Rho; the lowercase form of the seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet; uppercase: Ρ.
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.
Letters of the Greek alphabet were also used as numerals; the letter rho represented the number 100 and was written as a simple ρ or as rho followed by an acute accent, ρ'.
Rho; the uppercase form of the seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet; lowercase: ρ.
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.
Letters of the Greek alphabet were also used as numerals; the letter rho represented the number 100 and was written as a simple ρ or as rho followed by an acute accent, ρ'.
A Greek choral song addressed to the Immortals; used by soldiers before battles and as a song of invocation or thanksgiving at feasts.
Algea; Pain and Suffering; the children of Eris (Discord).
Theogony, line 228
The river in Lydia where King Midas washed his hands to renounce the wish he had made to have everything he touched turn to gold; the river Paktolus has had golden sand ever since.
The ruins of the bronze-age Palace of Tiryns are on the modern city's acropolis slightly north of the city's center; Tiryns is on the Argolid Plain of Argolis and at its prime, was thought to rival the palace of Mycenae in grandeur; the walls of the palace appear to have been extremely large with a thickness of (25+ feet or 7.6+ meter).
A school in ancient Greece where young boys were taught wrestling and gymnastics.
The son of Hephaistos (Hephaestus) and one of the Argonauts; like his father, he was crippled but none of the Argonauts demonstrated more valor or brought Jason more fame.
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.
Argonautika, book 1, line 202
The Spirit of Flight or Backrush; generally meaning the spirit of retreat in battle.
Shield of Herakles, line 154
An image of Athene (Athena) that was placed in her sanctuaries as a guardian for the city which possessed it; it was thought that Troy fell only after the Palladium was removed from the shrine of Athene, otherwise her protection would have been inviolate.
pall AS
A name for the goddess Athene (Athena) of uncertain meaning and derivation; her name is often rendered as Pallas Athene or simply Pallas.
Athene has a page in the Immortals section of this site ... click on her photo to view that page.
pall AS
The son of the Titans Eurybia and Krios (Crius); brother to Astraios (Astraeus) and Perses; in consort with Styx, Pallas was the father of Zelos (Rivalry), Nike (Victory), Kratos (Power) and Bia (Force).
Theogony, lines 375-385
One of the sons of the last king of Troy, Priam.
After Priam's favorite son Hector had been killed defending Troy, Priam berated his nine remaining sons for being wicked and worthless; Pammon was one of these sons; whether the old king spoke in desperate sorrow or from his heart is impossible to tell.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 24, line 250
Iliad (Fagles), book 24, line 296
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 24, line 301
The Goat-God; the king of the mountains; the protector of shepherds and flocks who lives in the forests and byways.
Pan has a page in the Immortals section of this site ... click on his photo to view that page.
An ancient Greek goddess of Healing; mentioned in the Hippocratic Oath.
A name applied to two Athenian festivals in honor of the goddess Athene (Athena).
On the twenty-eighth day of Hekatombaion (approximately the third week of July by our calendar) the procession of the Panathenaea proceeded through the city of Athens and concluded at the Parthenon; the Lesser Panathenaea was celebrated yearly; every fourth year the festival was punctuated with greater pomp and called the Greater Panathenaea; the festival included athletic contests, musical and dramatic competitions and was concluded with a solemn procession to the Parthenon on the Acropolis where an elaborately embroidered peplos (a loose ankle length robe) was placed on Athene's statue.
An imaginary island in the Indian Ocean which was "discovered" by the Sicilian Greek mythographer, Euhemerus; Panchaea was reputed to be the "real" home of the Immortals and heroes of ancient myth.
pan DAH ros
The son of Lykaon (Lycaon) and leader of the Trojan allies from Zeleia which was near the streams of the Aisepos (Aesepus) river; Pandaros arrived at Troy as a foot soldier; he left his chariot and horses at his home because he was afraid that there would not be enough food for his fine horses at Troy; he was a respected commander but despite his noble birth and leadership skills, he was killed in the tenth year of the Trojan War, i.e. circa 1240 BCE.
The Trojan War reached a pivotal period when Achilles refused to fight for the Achaeans (Achaians) and Zeus sent a deceptive Dream to commander Agamemnon telling him that he would finally be able to breach the walls of Troy and the win the war; believing the false Dream, Agamemnon organized his troops and they silently marched towards Troy; the Trojans formed their defenses and marched towards the Achaeans shrieking battle cries.
Before the armies could engage one another, an unexpected thing happened; Prince Alexandros (Paris) of Troy announced that he would be willing to fight with King Menelaos (Menelaus) of Sparta and settle the war with one-on-one combat; Alexandros was Helen's Trojan husband and Menelaos was Helen's Spartan husband; after being charmed by Aphrodite (goddess of Love), Alexandros and Helen had taken her considerable dowry and fled to Troy; the winner of the fight between Alexandros and Menelaos would take Helen and her dowry and the armies would disband and return peacefully to their homes; commander Agamemnon and King Priam of Troy took solemn oaths that they would abide by the outcome of the fight.
An area was marked out for the contest; Alexandros and Menelaos donned their armor and began to fight; Menelaos quickly gained the upper hand and was ready to kill Alexandros when Aphrodite enveloped Alexandros in a mist and removed him from the battlefield and put him safely inside the walls of Troy.
Agamemnon insisted that Menelaos had clearly won the fight and demanded that the Trojans honor their oaths; the Trojans felt otherwise; as the leaders argued, the Immortals on Mount Olympos (Olympus) watched with apprehension; Hera asked Athene (Athena) to go to the battlefield and induce one of the Trojans to break the truce with some sort of violent action against the Achaeans.
Athene came like a blazing star into the midst of the soldiers and it was obvious to everyone that something unusual was happening; in the guise of a man named Laodokos (Laodocus), Athene found Pandaros with his men; with sly words, Athene convinced Pandaros that if he were to kill Menelaos, Prince Alexandros would give him glorious gifts; she told him to offer a splendid sacrifice to the wolf-born Apollon and shoot an arrow at Menelaos; Pandaros gathered his men about him and had them hold their shields to conceal him as he took aim.
The bow which Pandaros used was no ordinary bow; it was made from the horns of a wild ibex which he had killed; the horns of the ibex were sixteen palms in length; the horns were shaped into a powerful bow and then tipped with gold; Pandaros took an arrow from his quiver which had never been used before; pulling the bow back as far as it would go, he let the arrow fly; his aim was true and the arrow would have killed Menelaos if Athene had not brushed it aside; the arrow grazed Menelaos's side and drew blood but did not seriously wound him.
The temporary truce was broken; the battle cry went up and the soldiers on both sides formed into their ranks to continue the war to its bitter conclusion.
The Achaean warrior Diomedes raged into the forefront of the fighting and caused chaos in the Trojan ranks; his onrush was so furious, the Trojans retreated rather than stand their ground; when Pandaros saw Diomedes, he bent his bow and loosed an arrow; his aim was true; the arrow struck Diomedes in the right shoulder; Pandaros shouted to the Trojans and told them to take heart because he had seriously wounded the best of the Achaeans.
Diomedes staggered back against his chariot horses and told his driver to pull out the arrow; as the blood spurted from the wound, Diomedes prayed to Athene to let him kill the man who wounded him; Athene heard his prayer and stood beside him; she made his limbs light and whispered that she was giving him the same unflinching force she had once given his father, Tydeus; she lifted the mist from his eyes so that he could see the Immortals on the battlefield and told him to avoid all the Immortals except Aphrodite; she said that if he saw Aphrodite, he was to stab at her; Diomedes charged back into the fighting with the strength of three men.
Aineias (Aeneas), the son of Aphrodite, saw the havoc Diomedes was causing and sought out Pandaros because he considered Pandaros to be the best archer in the army; Aineias wondered if Diomedes was a mortal man or one of the Immortals who had joined the fight; Pandaros said that he recognized Diomedes by his shield and crested helmet and, judging by the way he was fighting, he was definitely being aided by one of the Immortals; he told Aineias that one of the Immortals turned away the arrows he shot at Menelaos and Diomedes and that his bow was as worthless as the wind; he said that it was with an evil fate that he took the bow from its peg and came to Troy; in his frustration, he also said that if he returned to his wife and home and did not break the bow, he wished that some stranger would chop off his head.
Aineias told Pandaros to quit talking that way and said that things would not get any better until the two of them rode out to face Diomedes; Aineias offered Pandaros the choice of driving the chariot or dismounting and fighting with Diomedes; Pandaros said that he thought it would be best if Aineias drove the chariot because the horses knew his voice and would respond to him if the situation became critical; Aineias positioned the chariot close to Diomedes and Pandaros readied his spear.
Pandaros addressed Diomedes and said that since his arrow did not subdue him, he would make trial of him with the spear; Pandaros hurled his spear straight at Diomedes; Diomedes covered himself with his shield and the spear went through the center directly at Diomedes's stomach; from Pandaros's point of view it looked like a fatal blow; he shouted at Diomedes and prematurely exulted in his victory; Diomedes showed no fear as he told Pandaros that his spear had missed; he boldly said that either Pandaros or Aineias would die as he aimed his spear; Athene guided his spear directly into Pandaros's face; the point pierced Pandaros's face downward from the eye, through the teeth and tongue, finally coming out at the base of the chin; Pandaros died instantly as he fell to the ground with his armor clanging around him.
Diomedes then struck Aineias with a large stone and hit him solidly on the hip; Aineias was forced to retreat and would have been killed by Diomedes if his mother Aphrodite had not swooped down to shield him; at that point Diomedes lunged at the goddess and wounded her on the hand; Aphrodite retreated and Apollon stepped in to protect Aineias.
Pandaros was killed by a man who had divine protection and enough strength to wound one of the Immortals; like all the Trojans and their allies, Pandaros was doomed to die the moment he arrived at Troy.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 2, line 827; book 4, line 88; book 5, lines 168, 171, 246 and 795
Iliad (Fagles), book 2, line 938; book 4, line 102; book 5, lines 188, 191, 273 and 916
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 2, line 994; book 4, line 103; book 5, lines 196, 199, 284 and 907
pan DEE ah
The daughter of Zeus and Selene (the Moon); her name can be rendered as All-Luminous.
Homeric Hymn to Selene
One of the pre-historical kings of the city of Athens; the son of Erechtheus.
The father of Erechtheus and the son of Erichthonios.
The first woman; her name means All-Endowed because, at the command of Zeus, she was given gifts from various Immortals and was thus Endowed By All.
Zeus created Pandora as a gift for Epimetheus and despite warnings from his brother Prometheus, Epimetheus accepted Pandora because she was irresistible; Pandora was the punishment to the race of men because Prometheus had given them fire.
Hephaistos (Hephaestus) molded Pandora's body from earth into the likeness of a modest young girl; Athene (Athena) taught Pandora the skills of weaving and gave her dexterity; Aphrodite (goddess of Love) put a mist upon her head to engender longing and desire; Hermes gave her treachery and shamelessness; the Graces and Peitho (Persuasion) gave her necklaces of gold; the Seasons put a halo of flowers on Pandora's head.
When Epimetheus accepted Pandora he unleashed all the evils on the world; the only positive influence that Pandora brought to the world of men was Hope; although women were designed as a curse to men, the only thing worse than marriage was for a man to live and die alone.
Theogony, lines 561-602
Works and Days, lines 60-105
An Attic goddess with a shrine on the Acropolis called the Erechtheum.
Of or pertaining to the union of the Greeks; literally All Greeks.
One of the sons of Ares (god of War) and Aphrodite (goddess of Love); the brother of Deimos (Fear) and Harmonia (Harmony).
Phobos was the incarnation of all-consuming Panic and he could possess entire armies and cause their defeat; when Hephaistos (Hephaestus) made a shield for Herakles (Heracles) he placed the face of Phobos in the center of the ivory and electrum shield.
Theogony, line 934
Shield of Herakles, line 144
pan OH pee ah
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
Other than a passing reference to her name, the only Nereid to receive any individual attention in the ancient literature was Thetis; as the mother of Achilles and one of the few goddesses to refuse the amorous intentions of Zeus, Thetis was unique; when the Immortals needed the Nereids, they called upon Thetis to rally her sisters for whatever task was needed.
The Nereids and the Argonauts - After Jason and the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece from Kolchis (Colchis), Medeia (Medea), the daughter of King Aietes (Aeetes), helped Jason murder her half-brother Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) in a rather cowardly way; Zeus swore revenge for such a dastardly act but his sister/wife Hera wanted to protect the Argonauts until Jason and Medeia could be absolved of their crime by the Dread-Goddess Kirke (Circe); Hera called upon Thetis to gather the Nereids so they could quiet the waters of the sea so the Argonauts could safely navigate to Kirke's island; Thetis plunged into the sea and called to her sisters; her call was answered and the Nereids helped save the Argonauts.
The Nereids at the funeral of Patroklos (Patroclus) - In the last year of the Trojan War, Achilles's companion Patroklos was killed; Achilles took Patroklos's death very hard and called out to his mother Thetis for consolation; Thetis and the Nereids rose from the sea and graced the dead body of Patroklos with their divine presence.
The Nereids at the funeral of Achilles - The death of Achilles was one of the most dramatic events of the Trojan War; as the son of Thetis, his death had particular significance to the Nereids; at the funeral of Achilles, Thetis, the Nereids and the Muses all came to pay their respects.
Theogony, line 250
The father of the consort of Theseus, Aigle.
Lives, Theseus, chapter 20
The common name for Pan's flute.
The Pan Pipe is a simple instrument which consists of seven reeds of different lengths bound together; the instrument was originally played by the Goat-God, Pan, and then adopted by herdsmen as a source of entertainment; the Pan Pipe is more properly called a syrinx because it was named after the Nymph Syrinx, who was turned into a reed so that she could escape Pan's amorous advances.
The name for Zeus in Scythia which literally means Great Father.
A name for Aphrodite as she was worshiped on the island of Cyprus as the goddess of Sensual Love.
A city in the southwestern section of the island of Cyprus; the assumed birthplace of Aphrodite and the site of a twelfth century BCE temple dedicated to the goddess of Love.
The son of Pygmalion who inherited the throne of the island of Cyprus.
In Greek comedy, the Parabasis is the choral ode, which is alternately serious and satiric.
The classifications into which modern scholars have divided Old Comedy are usually expressed in six elements:
1) Prologue (setting the theme of the play);
2) Parodos (introduction of the chorus);
3) Agon (argumentation);
4) Parabasis (choral ode);
5) Episodes (resolving the Agon); and
6) Exodos (celebratory conclusion).
When the Argonauts were on the island that was home to the wretched prophet Phineus, they met a man named Paraebios.
Although Phineus was plagued with hunger and old age for his offenses to the Immortals, he still gave prophetic council to his neighbors; Paraebios came to Phineus because no matter what he did or how piously he behaved, his life was filled with hardship and disappointment; Phineus perceived correctly that Paraebios was being punished for the arrogance of his father; Paraebios's father had been chopping wood in the mountains and the Hamadryad (Nymph) of one of the trees begged him not to destroy her tree; in his arrogance, Paraebios's father chopped down the tree and thus killed the Nymph who shared its life.
Paraebios was destined to toil without reward until he repented and atoned for his father's despicable actions; on Phineus's advice, Paraebios built an altar and offered prayer and sacrifice to be relieved of his inherited burden; the sin was forgiven and Paraebios honored Phineus by bringing him food even though he knew that the Harpies would steal it from Phineus's mouth.
Argonautika, book 2, lines 468-489
One of the two political faction established by Solon in an attempt to reorganize the economic foundation of the government in Attica.
The Paraloi, i.e. men of the shore, were commercial fishermen and sailors; the other group, the Pediakoi, i.e. men of the plains, were owners of large tracts of land; these artificial groupings excluded the poorer people who had no organized political base until 561 BCE when the tyrant Pisistratus (Peisistratus) introduced a third class of voting citizens, the Diakrioi, i.e. men of the hills, and with their support, Pisistratus (Peisistratus) took control of the government.
The Paralos and Salaminia were ceremonial warships used by the Athenians for special occasions such as envoys to the Oracle at Delphi and the conveyance of high ranking Athenian statesmen; only Athenian citizens were allowed to serve on these ships.
During one engagement of the Peloponnesian War (circa 405 BCE) the Paralos was almost captured by the Spartans near the city of Sestos (Sestus) on the Hellespont; the Spartans were commanded by general Lysander but the Athenians were under the command of several generals; this situation made it easy for the Spartans to maneuver effectively while the Athenians tended to be less coordinated.
The Athenians were on the European side of the Hellespont and the Spartans were on the Asian side; day after day, the Athenian fleet would sail out to engage the Spartans but the Spartans would not meet the challenge and stayed in port; finally, the Athenians sailed out one morning and when the Spartans refused to fight, returned to their beachhead and dispersed; the Spartans attacked and caught the Athenians off guard; the Paralos and eight other ships managed to escape but the Spartans captured 171 triremes and 3,000 soldiers.
Lives, Lysander, chapters 10-11
Hellenica, book 2, i 28-29; book 2 ii 3; book 6 ii 14
One of the legitimate sons of the Athenian archon, Pericles; Paralos and his brother Xanthippus were the victims of a plague that ravaged Athens circa 430 BCE.
A Persian unit of measure frequently encountered in Greek literature; a parasang is equal to approximately 3 miles (4.8 kilometers).
A parasite; a frequent character in Greek comedies portrayed as an unwelcome dinner guest.
One of the six tribes which comprised the original Medes.
The Medes were inhabitants of Asia Minor and subjects of the Assyrian Empire until circa 709 BCE and derived their name from the notorious sorceress Medeia (Medea) and her son Medus after they fled Greece and settled in Asia Minor.
The Medes were the first group to revolt against the Assyrians and after ruling for four generations, set the stage for the formation of the Persian Empire; the Medes were united by a man named Deiokes (Deioces) who was their first king.
The other five tribes were the Arizanti, Budii, Busae, Magi, and Struchates.
Histories, book 1.101
A term meaning Incidentals and generally used to describe events which took place during the completion of the Labors of Herakles (Heracles) but incidental to the actual Labor.
The Incidentals might include:
1) The attack of the giant crab while Herakles was fighting the Hydra;
2) The accidental deaths of the Centaurs, Cheiron (Chiron) and Pholos;
3) Saving the Trojan princess Hesione from the skull-faced ketos, i.e. sea-monster;
4) The fight with the sea god, Nereus;
5) The fight with the Giant, Antaios;
6) Killing the Egyptian king, Busiris;
7) Freeing Prometheus from his bonds; and
8) Supporting the heavens for Prometheus's brother, Atlas.
For more detailed information on Herakles I suggest that you consult the Immortals section of this site.
Prince Alexandros of Troy; one of the fifty sons of the last rulers of Troy, King Priam and Queen Hekabe (Hecabe); Alexandros played a significant role in the events leading up to the Trojan War as well as being a major character in the war itself.
In The Iliad, he is generally called Alexandros and occasionally Paris; the Latin form of his name is Alexander.
The roots of the animosity between the Greeks and the Trojans might be traced to one defining moment; this incident has become known as the Judgment of Paris; although Paris was generally called Alexandros in Greek literature, the artist Peter Paul Rubens immortalized the event in a painting which he named The Judgment of Paris (circa 1635-38 CE) and thus the name has endured to this day.
The Nereid Thetis was given to Peleus (a mortal) because of his undying devotion to the gods on Mount Olympos (Olympus); the marriage was also a punishment for Thetis because she had rejected Zeus' amorous advances.
In order to honor Thetis, Hera invited all the Immortals to the wedding; the goddess Eris (Discord) was in attendance but she did not come to celebrate, she came to cause trouble; Eris cast down a golden apple with the inscription, "For the most beautiful one"; Hera, Athene (Athena) and Aphrodite all assumed that the prize was for them and when the intended conflict arose, Alexandros was asked to make the final decision as to which goddess deserved the golden apple; Aphrodite promised Paris the hand of the most desirable woman in Greece, Helen; he chose Aphrodite as the most beautiful goddess; Hera and Athene never forgave the insult.
Several years later, when King Menelaos and Helen were entertaining Alexandros at their palace in Sparta, Aphrodite enchanted Helen so that she would become infatuated with the Trojan prince, take her considerable dowry and go to Troy with Alexandros.
An army was amassed by Menelaos and his brother Agamemnon; the Trojan War began; when the army arrived at Troy, Menelaos and Odysseus entered the city and tried to negotiate a peace agreement in order to avert an all-out war; the advisors of King Priam advised him not to surrender Helen; some of them were sincere in their beliefs but others had accepted bribes from Alexandros; regardless of the sincerity or duplicity of the advisors, the Trojan War was fated by the Immortals and there was nothing any mortal man could do to prevent the carnage and bloodshed; Menelaos and Odysseus were lucky to leave Troy alive because several of King Priam's advisors wanted to kill them.
The war began and neither side seemed to be able to sustain the advantage, so the fighting continued for over nine years; finally, Alexandros challenged Menelaos to one-on-one combat; both commanders, Agamemnon for the Greeks and Prince Hector for the Trojans, agreed that the winner of the one-on-one combat would decide the outcome of the war; solemn oaths were taken and the fight between Menelaos and Alexandros began.
As the fight between Menelaos and Alexandros progressed, it became clear that Menelaos was going to kill Alexandros; the Immortals on Mount Olympos (Olympus) were watching with keen interest; Aphrodite was on the side of the Trojans and wanted Alexandros to win but if he could not defeat Menelaos, she at least wanted him to stay alive; Athene was on the side of the Greeks and did not want Menelaos or Alexandros to win the one-on-one combat; Athene wanted the war to continue so that the walls of Troy could be toppled and the Trojans could either be killed or enslaved.
Aphrodite swooped down on the battlefield and saved Alexandros from certain death; to the spectators, it appeared that Alexandros had vanished into a cloud; Agamemnon declared that Menelaos was the victor but before the point could be argued, Athene persuaded a Trojan named Pandaros (Pandarus) to shoot an arrow at Menelaos; the arrow, with Athene's interference, did not strike Menelaos but the peace was broken nonetheless; the soldiers of both armies sprang to their feet and the war was destined to be fought to its violent conclusion.
The Trojans lost the Trojan War and during the last battle, Alexandros was killed by the legendary archer Philoktetes (Philoctetes) who possessed the bow of Herakles (Hercules).
The name Alexandros literally means Defending Men.
(circa 515-450 BCE) A Greek philosopher from Elea, Italy; founder of the Eleatic School of philosophy which investigated the phenomenal world, especially with reference to the phenomena of change; he is one of the few philosophers whose works actually survive.
(circa 521-486 BCE) The daughter of Smerdis and the niece of Kambyses (Cambyses); one of the wives of Darius I, the third king of the Persian Empire.
Mount Parnassos; a mountain in central Greece north of the Gulf of Corinth and near Delphi; 8,070 feet (2,460 meters) in height; now called Liakoura.
Approximate East Longitude 22º 37' 45'' and North Latitude 38º 32' 46''
In Greek comedy, the Parodos is the introduction of the chorus.
The classifications into which modern scholars have divided Old Comedy are usually expressed in six elements:
1) Prologue (setting the theme of the play);
2) Parodos (introduction of the chorus);
3) Agon (argumentation);
4) Parabasis (choral ode);
5) Episodes (resolving the Agon); and
6) Exodos (celebratory conclusion).
A Greek island of the Kyklades (Cyclades) in the southern Aegean Sea; noted for its white marble; 77 square miles (199 square kilometers) in area.
Approximate East Longitude 25º 12' and North Latitude 37º 08'
An epithet of the goddess Athene (Athena) meaning Virgin.
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.
Theogony, line 344
The temple of Athene (Athena) Parthenos (i.e. Athene the Maiden) on the Acropolis in the city of Athens; built during the time of the most famous and popular archon of Athens, Pericles 447-438 BCE.
The temple is now in ruins and a reconstruction project, begun in 2000, promises to complete the restoration of the north colonnade which was improperly repaired between 1923-1930; the purpose of the current project is to correct the inadequacies of the earlier restoration and return the north façade to its appearance before the unfortunate and senseless explosion of 1687.
The temple stands atop the acropolis of Athens and occupies the site of an earlier temple known as the Hecatompedon, i.e. the hundred foot temple; technically the term Parthenon applies only to the portion of the temple containing the naos, i.e. the base on which the statue of Athene stood, but the distinction is fleeting and the entire structure is commonly called The Parthenon.
The Parthenon was not built as a place of worship but as a home for the goddess; Athene was thought to dwell in the structure and made her presence known by signs and omens; her favored animals, owls and a giant snake, frequented the Parthenon and there comings and goings served as symbols of her pleasures and wrath; parts of the building were used to store her treasures as well as the Athenian treasury and the assets of the Delian League.
The construction of the Parthenon was just a portion of the ambitious public works and building projects undertaken by Pericles but this magnificent structure is the single most impressive product of that era; the supervision of the design and construction was given to a man named Phidias; the architects were Kallikrates (Callicrates) and Iktinus (Ictinus); Pericles gave Phidias a free hand in the details but also warned him to keep meticulous records so that no charge of embezzlement or misappropriation could be leveled against him by members of the political opposition, this caution proved to exonerate Phidias from those charges but his distracters eventually had this brilliant artist and master craftsman imprisoned for "impiety."
The temple was built with stones and white marble from Mount Penteli which borders Athens on the northeast; the naos (cella in Latin) was surrounded by a colonnade of 46 Doric columns; each column was approximately 35 feet (10.7 meters) in height; Phidias also supervised the instillation of the 92 square-panel metopes which decorated the architrave depicting events from history and mythology; the metopes were painted with vivid blue, gold and red pigment; the triangular pediments on the eastern and western sides had representations of Athene competing (and defeating) Poseidon for the dominance of Attica; there were 92 statues and a 520 foot (158.5 meter) brightly painted frieze depicting the procession of the Panathenaea where a giant peplos, i.e. a loose ankle length robe, was carried to the Parthenon and draped on the statue of the goddess.
The purpose of the temple was to house the statue of Athene Parthenos (i.e. Athene the Maiden); the statue was destroyed in the third century CE and we only have suggestions as to its true shape and size; the statue is thought to have been approximately 30 feet (9 meters) in height and covered with gold and decorated with ivory.
The entire structure has the distinction of being purposely built with slight imperfections; the base is not quite level and the sides are not exactly straight; modern engineers and archeologists agree that these variations were not design flaws but conscious decisions based on laudable artistic ideals and incredible inventive foresight; these subtle affectations have the overall effect of "softening" the effects of the size of the temple and the coldness of the marble.
When Athens came under the control of the Christians and then the Moslems, the Parthenon was transformed into a church and then a mosque; in 1687 the Turks used the Parthenon as an ammunition depot; the inevitable explosion did more damage than the previous 2000 years of natural devolution and manmade abuse.
The Parthenon is now a national monument and is carefully guarded and monitored by the Greek government; there is an ongoing legal battle between the governments of England and Greece to return the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum to their rightful place, i.e. Greece.
A commander in the army known as the Seven Against Thebes; the father of Promachos (Promachus).
Parthenopaeus was the son of Hippomenes and Atalanta; Parthenopaeus's mother was the famed huntress who was a preeminent member of the Kalydonian (Calydonian) Hunt and his father was known to be a clever and resourceful man; these inherited traits no doubt made Parthenopaeus well suited as an army commander.
Polyneikes (Polyneices) and his brother Eteokles (Eteocles) were in a deadly dispute as to who should be the king of Thebes after the exile of their father, Oedipus; Eteokles tricked Polyneikes into thinking that the two of them could take turns sitting on the throne but once on the throne, Eteokles refused to honor his agreement and banished Polyneikes from Thebes; Polyneikes went to Argos and formed an army known as the Seven Against Thebes to attack the seven gates of Thebes and reclaim the throne; Parthenopaeus was one of the commanders of the Seven.
The Seven Against Thebes lost the battle and with the exception of King Adrastus (Adrestos), all of the commanders were killed including Polyneikes and Parthenopaeus; there is some confusion as to who killed Parthenopaeus but it was either Asphodikos (Asphodicus) or Periklymenos (Periclymenus).
Ten years after the failure of the Seven Against Thebes, the sons of the seven commanders attacked Thebes again; they were called the Epigoni, i.e. After-Born, and were led by King Adrastus; Parthenopaeus's son Promachos was one of the Epigoni and they successfully captured Thebes.
Thebaid, fragment 7
The wife of Darius II of Persia and the mother of Cyrus the Younger and Artaxerxes.
When Darius died in 404 BCE, Artaxerxes II took the throne and had Cyrus arrested under suspicion of instigating a revolt and trying to take the throne for himself; Cyrus was only able to escape his brother's wrath through the intervention of Parysatis.
pah SEE fay
Pasiphae was the wife of King Minos of Crete and the mother of Ariadne and Androgeus.
Pasiphae and Minos were masters of Crete during a very critical period in history; as the daughter of the Okeanid Perse and Helios (the Sun) Pasiphae was semi-divine; Minos was the son of Europa and Zeus and thus also semi-divine; Pasiphae and Minos had two children: Androgeus and Ariadne.
It was the custom of King Minos to sacrifice a bull to Poseidon (lord of the Sea) but when the time came for the sacrifice, the bull was so magnificent that Minos decided to keep it and sacrifice a bull of lesser beauty; Poseidon was offended at such a display of disrespect and caused Pasiphae to give birth to a child which was half-man/half-bull; the creature became known as the Minotaur, i.e. Minos's Bull.
When the Athenians killed Pasiphae's son Androgeus, King Minos had the master builder Daedalus (Daidalos) construct a labyrinth so that he could place sacrificial Athenian youths in the maze with the Minotaur; the Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus with the assistance of Pasiphae's daughter Ariadne.
Diodorus Siculus, 4.13.4
pah SEE thee ah
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
Other than a passing reference to her name, the only Nereid to receive any individual attention in the ancient literature was Thetis; as the mother of Achilles and one of the few goddesses to refuse the amorous intentions of Zeus, Thetis was unique; when the Immortals needed the Nereids, they called upon Thetis to rally her sisters for whatever task was needed.
The Nereids and the Argonauts - After Jason and the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece from Kolchis (Colchis), Medeia (Medea), the daughter of King Aietes (Aeetes), helped Jason murder her half-brother Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) in a rather cowardly way; Zeus swore revenge for such a dastardly act but his sister/wife Hera wanted to protect the Argonauts until Jason and Medeia could be absolved of their crime by the Dread-Goddess Kirke (Circe); Hera called upon Thetis to gather the Nereids so they could quiet the waters of the sea so the Argonauts could safely navigate to Kirke's island; Thetis plunged into the sea and called to her sisters; her call was answered and the Nereids helped save the Argonauts.
The Nereids at the funeral of Patroklos (Patroclus) - In the last year of the Trojan War, Achilles's companion Patroklos was killed; Achilles took Patroklos's death very hard and called out to his mother Thetis for consolation; Thetis and the Nereids rose from the sea and graced the dead body of Patroklos with their divine presence.
The Nereids at the funeral of Achilles - The death of Achilles was one of the most dramatic events of the Trojan War; as the son of Thetis, his death had particular significance to the Nereids; at the funeral of Achilles, Thetis, the Nereids and the Muses all came to pay their respects.
Theogony, line 246
pah see THOH ee
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 352
One of the Monkey-Men known as the Kerkopes (Cercopes); Passalus and his brother, Akmon (Acmon), have the unique distinction of making Herakles (Heracles) laugh.
As Herakles was sleeping under a tree, the two brothers stole his bow; Herakles caught them and tied them upside-down to a pole which he carried over his shoulder; the Kerkopes were not only unrepentant for their crime but highly amused by their plight and as they dangled behind Herakles, they began making disparaging comments about Herakles's hairy posterior; Herakles, who was so accustomed to sorrow and brutality, couldn't resist the infectious good humor of the Kerkopes and set them free.
This story is one of the fragmentary remains of the Epic Cycle; for the complete translations of the Epic Cycle 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.
The Kerkopes
One of the Dodekanese (Dodecanese) Islands located off the southwestern coast of Asia Minor south of the island of Samos; with an area of 13 square miles (34 square kilometers).
Approximate East Longitude 26º 33' and North Latitude 37º 20'
A seaport on the northern coast of the Peloponnesian Peninsula on the Gulf of Patrae.
Approximate East Longitude 21º 44' and North Latitude 38º 15'
The Gulf of Patrae; an inlet of the Ionian Sea on the Peloponnesian Peninsula; with an area of approximately 10 x 25 miles (16 x 40 kilometers).
pah TRO klos
The son of Menoitios (Menoetius) and the lifelong companion of Achilles.
At the siege of the city of Troy, Achilles would not fight because of his dispute with the Greek commander, Agamemnon; Patroklos begged Achilles to enter the battle but the differences between Agamemnon and Achilles were beyond reconciliation; when the Trojans had breached the Greek defenses and began to burn the ships, Patroklos asked if he could don Achilles's armor and lead the Greek troops in a counter-attack; Achilles reluctantly agreed but he warned Patroklos to rout the Trojans and then turn back, he was not to press the attack too deep into the Trojan territory.
Patroklos, wearing Achilles's armor, charged into the Trojan defenses and was emboldened by his success; ignoring the warning of Achilles, Patroklos pressed the attack farther and farther into the Trojan lines until he was well ahead of the main body of the Greek army; at this point Apollon entered the battle and knocked the helmet from Patroklos's head and loosened the corselet which protected his mid-section; the Trojan Prince Hector put on Achilles's helmet and killed Patroklos; the fight for the body of Patroklos and the armor of Achilles was one of the most bloody episodes of the Trojan War.
