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Autonoe

(75 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Αὐτονόη; Autonóē). Daughter of  Cadmus and  Harmonia, sister of  Semele,  Agave and Ino ( Leu…

Ianus

(1,407 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
The Roman god of passage in a topographical, temporal and figurative sense. His name is derived from ianua (‘passage, gate’) and is connected with  Ianiculum. The name refers to the god as well as to the cultically relevant gates connected to him. Iconographical representations begin in the Republican period, depicting I. usually with two faces, occasionally with four ( bifrons, quadrifrons). [German version] A. Cult centres His cult is almost exclusively public and political, only two private dedications to him are extant. Two old altars of I. in Rome are att…

Cinyras

(327 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Κινύρας, Kinýras). Mythic founder of the temple of  Aphrodite of Paphus, and progenitor of the priestly family of the Cinyradae, who shared the leadership …

Apollonian/Dionysian

(816 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[English version] The polarity between Apollo and Dionysus and the phenomena linked with these gods was introduced into modern aesthetic discussion by Friederich Nietzsche. Nietzsche understood the ‘duplicity of Apollo and Dionysus’ as a fundamental opposition of Greek aesthetics : An ihre (sc. der Griechen) beiden Kunstgottheiten, Apollo und Dionysus, knüpft sich unsere Erkenntnis, daß in der griech. Welt ein ungeheurer Gegensatz, nach Ursprung und Zielen, zw. der Kunst des Bildners, der apollinischen, und der unbildlichen Kunst der Musik, als der des Dionysus, besteht (‘it i…

Aletes

(237 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀλήτης; Alḗtēs). Suggestive hero's name, ‘Roamer’. [German version] [1] Mythical conqueror of Corinth Son of the Heraclid Hippotes, captures and colonizes Corinth after expelling the descendants of  Sisyphus with help from Melas, an ancestor of  Cypselus (Str. 8,8,5; Konon FGrH 26 F 1,26; Paus. 2,4,3 f; 5,18,8), or he receives the rulership from the Heraclids (Diod. Sic. 7,9,2). His dynasty is replaced by the  Bacchiadae, and in poetry the Corinthians are called

Aphidas

(148 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀφείδας; Apheídas). Suggestive heroic name, ‘not miserly’. [German version] [1] Figure of the Odyssee Son of Polypemon from Alybas, as whose son Eperitus Odysseus passes himself off (Hom. Od. 24,304). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] King of Athens King of Athens, son of Oxyntes; his illegitimate brother kills him (Demon FGrH 327 F 1; Nikolaus FGrH 90 F 48). He is progenitor of the noble family of the Aphidantidae [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] King of Tegea Son of Arcas, younger brother of Elatus, king of Tegea (Apollod. 3,102; Paus. 8,4…

Amphius

(81 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἄμφιος; Ámphios). [German version] [1] Son of the seer Merop…

Aeternitas

(246 words)

Androclus

(128 words)

Anticlus

(63 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἄντικλος; Ántiklos). One of the Greeks in the wooden horse. He wanted to answer Helena, when, near the horse standing on the hill fortress, she was imitating the voices of Greek women. However, Odysseus closed his mouth until Athena had led Helena away (Hom. Od. 4,271-89; Q. Smyrn. 12,317; Apollod. ep. 5,19; Ov. Ib. 567). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)…

Aegestus

(77 words)

Religion, History of

(9,620 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] A. Terminology (CT) Neither Greek nor Latin had a word that precisely corresponds to the modern term 'religion' in its academic sense, whether to designate a specific cultural subsystem ('the religion of the Aztecs') or to refer to the anthropological constant of religion. This modern concept was a result of the Enlightenment and ethnological discoveries, and dates only to the Early Modern era. Ancient concepts focused on individual areas: the Greek thrēskeía, 'worship', and the Greek eusébeia refer only to ritual in the collective…

Amyris

(53 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἄμυρις; Ámyris). From Siris, called ‘the Wise’, father of Damasus, one of the suitors of  Agariste, the mother of Cleisthenes (Hdt. 6,127). The epithet associates him with the general sphere of the pre-philosophical, archaic Tales of Sages [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 F. Wehrli, Hauptrichtungen des griech. Denkens, 1964, 39-43.

Amythaon

(109 words)

Historiola

(145 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (‘Little story’). Modern term describing brief tales built into magic formulas, providing a mythic precedence for a magically effective treatment. Historiolas are already …

Aeolia

(131 words)

Argeius

(142 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀργεῖος; Argeîos). [German version] [1] Son of Likymnios Son of Licymnius. In two myths he is the doomed battle comrade of Hercules. He accompanies him together with his brother Melas on the quest to conquer Oichalia; both are slain and are buried by Hercules (Apollod. 2,156). Ac…

Actaeus

(145 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀκταῖος; Aktaîos), ‘he from the coast’ ( akte) or ‘of Akte’. [German version] [1] Attic primal king Attic primal king, the first (Paus. 1,2,6) or successor of Porphyrion (Paus. 1,14,7); father of the (first) Aglaurus, the wife of Cecrops and mother of Aglaurus [2], Herse and Pandrosus (Apollod. 3,180, who in 3,177 first made Cecrops the primal king). Attica was first called Acte after him, as was the Piraeus peninsula in the historical period (Apollod. 3,177; Harpocrat. s. v.

