Encyclopedia: N - Nyx: Greek mythology, people, places and things of ancient Greece

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N
Nu; the uppercase form of the thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet; lowercase: ν.
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.

Naiads
The nymphs of rivers, lakes and springs; a nymph is literally a Bride; Naiad nymphs are the brides of the body of water with which they are associated.

Naias
A river nymph; one of the Naiads; a nymph is literally a Bride; Naiad nymphs are the brides of the body of water with which they are associated.

Narkissos (Narcissus)
NAR kee sos
The son of the nymph, Leiriope, and the river, Kephisos (Cephisus) who rejected the love of the beautiful nymph, Echo.
Either Aphrodite (goddess of Love) or Nemesis (Divine Retribution) punished his arrogance by causing him to become obsessed with his own image; he spent his life gazing at his reflection and finally wasted away; after death he was transformed into a flower that still bears his name, the Narcissus.
The narcissus plant also played a crucial role in the kidnapping of Persephone by Hades (lord of the Underworld); when Persephone was gathering flowers with the daughters of Okeanos on the plain of Nysa, she came across roses, irises, violets, crocuses and hyacinths but she was irresistibly drawn to the narcissus which Gaia (Earth) had made to grow at the bidding of Zeus; as Persephone reached out to pluck the beautiful narcissus, the earth opened and Hades sprang upon her and took her to his Underworld domain; by the time Persephone’s mother, Demeter (goddess of the Harvest), realized what had happened, Persephone was irrevocably committed to be Hades’ wife; the months of the year when Persephone is in the Underworld with her husband, the earth is plunged into the bitter grip of winter but when she emerges to the surface to be with her mother, the earth blooms and the bounty of the harvest is bestowed on the mortals who work the fields.
Hymn to Demeter, line 8

Nasamon
A son of Amphithemis and a Libyan nymph; the grandson of Apollon and the brother of Kaphauros (Caphaurus).
Argonautika, book 4, lines 1485-1501

Naubolos (Naubolus)
The father of Klytoneos (Clytoneos) and the son of Lernos; the great-great-grandson of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and Amymone (the daughter of Danaus).
Argonautika, book 1, lines 133-138

Naukratis (Naucratis)
An ancient Greek city in northern Egypt on the western branch of the Nile river delta.
Histories, book 2.97, 2.135 and 2.178-180

Nauplios (Nauplius) ¹
A son of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and Amymone (daughter of Danaus); he exceeded all mortals in seamanship; Nauplios was the ancestor of an Argonaut by the same name, Nauplios.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 133-138

Nauplios (Nauplius) ²
One of the Argonauts; a son of Klytoneos (Clytoneus) and descended from Amymone (the daughter of Danaus) and Poseidon (lord of the Sea).
The Argonauts were a company of the greatest heroes and adventurers in ancient Greece; the Argonauts were assembled by Jason to assist him in retrieving the Golden Fleece from the land of Kolchis (Colchis); their name was derived from their ship, the Argo (Argo + nautes = Argo-seamen); the Quest for the Golden Fleece can be assumed to have occurred circa 1285 BCE.
The ancestry of Nauplios might be rendered as follows:
Poseidon + Amymone > Nauplios¹ > Proitos (Proetus) > Lernos (Lernus) > Naubolos (Naubolus) > Klytoneos > Nauplios² the Argonaut.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 133-138

Nausikaa (Nausicaa)

The daughter of King Alkinoos (Alcinous) and Queen Arete of the island of Phaiakia (Phaiacia).
Athene (Athena) came to Nausikaa in a dream and told her to go to the shore with her laundry; she and her companions found Odysseus and brought him back to their city where he found sanctuary and assistance.
Odyssey (Lattimore), book 6, lines 17, 25, 49, 101, 186, 212, 251 and 276; book 7, line 12; book 8, lines 457 and 464
Odyssey (Loeb), book 6, lines 17, 25, 49, 101, 186, 213, 251 and 276; book 7, line 12; book 8, lines 457 and 464
Odyssey (Fagles), book 6, lines 20, 27, 54, 112, 204 and 280; book 7, line 7; book 8, lines 513 and 522
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 6, lines 22, 31, 88, 109, 200, 266 and 294; book 7, line 14; book 8, lines 488 and 495

