# data[].attributes.body
Goddess of love and beauty
Relationship to Zeus: daughter
3 Adjectives love, beauty, pleasure
Symbol dove
Source of Information (Website URL):https://www.britannica.com/topic/Aphrodite-Greek-mythology

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God of music, poetry, art, prophecy, truth, archery, plague, healing, sun and light
Relationship to Zeus: son
3 Adjectives handsome, raven, lyre
Symbol bow, lyre
Source of Information (Website URL):https://www.thehistorypress.co.uk/articles/five-fascinating-facts-about-the-greek-god-apollo/

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God of war
Relationship to Zeus: son
3 Adjectives mature, armed for battle, nude
Symbol wolf
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ares?scrlybrkr=4b8a48fe

# data[].attributes.body
God of chastity
Relationship to Zeus: daughter
3 Adjectives goddess of chastity, hunting, and the moon
Symbol arrow
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artemis#:~:text=Artemis%27%20symbols%20included%20a%20bow,Alban%20Hills%2C%20and%20in%20Campania.

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Artemis

Goddess of nature, childbirth, wildlife, healing, the hunt, sudden death, animals, virginity, young women and archery

Member of the Twelve Olympians

Abode
Mount Olympus

Planet
Moon

Animals

deer, serpent, dog, boar, goat, bear, quail, buzzard, guineafowl

Symbol

bow and arrows, crescent moon, animal pelts, spear, knives, torch, lyre, amaranth

Tree

cypress, palm, walnut

Mount

A golden chariot driven by four golden-horned deer

Born

Parents

Zeus and Leto

Siblings

Apollo (twin), many paternal half-siblings

Roman equivalent
Diana

Etruscan equivalent
Artume

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Artemis (; Greek: ) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. In later times, she was identified with Selene, the personification of the Moon. She was often said to roam the forests and mountains, attended by her entourage of nymphs. The goddess Diana is her Roman equivalent.

In Greek tradition, Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo. In most accounts, the twins are the products of an extramarital liaison. For this, Zeus' wife Hera forbade Leto from giving birth anywhere on land. Only the island of Delos gave refuge to Leto, allowing her to give birth to her children. In most accounts, Artemis is born first and then proceeds to assist Leto in the birth of the second twin, Apollo. Artemis was a kourotrophic (child-nurturing) deity, that is the patron and protector of young children, especially young girls. Artemis was worshipped as one of the primary goddesses of childbirth and midwifery along with Eileithyia and Hera.

Artemis was also a patron of healing and disease, particularly among women and children, and believed to send both good health and illness upon women and children.

Artemis was one of the three major virgin goddesses alongside Athena and Hestia. Artemis preferred to remain an unmarried maiden and was one of the three Greek goddesses over whom Aphrodite had no power.

In myth and literature, Artemis is presented as a hunting goddess of the woods, surrounded by her chaste band of nymphs. In the myth of Actaeon, when the young hunter sees her bathing naked, he is transformed into a deer by the angered goddess and is then devoured by his own hunting dogs, who do not recognize their master. In the story of Callisto, the girl is driven away from Artemis' company after breaking her vow of virginity, having lain with and been impregnated by Zeus. In the Epic tradition, Artemis halted the winds blowing the Greek ships during the Trojan War, stranding the Greek fleet in Aulis, after King Agamemnon, the leader of the expedition, shot and killed her sacred deer. Artemis demanded the sacrifice of Iphigenia, Agamemnon's young daughter, as compensation for her slain deer. In most versions, when Iphigenia is led to the altar to be offered as a sacrifice, Artemis pities her and takes her away, leaving a deer in her place. In the war that followed, Artemis supported the Trojans against the Greeks, and challenged Hera into battle.

Artemis was one of the most widely venerated of the Ancient Greek deities; her worship spread throughout ancient Greece, with her multiple temples, altars, shrines, and local veneration found everywhere in the ancient world. Her great temple at Ephesus was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, before it was burnt to the ground. Artemis' symbols included a bow and arrow, a quiver, and hunting knives, and the deer and the cypress were sacred to her. Diana, her Roman equivalent, was especially worshipped on the Aventine Hill in Rome, near Lake Nemi in the Alban Hills, and in Campania.

The name "Artemis" (n., f.) is of unknown or uncertain etymology, although various sources have been proposed. R. S. P. Beekes suggested that the e/ i interchange points to a Pre-Greek origin. Artemis was venerated in Lydia as Artimus. Georgios Babiniotis, while accepting that the etymology is unknown, also states that the name is already attested in Mycenean Greek and is possibly of pre-Greek origin.

The name may be related to Greek árktos " bear" (from PIE * h₂ŕ̥tḱos), supported by the bear cult the goddess had in Attica ( Brauronia) and the Neolithic remains at the Arkoudiotissa Cave, as well as the story of Callisto, which was originally about Artemis ( Arcadian epithet kallisto); this cult was a survival of very old totemic and shamanistic rituals and formed part of a larger bear cult found further afield in other Indo-European cultures (e.g., Gaulish Artio). It is believed that a precursor of Artemis was worshipped in Minoan Crete as the goddess of mountains and hunting, Britomartis. While connection with Anatolian names has been suggested, the earliest attested forms of the name Artemis are the Mycenaean Greek , a-te-mi-to /Artemitos/ ( gen.) and , a-ti-mi-te /Artimitei/ ( dat.), written in Linear B at Pylos.

According to J. T. Jablonski, the name is also Phrygian and could be "compared with the royal appellation Artemas of Xenophon. Charles Anthon argued that the primitive root of the name is probably of Persian origin from * arta, * art, * arte, all meaning "great, excellent, holy", thus Artemis "becomes identical with the great mother of Nature, even as she was worshipped at Ephesus". Anton Goebel "suggests the root στρατ or ῥατ, "to shake", and makes Artemis mean the thrower of the dart or the shooter".

Ancient Greek writers, by way of folk etymology, and some modern scholars, have linked Artemis (Doric Artamis) to , artamos, i.e. "butcher" or, like Plato did in , to , artemḗs, i.e. "safe", "unharmed", "uninjured", "pure", "the stainless maiden". A. J. Van Windekens tried to explain both and Artemis from , atremḗs, meaning "unmoved, calm; stable, firm" via metathesis.

Artemis is presented as a goddess who delights in hunting and punishes harshly those who cross her. Artemis' wrath is proverbial, and represents the hostility of wild nature to humans. Homer calls her πότνια θηρῶν , "the mistress of animals", a title associated with representations in art going back as far as the Bronze Age, showing a woman between a pair of animals. Artemis carries with her certain functions and characteristics of a Minoan form whose history was lost in the myths.

Artemis was one of the most popular goddesses in Ancient Greece. The most frequent name of a month in the Greek calendars was Artemision in Ionic, territories Artemisios or Artamitios in the Doric and Aeolic territories and in Macedonia. Also Elaphios in Elis, Elaphebolion in Athens, Iasos, Apollonia of Chalkidice and Munichion in Attica. In the calendars of Aetolia, Phocis and Gytheion there was the month Laphrios and in Thebes, Corcyra, and Byzantion the month Eucleios. The goddess was venerated in festivals during spring.

In some cults she retains the theriomorphic form of a Pre-Greek goddess who was conceived with the shape of a bear (άρκτος árktos: bear). Kallisto in Arcadia is a hypostasis of Artemis with the shape of a bear, and her cults at Brauron and at Piraeus ( Munichia) are remarkable for the arkteia where virgin girls before marriage were disguised as she-bears.

The ancient Greeks called potnia theron the representation of the goddess between animals; on a Greek vase from circa 570 BCE, a winged Artemis stands between a spotted panther and a deer. "Potnia theron" is very close to the daimons and this differentiates her from the other Greek divinities. This is the reason that Artemis was later identified with Hecate, since the daimons were tutelary deities. Hecate was the goddess of crossroads and she was the queen of the witches.

Laphria is the Pre-Greek "mistress of the animals" at Delphi and Patras. There was a custom to throw animals alive into the annual fire of the fest. The festival at Patras was introduced from Calydon and this relates Artemis to the Greek heroine Atalanta who symbolizes freedom and independence. Other epithets that relate Artemis to the animals are Amarynthia and Kolainis.

In the Homeric poems Artemis is mainly the goddess of hunting, because it was the most important sport in Mycenean Greece. An almost formulaic epithet used in the Iliad and Odyssey to describe her is iocheaira, "she who shoots arrows", often translated as "she who delights in arrows" or "she who showers arrows". She is called Artemis Chrysilakatos, of the golden shafts, or Chrysinios, of the golden reins, as a goddess of hunting in her chariot. The Homeric Hymn 27 to Artemis paints this picture of the goddess:

I sing of Artemis, whose shafts are of gold, who cheers on the hounds, the pure maiden, shooter of stags, who delights in archery, own sister to Apollo with the golden sword. Over the shadowy hills and windy peaks she draws her golden bow, rejoicing in the chase, and sends out grievous shafts. The tops of the high mountains tremble and the tangled wood echoes awesomely with the outcry of beasts: earthquakes and the sea also where fishes shoal.

