Listed 100 (total found 226) sub titles with search on: Mythology for wider area of: "ATTIKI Region GREECE" .
ATHENS (Ancient city) GREECE
Agraulos. Daughter of Cecrops and Agraulos, of whom various
stories are told. Athene is said to have given Erichthonius in a chest to Agraulos
and her sister Herse, with strict injunctions not to open it; but they disobeyed
the command. Agraulos was subsequently punished by being changed into a stone
by Hermes, because she attempted to prevent the god from entering the house of
Herse, with whom he had fallen in love. Another legend relates that Agraulos threw
herself down from the Acropolis because an oracle had declared that the Athenians
would conquer if some one would sacrifice himself for his country. The Athenians
in gratitude built her a temple on the Acropolis, in which the young Athenians,
on receiving their first suit of armour, took an oath that they would always defend
their country to the last.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
ELEFSIS (Ancient city) ATTICA, WEST
Cercyon (Kerkuon). Son of Poseidon or of Hephaestus. A cruel
tyrant at Eleusis, who put to death his daughter Alope and killed all strangers
whom he overcame in wrestling. He was, in the end, conquered and slain by Theseus.
Alope. The daughter of the evil king Cercyon of Eleusis. She had an affair
with Poseidon, who also was the father of Cercyon. This made Alope's father her
stepson as well as Poseidon her grandfather.
Alope was very beautiful. Because she feared her cruel father she
had her son by Poseidon exposed. The baby was rescued by a mare who suckled him,
and then he was discovered by shepherds.
The baby wore expensive garments, and so the shepherds started to
quarrel over who should take them. Finally they brought the case to king Cercyon,
who understood what had happened, and again had the child exposed.
Again the baby boy was suckled by a mare, and discovered by shepherds.
These were kind men, and they raised the child and named him Hippothoon.
Cercyon had Alope executed for what she had done, but Poseidon turned
her into a fountain, which was named after her. On the road from Eleusis to Megara,
where Alope had been killed, a monument in her honour was built. Cercyon was eventually
killed by Theseus.
This text is cited Sept 2003 from the In2Greece URL below.
Alope, a daughter of Cercyon, who was beloved by Poseidon on account of her great beauty, and became by him the mother of a son, whom she exposed immediately after his birth. But a mare came and suckled the child until it was found by shepherds, who fell into a dispute as to who was to have the beautiful kingly attire of the boy. The case was brought before Cercyon, who, on recognising by the dress whose child the boy was, ordered Alope to be imprisoned in order to be put to death, and her child to be exposed again. The latter was fed and found in the same manner as before, and the shepherds called him Hippothous. The body of Alope was changed by Poseidon into a well, which bore the same name (Hygin. Fab. 187; Paus. i. 5.2; Aristoph. Av. 533). The town of Alope, in Thessaly, was believed to have derived its name from her (Pherecyd. ap. Steph. Byz. s. v. Alope, where, however, Philonides speaks of an Alope as a daughter of Actor.) There was a monument of Alope on the road from Eleusis to Megara, on the spot where she was believed to have been killed by her father (Paus. i. 39.3).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited July 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Cercyon (Kerkuon), a son of Poseidon by a daughter of Amphictyon, and accordingly
a halfbrother of Triptolemus (Paus. i. 14.1). Others call him a son of Hephaestus
(Hygin. Fab. 38). He came from Arcadia, and dwelt at Eleusis in Attica (Plut.
Thes. 11; Ov. Met. vii. 439). He is notorious in ancient story for his cruelty
towards his daughter Alope and all who refused to fight with him, but he was in
the end conquered and slain by Theseus (Paus. i. 39.3). Another personage of the
same name is mentioned by Pausanias (viii. 5.3).
Baubo (or Babo), a mythical woman of Eleusis, whom Hesychius calls the nurse of Demeter; but the common story runs thus : -on her wanderings in search of her daughter, Demeter came to Baubo, who received her hospitably, and offered her something to drink; but when the goddess, being too much under the influence of grief, refused to drink, Baubo made such a strange gesture, that the goddess smiled and accepted the draught (Clem. Alex. Cohort.). In the fragment of the Orphic hymn, which Clemens Alex. adds to this account, it is further related, that a boy of the name of Iacchus made an indecent gesture at the grief of Demeter. Arnobius (Adv. Gent) repeats the story of Baubo from Clemens, but without mentioning the boy Iacchus, who is otherwise unknown, and, if meant for Dionysus, is out of place here. The different stories concerning the reception of Demeter at Eleusis seem all to be inventions of later times, coined for the purpose of giving a mythical origin to the jokes in which the women used to indulge at the festival of this goddess.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited July 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
IKARIA (Ancient demos) DIONYSSOS
When Erichthonius died and was buried in the same precinct of Athena, Pandion became king, in whose time Demeter and Dionysus came to Attica. But Demeter was welcomed by Celeus at Eleusis, and Dionysus by Icarius, who received from him a branch of a vine and learned the process of making wine. And wishing to bestow the god's boons on men, Icarius went to some shepherds, who, having tasted the beverage and quaffed it copiously without water for the pleasure of it, imagined that they were bewitched and killed him; but by day5 they understood how it was and buried him. When his daughter Erigone was searching for her father, a domestic dog, named Maera, which had attended Icarius, discovered his dead body to her, and she bewailed her father and hanged herself.
MARATHON (Ancient demos) ATTICA, EAST
The seventh labour he (Eurystheus) enjoined on him (Hercules) was
to bring the Cretan bull. Acusilaus says that this was the bull that ferried across
Europa for Zeus; but some say it was the bull that Poseidon sent up from the sea
when Minos promised to sacrifice to Poseidon what should appear out of the sea
(see Apoll.
3.1.3 & 3.1.4).
And they say that when he saw the beauty of the bull he sent it away to the herds
and sacrificed another to Poseidon; at which the god was angry and made the bull
savage. To attack this bull Hercules came to Crete, and when, in reply to his
request for aid, Minos told him to fight and catch the bull for himself, he caught
it and brought it to Eurystheus, and having shown it to him he let it afterwards
go free. But the bull roamed to Sparta and all Arcadia, and traversing the Isthmus
arrived at Marathon in Attica and harried the inhabitants. (Apoll.
2.5.7)
...Athens celebrated the games of the Panathenian festival, in which Androgeus,
son of Minos, vanquished all comers. Him Aegeus sent against the bull of Marathon,
by which he was destroyed. But some say that as he journeyed to Thebes to take
part in the games in honor of Laius, he was waylaid and murdered by the jealous
competitors.(1) But when the tidings of his death were brought
to Minos, as he was sacrificing to the Graces in Paros, he threw away the garland
from his head and stopped the music of the flute, but nevertheless completed the
sacrifice; hence down to this day they sacrifice to the Graces in Paros without
flutes and garlands.(Apoll.
3.15.7)
But not long afterwards, being master of the sea, he attacked Athens
with a fleet and captured Megara, then ruled by king Nisus, son of Pandion, and
he slew Megareus, son of Hippomenes, who had come from Onchestus to the help of
Nisus. Now Nisus perished through his daughter's treachery. For he had a purple
hair on the middle of his head, and an oracle ran that when it was pulled out
he should die; and his daughter Scylla fell in love with Minos and pulled out
the hair. But when Minos had made himself master of Megara, he tied the damsel
by the feet to the stern of the ship and drowned her. When the war lingered on
and he could not take Athens, he prayed to Zeus that he might be avenged on the
Athenians. And the city being visited with a famine and a pestilence, the Athenians
at first, in obedience to an ancient oracle, slaughtered the daughters of Hyacinth,
to wit, Antheis, Aegleis, Lytaea, and Orthaea, on the grave of Geraestus, the
Cyclops; now Hyacinth, the father of the damsels, had come from Lacedaemon and
dwelt in Athens.3 But when this was of no avail, they inquired of the oracle how
they could be delivered; and the god answered them that they should give Minos
whatever satisfaction he might choose. So they sent to Minos and left it to him
to claim satisfaction. And Minos ordered them to send seven youths and the same
number of damsels without weapons to be fodder for the Minotaur...(Apoll.
