Encyclopedia: Gadfly - Gyro: Greek mythology, people, places and things of ancient Greece

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Gadfly
The common name for the fly that Hera sent to goad the Heifer-Maiden, Io, so that she could have no rest and be forced to constantly keep moving.
Hera used the Gadfly to punish Io for something that Io had neither caused or encouraged; the young maiden, Io, had attracted the attention of Hera’s brother/husband Zeus; Hera was angered by Zeus’ (attempted) infidelity so she punished Zeus by punishing Io; as Io fled in tears from her father’s house, she began to change; horns popped out on her head and, as she ran, she completely transformed into a black and white heifer; a gadfly began to sting and pester her, forcing her to run farther and farther from her home and happiness.

Gadfly

The common name for the fly that Hera sent to goad the Heifer-Maiden, Io, so that she could have no rest and be forced to constantly keep moving.

Hera used the Gadfly to punish Io for something that Io had neither caused or encouraged; the young maiden, Io, had attracted the attention of Hera’s brother/husband Zeus; Hera was angered by Zeus’ (attempted) infidelity so she punished Zeus by punishing Io; as Io fled in tears from her father’s house, she began to change; horns popped out on her head and, as she ran, she completely transformed into a black and white heifer; a gadfly began to sting and pester her, forcing her to run farther and farther from her home and happiness.

Gaia

The ancient Greek goddess of Earth; she was the second Immortal, after Chaos, to come into existence.
Gaia has a page in the Immortals section of this site ... click on her image to view that page.

Galatea (Galateia)
gah LAH tee ah
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
Galatea was loved by the Cyclops, Polyphemos (Polyphemus), but rejected him for Akis (Acis); in a jealous rage, Polyphemos crushed Akis with a stone and Galatea transformed Akis into a river.
Theogony, line 250
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 18, line 45
Iliad (Fagles), book 18, line 52
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 18, line 50

Galaxaura
gah lah KSOV rah
An Okeanid, i.e. one of the three thousand daughters of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys.
Zeus gave the Okeanids, Apollon and the Rivers the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.
Theogony, line 353

Galene
gah LEE nee
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus; her name might be translated as Calm.
Theogony, line 244

Gallipoli Peninsula
The peninsula of land in European Turkey between the Dardanelles and the Aegean Sea; 60 miles (97 kilometers) in length.
The Gallipoli Peninsula forms the northern side of the Hellespont and had the principal cities of Sestos (located on the Hellespont opposite the city of Abydos) and Elaeus (located at the tip of the peninsula).

Galofalo
The modern name for the whirlpool, Charybdis, in the Strait of Messina off the north-eastern coast of the island of Sicily.
Charybdis is a daughter of Gaia (Earth) and Poseidon (lord of the Sea); Charybdis would alternately suck down the waters into her maw and then spew the waters out causing gigantic waves; passing ships were in double jeopardy as they passed Charybdis because in order to avoid the surging waters, they had to sail dangerously close to the six headed monster, Skylla (Scylla), who occupied the other side of the Strait of Messina.
Odyssey (Lattimore), book 12, lines 104, 113, 235, 260, 428, 430, 431, 436 and 441; book 23, line 327
Odyssey (Loeb), book 12, lines 104, 113, 234, 260, 428, 430, 436 and 441; book 23, line 327
Odyssey (Fagles), book 12, lines 115, 123, 254, 283, 462, 464, 470 and 477; book 23, line 370
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 12, lines 122, 133, 303, 338, 548, 550 and 557; book 23, line 366
Argonautika, book 4, lines 789, 825 and 923

Gamelia
The Gamelia was an Athenian festival which celebrated the marriage of Zeus and Hera and was held on the twenty-sixth of the month of Gamelia, which would be approximately the third week of January by our calendar.

Gamelion
Gamelion was the seventh month of the year in Attica and approximately corresponds to the third week of December to the third week of January of our calendar; there were two festivals in Gamelion:
The Lenaea (Lenaia) was a festival in honor of Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine) and was held from the twelfth through the fifteenth of Gamelion; the Lenaia was a presentation of dramatic contests held in Athens;
The Gamelia celebrated the marriage of Zeus and Hera and was held on the twenty-sixth of the month.

Gamma
The third letter in the Greek alphabet; uppercase: Γ; lowercase: γ.
The ancient Greeks did not have lowercase letters in their alphabet; the lowercase letters were not invented until the ninth century CE, i.e. about eleven hundred years ago.

Ganymede (Ganymedes)
gan nee MEE dee

One of the three sons of Tros; he was abducted by Zeus and taken to Mount Olympos (Olympus) where he was made the cup-bearer of the Immortals and thus became immortal himself; his brothers were Ilos and Assarakos (Assaracos).
While on Mount Olympos, Ganymede was tricked into playing dice with Eros (the primal god of Love); Hera asked Aphrodite to persuade Eros to strike Medeia (Medea) with an arrow of irresistible love for Jason so that he could obtain the Golden Fleece from Medeia’s father, King Aietes (Aeetes); when Aphrodite found Eros playing dice with Ganymede, she scolded the god of Love for cheating an innocent child and promised him a golden ball that, when thrown into the air, would flair like a meteor if he would do her bidding.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 5, line 266; book 20, line 232
Iliad (Fagles), book 5, line 294; book 20, line 278
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 5, line 309; book 20, line 265
Hymn to Aphrodite, line 202
Little Iliad, fragment 7
Argonautika, book 3, line 115

Garamantes
gah RAH man tees
A tribe mentioned by the historian Herodotus who lived in the deserts of Northern Africa; Herodotus described them as hunters and farmers who grew their crops in soil they placed on top of the desert salt; they used their four-horse teams to hunt the cave-dwelling Ethiopians.
Recent excavations in the African desert of south-western Libya have given us a new appreciation for the Garamantes and their culture; they are now believed to have had at least three large cities and twenty smaller communities which supported a population of perhaps fifty thousand citizens.
Their cities and farms were vitalized by an extensive network of underground irrigation canals which extended for thousands of miles and provided water to nourish the harsh desert environment.
During the rise and pentacle of the Roman Empire, the Garamantes traded in gold, ivory and slaves; the population and culture slowly began to diminish as trade with Rome and other wealthy Mediterranean cities came to an end; the lack of trade and the gradual lowering of the water table sealed the fate of the Garamantes and by 700 CE they were, for all practical purposes, forgotten by history.
Histories, book 4.183-184

Garamas
gah RAM mas
Another name for Amphithemis; he was a son of Apollon and Akakallis (Acacallis); his home was in Libya and he had two sons: Nasamon and Kaphauros (Caphauros); his wife was a nymph but her name is unknown.
Argonautika, book 4, line 1494

