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THT ExCYCLoPEDIA oF MnHoLoGY THE ExCYCLoPEDIA oF MYTHOLOGY ClassrcAL Cel.rrc GnEex AnrnuR CoTTERELL This edition is pubiished by Hermes House Hermes House is an imprint of Anness Publishing Ltd Hermes House, 88-89 Blackfriars Road London SEI BFIA tel 020 7 401 2077 ; fax 020 7633 9499 [email protected] @ AnnessPublishlng Ltd 1996, 2006 Al1 nghts reserved No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retnevalsystem,or transmirted in any way or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopl'rng, recording or otherwise,wrthout the prior written permission of the copyright holder A CIP catalogue record is available from the British Library Publisher: Joanna Lorenz Editorial Director: Helen Sudell Project Ediror: Belinda Wilkinson Designer: Nigel Soper, Millions Design lllusrrators: James Alexander, Nick Beale, Glenn Steward Printed and bound in China Frontispiece: The ForglngoJthe Sampoby A GallenIGllela This page: TheRapeoJGanymedeby PeterPaul Rubens Author's Note The entries in this encvcloDedia are all Iisted alphabetically.Wft.r. more than one name exists for a character the entry is listed under the name used in the original country of origin flor that particular myth. Names in iralic caDitalletters indicate that rhat name has an individual entry. Special feature spreads examine specific mythological themes in more detail. lf a characteris included in a specialfeature spreadit is noted at the end of their indMdual entry. 1098765+32 CONTENTS P n e F A C E6 CInSSICAL MYTHOLoGY B Introduction l0 L o v e r s o f .Z e u s 2 0 Heroes 30 Oracles and Prophecies 40 Voyagers 50 Monsters and Fabulous Beasts58 Forcesof Nature 6B G i a nt s 7 6 Founders B4 CeLTIC MyTHoLOGY 9O Introduction 92 Celtic Otherworlds 104 S a g e sa n d S e e r s l l 4 Magic and Enchantment I24 Wondrous Cauldrons 132 Celtic Romance 140 Single Combat L48 Heroic Quests 156 Fabulous Voyages 164 NoRSE MyTHOLOGY L72 Introduction I74 Nature Spirits 186 T r e a s u r e sa n d T a l i s m a n s 1 9 6 Norse Heroes 204 T h e Va l k y ri e s 2I2 Sorcery and Sp eIIs 220 Tragic Lovers 228 Rings of Power 236 Ragnarok 24+ P r c r u R EA c r x o w L E D G E M E N r2s 5 2 Ixnnx 2 53 PREFACE PnEFACE H I S C O M B I N E DE N C Y C L O P E D I A of successfu\ confronted the Minotaur on Crete, but mythology contains the three ourstanding traditions of Europe - later abandoned his helper, the Cretan princess Greek, Celtic and Norse. They form Theseus forgot the agreement made with his father the core of European mythological thought, rhe abour changing the sail of his ship from black if he early ideas and notions which underlie our escaped death himself. As a result of this moment present-day consciousness. For the stories related of carelessness,Theseus' father committed suicide in Greek, Celtic and Germanic myths touch upon by leaping from the Athenian acropolis when rhe the fundamental issues of existence. They reveal black sail was sighred. So in lreiand rhe inability of Ariadne. Full of his success against the bull-man, the power of love, with its accompanying anxiery Cuchulainn ro srop and think for a moment led to and jealousy; the conflict between the generarions, his hlling of Conlai, his own son by the Amazon the old and rhe new; the violence of men, Aoifa. In Norse myth, however, it is the pride of especially on the battlefield or in single combat; the gods or their opponents, the frost giants, the mischief of the trouble-maker, bored by rhe which causes disasters ro occur. Unlike the Greel.<s steady pace of everyday events; the sadness of NEssuS,4 wild Greehcentaur,ties to abductHeracles'new bide whileJerryingher illness or accidenral injury; the mystery of dearh, acrossthe RfuerEvenus GHER^pE oFDEhNTM RrN/ ByGurDo 1621 . c^NvAs. ) with a variety of after-life possibilities including rebirth; the effect of enchantment upon the mind and body; rhe challenge of the unknown, wherher a voyage into uncharted waters or a quest fot a sacred object; the personal danger of a contest with a monster, even a beheading game; the sadness of betrayal and treachery, nor least within a family or a group of colleagues; the cycle of fertility in human beings and animals, plus the growth of plans; the horror of madness with its disruption of human relations; the incidence of misfortune and luck, plus the whole issue of fate; rhe relation between human and divine, between mankind and the gods; the crearion of the world and the origins of sociery; and, last, but not least, the nature of the universe. Different myths rackle these great quesrions in distinct ways. But heroes and heroines find themselves in unreiated circumstances facing the same basic problems in Greece, ireland and Scandinavia. The Athenian hero Theseus PREFACE sea to Poseidon, is real owner. ln consequence of this sacrilege Minos' wife Pasiphae was consumed with passion for the beast, and her mating with it led to the birth of the bull-man known as the Minotaur: hence Theseus and his combat with the strange creature. The Athenian hero's entanglement with Minos' family did not stop with the abandonment of fuiadne and the death of his own father, however. For Theseus married Phaedra, another daughter of Minos. She too was cursed with an illicit passion, not for an animal this dme, but for her stepson Hippolytus. Before Theseus A CELTIC Drrv, posib! Dogda, donglestwo worriors high absvehishead, and thus reveakhis awesomepwer, while the wariors in tum lift twoboa6, showingtheir c lN Bc.) GiDDsILwR, supremaq overanirncls (curosrnupcauDRoN, and the Celts, the