3.15.8)
...Medea, being then wedded to Aegeus (see
Apoll. 1.9.28), plotted against him (Theseus) and persuaded Aegeus to beware
of him as a traitor. And Aegeus, not knowing his own son, was afraid and sent
him against the Marathonian bull. And when Theseus had killed it, Aegeus presented
to him a poison which he had received the selfsame day from Medea. But just as
the draught was about to be administered to him, he gave his father the sword,
and on recognizing it Aegeus dashed the cup from his hands. And when Theseus was
thus made known to his father and informed of the plot, he expelled Medea. And
he was numbered among those who were to be sent as the third tribute to the Minotaur...
(Apoll. E.1.5 & E.1.6)
The land of the Cretans and especially that by the river Tethris was
ravaged by a bull. It would seem that in the days of old the beasts were much
more formidable to men, for example the Nemean lion, the lion of Parnassus, the
serpents in many parts of Greece, and the boars of Calydon, Eryrmanthus and Crommyon
in the land of Corinth, so that it was said that some were sent up by the earth,
that others were sacred to the gods, while others had been let loose to punish
mankind. And so the Cretans say that this bull was sent by Poseidon to their land
because, although Minos was lord of the Greek Sea, he did not worship Poseidon
more than any other god. They say that this bull crossed from Crete to the Peloponnesus,
and came to be one of what are called the Twelve Labours of Heracles. When he
was let loose on the Argive plain he fled through the isthmus of Corinth, into
the land of Attica as far as the Attic parish of Marathon, killing all he met,
including Androgeos, son of Minos. Minos sailed against Athens with a fleet, not
believing that the Athenians were innocent of the death of Androgeos, and sorely
harassed them until it was agreed that he should take seven maidens and seven
boys for the Minotaur that was said to dwell in the Labyrinth at Cnossus. But
the bull at Marathon Theseus is said to have driven afterwards to the Acropolis
and to have sacrificed to the goddess; the offering commemorating this deed was
dedicated by the parish of Marathon.(Paus.
1.27.9)
Commentary:
(1) This account of the murder of Androgeus is repeated almost
verbally by the Scholiast on Plat. Minos 321a. Compare Diod. 4.60.4ff.; Zenobius,
Cent. iv.6; Scholiast on Hom. Il. xviii.590. All these writers mention the distinction
won by Androgeus in the athletic contests of the Panathenian festival as the ultimate
ground of his undoing. Serv. Verg. A. 6.14 and Lactantius Placidus on Statius,
Achill. 192 say that, as an eminent athlete who beat all competitors in the games,
Androgeus was murdered at Athens by Athenian and Megarian conspirators. Paus.
1.27.10 mentions the killing of Androgeus by the Marathonian bull. According to
Hyginus, Fab. 41, Androgeus was killed in battle during the war which his father
Minos waged with the Athenians.
Kylix: Theseus and the Bull of Marathon. Collection: Elvehjem Museum of Art, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Cup. Theseus captures the Bull of Marathon, looping a rope around the bull's horns and feet; the bull is collapsing forwards onto its face. As in the other scenes, Theseus has hung his clothing and sword in a tree, and fights in heroic nudity; his traveler's cap is shown in the field. Collection: Paris, Musee du Louvre
Stamnos: Theseus and the bull. Collection: University Museum, University of Pennsylvania
Cup: In a rocky landscape, Theseus dressed in chitoniskos and fillet with petasos at the back, runs to the right with his club, approaching the bull of Marathon, which is being held back by a satyr. Collection: Paris, Musee du Louvre
Hydria: On the shoulder of the vase, Theseus binds the bull of Marathon. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Stemless cup: The exploits of Theseus. Nude Theseus advancing 3/4-view to the right, leaning back, with his left leg bent and raised, and his weight on his straight right leg, wearing a scabbard band over his right shoulder, wields an axe in his right hand and reaches out his left arm to the right, to restrain the Marathonian bull; the bull is rearing profile to the right, and raises its head and left foreleg; a female figure. Collection: Verona, Museo Archeologico al Teatro romano (Museo Civico)
Attic Red-Figure Bell-Krater Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Edward L. Diefenthal, Metairie, Louisiana
SALAMINA (Island) ATTIKI
On a report of Telamon's death reaching him there, he returned to the old Salamis; but was repelled by Eurysaces, and finally settled among the Gallaeci in the north west of Spain.
(Sir Richard Jebb, Commentary on Sophocles: Ajax intro, section 18)
The country of the Gallaeci or Callaeci in the north of Spain, between the Astures and the Durius
(Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities (1898) id gallaecia)
THORIKOS (Ancient city) ATTICA, EAST
Cephalus (Kephalos). The son of Deion, and a grandson of Aeolus, married to Procris, the
eldest daughter of Erechtheus. They dwelt at Thoricos in Attica, and lived happily
together till curiosity to try the fidelity of his wife entered the mind of Cephalus.
Feigning a journey of eight years, he disguised himself and came to Procris with
a splendid jewel, which he offered to her on dishonourable terms. After much hesitation
she yielded, when her husband discovered himself and reproached her with her conduct.
She fled from him in shame, but they were soon after reconciled. Cephalus went
constantly to the chase; and Procris growing suspicious, as she had failed herself,
fancied that he was attracted by the charms of some other fair one. She questioned
the slave who used to accompany him; and he told her that his master used frequently
to ascend the summit of a hill and cry out, "Come, Nephele, come!" Procris
went to the designated hill and concealed herself in a thicket; and on her husband's
crying, "Come, Nephele, come!" (which was nothing more than an invocation
for some cloud, Wephele, to interpose itself between him and the scorching beams
of the sun), she rushed forward towards her husband, who, in his astonishment,
threw his dart and unwittingly killed her. (See Hyg. 189; cf. Ovid, Met. vii.