Garden of Ares
Also called the Sanctuary of Ares and the Grove of Ares; a grove in the district of Kolchis (Colchis) where the Golden Fleece was kept.
The Golden Fleece was protected by an ever-vigilant dragon but the sorceress, Medeia (Medea), cast a spell on the dragon with a hypnotic song and undiluted potions; Jason and the Argonauts took the Fleece from the grove and fled Kolchis.
We must remember that the sack of Troy, as related in The Iliad, was thought to be a myth until Heinrich Schliemann took the story seriously and, after a methodical search, found the ruins of Troy; I’m suggesting that the Garden of Ares might be an actual place with datable artifacts that have yet to be discovered.
Argonautika, book 2, line 405

Garden of the Hesperides
The Hesperides are the daughters of Nix (Night) who were set to guard the Golden Apples which were a wedding gift to Hera from Gaia (Earth) upon her wedding to Zeus; their names are: Aegle, Eretheis and Hespere.
The Garden of the Hesperides is located in the far west across the waters of Okeanos (Ocean); the Hesperides guarded the Golden Apples with the help of the dragon, Ladon; the Golden Apples were the object of the Eleventh Labor of Herakles (Heracles).
Theogony, line 215

Gargaron (Gargarus)
GAR gar on
The highest peak of Mount Ida where Zeus has his altar.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 8, line 48
Iliad (Fagles), book 8, line 56
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 8, line 51

Gaugamela
A Mesopotamian city on the eastern side of the Tigris River in central Persia.
When Alexander the Great and his army invaded Persia, the Persian king, Darius III, could not withstand the superior military strategies or leadership of the Greek forces; two years after his humiliating defeat at Issus in 333 BCE, Darius once again faced Alexander near the city of Gaugamela; again, Darius fled in utter defeat and left his army to be routed by the numerically inferior Greeks; this battle is often referred to as the Battle of Arbela.

Gaugamela

A Mesopotamian city on the eastern side of the Tigris River in central Persia.

When Alexander the Great and his army invaded Persia, the Persian king, Darius III, could not withstand the superior military strategies or leadership of the Greek forces; two years after his humiliating defeat at Issus in 333 BCE, Darius once again faced Alexander near the city of Gaugamela; again, Darius fled in utter defeat and left his army to be routed by the numerically inferior Greeks; this battle is often referred to as the Battle of Arbela.

Gbrios (Outrage)
GEB ree ohs
The goddess of Violence and Outrage.
Works and Days, line 217

Gela
A city on the southern coast of the island of Sicily; originally founded circa 688 BCE by colonists from the islands of Rhodes and Crete.
Circa 498, the tyrant who became known as Hippokrates (Hippocrates) of Gela assumed control of the entire island of Sicily; Gela was nearly abandoned circa 482 BCE when another tyrant, Gelon, moved half the population of Gela to the more promising port city of Syracuse.
In 405 BCE the Carthaginians destroyed Gela and Dionysius I of Syracuse ordered that the city be abandoned.
The city was rebuilt circa 337 BCE after Dionysius II was expelled from the island by the Greek commander, Timoleon, who made Syracuse his capital and, with the aid of Greek mercenaries, secured the eastern portion of Sicily as a Greek enclave.
After Timoleon’s death, the rule of Syracuse was entrusted to an oligarchy of six hundred citizens; in 311 BCE, after twenty five years of oligarchic government, the tyrant, Agathokles (Agathocles), came to power and, as revenge for assisting the oligarchy in his oppression, Agathokles had thousands of the inhabitants of Gela put to death.
Circa 281 BCE Gela was razed by pirates and the surviving citizens moved to the city of Phintias (modern Licata); Gela remained mostly uninhabited until 1233 CE when it was renamed by Frederick II as Terranova di Sicilia; the city again became Gela in 1928.
Approximate East Longitude 14º 15' and North Latitude 37º 04'

Geleontes (Teleontes)
One of the four ancient tribes of Ionia; their name means Farmers; the other tribes were known as: Aigikoreis (Aigicoreis) (Goat-Herds or Goat-Feeders); Oplites (Hoplites) (Men in Armor); and Argadeis (Workmen or Laborers).

Gemini
The constellation of the Twins, representing the Dioskuri (Dioscuri), i.e. the sons of Zeus: Kastor (Castor) and Polydeukes (Polydeuces or Pollux).

Genealogies
The fragmented surviving text of a work by Akusilaus (Acusilaus) from the late sixth century BCE.

Geo
A prefix meaning Earth.

Geographike Hyphehesis (Geography)
A book by Ptolemy dealing with, as the name implies, the geography of the known world at the time of its composition (90-168 CE).
The book was a combination of astute perceptions and gross miscalculations but the overall effect was one of inspiration for future generations.

Geras
GEE ras
Old Age; a child of Nyx (Night); called malignant and hard-hearted but the name literally means, Of Things Ancient.
Theogony, line 225

Gerenian
An epithet for the aged hero of the Trojan War, Nestor, meaning Honored; the title denotes Nestor’s age and reputation rather than his place of origin, which was Pylos.

Geryon (Geryones)
gee ree OHN
The three-bodied warrior slain by Herakles (Heracles) in the course of his Tenth Labor (Taking the Cattle of Geryon).
Geryon was the son of the immortal Chrysaor and Kallirhoe (Callirhoe); he grazed his cattle in the far-western land of Erytheia; he was depicted in a variety of forms because the ancient artists weren’t quite sure how a three-bodied man might look; he is shown with three heads and six feet, one head with three faces and six feet, three winged bodies and other equally unlikely combinations; the written accounts go back as far as Hesiod (eighth century BCE) but the artistic record is much more extensive.
Upon arrival in Erytheia, Herakles promptly slew Geryon’s two-headed dog, Ortho, and after a fierce fight Geryon and his herdsman, Eurytion, were also killed; on the long journey to Erytheia, Herakles became so weary of the burning heat of Helios, he raised his bow and shot an arrow at the Sun; Helios was so amused at Herakles’ impudence that he gave the hero a golden bowl to traverse the western sea; after Herakles had killed Geryon, he put the cattle into the golden bowl and sailed back across the sea.
Theogony, lines 309 and 982

