Listed 29 sub titles with search on: Homeric world for wider area of: "SICILY Island ITALY" .
SIKELIA (Ancient Hellenic lands) ITALY
A Nereid (Il. 18.45).
Galatea (Galateia, "the milk-white"). A sea-nymph daughter of Nereus and Doris.
According to a Sicilian story, which the poets Philoxenus and Theocritus have
made famous, she was pursued by the uncouth monster Polyphemus, being herself
in love with the beautiful Acis. The jealous giant crushed Acis with a rock, and
the nymph changed her beloved into the Sicilian river which bears his name. The
legend of Acis and Galatea has been a favourite theme in English literature. Adaptations
of it are to be found in Gay's Acis and Galatea, J. S. Blackie's Galatea, Proctor's
Death of Acis, R. Buchanan's Polypheme's Passion, and Austin Dobson's Tale of
Polypheme.
AEOLIA (Island complex) ITALY
Aeolus, son of Hippotas by Melanippe, was the keeper of the winds and resided in the Aeolian island (Od.10.2, 10.21).
Aeolus. The ruler of the winds, son of Hippotas and Melanippe, daughter of Chiron. He reigned over the Aeolian Islands, and made his residence at Strongyle, the modern Stromboli. The island was entirely surrounded by a wall of brass, and by smooth, precipitous rocks; and here he dwelt in continual joy and festivity, with his wife and his six sons and as many daughters. The island had no other tenants. The sons and daughters were married to each other, after the fashion set by Zeus and Here. Odysseus came in the course of his wanderings to the island of Aeolus, and was hospitably entertained there for an entire month. On his departure, he received from Aeolus all the winds but Zephyrus, tied up in a bag of ox-hide. Zephyrus was favourable for his passage homeward. During nine days and nights the ships ran merrily before the wind; on the tenth they were within sight of Ithaca, when Odysseus, who had hitherto held the helm himself, fell asleep. His comrades, who fancied that Aeolus had given him treasure in the bag, opened it: the winds rushed out, and hurried them back to Aeolia. Judging, from what had befallen them, that they were hated by the gods, the ruler of the winds drove them with reproaches from his isle. The name Aeolus has been derived from aiolos, "varying,""unsteady," as a descriptive epithet of the winds.
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
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SIKELIA (Ancient Hellenic lands) ITALY
A wild and gigantic people, that dwelt in caves on the mountains, not in cities, and without laws (Od. 9.106 etc.).
Pausanias cites from Homer that the Cyclopes were akin to the gods (Paus. 8,29, 2, Od.7.205-206). Apollodorus as well is occupied in the origin and achievements of the Cyclopes (A. 1-6).
Cyclopes (Kuklopes). A fabulous race, of gigantic size, having but one eye, large and round,
placed in the centre of their forehead, whence, according to the common account,
their name was derived--from kuklos, "a circular opening," and ops,
"an eye." Homer makes Odysseus, after having left the country of the
Lotus-eaters (Lotophagi), to have sailed on westward, and to have come to that
of the Cyclopes, who are described by him as a rude and lawless race, who neither
planted nor sowed, but whose land was so fertile as to produce of itself wheat,
barley, and vines. They had no social institutions, neither assemblies nor laws,
but dwelt separately, each in his cave, on the tops of lofty mountains, and each,
without regard to others, governed his own wife and children. The adventure of
Odysseus with Polyphemus, one of this race, will be found under the latter title.
Nothing is said by Homer respecting the size of the Cyclopes in general, but every
effort is made to give an exaggerated idea of that of Polyphemus. Hence some have
imagined that, according to the Homeric idea, the Cyclopes were not in general
of such huge dimensions or cannibal habits as the poet assigns to Polyphemus himself;
for the latter does not appear to have been of the ordinary Cyclops-race, but
the son of Poseidon and a seanymph; and he is also said to have been the strongest
of the Cyclopes. Later poets, however, lost no time in supplying whatever the
fable wanted in this respect, and hence Vergil describes the whole race as of
gigantic stature and compares them to so many tall forest-trees. It is not a little
remarkable that neither in the description of the Cyclopes in general, nor of
Polyphemus in particular, is there any notice taken of their being one-eyed; yet
in the account of the blinding of the latter, it seems to be assumed as a thing
well known. We may hence, perhaps, infer that Homer followed the usual derivation.