661 foll.) This legend is told with great variations. Cephalus, for his involuntary
crime, was banished. He went to Thebes, which was at that time ravaged by a fox
which nothing could overtake, and he joined Amphitryon in the chase of it. His
dog Laelaps ran it down; but, just as he was catching it, Zeus turned them both
to stone. Cephalus then aided Amphitryon against the Teleboans, and on their conquest
he settled in the island named from him Cephallenia.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Cephalus and Procris: P. Ovidius Naso, History of Love, by Charles Hopkins
Cephalus, a son of Deion, the ruler of Phocis, and Diomede, was married to Procris or Procne, by whom he become the father of Archius, the father of Laertes. He is described as likewise beloved by Eos (Apollod. i. 9.4; Hygin. Fab. 125; Schol. ad Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 209), but he and Procris were sincerely attached, and promised to remain faithful to each other. Once when the handsome Cephalus was amusing himself with the chase, Eos approached him with loving entreaties, which, however, he rejected. The goddess then bade him not break his vow until Procris had broken hers, but advised him to try her fidelity. She then metamorphosed him into a stranger, and gave him rich presents with which he was to tempt Procris. Procris was induced by the brilliant presents to break the vow she had made to Cephalus, and when she recognized her husband, she fled to Crete and discovered herself to Artemis. The goddess made her a present of a dog and a spear, which were never to miss their object, and then sent her back to Cephalus. Procris returned home in the disguise of a youth, and went out with Cephalus to chase. When he perceived the excellence of her dog and spear, he proposed to buy them of her; but she refused to part with them for any price except for love. When he accordingly promised to love her, she made herself known to him, and he became reconciled to her. As, however, she still feared the love of Eos, she always jealously watched him when he sent out hunting, but on one occasion he killed her by accident with the never-erring spear (Hygin. Fab. 189). Somewhat different versions of the same story are given by Apollodorus (iii. 15.1) and Ovid. (Met. vii. 394). Subsequently Amphitryon of Thebes came to Cephalus, and persuaded him to give up his dog to hunt the fox which was ravaging the Cadmean territory. After doing this he went out with Amphitryon against the Teleboans, upon the conquest of whom he was rewarded by Amphitryon with the island which he called after his own name Cephallenia (Apollod. ii. 4.7; Strab. x.; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 307, &c.). Cephalus is also called the father of Iphiclus by Clymene (Paus. x. 29.2). He is said to have put an end to his life by leaping into the sea from cape Leucas, on which he had built a temple of Apollo, in order to atone for having killed his wife Procris (Strab. x.; comp. Paus. i. 37.4; Hygin. Fab. 48).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Nov 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Hippolytus (Hippolutos). The Joseph of classical literature, a son of Theseus and Hippolyte, or, according to others, of Theseus and Antiope. Theseus, after the death of his first wife, married Phaedra, the daughter of Minos and sister of Ariadne. This princess was seized with a criminal affection for the son of the Amazon, an affection produced by the wrath of Aphrodite against Hippolytus for neglecting her divinity and for devoting himself solely to the service of Artemis; or else against Phaedra as the daughter of Pasiphae. During the absence of Theseus, the queen made advances to her step-son, which were indignantly rejected. Filled with fear and hate, on the return of her husband she accused Hippolytus of an attempt on her honour. Without giving the youth an opportunity of clearing himself, the monarch, calling to mind that Poseidon had promised him the accomplishment of any three wishes that he might form, cursed and implored destruction on his son from the god. As Hippolytus, leaving Troezen, was driving his chariot along the seashore, a monster, sent by Poseidon from the deep, terrified his horses; they burst away in fury, heedless of their driver, dashed the chariot to pieces, and dragged along Hippolytus, entangled in the reins, until he died. Phaedra ended her days by her own hand; and Theseus, when too late, learned the innocence of his son. Euripides has founded his tragedy, Hippolytus, on this subject, but the legend assumes a somewhat different shape with him. According to the plot of his play, Phaedra hangs herself in despair when she finds that she is slighted by her step-son, and Theseus, on his return from his travels, finds, when taking down her corpse, a writing attached to it, in which Phaedra accused Hippolytus of having attempted her honour. According to another legend, Aesculapius restored Hippolytus to life, and Artemis transported him, under the name of Virbius, to Italy, where he was worshipped in the grove of Aricia. The story of Hippolytus forms the subject of a play by Euripides with that title, of a Latin tragedy by Seneca, and the Phedre of Racine.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Editor’s Information:
About Hippolytus, Euripides wrote the homonymous tragedy, of which the e-text(s) is (are) found in Greece (ancient country) under the category Ancient Greek Writings.
ATHENS (Ancient city) GREECE
Ion, the fabulous ancestor of the Ionians, is described as a son of Apollo by
Creusa, the daughter of Erechtheus and wife of Xuthus (Apollod. i. 7.3; Creusa).
The most celebrated story about him is that which forms the subject of the Ion
of Euripides. Apollo had visited Creusa in a cave below the Propylaea, and when
she gave birth to a son, she exposed him in the same cave. The god, however, had
the child conveyed to Delphi, and there had him educated by a priestess. When
the boy had grown, and Xuthus and Creusa came to consult the oracle about the
means of obtaining an heir, the answer was, that the first human being which Xuthus
met on leaving the temple should be his son. Xuthus met Ion, and recognised him
as his son; but Creusa, imagining him to be a son of her husband by a former beloved,
caused a cup to be presented to the youth, which was filled with the poisonous
blood of a dragon. However, her object was discovered, for as Ion, before drinking,
poured out a libation to the gods, a pigeon which drank of it died on the spot.
Creusa thereupon fled to the altar of the god. Ion dragged her away, and was on
the point of killing her, when a priestess interfered, explained the mystery,
and showed that Ion was the son of Creusa. Mother and son thus became reconciled,
but Xuthus was not let into the secret. The latter, however, was satisfied, for
he too received a promise that he should become a father, viz. of Dorus and Achaeus.
The inhabitants of Aegialus, on the northern coast of Peloponnesus, were likewise
Ionians, and among them another tradition was current. Xuthus, when expelled from
Thessaly, went to Aegialus. After his death Ion was on the point of marching against
the Aegialeans, when their king Selinus gave him his daughter Helice in marriage.
After the death of Selins, Ion succeeded to the throne, and thus the Aegialeans
received the name of Ionians, and the town of Helice was built in honour of Ion's
wife (Paus. vii. 1. 2; Apollod. i. 7. 2). Other traditions represent Ion as king
of Athens between the reigns of Erechtheus and Cecrops; for it is said that his
assistance was called in by the Athenians in their war with the Eleusinians, that
he conquered Eumolpus, and then became king of Athens. He there became the father
of four sons, Geleon, Aegicores, Argades, and lloples, according to whom he divided
the Athenians into four classes, which derived their names from his sons. After
his death he was buried at Potamus (Eurip. Ion, 578 ; Strab. viii.; Conon, Narrat.
27; comp. Herod. v. 6..)
The Ionians made twelve cities; for it would be foolishness to say that these are more truly Ionian or better born than the other Ionians; since not the least part of them are Abantes from Euboea, who are not Ionians even in name, and there are mingled with them Minyans of Orchomenus, Cadmeans, Dryopians, Phocian renegades from their nation, Molossians, Pelasgian Arcadians, Dorians of Epidaurus, and many other tribes; and as for those who came from the very town-hall of Athens and think they are the best born of the Ionians, these did not bring wives with them to their settlements, but married Carian women whose parents they had put to death.
This extract is from: Herodotus. The Histories (ed. A. D. Godley, 1920), Cambridge. Harvard University Press. Cited Apr 2003 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains comments & interesting hyperlinks.
Neleus, or Neileos, the younger son of Codrus, disputed the right of his elder brother Medon to the crown on account of his lameness, and when the Delphic oracle declared in favour of Medon, he placed himself at the head of the colonists who migrated to Ionia, and himself founded Miletus. His son Aepytus headed the colonists who settled in Priene. Another son headed a body of settlers who reinforced the inhabitants of Iasus, after they had lost a great number of their citizens in a war with the Carians. (Herod. ix. 97; Paus. vii. 2, § 1, who in the old edition calls him Neileus; Polyb. xvi. 12; Suidas, s. v. Ionia; Strab. xiv.)
Sons of Euctemon, Athenians, lead Phocians to Asia.
Iolaus of Thebes, the nephew of Heracles, led the Athenians and Thespians to Sardinia. A fourth component part of the population was the army of Iolaus, consisting of Thespians and men from Attica, which put in at Sardinia and founded Olbia; by themselves the Athenians founded Ogryle, either in commemoration of one of their parishes in the home land, or else because one Ogrylus himself took part in the expedition.
Lycus. A son of Pandion, and brothe of Aegeus, Nisus, and Pallas. He was expelled y Aegeus, and took refuge in the country of the Termili, with Sarpedon. That country was afterwards called, after him, Lycia (Herod. i. 173, vii. 92).
TRIZIN (Ancient city) GREECE
Troezen, (Troizen), a son of Pelops, and founder of the town of Troezen or Troezene. He was the father of Anaphlystus and Sphettus. (Paus. ii. 30.8)
SCIRONID ROAD (Location) MEGARA
Father of Endeis, son of Pelops or of Poseidon or of Pylas, commands Megarians in war, a malefactor, slain by Theseus, hurled by Theseus into sea, Sciron's road.
Sciron (Skiron or Skeiron). A famous robber who haunted the frontier between Attica and Megaris, and not only robbed the travellers who passed through the country, but compelled them, on the Scironian rock to wash his feet, during which operation he kicked them with his foot into the sea. At the foot of the rock there was a tortoise, which devoured the bodies of the robber's victims. He was slain by Theseus, in the same manner in which he had killed others (Plut. Thes. 10; Diod. iv. 59; Strab. ix.; Paus. i. 44.12; Schol. ad Eurip. Hipp. 976; Ov. Met. vii. 445). In the pediment of the royal Stoa at Athens, there was a group of figures of burnt clay, representing Theseus in the act of throwing Sciron into the sea. (Paus. i. 3.1.)
