmatic statements on silence are found throughout Antiquity, e.g. in Pi…

[German version] (Φωσφόρος/ Phōsphóros, 'bringer of light'; also Ἑωσφόρος/ Heōsphóros, 'bringer of dawn'; Latin Lucifer [1], cf. Cic. Nat. D. 2,53). Term for the planet Venus as a light-bringing human-friendly morning star, which is identical - as was recognised at an early stage - to the evening star Hesperos (Parmenides, 28 A 1 DK; Pl. Epin. 987b). In mythology, however, the idea of two stars always remained: here P., like Hesperos, is a son of the dawn Eos and the Titan Astraeus (He…

[German version] (Κητεύς; Kēteús). Mythical king in Arcadia, son of  Lycaon; according to Pherecydes in Apollod. 3,7,2 also the father of  Callisto. Walde, Christine (Basle)

[English version] The multi-voiced discourse conducted within Graeco-Roman Antiquity regarding dreams and dream interpretation in religion, literature, everyday life, philosophy, divination/mantic art and medicine shows clear signs of cultural determination [19]. Despite striking breaks with tradition - above all through Christianity - a relatively high degree of continuity in dream discourses can be observed since Antiquity [18]. Among other things, this is probably owing to the fact that the anc…

[German version] Factual poem in 185 Latin hexameters, dealing in alphabetical order with rhetorical  figures; it was designed as an aide-mémoire in the teaching of rhetorics. It was evidently based on  Rutilius Lupus and  Alexander [25], son of Numenius. As a rule, three lines are offered per figure (the Greek designation, one line for the Latin definition, two lines of examples from Greek and Latin classics). The writer is anonymous (the addressee Messius is perhaps identical with Arusianus Messius); the late Lat…

[German version] (τρόποι/ trópoi; singular τρόπος/ trópos, rhetorical term, literally 'turn', from τρέπεσθαι/ trépesthai, 'to turn'; the original technical term was metaphorá, which later acquired its more preicse meaning: Aristot. Poet. 21,7,1457b; Latin verbum translatum: Quint. Inst. 8,3,24, translatio or tropus [1. 205-208]). In rhetoric, tropes have their place in the category of elocutio / ornatus in verbis singulis: in contrast to figures, which have  their effect on the surface of the text, e.g. in the word order, tropes are phrases used in a …

[German version] (Τερψιχόρη, 'she who delights in choral dances'). One of the Muses (Hes. Theog. 78), whose name indicates responsibility for  chorus and dance (Pind. I. 2,7; Korinna, fr. 935 Page; Pl. Phdr. 259b-d; Anth. Pal. 9,504) and is connected with paideía   (Diod. 4,7). She wears a wreath of laurel and ivy and her attributes are the lyre and the flute. Some accounts make her the mother of Linus (Suda s. v. Λίνος), Hymenaeus [1] (Alci. Epist. 1,13), Rhesus (Aristoph. Hypothesis zu Eur. Rhes.) and the Sirens (Apoll. Rhod. 4,895). Muses Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] (Ἴφιτος; Íphitos). Son of  Eurytus [1] of Oechalia and Antiope (or Antioche) who was killed by Hercules because his father and brothers (except for I.: Apollod. 1,128) did not give Hercules  Iole as his wife, as had been promised to him as a prize for his winning at archery. The legend is told in Hom. Od. 21,14ff. (where the bow of Odysseus is a gift from I.), in the lost epic Oichalías hálōsis, and also in Soph. Trach. 225ff., Diod. Sic. 4,31,2ff. and Apollod. 2,127ff. According to another version, I. arrived at the stronghold of Tiryns searching for…

[German version] (Λαπίθαι/ Lapíthai, Latin Lapithae). Mythical Thessalian tribe (Hom. Il. 2,738ff.; Str. 9,439ff.), particularly known for their battle with the Centaurs. According to a late version, they were descendants of an eponymous ancestor Lapithes or Lapithas, who was himself descended either from Apollo and a daughter of the river god Peneius (Stilbe) or from Ixion and the slave Dia (Diod. Sic. 4,63,2; 5,58,5; Paus. 5,10,8; schol. Apoll. Rhod. 1,40). Descent from Ixion would make the L. en…

[German version] (Ἰφιάνειρα; Iphiáneira). Name of two different Greek heroines: of one, the daughter of the Argive king Megapenthes, the same story is told as of  Iphianassa [1] (Diod. Sic. 4,68,4); the other is the sister of  Amphiaraus (Diod. Sic. 4,68,5). Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] (Κοδρατίων/ Kodratíōn). Orator of the 2nd cent. AD, student of Favorinus, teacher of the sophist Varus of Perge (Philostr. VS 2,6 p. 250 K.), friend of P. Aelius Aristides [3] (47,22; 50,63 ff. K.). Probably identical with L. Statius Quadratus ( cos. 142). Walde, Christine (Basle)