Atymnius

(164 words)

Eileithyia

(429 words)

Bootes

(237 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Βοώτης; Boṓtēs). (‘Ox-driver’) One of the names of a constellation near that of Ursa Major; attested since Hom. Od. 5,272. If the latter constellation is thought of as a bear, the former, as its companion, is termed instead ‘bear-keeper’, Arktophy…

Epopteia

(205 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (ἐποπτεία; epopteía, ‘the seeing’). One of the levels of initiation into the  mysteries; whoever attained it, was epóptēs. In  Eleusis, whence the term originated, epopteia refers to the stage of initiation after the initial  myesis ─ epopteia either refers to the public ‘display’ during the celebration of the mysteries, in which myesis was the individual dedication which could take place outside of the celebrations, or rather a second facultative stage following on from the obligatory mýēsis [1; 2]. In any case, the term underlines the importance of vis…

Alcippe

(81 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀλκίππη; Alkíppē). Common woman's name in mythological epics. [German version] [1] Figure of Greek myth: daughter of Ares Daughter of Ares and Cecrop's daughter Agraulus, raped by  Halirrhotius (Apollod. 3,180), Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) …

Catreus

(61 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Κατρεύς; Katreús). Son of  Minos and Pasiphae, eponym of the Cretan town Catre; he is killed by his son  Althaemenes, even though he fled to Rhodes to avoid his father who had been warned by an oracle (Apollod. 3,12-16); when his grandson  Menelaus takes part in his funeral, Paris kidnaps Helena (ibid. 3,3).…

Aethalides

(126 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Αἰθαλίδης; Aithalídēs). [German version] [1] Herald during the Argonauts' campaign Son of Hermes and Eupolemea, daughter of Myrmidon, born near the Thessalian stream Amphryssus. Herald during the Argonauts' campaign (Apoll. Rhod. 1,51-55, 640-47). …

Aeneus

(31 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Αἰνεύς; Aineús). Son of Apollo and Stilbe the daughter of Peneius; husband of the Aenete (Αἰνήτη), father of   Cyzicus (Apoll. Rhod. 1,948).…

Ialemus

(96 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἰάλεμος; Iálemos). Son of  Apollo and the Muse  Calliope, thus the brother of several mythical singer…

Grove

(513 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (ἄλσος/ álsos, Latin lucus). In Greece and Italy a sacred area characterized by its stand of trees (cf. Str. 9,2,33); although lucus originally meant ‘glade’. A grove had at least one altar, often also votive offerings; often a grove could also be part of a larger sacred area with a temple: as in the Apollo sanctuary of  Didyma (Str. 14,1,5), the Samian Heraeum (LSCG, Suppl. 18) or in the Roman grove of the  Dea Dia. The grove was sacred because it was considered to be the place where a deity resided;…

Mystagogos

(211 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (μυσταγωγός/ mustagōgós). An Athenian cult functionary in the Eleusinian mysteries ( Mystḗria ) who accompanied the mystae in the annual procession to Eleusis [1] , kept order and probably helped the mystae during the rites (inscriptions from the 1st cent. BC: LSCG, Suppl 15; Plut. Alcibiades 34,6). There is also evidence for this function outside Athens (Andania: IG V 1, 1390 l. 149; 92 BC); the verb derived from it, μυσταγωγεῖν/ mystagōgeín), denotes an initiation (e.g. of a priest in Panamara, Caria, Syll.3 900; 4th cent. AD). Figuratively, a mystagogos is a person…

Ambarvalia

(254 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] Literally ‘Procession around agricultural land’, an agrarian lustration ritual, the corresponding ritual for lustration of urban areas being the amburbia (SHA Aurelian. 20,3 cf. Fest. s. v. Amburbiales hostiae). The Roman cult is familiar with a series of such cleansing processions around agricultural land, which for the most part are the responsibility of individual landowners ( lustratio agri, Cato agr. 141; sacrificium ambarvale, Serv. Ecl. 3,77; cf. also Tib. 2,1 [1]). The animal carried in the procession, which is killed at its conclusi…

Anthes, Anthas

(203 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἄνθης or Ἄνθας; Ánthēs, Ánthas). [German version] [1] Son of Poseidon and Alcyone [1] Son of Poseidon and  Alcyone [1], the daughter of Atlas. As a child he became lost, but was found by his sister Hypera as cup-bearer in Acastus in Pherae and thus saved (Plut. qu. Gr. 19,295 f.). He founds Anthea, his brother Hyperes ( sic) Hyperea; A.'s son Aetius ruled both locations, which were then united under Pelopidas with Troezen (Paus. 2,30,8 f.). In another tradition Anthedonia and Hyperea are the old names of Troezen (Aristot. fr. 597). He was also regard…

Lairbenos

(76 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Λαιρβηνός; Lairbēnós) is the epiclesis of Apollo in Phrygia, as attested to in numerous inscriptions. The missing Greek etymology as well as the variants point to the fact that this is the Greek interpretatio of an indigenous name. Many confession inscriptions stem from his shrine in the region of modern Ortaköy. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography K. M. Miller, Apollo L., in: Numen 32, 1985, 46-70 G. Petzl, Die Beichtinschr. Westkleinasiens, 1994, 122-143.

Archander and Architeles

(108 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἄρχανδρος [ Árchandros], Ἀρχιτέλης [ Architélēs]). [German version] [1] Sons or Grandsons of Achaeus Sons or grandsons of Achaeus. They move from Phthia to Argus, where Danaus gives them two of his daughters in marriage, whereby they become rulers of Argus and Lacedaemon and the inhabitants there become known as the Achaeans (Paus. 7,1,6 f.). The city in Lower Egypt known as Archandroupolis is supposed to have been named after Archander (Hdt. 2,98). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Sons of Acastus  Sons of Acastus, who together with them drives Peleus out of P…

Academus

(132 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀκάδημος). Attic hero, who was venerated in the grove  ‘Akademeia’, 1.6 km west of Athenian Dipylon (a cultic building is presumed). Hecademus is probably an older form of the name (a vase inscription reads hεκα[δεμος] Beazley, ABV 27,36). He revealed to Castor and Polydeuces that Theseus was holding their sister Helena, abducted from Sparta, in Aphidna (Plut. Theseus 32,3-5), and founded the gymnasium (Hesych. s. v. akadḗmia). In gratitude the Spartans spared the academy during their invasions of Attica. The myth competes with another, in whic…