ATHENS (Ancient city) GREECE
Metion, a son of Erechtheus and Praxithea, and husband of Alcippe. His sons, the Metionidae,
expelled their cousin Pandion front his kingdom of Athens, but were themselves
afterwards expelled by the sons of Pandion (Apollod. iii. 15. 1, 5. 6. 8; Paus.
i. 5.3). Diodorus (iv. 76) calls Daedalus one of the sons of Metion, and Metion
himself a son of Eupalamus and grandson of Erechtheus (comp. Plat. Ion; Paus.
vii. 4.5). Apollodorus (iii. 15.8) on the other hand, calls Eupalamus a son of
Metion and father of Daedalus. According to a Sicyonian legend, Sicyon also was
a son of Metion and a grandson of Erechtheus (Paus. ii. 6.3; comp. Schol. ad Soph.
Oed. Col. 468, who calls the wife of Metion Iphinoe.
Pallas. A son of the Athenian king Pandion, and accordingly a brother of Aegeus, Nisus, and Lycus, was slain by Theseus. The celebrated family of the Pallantidae at Athens traced their origin up to this Pallas. (Apollod. iii. 15.5; Paus. i. 22.2, 28.10; Plut. Twes. 3; Eurip. Hippol. 35.)
Teleon. An Athenian, a son of Ion, the husband of Zeuxippe, and father of the Argonaut Butes. (Apollod. i. 9.16; Apollon. Rhod. i. 95.) From him the Teleonites in Attica derived their name. (Eurip. Ion, 1579.)
ELEFSIS (Ancient city) ATTICA, WEST
Eumolpus, (Eumolpos). In Greek mythology, the son of Poseidon
and Chione, the daughter of Boreas and Orithyia. After his birth he was thrown
by his mother into the sea, but his father rescued him and brought him to Aethiopia,
to his daughter Benthesicyme. When he was grown up, Endius, the husband of Benthesicyme,
gave him one of his daughters in marriage, but he desired the other as well, and
was accordingly banished, and came with his son Ismarus or Immaradus to the Thracian
king Tegyrius in Boeotia. As successor to this king he marched to the assistance
of his friends the Eleusinians against the Athenian Erechtheus, but was slain
with his son. (See Erechtheus.) According to another story, Immaradus and Erechtheus
both fell, and the contending parties agreed that the Eleusinians should submit
to the Athenians, but should retain the exclusive superintendence of the mysteries
of Eleusis, of which Eumolpus was accounted the founder. He was also spoken of
as a writer of consecrational hymns, and as having discovered the art of cultivating
the vines and trees in general. The Eumolpidae, his descendants, were the hereditary
priests of the Eleusinian ritual.
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Eumolpus (Eumolpos), that is, " the good singer," a Thracian who is described
as having come to Attica either as a bard, a warrior, or a priest of Demeter and
Dionysus. The common tradition, which, however, is of late origin, represents
him as a son of Poseidon and Chione, the daughter of Boreas and the Attic heroine
Oreithya. According to the tradition in Apollodorus (iii. 15.4), Chione, after
having given birth to Eumolpus in secret, threw the child into the sea. Poseidon,
however, took him up, and had him educated in Ethiopia by his daughter Benthesicyma.
When he had grown up, lie married a daughter of Ben thesicyma.; but as he made
an attempt upon the chastity of his wife's sister, Eumolpus and his son Ismarus
were expelled, and they went to the Thracian king Tegyrius, who gave his daughter
in marriage to Ismarus; but as Eumolpus drew upon himself the suspicion of Tegyrius,
he was again obliged to take to flight, and came to Eleusis in Attica,
where he formed a friendship with the Eleusinians. After tlhe death of his son
Ismsarus, however, lie returned to Thrace at the request of king Tegyrius.
The Eleusininians, who were involved in a war with Athens, called
Eumolpus to their assistance. Eumolpus came with a numerous band of Thracians,
but he was slain by Erechtheus. The traditions about this Eleusinian war, however,
differ very much. According to sonic, the Eleusinians under Eumolpus attacked
the Athenians under Erechtheus, but were defeated, and Eumolpus with his two sons,
Phorbas and Immaradus, were slain (Thuc. ii. 15; Plut. Menex.; Isocrat. Panath.
78; Plut. Parall. Gr. et. Rom. 20; Schol. ad Eurip. Phoen. 854). Pausanias (i.
38.3) relates a tradition that in the battle between the Eleusinians and Athenians,
Erechtheus and Immaradus fell, and that thereupon peace was concluded on condition
that the Eleusinians should in other respects be subject to Athens, but that they
alone should have the celebration of their mysteries, and that Eumolpus and the
daughters of Celeus should perform the customary sacrifices. When Eumolpus died,
his younger son Ceryx succeeded him in the priestly office. According to Hyginus
(Fab. 46; comp. Strab. vii.), Eumolpus came to Attica with a colony of Thracians,
to claim the country as the property of his father, Poseidon.
Mythology regards Eumolpus as the founder of the Eleusinian mysteries,
and as the first priest of Demeter and Dionysus; the goddess herself taught him,
Triptolemus, Diocles, and Celeus, the sacred rites, and he is therefore sometimes
described as having himself invented the cultivation of the vine and of fruit-trees
in general (Hom. Hymn. in Cer. 476; Plin. H. N. vii. .53; Ov. Met. x. 93). Respecting
the privileges which his descendants enjoyed in Attica. As Eumolpus was regarded
as an ancient priestly bard, poems and writings on the mysteries were fabricated
and circulated at a later time under his name. One hexameter line of a Dionysiac
hymn, ascribed to him, is preserved in Diodorus (i. 11; Suid. s. v.). The legends
connected him also with Heracles, whom he is said to have instructed in music,
or initiated into the mysteries (Hygin. Fab. 273; Theocrit. xxiv. 108; Apollod.
ii. 5.12). The difference in the traditions about Eumolpus led some of the ancients
to suppose that two or three persons of that name ought to be distinguished (Hesych.
s. v. Eumolpidai; Schol. ad Oed. Col. 1051; Phot. Lex. s. v. Eumolpidai). The
tomb of Eumolpus was shewn both at Eleusis and Athens (Paus. i. 38.2).
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Eumolpidae: The most distinguished and venerable among the priestly families in Attica, believed to be the descendants of the Thracian bard Eumolpus, the introducer of the Eleusinian mysteries into Attica. The hierophantes was always a member of the family of the Eumolpidae, as Eumolpus himself was believed to have been the first hierophant. For the judicial powers of the Eumolpidae.
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Eumolpidae (Eumolpidai), the most distinguished and venerable among the priestly
families in Attica, believed to be the descendants of the Thracian bard Eumolpus,
the introducer of the Eleusinian mysteries into Attica (Diod. Sic. i. 29; Apollod.
iii. 15, 4; Lycurg. c. Leocr. 98). The hierophantes was always a member of the
family of the Eumolpidae, as Eumolpus himself was believed to have been the first
hierophant. (Hesych. s. v. Eumolpidai: Tac. Hist. iv. 83; Arnob. v. 25; Clemens
Alex. Protrept.). For the duties and official dress of the hierophant, see Eleusinia.
The hierophant was attended by four epimeletai ton musterion, one of whom likewise
belonged to the family of the Eumolpidae (see Epimeletae
4.) Other members of their family do not seem to have had any particular functions
at the Eleusinia, though, together with the second great priestly family of the
Kerykes, they were hereditary guardians of the mysteries. The latter family were
variously described as descended from a younger son of Eumolpus, or from Hermes
and Aglauros. The Eumolpidae and Kerykes had on certain occasions to offer up
prayers for the welfare of the state; for these duties, and for the sacred treasures
entrusted to their care, they were individually and collectively responsible (Aeschin.
c. Ctes. 18).