German peoples of northern Europe did not develop a heroic tradition of any significance. The great hero was Thor, the slowwitted but honest champion of the gods. He delighted the tough Northmen, who appreciated how his allergy to frost glants naturally led to skullsmashing encounterc in fields and halls. Yet those who undertook raids as Vikings had a more suitable patron in Odin, the one-eyed god of batrle and the inspirer of the dreaded berserkers. Usually myths reveal an interwoven pattem of circumstances ourcide the control of both mortals and gods. Fate and destiny in European mythology are almost beyond manipulation. Attempts may be made to slow down the operation of fate's decrees, sometimes to thwart them entirely, but they never work. Odin can do nothing about his future death at Ragnarok, the doom of the gods. The Celtic sun god Lugh cannot save his son Cuchulainn on the battlefield. And even immonal Zeus, the chief god of the Greeks, has a duty to see that fate takes its proper course. He cannot control events. The tangled web of difficulties which besets Theseus can thus be traced to a number of actions, but one stands out clearly: the refusal of King Minos of Crete to sacrifice the white bull from the Ieamed the truth, he banished honest Hippolytus on Phaedra's denunciation of his evil intendons, and then lost his exiled son in a chariot accident. The abiding interest of mythology, European or otherwise, is is frankness about such basic human drives. It could almost be described as sacred literature undisturbed by theologians. The raw and ragged ends of existence are still visible in is tales of both men and gods. Srcuto,thegreatNorsehero,helpshismmtor,Regln,re-Jorgehiswondroussword With it, Srgurd sltv the dragon, Fafnir. {wuto aavtNc,.l2rHcENruRY) INTRODLTCTI()N IxTRODIJCTION fl r r r , l x t I E N I C R I - F K 5 w l :nRr tr g r e a t I l l m y r h m u k , r * t r l E u r o p cT h t ' ) e r e n tl J i g l r c u s r h c n r m e h 1 'w h r r h u e MAcEDoNtA 4E refer today to the amazrngstonestold about gods, henres,men and animals Around 400 ,ftY \1 ( E RUs Bc the Arhenian philosopherPlatocoined the w o r d r n y t h o l o g i ar n o r d e r t o d r s t i n g u i s h b e t w e e n r m a g i n a r i v e z r c c o u n t so l d i v i n e a c t t o n sl n d f e rr u a i i t ' : t r t p t i o n r ( , { t \ ' ( n t 5 . supemamralor othenvlse Although he lived in an age thzrtwas increasingly scrtntrllc in o u t l o o k , a n d n o l o n g er i n c l r n e d t o b c l i e v e cvery detail related about gods and godd e s s c s .P l r t t o r c c , , g n i z , ' dt h e p o w r ' r r h a t resided in myth, and warned hrs followers tcr beu'areof its seductrve charm The strcngth of Greek myrholog', Likeall active traclitions,lay in rrs collecrivcnature Unlike a story composed by a partrcular during hrs abscnceat the s l r r t r db y t h r ' s r ' w h ol i s r e n c t1l , 't h q 5 1 1 ' r y - t , ' l l c ru.r[eC.lytemnestra author, a m)'th ah."'aysstood on its ou'n, *T rh or dramattst making use o[ tt When. for a plot and a set of charactersreadily under- i n s t a n c e ,t h e A t h e n r a n sw a t c h e d t h e g r e a t All this would have been famrliar to the cyclc of plays that Aeschylusstagedabout the Athcnians beforeAcschylus' treatment of the MAR5 AND NEpruNE, thc Ettnol (-rq', two gocls of ancrent Romc, ricir over .guarding itr mrhtary und monnmt rntcrests At klt, an aifiomt Trojan \Var m u r d e r o I A g a m em n o n . t h c y r v e r ea l r e a d y m 1 ' t h b e g a n u r t h . { g a m e m n ( ) nr e t u r n i n g a w a r e o f t h c m a i n c h a r a c t e r sa n d t h c i r homc liom the Trojan War Some of the audi- putLo above Mdrs burs h$ actlons The audienceknew how the House ence doubtlessrecalledan even older curse symbol oJ thr god's dominion ttvar lhd watves {Mq* r:l of Atreus, Agamemnon's father,'"vasfated to laid on l'elops himself by the messengergod N T P T L NBFY P 4 r r ryr r R ( ) N E sCEA, N L c n d u r e a t e r n b l e p e n o d o [ d o m e s t i cs t n f e H e r m e s P e l o p sh a d p r o v o k e d t h e g o d b y Not only had Atreus and hrs brother Thycstes relusing a promiscd gift to one of his sons hr)rsd's h(lmcl, whiic Neptunc's putto .anies a seasheil, l0 bcen cursed by rherrown father, Pelops, for Nothing that Aeschylusrncludedin hrs plays kLllrnghis favounte chrld, their half-brother was unexpected. neirher the murder o[ Chrysippus, but a bloody quarrel of their own Agamemnon, nor the revenge of his son had also added to the family mrsfbrtune A Orcstes,nor Orestes'punuit by thc Funes for dispute over the successionto Pelops'throne sheddrnga mother's blood What would have at Mycenae led Atreus to kill three oI fascinatedthe audiencewas the dramatist's T h y e s t e s ' s o n s ,a l t h o u g h t h e y h a d s o u g h t approach to these tangled incidents, his'raew sanctuaryin a temple dedicatedto Zeus, the of motive, guilt and expiation For that rea- supreme god Even worse, the murderer then son another dramatist was able to tackle the served the bocliesof his nephews up to his same srory later in Athens during the fifth brorher at a banquet, afrerwhich he dared to cenrury sC It needs to be remembered that show Th1'estestheir feet and hands Atreus such drama remained very much part of paid for the outrage wrth hrs life at the hands ancient religron Today we cannot expect to of Thyestes' sumving son, Aegisthus, who appreciate the full meaning of these perfor- l r r t c r h e c a m , ' t h r l o v e r r ' l A g a m e m n t t ns mances, but we are fortunate in halrng the INTRODUCTION raw