Giants (Gigantes)
Huge monsters; the children of Gaia (Earth) engendered by the blood of Ouranos (the Heavens).
The Giants waged an unsuccessful war on the Olympians and were severely punished after their defeat; the poet Hesiod states that the Giants were banished to the Underworld but Apollodorus of Athens clearly describes the brutal death of the Giants.
The Giants were mostly human in form but their bodies were massive and they were invincible in their might; they had long drooping locks on their heads and chins; their feet had scales like a dragon or serpent; whether they actually had the feet of dragons or whether they were simply scaled was a point of contention among several of the ancient authors; the traveler and historian, Pausanias, disputed the fact that the Giants literally had dragon feet but ancient artwork generally represented the Giants with dragon-like feet.
The original home of the Giants was either Phlegrae or Pallene but it has been suggested that the two names represent the same place; the Immortals were given an oracle which stated that the Giants could not be killed by a God or Goddess so they decided to enlist the aid of Herakles (Heracles) to do the actual killing; when Gaia learned of the oracle, she began the preparation of a drug which would protect her awful children but Zeus culled a cunning brew of his own which would make the Giants vulnerable to the wrath of the Immortals; in order to have the time necessary for the creation of the drug, Zeus forbade Eos (Dawn), Selene (Moon) and Helios (Sun) to appear in the sky until his task was complete.
The goddess Athene (Athena) summoned Herakles and the war against the Giants began:
Alkyoneos (Alcyoneus) - Alkyoneos was one of the two most powerful of the Giants; he was brazen in his contempt for the Olympian Gods and even stole the cattle of Helios from Erythia; he was immortal as long as he remained on his home soil, i.e. he could not be killed by man, god or beast as long as he remained in the land of his birth; he was, however, the first of the Giants to die; Herakles shot Alkyoneos with an arrow and the mighty Giant fell to the ground where he was revitalized by the earth and began to recover from the wound; at the advice of Athene, Herakles dragged Alkyoneos out of Pallene where he was no longer protected by his native soil and he died.
Porphyrion - Alkyoneos and Porphyrion were the two most powerful Giants; while Alkyoneos and Herakles were fighting, Porphyrion joined the battle but was immediately distracted by an intervention from Zeus; an irresistible longing for the goddess Hera overcame Porphyrion and he began to tear at the goddesses’ garments; Herakles killed Alkyoneos while Porphyrion was lustfully distracted and Zeus struck the unsuspecting Giant with a thunderbolt and rendered him helpless but not dead; Herakles shot Porphyrion with an arrow and killed him.
The other Giants also met cruel fates at the hands of Herakles and the Immortals; to list them briefly:
Ephialtes was shot with an arrow in the left eye by Apollon and then in the right eye by Herakles.
Eurytos (Eurytus) was killed by Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine) with a thyrsus, i.e. a wand wreathed in ivy and vine leaves with a pine cone at the top.
Klytios (Clytius) was killed by the goddess Hekate (Hecate) with torches; presumably he was burned to death.
Mimas was killed when Hephaistos (Hephaestus) showered him with missiles of hot metal.
Enkelados (Enceladus) tried to run away but Athene dropped the island of Sicily on him.
Polybotes was chased by Poseidon to the island of Kos (Cos) where the god broke off a piece of the island (called Nisyrum) and hurled it at the desperate Giant.
Hippolytus (Hippolytos) was killed by Hermes who was wearing the Helm of Hades which made him invisible.
Gration was killed by Artemis; Agrios (Agrius) and Thoas were beaten with brazen clubs by the Fates; the other (unnamed) Giants were struck by thunderbolts from Zeus; Herakles shot and killed each of the Giants with arrows as they lay suffering.
Pausanaus, book 7.29
Library, book 1.6
Theogony, line 185

Gibraltar

The stone peninsula on the south-central coast of Spain; 1,396 feet (426 meters) in height; located at the western extreme of the Mediterranean Sea where it connects with the Atlantic Ocean.
Gibraltar and Jebel Musa were called the Pillars of Herakles (Heracles) by the ancients; Gibraltar was known as Kalpe (Calpe) and Jebel Musa was known as Abyla.

Glauke (Glauce) ¹
GLOV kee
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
Theogony, line 244

Glauke (Glauce) ²
GLOV kee
The daughter of the king of the city of Corinth, Kreon (Creon).
After Jason and the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece from Kolchis (Colchis) and eluded capture by the pursuing fleet of King Aietes (Aeetes), Jason and his sorceress wife, Medeia (Medea), were forced to leave Jason’s home in Iolkos (Iolcos) and took refuge in Corinth; Jason fell in love with Glauke and abandoned Medeia; in her rage, Medeia made a poisoned cloak for Glauke and effectively murdered her.
The traveler and historian, Pausanias, noted that when he was in Corinth the inhabitants showed him the well where Glauke drowned herself; apparently when she was suffering from the effects of the poisoned cloak which Medeia had given her, she ran from the palace in pain and threw herself into the well to end her suffering.

Glaukonome (Glauconome)
glov kon OH mee
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
Theogony, line 256

Glaukopis
An epithet for Athene (Athena) meaning Bright Eyed; the owl, her symbolic bird, is called a glaukes because of its intense eyes; likewise, the silver Athenian coin, the glaukes, was called an owl because it was imprinted with Athene’s sacred bird.

Glaukos (Glaucus) ¹
GLOV kos
A Trojan ally from Lykia; the son of Hippolochos; the grandson of Bellerophontes (Bellerophon).
In the last year of the siege of the city of Troy, Glaukos faced the Greek hero, Diomedes, and told the story of his lineage and the tale of Bellerophontes; Diomedes said that his grandfather, Oineus, had been a guest-friend of Bellerophontes and, as the grandsons of these two men, it was not proper for them to fight; they got down from their chariots and exchanged armor (Zeus took Glaukos’ senses away because he exchanged his golden armor for Diomedes’ bronze armor).
His name may also be rendered as Glaucos or Glaukus.
Iliad (Lattimore), book 2, line 876; book 6, line 119 and 234; book 7, line 13; book 12, line 102, 309, 310, 329, 388 and 392; book 14, 426; book 16, line 492, 508, 530, 593 and 597; book 17, line 140, 170 and 216
Iliad (Loeb), book 2, line 876; book 6, line 119 and 234; book 7, line 13; book 12, line 102, 309, 310, 329, 387 and 392; book 14, 426; book 16, line 492, 508, 530, 593 and 597; book 17, line 140, 170 and 216
Iliad (Fagles), book 2, line 988; book 6, line 138 and 256; book 7, line 15; book 12, line 122, 359, 382, 446 and 454; book 14, 502; book 16, line 580, 587, 623, 692 and 696; book 17, line 159, 195 and 249
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 2, line 1052; book 6, line 136 and 278; book 7, line 14; book 12, line 117, 347, 369, 434, and 439; book 14, 477; book 16, line 570, 589, 611, 683 and 687; book 17, line 154 and 241

Glaukos (Glaucus) ²
GLOV kos
The son of Sisyphos and father of Bellerophontes (Bellerophon); Glaukos was from the city of Ephyre.
His name may also be rendered as Glaucos or Glaukus.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 6, lines 154 and 155
Fagles), book 6, lines 181 and 182
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 6, line 179