Nausinoos (Nausinous)
Nausinoos, Nausithoos (Nausithous) and Teledamos (Teledamus) were the sons of Odysseus and the sea nymph, Kalypso (Calypso).
Regarding Teledamos, there is a slight amount of confusion as to whether his name was Teledamos or Telegonos (Telegonus); Odysseus had a son named Telegonos with the Dread Goddess, Kirke (Circe) and he is listed unambiguously as Odysseus’ and Kirke’s son; the same certainty is not employed when Telegonos is mentioned as the son of Kalypso and Odysseus and the alternative name of Teledamos is given; the lapse in time from Odysseus’ encounter with Kalypso to the actual recording of the event is over 700 years and so we must allow for the confusion between the children of Kirke and the children of Kalypso.
After the fall of the city of Troy, Odysseus was washed ashore on Kalypso’s island, Ogygia; his ship had been smashed and all his shipmates drowned; Kalypso fell in love with Odysseus but, by keeping him on her island, she caused him much sadness; Kalypso wanted Odysseus as her husband but he was determined to return to his home; she tried to charm him but, as the years passed, poor Odysseus still wept for his lovely wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachos (Telemachus); during their time together, Kalypso and Odysseus had three sons: Nausithoos (Nausithous), Nausinoos (Nausinous) and Teledamos or perhaps his name was Telegonos.
Theogony, line 1018
Taking of Oichalia (Oechalia), fragment 2

Nausithoos (Nausithous)
Nausithoos, Nausinoos (Nausinous) and Teledamos (Teledamus) were the sons of Odysseus and the sea nymph, Kalypso (Calypso).
Regarding Teledamos, there is a slight amount of confusion as to whether his name was Teledamos or Telegonos (Telegonus); Odysseus had a son named Telegonos with the Dread Goddess, Kirke (Circe) and he is listed unambiguously as Odysseus’ and Kirke’s son; the same certainty is not employed when Telegonos is mentioned as the son of Kalypso and Odysseus and the alternative name of Teledamos is given; the lapse in time from Odysseus’ encounter with Kalypso to the actual recording of the event is over 700 years and so we must allow for the confusion between the children of Kirke and the children of Kalypso.
After the fall of the city of Troy, Odysseus was washed ashore on Kalypso’s island, Ogygia; his ship had been smashed and all his shipmates drowned; Kalypso fell in love with Odysseus but, by keeping him on her island, she caused him much sadness; Kalypso wanted Odysseus as her husband but he was determined to return to his home; she tried to charm him but, as the years passed, poor Odysseus still wept for his lovely wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachos (Telemachus); during their time together, Kalypso and Odysseus had three sons: Nausithoos (Nausithous), Nausinoos (Nausinous) and Teledamos or perhaps his name was Telegonos.
Theogony, line 1017
Taking of Oichalia (Oechalia), fragment 2

Navarino
The modern name for the city of Pylos (Pilos); a seaport on the southwestern Peloponnesian Peninsula in the ancient district of Messenia.
Pylos was the home kingdom of the aged Trojan War hero, Nestor; the Bay of Pylos was the site of an important victory by the Athenians over the Spartans in 425 BCE during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE).
Approximate East Longitude 21º 43' and North Latitude 36º 55'

Navel of the World

The shrine of Apollon at Delphi had a depression in the ground that was called the Navel of the World; the depression was covered in antiquity by a stone known as the Omphalos, which literally means Navel.
The Omphalos was placed at Delphi in the dawn of time by Zeus; when his devious father, Kronos (Cronos), attempted to swallow all of his newborn children, his (Kronos’) sister/wife, Rheia (Rhea), substituted a stone in place of her sixth child (Zeus) and Kronos swallowed it down without suspecting that he had been tricked; when Zeus attained manhood, he assaulted his father and the stone and his five swallowed siblings were vomited up; Zeus placed the stone at Delphi to be a portent and marvel to mortals for all time.
The term, Navel of the World, is usually thought to designate some sort of geographic center but I tend to believe that it meant that it was the connecting point where the mortal and immortal worlds were once physically linked and, as such, was the ideal point for mortals to achieve a union with the gods, particularly Zeus.
Theogony, lines 495-500