materials from which they were made, the myths themselves Myths retain much of rheir power, even Venone o when told in summary, as rhey are in this encyclopedia Because Greek myths were fashioned and refashioned over so many generations, they acquired their essential form, a shape that had been collectively recognized for longer than anyone could remember Even now, we conrinue to be fascinated by the stories of Oedipus, rhe man who murdered <-r{ 0 his father and married his morher; of the "n \t tcn&ifii Athenian hero Theseus, slayer of the strange bull-headed man, rhe Minotaur, of rhe great voyagerJason,who sailed acrossrhe Black Sea ro disranr Colchis in order to ferch the Golden Fleece;of Agamemnon, the doomed leaderof the Greek expedrtion againsrTroy, o[cunning Odysseus, one of rhe bravesr of the Greek and the inventor of the Wooden Horse, rhe TYRRHENIAN SEA means by which Troy was raken; of the hapless Pentheus,victim of Dionysus' ecsraric worshippers, who included his own morher; . .- -'! "'*. IONIAN of the unbeatable champron Achilles; of rhe labours of Heracles, Zeus' own son and the only hero to be granted immortaliry; and many others As Greek lMng before and afrer Plato evidently understood, myrhs were fictitious stones rhar illusrrared rruh The Romans were no less impressed by the SIcILIAN SEA AFR ICA AFRICAN SEA range and interesr of Greek myrhology Indeed, rhey adopred it wholesale and iden- people were executedbefore the cult of the Bellerophon Something s)'nthetic can be felr tified many of their own haiian deities wrrh native wine god Bacchus discarded those in the story of Aeneas, rhe leader of the those in rhe Greek panrheon, even adopring aspects of Dronysus which mer wrth official refugees {rom Troy others for whom they possessedno real equiv- disproval This taming of a Greek god, albeir founder-hero made him of particular concem alent The unruly Dionysus gave Rome Thracian rn ongin, could stand for rhe enrire to the lirst Roman emperor Augustus, but The considerable rrouble Thrs god ofvegetation, processby which Greek and Roman myrh- Aeneid,the epic poem abour Aeneas written wine and ecstasywas by no means a comfort- ologr merged in rhe second century BC There by Virgil in the 20s sc, turned out ro be a able deity for the Greeks, but the Romans were just too many myths for rhe Romans to balanced celebrarion of Roman aurhoriry were more deeply disturbed by his orgiastic resist, although rhey chose to impose a rypical rather than an exciting heroic narrative The rites In 186 nc rhe Roman Senarepassed restraint on Greek extravagance hero heededthe call ofduty and abandoned severe laws against the excesseso[ his wor- Roman heroes could never compare wrth shippers h is likely rhat severalthousand Heracles, Jason, Theseus, Perseus or His adoption as a the woman he loved, as Roman heroes were expected to do rn every myth ll CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY ACUtt-leS was rhc son of Krng Peleus of Thessaly and the sea nymph THETISHe was the greatesr of the Greek wamors, although in compansonwith acar'tlllxov and the other Greekhngs who went on arranged the mamage of Thetis to a mortal Because she was scr attached to Achilies, Thetis tried to make him immorral by various mcans Thc bcst known wrs drpping the new-born baby in the r h c e x p e d r t r o na g a i n s tT r o y . h e Sryx, rhe rrver rhat ran through a p p e a r sr o h a v eb e e n s o m c t h i n g of a barbarian His anger was as legendaryas his prowess The uncerrainnatureof Achilles is apparentin the story of his brrth Both zEL'sand pttsr-iitrt.twanted HADE-S, the world of the dead Since Thcris had to hold him by the heel, thrs one spot was left vulnerable and at Troy brought about A, hrlles de.rrh lrom a noisoncd anow shot from the bow ol PeRts Achrlles learned the skills of to have a son by the beautiful The tis, but PROMETIlirt.'-s, the fire warfare from CHIRON, le ader of the god, had wamed them that her off- c . l : N l A t / R . s , w h o a l s o f e d h i m o n spnng would be greaterthan his wild game to increase his f'erocity Iather Anxious ro avord the U n d e r C h r r o n ' s c a r e A c h i l l e s emergcnceof a powcr qupenorto became renowned as a courageous r h e m s e l v e s ,r h e g o d s c a r e f u l l y l r s h r c r b u r h i ' i m m o r t a l m o t h c r . . b . . ' - . I knew that he was doomed to die at Troy rf he went on the expedition So Thetis arrangedfor him to be disguised as a grrl and hrdden among the women at the palaceof Krng Lycomedeson rhe islandof Sc1'rosThe Greek felt that wrthour Achilles therr chances of beating the Trojanswere sLtm,but no one could identify the hidden hero At last, cunning oDYssEUs was sent to discover AchiLles, which he did by meansof a tnck Haung tracedthe young man to There he bitterly quanelled wrth Agamemnon, the leader o[ the Greeks lt may be that he was angeredby Agamemnon'suse o[ ro his name to bring IPHIGENTA Aulis, for she had been told she was to marry Achrlles, whereas Agamemnon intended to sacnfice ACHILLES, reluingbnde hrstentwth Scpos, Odysseusplacedweapons hs tompdnion,Patroclus,welcomeshrs among some jewellery in the comratles,Odysseus(centre)arul Aiax palace Whrle Achilles' female (right), who irnplorc tht moodyhero to c o m p a n i o n sw c r r a d m i r i n gr h c retum Lobattle whereht s sorelyneeded crafrsmanshipof rhejewels,a call ( A ( H i l | r ! f u i l r \ r , s A ( ; A M r M ! ( ) N ! N l l s s l \ c t : f , s to arms was sounded and the "F; P# TZ warrior quickly reached for the w e a p o n s .g i v i n g h i m s e l I a w a y Unmasked, Achilles