When Achilles saw the dead body of his lifelong companion he went into a rage that resulted in the death of Hector and the eventual destruction of Troy; Achilles would not bury Patroklos's body until the "shade" of Patroklos appeared to him on the beach and begged to be put to rest.
Achilles built a large pyre and sanctified it with the sacrifice of large numbers of beasts and the dead bodies of slain Trojan youths; the Nereids, the sisters of Achilles's mother Thetis, rose from the sea and graced the dead body of Patroklos with their divine presence; Achilles also sponsored athletic games in Patroklos's honor; the death of Patroklos was the turning point of the Trojan War and the rage of Achilles was the bloody force that finally toppled the walls of Troy.
pah TRO klos
An uninhabited island off the southeastern tip of Attica; the island was named after captain Patroklos of an Egyptian warship who fortified the island when he was sent by Ptolemy (the son of Ptolemy, son of Lagus) to assist the Athenians because they were being besieged by land and sea by Antigonus, son of Demetrius, circa 267-263 BCE.
Pausanias, Attica, book 1.1
pove sah NEE ahs
(fl. 160 CE) The Greek geographer and traveler who has left us with a first-hand account of many of the wonders of the ancient world.
Pausanias was from Lydia in Asia Minor; in his book Description of Greece he has provided us with a detailed account of Greek religion, art, history and topography; his careful depiction of many of the myths and legends of ancient Greece are invaluable to our study of this period of history.
pove sah NEE ahs
The nineteenth Agiadai king of the city of Sparta who ruled from 409-395 BCE.
Sparta traditionally had two kings who ruled jointly; one king was required to be a descendant of King Agis I and the other was required to be a descendant of King Eurypon (respectively known as the Agiadai and the Eurypontidai).
Beginning with Leonidas I (the sixteenth Agiadai king who ruled from 490-480 BCE) the names and dates for the Spartan kings became a part of the historical record and are generally accepted as factual; prior to Leonidas I the dates for the Spartan kings are extrapolated back from historical times to approximate the time periods in which each king ruled.
pove sah NEE ahs
The assassin of Philip II of Macedon.
Pausanias was a member of Philip's bodyguard and became jealous of the attention Philip was bestowing on another man also named Pausanias; Pausanias (the bodyguard) berated the other Pausanias by calling him a hermaphrodite and otherwise being verbally abusive; the abused Pausanias confided in a member of Philip's court named Attalus and vowed to redeem his name with an act of selfless sacrifice; soon thereafter, Philip was engaged in a battle with the Illyrians and the shamed Pausanias threw himself in front of Philip to protect him from an enemy assault; he suffered the fatal blows which were intended for Philip and died heroically.
Attalus was so moved by his friend's heroic death that he decided to seek vengeance on Pausanias; Attalus got Pausanias very drunk and gave his unconscious body to some mule drivers who proceeded to physically abuse Pausanias; when Pausanias regained his senses, he was outraged; he took his complaint to Philip and demanded justice; Philip refused to reprimand Attalus because he was the nephew of Philip's forth wife Kleopatra (Cleopatra) as well as being a courageous and an effective army commander; Philip tried to soothe Pausanias's anger by giving him gifts and promoting him in the ranks of his bodyguards but Pausanias was not mollified.
Pausanias nursed his anger over the next several years but kept his schemes of revenge to himself; Pausanias was the student of the sophist philosopher Hermocrates and asked his teacher how he might become famous; Hermocrates answered the hypothetical question by saying that if someone were to murder a person of great accomplishments, the murderer would be remembered as long as the person he murdered was remembered.
In 336 BCE Pausanias decided to kill Philip at an upcoming festival but this was no ordinary festival; dignitaries from all parts of Greece were in attendance and it was also the occasion of the marriage of Philip's daughter Kleopatra by his third wife, Olympias (Myrtale); the crowds were entertained by poets and athletes but the high point of the ceremony was a procession of elaborate statues of the twelve Olympian Immortals plus an equally elaborate statue of Philip; his bodyguards had been instructed to keep their distance as Philip walked into the center of the theatre to bask in the adoration of the visitors; when Philip was alone and vulnerable, Pausanias ran forward and fatally stabbed Philip in the ribs with a Celtic dagger; Pausanias had left horses at strategic locations in order to make his escape but as fate would have it, he stumbled on a vine and fell; before he could regain his footing, he was killed by the javelins of three pursuing guards, Attalus, Perdikkas (Perdiccas) and Leonnatus.
Without knowing how profound his advice would be, Hermocrates had made Pausanias the murderer of the father of Alexander the Great; Pausanias will be remembered for a very long time.
There are historians who try to make the argument that Alexander was in some way involved in his father's assassination but I cannot subscribe to that notion; a careful reading of the accounts of Alexander's later life makes it abundantly clear that, although he could be ruthless to his enemies, he was also a man of fierce loyalty to his friends and family; Alexander had personal weaknesses but foolishness was not one of his failings.
Diodorus Siculus, book 16.90-95
Plutarch's Lives, Alexander, X.3
The smallest of the Ionian Islands located in the Ionian Sea off the northwestern coast of mainland Greece just south of the island of Kerkyra (Corcyra); 7 square miles (18 square kilometers) in size; now called Paxoi or Paxi.
Approximate East Longitude 20º 12' and North Latitude 39º 12'
The goddess Eirene; the personification of Peace; a daughter of Zeus and Themis; Eirene is one of the Horae (The Hours), i.e. the goddesses of the Seasons; the keepers of Heaven's Gate; her sisters are Eunomia (Harmony) and Dike (Justice).
The Horae assist the Olympians by organizing the Seasons and adding balance to Nature; the Horae guard Mount Olympos (Olympus) with a dark veil and open and close the gates of the sky for the other Immortals as they travel to and from their earthly domains.
In The Iliad, we see the Horae personally attending Hera and her horses; they open the sky and Hera zooms from her home on Mount Olympos to Mount Ida to distract Zeus from the battle for Troy.
Iliad (Lattimore), book 5, (Hours) lines 749 and 750; book 8, (Hours) lines 393 and 433
Iliad (Loeb), book 5, (Hours) line 749; book 8, (Hours) lines 393 and 433
Iliad (Fagles), book 5, (Seasons) line 859; book 8, (Seasons) lines 449 and 498
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 5, (Hours) line 856; book 8, (Hours) lines 444 and 488
Theogony, line 902
A comic play by the Athenian poet, Aristophanes, produced in 421 BCE at the Great Dionysia where it won second prize.
Cast of Characters:
Trygaios
Hermes
Ares
Eirene (Peace)
Hierokles (Hierocles)
Son of Lamachos
Son of Kleonymos (Cleonymos)
Tumult (Omados or Homados)
When this play was presented, the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) had been going on for ten years and the need for peace was becoming urgent; shortly after the production of Peace, Athens and Sparta managed to negotiate a treaty which gave the war ravaged Greeks a five year reprieve from the brutal and unrelenting war.
The story revolves around a common man named Trygaios who has had enough of the war and decides to take his complaint directly to Zeus; he does not intend to pray or sacrifice in order to get Zeus's attention, he intends to go to Mount Olympos (Olympus) and confront Zeus face to face.
Mounting a flying dung-beetle named Pegasos (Pegasus), Trygaios files to Mount Olympos and is greeted by Hermes; the majority of the gods and goddesses have fled the sacred mountain; Ares (god of War) seems to be in charge of the mountain and he's urgently looking for a pestle for his mortar so he can grind more Greek cities into dust; he is dismayed to find that the Athenian Kleon (Cleon) and the Spartan Brasides have been killed in the war because they were the best pestles he had.
The goddess Eirene (Peace) has been buried in a pit and Trygaios urges the chorus (who represent the various people of Greece) to help him dig her out; the city-folk in the chorus work at cross purposes but the country-folk work together and free Eirene from captivity; there follows a very interesting and highly symbolic scene where Eirene will not speak directly to the chorus but whispers to Hermes and he relates her messages; it seems that the Greeks have called upon Eirene too often with false promises and betrayed her trust; she does not feel that they will give her true homage and therefore will not favor them with her life sustaining voice.
Trygaios persuades Eirene to allow her handmaiden to return to Athens with him so that he can show the Council that Eirene will help them if they will give up their hateful ways; when Trygaios is once again on the earth's surface he faces the audience and tells them that they looked very small and wicked when he flew above them on his dung-beetle and now that he's closer, they seem even more so.
A sacrifice is made to Eirene and the tradesmen start to approach Trygaios; the sickle-maker is jubilant because business is booming with the farmers working in their fields again; the craftsmen who made war implements are distraught because their products are now worthless; Trygaios suggests that shields be used as commodes and that helmets have handles attached so they can be used as wine pitchers; in the end, all seems to be as it should be with all the people of Greece reclaiming their peaceful traditions.
Aristophanes's plays are sometimes difficult to appreciate because he was a very contemporary poet, i.e. he was writing for the Athenian audience of his day; he would use puns, parody regional accents and speak directly to the audience in ways that force modern translators to seek out the contextual meaning rather than the literal meaning of the poet's words; for that reason, I suggest that if you find a translation that is difficult to enjoy, please don't blame Aristophanes, simply look for a translation that you can enjoy; when trying to find a readable translator, you may find this play at your local library in the 882 section or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site.
A generic term used to denote characters in Greek plays who assume the role of a Teacher or Instructor; the modern word Pedagogue literally means a school teacher or an educator.
PEE dah sos
One of the twin sons of Boukolion and the Nymph, Abarbare; Pedasos and his brother, Aisepos, were killed by the Greek soldier, Euryalos, while defending the city of Troy.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 6, line 21
Iliad (Fagles), book 6, line 24
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 6, line 22
PEE dah sos
A cliff-side city on the river Satnioeis near the city of Troy; Pedasos was an ally of Troy and had been the home of the Trojan soldier Elatos until he was killed by Argive commander, Agamemnon.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 6, line 35; book 20, line 92; book 21, line 87
Iliad (Fagles), book 6, line 41; book 20, line 109; book 21, line 99
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 6, line 37; book 20, line 105; book 21, line 101
PEE dah sos
A town on the Peloponnesian Peninsula southeast of Pylos noted for its vineyards; now called Pidassos.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 9, lines 152 and 294
Iliad (Fagles), book 9, lines 182 and 356
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 9, lines 183 and 358
PEE dah sos
One of the chariot horses of Achilles.
Pedasos was a mortal animal and not immortal as were Achilles's other chariot horses, Balios (Balius) and Xanthos (Xanthus); although Pedasos was mortal, he had no trouble keeping up with Balios and Xanthos; Achilles had captured Pedasos when he raided the city of Thebes and killed King Eetion.
When Achilles refused to fight for the Argives, the Trojans gained the upper hand in the fighting and in order to rally the Greeks, Achilles's lifelong companion Patroklos (Patroclus) put on Achilles's armor and mounted Achilles's chariot with Pedasos, Balios and Xanthos; as Patroklos charged into the Trojan defenses everyone assumed that it was Achilles; the Trojans were fearful and the Argives were invigorated; Patroklos soon encountered a son of Zeus named Sarpedon; when Patroklos engaged Sarpedon, he killed Sarpedon's charioteer, Thrasymelos (Thrasymelus); Sarpedon threw his spear at Patroklos but missed and hit Pedasos in the right shoulder; Pedasos screamed and went down into the dust, dead; one of Patroklos's companions, Automedon, drew his sword and cut the reins binding Pedasos to Balios and Xanthos and the two immortal horses regained their footing; Patroklos again charged Sarpedon and killed him.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 16, lines 152 and 467
Iliad (Fagles), (Bold Dancer) book 16, lines 182 and 554
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 16, lines 177 and 540
One of the two political factions established by Solon in an attempt to reorganize the economic foundation of the government in Attica.
The Pediakoi, i.e. men of the plains, were owners of large tracts of land; the other group, the Paraloi, i.e. men of the shore, were commercial fishermen and sailors; these artificial groupings excluded the poorer people who had no organized political base but in 561 BCE the tyrant, Pisistratus (Peisistratus), introduced a third class of voting citizens, the Diakrioi, i.e. men of the hills, and took control of the government.
The triangular section found above the entablature on Greek temples which is often decorated with sculptured scenes from mythology or history.
The above pediment is from the Nereid Monument of Xanthos (Xanthus) in ancient Lykia (Lycia).
PEE ga sos
Pegasos is the famous winged horse which was created from the blood of the Gorgon, Medusa.
There were three Gorgons and two of them were immortal but Medusa was mortal; the gaze of the Gorgons could turn any creature, mortal or immortal, to stone; Perseus was on a quest for the head of Medusa at the command of King Polydektes (Polydectes) of Seriphos; Polydektes was sure that Perseus would be killed when he encountered the Gorgons but the young hero was successful and flew away on his winged sandals with Medusa's head; as Perseus flew, drops of blood dripped from the severed head; a variety of creatures were engendered by Medusa's blood; Pegasos was one of the more benevolent creatures to be born from Medusa's blood.
Pegasos opened the spring of Hippokrene (Hippocrene) on Mount Helikon (Helicon) with a stroke of his hoof; Pegasos is most famous because he and carried Bellerophontes (Bellerophon) in his battle with the fire breathing she-beast with three heads, the Chimera; since Pegasos was born "near the springs of Ocean" (springs = pegas), his name became Pegasos; he resides on Mount Olympos (Olympus) and carries the thunder and lighting for Zeus.
Theogony, line 281-286
Catalogues of Women, fragment 7
Peirithoos fighting a Centaur for the sake of Laodameia.
Peirithoos was the king of the Lapithae in Thessaly near Mount Pelion; Peirithoos was the son of Zeus and possibly Dia, the wife of Ixion; in The Iliad, Peirithoos is simply said to be the son of Zeus and a woman who is said to be the wife of Ixion but she is not named.
The life and death of Peirithoos was closely tied to the exploits of the legendary Athenian hero, Theseus; Peirithoos had heard of the reputation of Theseus and was compelled to test him; Peirithoos stole some of Theseus's cattle from the plain of Marathon and when Theseus came after him, Peirithoos did not try to escape but rather stood his ground and faced the hero; the two men were impressed with each other and instead of fighting, Peirithoos extended his hand in friendship and swore that he would accept any punishment that Theseus deemed appropriate; Theseus opted for forgiveness instead of punishment and the two men sealed their friendship with an oath.
Peirithoos invited Theseus to a wedding feast and one way or another, the two men led the Lapithae in a war against the Centaurs; there are at least two versions of how the Centaurs disrupted the wedding feast:
1) The wedding was for Peirithoos and Diedamia and the Centaurs were invited guests; the Centaurs became intoxicated and began to harass the Lapithae women; or
2) The wedding was for Peirithoos's daughter Hippodamia and the neighboring Centaurs raided the festivities and tried to kidnap Hippodamia.
Regardless of the motivation, Peirithoos, Theseus and the Lapithae men began to fight with the Centaurs and a bitter war ensued; the Lapithae eventually drove the Centaurs from the area of Mount Pelion.
Although he was a respected and brave man, Peirithoos was also a bit of a rogue; Peirithoos and Theseus were responsible for the kidnapping of Helen when she was a young girl; while in the city of Sparta, the two men saw Helen dancing in the temple of the goddess Artemis; they were captivated by her childlike beauty and took the girl; after they had successfully escaped their pursuers, the two villains drew lots to see who would be allowed to marry Helen; the winner would help the loser find a wife; Theseus won the draw and his plan was to hide Helen with his mother until she was of marrying age.
Peirithoos and Theseus went to the town of Aphidnus where they planned to kidnap to kidnap Aidoneus's daughter, Kore (Core);; when Aidoneus realized what the two plotters were planning, he turned his dog loose on Peirithoos; in this way, a man of renown and responsibility, died the death of a scoundrel.
PEE san dros
The brother of Hippolochos (Hippolochus) and son of Antimachos (Antimachus); Peisandros and Hippolochos were Trojan soldiers and both were killed by the Argive commander, Agamemnon.
After Prince Alexandros (Paris) had taken Helen from her home in Sparta and her husband Menelaos (Menelaus), the Greeks sailed to Troy in order to return Helen to her rightful husband; the vast army the Greeks assembled was ready to attack Troy and force Helen's return but, hoping that a prolonged war could be averted, Menelaos and Odysseus went into the city and tried to negotiate with King Priam; Alexandros used gold to bribe some of the king's advisors so that they would argue against any negotiated peace; Peisandros's father Antimachos was one of the men Alexandros bribed; Antimachos spoke out against returning Helen but he went too far when he urged King Priam to kill Odysseus and Menelaos; Peisandros and his brother Hippolochos would later have to answer for their father's arrogance.
In the midst of the fighting, Peisandros and Hippolochos encountered Agamemnon; both brothers were in the same chariot and somehow lost the reins of the horses; they were stunned with fear when they saw Agamemnon rise against them with murderous intent; Peisandros and Hippolochos begged for their lives and assured Agamemnon that their father would pay an abundant ransom for their safe return; Agamemnon told them that he would not spare their lives because their father had wanted to murder Menelaos and Odysseus when they entered Troy as envoys; Peisandros died easily with a spear thrust to the chest but Hippolochos was not so lucky; Hippolochos dismounted the chariot and Agamemnon jumped to the ground after him; with mighty sword strokes, Agamemnon cut off both of Hippolochos's arms at the shoulder and the pitiful man spun like a log into the dirt.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 11, lines 122 and 143
Iliad (Fgales), book 11, lines 145 and 166
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 11, lines 138 and 163
PEE san dros
One of the battalion commanders of Achilles.
When Achilles sailed to the city of Troy he had fifty ships with fifty men in each one; he divided his men into five battalions and Peisandros was one of the battalion commanders; Peisandros was the son of Maimalos (Maemalus) and was an outstanding spear fighter.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 16, line 193
Iliad (Fagles), book 16, line 228
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 16, line 226
PEE san dros
A Trojan soldier killed by Menelaos (Menelaus).
After the Trojans almost succeeded in burning the Argive ships, they became overconfident; Peisandros charged at Menelaos and luckily dodged Menelaos's spear-cast; he stabbed at Menelaos but his spear did not penetrate Menelaos's shield and broke off at the tip; Menelaos leapt at Peisandros with his sword and Peisandros likewise attacked with his bronze ax; the horsehair plume on top of Menelaos's helmet was shorn away by the ax stroke but he was not injured; Menelaos delivered a sword stroke to Peisandros's forehead just above the nose; Peisandros's eyes popped from his head and fell into the dirt; when Peisandros crumpled to the ground, Menelaos stripped him of his armor and put his foot of Peisandros's chest; Menelaos called on Zeus to witness the fate that awaited all the Trojans and their allies for their dishonor.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 13, lines 601, 606 and 611
Iliad (Fagles), book 13, lines 693, 698 and 702
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 13, lines 682, 688 and 694
One of the sons of Nestor and Eurydike (Eurydice).
After the Trojan War had been over for ten years, Odysseus had not returned home and his son Telemachos (Telemachus) needed to know the fate of his father; Telemachos left his home on the island of Ithaka (Ithaca) and traveled to Pylos, which was the kingdom of Nestor; Nestor had safely returned from the war and Telemachos was anxious to ask him for news of his father; while at the home of Nestor, Telemachos was treated like an honored guest and Nestor regaled the young man with tales of the war and the heroes who fought and died to bring Helen home again; Nestor suggested that Telemachos consult with King Menelaos (Menelaus) of Sparta for news of Odysseus and to ensure Telemachos's safety, Nestor insisted that Peisistratos accompany him on his overland journey from Pylos to Sparta.
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 3, lines 36, 400, 415, 454 and 482; book 4, line 155; book 15, lines 46, 48, 131 and 166
One of the Thirty Tyrants elected to rule the city of Athens after the end of the Peloponnesian War (404 BCE).
Having lost the war to the Spartans, the citizens of Athens elected thirty men to lead the new post-war government; these men became known as the Thirty Tyrants; the short lived government they comprised was an oligarchy; an oligarchy is a system of government allowing a few select people or families to rule a city or region based on the assumption that their bloodline or intellect gave them a superior predisposition and right to rule.
The tyrants immediately began to prosecute Athenians who had been Spartan informers and collaborators during the long, hard war; the punishment of the guilty seemed appropriate to the common citizens and aristocrats alike but it soon became clear that the executions and banishments were going beyond the bounds of necessity or prudence; open hostilities soon developed between members of the Thirty and their authority and rule came to an end after one year.
Hellenica, book 2.3
Persuasion; an Okeanid, i.e. one of the three thousand daughters of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys; her name means, To Prevail.
Zeus gave the Okeanids, Apollon and the Rivers the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.
When Zeus commanded that the first mortal woman be created, he named her Pandora; her name meant that she was All Endowed because she was the product of the skills of many of the Immortals; Hephaistos (Hephaestus) molded Pandora's body from earth into the likeness of a modest young girl; Athene (Athena) taught Pandora the skills of weaving and gave her dexterity; Aphrodite (goddess of Love) put a mist upon her head to engender longing and desire; Hermes gave her treachery and shamelessness; the Graces and Peitho gave her necklaces of gold; the Seasons put a halo of flowers on Pandora's head.
Theogony, line 349
Works and Days, line 73
A prehistoric people inhabiting Greece, Asia Minor and the islands of the Mediterranean Sea as early as the third millennium BCE.
The historian Herodotus relates the story that when the Pelasgians were driven from Attica, they kidnapped a number of Athenian women and took them to the island of Lemnos; the women were defiant and taught their children to act and speak like Athenians; the Pelasgians killed the captive mothers and children and thus the term Lemnian Deeds became an enduring insult to the honor and manhood of the inhabitants of Lemnos.
Histories, book 1.146
pee LEH us
The most famous king of the Myrmidons; one of the sons of Aiakos (Aeacus) and Endies; Peleus is most noted as the husband of Thetis and the father of Achilles.
Peleus and his brother Telamon were driven from their home on the island of Aegina (Aigina) because they killed their half-brother, Phokos (Phocos); after leaving Aegina, both young men went their separate ways but were reunited for one of the greatest adventures of all time, the Quest for the Golden Fleece; there is a brief mention in The Catalogues of Women and Eoiae that Peleus was a brother of Menoitios (Menoetius); if that is true, Menoitios's son Patroklos (Patroclus) would be the cousin of Peleus's son, Achilles.
After leaving his home on Aegina, Peleus sought refuge in Phthia but ran afoul of King Akastos (Acastus) when he had a dispute with the king's wife, Hippolyte; Akastos left Peleus on Mount Pelion to die; Peleus had been given a knife made by the hands of Hephaistos (Hephaestus) but Akastos took the knife so that Peleus's would be defenseless; the Centaur Cheiron (Chiron) restored the knife to Peleus and saved him from certain death; the name Peleus means Man of Pelion because he had been abandoned on Mount Pelion; the question arises as to whether his name was Peleus from birth or if his name was changed because of the incident on Mount Pelion; if his name was Peleus from birth, we must assume that the Immortals directed his life so that he would finally become the Man of Pelion.
Peleus was allowed to marry the goddess Thetis because Zeus was afraid that her son would de-throne him, thus by having Thetis marry a mortal like Peleus, her son would be semi-divine and have no chance of threatening Zeus's power; Peleus was chosen to be the husband of Thetis because he was a noble and reverent man; Thetis was not inclined to marry Peleus without a struggle; Peleus wrestled with Thetis as she changed shape to escape his grasp but he was eventually able to subdue her.
A bronze statuette of Peleus wrestling with Thetis.
The wedding of Peleus and Thetis was a defining moment in Greek history; the goddess Hera made sure that all the Immortals attended the wedding; the goddess Eris (Discord) was there and because of her, the first seeds of the Trojan War were sown; Eris threw down a Golden Apple with the inscription, "For the most beautiful one"; Hera, Athene (Athena) and Aphrodite (goddess of Love) all thought that the apple was for them; Zeus appointed Prince Alexandros (Paris) of Troy to be the judge and the event became known as The Judgment of Paris; Aphrodite offered Alexandros the hand of the most desirable woman in Greece if he chose her as the most beautiful goddess; he could not refuse; several years later, Helen of Argos, later called Helen of Troy, was enchanted by Aphrodite to leave her home and husband to become the wife of Alexandros.
Before Alexandros met Helen, Peleus and Thetis had a semi-divine son which they named Achilles; when he was still an infant, Thetis sought to make Achilles immortal by bathing him in nectar and fire; it seems that Thetis and Peleus had several children before the birth of Achilles and Thetis killed them by putting them in a caldron of water to see if they were immortal or mortal; when Achilles was born, Peleus would not allow Thetis to test Achilles's mortality; when he caught her bathing Achilles in fire he was enraged; Thetis could not endure Peleus's ignorance and threw Achilles to the floor in disgust; Thetis deserted Peleus and returned to her home under the sea; Peleus gave Achilles to the Centaur Cheiron to be educated; Peleus also had a daughter named Polydora (Polydore) but it is not certain that she was the child of Thetis.
After Achilles had been placed in the care of Cheiron, Peleus and his brother Telamon joined the prestigious band of heroes called the Argonauts; a young man named Jason had been given the seemingly impossible task of retrieving the Golden Fleece from the distant land of Kolchis (Colchis); Cheiron and young Achilles were on the shore when Peleus and the Argonauts set sail.
With the fame and experience gained on the Quest for the Golden Fleece, Peleus was a formidable man when he returned to Greece from Kolchis; he became the king of the Myrmidons and ruled the people of Phthia including the cities of Alope and Alos as well as other parts of Thessaly.
When Achilles was old enough to return to live with Peleus, he was placed under the supervision of Peleus's wise companion, Phoinix (Phoenix); Peleus was too old to go to Troy as a warrior but Achilles was determined to join the fighting; Peleus sent Phoinix with Achilles as his advisor.
Achilles was killed in the last stages of the Trojan War but his son Neoptolemus (Neoptolemos) survived the war; Thetis advised Neoptolemus not to travel from Troy by sea so he took an overland route to Thrace where he buried Phoinix and then encountered his grandfather Peleus who recognized Neoptolemus even though they had never met before.
The final fate of Peleus is unknown but we know that he lived one generation before the Trojan War and was an old man at the time of the war; since the Trojan War began circa 1250 BCE, that would mean that Peleus was born circa 1300 BCE and died sometime after 1240 BCE.
Theogony, line 1005
Catalogues of Women and Eoiae, fragments 55, 58, 60, 61 and 68(1) line 100
Aegimius, fragment 2
The Kypria, fragments 1 and 5
The Little Iliad, fragment 5
The Returns, fragment 1
peh LEE as
Pelias was the son of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and Tyro, daughter of King Salmoneus of Elis.
Tyro was married to a man named Kretheus (Cretheus) and had three sons whose names were Aeson (Aison), Pheres and Amythaon; all three were Pelias's stepbrothers; Aeson and his son Jason were destined to play an important part in the life and death of Pelias.
Pelias was said to have been a hard and cruel man; he assumed the throne of Iolkos (Iolcos) because he was of divine birth and relegated his stepbrothers to lives of submission; Pelias had a son named Akastos (Acastus) who was destined to be the king of Iolkos after Pelias died but his stepbrothers Amythaon and Aeson thought that Aeson's son Jason should be the next king; to prote4ct Jason for Pelias, Aeson sent Jason to the Centaur Cheiron (Chiron) for an education.
When Jason became a young man, he innocently returned to Iolkos to be with his aging parents without realizing that he was a player in a drama masterminded by the Immortals; on his way to Iolkos, Jason lost one of his sandals while fording a river but did not realize the significance of that accident; Pelias had been given a prophecy that a man wearing one sandal would come to Iolkos to take his throne but he did not know who this man was or when he would come.
Pelias was supervising a grand sacrifice to his father Poseidon and neglected to give praise to the goddess Hera; that oversight, combined with Hera's love for Jason, meant Pelias's doom; Jason arrived as the sacrifice to Poseidon was in progress; Pelias immediately noticed the missing sandal and began to connive a way to be rid of Jason without seeming to be personally responsible for the young man's death.
Pelias told Jason that he could become the next king of Iolkos if he would go to the distant land of Kolchis (Colchis) and retrieve the Golden Fleece which had been created by Helios (the Sun) and left at Kolchis; Jason agreed to go to Kolchis and bring back the Golden Fleece but he did not realize that Pelias was trying to send him to his death.
To Pelias's dismay, Jason began making preparations for the Quest for the Golden Fleece in a masterful way; he commissioned a man named Argos (Argus) to build a ship which would have no rival; Jason then put out a call to the most noble heroes in Greece to become his crew; the ship was named Argo (Swift) and the crew became known as Argonauts (Argo-Seaman); when the ship and crew were ready, Jason sailed for Kolchis; against the wishes of Pelias, his son Akastos and the shipbuilder Argos joined the Argonauts and sailed with Jason.
The Quest for the Golden Fleece became a glorious victory and also a stunning defeat for Jason; while he was in Kolchis, Jason fell in love with the sorceress Medeia (Medea); Jason could not have taken the Golden Fleece without Medeia's help but she also became the cause of his eventual doom when they returned to Greece as husband and wife.
When Jason returned to Iolkos with the Golden Fleece, he discovered that his father Aeson was dead; whether it was true or not, Jason believed that Pelias was responsible for his father's death; Jason was determined to kill Pelias and take Iolkos by force but there were not enough Argonauts to force their way into the city; Medeia was a clever and deadly woman and she contrived a plan which would allow Jason to kill Pelias and take the city without a fight; she entered the city in the guise of an old hag and pretended to be a messenger of the goddess Artemis.
Medeia had convinced the people of Iolkos of her divine mission with a series of magic tricks and gradually won the trust of Pelias's daughters; she told the gullible girls that she could restore Pelias's youthful vigor with one of her potions; using simple slight-of-hand magic, Medeia demonstrated the process on an old ram; the beast was chopped to pieces and then put in a caldron with her secret concoction; a young animal emerged from the caldron and Pelias's daughters were convinced that Medeia had supernatural powers; Medeia then drank a harmless liquid and cleverly removed the hag disguise to further delude the girls; when they saw the youthful Medeia, they unwittingly agreed to cut their father into pieces and thus have his youth restored; Medeia drugged Pelias and his daughters hacked him to pieces; needless to say, Pelias did not survive the ordeal and died because of the foolishness of his own daughters.
Ridding Iolkos of Pelias was pleasing to many of the citizens but the manner in which it was done revolted everyone; using the backlash of public opinion against Jason, Pelias's son Akastos assumed the throne and forced Jason to renounce his claim to kingship and flee Iolkos.
Pelias died soon after the Quest for the Golden Fleece was completed which would have been circa 1285 BCE.
Catalogues of Women and Eoiae, fragment 13
Argonautika, book 1, lines 3, 5, 12, 224, 242, 279, 323, 362, 902, 981 and 1304; book 2, lines 624 and 763; book 3, lines 64, 75 and 1136; book 4, line 243
A storage jar with an oval body that is wider at the base than at the neck, it has a flat base and two handles extending from the shoulders to the lip.
A wooded mountain in Thessaly.
Sometimes considered more of a hill than a mountain, Mount Pelion is located near the eastern coast of the mainland with a height of 5,250 feet (1,600 meters).
Mount Pelion was intended to be part in an assault to the authority of the Olympians and the sanctity of the heavens when two children of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) wanted to uproot Pelion from its foundations; Otos (Otus) and his brother Ephialtes were the monstrous sons of Iphimedia (Iphimedeia) and Poseidon; second only to the mighty hunter Orion, Otos and Ephialtes were the most handsome men (demigods) to ever exist; the two brothers were also the tallest men ever to reside on the earth.
Before the two boys reached adulthood, they brought about their own doom by daring to try and reach the heavens; the two rebellious boys tried unsuccessfully to pile Mount Ossa on top of Mount Olympos and then put Mount Pelion on top of that; their crime was so outrageous that Zeus commanded Apollon to kill Ephialtes and Otos with a rain of arrows.
The slopes of Pelion were the home of the Centaurs before their war with the Lapithae; when Peirithoos (Peirithous) was king of the Lapithae, the Centaurs disrupted a wedding ceremony and a war began; the Centaurs lost the war and were forced to leave Mount Pelion; the war between the Centaurs and the Lapithae occurred circa 1280 BCE, i.e. one generation before the Trojan War.
Mount Pelion continued to be a pivotal location for a series of events which would shape Greek history; the Quest for the Golden Fleece was one of those events; Jason wanted to claim the rights of kingship of Iolkos (Iolcos), which was on the slopes of Mount Pelion; in order to become king of Iolkos, Jason was required to go to the distant land of Kolchis (Colchis) and bring back the Golden Fleece which was kept there; Jason arranged for a ship to be built and sent out the call for a crew of heroes to join him on the Quest for the Golden Fleece; the goddess Athene (Athena) cut the keel of the ship from Mount Pelion timber; the ship, named Argo, was built below Mount Pelion and was the finest and largest ship ever built; the Quest for the Golden Fleece took place circa 1285 BCE.
After the Quest for the Golden Fleece was completed, a very momentous event took place on the slopes of Mount Pelion; the marriage of Thetis and Peleus was important because it set the stage for the Trojan War; Zeus had been warned that an immortal son of Thetis would have the strength to de-throne him; in order to be sure that Thetis would not have an immortal son, Zeus arranged for her to marry a mortal man named Peleus; as one of the wedding gifts, the Centaur, Cheiron (Chiron) presented an ashen spear which he had fashioned from wood cut from Mount Pelion; the spear was polished by the goddess Athene and as finishing touch, Hephaistos (Hephaestus) fitted it with a head; eventually the spear was used by Thetis's son Achilles during the siege of Troy.