Amymone

(142 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀμυμώνη; Amymṓnē). Daughter of Danaus and Europa. By Poseidon she is the mother of Nauplius (Nostoi fr. 1; Hes. fr. 297; Paus. 2,38,2); a river in Lerna is named after her, and the spring of Lerna is ascribed to her (Str. 8,6,8; Paus. 2,37,1. 4). Hyg. Fab. 169 and Apollod. 2,14 recount her myth in the form which goes back to a satyr game, which is probably Aeschylus' A. Sent out by Danaus in order to find a spring in arid Argus, she accidentally startles a sleeping satyr; Poseidon…

Hyacinthus

(731 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ὑάκινθος; Hyákinthos).Hero whose tomb and cult are located in  Amyclae [1] near Sparta, but whose festival, the Hyacinthia, and the name of the month connected to it (hyakínthios, Cretan bakínthios/wakínthios [1]) is known in many Doric cities. The widespread familiarity with H. indicates the hero's ancient, supra-regional significance. The name must be pre-Greek due to the suffix -nth-. Although the Amyclaean sanctuary is pre-Doric, it can be traced only from the late Mycenaean …

Abderus

(82 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] Son of Hermes or Poseidon (Pind. Paean 2), Opuntic Locrian, favourite of Hercules and eponymous hero of the Thracian city Abdera. For Hercules he guarded the human-flesh-eating mares, stolen from the Bistonian king Diomedes, and in so doing, he was himself eaten by them. Hercules founded Abdera on his grave site (Apollod. 2,97) and instigated annually an agone, which was conducted without horse races (Philostr. Imag. 2,25). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography J. Boardman, s. v. A., LIMC 1.1, 1.

Baubo

(253 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Βαυβώ; Baubṓ). According to a version of the Eleusinic myth attributed to Orpheus, she was an original inhabitant of Eulisis with the heroes Triptolemus, Eumolpus, Eubuleus and her husband Dysaules, who are visited by  Demeter on her search for his daughter. Like  Iambe in the version of the myth in the Homeric hymn, B. entertains the goddess with food and drink and then obscenely exposes her lower body in order to cheer her up (Clem. Protrepticus 20f.; Arnob. 5,25, who describes …

Ephesia Grammata

(261 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἐφέσια γράμματα; Ephésia grámmata, ‘Ephesian letters of the alphabet’). Designation for a series of words devoid of meaning ─ ( askion kataskion lix tetrax damnameneus aision or aisia) that was used orally and in writing for apotropaic and salvation-bringing purposes. Their name comes from the fact that they were engraved on the statue of Artemis of Ephesus (Paus. ap. Eust. Od. 19,247). They were spoken in  exorcism (Plut. Mor. 706 de) for the protection of a bridal couple which was ritually encircled (Men…

Allogenes

(48 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀλλογενής; Allogenḗs, the ‘different’). Name of  Seth as son of Adam and Eve in Sethian  Gnosticism (Epiphanius, Panarii libri 40,7,2). His seven sons are the Allogeneis (40,7,5). Books are also ascribed to him, which are likewise called Allogeneis (39,5,1; 40,2,2). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Amphissus

(92 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἄμφισσος; Ámphissos). Son of Apollo and  Dryope, the daughter of Dryops, ruler on Mount Oete, strong as an ox. A., as well as Aeolus' granddaughter Amphissa (Paus. 10,38,4), must be eponyms of the city of Amphissa in Ozolian Locris; however, while A.'s stepfather  Andreamon is regarded as founder of Amphissa, A. is founder of the city of Oete. In Amphissa A. founds temples for Apollo and the Dryads and sets up a sprinting agon (Ant. Lib. 32) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 A. Brelich, Gli eroi Greci, 1958, 94-106.

Anna Perenna

(227 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] A festival was held in her honour at the Ides of March in her grove (Martial. 4,64; 16) at the first milestone of the Via Flaminia near the Tiber, which is characterized by a sacrifice for a good year ut commode liceat annare perennareque (Macrob. Sat. 1,12,6) and by both sexes drinking wine together in tents and grass huts (Ov. Fast. 3,523-540); the date, rites and portentous character indicate a festival of dissolution associated with the beginning of a new year. The origin and character of the goddess were just as uncle…

Iatros

(155 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Greek ἰατρός; iatrós, ‘physician’). [German version] [1] Physician Physician,  Medicine. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Epiclesis of Apollo Epiclesis of  Apollo as healing god, esp. common in the Ionian east and the Greek colonies along the western coast of the Black Sea. In Olbia, Apollo I. has replaced the Milesian Apollo Delphinios from the Hellenistic period. This form of Apollo was adopted as Apollo Medicus in early Republican Rome. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [3] Title of four Att. healing heroes Functional name and title of four Attic he…

Gelanor

(108 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Γελάνωρ; Gelánōr). Mythical original king of Argus, son of Sthenelus (Paus. 2,16,1), whose only significance is that he abdicated the rulership to  Danaus (Apollod. 2,13); in Aesch. Supp. 266 he is called  Pelasgus. The change in dynasty took place either after a battle (Plut. Pyrrhus 32,9f., 404e-f) or by referendum (Paus. 2,19,3f.). A battle, understood as an omen, between a bull and a wolf, which the wolf wins, is crucial on both occasions. Danaus is in this way connected to Ar…

Asteria

(112 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] [1] see Precious stones see  Precious stones Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Titaness Titaness, daughter of Coeus and Phoebe, sister of Leto, wife of the Titan Perses (Perseus, Persaeus). By Zeus, mother of  Hecate (Hes. Theog. 409; Apollod. 1,8; 21). In the battle of the giants in the Pergamene altar frieze she is inscribed between Leto and Hecate. A Delian myth explained the earlier names of the islands Asteria (Pind. Paean. 5,42) and Ortygia through the fall of A. into the se…