had no choice but to sail for Troy Dl /l'4\ Ai ii iI l\L'8t\ L1\t 1\ lSLil l ClesstcAr- her to the goddess ARTEMIS,to ensure a favourable wind for the Greek fleer For a long time Achilles srayed in his rent and refused to fight the Trojans. He even persuaded his mother to use her influence with Zeus to let the tide of war go against the Greels. But Achilles was roused to action by the death of Patroclus, his squire and lover, at the hands of the Trojan HEcToR.Patroclus had bonowed Achilles' armour, which had been forged by the smith god HEPHAISTOS, and entered the fray, MvrHoLocY AnCeUS was the son of King Pandion ofAthens, and farher of tne nero THfslus Ha!1ng twrce manied wirhout begetdng any children, Aegeuswent to consult the Delphic Oracle bur received only the ambiguous answer that he suggesrion Theseus was sent to fight the wild bull of Marathon, which he captured alive. Once should nor untie his wine skin until he reachedhome. When he sought advice from his friend Pittheus. another ruler. the latter realizedrhat the oracie had foretold how Aegeuswould father a heroic son. To securethe sewices of such ACTAEONwasayoungGreeh hunter a man, Pittheus made Aegeus whounluchily uponthepoolwhae drunk and let him sleep wirh his but he cameup againstHectorwho chanced Artemis woebathingIn easilydefeatedhim. andhernymphs daughter Aethra. When Aegeus In brand-new arrnour Achilles outrage,thevir$ngoddess tumedhim into undersrood what had happened, he placed a sword and a pair of sought out Hector, who asked for a srcgandhewastornapartbyhisovn (IuusrunoN respect to be shown for his body if hounds, FRoM DlcnoNARy sandals beneath an enormous oF he was defeated.Achilles refused, C6srclANTreuns, l89l) boulder. He rold the princessthat if she bore a son who could move slew Hector with his spear and draggedrhe Trojan hero round rhe had been wamed about by his the rock, he was to bring these tomb of Patroclus for rwelve days. steed XeivlHUS, before rhe FURIES rokens to him in Athens on reaching manhood. Thus it was that Only Thetis could persuade her struck the divine creature dumb. son to le! the Trojans recover the An arrow from the bow of Paris, Theseusgew up and was eventucorpse and arrange a funeral, a guided by rhe god of prophecy ally reunited with his father. APOLLO,gave Achilles a mortal Meantime, Aegeus had married serious obligarion for the living. whose magiBackin rhe flght, Achilles struck wound. Heroic yet also arrogant, the sorceressMEDF-A, fear into the Trojans, of whom he Achilles was rhe myrhical figure cal powers had given him another killed hundreds. But his own life most admired by Alexander rhe son, Medus. lt was for this reason was coming to an end, which he Great.At the commencementof char Medea did everything she his Asian campaign against rhe could to thwart Theseus. Ar her Persians,the youthful Alexander ACHIIJ-ES Jallsbneath theTrojanwalk, pardcipared in funeral games that shotbyParisThesungodaimshisarrow were held at Troy in memory of heel,theonlymortal straight Jor Achilles' Achilles. (Seealso HEROES) partoJthehao'sbody.ln somemyths, ApolloguidedPais' bw; in othm, thegod, (ArcLLo was rhe son of a ACfnfON shys shottheanow,a seenhere wentually causedhis death. For it was agreed that Theseus should travel ro Crete with the seven girls ACHILLEry FMNZST ssEN,w^ftRconu{, 1869) Aegeusrecognizedhis son, Medea returned in disgust ro her native Colchis on rhe Black Sea.But bad Iuck continued to dog Aegeus and and sevenboys sent as ribute each year to feed the MINOTAUR,a bullheaded man. If Theseus was successfulin his dangerous mission ro kill the Minotaur, the ship bringing him home was to fly a white sail: if unsuccessful. a black sail would signalhis dearh. Retuming to Arhens after an incredible adventure in the Labynnth at Knossos, Theseus forgot the agreement to changehis sail from black to white, wirh the result rhar, upon seeing the vesselwith is black sail,Aegeus threw himself off the Athenian acropolis to certain dearh AEGEUS outto sea,sees hisson's , Ioohing ships retuminghome, allwithblachsails hoistedThinhing thathissonhaddied, Aegeus hurledhimsefintothesea,aJterwardsnamed theAegean (lrr/srMr,(,N 8v Nlck 8uLE. 1995) minor royal god and Auronoe, daughrer of. ceouus. A Greek hunter trained by CHIROw,he offended rhe goddess,rnrEMISand paid wirh his life. There are several reasons given for his terrible end. Actaeon may have boasted of his superior skill as a hunrer, or annoyed the goddessby seeingher bathing naked. To stop his boasring, futemis tumed him into a sug and he was chased and devoured byhis own hounds. But thesefaithful animals were broken-heaned at the loss of their master, unril Chiron carved a statue of Acaeon so lifelike that they were satisfied. I3 ClnssrcAr- MvrHoLoGY at thedecoratwe became, and ir seemed as i[ Italy AENFASgdzes in wonder whileDrdo,thequeen, and the new sute to be founded on templeIn Carthage, its shoreswere both forgotten. But welromahim to heraotic hingCom are watchful;uetrrR, rhe chief Roman Aroundthan,pillan,doorsand.beams god, dispatched urncuRv wirh a walls madeoJbronze,whiletheJabulous aredecorated with thefamousale oJ anil theTrolans Aenens BY Nrcx BuE,1995 ) ouuiRfloN messageto Aeneas,recalling him to his dury and commanding him to resume the voyage Honified by his inrention to leave, Dido bitterly on the eastem Adriatic coast From there it made for Sicily, but before reaching the Iulian mainland itwas diverted to North Afnca dunng a sudden storm sent by the goddess ;ulo, the Roman equivalent o[ reproachedAeneas,but his deep sense of piety gave him strength enough to