KEY TO PRONUNCIATION

The long (marked) vowels are pronounced as in the following words;

_fāte_, _fāre_, _far_; _mē_; _mīne_; _mōte_; _mūte_. The short

vowels, which include all not marked as above, are pronounced as in

the following words: _pat_; _pet_; _pit_; _pot_; _put_. The accented

syllable in each word is indicated by a mark placed immediately

after it. (_q.v._), _quod vide_ (L)--which see.

=A=

=Abaris= (_ab´a-ris_).--A mythical personage who is said to have taken

no earthly food, and to have ridden on an arrow--the gift of Apollo,

whose priest he was--through the air.

=Absyrtus= (_ab-sir´tus_).--A son of Æetes, king of Colchis, sister of

Medea. (See “Medea.”)

=Acamas= (_ak´a-mās_).--(_i_) Son of Theseus and Phædra; went with

Diomedes to Troy to recover Helen.

=Acantha= (_ak-an´tha_).--A nymph beloved by Apollo and changed into the

acanthus.

=Acca Laurentia= (_ak´ka law-ren´shi-a_).--The nurse of Romulus and

Remus, after they had been taken from the she-wolf. (See “Romulus.”)

=Achates= (_a-kā´tēz_).--A friend of Æneas--“_fidus Achates_” famous for

his fidelity.

=Acheloiades= (_a-ke-lō´i-a-dẽz_).--The Sirens, so called because they

were the daughters of Achelous.

=Achelous= (_ak-el´ō-us_).--The river-god was the son of Oceanus and

Tethys, and the eldest of three thousand brothers. He and Hercules both

loved Deianira, and fought for the possession of her. Hercules conquered

him, when he took the form of a bull, but was defeated again and

deprived by Hercules of one of his horns. Achelous, who was looked upon

as the representative of all fresh water, was considered a great

divinity throughout Greece.

=Acheron= (_ak´er-ōn_).--Generally signifies the whole of the lower

world. Properly, it is the river of the lower world, around which the

shades of the departed hover, and into which the Cocytus and

Pyriphlegethon flow. There are other rivers also named Acheron.

=Achilles= (_a-kill´ẽz_).--The great hero of the Iliad. He was the son

of Peleus, king of the Myrmidones, and the Nereid Thetis. His mother,

wishing to make him immortal, plunged him, when an infant, into the

river Styx, and succeeded with the exception of the ankles, by which she

held him. He was educated by Phoenix and Chiron, the centaur--the former

teaching him eloquence and the arts of war, the latter the healing art.

When he was but nine years old, Calchas declared that Troy could not be

taken without his aid. His mother, knowing that this war would be fatal

to him, disguised him as a girl and sent him to dwell with the daughters

of Lycomedes, at whose court he was called Pyrrha (_pir´ra_), _i.e._,

red or tawny, on account of his auburn hair. Seeing, however, that Troy

could not be taken without his aid, the crafty Ulysses, disguised as a

merchant, sought him out, offering for sale jewels and articles of

feminine attire, among which he had placed some arms. The ruse

succeeded, as Achilles, by eagerly seizing the arms, at once betrayed

his sex, and accompanied Ulysses to the Greek army before Troy. While at

Lycomedes’ court he became by Deidamia the father of Pyrrhus, or

Neoptolemus. Before Troy he performed great feats of valor. After

killing numbers of Trojans, he at length met Hector, whom he chased

thrice round the walls of the city, and, having slain him, tied his body

to his chariot and dragged it to the ships of the Greeks. He had an

invulnerable suit of armor made, at his mother’s request, by Vulcan.

Finally, he was slain by Paris, son of Priam, who shot him in the heel,

his only vulnerable part. He is the principal hero of the _Iliad_, and

is represented as the handsomest and bravest of all the Greeks. After

his death Achilles became one of the judges in the lower world, and

dwelt in the islands of the blessed, where he was united to Medea, or

Iphigenia.

=Acis= _(ā´sis_).--A Sicilian shepherd, beloved by the nymph Galatea. He

was crushed, through jealousy, under a huge rock by Polyphemus, the

Cyclop, and his blood gushing forth from under was changed by the nymph

into the river Acis, at the foot of Mount Etna.

=Actæon= (_ak-tē´ōn_).--A mighty huntsman, son of Aristæus and Autonoë.

One day while hunting he saw Diana and her nymphs bathing, and was

immediately changed by the goddess into a stag, in which form he was

torn to pieces by his fifty dogs.

=Admetus= (_ad-mē´tus_).--King of Pheræ, in Thessaly. On the death of

his first wife he sued for the hand of Alcestis, whom he obtained, by

Apollo’s aid, only on coming in a chariot drawn by a lion and a wild

boar. The god (Apollo) tended the flocks of Admetus for nine years, when

he was compelled to serve a mortal for having slain the Cyclops. Apollo

prevailed on the Fates to grant that Admetus should never die if another

would lay down his life for him. This Alcestis did, but was brought back

from the lower world by Hercules.

=Adonis= (_a-dō´nis_).--A beautiful youth beloved by Venus. While

hunting he was killed by a wild boar, and was changed by Venus into the

anemone. The grief of Venus was so great that the gods of the nether

regions allowed him to spend six months of every year with Venus upon

the earth. (This myth seems to refer to the apparent death of nature in

winter and its revival in spring; hence Adonis spends six months in the

lower and a like period in the upper world.)

=Æacus= (_ē´ak-us_).--Son of Jupiter and Ægina. It is related that at

his birth in the island of Ægina, which was named after his mother,

there were no inhabitants on the island, and that Jupiter changed the

ants there into men; hence the latter were called Myrmidones (Gr. ants),

and Æacus ruled over them. Æacus was renowned throughout Greece for his

justice and piety, and after his death became one of the three judges in

Hades (the other two being Rhadamanthus and Minos).

=Aedon= (_a-ē´dōn_).--Daughter of Pandareus and wife of Zethus, king of

Thebes. Jealous of Niobe, her brother Amphion’s wife, having six sons

and six daughters, while she had but one son, she determined to kill the

eldest of Niobe’s sons, but by mistake slew her own son Itylus. Jupiter

changed her into a nightingale, whose melancholy notes are represented

as Ædon’s lamentations for her son.

=Æetes= (_ē-ē´tēz_) or =Æeta=, (_ē-ē´ta_).--Son of Helios (the sun) and

Persëis, and king of Colchis at the time Phrixus had fled to his court

on a ram with golden fleece, the gift of Mercury. (See “Phrixus.”) After

having sacrificed to Jupiter the ram that had carried him, Phrixus gave

its golden fleece to Æetes, who suspended it to an oak tree in the grove

of Mars, where it was guarded day and night by an ever-watchful dragon.

It was, however, greatly coveted, and an expedition was fitted out,

consisting of all the great heroes of the age, with the special object,

which proved successful, of obtaining it. (See “Argonautæ.”)

=Ægæon= (_ē-jē´ōn_).--Son of Uranus (heaven) and Gæa (earth). Ægæon and

his brothers, Gyas and Cottus, were huge monsters with a hundred arms

and fifty heads. Ægæon and his brothers, who are often called the

Uranids, conquered the Titans when they made war upon the gods, and

secured the victory to Jupiter, who thrust the Titans into Tartarus,

and placed Ægæon and his brothers to guard them. Ægæon is often referred

to under the name Briareus.

=Æneas= (_ē-nē´as_), the hero of Virgil’s great epic poem the _Æneid_

(_ē-ne´id_), was the son of Anchises and Venus, and was born on Mount

Ida. Having been attacked on Mount Ida by Achilles, who also drove away

his flocks, he led the Dardanians against the Greeks, and at once took

part in the Trojan war. Æneas and Hector were the great Trojan heroes,

and the former, being beloved by gods and men, was on more than one

occasion saved in battle by the gods. Venus saved him from Diomedes, and

Neptune from Achilles, when the latter was on the point of killing him.

From the flames of Troy he carried on his back his father, Anchises, and

the household gods, and led Ascanius, his son, leaving his wife, Creusa,

daughter of Priam, to follow. Æneas then set out on those wanderings

that form the subject of the _Æneid_. After visiting Epirus and Sicily

he was driven by a storm on the coast of Africa, where he met with Dido,

queen of Carthage, who hospitably entertained him and became enamored of

him. Æneas, however, left suddenly, and Dido (_q.v._) killed herself. He

then sailed to Latium, where he married Lavinia, the daughter of King

Latinus, and founded the town of Lavinium, so named in honor of his

wife. Turnus, to whom Lavinia had been betrothed, made war against

Latinus and Æneas, but was slain by the latter, who now became ruler of

the Aborigines and Trojans. Soon afterwards, however, he was slain in

battle by the Rutulians.

=Æolus= (_ē´o-lus_).--The happy ruler of the Æolian Islands. He had been

given, by Jupiter, dominion over the winds, which he kept enclosed in a

mountain. When Ulysses was on his journey from Troy to Ithaca, Æolus

gave him all the adverse winds in bags, but his companions, from

curiosity, opened them.

=Æsculapius= (_ēs-kū-lā´pi-us_).--The god of healing. He was the son of

Apollo and Coronis, and was brought up by Chiron, the centaur, who

instructed him in the art of healing and in hunting. When he was grown

up, he not only healed the sick, but recalled the dead to life. He was

killed by a thunderbolt by Jupiter, who feared lest men should, by his

aid, escape death altogether. Serpents were sacred to him, and the cock

was sacrificed to him.

=Agamemnon= (_ag-a-mem´nōn_).--King of Mycenæ, and brother of Menelaus.

He married Clytemnestra, who bore him Iphigenia, Chrysothemis, Laodice

(Electra) and Orestes. He was the most powerful prince in Greece. When

Helen (_q.v._) was carried off by Paris, and the Greek chiefs sought to

regain her, Agamemnon was chosen commander-in-chief of the expedition.

He is not, however, the hero of the _Iliad_, as he is the inferior of

Achilles in true nobility of character. At the capture of Troy he

received Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, as his prize. On his return

home he was murdered by Ægisthus, who, during his absence at Troy, had

been living with Agamemnon’s wife Clytemnestra. His son Orestes avenged

his father’s death by slaying both Ægisthus and Clytemnestra.

=Aganippe= (_ag-a-nip´pē_).--A fountain at the foot of Mount Helicon, in

Bœotia, sacred to the Muses, who were hence called Aganippides

(_ag-a-nip´pi-dēz_).

=Ajax= (_ā´jaks_).--There are two heroes having this name, Ajax the

Great, or Ajax Telamonius, and The Lesser Ajax, or Ajax Oïleus. (i) Ajax

the Great was son of Telamon, king of Salamis, and grandson of Æacus. He

took a very prominent part in the Trojan war, and was placed second to

Achilles alone in bravery. He was conquered by Ulysses in struggle for

the armor of Achilles, and this, according to Homer, was the cause of

his death. (ii) The Lesser Ajax, or Ajax, son of Oïleus, also took part

in the Trojan war. He was, next to Achilles, the most swift-footed among

the Greeks.

=Alcathous= (_al-kath´o-us_).--Son of Pelops and Hippodamia. Obtained

his wife by slaying the Cithæronian lion, which had killed the king’s

son, and succeeded his father-in-law as king of Megara, the walls of

which he restored.

=Alcestis= or =Alceste= (_al-ses´tē_).--Wife of Admetus (_q.v._).

=Alcmene= (_alk-mē´nē_).--Wife of Amphitryon. Jupiter, who appeared

disguised as her husband, became by her the father of Hercules.

=Alcyone= (_al´si-on-ē_) or =Halcyone=.--Daughter of Æolus and wife of

Ceyx. Her husband having perished in a shipwreck, Alcyone’s grief became

so intense that she threw herself into the sea. Out of compassion the

gods changed the two into birds, and while these birds (halcyons) were

breeding the sea always remained calm.

=Alecto= (_a-lek´tô_).--One of the Furies (_q.v._).

=Aloeus= (_al-lō´-ūs_).--Son of Neptune and Canace. His wife had, by

Neptune, two sons, Otus and Ephialtes, the Aloidæ (_a-lō´i-dē_), who

were of extraordinary size and strength. At the age of nine years they

attempted to scale heaven by piling Mount Ossa upon Olympus and Pelion

upon Ossa. To prevent them accomplishing this when they grew older

Apollo destroyed them before their beards began to appear.

=Althæa= (_al-the´a_).--Wife of Æneus and mother of Meleager (_q.v._).

=Amalthea= (_am-al-thē´a_).--Nurse of the infant Jupiter in Crete, whom

she fed with goat’s milk. Jupiter broke off one of the horns of the goat

and gave it the power of becoming filled with whatever the possessor

might wish; hence it was called the _cornucopia_--_i.e._, horn of

plenty.

