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[German version] (Μεσσηίς; Messēís). A spring mentioned in Hom. Il. 6,457. Hector prophesies to Andromache, that one day she will fetch water from the springs Messeis and Hypereia in Argos. According to Strab. 9,5,6, the inhabitants of Pharsalus pointed out a town, Hellas (cf. Heraclides 3,2), entirely in ruins, which was 60 stadia from their own town and in whose vicinity the two springs were to be found. Plin. HN 4,8,30 locates a spring Messeis in Thessaly, whereas Paus. 3,20,1 claims to have seen a well Messeis at Therapne in Laconia. Stenger, Jan (Kiel)

[German version] (Φιλοκτήτης/ Philoktḗtēs; Lat. Philoctetes). Thessalian hero, son of Poeas (Hom. Od. 3,190) and Demonassa (Hyg. Fab. 97,8); outstanding archer and companion of Heracles [1]. P. is distinguished by his bow, a token of thanks from Heracles for igniting his funeral pyre on Mt. Oeta (Soph. Phil. 801-803). In Apollod. 3,131 and Hyg. Fab. 81, P. is counted among the suitors of Helena [1]. Party, with seven ships, to the Greek campaign against Troy (Hom. Il. 2,716-725), he is bitten by a sn…

(Μετάνειρα; Metáneira). [German version] [1] Wife of the Eleusinian king Keleos Wife of the Eleusinian king Celeus (according to schol. Eur. Or. 964 of Hippothoon), mother of Demophon [1] and of several daughters. Metaneira takes Demeter, who is looking for Persephone, into her house and entrusts her little son, Demophon, to her care. However she unwittingly disturbs the goddess who is trying to make the child immortal in the fire, and Demeter pulls away from him (Hom. h. 2,185-291; Ov. fast. 4,507ff., in …

[German version] (Μέγης/M égēs). Son of Phyleus, sailed with 40 ships from Dulichium to Troy (Hom. Il. 2,625ff.), where he killed several enemies (e.g. ibid. 5,69; Q. Smyrn. 1,276ff.). He is one of Odysseus's men who fetched the propitiatory gifts for Achilles from Agamemnon's tent (Hom. Il. 19,238ff.), and one of those in the Wooden Horse (Quint. Smyrn. 12,326). M. is also mentioned as one of Helen's suitors (Apollod. 3,129). According to Apollod. Epitome 6,15a he is one of the many who died on Euboea during the return voyage. Stenger, Jan (Kiel)

(Θησεύς /Thēseús). Mythical king and national hero of the Athenians (Athens). T. belongs to the generation before the Trojan War. He is the son of Aethra, daughter of Pittheus. His divine father is Poseidon, his human father the Athenian king Aegeus. [German version] I. Myth T. grew up with Pittheus at Troezen, because Aegeus abandoned the pregnant Aethra in the light of an oracular prophecy. Having found the symbolic items (sword, shoes) left there by Aegeus, he made his way to Athens. During the journey, T. had to survive several battles with enemies and one monster (earliest surviving list, in geographical sequence, in Bacchyl. 18,19-30; complete Diod. Sic. 4,59,2-5; Apollod. 3,217 f.; Plut. Theseus = Th. 8-11; [10. 5-16]). Most of them he punished by talion. Fir…

[German version] ( Psychostasia). The weighing of the soul occurred in Egyptian religion; the hearts of the dead, which were thought to contain the memory of their actions, are weighed with a feather under the supervision of Osiris [1.321-323]. The Greek idea of the weighing of the soul is entirely different: it takes place before death and is not assessed according to moral criteria. Here men's fates are weighed (κήρ/ kḗr, Ker), as a result of which it is decided who will live or die ( kerostasia). This version was probably already known to the author of the Aethiopís from which the ‘Iliad’ too…

(Πέλοψ; Pélops). [German version] [1] Son of Tantalus Son of Tantalus (Cypria fragment 13 EpGF; in Hyg. Fab. 82 from his liaison with Dione), husband of Hippodamia [1], father of Atreus, Thyestes, Pittheus and other children (Pind. O. 1,88f. with schol.). P.'s original homeland was Asia Minor (cf. Pind. Ol. 1,24; Hdt. 7,8).  P.'s father Tantalus chops him into pieces, cooks him and serves him up to the gods. Demeter is the only one who fails to notice the horrendous deed and eats part of his shoulder (Apollod. Epit. 2,3; Hyg. Fab. 83). So when P. is restored to life, the missing piece is replaced by ivory (cf. Pind. Ol. 1,26f.). According to Serv. Georg. 3,7, this was Tantalus' way of testing the omniscience of the gods. Pindar, who provides the first evidence of the meal, counters this story, which he says is based on malicious gossip, with an inoffensive version: during the meal …

(Ξάνθος/ Xánthos). [German version] [1] Name of several figures in Greek mythology Name of several male figures in Greek mythology: 1) Son of Phaenops [2], who was killed by Diomedes [1] at the gates of Troy (Hom. Il. 5,152-158). 2) Son of Triopas and Oreasis. X. received a part of Lycia; from there, he settled the deserted island of Lesbos (Diod. Sic. 5,81,2; Hyg. Fab. 145). 3) One of the sons of Aegyptus, who is killed by Arcadia, daughter of Danaus (Hyg. Fab. 170). 4) A son of Niobe (Pherecydes FGrH 3 F …

(Πάτροκλος/ Pátroklos, also Πατροκλῆς/ Patroklês; Lat. Patroclus). [German version] [1] Companion to Achilleus …