The Eumolpidae (perhaps also the Kerykes, as Caillemer conjectures)
had also certain judicial powers in cases of asebeia, but only, it would seem,
where the mysteries were concerned. Two modes of prosecution for impiety are coupled
together, dikazesthai pros Eumolpidas and phrazein pros ton basilea: the two processes
must have been practically identical, the king archon acting as eisagogeus or
hegemon dikasteriou, and the Eumolpidae furnishing a jury (Dem. c. Androt.). The
law according to which they pronounced their sentence, and of which they had the
exclusive possession, was not written, but handed down by tradition; and the Eumolpidae
alone had the right to interpret it (exegeisthai), or where the law was silent,
to act according to their own discretion(Lys. c. Andoc.10). We agree, however,
with Caillemer, that the action of the Eumolpidae must have been confined to spiritual
censures, such as exclusion from the mysteries, or reduction of a mustes to the
ranks of the uninitiated. In democratic Athens none but purely ceremonial functions
were left to the old aristocracy (see Eupatridae
& Ephetae).
When, therefore, we read that it was death for an atimos to enter the sacred precinct
of Eleusis (Andoc. de Myst. 33), or for anyone to put the suppliant bough (hiketeria,
§ 110) in the wrong place or at the wrong time, we may be quite sure that the
Eumolpidae, if they declared the sacred law on the subject, had no voice in the
capital sentence. In some cases, when a person was convicted of gross violation
of the public institutions of his country, the people, besides sending the offender
into exile, added a clause in their verdict that a curse should be pronounced
upon him by the Eumolpidae (Plut. Alcib. 22; Corn. Nep. Alcib. 4, 5). But the
Eumolpidae could pronounce such a curse only at the command of the people, and
might afterwards be compelled by the people to revoke it and purify the person
whom they had cursed before (Plut. Alcib. 33; Corn. Nep. Alcib. 6, 5).
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TRIPODISKOS (Ancient settlement) MEGARA
...The Megarians have the
grave of Coroebus... They say that in the reign of Crotopus at Argos,
Psamathe, the daughter of Crotopus, bore a son to Apollo, and being in dire terror
of her father, exposed the child. He was found and destroyed by sheepdogs of Crotopus,
and Apollo sent Vengeance to the city to punish the Argives. They say that she
used to snatch the children from their mothers, until Coroebus to please the Argives
slew Vengeance. Whereat as a second punishment plague fell upon them and stayed
not. So Coroebus of his own accord went to Delphi to submit to the punishment
of the god for having slain Vengeance.
The Pythia would not allow Coroebus to return to Argos,
but ordered him to take up a tripod and carry it out of the sanctuary, and where
the tripod should fall from his hands, there he was to build a temple of Apollo
and to dwell himself. At Mount
Gerania the tripod slipped and fell unawares. Here he dwelt in the village
called the Little Tripods. The grave of Coroebus is in the market-place of the
Megarians. The story of Psamathe
and of Coroebus himself is carved on it in elegiac verses and further, upon the
top of the grave is represented Coroebus slaying Vengeance. These are the oldest
stone images I am aware of having seen among the Greeks.(Paus. 1.143.7)
ATHENS (Ancient city) GREECE
Polieus, "the protector of the city;" a surname of Zeus, under which he had an altar on the acropolis at Athens. Upon this altar barley and wheat were strewed, which were consumed by the bull about to be sacrificed to the god. The priest who killed the victim, threw away the axe as soon as he had struck the fatal blow, and the axe was then brought before a court of justice. (Paus. i. 24.4, 28.11.)
Alexicacus (Alexikakos), the averter of evil, is a surname given by the Greeks to several deities, as--Zeus (Orph. De Lapid. Prooem. i.),--to Apollo, who was worshipped under this name by the Athenians, because he was believed to have stopped the plague which raged at Athens in the tine of the Peloponnesian war (Paus. i. 3.3, viii. 41.5),--and to Heracles. (Lactant. v. 3.)
Hypatus Hupatosos), the most high, occurs not only as an epithet of Zeus in poetry (Hom. Il. viii. 31, xix. 258), but as a real surname of the god. An altar of Zeus Hypatus existed at Athens in front of the Erechtheium; and it was not allowed to offer up to him any thing alive or libations, but only cakes (Paus. i. 26.6, viii. 2.1). Zeus Hypatus was also worshipped at Sparta (iii. 17.3), and near Glisas in Boeotia. (ix. 19.3)
Maemactes (Maimaktes), i. e. the stormy, a surname of Zeus, from which the name of the Attic month Maemacterion was derived. In that month the Maemacteria was celebrated at Athens. (Plut. de Ir. cohib. 9.)
Meilichius (Meilichios), i. e. the god that can be propitiated, or the gracious,
is used as a surname of several divinities.
1. Of Zeus, as the protector of those who honoured him with propitiatory sacrifices.
At Athens cakes were offered to him every year at the festival of the Diasia (Thucyd.
i. 126; Xenoph. Anab. vii. 7. 4). Altars were erected to Zeus Meilichius on the
Cephissus (Paus. i. 37.3), at Sicyon (ii.9.6), and at Argos (ii. 20.1; Plut. De
cohib. Ir. 9).
2. Of Dionysus in the island of Naxos (Athen. iii.) .
3. Of Tyche or Fortune (Orph. Hymn. 71. 2).
The plural theoi meilichioi is also applied to certain divinities whom mortals
used to propitiate with sacrifices at night, that they might avert all evil, as
e.g. at Myonia in the country of the Ozolian Locrians (Pans. x. 38.4; comp. Orph.
E. 30) .
Patroos (Patrooi) are , properly speaking, all the gods whose worship has been handed down in a nation or a family from the time of their fathers, whence in some instances they are the spirits of departed ancestors themselves. (Lucian, De MOrt. Pereg. 36.) Zeus was thus theos patroios at Athens (Paus. i. 3.3, 43.5), and among the Heracleidae, since the heroes of that race traced their origin to Zeus. (Apollod. ii. 8. § 4.) Among the Romans we find the divinities avenging the death of parents, that is, the Furiae or Erinnyes, designated as Patrii Dii. (Cic. in Ferr. ii. 1, 3 ; eomp. Liv. xl. 10.) But the name was also applied to the gods or heroes from whom the gentes erived their origin. (Serv. ad Aen. iii. 832 ; State. Theb. iv. 111.)
Maemactes (Maimaktes), i. e. the stormy, a surname of Zeus, from which the name of the Attic month Maemacterion was derived. In that month the Maemacteria was celebrated at Athens. (Plut. de Ir. cohib. 9.)
Pallas, a surname of Athena. In Homer this name always appears united with the name Athena, as Pallas Athene or Pallas Athenain ; but in later writers we also find Pallas alone instead of Athena. (Pind. Ol. v. 21.) Plato (Cratyl.) derives the surname from pallein, to brandish, in reference to the goddess brandishing the spear or aegis, whereas Apollodorus (i. 6.2) derives it from the giant Pallas, who was slain by Athena. But it is more probable that Pallas is the same word as pallax, i. e. a virgin or maiden. (Comp. Tzetz. ad Lyc. 355.) Another female Pallas, described as a daughter of Triton, is mentioned under Palladium.