Naxos
NAH ksos
A Greek island in the southern Aegean Sea.
Naxos is the largest island in the Kyklades (Cyclades) Group; 169 square miles (438 square kilometers) in size; also known as Dia.
Naxos was the island where Theseus deserted Ariadne and she met the god of Wine, Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus); Ariadne either fell in love with Dionysos or she threw herself from the cliffs of Palatia into the sea.
Marble for the statues which decorated the sacred island of Delos were quarried on Naxos.
The island became the crux of the armed conflict known as the Ionian Revolt when the Persians tried to invade the island and gain a staging area for the conquest of the other islands of the Kyklades and, eventually, mainland Greece; after a four month siege, the Persians withdrew from Naxos without any significant gains.
Later, circa 490 BCE, the troops of King Darius invaded Naxos but the people ran rather than resist the massive Persian force; all those who were captured were enslaved.
Approximate East Longitude 25º 35' and North Latitude 37º 02'
Hymn to Dionysos, line 2
Hymn to Delian Apollon, line 44
Histories, book 1.64; book 5.28-33; book 6.96; book 7.154

Nebris
A robe made of fawn skin worn by Bacchus (a.k.a. Dionysos, god of Wine) and his followers.

Necklace of Harmonia
A priceless necklace which was designed and crafted by the Smith of the Gods, Hephaistos (Hephaestus).
The legend of the Necklace of Harmonia goes back to the origins of the city of Thebes and its first king, Kadmos (Cadmus); when Kadmos married Harmonia, the daughter of Ares (god of War) and Aphrodite (goddess of Love), he gave her a necklace designed and crafted by Hephaistos.
The necklace was passed down through the generations and came into the possession of one of the sons of Oedipus, Polyneikes (Polyneices); after Oedipus was exiled from Thebes, Polyneikes took refuge in Argos and assembled an army to attack Thebes so that he might depose his older brother, Eteokles (Eteocles), and claim the throne for himself.
In order to get the help of a warrior named Amphiaraus, Polyneikes gave the Necklace of Harmonia to Amphiaraus’ wife, Eriphyle; Amphiaraus was a seer and knew that he would die if he marched against Thebes but he accepted his fate and joined forces with Polyneikes; Amphiaraus did not die in battle but he was swallowed by the earth during the siege; because of the supernatural death of Amphiaraus, the Necklace of Harmonia was thought to be cursed.
The Necklace of Harmonia can be traced from Hephaistos to Eriphyle thusly: Hephaistos to Kadmos to Harmonia to Polydoros (Polydorus) to Labdakos to Laius to Oedipus to Polyneikes to Eriphyle.

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

Neilos
A river god of the river commonly known as the Nile of Egypt; one of the sons of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys.
Zeus gave the Rivers, Apollon and the Okeanids the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.
Theogony, line 338

Neleus
Neleus was the king of the port city of Pylos on the western Peloponnesian Peninsula; Neleus ruled Pylos two generations before the Trojan War, circa 1310 BCE.
Neleus was the son of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and Tyro; Tyro was the daughter of the king of Elis, Salmoneus; Neleus was the brother of Pelias and, thus, the uncle of greatest warrior of the ancient world, Achilles; after Tyro married a mortal man named Kretheus (Cretheus), they had a son named Aeson who became Neleus’ half-brother; Aeson’s son was the renown adventurer, Jason, which would make Jason the nephew of Neleus.
As the king of Pylos, Neleus was approached by Herakles (Heracles) who asked to be absolved of the crime of murder; Herakles had killed a man named Iphitus but Neleus refused to give him absolution; in a fit of rage, Herakles killed Neleus and two of his sons, Chromios and Periklymenos (Periclymenos); Neleus’ only surviving son was Nestor who became king of Pylos and lived a life of adventure and honor; he became well known as the aged and wise commander at the siege of Troy.
Neleus’ daughter, Pero, was so beautiful that he would not allow any man to marry her unless he could steal the cattle of Iphikles (Iphicles); Kretheus (Cretheus) was the only man to attempt the feat and was captured by Iphikles and held captive for one year before he was released and allowed to marry Pero.
Iliad (Lattimore), book 11, lines 596, 682, 691 and 716
Iliad (Loeb), book 11, lines 597, 683, 692 and 717
Iliad (Fagles), book 11, lines 705, 810, 820 and 833
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 11, lines 686, 784, 785, 796 and 826
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 3, lines 4 and 409; book 4, line 639; book 11, lines 254, 281 and 288; book 15, lines 229, 233 and 237
Odyssey (Fagles), book 3, lines 4 and 456; book 11, lines 290, 318 and 327; book 15, lines 254, 259 and 263
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 3, lines 7 and 440; book 11, lines 289, 324 and 332; book 15, lines 283, 285 and 289

Nemea
A valley in north-eastern Argolis on the on the Peloponnesian Peninsula; Nemea was the home of the Nemean Games which was one of the four most prestigious sporting events of ancient Greece; Nemea was also the site of the First Labor of Herakles (Herakles) where Herakles had to kill predatory lion which was ravaging the Nemean countryside.