According to the beliefs of the first Greeks in Arcadia Artemis is the first nymph, a goddess of free nature. She is an independent free woman, and she doesn't need any partner. She is hunting surrounded by her nymphs. This idea of freedom and women's skill is expressed in many Greek myths.

In Peloponnese the temples of Artemis were built near springs, rivers and marshes. Artemis was closely related to the waters and especially to Poseidon, the god of the waters. Her common epithets are Limnnaia, Limnatis (relation to waters) and Potamia and Alphaea (relation to rivers). In some cults she is the healer goddess of women with the surnames Lousia and Thermia.

Artemis is the leader of the nymphs ( Hegemone) and she is hunting surrounded by them. The nymphs appear during the festival of the marriage, and they are appealed by the pregnant women. Artemis became goddess of marriage and childbirth. She was worshipped with the surname Eucleia in several cities. Women consecrated clothes to Artemis for a happy childbirth and she had the epithets Lochia and Lecho.

The Dorians interpreted Artemis mainly as goddess of vegetation who was worshipped in an orgiastic cult with lascivious dances, with the common epithets Orthia, Korythalia and Dereatis. The female dancers wore masks and were famous in antiquity. The goddess of vegetation was also related to the tree-cult with temples near the holy trees and the surnames Apanchomene, Caryatis and Cedreatis.

According to Greek beliefs the image of a god or a goddess gave signs or tokens and had divine and magic powers. With these conceptions she was worshipped as Tauria (the Tauric, goddess), Aricina ( Italy) and Anaitis ( Lydia). In the bucolic ( pastoral) songs the image of the goddess was discovered in bundles of leaves or dry sticks and she had the surnames Lygodesma and Phakelitis.

In the European folklore, a wild hunter is chasing an elfish woman who falls in the water. In the Greek myths the hunter is chasing a female deer (doe) and both disappear into the waters. In relation to these myths Artemis was worshipped as Saronia and Stymphalia . The myth of a goddess who is chased and then falls in the sea is related to the cults of Aphaea and Diktynna.

Artemis carrying torches was identified with Hecate and she had the surnames Phosphoros and Selasphoros . In Athens and Tegea, she was worshipped as Artemis Kalliste, "the most beautiful". Sometimes the goddess had the name of an Amazon like Lyceia (with a helmet of a wolf-skin) and Molpadia. The female warriors Amazons embody the idea of freedom and women's independence.

In spite of her status as a virgin who avoided potential lovers, there are multiple references to Artemis' beauty and erotic aspect; in the , Odysseus compares Nausicaa to Artemis in terms of appearance when trying to win her favor, Libanius, when praising the city of Antioch, wrote that Ptolemy was smitten by the beauty of (the statue of) Artemis; whereas her mother Leto often took pride in her daughter's beauty. She has several stories surrounding her where men such as Actaeon, Orion, and Alpheus tried to couple with her forcibly, only to be thwarted or killed. Ancient poets note Artemis' height and imposing stature, as she stands taller and more impressive than all the nymphs accompanying her.

Artemis is rooted to the less developed personality of the Mycenean goddess of nature. The goddess of nature was concerned with birth and vegetation and had certain chthonic aspects. The Mycenean goddess was related to the Minoan mistress of the animals, who can be traced later in local cults, however we don't know to what extent we can differentiate the Minoan from the Mycenean religion. Artemis carries with her certain functions and characteristics of a Minoan form whose history was lost in the myths. According to the beliefs of the first Greeks in Arcadia, Artemis is the first nymph, a divinity of free nature. She was a great goddess and her temples were built near springs marshes and rivers where the nymphs live, and they are appealed by the pregnant women. In Greek religion we must see less tractable elements which have nothing to do with the Olympians, but come from an old, less organized world-exorcisms, rituals to raise crops, gods and goddesses conceived not quite in human shape. Some cults of Artemis retained the pre-Greek features which were consecrated by immemorial practices and connected with daily tasks. Artemis shows sometimes the wild and darker side of her character and can bring immediate death with her arrows, however she embodies the idea of "the free nature" which was introduced by the first Greeks. The Dorians came later in the area, probably from Epirus and the goddess of nature was mostly interpreted as a vegetation goddess who was related to the ecstatic Minoan tree-cult. She was worshipped in orgiastic cults with lascivious and sometimes obscene dances, which have pure Greek elements introduced by the Dorians. The feminine (sometimes male) dancers wore usually masks, and they were famous in the antiquity. The great popularity of Artemis corresponds to the Greek belief in freedom and she is mainly the goddess of women in a patriarchal society. The goddess of free nature is an independent woman and doesn't need a partner.[clarification needed ] Artemis is frequently depicted carrying a torch and she was occasionally identified with Hecate. Like other Greek deities, she had a number of other names applied to her, reflecting the variety of roles, duties, and aspects ascribed to the goddess.

Aeginaea, probably huntress of chamois or the wielder of the javelin, at Sparta However the word may mean "from the island Aegina", that relates Artemis with Aphaia ( Britomartis).

, guardian of popular assemblies in Athens. She was considered to be the protector of the assemblies of the people in the agora. At Olympia the cult of "Artemis Agoraea" was related to the cult of Despoinai. (The double named goddesses Demeter and Persephone).

, the huntress of wild wood, in the Iliad and many cults. It was believed that she first hunted at Agrae of Athens after her arrival from Delos. There was a custom of making a "slaughter sacrifice", to the goddess before a battle. The deer always accompanies the goddess of hunting. Her epithet Agraea is similar with Agrotera.

, in the district of Elis. The goddess had an annual festival at Olympia and a temple at Letrinoi near the river Alpheus. At the festival of Letrinoi, the girls were dancing wearing masks. In the legend, Alphaea and her nymphs covered their faces with mud and the river god Alpheus, who was in love with her, could not distinguish her from the others. This explains, somehow, the clay masks at Sparta.

Amarynthia, or Amarysia, with a famous temple at Amarynthus near Eretria. The goddess was related to the animals, however she was also a healer goddess of women. She is identified with Kolainis.

Amphipyros, with fire at each end, a rare epithet of Artemis as bearing a torch in either hand. Sophocles calls her, " Elaphebolos, (deer slayer) Amphipyros", reminding the annual fire of the festival Laphria The adjective refers also to the twin fires of the two peaks of the Mount Parnassus above Delphi ( Phaedriades).

Anaitis, in Lydia. The fame of Tauria (the Tauric goddess) was very high, and the Lydians claimed that the image of the goddess was among them. It was considered that the image had divine powers. The Athenians believed that the image became booty to the Persians and was carried from Brauron to Susa.

Apanchomene, the strangled goddess, at Caphyae in Arcadia. She was a vegetation goddess related to the ecstatic tree cult. The Minoan tree goddesses Helene, Dentritis, and Ariadne were also hanged. This epithet is related to the old traditions where icons and puppets of a vegetation goddess would be hung on a tree. It was believed that the plane tree near the spring at Caphyae, was planted by Menelaus, the husband of Helen of Troy. The tree was called "Menelais". The previous name of the goddess was most likely Kondyleatis.

, or Apha, unseen or disappeared, a goddess at Aegina and a rare epithet of Artemis. Aphaea is identified with Britomartis. In the legend Britomartis (the sweet young woman) escaped from Minos, who fell in love with her. She travelled to Aegina on a wooden boat and then she disappeared. The myth indicates an identity in nature with Diktynna.

Sacrifice of Iphigenia. Antique fresco from Pompei, probably a copy of a painting by Timanthes. Agamemnon (right) and Clytemnestra crying (left). In the sky appears the fawn which will replace her. National Archaeological Museum, Naples

Aricina, derived from the town Aricia in Latium, or from Aricia, the wife of the Roman forest god Virbius ( Hippolytus). The goddess was related with Artemis Tauria (the Tauric Artemis). Her statue was considered the same with the statue that Orestes brought from Tauris. Near the sanctuary of the goddess there was a combat between slaves who had run away from their masters and the prize was the priesthood of Artemis.

Ariste, the best, a goddess of the women. Pausanias describes xoana of "Ariste" and "Kalliste" in the way to the academy of Athens and he believes that the names are surnames of the goddess Artemis, who is depicted carrying a torch. Kalliste is not related to Kalliste of Arcadia.

Aristobule, the best advisor, at Athens. The politician and general Themistocles built a temple of Artemis Aristobule near his house in the deme of Melite, in which he dedicated his own statue.

Basileie, at Thrace and Paeonia. The women offered wheat stalks to the goddess. In this cult, which reached Athens, Artemis is relative to the Thracian goddess Bendis.

, worshipped at Brauron in Attica. Her cult is remarkable for the "arkteia", young girls who dressed with short saffron-yellow chitons and imitated bears (she-bears: arktoi). In the Acropolis of Athens, the Athenian girls before puberty should serve the goddess as "arktoi". Artemis was the goddess of marriage and childbirth. The name of the small "bears" indicate the theriomorphic form of Artemis in an old pre-Greek cult. In the cult of Baubronia, the myth of the sacrifice of Iphigenia was represented in the ritual.