=Amazones= (_a-māz´on-ēz_).--The Amazones, a mythical race of warlike

women living near the river Thermodon. The female children had their

right breasts cut off that they might use the bow with greater ease;

hence their name _Amazon_, which means, “without breast.” One of the

twelve labors of Hercules was to obtain the girdle of Hippolyte, the

queen of the Amazons. They came, under their queen, Penthesilea, to the

assistance of Priam in the Trojan war; but she was killed by Achilles.

=Amphion= (_am-fi´ōn_).--Son of Jupiter and Antiope, and twin-brother of

Zethus. They were born on Mount Cithæron, and were brought up by a

shepherd. Amphion received a lyre from Mercury, on which he learned to

play with marvelous skill. Amphion married Niobe (_q.v._).

=Amphitrite= (_am-fi-trī´tē_).--Wife of Neptune and goddess of the sea.

She was the mother of Triton.

=Ancæus= (_an-sē´us_).--One of the Argonauts. Having left a cup of wine

untasted to pursue a wild boar, he was killed by it, which gave rise to

the proverb. “There’s many a slip twixt the cup and the lip.”

=Anchises= (_an-kī´sēz_).--Son of Capys and Themis, the daughter of

Ilus, king of Dardanus, on Mount Ida. He was so handsome that he was

beloved by Venus, who became by him the mother of Æneas. On the capture

of Troy by the Greeks, he was carried off on his son’s shoulders from

the burning city. He set forth with Æneas for Italy, but died and was

buried in Sicily.

=Androgeos= (_an-droj´e-ōs_).--Son of Minos and Pasiphaë. Slain at the

instigation of King Ægus, after having overcome all his opponents in the

Panathenæa, at Athens. To avenge his death Minos made war on the

Athenians, and compelled them to send every year to Crete seven youths

and seven maidens to be devoured by the Minotaur (_q.v._). Theseus,

however, slew the monster, and so delivered them from the terrible

tribute.

=Andromache= (_an-drom´a-kē_); literal meaning, “fighting with

men.”--Daughter of King Eëtion and wife of Hector, by whom she had a

son, Scamandrius, or Astyanax. On the taking of Troy she fell to the lot

of Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus), the son of Achilles, who took her to Epirus,

and treated her as his wife. She afterwards married Hector’s brother

Helenus.

=Andromeda= (_an-drom´e-da_).--Daughter of Cepheus, king of Æthiopia,

and Cassiopea. Her beauty was so great that her mother boasted that she

surpassed in that respect the Nereids, the marine nymphs of the

Mediterranean. Consequently, Neptune sent a sea-monster to lay waste the

country. The oracle of Ammon promised deliverance, on condition that

Andromeda was chained to a rock and left to the fury of the monster.

This was done, but she was saved by Perseus (_q.v._), who slew the

monster and obtained Andromeda for his wife. Having been previously

promised to her uncle Phineus, however, the latter appeared at the

wedding, and a great fight ensued in which Phineus and all associated

with him were slain. After her death Andromeda was placed among the

stars.

=Antaeus= (_an-tē´us_).--A giant of Libya (_i.e._ Africa), son of

Neptune and Earth, who remained invincible so long as he touched his

mother Earth. Hercules, having discovered this, held him up in the air

and squeezed him to death.

=Antenor= (_ant-ē´nor_).--One of the wisest of the elders of Troy. When

Menelaus and Ulysses came to Troy as ambassadors he received them, and

advised the Trojans to give up Helen to Menelaus, which, however, they

refused to do. When the city was captured by the Greeks Antenor’s life

was spared.

=Aphrodite= (_af-ro-di´tē_)--_i.e._ sea-foam.--The goddess of love and

beauty, called Aphrodite by the Greeks, because she was supposed to have

been born from the sea-foam. She was called Venus by the Romans. See

“Venus.”

=Apollo= (_a-poll´ō_).--The sun-god. He was the son of Jupiter and

Latona, and twin-brother of Diana. Apollo was the god of music and the

fine arts, of prophecy, and the god who protects flocks and cattle. He

is also represented as taking great interest in the foundation and

government of cities, and was looked upon as the god who punishes; hence

carrying a bow and arrows. He had a celebrated oracle at Delphi. The

invention of the flute and lyre was ascribed to Apollo. He was

challenged to musical contests by Marsyas and Pan (see “Marsyas” and

“Midas”). Apollo, as sun-god, is frequently called Phœbus--_i.e._ the

bright one. There are several statues of Apollo, the most beautiful

being the Apollo Belvedere at Rome.

=Arachne= (_ar-ak´nē_).--A Lydian maiden who so greatly excelled in the

art of weaving that she challenged Minerva to a trial of skill. Being

defeated, she hanged herself, and was changed by the goddess into a

spider. This fable indicates that man learned the art of weaving from

the spider, and that it was first pursued in Lydia. Arachne is the Greek

word for spider.

=Ares= (_ā´rēz_).--The Greek god of war. See “Mars.”

=Arethusa= (_a-re-thū´sa_).--One of the Nereids or marine nymphs of the

Mediterranean. She was the nymph of the celebrated fountain of Arethusa

in the island of Ortygia, near Syracuse. Arethusa was being pursued by

the river-god Alpheus, when she was changed by Diana into the fountain

of the same name.

=Argonautæ= (_ar-go-naw´tē_).--The Argonauts, or sailors of the Argo,

were the heroes who went with Jason on the celebrated expedition to

Colchis to recover the golden fleece. The origin of the expedition was

as follows: Jason’s father had been deprived of his kingdom by his

half-brother Pelias, who also, to make himself more secure, attempted to

take the life of Jason, then an infant. The latter, was, however, saved,

and given over to the care of the centaur Chiron. When he grew up Pelias

promised to surrender the kingdom to him on what he considered to be an

impossible condition--namely that he brought him the golden fleece. This

golden fleece (for the history of which see “Phrixus”) was suspended to

an oak in the grove of Mars, in Colchis, and was guarded day and night

by a dragon. Jason at once undertook the enterprise, and instructed

Argus, son of Phrixus, to build a ship with fifty oars, which he called

the Argo, from the name of the builder. Minerva herself superintended

the building of the ship. In the expedition Jason was accompanied by all

the great heroes of the age--Hercules, Laertes, Theseus, Ajax, etc.--to

the number of fifty. After an adventurous voyage they at length arrived

at their destination. Æëtes (_q.v._), king of Colchis, on learning the

object of their visit, promised to give up the golden fleece if Jason

would perform the following feats: first, tame two bulls, which had

brazen feet and vomited fire, and yoke them to a plow; second, sow the

unused teeth of the dragon slain by Cadmus (_q.v._), from which armed

men would spring, and slay them with his own hand; third kill the dragon

who guarded the fleece. Medea, daughter of Æëtes, who was well skilled

in magic, enabled Jason, with whom she had fallen in love, to do all

these things; and, after taking the treasure, he and his Argonauts and

Medea embarked by night and sailed away. After another eventful journey

they finally reached Colchis again.

=Argus= (_ar´gus_).--A being with a hundred eyes; hence called

“Panoptes” (_pan-op´tēz_).--_i.e._ the all-seeing. Juno appointed him to

watch over the cow into which Io had been changed; but Mercury, at the

command of Jupiter, lulled him to sleep by playing on his flute, and

then cut off his head. Juno transplanted his eyes to the tail of the

peacock, her favorite bird.

=Ariadne= (_ar-i-ad´nē_).--Daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë. When Theseus

was sent as part of the yearly tribute of seven youths and seven maidens

to be devoured in the labyrinth by the Minotaur, Ariadne fell in love

with him, and gave him the clue of thread, by means of which he escaped

from the labyrinth. Theseus promised to marry her, and they left Crete

together; but he deserted her in Naxos, where she was found by Bacchus,

who made her his wife. At their marriage he gave her a crown of seven

stars, which after her death was made a constellation.

=Aricia= (_a-ri´si-a_).--A town of Latium, sixteen miles from Rome, near

which was a celebrated grove and temple of Diana.

=Arion= (_a-rī´on_).--A celebrated lyric poet and cithara player of

Methymna, in Lesbos, about B. C. 625. Once, when returning from a

successful musical contest in Sicily, the sailors, in order to possess

themselves of his presents, were about to murder him, but, on his urgent

entreaty, allowed him to play once more on his cithara. He then invoked

the gods, and threw himself into the sea. He was not drowned, however,

for one of a number of dolphins that had been attracted round the vessel

by his sweet strains took him on his back and bore him safely to land.

=Aristæus= (_ar-is-tē´us_).--Son of Apollo and Cyrene, who is said to

have taught men the management of bees, and to have first planted olive

trees. He was, after his death, worshiped as a god, and regarded as the

protector of flocks and shepherds, of vine and olive plantations.

=Artemis= (_ar´tem-is_).--The Greek name of Diana (_q. v._).

=Ascanius= (_as-kā´ni-us_).--Son of Æneas and Creusa, afterwards called

Iulus. He founded Alba Longa, and was succeeded on the throne by his son

Silvius.

=Asgard.=--In Scandinavian mythology Asgard represents the city of the

gods, situated at the center of the universe, and accessible only by the

bridge Bifrost _i. e._, the rainbow.

=Asir.=--In northern mythology the most powerful, though not the oldest,

of the deities; usually reckoned as twelve gods and twelve goddesses.

The gods are Odin, Thor, Baldur, Niörd, Frey, Tyr, Bragi, Heimdall,

Vidar, Vali, Ullur, and Forseti; the best-known of the goddesses,

Frigga, Freyja, Iduna, and Saga.

=Assaracus= (_as-sar´a-cus_).--King of Troy, son of Tros, father of

Capys, the father of Anchises.

=Astarte= (_as-tar´tē_).--A powerful goddess of Syria, corresponding to

the Roman Venus.

=Astræa= (_as-trē´a_).--Goddess of justice, daughter of Jupiter and

Themis; lived during the golden age among men.

=Astræus= (_as-trē´us_).--A Titan, husband of Aurora (the goddess of the

dawn), and father of the winds and the stars.

=Astyanax= (_as-tī´an-ax_)--_i. e._ lord of the city.--A name given by

the people of Troy to Scamandrius (or Scamander), son of Hector and

Andromache, because his father was the protector of Troy. His mother

saved him from the flames at the fall of Troy, but the Greeks hurled him

down from the walls.

=Atalanta= (_at-a-lan´ta_).--A maiden of great beauty and exceedingly

swift of foot, who determined to live in celibacy. She was the daughter

of Iasus and Clymene, and was exposed by her father in her infancy. She

was, however, suckled by a she-bear, the symbol of Diana. She took part

in the celebrated Calydonian boar hunt, and received the boar’s hide

from Meleager, who slew the animal. She was subsequently recognized by

her father, who desired her to marry. She agreed to do so on condition

that every suitor should run a race with her, and that the first that

outran her should be her husband, but all those whom she beat in the

race should be put to death. In this way many suitors perished; but at

last came Milanion (_mī-lan´i-on_), who, with the aid of Venus, reached

the goal first, and was rewarded with her hand. The goddess gave him

three golden apples, which he dropped during the race, one after the

other. Attracted by their beauty, Atalanta stopped to pick them up, thus

enabling Milanion to reach the goal first. “Atalanta’s race” has formed

the subject of several magnificent pictures.

=Athamas= (_ath´am-as_).--King of Orchomenus, in Bœotia. He married

Nephele, who bore him Helle and Phrixus. He fell in love, however, with

Ino, daughter of Cadmus, whom he married, and became by her the father

of Melicertes and Learchus. As he had married Nephele at the command of

Juno, he thus incurred the wrath of both Juno and Nephele, and was

seized with madness. In this state he slew his son Learchus. Ino and

Melicertes then leaped into the sea and became changed into marine

deities, Leucothea and Palæmon respectively.

=Athena= (_a-thē´na_).--The great divinity of the Greeks, corresponding

to the Roman Minerva (_q. v._).

=Athenæum= (_a-thē-nē´um_).--A school founded by the emperor Hadrian at

Rome, about A. D. 133, for the advancement of literature and philosophy.

The name Athenæum means a place sacred to Minerva, who was the goddess

of wisdom.

=Atlas= (_at´las_).--A Titan, son of Japetus and Clymene, and brother of

Prometheus and Epimetheus. It is related that Perseus, after his

conquest of the Gorgons, asked Atlas to shelter him, which Atlas

declined to do. Whereupon Perseus, by exposing Medusa’s head, changed

him into the mountain Atlas (in the northwest of Africa), on which

rested heaven and all the stars. Atlas married Pleione (_plē´i-ō-nē_),

daughter of Oceanus, and became by her the father of the Pleiades

(_plē´i-a-dēz_).

