(εἴδωλον; eídōlon, Lat. idolum, picture, image, delusion). [German version] [1] Refers to a smaller-than-life-portrait Refers to a smaller-than-life portrait (cf. the votive gift of a female statue in Delphi, in Hdt. 1,51). Kunz, Heike (Tübingen) [German version] [2] Refers to a delusion in Greek mythology In Greek mythology, esp. in Homer, eidolon refers to a delusion (Hom. Il. 5,449), but especially to the soul of the deceased in Hades (Hom. Od. 11,213; Il. 23,104; the eidolon is disembodied but still has the shape of the living person: Hom. Il. 23,107). In pictorial…

(Νεφέλη/ Nephélē). [German version] [1] Personification of a cloud No evidence exists concerning her ancestry, probably because originally she is the personification of a ‘cloud’. Nephele is the wife of Athamas, mother of Helle and of Phrixus. Because Ino (Leukothea), the second wife of Athamas, caused a drought and wanted to kill Nephele's children, Nephele put the two children onto a golden ram, which flew away with them (Apollod. 1,9,1-6; Hyg. Fab. 1-3; 21; Ov. Met. 11,195). According to schol. Aristo…

(Ἰφιγένεια; Iphigéneia). [German version] A. Myth Daughter of  Agamemnon and  Clytaemnestra (Procl. Cypriorum enarratio, 55-62 EpGF S.32; Aesch. Ag.; but cf. Stesich. fr. 191 PMGF and Nicander fr. 58 = Antoninus Liberalis 27, where Theseus and Helena are her parents and Clytaemnestra merely adopts I.), sister of  Orestes,  Chrysothemis [2] and  Electra [4]. Although she was promised to marry Achilles [1], Agamemnon, on the advice of Calchas, sacrificed her to Artemis to allow the Greeks' departure for Troy, which had been delayed by an unnatural calm. Aulis is most commonly refer…

(Ἑλένη; Helénē, Lat. Helena). [German version] [1] Beautiful wife of Menelaus ('Helen of Troy') Goddess who was worshipped at various cult sites in and around Sparta, especially in the Menelaion in  Therapne (Hdt. 6,61; Paus. 3,15,3; Hsch. s.v. Ἑλένεια, [1]). In  Rhodes she had a cult as H. Dendritis (Paus. 3,19,10), in  Cenchreae and  Chios she is attested as a deity of springs (Paus. 2,2,3; Steph. Byz. s.v. Ἑλένη). There is no completely reliable etymology for her name [2. 63-80]. For evidence of her cult i…