, the lady of the nut-tree, at Caryae on the borders between Laconia and Arcadia. Artemis was strongly related to the nymphs, and young girls were dancing the dance Caryatis. The dancers of Caryai were famous in antiquity. In a legend, Carya, the female lover of Dionysos was transformed into a nut tree and the dancers into nuts. The city is considered to be the place of the origin of the bucolic (pastoral) songs.

Chesias, from the name of a river at Samos.

Heracles throwing the Erymanthian Boar on Eurystheus, who, frightened, hides in a jar. Goddesses Artemis (left) and Athena (right). Attic Amphora 500-515 BCE by Rycroft Painter. National Archaeological Museum (Madrid)

Chrisilakatos, of the golden arrow, in Homer's Iliad as a powerful goddess of hunting. In the Odyssey, she descends from a peak and travels along the ridges of Mount Erymanthos, that was sacred to the "Mistress of the animals". In a legend, when the old goddess became wrathful, she would send the terrible Erymanthian boar to lay waste to fields. Artemis can bring an immediate death with her arrows. In the Iliad, Hera stresses the wild and darker side of her character and she accuses her of being "a lioness between women".

, as goddess of the moon, from her birthplace on Mount Cynthos at Delos. Selene, the Greek personification of the moon, and the Roman Diana were also sometimes called Cynthia.

Daphnaea, as goddess of vegetation. Her name is most likely derived from the "laurel-branch" which was used as "May-branch", or an allusion to her statue being made of laurel-wood (daphne) Strabo refers to her annual festival at Olympia.

Delia, the feminine form of Apollo Delios

Delphinia, the feminine form of Apollo Delphinios (literally derived from Delphi).

, from Mount Dikti, who is identified with the Minoan goddess Britomartis. Her name is derived from the mountain Dikti in Crete. A folk etymology derives her name from the word "diktyon" (net). In the legend Britomartis (the sweet young woman) was hunting together with Artemis who loved her desperately. She escaped from Minos, who fell in love with her, by jumping into the sea and falling into a net of fishes.

Apollo and Artemis. Tondo of an Attic red-figure cup, circa 470 BCE, by the Briseis Painter.Louvre, Paris

Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth in Boeotia and other local cults especially in Crete and Laconia. During the Bronze Age, in the cave of Amnisos, she was related to the annual birth of the divine child. In the Minoan myth the child was abandoned by his mother and then he was nurtured by the powers of nature.

Elaphebolos, shooter of deer, with the festival "Elaphebolia" at Phocis and Athens, and the name of a month in several local cults. Sophocles calls Artemis "Elaphebolos, Amphipyros", carrying a torch in each hand. This was used during the annual fire of the festival of Laphria at Delphi.

, at the city Ephesus of Minor Asia. The city was a great center of the cult of the goddess, with a magnificent temple, ( Artemision). Ephesia belongs to the series of the Anatolian goddesses (Great mother, or mountain-mother). However she is not a mother-goddess, but the goddess of free nature. In the Homeric Ionic sphere she is the goddess of hunting.

, as a goddess of marriage in Boeotia, Locris and other cities. Epheboi and girls who wanted to marry should make a preliminary sacrifice in honour of the goddess. "Eukleios" was the name of a month in several cities and "Eucleia" was the name of a festival at Delphi. In Athens Peitho, Harmonia and Eucleia can create a good marriage. The bride would sacrifice to the virgin goddess Artemis.

Eurynome, wide ruling, at Phigalia in Arcadia. Her wooden image ( xoanon) was bound with a roller golden chain. The xoanon depicted a woman's upper body and the lower body of a fish. Pausanias identifies her as one of the Oceanids daughters of Oceanus and Tethys

Hagemo, or , leader, as the leader of the nymphs. Artemis was playing and dancing with the nymphs who lived near springs, waters and forests and she was hunting surrounded by them. The nymphs joined the festival of the marriage and then they returned to their original form. The pregnant women appealed to the nymphs for help. In Greek popular culture the commandress of the Neraiden (fairies) is called "Great lady", "Lady Kalo" or "Queen of the mountains".

Heurippa, horse finder, at Pheneus in Arcadia. Her sanctuary was near the bronze statue of Poseidon Hippios (horse). In a legend, Odysseus lost his mares and travelled throughout Greece to find them. He found his mares at Pheneus, where he founded the temple of "Artemis Heurippa".

, at Orchomenos in Boeotia. She was a goddess of dance and songs, especially of female choruses. The priestesses of Artemis Hymnia couldn't have a normal life like the other women. They were at first virgins and were to remain celibate in the priesthood. They could not use the same baths and they were not allowed to enter the house of a private man.

Iocheaira, shooter of arrows by Homer (archer queen), as goddess of hunting. She has a wild character and Hera advises her to kill animals in the forest, instead of fighting with her superiors. Apollo and Artemis kill with their arrows the children of Niobe because she offended her mother Leto. In the European and Greek popular religion the arrow-shots from invisible beings can bring diseases and death.

Issora, or Isora, at Sparta, with the surname Limnaia or Pitanitis. Issorium was a part of a great summit which advances into the level of Eurotas a Pausanias identifies her with the Minoan Britomartis.

Kalliste, the most beautiful, another form of Artemis with the shape of a bear at Tricoloni near Megalopolis a mountainous area full of wild beasts. Kallisto the attendant of Artemis, bore Arcas the patriarch of the Arcaden. In a legend Kallisto was transformed into a bear and in another myth Artemis shot her. Kallisto is a hypostasis of Artemis with a theriomorphic form from a pre-Greek cult.

' Keladeini, echoing chasing (noisy) in Homer's Iliad because she hunts wild boars and deer surrounded by her nymphs.

' Kithone, as a goddess of childbirth at Millet. Her name is probably derived from the custom of clothes consecration to the goddess, for a happy childbirth.

Kolainis, related with the animals at Euboea and Attica. At Eretria she had a major temple and she was called Amarysia. The goddess became a healer goddess of women.

Kolias, in a cult of women. Men were excluded because the fertility of the earth was related to motherhood. Aristophanes mentions Kolias and Genetyllis who are accused for lack of restraint. Their cult had a very emotional character.

Kondyleatis, named after the village Kondylea, where she had a grove and a temple. In a legend some boys tied a rope around the image of the goddess and said that Artemis was hanged. The boys were killed by the inhabitants and this caused a divine punishment. All the women brought dead children in the world, until the boys were honourably buried. An annual sacrifice was instituted to the divine spirits of the boys. Kondyleatis was most likely the original name of Artemis Apanchomeni.

Kordaka, in Elis. Τhe dancers performed the obscene dance kordaka, which is considered the origin of the dance of the old comedy. The dance is famous for its nudge and hilarity and gave the name to the goddess.

Korythalia, derived from Korythale, probably the "laurel May-branch", as a goddess of vegetation at Sparta. The epheboi and the girls who entered the marriage age placed the Korythale in front of the door of the house. In the cult the female dancers (famous in the antiquity) performed boisterous dances and were called Korythalistriai. In Italy, the male dancers wore wooden masks and they were called kyrritoi (pushing with the horns).

, the mistress of the animals (Pre-Greek name) in many cults, especially in central Greece, Phocis and Patras. "Laphria" was the name of the festival. The characteristic rite was the annual fire and there was a custom to throw animals alive in the flames during the fest. The cult of "Laphria" at Patras was transferred from the city Calydon of Aetolia In a legend during the Calydonian boar hunt the fierce-huntress Atalanta was the first who wounded the boar. Atalanta was a Greek heroine, symbolizing the free nature and independence

Lecho, protector of a woman in childbed, or of one who has just given birth.

Lochia, as goddess of childbirth and midwifery. Women consecrated clothes to the goddess for a happy childbirth. Other less common epithets of Artemis as goddess of childbirth are Eulochia and Geneteira.

Lyaia, at Syracuse in Sicily. ( Spartan colony). There is a clear influence from the cult of Artemis Caryatis in Laconia. The Sicilian songs were transformed songs from the Laconic bucolic ( pastoral) songs at Caryai.

Heracles breaking off the golden antler of the Ceryneian Hind, while Athena (left) and Artemis (right) look on. Black-figure amphora, ca. 540-530 BC, from Vulci. British Museum, London.

Lyceia, of the wolf or with a helmet of a wolf skin, at Troezen in Argolis. It was believed that her temple was built by the hunter Hippolytus who abstained from sex and marriage. Lyceia was probably a surname of Artemis among the Amazons from whom Hippolytus descended from his mother. ( Hippolyta).

Lycoatis, with a bronze statue at the city Lycoa in Arcadia. The city was near the foot of the mountain Mainalo, which was sacred to, Pan. On the south slope the Mantineians fetched the bones of Arcas, the son of Kallisto.( Kalliste).

Lygodesma, willow bound, at Sparta (another name of Orthia). In a legend her image was discovered in a thicket of willows. standing upright (orthia).