=Atreus= (_ā´trūs_).--Son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and brother of

Thyestes. By his first wife, Cleola, he was the father of Plisthenes,

and by his second--Aërope, widow of his son Plisthenes--the father of

the heroes Agamemnon and Menelaus, and a daughter, Anaxibia. Atreus

became king of Mycenæ. His brother, Thyestes, having seduced his wife

Aërope, Atreus banished him. Thyestes then sent, from his place of

exile, Atreus’s son Plisthenes to slay his own father, but the converse

actually took place, Atreus unwittingly killing his son. Atreus took

terrible revenge on Thyestes for this. He recalled him to Mycenæ, and in

a banquet placed before him the flesh of Thyestes’ two sons, whom he had

slain, and Thyestes unknowingly partook of the horrible repast. After

the feast, Atreus produced the heads of Thyestes’ sons, and convinced

him of what had been done. Thyestes fled with horror, and the gods

cursed Atreus and his house. The country was now visited by famine, and

Atreus, following the advice of the oracle, went in search of Thyestes.

In the course of his wanderings he married, as his third wife, Thyestes’

daughter Pelopia, thinking she was the daughter of Thesprotus. Pelopia

became, by her own father, the mother of Ægisthus, who afterwards slew

his uncle, Atreus, because the latter had commanded him to kill his

father, Thyestes. This tragic story forms the foundation of several

Greek plays.

=Atropos= (_at´rop-os_).--One of the Fates or Parcæ (_q.v._).

=Atys= (_ā´tis_).--A beautiful shepherd of Phrygia, beloved by Cybele

(_sib´el-ē_). Having proved unfaithful, the goddess caused him to become

mad, and he was changed into a fir tree.

=Augeas= (_aw´je-as_), or =Augias= (_aw-jī´as_).--A king of Elis, whose

stable, containing three thousand head of cattle, uncleansed for thirty

years, was cleaned out in one day by Hercules (_q.v._).

=Aulis= (_aw´lis_).--A harbor in Bœotia, where the Greek fleet assembled

before sailing for Troy.

=Aurora= (_aw-ror´a_).--The goddess of the dawn, called Eos (_ē´ōz_) by

the Greeks; daughter of Hyperion and Thia, wife of Tithonus. She is

represented as rising, at the close of every night, from the river

Oceanus, in her rose-colored chariot drawn by swift horses, and opening

with her rosy fingers the gates of the East. She bore Memnon to

Tithonus.

=Auster= (_aws´ter_); the Greek _Notus_, the southwest wind. In the

winter it brought fogs and rain; but in the summer it was a harmful dry

and parching wind.

=Autolycus= (_aw-tol´ik-us_).--A very dexterous robber, who could

transform himself into various shapes. He was the son of Mercury (the

god of cunning and theft) and Chione (_kī´on-ē_), and the father of

Anticlea, the mother of Ulysses, who was celebrated for his cunning.

=Avatar.=--The incarnation or descent of the deity Vishnu, of which nine

are believed to be past, and the tenth is yet to come, when Vishnu will

descend from heaven on a white-winged horse, and introduce on earth a

golden age of virtue and peace.

=Avernus lacus= (_a-ver´nus lā´kus_).--Lake Avernus. A lake near Cumæ,

enclosed by steep and wooded hills, whose deadly exhalations were said

to kill the birds flying over it. Near it was the cave of the Sibyl,

through which Æneas (see _Æneid_, Book VI.) descended to the lower

world. Sometimes Avernus is used to mean the lower world itself. In the

latter sense it is used in the well-known quotation, _Facilis descensus

Averno_, “The descent to hell is easy.”

=Azazel.=--Ewald considers Azazel to have been a demon belonging to the

pre-Mosaic religion. Another opinion identifies him with Satan, or the

devil. Milton makes him Satan’s standard bearer.

=Azrael=.--Meaning in Hebrew “help of God.” In the Jewish and the

Mohammedan mythology, the name of an angel who watches over the dying,

and separates the soul from the body.

=B=

=Baal.=--A sun god, the center of whose worship was Phœnicia, whence it

spread to neighboring countries.

=Bacchantes= (_bak-an´tez_), or =Bacchæ= (_bak´ē_).--Priestesses of

Bacchus.

=Bacchus= (_bak´us_); called Dionysus (_dī-on-ī´sus_) by the Greeks. The

god of wine; was the son of Jupiter and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus.

Bacchus went on a traveling expedition through Syria and Asia, returning

to Europe through Thrace, during which he taught men the cultivation of

the vine and the elements of civilization. He married Ariadne (_q.v._).

Feasts in honor of Bacchus were called Bacchanalia, and were of a very

noisy and riotous character. The vine, ivy and laurel were sacred to

him, as were also the tiger, lynx, panther, ass, serpent and dolphin.

Rams were usually sacrificed to his honor.

=Banshee.=--The domestic spirit of certain Irish or Scottish families,

supposed to wail shortly before the death of one of the family. The

banshee is allowed only to families of pure stock.

=Baldur= (_bâl´dör_,) or =Balder= (_bâl´der_).--In old Norse mythology,

a son of Odin, and one of the principal gods. Baldur’s characteristics

are those of a sun-god. He is the “whitest” of the gods, and so

beautiful and bright that a light emanates from him. He is the wisest,

most eloquent and mildest of the Ases, His dwelling is Breidablik. His

wife is Nanna. He is finally slain, at the instigation of Loki, by a

twig of mistletoe in the hands of the blind god Hodur. Baldur is

specifically a Northern god; among the other Germanic races there is no

existing record of him whatsoever.

=Bellerophon= (_bel-ler´o-fon_).--Son of Glaucus and grandson of

Sisyphus. He incurred the hatred of Antea, wife of Proetus, king of

Argos, who sent him to his father-in-law (Iobates) with a letter

requesting the latter to put the young man to death. Iobates selected

what seemed to be a sure method of compassing his death, by asking him

to go and kill the Chimæra (_kī-mē´ra_) (_q.v._). Bellerophon, however,

obtained possession of the winged horse Pegasus (_q.v._), which enabled

him to rise in the air. He then slew the monster with his arrows.

Iobates then sent him against the Solymi, a warlike race in Lycia, and

afterwards against the Amazons; but in these expeditions also he was

successful. Finally, he attempted to fly to heaven on Pegasus; but

Jupiter sent a gad-fly to sting the horse, which threw its rider on to

the earth.

=Bellona= (_bel-lō´na_).--The Roman goddess of war, sister of Mars.

=Belphegor.=--A god of evil, worshiped by the Moabites. An archfiend who

had been an archangel.

=Belus.=--The name of the Chaldean sun-god.

=Berg Folk.=--Pagan spirits doomed to live on the Scandinavian hills

till the day of redemption.

=Bertha.=--The white lady who guards good German children, but is the

terror of the bad, who fear her iron nose and big feet. Corresponds to

the Italian La Befana.

=Bheem.=--One of the five brotherhoods of Indian demigods, famous for

strength.

=Bifrost.=--In Norse mythology, a bridge between earth and heaven, over

which none but the gods could travel. It leads to the palace of the

Fates.

=Bilskirnir.=--A wonderful palace built by Thor for the use of peasants

after death.

=Bona Dea= (_bon´a de´a_), or =Fauna=, or =Fatua=.--A Roman goddess,

sister, wife or daughter of Faunus. She was the goddess of chastity and

prophecy, and revealed her oracles to females only. During her annual

festival on the first of May, in the house of the consul or prætor, no

male person was allowed to be present.

=Boreas= (_bor´e-as_).--The north wind; was the son of Astræus and

Aurora, and brother of the other three winds, Notus, Zephyrus and

Hesperus. He was worshiped at Athens, where a festival was celebrated in

his honor.

=Bosphorus=, or =Bosporus=.--The Straits of Constantinople, so called

from Io, who, in the form of a heifer, swam across it (Bosphorus =

Ox-ford). See “Io.”

=Brahma.=--The supreme god of the Hindus, represented with four heads

and four arms. He is regarded as the creator of the universe, and forms,

with Vishnu the preserver, and Síva the destroyer, the divine triad.

=Briareus= (_brī-ār´e-us_).--A hundred-armed giant, also called Ægæon

(_q.v._). Pope thus expresses his admiration for Handel:--

“Strong in new arms the giant Handel stands,

Like bold Briareus with a hundred hands.”

=Briseis= (_brī-sē´is_).--Daughter of Brises and beloved by Achilles.

She was the occasion of a feud between Achilles and Agamemnon.

=Bucephalus= (_bū-sef´a-lus_)--_i. e._ bull-headed. The favorite charger

of Alexander the Great, so named because he was branded with a bull’s

head. No one but Alexander was able to mount this celebrated horse,

which always knelt down to receive his master. He died in India after

carrying Alexander through all his campaigns. Alexander built a city

near the place where he died, and named it Bucephala in memory of him.

=Busiris= (_bū-sī´ris_).--A king of Egypt who cruelly sacrificed

strangers to Jupiter. He attempted to sacrifice Hercules, but the latter

slew him and all his ministers.

=Buto= (_bū´tō_).--An Egyptian goddess identified with Latona.

=C=

=Cacus= (_kā´kus_).--Son of Vulcan; a huge giant and notorious robber;

lived in a cave on Mount Aventine. He stole the oxen of Hercules, which

the latter had taken from Geryon, in Spain, whereupon Hercules slew him.

=Cadmus= (_kad´mus_).--Son of the Phœnician king Agenor, and brother of

Europa. His father sent him to search for his sister, who had been

carried off by Jupiter, and he was directed to follow a certain cow, and

to build a city on the spot where the cow fell down with fatigue. In

this way he became the founder of Thebes, in Bœotia. Near this place was

a well guarded by a dragon, which Cadmus slew, and sowed the teeth of

the monster. From these arose armed men, who killed each other, with the

exception of five, who were the ancestors of the Thebans. All this he

did on the direction of Minerva, and Jupiter gave him Harmonia for his

wife. The marriage was celebrated in the citadel of Thebes, and all the

Olympian gods were present at the ceremony. Cadmus gave Harmonia a

famous robe of state (peplus) and a necklace (see “Harmonia”) which he

had received from Vulcan. Their children were Autonoë, Ino, Semele,

Agave, Polydorus and Illyrius. Cadmus introduced among the Greeks an

alphabet of sixteen letters.

=Cæneus= (_sē´nūs_).--Originally a maiden, named Cænis, who was beloved

by Neptune and changed by him into a boy, and at the same time made

invulnerable. In the lower worlds she recovered her female form.

=Calchas= (_kal´kas_).--The most eminent of the Greek soothsayers at the

siege of Troy. He died of grief on meeting Mopsus, who was a wiser

soothsayer, and predicted things which Calchas could not.

=Calliope= (_kal-lī´op-ē_).--The Muse of epic poetry. See “Musæ.”

=Callirrhoe= (_kal-lir´ro-ē_).--Second wife of Alcmæon. She induced her

husband to get the peplus and necklace of Harmonia, whereupon he was

slain. See “Alcmæon.”

=Callisto= (_kal-lis´tō_).--An Arcadian nymph beloved by Jupiter, by

whom she became the mother of Arcas. Jupiter changed her into a

she-bear, and afterwards placed her among the stars as _Ursa major_.

=Calpe= (_kal´pē_).--One of the Pillars of Hercules; now Gibraltar.

=Calydon= (_kal´i-dōn_).--A very ancient town in Ætolia. In the

mountains around it the celebrated _Calydonian Boar Hunt_ took place.

The story is as follows: During the reign of Œneus, king of Calydon,

Diana sent a huge boar to devastate the country, because the king had

neglected her divinity. All the heroes of the age joined together for

the purpose of killing this boar. Meleager, son of Œneus, slew the boar,

and gave its hide to Atalanta, with whom he was in love. See “Atalanta.”

=Calypso= (_kal-ip´sō_).--A nymph who ruled in the island of Ogygia, on

which Ulysses was shipwrecked on his journey home from Troy. She desired

Ulysses to marry her, and detained him on the island for seven years.

=Camenæ= (_kam-ē´nē_).--Originally prophetic nymphs belonging to the

religion of ancient Italy, afterwards identified with the Muses.

=Campus Martius= (_kam´pus mar´shi-us_)--_i. e._ the plain of Mars; so

named because it was consecrated to the god Mars. An open plain outside

the walls of Rome, where the Roman youths performed their gymnastic and

warlike exercises, and where the Roman people met for the purpose of

electing magistrates.

=Capitolium= (_kap-it-ō´li-um_).--The temple of Jupiter and the citadel

of Rome.

=Cassandra= (_kas-san´dra_).--Daughter of Priam, king of Troy, and

Hecuba. She possessed great beauty, and was beloved by Apollo, who

bestowed on her the gift of prophecy. She disappointed him, however,

whereupon the god ordained that no one should believe her predictions.

On the fall of Troy she fell to the share of Agamemnon, who took her to

Mycenæ, where she was murdered by Clytæmnestra.

=Castor= and =Pollux= (_kas´tor_, _pol´luks_).--Twin brothers, often

called the Dioscuri (_di-os´ku-rī_), _i. e._ sons of Zeus (Jupiter),

because they were the sons of Jupiter and Leda, the wife of Tyndareus,

king of Sparta. Castor was famous for his skill in managing horses, and

Pollux for his ability as a boxer. Castor was supposed to be mortal,

while Pollux was immortal. They took part in the celebrated expedition

of the Argonauts, and assisted the Romans against the Latins in the

great battle of Lake Regillus. They were greatly attached to each other,

and were placed by Jupiter among the stars as Gemini (_jem´in-ī_), _i.

e._ twins, where they served as a guide to mariners. They were worshiped

more especially as the protectors of sailors.