The most crucial thing to happen at the wedding of Thetis and Peleus has come to be known as the Judgment of Paris; Prince Alexandros (Paris) of Troy was asked to chose between Hera, Athene and Aphrodite (goddess of Love) as to which was the most beautiful goddess; Aphrodite offered an irresistible enticement to Alexandros and he chose her; she offered him the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Argos; he later took Helen from her home and husband in Sparta and she became Helen of Troy.
When the Trojan War began, men from the area around Mount Pelion were part of the Greek forces which laid siege to Troy; they were called Magnesians, i.e. men from Magnesia.
A thousand years later in 480 BCE, the Persians launched their second invasion of Greece; the first invasion in 490 BCE had been a humiliating defeat and King Xerxes was determined to regain the prestige of the Persian Empire and bring the Greeks under his sway; the Persian fleet was extremely large until it encountered violent storms off the coast near Mount Pelion; the fleet was crucial for the Persian army because it carried military supplies but even with the reduction in naval fighting capabilities caused by the storm, the Persians still vastly outnumbered the Greeks in sea power; the Greeks were able to defeat the Persians with their skillful tactical maneuvers and superior seamanship.
The name may also be rendered as Pelium or Mount Pelium.
Histories, book 4.179; book 7.129; book 8.8 and 8.12
The Kypria, fragment 2
Iliad (Lattimore), book 2, line 758; book 16, line 144; book 19, line 391
Iliad (Loeb), book 2, line 757; book 16, line 144; book 19, line 391
Iliad (Fagles), book 2, line 846; book 16, line 171; book 19, line 461
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 2, line 888; book 16, line 166; book 19, line 428
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 11, line 316
Odyssey (Fagles), book 11, line 359
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 11, line 366
PELL ah
A city in Macedon; the birthplace of Alexander the Great (356 BCE).
Pella is situated in northern Macedon between the rivers Axios (Axius) and Halikmon (Halicmon); when Pella was founded, it adjoined a lake formed by the river Lydias which flowed into the Aegean Sea.
In prehistoric times, Pella was a rural grazing land and the name Bouomos (or Bounomeia), meaning Cattle Pasture, was either the designation of Pella or nearby Phakos (Phacos); the recent archaeological work at Pella has unearthed a variety artistically decorated buildings which date to the time of Philip II and perhaps further back; Pella was mentioned in the historical record by Herodotus, Thucydides, Arrian and the Roman historian, Levy.
Pella replaced Aegae as the capitol of Macedon during the reign of King Archelaos (Archilaus) circa 413-399 BCE; the construction of a palace and the presence of artisans, philosophers and poets did not give the Macedonians the respect they thought they deserved from the cities of southern Greece; it wasn't until the reign of Philip II and his son, Alexander the Great, that Pella and all of Macedon began to receive the status of a refined and forward looking nation.
Besides being the birthplace of Alexander the Great, Pella's reputation was enhanced by such notables as Aristotle (the teacher of Alexander) Euripides (the poet), Zeuxis (the painter) and Timotheus (the poet); Alexander also made Pella a major site for minting coins.
Histories, book 7.123
Thucydides, book 2.99
Arrian, book 1.5 and book 6.28
Pelopia was most notable as the mother of Aegisthus (Aigisthos), the murderer of Agamemnon.
Pelopia was the daughter of Thyestes but in a disgraceful union with Thyestes, became the mother of his son, Aegisthus; by all accounts, Thyestes was not a good man so Pelopia should not be blamed for her role in the unnatural relationship with her father; besides consorting with his daughter, Thyestes tried to seduce his brother Atreus's wife.
A Greek general and statesman from the city of Thebes; he was responsible for bringing Thebes to prominence as the dominate power in northern Greece with his successful military and political achievements.
Pelopidas and his confederates ejected the Spartan tyrants from Thebes, circa 379 BCE, and restored democratic rule to the city; he was killed in battle in 364 BCE at the battle of Kynoskephalae (Cynoscephalae) against Alexander of Pherae (Pherai).
The Peloponnesian Peninsula is approximately equal to one third of the land-mass of Greece and is the most southwestern part of the country.
Greece can be divided into several geographical areas which might include: the Mainland, the Peloponnesian Peninsula, the Islands and the Colonies; the Peloponnesian Peninsula was the seat of the early Mycenaean civilization and the powerful city-states of Argos and Sparta; Peloponnesus literally means, the land of Pelops, named after the legendary King Pelops.
(431-404 BCE) The Peloponnesian War was a long and bloody conflict between Athens and Sparta for the domination of Greece.
Athens was the undisputed power in Greece before the war but after twenty-seven years of constant warfare, Sparta assumed hegemony (leadership) of all the Greek speaking people; the history of the Peloponnesian War is largely preserved by the works of Thucydides and Xenophon with detailed, and often, confusing accounts of the battles and politics which perpetuated the war.
One interesting consequence of this long war was that an entire generation of men had no skill other than that of warfare and thus, after the war, Greece had thousands of men who had no practical contribution to make to a peaceful society.
Another name for the Peloponnesian Peninsula.
The Peloponnesian Peninsula is approximately equal to one third of the land-mass of Greece with an area of 8,356 square miles (21,642 square kilometers) and is the most southwestern part of the country.
Greece can be divided into several geographical areas which might include: the Mainland, the Peloponnesian Peninsula, the Islands and the Colonies; the Peloponnesian Peninsula was the seat of the early Mycenaean civilization and the powerful city-states of Argos and Sparta; Peloponnesus literally means, the land of Pelops, named after the legendary King Pelops.
Husband of Hippodamia and father of Thyestes and Atreus; he was a son of Tantalos (Tantalus) and Dione.
Pelops was slaughtered by his father and served to the Olympians as food; only the goddess Demeter unwittingly ate the flesh of Pelops but the other Olympians abstained; Hermes restored him to life and replaced the shoulder that Demeter had eaten with ivory.
Pelops later became the ruler over the peninsula which comprises most of southern Greece and called Peloponnesus after him, i.e. the Land of Pelops; Pelops went on to earn the wrath of the Immortals by committing a breach of honor which could not be forgiven.
Oenomaus was the king of the district of Elis in the northwest Peloponnesian Peninsula; he offered his daughter Hippodamia to Pelops on the condition that Pelops win a chariot race against the best horses in Elis; Pelops bribed Oenomaus's chariot driver Myrtilus to sabotage Oenomaus's chariot; Pelops won the race but refused to pay Myrtilus the bribe money and adding injury to insult, threw him into the sea; before Myrtilus was thrown to his death, he prayed to the Immortals to curse Pelops and his family; the Olympians heard Myrtilus's prayers.
When Pelops died, his son Thyestes was to become king but when he tried to seduce Atreus's wife Aerope, Atreus killed all but one of Thyestes's children and fed them to him at a feast; Atreus then drove Thyestes and the remnants of his family from Mycenae and took the throne.
A light shield in the form of a thick crescent, made of wicker covered with leather; soldiers who carried this type of shield were known as Peltasts.
A soldier who carried a Pelta, i.e. a light shield in the form of a thick crescent, made of wicker and covered with leather.
pem free DOH
One of the Graiae (the Gray Sisters); a daughter of Keto (Ceto) and Phorkys (Phorcys); she and her sister, Enyo, were gray from birth; they shared one tooth and one eye between them.
The sisters played a crucial role in the story of Perseus when he was on his quest to kill and behead the Gorgon, Medusa; Athene (Athena) and Hermes advised Perseus to consult the Graiae in order to find out the location of the Nymphs who could supply him with the Cap of Hades (to make him invisible), winged sandals (to allow him to fly) and a bag called a kibisis (to carry Medusa's severed head); Perseus stole the tooth and eye of the Graiae and refused to give it back until they assisted him.
The Graiae are the sisters of the Gorgons and the Hesperides; later descriptions of the Graiae include Deino as one of the sisters.
Theogony, line 273
peen ee OHS
A river god from the district of Elis in the northwest Peloponnesian Peninsula; Peneios is one of the many sons of Tethys and Okeanos (Ocean).
Herakles (Heracles) diverted the waters of Peneios to complete his Fifth Labor, i.e. Cleaning the Stables of Augeas.
Zeus gave the Rivers, Apollon and the Okeanids the special obligation of having the young in their keeping; his name is also spelled as Pineios and Pinios.
Theogony, line 343
peen ee OHS
A river in northern Greece in Thessaly which flows east from the Pindos (Pindus) Mountains to the Gulf of Salonika (Salonica); also spelled Pineios and Pinios.
peen EL oh pea
The daughter of Ikarios (Icarius) of Sparta and the faithful wife of Odysseus; the mother of Telemachos (Telemachus); her name literally means Weaver.
There were many women in ancient Greece who were capable weavers but Penelope was not just a weaver, she was the finest and most skillful weaver in the ancient world; she was blessed by the goddess Athene (Athena) and given a talent which went beyond the abilities of all other women of her time.
Penelope was married to King Odysseus of the island of Ithaka (Ithaca); she and Odysseus had one son named Telemachos who was born just before Odysseus sailed off to the Trojan War; the war raged on for ten years before the walls of Troy were toppled; Odysseus and the other victorious commanders began their treks home after the war was over but Odysseus was not destined to have an easy voyage home; soon after leaving Troy, Odysseus offended Poseidon (lord of the Sea) by blinding his son, Polyphemos (Polyphemus); Poseidon wanted to kill Odysseus but Zeus forbade it; thereafter, Odysseus was cursed with struggles and hardships but he was always destined to eventually return to Ithaka; during this time, neither Penelope nor Telemachos knew if Odysseus was dead or alive.
After Odysseus had been gone for almost twenty years, everyone began to assume that he was dead and would never return to Ithaka; hoping to marry Penelope and claim Odysseus's kingdom, a throng of young men besieged Odysseus's palace with the intentions of marrying Penelope; the young suitors were indulgent and arrogant as they squandered Odysseus's possessions; they were in no way the equal of Odysseus but imagined that they could claim his kingdom if they could force Penelope to marry them.
At first, the suitors were eager for Penelope to make up her mind and choose one of them as her husband but Penelope, despite her fear that Odysseus was dead, refused to choose any of the brash young men; Penelope told the suitors that she would choose a new husband after she had woven a funeral shroud for Odysseus's aged father, Laertes; the suitors accepted this excuse and continued to squander Odysseus's possessions and corrupt his household while Penelope was busy each day at her loom; the majority of the servants had been won over by the suitors and in many ways, began to betray Penelope and Telemachos.
Penelope had used the weaving of the funeral shroud as a clever way to delay choosing one of the suitors for a husband; each day she would work on the shroud with the finest, most delicate threads and then each night she would secretly unravel part of her work; the suitors were unaware of the trick until one of Penelope's handmaidens betrayed the secret; at that point the suitors became determined to force Penelope's decision; they began plotting to kill Telemachos.
When Telemachos left Ithaka to search for news of his father, he purposely did not tell Penelope that he was going because he did not want her to worry and he did not want her to try and stop him; when one of the loyal servants told Penelope that Telemachos was gone and that the suitors intended to murder him when he returned, she became fearful and apprehensive; Athene took the guise of Penelope's sister Iphthime and assured the troubled woman that the Immortals were watching over her son and husband.
After being tormented by one god, Odysseus would be rescued by another; all of his companions were either killed at Troy or on the voyage home; when Odysseus became stranded on the island of the Phaiakians (Phaeacians), King Alkinoos (Alcinous) gave him many gifts and then provided a ship to take him home.
When Odysseus arrived on Ithaka, the goddess Athene cast a spell on him to make him appear old and wretched; in that guise, Odysseus was able to mingle with the suitors and his servants to see what obstacles he had to overcome before he could reveal his true identity; Odysseus had been gone for so long and suffered so many hardships, his weary mind even doubted the love of Penelope; using his disguise, Odysseus sat with Penelope and told her that he was an old friend of Odysseus but had not seen him recently; Odysseus had always been a clever talker so he was able to make Penelope confess her deepest thoughts without giving away his secret identity; after their conversation, Odysseus had no doubt that Penelope was still faithful to him and worthy of any desperate fight he had to make to reclaim her.
Odysseus took Telemachos into his confidence but did not reveal his true identity to Penelope until after he had killed the suitors and the unfaithful servants; when Penelope and Odysseus were reunited, Athene delayed Eos (Dawn) so that the two lovers could sleep together for an overlong night after so long a separation.
Odysseus soon left Ithaka to live with the Thesprotians; upon his return to Ithaka, Odysseus was accidentally killed by his son Telegonos (Telegonus) who was his son by the Dread Goddess, Kirke Circe; after Odysseus's death, Penelope went to live with Kirke and married Telegonos; as a suitable reward for such a noble life, Kirke made Penelope immortal.
A class of Athenian citizens, i.e. owners of large, productive tracts of land.
When the noted statesman Solon reorganized the Athenian society (circa 594 BCE) he divided the citizens into four specific groups; the four classes under Solon's constitution were:
1) Pentakosiomedimnoi - owners of large, productive tracts of land;
2) Ippeis - horsemen or charioteers;
3) Zeygitai - ox drivers; and
4) Thetes - the lowest of the four classes of Athenian citizens; hired farm workers who also served as lightly-armed soldiers and common seamen.
A Greek war ship with fifty oars arranged twenty-five to a side in one tier.
A penteconter was not an all purpose ship like the trireme; the penteconter was equipped with a ram and was designed specifically as a warship and therefore fast and maneuverable; approximately 125 feet (38 meters) in length and 12 feet (3.7 meters) wide.
The queen of the Amazons who was killed by Achilles during the siege of Troy.
The only reference to Penthesilea comes from the poem Aethiopis by Proklos (Proclus); although Aethiopis was written in the sixth century CE, it is considered to be part of the Epic Cycle, i.e. poems about the fall of Troy; you can sometimes find the Epic Cycle with the Aethiopis in your local library or you can purchase it from the Book Shop on this site.
Achilles carrying the body of Penthesilea.
A loose outer robe worn by women in ancient Greece; usually without sleeves, cinched at the waist and hanging to the ankles.
A city formerly known as Teuthrania and now called Bergama.
Pergamum was an ancient city in Asia Minor in the district of Mysia; located approximately 16 miles (26 kilometers) inland on the Kaikos (Caicus) river.
When the Greeks sailed from Aulis to capture Troy, the fleet became lost and they attacked the city of Teuthrania instead of Troy; they sacked the city and then returned to Aulis to prepare for another attempt at finding Troy; two generations later, the name of the city was changed to Pergamum by Pergamus (Pergamos), a grandson of Achilles, after he captured the city; now known as Bergama, in western Turkey; the Kaikos river is now called the Bakir.
The son of Neoptolemus (Neoptolemos) and Andromache; the grandson of Achilles.
After the fall of the city of Troy, Andromache, the wife of the dead hero, Hector, was taken as a prize by Achilles's son, Neoptolemus; Andromache and Neoptolemus had a son named Pergamus; after residing in western Greece in Epirus, Pergamus moved to the western coast of Asia Minor and, proceeding up the Kaikos (Caicus) river, sacked the city of Teuthrania; he renamed it after himself and the city became Pergamum which is now known as Bergama, in western Turkey.
peh REE an der
The tyrant of the city of Corinth circa 625-585 BCE.
Periander succeeded his father Kypselus (Cypselus) and, at the beginning of his reign, was a wise and beneficial ruler; he was noted as a stern but fair man with a devotion to the arts and an inspiration to commerce; he was also included as one of the Seven Sages by some historians which is an indication of his reputation not only in Corinth but throughout the ancient civilized world; his father had been a brutal and murderous man and Periander eventually became as notorious and deadly as his father.
The historian Herodotus relates an interesting story about Periander, his wife, Melissa and the alienation of his son Lykophron (Lycophron); Periander and Melissa had three children: Lykophron, another son one year older than Lykophron and a daughter of unstated age; Periander murdered Melissa but his children didn't know the truth until Lykophron was seventeen and his older brother was eighteen.
Periander allowed his sons to visit their grandfather (Melissa's father), Prokles (Procles), tyrant of Epidaurus; as the boys were leaving Epidaurus, Prokles asked them if they knew who had murdered their mother; he implied without actually saying so, that their father had murdered their mother; Lykophron understood what Prokles was saying but his older brother was not clever enough to perceive the subtleties of what his grandfather was saying; when the boys returned to Corinth, Lykophron would not speak to his father; Periander finally became so irritated with Lykophron's aloofness that he made Lykophron leave the house; Periander asked his older son what Prokles had said or done to make Lykophron act in such a way but it took some time for the boy to remember what his grandfather had said; Periander assumed that Lykophron would soon come to his senses and beg forgiveness but Lykophron was strong willed and moved in with a friend instead of returning home; Periander threatened Lykophron's friend and he was turned out into the streets; after another friend took Lykophron in, Periander made a proclamation that anyone who spoke or associated with Lykophron would be subject to a fine to be paid to Apollon.
Three days later, Periander saw Lykophron in the streets; the boy was unwashed and hungry; Periander took pity on his son and tried to reason with him; he reminded Lykophron of all the riches he was destined to inherit and said that it was better to be a prince than a beggar; Periander more or less admitted that he had killed Melissa but said that the blame and punishment should not be passed on to his sons; he begged Lykophron to return home; Lykophron was unmoved by his father's pleas and simply said that Periander had violated his own proclamation and now owed a fine to Apollon for speaking to an outcast.
Periander realized that Lykophron was beyond all reason and had him taken to the island of Kerkyra (Corcyra) where he would be out of sight and less of an embarrassment; Kerkyra was a colony of Corinth but there was enmity between them despite their kinship; eventually Periander became too old to manage the affairs of Corinth so he sent a messenger to Lykophron and asked him to return to Corinth because Lykophron's older brother was too dimwitted to take over the responsibilities of leadership; Lykophron refused to answer the message; Periander then sent his daughter, Lykophron's sister, to beg him to return; she used some very good arguments but Lykophron said he would never return to Corinth as long as his father was alive; when Periander heard Lykophron's answer, he decided that he would leave Corinth and live on Kerkyra so that Lykophron could return to Corinth and become the new tyrant; Lykophron agreed to this arrangement and was making plans to go to Corinth but the people of Kerkyra did not want Periander living on their island and killed Lykophron.
Periander was so outraged at the murder of his son that he took three hundred boys from the leading families of Kerkyra and was going to send them to King Alyattes of Sardis to be castrated and serve as eunuchs; when the ship carrying the boys landed on the island of Samos, the Samians learned the fate of the boys and urged them to take sanctuary in the Temple of Artemis; the Samians refused to allow the Corinthians to remove the boys from the temple so the Corinthians surrounded the temple with the intention of starving the boys out; the Samians hastily organized a festival where their young boys and girls would dance to the Temple of Artemis with honey and sesame cakes; as planned, the dancers got close enough to the temple so that the boys inside could snatch the cakes and have food; the Corinthians saw the hopelessness of the situation and left Samos without the boys; the Samians returned the boys to their homes on Kerkyra.
Histories, book 3.48-53
Pausanias, Corinth, 18.8
(circa 495-429 BCE) One of the most famous of all the Athenian statesmen; the son of Xanthippus and Agariste; a descendant of the family of Alkmaeon (Alcmaeon).
Even though the city of Athens was a democracy, the so called Age of Pericles was in fact a period in which one man ruled the government with king-like powers; although he wielded his authority with the consent of the Athenian citizens, he was both admired and criticized for his almost tyrannical domination of the armies and proprietary use of the wealth of the ever expanding Athenian empire; he was a man of great personal charisma and had a reputation for being honest and above corruption or favoritism.
Pericles was not a handsome man nor was he a gifted public speaker and for those reasons he was often criticized by his political opponents and satirized by the comic playwrights; his popular appeal was due to his consistent honesty and sincere devotion to the betterment of Athens and its citizens.
Pericles was determined to spend the wealth of Athens on the Athenian citizens and its colonies; able-bodied men were assigned to paid positions in the army and navy, whereas other citizens were employed in all manner of public works projects which were brilliantly coordinated and resulted in the construction of some of the most enduring and artistically profound structures ever to grace the Greek landscape; all manner of skills, crafts and arts were required for the construction of such masterpieces as: the Parthenon, the Odeum, the Propylaea and the protective Long Wall (which went from Athens to the nearby port of Piraeus); these civic projects employed vast numbers of workers and gave opportunities to otherwise underemployed Athenians.
Pericles ruled Athens for forty-five years (469-429 BCE); when he first entered the political arena, he was opposed by Kimon (Cimon) and the political faction named the Good and True Party; Kimon was generally perceived as a Spartan sympathizer or, at worst, a Spartan lackey; Kimon was ostracized in 461 BCE but was allowed to return to Athens in 450 BCE and died a year later on a military campaign on the island of Cyprus; after his political detractors, like Kimon, were either ostracized or dead, Pericles ruled without serious political opposition for approximately fifteen years (444-429 BCE) but that did not exempt him from personal attacks and civil prosecutions.
After Pericles became estranged from his first wife he took the courtesan Aspasia as his lifelong companion; his two legitimate sons, Xanthippus and Paralos, were the victims of a plague that ravaged Athens and forced him to champion the revocation of a law that he had sponsored before the plague years; when the king of Egypt had given Athens a gift of forty thousand measures of grain, every citizen was entitled to an equal share; Pericles initiated a law that would strictly define an Athenian citizen as only those with two Athenian parents; this law resulted in the loss of citizenship for almost five thousand people; the loss of citizenship meant that many of these people were sold into slavery; after his sons died, Pericles revoked the law so that his illegitimate son by Aspasia could inherit his fortune.
During his career Pericles led and won at least nineteen successful military campaigns in the defense of Athens or to ensure the expansion of Athenian trade throughout Greece, Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea; his utter contempt for Sparta led to many minor battles with the proud and militant Spartans and set the stage for the long and bitter Peloponnesian War which began in earnest three years before Pericles's death; he was survived by one son who was also named Pericles.
The above photo is of a model of Athens as it might have appeared soon after the reconstruction during the archonship Pericles; this view is from the north and shows the Acropolis in the center; the city wall surrounds the city.
The son of the famous Athenian statesman Pericles and the courtesan, Aspasia.
Because his father never married Aspasia, the younger Pericles was not automatically a citizen of the city of Athens but in the last year of his father's life he was granted citizenship as an act of respect for his father's great contributions to the Athenian empire.
In 406 BCE the younger Pericles was in the sea-battle of Arginusae; although the Athenians defeated the Spartans, the Athenians were outraged that many of the seamen drowned because no effort was made to rescue them; Pericles was sentenced to death with five other generals even though the charges against them were, according to the historian Thucydides, not sufficient to warrant their deaths.
peh ree KLEE meh nos
The eldest son of Neleus and Chloris; one of the Argonauts.
Periklymenos's grandfather Poseidon (lord of the Sea) gave him boundless strength and the ability to assume any shape he desired; Periklymenos could transform into an eagle, an ant, a swarm of bees, a snake or any other form.
Periklymenos sailed with Jason and the Argonauts but his individual exploits are not mentioned in The Argonautika; another Argonaut named Iphitos (Iphitus) played an important role in the eventual death of Periklymenos at the hands of Herakles (Heracles).
After the voyage of the Argonauts, Herakles threw Iphitos from the walls of the city of Tiryns; Herakles asked Periklymenos's father Neleus for absolution for the murder of Iphitos but Neleus refused; in a rage, Herakles killed Neleus, Periklymenos and his brother Chromios.
During the fight with Periklymenos, the goddess Athene (Athena) warned Herakles about Periklymenos's shape-shifting abilities; when Periklymenos assumed the shape of a bird and perched on the yoke-boss of Herakles's chariot, Herakles killed Periklymenos with an arrow.
His name may also be rendered as Periklymenus or Periclymenos.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 156-160
Catalogues of Women and Eoiae, fragment 10
Inhabitants of ancient Lakonia (Laconia) who were a free people but were required to pay tribute to Sparta and serve in the Spartan military; they governed themselves and had a monopoly on trade and manufacture but were forbidden to unite their cities in any type of confederation.
A city in southeastern Greece constituting part of greater Athens.
per KOH tee
A city on the southern side of the Hellespont north of the city of Troy.
When the Achaeans (Achaians) attacked Troy, the people of Perkote became Trojan allies and sent twelve ships to defend Troy; twelve ships would be approximately 1200 men.
Asios (Asius), the son of Hyrtakos (Hyrtacus), commanded the soldiers from Perkote which included men from Praktios (Practius), Sestos (Sestus), Abydos (Abydus) and Arisbe; Asios's chariot was drawn by two immortal horses who were the spawn of the river Selleeis (Selleis).
The seer Merops was from Perkote and with his prophetic gifts, knew that his sons Adrastus (Adrestus) and Amphios (Amphius) would not survive the war; he urged them not to go but the Death Spirits drove the impetuous young men to their doom.
Iliad (Lattimore), book 2, lines 831 and 835; book 6, line 30; book 11, lines 229 and 329; book 15, line 547
Iliad (Loeb), book 2, lines 831 and 835; book 6, line 30; book 11, lines 229 and 329; book 15, line 548
Iliad (Fagles), book 2, lines 942 and 947; book 6, line 36; book 11, lines 265 and 384; book 15, line 636
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 2, lines 999 and 1004; book 6, line 32; book 11, lines 263 and 373; book 15, line 633
Argonautika, book 1, lines 1012-1076
The beautiful daughter of Neleus and Chloris and the wife of the seer, Melampous (Melampus).
Pero was so beautiful that Neleus would not allow any man to marry her unless he could prove his manhood and intelligence; Neleus imposed the condition on Pero' s suitors that they had to demonstrate their worthiness by stealing the cattle of a man named Iphiklos (Iphiclus); Iphiklos was a powerful and protective man who owned a large herd of cattle; Neleus knew that stealing Iphiklos's cattle was an impossible task; Melampous was the only man to attempt the feat and he was predictably captured by Iphiklos; Melampous was held captive for one year and forced to tell Iphiklos all the prophecies he knew; when Iphiklos was satisfied that Melampous had nothing else to reveal, he freed the determined young seer who promptly stole some of Iphiklos's cattle and made his escape; having fulfilled the conditions which Neleus stipulated to marry his daughter, Melampous and Pero were allowed to be married but Melampous's brother Bias was the father of Pero's sons: Leodokos (Leodocos), Talaos (Talaus) and Areios (Areius).
Pero's brother Periklymenos (Periclymenos) was a very unusual man; he had the ability to change shapes; he could transform into an eagle, an ant, a swarm of bees, a snake or any other form he wished; Periklymenos was one of the Argonauts who went on the Quest for the Golden Fleece but his exploits with the Argonauts are not mentioned in detail; however, Periklymenos did achieve some degree of fame when he fought with Herakles (Heracles); after the voyage of the Argonauts, Herakles threw another Argonauts named Iphitos (Iphitus) from the walls of the city of Tiryns; Herakles asked Pero's father Neleus for absolution for the murder of Iphitos but Neleus refused; in a rage, Herakles killed Neleus, Periklymenos and Pero's other brother Chromios.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 118-121
Odyssey (Lattimorte and Loeb), book 11, line 287
Odyssey (Fagles), book 11, line 325
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 11, line 329
An Okeanid, i.e. one of the three thousand daughters of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys; the consort of Helios (the Sun) and the mother of the Nymph Kirke (Circe) and King Aietes (Aeetes) of Kolchis (Colchis).
Zeus gave the Okeanids, Apollon and the Rivers the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.
Theogony, lines 356 and 957
The daughter of Zeus and Demeter and the bride of Hades (lord of the Underworld).
Persephone has a page in the Immortals section of this site ... click on her image to view that page.
The wife of King Aidoneus of the Molossians; to say the least, Persephone and Aidoneus were a very eccentric couple; his name was one of the pseudonyms for the lord of the Dead, Hades; she of course was named after Hades's wife, Persephone; they named their daughter Kore (Core) which is a pseudonym for the goddess Persephone and the family dog was named after the hound of Hades, Kerberos (Cerberus); I feel sure that an evening at their palace would have been a very memorable occasion.
PEHR sees
The son of Perseus and Andromeda; the eponymous ancestor of the Persians.
Regarding Perses's parents, Perseus was the son of Zeus by the maiden, Danae; Andromeda was the daughter of the King Kepheus (Cepheus) and Queen Kassiopeia (Cassiopeia) of Ethiopia; Perses was a demigod because he was the grandson of Zeus.
PEHR sees
The brother of King Aietes (Aeetes) of Kolchis (Colchis).
Aietes was king of Kolchis when Jason and the Argonauts came to Kolchis and seized the Golden Fleece; after Jason and Aietes's daughter Medeia (Medea) fled Kolchis, Aietes's kingdom began to deteriorate; Jason killed Aietes's son Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) while making his escape from Kolchis so Aietes had no son to inherit his throne after he was dead; taking advantage of the situation, Perses murdered Aietes and became king of Kolchis.
Aietes's daughter Medeia became the formidable enemy of Perses; she was a skilled sorceress and had no qualms about using her magic to get whatever she desired; she returned to Greece with Jason but deserted him several years later after an unfortunate incident with Jason's lover, Glauke (Glauce); Medeia then went to Athens and became the consort of King Aegeus with whom she had a son named Medus; Medeia and Medus eventually fled Athens and returned to Kolchis where they murdered Perses; Medeia and Medus then went to Asia Minor where Medus became the eponymous ancestor of the Medes.
PEHR sees
The son of the Titans, Krios (Crius) and Eurybia; brother of Pallas and Astraios (Astraeus).
PEHR sees
Perses was the younger brother of the poet Hesiod; the poem Works and Days was written for the benefit of Perses with advice from an older more experienced brother; Works and Days consists of 828 lines and is assumed to have been written in the seventh century BCE.
Hesiod engages in a poetic monologue with Perses on matters which range from the practical day-to-day administration of the family farm, to the spiritual and ethical conduct Hesiod believed to be essential if Perses wanted to lead a productive and worthwhile life; there are priceless pieces of advice and humble bits of wisdom included in this poem; one of my favorite passages urges Perses to be friendly and welcoming to his neighbors because during times of crisis your neighbors will rush to your aid at a moment's notice whereas your relatives will take the time to dress properly before they come to your assistance (lines 342-345).
Works and Days can be found as part of the Richmond Lattimore book Hesiod which includes Works and Days, Theogony and The Shield of Herakles, ISBN 0472081616 (paper bound) or 0472439030 (clothbound); for the complete translations of the Epic Cycle I also recommend the Loeb Classical Library volume 57, ISBN 0674990633; you can find these books at most libraries or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site.
Perseus was the son of Zeus by the maiden, Danae.
King Akrisios (Acrisius) of Argos, Danae's father, was told by an oracle that Danae would have a son who would kill him; to thwart the oracle, Akrisios had Danae locked in a bronze vault so she could not be seduced or wed; Zeus came to her as a shower of gold and Perseus was a result of Zeus's touch.
Akrisios took the mother and new-born child and set them adrift in a coffin-like box thinking that they would die at sea; the box with Danae and Perseus inside washed ashore on the island of Seriphos and was found by the king's brother, Diktys (Dictys).
King Polydektes (Polydectes) of Seriphos fell in love with Danae and as Perseus grew older, thought that the imposing young man was the only obstacle to his successful seduction of Danae; he sent Perseus on a quest for the head of the Medusa.
Medusa was one of the three sisters known as the Gorgons and any mortal or Immortal who dared to look upon a Gorgon's face was turned to stone; Polydektes was sure that Perseus would die on this quest but being the son of Zeus, Perseus had the protection of Athene (Athena) and the assistance of Hermes to assure his success.
Perseus first sought out the sisters of the Gorgons, the Graiai (the Gray Sisters), who were three women, gray from birth, who 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, Perseus was able to cut off Medusa's head; after the attack on their sister; the other Gorgons, Sthenno and Euryale, chased Perseus but his flying sandals saved him; as Perseus flew over the Libyan desert, the drops of blood from Medusa's severed head produced a brood of vile serpents, the winged horse Pegasos (Pegasus) and the monster with the golden sword, Chrysaor.
The story of Perseus was perhaps three generations before Herakles (Heracles) and has endured as a popular artistic theme from the seventh century BCE until modern times.
As Perseus was returning to Argos he encountered a situation in Ethiopia where King Kepheus (Cepheus) and his wife Kassiopeia (Cassiopeia) were going to sacrifice their daughter, Andromeda; Kassiopeia had offended the Nereids by boasting that she was more beautiful than the daughters of Nereus; as revenge for such a transgression, Poseidon (lord of the Sea) sent one of his sea monsters to ravage the countryside and terrorize the inhabitants; the only way to placate the monster was for Andromeda to be sacrificed to Poseidon's beast; just as the monster was about to devour Andromeda, Perseus intervened and used the head of Medusa to turn the monster to stone.
Before Perseus could marry Andromeda, she was kidnapped by another suitor named Phineus; Perseus also used the Gorgon's severed head to turn Phineus and his henchmen to stone.
When Perseus returned to the island of Seriphos, he found that King Polydektes was threatening his mother with violence; Perseus quickly disposed of Polydektes; Perseus's grandfather Akrisios had set all of the dramatic events of Perseus's life into motion by his fear that his grandson would someday kill him; as fate would have it, Akrisios had left Argos by the time Perseus returned from his adventures but he could not escape the grand design of the Immortals; while Perseus was participating in an athletic competition, he accidentally threw a discus into the spectators and killed Akrisios; Perseus refused the throne of Argos and went to Asia Minor where his son Perses founded the race that would become known as the Persians.
Theogony, line 280
Argonautika, book 4, line 1513
Shield of Herakles, lines 216 and 229
One of the sons of Nestor and Eurydike (Eurydice).