launch the fleet again. Then the weeping queen mounted HERA, who was a Trojan hero and AfNneS the son ofAnchises and vENUs,the Roman goddess of love He was the favourite of the Romans. who believedthat some of their eminent families were descended from the Trojans who fled westwards with him from Asia Minor, after the Greek sack of their city. Upstart Rome was only too aware of its lack of tradition and history in comparison with Greece(there was a nouble absenceof a glorious past peopled with mythical heroes and gods), so the exploits o[Aeneas conveniently provided a means of reassertingnational pride. lt was not a coincidence that the first Roman emperor, Augustus, took a personal interest in the myth. During the Trojan WarAnchises was unable to fight, having been renderedblind or lame for boasdng about his reladonship with Venus. But young Aeneas distinguished himself againsr the Greeks, who fearedhim second only ro urcron, the Trojan champion. ln gradtude PRIAMgave Aeneas his daughter Creusa to have as his wife, and a son was born named AscANlus. Although Venus wamed him of the impending fall of Troy, Anchises refused to quit the city until two omens occurred: a small flame rose from rhe top ofAscanius'head and a meteor fell close by. So, carryrng l4 Anchises on his back, Aeneas managed to escape Troy with his father and his son Somehow Creusabecame separatedlrom the party and disappeared Later, Aeneassaw her ghost and leamed from it that he would found a new Troy in distant ltaly. After sailing through the Aegean Sea,where the small fleet Aeneas commanded stopped at a number of islands, the fleet came to Epirus a pyre which she had ordered to be prepared and, having run herself rhrough with a sword, was con- harassed Aeneas throughout the voyage Only the sumed by the flames When the Trgans finallylanded dmelyhelp of rurm;Nr, the Roman seagod, saved the fleet from ship- in laly, near the city of Cumae, wreck At the ciry of Canhage, the Aeneaswent to consult the SIBYL, great trading port founded by the who was a renowned prophetess. Phoenicians (which was located She took him on a visit to the in present-day Tunisia), Venus battlewitha ensured that Aeneas fell in love A-ENE{Sandhiscomrddes hwerabwe with is beauriful queen, the widow JbchoJraglnghorpieswho canyofl the themin thesky,waitingto DIDO.Becauseofher own flrght to Carthage, Dido welcomed the weahondwovndcl.Prsidclwrts sheher Trojan refugeeswith geat hndness htsfamily:ha blindJathcrAnchls,hs wiJeCmtsaandthar tvtosons.(ANs AND and unlimited hospitaliry. Time passed pleasantly for the HE CoMpNloNs FlGm frE ll^mEs rv Fwcors lovers, as Aeneas and Dido soon I'ERroE crwtr. 161#7) ClassIcAr- AGAMEMNON waxha coolly ahis daughtu, Iphignia, is ofered a a "sacnfciallamb" to apryase theanger oJ Artem(: but at the last moment, the goddesshenef rebnted and, descending Jromheavat shecarried Iphignia ofl to Tdurus OHE SACruNCE OFIPHIGENN 8YGIOVNNI BAmsr^, NEM, 1770-) underworld. There Aeneasmet his father's ghost, who showed him the destiny of Rome.Anchiseshad died of old age during the smy in Sicily, but his enthusiastic ourline of the future encouraged his son. Aeneas also saw Dido's ghost, but it did not speak to him and humedly rumed away Afterwards, Aeneassreered for che mouth of rhe River Tiber, on whose river banks the ciry of Rome would be built centuries larer. Conflict with rhe latins, the local inhabirants, was bloody and prolonged But peacewas made when Aeneas mamed l-avinia, the daughter of King Larinus lt had been foretold that for the sake of the longdom Laviniamust marryraman from abroad The Tro.lans,in order to appeaseJuno, adopred the Latins' rraditions and language. (Seealso VOYAGERS) MyrHoLocY ACnunuNON, according ro Agamemnon's father. On her it around his body, rendering him Greek mythology, was the son husband's retum, Clytemnesrraar an easy targerfor Aegisthus' axe. of erRrus and the brother of first pretended how pleased she MENEIAUS,long of Spana. He was wzlsto seehim Thanlcng the gods A;AX -as rhe son of Telamon of married ro CLyTEMNESTM. From for his safe retum, Agamemnon Salamisand, like ACHILLES, was a his citadel at Mycenae,or nearby crossed the threshold ofhis palace, powerful aid to the Greeksin their Argos, he sent out a summons to ignoring the warning o[ his slave assault on Troy. Afrer Achilles' the Greek to join the expedition cAssANDM, the prophetic daugh- death there was a contest for rhe against Troy The causeo[ the war ter of PRIAM,the defeated Trojan armour of this great warrior, which was the flight of Menelaus' wife, king. He rhen rerired to a barhroom had been forged by the smirh god HELEN,ro rhar ciry wirh PARI5. in order to change his clothes. HEPFIAISTOS. When ODY55EU5 was However, rhe Greek fleer was Clytemnestra quickly threw a large awarded the armour, Ajax became delayed at Auhs by conrary winds net over Agamemnon and twisted mad with.;ealousy He planned a Agamemnon then realized that he nighr attack on his comrades,but would have to make a human sac- AJAXheadsof theTrqan onslaught wth rhe goddesserHrNA deceived him rifice in order to appeaseARTEMIS, Wical mightandcourageBeside into slaughtering a flock of sheep htm,his the goddess o[ the forest and wild brother,Tatcerthearcher,aimshisbowat instead. In the light of dawn, Ajax animais. His daughter IPHTGENIA theTrojanswho,withJlamingtorches,hopewas suddenly overwhelmed by a was therefore sent to Aulis under to settheGreehshipsalight 0uusmnoru fear of his evil intentions, and fell the pretexr rhat she was to be rRoM STORIE FROM HoMER. i885 ) on his sword and died married to the