=Cauther.=--In Mohammedan mythology the lake of paradise, whose waters

are as sweet as honey, as cold as snow, and as clear as crystal; and any

believer who tastes thereof is said to thirst no more.

=Cecrops= (_sē´krops_).--The most ancient king of Attica, founder of

Athens. He decided in favor of Athena (Minerva) when she and Neptune

contended for the possession of Attica. The citadel of Athens was called

Cecropia after him.

=Celeus= (_sel´e-us_).--King of Eleusis, husband of Metanira, and father

of Triptolemus and Demophon. He entertained the goddess Ceres, who in

return taught his son Triptolemus (_q.v._) agriculture.

=Centauri= (_sen-taw´rī_), or =Centaurs=--_i.e._ the bull-killers--were

a fabulous race living in Thessaly, half men and half horses. They were

defeated in a famous fight with the Lapithæ (_q.v._), and expelled from

their country. Chiron (_kī´ron_) was the most celebrated of them

(_q.v._).

=Cephalus= (_sef´al-us_).--Was beloved by Aurora, whose advances he

rejected from love of his wife Procris. Aurora asked him to try the

fidelity of Procris. Having metamorphosed him into a stranger, he

appeared, laden with rich presents, before her. The presents caused her

to yield, whereupon her husband discovered himself. She fled in shame to

Crete, but afterwards returned, disguised as a youth, with a dog and

spear (the gifts of Diana) that never missed their object. To obtain

these, Cephalus promised to love the youth, who then made herself known

to him as his wife Procris. In this way a reconciliation was effected.

Afterwards Cephalus, while out hunting, accidentally killed her with the

never-erring spear.

=Cepheus= (_sē´fūs_).--King of Ethiopia and father of Andromeda.

=Cerberus= (_ser´ber-us_).--The three-headed dog that guarded the

entrance to the lower world.

=Ceres= (_sē´rēz_).--The goddess of agriculture, especially of the

cultivation of corn; called Demeter (_dē-mē-tēr_) by the Greeks. She was

the daughter of Saturn and Rhea, and sister of Jupiter and Pluto. She

became by Jupiter the mother of Proserpine. The latter was carried off

by Pluto. When Ceres found this out, she did not allow the earth to

bring forth any fruits, and Jupiter was compelled to send Mercury into

the lower world to fetch back Proserpine. Pluto consented, but gave

Proserpine part of a pomegranate to eat. In consequence of this she was

obliged to spend one-third of the year with Pluto. The earth then

brought forth fruit again. This legend evidently refers to the

concealment of seed-corn in the earth and its subsequent reappearance

above the surface. The Romans sacrificed pigs to Ceres. The decrees of

the senate were deposited in her temple.

=Ceyx= (_sē´ix_).--Son of Lucifer and husband of Alcyone.

=Charites= (_char´it-ēz_)--Gr., the =Graces=--were the goddesses who

confer all grace. They were the daughters of Jupiter and were three in

number, their names being Aglaia (_ag-lā´i-a_), _i. e._ the bright one;

Euphrosyne (_ū-fros´i-nē_), _i. e._ the cheerful or mirthful one; and

_Thalia_ (_thal-ī´a_), _i. e._ the blooming one. They were the

personifications of grace and beauty, and enhanced by refinement and

gentleness the enjoyments of life. They were the friends of the Muses

and specially favored poetry.

=Charon= (_kär´on_).--Son of Erebus; was the ferryman of Hades who

conveyed the souls of the departed across the rivers Acheron and Styx,

receiving in return the obolus placed in the mouth of every corpse

before burial.

=Charybdis= (_ka-rib´dis_).--A dangerous whirlpool between Italy and

Sicily, opposite Scylla (_q.v._).

=Chibiabos.=--A musician, ruler in the land of spirits, and friend of

Hiawatha. Personification of harmony in nature.

=Chimæra= (_ki-mē´ra_)--_i. e._ a she-goat.--A fabulous, fire-breathing

monster with a lion’s head, a serpent’s tail, and a _goat’s_ body. She

was killed by Bellerophon, mounted on Pegasus. The myth relates to a

volcano in Lycia.

=Chione= (_ki´on-ē_).--Daughter of Dædalion. She was shot by Diana

because she compared her beauty with that of the goddess.

=Chiron= (_kī´ron_).--A centaur famous for his knowledge of medicine,

plants, music and divination. Son of Saturn and Philyra, the tutor of

Æsculapius, Achilles and Hercules. Being accidentally wounded by one of

the poisoned arrows of Hercules, he gave up his immortality and was

changed into the constellation Sagittarius.

=Chloris= (_klor´is_).--The Greek goddess of flowers, identical with

Flora.

=Chou.=--An Egyptian god corresponding to the Roman Hercules.

=Circe= (_sir´sē_).--Daughter of Helios (the sun) and Perse, famous for

her magic arts. She lived on the Island of Ææa, on which Ulysses was

cast on his voyage home from Troy. Circe met his companions, whom he had

sent to explore the country, and offered them a magic cup, on tasting

which they all became, with the single exception of Eurylochus, changed

into swine. Ulysses, on hearing of it, obtained from Mercury the root

_moly_, which fortified him against enchantment, and compelled Circe to

restore his companions to their former shape. He then remained with her

for a year, and she bore him a son, Telegonus.

=Clio= (_klē´o_).--The Muse of history. See “Musæ.”

=Clotho= (_klō´tho_).--The spinner of the thread of life; one of the

Fates. See “Parcæ.”

=Clusium= (_klū´si-um_).--One of the oldest and most important of the

twelve Etruscan cities, the residence of Porsena, in the neighborhood of

which was the famous sepulchre of this king in the form of a labyrinth.

=Clytæmnestra= (_klī-tem-nes´tra_).--Daughter of Tyndarus and Leda, and

sister of Helen, Castor and Pollux; wife of Agamemnon, and mother of

Orestes, Electra and Iphigenia. While her husband was absent at Troy she

lived with Ægisthus, and on his return the guilty pair murdered him. In

revenge for this deed, her own son Orestes put her to death.

=Cnidus= (_knī´dus_), or =Gnidus=.--A city on the southwestern coast of

Caria, in Asia Minor, highly celebrated for the statue of Venus, by

Praxiteles, the famous sculptor, which stood in her temple there.

=Cocytus= (_ko-sī´tus_)--i.e. the river of wailing. A river in the lower

world.

=Colchis= (_kol´chis_).--A country in Asia, lying on the eastern part of

the Black Sea, celebrated on account of the Golden Fleece (see

“Argonautæ”).

=Comus= (_kō´mus_).--The god of mirth and joy, represented as a winged

youth.

=Concordia= (_kon-kor´di-a_).--The Roman goddess of concord. Camillus,

in B. C. 367, erected a temple in her honor to celebrate the

reconciliation between the patricians and plebians.

=Corybantes= (_kor-i-ban´tes_).--Priests of Cybele (_sib´el-ē_), or

Rhea, in Phrygia, who worshiped her with riotous dances to the sound of

cymbals.

=Creusa= (_kre-ū´sa_).--Daughter of Priam and Hecuba, wife of Æneas, and

mother of Ascanius. She perished at the capture of Troy.

=Cronos= (_kron´os_).--The Greek divinity corresponding to the Roman

Saturnus (_q.v._).

=Cumæ= (_kū´mē_).--A very ancient town on the coast of Campania, said to

have been founded B. C. 1050. It was celebrated as the residence of the

earliest Sibyl. Tarquinius Superbus died here.

=Cupido= (_kū-pī´dō_), or =Cupid= (_kū´pid_); called Eros (_er´ōz_) by

the Greeks. The god of love, son of Venus, his father being either

Jupiter, Mars or Mercury. He is represented as a boy with golden wings,

armed with a bow and a golden quiver full of arrows. He is so

mischievous that he shoots his arrows at gods and men alike. Sometimes

his eyes are covered, so that he acts blindly. He is the usual companion

of his mother.

=Cybele= (_sib´e-lē_); called Rhea (_rē´a_) by the Greeks. A goddess,

originally Phrygian, regarded as goddess of the earth. She was daughter

of Uranus (_ū´ran-us_) and Ge (_jē_), and the wife of Saturn, and the

mother of Jupiter, Juno, Pluto, Neptune, Ceres and Vesta. As Saturn

devoured all her children, Cybele, just before the birth of Jupiter,

went to Crete. When Jupiter was born, she gave Saturn a stone wrapped up

like an infant, which the god, supposing it to be the child, swallowed.

Cybele is usually figured seated on a throne and having a crown of

towers on her head. She is frequently referred to as the “tower-crowned

Cybele.” The lion was sacred to her.

=Cyclopes= (_sī-klō´pēz_), or =Cyclops= (_sī´klops_)--_i. e._ beings

with one _circular eye_ in the middle of their foreheads. These were a

fabulous race of giants living in Sicily. They were shepherds, but

devoured human beings. They were also Vulcan’s workmen, volcanoes,

especially Mount Ætna in Sicily, being regarded as their workshops, in

which they made the armor for gods and heroes. The chief among them was

Polyphemus (_q.v._).

=Cyllene= (_sil-lē´nē_).--The highest mountain in Peloponnesus, on which

Mercury was born.

=Cynthus= (_sin´thus_).--A mountain of Delos, celebrated as the

birthplace of Apollo and Diana, who are hence called, respectively,

Cynthius and Cynthia (_sin´thi-a_).

=Cyprus= (_sī´prus_).--A large island in the Mediterranean, renowned in

ancient, no less than in modern, times for its fertility. It was one of

the chief seats of the worship of Venus.

=Cythera= (_si-thē´ra_).--An island in the Ægean Sea, celebrated for the

worship of Venus.

=D=

=Dædalus= (_dē´da-lus_).--A mythical personage skillful as a sculptor

and architect. He made the wooden cow for Pasiphaë, and when Pasiphaë

gave birth to the monster, the Minotaur, Dædalus constructed the

labyrinth in which it was kept. For doing this Minos, king of Crete,

imprisoned him; but he escaped, and as Minos had seized all the ships on

the coast of the island, Dædalus made wings for himself and his son

Icarus, and they flew away. Dædalus flew safely over the Ægean,

alighting at Cumæ, in Italy; but Icarus was slower in his flight, and

the rising sun melted the wax by which the wings were fastened to his

body, and he fell into the sea and was drowned; hence that part of the

sea was called _Icarian_.

=Danae= (_dan´a-ē_).--Daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. Her father

confined her in a brazen tower, as an oracle declared that she would

have a son that would kill his grandfather. Here, however, Jupiter

visited her in a golden shower, and she became the mother of Perseus.

Acrisius then shut up mother and child in a chest, which he threw into

the sea; but Jupiter caused the chest to come ashore at the island of

Seriphos, when Dictys, a fisherman, found them and took them to the king

of the country. See “Perseus.”

=Danai= (_dan´a-ī_).--The Greeks. See “Danaus.”

=Danaides= (_dan-ā´i-dēz_).--The fifty daughters of King Danaus

(_q.v._).

=Danaus= (_dan´a-us_).--Son of Belus and twin-brother of Ægyptus (see

“Ægyptus”). Lynceus, son of Belus, whose life was spared by

Hypermnestra, avenged the death of his brothers by killing his

father-in-law, Danaus. The fifty daughters of Danaus--called the

Danaides--were punished in the lower world by being compelled

everlastingly to pour water into a sieve. From Danaus, who was king of

Argos (which was the most ancient city of Greece), the Greeks

collectively were called Danai.

=Daphne= (_daf´nē_).--Daughter of the river-god Peneus. Her great beauty

attracted the god Apollo, who pursued her; but just as she was being

overtaken her prayer for aid was answered by her being changed into a

laurel tree, the Greek word for which is Daphne. This tree consequently

became the favorite tree of Apollo and was sacred to him.

=Dardanus= (_dar´dan-us_).--Son of Jupiter and Electra, the mythical

ancestor of the Trojans.

=Deianira= (_dē-ya-nī´ra_).--Daughter of Œneus and wife of Hercules. She

was beloved by the river god Achelous and by Hercules; but Hercules

overcame his opponent in a fight for her, and obtained her as his wife.

She accidentally killed her husband by giving him a poisoned garment to

wear, and on seeing what she had done hanged herself (see “Hercules”).

=Deidamia= (_dē-id-a-mī´a_).--Daughter of Lycomedes, at whose court

Achilles was concealed in maiden’s attire. She became, by Achilles, the

mother of Pyrrhus or Neoptolemus.

=Deiphobus= (_dē-if´ob-us_).--Son of Priam and Hecuba. After the death

of Paris he married Helen. He was killed in a barbarous manner by

Menelaus, Helen’s first husband.