After the Trojan War had been over for ten years, Odysseus had not returned home and his son Telemachos (Telemachus) needed to know the fate of his father; Telemachos left his home on the island of Ithaka (Ithaca) and first went to Pylos which was the kingdom of Nestor; Nestor had safely returned from the war and Telemachos was anxious to ask him for news of his father; while at the home of Nestor, Telemachos was treated like an honored guest and the sacrifice of a heifer was made to the goddess Athene (Athena); Perseus held to bowl into which the heifer's blood flowed after the throat was slit.
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 3, lines 414 and 444
Odyssey (Fagles), book 3, lines 462 and 496
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 3, lines 448 and 480
The country known as Persia derived its name from Perses, the son of Perseus; the boundaries of Persia stretched from India to Egypt and bordered on the Greek settlements along the Euxine (Black Sea) in the north and the Aegean Sea in the west.
The empire of western Asia which was begun by Cyrus the Great in 559 BCE and ended with Darius III in 330 BCE.
After the overthrow of the Medes, the Persians successfully ruled western and central Asia without opposition but were soundly defeated on the two occasions when they tried to expand their empire westward into Greece.
In Greek literature, the Persians were referred to as Barbarians even though the Persians had advanced forms of art and science; when Greece entered historic times, the Persian Empire was in decline and their influence was restricted to eastern Asia Minor, India and Egypt; their constant threats to the Greek colonies in Asia Minor and the Aegean Sea were merely a prelude to the invasions of the Greek mainland in 490 and 480 BCE.
The first invasion was initiated by King Darius and was repelled by the Athenians with a resounding victory in 490 BCE on the plains of Marathon; the second invasion was led by King Xerxes in 480 BCE; Xerxes was the son of Darius and in many ways, learned from his father's mistakes; Xerxes's invasion was well planned and the size of the Persian army and navy dwarfed the military might of the Greek resistance; Xerxes was certain of success and after several setbacks, was able to capture and burn the city of Athens; soon after that, the Persian navy was decimated at the sea-battle near the island of Salamis and the remnants of the Persian army were defeated at Plataea.
After these two catastrophic defeats, the Persians were content to harass the Greek colonies in Asia Minor but their incursions were tempered by the well known fact that the Greeks were, in all ways, militarily superior to the Persians and, if left to themselves, the Greeks were not a threat to the Persian Empire and perfectly content to fight amongst themselves.
The kings of the Persian Empire and the approximate periods in which each ruled are as follows:
Cyrus the Great 559-529 BCE;
Kambyses (Cambyses) 529-522 BCE;
Pseudo-Smerdis 522 BCE; 521-485 BCE;
Xerxes I 486-465 BCE;
Artaxerxes I 465-423 BCE;
Xerxes II 423 BCE;
Darius II 423-404 BCE;
Artaxerxes II 404-358 BCE;
Artaxerxes III 338-336 BCE;
Darius III 336-330 BCE.
Referring to the inhabitants of the area extending from Asia Minor on the east and bordered by Egypt in the south and the Euxine (Black Sea) in the north; the ancient Greeks referred to the Persians generically as Barbarians.
A tragedy written by the Athenian playwright, Aeschylus.
Cast of Characters:
Queen of Persia - Widow of Darius and mother of Xerxes
The Ghost of King Darius
King Xerxes
The Persians is the story from the Persian point of view of the utter defeat of the Persian army and navy under the leadership of King Xerxes after his failed invasion of Greece in 480 BCE; the play is unique in that it deals with a historical event and is not, as is common with the other extant plays by Aeschylus, mythological.
The play opens at the tomb of King Darius of Persia with the chorus of Persian Elders waiting patiently for news about the Persian invasion of Greece; the queen of Persia, Darius's widow, enters and tells the elders that she has had a curious dream and wants their interpretation; she saw two beautiful sisters dressed in splendid clothing; the two women cast lots and one wins Greece and the other wins Asia; also in the dream, the queen's son Xerxes puts the two sisters in harness and tries to get them to pull his chariot; one sister wears the trappings proudly but the other will not be tame and tears the yoke in half; the ominous meaning of the dream is obvious to the elders and their fears are soon confirmed when a messenger arrives bringing news of the invasion of Greece.
The news from Greece is bad; the Persian navy was defeated at Salamis and the army at Plataea; the messenger gives a rather detailed account of the Persian losses; the queen and the elders are grief stricken and, in desperation, the queen asks the spirit of Darius come from the netherworld to advise them; the ghost of Darius appears and makes a rather profound speech as to why his son Xerxes failed to conquer Greece.
When Xerxes finally enters the scene, he and the chorus exchange lamentations and fret for the future of Persia.
This play is deceptively slow paced but provides a Persian perspective for the incredible losses of men and money that Xerxes squandered in his attempted invasion of Greece.
If you wish to read this play I suggest The Complete Greek Tragedies, Aeschylus II, edited by David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, ISBN 0226307948; you can find this book at your library in the 800 section or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site.
An Okeanid, i.e. one of the three thousand daughters of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys; her name might mean Rock or Ledge.
Zeus gave the Okeanids, Apollon and the Rivers the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.
Theogony, line 357
A philosophical dialogue (fourth century BCE) by Plato purporting to describe the death of Socrates and dealing with the immortality of the soul and setting forth the theory of "ideas."
FEH dra
The wife of Theseus.
Phaedra was one of the many children of King Minos of Crete; after her father died, Phaedra's brother Deukalion (Deucalion) became king and arranged the marriage of Phaedra to Theseus, who was the king of Athens; Theseus and Phaedra had two sons named Demophon and Akamas (Acamas).
Before he married Phaedra, Theseus had a son named Hippolytus (Hippolytos) by his affair with the Amazon Queen Hippolyte, Phaedra fell in love Hippolytus and tried to seduce him but he rejected her; Phaedra hanged herself and left a letter stating that Hippolytus had forcibly seduced her; Theseus was outraged and begged Poseidon (lord of the Sea) to kill Hippolytus; Poseidon sent one of his ketos, i.e. sea monsters, and Hippolytus was killed.
Diodorus Siculus, 4.62.1; 4.62.2; 4.62.3
One of the Thirty Tyrants elected to rule the city of Athens after the end of the Peloponnesian War (404 BCE).
Having lost the war to the Spartans, the citizens of Athens elected thirty men to lead the new post-war government; these men became known as the Thirty Tyrants; the short lived government they comprised was an oligarchy; an oligarchy is a system of government allowing a few select people or families to rule a city or region based on the assumption that their bloodline or intellect gave them a superior predisposition and right to rule.
The tyrants immediately began to prosecute Athenians who had been Spartan informers and collaborators during the long, hard war; the punishment of the guilty seemed appropriate to the common citizens and aristocrats alike but it soon became clear that the executions and banishments were going beyond the bounds of necessity or prudence; open hostilities soon developed between members of the Thirty and their authority and rule came to an end after one year.
Hellenica, book 2.3
feh OH
One of the five daughters of Atlas who was placed in the heavens as a star and with her sisters, formed the asterism Hyades in the constellation Taurus (the Bull); her sisters are: Phaesyle, Koronis (Coronis), Kleeia (Cleeia) and Eudora.
The Astronomy, fragment 2
feh SEE lee
One of the five daughters of Atlas who was placed in the heavens as a star and with her sisters, formed the asterism Hyades in the constellation Taurus (the Bull); her sisters are: Koronis (Coronis), Kleeia (Cleeia), Phaeo and Eudora.
The Astronomy, fragment 2
PHEH thee on
The son of Helios (the Sun) and Klymene (Clymene); he borrowed his father's chariot, which contained the disk of the sun, and drove it so close to the earth that Zeus struck him down with a thunderbolt in order to save the world from being scorched.
The Liddle and Scott Greek-English Lexicon defines Phaethon simply as Shiner.
PHEH thee on
One of the chariot horses of the goddess of the Dawn, Eos; her other horse was named Lampos (Lampus).
When Odysseus was finally reunited with his wife Penelope, the goddess Athene (Athena) prolonged the night so that the two lovers could be together; Athene also held back Eos and would not let her yoke her colts Phaethon and Lampos to her chariot.
The Liddle and Scott Greek-English Lexicon defines Phaethon simply as Shiner but Robert Fitzgerald translates Phaethon as Daybright and Robert Fagles translates it as Aurora.
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 23, line 246
Odyssey (Fagles), book 23, line 280
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 23, line 276
PHEH thee on
The name by which the ancient Greeks refered to the planet we call Jupiter.
The Liddle and Scott Greek-English Lexicon defines Phaethon simply as Shiner which seems appropriate for such a bright object in the night sky.
PHEH thee on
The son of the goddess of the Dawn, Eos and a mortal man named Kephalos (Caphalus).
When Phaethon was a young boy he was very beautiful and full of childish thoughts; Aphrodite (goddess of Love) became attracted to him and seized him; she made Phaethon the keeper of her shrine by night, a divine spirit; it is not clear where the shrine was located and by making him a divine spirit, we are not sure if Phaethon became immortal or just retained the divine spirit of his mother, Eos.
The Liddle and Scott Greek-English Lexicon defines Phaethon simply as Shiner.
Theogony, line 987
feh AK ee ans
The Phaiakians were a mighty seafaring people who played an important role in the culmination of two of the greatest adventures of the ancient Greek world: 1) the Quest for the Golden Fleece when Jason and the sorceress Medeia (Medea) asked for sanctuary with the Phaiakian king, Alkinoos (Alcinous) and 2) when Odysseus washed ashore on the island of the Phaiakians and they transported him to his home.
The Phaiakians lived on the remote island of Scheria; the shoreline of Scheria was dominated by rocky cliffs with few natural harbors or rivers breaking the wall of cliffs; the Phaiakian men did not ply their skills on any craft relating to war or aggression; they spent their time working on their ships and perfecting their seamanship; the Phaiakian men could sail one of their ships from the furthest land to their home shores in one day; the ships the Phaiakians sailed were not typical seafaring vessels; the Phaiakian ships did not have steering rudders or pilots because they sailed themselves by reading the thoughts of the sailors; the ships knew all the paths of the sea and how to get to any port.
The Phaiakian women were endowed by the goddess Athene (Athena) with a knowledge of excellent handiwork and good character; as direct descendants of Poseidon (lord of the Sea), the Phaiakians lived noble lives and had infrequent contact with other people.
The primary city of the island of Scheria and the palace of King Alkinoos were described briefly in The Odyssey so we only have a glimpse of the manner in which the Phaiakians lived.
The main city of the Phaiakians was surrounded by a high wall and flanked by two harbors where the Phaiakian men beached their ships when they were not at sea; as you approached the city, there was a place of assembly around the beautiful Temple of Poseidon; the temple was marked by huge stones set deep in the earth; the Phaiakian men used this area to cut their masts, shape their ores and build their sleek ships; nearer to the city was the Grove of Athene; the grove was close to the road and part of the estate of King Alkinoos; the area was used as a vineyard and was as far from the city as a shouting man's voice would carry.
When Odysseus approached the palace of King Alkinoos, the first thing which caught his eye was a glint of light as from the sun or moon over the entire palace; the threshold of the entrance was made of bronze; the walls which stretched from the doorway were also made of bronze surmounted by a cornice of cyanus (imitation lapis lazuli); the doors had bronze thresholds but the doors themselves were made of gold with gold handles, silver lintels and silver doorposts; on either side of the front doors stood gold and silver dogs to guard the palace; these robotic dogs were the work of Hephaistos (Hephaestus) and were immortal and ever vigilant.
Inside the palace, the walls were lined with seats for the Phaiakian leaders; the benches were covered with fine robes of soft fabric which the Phaiakian women had skillfully woven; the Phaiakian men would sit on these benches to eat and drink; the walls were also lined with golden youths holding torches to provide light; these golden youths were also robotic creations of Hephaistos.
Outside, close to the doors, was a four acre orchard; the orchard was filled with fruit trees from which grew pears, apples, pomegranates, olives and grapes; the orchard had been a gift from the Immortals and had fruit in all phases of ripeness so that fresh fruit was always available to the Phaiakians; there were two springs in the orchard; one spring watered the orchard and the other was used for the townsfolk.
Another interesting thing to note about the Phaiakians is their close relationship with the Immortals; when Odysseus was in the palace of King Alkinoos, and before he had identified himself to the king and the assembled Phaiakians, King Alkinoos wondered who his mysterious guest may be; he noted Odysseus's noble character and manly grace; he said that the stranger at his table could easily be mistaken for one of the Immortals; however, King Alkinoos reminded the assembled Phaiakians that the Immortals visited them regularly and usually came to them undisguised; in order to get the Phaiakians to assist Odysseus, Athene took on the guise of a mortal man as she went among the Phaiakians placing kindly thoughts in their minds towards Odysseus; we may assume she did that, not to deceive the Phaiakians, but to keep her presence a secret from her wrathful uncle, Poseidon; the Phaiakians were closer to the Immortals than any other race on the earth.
The original leader of the Phaiakians was descended from Poseidon and Giants, his name was Nausithoos (Nausithous); Nausithoos had two male children, Alkinoos and Rhexenor; Rhexenor was married and Alkinoos was not; Apollon killed Rhexenor with a shower of painless arrows and Alkinoos married his widow, Arete.
One generation before the Trojan War (circa 1285 BCE), Jason and the Argonauts sailed to the land of Kolchis (Colchis) at the eastern edge of the Euxine (Black Sea) to retrieve the Golden Fleece with was kept in the Garden of Ares; King Aietes (Aeetes) told Jason that he could have the Golden Fleece only if he completed a series of seemingly impossible tasks but, when Jason survived the test with the help of Aietes daughter Medeia, Aietes refused to honor his agreement; again with the assistance of Medeia, Jason stole the Golden Fleece and made his escape; Aietes sent his son Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) to catch Jason and return the Golden Fleece to him; in order to effect their escape, Jason and Medeia set a trap for Apsyrtos and killed him in cold blood.
Jason, Medeia and the Argonauts made their way to the island of Aiaia (Aeaea) which was the home of Medeia's aunt, the Dread Goddess Kirke (Circe); Jason and Medeia begged Kirke for absolution for the murder of Apsyrtos but Kirke refused; next, Jason and Medeia sailed to the island of the Phaiakians and asked King Alkinoos for sanctuary; King Aietes found out that Jason and Medeia were with the Phaiakians and demanded their return; Alkinoos said that he was morally bound to return a daughter to her father but he would never force a wife to leave her husband; he was tactfully saying that if Jason and Medeia were to be married he would not consider Aietes's demand valid; Jason and Medeia were married and King Aietes was forced to accept the loss of the Golden Fleece, the murder of his son and the betrayal of his daughter.
Ten years after the Trojan War (circa 1230 BCE), Odysseus was still trying to return to his island home of Ithaka (Ithaca) because Poseidon was relentlessly punishing him for the blinding of the god's son, Polyphemos (Polyphemus); after Odysseus had lost all of his ships and crewmen, he was cast adrift on a raft and seemed likely to drown until he was washed ashore on the island of the Phaiakians; Odysseus was found delirious on the beach by a young girl named Nausikaa (Nausicaa) and taken to her father who was King Alkinoos; Alkinoos and his queen Arete welcomed Odysseus with great courtesy and let the disheveled man tell the story of his part in the Trojan War and the subsequent trials at the hands of Poseidon; Odysseus was invited to participate in a series of athletic contests where he deported himself with agility and grace; Alkinoos and Arete were so moved by the sincerity and determination of Odysseus that they agreed to give him many gifts and transport him to Ithaka; they landed Odysseus in a secluded cove and left him sleeping on the beach surrounded by the treasure they had given him; when Poseidon learned of the way the Phaiakians had helped Odysseus he was enraged; he threatened to destroy the Phaiakians but Zeus calmed him down; when the ship which had carried Odysseus home returned to the island of the Phaiakians, Poseidon turned it to stone in the harbor as a lasting reminder of his displeasure.
The name is also spelled as Phaeakians or Phaiacians.
An ancient city on the south-central section of the island of Crete; the site of an ancient Minoan palace; Linear-A tablets and other important objects have been unearthed there.
The Phaistos Disk was found on the island of Crete at Phaistos; the disk is made of clay and has hieroglyphic-type symbols on both sides of the disk impressed into the clay; the symbols-ideograms have not been deciphered but they are clearly not random decorations or meaningless glyphs; the disk has been dated to circa 1600-1450 BCE.
Phaistos Disk Side A
Phaistos Disk Side B
The son of Alkon (Alcon) and one of the Argonauts; he was referred to as "Phaleros of the ashen spear."
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.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 95-104
A little known Immortal whose name is connected with the worship of the phallus; referred to by the poet Aristophanes when he said, "O Phales, as with Dionysos from tavern to bedroom, you roam."
One of the Graces worshiped at Sparta; the Graces are the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome; Phanenna's sisters are: Euphrosyne, Aglaia and Thalia.
The name literally means Lighthouse and is usually associated with the Pharos of Alexandria, i.e. The Lighthouse of Alexandria; one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
Constructed on an island off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt, the lighthouse dates from the third century BCE and was in use for approximately 900 years until it was presumably toppled by an earthquake in 641 CE.
A district in the central portion of ancient Thessaly whose primary city was Pharsalus; the site of the defeat of Pompey by Caesar in 48 BCE.
The river god of the river Phasis in the district of Kolchis (Colchis) which flows into the eastern Euxine (Black Sea); 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.
Theogony, line 340
One of the Thirty Tyrants elected to rule the city of Athens after the end of the Peloponnesian War (404 BCE).
Having lost the war to the Spartans, the citizens of Athens elected thirty men to lead the new post-war government; these men became known as the Thirty Tyrants; the short lived government they comprised was an oligarchy; an oligarchy is a system of government allowing a few select people or families to rule a city or region based on the assumption that their bloodline or intellect gave them a superior predisposition and right to rule.
The tyrants immediately began to prosecute Athenians who had been Spartan informers and collaborators during the long, hard war; the punishment of the guilty seemed appropriate to the common citizens and aristocrats alike but it soon became clear that the executions and banishments were going beyond the bounds of necessity or prudence; open hostilities soon developed between members of the Thirty and their authority and rule came to an end after one year.
Hellenica, book 2.3
A town in southeastern Thessaly; the domain of King Admetos (Admetus) and Queen Alkestis (Alcestis).
Admetos became one of the Argonauts and survived the Quest for the Golden Fleece only to be fated to die soon afterwards; in an incredible act of selflessness, his wife Alkestis (Alcestis) volunteered to die in his stead; Herakles (Heracles) was visiting Pherae when Thanatos (Death) took Alkestis and persuaded Thanatos to free Alkestis so that she and Admetos could be reunited.
A comic poet circa 411 BCE.
FEH roo sah
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
Other than a passing reference to her name, the only Nereid to receive any individual attention in the ancient literature was Thetis; as the mother of Achilles and one of the few goddesses to refuse the amorous intentions of Zeus, Thetis was unique; when the Immortals needed the Nereids, they called upon Thetis to rally her sisters for whatever task was needed.
The Nereids and the Argonauts - After Jason and the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece from Kolchis (Colchis), Medeia (Medea), the daughter of King Aietes (Aeetes), helped Jason murder her half-brother Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) in a rather cowardly way; Zeus swore revenge for such a dastardly act but his sister/wife Hera wanted to protect the Argonauts until Jason and Medeia could be absolved of their crime by the Dread-Goddess Kirke (Circe); Hera called upon Thetis to gather the Nereids so they could quiet the waters of the sea so the Argonauts could safely navigate to Kirke's island; Thetis plunged into the sea and called to her sisters; her call was answered and the Nereids helped save the Argonauts.
The Nereids at the funeral of Patroklos (Patroclus) - In the last year of the Trojan War, Achilles's companion Patroklos was killed; Achilles took Patroklos's death very hard and called out to his mother Thetis for consolation; Thetis and the Nereids rose from the sea and graced the dead body of Patroklos with their divine presence.
The Nereids at the funeral of Achilles - The death of Achilles was one of the most dramatic events of the Trojan War; as the son of Thetis, his death had particular significance to the Nereids; at the funeral of Achilles, Thetis, the Nereids and the Muses all came to pay their respects.
Theogony, line 248
The twenty-first letter of the Greek alphabet; uppercase: Φ; lowercase: φ.
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.
Letters of the Greek alphabet were also used as numerals; the letter phi represented the number 500 and was written as a simple φ or as phi followed by an acute accent, φ'.
A shallow bowl used for pouring libations to the gods; the phiale could be metal ceramic and typically had no handles or foot.
The above image shows the goddess Nike (Victory) with a phiale in her right hand.
(circa 500-432 BCE) The legendary sculptor of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia.
Phidias was also credited with the two statues of Athene (Athena) at the Acropolis of Athens: Athene Promachos (Promachus) and Athene Parthenios; he lived during the time of Pericles and was instrumental in the reconstruction of Athens after it was sacked by the Persians in 480 BCE, especially the Parthenon.
Pericles recognized Phidias's extraordinary talent and put him in charge of the extensive public works projects which dominated the finances and energy of Athens under Pericles's king-like rule; as a precaution, Pericles instructed Phidias to construct his golden statues in such a way that they could be dismantled and weighed so that charges of impropriety could be easily disproved; as if Pericles had prophetic insight, Phidias was accused of stealing gold from the statues but he was acquitted of the theft; his detractors persisted in their persecution and he was eventually convicted of "impiety" and died in prison.
The Athenian messenger who encountered Pan (the Goat-God) while he was on his way to Sparta before the battle of Marathon (490 BCE).
When Phidippides was running to Sparta to seek help for the Athenians against the Persian invasion, he encountered Pan who promised to help the Athenians in battle; after the resounding defeat of the Persians, the worship of Pan was introduced at Athens.
Histories, book 6.105
The son of Aias (Ajax) and the first of his family to become an Athenian citizen.
Histories, book 6.35
A Phrygian peasant who, with his wife Baukis (Baucis), offered hospitality to Zeus and Hermes as they wandered the countryside disguised as mortals; as a reward for their good deed they were saved from a flood and turned into trees.
(382-336 BCE) The king of Macedon from 359-336 BCE; the son of Amyntas and Eurydike (Eurydice); the father of Alexander the Great.
Philip came from a long line of rulers known as the Argeads who ruled Macedon from as early as 700 BCE and claimed their heritage from Herakles (Heracles) and ultimately from Zeus; sometimes this family is referred to as a dynasty but Philip never used the title of King in official documents because the barons who were chiefs of the various tribes of Macedon were fiercely independent and willing to be led but not ruled.
The history of Philip's family was one of periodic success punctuated by long periods of futility; the Macedonians had successfully traded timber with Athens and Sparta and a good deal of the profits were used to make Macedon more Greek-like, i.e. with roads, temples and festivals, but the majority of Philip's predecessors were short sighted and more concerned with maintaining their power than having any long term goals for the country; Philip's father Amyntas was over fifty years old when he became king and was not considered to be a forceful or dynamic leader; when Amyntas died, he left his three sons a fragmented realm; Amyntas's son Alexander II became ruler but circa 367 BCE was killed by his mother's lover, Ptolemy;; Philip and his older brother Perdikkas (Perdiccas) were not old enough to succeed Alexander so Ptolemy became the regent until Perdikkas came of age; neither of the two young boys seemed like much of a threat to Ptolemy and it can be assumed that he had no intention of relinquishing his power to Perdikkas or Alexander; Perdikkas was left to his studies and at age fifteen, Philip was sent to Thebes as a hostage to guarantee Ptolemy's good faith in a Theban alliance.
While in Thebes, young Philip had the good fortune to become acquainted with several influential men; Philip resided with Pammenes who was a skilled Theban army general; through his association with Pammenes, Philip was introduced to the finest military strategist in Greece, Epaminondas; Philip made the most of this incredible opportunity and learned many valuable lessons from these knowledgeable men; in later life Philip in turn taught his son Alexander all that he had learned from these Theban generals.
Philip also learned things about diplomacy and governmental administration while he was in Thebes; the seemingly outdated institution of kingship was belittled by the more progressive democratic cities but there were certain advantages to a monarchy that became obvious to Philip as he watched the political infighting and the inability of governing bodies to make rapid changes in political and military policies; together with his military training in Thebes, Philip used the weaknesses of the democratic cities to his advantage throughout his life.
When Perdikkas came of age (circa 365 BCE) he had Ptolemy executed and became the ruler of Macedon; Perdikkas arranged for Philip to return home and made him a district governor; Philip employed the military training tactics he had learned at Thebes with great success; Philip instituted a rigorous training program that stressed loyalty, physical fitness and well rehearsed battlefield maneuvers.
With a rather short sighted appreciation of the consequences, Perdikkas allied himself with the Athenians in order to secure his northern and eastern borders but was eventually betrayed by the Athenians when they commandeered the ports of Methone and Pydna; the western frontier of Macedon was also in jeopardy because of the fragile state of relations with Illyria; in 359 BCE, Perdikkas took a large army to the frontier where he was killed and the army soundly defeated; with the weakened state of the military, invading armies from the north and the general disrespect with which the other nations and cities held for Macedon, Philip's ascension to ruler-ship was not a simple matter; there were five other men besides Philip vying for control.
First of all, Philip dealt with his three half-brothers: Menelaus, Archelaus and Arrhidaeus; each had a weak claim to the throne but they also had ineffectual military support to back up their bids for power; Philip had Archelaus arrested and executed; the two remaining half-brothers (Menelaus and Arrhidaeus) fled Macedon.
The other two contenders were greater threats to Philip and had substantial military backing; a man named Pausanias was backed by the king of Thrace and another man named Argaeus was backed by Athens; to add to his worries, the northern borders of Macedon were under attack but Philip bribed the northern invaders to institute a temporary truce.
Philip cleverly outsmarted and outmaneuvered the final two threats, Pausanias and Argaeus; Philip paid the king of Thrace to assassinate Pausanias and negotiated with the Athenians to withdraw their support for Argaeus in exchange for the unquestioned Athenian control of the port of Pydna; without Athenian hoplites, Argaeus made a failed assault on Aegae with his mercenaries; as Argaeus was retreating back to the port of Methone, Philip confronted Argaeus and forced his surrender.
Philip became the king of Macedon but only a man of his military and diplomatic prowess could have saved the sovereignty of Macedon; when the king of the Paeonians died, Philip invaded their country and forced them to accept his authority; Philip immediately advanced on the Illyrians and although both armies were of equal size, he used the military tactics he had learned from general Epaminondas of Thebes to outmaneuver the Illyrian commander Bardylis and slaughter two thirds of the Illyrian army; when Barbylis surrendered, all major threats to the borders of Macedon were temporally eliminated; with the kingdom temporarily secure and the people of Macedon soundly behind him, the twenty three year old Philip was the new, undisputed king of Macedon.
After the defeat of the Illyrians, Philip married Audata, the daughter of the Illyrian commander, Bardylis; she died in 357 BCE after giving birth to a daughter named Kynae (or Kynna); Philip married again almost immediately, this time to a princess of the Elimiotis clan of Macedon; princess Phila was a daughter of a man named Derdas but she too died within a few months of the marriage.
When Alexander of Pherae was assassinated in Thessaly, the aristocratic families asked Philip to come to their aid because the wife of Alexander (and her brothers) were out of control and some sort of strong military intervention was needed; Philip came to their aid and took a dancing girl from Larissa (Larisa) as his concubine; her name was Philinna and she eventually bore Philip a son named Arrhidaeus.
The city of Amphipolis, located on the river Strymon, had always been a key factor in Philip's dealings with Athens; Amphipolis was lost to the Athenians at the end of the Peloponnesian War (circa 405 BCE) and they wanted it back because of its strategic location on the northern reaches of the Aegean Sea; when Philip was trying to solicit the assistance of Athens in his confrontation with Argaeus, he forcibly took Amphipolis and promised to cede it to Athens; the Athenians took this as a sign of Philip's good faith towards Athens; in the spring of 357 BCE, Philip again attacked Amphipolis on the pretext of a dispute with the city government; when Amphipolis appealed to Athens for assistance, the Athenians were too busy with more immediate concerns to send military help and incorrectly assumed that Philip would return Amphipolis to Athenian control; by the fall of 357 BCE, Philip had successfully taken Amphipolis and to the chagrin of Athens, declared it a free city; the other cities of northern Greece saw this as an indication of Philip's honest intentions towards them but the Athenians didn't realize the extent of Philip's double dealings until he took their port of Pydna.
When the Olynthians saw the futility of depending on Athens for military assistance, they made a treaty with Philip in the name of the Chalcidic League; in return for the allegiance of the Olynthians, Philip promised that he would recover Potidaea for them; Philip attacked Potidaea and after letting the Athenian contingent leave unmolested, surrendered the city to the Olynthians in 356 BCE; this earned him the continued good will of the northern Greek cities.
Philip's third official marriage was his most famous; in the autumn of 357 BCE he married the niece of Prince Arybbas of Epirus; her name was Myrtale but she assumed the name of Olympias and became the mother of Alexander the Great in 356 BCE; she was, by all accounts, eccentric and most historians tend to cast her in a very ignoble light; she was eighteen when she married Philip and thoroughly committed to the orgiastic rites of Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine); this cult association involved the use of snakes in the rituals and this gave rise to the story that Alexander was actually the son of the Egyptian god Ammon, who seduced Olympias in the form of a snake; it was also widely believed that during his assault on Methone in 354 BCE, Philip was seriously injured and lost his right eye because he had observed Olympias with Ammon in the guise of a snake.
Philip's next opportunity to expand his kingdom came in the form of a request from the city of Krenides (Crenides) for his assistance in repelling the ongoing Thracian aggression; in 356 BCE, Philip successfully took the city and renamed it Philippi; the income from the gold and silver mined from the area around Krenides increased Philip's income to the point where the economic might of Macedon equaled that of Athens; Philip used the increased revenue to train and equip his growing army but a substantial amount was also spent as bribes to politicians in the southern Greek cities; it would seem that Philip recognized that winning allies with bribes was more cost effective than armed conflict.
Philip annexed Thessaly and took another wife to cement relations with the newly acquired territory; her name was Kleopatra (Cleopatra) and she bore him a son; after Philip's death, Olympias had Kleopatra, her son and father killed to insure that her son Alexander would be the sole heir to the throne; with the acquisition of the widely respected cavalry from Thessaly, Philip renounced his treaty with the Olynthians and in late 349 BCE, laid siege to Olynthus and captured the city in September of the following year; the capture of Olynthus proved Philip's boast that no city could withstand a siege if the walls of the city had a gate wide enough to admit a traitor with a bag of gold; the Athenians sued for peace but Philip delayed ratifying the peace accords until he reached the crucial gateway of Thermopile and forced the Athenian allies, the Phokians (Phocians), to surrender; despite the continued acts of provocation and acquisition, the Athenians entered an alliance with Philip; the chief opponent of Philip in Athens was Demosthenes; he denounced Philip as a villain but found few Athenians who were willing to take up his cause; after Philip's death, Demosthenes turned his biting tongue on Alexander but he was too late to stop the swift and charismatic rise of Alexander as a more dynamic and aggressive leader than Philip had ever been.
After 346 BCE, Philip relentlessly expanded his empire in northern Greece and by 340 BCE, the Athenians declared war on Philip because he took control of the Athenian port of Perinthus and commandeered their grain fleet; Thebes joined Athens against Macedon but after the Theban military was defeated, Athens agreed to meet in Corinth to sue for peace; an accord was signed in the summer of 337 BCE where Philip demanded that all signatories retain their current constitutions and all infractions would be enforced by Philip; he was thus master of nearly all of Greece; Philip then announced his plans to conquer the Persian Empire and in 336 BCE sent his trusted general Parmenio into Asia Minor as a prelude to the full scale invasion.
Philip personally taught his son Alexander the vital lessons of statecraft and warfare but hired professional philosophers, such as Aristotle, to insure that Alexander had a proper classical education; the antidotal episodes relating to the antagonism between Philip and Alexander were perhaps exaggerated but proof of their mutual devotion to one another can be readily seen by the way Philip entrusted Alexander with military commands and Alexander's determination to punish all those affiliated with Philip's assassination when, in the autumn of 336 BCE, Philip was struck down by an assassin at a public ceremony in front of the army and a cadre of foreign dignitaries; Philip was buried at Aegae and at the age of twenty, Alexander took the throne of Macedon.
Any of the orations delivered by Demosthenes against Philip II of Macedon.
When King Phillip II of Macedon was trying to gain control of all the Greek cities (circa 336 BCE), Demosthenes spoke out eloquently and forcefully against him; many influential Athenians took bribes from Phillip but Demosthenes would not; he did, however, accept money from the Persians because they shared his distrust for Phillip and it served the Persians to hinder Phillip before he invaded Asia Minor and it served Demosthenes in his efforts to save Athenian autonomy; his anti-Phillip stance was taken to heart by the Athenian people and even earned him the respect of Philip who admired Demosthenes's style and patriotism; regardless of the respect Philip had for Demosthenes, the Macedonians attacked Athens and the Athenians became the unwilling but submissive subjects of Phillip.
The father of the comic dramatist, Aristophanes.
The daughter of Alkimedon (Alcimedon) who was seduced by Herakles (Heracles).
fee lok TEE tees
The renowned archer from Oita (Oeta); the son of Poias; Philoktetes killed Prince Alexandros (Paris) in the final battle for Troy.