Nemean Games
One of the four great national festivals of ancient Greece held at the Peloponnesian city of Nemea in the second and fourth year of each Olympiad, i.e. the four year period between the Olympic Games.
The Nemean Games were founded to honor the infant son of Lykurgos (Lycurgus) who has been named as either Archemoros or Opheletes (the name Opheletes implies a debt or obligation); the nurse of the infant, Hypsipyle, was preoccupied while trying to assist the soldiers known as the Seven Against Thebes and left the child unattended; either a snake or a dragon killed the boy and, in order to spare the nurse’s life for her blunder and to appease the king, the Nemean Games were instituted at the insistence of the soldiers.
The Nemean Games have become immortal due to the lyric poetry of Pindar; there are eleven extant Nemean Odes dedicated to the victors of the games; the Odes are, of course, extremely complementary to the victors and their families but they also contain a wealth of historical and mythological information that can’t be found elsewhere.

Nemean Lion
The lion slain by Herakles (Heracles) as part of his First Labor.
The Nemean lion was the predatory offspring of the dog, Orthos and the serpent-monster, Echidna, and presumably, the sister of the deadly Sphinx which terrorized the city of Thebes and the half-sister of Kerberos (Cerberus), the watchdog at the gates of the Underworld.
Killing the Nemean Lion is considered to be Herakles’ First Labor because he was often depicted in ancient artwork wearing the lion’s skin; the hide of the Nemean Lion and the club were Herakles’ trademark, i.e. it was assured that any unnamed hero in ancient Greek art wearing the lion skin and carrying a club was Herakles.
Theogony, line 327

Nemertes
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus; her name means The Truthful.
Theogony, line 262

Nemesis
The goddess of Divine Retribution.
Nemesis is the daughter of Nyx (Night); without her there will be no escape from worldly evil; in a surviving portion of the Epic Cycle, The Kypria, Nemesis is said to be the daughter of Zeus and that she went to extraordinary lengths to avoid his amorous advances; Zeus chased her over land and sea as she assumed the guise of fish or land creatures to escape him.
It’s unclear as to whether Nemesis was the one responsible for the punishment of the vain and self-absorbed man named Narkissos (Narcissus); he became obsessed with his own image and spent his life gazing at his reflection until he finally wasted away; after his death either Nemesis of Aphrodite (goddess of Love) transformed him into a flower that still bears his name, the Narcissus.
Nemesis is also known as Adrasteia which perhaps means The Inevitable.
Works of Days, line 197
Theogony, line 223
The Kypria, fragment 8

Neoptolemus (Neoptolemos and Pyrrhus)
The son of Achilles and Deidamia.
After the death of his father at Troy, Neoptolemus was summoned to Troy for the actual sack of the city where he killed the Trojan king, Priam, and the princess, Polyxena; as his portion of the booty from Troy he was allowed to have Andromache, the widow of the fallen hero, Hector.
The name Pyrrhus (red-haired) comes from Neoptolemus’ later life where he is credited as the progenitor of the kings of the district of Epirus in north-western Greece.
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 4, line 5; book 11, line 506
Odyssey (Fagles), book 4, line 6; book 11, line 576
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 4, line 6; book 11, line 601

Nephele
A woman formed from a cloud by Zeus as a counterfeit Hera in order to deceive a lustful man named Ixion; Ixion and Nephele gave life to the race of Centaurs; Zeus then condemned Ixion to spend eternity on a revolving wheel in the Underworld.
Nephele was the wife of King Athamas of Orchomenos (Orchomenus) and the mother of Helle and Phrixus; when Athamas’ second wife, Ino, tried to have Helle and Phrixus killed, Nephele helped them escape on the magical flying ram with the Golden Fleece; her name literally means Cloud.

Nereids

The fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris; called the Daughters of the Sea.
The Nereids have a page in the Immortals section of this site ... click on the above photo to view that page.