Glaukos (Glaucus) ³
GLOV kos
A divine seer who lives in the sea; Glaukos was thought to have been a man from the waist up and a fish from the waist down.
When the Argonauts were on their way to Kolchis (Colchis), Herakles (Heracles) and Polyphemos (Polyphemus) left the crew of the Argo to search for their lost companion, Hylas; when the ship set sail without them, the Argonauts began to argue about the wisdom of leaving Hylas, Herakles and Polyphemos behind; as the argument reached the point of violence, Glaukos rose from the sea and grabbed the keel of the Argo; he proclaimed that the will of Zeus had been done; Herakles was to return to his Twelve Labors, Polyphemos was destined to found a new town and Hylas had become the husband of a water nymph; the Argonauts accepted this without further debate and returned to their quest.
His name may also be rendered as Glaucos or Glaukus.
Argonautika, book 1, line 1310; book 2, line 767

Gnorismata

A token or artifact by which a lost child is identified.
The legendary Athenian king, Aegeus, left a sword and a pair of sandals under a boulder so that when his son, Theseus, was strong enough to move the boulder and remove the sword and sandals he would be manly enough to join his father in Athens and claim his royal inheritance; the sword and sandals were referred to as the gnorismata; the above image shows Theseus finding the sword and sandals as his mother looks on.

Gobryas
One of the seven Persians who successfully mounted the revolt which deposed the usurper, Smerdis, from the throne of the Persian Empire.
While the second king of the Persian Empire, Kambyses (Cambyses), was occupied with the subjugation of Egypt, a Mede named Smerdis assumed the role of Kambyses’ dead brother, also named Smerdis, and claimed the throne for himself.
Kambyses had secretly arranged the murder of his brother, Smerdis, and therefore knew that the Smerdis on the throne was not his brother but, before Kambyses could return to confront the false-Smerdis and reclaim his throne, he accidentally wounded himself with his own sword and died.
The false-Smerdis was very clever at concealing his true identity and never left the palace or allowed high ranking Persians to see him; the false-Smerdis not only bore the same name as Kambyses’ brother but was also physically similar to him, with one exception: the Median Smerdis had no ears; Kambyses had inflicted a punishment on the Mede that required that his ears be lopped off.
One of the seven conspirators, Otanes, was the first to suspect that something was wrong and he devised a plan to determine the truth of the matter; Otanes’ daughter, Phaedyme, was the wife the true-Smerdis and was occasionally required to attend the false-Smerdis as part of his pretense to the throne; Otanes instructed her to secretly feel Smerdis’ head to see if he had any ears; Phaedyme bravely obeyed her father and recognized the false-Smerdis for what he was.
Otanes began to recruit other Persians in what would ultimately be a rebellion; with the help of Gobryas, Intaphrenes, Megabyzus, Darius, Aspathines and Hydarnes, Otanes plotted to murder the false-Smerdis and reclaim the throne of the empire for the Persians; the seven rebels fought their way into the false-king’s chamber and killed him; when the populace found out what had transpired, a wave of violence swept the city and only darkness saved the Medes from complete extermination.
The seven men then debated as to which type of government to establish; the former king, Kambyses, had been cruel and excessive in the extreme but Darius argued for another monarchy and finally won the others to his point of view; Darius was installed as the third king of the Persian Empire in 521 BCE.
Gobryas and the other rebels were granted special privileges in the new kingdom and were allowed to have an audience with the king at any time unless he was with one of his wives.
Histories, book 3.68-88

Golden (Xanthos)
One of the chariot horses of the Trojan hero, Hector; his other horses were: Aithon (Aethon), Lampos (Lampus) and Podargos (Podargus).
There are several ways in which the name Xanthos is transliterated in The Iliad; Robert Fagles names him Golden; Robert Fitzgerald uses the name Tawny; the Richmond Lattimore and Loeb Classical Library translations simply use the literal name but spell it differently: Lattimore spells it as Xanthos and Loeb spells it as Xanthus.
The Liddle and Scott Greek-English Lexicon defines Xanthos as Yellow and Golden Hair (referring to bay or chestnut horses).
It is interesting to note that when we encounter Xanthos in The Iliad as one of the chariot horses of Achilles, Fitzgerald uses the literal name Xanthos instead of Tawny; inexplicably, Robert Fagles calls him Roan Beauty instead of Golden.
The names of Hector’s other horses are rendered in the various translations as:
1) Aithon:
Blaze (Fagles)
Dusky (Fitzgerald)
Aithon (Lattimore)
Aethon (Loeb)
2) Lampos:
Sliver Flash (Fagles)
Dapple (Fitzgerald)
Lampos (Lattimore)
Lampus (Loeb)
3) Podargos:
Whitefoot (Fagles and Fitzgerald)
Podargos (Lattimore)
Podargus (Loeb)
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 8, line 185; book 16, line 149; book 19, lines 400, 405 and 420
Iliad (Fagles), book 8, line 210; book 16, line 178; book 19, lines 473, 478 and 497
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 8, line 211; book 16, line 173; book 19, lines 441, 448 and 467

Golden Fleece
A fleece of pure gold that was all that remained of the flying ram that bore Helle and her brother, Phrixus, as they attempted to fly to safety across the body of water that was later to be named the Hellespont, i.e. the Sea of Helle.
Their mother, Nephele, and Hermes provided the golden ram so that Helle and Phrixus could escape the evil plotting of their stepmother, Ino; Helle fell from the ram and drowned in the water below, thus the name: Helle-pontos.
The ram was sacrificed by Phrixus and the Golden Fleece was kept in Kolchis (Colchis) until Jason and the Argonauts retrieved it as part of the seemingly suicidal mission that was forced on them by the king of Iolkos (Iolcos), Pelias.
The story of the Golden Fleece incorporates numerous creatures and heroes from previous adventure epics as related by Homer; the story of the Golden Fleece is best told by the poet Apollonius Rhodius, i.e. Apollonius of Rhodes, in the epic poem, Argonautika.
I have not tried to relate the entire story here but have only included the highlights of the adventures of the Argonauts; for the complete story I recommend Argonautika by Peter Green, ISBN 0520076877, which is available at most libraries and from the Book Shop on this site.