, singer of divine songs, a rare epithet of Artemis as a goddess of dances and songs and leader of the nymphs. In a legend Molpadia was an Amazon. During the Attic war she killed Antiope to save her by the Athenian king Theseus, but she was killed by Theseus.

, in a cult at Piraeus, related to the arkteia of Brauronian Artemis. According to legend, if someone killed a bear, he should be punished by sacrificing his daughter in the sanctuary. Embaros disguised his daughter by dressing her like a bear (arktos), and hid her in the adyton. He placed a goat on the altar and he sacrificed the goat instead of his daughter.

Oenoatis, derived from the city Oenoe in Argolis. Above the town there was the mountain Artemisium, with the temple of the goddess on the summit. In a Greek legend the mountain was the place where Heracles chased and captured the terrible Ceryneian Hind, an enormous female deer with golden antlers and hooves of bronze. The deer was sacred to Artemis.

, upright, with a famous festival at Sparta. Her cult was introduced by the Dorians. She was worshipped as a goddess of vegetation in an orgiastic cult with boisterous cyclic dances. Among the offerings, there were terracotta masks representing grotesque faces and it seems that animal-masks were also used. In literature there was a great fight for taking the pieces of cheese that were offered to the goddess. The whipping of the epheboi near the altar was a ritual of initiation, preparing them for their future life as soldiers. During this ritual the altar was full of blood.

Paidotrophos, protector of children at Corone in Messenia. During a festival of Korythalia the wet-nurses brought the infants in the sanctuary of the goddess, to get her protection.

Pergaia, who was worshipped at Pamphylia of Ionia. A famous annual festival was celebrated in honor of Artemis in the city Perga. Filial cults existed in Pisidia, north of Pamphylia.

Pheraia, from the city Pherai, at Argos, Athens and Sicyon. It was believed that the image of the goddess was brought from the city Pherai of Thessaly. This conception relates Artemis with the distinctly Thessalian goddess Enodia. Enodia had similar functions with Hecate and she carried the common epithet "Pheraia".

Phoebe, bright, as a moon goddess sister of Phoebus. The epithet Phoebe is also given to the moon goddess Selene.

Artemis (potnia theron) on amphora of Naxos, Delos, 700-675 BC, Archaelogical Museum of Myconos

Potamia, of the river, at Ortygia in Sicily. In a legend Arethusa, was a chaste nymph and tried to escape from the river god Alpheus who fell in love with her. She was transformed by Artemis into a stream, traversed underground and appeared at Ortygia, thus providing water for the city. Ovid calls Arethusa, "Alfeias" ( Alfaea) (of the river god).

Potnia Theron, mistress of the animals. The origin of her cult is Pre-Greek and the term is used by Homer for the goddess of hunting. Potnia was the name of the Mycenean goddess of nature. In the earliest Minoan conceptions the "Master of the animals" is depicted between lions and daimons ( Minoan Genius). Sometimes "potnia theron" is depicted with the head of a Gorgon, who is her distant ancestor. She is the only Greek goddess who stands close to the daimons and she has a wild side which differentiates her from other Greek gods. In the Greek legends when the goddess was offended she would send terrible animals like the Erymanthian boar and Calydonian boar to laid waste the farmer's land, or voracious birds like the Stymphalian birds to attack farms and humans. In Arcadia and during the festival of Laphria, there is evidence of barbaric animal sacrifices.

Soteira (Kore Soteira), Kore saviour, at Phigalia. In Arcadia the mistress of the animals is the first nymph closely related to the springs and the animals, in a surrounding of animal-headed daimons. At Lycosura Artemis is depicted holding a snake and a torch and dressed with a deer skin, besides Demeter and Persephone. It was said that she was not the daughter of Leto, but the daughter of Demeter.

Stymphalia, of Stymphalus, a city in Arcadia. In a legend the water of the river descended in a chasm which was clogged up and the water overflowed creating a big marsh on the plain. A hunter was chasing a deer and both fell into the mud at the bottom of the chasm. The next day the whole water of the marsh dried up and the land was cultivated. The monstrous man eating Stymphalian birds that were killed by Heracles were considered birds of Artemis.

Tauria, or Tauro (the Tauric goddess), from the Tauri or of the bull. Euripides mentions the image of "Artemis Tauria". It was believed that the image of the goddess had divine powers. Her image was considered to have been carried from Tauris by Orestes and Iphigenia and was brought to Brauron, Sparta or Aricia.

Tauropolos, usually interpreted as hunting bull goddess. Tauropolos was not original in Greece and she has similar functions with foreign goddesses, especially with the mythical bull-goddess. The cult can be identified at Halae Araphenides in Attica. At the end of the peculiar festival, a man was sacrificed. He was killed in the ritual with a sword cutting his throat. Strabo mentions that during the night-fest of Tauropolia a girl was raped.

Toxia, or Toxitis, bowstring in torsion, as goddess of hunting in the island of Kos and at Gortyn. She is the sister of "Apollo Toxias".

Triclaria, at Patras. Her cult was superimposed on the cult of Dionysos Aisemnetis. During the festival of the god the children were wearing garlands of corn-ears. In a ritual they laid them aside to the goddess Artemis. Triclaria was a priestess of Artemis who made love with her lover in the sanctuary. They were punished to be sacrificed in the temple and each year the people should sacrifice a couple to the goddess. Europylus came carrying a chest with the image of Dionysos who put an end to the killings.

Leto bore Apollo and Artemis, delighting in arrows,
Both of lovely shape like none of the heavenly gods,
As she joined in love to the Aegis-bearing ruler.

Leto on the run with Artemis and Apollo, Roman statue circa 350-400 CE

Various conflicting accounts are given in Greek mythology regarding the birth of Artemis and Apollo, her twin brother. In terms of parentage, though, all accounts agree that she was the daughter of Zeus and Leto and that she was the twin sister of Apollo. In some sources, she is born at the same time as Apollo; but in others, earlier or later.

Although traditionally stated to be twins, the author of The Homeric Hymn 3 to Apollo (the oldest extant account of Leto's wandering and birth of her children) is only concerned with the birth of Apollo, and sidelines Artemis; in fact in the Homeric Hymn they are not stated to be twins at all.

It is a slightly later poet, Pindar, who speaks of a single pregnancy. The two earliest poets, Homer and Hesiod, confirm Artemis and Apollo's status as full siblings born to the same mother and father, but neither explicitly makes them twins.

According to Callimachus, Hera, who was angry with her husband Zeus for impregnating Leto, forbade her from giving birth on either terra firma (the mainland) or on an island, but the island of Delos disobeyed and allowed Leto to give birth there. According to some, this rooted the once freely floating island to one place.

According to the Homeric Hymn to Artemis, however, the island where she and her twin were born was Ortygia. In ancient Cretan history, Leto was worshipped at Phaistos, and in Cretan mythology, Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis on the islands known today as Paximadia.

A of Servius on iii. 72 accounts for the island's archaic name Ortygia by asserting that Zeus transformed Leto into a quail ( ortux) to prevent Hera from finding out about his infidelity, and Kenneth McLeish suggested further that in quail form, Leto would have given birth with as few birth-pains as a mother quail suffers when she lays an egg.

The myths also differ as to whether Artemis was born first, or Apollo. Most stories depict Artemis as firstborn, becoming her mother's midwife upon the birth of her brother Apollo. Servius, a late fourth/early fifth-century grammarian, wrote that Artemis was born first because at first it was night, whose instrument is the Moon, which Artemis represents, and then day, whose instrument is the Sun, which Apollo represents. Pindar however writes that both twins shone like the Sun when they came into the bright light.

The river god Alpheus was in love with Artemis, but as he realized he could do nothing to win her heart, he decided to capture her. When Artemis and her companions at Letrenoi go to Alpheus, she becomes suspicious of his motives and covers her face with mud so he does not recognize her. In another story, Alphaeus tries to rape Artemis' attendant Arethusa. Artemis pities the girl and saves her, transforming her into a spring in the temple Artemis Alphaea in Letrini, where the goddess and her attendant drink.

Bouphagos, son of the Titan Iapetus, sees Artemis and thinks about raping her. Reading his sinful thoughts, Artemis strikes him down at Mount Pholoe.

Broteas was a famous hunter who refused to honour Artemis, and boasted that nothing could harm him, not even fire. Artemis then drove him mad, causing him to walk into fire, ending his life.

According to Antoninus Liberalis, Siproites was a Cretan who was metamorphized into a woman by Artemis, for, while hunting, seeing the goddess bathing. Artemis changed a Calydonian man named Calydon, son of Ares and Astynome, into stone when he saw the goddess bathing naked.

Multiple versions of the Actaeon myth survive, though many are fragmentary. The details vary but at the core, they involve the great hunter Actaeon whom Artemis turns into a stag for a transgression, and who is then killed by hunting dogs. Usually, the dogs are his own, but no longer recognize their master. Occasionally they are said to be the hounds of Artemis.