Nereus
The Old Man of the Sea or The Ancient of the Sea; he is noted for his wisdom and his gift of prophecy; he and his wife Doris are the parents of fifty daughters known as the Nereids.
Nereus could change shape and assume any form including animals and forces of nature; Herakles (Heracles) had to subdue Nereus in order to find the location of the Garden of the Hesperides during the course of his Eleventh Labor.
Theogony, lines 233, 240, 264 and 1002
Eoiae; chapter 58, line 10
Homeric Hymn to Apollon, line 319

Nesaie (Nisaea)
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
Theogony, line 249

Neso
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
Theogony, line 261

Nessos (Nessus) ¹
The Centaur who was responsible for the death of Herakles (Heracles).
When Herakles, his wife Deianeira, and his son Hyllos, were traveling, they came to the river Evenus and encountered Nessos.
Nessos offered to carry Deianeira across the river on his back while Herakles waded across with Hyllos; Nessos quickly transported Deianeira across the river and, with unbridled depravity, tried to forcibly seduce her; Herakles fell on the Centaur with savage fury and moments later Nessos lay bleeding to death on the riverbank.
Before he died Nessos secretly told Deianeira that his blood was a powerful love potion and that if she were to put the magic blood on Herakles it would bind him to her forever; Deianeira collected some of Nessos’ blood and put it on Herakles’ cloak; the blood was poison to Herakles and burned him like acid; Deianeira was horrified that she had mortally wounded the man she had hoped to bind with love; she killed herself in desperation; Herakles was in excruciating pain as a result of poison and tried to kill himself; he built a funeral pyre and persuaded a man named Philoktetes (or Poias) to set it alight; before he could be consumed by the fire, either the goddess Athene (Athena) or the goddess Nike (Victory) plucked him from the flames and escorted him to Mount Olympos (Olympus) where he became immortal.

Nessos (Nessus) ²
A river god; one of the sons of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys.
Zeus gave the Rivers, Apollon and the Okeanids the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.
Theogony, line 341

Nestor
NES tor
Nestor was the only son of Neleus and Chloris to survive the wrath of Herakles (Heracles).
Nestor had two brothers and one sister: Chromios, Periklymenos (Periclymenos) and beautiful Pero.
Nestor’s father, King Neleus of Pylos, was approached by Herakles who asked to be absolved of the crime of murder; Herakles had killed a man named Iphitus but Neleus refused to give him absolution; in a fit of rage, Herakles killed Neleus and two of his sons, Chromios and Periklymenos; Neleus’ only surviving son was Nestor who became king of Pylos and lived a life of adventure and honor; he became well known as the aged and wise commander at the siege of Troy.
Nestor was married to Eurydike (Eurydice) and had many children: Antilochos (Antilochus), Aretos, Polykaste (Polycaste), Echephron, Stratios, Perseus, Thrasymedes, Chromios and Peisistratos (Peisistratus).
Nestor was the elder warrior and advisor for the Greeks at Troy; he was as patient and wise as he was brave and vigorous; his advice was often couched in the form of stories about long dead heroes and bitterly fought battles; he was the king of the port city of Pylos on the south-western Peloponnesian Peninsula; Nestor was a significant figure in both The Iliad and The Odyssey.
Nestor’s son, Antilochos, was killed by the Ethiopian king, Memnon, during the fighting at Troy; his son, Peisistratos, accompanied Telemachos (Telemachus) from Pylos to Sparta to consult King Menelaos (Menelaus) to see if Menelaos had any news as to the whereabouts of Telemachos’ father, Odysseus.
Odyssey (Lattimore), book 1, line 284; book 3, passim; book 4, lines 161, 190, 209 and 487; book 11, lines 286 and 512; book 15, line 151; book 17, line 109; book 24, line 52
Odyssey (Loeb), book 1, line 284; book 3, passim; book 4, lines 161, 191, 209 and 488; book 11, lines 286 and 512; book 15, line 151; book 17, line 109; book 24, line 52
Odyssey (Fagles), book 1, line 327; book 3, passim; book 4, lines 178, 211, 232 and 547; book 11, lines 324 and 582; book 15, line 168; book 17, line 117; book 24, line 55
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 1, line 329; book 3, passim; book 4, lines 173, 225 and 522; book 11, lines 329 and 607; book 15, line 186; book 17, line 141; book 24, line 58

New Comedy
A classification of Ancient Greek comedy which arose towards the end of the fourth century BCE; generally, this comedic form employed stock characters and plots drawn from contemporary bourgeois life.