=Delos= (_dē´los_).--The smallest of the Cyclades (islands), the

birthplace of Apollo and Diana, and the most holy seat of the worship of

the former.

=Delphi= (_del´fī_).--A small town in Phocis, very celebrated on account

of its oracle of Apollo. Homer always refers to it under its old name,

Pytho. It was looked upon as the central point of the whole earth, and

was hence called “the navel of the earth.” The oracle was consulted in

the center of the splendid temple of Apollo. Here there was a small

opening in the ground, from which a mephitic vapor occasionally arose. A

tripod was placed over this opening, and the priestess--called Pythia,

from Pytho--sat on it. In this way she inhaled the vapor, and the words

she then uttered were believed to be inspired by Apollo. The priests

took the words down and communicated them to the persons who had desired

to consult the oracle.

=Demeter= (_dē-mē-tēr_). See “Ceres.”

=Deucalion= (_dū-kā´li-on_).--Son of Prometheus, king of Phthia, in

Thessaly, and husband of Pyrrha. He and his wife were the only human

survivors of a great deluge which Jupiter sent to destroy mankind. They

were preserved during the nine days’ flood in a ship which Deucalion

built on the advice of his father. The ship finally rested on Mount

Parnassus, in Phocis. On the direction of Themis, Deucalion and his wife

threw “the bones of their mother,” _i. e._ the stones of the earth,

behind them, those thrown by Deucalion becoming men, and those thrown by

Pyrrha becoming women. In this way the earth was repeopled.

=Diana= (_dī-ā´na_).--Twin-sister of Apollo, the virgin goddess of the

moon and of hunting, called by the Greeks Artemis (_ar´te-mis_). She was

the daughter of Jupiter and Latona, and was born on the island of Delos.

She is represented as armed with a bow, quiver and arrows, and was also

regarded as identical with the moon (in Greek, Selene), her brother

Apollo being looked upon as the sun (or Helois).

=Dido= (_dī´dō_).--Daughter of the Tyrian king Belus, and reputed

founder of Carthage. Æneas, on his journey from Troy, landed at

Carthage, and was handsomely entertained by Dido. She fell in love with

the hero, and, on his leaving her to proceed to Italy, she, in despair,

destroyed herself on a funeral pile. Dido is also called Elissa.

=Diomedes= (_di-o-mē´dēz_).--A famous hero at the siege of Troy. He was

the son of Tydeus and Deïpyle, and is hence frequently called Tydides

(_ti-dī´dēz_). Next to Achilles, he was the bravest hero in the Greek

army. The gods themselves were supposed to be taking part in this

memorable siege, some being ranged on one side and some on the other.

Diomedes was under the special protection of Minerva. He not only

engaged in conflict with the Trojan heroes, Hector and Æneas, but even

wounded both Venus and Mars, who had espoused the cause of the Trojans.

Diomedes and Ulysses carried off the palladium from the city of Troy,

the safety of which was contingent on its possession (see “Troy”). At

the end of the Trojan war he returned to Argos, where he found his wife

(Ægialea) living in adultery with Hippolytus--a punishment visited upon

him by the angry Venus. He consequently left Argos, and went to Ætolia.

He afterwards settled at Daunia, in Italy, where he married Evippe, the

daughter of Daunus, and died at an advanced age.

=Dione= (_di-ō´nē_).--A female Titan who became, by Jupiter, the mother

of Venus.

=Dirce= (_dir´sē_).--Wife of Lycus, king of Thebes, who married her

after divorcing his former wife, Antiope (_an´ti-o-pē_). On account of

the cruelty with which she treated Antiope, Amphion and

Zethus--Antiope’s sons by Jupiter--took terrible vengeance on Dirce.

They tied her to a wild bull, which dragged her about till she perished,

and then threw her body into a fountain near Thebes, which was from that

time called the Fountain of Dirce.

=Dis= (_dīs_).--A contraction of Dives, _i. e._ rich; the god of the

infernal regions. See “Pluto.”

=Discordia= (_dis-kor´di-a_); in Greek, Eris (_er´is_).--The goddess of

strife or discord. She was the sister of Mars, and, with him, delighted

in the noise and tumult of war. It was she who threw the celebrated

golden apple into the assembly of gods, for a full account of the

results of which see “Paris.”

=Donar.=--A name given, sometimes, to Thor, the thunder-god, in Norse

mythology.

=Doris= (_dōr´is_).--Daughter of Oceanus and Thetis. She married her

brother Nereus (_q.v._), and became the mother of the fifty Nereides.

=Draupnir.=--The marvelous ring belonging to Odin, with which he worked

magic. It was burned on the funeral pyre of his son Balder.

=Droma.=--The chain forged for the purpose of binding the Fenris wolf,

but which he broke. Hence the proverb, “to dash out of Droma.”

=Dryades= (_dry´a-dez_), or =Dryads=.--Wood-nymphs. See “Nymphæ.”

=E=

=Echidna= (_e-kīd´na_).--A monster, half woman and half serpent. She was

the mother of the Chimæra, Cerberus, the Lernean Hydra, and other

monsters. She was killed in her sleep by Argus with the hundred eyes.

=Echo= (_ek´ō_).--A nymph who, because she kept Juno in incessant

conversation while Jupiter was sporting with the nymphs, was punished by

being changed into an echo. In this state she fell in love with

Narcissus--a beautiful youth, who was incapable of the tender

passion--and, as her love was not returned, she pined away till nothing

remained but her voice.

=Elbegast.=--One of the dwarfs of Scandinavian mythology who dwelt in a

magnificent palace underground, and drew their servants from the bosom

of the earth.

=Elberich.=--In the German hero-legends a dwarf who aided the Lombard

emperor Otnit to win the daughter of the soldan of Syria. He is

identical with the Oberon of French and English fairy mythology.

=Egil.=--The Vulcan of northern mythology, one of the three brothers who

married the swan-maidens. He was a great archer, killed his brother,

Volünd, by command of the king, and himself later became a peasant.

=Electra= (_e-lek´tra_).--Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytæmnestra. She

saved the life of her brother Orestes, and afterwards the two avenged

the death of Agamemnon by slaying their mother, Clytæmnestra. See

“Orestes.”

=Eira.=--An attendant of the goddess Fuigga, and a skillful nurse. She

gathered herbs and plants for the cure of both sickness and wounds and

taught the science to women.

=Eleusis= (_el-ū´sis_).--A very ancient city of Attica, famous for its

mysteries of Ceres, to whom was erected a magnificent temple.

=Elis= (_ē´lis_).--A country on the west coast of the Peloponnesus. In

it was Olympia, where every four years a splendid festival was held in

honor of Jupiter.

=Elysium= (_e-lizh´i-um_).--The Elysian fields. That part of the lower

world which forms the abode of the blessed.

=Enceladus= (_en-sel´ad-us_).--One of the hundred-armed giants who made

war upon the gods. He was slain by Jupiter, and buried under Mount Ætna.

=Endymion= (_en-dim´i-on_).--A youth of surpassing beauty who so moved

the cold heart of the virgin goddess of the moon (Diana or Selene), that

she kept him in a perpetual sleep on Mount Latmus, in Caria, that she

might kiss him without his knowledge.

=Eos= (_ē´ōz_).--See “Aurora.”

=Ephesus= (_ef´e-sus_).--The chief of the twelve Ionian cities in Asia

Minor, with a celebrated temple of Diana. The latter was regarded as one

of the wonders of the world. It was always a very flourishing city, and

was visited by St. Paul and St. John.

=Elf.=--The water sprite, known also as Elb, from which the name of the

river Elbe is said to be derived. Elves are more properly known as

mountain fairies, or those airy creatures that dance on the grass or sit

in the leaves of trees and delight in the full moon.

=Elivagar.=--In Norse mythology the name of a great stream in Chaos,

flowing from a fountain in the land of mist. This stream was much

frequented by the elves at their creation.

=Erato= (_er’a-tō_).--The Muse of amatory poetry. See “Musæ.”

=Erebus= (_er´e-bus_).--The god of darkness, son of Chaos and brother of

Nox (night). The name signifies darkness, and is frequently used to

designate the lower world.

=Erechtheus= (_e-rek´thūs_).--An ancient and mythical king of Athens.

See “Athenæ.”

=Eridanus= (_ē-rid´an-us_).--The Greek name of the river Padus (Po),

into which Phaethon fell when struck by the lightning of Jupiter. See

“Phaethon.”

=Erinyes= (_er-in´i-es_).--The Furiæ (_q.v._).

=Erl-king.=--Name given to the king of the elves, or a spirit of the

air. According to tradition, its home is in the Black Forest of Germany,

and it appears as a goblin, working harm and ruin, especially among

children.

=Eryx= (_er´ix_).--A high mountain in the northwest of Sicily, on the

summit of which stood an ancient and celebrated temple of Venus.

=Eumenides= (_ū-men´i-dēz_).--See “Furiæ.”

=Euphrosyne.=--See “Charites.”

=Europa= (_ū-rō´pa_).--The beautiful daughter of the Phœnician king

Agenor. Jupiter was so charmed with her that he obtained possession of

her by the following stratagem: He assumed the form of a bull among the

herds of Agenor, and Europa and her maidens were delighted with the

tameness of the noble animal, so much so that at length Europa ventured

to mount his back, whereupon the god plunged into the sea and carried

her over to Crete. Here Jupiter assumed his proper shape, and Europa

bore him Minos, Rhadamanthus and Sarpedon.

=Eurydice= (_ū-rid´i-sē_).--Wife of Orpheus (_q.v._).

=Eurystheus= (_ū-ris´thūs_).--Son of Sthenelus and grandson of Perseus,

a king of Mycenæ. Jealous of the fame of Hercules, and wishing to

destroy him, Eurystheus, at the command of Juno, imposed upon Hercules

his famous twelve labors.

=Euterpe= (_ū-ter´pē_).--One of the Muses (_q.v._).

=F=

=Fada.=--A fée or kobold of the south of France, sometimes called

“Hada.” These house-spirits, of which, strictly speaking, there are but

three, bring good luck in their right hand and ill luck in their left.

=Fafnir.=--In northern mythology the eldest son of the dwarf king

Hreidmar. The slaying of Fafnir is the destruction of the demon of cold

or darkness who had stolen the golden light of the sun.

=Fates.=--See “Parcæ.”

=Faunus= (_faw´nus_).--Son of Picus, grandson of Saturn, institutor of

tillage and grazing, and after his death the protecting deity of

agriculture and of shepherds, and also a giver of oracles. He is

identical with the Greek god Pan, and is represented with horns and

goat’s feet.

=Faustulus= (_faws´tu-lus_).--A shepherd who brought up Romulus and

Remus.

=Flora= (_flō´ra_).--The Roman goddess of flowers and spring.

=Fortuna= (_for-tū´na_); called Tyche (_tik´ē_) by the Greeks. The

goddess of fortune. She is variously represented: with the horn of

plenty, indicative of the plentiful gifts of fortune; with a rudder, to

signify that she guides the affairs of men; with a ball, emblematic of

the shifting and changing character of the fickle goddess.

=Freki= and =Geri=.--The two wolves of Odin. When Odin, seated on his

throne, overlooks heaven and earth, his two wolves lie at his feet.

=Frey.=--Scandinavian god of the sun and of rain, and hence of fertility

and peace. He was one of the most popular of the northern divinities. No

weapons were ever allowed in Frey’s temple, although oxen and horses

were sacrificed to him. His name was connected with the taking of any

solemn oath, a heavy gold ring being dipped in the blood of the

sacrifice and the oath sworn upon the ring. One of the most celebrated

of the temples built to Frey was at Therva, in Iceland.

=Freyja.=--She was the sister of Frey, and the wife of Odur, who

abandoned her on her loss of youth and beauty, and was changed into a

statue by Odin, as a punishment. She is known as the northern goddess of

beauty and love; plants were called Freyja’s hair, and the butterfly,

Freyja’s hen.

=Frigga.=--In Scandinavian mythology the wife of Odin, the queen of the

gods, and the mother of Baldur, Thor, etc. She sometimes typifies the

earth, as Odin does the heavens. The Anglo-Saxons worshiped her as Frea.

The name survives in Friday.

=Frodi.=--The son of Frey, a god of peace. Under his direction two

giantesses turned a pair of magic millstones which ground out gold

according to his wish and filled his coffers. Excited by greed he forced

them to labor, allowing rest only long enough for the singing of one

verse. When Frodi himself slept, the giantesses changed their song and

proceeded to grind out an army of troops to invade the land. These

troops represent the vikings.

=Furiæ= (_fū´ri-ē_).--The Furies; called Eumenides (_ū-men´-i-dēz_), _i.

e._ the gracious or well-meaning ones, by the Greeks; three goddesses of

vengeance, whom the Greeks so much dreaded that they dared not to call

them by their real names, hence referred to them by the euphemism

Eumenides. The Romans also called them Diræ (_dī´rē_). Their names were

Alecto (_a-lek´tō_), Megæra (_me-gē´ra_) and Tisiphone (_tī-sif´-onē_).