Greek champion and hero ACHILLESAccording ro one tradition, lphigeniawas sacrificed, but accordingto another,she was savedby Artemrs herselfand uken ro Taurus to becomea priesress in the goddess'stemple Clytemnestra never forgave Agamerhnon for lphigenia's loss, and she took Aegrsthusfor a lover during the ten-yearsiegeofTroy. Aegisthus was rhe son ofThyesres, the brother and enemy of Atreus, I5 CI,q,sslcAL MYTHoLoGY AlCfSftS, according ro Greek mythology, was the daughrer of Krng Pelias of Thessaly When she was o[ an age to marry, many suitors appeared and her father set a test to discoverwho would be the most suirable husband. Alcestis was to be the wife of the firsr man to yoke a lion and a boar (or, in some versions.a bear) to a chariot. Wirh rhe aid of epoLro, the god of prophecy, a neighbounng monarch named Admetus succeededin this seemingly impossible task But at the wedding he forgot to make the necessarysacnfice in gratitude ro ARTEMIS, the goddessof the foresr and wrld animals. and so found his wedding bed full of snakes Once again Apollo came to the king's assistanceand, by making rhe FATESdrunk. extracted from rhem a promise that if anyone elsewould die on Admetus' behalf, he might continue to live. fu no one would volunteer, Alcescisgaveher life for him prnstpuolr, rhe undenvorld goddess,was so impressedby this complete devotion rhar she restoredAlcestis to Admetus. and they had two sons who later took part in the Greek expedirion agarnstthe city ofTroy. AlCUeNt was rhe daughrerof Electryon,son of pEFsrus,and the morher of urnacrrs. She married Amphitryon, king of Tir;'ns, near Mycenae in the Peloponnese. Alcmene refused to consummate her marriagero Amphitryon undl he had avenged the murder of her brothers. This the king did, but when he retumed he was amazed to learn from Alcmene rhat she believedshe had alreadyslept with him. Amphitryon was enrageduntil ALCESTISbelow)welcomes hersuitor, Admetus, whoanivesin o chaiotdrawnby Iionsandbears,whileAlcestis' Jather, Pelias, Ioohsonin disbelieJ. Admetus was theonlyherotoyohethebeasts, sowinning thehandoJAlcestis(trrt'srurror rnovsrorur ALCMENE6ght) wasote oJrheslEgod Zeus'manyloers,but wospunished Jor herinlideliry byherangryhusband, whohereisportr(lyed Amphitryon, setting alighta pyrebeneath her Shewassaved by a heawnly dwnpoursentbyZeus r R o MG R r ( L A N DR o M r , 1 9 2 0 ) (lrLLsruTr)I 8YNtcKBilu. ,l995) I6 the seer TIRESIAS explained that zEUs had come ro Alcmene disguised as her husband in order to father a monal who would aid the gods in their forthcoming battle against the GIANTS. So Alcmene became pregnant with rwins: Heracles, the son o[ Zeus, and lphicles, rhe son of Amphirryon. Zeus could not hide hls sarisfaction from his wife HERA who realized what had happened Shesent the goddessof childbirth, Eileithyia,ro frusrate the delivery, but a trick savedAlcmene and her two sons. Hera then put snakes into Heracles'cradle, but the infant hero strangled them ku s never ler H era f.a:e.llyinjur e Heracles, and always protected Alcmene. Once Amphitryon tried ro bum her for infidelity, but was stopped by a sudden downpour. When Alcmene died naturally of to bring old age,Zeus sent HERMES her body to the ElysianFields, CLASSIcAL MYinoIocy AMUIJUS (Iet't) casts outhis nephews, Romulusand Remus,the twin sonsoJ Rhea Silviaand the war god Mars, ord.eing that thq be drownedin the nver Tiber. But thq are eventually Jound fo a she-wolJwho suchlesthem until a shepherd, Faustulus, tahesthem home (ttlsrurrul rRoMsroRrEs l ROM Ll\a, 1885 ) violent and tempestuous temper urs wrth her. He even slew a comrade who mentioned it Fascination with Amazon power affectedother heroesbesidesAchilles. The adventures of borh rurnecrES and ll-tt5tu) lnvolveo Datlles wltn Arnazons.One of Heracles'famous labours was the seizure of a girdle belonging to the Amazon queen Hippolyta, a theft that required considerablenerve. god laas, Amulius imprisoned her and ordered that her rwin sons, REMUS ANDROMULUS, be drowned in the Tiber Bur rhe rwo boys escapeda watery death and grew up in the countryside Once rhey realized their parenrage, Romulus and Remusretumed ro Alba Longa and lalled their uncle Amulius. ANonOveCHE, the daughter of Eetion, a king of Mysia in Asia AUUIIUS, in Roman my'thology, Minor, was the wlfe of nncton, rhe was a descendant of the Trojan foremost Trojan warrior Her entire hero AENEAS.He usurped the family - parens, brothers, husband throne of Alba Longa from his and son - was killed during the younger brother Numitor and Trojan War. After the sack of Troy, forced Numitor's daughter RHEA Andromache was taken off into SILYIAto become a Vestal Mrgin so captlvityby Neoptolemus, rhe son as to deny her father an heir When of the great Greek hero ACHILLES RheaSihra was raped by the war Neoptolemus had shown rhe same his father when he rurhlessly killed the Trojan hng, PRIAM,ar rhe altar of zrus'remple. Andromache bore Neoptolemus three sons, and in consequen'cesuffered the hatred of his barren Greek wrfe When Neoptolemusdied, Andromache went on to marry Helenus who, like her, was a Trojan captive Her finalyearswere spent in fuia Minor at Pergamum,which was a new ciry founded by one of her sons. ANDROMACHE, youngwtJe, Hector's bowsherheadin captivityOneoJthe noblest but mostll-starredofheroines, she sees herhusband, brothers Jatherandseven hilledbyArhilles, andhersonhurled Jrom thecirywalls;whilesheJallsasa pize oJ war to Achilles' son (cAf lvr: ANDRi)MAcHli D) L0RDLErcHroN,cnNVAs, c 1890) CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY ANTIGONE (abwe) sp'inhlesmrth on the body