Nikandros (Nicandros)
The sixth Eurypontidai king of the city of Sparta who ruled circa 750-720 BCE.
Sparta traditionally had two kings who ruled jointly; one king was required to be a descendant of King Eurypon and the other was required to be a descendant of King Agis I (respectively known as the Eurypontidai and the Agiadai).
Very little is known about Nikandros and the dates given for his rule are extrapolations and should be used only as approximations.

Nike
NEE kee

The winged goddess Victory; the daughter of Styx and Pallas; she has no home except where Zeus resides.
Theogony, line 384
Images of Nike

Nikias (Nicias)
(circa 470-413 BCE) An Athenian statesman and general during the time of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE); the son of Nikeratus (Niceratus).
His most notable accomplishment during the Peloponnesian War was a peace treaty he negotiated in the spring of 421 BCE which became known as the Peace of Nikias; the treaty maintained an uneasy peace between Athens and Sparta until 416 BCE when full blown hostilities resumed.
Nikias was not considered to be an outstanding military commander because of his inherently peaceful nature; his poor health and his opposition to the Athenian expedition to the island of Sicily caused the disastrous defeat of the Athenian army, where he met his death along with many of the Athenian soldiers he commanded; he is mentioned often in the book History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides.

Nikomachus (Nicomachus)
The father of Aristotle and physician to Amyntas, the father of Philip II who was, in turn, the father of Alexander the Great.

Nikopolis (Nicopolis)
The port city on the Ionian Sea at the entrance to the Gulf of Amurakia.

Nikostratus (Nicostratus)
The illegitimate son of Menelaos (Menelaus) who, with his half-brother, Megapenthes, expelled Helen from Sparta when Menelaos died; he was also the half-brother of Hermione.
Eoiae; chapter 70

Nile River
The primary river of Egypt lorded over by the river god Neilos.
Approximately 3,405 miles (5,480 kilometers) in length, the Nile originates at Lake Victoria in the African interior and flows north to empty into the Mediterranean Sea.
The Nile was a well known river in ancient Greece and the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet, Δ (Delta), was used to describe the shape of the Nile’s intersection with the Mediterranean Sea.
The historian Herodotus (died circa 425 BCE) visited Egypt and recounted the size and shape of the river; Herodotus was not convinced when the Egyptian priests told him that the river’s annual floods were caused by snow melting in the distant mountains; Herodotus was sure that the priests were mistaken and carefully explained how the river must have been fed by rain and not by snow; apparently he could not imagine the length of the Nile or the immensity of the continent of Africa.
It’s also interesting to note that by the time of the poet Euripides, the matter of the source of the Nile’s waters had been resolved; the very first lines of Euripides’ play, Helen (produced in 412 BCE), has the main character saying that she is in Egypt, the land of the Nile, which gets its water, not from rain, but from melting snow.
The Nile river valley is divided into Upper Egypt (the southern Nile) and Lower Egypt (the northern Nile).
Histories, book 2.19-27
Theogony, line 338

Nimbus
A shining cloud surrounding a deity when on earth, i.e. a halo.

Nineveh
The Assyrian name for their ancient capital city, known to the Greeks as Ninus; located on the Tigris River on the site of the modern city of Mosul in northern Iraq.

Ninus
The Greek name for the city of Nineveh; the ancient capital of Assyria; located on the Tigris River on the site of the modern city of Mosul in northern Iraq.

Niobe
The daughter of Tantalos (Tantalus) and the wife of one of the builders of the city of Thebes, Amphion.
Niobe provoked Apollon and Artemis to vengeance by insulting their mother, Leto; Niobe likened herself to Leto and boasted that she had many children and Leto only had two; Niobe had six boys and six girls in the flower of their youth; Apollon killed the boys and Artemis killed the girls; the bloody bodies of the children laid exposed for nine days before Zeus allowed the other Olympians to bury them; Niobe was turned into stone on the slopes of Mount Sipylos near the waters of the river Acheloios (Achelous), in which state she still weeps over her loss.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 24, lines 602 and 606
Iliad (Fagles), book 24, lines 708 and 713
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 24, lines 731 and 737
Catalogues of Women, fragment 23

Nireus
The son of Aglaia and King Charopos of the island of Syme.
Since his mother was one of the Graces, Nireus was, after Achilles, the most handsome of the Greek soldiers at the siege of Troy; he was not brave and considered to be a weakling.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 2, lines 671, 672 and 673
Iliad (Fagles), book 2, lines 767, 768 and 769
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 2, lines 795, 796 and 797

Nisa
The original name of the city of Megara on the Saronic Gulf west of the Isthmus of Corinth.