They were the daughters of Earth or of Night, and were terrible winged

maidens with serpents twined in their hair and with blood dripping from

their eyes. They were stern and inexorable, punishing the guilty both in

this world and after death. They dwelt in Tartarus--_i. e._ Hades. The

sacrifices offered to them were black sheep and a drink of honey mixed

with water, the latter, called a _libation_ (_lī-bā´shun_), being poured

forth out of a cup in their honor.

=G=

=Galatea= (_gal-a-tē´a_).--A sea nymph. See “Acis.”

=Ganesa.=--Goddess of wisdom, in Hindu mythology.

=Gangler.=--The gate-keeper in Odin’s palace who gave the explanation of

the northern mythology that it might be recorded.

=Ganymedes= (_gan-i-mē´dēz_), or =Ganymede= (_gan´i-mēd_).--Son of Tros

and Callirrhoe, a beautiful youth who was carried off by Jupiter’s eagle

from Mount Ida to heaven, that he might be cup-bearer to the gods in

place of Hebe. Jupiter compensated his father by presenting him with a

pair of divine horses.

=Garm.=--A fierce dog that kept guard at the entrance of Hel’s kingdom,

the realm of the dead. He could be appeased by the offering of a

Hel-cake which always appeared in the hand of one who, on earth, had

given bread to the needy.

=Genius= (_jē´ni-us_).--The protecting spirit or genius of a person,

place, etc.; called by the Greeks Dæmon. They were represented as the

guardians of men and of justice, and the Greek philosophers held that

every human being at his birth had a dæmon assigned to him, which

accompanied him throughout life. Every place, also, had its genius,

which appeared in the form of a serpent eating fruit placed before him.

In works of art genii are commonly represented as winged beings.

=Gerda.=--Wife of Frey, and daughter of the frost giant Gymir. She is so

beautiful that the brightness of her naked arms illuminates both air and

sea.

=Giallar Bridge.=--The bridge of death, over which all must pass.

=Giallar Horn, The.=--Heimdall’s horn, which went out into all worlds

whenever he chose to blow it. According to northern mythology, he blew a

long-expected blast as a rallying call to the battle which ended the

reign of the gods Odin, Frey, and Tyr.

=Gian ben Gian.=--In Arabia, king of the Ginns or Genii, and founder of

the Pyramids. He was overthrown by Azazel or Lucifer.

=Gigantes= (_ji-gan´tēz_).--A fabulous race of huge beings, with

terrible countenances and the tails of dragons. They endeavored to storm

the heavens, being armed with huge rocks and trunks of trees; but the

gods, with the assistance of Hercules, destroyed them all, and buried

them under Ætna and other volcanoes. This story probably had its origin

in volcanic convulsions.

=Glaucus= (_glaw´kus_).--(i) A fisherman who became a sea-god by eating

a part of the divine herb sown by Saturn, (ii) Son of Sisyphus. Was torn

to pieces by his own mares, because he had despised the power of Venus.

(iii) The commander of the Lycians in the Trojan war. He was slain by

Ajax.

=Golden Fleece.=--See “Argonautæ.”

=Gill.=--The infernal river of Scandinavian mythology.

=Ginungagap.=--In Norse mythology the vast chaotic gulf of perpetual

twilight which existed before the present world, and separated the

region of fog from the region of heat. Giants were the first beings who

came to life among the icebergs that filled this vast abyss.

=Gorgons= (_gor’gonz_).--Three frightful female monsters who turned all

they looked upon into stone. Their names were Medusa (_me-dū´-sa_),

Euryale (_ū-rī´al-e_) and Stheno (_sthē´no_), and they were daughters of

Phorcys and Ceto. Their heads were covered with serpents in place of

hair, and they had wings, frightful teeth and brazen claws. Of the

three, Medusa alone was mortal. She was killed by Perseus (_q.v._).

=Gladsheim.=--The palace of Odin, in which were the great hall Valhalla

(the hall of the slain) and the twelve seats occupied by the gods when

holding council.

=Glasir.=--A marvelous grove in Asgard, in which the leaves were all of

shimmering red gold.

=Glendoveer.=--In Hindu mythology is a kind of sylph, the most lovely of

the good spirits.

=Gnome.=--One of a class of spirits or imaginary beings which were

supposed to tenant the interior parts of the earth, and in whose charge

mines, quarries, etc., were left. Rübezahl, of the German legends, is

often cited as a representative of the class.

=Goblins and Bogies=.--Familiar demons of popular superstition, a spirit

which lurks about houses. It is also called hobgoblin. Goblin is used in

a serious sense by Shakespeare in _Hamlet_, where the ghost is supposed

to be a “spirit of health or goblin damned.”

=Graces, The Three.=--See “Charites.”

=Gradivus= (_grad-i´vus_).--_i. e._ the marching one. A surname of Mars.

=Grææ= (_grē´ē_), lit., “the old women” (Gr.).--So called because they

had gray hair from their birth. They were the sisters of the Gorgons,

and were three in number. They had but one eye and one tooth to use

between them.

=Gyas= (_jī´as_), =Gyes= (_jī´ēz_), or =Gyges= (_jī´jēz_).--One of the

giants with a hundred hands who made war upon the gods.

=H=

=Hades= (_hā´dez_).--See “Pluto.”

=Hæmon= (_hē´mon_).--Son of Creon, king of Thebes. He loved Antigone,

and killed himself on hearing that she was condemned by Creon to be shut

up in a subterranean cave.

=Harmonia= (_har-mō´ni-a_).--Daughter of Mars and Venus, and wife of

Cadmus. On the wedding-day Cadmus received a necklace, which afterwards

became famous, inasmuch as it became fatal to all who possessed it.

=Harpocrates= (_har-pok´ra-tēz_).--The god of mystery and silence, and,

on that account, represented as having been born with his finger in his

mouth. He was the son of Osiris. His statue stood at the entrance of

most of the Egyptian temples.

=Harpyiæ= (_har´pi-ē_).--The Harpies--_i. e._ the Robbers or Spoilers,

hideous rapacious monsters, half bird and half woman. They were three in

number. Homer described them as carrying off people who had disappeared.

=Hebe= (_hē-bē_).--The goddess of youth, daughter of Jupiter and Juno.

She was the cup-bearer to the gods, in which office she was afterwards

supplanted by Ganymede. She became the wife of Hercules after he was

deified.

=Hecate= (_hek´a-tē_).--Daughter of Perses and Asteria, the presider

over enchantments, etc. She was looked upon as a kind of threefold

goddess--viz., Luna (the moon) in heaven, Diana on earth, and Proserpine

in the lower world--and is accordingly represented with three bodies or

three heads. Dogs, honey and black female lambs were sacrificed to her.

=Hector= (_hek´tor_).--Eldest son of Priam, king of Troy, and Hecuba,

and husband of Andromache. He was the chief hero of the Trojans in their

war with the Greeks. He was slain in single combat by Achilles, who

chased him thrice round the walls of the city, and, after having slain

him, tied his body to his chariot and dragged it thrice round the walls.

The character of Hector as a warrior, husband, father and son is very

finely drawn by Homer in the _Iliad_.

=Hecuba= (_hek´u-ba_).--Wife of Priam, king of Troy. After the fall of

Troy she was carried away as a slave by the Greeks and suffered great

misfortunes.

=Heimdall.=--In northern tales a god who lived in the celestial fort

Himinsbjorg, under the farther extremity of the bridge Bifrost, and kept

the keys of heaven. He is the watchman or sentinel of Asgard, sees even

in sleep, can hear the grass grow, and even the wool on a lamb’s back.

Heimdall, at the end of the world, will wake the gods with his trumpet.

=Helena= (_hel´en-a_), or =Helene= (_hel´en-ē_); commonly called Helen

of Troy. Daughter of Jupiter and Leda, and sister of Castor and Pollux.

She was the greatest beauty of her age, and her hand was sought by the

noblest chiefs of Greece. She chose Menelaus (_men-e-lā´us_), and became

by him the mother of Hermione. She eloped with Paris (_q.v._) to Troy,

and hence arose the Trojan war, as all the Greek chiefs, who had been

former suitors of Helen, resolved to avenge her abduction, and sailed

with Menelaus against Troy. After the death of Paris she married his

brother Deiphobus (_de-if´ob-us_). On the capture of Troy, after a ten

years’ siege, she became reconciled to Menelaus, and returned with him

to Sparta, where they lived for a number of years in peace and

happiness.

=Helenus= (_hel´e-nus_).--A celebrated soothsayer, son of Priam, king of

Troy, and Hecuba. He deserted his countrymen and joined the Greeks--some

say voluntarily, others that he was taken prisoner by the Greeks.

=Heliades= (_hē´li-a-dēz_).--Daughters of the Sun (Helios). They

lamented the death of their brother Phaethon so bitterly that the gods,

in compassion, metamorphosed them into poplar trees and their tears into

amber.

=Helicon= (_hel´i-kon_).--A mountain in Bœotia, sacred to Apollo and the

Muses. The famous fountains of the Muses, Aganippe and Hippocrene,

sprang here.

=Helios= (_hē´li-os_).--The god of the sun. See “Phœbus” and “Apollo.”

=Helle= (_hel´lē_).--Sister of Phrixus (_q.v._). When she and her

brother were riding through the air upon the ram with the golden fleece

she fell into the sea, which was thence called the Hellespont--_i. e._

the sea of Helle; now called the Dardanelles.

=Hephæstus= (_hē-fēs´tus_).--The god of fire. See “Vulcan.”

=Hera.=--See “Juno.”

=Hercules= (_her´kū-lēz_); called Heracles (_hē´ra-klēz_) by the

Greeks.--The most celebrated hero of antiquity, noted especially for his

Twelve Labors. He was the son of Jupiter and Alcmene. He showed his

prowess at a very early age, for when the jealous Juno sent two serpents

to destroy him as he lay in his cradle, the infant hero strangled them

with his own hands. His first great adventure happened while he was

tending the oxen of his supposititious father, Amphitryon, the husband

of Alcmene. A huge lion devastated the flocks of Amphitryon and

Thespius, king of Thespiæ. Hercules slew the lion, and thenceforth wore

the skin as a garment, although some state that the lion’s skin of

Hercules was taken from the Nemean lion which Hercules killed as one of

his labors. Next he defeated and killed King Erginus, to whom the

Thebans paid tribute. Creon, king of Thebes, gave him his daughter

Megara in marriage, and she bore him several children. Soon afterwards

Juno drove him mad, and in this state he killed his children. His grief

was so great that he went into voluntary exile and was purified by

Thespius. He then consulted the celebrated oracle at Delphi as to where

he should settle, and was ordered to live at Tiryns and to serve

Eurystheus (_ū-ris´thūs_) for twelve years, after which he should become

immortal. It was at the bidding of Eurystheus that he performed the

following Twelve Labors. Hercules usually carried a huge club which he

had cut for himself in the neighborhood of Nemea.

(i) _The fight with the Nemean lion._ Eurystheus ordered Hercules to

bring him the skin of this monster. Finding his club and arrows useless,

he strangled the animal with his own hands.

(ii) _The fight against the Lernean Hydra._ This monster, which had nine

heads, of which the middle one was immortal, dwelt in a swamp, and

ravaged the country of Lerna, near Argos. When Hercules struck its heads

with his club, for each head he struck off two more appeared. With the

assistance of his servant he then burned off its heads, and buried the

immortal one under a huge rock. Having done this, he poisoned his arrows

with the bile of the monster, thus rendering the wounds inflicted by

them incurable.

(iii) _Capture of the Arcadian stag._ This animal had golden antlers and

brazen feet, and Hercules was ordered to bring it alive to Eurystheus.

After pursuing it in vain for a whole year, he at length wounded it with

an arrow, caught it, and bore it away on his shoulders.

(iv) _Capture of the Erymanthian boar._ Hercules chased this animal

through the deep snow, and at last caught it in a net and delivered it

alive to Eurystheus.

(v) _Cleansing of the stables of Augeas._ Augeas, king of Elis, had a

herd of three thousand oxen, whose stalls had not been cleansed for

thirty years, and Hercules was ordered to cleanse them in one day. He

did it by turning the rivers Alpheus and Peneus through the stalls.

(vi) _Destruction of the Stymphalian birds._ These birds had brazen

claws, wings and beaks, used their feathers as arrows, and ate human

flesh. They dwelt on a lake near Stymphalus, in Arcadia. Minerva

provided Hercules with a brazen rattle, by the noise of which he roused

the birds and then killed them with his arrows.

(vii) _Capture of the Cretan bull._ This was a mad bull that made great

havoc in the island of Crete. Hercules caught it, and brought it home on

his shoulders.

(viii) _Capture of the mares of Diomedes._ These mares were fed with

human flesh. Hercules, with a few friends, seized them and led them to

Eurystheus.

