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(Φυλλίς; Phyllís). [German version] [1] Eponymous heroine of the territory on the lower Strymon Eponymous heroine of the territory on the lower Strymon (Struma), which she brings as the dowry to her marriage with Acamas the son of Theseus. When he is unfaithful to her she curses him and he dies. The legend illustrates the great interest of Athens in the region with its rich mineral sources (Aeschin. 2,31 with schol.; Thuc. 1,100,3; 4,102; Androtion FGrH 324 F 33; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 495). P. hangs herself and i…

[German version] (Πολύκλεια/ Polýkleia). Heroine from the family of the Heraclidae, who received an oracular prediction that the first person to cross the Achelous [1] would become ruler of the Boeoti, who were at the time living in Thessalia. She asked her brother Aeatus to carry her over the river, broke away shortly before reaching the other bank and was the first to set foot there; her brother then married her to secure power for his family and they had a son, Thessalus (Polyaenus, Strat. 8,44). Harder, Ruth Elisabeth (Zürich) Bibliography G. Radke, s. v. Polykleia (1), RE 21, 1695-1698.

(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…

(Νιόβη/ Nióbē, Lat. Nioba). [German version] I. Mythology Daughter of Tantalus and Dione or Euryanassa (Hyg. Fab. 9, schol. Eur. Or. 4) and wife of Amphion [1] (Hes. fr. 183 M./W.). The oldest version of the myth is found in Hom. Il. 24,602-617 in the form of a comparison by which Achilles seeks to induce Priam to overcome his grief over his son's death just as N. did. N.'s children, the Niobids (Νιοβίδαι/ Niobídai, Lat. Niobidae), were killed by Apollo and Artemis after N. boasted of her superiority to their mother, Leto, because Leto had borne only two children, whil…

(Ἀταλάντη; Atalántē). [German version] A. Myth Mythological daughter of Schoeneus or of Iasius and Clymene. In a Boeotian version she is allowed to remain a virgin, but to do so she has to defeat all suitors in a race (Hyg. Fab. 185).  Hippomenes receives three golden apples from Aphrodite, which he drops in A.'s way during the competition, and which she picks up (Hes. fr. 72-76 M-W, Ov. Met. 10.560-680), whereby he wins. The pair consummate their union in a sanctuary of Cybele or Zeus and are, as pu…

[German version] (Ἑρμιόνη; Hermiónē). Daughter of  Helene and  Menelaus (Hom. Od. 4,12ff.), sister of Nicostratus (Hes. fr. 175 M-W). According to one version of the myth, Menelaus promises her to  Neoptolemus outside the gates of Troy (Hom. Od. 4,3ff.), in another version she is promised to  Orestes before the war (Soph. Hermione TrGF 4, 192f.; Eur. Andr. 966ff.; Ov. Epist. 8, slightly different in Eur. Or. 1653ff.). Neoptolemus abducts her but is killed by Orestes (Eur. Andr. 993ff.; 1085ff.; Hyg…

[German version] (Ἀνδρομέδα; Androméda). Daughter of  Cepheus king of the Cephenes or Aethiopians, and  Cassiepea (Apollod. 2,43), who boasted that she was as beautiful as the Nereids. This angered Poseidon, who sent tidal waves and a sea monster onto the shore. An oracle then promises release from the plague, if A. would surrender herself to the sea monster. Cepheus then has A. bound to a rock at the shore, where  Perseus sees her on his return after the Gorgon adventure. After she promises to go …

(Πραξιθέα/ Praxithéa). [German version] [1] Wife of Erechtheus Daughter or granddaughter of Cephisus; on the one hand, she is the wife of Erechtheus (Demaratus FGrH 42 F 4) and mother of several children (amongst them Creusa [2], Oreithyia, Procris); on the other, the wife of Erichthonius [1] and mother of Pandion [1] (Apollod. 3,190; Φρασιθέα/ Phrasithéa Tzetz. Chil. 1,174). According to an oracle, Erechtheus can only win the war against Eumolpus after sacrificing one of his daughters. In his play 'Erechtheus', Euripides allows P. to give detailed …

(Γαλατεία; Galateía). [German version] [1] Nereid Nereid, daughter of  Nereus and  Doris (Hom. Il. 18,45; Hes. Theog. 250; Apollod. 1,11), whose name probably refers to the milky-white colour, i.e. either to sea-foam or milk in its important role in pasture farming (Lucian 14,3; Eust. 1131,5 ad Hom. Il. 18,42). In Sicily, G. was venerated as the protector of herds (Duris FGrH 76 F 58). The love story between the Cyclops  Polyphemus and G. also originates from Sicily (Prop. 3,2,7f.; Nonnus, Dion. 39,25…

(Λάνασσα; Lánassa). [German version] [1] Ancestress of the Molossian dynasty Daughter of Cleodaeus, granddaughter of Hyllus, great-granddaughter of Hercules [1], ancestress of the Molossian dynasty of Epirus (Plut. Pyrrhus 1,2; Lysimachus, FGrH 382 F 10). Neoptolemus abducts her from the Zeus temple of Dodona, marries her and has eight children with her, among them Pyrrhus (Iust. 17,3,4). Harder, Ruth Elisabeth (Zürich) Bibliography P. Levêque, Pyrrhos, 1957, 643 M. Schmidt, s.v. L., RE 12, 617. [German version] [2] Wife of Pyrrhus and Demetrius Poliorcetes, 3rd cent. BC Daughter…