Augeias

(261 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Αὐγείας, Αὐγέας; Augeías, Augéas). King of the Epeians (Hom. Il. 11,698), often of the Eleans or of Ephyra. His genealogy vacillates -- his father is often and from early on  Helius, with whom his name connects him (from αὐγέα, ‘shine, beam’); other names mentioned are  Poseidon or Phorbas, his mother is Hyrmine, his brother Actor. He is rich in herds of cows like his father Helius; his treasury was built by  Trophonius and Agamedes; to this is connected since the  Telegony a novell…

Acesis

(69 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἄκεσις). Healing hero in Epidaurus ( akéomai ‘healing’), whom the Pergamens equated with Telesphorus, the Sicyonans with Euhamerion (Paus. 2,11,7). The Telephorus hymn inscription of the imperial period, from Athens, IG II/III ed. minor 3,1 4533,36 (Kaibel 1027) [1] also knows of this equation with Telesphoros. The classical form would be Akesios [2]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 Edelstein, Asclepius Vol. 1, 89 n. 50 2 Schwyzer, Gramm., 1953, 473.

Alcides

(48 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀλκείδης; Alkeídēs). Patronymic of Alceus = Alcaeus [1], therefore epithet of Hercules as grandson (Hes. Sc. 112) of Amphitryon and as son of Alcaeus. A. is also regarded as Hercules' real name, which was altered by the Pythia (Apollod. 2,73). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Galeotae

(163 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Γαλεῶται; Galeôtai). Name of a Sicilian family of seers, probably from Hybla Galeatis/Gereatis (Paus. 5,23,6), whose members are linked with prophecies relating to the rule of  Dionysius I (Philistus FGrH 556 F 57 in Cic. Div. 1,39; Ael. VH 12,46). Myth associates them with  Telmissus, the location in Caria famous for its prophecy (Cic. Div. 1,91): the eponymous Galeos was said to be, like his brother Telmissus, the son of  Apollo and the Hyperborean princess Themisto. On the advi…

Anticlea

(70 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀντίκλεια; Antíkleia). Daughter of  Autolycus, wife of  Laertes, mother of  Odysseus and Ctimene. In Homer she died of anguish about her long-absent son; Odysseus speaks with her shadow in the Underworld (Hom. Od. 11). Post-Homer, Odysseus is also regarded as son of A. and  Sisyphus. She committed suicide on the false news of Odysseus' death (Hyg. Fab. 243). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography A. Touchefeu-Meynier, LIMC 1.1, 828-830.

Archegetes

(183 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (ἀρχηγέτης; archēgétēs). ‘Leader’, functional title of heroes and epiclesis of Apollo and Hercules. In the case of heroes, A. indicates in particular the role of progenitor and patron -- examples are the heroes of Attic demes (Demosth. 43,66 [1]) and the Thracian horse-riding hero in northern Greece and in Pontus [2]. Apollo A. denotes Apollo as the main god of the Seleucid foundations. The basis for this is the god's role in the Seleucid dynasty [3], but the epiclesis as a descrip…

Codrus

(330 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Κόδρος; Kódros). Son of  Melanthus, a mythical king of Athens. In the list of Attic kings, his role is primarily to establish the connection to the Pylian colonists of Ionia. According to a tradition common in the 5th cent. BC, his father, a Neleid, came to Athens as a refugee and was made king by the last descendant of  Theseus; C. followed his father. His only notable act was his voluntary sacrificial death in order to save the city: when the Dorians attacked Athens and an oracl…

Alcathous

(209 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀλκάθοος; Alkáthoos). [German version] [1] Megarian hero, connected with the town that was also called Alcathoe Megarian hero, son of Pelops and Hippodamia of Elis. A fugitive after striking his brother dead, by killing the Cithaeronian lion he won the daughter of the Megarian king Megareus and succeeded him to the throne. Many aetiologies connect him with the city (Paus. 1,41,3-43,3), which is addressed as Alcathoi urbs or Alcathoe. With Apollo's help, he renewed the city wall that made sounds like a kithara (Ov. Met. 6,16), built temples (Apollo and Artemis) …

Acesamenus

(40 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀκεσ(σ)αμενός). King of Pieria, founder and hero of Acesamenae in Macedonia (Steph. Byz. s. v. Ἀκεσαμεναί); father of Periboea, who became mother of Pelegon by the river god Axius (Hom. Il. 21,142). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Achlys

(109 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀχλύς). The darkness that in Homer comes upon the eyes of mortals (e.g. Il. 5,696) or those whom the gods have blinded (e.g. Il. 20,324). It is depicted on the shield of Hercules in a female personification with hideous baroque-like features as leader of the team of horses of Nyx (Hes. asp. 264), in the late Orph. A. 341. The Latin correspondence to her is Caligo ‘dark fog’, Mother of Chaos and Nox in the cosmogonical myth, of unknown, but probably Greek origin (Hyg. Fab. praef. 1). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography F. Queyrel, s. v. A., LIMC 1.1, 214 A. Shapiro, Personi…

Aeaea

(31 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Αἰαία). ‘The woman from  Aea’, the corresponding epithet of Circe (Hom. Od. 9,32; Verg. Aen. 3,386), Calypso (Prop. 3,12,31), Medea (Apoll. Rhod. 3,1136). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Hyrieus

(123 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ὑριεύς; Hyrieús). Son of  Poseidon and  Alcyone [1], founder of the Boeotian town  Hyria.  Trophonius and Agamedes build him a treasury, but such that they can secretly steal from it; a story follows this which varies the tale of the master thief (Hdt. 2,121) (Paus. 9,27,5-7). The story of how H. comes by his son Orion is often told: Zeus and Apollo visit the childless widower, and in thanks for his hospitality (he slaughters his only cow for them) they urinate into the skin of the beast; from this is created the child Orion (wordplay on oureîn, ‘urinate’; in detail Ov. Fas…