Such is the Homeric account of the Cyclopes. In Hesiod, on
the other hand, we have what appears to be the earlier legend respecting these
fabled beings, a circumstance which may tend to show that the Odyssey was composed
by a poet later than Hesiod, and not by the author of the Iliad. In the Theogony
of Hesiod the Cyclopes are only three in number--Brontes, Steropes, and Arges.
They are the sons of Uranus and Gaea (Caelus and Terra), and their employment
is to forge the thunderbolts for Zeus. They are said to be in every other respect
like gods, excepting the one single eye in the middle of their foreheads, a circumstance
from which Hesiod also, like Homer, deduces their general name. In the individual
names given by Hesiod we have evidently the germ of the whole fable. The Cyclopes
are the energies of the sky--the thunder, the lightning, and the rapid march of
the latter (Brontes, from bronte, "thunder"; Steropes, from sterope,
"the lightning"; Arges, from arges, "rapid"). In accordance
with this idea the term Kuklops (Cyclops) itself may be regarded as a simple,
not a compound term, of the same class with molops, Kerkops, Kekrops, Pelops;
and the word kuklos being the root, we may make the Cyclopes to be "the Whirlers,"
or, to designate them by a Latin name, Volvuli.
When the thunder, the lightning, and the flame had been converted
by poetry into oneeyed giants, and localized in the neighbourhood of volcanoes,
it was an easy process to convert them into smiths, the assistants of Hephaestus.
As they were now artists in one line, it gave no surprise to find them engaged
in a task adapted to their huge strength--namely, that of rearing the massive
walls of Tiryns, for which purpose they were brought by Proetus from Lycia. Hence,
too, the name "Cyclopean" is applied to this species of architecture,
just as in Germany the remains of ancient Roman walls are popularly called "Riesenmauer"
and "Tenfelsmauer." One theory refers the name Cyclops to the circular
buildings constructed by the Pelasgi, of which we have so remarkable a specimen
in what is called the Treasury of Atreus, at Mycenae. From the form of these buildings,
resembling within a hollow cone or beehive, and the round opening at the top,
the individuals who constructed them are thought to have derived their appellation.
Those who make them to have dwelt in Sicily blend an old tradition with one of
more recent date. This last probably took its rise when Aetna and the Lipari Islands
were assigned to Hephaestus, by the popular belief of the day, as his workshops;
which could only have happened when Aetna had become better known, and Mount Moschylus,
in the isle of Lemnos, had ceased to be volcanic.
A few remarks may fittingly be added here on the subject
of the Cyclopean architecture. This style of building is frequently alluded to
by the ancient writers. In fact, every architectural work of extraordinary magnitude,
to the execution of which human labour appeared inadequate, was ascribed to the
Cyclopes. The general character of the Cyclopean style is immense blocks of stone,
without cement, placed upon each other, sometimes irregularly and with smaller
stones filling up the interstices, sometimes in regular and horizontal rows. The
Cyclopean style is commonly divided into four eras. The first, or oldest, is that
employed at Tiryns and Mycenae, consisting of blocks of various sizes, some of
them very large, the interstices of which are, or were once, filled up with small
stones. The second era is marked by polygonal stones, which nevertheless fit into
each other with great nicety. Specimens exist at Delphi, Iulis, and at Cosa in
Etruria. In this style there are no courses. The third era appears in the Phocian
cities, and in some of Boeotia and Argolis. It is distinguished by the work being
made in courses, and by the stones, though of unequal size, being of the same
height. The fourth and youngest style presents horizontal courses of masonry,
not always of the same height, but formed of stones which are all rectangular.
This style is chiefly confined to Attica. The most reasonable opinion relative
to the Cyclopean walls of antiquity is that which ascribes their erection to the
ancient Pelasgi.
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
Cyclopes (Kuklopes), that is, creatures with round or circular eyes. The tradition
about these beings has undergone several changes and modifications in its development
in Greek mythology, though some traces of their identity remain visible throughout.