oJha brother, Polynices,as a symbolicat oJbunal For the Greelu, buial wasa sacredduty, wrthout which a soul couV not rest;yet Creon, ha uncle, had daied Polynicesa bunnl, iolating diine l,||n 04usrunoN ByNrcKBilrE 1995 ) ANDROMEDA Q$), chainedto a roch os a sacifice m a seamonster,can only pray, whilehlgh owrhead,theheroPerseuss on his way Swoopingdwtn on thewinged hone, Pegaw, he cu* Andromedafree and REH$ slaysthe monster (PERSEUS ANDRoMED EyJflcHtMwlflEi.wtr, 1630) in an uprising against the new ruler cREoN, and his body was condemned to rot unburied outside the ciry. Antigone refusedto accept this impiety and spnnkled earth over the corpse as a token burial For this she was walled up in a cave,where she hangedhenelflike her mother Jocasta. There are a number of different versionsof the myth, but they all castAntigone as the heroic victim of a family wrecked by a terrible deed. was the daugh- sandals carrying the head of the ANDROUEDA ter o[ Cassiopeand Cepheus,king Gorgon Medusa He fell in love of the Ethiopians When Cassiope with Andromeda, and obtained boasted that Andromeda was more both her and her father's consent beautiful than the Nereids, the sea to mamage if he defeatedthe monnymphs, they complained to the ster. This Perseusdid by using seagod PosEIDoN He avengedthis Medusa's head, the sighr of which insult by flooding the land and sending a seamonster to devastate Cepheus'kingdom To avoid complete disaster it was decided to tumed all living things to stone. After sorne time, Perseus and Andromeda settled in Tirfns, which Perseusruled. The constelIation of Andromeda lies close to sacriliceAndromeda to the beast and she was chained to a rock at that of Pegasus,and both Cepheus the foot of a cliff. There PERSEUS and Cassiopewere also commemorated in the stars. saw her as he flew past on winged l8 was rhe daughrerof ANilCONE IEDIPUS,king ofThebes, and his wrfe and motherJocasta On leaming of their unwitting incest, Oedipus tore out his eyes while Jocastahanged herself.The penitent Oedipus was then guided by Antigone in his wanderings round Greece. She was with him at the sancuary of Colonus, near Athens, when her distraught father gained some hnd of peacejust before his death. She retumed to Thebes, but her troubles were not over. Her brother Polyniceshad been killed ANNOPN LOYER5 SCC OFZEUS was the Greek APnnOOtfE goddess o[ Iove, beauty and fertiliry Unlike her Roman counterpan yENUs,with whom she was idendfied, Aphrodite was not only a goddess of sexuai love but also of the affection that sustains social life. The meaningo[ her name is uncertain, although the ancient Greek came to believe it refened to foam Quite possibly this belief arosefrom the story ofAphrodite's ClnssrcAr- I.PHRODITE, goddessof lwe andbeauty, was bom Jrom theJoam ol the su; sherose lrom the waveson a seashell,stepping ashoreon Cyprus At hu sile, the west wtnd, Ztphyus, andFlora, the spingblow her gently uhore in a showeroJ roses,her sacredflower, (THE BrRrH oFvENUs BysANDRo BomcEur,TEMpEv, c 1482 ) binh. When rheTiran CRONOS cur off the penis of his farher Ouranos with a sharp sickle, he casr rhe immortal member into the sea, where it floated amid white foam Inside the penis Aphrodite grew and was then washed up at Paphos on C1prus. There were in fact sanctuaries dedicared to her on many islands, which suggesrsrhar she was a Westfuian goddesswho was brought to Greeceby sea-traders. Once she arrived. the ancient Gree}<smarried her in their mythology to the crippled smith god HEPFIAISTOS. But Aphrodire was not content to be a hithful wife and she bore children by severalorher gods, including DIONYSUSand ARES.When Hephaisros found out about Aphrodire's passion for rhe war god Ares, rhe ourraged smith god made a mesh of gold and caught the lovers in bed togerher. He called rhe other gods from Mount Olympus ro see the pair, but they only lauglred at his shame, and posenoru, the god of the sea, queen of the dead. Their birter quarrel was only ended by zrUs, who ruled that for a rhird of the year Adonis was to dwell with himself, for a third parr wirh Persephone, and for a third part with Aphrodite. So it was rhar rhe ancient Greels accommodated a West Asian mother goddessand her dying-and-rising husband. Indeed the Adonia, or annual festivals commemorating Adonis' death, were celebrated in many pars of the eastemMediterranean MyrHoLocY Roman religions, and was the god of prophecy, archery and music The origrn of his name is uncenain but it is probably non-European A light with the gigandc earthserpent Python at Delphi gave Apollo rhe sear o[ his famous oracle. $rthon was an offspring of GAIA,mother earth, which issued revelations through a fissurein the rock so that a priestess,the $nhia, could give answers to any questions that might be asked.After he slew the eanh-serpent, Apollo took its place, though he had to do penance in Thessalyfor the hlling. Indeed, Zeus rwice forced Apollo to be the slave of a mortal man to pay for his crime. Apollo's interest in healing suSges6 an anclent assoclatlon with the plagueand is conrrol. His son ASCLEPIUS was also identified AnrS, the son of zr.vs and srna, was the Greek god of war, and was Iater idenrified with the Roman war god uens. Although Ares had no wife of his own, he had three children byAPHROOIr, the goddessof Iove The rwins, Phobos, "panic", APOILO (abate), the sun gd, urgcs the ARES @lov,t), infuIl atmour,luik the with healing and connected with sitesin nonhem Greece Indeed, so accomplished was Asclepius in medicine that Zeus slew him with a thunderbolt for daring to bring a man back to