The Story of the Golden Fleece:
King Pelias of Iolkos was warned that a stranger with one sandal would come to take his throne and so when Jason arrived, having lost one of his sandals in a river, Pelias devised a plan where Jason would be required to undertake an impossible task and never return; Pelias also made the mistake of offending Hera by not giving her proper honor at his sacrifices and so Hera plotted to have Pelias punished; the voyage of the Argonauts was to be the method by which Hera would achieve this end.
Pelias sent Jason to retrieve the magical fleece of gold that had been created by Hermes and kept in the Grove of Ares (god of War) in the far-off land of Kolchis; the king of Kolchis was a mighty ruler and a fierce man named Aietes (Aeetes); Pelias was certain that Aietes would never voluntarily surrender the Golden Fleece and that Jason would never be able to take it by force.
Jason was not foolhardy enough to attempt such a feat alone, so he gathered the bravest and most adventuresome men in Greece to aid him in his quest; the members of the crew that Jason assembled were collectively known as the Argonauts; they took their name from the ship which was built expressly for their voyage, the Argo; the ship was designed by a man named Argos and the construction of the ship was overseen by the goddess of craft and skill, Athene (Athena).
The most famous Argonaut was, of course, Herakles (Heracles) but others included the sons of Poseidon, sons of Boreas (North Wind) and sons of Helios (the Sun).
The land of Kolchis was on the eastern edge of the sea named the Euxine (Black Sea); they sailed north through the Aegean Sea to the Hellespont and onwards to the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) and survived the attacks of several of the native inhabitants; they encountered the pitiful, blind seer, Phineus, who was being punished by Zeus and Helios by having his food eaten and defiled by the she-birds, the Harpies; the winged sons of Boreas, Kalais (Calais) and Zetes chased away the Harpies and freed Phineus from his curse; Phineus then rewarded the Argonauts by giving them instructions as to how to get to Kolchis and safely return to their homeland.
The Argonauts had to pass through the Clashing Rocks which guarded the narrow passage from the Propontis to the Euxine; called “the twin Kyanean (Cyanean) Rocks where the two seas meet,” the gigantic rocks would clash together whenever any living thing tried to pass between them; Phineus, told the Argonauts to send a dove through the Clashing Rocks before they attempted to sail their ship through; if the dove survived, it would be safe for the Argo to proceed; the dove flew between the Clashing Rocks with only the loss of its tail feathers and the Argo sailed boldly into the passage; Athene held back one of the rocks with one hand and pushed the Argo through with the other; the Clashing Rocks then became stationary islands and never menaced sailors again.
In the land of the Mysians, one of the sailors, Hylas, went in search of water and was abducted by the nymphs of a spring; Herakles and Polyphemos (Polyphemus) refused to leave the island without Hylas and the Argo sailed without them; the fate of the Argonauts began to change and they suffered their first casualties; Idmon was the first to die; he died from wounds inflicted by a monstrous, white-tusked boar; then Tiphys died of a fast-acting sickness; when they came to the Isle of Ares, Oileus died after he was struck by a feather from one of the war god’s birds; on the Isle of Ares they found the four sons of Phrixus who were shipwrecked on the island; their father, Phrixus, was the one who had originally sacrificed the golden ram and given it to Aietes; the four brothers joined the Argonauts and they proceeded to Kolchis.
Jason tried to reason with Aietes but the king was beyond reason; Hera and Athene went to Aphrodite (goddess of Love) and asked her to intervene on Jason’s behalf; Aphrodite sent Eros (the primal god of Love) to shoot the king’s daughter, Medeia (Medea), with an arrow of irresistible love; when Medeia saw Jason she was helpless in her desire for him; Medeia was a priestess of the goddess, Hekate (Hecate), and the niece of the sorceress-nymph, Kirke (Circe).
Aietes decided that it would not be wise to blatantly refuse Jason’s request for the Golden Fleece so he cunningly challenged Jason to demonstrate his strength by harnessing two fierce supernatural, bronze-footed bulls, plow a field and plant the dragon’s teeth of Kadmos (Cadmus); the dragon’s teeth would grow into warriors and then Jason would have to fight and kill the Earth-Born warriors.
Jason met with Medeia and together they plotted how he could survive the ordeal and win the Golden Fleece without having to fight Aietes’ army or resort to common thievery; Medeia gave Jason a potion which was made from the flowers that grew from the blood of Prometheus as he laid suffering, chained to the Caucasus Mountains; Jason made a sacrifice to Hekate and bathed himself and his weapons in the magic potion.
At dawn the following day Jason went into the field to face the bronze-footed bulls and plant the dragon’s teeth; the Earth-Born warriors sprang from the ground and attacked Jason with fury; using the same trick that Kadmos had used, he tossed a stone in the midst of the warriors and let them fight amongst themselves until their numbers were small enough so that he could kill the remainder; Aietes was furious.
Medeia, still in the thralls of love, led the Argonauts to the Grove of Ares where the Golden Fleece was kept; the Fleece was protected by an ever-vigilant dragon but Medeia cast a spell on the dragon with a hypnotic song and undiluted potions; Jason took the Fleece and fled.
Aietes soon realized the treachery of his daughter and sent a fleet in pursuit; Aietes insisted that he would have honored his promise to surrender the Golden Fleece but he justified his pursuit of the Argonauts because they had taken Medeia.
In their escape, the Argonauts took the long and difficult route up the Ister (Danube) River and across southern Europe, hoping to elude their pursuers; Aietes’ son, Apsyrtos, led the fleet that pursued the Argo; when the Argonauts were finally cornered and feared a direct confrontation with Apsyrtos and his numerous ships, Jason and Medeia devised a treacherous plan where they would meet with Apsyrtos and Medeia would pretend to surrender herself to him while Jason waited in ambush; as Medeia was talking to Apsyrtos, Jason attacked and killed him; without a leader, the pursuers lost their momentum and the Argonauts made their escape; fearful of what King Aietes would do when they returned without Medeia or Apsyrtos, the sailors chose to stay in Europe and never return home to Kolchis.
The keel of the Argo, inspired by Athene, warned the Argonauts that Zeus was furious at the murder of Apsyrtos and urged them to go to Kirke’s island and beg forgiveness; on the island of Kirke, Medeia asked to be forgiven but Kirke could not absolve them of such a wanton murder; Hera implored Thetis and the other Nereids, Hephaistos (Hephaestus) and Aeolus (Aiolos) (lord of the Winds) to protect the Argonauts and guide them through the dangers that awaited them on the open sea; one by one, the monster, Skylla (Scylla), the whirlpool, Charybdis, and the clear-voiced Sirens were overcome; when they arrived on the island of the Phaiakians (Phaeacians) the king, Alkinoos (Alcinous), declared that he would not help Jason and Medeia unless they were married and so the couple took the sacred wedding vows and gained sanctuary.
Once again at sea, the Argo was blown ashore in Libya by a tempest; the Argonauts had to carry the ship across the Libyan desert to lake Trito; the god Triton arose from the lake and guided the desperate Argonauts back to the Mediterranean Sea.
When they approached the island of Crete, the Argonauts were unable to make a safe landing because the gigantic bronze man, Talos, guarded the shore; again Medeia used her magical powers to save the Argo from certain destruction; she invoked the Death-Spirits to befuddle Talos and, in a fit of confusion, Talos stumbled on the rocky shore and tore the thin membrane at his heel allowing the fluid of life, ichor, to drain from his otherwise impervious body.
From Crete the remaining Argonauts sailed safely to their home in Thessaly thus ending the quest for the Golden Fleece and the voyage of the Argo according to Apollonius; the continuation of the story was told by poets such as Euripides and in various pieces of artwork dating back to the fifth century BCE.
After arriving back in Iolkos, Jason found that his father was dead through the trickery of King Pelias; Medeia hatched an evil revenge on Pelias and his daughters; using her occult skills, Medeia convinced Pelias’ daughters that she could restore their father’s youth if he was cut into pieces and put in a caldron filled with magical herbs; to demonstrate the process, Medeia successfully performed the process on a ram; the unwitting girls followed Medeia’s instructions and their father was killed but not reanimated.
When news of Medeia’s sorcery had spread throughout Iolkos, Jason and Medeia are forced to flee to the city of Corinth and take refuge with King Kreon (Creon); Jason and Medeia had two children but Jason fell in love with the king’s daughter, Glauke (Glauce); Medeia was well practiced in the art of revenge so she made a poison cloak for Glauke and effectively murdered her; as a further attack on Jason for his infidelity, Medeia killed their two children and fled to Athens on a chariot drawn by dragons; Medeia eventually made her way to Persia and founded the race we know as the Medes.