(Lat. figura; Greek σχῆμα/ schêma; French figure). [German version] A. Overview Figures are formal phenomena of language beyond the grammatical primary structure. In rhetoric they are treated in the context of   elocutio under the category ornatus (decoration) and are mostly defined as deviations from normal language usage; if they are few in number, it is considered as paucity of expression (Quint. Inst. 9,3,3). The theory of figures assumes that there is a raw framework of arguments in simple words that has to be clad and orname…

[German version] Roman orator from the Early Imperial Period whose origin and life are obscure. Seneca the Elder, to whom we owe the few testimonies (Sen. Controv. 5,2; 7,5,10; 9,2,28; Sen. Suas. 2,18) denounces him as 'crazy', 'feeble-minded' and 'vulgar'. Allowing for personal animosity on Seneca's part, it still seems that S. preferred abstruse and non-pertinent arguments. Walde, Christine (Basle)

[German version] (Καρύα; Karúa). Daughter of the Laconian King Dion, beloved of Dionysus. Her sisters, Orphe and Lyko, who lock up C., are struck with insanity by Dionysus and transformed into the cliffs of Taygetus; however C. is transformed into a walnut tree (Serv. Ecl. 8,29). According to epic poet Pherenicus, C. is, like other Hamadryads, a daughter of Oxylus and his sister Hamadryas (Ath. 3,78b). Walde, Christine (Basle)

(Σίβυλλα/ Síbylla, Latin Sibylla). [German version] A. General Seer inspired by the gods from birth In Greco-Roman culture Sibyls are an unspecified number of seers, inspired by the gods from birth, who retain their virginity throughout their life, grow very old, but are not immortal. They are sometimes mentioned in the same context as Apollo and in this show certain similarities to other prophetesses, such as Cassandra or the Pythia [1]. The Sibyls function as mediators between gods and men but do not act as part of an institutionalized oracle; their prophecies ar…

[German version] The term travel literature (TL) refers to a heterogeneous group of literary products that belong to categories such as travel report, travel description (travel guide, travel handbooks) or travel novel, categories that in themselves are not clearly defined. Precursors of modern travel guides and handbooks are, for instance, the Greek peri(h)ēgḗseis (Periegetes, cf. e.g. Pausanias [8], Heraclides [18]) as well as sea maps with descriptions of coasts (Periplous). Strictly speaking, a travel report - without judging its aesthetic quality - is the rep…

(Οὐρανία/ Ouranía, Latin Urania). [German version] [1] Muse who surveys the course of the world One of the Muses (Hes. Theog. 78), mother of Linus (father Apollo: Excerpta ex Hygino 174 Rose) and Hymenaeus [1] (Catull. 61,2). From remarks in Plato (Phaed. 259d) and from the time of Aratus [4] onwards, U. can clearly be identified as patron of Astronomy/Astrology (pictorial representations with globe, pointer; [1]), the natural sciences and - because of her cosmic dimension (U. brings light into the darkness) -…

(Ἰφιμέδεια; Iphimédeia). [German version] [1] Lover of Poseidon Daughter of Triops, wife of Aloeus, lover of Poseidon, father of her children, the  Aloads Otus and Ephialtes (Hom. Od. 11,304; Pind. Pyth. 4,89; Apollod. 1,53; Hyg. Fab. 28). I. and her daughter Pancratis (Pancrato) play a part in the prehistory of Naxos (Diod. Sic. 5,50f.; Parthenius 19): the Aloads pursue the Thracians, who have abducted their mother and sister to Naxos, and free I., but Pancratis loses her life. Pausanias attests I.'s g…

[German version] (Greek ἡ Κήρ; hē Kḗr). From Homer, two meanings are attested for the name K.: 1. as ‘pest’, ‘malignant spirit’, ‘ruin’ and ‘death’ (Hom. Il. 2,302; 12,326-327; Od. 22,66). 2. as ‘an individual's fate’. The first kind of Ker, which appears alone, but mostly in large numbers ( Kêres), are female malignant spirits that act in various ways. Whilst Homer describes them as, amongst other things, ‘black’ (Hom. Il. 3,454) and ‘bringing disaster’ (ibid. 13,665), Hesiod offers a description of the outward appearance and the genealogy of …

[German version] (ἠθοποιία/ ēthopoiía; Lat. ethopoeia, notatio). Ethopoeia means the representation of the character (  êthos ) of an orator or another person by (imitative) speech (  mímēsis ), which may be effected as speech without dialogue,  dialogue or  monologue. In ancient rhetorical theory, ethopoeia has been included from Aristotle as a reproducible quality among technical means of persuasion with which the speaker may introduce himself as an insightful, virtuous and benevolent person. Roman rhetoric introduced further refinement…

[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…