[German version] (Ἀλκμήνη; Alkmḗnē). Daughter of king Electryon of Mycenae or Tiryns and of Lysidice, Eurydice or Anaxo (Hes.scut.3; Diod. Sic. 4,9,1; Apollod. 2,52). She marries  Amphitryon, who kills Electryon and has to flee with A. The marriage is to be consumated only after Amphitryon has avenged A.'s brother, who died in battle (Apollod. 2,55). He leaves, and Zeus comes in his form to A., tells of the victory and conceives  Hercules with her (Pind. Isthm. 7,5 ff.; Pherec. FGrH 3 F 69; Plaut. …

[German version] (Τέκμησσα/ Tékmēssa, Latin Tecmessa). Phrygian princess, given to Ajax [1] as a prize (Hom. Il. 1,138). With her he fathers Eurysaces. In Soph.  Aj. the character of T. is developed for the first time, her relationship with Ajax is defined by mutual respect and fidelity (Dictys 2,18; Quint. Smyrn. 5,521-567). Roman tragedy writers also took an interest in the subject, as did Horace (Carm. 2,4,5f.) and Ovid (Ars am. 3,517-520). Harder, Ruth Elisabeth (Zürich) Bibliography J. Boardman, s. v. T., LIMC 7.1, 832  E. Oberhummer, s. v. T. (1), RE 5 A, 157 f.  K. Synodinu, T…

[German version] (Ὠρείθυια/ Ōreíthyia). Mentioned in Homer (Il. 18,48) as a Nereid, but not in Hesiod's catalogue of Nereids (Theog. 240ff., Apollod. 1,11f.). Her name ('storming in the mountains') suggests she is a 'bride of the wind'. In Attic mythology, she is the daughter of the Attic king Erechtheus and of Praxithea. O. is abducted to Thrace by the wind god Boreas, who makes her his wife (Hdt. 7.189; Verg. G. 4,463). Their children are Cleopatra [I 1] and Chione [1] as well as Calais and Zetes…

[German version] (Πολυξένη/ Polyxénē, Latin Polyxena). Daughter of Priamus and Hecabe. In the Cypria (PEG I fr. 34) she is killed by Odysseus and Diomedes [1] and buried by Neoptolemus [1]. Another tradition tells of her being sacrificed by the Greeks on Achilles’ [1] grave (Iliupersis argumentum PEG I p. 89; Hyg. Fab. 110; Apollod. epit. 5,23), because his spirit demands the sacrifice (Eur. Hec. 37-41; 107-115; Ov. Met. 13,441-448; Quint. Smyrn 14,234-245) and threatens to prevent the Greek fleet from retur…

[German version] (Πανδώρα/ Pandṓra). Her name ('She who gives everything') is used as an epiclesis of chthonic deities such as Gaia and Hecate (Orph. A. 974ff.; schol. Aristoph. Av. 971). It is not possible to discern a clear development of the figure of P. in the transmitted versions of the myth that would clarify her connection with those deities. P. as the original or first woman can first be found in Hesiodus (Theog. 570-591; Hes. Op. 57-105). At Zeus' order, P. is formed from earth and water by Hephaestus, adorned and equipped with skills by Athen…

[German version] (Ἰοκάστη/ Iokástē, in older sources also Ἐπικάστη/Epicaste). Daughter of  Menoeceus, sister of  Creon, wife of  Laius, mother and later wife of  Oedipus. In spite of the negative oracle of Apollo in Delphi, Laius fathers Oedipus with I. After his birth, Oedipus is abandoned, later kills his father and, after solving the puzzle of the  Sphinx, marries his mother. In the older sources, the gods reveal the incest (Hom. Od. 11, 271-280), whereupon I. kills herself. Here, I. usually has…

[German version] (Ἀερόπη; Aerópē). Daughter of Catreus, granddaughter of Minos II. Because of a prophecy that Catreus will be killed by the children of A., Catreus hands her and her sister Clymene over to  Nauplius to be sold (Apollod. 3,15) or to be killed; possibly on account of a romantic attachment to a slave (schol. Soph. Aj. 1297 about Euripides' ‘Cretan Women’). Nauplius, however, protects them, and in Argus gives her to  Pleisthenes as wife. Both sons,  Agamemnon and  Menelaus (Hes. fr. 195…

[German version] (Πρόκρις/ Prókris, Lat. Procris). Daughter either of Erechtheus and Praxithea (Apollod. 3,196) or Pandion (Hyg. Fab. 189; 241) or Iphiclus (Serv. Aen. 6,445). Renowned hunter, married to the Athenian hunter Cephalus [1], who, disguised, tests her fidelity by seducing her with gifts (cf. Pherecydes acc. to Schol. Hom. Od. 11,321, Ov. Met. 7,690-865, Antoninus Liberalis 41). Ashamed, she flees to Minos or Artemis, her hunting companion (Callim. H. 3,209). From Artemis or Minos, P. rece…

Harder, Ruth Elisabeth (Zürich) [German version] A. Introduction (CT) Papyrus was the most important writing material in Antiquity [13]; it was also used for administrative and personal purposes (the so-called documentary papyri) and for the transcription of literary texts by Greeks who had settled in Egypt following the conquests of Alexander the Great. From ca. 300 BC to ca. 700 AD Greek texts were written on papyri in Egypt, and these papyri were preserved, re-used (for other texts or for use as wrap…

[German version] (Μύρρα; Mýrrha). Daughter of the Cyprian king Cinyras and Cenchreis or of the Assyrian king Theias. The gods' anger causes her to fall in love with her father. She is able to have sexual intercourse with him without being recognized, and becomes pregnant. When he recognizes her he tries to kill her; Zeus or Aphrodite takes pity on her and transforms her into a tree; her tears are the resin of the myrrh tree. Later Adonis is born from that tree (Apollod. 3,183f. = Panyassis fr. 27 B…