Nitokris (Nitocris) ¹
A queen of Babylon; one of the two women mentioned by the historian Herodotus as a queen of the city Babylon.
Nitokris was noted for the extensive alterations to the Euphrates River; she dramatically changed the course of the river and created swamps and a large lake as protection against invasion from the west; she bridged the Euphrates so the citizens of Babylon no longer had to use ferryboats to go from one portion of the city to the other.
Nitokris also revealed her sense of humor by placing her tomb over one of the gates to the city; she put an inscription on the tomb saying that any future king of Babylon who lacked money should open the tomb and take whatever they desired BUT if anyone opened the tomb needlessly, they would be cursed; the tomb laid undisturbed until the time of the Persian king, Darius; he had refused to use the gate which was roofed by the tomb because he thought it would be bad luck to do so; for reasons of pure greed, he opened the tomb and found only the dead body of Nitokris and an inscription saying that only a person who was “insatiate of wealth and basely desirous of gain” would disturb the dead.
The other woman that Herodotus mentioned as a queen of Babylon was named Semiramis and she ruled five generations before Nitokris.
Histories, book 1.184-188

Nitokris (Nitocris) ²
The only female ruler of ancient Egypt.
The priests of Egypt showed the historian, Herodotus, a list of the three hundred and thirty Egyptian rulers and Nitokris was the only woman on the list; she was elevated to queen after her brother was slain by his subjects.
Nitokris devised a plan to avenge her brother’s death and proceeded to build a large underground chamber and invited the people she thought were responsible for her brother’s murder to a banquet in the newly constructed chamber; when the doomed guests were within the chamber, she opened floodgates which allowed the Nile waters to drown them; she then killed herself by jumping into a pit of hot ashes.
Histories, book, 2.100

Nome
NOH meh
An ancient hymn sung to the accompaniment of the lyre and, in later times, the flute; usually dedicated to Apollon.
The word Nome literally means Law and was adopted to describe musical compositions which were composed according to strict rules of mode and rhythm.
The most famous composer of this style of music was a man named Terpander (fl. early seventh century BCE); he is credited by many ancient sources as establishing the seven modes of the nome, i.e. 1) Boeotian, 2) Aeolian, 3) Trochaic, 4) High-Pitched, 5) Kepion (Cepion), 6) Terpandrean, and 7) Four-song.

Northern Sporades (Vories Sporades)
A group of islands near the eastern coast of mainland Greece and directly north of the large island of Euboea.
The modern names of the Northern Sporades are: Skyros, Skopelos, Skiathos, Alonissos, Peristera, Pelagos, Gioura, Piperi, Skantzoura, Adelfio, Skyropoula, Valaxa and Sarakina.

North Sea
The body of water located north of Europe and known to the ancient Greeks as a source of amber and tin.