Quite a legend has grown around Philoktetes and his role in the Trojan War as well as his involvement with Herakles (Heracles); prior to the Trojan War (sometime before circa 1250 BCE), Philoktetes encountered Herakles as he was suffering from wounds accidentally inflicted on him by his wife Deianeira (Deianira) with the acid blood of the centaur, Nessos (Nessus); Herakles built his own funeral pyre and begged someone to set it ablaze; Philoktetes (or perhaps his father, Poias) lit the fire and Herakles gave Philoktetes (or Poias) his bow and quiver as a reward.
Philoktetes was well acquainted with Agamemnon and Menelaos (Menelaus) because he was one of the suitors of Helen before she was finally married to Menelaos; Helen's step-father Tyndareus made all the suitors swear that they would come to the rescue if Helen was ever forcibly taken from her lawful husband; when Prince Alexandros (Paris) of Troy took Helen from Sparta, Philoktetes joined the Greek army and sailed to Troy with seven ships under his command; however, before he could reach Troy, Philoktetes was bitten by a water snake and the Greeks abandoned him on the island of Lemnos because of the festering and vile smelling infection caused by the snake bite; there he remained until the tenth year of the Trojan War.
During the fighting at Troy, Odysseus captured the Trojan seer Helenos (Helenus) and was told that Troy would never be captured without Philoktetes and his bow; Diomedes was dispatched to Lemnos and brought Philoktetes back to Troy where he was treated by Machaon and healed of his wounds; Philoktetes joined the fighting and killed Alexandros (Paris); after the sack of Troy, Philoktetes returned safely to his home.
When Odysseus was asked about his skill with a bow, he replied that he was surpassed only by one man, Philoktetes.
Iliad (Lattemore) book 2, lines 716-725
Iliad (Loeb) book 2, lines 717-725
Iliad (Fagles) book 2, lines 819-826
Iliad (Fitzgerald) book 2, lines 857-866
Odyssey (Lattemore and Loeb) book 3, line 190; book 8, line 219
Odyssey (Fagles) book 3, line 215; book 8, line 250
Odyssey (Fitzgerald) book 3, line 205; book 8, line 231
Catalogues of Women, fragment 68
The Kypria, fragment 1, paragraph 9
The Little Iliad, fragments 1 and 12
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A tragedy by Sophocles circa 408 BCE.
Cast of Characters:
Odysseus
The Trader
Neoptolemus (Neoptolemos)
Philoktetes
The Ghost of Herakles (Heracles)
Just as modern writers embellish the facts of otherwise true stories, Sophocles took liberties with the historical record surrounding the life of the phenomenal archer Philoktetes and his involvement in the Trojan War; even so, Sophocles still managed to capture the drama and intensity which shrouded the life of the long suffering Philoktetes.
Philoktetes was a king and a respected leader of men until he fell victim to a snake bite on the voyage to Troy; the Greeks abandoned him on the island of Lemnos because the snake bite was festering and offense to see and smell; the play begins after Philoktetes has been exiled for nine lonely, bitter years.
During the fighting at Troy, Odysseus captured a seer named Helenos and learned that the gods had decreed that without Philoktetes and his bow Troy could never be defeated by the Greeks; Odysseus and Neoptolemus (the son of Achilles) have come to Lemnos to bring Philoktetes back to Troy either by force or persuasion; Odysseus favors the forceful method because he knows that if Philoktetes sees him on Lemnos, the renowned archer will surely kill him because Odysseus was partly responsible for having Philoktetes exiled and Philoktetes has had nine years to hone his anger and plot his revenge.
Odysseus hides and sends Neoptolemus to approach Philoktetes and win his confidence with lies; once Philoktetes lowers his defenses, Odysseus and the other sailors were planning to pounce on Philoktetes and take him back to Troy as a prisoner; the plan seems sound to Odysseus because he is accustomed to trickery and lies but Neoptolemus is a young man with a strict moral code and he sincerely believes that they should be honest with Philoktetes and rely on his good will; since the fate of the Trojan War depends on Philoktetes accompanying them back Troy, Odysseus is adamant and Neoptolemus finally agrees to play his part in the charade.
The conversation between Neoptolemus and Philoktetes is very revealing and introduces plot elements that are not exactly true in the historical sense but make for some fine drama; Philoktetes is swayed by Neoptolemus's false sincerity and surrenders his bow without hesitation; at this point Odysseus enters the scene and Philoktetes is beside himself with anger; he berates Neoptolemus for his lies; Odysseus does not care but Neoptolemus is disgusted with the deception he perpetuated on the lonely and suffering Philoktetes.
Odysseus is confidant that the whole plan has succeeded but Philoktetes berates Neoptolemus until the young man succumbs to the weight of his guilt and gives Philoktetes back his bow; Philoktetes takes aim at Odysseus and intends to kill him but, at that moment, the ghost of Herakles appears; Herakles tells Philoktetes, Odysseus and Neoptolemus that, even though he was the son of Zeus, his life was full of suffering and that he was forced to endure a life of hardship in order to achieve his ultimate reward; Herakles tells Philoktetes to go to Troy willingly and let the physicians heal his wounds so that he can become a hero and help accomplish the final destruction of the besieged city.
I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene; you can find this and other plays by Sophocles at your local library or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site.
She and her sister Prokne (Procne) were Athenian princesses and the daughters of Pandion.
Prokne married King Tereus of Thrace; Tereus attacked (or offended) Philomela and in order to keep his outrage a secret, he cut out Philomela's tongue and hid her away in an isolated place.
Philomela was able to weave her sad story onto a piece of needlework and send it to her sister; Prokne found Philomela and the two of them killed Prokne's son Itys and served the cooked body of the child to her evil husband, Tereus; Tereus tried to slay the sisters but all three were transformed into birds; Tereus became a hoopoe, Philomela became a swallow and Prokne became a nightingale.
Philomela was also called Daulias which means "a woman from Daulis."
Affection; one of the children of Nyx (Night).
Theogony, line 224
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One of the three thousand daughters of Okeanos (Ocean); Philyra became the mother of the Centaur Cheiron (Chiron) after her union with Kronos (Cronos).
When Kronos's sister/wife Rheia (Rhea) caught him consorting with Philyra, Kronos took the guise of a horse to escape detection; thus Cheiron was conceived as a Centaur, i.e. half-horse/half-god.
Theogony, line 1002
War of the Titans, fragment 6
Argonautika, 2.1232 and 2.1239
A king of Salmydessus on the Euxine (Black Sea); the son of Agenor and the brother of Kadmos (Cadmus) and Europa.
Phineus married the daughter of Boreas (North Wind), Kleopatra (Cleopatra), and after her death he married a cruel and vengeful woman; his new wife hated his sons which he and Kleopatra had sired; she induced Phineus to blind them; as punishment for such a horrendous act, Zeus offered him blindness or death; Phineus chose blindness; Helios (the Sun) was offended that Phineus would choose darkness rather than death so he sent the winged-women known as the Harpies to torment Phineus by stealing his food; the Harpies did not steal all of Phineus's food, they would always leave reeking morsels so that he could sustain himself and thus his torment could continue.
During the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts, the winged sons of Boreas, Kalais (Calais) and Zetes set a trap for the Harpies but the Harpies were very swift and the winged brothers could only claw at the fleeing women with their fingertips; Iris, the messenger of the Immortals, rushed into the fray and chided the brothers for trying to harm the Harpies because they were there to punish Phineus at the behest of Zeus; Iris swore a sacred oath on the river Styx that if the brothers would stop their pursuit of the Harpies, Phineus would no longer be tormented; thus Phineus was freed from his curse.
The islands where Phineus made his home were called the Floating Islands until the Argonauts arrived, from that time on they were called the Islands of Turning.
Argonautika, book 2, lines 178-300
A river of fire; one of the five rivers of the Underworld.
The ancient name of the western-most peninsula of the district of Chalkidike (Chalcidice) which is bounded on the west by the Gulf of Strimon and extends into the northern Aegean Sea; this was the site of the battles between the Olympians and the Giants.
The son of Chthonophyle and Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine); Phleias was one of the Argonauts.
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.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 115-117
An intense fear; an illogical and all-consuming dread which seems to transcend rational thought processes; the term comes to us from the name of the Greek god Phobos who was the embodiment of Panic.
One of the sons of Ares (god of War) and Aphrodite (goddess of Love).
Phobos was the incarnation of all-consuming Panic and he could possess entire armies and cause their defeat; he was the brother of Deimos (Fear) and Harmonia (Harmony).
When Hephaistos (Hephaestus) made a shield for Herakles (Hercules), he placed the face of Phobos in the center of the ivory and electrum shield.
Theogony, line 934
Shield of Herakles, line 144
A district near the streams of Aegyptus (the Nile River) which in ancient times was considered to be the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea from Syria to Arabia.
Referring to people of Phoenicia which was the strip of land on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea from Syria to Arabia.
The Phoenician Women; a play by Euripides; produced between 412 and 408 BCE.
Cast of Characters:
Jocasta - Wife and mother of Oedipus
Antigone - Daughter of Oedipus
Polyneikes (Polyneices) - Son of Oedipus
Eteokles (Eteocles) - Son of Oedipus, king of Thebes
Kreon (Creon) - Brother of Jocasta
Teiresias - Blind seer
Menoekeus (Menoeceus) - Son of Kreon
Oedipus - Blinded ex-king of Thebes
The title of this play refers to the chorus which is composed of Phoenician Women who were en route to Delphi to become servants of the oracle of Apollon but are now trapped inside the walls of Thebes because the army from Argos has surrounded the city; the storyline is a continuation of the tragic saga of Oedipus and his children.
After Oedipus relinquished the kingship of Thebes, his sons Eteokles and Polyneikes agreed to alternate sitting on the throne; Eteokles was the first to rule but when Polyneikes tried to claim his turn on the throne, Eteokles refused to step down; Polyneikes assembled an army in Argos which became known as the Seven Against Thebes and is preparing to attack the city.
The play begins with Polyneikes coming inside the city walls at the request of his mother, Jocasta; she has persuaded the two brothers to meet face to face to try to settle their differences without resorting to a confrontation between the two armies; Polyneikes is more than willing to alternate kingship but Eteokles is unwilling to relinquish the throne without being forcefully evicted; Eteokles reasons that any man who would willingly surrender the Greater for the Lesser is foolish and cowardly.
Without the possibility of a peaceful solution, the two armies prepare for battle; an Argive captain attacks each of the city's seven gates and after a bout of fierce fighting, the Thebans seem to be winning the war; even with the military advantage, Eteokles is prideful and challenges Polyneikes to single combat to determine the outcome of the war; as the two brothers square off, Jocasta and Antigone run to the battlefield to try and keep the brothers from killing each other but before the women can reach them, both young men are mortally wounded and near death; as the brothers die Jocasta is beyond consolation and uses a bloody sword to kill herself; the Theban army rushes to the attack and the Argives are routed.
There are many elements to this play which explain the subtleties of the Oedipus saga; before the war began, Eteokles made Kreon, Jocasta's brother, promise that if he (Eteokles) should be killed in the war, Kreon would assume the throne and that Polyneikes would never be buried on Theban soil.
The chorus of Phoenician Women are the soul of descriptive eloquence and imagery; when they are describing the curse that has befallen Oedipus and his children, they sing of the cloud that shrouds the city of Thebes and go on to say that the cloud has manifested itself as the cloud of white shields of the Argive army; as in other plays dealing with the Oedipus theme, Antigone is portrayed as a noble and heroic figure which makes me believe that the real Antigone must have been a truly remarkable woman.
I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene, Euripides V (ISBN 0226307840); you can find this and other plays by Euripides at your local library or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site.
FEE bee
One of the Titans, i.e. one of the children of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (the Heavens); her name means The Bright One; the wife of Koios (Coeus) and the mother of Leto and Asteria.
Theogony, lines 136 and 404
FEE bee
Phoibe and Hilaeira were the daughters of Leukippus (Leucippus).
There are two versions of the story in which Phoebe and Hilaeira became involved with the Dioskuri (Dioscuri), i.e. Kastor (Castor) and Polydeukes (Polydeuces or Pollux) while the two young men were with the Argonauts on the Quest for the Golden Fleece:
1) The girls were betrothed to two other men (their cousins Idas and Lynkeus (Lynceus) but Kastor and Polydeukes kidnapped them; a fight arose and Kastor was killed; or
2) Kastor's death was the result of a misadventure during a cattle raid; for the reasons of romantic license, the love affair scenario seems to be the most popular.
FEE bee
A name for the goddess, Artemis, which means Shining.
pho EE bos
An epithet for the god Apollon meaning Pure or Bright; Phoibos can be placed before Apollon as an adjective or simply used alone to signify the god.
A son of Amyntor and Kleobule (Cleobule); mentor of Achilles.
Phoinix's father was unfaithful to his wife Kleobule and she begged Phoinix to seduce his father's mistress and turn the young woman's affections away from the aging Amyntor; when Amyntor detected the plot, he cursed Phoinix and drove him from Kalydon (Calydon); Zeus and Persephone accomplished Amyntor's curse and Phoinix was never allowed to have children of his own.
Phoinix considered killing his father but his hand was stayed by the intervention of his devoted kinsmen and cousins; they kept Phoinix under close watch for nine days and his anger transformed into resolution; on the tenth night he fled Kalydon.
Phoinix was given asylum by King Peleus of Phthia; he was treated as an honored guest and Peleus made him the king of Dolopia; he became the advisor and foster-father of Achilles; during the Trojan War, Phoinix begged Achilles to put aside his anger towards Agamemnon and rejoin the fight with the Trojans; he reminded Achilles of the story of Meleagros (Meleager) and how one man's pride had brought doom to his family and his homeland.
Iliad (Lattimore), book 9, lines 168, 223, 426, 432, 607, 621, 659 and 690; book 16, line 196; book 17, lines 555 and 561; book 19, line 311; book 23, lines 360 and 744
Iliad (Loeb), book 9, lines 168, 223, 427, 432, 607, 621, 659 and 690; book 16, line 196; book 17, lines 555 and 561; book 19, line 311; book 23, line 360
Iliad (Fagles), book 9, lines 201, 267, 518, 521, 739, 758, 806 and 841; book 16, line 231; book 17, lines 632 and 638; book 19, line 368; book 23, line 408
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 9, lines 218, 270, 518, 523, 739, 755, 801 and 839; book 16, line 230; book 17, lines 622 and 629; book 19, line 343; book 23, line 415
An Arabian bird; the Phoinix is often the emblem of immortality or symbolic of the rebirth of ideals and hope.
When the historian Herodotus was in Egypt he was told the story of the Phoinix which he did not believe but dutifully recorded anyway.
The Egyptians said that the Phoinix was an Arabian bird the size of an eagle which was mostly red but accented with gold plumage; the bird was said to live in the Arabian desert and when its father died, the noble bird would wrap the body in a cocoon of myrrh and fly the body to the Egyptian city of Heliopolis to deposit it in the temple of the Sun; Heliopolis means City of the Sun..
The common conception of the Phoinix is of a bird which would burn itself on a funeral pyre and then rise from the ashes in the freshness of youth to live through another cycle of years.
Histories, book 2.73
The father of Europa and Kadmos (Cadmus); Phoinix's children were very important to ancient Greek history.
Europa drew the amorous attentions of Zeus and in order to seduce her, Zeus assumed the form of a bull and carried Europa to the island of Crete on his back; Europa became the mother of a dynasty on Crete through her son Minos; she had two other sons: Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon.
After Europa was kidnapped by Zeus, Phoinix's son Kadmos went in search of Europa but when he consulted the Oracle at Delphi, the Pythia (priestess of Apollon) told Kadmos to abandon the search for his sister and follow a cow from Apollon's temple until it laid down to rest; at the place where the cow laid down, Kadmos was told to build a city which would eventually be named Thebes after Kadmos's Nymph wife, Thebe.
When the goddess Hera went to Mount Ida to distract Zeus from the action on the battlefield of Troy, he became nostalgic and began recounting his numerous romantic conquests and the many children he had engendered; he recalled Europa and said that her father Phoinix was a man of great renown.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 14, line 321
Iliad (Fagles), book 14, line 385
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 14, line 361
A Greek seaport in Asia Minor; the northernmost of the Ionian cities; located on the coast on the Gulf of Izmir almost due east of the island of Chios; modern Foca, Turkey.
Approximate East Longitude 26º 46' and North Latitude 38º 39'
The Phokais; one of the fragmentary remains of the Homerica; the Homerica is the name given to a group of poems and commentary attributed to Hesiod or Homer circa 750 BCE.
The fragments of the Phokais can be presented in three or four sentences and are thus not too informative but they are important because of their antiquity; they simply say that Homer composed the Little Iliad and the Phokais while he was living with Thestorides but the Phokians (Phocians) insist that the Phokais was composed in Phokis (Phocis).
For the complete translations of the Homerica 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.
An Athenian statesman and general circa 402-317 BCE; although he was elected polemarch (military commander) over forty times, he was a man of peace and eventually convicted of treason in 318 BCE.
An ancient district in central Greece north of the Gulf of Corinth; site of the oracles of Apollon at Delphi and Abae.
PHO kos
The half-brother of Peleus and Telamon; the son of Aiakos (Aeacus) and the Nymph, Psamathe.
Phokos was the better of the three boys and excelled in all forms of athletics and war-craft; Peleus and Telamon were so jealous of Phokos that they murdered him; Aiakos banished Peleus and Telamon from the island of Aegina (Aigina) for their crime.
Theogony, line 1004
A Centaur who was accidentally killed by Herakles (Heracles).
While Herakles was in the service of his cousin Eurystheus, he was required to capture a wild boar on Mount Erymanthus as his Fourth Labor; on his way to Mount Erymanthus, Herakles was the guest of Pholos; when Herakles and Pholos were enjoying some wine from a storage pithos, the other Centaurs became agitated and attacked Herakles; Pholos was killed in the confusion.
The tragedy began long before Herakles was the guest of Pholos; during the completion of his Second Labor (Killing the Hydra), Herakles decided that the poisonous blood of the Hydra might be of use in the future so he dipped his arrow points in the Hydra blood; when he arrived at the cave of Pholos, Herakles had no intention of doing harm to his host but in the confusion of the fight with the other Centaurs, Herakles accidentally killed Pholos; to add to the misery of the situation, the noble Centaur Cheiron (Chiron) was also accidentally pierced with one of the poison arrows and died.
Murders; the children of Eris (Discord).
Theogony, line 228
FOR kees
Phorkys is the son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia (Earth) and the brother of Thaumas and Eurybia; Phorkys is called the Old Man of the Sea.
Phorkys was the consort of his sister Keto (Ceto) and father the Nymph Thoosa, as well as the Graiae (the Gray Sisters), the Gorgons, the six-headed monster Skylla (Scylla) and the serpent Ladon, who guards the Golden Apples of the Hesperides.
Phorkys's daughter Thoosa was the consort of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) which would make Phorkys the grandfather of the Cyclops, Polyphemos; when Odysseus returned to his island home of Ithaka, the Phaiakians put him ashore in a secluded harbor sacred to Phorkys and he hid the treasure the Phaiakians had given him in a nearby cave sacred to the Nymphs of the Wellspring.
His name is also spelled Phorkus or Phorcus.
Theogony, lines 237-239, 270-277 and 333-336
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 1, line 72; book 13, lines 96 and 345
Odyssey (Fagles), book 1, line 85; book 13, lines 109 and 393
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 1, line 94; book 13, lines 119 and 433
The Morning Star; the ancient Greek name for the planet we call Venus.
The son of King Deiokes (Deioces); Phraortes became the second king of the Medes and ruled from 647-625 BCE.
Phraortes assumed the throne when his father died in 647 BCE and successfully expanded his father's humble empire eastward towards the territories of the Persians and the Assyrians; he subdued the Persians but was killed during his assault on the Assyrians; he died in 625 BCE and was succeeded by his son, Kyaxares (Cyaxares).
Histories, book 1.102 and 1.103
FREE ksos
Phrixus and Helle were the children of King Athamas of Orchomenos (Orchomenus) and his Nymph wife, Nephele (Cloud).
Athamas was the brother of Sisyphus (Sisyphos) and it seems that both brothers were uncommonly audacious; Athamas and Sisyphus both lived lives of self-indulgence and both men eventually earned the wrath of Zeus; Athamas rejected the divine Nephele and began consorting with a mortal woman named Ino; Ino soon began plotting to have Phrixus killed as a sacrificial victim.
Nephele and the god Hermes devised a means of escape for Phrixus and his sister Helle; Hermes created a flying ram with a Golden Fleece on which the two children of Athamas could fly away from Orchomenos and avoid the evil designs of their wicked stepmother, Ino; the youths flew away from Orchomenos on the ram but Helle fell from its back and drowned in the narrow sea between Asia and Europe; the sea was named Hellspont (Helle's Sea) in her honor but today we call it the Dardanelles Straits; Phrixus managed to stay astride the flying ram and made his way to the eastern edge of the Euxine (Black Sea) and alighted in the land of Kolchis (Colchis).
Kolchis was ruled by King Aietes (Aeetes) and he welcomed Phrixus; Aietes was convinced that the Golden Fleece of the flying ram was a potent symbol for the continued success of his people and his country so the ram was sacrificed in the Garden of Ares and a dragon was set to guard the Golden Fleece.
As time passed and Phrixus grew to manhood, King Aietes arranged for Phrixus to marry his daughter Chalkiope (Chalciope); Aietes offered Chalkiope to Phrixus without requiring the wedding gifts which were traditionally expected from a suitor; Phrixus and Chalkiope had four sons: Argos (Argus), Kytissoros (Cytissorus), Melas and Phrontis.
After Phrixus's death, his four sons decided that it was necessary for them to return to Orchomenos and avenge their father's mistreatment by Athamas; the young men had not sailed too far west from Kolchis when they became stranded on the Island of Ares; this was obviously not a chance occurrence because Jason and the Argonauts soon arrived on the same island.
Jason had formed a crew of the most worthy young Greek men to sail to Kolchis and retrieve the Golden Fleece; their ship was named the Argo and the crew-members were called the Argonauts; Jason invited Phrixus's sons to join the Argonauts and they proceeded to Kolchis and secured the Golden Fleece; the Argonauts also had another common link to Phrixus other than finding his sons on the Island of Ares; the blinded seer Phineus is said to have revealed the way to Kolchis to Phrixus and was blinded for doing so; a generation later, Phineus also told Jason and the Argonauts how to find Kolchis.
After the completion of the Quest for the Golden Fleece, the Argonauts went their separate ways; of the four sons of Phrixus, only Kytissoros was finally able to confront Athamas to hold him accountable for the malevolent treatment of his father; when Kytissoros arrived at the town of Alus in Achaea (Achaia), Athamas was slated to die as a sacrifice in accordance with a command from an oracle of Zeus; instead of killing Athamas, Kytissoros saved him from the sacrificial death and by doing so, incurred the resentment of Zeus; from that time forward, the eldest member of Athamas's family was forbidden, on penalty of death, to enter the town hall of Alus.
The time period in which Phrixus lived was two generations before the Trojan War and one generation before Herakles (Heracles); by that reckoning, Phrixus would have lived circa 1310 BCE.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 256 and 763; book 2, lines 1118, 1141, 1143 and 1150; book 3, lines 584, 588 and 595; book 4, line 119
Histories, book 7.197
Catalogues of Women, fragments 38 and 39
The Great Eoiae, fragments 14, 15 and 16
Aegimius, fragment 1
FREE ksos
The father of the ship builder and Argonaut, Argos (Argus).
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.
fro NEE mee
The daughter of Etearchus of the island of Crete and the mother of Battus (Battos).
Etearchus was the king of the city of Oaxus; Phronime's mother was dead and Etearchus married another woman who disliked Phronime and plotted against her; Phronime was unmarried and the stepmother accused her of lechery; she finally convinced Etearchus that his daughter should be punished severely; when a merchant named Themison from the island of Thera (now Santorini) was visiting Oaxus, Etearchus pretended to befriend him and manipulated Themison into taking a guest-friend oath to do whatever the king wished; after the oath was made, Etearchus commanded Themison to take Phronime out to sea and drown her; Themison was outraged but he was an honorable man and could not ignore his solemn oath; to absolve himself of the despicable oath, Themison bound Phronime, lowered her into the sea, and then pulled her back aboard his ship before she came to harm; Themison then took Phronime to his home on Thera.
After arriving on Thera, Phronime became the concubine of a respected man named Polymnestus; Phronime and Polymnestus had a son who became known as Battus; the historian Herodotus insists that the child was not originally named Battus but assumed the name after, as an adult, he headed a Theraean colony in Libya; Battus apparently had a speech impediment and the Greek word βαττος means Stammerer; when Phronime's son (whatever his name may have been) consulted the Pythia (priestess of Apollon) at Delphi, she addressed him as Battus which was the Libyan word for King; with her prophetic insight, the Pythia knew that the young man who stood before her would establish a successful Theraean colony in Libya, reject the name he was given at birth and assume the name Battus which would identify him as King and also be a subtle allusion to his speech impediment.
Histories, book 4.154 and 155
FRON tees
One of the four sons of Phrixus and Chalkiope (Chalciope); Phrontis and his brothers, Argos (Argus), Kytissoros (Cytissorus) and Melas, all became Argonauts.
Chalkiope was the daughter of King Aietes of Kolchis (Colchis); Phrixus and his sister Helle were given a flying ram with a Golden Fleece to escape their evil stepmother, Ino, and their father, King Athamas of Orchomenos (Orchomenus); during their escape from Orchomenos, Helle fell from the ram and drowned in the sea but Phrixus managed to reach Kolchis and sacrifice the ram in the Garden of Ares; King Aietes was so impressed with Phrixus and the miraculous golden ram, he allowed him to marry his daughter Chalkiope without the wedding gifts which were traditionally expected from a suitor.
Phrontis and his brothers were raised in Kolchis but after their father died, he and his brothers left to avenge their father's unwarranted treatment by King Athamas; Phrontis and his brothers did not reach Orchomenos as they had planned; instead, they became stranded on the Island of Ares in the Euxine (Black Sea); they were rescued from the island by the Argonauts; the Argonauts were on their way to Kolchis to retrieve the Golden Fleece and their encounter with Phrontis and his brothers was more than a chance occurrence; Phrontis and his brothers joined the crew of the Argo and returned to Kolchis.
After the completion of the Quest for the Golden Fleece, Phrontis and the Argonauts went their separate ways; of the four sons of Phrixus, only Kytissoros was finally able to confront Athamas to hold him accountable for the malevolent treatment of their father; when Kytissoros arrived at the town of Alus in Achaea (Achaia), Athamas was slated to die as a sacrifice in accordance with a command from an oracle of Zeus; instead of killing Athamas, Kytissoros saved him from the sacrificial death and, by doing so, incurred the resentment of Zeus; from that time forward, the eldest member of Athamas's family was forbidden, on penalty of death, to enter the town hall of Alus.
Argonautika, book 2, lines 1140-1156
Histories, book 7.197
An ancient country in central-northwestern Asia Minor; the Egyptian king, Psammetichus, thought that the Phrygians were the oldest people on the earth.
Histories, book 2.2
A lyre player circa 450 BCE; said to have "twelve notes on seven strings" meaning that he could coax more notes from the instrument than any ordinary musician.
A district of extreme-southern Thessaly bounded on the east by the Gulf of Pagasai (Pagasae) and on the south by the Malaic Gulf; Phoinix (Phoenix) was made the king of Phthia and raised Achilles there.
An archaeological site on the Greek island of Melos, in the Kyklades (Cyclades) Group; excavations have revealed the remains of three successive ancient cities erected on a primitive Cycladic settlement.
FEE loh
Phylo has the distinction of originating the concept of the Seven Wonders of the World; there were many magnificent buildings in the ancient world but Phylo chose the seven structures he considered to be the most spectacular and made them famous, not only in his lifetime but throughout the ages.
According to Phylo circa 225 BCE, the Seven Wonders of the World were:
1) The Pyramids of Egypt, which are at least 1,500 years older than the other Wonders and are the only ancient Wonders to still exist;
2) The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, also called the Gardens of Samyrnus;
3) The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus which was built in 356 BCE and finally destroyed in 401 CE;
4) The Statue of Zeus at Olympia which was built circa 345 BCE as the center piece for the Temple of Zeus;
5) The Mausoleum of Halicarnassus which was completed in 353 BCE by Artemisia as a tomb for her husband, Mausolus; his name has become synonymous with burial vaults;
6) The Colossus of Rhodes which was built as a tribute to Helios (the Sun) in 249 BCE and was destroyed by an earthquake in 224 BCE; and
7) The Pharos (i.e. lighthouse) of Alexandria was constructed on an island off the coast of Alexandria, Egypt; the lighthouse dates from the third century BCE and was in use for approximately 900 years until it was toppled by an earthquake in 641 CE.
At the time Phylo lived in Byzantium (circa 225 BCE), the city was a thriving center for commerce and higher leaning; we tend to belittle the ancients for their lack of sophistication because we forget the high levels of engineering and scientific mastery they attained; the Seven Wonders of the World were masterpieces of imagination and practicality.
His name is sometimes spelled Philo.
A term meaning Tribe from which we derive Phylum, denoting the different families of plants and animals; in modern biology, it is the grouping of organisms with the same body type.
The fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet; uppercase: Π; lowercase: π.
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.
Letters of the Greek alphabet were also used as numerals; the letter pi represented the number 80 and was written as a simple π or as pi followed by an acute accent, π'.
A coastal region in northeastern Greece just north of Mount Olympos (Olympus) and west of the Gulf of Salonika; the birthplace of Orpheus and thought to be the original home of the Muses until later stories relocated them to Mount Helikon (Helicon); the poem, Works of Days by Hesiod, begins with the words, "Muses of Pieria."
The Pierides were nine presumptuous Thessalian maidens who challenged the Muses to a singing contest; the Pierides lost the competition and were changed into magpies for their insolence.
The two mountains, Jebel Musa and Gibraltar, at the western extreme of the Mediterranean Sea where it connects with the Atlantic Ocean; the two promontories were fabled to have been raised by Herakles; Gibraltar was known as Kalpe (Calpe) and Jebel Musa was known as Abyla.
Google Map of the Rock of Gibraltar
Google Map of Jebel Musa, Morocco
peen DAR
A Greek lyric poet (circa 518-438 BCE); that brief definition hardly describes a man who has been lauded as the greatest lyric poet of all time; his language, imagery and effortless eloquence have been the subject of praise, imitation and envy for two and a half millennia; to simply say that Pindar was a poet who played the lyre is like saying that Alexander the Great was a soldier who liked to travel.
Among the lyric poets, Pindar has the distinction of being one of the few poets who has a substantial body of work from which we can judge his poems and glean insight into his era; we have very little specific knowledge of Pindar's life but we can piece together certain elements and give a brief biography.
Pindar was born in Boeotia near the city of Thebes in a town called Kynoskephalia circa 518 BCE; his mother was Kleodike and his father was probably named Daiphantos; he learned to play the pipes from a man named Skopelinos (who was perhaps his uncle) and later studied choral direction in Athens from Apollodoros (or Agathokles); his musical education may have included instruction from Lasos of Hermione.
Individual lyric poets became well known and supported themselves by winning musical competitions; Pindar's first noted success was when he was approximately twenty years old; he wrote a victory ode for a young man named Hippokleas for winning the diaulos in the Pythian Games of 498 BCE (the diaulos, i.e. a double course, was a foot race where the runners ran to a marker and then back to the starting line); for the next sixty years Pindar continued to win competitions and, by doing so, created quite a following of admirers and patrons; we can assume that Pindar lived until about 438 BCE which would have given him a lifespan of approximately eighty years.
Pindar lived during the two Persian invasions of Greece (490 and 480 BCE) and, during the second invasion, his home city of Thebes surrendered to the Persian king, Xerxes, without a fight; the Thebans actually fought as allies of the Persians at Plataia and shared in their humiliating defeat at the hands of the united Greek forces; Pindar did not hesitate to praise the Greek cities for successfully fighting off the Persians but his outspokenness was greeted with disdain in Thebes; his repeated goal in his poetry was to be recognized as a man who was "foremost in wisdom among Hellenes everywhere," in other words, he was not merely a Theban, he was a Greek.
Pindar's popularity in antiquity explains why so much of his work survived into the modern world; his works can be divided into nine categories:
1) Hymns to various Immortals;
2) Hymns to Apollon (Paeans);
3) Hymns to Dionysos (Dithyrambs);
4) Hymns sung when approaching a holy shrine (Prosodia);
5) Hymns sung by maidens (Partheneia);
6) Songs for dancing (Hyporchemata);
7) Songs for banquets (Enkomia);
8) Songs of lament (Threnoi); and
9) Victory songs (Epinikia).
The only poems of Pindar to which I am personally familiar are the Olympian and Pythian odes which are generally referred to as the epinikia, i.e. victory songs; the epinikia are not simply songs praising the winners of athletic competitions, they include references to famous people and events from history as well as offering moral advice to the listener; I recommend these poems highly; the translations by William H. Rice in the Loeb Classical Library Vol. 56 can be found at your local library or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site.
A mountain range in northern-central Greece with a highest peak of 7,665 feet (2,336 meters).
The port of Athens located 5 miles (8 kilometers) southwest of the city.
The port facilities of Piraeus actually consisted of three separate docking areas with two larger areas flanking a smaller center dock; on the west was the Kantharos (Cantharus) or Augreat harbor; the small round harbor of Zea was in the center and Munychia (Mounychia) was on the east; the harbors were administered from a small settlement located on the high ground of the Munychia promontory.
Munychia was fortified by the Athenian tyrant Hippias (527-510 BCE) but the entire port area was not protected by walls until circa 493 BCE when Themistocles began making defensive preparations for the Persian invasion of 490 BCE; there was also an unprotected anchorage used by the Athenians called Phaleron but the docking facilities of Piraeus were considered to be more important so Phaleron was left unfortified.