Various tellings diverge in terms of the hunter's transgression: sometimes merely seeing the virgin goddess naked, sometimes boasting he is a better hunter than she, or even merely being a rival of Zeus for the affections of Semele. Apollodorus, who records the Semele version, notes that the ones with Artemis are more common.

According to Lamar Ronald Lacey's The Myth of Aktaion: Literary and Iconographic Studies, the standard modern text on the work, the most likely original version of the myth portrays Actaeon as the hunting companion of the goddess who, seeing her naked in her sacred spring, attempts to force himself on her. For this hubris, he is turned into a stag and devoured by his own hounds. However, in some surviving versions, Actaeon is a stranger who happens upon Artemis.

Mosaic depicting Diana and her nymph surprised by Actaeon.Mosaic, 2nd century CE Ruins of Volubilis, Morocco

A single line from Aeschylus's now lost play Toxotides ("female archers") is among the earlier attestations of Actaeon's myth, stating that "the dogs destroyed their master utterly", with no confirmation of Actaeon's metamorphosis or the god he offended (but it is heavily implied to be Artemis, due to the title). Ancient artwork depicting the myth of Actaeon predate Aeschylus. Euripides, coming in a bit later, wrote in the that Actaeon was torn to shreds and perhaps devoured by his "flesh-eating" hunting dogs when he claimed to be a better hunter than Artemis. Like Aeschylus, he does not mention Actaeon being deer-shaped when that happens. Callimachus writes that Actaeon chanced upon Artemis bathing in the woods, and she caused him to be devoured by his own hounds for the sacrilege, and he makes no mention of transformation into a deer either.

Diodorus Siculus wrote that Actaeon dedicated his prizes in hunting to Artemis, proposed marriage to her, and even tried to forcefully consummate said "marriage" inside the very sacred temple of the goddess; for this he was given the form "of one of the animals which he was wont to hunt", and then torn to shreds by his hunting dogs. Diodorus also mentioned the alternative of Actaeon claiming to be a better hunter than the goddess of the hunt. Hyginus also mentions Actaeon attempting to rape Artemis when he finds her bathing naked, and her transforming him into the doomed deer.

Diana and Actaeon by Titian (1556-59), oil in canvas. National Gallery and Scottish National Gallery, London and Edinburg.

According to the Latin version of the story told by the Roman Ovid, Actaeon was a hunter who after returning home from a long day's hunting in the woods, he stumbled upon Artemis and her retinue of nymphs bathing in her sacred grotto. The nymphs, panicking, rushed to cover Artemis' naked body with their own, as Artemis splashed some water on Actaeon, saying he was welcome to share with everyone the tale of seeing her without any clothes as long as he could share it at all. Immediately, he was transformed into a deer, and in panic ran away. But he did not go far, as he was hunted down and eventually caught and devoured by his own fifty hunting dogs, who could not recognize their own master.

Pausanias says that Actaeon saw Artemis naked and that she threw a deerskin on him so that his hounds would kill him, in order to prevent him from marrying Semele.

The story of Niobe, queen of Thebes and wife of Amphion, who blasphemously boasted of being superior to Leto. This myth is very old; Homer knew of it and wrote that Niobe had given birth to twelve children, equally divided in six sons and six daughters (the Niobids).

Other sources speak of fourteen children, seven sons, and seven daughters. Niobe claimed of being a better mother than Leto, for having more children than Leto's own two, "but the two, though they were only two, destroyed all those others." Leto was not slow to catch up on that and grew angry at the queen's hubris. She summoned her children and commanded them to avenge the slight against her.

Swiftly Apollo and Artemis descended on Thebes. While the sons were hunting in the woods, Apollo crept up on them and slew all seven with his silver bow. The dead bodies were brought to the palace. Niobe wept for them, but did not relent, saying that even now she was better than Leto, for she still had seven children, her daughters.

On cue, Artemis then started shooting the daughters one by one. Right as Niobe begged for her youngest one to be spared, Artemis killed that last one. Niobe cried bitter tears, and was turned into a rock. Amphion, at the sight of his dead sons, killed himself. The gods themselves entombed them. In some versions, Apollo and Artemis spared a single son and daughter each, for they prayed to Leto for help; thus Niobe had as many children as Leto did, but no more.

Orion was Artemis' hunting companion; after giving up on trying to find Oenopion, Orion met Artemis and her mother Leto, and joined the goddess in hunting. A great hunter himself, he bragged that he would kill every beast on earth. Gaia, the earth, was not too pleased to hear that, and sent a giant scorpion to sting him. Artemis then transferred him into the stars as the constellation Orion. In one version Orion died after pushing Leto out of the scorpion's way.

In another version, Orion tries to violate Opis, one of Artemis' followers from Hyperborea, and Artemis kills him. In a version by Aratus, Orion grabs Artemis' robe and she kills him in self-defense. Other writers have Artemis kill him for trying to rape her or one of her attendants.

Istrus wrote a version in which Artemis fell in love with Orion, apparently the only time Artemis ever fell in love. She meant to marry him, and no talk from her brother Apollo would change her mind. Apollo then decided to trick Artemis, and while Orion was off swimming in the sea, he pointed at him (barely a spot in the horizon) and wagered that Artemis could not hit that small "dot". Artemis, ever eager to prove she was the better archer, shot Orion, killing him. She then placed him among the stars.

In Homer's , the goddess of the dawn Eos seduces Orion, angering the gods who did not approve of immortal goddesses taking mortal men for lovers, causing Artemis to shoot and kill him on the island of Ortygia.

Callisto, the daughter of Lycaon, King of Arcadia, was one of Artemis' hunting attendants, and, as a companion of Artemis, took a vow of chastity.

According to Hesiod in his lost poem Astronomia, Zeus appeared to Callisto, and seduced her, resulting in her becoming pregnant. Though she was able to hide her pregnancy for a time, she was soon found out while bathing. Enraged, Artemis transformed Callisto into a bear, and in this form she gave birth to her son Arcas. Both of them were then captured by shepherds and given to Lycaon, and Callisto thus lost her child. Sometime later, Callisto "thought fit to go into" a forbidden sanctuary of Zeus, and was hunted by the Arcadians, her son among them. When she was about to be killed, Zeus saved her by placing her in the heavens as a constellation of a bear.

In his De Astronomica, Hyginus, after recounting the version from Hesiod, presents several other alternative versions. The first, which he attributes to Amphis, says that Zeus seduced Callisto by disguising himself as Artemis during a hunting session, and that when Artemis found out that Callisto was pregnant, she replied saying that it was the goddess's fault, causing Artemis to transform her into a bear. This version also has both Callisto and Arcas placed in the heavens, as the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor.

Hyginus then presents another version in which, after Zeus lay with Callisto, it was Hera who transformed her into a bear. Artemis later, while hunting, kills the bear, and "later, on being recognized, Callisto was placed among the stars". Hyginus also gives another version, in which Hera tries to catch Zeus and Callisto in the act, causing Zeus to transform her into a bear. Hera, finding the bear, points it out to Artemis, who is hunting; Zeus, in panic, places Callisto in the heavens as a constellation.

Diana and Callisto, c. 1556-1559, by Titian. Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh

Ovid gives a somewhat different version: Zeus seduced Callisto once again disguised as Artemis, but she seems to realise that it is not the real Artemis, and she thus does not blame Artemis when, during bathing, she is found out. Callisto is, rather than being transformed, simply ousted from the company of the huntresses, and she thus gives birth to Arcas as a human. Only later is she transformed into a bear, this time by Hera. When Arcas, fully grown, is out hunting, he nearly kills his mother, who is saved only by Zeus placing her in the heavens.

In the Bibliotheca, a version is presented in which Zeus raped Callisto, "having assumed the likeness, as some say, of Artemis, or, as others say, of Apollo". He then turned her into a bear himself so as to hide the event from Hera. Artemis then shot the bear, either upon the persuasion of Hera, or out of anger at Callisto for breaking her virginity. Once Callisto was dead, Zeus made her into a constellation, took the child, named him Arcas, and gave him to Maia, who raised him.

Pausanias, in his Description of Greece, presents another version, in which, after Zeus seduced Callisto, Hera turned her into a bear, which Artemis killed to please Hera. Hermes was then sent by Zeus to take Arcas, and Zeus himself placed Callisto in the heavens.

Chione was a princess of Phokis. She was beloved by two gods, Hermes and Apollo, and boasted that she was more beautiful than Artemis because she had made two gods fall in love with her at once. Artemis was furious and killed Chione with an arrow, or struck her mute by shooting off her tongue. However, some versions of this myth say Apollo and Hermes protected her from Artemis' wrath.[citation needed ]

Artemis saved the infant Atalanta from dying of exposure after her father abandoned her. She sent a female bear to nurse the baby, who was then raised by hunters. In some stories, Artemis later sent a bear to injure Atalanta because others claimed Atalanta was a superior hunter. Among other adventures, Atalanta participated in the Calydonian boar hunt, which Artemis had sent to destroy Calydon because King Oeneus had forgotten her at the harvest sacrifices.