Golden Girdle of Ares
The prize that Herakles (Heracles) took from Hippolyte, the Amazon queen, for the king, Admete, of Pherae in Thessaly.

Gordian Knot
The king of ancient Phrygia, Gordius, tied a very complicated knot which, according to popular belief, could only be undone by the man who would eventually rule Asia.
When Alexander the Great entered Persia, his fate became tied to the legend of the Gordian Knot; there are several explanations as to how Alexander loosed the knot but the most dramatic and theatrical version states that Alexander examined the knot and, instead of trying to untie it, drew his sword and simply cut it open; the story may be as much myth as fact but the implications were clear, i.e. whatever Alexander could not conquer by subtlety, would fall under his sword; Alexander became an agent of legend and conquered Phrygia and all of Asia.

Gordian Knot

The king of ancient Phrygia, Gordius, tied a very complicated knot which, according to popular belief, could only be undone by the man who would eventually rule Asia.

When Alexander the Great entered Persia, his fate became tied to the legend of the Gordian Knot; there are several explanations as to how Alexander loosed the knot but the most dramatic and theatrical version states that Alexander examined the knot and, instead of trying to untie it, drew his sword and simply cut it open; the story may be as much myth as fact but the implications were clear, i.e. whatever Alexander could not conquer by subtlety, would fall under his sword; Alexander became an agent of legend and conquered Phrygia and all of Asia.

Gordius
The legendary king of Phrygia who was credited with tying the famous Gordian Knot.
Gordius was a peasant with no pretense of nobility but when Phrygia was torn by revolt, he became the ruler by order of an oracle; the oracle of Zeus advised the people of Phrygia that their civil strife would end if they would appoint the next man they saw driving a wagon to the temple of Zeus; Gordius was the man the oracle had indicated.
Gordius dedicated his wagon to Zeus and it was noted that the knot by which the yoke was attached to the wagon was so intricate and clever that there must be some divine implication to its existence; a legend arose that the Phrygians would never be conquered unless the knot was undone; when Alexander the Great came to Phrygia on his march into Asia, he pondered the knot and instead of untying it, he drew his sword and cut it.
Gordius was the father of Phrygia’s most famous king, Midas.

Gorgoneion

The mask of the Gorgon, i.e. the head of Medusa; this image is usually associated with the Aegis of Zeus and was a very popular theme in ancient Greek artwork.

Gorgons ¹
gor GONS
The collective name for the three hideous daughters of Phorkys (Phorcys); with snakes writhing from their heads, wrists and waists, the three monster-women were dreaded and feared.
Their form, as depicted in Greek art, changed over the centuries until they finally became the snake headed she-monsters we know today; they were named Sthenno, Euryale and Medusa; Sthenno and Euryale were immortal but Medusa was mortal and anyone who gazed upon her face was turned to stone.
Three generations before Herakles (Heracles) the hero Perseus was sent by the king of the island of Seriphos, Polydektes (Polydectes), to kill Medusa and cut off her head.
Perseus first sought out the sisters of the Gorgons, the Graiai, who were gray from birth and shared one tooth and one eye between them; Perseus stole their tooth and eye and, using them as ransom, forced the Graiai to give him the location of the nymphs who had possession of the Cap of Hades (which would make him invisible), a pair of winged sandals (for flying) and a kibisis (a bag to hold Medusa’s head); he later obtained a sickle (or sword) from Hermes and set out to slay Medusa.
With the help of Athene (Athena) Perseus was able to cut off Medusa’s head; after the attack on their sister, Sthenno and Euryale chased Perseus but his flying sandals saved him.
Numerous beasts sprang from the blood dripping from Medusa’s severed head including: the flying horse, Pegasos (Pegasus), Chrysaor and countless serpents in the deserts of Libya.
Theogony, lines 274-284, 980
Argonautika, book 4, lines 1502-1536

Gorgons ²
gor GONS
An ancient society dominated by women who lived in western Libya.
The Gorgons are usually thought of as three women who were adorned with snakes and could turn any living creature to stone; the nation of the Gorgons is discussed by the historian Diodorus Siculus in relation to the ancient race of Amazons who also lived in the far western parts of Libya; Libya was all land west of ancient Egypt.
The Gorgons were rivals of the ancient Amazons and successfully defended their homeland from the Amazons; after the ancient Amazons defeated the Atlantians, they were urged to attack the Gorgons because the Gorgons had been encroaching on Atlantian territory and the Atlantians thought that the Amazons could finally drive the Gorgons away; Queen Myrina of the Amazons fought a pitched battle with the Gorgons and took three thousand prisoners but could not claim a decisive victory; the war with the Gorgons was halted and they seemed to fade into obscurity until Perseus went on a quest for the head of Medusa; Diodorus states that Medusa was the queen of the Gorgons.
The Gorgons and the ancient Amazons were both eventually exterminated by Herakles (Heracles) because the idea of a society dominated by women was repellent to him.
Diodorus Siculus, 3.52.4; book 3.54.7

Graces

The daughters of Zeus and Eurynome; they are: Euphrosyne, Aglaia and Thalia.
The Graces have a page in the Immortals section of this site ... click on the above photo to view that page.