Lenaea

(261 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Λήναια, the Lenaea). Name of a festival of Dionysus that according to the name of the month associated with it - Lenaion - must have been widespread over the whole of Ionia. However, we have more precise knowledge only of the festival from Athens, where the Lenaea together with the Anthesteria and the two Dionysia were part of the winter festival cycle for Dionysus. They took place in the month of Gamelion (January/February) and in the texts were called Dionysia ‘on the Lenaion’ (ἐπὶ Ληναίωι), a place in the lower part of the Athenian Agora. They comprised a pompḗ (procession…

Ahriman

(170 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (mid-Persian, Avesta Angra Mainyu, Greek Ἀρειμάνιος; Areimánios, Latin Arimanius). One of the twin gods in the system of Zoroaster; the ‘evil spirit’ alongside Spnta Mainyu, the ‘spirit of wholeness’, the two opposing creators of the world (Yasna 30,3-5) and apparently sons of  Ahura Mazdā (Yasna 47,2-3), with whom A. merges in the post-Gathas period. Thus in the theology presented at Plut. De Is. et Os. 46 f. Areimanius is a cult god and enemy of Ōromazdes (Ahuramazda); the mediator b…

Halesus

(235 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (usually spelled Halaesus). Italic hero, companion or illegitimate son of  Agamemnon, who fled to Italy (Serv. Aen. 7,723). He is regarded as the founder of  Falerii and the eponymous hero of the  Falisci, and imported the local cult of Juno from Argos (Ov. Am. 3,13,31-35; Fast. 4,73f.; connection of Falerii with Argos: Cato fr. 47 HRR). Alternatively, he is the founder of Alsium (Sil. Pun. 8,474). The former case presupposes the Faliscan sound change f > h [1]; the latter assumes the name takes the form * Alesus. In Virgil, H., the companion of Agamemnon (Aen. 7,7…

Aphidnus

(82 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἄφίδνος; Aphídnos). Autochthonous, eponymous king of the Attic town of Aphidna (Steph. Byz. s. v. Aphidna). He was entrusted by Theseus with the task of guarding Aithra, Theseus' mother and also the abducted Helen (Plut. Thes. 31; 33). During the attack on Aphidna by the Dioscuri (heavenly twins), he wounded Castor in the right thigh (Polemon fr. 10). A. adopted the Dioscuri and initiated them into the Eleusinian Mysteries (Plut. Thes. 33,2). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography Kearns, 151.

Ruler cult

(1,133 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] The cultic worship of the emperor during his lifetime and after his death, namely as a deity and part of the municipal pantheon, was as such the Roman Imperial version of ruler cult already commonly practised amongst the Hellenistic kings. Like the ruler cult, emperor worship was seen from the perspective of the towns as an expression of political ties and political self-definition. From the ruler’s point of view, it was a means of safeguarding his power symbolically. Greek ruler cult can traced back solely to neither the Middle East nor the Greek hero cult…

Dis Pater

(338 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] Roman equivalent of the Greek ruler of the Underworld,  Hades or respectively  Pluto. According to ancient tradition, the name Dis derives from dives, ‘rich’, in the same way as Pluto derives from ploûtos, ‘wealth’ (Cic. Nat. D. 2,66; Quint. Inst. 1,6,34). Dis Pater (DP) was only worshipped in cult within the context of the ludi Tarentini, a celebration of atonement introduced by the Sibylline oracles in 249 BC, and its associated secular festival; together with  Proserpina, he was venerated at  Tarentum with the sacrifice of black an…

Antistes

(106 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] In pagan Rome, the antistes is the leader of rites and administrator of a temple, the priest or high priest, though not as a specialist term in sacred language, despite its rare inscriptional use (CIL III 1115,7. X 5654). As old Roman temples did not have permanent priests, the expression was used for specific sacral colleagues such as the vestals (Liv. 1,20,2) or the Decemviri as A. of Apollo (Liv. 10,8,2), for foreign (peregrine) gods like Ceres with a fixed priesthood, or for cults outside Rome (Cic. Verr. 2,3,111). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography J. Marquardt, …

Anteros

(142 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀντέρως; Antérōs). ‘Mutual love’, as personified requited love, likewise the avenger of an unrequited love (Serv. Aen. 4,520). In a palaistra from Elis a plastic group of both these was to be seen, in which A. sought to seize the victory palm from Eros (Paus. 6,23,5; altars: 6,23,3); on Tenos C. Pandusinus dedicated Nikes, Erotes and Anteros (IG XII 5,917). Near to the Acropolis in Athens Anteros had an altar as  Alastor (Avenger) of an unrequited love (Paus. 1,30,1), and in an erotic defixio of the imperial period the Anterotes are invoked [1]. In theological …

Aegialea

(135 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Αἰγιάλεια; Aigiáleia). In prose also Aegiale, daughter of Adrastus (Hom. Il. 5,412) and Amphithea (Apollod. 1,79), and wife of Diomedes. In order to avenge herself for being wounded by Diomedes (Il. 5,330 ff,) Aphrodite coerces her, during Diomedes' absence in Troy, into getting involved with many young men in Argus. Upon returning home, Diomedes wants to murder A., or he flees in abhorrence to Calydon, and then to Italy. The myth establishes Diomedes' Italian adventure with the a…

Celeus

(142 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Κελεός; Keleós). An Eleusinian local hero, local king and husband of  Metaneira, who upon the wish of his four daughters hospitably receives  Demeter who is wandering in search of her daughter, entrusts to her the care of his newborn son  Demophon [1] and finally builds her first temple after her epiphany (H. Hom. Cer.; a slightly different version according to the old poet Pamphus is given in Paus. 1,38,3); as a local hero, C. receives cult worship at the Eleusinia (LSCG 10,72). …