Palladium (Palladion), is properly an image of Pallas Athena, but generally an ancient one, which was kept hidden and secret, and was revered as a pledge of the safety of the town or place where it existed. Among these ancient images of Pallas none is more celebrated than the Trojan Palladium, concerning which there was the following tradition. Athena was brought up by Triton; and his daughter, Pallas, and Athena once were wrestling together for the sake of exercise. Zeus interfered in the struggle, and suddenly held the aegis before the face of Pallas. Pallas, while looking up to Zeus, was wounded by Athena, and died. Athena in her sorrow caused an image of the maiden to be made, round which she hung the aegis, and which she placed by the side of the image of Zeus. Subsequently when Electra, after being dishonoured, fled to this image, Zeus threw it down from Olympus upon the earth. It came down at Troy, where Ilus, who had just been praying to the god for a favourable omen for the building of the city, took it up, and erected a sanctuary to it. According to some, the image was dedicated by Electra, and according to others it was given by Zeus to Dardanus. The image itself is said to have been three cubits in height, its legs close together, and holding in its right hand a spear, and in the left a spindle and a distaff (Apollod. iii. 12.3; Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 1129; Dionys. i. 69). This Palladium remained at Troy until Odysseus and Diomedes contrived to carry it away, because the city could not be taken so long as it was in the possession of that sacred treasure (Conon, Narr. 34; Virg. Aen. ii. 164). According to some accounts Troy contained two Palladia, one of which was carried off by Odysseus and Diomedes, and the other carried by Aeneas to Italy, or the one taken by the Greeks was a mere imitation, while that which Aeneas brought to Italy was the genuine one (Dionys. l. c. ; Paus. ii. 23.5; Ov. Fast. vi. 421). But if we look away from this twofold Palladium, which was probably a mere invention to account for its existence in more than one place, several towns both in Greece and Italy claimed the honour of possessing the ancient Trojan Palladium; as for example, Argos (Paus. ii. 23.5), and Athens, where it was believed that Diomedes, on his return from Troy, landed on the Attic coast at night, without knowing what country it was. He accordingly began to plunder; but Demophon, who hastened to protect the country, took the Palladium from Diomedes (Paus. i. 28.9). This Palladium at Athens, however, was different from another image of Pallas there, which was also called Palladium, and stood on the acropolis. In Italy the cities of Rome, Lavinium. Luceria, and Siris likewise pretended to possess the Trojan Palladium (Strab. vi.; Serv. ad Aen. ii. 166, &c.; Plut. Camill. 20; Tac. Ann. xv. 41; Dionys. ii. 66). Figures reminding us of the description we have of the Trojan Palladium are frequently seen in ancient works of art.
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Polias, i. e. "the goddess protecting the city," a surname of Athena at Athens, where she was especially worshipped as the protecting divinity of the acropolis. (Paus. i. 27. I)
Poliouchos, i.e. "protecting the city," occurs as a surname of several divinities, such as Athena Chalcioecus at Sparta. (Paus. iii. 17.2), and of Athena at Athens.
Hygieia, the goddess of health, and a daughter of Asclepius. A surname of Athena who worshipped at Athens.
Paeonia (Paionia), i. e. the healing goddess, was a surname of Athena, under which she had a statue at Athens, and an altar in the temple of Amphiaraus at Oropus. (Paus. i. 2.4, 34.2.)
Areia. A suntame of Athena, under which she was worshipped at Athens. Her statue, together with those of Ares, Aphrodite, and Enyo, stood in the temple of Ares at Athens. (Paus. i. 8.4.) Her worship under this name was instituted by Orestes after he had been acquitted by the Areiopagus of the murder of his mother. (i. 28.5.) It was Athena Areia who gave her casting vote in cases where the Areiopagites were equally divided. (Aeschyl. Eum. 753.) From these circumstances, it has been inferred, that the name Areia ought not to be derived from Ares, but from ara, a prayer, or from areo or aresko, to propitiate or atone for.
Hippia and Hippius (Ippia and Hippios, or Hippeios), in Latin Equester and Equestris,
occur as surnames of several divinities, as of Hera (Paus. v. 15.4); of Athena
at Athens, Tegea and Olympia (i. 30.4, 31.3, v. 15.4, viii. 47 ); of Poseidon
(vi. 20.8, i. 30.4; Liv. i. 9); of Ares (Paus. v. 15.4); and at Rome also of Fortuna
and Venus (Liv. xl. 40, xlii. 3; Serv. ad Aen. i. 724).
Pallenis, a surname of Athena, under which she had a temple between Athens and Marathon. (Herod. i. 62.)
Parthenos, i. e. the virgin, a surname of Athena at Athens, where the famous temple Parthenon was dedicated to her. (Paus. i.24, v. ii. 5, viii. 41.5, x. 34, in fin.) Parthenos also occurs as the proper name of the daughter of Apollo and Chrysothemis, who after her premature death was placed by her father among the stars. (Hygin. Poet. Astr. 25. in fin.)
Pandemos, i. e. "common to all the people", occurs as a surname of Aphrodite, and that in a twofold sense, first describing her as the goddess of low sensual pleasures as Venus vulgivaga or popularis, in opposition to Venus (Aphrodite) Urania, or the heavenly Aphrodite (Plat. Sympos.; Lucret. iv. 1067). She was represented at Elis by Scopas riding on a ram (Paus. vi. 25.2). The second sense is that of Aphrodite uniting all the inhabitants of a country into one social or political body. In this respect she was worshipped at Athens along with Peitho (persuasion), and her worship was said to have been instituted by Theseus at the time when he united the scattered townships into one great body of citizens (Paus. i. 22. 3). According to some authorities, it was Solon who erected the sanctuary of Aphrodite Pandemos, either because her image stood in the agora, or because the hetaerae had to pay the costs of its erection (Harpocrat. and Suid. s. v.; Athen. xiii.). The worship of Aphrodite Pandemos also occurs at Megalopolis in Arcadia (Paus. viii. 32.1), and at Thebes (ix. 16.2). A festival in honour of her is mentioned by Athenaeus (xiv.). The sacrifices offered to her consisted of white goats (Lucian, Dial. Meret. 7; comp. Xenoph. Sympos. 8.9; Schol. ad Soph. Oed. Col. 101; Theocrit. Epigr. 13). Pandemos occurs also as a surname of Eros (Plat. Symp.).
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Aristo, the best, a surname of Artemis at Athens. (Paus. i. 29. 2.)
Aristobule, the best adviser, a surname of Artemis, to whom Themistocles built a temple at Athens under this name; and in it lie dedicated his own statue. (Plut. Tlhemist. 22.)
Calliste (Kalliste), a surname of Artemis, by which she was worshipped at Athens and Tegea. (Paus. i. 29.2, viii. 35.7.)
Delphinia), a surname of Artemis at Athens. (Pollux, x. 119.) The masculine form Delphinius is used as a surname of Apollo, and is derived either from his slaying the dragon Delphine or Delphyne (usually called Python) who guarded the oracle at Pytho, or front his having shewn the Cretan colonists the way to Delphi, while riding on a dolphin or metamorphosing himself into a dolphin. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 208.) Under this name Apollo had temples at Athens, Cnossus in Crete, Didyma, and Massilia. (Paus. i. 19.1; Plut. Tiles. 14; Strab. iv)
Lusizona (Lusizone), i. e. the goddess who loosens the girdle, is a surname of Artemis and Eileithyia, who were worshipped under this name at Athens. (Theocrit. xvii. 60; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. i. 287.)
Boedromius (Boedromios), the helper in distress, a surname of Apollo at Athens, the origin of which is explained in different ways. According to some, the god was thus called because he had assisted the Athenians in the war with the Amazons, who were defeated on the seventh of Boedromion, the day on which the Boedromia were afterwards celebrated. (Plut. Thes. 27.) According to others, the name arose from the circumstance, that in the war of Erechtheus and Ion against Eumolpus, Apollo had advised the Athenians to rush upon the enemy with a war-shout (Boe), if they would conquer. (Harpocrat., Suid., Etym. M. s.v. Boedromios; Callim. Hymn.inApoll. 69.)
Parnopius (Parnopios), i. e. the expeller of locusts, a surname of Apollo, under which he had a statue on the acropolis at Athens. (Paus. i. 24.8.)
Chloe, the blooming, a surname of Demeter the protectress of the green fields,
who had a sanctuary at Athens conjointly with Ge Curotrophos. (Paus. i. 22.3;
Eustath. ad Horn.) This surname is probably alluded to when Sophocles (Oed. Col.
1600) calls her Demeter euChloos. (Comp. Aristoph. Lysist. 815.) Respecting the
festival celebrated at Athens in honour of Demeter Chloe, see Chloeia.
Thesmia or Thesmophoros, that is, " the law-giver," a surname of Demeter and Persephone, in honour of whom the Thesmophoria were celebrated at Athens in the month of Pyanepsion (Herod. ii. 171, vi. 16 ; Aristoph. Thesm. 303), and to whom sanctuaries were also erected at Megara, Troezene, Pheneos, and other places. (Paus. i. 42.7, ii. 32.7, viii. 15.1, ix. 16.3, x. 33, in fin.)