This item can be found on the following maps: Writing | Theatre | Caesar | | Diadochi and Epigoni | Dark Ages | Ḫattusa | Asia Minor | Asia Minor | Mycenaean culture and archaeology | Pergamum | Persian Wars | Pompeius | Aegean Koine | Aegean Koine | Education / Culture | Mineral Resources I. History [German version] A. Name In Homer (Homerus [1]), the forms ἡ Τροίη/ Troíē and ἡ Ἴλιος/ Ílios (for Ilion/Ilium see below I. C.) appear alongside one another. Therefore, there has been discussion of a 'double name' for the settlement, for which the two terms πόλις ( pólis ) and ἄστυ ( ásty ) are used. Semasiological studies have now demonstrated that pólis and ásty are distinguished in the epic as 'fortified citadel' mound and 'civilian lower city', a differentiation which could go back to the later Bronze Age [1]. Thos…

[German version] (νέκταρ/ néctar, Latin nectar). Nectar (derived from the Egyptian ntry, ‘divine’ [1]) together with ambrosia [2] served as the food of the gods of Olympia, who, according to Hom. Il. 5,339-341, neither ate bread nor drank wine. In the main, nectar is imagined to be a beverage whilst ambrosia is a food (e.g. Hom. Od. 5,93), though there is also the reverse view; in Alcm. fr. 42 PMG and Anaxandrides fr. 58 PCG nectar is food. Originally nectar and ambrosia had the same consistency (cf. Hom. …

[German version] (Μίνως, Mínōs). Mythical king of Crete, son of Zeus and Europe [2]; Asterius (Asterion [1]) is said to be his mortal father (Apollod. 3,1,2). M. is the brother of Rhadamanthys (Hom. Il. 14,321f.) and already in Hes. Cat. 140 also of Sarpedon; …

(Μέδων/ Médōn). [German version] [1] Son of Oileus and Rhene Illegitimate son of Oileus and Rhene, who led Philoctetes' men to Troy after the latter had to be left on Lemnos (Hom. Il. 2,726ff.). He had killed a member of his stepmother Eriopis…

(Νηλεύς; Nēleús). [German version] [1] King of the Messenian Pylos King of Messenian Pylos, son of Poseidon and Tyro, the daughter of Salmoneus. Tyro, wife of Cretheus, falls in love with the river god Enipeus. In his guise, Poeseidon sires with her N. and his twin brother Pelias (Hom. O…

[German version] (also Sopor, Greek  ῞Υπνος/ Hýpnos). As a god personifying sleep, Hypnos (= H.) is already mentioned in the Iliad, where Hera visits him on Lemnos and asks him to lull Zeus to sleep (Hom. Il. 14,230-360). In return she promises him Pasithea [2], one of the Graces (cf. Catull. 63,42 f.). Once he had done this, so that Hera could inflict harm on Heracles after the first destruction of Troy, H. had to flee from Zeus's anger to Nyx (Night). He then hides from Zeu…

(Μήστωρ; Mḗstōr). [German version] [1] Son of Perseus and Andromeda The son of Perseus and Andromeda; the husband of Lysidice, a daughter of Pelops; and the father of Hippothoe. His great-great-grandson, the son of Pterelaus, was also named M. (Apollod. 2,4,5). Stenger, Jan (Kiel) [German version] [2] Son of Priam The son of Priamus, killed by Achilles on Mount Ida (Apollod. Epit. 3,32); Priamus laments his death in Hom. Il.24, 255ff. [1. 283f.]. In Dictys 6,9, M. accompanies Pyrrhus as a prisoner. Stenger,…

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(Μεγαρεύς; Megareús). [German version] [1] Son of Poseidon Son of Poseidon (Hyg. fab. 157), father of Hippomenes (Ov. met. 10,605). M. brings an army to the aid of Nisus against Minos and falls in the battle. The city of Nisa is renamed after M. to Megara [2] (Paus. 1,39,5). According to others, M. is married to Nisus's daughter Iphinoe and succeeds him (ibid. 1,39,6; see also 1,41,3). Stenger, Jan (Kiel) [German version] [2] Son of Creon [1] and Eurydice Son of Creon [1] and Eurydice. He saves Thebes by sacrificing his own life in war (Aeschyl. Sept. 474; Soph. Ant. 1303 with schol.). Stenger, J…

(Λυκομήδης; Lykomḗdēs). [German version] [1] King of the Dolopes on Scyros King of the Dolopes on Scyros, father of Deidamia [1]. Because Achilles is predestined to die in Troy, his mother Thetis disguises him as a girl at the court of L. where Achilles fathers a son Neoptolemus by Deidamia (Apollod. 3,174; schol. Hom. Il. 9,668). Later Odysseus and Phoenix persuade L. on behalf of the Greeks to allow Neoptolemus to come to Troy (Soph. Phil. 343ff.; only Odysseus in Hom. Od. 11,506ff. and in The Ilias P…

[German version] (μαντιχώρας; mantichṓras, also martichoras, μαρτιχώρας; martichṓras). According to Ctesias (in Aristot. Hist. an. 2,1, 501a 24ff.), an Indian animal with the body of a lion and the face of a human, with three rows of teeth. The fur was vermilion and the tail was shaped like a scorpion's so that the mantichoras could shoot deadly spines like arrows. The voice sounded like a mixture of a shepherd's pipe and trumpet. The mantichoras …