Leto

(930 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Λητώ; Lētṓ). Daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe (Hes. Theog. 405). She gives birth to Zeus' twins Apollo and Artemis and appears closely connected to them from Homer (Il. 5,447; 20,39f.). However, the birth of Apollo is closely linked to Delos, while that of Artemis is also linked to Ephesus. In both cases, the myth speaks of Hera's hostility which forces L. to make a long journey and delays the birth. On Delos, the floating island, where L. is finally accepted after sh…

Acanthis and Acanthus

(88 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀκανθίς, ‘siskin’ and Ἄκανθος, ‘goldfinch’). Daughter and son of Autonous and Hippodamia, sisters of Erodius (‘Heron’), Anthus (obscure bird-name), Schoineus (likewise). When the mares from the father's horse stud pulled Anthus apart, the family grieved for him, until out of compassion Zeus and Apollo transformed them all into birds: the parents into a bittern and a crested lark, the children into the birds whose names they bore (Anton. Lib. 7). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography P.M.C. Forbes Irving, Metamorphosis in Greek myth, 1990, 224 f.

Cynocephali

(74 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Κυνοκέφαλοι; Kynoképhaloi, ‘dog heads’) is the term for various fanciful frontier peoples; they settled in Libya (Hdt. 4,191), in Ethiopia (Aesch. fr. 603ab Mette; Str. 16,4,16) and in India (Ctesias, FGrH 688 F 45), and are considered to be particularly just and long-lived. The link between animal and ideal human traits typifies this utopian thought. Moreover the word also describes the baboons sacred to Egypt.  Monsters Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Faunus

(929 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
Roman god of the outdoors, early identified with the Greek  Pan. In poetry and especially in the figurative arts the two generally coincide: F., lover of the  Nymphs (Hor. Carm. 3,18,1) and insatiable erotomaniac [1], comes from Hellenistic mythology. F. does not have his own iconography [2; 3]. Like Pan, he is associated with forest and mountains as well as with goats and sheep. More his own is his role as originator of nightmares and numinous voices (and then generally as a seer), his association with the   Lupercalia and his integral place in the line of origi…

Chimaera

(190 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (χίμαιρα; chímaira). C., ‘goat’, is the Lycian monster, ‘lion in front, snake behind, and she-goat in the middle’ (Hom. Il. 6,181 = Lucr. 5,905), slain by  Bellerophon. It is the child of  Typhon by Echidna, mother of the  Sphinx (Phix: Hes. Theog. 319-326); a different tradition says it was reared by the Lycian Amisodarus (Hom. Il. 16,328). A firm component of the myth, since Homer, is that it breathes fire: according to Ov. Met. 9,647 and Apollod. 2,31 from the eponymous goat's h…

Achlis

(81 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version]  Elk-like animal of nordic countries (Scandinavia or Gangavia), known to the Romans only from hearsay. In the descriptions (Plin. HN 8,39; Solin. 20,3) zoological mirabilia of other animals (elk, elephant, rhinoceros) are mixed with possibly genuine memories of the giant deer, which died out in historical times. The Pliny report survives in the Song of the Nibelungs (16,937), where the achlis is replaced by the ‘Schelch’. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography W. Richter, A., in: Philologus 103, 1959, 281 ff.

Agapenor

(90 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀγαπήνωρ; Agapḗnōr). Son of Ancaeus (Hyg. Fab. 97), king in Tegea. In connection with the murder of  Alcmaeon [1], Arsinoe, the daughter of Phegeus, was brought to him by her brothers as a slave in a chest (Apollod. 3,90). A. was one of Helen's suitors (Apollod. 3,129) and led the Arcadians before Troy (Hom. Il. 2,609). On the return journey he came to Cyprus, where he founded Paphus and its sanctuary of Aphrodite (Paus. 8,5,2). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography W. Kullmann, Die Quellen der Ilias, 1960, 97.

Fortuna

(1,739 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
The goddess of fortune with an ancient cult in Italy; in the Republican period mostly understood as favourable chance but later considered increasingly negative, at least in literature. The myth of her relationship to Servius  Tullius demonstrates that this deification of an abstraction is to be understood in the full personal meaning ( Personification).The multitude of her cultic specifications (lists: Plut. Mor. 281e; 322f.) makes a uniform interpretation of origin and function difficult (revi…

Alphesiboea

(24 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] Daughter of Phegeus of Psophis, possesses the necklace of Eriphyle (Paus. 2,24,8-10); also called  Arsinoe [3]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Agamede

(67 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀγαμήδη; Agamḗdē). Daughter of Augeias, wife of Mulius, like Medea, one with knowledge of healing herbs (Hom. Il. 11,740 f.; Eust. Dion. Per. 322). With Poseidon, mother of Belus, Actor and Dictys (Hyg. Fab. 157). Her name is suggestive (‘Great Thinker’), like the variant Perimede (‘Intense Thinker’, Theoc. 2,16; Prop. 2,4,8) or the name of Medea's mother Idyia (‘Knowing One’). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Areion

(124 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀρείων [ Areíōn], in MSS also Ἀρίων [ Aríōn], on coins Ἐρίων [ Eríōn]). Adrastus' horse, descended from the gods (Hom. Il. 23,346). Poseidon, in the form of a stallion, fathered it in Thelpousa in Arcadia with Demeter, who had wanted to escape from him by transforming herself into a mare: the myth explains the epicleses of both deities -- Hippios and Erinys (the ‘Angry One’, Paus. 8,25,4-8). After the Cyclic Thebais, Adrastus saves himself on the horse and is the only survivor from the battle of the Seven against Thebes (Paus. 8,25,8). Before Adrast…