According to the ancient cosmogonies, the Cyclopes were the sons of Uranus and
Ge; they belonged to the Titans, and were three in number, whose names were Arges,
Steropes, and Brontes, and each of them had only one eye on his forehead. Together
with the other Titans, they were cast by their father into Tartarus, but, instigated
by their mother, they assisted Cronus in usurping the government. But Cronus again
threw them into Tartarus, and as Zeus released them in his war against Cronus
and the Titans, the Cyclopes provided Zeus with thunderbolts and lightning, Pluto
with a helmet, and Poseidon with a trident (Apollod. i. 1; Hes. Theog. 503). Henceforth
they remained the ministers of Zeus, but were afterwards killed by Apollo for
having furnished Zeus with the thunderbolts to kill Asclepius (Apollod. iii. 10.4).
According to others, however, it was not the Cyclopes themselves that were killed,
but their sons. (Schol. ad Eurip. Alcest. 1.)
In the Homeric poems the Cyclopes are a gigantic, insolent, and lawless
race of shepherds, who lived in the south-western part of Sicily, and devoured
human beings. They neglected agriculture, and the fruits of the field were reaped
by them without labour. They had no laws or political institutions, and each lived
with his wives and children in a cave of a mountain, and ruled over them with
arbitrary power (Hom. Od. vi. 5, ix. 106, 190, 240, x. 200). Homer does not distinctly
state that all of the Cyclopes were one-eyed, but Polyphemus, the principal among
them, is described as having only one eye on his forehead (Od. i. 69, ix. 383)
The Homeric Cyclopes are no longer the servants of Zeus, but they disregard him.
(Od. ix. 275; comp. Virg. Aen. vi. 636 ; Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 53.)
A still later tradition regarded the Cyclopes as the assistants of
Hephaestus. Volcanoes were the workshops of that god, and mount Aetna in Sicily
and the neighbouring isles were accordingly considered as their abodes. As the
assistants of Hephaestus they are no longer shepherds, but make the metal armour
and ornaments for gods and heroes; they work with such might that Sicily and all
the neighbouring islands resound with their hammering. Their number is, like that
in the Homeric poems, no longer confined to three, but their residence is removed
from the south-western to the eastern part of Sicily (Virg. Georg. iv. 170, Aen.
viii. 433; Callim. Hymn. in Dian. 56; Eurip. Cycl. 599; Val. Flacc. ii. 420).
Two of their names are the same as in the cosmogonic tradition, but new names
also were invented, for we find one Cyclops bearing the name of Pyracmon, and
another that of Acamas (Calim. Hymn. in Dian. 68; Virg. Aen. viii. 425; Val. Place.
i. 583).
The Cyclopes, who were regarded as skilful architects in later accounts,
were a race of men who appear to be different from the Cyclopes whom we have considered
hitherto, for they are described as a Thracian tribe, which derived its name from
a king Cyclops. They were expelled from their homes in Thrace, and went to the
Curetes (Crete) and to Lycia, Thence they followed Proetus to protect him, by
the gigantic walls which they constructed, against Acrisius. The grand fortifications
of Argos, Tiryns, and Mycenae, were in later times regarded as their works (Apollod.
ii. 1.2; Strab. viii; Paus. ii. 16.4; Schol. ad Eurip. Orest. 953). Such walls,
commonly known by the name of Cyclopean walls, still exist in various parts of
ancient Greece and Italy, and consist of unhewn polygones, which are sometimes
20 or 30 feet in breadth. The story of the Cyclopes having built them seems to
be a mere invention, and admits neither of an historical nor geographical explanation.
Homer, for instance, knows nothing of Cyclopean walls, and he calls Tiryns merely
a polis teichioessa (Il. ii. 559). The Cyclopean walls were probably constructed
by an ancient race of men -perhaps the Pelasgians- who occupied the countries
in which they occur before the nations of which we have historical records; and
later generations, being struck by their grandeur as much as ourselves, ascribed
their building to a fabulous race of Cyclopes. Analogies to such a process of
tradition are not wanting in modern countries; thus several walls in Germany,
which were probably constructed by the Romans, are to this day called by the people
Riesenmauer or Teufelsmauer.
In works of art the Cyclopes are represented as sturdy men with one
eye on their forehead, and the place which in other human beings is occupied by
the eyes, is marked in figures of the Cyclopes by a line. According to the explanation
of Plato (ap. Strab. xiii.), the Cyclopes were beings typical of the original
condition of uncivilized men ; but this explanation is not satisfactory, and the
cosmogonic Cyclopes at least must be regarded as personifications of certain powers
manifested in nature, which is sufficiently indicated by their names.