North Wind (Boreas)
boh REE ahs

Boreas is one of the sons of Eos (Dawn) and Astraios; his brothers are: Zephyros (West Wind) and Notos (South Wind); the Athenians believed that Boreas married Orithyia, the daughter of King Erechtheus; when the Persians invaded Greece in 480 BCE, the Athenians, in accordance with a prophecy they had been given, sacrificed to Boreas and Orithyia so that the god and his wife would intervene and send a storm to stop the Persian navy; a supernatural storm assailed the Persians off the coast of Sepias and four hundred ships were lost; to demonstrate their devotion and thankfulness, the Athenians built a shrine to Boreas on the river Ilissus.
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 which were created by the monster, Typhoeus, when Zeus imprisoned him under the earth; the divinely created winds nourish and bless the earth but the winds of Typhoeus are wild and destructive.
Orithyia was the daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens; the above image shows Boreas kidnapping Orithyia.
Theogony, lines 379 and 870
Works and Days, lines 506, 518, 547 and 553
Histories, book 7.189
Iliad (Lattimore), book 5, line 524; book 9, line 4; book 19, line 358; book 20, line 222; book 23, line 195; book 23, line 208
Iliad (Loeb), book 5, line 524; book 9, line 5; book 19, line 358; book 20, line 223; book 23, lines 195 and 208
Iliad (Fagles), book 5, line 605; book 9, line 5; book 19, line 423; book 20, line 259; book 23, lines 224 and 239
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 5, line 601; book 9, line 8; book 19, line 393; book 20, line 256; book 23, line 240
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 5, lines 296, 328, 331 and 385; book 9, lines 67 and 81; book 10, line 507; book 13, line 110; book 14, lines 253, 299, 475 and 533; book 19, line 200
Odyssey (Fagles), book 5, lines 325, 361, 364 and 424; book 9, lines 77 and 90; book 10, line 557; book 13, line 123; book 14, lines 286, 337, 540 and 602; book 19, line 230
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 5, lines 306, 342, and 402; book 9 (not mentioned by name), lines 74 and 88; book 10, line 563; book 13 (not mentioned by name), line 135; book 14, lines 295, 348, 562 and (wind) 631; book 19, line 235

Notos (Notus)
The ancient Greek personification of the South Wind.
Notos was one of the sons of Eos (the Dawn) and Astraios; his brothers are: Zephyros (West Wind) and Boreas (North Wind).
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; the divinely created winds nourish and bless the earth but the winds of Typhoeus are wild and destructive.
Theogony, lines 378+ and 869-880

Nu
The thirteenth letter of the Greek alphabet; uppercase: Ν; lowercase: ν.
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.

Nykteus (Nyceteus)
The son of Chthonios and the king of Boeotia whose daughter, Antiope, was seduced by Zeus and gave birth to twin sons, Amphion and Zethos (Zethus).
The pregnancy of his unwed daughter was so disgraceful to Nykteus that he killed himself but before he died, he made his brother, Lykus (Lycus), promise to punish Antiope for her presumed immoral behavior.
Nykteus and Lykus were sons of one of the Spartoi, i.e. the soldiers born from the dragon’s teeth sown by Kadmos (Cadmus); Lykus made good his promise and imprisoned Antiope; Zeus was not forgiving to anyone who would harm his consort; Lykus and his wife, Dirke (Dirce) were duly punished for their transgressions by Antiope’s sons, Amphion and Zethos.

Nymph
A general term for maidens who occupy rivers, springs, mountains, etc.
The name nymph literally means Bride; there are several specific types of nymphs:
Okeanid (a nymph of the ocean);
Naiad (a nymph of a river, lake and spring);
Hamadryad or Dryad (a nymph of a tree);
Sylph (a nymph of the air); and
Oread (a nymph of a mountain).

Nymphs of the Ash Trees
The nymphs which were created when the Titan, Kronos (Cronos), attacked his father, Ouranos (the Heavens).
The blood that issued from Ouranos’ wounds produced the Furies, the Giants, the Nymphs of the Ash Trees and the goddess of Love, Aphrodite.
Theogony, line 187

Nysos (Nysa)
Mount Nysos; a mountain in Phoenicia, near the streams of Aegyptus; the birthplace of Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine); the name, Dionysos, literally means God of Nysos, i.e. Dio = God and Nysos = Mount Nysos.
Dionysos was cared for by the local nymphs which took their name from the mountain they inhabited, i.e. the Nysaean nymphs (also called Nyseides).
Hymn to Dionysos
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 6, line 133
Iliad (Fagles), book 6, line 154
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 6, line 152

Nyx
Night; one of the children of the first Immortal to come into existence, Chaos.

The children of Nyx are:
Apate (Deception)
Eris (Discord)
Geras (Old Age)
The Hesperides (Hespere, Eretheis and Aegle)
Hypnos (Sleep)
Kera (Cera) (Fate)
Keres (Ceres) (Misery)
Moirai (The Fates: Klotho (Clotho), Lachesis and Atropos)
Momos (Blame)
Moros (End)
Nemesis (Divine Retribution)
Oizys (Pain)
Oneiroi (the Tribe of Dreams)
Philotes (Affection)
Thanatos (Death)
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 14, lines 259 and 261
Iliad (Fagles), book 14, lines 313 and 316
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 14, lines 294 and 297