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[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 …

(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…

(Λεύκων; Leúkōn). [German version] [1] Boeotian hero Boeotian hero, son of Athamas and Themisto, daughter of the Lapith king Hypseus (Apollod. 1,9,2). His daughter Euippe marries Andreus of Orchomenus (Paus. 9,34,6f.). Eponym of Lake Leuconis (= Copais) (Steph. Byz.). …

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[German version] I. Ancient Orient …

[German version] (Μελπομένη/ Melpoménē; Lat. Melpomena; descriptive name: ‘she who sings’; cf. Diod. Sic. 4,7: M. because of the melody that affects the listeners). One of the nine Muses (Hes. Theog. 77). According to Achelous [2], she is the mother of the Sirens (Apollod. Ep. 7,18). For a long time, M. remains the least specific and most rarely mentioned Muse. She is regarded as the patron of tragedy, especially of the lyric choral parts, and is depicted with, among other things, theatrical masks (cf. Anth. Lat. 664). In Horace (Hor. Carm. 1,24; 3,30; 4,3), however, she plays a central role as the most exalted of the Muses, as the inspirer of the grea…

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(Greek Λαῦνα/ Laûna). Name of two female characters who are linked with the Aeneas myth ( Aeneas). [German version] [1] Daughter of Anius Daughter of Anius - the priest king of Delos at the time of the Trojan War (Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1,59,3) - who marries Aeneas (Ps.-Orig. 9,2,5) and later as a seer accompanies him on his wanderings. L. dies on the site where Lavinium is built (Isid. Orig. 15,1,52). Walde, Christine (Basle) [German version] [2] Daughter of Latinus and Amata Daughter of Latinus and of Amata who after the death of her brother is the sole heir to the throne (Ve…

[German version] (Ὑπερίων; Hyperíōn; on the etymology [1]). In the tradition of Hesiod one of the  Titans, who with his sister Theia fathers the gods of light Helios ( …

(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 o…

Name of a plebeian gens (cf. Tac. Ann. 6,15,1), the representatives of whom have been known historically since the middle of the 3rd cent. BC. The most important family, especially in the 1st cent. BC, are the Cassii Longini. A patrician C. (around 500 BC, C. I 19) is rare. I. Republican age [German version] [I 1] C., C. Governor of Asia 89-88 BC Praetor 90 BC (?), in 89-88 governor of the province of Asia whence he, with M'. Aquillius [I 4], induced Nicomedes of Bithynia to attack  Mithridates (MRR 2,34). He then had to retreat from the victorious Mithridat…

(Πιερίδες/ Pierídes; Lat. Pierides or Pieriae). [German version] [1] Epithet of the Muses Name for the Muses after the place of their residence (Hes. Theog. 53). Walde, Christine (Basle) …

[German version] Latin rhetor and advocate in the early Imperial Period. His intelligence and gift for oratory allowed him to work his way up from modest circumstances to being a welcome guest at the court of Tiberius [II 1] (Quint. Inst. 6,3,100; Tac. Ann. 1,74). In the quaestor Caepio [1] Crispinus' treason case against the…

[German version] In ancient rhetoric, the terms εικών/ eikṓn (literally ‘image’, ‘illustration’: often for short comparisons), παραβολή/ parabolḗ (especially for similes) as well as Latin simile, similitudo cover diverse phenom…

(Κύκνος; Kýknos, Latin Cygnus; ‘swan’). Name of several heroes whose common element is their relationship with swans. Among these the most important are: [German version] [1] Son of Ares and Pelopea Son of  Ares and of Pelopea (Apollod. 2,5,11: the Pyrene), king of Amphanae, husband of Themistonoe. In the grove of Apollo in Thessalonian Pagasae, C. robs pilgrims travelling to Delphi and invites them to participate in chariot races which he always wins (detailed narration [Hes.] scut. 57ff.). He kills the losers and decorates …

Roman family name, frequently attested in inscriptions, also in the form Cavius [1. 76f.]; in the Republican period its bearers are still politically insignificant; also a Faliscan praenomen [2. 103]. I. Republican period [German version] [I 1] G., P. Crucified as a spy of Spartacus 72 BC from Compsa (Lower Italy), was captured and crucified in Sicily in 72 BC by C.  Verres as an alleged spy of the slave leader  Spartacus (Cic. Verr. 2,5,158-170). Elvers, Karl-Ludwig (Bochum) [German version] [I 2] G. Bassus Roman grammarian and antiquarian of the late Republic Roman grammarian and…

(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…

(Νύξ/ Nýx; Lat. Nox, night). In antiquity, the night as a sphere of the eerie and the hidden was regarded not simply as a natural, daily phenomenon that shaped people's lives but as a goddess and personification. It is difficult to draw clear boundaries between these realms. [German version] A. Genealogies In variously accentuated genealogies of gods [1], N. is a cosmogonic power. In Hesiod, N. belongs to the first generation of gods along with other appearances of light (Hes. Theog. 123ff.; 211; 744ff.; cf. her authority in Hom. Il. 14,259). Sh…

[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…