Between 461 and 445 BCE the Long Walls were built to connect Athens and the Saronic Gulf in anticipation of war with Sparta; the Long Walls effectively made Athens, Piraeus and the anchorage at Phaleron a single fortified enclosure; the two Long Walls were approximately two hundred yards apart and the new security prompted the construction of a new improved city center for Piraeus; Hippodamos (Hippodamus) of Miletus designed a larger town further inland and Piraeus became the largest port in Greece.
After losing the war with Sparta (circa 404 BCE), the Long Walls were torn down by the Spartan general, Lysander; it wasn't until 393 BCE that new walls were built to protect Piraeus; the new walls followed a slightly different overland route to the sea than the original walls but the purpose was essentially the same, i.e. to allow protected access to Piraeus from nearby Athens; the three separate docking facilities could accommodate nearly 100 ships each; the two larger docks (Kantharos and Munychia) were used as commercial docks and the smaller docking area of Zea was used as a military facility.
Approximate East Longitude 23º 38' and North Latitude 37º 57'
An ancient country in southern Asia Minor; their language was written in a script derived from the Greek alphabet but is now extinct and not known to be related to any other language.
The last tyrant of Greece; (?-527 BCE).
Pisistratus was the last tyrant of Athens to hold absolute power; the son of Hippokrates (Hippocrates) and a descendant of Neleus; he was named after one of the sons of the Greek hero, Nestor; his rule was tempered by the constitution instituted by Solon but he was considered to be a beneficent ruler and, despite his sometimes outrageous public posturing, he was instrumental in expanding the artistic and commercial life of the Athenians.
During the war with Megara (570 BCE) he achieved acclaim by capturing the port of Nisaea; in 560 BCE he and his supporters forcefully occupied the Acropolis and he proclaimed himself tyrant; he was ousted from Athens in 559 after only one year.
The government in Athens suffered in his absence because of the infighting between the different political factions; one of the faction leaders offered Pisistratus his daughter in marriage if he would resume his leadership; this was, of course, not the majority opinion so Pisistratus devised a clever and, as the historian Herodotus puts it, a simple-minded way to make his return; in 550 BCE Pisistratus hired a stately woman named Phya to dress as Athene (Athena) and ride beside him on a chariot into Athens; heralds proceeded the chariot and proclaimed that Pisistratus was returning with the blessing of Athene; whether the citizens were fooled by this stunt is a matter of debate but his showmanship and audacity earned him the right to rule again.
After another year he was again exiled and did not return to Athens for another ten years; his next entrance into the city was not as flamboyant as his previous escapade but he managed to retain the rule of Athens from 539 until his death in 527 BCE.
During his rule he opened the Euxine (Black Sea) for Athenian traders, gave pensions to artists such as Simonides, instituted the Great Dionysia and gave new splendor to the Panathenaic Festival; his public works and beautification of Athens had a practical and altruistic effect on the citizens and elevated Athens to a new level of respect among all the people of Greece; after his death in 527 BCE, the rule of Athens fell into the indulgent and incompetent hands of his two sons, Hippias and Hipparchus.
This web site is entitled From The Iliad to the Fall of the Last Tyrant because the Immortals of Homer held absolute power over the Greeks until the death of Pisistratus; after Pisistratus, the government and people of Greece became more "liberal" and thus more disrespectful of the Immortals; the subsequent decline of their religion led to the eventual loss of dominance by Greece in the ancient world and opened the door for the rise of Rome, the subjugation of the Greek people and the belittlement of their institutions which had thrived for over eight hundred years.
Histories, book 1.59-64; book 5.65
A democratic statesman and reformer from Mytilene circa 650-570 BCE; he was always included as one of the Seven Sages by some historians which is an indication of his reputation throughout the ancient civilized world.
The king of Troezen and the father of Aethra, which made him the grandfather of Theseus.
The Nymph who resisted the affection of Pan (the Goat-God) and was transformed into a pine tree.
The Planktae, the Wandering Rocks or the Rovers; as the name implies, the Planktae were two moving islands which were notorious for their indiscriminate destruction of anyone or anything which dared to pass between them; the towering stone islands would clash together and then retreat to wait for their next victim; the Planktae were so notorious that they killed doves carrying ambrosia to Zeus when they tried to fly between them.
One generation before the Trojan War, Jason assembled a group of legendary heroes to sail with him on his Quest for the Golden Fleece; after sailing to Kolchis (Colchis) at the eastern edge of the Euxine (Black Sea) and successfully retrieving the Golden Fleece, Jason made his escape with Princess Medeia (Medea) who was the daughter of King Aietes (Aeetes); the loss of the Fleece was bad enough but for King Aietes to also lose his daughter was more than he was willing to tolerate; he sent his son Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) to bring Medeia back.
When Jason and Medeia were finally trapped by Apsyrtos, they arranged a deadly ambush in which Apsyrtos was murdered in a rather dastardly way; the blood-guilt they incurred needed to be absolved if Jason ever intended to return his home of Iolkos (Iolcus).
The goddess Hera had protected Jason on several occasions and her assistance was again needed if Jason and Medeia were going to make a safe journey to the island of Medeia's aunt Kirke (Circe) to be absolved of their blood-guilt; Jason's course took him in the vicinity of three deadly sea-hazards, the Planktae, the six-headed Skylla (Scylla) and the whirlpool Charybdis; using the Nereid Thetis as an intermediary, Hera arranged for the other Nereids to help guide Jason's ship through the surging seas of the Planktae.
The Nereids swam to the Argonauts and a truly amazing spectacle took place; on one side of the sea passage was the steep rock of Skylla and on the other side Charybdis spouted and roared ... further on, the Planktae boomed beneath the sea surge; as Jason's ship, the Argo, drew near the Planktae, the Nereids surrounded the vessel as Thetis grasped the rudder-blade under the ship; in a way reminiscent of dolphins, the Nereids darted upward and circled around the ship while Thetis guided its course.
When the Argo was about to smash against the Planktae, the Nereids immediately raised the edge of their garments and darted up on the rocky cliffs above the waves and then jumped from one side to the other; as the ship was raised aloft by the waves, the Nereids caught it and toss it to and fro like young girls throwing a ball for sport; the waves rose like towering crags and then plummeted to the depths of the sea ... water poured over the Argo in floods; when Hera saw the ship being bounced and swamped by the waves, she was seized by fear and threw her arms around Athene (Athena) for comfort; the frenzy continued until the Argo was clear of the Planktae and the Argonauts could catch the wind and sail on.
After the Trojan War, Odysseus was making his way home and also had to sail near Skylla, Charybdis and the Planktae; the goddess Kirke warned Odysseus not to go near the Planktae because he would not have the protection of Hera or the Nereids to guide him between them; Kirke thought it would be best for Odysseus to sacrifice a few men to Skylla's six ravenous heads rather than lose his ship and crew to the Planktae or Charybdis; Odysseus did as Kirke advised and avoided certain death between the Planktae.
In The Odyssey by Homer, there seems to be several different ways to render the name Planktae; the Loeb Classical Library translation uses Planctae; Richmond Lattimore calls them Rovers and Roving Rocks; Robert Fagles uses Clashing Rocks but that term is usually reserved for the Symplegades or Floating Islands at the narrow passage between the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) and the Euxine (Black Sea); Robert Fitzgerald seems a bit more versatile by calling them Prowling Rocks, Drifters and Wandering Rocks; in the Argonautika (Argonautica) we find them as Wanderers and Wandering Rocks.
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 12, line 61; book 23, line 327
Odyssey (Fagles), book 12, lines 68 and 71; book 32, line 370
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 12, lines 73 and 81; book 23, line 365
Argonautika, book 4, lines 860, 924, 932 and 939
An ancient city in Boeotia approximately 9 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of the city of Thebes; the site of the final defeat of the invading Persians in 479 BCE.
Due to Plataea's proximity to the powerful city of Thebes, it was under threat of being subjugated by the Thebans; the Plataeans asked the Spartans for protection but Sparta, either for practical or tactical reasons, advised the Plataeans to ask the city of Athens for an alliance; the Athenians agreed to help Plataea if Thebes became too aggressive and, circa 525 BCE, the Thebans tried to extend their territory beyond the traditional boundaries of Plataea.
The Athenians sent troops to assist the Plataeans but, by good fortune, the Corinthians happened to be in Plataea and arbitrated a settlement between Thebes and Athens before an armed confrontation could erupt; boundaries were agreed upon and all seemed well until the Athenians prepared to leave; the Thebans fell on the Athenians in an ambush and, although caught off-guard, the Athenians won the battle; the Athenians returned to Plataea and renegotiated the peace agreement with a humbled Thebes; Plataea was allotted more land than the original agreement had stipulated because of the Theban treachery; for this reason, when the Athenians faced the invading army of the Persian king, Darius, in 490 BCE on the fields of Marathon, the Plataeans came to their assistance and fought victoriously with the Athenians.
Plataea was the site of the final confrontation between the invading Persian army and the defending Greeks in 479 BCE; the Persians had marched an enormous army from Asia into Greece and Plataea was one of the two cities of Boeotia which had not cowed to the threats of the Persians; the Persians demanded earth and water from each city they encountered to demonstrate that city's surrender to the Great King; as the Persians marched south through Boeotia, the citizens of Plataea evacuated their city and took refuge at the Isthmus of Corinth where they intended to make a last stand with the other defiant Greek refuges.
After the Persians had sacked and burned the city of Athens, their army seemed invincible but the Persian king, Xerxes, underestimated the resiliency of the Greeks; the naval confrontation near the island of Salamis was a disaster for the Persians; the Persian king withdrew his remaining ships to protect the retreat of his army, which was poised to invade the Peloponnesian Peninsula; Xerxes decided to leave a portion of his army in Greece and he chose his cousin, Mardonius, to command the three hundred thousand troops he left behind augmented by an unrecorded number of troops from the Greek cities which had joined the Persians; by comparison, the defending Greeks assembled thirty-eight thousand seven hundred heavily armed men with an additional thirty-four thousand five hundred lightly armed men for a total of seventy-three thousand two hundred warriors.
Near Plataea, the two armies were facing one another across the Asopos river and neither side initiated an attack for ten days; the Persians were waiting for their sacrifices to show favorable omens and the Greeks were waiting for more soldiers to join their ranks; Mardonius was eager for a confrontation but his advisor, Artabazus, wanted to retreat to the nearby city of Thebes and use their accumulated wealth to simply buy-off the remaining hostile Greek cities; Mardonius chose to take the initiative and the Persian attack was scheduled for dawn on the eleventh day.
The Greeks were, as was their nature, bickering amongst themselves as to where each contingent should be placed in the battle lines; at dawn, Mardonius taunted the Spartans and challenged them to a one-on-one fight, i.e. the Persians, without their allies, would fight against only the Spartans and the fate of Greece would depend on which army won the battle; the Spartans did not respond to Mardonius and the full scale battle was soon joined; the Persian cavalry charged into the midst of the Greeks and caused considerable casualties; the cavalry attack also cut the Greeks off from their water supply so after night fell on that first day of fierce fighting, the Greeks decided to retreat a mile or so to the river Oeroe.
During the night the Greeks withdrew, but not to the Oeroe; they moved over 2 miles (3 kilometers) to the temple of Hera at Plataea; the retreat went badly for the Greeks, especially the Spartans who were not accustomed to turning away from an enemy; one Spartan commander, Amompharetus, flatly refused to withdraw from the front lines and the other Spartans were hesitant to leave him alone to be overwhelmed by the Persians; after much arguing and bitter words, most of the Spartans pulled back from the front lines but stayed close enough to come to the assistance of the stubborn commander, Amompharetus.
When Mardonius saw that the Greeks had withdrawn, he mocked the Spartans and ordered his troops to advance on the cowardly Greeks; the Persian cavalry went first followed by a disorderly onrush of foot soldiers; Mardonius focused his attention on the Spartans and let his allied Greek soldiers deal with the Athenians; the Spartans were pushed back to the temple of Hera again and the Persians did much damage from behind a wall of wicker shields with arrows and other missiles; the Spartan commander, Pausanias, prayed to Hera and, almost immediately, the tide of the battle turned in favor of the Spartans.
Mardonius was in the midst of the battle on his white charger and surrounded by a thousand of the best Persian troops; the Persians were good fighters but, compared to the Greeks, they were lightly armed and out maneuvered; Mardonius was felled and the determination of the Persian soldiers fell with him; Herodotus notes that not one Persian soldier died in the precincts of the temple of Hera because, according to his reasoning, the Persians had burned her temple at Eleusis and were therefore divinely prohibited from touching her sacred grounds at Plataea.
The various contingents of soldiers on both sides of the battle were in no way coordinated or orchestrated in their attacks or defense; the Athenians and the Spartans were the most determined of the Greeks and the Persians soldiers were by far the best of their Asian and Greek allies; some of the soldiers on both sides never entered the battle and many did not know or understand the tactics their commanders were initiating; the Spartans fought fiercely at the temple of Hera but there were other Greek soldiers there that did not fight at all.
While Mardonius was leading his fatal charge against the Spartans, his deputy, Artabazus, was leading his forty thousand troops away from the battle and his retreat assured the Persian defeat; when the Persians and their allies realized that the battle was lost, they began to make a disorganized retreat towards the walled city of Thebes and another wooden fortress they had erected in Theban territory; if the Persian cavalry had not protected their retreat their losses would have been one hundred percent; the Greeks pursued and slaughtered the majority of the fleeing Persians and their allies.
Several curious things happened after the battle was over which can give us some insight into the minds of the Greeks who defended their homeland and did not surrender their freedom to the seemingly overwhelming Persian forces:
1) A man named Lampon encouraged the Spartan leader, Pausanias, to cut the head from Mardonius's dead body and impale it as revenge for the four thousand Spartans who were killed at Thermopylae, especially for their leader, Leonidas whom the Persians beheaded and impaled; Pausanias told Lampon that such acts were the deeds of barbarians and that although Leonidas was his uncle, he would never dishonor his family or city with such a low and shameful display of mutilation;
2) After the Persians had fled, the Greeks confiscated all the slaves and goods that were left behind; when Pausanias saw the wagons of food and the rich Persian dinnerware, he made the Persian cooks prepare a meal as if it was for Mardonius or Xerxes; he then had his slaves prepare a typical Spartan meal and laid the two suppers out side by side; the Persian meal was elegant compared to the simple Spartan meal; he called in his generals and said that the Persians must be stupid to dine on such fine food and then come to Greece to steal their humble fare.
The battle of Plataea was over and the Greeks had won the day with their superior military acumen and sheer bravery; the next time the Persians were fated to face a Greek army was when Alexander the Great conquered them in 331 BCE.
Approximate East Longitude 23º 25' and North Latitude 38º 22'
Histories, book 6.111 and 6.113; book 7.132, 7.232 and 7.233; book 8.50 and 8.66; book 9.28-86
(circa 427-347 BCE) The father of western philosophy.
The facts of Plato's life are easy to relate but the effect he has had on western culture is impossible to measure; Plato was the son of Ariston and Periktione and lived just after the Age of Pericles, i.e. 444-429 BCE; his family was literate and politically active and assumed to have been part of the Athenian aristocracy; as a student of Socrates, Plato learned that ideas could be fatal and much of his work centers around the philosophy and execution of Socrates (399 BCE).
As a teacher, Plato began lecturing in an olive grove near the city of Athens that was sacred to the hero, Akademus (Academus); the term, Academy, was taken from this olive grove and has come to mean any center of learning; Plato wrote prolifically and much of his writing has survived the ravages of time; most of Plato's work is in the form of dialogues and his ideas are expressed in conversations, as opposed to speeches.
There are, literally, thousands of books written about Plato, his works and his contributions to western culture; I recommend: Plato by Bernard Williams (ISBN 0415923956 paperback) and any of the Benjamin Jowett translations of Plato; books about Plato can be ordered from the Book Shop on this site.
The seven daughters of Atlas who were relentlessly pursued by the hunter, Orion, until they were changed into pigeons by Zeus and eventually put in the night sky as a constellation.
The Pleiades are: Alkyone (Alcyone), Asterope, Kelaeno (Celaeno), Elektra (Electra), Maia, Merope and Taygete.
The seventeenth Agiadai king of the city of Sparta who ruled from 480-459 BCE.
Sparta traditionally had two kings who ruled jointly; one king was required to be a descendant of King Agis I and the other was required to be a descendant of King Eurypon (respectively known as the Agiadai and the Eurypontidai).
Beginning with Leonidas I (the sixteenth Agiadai king who ruled from 490-480 BCE) the names and dates for the Spartan kings became a part of the historical record and are generally accepted as factual; prior to Leonidas I the dates for the Spartan kings are extrapolated back from historical times to approximate the time periods in which each king ruled.
The eighteenth Agiadai king of the city of Sparta who ruled from 459-409 BCE.
Sparta traditionally had two kings who ruled jointly; one king was required to be a descendant of King Agis I and the other was required to be a descendant of King Eurypon (respectively known as the Agiadai and the Eurypontidai).
Beginning with Leonidas I (the sixteenth Agiadai king who ruled from 490-480 BCE) the names and dates for the Spartan kings became a part of the historical record and are generally accepted as factual; prior to Leonidas I the dates for the Spartan kings are extrapolated back from historical times to approximate the time periods in which each king ruled.
Having full governmental powers; a title denoting an ambassador, diplomat or any representative of a government.
This word is not really derived from the Greek but it is often used to describe the powers granted to usurpers and temporary tyrants in Greek history.
A unit of measure; approximately 97 feet (30 meters).
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
Gaius Plinius Secundus; a Roman rhetorician and historian (23?-79 CE); his book Natural History discusses many ancient artists and the titles of their works; he died during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in Italy.
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus; the nephew of Pliny the Elder (61?-113 CE); his contributions to Greek history are minimal but he, like his uncle, was a man of letters and learning.
PLOH toh
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus; her name means Floating.
Other than a passing reference to her name, the only Nereid to receive any individual attention in the ancient literature was Thetis; as the mother of Achilles and one of the few goddesses to refuse the amorous intentions of Zeus, Thetis was unique; when the Immortals needed the Nereids, they called upon Thetis to rally her sisters for whatever task was needed.
The Nereids and the Argonauts - After Jason and the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece from Kolchis (Colchis), Medeia (Medea), the daughter of King Aietes (Aeetes), helped Jason murder her half-brother Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) in a rather cowardly way; Zeus swore revenge for such a dastardly act but his sister/wife Hera wanted to protect the Argonauts until Jason and Medeia could be absolved of their crime by the Dread-Goddess Kirke (Circe); Hera called upon Thetis to gather the Nereids so they could quiet the waters of the sea so the Argonauts could safely navigate to Kirke's island; Thetis plunged into the sea and called to her sisters; her call was answered and the Nereids helped save the Argonauts.
The Nereids at the funeral of Patroklos (Patroclus) - In the last year of the Trojan War, Achilles's companion Patroklos was killed; Achilles took Patroklos's death very hard and called out to his mother Thetis for consolation; Thetis and the Nereids rose from the sea and graced the dead body of Patroklos with their divine presence.
The Nereids at the funeral of Achilles - The death of Achilles was one of the most dramatic events of the Trojan War; as the son of Thetis, his death had particular significance to the Nereids; at the funeral of Achilles, Thetis, the Nereids and the Muses all came to pay their respects.
Theogony, line 243
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 355
(46-120 CE) A Greek biographer who left us a treasure trove of information about great personalities of ancient Greece and Rome in his series of books, Plutarch's Lives, which was written between 105-115 CE.
Although he was removed from such historical figures as Pericles and Alexander the Great by hundreds of years, his insight as to their achievements and characters has credibility because he had access to documents that are now lost; he put his own opinions into perspective by declaring that relying on the accounts of contemporary sources "defiles and distorts the truth."
The son of Demeter and Iasion; he is assumed to be an ancient personification of agricultural wealth.
A comic play by Aristophanes which was produced in 388 BCE; the name means Wealth.
The Plynteria was the annual washing of the clothes of the statue of the goddess, Athene (Athena) on the Acropolis of Athens; this was an annual event which took place at the end of the month of Thargelion, which would be approximately late May by our calendar.
A hill in Athens near the Acropolis; a place of assembly for the people of ancient Athens.
He and his brother, Machaon, were surgeons for the Greeks at the siege of the city of Troy; Podaleirios and Machaon were the sons of the renowned healer, Asklepios (Asclepius).
Iliad (Lattimore), book 2, line 732; book 11, line 832
Iliad (Loeb), book 2, line 732; book 11, line 833
Iliad (Fagles), book 2, line 834; book 11, line 995
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 2, line 873; book 11, line 964
po DAR gee
A Harpy, i.e. a winged woman; Podarge was the consort of Zephyros (West Wind) and mother of the immortal chariot horses of Achilles, Balios and Xanthos (Xanthus).
In the Greek text, Podarge is clearly referred to as a Harpy but, at the same time, she is said to be "grazing" in a meadow near the swirling waters of Okeanos (Ocean) when she encountered Zephyros and conceived Balios and Xanthus; the poet, Hesiod, describes Harpies as having "lovely hair, winged women soaring aloft like birds" and sisters of the rainbow goddess Iris; that description does not evoke the image of a creature who would be "grazing" in a meadow; this would explain why the Podarge's Harpy aspect is played down and the image of her as a horse seems to dominate the various translations; for example:.
The Loeb Classical Library translation calls her "the Harpy Podarge";
The Richmond Lattimore translation calls her "stormy Podarge" in the text but lists her as a Harpy in the index;
The Robert Fagles translation calls her "the storm-wind filly Lightfoot" and makes no reference to her as a Harpy;
The Robert Fitzgerald translation calls her "stormgust Podarge" and also makes no reference to her as a Harpy.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 16, line 150
Iliad (Fagles), book 16, line 180
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 16, line 174
POD argos
One of the chariot horses of the Trojan hero, Hector; his other horses were: Aithon (Aethon), Lampos (Lampus) and Xanthos (Xanthus).
The Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon defines Podargos as Swiftfoot or Whitefoot.
The names of Hector's 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)
4) Xanthos:
Golden (Fagles)
Tawny (Fitzgerald)
Xanthos (Lattimore)
Xanthus (Loeb)
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 8, line 185
Iliad (Fagles), book 8, line 210
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 8, line 211
The son of Iphiklos (Iphiclos) and the brother of Protesilaus (Protesilaos); when his brother was killed at the city of Troy, Podarkes took command of the soldiers from Thessaly.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 2, line 704; book 13, line 693
Iliad (Fagles), book 2, line 805; book 13, line 802
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 2, line 839; book 13, line 795
A comic play by Aristophanes produced in 411 BCE at Athens; usually called The Poet and the Woman but the Greek name was Thesmophoriazusae (Thesmophoriazusia), which might be rendered as Women Celebrating the Thesmophoria, i.e. the Women's Festival of the goddess, Demeter.
This is one of Aristophanes's more ribald plays and might not be suitable for younger readers.
It seems that the women of the city of Athens have decided to kill the poet, Euripides, because of the demeaning way in which he portrays women in his plays; the women put Euripides in the same category as the accursed Persians and declare him an enemy of the state; Euripides persuades his father-in-law, Mnesilochos (Mnesilochus), to dress like a woman and attend the Women's Assembly in order to speak out on Euripides's behalf; at first, Mnesilochos speaks well for Euripides and seems to be generating some sympathy for the doomed poet but an informant arrives and tells the women that a male spy has invaded their assembly; it doesn't take long for the women to deduce that the only woman to speak out for Euripides is the intruder.
At this point the play takes a unique turn; I have to admit that I was more than a little surprised when Mnesilochos snatched up a baby from a woman in the assembly and threatened to kill it unless he was allowed to leave the hall unharmed; I won't tell you how the situation is resolved but I will say that it's scenes like this which demonstrate Aristophanes's true comic genius.
After Mnesilochos is taken prisoner and restrained, Euripides enters the scene to save his father-in-law from the wrath of the women; the comic banter between Mnesilochos and Euripides is dialogue taken from Euripides's tragedies and turned into farcical parodies.
Although the play mocks Euripides, there is an element of respect for his work laced throughout the puns and jokes; the net result of reading this play is that I wanted to read more plays by Euripides and Aristophanes.
Aristophanes's plays are sometimes difficult to appreciate because he was a very contemporary poet, i.e. he was writing for the Athenian audience of his day; he would use puns, parody regional accents and speak directly to the audience in ways that force modern translators to seek out the contextual meaning rather than the literal meaning of the poet's words; for that reason, I suggest that if you find a translation that is difficult to enjoy, please don't blame Aristophanes, simply look for a translation that you can enjoy; you may find this play at your local library or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site.
The father of Philoktetes (Philoctetes); either he or Philoktetes lit the funeral pyre for Herakles (Heracles) and took possession of Herakles's bow.
In ancient Athens, the role of polemarch was defined as that of a military commander until the strategi assumed that function and the polemarch became more of a ceremonial judicial post; in Sparta, a polemarch was akin to a modern military general; other districts and cities defined the role of the polemarch as that of a magistrate.
A group of islands mentioned in The Odyssey; the exact location of the islands is not known but they are probably the islands in the Ionian Sea known as the Echinades; I have included this entry because it provides a fascinating glimpse into the sometimes confusing process of translating and transliterating ancient Greek into English.
When Telemachos (Telemachus) was returning to his island home of Ithaka (Ithaca) after searching for news of his long overdue father Odysseus, his ship was propelled by a favorable wind from the goddess Athene (Athena); as the sun was setting, Telemachos sailed past Pheai (Pheae) and splendid Elis, and then steered for the Pointed Islands wondering whether he would be killed or taken prisoner by his mother's contemptible suitors.
Different translators render the description of the islands in a variety of ways; the following list will demonstrate that point:
Lattimore - the Pointed Islands;
Loeb - the swift islands;
Fagles - the Jagged Islands;
Fitzgerald - the running pack of islets.
The debate as to what those mysterious islands should be called began with the Greek geographer Strabo (fl. 30 BCE); Strabo had doubts as to why Homer would use the word swift (θοαι) as an adjective for an island; Strabo finally decided that the word that Homer meant to use was sharp (οξειαι) because it would be a better adjective and also fit the rhyme scheme; Strabo's assumptions had to do with certain poetic formulas which were used by Homer to describe swift ships; the use of the word swift in conjunction with islands did not really make literal sense so Strabo replaced swift with sharp which still didn't make literal sense but seemed better than swift; two of the translators listed above chose to side with Strabo and use variations on the sharp theme by calling the islands Pointed and Jagged; I personally believe that if they were going to take liberties with Homer's text, they should have simply called the islands the Sharp Islands; the Loeb translation uses the literal translation and calls the islands the swift islands which seems to me to be more correct than the other translations; Fitzgerald seems to have gone a little too far by calling the islands the running pack of islets.
Translators in the nineteenth century seemed to be equally confused as to what to call the islands; Samuel Butler called them the flying islands and William Cowper called them the sharp Echinades; the Echinades are a group islands off the western coast of Greece in the Ionian Sea but were not actually mentioned in the Greek text referring to the islands which Telemachos saw.
Iliad, Lattimore and Loeb, book 15, line 299
Iliad, Fagles, book 15, line 332
Iliad, Fitzgerald, book 15, line 370
Athene (Athena) Polias is a variation on the name for the goddess Athene meaning Guardian of the City; the oldest temple of Athene on the Acropolis of Athens was dedicated to Athene Polias; this name was in contrast to Athene Parthenos which generally referred to the statue of Athene in the Parthenon as Athene the Maiden.
A Greek city-state; usually defined by geographic boundaries such as rivers and mountains; a polis was generally not too large but still recognized as an independent state with its own laws and government.
po LEE tees
One of the sons of the last king of Troy, Priam.
After Priam's favorite son, Hector, had been killed defending Troy, Priam berated his nine remaining sons for being wicked and worthless; Polites was one of these sons; whether the old king spoke in desperate sorrow or from his heart is impossible to tell.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 2, line 791; book 13, line 533; book 15, line 339; book 24, line 250
Iliad (Fagles), book 2, line 900; book 13, line 618; book 15, line 398; book 24, line 296
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 2, line 948; book 13, line 608; book 15, line 395; book 24, line 302
The queen of Corinth at the time when Oedipus was brought to the kingdom as an orphan; she and her husband, King Polybos, raised Oedipus as their son.
POH lee bohs
The king of Corinth at the time when Oedipus was brought to the kingdom as an orphan.
Polybos and his wife, Queen Polyboea, raised Oedipus as their son; Oedipus thought that Polybos was his natural father until he was faced with the reality of his situation, i.e. that he was adopted by Polybos and that he had accidentally killed his real father while traveling.
When Oedipus was a young man, the Oracle at Delphi proclaimed that he would kill his father; Oedipus fled Corinth to insure that Polybos would not die at his hands; years later, after Oedipus had been made king of the city of Thebes, a messenger brought him news that Polybos was dead; Oedipus then realized that his flight from Corinth was part of the oracle's prophecy and that his adopted father, Polybos, had never been in danger of being killed by "his son."
POH lee bohs
An Egyptian from Thebes who entertained Menelaos (Menelaus) and Helen on their way home from Troy.
Polybos and his wife, Alkandre (Alcandre), gave Helen and Menelaos many gifts when they stopped in Egypt; Polybos gave Menelaos two silver bathtubs, a pair of tripods and ten talents (570 pounds or 258.5 kilograms) of gold; Alkandre gave Helen a golden distaff and a silver basket edged with gold.
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 4, line 126
Odyssey (Fagles), book 4, line 141
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 4, line 137
POH lee bohs
A Trojan soldier; Polybos was the son of Antenor and brother of Agenor and Akamas (Acamas).
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 11, line 59
Iliad (Fagles), book 11, line 67
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 11, line 65
POH lee bohs
The father of Eurymachos (Eurymachus); little is said to describe Polybos other than that he was a wise, prudent and wealthy man; his son, Eurymachos, was neither wise nor prudent because he was one of the more aggressive suitors of Penelope.
When Odysseus failed to return from the Trojan War to his island kingdom of Ithaka (Ithaca), many young men from wealthy and influential families descended on Ithaka in hopes of marrying Odysseus's wife, Penelope; Penelope and her son, Telemachos (Telemachus), refused to believe that Odysseus was dead and did everything in their power to keep the suitors waiting; when Odysseus finally returned home after ten years of wandering, he and Telemachos enlisted the loyal servants and killed the suitors; Eurymachos was the first to be killed by Odysseus.
POH lee bohs
One of the suitors of Penelope; Polybos is credited as one of the best fighters of the suitors.
When Odysseus failed to return from the Trojan War to his island kingdom of Ithaka (Ithaca), many young men from wealthy and influential families descended on Ithaka in hopes of marrying Odysseus's wife, Penelope; Penelope and her son, Telemachos (Telemachus), refused to believe that Odysseus was dead and did everything in their power to keep the suitors waiting; when Odysseus finally returned home after ten years of wandering, he and Telemachos enlisted the loyal servants and killed the suitors; Polybos was killed by Odysseus's swineherd, Eumaios (Eumaeus).
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 22, lines 243 and 284
Odyssey (Fagles), book 22, lines 255 and 298
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 22, lines 270 and 315
POH lee bohs
A Phaiakian (Phaiacian) craftsman; Polybos made a clever red ball which was used by Laodamas and another young Phaiakian man named Halios (Halius) when they performed a dance for Odysseus.
Ten years after the Trojan War (circa 1260 BCE), Odysseus was still trying to return to his island home of Ithaka (Ithaca) because Poseidon was relentlessly punishing him for the blinding of the god's son, Polyphemos (Polyphemus); after Odysseus had lost all of his ships and crewmen, he was cast adrift on a raft and seemed likely to drown until he was washed ashore on the island of the Phaiakians; Odysseus was found delirious on the beach but a young girl named Nausikaa (Nausicaa) and taken to her father who was King Alkinoos; Alkinoos and his queen, Arete, welcomed Odysseus with great courtesy; along with the athletic contests, Odysseus was treated to the dance of Laodamas and Halios in which they used the red ball designed and made by Polybos.
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 8, line 373
Odyssey (Fagles), book 8, line 417
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 8, line 400
Polybotes 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 serpent-like feet.
The origin 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 that would protect her awful children but Zeus culled a cunning brew of his own that 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 shine until his task was complete.
The goddess Athene (Athena) summoned Herakles and the war against the Giants began:
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.
Polybotes and his brothers all met a similar fate; his brothers were:
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.
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 vii, chapter 29
Library, book I, chapter VI
Theogony, line 185
One of the Thirty Tyrants elected to rule the city of Athens after the end of the Peloponnesian War (404 BCE).
Having lost the war to the Spartans, the citizens of Athens elected thirty men to lead the new post-war government; these men became known as the Thirty Tyrants; the short lived government they comprised was an oligarchy; an oligarchy is a system of government allowing a few select people or families to rule a city or region based on the assumption that their bloodline or intellect gave them a superior predisposition and right to rule.
The tyrants immediately began to prosecute Athenians who had been Spartan informers and collaborators during the long, hard war; the punishment of the guilty seemed appropriate to the common citizens and aristocrats alike but it soon became clear that the executions and banishments were going beyond the bounds of necessity or prudence; open hostilities soon developed between members of the Thirty and their authority and rule came to an end after one year.
Hellenica, book 2.3
The king of Seriphos who sent Perseus on the quest for the head of the Gorgon, Medusa.