(ix) _Seizure of the girdle of the queen of the Amazons._ The daughter

of Eurystheus having expressed a desire to obtain the girdle of

Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons, Hercules was sent to fetch it. After an

eventful journey he at length reached the country of the Amazons, and

was kindly received by Hippolyte. Juno, however, excited the Amazons

against him, and in the contest that ensued Hercules killed Hippolyte

and carried off her girdle.

(x) _Capture of the oxen of Geryon._ Geryon was a monster with three

bodies. His cattle were guarded by a giant and a two-headed dog. On his

journey he erected two pillars (Calpe and Abyla) on the two sides of the

Straits of Gibraltar, which were hence called the Pillars of Hercules.

He slew the giant, the dog and Geryon himself, and reached home safely

with the oxen.

(xi) _Bringing the golden apples of the Hesperides_ (_Hes-per´id-ēz_).

These apples, which were given by Ge (the earth) to Juno at her wedding,

were kept by the Hesperides and a dragon on Mount Atlas. Hercules

obtained the apples, and afterwards dedicated them to Minerva, who

restored them to their former place.

(xii) _Bringing Cerberus from the lower world._ This was not only the

last, but the most difficult of the Twelve Labors of Hercules. Pluto,

the god of the lower world, having given Hercules permission to carry

off Cerberus provided he did not use force of arms, he succeeded in

seizing the monster and carrying it to the upper world, taking it back

again after having shown it to Eurystheus.

Having concluded his Twelve Labors, Hercules was released from the

servitude of Eurystheus and returned to Thebes. Later, he became a

servant to Omphale (_om´fal-ē_), queen of Lydia and widow of Tmolus, and

lived with her in an effeminate manner, he wearing woman’s attire, while

Omphale put on his lion’s skin. He afterwards married Deianira (_q.v._),

who accompanied him into exile after he had accidentally killed the boy

Eunomus. Having to cross a river, Hercules went on first, leaving his

wife to be carried over by the centaur Nessus. The latter attempted to

do violence to her, but her screams were heard by Hercules, who shot an

arrow into the heart of Nessus. Deianira preserved some of the blood of

the centaur, as he told her it would enable her to keep the love of her

husband. Unfortunately, however, the blood was poisoned with the arrow

with which Hercules had shot Nessus, so that when Hercules put on a

garment which had been steeped in the blood he speedily suffered most

terrible torture, and in endeavoring to wrench the garment off, tore

whole pieces of flesh from his body. Deianira, on seeing what she had

unwittingly done, hanged herself. Hercules was carried off by the gods

to Olympus and married Hebe.

=Hermes= (_her´mēz_).--See “Mercury.”

=Hermione= (_her´mi-o-nē_).--The beautiful daughter of Menelaus and

Helen. She was married, first to Neoptolemus and secondly to Orestes.

=Hero= (_he´rō_).--A priestess of Venus in Sestos, beloved by Leander

(_q.v._).

=Hesione= (_hē´si-o-nē_).--Daughter of Laomedon, king of Troy, who was

exposed by her father to the fury of a sea-monster in order to appease

the anger of Apollo and Neptune. Hercules rescued her and gave her to

Telamon, to whom she bore Teucer.

=Hesperides= (_hes-per´id-ēz_).--The guardians of the golden apples

given by Ge (the Earth) to Juno at her marriage with Jupiter. They were

three in number, and were the daughters of Atlas and Hesperis. See

“Hercules.”

=Hestia.=--See “Vesta.”

=Hippocrene= (_hip-po-krē´nē_)--_i. e._ the Fountain of the Horse. A

fountain near Mount Helicon, sacred to the Muses, and which is fabled to

have been produced by a stroke of the hoof of the winged horse Pegasus.

=Hippodamia= (_hip-po-da-mī´a_).--Wife of Pirithous, at whose nuptials

took place the celebrated fight between the Centaurs and Lapithæ.

=Hippolyte= (_hip-pol´it-ē_).--Daughter of Mars and queen of the

Amazons. She was slain by Hercules (_q.v._).

=Hippolytus= (_hip-pol´it-us_).--Son of Theseus and Hippolyte. In

consequence of a false accusation brought against him by his stepmother

Phædra, he was thrown out of his chariot and dragged along the ground

till he was dead. He was restored to life by Æsculapius.

=Hippomenes= (_hip-pō´men-ēz_).--Son of Megarus, who conquered Atalanta

(_q.v._) in a race.

=Hobomoko.=--An evil spirit known among American Indians.

=Hōdeken.=--A famous German kobold, or domestic fairy servant; so called

from wearing a little felt hat pulled down over his face.

=Hoder.=--In Norse mythology a blind god who destroyed his brother

Baldur, at the instigation of Loki, without meaning to do so. He is the

type of night and darkness, as Baldur is of light and day.

=Hofvarpnir.=--The fleet steed of Ina, in Scandinavian legend, which

traveled through fire and air and enabled this messenger of the gods to

see all that was happening on the earth.

=Honir.=--In Asgard tales, name given to the god of mind or thought.

=Horæ= (_ho´rē_); the Hours.--Daughters of Jupiter and Themis. They

presided over the changes of the seasons, and kept watch at the gates of

Olympus.

=Horn of Plenty.=--See “Amalthea.”

=Horus.=--The Egyptian god of the sun, son of Osiris and Isis, who was

also worshiped in Greece and at Rome.

=Hugin.=--One of Odin’s two ravens, which carried him news from earth,

and when not thus employed, perched upon his shoulders. The

personification of thought or intellect.

=Hugon.=--A kind of evil spirit in the popular superstition of France--a

sort of ogre made use of to frighten children.

=Hyacinthus= (_hi-a-sin´thus_).--A beautiful Spartan youth, beloved by

Apollo, but accidentally killed by a blow of his quoit. From his blood

sprang the flower of the same name.

=Hyades= (_hī´a-dēz_)--_i. e._ the Rainers. The name of seven nymphs

forming a group in the head of Taurus. They were so called because when

they rise simultaneously with the sun rainy weather is announced.

=Hygeia= (_hi-jē´i-a_).--The goddess of health, daughter of Æsculapius.

She is often represented as a maiden in a long robe, and feeding a

serpent from a cup.

=Hylas= (_hi´las_).--A beautiful youth who accompanied Hercules in the

Argonautic expedition. On landing for water on the coast of Mysia, he

was carried off by the Naiads.

=Hymen= (_hi´men_).--The god of marriage; represented as a handsome

youth carrying in his hand a bridal torch.

=Hymettus= (_hi-met´tus_).--A mountain near Athens, famed for its honey

and its marble.

=Hyperborei= (_hī-per-bor´e-ī_)--lit. “beyond the north wind.” A

fabulous people living in the extreme north in a land of perpetual

sunshine, in a state of perfect happiness.

=Hyperion= (_hī-per-ī´ōn_)--lit. “he who goes above.” (i) A name applied

to the sun. (ii) A Titan, father of the sun.

=Hypsipyle= (_hip-sip´i-lē_).--Daughter of Thoas, king of Lemnos, in the

time of the Argonauts.

=I=

=Iacchus= (_i-ak’us_).--A name of Bacchus.

=Iapetus= (_i-ap’et-us_), or Japetus.--One of the Titans; father of

Atlas, Prometheus and Epimetheus.

=Icarus= (_ī-kar’us_).--See “Dædalus.”

=Ichthyophagi= (_ik-thi-of´a-jī_)--_i. e._ fish-eaters.--A name given by

the ancients to various peoples on the coasts of Asia and Africa.

=Ida= (_ī´da_).--(i) A mountain range near Troy, celebrated as the scene

of the judgment of Paris (_q.v._). From the summit of Ida the gods

watched the battles in the plain of Troy. (ii) A high mountain in Crete,

on which Jupiter was brought up.

=Idomeneus= (_ī-dom´en-ūs_).--King of Crete, and leader of the Cretans

against Troy. He rashly vowed to Neptune that, if the god granted him a

safe return, he would sacrifice to him whatever he should first meet on

landing. He was met by his son, whom he accordingly sacrificed. A plague

came in consequence, and the Cretans expelled Idomeneus.

=Iduna=, or =Idun=.--Daughter of the dwarf Svald, and wife of Bragi. She

kept in a box the golden apples which the gods tasted as often as they

wished to renew their youth. Loki on one occasion stole the box, but the

gods compelled him to restore it. Iduna seems to personify that part of

the year when the sun is north of the equator. Her apples indicate

fruits generally. Loki carries her off to Giant-land when the sun

descends below the equator, and he steals her apples. In time, Iduna

makes her escape, in the form of a sparrow, when the sun again rises

above the equator; and both gods and men rejoice in her return.

=Ifing.=--In Scandinavian mythology the great stream between the earth

and the sacred lands, whose waters never froze.

=Ilioneus= (_ī´li-o-nūs_).--The youngest son of Niobe.

=Ilium= (_ī´li-um_).--A poetical name for Troy, derived from Ilus, the

son of Tros, its founder. See “Troja.”

=Indra.=--In Hindu mythology the ever-youthful god of the firmament, and

the omnipotent ruler of the elements. He is a most important personage

in Indian fable. In the Vedic period of the Hindu religion, he occupied

a foremost rank, and, though degraded to an inferior position in the

Epic, he long enjoyed a great legendary popularity. In works of art he

is represented as riding on an elephant.

=Ino= (_ī´nō_).--Daughter of Cadmus and Hermione, wife of Athamas, king

of Thebes.

=Io= (_ī´ō_).--Daughter of a king of Argos; beloved by Jupiter, and

through fear of Juno changed into a cow (see “Argus”). Juno now

tormented her with a gadfly, and drove her from land to land, swimming

the Bosphorus (_i. e._ ox-ford), until she found rest at length in

Egypt, where she regained her original form. She was afterwards

worshiped as an Egyptian divinity under the name of Isis.

=Iolaus= (_ī-o-lā´us_).--The faithful companion and charioteer of

Hercules.

=Iphigenia= (_if-i-jen-ī´a_).--Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytæmnestra,

who was to have been offered up by way of expiation for an offense

committed by her father against Diana in killing a hart in her sacred

grove; but the goddess put a hart in her place and conveyed her to

Tauris, when she became the priestess of the goddess. Here she

afterwards saved her brother Orestes (_q.v._).

=Iris= (_ī´ris_).--The swift-footed messenger of the gods, the

personification of the rainbow. She was the sister of the Harpies.

=Isis= (_ī´sis_).--One of the chief Egyptian goddesses. See “Io.”

=Isocrates= (_ī-sok´ra-tēz_).--A celebrated orator and teacher of

rhetoric at Athens. He acquired a large fortune by his profession. He

put an end to his life B. C. 338, aged ninety-eight.

=Israfil.=--Known among Arabians as the angel of music, who possessed

the most melodious voice of all God’s creatures. This is the angel who

is to sound the resurrection trump, and make music for the saints in

paradise. Israfil, Gabriel and Michael were the three angels that warned

Abraham of Sodom’s destruction.

=Ithaca= (_ith´ak-a_).--An island in the Ionian Sea, celebrated as the

birthplace and the kingdom of Ulysses.

=Iulus= (_i-ūl´us_).--Son of Ascanius and grandson of Æneas.

=Ixion= (_iks-ī´on_).--King of the Lapithæ, in Thessaly, and father of

Pirithous. Jupiter purified him of a treacherous murder, yet he was

sufficiently ungrateful to attempt to win the love of Juno. Jupiter then

hurled him into Tartarus, where he was bound fast to a perpetually

revolving wheel.

=J=

=Jamshid.=--King of the genii, famous for a golden cup full of the

elixir of life. This cup, hidden by the genii, was discovered while

digging the foundations of Persepolis.

=Janus= (_jā´nus_).--An old Latin deity, the sun-god. He presided over

the beginning of everything; he opened the year, and hence the first

month of the year was called after him. He was the porter of heaven. His

temple in the Forum had two doors opposite each other, which in time of

war were open and in time of peace were shut. The latter happened only

thrice in Roman history. He is represented with a face at the back, as

well as one at the front, of his head.

=Japetus.=--See “Iapetus.”

=Jason= (_jā´son_).--The famous leader of the Argonauts; was the son of

Æson, king of Thessaly, who reigned at Iolcus. The principal part of his

history is given under “Argonautæ.” During his absence, while on the

Argonautic expedition, his uncle Pelias had slain his father. In order

to avenge this deed Medea, the wife of Jason, persuaded the daughters of

Pelias to cut their father to pieces and boil him, in the belief that he

would thus be restored to youth and vigor. Medea, who was well versed in

magic arts, had previously changed a ram into a lamb by similar

treatment. In this way, then, Pelias perished miserably, and his son

Acastus expelled Jason and Medea from Iolcus. They then went to Corinth,

where they lived happily for several years, until Jason deserted her in

favor of Creusa, the daughter of Creon, king of Corinth. Medea took

fearful vengeance. She sent Creusa a poisoned garment, which burned her

to death when she put it on; the palace also took fire, and her father,

Creon, perished in the flames. Medea then killed her children, and fled

to Athens in a chariot drawn by winged dragons.