Amphietes or Amphieterus, a surname of Dionysus. (Orph. Hymn. 52. 1, 51. 10.) It is believed that at Athens, where the Dionysiac festivals were held annually, the name signified yearly, while at Thebes, where they were celebrated every third year, it was interpretated to be synonymous with trietes.
Limnaea (Limnaia os, Limnetes is, Limnegenes), i. e. inhabiting or born in a lake
or marsh, is a surname of several divinities who were believed either to have
sprung from a lake, or had their temples near a lake. Instances are, Dionysus
at Athens (Eustath. ad Hom.; Callim. Fragm. 280; Thuc. ii. 15; Aristoph. Ran.
216; Athen. x., xi.), and Artemis at Sicyon, near Epidaurus (Paus. ii. 7.6, iii.
23.10), on the frontiers between Laconia and Messenia (Paus. iii. 2.6, 7.4, iv.
4.2, 31.3, vii. 20.7; Strab. viii.; Tac. Ann. iv. 43), near Calamae (Paus. iv.
31.3), at Tegea (viii. 53.11, comp. iii. 14.2), Patrae (vii. 20.7); it is also
used as a surname of nymphs (Theocrit. v. 17) that dwell in lakes or marshes.
Eirene. The goddess of peace. After the victory of Timothcus over the Lacedaemonians, altars were erected to her at Athens at the public expense. (Corn. Nep. Timoth. 2; Plut. Cim. 13.) Her statue at Athens stood by the side of that of Amphiaraus, carrying in its arms Plutus, the god of wealth (Paus. i. 8.3), and another stood near that of Hestia in the Prytaneion. (i. 18,3.) . At Rome too, where peace (Pax) was worshipped, she had a magnificent temple, which was built by the emperor Vespasian. (Suet. Vespas. 9 ; Paus. vi. 9.1.) The figure of Eirene or Pax occurs only on coins, and she is there represented as a youthful female, holding in her left arm a cornucopia and in her right hand an olive branch or the staff of Hermes. Sometimes also she appears in the act of burning a pile of arms, or carrying corn-ears in her hand or upon her head.
Eleos, the personification of pity or mercy, had an altar in the agora at Athens. "The Athenians," says Pausanias (i. 17.1), "are the only ones among the Hellenes that worship this divine being, and among all the gods this is the most useful to human life in all its vicissitudes." . Those who implored the assistance of the Athenians, such as Adrastus and the Heracleidae, approached as suppliants the altar of Eleos. (Apollod. ii.8.1, iii. 7. ; Schol ad Soph. Oed. Col. 258 )
Enyo (Enuo), the goddess of war, who delights in bloodshed and the destruction
of towns, and accompanies Mars in battles (Hom. Il. v. 333, 592; Eustath.) At
Thebes and Orchomenos, a festival called Homoloia was celebrated in honour of
Zeus, Demeter, Athena and Enyo, and Zeus was said to have received the surname
of Homoloius from Homolois, a priestess of Enyo (Suid. s. v.). A statue of Enyo,
made by the sons of Praxiteles, stood in the temple of Ares at Athens (Paus. i.
8.5). Among the Graeae in Hesiod (Theog. 273) there is one called Enyo. Respecting
the Roman goddess of war see Bellona.
Eucleia (Eukleia), a divinity who was worshipped at Athens, and to whom a sanctuary was dedicated there out of the spoils which the Athenians had taken in the battle of Marathon (Paus. i. 14.4). The goddess was only a personification of the glory which the Athenians had reaped in the day of that memorable battle. Eucleia was also used at Athens as a surname of Artemis, and her sanctuary was of an earlier date, for Euchidas died in it (Plut. Arist. 20). Plutarch remarks, that many took Eucleia for Artemis, and thus made her the same as Artemis Eucleia, but that others described her as a daughter of Heracles and Myrto, a daughter of Menoetius; and he adds that this Eucleia died as a maiden, and was worshipped in Boeotia and Locris, where she had an altar and a statue in every market-place, on which persons on the point of marrying used to offer sacrifices to her. Whether and what connexion there existed between the Attic and Boeotian Eucleia is unknown, though it is probable that the Attic divinity was, as is remarked above, a mere personification, and consequently quite independent of Eucleia, the daughter of Heracles. Artemis Eucleia had also a temple at Thebes (Paus. ix. 17.1).
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Gamelii (Gamelioi theoi), that is, the divinities protecting and presiding over marriage
(Pollux, i. 24; Maxim. Tyr. xxvi. 6). Plutarch (Quaest. Rom. 2) says, that those
who married required (the protection of) five divinities, viz. Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite,
Peitho, and Artemis (Comp. Dion Chrys. Orat. vii.). But these are not all, for
the Moerae too are called theai lameliai (Spanheim ad Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 23,
in Del. 292, 297), and, in fact, nearly all the gods might be regarded as the
protectors of marriage, though the five mentioned by Plutarch perhaps more particularly
than others. The Athenians called their month of Gamelion
after these divinities. Respecting the festival of the Gamelia
Index, the indicater or denouncer, is a translation of Menutes, a surname of Heracles. Once, the story runs, a golden vessel had been stolen from the temple of Heracles at Athens. Heracles repeatedly appeared to Sophocles in a dream, until the latter informed the Areiopagus of it, and the thief was arrested, and confessed his crime. From this circumstance the temple was afterwards called the temple of Heracles Menytes, or Index. (Cic. de Div. i. 25; Hesych. s. v. menutes; Sophokleous genos kai bios.)
Hisagus, a river god, who, according to one tradition, gave decision in the dispute between Athena and Poseidon about the possession of Athens. (Serv. ad Aen. iii. 377.)
Horae. At Athens two Horae, Thallo (the Hora of spring) and Carpo (the Hora of
autumn), were worshipped from very early ties (Paus. ix. 35.1; comp. Athen. xiv.;
Ov. Met. ii. 1118; Val. Flacc. iv. 92; Lucian, Dial. Deor. x. 1). The Hora of
spring accompanies Persephone every year on her ascent from the lower world; and
the expression of "The chamber of the Horae opens " is equivalent to " The spring
is coining" (Orph. Hymn. xlii. 7; Pind. Fragm. xlv. 13). The attributes of spring-flowers,
fragrance, and graceful freshness-are accordingly transferred to the Horae; thus
they adorned Aphrodite as she rose from the sea, made a garland of flowers for
Pandora, and even inanimate things are described as deriving peculiar charms from
the Horae (Hom. Hymn. viii. 5; Hes. Op. 65; Hygin. Poet. Astr. ii. 5; Theocr.
i. 150; Athen. ii.). Hence they bear a resemblance to and are mentioned along
with the Charites, and both are frequently confounded or identified (Paus. ii.
17.4). As they were conceived to promote the prosperity of every thing that grows,
they appear also as the protectresses of youth and newly-born gods (Paus. ii.
13.3; Pind. Pyth. ix. 62; Philostr. Imag. i. 26; Nonnus, Dionys. xi. 50); and
the Athenian youths, on being admitted along the ephebi, mentioned Thallo, among
other gods, in the oath they took in the temple of Agraulos (Pollux, viii. 106.)...