Graiai (Graiae)
GREH i
The Gray Sisters, “sisters gray from birth”; the daughters of Keto (Ceto) and Phorkys (Phorcys); they are: well clad Pemphredo and saffron robed Enyo.
The Graiai are sisters of the Gorgons and the Hesperides; they were said to have one tooth and one eye between them; when Perseus encountered them he took their eye and tooth and forced them to reveal the location of the nymphs who could supply him with the Cap of Hades (which would make him invisible), a pair of winged sandals (for flying) and a kibisis (a bag) so he could complete his quest for the head of the Gorgon, Medusa; later descriptions of the Graiai include Deino as one of the sisters.
Theogony, line 270+

Gration
Gration was one of the huge monsters collectively known as the Giants; the Giants were the children of Gaia (Earth) engendered by the blood of Ouranos (the Heavens).
The Giants waged an unsuccessful war on the Olympians and were severely punished after their defeat; the poet Hesiod states that the Giants were banished to the Underworld but Apollodorus of Athens clearly describes the brutal death of the Giants.
The Giants were mostly human in form but their bodies were massive and they were invincible in their might; they had long drooping locks on their heads and chins; their feet had scales like a dragon or serpent; whether they actually had the feet of dragons or whether they were simply scaled was a point of contention among several of the ancient authors; the traveler and historian, Pausanias, disputed the fact that the Giants literally had dragon feet but ancient artwork generally represented the Giants with dragon-like feet.
The original home of the Giants was either Phlegrae or Pallene but it has been suggested that the two names represent the same place; the Immortals were given an oracle which stated that the Giants could not be killed by a God or Goddess so they decided to enlist the aid of Herakles (Heracles) to do the actual killing; when Gaia learned of the oracle, she began the preparation of a drug which would protect her awful children but Zeus culled a cunning brew of his own which would make the Giants vulnerable to the wrath of the Immortals; in order to have the time necessary for the creation of the drug, Zeus forbade Eos (Dawn), Selene (Moon) and Helios (Sun) to appear in the sky until his task was complete.
The goddess Athene (Athena) summoned Herakles and the war against the Giants began:
Gration was killed by the goddess Artemis; his brothers all met a similar fate:
Alkyoneos (Alcyoneus) - Alkyoneos was one of the two most powerful of the Giants; he was brazen in his contempt for the Olympian Gods and even stole the cattle of Helios from Erythia; he was immortal as long as he remained on his home soil, i.e. he could not be killed by man, god or beast as long as he remained in the land of his birth; he was, however, the first of the Giants to die; Herakles shot Alkyoneos with an arrow and the mighty Giant fell to the ground where he was revitalized by the earth and began to recover from the wound; at the advice of Athene, Herakles dragged Alkyoneos out of Pallene where he was no longer protected by his native soil and he died.
Porphyrion - Alkyoneos and Porphyrion were the two most powerful Giants; while Alkyoneos and Herakles were fighting, Porphyrion joined the battle but was immediately distracted by an intervention from Zeus; an irresistible longing for the goddess Hera overcame Porphyrion and he began to tear at the goddesses’ garments; Herakles killed Alkyoneos while Porphyrion was lustfully distracted and Zeus struck the unsuspecting Giant with a thunderbolt and rendered him helpless but not dead; Herakles shot Porphyrion with an arrow and killed him.
Ephialtes was shot with an arrow in the left eye by Apollon and then in the right eye by Herakles.
Eurytos (Eurytus) was killed by Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine) with a thyrsus, i.e. a wand wreathed in ivy and vine leaves with a pine cone at the top.
Klytios (Clytius) was killed by the goddess Hekate (Hecate) with torches; presumably he was burned to death.
Mimas was killed when Hephaistos (Hephaestus) showered him with missiles of hot metal.
Enkelados (Enceladus) tried to run away but Athene dropped the island of Sicily on him.
Polybotes was chased by Poseidon to the island of Kos (Cos) where the god broke off a piece of the island (called Nisyrum) and hurled it at the desperate Giant.
Hippolytus (Hippolytos) was killed by Hermes who was wearing the Helm of Hades which made him invisible.
Agrios (Agrius) and Thoas were beaten with brazen clubs by the Fates; the other (unnamed) Giants were struck by thunderbolts from Zeus; Herakles shot and killed each of the Giants with arrows as they lay suffering.
Pausanaus, book 7.29
Library, book 1.6
Theogony, line 185

Great Dionysia (City Dionysia)
A festival of ancient Athens in honor of Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine); celebrated in the early Spring and notable for the performance of dithyrambs (a wild and irregular choral song or chant), tragedies, comedies and satyr plays (ribald dramas with a chorus of satyrs).
The Lesser Dionysia (Rural Dionysia) was also a festival of ancient Attika (Attica) honoring Dionysos but it was held in mid-December and consisted of wine feasts, processions and dramatic performances.

Great Eoiae
The Great Eoiae or simply Eoiae; the title of The Catalogue of Women which is usually attributed to Hesiod; the Catalogue was widely quoted and many fragments survive.
Each chapter of the Catalogue began with the word “Eoiae” which is translated as “Or like her ... ”, the poem would then go on to name a particular woman and then tell the story of her descendants, for example: The Shield of Herakles is part of the Great Eoiae and tells the story of Alkmene (Alcmene), “Or like her who left the home of her fathers and came to Thebes with warlike Amphitryon, even Alkmene, daughter of the leader of men, Elektryon ... etc.”
The Catalogue of Women was an attempt by Hesiod to trace the Greek families as they descended through the mothers rather than the fathers because, it is assumed, the Immortals would seed the mortal race through the women they seduced; the only complete poem from The Catalogue of Women is The Shield of Herakles.
For the complete translations of the Catalogue of Women, I recommend the Loeb Classical Library volume 57, ISBN 0674990633; you can sometimes find this book at the library or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site.

Great Idaean Mother
The Great Kind Mother; another name for Kybele (Cybele), an Asiatic Earth goddess the Greeks identified with the wife of Kronos (Cronos), Rheia (Rhea).
Before 430 BCE, the center of worship for Kybele was in Phrygia in Asia Minor but a shrine was established in the city of Athens during the plague of 430 BCE in hopes that the Earth-Goddess would be appeased and end the suffering which was afflicting the Athenians.

Great King
The common name for the king of Persia regardless of who held the title.

Great King’s Eye
The name given to representatives of the Persian king while they were in Athens; the Persian officials who resided in Athens were known to be spies and the name, Great King’s Eye, simply reminded the Athenians of the Persian’s true occupation.

Greece
The common name for the peninsula, islands and colonies belonging to the descendants of Hellen, who was the father of all the Greeks.
The areas dominated by the Greeks varied over time but the Balkan Peninsula and the Peloponnesian Peninsula was their traditional home and, with few lapses, the Greeks ruled themselves with a fiercely independent determination which resisted any form of foreign control.
The Greek culture can be generally dated back to the end of the third millennium BCE Greece when the descendants of Hellen displaced the pre-historic inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula and established the language and culture we have come to call Greek.
Then as now, Greece is more properly known as Ellas.