Polydektes lusted for Perseus's mother, Danae, and thought that by sending Perseus on a suicidal mission he could possess Danae; as Polydektes became more and more emboldened, he threatened Danae with violence; when Perseus returned with the Gorgon's head, he used the cursed head to turn Polydektes into stone.
The third Eurypontidai king of the city of Sparta who ruled circa 835-805 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 Polydektes and the dates given for his rule are extrapolations and should be used only as approximations.
poly DEV kees
A son of Zeus and the twin brother of Kastor (Castor); the two brothers are know as the Dioskuri (Dioscuri).
Polydeukes and Kastor were the sons of a mortal woman named Leda; Leda was the wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta but she came to the notice of Zeus because of her beauty and nobility; Zeus came to Leda disguised as a swan and seduced her; after Polydeukes and Kastor were born, Zeus also fathered Helen with Leda; it seems apparent that King Tyndareus knew that some of Leda's children were not his but he raised them as if they were his own; Polydeukes, Kastor and Helen had two half-sisters named Klytemnestra (Clytemnestra) and Timandra who were the children of Leda and Tyndareus.
The ages of Leda's children are not known with certainty but it is assumed that Polydeukes and Kastor were the oldest, followed by Klytemnestra, Helen and then Timandra.
Polydeukes and Kastor had several adventures which distinguished them as fearless fighters and honorable young men.
Polydeukes and Kastor joined the crew of the Argo and went on the Quest for the Golden Fleece; when Jason was organizing a crew of young heroes to sail with him to the distant land of Kolchis (Colchis) to retrieve the Golden Fleece, Polydeukes and Kastor were allowed to become members of the distinguished group who became known as the Argonauts, i.e. Argo Seamen.
While sailing with the Argonauts, Polydeukes had a deadly encounter with King Amykos (Amycus) of the Bebrykians (Bebrycians); when the Argo landed on the shores of King Amykos's domain, the arrogant king demanded that one of Argonauts box with him; Polydeukes was offended by the king's insulting behavior and eagerly stepped forward to fight; as they faced one another, King Amykos had the countenance of a creature of the dark earth whereas Polydeukes looked like a star in the heavens; the two contestants strapped leather hides on their fists and began to fight; the fight was fierce and Polydeukes took a few hard blows but he finally caught Amykos off balance and hit him in the side of the head so hard that he cracked the bones in Amykos's skull; when Amykos fell lifeless to the ground, the Bebrykians attacked the Argonauts but the young heroes killed the bravest of the Bebrykians and drove away the rest.
Helen, Polydeukes and Kastor were all semi-divine children of Zeus; that fact made Polydeukes and Kastor brave and handsome but it also made Helen the most beautiful and desirable female in the ancient world; when Helen was quite young, she was dancing at the Temple of Artemis in Sparta where she caught the attention of two otherwise respectable men, Theseus and Peirithoos (Peirithous); the two men became enchanted with Helen and kidnapped her; they drew lots to see who would be allowed to marry her; Theseus won the draw but that did not alter the fact that Helen was too young to marry; Polydeukes and Kastor began an exhaustive search of Attica where they encountered King Aphidnus; Kastor was wounded in the right thigh by Aphidnus but the search for Theseus and Helen continued until Polydeukes and Kastor sacked Athens; Helen was finally found and returned to Sparta.
We cannot be sure how old Polydeukes and Kastor were when they became immortal but we do know that they were no longer mortal at the time of the Trojan War, i.e. 1250 BCE; the young men were caught stealing the cattle of Idas and Lynkeos (Lynceus); Kastor was killed by Idas and then Polydeukes killed Idas and Lynkeos; as a reward for being his sons, Zeus gave Polydeukes and Kastor immortality every-other day, i.e. one would dwell in the Underworld while the other lived on the face of the earth; eventually, the two brothers were placed in the heavens as the constellation Gemini, The Twins.
Pollux is the Roman name for Polydeukes.
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 354
The daughter of Meleagros (Meleager) and the grand-daughter of Oineus.
In The Kypria, which is part of the Epic Cycle, Polydora is said to be the wife of Protesilaus (Protesilaos); in other versions of this story, Laodameia, a daughter of Akastos (Acastus) is said to be Protesilaus's wife; Protesilaus was the first Greek soldier to be killed in the siege of the city of Troy; after his death, Protesilaus was allowed to return from the Underworld to visit Polydora but when he was forced to leave her, she committed suicide so she could be with him.
The Kypria, fragment 17
The daughter of Peleus and sister of Achilles.
Peleus was married to the Nereid Thetis but it is not certain if Polydora was the child of Thetis.
Catalogues of Women and Eoiae, fragment 60
poh LEE dor os
The youngest son of King Priam and Hekabe (Hecabe) who was killed at the siege of Troy by Achilles.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 20, lines 407 and 419; book 21, line 91; book 22, line 46
Iliad (Fagles), book 20, lines 463 and 476; book 21, line 103; book 22, line 54
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 20, lines 466 and 482; book 21, line 105; book 22, line 55
poh LEE dor os
A first century BCE Greek sculptor who, with Agesander and Athenodorus, carved the sculpture known as the Laokoon (Laocoon) Group.
After ten years of warfare, the Greeks decided to withdraw their army and leave a Wooden Horse for the Trojans as a feigned peace offering; the clever plan was for the Trojans to take the horse into the city and, after a night of celebration, be caught off guard by the Greek soldiers concealed in the body of the hollow horse.
The Laokoon Sculpture Group depicted the moment when the Trojans were debating as to whether or not to take the so called Trojan Horse into the city; Laokoon, as a seer, recognized the deception and wanted to burn the horse; the lord of the Sea, Poseidon, wanted the Greeks to capture Troy so he sent the sea serpent to silence Laokoon; King Priam of Troy saw the death of Laokoon as a just punishment for giving false prophecies and took the horse into the city; at that moment, Troy was doomed to destruction.
poh LEE dor os
The son of Hippomedon and one of the Epigoni, i.e. After-Born.
Polydoros's father Hippomedon had been a member of the Seven Against Thebes who had attacked and failed to capture the city of Thebes; with the exception of King Adrastus (Adrestos) of Sikyon (Sicyon), Hippomedon and all the other commanders of the Seven were killed.
Ten years after the failure of the Seven, the sons of the Seven, the Epigoni (After-Born) attacked Thebes and successfully breached the walls and captured the city.
poh LEE dor os
One of the sons of Kadmos (Cadmus) and Harmonia; the brother of Ino, Agaue, Autonoe and Thyone (a.k.a. Semele).
Theogony, line 976
poh LEE dor os
The ninth Agiadai king of the city of Sparta who ruled circa 700-665 BCE.
Sparta traditionally had two kings who ruled jointly; one king was required to be a descendant of King Agis I and the other was required to be a descendant of King Eurypon (respectively known as the Agiadai and the Eurypontidai).
Very little is known about Polydoros and the dates given for his rule are extrapolations and should be used only as approximations.
A painter; the son and student of Aglaophon of Thasos circa fifth or sixth century BCE.
He and his brother, Abas, were the sons of the dream interpreter, Old Eurydamas; both brothers were killed by Diomedes during the siege of the city of Troy.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 5, line 148
Iliad (Fagles), book 5, line 165
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 5, line 148
A seer from Corinth; the father of the Argive soldier Euchenor who was killed by Alexandros (Paris).
Polyidos told his son, Euchenor, that he was fated to either die in his home of a painful illness or go to Troy and die on the battlefield; Euchenor chose to die in battle.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 13, lines 663 and 666
Iliad (Fagles), book 13, line 764
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 13, lines 762 and 764
poh lee KAS tee
The youngest daughter of Nestor and Eurydike (Eurydice).
After the Trojan War had been over for ten years, Odysseus had not returned home and his son Telemachos (Telemachus) needed to know the fate of his father; Telemachos left his home on the island of Ithaka (Ithaca) and first went to Pylos which was the kingdom of Nestor; Nestor had safely returned from the war and Telemachos was anxious to ask him for news of his father; while at the home of Nestor, Telemachos was treated like an honored guest; as part of his welcoming, Polykaste bathed Telemachos, anointed him with olive oil and dressed him in a noble looking mantle and tunic.
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 3, line 464
Odyssey (Fagles), book 3, line 521
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 3, line 506
A Greek sculptor; fl. 450-420 BCE; he worked mostly in bronze and was widely respected as one of the best sculptors of his age.
His name may also be rendered as Polykleitos or Polycleitos.
The tyrant of the island of Samos.
Polykrates ruled Samos from 532 BCE until his death circa 515 BCE; he was a man of great ambition and skill; originally, he took control of the island and shared the governance with his two brothers, Pantagnotus and Syloson, but he had Pantagnotus killed and Syloson was banished.
Polykrates amassed a large fleet of ships and assembled an army capable of dominating all who opposed him; from the island of Samos he was in an excellent strategic position to capture and defend the Aegean coast of Asia Minor as well as the islands of the Aegean Sea.
There are several interesting stories relating to Polykrates in the Histories by Herodotus:
Polykrates had cultivated a friendship with the king of Egypt, Amasis; the two monarchs had exchanged gifts and advice with one another because both men feared the ambitions of the Persian king, Kambyses (Cambyses); Amasis was concerned that Polykrates was too successful and a bit too proud so he advised him to take something that was very important to him and cast it away; Amasis explained that all lives must be checkered with happiness and sorrow and that unless Polykrates endured some degree of hardship his life would end in utter tragedy; Polykrates acted on Amasis's advice and took his most prized possession, an emerald ring, and threw it into the sea; several days later, a fisherman brought Polykrates an extraordinary fish as a tribute; when the fish was cut open the emerald ring was inside; Polykrates took this as an omen from the gods that his good fortune would continue indefinitely; when he informed Amasis of the event, Amasis broke off all relations with Polykrates saying that the return of the ring was the worst possible omen and that Polykrates's fate would be one of abject misery and sorrow; Polykrates did not appreciate Amasis's advice and immediately tried to form an alliance with the Persian king, Kambyses.
Kambyses was preparing to invade Egypt so Polykrates offered to assist the Persian king by giving Kambyses fifty warships; Polykrates manned the ships with dissidents so that he could earn the good will of the powerful and ambitious Kambyses and, at the same time, rid himself of any rebels who might want to threaten his power; Kambyses was not as good an ally as Polykrates might have imagined; Kambyses had insurmountable problems that threatened his empire; according to Herodotus, Kambyses was clearly a madman and could only be trusted to act irrationally and violently towards friend and foe alike.
At this same time, the Spartans were preparing an attack on the island of Samos and Polykrates needed reliable friends who would help defend his growing empire; the Persian satrap of Sardis, Oroetes, devised a plan by which he could defeat Polykrates with nothing more than a messenger and a believable lie; Oroetes informed Polykrates that he was fearful of Kambyses and that he had the funds to make Polykrates the most powerful Greek tyrant who ever existed; Polykrates was intrigued but moved with caution; he sent a messenger to Oroetes to arrange further negotiations but Oroetes was too sly for the messenger; he filled chests with stones and then put a covering of gold coins on top; he showed the chests of gold to the hapless messenger who reported to Polykrates that Oroetes did indeed have immense wealth; Polykrates's advisors and diviners were not as quick to trust Oroetes and cautioned him to not meet with the Persian; Polykrates's daughter had a nightmare in which her father was lifted into the air, washed by Zeus and anointed by Helios (the Sun); Polykrates would not listen to any of their warnings and sailed off with a large entourage to meet his doom; Oroetes wasted no time, he took Polykrates and most of his company prisoner; Polykrates was murdered in a cruel way and then his body was crucified; Amasis's warning and his daughters dream had come true; Polykrates had come to a bitter end; he was hung in the air to be washed by the rain of Zeus and was anointed by the touch of Helios.
Histories, book 3.39-46 and 3.121-125
Thucydides, book 1.13
An Athenian military captain who was part of the mercenary army commanded by Xenophon in the service of the Persian prince, Cyrus.
The unsuccessful attempt by Cyrus to take the Persian throne from his brother, Artaxerxes, and the subsequent retreat of the Greek mercenaries back to Greek territory is well documented in the history, Anabasis, by Xenophon.
Anabasis, book 4 v 24; book 5 i 16; book 7 ii 17, 29 and 30; book 7 vi 41
Sometimes thought to be the wife of Aeson and the mother of Jason.
Eoiae, fragment 13
poh lee MEE lee
The daughter of Phylas and, with Hermes, the mother of the Greek soldier, Eudoros.
When Hermes saw Polymele with the other maidens on the "dancing floor" of Artemis (goddess of the Hunt), he became infatuated with her; he crept secretly into her room and their union brought forth Eudoros.
Polymele married Echekles and he and Polymele's father, Phylas, both recognized the fact that Eudoros was the child of an Immortal but raised the boy as if he were their own flesh and blood.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 16, line 180
Iliad (Fagles), (Polymela) book 16, line 213
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 16, line 210
One of the nine Muses; her name means Of the Many Hymns.
For more information on Polymnia and her sisters, I suggest that you consult the Muses page in the Immortals section of this site.
Theogony, line 78
pho lee NEE kees
The youngest son of King Oedipus and Iokaste (Jocasta) of the city of Thebes; the brother of Eteokles (Eteocles), Antigone and Ismene.
Oedipus was cursed to kill his father and marry his mother and the children of this profane union were also cursed; Polyneikes was the son and brother of Oedipus.
After Oedipus went into a self-imposed exile, Eteokles tricked Polyneikes into thinking that the two of them could take turns sitting on the throne but once on the throne, Eteokles refused to honor his agreement and banished Polyneikes from Thebes; Polyneikes took refuge in Argos with King Adrastus (Adrestos) of Sikyon (Sicyon) and married Adrastus's daughter, Argeia.
Polyneikes and six loyal friends formed armies and intended to reclaim the throne of Thebes; the seven armies were necessary because Thebes was known as the City of Seven Gates and thus one army would attack each gate; their effort was commonly known as the Seven Against Thebes.
Before the attack, Polyneikes went to his exiled father and begged for his blessing but Oedipus cursed Polyneikes and predicted that Polyneikes and his brother, Eteokles, would both die without honor in the battle for the city; the attack on Thebes failed and Eteokles and Polyneikes both died on each other's spear.
After the battle, Polyneikes's uncle Kreon (Creon) assumed the throne and gave Eteokles a noble burial but, as an act of petty revenge, refused to allow a proper burial for Polyneikes; his body was left to the vultures and dogs until one of his sisters, Antigone, defied Kreon and covered her brother with a thin layer of dirt while his body still laid on the battlefield.
Ten years after the failure of the Seven Against Thebes, the sons of the seven commanders attacked Thebes again; they were called the Epigoni, i.e. After-Born (the children of the Seven), and included Polyneikes's son Thersandros (Thersander); the Epigoni successfully captured Thebes.
His name might literally mean Many Grievances: Poly means Many; Neikea means Grievances, i.e. the children of Eris (Discord); his name may also be rendered as Polynikes or Polynices.
Catalogues of Women and Eoiae, fragment 992, line 8
The Melampodia, fragment 2, line 4
The Thebaid, fragment 2, line 1
poh lee NOH ee
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
Other than a passing reference to her name, the only Nereid to receive any individual attention in the ancient literature was Thetis; as the mother of Achilles and one of the few goddesses to refuse the amorous intentions of Zeus, Thetis was unique; when the Immortals needed the Nereids, they called upon Thetis to rally her sisters for whatever task was needed.
The Nereids and the Argonauts - After Jason and the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece from Kolchis (Colchis), Medeia (Medea), the daughter of King Aietes (Aeetes), helped Jason murder her half-brother Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) in a rather cowardly way; Zeus swore revenge for such a dastardly act but his sister/wife Hera wanted to protect the Argonauts until Jason and Medeia could be absolved of their crime by the Dread-Goddess Kirke (Circe); Hera called upon Thetis to gather the Nereids so they could quiet the waters of the sea so the Argonauts could safely navigate to Kirke's island; Thetis plunged into the sea and called to her sisters; her call was answered and the Nereids helped save the Argonauts.
The Nereids at the funeral of Patroklos (Patroclus) - In the last year of the Trojan War, Achilles's companion Patroklos was killed; Achilles took Patroklos's death very hard and called out to his mother Thetis for consolation; Thetis and the Nereids rose from the sea and graced the dead body of Patroklos with their divine presence.
The Nereids at the funeral of Achilles - The death of Achilles was one of the most dramatic events of the Trojan War; as the son of Thetis, his death had particular significance to the Nereids; at the funeral of Achilles, Thetis, the Nereids and the Muses all came to pay their respects.
Theogony, line 258
Another name for Prokrustes (Procrustes); the legendary villain who would entice travelers with his hospitality and then bind them to his bed where he would then amputate or stretch them to fit the bed; he was finally beheaded by Theseus and forced to lie in his own bed.
Apollodorus also refers to him as Damastes.
pho LEE fee mos
The Cyclopes son of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and the Nymph, Thoosa.
After leaving the destroyed city of Troy, Odysseus and his twelve ships were blown off course to the country of the Cyclopes; they beached their ships in a natural harbor and when Eos (Dawn) arrived, they feasted on goats that the Nymphs had driven from the hills to the shore where the sailors had camped; Odysseus and his men could see the smoke from hearth fires but did not know who the inhabitants of the land might be.
On the following day, Odysseus took his ship and ventured down the coast to seek out the natives; they came to a place where they could see a cave with goats and sheep in a fenced yard; in the distance they could see a monstrous man herding his flocks; Odysseus took twelve of his crewman and went ashore to investigate; Odysseus had the feeling that the monster-man would be wild and lawless so he took some food and a skin of very strong wine with him; they found the cave of the monster-man well stocked with cheese, milk and pens full of lambs and kids; Odysseus's companions wanted to simply steal the food and make a hasty retreat back to their ship but Odysseus decided to wait for the monster-man to return and see if gifts of food would be offered without resorting to theft.
When the Cyclopes, named Polyphemos, returned to the cave, he made such a ruckus that Odysseus and the twelve sailors retreated into the shadows and hid; they watched as the one eyed man separated the males and females and herded the females into the cave; he then rolled a giant stone in front of the cave entrance and began to milk the sheep and goats; when he finished his chores, the Cyclopes lit a fire and finally saw Odysseus and the other men hiding in the recesses of the cave; he asked if they were pirates or traveling on business; Odysseus, in his most eloquent style, told the Cyclopes of their plight and asked for the hospitality that any god fearing man (or monster-man) would provide; the Cyclopes said that he was better than the gods and would offer no hospitality.
At that moment, Polyphemos snatched up two of the sailors and dashed them on the floor, spilling their blood and brains, and proceeded to eat them; Odysseus and the other men helplessly cried out to Zeus for mercy but Polyphemos was oblivious to their lamentations and laid down to sleep; Odysseus thought of pulling his sword and attacking Polyphemos but then realized that if the Cyclopes died, the trapped sailors could not move the giant stone that sealed the cave; Odysseus waited for Dawn and an hoped for an opportunity to escape certain death.
When Polyphemos awoke he went about his morning chores and, when he had finished milking his goats and sheep, killed and ate two more of Odysseus's men; he then moved the giant stone at the entrance of the cave and went outside to tend his flocks; Polyphemos replaced the stone, trapping Odysseus and the eight surviving men inside the cave; Odysseus began to devise a plan of escape; he took a large tree trunk that was in the cave and sharpened one end and hardened the point with fire; the sailors drew lots and four men were chosen to help Odysseus wield the tree sized spear when the proper time came to attack Polyphemos.
When Polyphemos returned to the cave, he brought his entire flock, males and females, inside for the night; he tended to his milking chores and then effortlessly killed and ate two more sailors; Odysseus boldly filled a bowl with the very potent wine he had brought along and offered it to Polyphemos; the Cyclopes took the wine and drank it down; the wine had been a gift to Odysseus and was so strong that it had to be watered down with twenty portions of water in order to make it suitable for any civilized man to drink; Polyphemos explained that Cyclopes made wine but the wine Odysseus had given him was surely made where nectar and ambrosia flow in abundance; he asked for more wine and, after three bowls, tried to engage Odysseus in conversation; he asked Odysseus what his name was and promised to give him a guest-gift in exchange for the wine; Odysseus cleverly said that his name was Nobody (Ουτις); Polyphemos said that he would eat Nobody after he had eaten the other men and that would be his guest-gift.
Polyphemos then passed out from the wine and vomited bile and meat on the cave floor; Odysseus and his men heated the point of the tree they had sharpened and poised it in front of Polyphemos's eye; as the men pushed the searing point of the tree into Polyphemos's eye, Odysseus used his weight to spin the giant spear so that it would penetrate as deeply as possible; Polyphemos awoke with a scream and pulled the deeply imbedded point from his ruined eye; his cries drew the attention of the neighboring Cyclopes and they converged at the cave entrance and asked why Polyphemos was screaming in the night; "Nobody is trying to kill me," Polyphemos answered; the other Cyclopes returned to their homes thinking that Polyphemos was suffering from madness; they urged him to call upon his father, Poseidon, for help.
Odysseus then had the six remaining men tie three rams abreast and then strapped each man to the belly of the center animal; he chose the largest ram in the flock for himself and hid beneath it in a similar manner; when Dawn arrived, Polyphemos opened the cave entrance and carefully felt the backs of all the sheep as they went outside; the men under the tethered sheep were safely outside when the ram carrying Odysseus came to the entrance; Polyphemos recognized the ram by its thick, luxurious fleece and wondered why the noble beast was the last to leave the cave; Polyphemos assumed that the ram was mourning the injury to its master's eye and Polyphemos assured the ram that he was going to kill and eat Nobody for the foul deed.
When Odysseus was a safe distance from the cave, he untied the other men and proceeded to drive Polyphemos's flock to the ship; Odysseus signaled the men to quietly load the animals on board so that Polyphemos and the other Cyclopes would not hear them; when the ship was a little distance from the shore, Odysseus could not contain his pride and anger, he called out to Polyphemos and said that the wrath of the gods had been justly administered and that good men had been the instrument of divine retribution; Polyphemos lifted a stone the size of a mountain peak and blindly threw it at the ship; the stone grazed the ship and the wave it created pushed the ship back to the shore; the men rowed frantically to get the ship back to the open water before Polyphemos could hurl another bolder; when they were twice the previous distance from the shore, Odysseus again wanted to taunt the blinded Cyclopes; the other sailors tried to restrain Odysseus but his proud heart would not be silent; he shouted to Polyphemos that he was Odysseus, the sacker of cities from the island of Ithaka (Ithaca), and that he should have killed the evil Cyclopes instead of just blinding him.
Polyphemos then realized that his blinding had been foretold by a prophet; he had always been on the lookout for a man named Odysseus but he had been tricked by clever words and missed the prophetic signs; Polyphemos raised his arms to heaven and called upon his father to bring down his vengeance on Odysseus, to kill all his men, to bring turmoil to his household and to delay his homecoming for many years; Poseidon heard his son's plea and made it all come to pass.
One of the Argonauts from Larissa (Larisa); the son of Eilatos.
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.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 40-44
One of the daughters of the last king and queen of the city of Troy, Priam and Hekabe (Hecabe); after the city was sacked by the Argives, she was sacrificed at the tomb of Achilles by his son, Neoptolemus (Neoptolemos).
The Sack of Ilion, chapter 1
The Pompaia was an Athenian procession held on Athens during the late fall dedicated to the father of the Immortals, Zeus.
Hardship; one of the children of Eris (Discord).
Theogony, line 226
pon toh POH ree ah
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus; her name literally means Sea-Traverser.
Other than a passing reference to her name, the only Nereid to receive any individual attention in the ancient literature was Thetis; as the mother of Achilles and one of the few goddesses to refuse the amorous intentions of Zeus, Thetis was unique; when the Immortals needed the Nereids, they called upon Thetis to rally her sisters for whatever task was needed.
The Nereids and the Argonauts - After Jason and the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece from Kolchis (Colchis), Medeia (Medea), the daughter of King Aietes (Aeetes), helped Jason murder her half-brother Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) in a rather cowardly way; Zeus swore revenge for such a dastardly act but his sister/wife Hera wanted to protect the Argonauts until Jason and Medeia could be absolved of their crime by the Dread-Goddess Kirke (Circe); Hera called upon Thetis to gather the Nereids so they could quiet the waters of the sea so the Argonauts could safely navigate to Kirke's island; Thetis plunged into the sea and called to her sisters; her call was answered and the Nereids helped save the Argonauts.
The Nereids at the funeral of Patroklos (Patroclus) - In the last year of the Trojan War, Achilles's companion Patroklos was killed; Achilles took Patroklos's death very hard and called out to his mother Thetis for consolation; Thetis and the Nereids rose from the sea and graced the dead body of Patroklos with their divine presence.
The Nereids at the funeral of Achilles - The death of Achilles was one of the most dramatic events of the Trojan War; as the son of Thetis, his death had particular significance to the Nereids; at the funeral of Achilles, Thetis, the Nereids and the Muses all came to pay their respects.
Theogony, line 256
The Sea; the son of Gaia (Earth); the brother of Ouranos (the Heavens) and Ourea (Mountains).
Theogony, lines 107, 132 and 233
The body of water we call the Black Sea.
Originally called Axenos by the Greeks and then later called Euxine; the word Axenos means "an inhospitable place" but the newer name, Euxine, means "kind to strangers"; approximately 178,000 square miles (461,018 square kilometers) in area.
Porphyrion 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 serpent-like feet.
The origin 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 that would protect her awful children but Zeus culled a cunning brew of his own that 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 shine until his task was complete.
The goddess Athene (Athena) summoned Herakles and the war against the Giants began:
Porphyrion and Alkyoneos 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.
Porphyrion and his brothers all met a similar fate; his brothers were:
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.
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 vii, chapter 29
Library, book I, chapter VI
Theogony, line 185
Poseideion was the sixth month of the year in Attica and approximately corresponds to the third week of November to the third week of December of our calendar; Poseideion was marked by two festivals:
The Rural Dionysia was a festival consisting of series of wine feasts, processions and dramatic performances in honor of Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine); the Rural Dionysia was held in the second half of the month.
The Haloa was a rather ribald event at which women would dance around a giant phallus in honor of Dionysos and Demeter (goddess of the Harvest); the Haloa was held on the twenty-sixth day of Poseideion.
The lord of the Sea.
Poseidon has a page in the Immortals section of this site ... click on his photo to view that page.
The name under which Poseidon (lord of the Sea) was worshiped at Athens; named after one of the legendary kings of ancient Athens, Erechtheus.
A Greek city in northern Syria; founded by Amphilochos (Amphilochus), son of the hero and seer, Amphiaraus; located on the coast in northern Syria just south of the border with ancient Kilikia (Cilicia).
A city on the Chalkidike (Chalcidice) Peninsula; founded as a colony in 609 BCE by the city of Corinth; Potidaea's revolt against Athens in 432 BCE was one of the causes of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE).
A term meaning Deeds which is used to describe the various heroic acts and adventures that Herakles (Heracles) performed in the latter part of his life.
The Deeds included:
1) The encounter with the Kerkopes (Cercopes), i.e. two monkey-men who stole Herakles's bow and were subsequently released because of their good humor;
2) The encounter with Syleus of Aulis; Syleus tried to force Herakles to work in his field and died for his efforts;
3) The archery competition for the marriage of Iole; the father of Iole held an archery competition to find a husband for his daughter; Herakles entered and won the competition but was not allowed to marry Iole; Iole's father and brothers died for their dishonor; and
4) The death of Herakles; after meeting the Centaur, Nessos, while traveling with his wife and son, Herakles was forced to kill Nessos and was fatally poisoned by the Centaur's blood.
5) Cast into a fit of rage and confusion by the vengeful Hera, Herakles murdered his and Megara's children.
For more detailed information on Herakles I suggest that you consult the Immortals section of this site.
A Greek sculptor; fl. 350 BCE; he is credited with the Statue of Hermes which was found at Olympia in 1877 CE and thought to be the same statue mentioned by the Greek geographer and traveler, Pausanias.
The Litai; the daughters of Zeus.
If a person does not call upon the Litai in times of need, they report to Zeus and recommend that he send Ate (Blindness) to hurt and punish the unbeliever; Ate is swift but the Litai are old and slow; they always come after Ate has inflicted her curses but they can heal and renew to spirit of anyone who calls upon them.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 9, lines 502
Iliad (Fagles), book 9, lines 609
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 9, lines 610
The murderer of Smerdis.
Prexaspes was the trusted companion of the second king of the Persian Empire, Kambyses; when Kambyses dreamed that his brother, Smerdis, was sitting on the throne with his head reaching to the heavens, he was convinced that Smerdis was plotting to depose him and claim the throne for himself; Kambyses gave Prexaspes the cowardly task of killing Smerdis.
Prexaspes secretly killed Smerdis and unwittingly allowed a Mede to assume Smerdis's identity and take the throne of the empire; before Kambyses could return to his capital, Susa, he died of an accidental wound; while on his deathbed, Kambyses confessed to the high ranking Persians of his army that he had instructed Prexaspes to kill Smerdis and that a false-Smerdis had usurped the throne; the Persians were accustomed to Kambyses's manipulative nature and did not believe him; after Kambyses died, Prexaspes denied the murder of Smerdis and allowed the false-Smerdis to stay on the throne.
As the months went by, false-Smerdis wanted to insure his reign and offered Prexaspes riches and position if he would publicly proclaim that the false-Smerdis was in fact the true-Smerdis; Prexaspes agreed but as he was addressing the Persians from the balcony of the palace, he had a change of heart and told the truth; he confessed to the murder of the true-Smerdis and then hurled himself from the balcony and died an honorable death on the pavement below; his confession prompted a coup which resulted in the assassination of the false-Smerdis and allowed a Persian, Darius, to reclaim the throne of the empire.
Histories, book 3.30, 3.33, 3.66, 3.74-76 and 3.78
PREE am
The last king of the city of Troy.
Priam and his fifty sons gathered their allies and resisted the attack of the Achaeans (Achaians), i.e. the Greeks, for ten bloody years; he was the son of Laomedon and a direct descendent of Zeus; he was the husband of Hekabe (Hecabe) and the father of many sons and daughters; when the walls of Troy finally fell Priam was killed by the son of Achilles, Neoptolemus (Neoptolemos).
The city of Troy was a wealthy commercial center and therefore invaded and looted many times; one of the looters was Herakles (Heracles); in the generation before Priam, Herakles and his army assaulted Troy and successfully plundered the city; Priam's father, Laomedon, was killed in the assault as were Priam's brothers, but his sister, Hesione, was spared and given as a concubine to Telamon (the father of Aias); Hesione was accorded the right to choose any of the prisoners she wished to take with her, she chose her brother Podarkes (Podarces) but Herakles declared that, since Podarkes was a slave, he must be purchased before he could be considered as a suitable choice; Hesione gave her veil as the purchase price and thus her brother, Podarkes, was thereafter called Priam, a variation of the word Priamai, meaning To Buy.
The image above shows King Priam as he ransoms the body of his son, Hector, from Achilles.
Apollodorus of Athens, Library, book 2, chapter 135-136
PREE am
The grandson of the last king of Troy who was also named Priam.
The rural god of Gardens and Vineyards; a god of the male procreative power; the son of Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine) and Aphrodite (goddess of Love).
A ancient city in Ionia, i.e. the western edge of Asia Minor; located near the city of Miletos (Miletus).
A sophist writer and philosopher from the island of Keos (Ceos); circa fifth century BCE.
His name may also be rendered as Prodikos or Prodicos.
The son of the king of Argos, Akrisios (Acrisius) and the brother of Danae; he is most noted for his poor treatment of Bellerophontes (Bellerophon).
When Proetus's wife, Anteia, made improper advances towards Bellerophontes, he refused her seductive advances; this rejection enraged Anteia so she lied to Proetus and said that Bellerophontes had tried to force himself on her; Proetus was furious but was too scrupulous to kill Bellerophontes; he sent Bellerophontes to Lykia (Lycia) with a message that said "kill this man"; fortunately, the ruler of Lykia was also a scrupulous man; he would not murder Bellerophontes.
The Spirit of Pursuit or Onrush, i.e., charging into battle or chasing enemies.
Shield of Herakles, line 154
The father of Naubolos and the son of Nauplios; the grandson of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and Amymone (the daughter of Danaus).
Argonautika, book 1, lines 133-138
pro KLEES
Tyrant of Epidaurus (early fifth century BCE); the father of Melissa and grandfather of Lykophron.
Prokles's daughter, Melissa, married Periander, the tyrant of Corinth; Melissa and Periander had three children; the names of the oldest son and daughter are unknown but one of the sons was named Lykophron (Lycophron); the elder brother was somewhat dimwitted so Lykophron was designated to inherit the leadership of Corinth when Periander either died or retired; as the children were growing up, they were unaware that Periander had murdered their mother.
When Lykophron was seventeen, Periander allowed his sons to visit Prokles in nearby Epidaurus; Prokles was the boy's grandfather and Melissa's father; as the boys were leaving Epidaurus, Prokles asked them if they knew who had murdered their mother; he implied without actually saying so, that their father had murdered their mother; Lykophron understood what Prokles was saying but his older brother was not clever enough to perceive the subtleties of what his grandfather was saying; when the boys returned to Corinth, Lykophron would not speak to his father; Periander finally became so irritated with Lykophron's aloofness that he made Lykophron leave home; Periander asked his older son what Prokles had said or done to make Lykophron act in such a way but it took some time for the slow-witted boy to remember what his grandfather had said; Periander assumed that Lykophron would soon come to his senses and beg forgiveness but Lykophron was strong willed and moved in with a friend instead of returning home; Periander threatened Lykophron's friend and he was turned out into the streets; after another friend took Lykophron in, Periander made a proclamation that anyone who spoke or associated with Lykophron would be subject to a fine to be paid to the god, Apollon.