Amphictyon

(149 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀμφικτύων; Amphiktýōn). [German version] [1] Mythical third king of Athens The third king of Athens, successor of Cranaus, predecessor of Erichthonius, autochthonous or son of Deucalion (Apollod. 3,187; Paus. 1,2,6). He entertained Dionysus in Attica, which in the Athenian region of Dionysus Melpomenus was represented by terracottas (Paus. 1,2,5); in this way he learned the custom of mixing the wine with water, and founded the altar of Dionysus Orthos, of ‘upright Dionysus’ (Philochorus, FGrH 328 F 5 = Athens. 2,7,38 cd) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Son or …

Cisseus

(160 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Κισσεύς; Kisseús, from Greek κισσός, ‘ivy’, the holy plant of  Dionysus; Latin Cisseus). Name of several mythical kings associated with Thrace and Macedonia (Dionysus' supposed native land) -- the fabrication of these figures is evident. The father of  Hecabe (Eur. Hec. 3 with schol.), the guest of Anchises (Verg. Aen. 5,536f.), whom Serv. z.St. identifies with the former, the father of the Trojan priestess of Athena  Theano (Str. 7,330 fr. 24) are Thracian kings. The treacherous Macedonian …

Atymnus

(49 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἄτυμνος; Átymnos). Cretan hero, brother of Europa. A funeral in Gortyn commemorated his early death, which Phoebus A. (Adymnus) found as charioteer of the sun (Sol. 11,9; Nonnus, Dion. 11,128ff.; 258; 12,217; 19,180). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography R. F. Willetts, Cretan cults and festivals, 1962, 167.

Knots

(240 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] Play a role in Greek and Roman religion as well as in some other religious cultures. Although the meaning of the iconographically transmitted Minoan ‘cult knot’ is unclear [1], knots are a common symbolic medium of binding something, esp. in the magic and healing rituals of historical times. Thus, the knot of Hercules, depicted in the tied-up snakes on the caduceus - the staff of Hermes - is attributed with special powers of healing wounds when used for the bandage, and is said t…

Hestia

(817 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἑστία; Hestía). Greek goddess of the  hearth. Like  Vesta, she is a personification closely connected to her subject and cannot be separated from the ritual role of the hearth in both public and private domains. The cultic worship of the hearth probably derives from notions originating in the Indo-European period [1]. The cult of H. is generally characterized by the fact that she is addressed first in every prayer and is the first to receive a donation in every sacrifice (Pind. Nem. 11,5; Eur. Phaeton fr. 781,35; Pl. Crat. 401a).…

Iphis

(218 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἶφις; Îphis). Name of a series of minor heroes (genitive Ἴφιος; Íphios) and heroines (genitive Ἴφιδος; Íphidos). The ambivalence in sex is the basis for the story in Ov. Met. 9,666-797 of the change of sex of the daughter of Lygdus and Telethusa in Phaestus, which is a poetic transformation of the aitiology related by Antoninus Liberalis 17 after  Nicander for the ritual of Ekdysia in the cult of Leto at Phaestus, where the heroine is called Leucippe [1]. In addition, several Argive heroes, an Argonaut, a comrade of the Seven Against Thebes and a female sla…

Cerdo

(43 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Κερδώ, Kerdṓ, the ‘purveyor of gain’). The wife of the Argival primordial man  Phoroneus; she has a tomb (and therefore a cult) on the agora of  Argos, next to the shrine of  Asclepius (Paus. 2,21,1). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Aglaea

(73 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀγλαΐα, ep. -η; Aglaía/-ē, ‘festive radiance’). [German version] [1] Youngest of the Charites Youngest of the  Charites, married to Hephaestus (Hes. Theog. 945; Pind. Ol. 14,10). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Figure from Greek myth: Spouse of Charopus Spouse of Charopus, mother of  Nireus of Syme, according to Achilles, he was the most handsome of the men at Troy (Hom. Il. 2,671-5; Diod. Sic. 5,53). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Epione

(172 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἠπιώνη; Ēpiṓnē). Wife of  Asclepius, with whom she had the daughters  Hygieia, Aceso, Panacea, and Aegle, and the sons  Machaon and  Podalirius (in great detail in the epigraphical paeans of Macedonius, the so-called Erythraean paean, and of Dion, CollAlex 136-139 Powell); she was reputedly a daughter of  Heracles. In contrast with the sons who in Homer are frequently referred to solely as sons of Asclepius, i.e. only indirectly linked to her, there is a close and direct link with…

Echidna

(247 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἔχιδνα; Échidna). Primeval female creature in the shape of a snake, introduced into Greece due to the influence of Near East narrative art and iconography (Iluyanka for the Hittites, Tiamat in Mesopotamia). In Hesiod, E. is the daughter of the sea creatures Phorcys and Ceto (Theog. 295-303) and, together with  Typhon who also often occurs in the body of a snake, mother of a series of monsters ─ of Orthrus the dog of the triple-bodied  Geryoneus, of  Cerberus, of  Hydra, of  Chimaera, of the  Sphinx (Φίξ; Phíx in Hesiod) and of the lion of  Nemea. Later authors add…

Alexanor

(98 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἀλεξάνωρ; Alexánōr). Healing hero with suggestive name (‘Protector of Men’, cf.  Alcon), who together with the healing god Euhamerion was venerated in the Asclepieum of Sicyon (Titane). He is included in north-eastern Peloponnesian healing mythology: the local myth made him a son of  Machaon son of Asclepius, and founder of the Sicyonian sanctuary with its ancient cult image (Paus. 2,11,5-7). In Argus he was regarded as a brother of Sphyrus (founder of the Argive Asclepieum: Paus.…