Gregale
A strong northeast wind that blows in the central and western Mediterranean Sea; also called Eurokilydon or Eurocilydon.
There are two types of Winds:
1) The divinely created winds, i.e. Boreas (North Wind), Notos (South Wind), Zephyros (West Wind) and the Etesian winds, and
2) The ill-favored winds that were created by the monster, Typhoeus, when Zeus imprisoned him under the earth; Gregale is one of the ill-fated winds.
The divinely created winds nourish and bless the earth but the winds of Typhoeus are wild and destructive.
Theogony, lines 869-880

Grenikos (Granicus)
GREE nee kos
A river god; one of the many sons of Tethys and Okeanos (Ocean).
Zeus gave the Rivers, Apollon and the Okeanids the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.
His name may also be rendered as Grenikus or Grenicus.
Theogony, line 342

Grievances
Neikea; the children of Eris (Discord).
Theogony, line 229

Griffin

A creature having the head and wings of an eagle and the body of a loin; called a Hippalektryon, or Ippalektryon, by the ancient Greeks.
The historian, Herodotus, provides a location for the Griffins; he states that they “guard gold” in a land north of the one-eyed Arimaspians and south of the land of the Hyperboreans.
Histories, book 4.13 and 4.27

Grove of Ares
Also called the Sanctuary of Ares and the Garden of Ares; a grove in the district of Kolchis (Colchis) where the Golden Fleece was kept.
The Golden Fleece was protected by an ever-vigilant dragon but the sorceress, Medeia (Medea), cast a spell on the dragon with a hypnotic song and undiluted potions; Jason and the Argonauts took the Fleece from the grove and fled Kolchis.
Argonautika, book 2, line 405

Guest-Friend
Guest-Friend or Guest Friend; a sacred tradition in ancient Greece that bonded guest and host by the exchange of gifts; the bond lasted for generations and anyone who dared to break the sacred bond risked the wrath of the Immortals.

Gulf of Amurakia (Gulf of Amuracia)

The body of water in central-western Greece which joined the Ionian Sea at the ancient ports of Aktium (Actium) and Nikopolis (Nicopolis) which would be near the modern cities of Preveza and Vonitsa; now called the Amvrakikos Gulf.

Gulf of Argolis

The body of water which separates Argolis from Lakonia (Laconia) and located on the southeastern side of the Peloponnesian Peninsula.

Gulf of Corinth

The body of water north of the Isthmus of Corinth which separates the Greek mainland from the Peloponnesian Peninsula.

Gulf of Kassandra (Gulf of Cassandra)

A body of water which separates the two western-most fingers on the peninsula of Chalkidike (Chalcidice) in the district of Macedon and connects with the northern Aegean Sea.

Gulf of Kiparissia

An elongated body of water which occupies most of the western side of the Peloponnesian Peninsula stretching from the city of Olympia in the north to the city of Kiparissia in the south.

Gulf of Kos (Gulf of Cos)

The body of water which juts into the mainland of southeastern Asia Minor east of the island of Kos; now called the Gulf of Kerme.

Gulf of Lakonia (Gulf of Laconia)

The body of water located at the southern extreme of the Peloponnesian Peninsula and bounded on three sides by the district of Lakonia and connecting with the Mediterranean Sea on the south.

Gulf of Lamia

A body of water located in central Greece in southern Thessaly and fed by the river Sperchios; now called the Malian Gulf.

Gulf of Messini

A body of water on the south-western central portion of the Peloponnesian Peninsula which connects with the Mediterranean Sea.

Gulf of Pagasai (Gulf of Pagasae)

An inlet of the Aegean Sea in southeastern Thessaly directly north of the island of Euboea; now called the Pagasetic Gulf.

Gulf of Patrae (Gulf of Patrai)

An inlet of the Ionian Sea on the north-western Peloponnesian Peninsula approximately 10 miles (16 kilometers) wide and 25 miles (40 kilometers) long.

Gulf of Salonica

An inlet of the Aegean Sea in south-central Macedon on the western side of the peninsula of Chalkidike (Chalcidice).

Gulf of Saros

An inlet of the northern Aegean Sea located north of the Gallipoli Peninsula; 37 miles (60 kilometers) long and 22 miles (35 kilometers) wide; the islands of Imbros and Samothrake (Samothrace) lie in the Aegean Sea just outside the Gulf of Saros.

Gulf of Strimon

An inlet of the Aegean Sea in south-central Macedon on the eastern side of the peninsula of Chalkidike (Chalcidice); the Strimon River flows into the gulf.

Gulf of Taranto

An arm of the Ionian Sea in southern Italy; approximately 85 miles (137 kilometers) long; located west of the “heel” of the “boot” that inscribes southern Italy.

Gyes
Gyes and his brothers, Briareos and Kottos (Cottos), are the sons of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (the Heavens); all three brothers have fifty heads and fifty arms sprouting from their massive shoulders.
They were trapped in Gaia’s womb by Ouranos until the Titan, Kronos (Cronos), wounded his father, Ouranos, and the brothers were allowed to be free, but their freedom was not to last; Kronos had helped his mother, Gaia, free the monstrous brothers but he feared their strength and beauty and imprisoned them under the earth where they remained until the war between the Titans and the Olympians began.
Zeus brought the three brothers back into the light and gave them nectar and ambrosia to renew their vitality; Briareos, Kottos and Gyes joined the Olympians in the war against the Titans; after ten years of war, Zeus let loose all his full fury and the earth and heavens trembled under his thunderbolts; at that moment, Briareos, Kottos and Gyes bombarded the Titans with three-hundred boulders that buried the Titans and ended the war.
Theogony, lines 149, 615, 712 and 817

Gyges
The story of Gyges deals with the death of one of the descendants of Herakles (Heracles) and the end of an era.
Gyges was a bodyguard for the king of Lydia, Kandaules (Candaules); Kandaules was a vain man and especially proud of his beautiful wife; he arranged for Gyges to sneak into his bedroom and observe his wife naked; Kandaules’ wife, who was unnamed, knew that she had been observed by Gyges and secretly proposed that he either die for his transgression or kill Kandaules and assume the throne of Lydia.
Kandaules was the descendant of Herakles and killing him would not just be the death of a man but the end of an era because the Heraklidae had ruled Lydia for 505 years; Gyges killed Kandaules and proposed that his right to rule should be decided by the oracle at Delphi; the oracle proclaimed that Gyges was the rightful ruler of Lydia but that in five generations his line would fail; the oracle was, of course, correct and, five generations later, Kroesus (Croesus) was the last ruler of Lydia in the line of Gyges.
Histories, book 1.8+

Gyro
A prefix meaning Round.