life. (Seealso FORCES OFNATURE) and Deimos, "[ear", alwaysaccompanied him on the bardefield. ln Greek mythology, Ares is depicted as an instigator of vrolence, a tempestuous and passionatelover and an unscrupulous fnend The Roman god Mars, however, has nothing of Ares' fickleness Becauseof her unruly behaviour, Zeus causedAphrodire ro fall in love wirh Anchises, the farher of AENEAS.ln the Roman version o[ this myth Venus herself is deeply attracted ro rhe Trojan, but wams him to keep the parentageof their son Aeneasa secret.This Anchlscs fails to do, and as a resuk suffers blindness or a disability of the Iimbs. While the Roman goddess provided, througlr the leadership of Aeneas, a means for some of the Trojans to escape and flourish anew in ltaly, the GreekAphrodite actually helped to causethe Trojan War. ln order to ensure that he would name her zlsthe most beautiful of the goddesses,Aphrodite promised PARIs,son of pRraU rhe hng of Troy, the hand of the most beaudful woman in the world. This fatefully rumed our ro be HELEN, wife of vrruruqus, kingof Spana. persuaded Hephaisros to release Aphrodite and Ares. Perhaps Aphrodire's grearesr APOILO was rhe son of zEUs Iove was for rhe handsome yourh and the Timness LETO,and the Adonis, another West Asian deity. twin brother of the goddess Killed by a wild boar, Adonis ARTEMIS,the virgin hunrress. He became the object of admirarion for was one of the most important both Aphrodite and pERsEpHorur, deities of both the Greek and sun-chaiot ta ise in the slty This unusual gods into battle. Howarcr, in war, the gods wsion oJ themythhas Apollo, rather tlnn were not im4rtial; Helios, as ider, andlbns, insteadoJ Poseidonand Apolb (cntre) wouV oJtm horses, pull the chaiot, ruallingthe linh ad the Trojans, whilc Hqa anil Athena Ares,Aphrodi? Ael), fuween lzo anil the sun. (H{oEBUs Arcrc By (ri$t) EMoNRMEtrcANvs,c .1870) noM SroruBrcM HoMER. l8ll5 ) supporttt the Greek. orurmroN CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY LovERs oF Zr,us is thc op GRr,t,KN4yt-tIt)Lt)GY ASpEC-T s rRtKtNG maritai conilict between the two chicf and her deities, Hera, an earth gc-rddess, husband, Zcus, suprcmc power on Olympus One of the most amorous gods in mytholo gy,Zeus loved countlesswomen and he courtcd them in as many forms, somctimesas a bull, a s a s a t y r .a s a s w a n . s r r m c t i m c sa s a m o r t a l m a n , and erren in the form of a golden shower. Hera rvas notoriously jealous and r,engeful,pursuing without mercy his loversand their offspring.The antagonism between the two could be viewed as a clashbetween different religious traditions or local cults, each cult recognizing a different lovcr who was often regarded as the anccs[orof a ruling family ANTIOPE (uhort), rlrughtir,r/u rrvergrtl,w(r\ior((1hl Zeustn tht lom LtJd sdtvr,d as gout-lihccrtaturt 5hc iorl hrn twlr soils,Atlphtotrurcl Zrlhus tlerc,Zus, dtstrtiscc,l Eros,sucl grrd ct vttuthlulsutl'r,gcnliv sfiaJrrAntrrpe/rom thr sunwhilcshcsicrpsbe-side Oflove CALLI-S1-O (ahrrr'), /r,rlt nrrnph und FI/ROPA (()ntfdnl()il()/Atfttnl\ rn t/tr thrlSa trcts t h ( ' \ h d 1 l i , / i r b c a L r t r / r lh u l l r . l t r , t n t t t g t d l o \ a ( 1h : r r i \ r t n t . /b o r r h t t t t c t s o n , A t i a s lr.ghl) ucrs ir(rrr(/ l^ Zt'ti\ In / r r r n rl h t n t l l c s o n t l t a n t L t l h r t r n r l h r -Shcw,us lhcn , hun(t r.l rnlo u bcur erlhcr la st'a trr (.rtft ZLus, wrshrrrg to hrclL htr lrom I lcra, or lry srrns I ht' r'anous \tug6 Htru htrvll A\ d btdr rhc was shol hv Arl.mrs rn thr /orcsr aar.l wus plared among whcri'shr rrprr'sr'ntcd htrt bort hun Lhrtt ol th( hdntu drt on tht klt, ['uropu nr()unl5 tLc bull tntouruged ht ls fht stcrs ds tht 5h. Baar Hrre, surrounciccl tcrflr'nrss On the nght, she ts homr lrr th. t(rfhr( \ ry' thr Lhctsc,Arlemrs on,.l ht r selulrlv Jown to rhr sea, w'rlh mrlnl Lltlt m m p h s r o n r / o r t ( a i l r s t o p o s s r b i va f t er h i ' r I:rotcs (Lrr sprnts) horenng rn lhr riry (n(ount(r I rnulh shc foats happiy wrth th" ovemhclmtng god, Ztus ( l l h N AA \ r ) ( r \ | r \ r ( r t r I ' r r f RP 4 rr R rB t N \ , al\vAs l6J640 ) 20 htr moukns away, ltdvrng lo (Trlr R{n ,r F( R(n'AB) I)^rrr) td.roil \f\r'u)rf /r r\nr\(,rr\rr)$1S{r\R8}Atr1)\rr(i)tsRr('(r),(r\l:A-\, 152125J M YTTt o childlry Semdt,apptarshtre huggrnghis mothcr,whilc Apolkt s t c r n Jhs w r t hu h u yt t r t ( l r t r i i t r ' raisedhts ntothrt Dionystrs becanta goc,l, to heavenand placedher arnongthe starsus ThyoneThisEtmsrdnmitror is borderedwith iw, which was l)tonysus' sutred plant (lrrr \ ru rr()Nrn()M 1895 DRSvI Hs Cliss(il Dr(Ir()\ARY ) DANAE below) u,usconfinedin a brazt'n tLtwer lry her father whofearedan oracleprtdtctrng thut ht woukl be hilledby o gundson In htr lout'r shs n s/roxd , wds visiledby Zeusn tfu lonn oJa golc.lt anclbort hun o son, Pcrsrus When htr lttthtr drstoveretl thebaby,ht tdsthothoJ thtm out to seain a woodenchest,hut thq ftoattd ushorc on the Isleol Senphoswherethqt wert rtt uttl )rFR )\' FRr lry Dictls (llrr \rMrr()! Bl(rrr)Rc[,s( T { \ ( , [ u ( x ) r ) T A l(t 5] 9 2 C 1 SEMELE (klt) encourugtd 14'Htro, ptrsuudtd in all his qlenJour Whenh,' Zcrs lo shor hrrnscl/ apptarttl beJorthcr as tht radiunt gil ttl thwtdtr wasconsumediry thc /icrrnes anrl lightning,-Senreic unLl,dymg, gavcbrrth prtmuturdy to Diorrysus, whom Zeussavedlrtnn tht Jirt In thrspowerful veirion oJ the myth, thegeat godrodutes 5-ynrbolist Itery.bloodredhghtnrngA wingedchrldhtdrng from thehght coulclbc Dionysus,whrle thet)arh, homed godscemsto be a fusion oJ Hudrs und Pun (l( filR4NrSl\1lrr r) a,t\r4\'rM()RF;t (1\\1\ ltiq6)