Three days later, Periander saw Lykophron in the streets; the boy was unwashed and hungry; Periander took pity on his son and tried to reason with him; he reminded Lykophron of all the riches he was to inherit and that it was better to be a prince than a beggar; Periander more or less admitted that he had killed Melissa but said that the blame and punishment should not be passed on to his sons; he begged Lykophron to return home but Lykophron was unmoved by his father's pleas and simply said that Periander had violated his own proclamation by speaking to him and now owed a fine to Apollon.
Periander realized that Lykophron was beyond all reason and had him taken to the island of Kerkyra (Corcyra) where he would be out of sight and less of an embarrassment; Periander also sent an army to Epidaurus and took Prokles captive; the people of Kerkyra eventually killed Lykophron but the fate of Prokles is unknown.
Histories, book 3.48-53
The sixth century CE Greek writer who wrote of the existence of many of the lost poems that once made up the Epic Cycle, i.e., poems about the fall of the city of Troy.
His name may also be rendered as Proculus.
She and her sister, Philomela, were Athenian princesses and the daughters of Pandion; Prokne married Tereus, the king of Thrace.
Tereus attacked (or offended) Philomela and in order to keep his outrage a secret he cut out Philomela's tongue and hid her away in an isolated place; Philomela was able to weave her sad story onto a piece of needlework and send it to her sister.
Prokne found Philomela and the two of them killed Prokne's son, Itys, and served the cooked body of the child to her evil husband, Tereus; Tereus tried to slay the sisters but all three were transformed into birds; Tereus became a hoopoe, Philomela became a swallow and Prokne became a nightingale; Prokne is often referred to as the Daughter of Pandion, i.e. the swallow, and her wailing marked the beginning of Spring.
Works and Days, line 567
PRO krees
Prokris was the daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens; Prokris married a man named Kephalos (Cephalus) but their happy marriage was soon disrupted by the goddess Eos (Dawn) who desired the companionship of Kephalos and abducted him; Eos and Kephalos had a splendid son named Phaethon.
Understandably, Prokris became jealous of Kephalos's affair with Eos so, to ease Prokris's anger, the goddess, Artemis, gave her a dog which had once belonged to King Minos of the island of Crete; the dog was named Lailaps (Storm) and could catch anything it pursued; also, Artemis gave Prokris a spear that would strike any prey at which it was thrown; Prokris gave the hound and spear to Kephalos as an act of reconciliation but she was still unsure of Eos's intentions; acting on her suspicions, Prokris secretly followed Kephalos when he went hunting; when Kephalos heard a noise in the bushes he hurled the spear at what he thought was an animal but hit Prokris, killing her; Kephalos was forced to flee Athens and ended up at the city of Thebes where he was absolved of his blood guilt.
The Epigoni, fragment 2
The legendary villain who would entice travelers with his hospitality and then bind them to his bed where he would then amputate or stretch them to fit the bed; he was finally beheaded by Theseus and forced to lie in his own bed.
Apollodorus refers to him as either Damastes or Polypemon.
In Greek comedy, the initial portion of the play which sets the themes to be expounded.
The classifications into which modern scholars have divided Old Comedy are usually expressed in six elements:
1) Prologue (setting the theme of the play);
2) Parodos (introduction of the chorus);
3) Agon (argumentation);
4) Parabasis (choral ode);
5) Episodes (resolving the Agon); and
6) Exodos (celebratory conclusion).
pro MAH hos
The name literally means Protectress and refers to the goddess Athene (Athena).
The thirty foot statue atop the Acropolis at Athens was called Athene Promachos; designed by the legendary sculptor, Phidias; sailors could see Athene's upraised golden sword before they could see any other landmark as they approached Athens from the sea.
pro MAH hos
The son of Parthenopaeus and one of the Epigoni, i.e. After-Born.
Promachos's father Parthenopaeus had been a member of the Seven Against Thebes who had attacked and failed to capture the city of Thebes; with the exception of King Adrastus (Adrestos) of Sikyon (Sicyon), Parthenopaeus and all the other commanders of the Seven were killed.
Ten years after the failure of the Seven, the sons of the Seven, the Epigoni (After-Born) attacked Thebes and successfully breached the walls and captured the city.
A son of the Titan, Iapetos, and the Okeanid, Klymene (Clymene); the brother of Atlas, Menoitios and Epimetheus.
Prometheus has a page in the Immortals section of this site ... click on his photo to view that page.
One of the seven surviving tragedies by the Athenian playwright Aeschylus.
Cast of Characters:
Prometheus
Io
Hephaistos (Hephaestus)
Okeanos (Ocean)
Hermes
Bia (Force or Might)
Prometheus Bound is a sad and moving play dealing with the punishment meted out by Zeus because Prometheus gave fire to the mortals of the earth.
Hephaistos (Hephaestus) laments as he chains Prometheus to the peaks of the Caucasus Mountains at the edges of the earth but he is duty bound to follow the instructions of his brother, Zeus; with his distasteful job finished, Hephaistos departs; Prometheus is visited by the daughters of Okeanos (Ocean) who are the chorus in the play; they weep at Prometheus's misery and when Okeanos flies in on his winged chariot, he too is saddened by the pitiable sight of a fellow god being treated in such a way; Okeanos offers to go to Zeus and beg for Prometheus's release but Prometheus knows the future and says that he must endure his punishment because he knows that Zeus will not relent.
Prometheus explains that he not only gave humanity fire, he gave them all types of knowledge which would allow them to move from the caves and live in the sunlight; mathematics, written language, agriculture, metallurgy, animal husbandry and all forms of civilized knowledge to broaden minds and make life easier came from Prometheus.
In the course of her constant wandering, the heifer-maiden, Io, encounters Prometheus chained to the mountainside; she has been forced to roam the earth pestered by a gadfly because Zeus desired her as a lover and she refused his amorous advances; when Zeus's wife, Hera, found out about Zeus's attraction for Io, she sent the hundred-eyed Argos to follow the poor girl; after Argos was killed, his spirit became the gadfly which continues to torments Io; even though Prometheus is miserable, he shows mercy to Io and assures her that her suffering will eventually be over and that she will find happiness at the end of her long ordeal; he also tells Io that one of her descendants will eventually free him from his bonds; Io is forced to flee because the gadfly has caught up with her and she runs to escape the biting pains; Prometheus then tells the daughters of Okeanos that Zeus is destined to fall from power and, although he won't be specific as to the time when this will happen, Prometheus says that Zeus will be toppled by one of his own sons.
Zeus knows and hears all; when he heard Prometheus say that he knew when and how Zeus would be toppled from his throne, he sent Hermes to get the specific details but Prometheus is disdainful of Hermes and belittles him by calling him a lackey and a messenger boy and will not give Hermes the information that Zeus demands; Hermes threatens Prometheus by telling him that Zeus will strike the mountain with lightning and bury him alive if he does not reveal how Zeus will be dethroned; he also tells Prometheus that an eagle will gnaw at his liver during the day only to have it mend overnight and then the torment would begin again at dawn; Prometheus is still defiant and says that he will endure his punishment without complaint.
This play is intensely sad because Prometheus knows that all of his troubles are his own fault and he fully realized what the punishment would be when he defied Zeus; even so, Prometheus felt that it was more important to act in accordance with his better judgment than to bow to Zeus's tyrannical injustice.
If you wish to read this play I suggest The Complete Greek Tragedies, Aeschylus II, edited by David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, ISBN 0226307948; you can find this book at your library in the 800 section or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site.
pro NOH ee
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
Other than a passing reference to her name, the only Nereid to receive any individual attention in the ancient literature was Thetis; as the mother of Achilles and one of the few goddesses to refuse the amorous intentions of Zeus, Thetis was unique; when the Immortals needed the Nereids, they called upon Thetis to rally her sisters for whatever task was needed.
The Nereids and the Argonauts - After Jason and the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece from Kolchis (Colchis), Medeia (Medea), the daughter of King Aietes (Aeetes), helped Jason murder her half-brother Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) in a rather cowardly way; Zeus swore revenge for such a dastardly act but his sister/wife Hera wanted to protect the Argonauts until Jason and Medeia could be absolved of their crime by the Dread-Goddess Kirke (Circe); Hera called upon Thetis to gather the Nereids so they could quiet the waters of the sea so the Argonauts could safely navigate to Kirke's island; Thetis plunged into the sea and called to her sisters; her call was answered and the Nereids helped save the Argonauts.
The Nereids at the funeral of Patroklos (Patroclus) - In the last year of the Trojan War, Achilles's companion Patroklos was killed; Achilles took Patroklos's death very hard and called out to his mother Thetis for consolation; Thetis and the Nereids rose from the sea and graced the dead body of Patroklos with their divine presence.
The Nereids at the funeral of Achilles - The death of Achilles was one of the most dramatic events of the Trojan War; as the son of Thetis, his death had particular significance to the Nereids; at the funeral of Achilles, Thetis, the Nereids and the Muses all came to pay their respects.
Theogony, line 261
A body of water in northwest Turkey between European and Asian Turkey connected with the Euxine (Black Sea) by the Bosporus and connected with the Aegean Sea by the Dardanelles.
Now called the Sea of Marmara.
The gateway to the Acropolis at Athens.
Construction of the Propylaea was begun during the reign of Pericles and was abandoned circa 431 BCE unfinished because of a dispute between the priests of Athene (Athena) Nike and Brauronian Artemis.
The Propylaea was designed by Mnesikles (Mnesicles) and was a combination of Doric and Ionic styles; the structure was damaged and repaired over the centuries and was severely damaged in 1656 CE when lightning ignited a cache of explosives which the Turkish army had stored in the Propylaea.
(480-421 BCE) A Greek sophist philosopher.
Protesilaus has the dubious honor of being the first Greek warrior killed at the siege of Troy.
When he leapt from his ship he was immediately killed by the Trojan hero, Hector; after his death, his younger brother, Podarkes (Podarces), took over his command; the two brothers were descended from the god of War, Ares; his wife, Laodameia (or perhaps her name was Polydora), was so grief stricken that the Immortals allowed Protesilaus to leave the Underworld and return to her for three hours; when he went back into the Underworld Laodameia committed suicide so that she could be with him.
In the city of Elaeus, which is very near Troy (but on the European side of the Hellespont), a tomb and a temple were built for Protesilaus; it is unlikely that the body of Protesilaus was in the tomb because the Greeks normally burned their dead.
Circa 480 BCE, a Persian viceroy named Artayktes (Artayctes) stole the valuables and violated the women of the temple; Artayktes informed the Persian King Cyrus that he had only stolen from a Greek hero who had once invaded the Persian king's land and Cyrus granted him permission to keep the plunder; Artayktes had carefully worded the justification of his looting of the temple so as not to say that Protesilaus had been dead for almost eight hundred years and that, when the now-dead hero had attacked Troy, he had not attacked the Persian king's people or property.
At this same time, Cyrus was preparing his invasion of Greece and was ready to cross over from Asia Minor into Europe when the Athenians surrounded Artayktes, his son and his companions at Elaeus; Artayktes managed to escape but the Athenians tracked him down and took him and his son as prisoners; it would seem that Artayktes did not understand the seriousness of his situation because, when he saw one of the soldiers cooking fish, he joked that the fish danced around in the hot coals as if they were still alive just as the dead Protesilaus still had influence with the gods and was able to mete out vengeance to those who had wronged him; Artayktes then tried to use the gold and silver he had stolen from Protesilaus's temple to bribe the Athenians but they were too honorable to exchange stolen booty from a dead hero's tomb for the life of a scoundrel; Artayktes was crucified and his son was stoned to death.
The Kypria, fragment 1
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 2, lines 698, 706 and 708; book 13, line 681; book 15, line 705; book 16, line 286
Iliad (Fagles), book 2, lines 796 and 807; book 13, line 788; book 15, line 818; book 16, line 336
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 2, lines 830 and 842; book 13, line 781; book 15, line 817; book 16, line 336
Histories, book 7.33; book 9.116-122
pro TEE us
The Old Man of the Sea; an ancient sea god and a thane of Poseidon (lord of the Sea); the son of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys.
Proteus was noted for his ability to assume different forms and to prophesy; when Menelaos (Menelaus) and his crewmen were stranded on the island of Pharos, he aroused the sympathy of Proteus's daughter, Eidothea; she waited until Menelaos was alone and told him how he could catch Proteus and induce him to answer questions; each day at noon, Proteus would come out of the water and lie down in a cavern with his seals and sleep; Eidothea advised Menelaos to take his strongest men, cover themselves with seal skins, and ambush Proteus when he came out of the water.
Eidothea skinned four seals and gave the reeking hides to Menelaos and three of his shipmates; she then put ambrosia under their noses so that they could endure the terrible stench of the seals and showed Menelaos the cave where Proteus came out of the water to sleep; Menelaos did as she suggested and caught Proteus unawares; Menelaos grabbed Proteus and would not loosen his grip no matter which form the Old Man of the Sea assumed; Proteus put up a terrible fight and took the shape of a lion, a serpent, a leopard, a boar, fluid water and, finally, a towering tree but Menelaos held fast.
Finally Proteus ceased his struggle and asked Menelaos what he wanted; Menelaos asked about his companions who had fought with him at Troy and in which direction he should travel in order to reach his kingdom; Proteus told Menelaos of the sad deaths of Aias (Ajax) and his brother Agamemnon; Proteus also told Menelaos that Odysseus was still adrift on the wine-dark sea; Proteus advised Menelaos to return to Egypt and make sacrifices to the Immortals so that he might return to his home in Argos.
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 4, lines 351-570
Odyssey (Fagles), book 4, lines 408-642
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 4, lines 393-608
pro TEE us
The name of several of the Egyptian kings mentioned by the historian Herodotus.
One King Proteus played an important role in the kidnapping of Helen of Argos; Herodotus relates that Alexandros (Paris) and Helen did not sail directly to the city of Troy after they fled Sparta with Helen's dowry; contrary winds forced them to Egypt and into the Nile River; there was a shrine to Herakles (Hercules) in that part of Egypt where slaves could seek sanctuary; Alexandros's slaves deserted their master and, with the protection of the shrine, denounced Alexandros and told the local governor the circumstances under which Helen had been taken from her home.
When Proteus heard the story, he had Alexandros and Helen brought before him for judgment; he questioned Alexandros as to how he and Helen came to be in Egypt; Alexandros lied to Proteus but the slaves revealed the truth to the king; Proteus declared that Helen would be given asylum in Egypt until her husband came to get her but he was very angry with Alexandros and said that he would have had killed him if he were not a guest in his country; Proteus gave Alexandros three days to leave Egypt or his life would be forfeit.
Histories, book 2.112-120
pro TOH
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus; her name means First.
Other than a passing reference to her name, the only Nereid to receive any individual attention in the ancient literature was Thetis; as the mother of Achilles and one of the few goddesses to refuse the amorous intentions of Zeus, Thetis was unique; when the Immortals needed the Nereids, they called upon Thetis to rally her sisters for whatever task was needed.
The Nereids and the Argonauts - After Jason and the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece from Kolchis (Colchis), Medeia (Medea), the daughter of King Aietes (Aeetes), helped Jason murder her half-brother Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) in a rather cowardly way; Zeus swore revenge for such a dastardly act but his sister/wife Hera wanted to protect the Argonauts until Jason and Medeia could be absolved of their crime by the Dread-Goddess Kirke (Circe); Hera called upon Thetis to gather the Nereids so they could quiet the waters of the sea so the Argonauts could safely navigate to Kirke's island; Thetis plunged into the sea and called to her sisters; her call was answered and the Nereids helped save the Argonauts.
The Nereids at the funeral of Patroklos (Patroclus) - In the last year of the Trojan War, Achilles's companion Patroklos was killed; Achilles took Patroklos's death very hard and called out to his mother Thetis for consolation; Thetis and the Nereids rose from the sea and graced the dead body of Patroklos with their divine presence.
The Nereids at the funeral of Achilles - The death of Achilles was one of the most dramatic events of the Trojan War; as the son of Thetis, his death had particular significance to the Nereids; at the funeral of Achilles, Thetis, the Nereids and the Muses all came to pay their respects.
Theogony, lines 248
Pertaining to or designating a style of vase painting developed in Greece chiefly during the tenth century BCE and characterized by the use of abstract, geometrical motifs.
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus; her name means Guardian.
Theogony, line 249
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 350
One who holds a public office; usually the office is a temporary position; in the city of Athens a prytanes would hold office for approximately one tenth of a year, i.e. 35 days.
The second Eurypontidai king of the city of Sparta who ruled circa 865-835 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 Prytanis and the dates given for his rule are extrapolations and should be used only as approximations.
psah MA thee
One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus; she was the consort of Aiakos (Aeacus) and the mother of Phokos (Phocos); her name means Sea-Sand.
Other than a passing reference to her name, the only Nereid to receive any individual attention in the ancient literature was Thetis; as the mother of Achilles and one of the few goddesses to refuse the amorous intentions of Zeus, Thetis was unique; when the Immortals needed the Nereids, they called upon Thetis to rally her sisters for whatever task was needed.
The Nereids and the Argonauts - After Jason and the Argonauts had taken the Golden Fleece from Kolchis (Colchis), Medeia (Medea), the daughter of King Aietes (Aeetes), helped Jason murder her half-brother Apsyrtos (Apsyrtus) in a rather cowardly way;f Zeus swore revenge for such a dastardly act but his sister/wife Hera wanted to protect the Argonauts until Jason and Medeia could be absolved of their crime by the Dread-Goddess Kirke (Circe); Hera called upon Thetis to gather the Nereids so they could quiet the waters of the sea so the Argonauts could safely navigate to Kirke's island; Thetis plunged into the sea and called to her sisters; her call was answered and the Nereids helped save the Argonauts.
The Nereids at the funeral of Patroklos (Patroclus) - In the last year of the Trojan War, Achilles's companion Patroklos was killed; Achilles took Patroklos's death very hard and called out to his mother Thetis for consolation; Thetis and the Nereids rose from the sea and graced the dead body of Patroklos with their divine presence.
The Nereids at the funeral of Achilles - The death of Achilles was one of the most dramatic events of the Trojan War; as the son of Thetis, his death had particular significance to the Nereids; at the funeral of Achilles, Thetis, the Nereids and the Muses all came to pay their respects.
Theogony, lines 260 and 1005
A king of Egypt mentioned by the historian Herodotus.
When Psammetichus assumed the throne (circa 665 BCE), the Egyptians considered themselves to be the oldest race of humans on earth; Psammetichus decided to conduct a scientific experiment in order to determine whether or not the Egyptians were in fact the first humans; he took two newborn children of common birth, that is, not royalty, and sequestered them on a farm; the adults who raised the children were instructed to never speak in the presence of the children; the idea was to see what language the children would speak after they were beyond the age of childish babble; their first word was "bekos," which was the Phrygian word for bread; from this experiment, Psammetichus determined that the Phrygians were undoubtedly the oldest human race on earth.
Psammetichus is also important in Greek history because he was responsible for allowing Greeks from Karia (Caria) and Ionia to settle in Egypt; he also put Egyptian boys in the Greek settlement so that they might learn the Greek language, thus becoming interpreters; this made it possible for Greek travelers and scholars to study in Egypt.
Histories, book 2.2, 2.28-30 and 2.151-161
The largest of a group of small islands that share the same name; located in the eastern Aegean Sea near coast of Asia Minor and west of the island of Chios; Psara is also the name of the fishing village on the island.
Approximate East Longitude 25º 37' and North Latitude 38º 35'
The twenty-third letter of the Greek alphabet; uppercase: Ψ; lowercase: ψ.
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.
Letters of the Greek alphabet were also used as numerals; the letter psi represented the number 700 and was written as a simple ψ or as psi followed by an acute accent, ψ'.
The modern name for Mount Ida; a mountain in western Asia Minor, southeast of ancient Troy; 5,810 feet (1,771 meters) in height.
The modern name for Mount Ida; the highest mountain on the island of Crete; located almost exactly in the geographical center of the island; 8,058 feet (2,456 meters) in height.
The personification of the Soul; the word literally means Breath but has come to mean The Breath of Life, i.e. the soul.
The story of the love between Psyche and Cupid as told in The Golden Ass by Apuleius (fl. 155 CE) is essentially Roman in nature but has been adopted as a Greek story because it is assumed that the Roman version of the story was taken from an older Greek tale; an old woman was trying to amuse some young women who had been taken prisoner by a group of robbers and told the story of how Venus was trying to make Psyche fall in love with a mortal man and enlisted Cupid's help but when Cupid saw Psyche he forgot his mission and fell in love with her himself.
A wine jar with an oval body tapering at the neck, set on a high base; used for cooling wine.
Claudius Ptolemaeus; (90-168 CE); an Egyptian mathematician, astronomer and geographer.
Ptolemy was born in Alexandria, Egypt but was Greek in his heritage and language; his authority was from the Macedonian dynasty which traced its roots to Alexander the Great; his name reflects his times in that his first name is Roman and his last name is Greek.
His works include: Mathematike Syntaxis (System of Mathematics) and Geographike Hyphehesis (Geography).
(surnamed Soter) (367?-280 BCE) Ruler of Egypt (323-285 BCE); founder of the Macedonian dynasty in Egypt.
(surnamed Philadelphus) (309?-247? BCE) The king of Egypt (285?-247? BCE); the son of Ptolemy I.
Proioxis; the Spirit of Pursuit or Onrush; as in charging into battle or chasing enemies.
Shield of Herakles, line 154
The Pyanepsia was an Athenian festival in honor of the god Apollon and was held on the seventh day of the month of Pyanepsion (approximately the third week of September to the third week of October of our calendar); young boys would go from door to door offering blessings in exchange for gifts of food.
Pyanepsion was the forth month of the year in Attica and approximately corresponds to the third week of September to the third week of October of our calendar; Pyanepsion had two festivals:
The Pyanepsia was held on the seventh day of the month and was in honor of the god Apollon; young boys would go from door to door offering blessings in exchange for gifts of food;
The Thesmophoria was a woman's festival which was held from the eleventh to the thirteenth day of Pyanepsion; women would abandon their normal daily tasks and converge on sanctuaries of the goddess Demeter where they would sleep and commune in temporary campsites.
A town in ancient Macedon west of the Gulf of Salonika (Salonica); the site of a decisive Roman victory the Macedonians in 186 BCE.
A sculptor and king of the island of Cyprus who carved an ivory statue of a maiden and fell in love with it; in response to his prayers, Aphrodite (goddess of Love) brought the statue to life.
The brother of the tragic Carthaginian queen, Dido.
He is considered to be both a fictional and historic figure; in either case he is portrayed as a greedy and murderous man; the son of King Matgenos of the Phoenician city of Tyre, he murdered his uncle (who was also his brother-in-law), Sychaeus, hoping to take his fortune; he was unable to seize Sychaeus's money because Dido took the accumulated wealth and fled to northern Africa where she founded the city of Carthage.
peeg MEES
A race of African dwarfs who fought battles against cranes; they would supposedly attack the large birds and destroy their nesting fields; they were mentioned by Homer, Aristotle and other classical authors.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb) book 3, line 6
Iliad (Fagles) book 3, line 6
Iliad (Fitzgerald) book 3, line 7
pee LAH dees
Pylades was from Pylos and became the traveling companion and friend of Orestes; as a young boy, Orestes had been forced to flee Argos after his father, Agamemnon, had been murdered by his mother, Klytemnestra (Clytemnestra) and her lover, Aegisthus (Aigisthos); Orestes consulted an oracle of the god Apollon and was told that the only right thing to do to regain his father's kingdom and avenge his father's death was to kill Klytemnestra and Aegisthus; Pylades and Orestes returned to Argos and were plotting their revenge on Klytemnestra and Aegisthus when they encountered Orestes's sister, Elektra (Electra); Pylades became infatuated with the intense and vengeful Elektra and Orestes declared that after Klytemnestra was dead, and he became ruler of Argos, Pylades and Elektra could be married.
With Elektra's help, Orestes and Pylades and killed Klytemnestra and Aegisthus but were saved from any retribution by Apollon and Athene (Athena); Pylades married Elektra and returned to Pylos.
Returns, fragment 1
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); now called Navarino.
Approximate East Longitude 21º 43' and North Latitude 36º 55'
The oldest of the Seven Wonders of the World.
The pyramids were built in approximately 2580 BCE which is at least 1,500 years before the other six ancient wonders; the term, Pyramids of Egypt, specifically refers to the three pyramids on the Giza plateau near Cairo, Egypt.
The age of the pyramids is a hotly debated topic and I won't enter into the various compelling and absurd theories that surround this subject; the historian Herodotus was the first Greek to mention the pyramids and he attributes the construction to three successive generations of Egyptian pharaohs: Kufu (called Cheops by the Greeks), Chafre (Chephren) and Menkaure (Mykerinus).
The pyramids are of different sizes and were built of granite and limestone; the sheer size of the pyramids is daunting even by today's standards and the amount of stone required for just one of the structures defies the imagination; as an example, the largest pyramid (called the Great Pyramid) is comprised of over two million stone blocks which weigh as much as two tons each; the Great Pyramid is 481 feet (147 meters) in height and 754 feet (230 meters) on each side.
The precision of the construction and the mathematical ideals represented in the shape of the structures have given engineers and philosophers ample data for their explanations, which range from the simplistic to the outrageous, as to the manner and purpose of their erection; the fact remains, the Pyramids of Egypt are truly a wonder and their existence gives us a rare glimpse into the minds and abilities of our ancient ancestors.
Approximate East Longitude 31º 7' 51.9'' and North Latitude 29º 58' 32.2''
PEE rah
The daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora; Pyrrha was the wife of Deukalion (Deucalion).
Pyrrha and Deukalion built a boat at the advice of Prometheus and survived the flood which Zeus sent to destroy the human race.
Zeus was determined to exterminate the human race because the children of the Immortals (demigods) were mating with mortals; Zeus wanted the two races (Immortals and mortals) to live separately on the earth but he could not keep them from consorting with one another; the flood was intended to solve that problem; after the waters subsided, Deukalion and Pyrrha repopulated the earth by throwing stones onto the earth; the stones which Deukalion threw became men and those which Pyrrha threw became women.
Deukalion and Pyrrha were also the parents of Thyia and Hellen; Thyia consorted with Zeus and was the mother of Macedon and Magnes; Hellen was the founder of all the Greek races.
Pyrrha's father, Epimetheus, was the brother of Deukalion's father, Prometheus.
The Catalogues of Women and Eoiae, fragments 1, 3 68-II and 82
Pindar, Olympian Ode 9, line 47
Plato, Timaeus, section 22
(318-272 BCE) The king of Epirus circa 300-272 BCE.
Another name for the son of Achilles and Deidamia, Neoptolemus (Neoptolemos); the name, Pyrrhus, literally means Red-Haired.
peh thah GO ras
(circa 582-500 or 569-475 BCE) The famous Greek philosopher, mathematician and religious reformer.
Pythagoras was born on the island of Samos and revered to this day with the principal city on the island named after him, Pythagoreon (originally the city was called Samos).
Pythagoras was a vegetarian because he believed in the transmigration of souls which meant that the souls of deceased animals would re-inhabit new animals; Pythagoras believed that he was the reincarnation of a soldier in the Trojan War named Euphorbos; Euphorbos was the Trojan who killed Patroklos (Patroclus) and was then killed by Menelaos (Menelaus); while visiting Argos he saw a war trophy fastened to the wall and openly wept; when asked the reason for his sadness, Pythagoras replied that he had once carried that shield at Troy where he had died fighting the Argives; the witnesses were incredulous so, at the request of Pythagoras, they took the shield from the wall and on the reverse side was written "of Euphorbos."
The followers of Pythagoras were known as Pythagoreans; there are many examples were his followers would defy logic and common sense to demonstrate their good faith and purity of thought; if a Pythagorean was in financial trouble, other members of the sect would share their possessions so that their troubled comrade could be freed from debt and concentrate on the higher aspects of life; this generosity was not reserved to friends or acquaintances, they would come to the aid of any Pythagorean who needed help; one man, Kleinias (Cleinias) of Tarentum, heard that Prorus of Kyrene (Cyrene) had lost his fortune so Kleinias traveled to Libya and gave Prorus enough money to restore his fortune; Kleinias did this even though he did not personally know Prorus but simply because Prorus was a Pythagorean; their acts of kindness were not limited to material sacrifice but also included placing themselves in danger for the sake of their philosophical brothers; when the tyrant, Dionysius the Elder of Syracuse, pronounced a death sentence for a Pythagorean named Phintias for conspiring to overthrow the tyranny, Phintias asked if he might have time to put his personal affairs in order before he died; Phintias proposed that a fellow Pythagorean named Damon be put in prison and suffer death if he did not return; Dionysius was skeptical but freed Phintias and imprisoned Damon; when Phintias returned to be put to death, Dionysius was so impressed that he remitted the death sentence and asked if he could become a Pythagorean.
Pythagoras did not believe in passing his ideas through the written word, he relied instead on the deeds of his followers to instruct and recruit new converts; the Pythagoreans would practice refining their memory by recounting all of their actions on the previous day before they got out of bed; they would have a meal prepared and simply look at it, after their hunger was aroused they would clear away the meal without eating; these were exercises in self control that would aid them in all aspects of their life and give them the restraint they needed to resist the extravagance and laziness that seemed to dominate most people's lives.
Pythagoras referred to his way of thinking as Philosophy, which meant in Greek, Love of Wisdom; he lived after the so called Seven Sages of Greece and considered their achievements as flawed because they were mere humans with inherent human weaknesses; the distinction between Wisdom and Love of Wisdom is subtle but important; to be wise was not enough for Pythagoras, he believed that the continual love of wisdom was more enduring than occasional acts of wisdom.
It must be emphasized that what we know of Pythagoras is mostly conjecture and inference; although Plato (circa 427-347 BCE) and Aristotle (circa 384-322 BCE) gave heed to Pythagoras's religious and mathematical teachings you must remember that Pythagoras had been dead for at least 50 years before Plato was born; all religious and scientific teachings that we ascribe to Pythagoras are all derived from sources removed from Pythagoras by several generations; in some cases, the structure and details of Pythagorean doctrine was not finalized until 500 years after his death.
His religious teachings made him a celebrity in his own time but his scientific insights have endured through the ages; to most modern students, he is perhaps most noted for the formulation of the Pythagorean Theorem which states: in a "right triangle" (a triangle with one angle equal to ninety degrees, i.e. the "right angle"), the square of the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle) is equal to the sum of the squares of the other two sides, i.e. A squared plus B squared equals C squared (with C being the hypotenuse).
Histories, book 2.81; book 4.95
Diodorus Siculus, book X.3-11
The priestesses of Apollon at Delphi who would sit atop tripods and render the prophecies of Apollon in hexameter verse.
The Pythia was the conduit by which Apollon would speak to supplicants who came to his oracular shrine near Delphi; according to the Homeric Hymns, the Oracle was established by Apollon in prehistoric times; at his birth, Apollon stated that it was his destiny to make the will of his father Zeus known to the mortals of the earth; the Oracle at Delphi was established to become the instrument of that destiny.
Women with psychic abilities from all parts of the ancient world were welcomed at Delphi where their phenomenal skills could be nurtured and honed; the best of the best were promoted to the rank of Pythia and became the voice of Apollon; in this capacity they would share their insights and prophetic visions with all sincere supplicants.
After arriving at the Temple of Apollon, prayers, meditation and the sacrifice would prepare supplicants for their encounter with the Pythia; supplicants would be escorted into the inner sanctum where the Pythia, if she chose to answer their questions, would recite a divinely inspired poem which would be recorded by a priest; the meaning or significance of the poem was not always apparent and in cases where groups of people or cities were involved, the Pythia's answers were hotly debated until a consensus was achieved as to its "correct" meaning; individual people were left to decipher their own messages from Apollon.
There is one documented case where the Pythia was bribed to lie; the traveler and historian Pausanias reported that circa 505 BCE, King Kleomenes (Cleomenes) of Sparta induced a Pythia to "adjust" her responses to suit his desires; the two kings of Sparta had always maintained the delicate balance of cooperation and antagonism but their differences were usually settled by the Spartan elders in accordance with their laws and for the good of Sparta rather than the benefit of any individual; while Kleomenes had been out of the city with his army, King Demaratus began a slander campaign against him; upon his return, Kleomenes initiated a series of intrigues for the deposition of King Demaratus; he bribed the Pythia to frame her response in accordance with his plans and eventually had Demaratus replaced as king; Kleomenes then lapsed into a form of madness where he wounded and maimed himself with his own sword; since Kleomenes was no stranger to disrespectful behavior towards the Gods, the root of his madness was variously blamed on his desecration of a precinct sacred to Artemis, his killing of supplicants seeking refuge in a sacred grove and, of course, bribing the Pythia; we are not told the fate of the Pythia who dishonored her position and lied in the name of Apollon but we can assume that her fate was as ignoble as her crime.
The late summer games and festival held at Delphi on the third year of the Olympiad to celebrate the victory of Apollon over the serpent, Python; the contests included musical and athletic competitions.
The ancient name for Delphi; presumed to have been the site of a shrine of an ancient Mother goddess which was displaced when Apollon killed the guardian dragon, Python, and established his oracle on the site.
The large dragon who guarded the chasm at Delphi; the beast was killed by Apollon when he established his oracle on the site.
An ornate, often cylindrical, container used for salves and toiletries.
A constellation visible only from the Southern Hemisphere; the name means Box in Greek.
