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(Πυγμαλίων; Pygmalíōn). Greek name, derived from πυγμή/ pygmḗ, ('fist') [1]. [German version] [1] King of Tyre, brother of Dido King of Tyre, killed the husband of his sister Elissa or Dido out of greed (Timaeus FGrH 566 F 82; Verg. Aen. 1,343-364). Gauly, Bardo Maria (Kiel) [German version] [2] Grandfather of Adonis For the Cypriot king P. too, Phoenician descent is attested (Porph. De abstinentia 4,15); through his daughter who married Cinyras, the progenitor of the Paphian priest-kings, he became the grandfather of Adonis (Apollod. 3,182). Phi…

(Μελανθώ/ Melanthṓ). [German version] [1] Daughter of Deucalion, mother of Delphus Daughter of Deucalion, who gave birth to Poseidon's son Delphus, the eponym of Delphi (Tzetz. Lycoph. 208). Gauly, Bardo Maria (Kiel) Bibliography F. Bömer, P. Ovidius Naso, Metamorphosen, Kommentar zu Buch 6-7, 1976, 42f. [German version] [2] Unfaithful servant of Penelope Unfaithful servant of Penelope (Hom. Od. 18,320-340; 19,65-95), lover of Eurymachus (cf. Diog. Laert. 2,79); brazenly sought to quarrel with the beggar Odysseus; reprimanded by Penelope. Gauly, Bardo Maria (Kiel) Bibliograph…

(Μεροπίς; Meropís). [German version] [1] Land of the Meropes Land of the Meropes (poet.: ‘human beings’); a fiction created by Theopompus of Chios (Philippica B. 8), transmitted by Aelian [2] (FGrH 115 F 75c): Silenus instructs Midas about the cities of Eusebḗs (‘pious city’) and Máchimos (‘city of battle’), then (the context is unclear) about M. and Ánostos (‘place without return’). The nature of these cities points to Platonic myths (for instance, Plat. rep. 10,614c), while the opposition between the cities is reminiscent of Atlantis and Athens (Pla…

(Πύραμος/ Pýramos). [German version] [1] Easternmost of the three rivers in Cilicia Pedias Easternmost of the three rivers in Cilicia Pedias (Cydnus, Sarus [1]; Cilices, Cilicia), mentioned as early as Scyl. 102, modern Ceyhan. Rising in Cataonia in Cappadocia, in Antiquity its mouth, on a now defunct branch, lay to the west of Magarsa near the ancient mouth of the Sarus. Because of this the two rivers were occasionally conflated. Today the mouth has shifted far to the east because of alluvial deposits (this…

[German version] I. Mythology (Νῖσος/ Nîsos, Lat. Nisus). [German version] [I 1] King of Megara Son of Pandion, king of Megara [2]. According to an oracle, his purple lock of hair guaranteed the continuation of his rule. When Minos besieged Megara, Scylla, daughter of Nisus, stole the lock out of calculation or for love (since the Hellenistic period: Parthenius fr. 20; Ov. Met. 8,6-151; Pseudo-Verg. Ciris). After his transformation into a sea eagle, N. pursued his daughter, who had been transformed into a bird ( ciris, Greek keiris). Gauly, Bardo Maria (Kiel) Bibliography F. Bömer, P. Ov…