...The Horae (Thallo and Carpo) were worshipped at Athens, and their temple there
also contained an altar of Dionysus Orthus (Athen. i. p. 38; comp. xiv. p. 656;
Hesych. s.v. horaia
This extracts is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited June 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Thallo, one of the Attic Horae, who was believed to grant prosperity to the young shoots of plants, and was also invoked in the political oath which the citizens of Athens had to take. (Paus. ix. 35.1; Pollux, Onom. viii. 106)
Horme, the personification of energetic activity, who had an altar dedicated to her at Athens. (Paus. i. 17.1)
Nice (Nike). The goddess of victory, or, as the Romans called her, Victoria, is described as a daughter of Pallas and Styx, and as a sister of Zelus (zeal), Cratos (strength), and Bia (force). At the time when Zeus entered upon the fight against the Titans, and called upon the gods for assistance, Nice and her two sisters were the first that came forward, and Zeus was so pleased with their readiness, that he caused them ever after to live with him in Olympus. (Hes. Theog. 382; Apollod. i. 2.2). Nice had a celebrated temple on the acropolis of Athens, which is still extant and in excellent preservation (Paus. i. 22.4. iii. 15.5). She is often seen represented in ancient works of art, especially together with other divinities, such as Zeus and Athena, and with conquering heroes whose horses she guides. In her appearance she resembles Athena, but has wings, and carries a palm or a wreath, and is engaged in raising a trophy, or in inscribing the victory of the conqueror on a shield (Paus. v. 10. 2. 11.1, 2, .vi. 18.1).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited July 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Apteros, "the wingless," a surname under which Nice (the goddess of victory) had a sanctuary at Athens. This goddess was usually represented with wings, and their absence in this instance was intended to signify that Victory would or could never fly away from Athens. The same idea was expressed at Sparta by a statue of Ares with his feet chained. (Paus. i. 22.4, iii. 15.5.)
Ossa, the personification of rumour or report, the Latin Famna. As it is often impossible to trace a report to its source, it is said to come from Zeus, and hence Ossa is called the messenger of Zeus (Hom. Od. i. 282, ii. 216, xxiv. 412, Il. ii. 93). Sophocles (Oed. Tyr.158) calls her a daughter of Hope, and the poets, both Greek and Latin, have indulged in various imaginary descriptions of Ossa or Fama (Hes. Op. et Dies,705, &c.; Virg. Aen. iv. 174, &c.; Ov. Met. xii. 39, &c.). At Athens she was honoured with an altar. (Paus. i. 17.1.)
Pandora, i. e. the giver of all, or endowed with every thing, is the name of the first woman on earth. When Prometheus had stolen the fire from heaven, Zeus in revenge caused Hephaestus to make a woman out of earth, who by her charms and beauty should bring misery upon the human race (Hes. Theog. 571; Stob. Serin. 1). Aphrodite adorned her with beauty, Hermes gave her boldness and cunning, and the gods called her Pandora, as each of the Olympians had given her some power by which she was to work the ruin of man. Hermes took her to Epimetheus, who forgot the advice of his brother Prometheus, not to accept any gift from Zeus, and from that moment all miseries came down upon men (Hes. Op. et Dies, 50). According to some mythographers, Epimetheus became by her the father of Pyrrha and Deucalion (Hygin. Fub. 142; Apollod. i. 7.2; Procl. ad Hes. Op.; Ov. Met. i. 350); others make Pandora a daughter of Pyrrha and Deucalion (Eustath. ad Hom.). Later writers speak of a vessel of Pandora, containing all the blessings of the gods, which would have been preserved for the human race, had not Pandora opened the vessel, so that the winged blessings escaped irrecoverably. The birth of Pandora was represented on the pedestal of the statue of Athena, in the Parthenon at Athens (Paus. i. 24.7). In the Orphic poems Pandora occurs as an infernal awful divinity, and is associated with Hecate and the Erinnyes (Orph. Argon. 974). Pandora also occurs as a surname of Gaea (Earth), as the giver of all (Schol. ad Aristoph. Av. 970; Philostr. Vit. Apoll. vi. 39; Hesych. s.v.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited July 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Pudicita (Aidos), a personification of modesty, was worshipped both in Greece and at Rome. At Athens an altar was dedicated to her. (Paus. i. 17.1.) At Rome two sanctuaries were dedicated to her, one under the name of Pudicitia patricia, and the other under that of Pudicitia plebeia. The former was in the forum Boarium near the temple of Hercules. When the patrician Virginia was driven from this sanctuary by the other patrician women, because she had married the plebeian consul L. Volumnius, she built a separate sanctuary to Pdicitia plebeia in the Vicus Longus (Liv. x. 23; Fest.). No woman who had married twice was allowed to touch her statue; and Pudicitia, moreover, was considered by some to be the same as Fortuna Muliebris. She is represented in works of art as a matron in modest attire.
Tychon. A god of chance or accident. was, according to Strabo (ix. D. 408), worshipped at Athens. (Comp. Anthol. Palat. ix. 334.)
Hegemone, that is, the leader or ruler, is the name of one of the Athenian Charites. When the Athenian ephebi took their civic oath, they invoked Hegemone. (Pollux, viii. 106; Paus. ix. 35.1.) Hegemone occurs also as a surname of Artemis at Sparta, and in Arcadia. (Paus. iii. 14.6, viii. 36.7, 47.4; Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 227; Polyaen. viii. 52.)
Automatia, a surname of Tyche or Fortuna, which seems to characterize her as the goddess who manages things according to her own will, without any regard to the merit of man. Under this name Timoleon built to the goddess a sanctuary in his house. (Plut. De Sui Laude; Nepos, Timol. 4.)
AGRYLI (Ancient demos) ATHENS
Agraulos. A daughter of Cecrops and Agraulos, and mother of Alcippe by Ares. This
Agraulos is an important personage in the stories of Attica, and there were three
different legends about her.
1. According to Pausanias (i. 18. § 2) and Hyginus (Fab. 166), Athena gave to
her and her sisters Erichlthonius in a chest, with the express command not to
open it. But Agraulos and Herse could not control their curiosity, land opened
it; where-upon they were seized with madness at the sight of Erichlithonius, and
threw themselves from the steep rock of the Acropolis, or according to Hyginus
into the sea.
2. According to Ovid (Met. ii. 710, &c.), Agraulos and her sister survived their
opening the chest, and the former, who had instigated her sister to open it, was
punished in this manner. Hermes came to Athens during the celebration of the Panathenaea,
and fell in love with Herse. Athena made Agraulos so jealous of her sister, that
she even attempted to prevent the god entering the house of Herse. But, indignant
at such presumption, he changed Agraulos into a stone.
3. The third legend represents Agraulos in a totally different light. Athens was
at one time involved in a long-protracted war, and an oracle declared that it
would cease, if some one would sacrifice himself for the good of his country.
Agraulos came forward and threw herself down the Acropolis. The Athenians, in
gratitude for this, built her a temple on the Acropolis, in which it subsequently
became customary for the young Athenians, on receiving their first suit of armour,
to take an oath that they would always defend their country to the last. (Suid.
and Hesych. s. v. Agraulos; Ulpian, ad Demosth. de fals. leg.; Herod. viii. 53;
Plut. Alcib. 15; Philochorus, Fragm.) One of the Attic demoi (Agraule) derived
its name from this heroine, and a festival and mysteries were celebrated at Athens
in honour of her (Steph. Byz. s. v. Agraule). According to Porphyry (De Abstin.
ab animal. i. 2), she was also worshipped in Cyprus, where human sacrifices were
offered to her down to a very late time.
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited June 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
AKADIMIA PLATONOS (City quarter) ATHENS
Academus (Akademos), an Attic hero, who, when Castor and Polydeuces invaded Attica
to liberate their sister Helen, betrayed to them that she was kept concealed at
Aphidnae. For this reason the Tyndarids always showed him much gratitude, and
whenever the Lacedaemonians invaded Attica, they always spared the land belonging
to Academus which lay on the Cephissus, six stadia from Athens. (Plut. Thes. 32;
Diog. Laert. iii. 1.9.) This piece of land was subsequently adorned with plane
and olive plantations (Plut. Cim. 13), and was called Academia from its original
owner.
ATHMONON (Ancient demos) ATTIKI
Athmonia worships Artemis Amarysia. On inquiry I discovered that the guides knew nothing about these deities, so I give my own conjecture. Amarynthus is a town in Euboea, the inhabitants of which worship Amarysia, while the festival of Amarysia which the Athenians celebrate is no less splendid than the Euboean. The name of the goddess, I think, came to Athmonia in this fashion and the Colaenis in Myrrhinus is called after Colaenus. I have already written that many of the inhabitants of the parishes say that they were ruled by kings even before the reign of Cecrops. Now Colaenus, say the Myrrhinusians, is the name of a man who ruled before Cecrops became king. (Paus.1.31.5)
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