In the hunt, Atalanta drew the first blood and was awarded the prize of the boar's hide. She hung it in a sacred grove at Tegea as a dedication to Artemis. Meleager was a hero of Aetolia. King Oeneus ordered him to gather heroes from all over Greece to hunt the Calydonian boar. After the death of Meleager, Artemis turns his grieving sisters, the Meleagrids, into guineafowl that Artemis favoured.

In Nonnus' Dionysiaca, Aura, the daughter of Lelantos and Periboia, was a companion of Artemis. When out hunting one day with Artemis, she asserts that the goddess's voluptuous body and breasts are too womanly and sensual, and doubts her virginity, arguing that her own lithe body and man-like breasts are better than Artemis' and a true symbol of her own chastity. In anger, Artemis asks Nemesis for help to avenge her dignity. Nemesis agrees, telling Artemis that Aura's punishment will be to lose her virginity, since she dared question that of Artemis.

Nemesis then arranges for Eros to make Dionysus fall in love with Aura. Dionysus intoxicates Aura and rapes her as she lies unconscious, after which she becomes a deranged killer. While pregnant, she tries to kill herself or cut open her belly, as Artemis mocks her over it. When she bore twin sons, she ate one, while the other, Iacchus, was saved by Artemis.

The twin sons of Poseidon and Iphimedeia, Otos and Ephialtes, grew enormously at a young age. They were aggressive and skilled hunters who could not be killed except by each other. The growth of the Aloadae never stopped, and they boasted that as soon as they could reach heaven, they would kidnap Artemis and Hera and take them as wives. The gods were afraid of them, except for Artemis who captured a fine deer that jumped out between them. In another version of the story, she changed herself into a doe and jumped between them.

The Death of Adonis, by Giuseppe Mazzuoli, 1709. Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, Russia.

The Aloadae threw their spears and so mistakenly killed one another. In another version, Apollo sent the deer into the Aloadae's midst, causing their accidental killing of each other. In another version, they start pilling up mountains to reach Mount Olympus in order to catch Hera and Artemis, but the gods spot them and attack. When the twins had retreated the gods learnt that Ares had been captured. The Aloadae, not sure about what to do with Ares, lock him up in a pot. Artemis then turns into a deer and causes them to kill each other.

In some versions of the story of Adonis, Artemis sent a wild boar to kill him as punishment for boasting that he was a better hunter than her. In other versions, Artemis killed Adonis for revenge. In later myths, Adonis is a favorite of Aphrodite, who was responsible for the death of Hippolytus, who had been a hunter of Artemis. Therefore, Artemis killed Adonis to avenge Hippolytus's death. In yet another version, Adonis was not killed by Artemis, but by Ares as punishment for being with Aphrodite.

Coronis was a princess from Thessaly who became the lover of Apollo and fell pregnant. While Apollo was away, Coronis began an affair with a mortal man named Ischys. When Apollo learnt of this, he sent Artemis to kill the pregnant Coronis, or Artemis had the initiative to kill Coronis on her own accord for the insult done against her brother. The unborn child, Asclepius, was later removed from his dead mother's womb.

When two of her hunting companions who had sworn to remain chaste and be devoted to her, Rhodopis and Euthynicus, fell in love with each other and broke their vows in a cavern, Artemis turned Rhodopis into a fountain inside that very cavern as punishment. The two had fallen in love not on their own but only after Eros had struck them with his love arrows, commanded by his mother Aphrodite, who had taken offence in that Rhodopis and Euthynicus rejected love and marriage in favour of a chaste life.

When the monstrous Typhon attacked Olympus, all the terrified gods transformed into various animals and fled to Egypt. Artemis became a cat, as she was identified by the Greeks with the Egyptian feline goddess Bastet.

Artemis may have been represented as a supporter of Troy because her brother Apollo was the patron god of the city, and she herself was widely worshipped in western Anatolia in historical times. Artemis plays a significant role in the war; like Leto and Apollo, Artemis took the side of the Trojans. In Iliad Artemis on her chariot with the golden reins, kills the daughter of Bellerophon. Bellorophone was a divine Greek hero who killed the monster Chimera. At the beginning of the Greek's journey to Troy, Artemis punished Agamemnon after he killed a sacred stag in a sacred grove and boasted that he was a better hunter than the goddess.

The Sacrifice of Iphigeneia (1653) by Sébastien Bourdon, Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans.

When the Greek fleet was preparing at Aulis to depart for Troy to commence the Trojan War, Artemis becalmed the winds. The seer Calchas erroneously advised Agamemnon that the only way to appease Artemis was to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia. In some version of the myth, Artemis then snatched Iphigenia from the altar and substituted a deer; in others, Artemis allowed Iphigenia to be sacrificed. In versions where Iphigenia survived, a number of different myths have been told about what happened after Artemis took her; either she was brought to Tauris and led the priests there, or she became Artemis' immortal companion. Aeneas was also helped by Artemis, Leto, and Apollo. Apollo found him wounded by Diomedes and lifted him to heaven. There, the three deities secretly healed him in a great chamber.

During the , Artemis found herself standing opposite of Hera, on which a scholium to the wrote that they represent the Moon versus the air around the Earth. Artemis chided her brother Apollo for not fighting Poseidon and told him never to brag again; Apollo did not answer her. An angry Hera berated Artemis for daring to fight her:

How now art thou fain, thou bold and shameless thing, to stand forth against me? No easy foe I tell thee, am I, that thou shouldst vie with me in might, albeit thou bearest the bow, since it was against women that Zeus made thee a lion, and granted thee to slay whomsoever of them thou wilt. In good sooth it is better on the mountains to be slaying beasts and wild deer than to fight amain with those mightier than thou. Howbeit if thou wilt, learn thou of war, that thou mayest know full well how much mightier am I, seeing thou matchest thy strength with mine.

Hera then grabbed Artemis' hands by the wrists, and holding her in place, beat her with her own bow. Crying, Artemis left her bow and arrows where they lay and ran to Olympus to cry at her father Zeus' knees, while her mother Leto picked up her bow and arrows and followed her weeping daughter.

Artemis, the goddess of forests and hills, was worshipped throughout ancient Greece. Her best known cults were on the island of Delos (her birthplace), in Attica at Brauron and Mounikhia (near Piraeus), and in Sparta. She was often depicted in paintings and statues in a forest setting, carrying a bow and arrows and accompanied by a deer.

The ancient Spartans used to sacrifice to her as one of their patron goddesses before starting a new military campaign.

Athenian festivals in honor of Artemis included Elaphebolia, Mounikhia, Kharisteria, and Brauronia. The festival of Artemis Orthia was observed in Sparta.

Pre-pubescent and adolescent Athenian girls were sent to the sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron to serve the Goddess for one year. During this time, the girls were known as arktoi, or little she-bears.

The Roman Temple of Artemis in Jerash, Jordan, built during the reign of Antoninus Pius.

A myth explaining this servitude states that a bear had formed the habit of regularly visiting the town of Brauron, and the people there fed it, so that, over time, the bear became tame. A girl teased the bear, and, in some versions of the myth, it killed her, while, in other versions, it clawed out her eyes. Either way, the girl's brothers killed the bear, and Artemis was enraged. She demanded that young girls "act the bear" at her sanctuary in atonement for the bear's death.

Artemis was worshipped as one of the primary goddesses of childbirth and midwifery along with Eileithyia. Dedications of clothing to her sanctuaries after a successful birth was common in the Classical era. Artemis could be a deity to be feared by pregnant women, as deaths during this time were attributed to her. As childbirth and pregnancy was a very common and important event, there were numerous other deities associated with it, many localized to a particular geographic area, including but not limited to Aphrodite, Hera and Hekate.

It was considered a good sign when Artemis appeared in the dreams of hunters and pregnant women, but a naked Artemis was seen as an ill omen. According to Pseudo-Apollodorus, she assisted her mother in the delivery of her twin. Older sources, such as Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollo (in Line 115), have the arrival of Eileithyia on Delos as the event that allows Leto to give birth to her children. Contradictory is Hesiod's presentation of the myth in Theogony, where he states that Leto bore her children before Zeus' marriage to Hera with no commentary on any drama related to their birth.

Despite her being primarily known as a goddess of hunting and the wilderness, she was also connected to dancing, music, and song like her brother Apollo; she is often seen singing and dancing with her nymphs, or leading the chorus of the Muses and the Graces at Delphi. In Sparta, girls of marriageable age performed the partheneia (choral maiden songs) in her honor. An ancient Greek proverb, written down by Aesop, went "For where did Artemis not dance?", signifying the goddess' connection to dancing and festivity.

During the Classical period in Athens, she was identified with Hekate. Artemis also assimilated Caryatis ( Carya).

Artemis was born on the sixth day of the month Thargelion (around May), which made it sacred for her, as her birthday. On the seventh day of the same month was Apollo's birthday. Artemis was worshipped in many festivals throughout Greece mainland and the islands, Asia Minor and south Italy. Most of these festivals were celebrated during spring.