A son of Poseidon by Thoosa, the daughter of Phorcys (Od. 1.70). He was drunk and, afterwards, blinded by Odysseus and his comrades with a glowing stake, after he ate a few of them (Od. 9.371 etc.).
(Poluphemos). The son of Poseidon and the nymph. Thoosa; the one-eyed Cyclops, who held Odysseus prisoner in his cave and ate several of the companions, until the hero made him drunk and blinded him. Later legends made him the lover of the beautiful nymph Galatea.
Perseus Project
Polyphemus : Various WebPages
AEOLIA (Island complex) ITALY
A mythical island, residence place of Aeolus, grandson of Hippotas, that was surrounded by a bronze wall (Od. 10.1). According to ancient writers, it was one of the Liparae islands, and specifically, the Strongyli (Stromboli of today) or Lipara (Lipari of today).
SIKELIA (Ancient Hellenic lands) ITALY
The ancient name of Sicily (Il. 24.307).
AETNA (Mountain) SICILY
Typhon (Tuphaon) or Typhoeus (Tuphoeus). A monster of the primitive
world, who is described sometimes as a destructive hurricane, and sometimes as
a fire-breathing giant. According to Homer, he was concealed in the earth in the
country of the Arimi, which was lashed by Zeus with flashes of lightning. In Hesiod,
Typhaon and Typhoeus are two distinct beings. Typhaon is represented as a son
of Typhoeus, and a fearful hurricane, and as having become by Echidna the father
of the dog Orthus, Cerberus, the Lernaean hydra, Chimaera, and the Sphinx. Typhoeus,
on the other hand, is called the youngest son of Tartarus and Gaea, or of Here
alone, because she was indignant at Zeus having given birth to Athene. He is described
as a monster with 100 heads, fearful eyes, and terrible voices, who wanted to
acquire the sovereignty of gods and men, but, after a fearful struggle, was subdued
by Zeus with a thunderbolt. He begot the winds, whence he is also called the father
of the Harpies; but the beneficent winds Notus, Boreas, Argestes, and Zephyrus
were not his sons. He was buried in Tartarus, under Mount Aetna, the workshop
of Hephaestus, whence it is called by the poets Typhois Aetna. Typhus was identified
by the Greeks with the Egyptian god Set, who typified the power of darkness, and
who slew Osiris.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Dec 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Typhon : Perseus Project index
Crataeis (Krataiis), according to several traditions, the mother of Scylla. (Hom. Od. xii. 124; Ov. Met. xiii. 749; Hesych. s. v. ; Plin. H. N. iii. 10)
SIKELIA (Ancient Hellenic lands) ITALY
They were monsters, who personified a sea whirlpool. In the cave of a rock situated near Sicily, dwelt Scylla, a daughter of Crataiis, barking like a dog, with twelve feet and six long necks and heads, each of which contained three rows of sharp teeth. On the opposite rock, under a fig-tree dwelt Charybdis, who thrice every day swallowed down the waters of the sea and thrice threw them up again (Od. 12.73-110, 235-259, 430-444).
(Skulla) and Charybdis (Charubdis). The names of two rocks between Italy and Sicily. In the one nearest to Italy was a cave, in which dwelt Scylla, a daughter of Crataeis, a fearful monster, barking like a dog, with twelve feet, and six long necks and heads, each of which contained three rows of sharp teeth. The opposite rock, which was much lower, contained an immense fig-tree, under which dwelt Charybdis, who thrice every day swallowed down the waters of the sea, and thrice threw them up again. This is the Homeric account; but later traditions give different accounts of Scylla's parentage. Heracles is said to have killed her, because she stole some of the oxen of Geryon; but Phorcys is said to have restored her to life. Vergil speaks of several Scyllae, and places them in the lower world. Charybdis is described as a daughter of Poseidon and Gaea, and as a voracious woman, who stole oxen from Heracles, and was hurled by the thunderbolt of Zeus into the sea.
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
Scylla & Charybdis : Perseus Encyclopedia
Scylla & Charybdis : Various WebPages
A nymph, daughter of Phorcys and mother of the Cyclops Polyphemus (Od. 1.71).
Perseus Project
The son of Eurymus and soothsayer of the Cyclops (Od. 9.507 etc.).
Telemus, (Telemos). The son of Eurymus, and celebrated as a soothsayer (Odyss. ix. 509).
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