Aegialeus

(178 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Αἰγιαλεύς; Aigialeús). [German version] [1] Figure from Greek myth, Son of Adrastus Son (or father) of   Adrastus the Argive, the only epigone at Thebes who fell in battle. Father or brother of   Aegialea. A. was venerated as a hero in Pagae in Megaris (Pind. Pyth. 8,53-55; Apollod. 1,103 and passim; Hyg. Fab. 71) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Eponymous hero of Aegialea, name of part of Sicyon. also other name for Achaia Indigenous inhabitant who founds the oldest part of Sicyon, Aegialea, and gives the name Aegialus to the entire Peloponnese (Pau…

Cres

(100 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Κρής). Eponym of the island of  Crete. The contradictory myths mirror the island's various archaic institutions and mythologems. C. is regarded as the son of Zeus and an Idaeic nymph, but also as the protector of newborn Zeus (in this context he is addressed as Curete or as the King of the  Curetes); his son is  Talos. He is an autochthonous king and the bringer of culture, but also a lawmaker like  Minos, who influenced the late Spartan lawmaker  Lycurgus as well (Ephoros, FGrH 145; Diod. Sic. 5,64,1; Steph. Byz. s.v. Κρήτη). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Dido

(379 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] Mythical founder of  Carthage; called Elissa by Phoenicians, Theiosso by Greeks, and Deido by Africans because of her wanderings (so Timaeus in FGrH 566 F 82; but see Serv. auct. Verg. Aen. 1,340). The myth to be lastingly established by Virgil (Aen. 1 and 4) is in its outlines present already in Timaeus; a far more detailed pre-Virgilian version is to be found in Pompeius Trogus (Just. Epit. 18,4-6), but as in Timaeus without mention of  Aeneas. Her father, king of Tyre, was variously called Mutto (Ti…

Carcabus

(58 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Καρκάβος, Καρνάβας [ Karkábos, Karnábas] in Eust. at Hom. Il. 4,88). Founder of Zelia at Cyzicus, son of  Triopas and father of  Pandarus. He kills his cruel father and flees to Tros, the king of the Dardani, who expiates him and gives him the land of Zelia (schol. Hom. Il. 4,88). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Alcyone

(196 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀλκυόνη; Alkyónē). Name of heroines attested numerous times; for instance, the wife of Meleager (Hyg. Fab. 174,7), the mother of Elephenor (Apollod. 3,11) or the sister of Eurystheus (Apollod. 2,53). In each of these cases it is unclear to what extent Alcyone coincides with either of the two well-attested figures. [German version] [1] Daugher of Atlas Daughter of Atlas, one of the Pleiades (from Hes. fr. 169). She is seduced by Poseidon, which is depicted already on the Cypselus chest (Paus. 3,18,10). The eponyms of various cities arise from the con…

Alcimedon

(141 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀλκιμέδων, Alkimédōn). [German version] [1] Arcadian hero Arcadian hero, after whom a plateau at Mantinea is named, father of Phealo, whom Hercules made pregnant. A. exposed her with her child Aechmagoras; through a jay ( kíssa), which imitated the whimpering of the child, Hercules was led to them both, recognized the son and named the spring nearby Kissa (‘Jay spring’; Paus. 8,12,2). Also used elsewhere as a hero-name appropriate for the hexameter: Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] Figure of the Iliad: chariot-driver Son of Laerces, leader of the Myrmidons, char…

Alectryon

(78 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
(Ἀλεκτρυών, ‘Rooster’). [German version] [1] Ares' minder during his meetings with Aphrodite Ares' minder during his meetings with Aphrodite. When A. slept late one morning, Helios discovered the lovers and betrayed them to Hephaestus. Ares turned A. into a rooster (Lucian. Gallus 3; Auson. 26,2,27) [1]. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [2] An Argonaut Father of Leitus (Hom. Il. 17,602), an Argonaut (Apollod. 1,113). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) Bibliography 1 C. Robert, Alektryon, in: Hermes 37, 1902, 318-320.

Ampyx, Ampycus

(59 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Ἄμπυξ, Ἄμπυκος; Ámpyx, Ámpykos). Son of Tita(e)ron, the eponym of a Thessalian city (Schol. Apoll. Rhod. 1,65). Seer, married to Chloris, the daughter of Orchomenus, father of the seer Mopsus (Hygin. fab. 14,5; Paus. 5,17,10). Titaresius (Hes. sc. 181) and Titaironeus (Tzetz. in Lycophrontem 881) are thus epithets of Mopsus. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Clyti(a)dae

(77 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] (Κλυτιάδαι, Κλυτίδαι; Klytiádai, Klytídai). Family, which together with the Iamidae ( Iamus) provided the seers in Olympia; through  Clytius [2], grandson of Amphiaraus, who is in turn the great-grandson of Melampus, the C. can be traced back to two of the central seers in Greek myth (Paus. 6,17,6). In the pre-Imperial period only Theogonus and his son Eperastus are known, by means of a statue in Olympia (Paus. loc. cit.). Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)

Hero cult

(1,922 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
Hero cult (HC) is the cult worship of a particular group of superhuman beings whom the Greeks describe as heroes from the time of Homer (ἥρωες, hḗrōes); the etymology of the word is unclear, and the modern link with  Hera is problematical [1]. The HC uses both the form of the common Olympian sacrifice as well as more specific cult forms. In the course of the development of Greek religion, various groups have been subsumed under the category of heroes, from original gods to real deceased people [2]. [German version] A. The myths In Bronze Age Greece, heroes are perhaps presupposed by the ti-rise-r…

Initiation

(1,237 words)

Author(s): Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH)
[German version] A. General Initiation refers a) in a perspective limited to Greek and Roman religion, to ritual inauguration into a mystery cult, b) in additional ethnological and socio-anthropological terminology, to the complex of rites with which in ancient society adolescents of both sexes are accepted into the society of adults (in German scholarship formerly referred to also as puberty ceremony). For the former function, corresponding ancient terminology exists (Greek μύησις; mýēsis, more rarely τελετή; teletḗ, Latin initia n.pl.), but not for the latter. This doe…
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