Athens. The festival Elaphebolia was celebrated on the sixth day of the month Elaphebolion (ninth month). The name is related to elaphos (deer) and Artemis is the Deer Huntress. Cakes made from flour, honey, and sesame and in the shape of stags were offered to the goddess during the festival.

Brauron. The festival was remarkable for the arkteia, where girls, aged between five and ten, were dressed in saffron robes and played at being bears, or "act the bear" to appease the goddess after she sent the plague when her bear was killed. Another commentator says that girls had to placate the goddess for their virginity (parthenia), so that they would not be the object of revenge from her.

Piraeus. The festival of Artemis Munichia was celebrated on the 6th or 16th day of the month Munichion (tenth month). Young girls were dressed up as bears, as for the Brauronia. In the temple have been found sherds from the geometric period. The festival commemorated the victory of the Greek fleet over the Persians at Salamis.

Athens. Artemis had a filial cult of Brauronia, near the Acropolis.

Agrae, a district of Athens, with a temple of Artemis-Agrotera. (huntress) On the 6th day of the month Boedromion, an armed procession would take a large number of goats to the temple. They would all be sacrificed in honor of the victory at the Battle of Marathon. The festival was called "Charisteria," also known as the Athenian "Thanksgiving."

Myrrhinus, a deme near Merenda (Markopoulo). There was a cult of Kolainis. Kolainis is usually identified with Artemis Amarysia in Euboia. Some rites and animal sacrifices were probably similar with the rites of Laphria.

Halae Araphenides, a deme near Brauron. The fest Tauropolia was celebrated in honour of Artemis Tauropolos. During the festival a human sacrifice was represented in a ritual.

Hyampolis in Phocis. During an attack of the Thessalians, the Phocians terrified gathered together in one spot their women, children, movable property, and also their clothes, gold and made a vast pyre. The order was that if they would be defeated, all should be killed and would be thrown into the flames together with their property. The Phocians achieved a great victory and each year they celebrated their victory in the festival Elaphebolia-Laphria in honour of Artemis. All kinds of oferrings were burned in an annual fire, reminding the great pyre of the battle.

Delphi in Phocis. The festival Laphria was celebrated in the month Laphrios. The cult of Artemis Laphria was introduced by the priests of Delphi Lab(r)yaden who had probably Cretan origin. Laphria is certainly the Pre-Greek "Mistress of the animals".

Delphi in Phocis . The festival Eucleia was celebrated in honour of Artemis. According to the Labyaden-inscriptions the oferrings darata are determined by the specified gamela and pedēia. Eucleia was a goddess of marriage.

Patras in Achaea. The great festival Laphria was celebrated in honour of Artemis. The characteristic rite was the annual fire. Birds, deers, sacrificial animals, young wolves and young bears were thrown alive in a great pyre. Laphria (Pre-Greek name) is the "Mistress of Animals". Traditionally her cult was introduced from Calydon of Aetolia.

Patras. The Ionians who lived in Ancient Achaea celebrated the annual festival of Artemis Triclaria. Pausanias mentions the legend of human sacrifices to the outraged goddess. The new deity Dionysus, put an end to the sacrifices.

Corinth. The festival Eucleia was celebrated in honor of Artemis.

Sparta. Festival of Artemis-Orthia. The goddess was associated with the female initiatory rite Partheneion. Women performed round dances. In a legend Theseus stole Helene from the dancing floor of Orthia, during the round-dancing. The significant prize of the competitions was an iron sickle (drepanē) indicating that Orthia was a goddess of vegetation.

Sparta on the road to Amyklai. Artemis-Korythalia was a goddess of vegetation. Women performed lascivious dances. The fest was celebrated in round huts covered with leaves. The nurses brought the infants in the temple of Korythalia during the fest Tithenedia.

Dereion on Taygetos in Laconia. Cult of Artemis -Dereatis. The festival was celebrated with the hymns calavoutoi and with the obscene dance callabis.

Caryae on the borders between Laconia and Arcadia . Festival of Artemis-Caryatis, a goddess of vegetation related to the tree-cult. Each year women performed an exstatic dance called the caryatis.

Elis . Pelops (Peloponnese: Pelop's island) had won the sovereignty of Pisa and his followers celebrated their victory near the temple of Artemis-Kordaka. They danced the peculiar dance kordax.

distinguished by a peculiar dance and by a music on the flute. Chitonia (wearing a loose tunic) was a goddess of hunting.

Festival of Artemis-Korythalia. The male dancers wore wooden masks.

An important aspect of Artemis' persona and worship was her virginity, which may seem contradictory, given her role as a goddess associated with childbirth. The idea of Artemis as a virgin goddess likely is related to her primary role as a huntress. Hunters traditionally abstained from sex prior to the hunt as a form of ritual purity and out of a belief that the scent would scare off potential prey. The ancient cultural context in which Artemis' worship emerged also held that virginity was a prerequisite to marriage, and that a married woman became subservient to her husband.

In this light, Artemis' virginity is also related to her power and independence. Rather than a form of asexuality, it is an attribute that signals Artemis as her own master, with power equal to that of male gods. Her virginity also possibly represents a concentration of fertility that can be spread among her followers, in the manner of earlier mother-goddess figures. However, some later Greek writers did come to treat Artemis as inherently asexual and as an opposite to Aphrodite. Furthermore, some have described Artemis along with the goddesses Hestia and Athena as being asexual; this is mainly supported by the fact that in the Homeric Hymns, 5, To Aphrodite, Aphrodite is described as having "no power" over the three goddesses.

Despite her virginity, both modern scholars and ancient commentaries have linked Artemis to the archetype of the mother goddess. Artemis was traditionally linked to fertility and was petitioned to assist women with childbirth. According to Herodotus, Greek playwright Aeschylus identified Artemis with Persephone as a daughter of Demeter. Her worshipers in Arcadia also traditionally associated her with Demeter and Persephone. In Asia Minor, she was often conflated with local mother-goddess figures, such as Cybele, and Anahita in Iran.

The archetype of the mother goddess, though, was not highly compatible with the Greek pantheon, and though the Greeks had adopted the worship of Cybele and other Anatolian mother goddesses as early as the seventh century BCE, she was not directly conflated with any Greek goddesses. Instead, bits and pieces of her worship and aspects were absorbed variously by Artemis, Aphrodite, and others as Eastern influence spread.

At Ephesus in Ionia, Turkey, her temple became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It was probably the best-known center of her worship except for Delos. There, the Lady whom the Ionians associated with Artemis through interpretatio graeca was worshipped primarily as a mother goddess, akin to the Phrygian goddess Cybele, in an ancient sanctuary where her cult image depicted the "Lady of Ephesus" adorned with multiple large beads. Excavation at the site of the Artemision in 1987-88 identified a multitude of tear-shaped amber beads that had been hung on the original wooden statue (), and these were probably carried over into later sculpted copies.

No records have been found of the Greeks referring to Artemis as a lunar deity, as their lunar deity was Selene, but the Romans identified Artemis with Selene leading them to perceive her as a lunar deity, though the Greeks did not refer to her or worship her as such. As the Romans began to associate Apollo more with Helios, the personification of the Sun, it was only natural that the Romans would then begin to identify Apollo's twin sister, Artemis, with Helios' own sister, Selene, the personification of the Moon.

Evidence of the syncretism of Artemis and Selene is found early on; a scholium on the , claiming to be reporting sixth century BCE author Theagenes's interpretation of the in Book 21, says that in the fight between Artemis and Hera, Artemis represents the Moon, while Hera represents the earthly air.

Active references to Artemis as an illuminating goddess start much later. Notably, Roman-era author Plutarch writes how during the Battle of Salamis, Artemis led the Athenians to victory by shining with the full moon, but all lunar-related narratives of this event come from Roman times, and none of the contemporary writers (such as Herodotus) makes any mention of the night or the Moon.

Artemis' connection to childbed and women's labour naturally led to her becoming associated with the menstrual cycle in course of time, thus the Moon. Selene, just like Artemis, was linked to childbirth, as it was believed that women had the easiest labours during the full moon, paving thus the way for the two goddesses to be seen as the same. On that, Cicero writes:

Apollo, a Greek name, is called Sol, the sun; and Diana, Luna, the moon. [...] Luna, the moon, is so called a lucendo (from shining); she bears the name also of Lucina: and as in Greece the women in labor invoke Diana Lucifera,

Roman authors applied Artemis/Diana's byname, "Phoebe", to Luna/Selene, the same way as "Phoebus" was given to Helios due to his identification with Apollo. Another epithet of Artemis that Selene appropriated is "Cynthia", meaning "born in Mount Cynthus." The goddesses Artemis, Selene, and Hecate formed a triad, identified as the same goddess with three avatars: Selene in the sky (moon), Artemis on earth (hunting), and Hecate beneath the earth (Underworld).

In Italy, those three goddesses became a ubiquitous feature in depictions of sacred groves, where Hecate/Trivia marked intersections and crossroads along with other liminal deities. The Romans enthusiastically celebrated the multiple identities of Diana as Hecate, Luna, and Trivia.