=Jinn.=--A sort of fairies in Arabian mythology, the offspring of fire.

They are governed by a race of kings named Suleyman, one of whom “built

the pyramids.” Their chief abode is the mountain Kâf, and they appear to

men under the forms of serpents, dogs, cats, monsters, or even human

beings, and become invisible at pleasure. The evil jinn are ugly, but

the good are beautiful. According to fable, they were created from fire

two thousand years before Adam was made of earth.

=Jord.=--Daughter of Night and mother of Thor. In Scandinavian mythology

the name given to primitive earth.

=Juggernaut=, or =Jaggernaut=.--A Hindu god. The temple of this god is

in a town of the same name in Orissa.

=Juno= (_jū´no_); called Hera (_hē´ra_) by the Greeks.--The sister and

wife of Jupiter, and queen of heaven; daughter of Saturn and Rhea. She

was the guardian deity of women, and presided over marriage. She

specially watched over the birth of children, and was then invoked under

the name of Lucina (_lū-sī´na_). Homer described her as being of a

jealous, obstinate and quarrelsome disposition. In consequence of the

judgment of Paris (_q.v._), she was hostile to the Trojans, and

accordingly sided with the Greeks in the Trojan war. The peacock was

sacred to Juno. Juno was also regarded as the guardian of the finances,

and had a temple on the Capitoline hill, which contained the mint. Mars,

Vulcan and Hebe were her children.

=Jupiter= (_jū´pit-er_); called Zeus (_zūs_) by the Greeks.--King of

heaven, and greatest of the Olympian gods; was a son of Saturn and Rhea.

He dwelt on Mount Olympus, in Thessaly. He was the father and supreme

ruler of gods and men. His first wife was Metis (_q.v._). By Juno, his

second wife, he had two sons, Mars and Vulcan, and one daughter, Hebe.

The eagle, the oak, and doves were sacred to Jupiter. He was armed with

thunderbolts, and surrounded with thick clouds, the former being

provided for him by the Cyclops who worked under the direction of

Vulcan. Jupiter was regarded as the special protector of Rome, and had a

temple on the Capitol. He was looked upon as the guardian of law and the

protector of justice and virtue. He was also the ruler of the lower air,

hence rain and storms were supposed to come from him. In this connection

the Romans applied the surname _Pluvius_ (_i. e._ the rain-bringer) to

him, and special sacrifices were offered to him during long-protracted

droughts.

=Juventas= (_jū-ven´tas_).--The Roman name for Hebe (_q.v._), the

goddess of youth.

=K=

=Kama.=--The Hindu god of love. His wife is Rati (voluptuousness), and

he is represented as riding on a sparrow, holding in his hand a bow of

flowers and five arrows, each tipped with the bloom of a flower supposed

to conquer one of the senses. His power is so much exalted that even the

god Brahma is said to succumb to it.

=Kami.=--The gods of ancient Japan. The name, in modern times,

designates any spiritual saint, and may also be applied to a prince.

=Kaswa.=--The camel admitted into Moslem paradise, the favorite camel of

Mohammed which fell on its knees in adoration when “the prophet”

delivered the last clause of the Koran to the assembled multitude at

Mecca.

=Kederli.=--In Mohammedan mythology is a god corresponding to the

English St. George, and is still invoked by the Turks when they go to

war.

=Kelpie.=--In mythology of Scotland a spirit of the water seen in the

form of a horse. Each lake has its kelpie.

=Kobold.=--A house-spirit in German superstition. In northern lands the

name is sometimes used in place of elf or dwarf, representing an

underground spirit. Probably the same as the Scotch brownie.

=Koppelberg.=--The hill which miraculously opened to receive the

children who followed the Pied Piper. This belongs to mythology, as

people in the middle ages considered Odin as the leader of disembodied

spirits, and from this came the Pied Piper. The rats were the restless

souls of the dead, which the Pied Piper released by drowning.

=Krishna.=--In Hindu mythology the eighth incarnation of Vishnu.

According to some authorities, he is considered distinct from all the

Avatars, as these had only a portion of the divinity, and Krishna was

Vishnu himself in the form of “the Black One.”

=L=

=Ladon= (_lā´don_).--The dragon that guarded the apples of the

Hesperides. It was slain by Hercules.

=Laertes= (_lā-er´tēz_).--King of the island of Ithaca and father of

Ulysses. He took part in the Calydonian boar hunt, and in the Argonautic

expedition. He lived to see the return of his son to Ithaca, after the

fall of Troy.

=Laius= (_lā´i-us_).--King of Thebes and father of Œdipus.

=Laocoon= (_lā-ok´o-on_).--A Trojan, priest of Apollo, who strenuously

opposed the admission of the wooden horse into Troy (_q.v._). As he was

preparing to sacrifice a bull to Neptune, two fearful serpents swam out

of the sea and strangled both him and his two sons.

=Laodamia= (_lā-od-a-mī´a_).--Daughter of Acastus and wife of

Protesilaus.

_Laodice_ (_la-od´i-sē_).--(i) Daughter of Priam and Hecuba. (ii) The

name given by Homer to Electra, daughter of Agamemnon and Clytæmnestra.

=Laomedon= (_lā-om´e-don_).--King of Troy, father of Priam.

=Lapithæ= (_lap´i-thē_).--A mythical people inhabiting the mountains of

Thessaly. They were ruled by Pirithous, who, as Ixion’s son, was

half-brother of the Centaurs. When Pirithous married Hippodamia, and

invited the Centaurs to the marriage feast, the latter, fired by wine,

attempted to carry off the bride and the other women. Hence arose the

celebrated fight between the Centaurs and the Lapithæ, in which the

former were defeated. The Lapithæ are said to have invented bits and

bridles for horses.

=Lares= (_lār´ēz_).--Household divinities--the divinities presiding over

the hearth, and the whole house. In great houses the images of the Lares

were placed in a separate compartment. At meal times some portion was

offered to the Lares, and on festive occasions they were adorned with

wreaths.

=Latinus= (_la-tī´nus_).--King of Latium, who gave Æneas his daughter

Lavinia in marriage.

=Latmus= (_lat´mus_).--A mountain in Caria, on which Endymion (_q.v._)

lay in perpetual sleep.

=Latona= (_la-tō´na_); called Leto (_lē´tō_) by the Greeks. The mother

of Apollo and Diana, by Jupiter. She was persecuted by Juno, and

wandered from place to place till she came to Delos, which was then a

floating island, but which Jupiter fastened by adamantine chains to the

bottom of the sea. Here Apollo and Diana were born.

=Lavinia= (_la-vin´i-a_).--Daughter of Latinus and wife of Æneas.

=Leander= (_lē-an´der_).--A young man of Abydos (_a-bī´dos_), who swam

across the Hellespont every night to visit Hero, the priestess of Venus,

in Sestus. One night, however, during a storm, he perished; and when his

corpse was washed on the coast, on the following morning, Hero threw

herself into the sea.

=Leda= (_lē´da_).--Wife of Tyndarus, king of Sparta. Jupiter visited her

in the form of a swan, and she became the mother of Castor and Pollux,

the celebrated Helen of Troy, and Clyæmnestra.

=Lemnos= (_lem´nos_).--One of the largest islands in the Ægean Sea; the

abode of Vulcan, who was said to have fallen here when he was hurled

down from Olympus. It is now called Stalimene.

=Lemures.=--The specters or spirits of the dead. They were said to

wander about at night, as specters, and to torment and frighten the

living. In order to propitiate them the Romans celebrated the festival

of the _Lemuralia_ or _Lemuria_.

=Lerna= (_ler´na_).--A forest and marsh near Argos, through which flowed

a stream of the same name. Here Hercules killed the famous Lernean

hydra. See “Hercules.”

=Lesbos= (_les´bos_).--A celebrated island in the Ægean Sea, off the

coast of Mysia. Its principal city was Mytilene. It was the birthplace

of Sappho, Arion, Alcæus and Theophrastus.

=Lethe= (_lē´thē_)--_lit._ “forgetfulness” (Gr.).--A river in the lower

world, the water of which was drunk by the shades, who thus obtained

forgetfulness of the past.

=Leto.=--See “Latona.”

=Liber= (_lī´ber_).--An old Italian deity who presided over planting and

fructification. Subsequently the name was applied to Bacchus.

=Libera= (_lī´ber-a_).--Another name for Proserpine, daughter of Ceres,

and sister of Liber.

=Libitina= (_lib-i-tī´na_).--The goddess of the dead, in whose temple at

Rome everything pertaining to burials was sold or hired out.

=Lidskialf.=--The throne of Alfadir, whence he can view the whole

universe.

=Lif.=--In Norse mythology the name given to a man who is to occupy the

purified earth when goodness resumes its sway.

=Lilinau.=--In American Indian folk-lore Lilinau was wooed by a phantom.

She followed his green waving plume through the forest, and was never

seen again.

=Lilith.=--In Hebrew mythology a female specter who lies in wait for

children in order to destroy them. The older traditions tell of Lilith

as a former wife of Adam and the mother of demons. Amulets were worn as

protection from her powers.

=Lobaircin.=--In Irish mythical tales a fairy shoemaker resembling an

old man, who resorts to out-of-way places where he is discovered by the

noise of his hammer. He is rich, and, while anyone keeps his eye fixed

upon him, cannot escape, but the moment the eye is withdrawn he

vanishes.

=Lofu.=--The Scandinavian god who guards friendship.

=Lofua.=--The Scandinavian goddess who reconciles lovers.

=Loki.=--The great god of fire in Norse mythology.

=Lorelei.=--In German legend a siren who haunted a rock of the same name

on the right bank of the Rhine. She combed her hair with a golden comb,

and sang a wild song which enticed fishermen and sailors to destruction

on the rocks and rapids at the foot of the precipice. In northern

mythology Lorelei is represented as immortal, a daughter of the Rhine,

and dwelling in the river bed.

=Lotis= (_lō´tis_).--A nymph who, to escape from Priapus, son of

Bacchus, was changed into the lotus tree.

=Lotophagi= (_lō-tof´a-jī_)--_i. e._ lotus-eaters.--A people visited by

Ulysses during his voyage homewards from Troy. The lotus was a fruit the

taste of which was so delicious that all who ate it lost all desire to

return to their native land.

=Lua= (_lu´a_).--A goddess to whom were devoted the arms taken in

battle.

=Lucifer= (Lat.), or =Phosphorus= (Gr.)--_i. e._ the light-bringer. The

planet Venus when it appears as the morning-star.

=Lucina= (_lū-sī´na_).--The goddess that presides over the birth of

children. It was used as a surname for Juno.

=Lud.=--In ancient British mythology the king of the Britons.

=Luna= (_lū´na_).--Goddess of the moon, called by the Greeks Selene

(_sel-ē´nē_), and identified with Diana.

=Lupercus= (_lu-per´kus_).--A deity who protected the flocks from

wolves.

=Lycæus= (_li-sē´us_).--A lofty mountain in Arcadia, where Jupiter and

Pan were worshiped.

=Lycaon= (_li-kā´ōn_).--King of Arcadia, who impiously placed a dish of

human flesh before Jupiter when the god visited him. He and all his sons

were metamorphosed into wolves.

=Lyceum= (_li-sē´um_).--A gymnasium at Athens, outside of the city;

celebrated as the place where Aristotle and the Peripatetics taught. It

derived its name from the temple of Apollo Lyceus (_li-sē´us_) in the

neighborhood.

=Lycomedes= (_li-ko-mē´dēz_).--King of Scyros, to whose court Achilles

was sent, disguised as a maiden, by his mother Thetis, in order to

prevent him going to the Trojan war.

=Lycurgus= (_li-sur´gus_).--Son of Dryas, and king of the Edones in

Thrace. He prohibited the worship of Bacchus, and was hence driven mad

by the gods, and subsequently killed.

=Lynceus= (_lin´sūs_).--One of the Argonauts, famous for the keenness of

his sight.

=Lyncus= (_lin´sus_).--A Scythian king, who was changed by Ceres into a

lynx.

=M=

=Machaon= (_ma-kā´on_).--Son of Æsculapius, a famous surgeon of the

Greeks before Troy.

=Maia= (_mā´i-a_)--Daughter of Atlas and Pleione, and the eldest and

most beautiful of the several Pleiades. She became, by Jupiter, the

mother of Mercury.

=Manes= (_mā´nēz_)--_lit._ “the good, benevolent.”--The name given by

the Romans to the souls of the dead, who were worshiped as gods.

=Mani.=--Name given in ancient Norse mythology to the moon. Later known

as the son of Mundilfori; taken to heaven by the gods to drive the

moon-car. He is followed by a wolf, which, when time shall be no more,

will devour both Mani and his sister Sol.

=Manitou.=--The great spirit of American Indians.

=Marica= (_ma-rī´ka_).--A Latin nymph, the mother of Latinus.