Roman poet Horace in his odes enjoins Apollo to listen to the prayers of the boys, as he asks Luna, the "two-horned queen of the stars", to listen to those of the girls in place of Diana, due to their role as protectors of the young. In Virgil's , when Nisus addresses Luna/the Moon, he calls her "daughter of Latona."

In works of art, the two goddesses were mostly distinguished; Selene is usually depicted as being shorter than Artemis, with a rounder face, and wearing a long robe instead of a short hunting chiton, with a billowing cloak forming an arc above her head. Artemis was sometimes depicted with a lunate crown.

Hecate was the goddess of crossroads, boundaries, ghosts and witchcraft. She is the queen of the witches. Artemis absorbed the Pre-Greek goddess Potnia Theron who was closely associated with the daimons. In the Mycenean age daimons were lesser deities of ghosts, divine spirits and tutelary deities.

Some scholars believe that Hecate was an aspect of Artemis prior to the latter's adoption into the Olympian pantheon. Artemis would have, at that point, become more strongly associated with purity and maidenhood on the one hand, while her originally darker attributes like her association with magic, the souls of the dead, and the night would have continued to be worshipped separately under her title Hecate.

Both goddesses carried torches, and were accompanied by a dog. It seems that the character of Artemis in Arcadia was original. At Acacesium Artemis Hegemone is depicted holding two torches, and at Lycosura Artemis is depicted holding a snake and a torch. A bitch suitable for hunting was lying down by her side.

Sophocles calles Artemis Amphipyros, carrying a torch in each hand, however the adjective refers also to the twin fire on the two peaks of the mountain Parnassus behind Delphi. In the fest of Laphria at Delphi Artemis is related to the Pre-Greek mistress of the animals, with barbaric sacrifices and possible connections with magic and ghosts since Potnia Theron was close to the daimons. The annual fire was the characteristique custom of the fest.

At Kerameikos in Athens Artemis is clearly identified with Hecate. Pausanias believes that Kalliste (the most beautiful ) is a surname of Artemis carrying a torch. In Thessaly the distinctly local goddess Enodia with the surname Pheraia is identified with Hecate. Artemis Pheraia was worshipped in Argos, Athens and Sicyon.

Artemis with a bow and a deer. Attic lekythos 460-450 BC

Homer uses the epithet Chrisinios, of the golden reigns, to illustrate the chariot of the goddess of hunting. At the fest of Laphria at Delphi the priestess followed the parade on a chariot which was covered with the skin of a deer.

Spears, nets, and lyre

Artemis is rarely portrayed with a hunting spear. In her cult in Aetolia, the Artemis Aetole was depicted with a hunting spear or javelin.

Artemis is also sometimes depicted with a fishing spear connected with her cult as a patron goddess of fishing. This conception relates her with Diktynna ( Britomartis). As a goddess of maiden dances and songs, Artemis is often portrayed with a lyre in ancient art.

Deer were the only animals held sacred to Artemis herself. On seeing a deer larger than a bull with horns shining, she fell in love with these creatures and held them sacred. Deer were also the first animals she captured. She caught five golden-horned deer and harnessed them to her chariot. At Lycosura in isolated Arcadia Artemis is depicted holding a snake and a torch and dressed with a deer skin, besides Demeter and Persephone. It seems that the depictions of Artemis and Demeter-Melaina (black) in Arcadia correspond to the earliest conceptions of the first Greeks in Greece. At the fest of Laphria at Delphi the priestess followed the parade on a chariot which was covered with the skin of a deer. The third labour of Heracles, commanded by Eurystheus, consisted of chasing and catching the terrible Ceryneian Hind. The hind was a female deer with golden andlers and hooves of bronze and was sacred to Artemis. Heracles begged Artemis for forgiveness and promised to return it alive. Artemis forgave him, but targeted Eurystheus for her wrath.

Artemis with a hunting dog pouring a libation, c. 460-450 BCE.

In a legend Artemis got her hunting dogs from Pan in the forest of Arcadia. Pan gave Artemis two black-and-white dogs, three reddish ones, and one spotted one - these dogs were able to hunt even lions. Pan also gave Artemis seven bitches of the finest Arcadian race, but Artemis only ever brought seven dogs hunting with her at any one time. In the earliest conceptions of Artemis at Lycosura, a bitch suitable for hunting was lying down by her side.

In a Pre-Greek cult Artemis was conceived as a bear. Kallisto was transformed into a bear, and she is a hypostasis of Artemis with a theriomorph form. In the cults of Artemis at Brauron and at Piraeus Munichia (arkteia) young virgin girls were disguished to she-bears (arktoi) in a ritual and they served the goddess before marriage.

An etiological myth tries to explain the origin of the Arkteia. Every year, a girl between five and ten years of age was sent to Artemis' temple at Brauron. A bear was tamed by Artemis and introduced to the people of Athens. They touched it and played with it until one day a group of girls poked the bear until it attacked them. A brother of one of the girls killed the bear, so Artemis sent a plague in revenge. The Athenians consulted an oracle to understand how to end the plague. The oracle suggested that, in payment for the bear's blood, no Athenian virgin should be allowed to marry until she had served Artemis in her temple (played the bear for the goddess).

In a legend of the cult of Munichia if someone killed a bear, then they were to be punished by sacrificing their daughter in the sanctuary. Embaros disguised his daughter dressing her like a bear (arktos), and hid her in the adyton. He placed a goat on the altar and he sacrificed the goat instead of his daughter.

The boar is one of the favorite animals of the hunters, and also hard to tame. In honor of Artemis' skill, they sacrificed it to her. Oeneus and Adonis were both killed by Artemis' boar. In The Odyssey, she descends from a peak and she travels along the ridges of Mount Erymanthos, that was sacred to the "Mistress of the animals". When the goddess became wrathful she would send the terrible Erymanthian boar to laid waste the farmer's fields. Heracles managed to kill the terrible creature during his Twelve Labors.

In one legend, the Calydonian boar had terrorized the territory of Calydon because Artemis (the mistress of the animals) was offended. The Calydonian boar hunt is one of the great heroic adventures in Greek legend. The most famous Greek heroes including Meleager and Atalanta took part in the expedition. The fierce-hunter virgin Atalanta allied to the goddess Artemis was the first who wounded the Calydonian boar.

A dreadful boar.-His burning, bloodshot eyes

seemed coals of living fire, and his rough neck

was knotted with stiff muscles, and thick-set

with bristles like sharp spikes. A seething froth

dripped on his shoulders, and his tusks

were like the spoils of Ind [India]. Discordant roars

reverberated from his hideous jaws;

and lightning-belched forth from his horrid throat-

scorched the green fields.
- Ovid, Metamorphoses 8.284-289 (Brookes More translation)

Artemis felt pity for the Calydonian princesses Meleagrids as they mourned for their lost brother, Meleager, so she transformed them into Guinea fowl to be her favorite animals.

Hawks were the favored birds of many of the gods, Artemis included.

Coin from Tauric Chersonesus with Artemis, deer, bull, club and quiver (c. 300 BC)

Artemis is sometimes identified with the mythical bull-goddess in a cult foreign in Greece. The cult can be identified in Halae Araphenides in Attica. At the end of the peculiar fest the sacrifice of a man was represented in a ritual.

Euripides relates her cult with Tauris (tauros:bull) and with the myth of Iphigenia at Brauron. Orestes brought the image of the goddess from Tauris, to Brauron Sparta or Aricia.

Artemis is often depicted holding one or two torches. There is not any sufficient explanation for this depiction. The character of the goddess in Arcadia seems to be original. At Acacesium Artemis Hegemone (the leader) is depicted holding two torches. At Lycosura the goddess is depicted holding a snake and a torch, and a bitch suitable for hunting was lying down by her side Sophocles calls Artemis " Elaphebolos, (deer slayer) Amphipyros (with a fire in each end)" reminding the annual fire of the fest Laphria at Delphi. The adjective refers also to the twin fires of the two peaks of the Mount Parnassus above Delphi ( Phaedriades). Heshychius believes that Kalliste is the name of Hecate established at Kerameikos of Athens, who some call Artemis (torch bearing). On a relief from Sicily the goddess is depicted holding a torch in one hand and an offering on the other. The torch was used for the ignition of the fire on the altar.

Artémis Potnia Theron, 560-550 BC

During the Bronze Age, the "mistress of the animals" is usually depicted between two lions with a peculiar crown on her head. The oldest representations of Artemis in Greek Archaic art, circa 550 BC, portray her as Potnia Theron ("Queen of the Beasts"): a winged goddess holding a stag and lioness in her hands, or sometimes a lioness and a lion. Potnia theron is the only Greek goddess close to the daimons and sometimes is depicted with a Gorgon head, and the Gorgon is her distant ancestor. This winged Artemis lingered in ex-votos as Artemis Orthia, with a sanctuary close by Sparta.

In Greek classical art she is usually portrayed as a maiden huntress, young, tall, and slim, clothed in a girl's short skirt, with hunting boots, a quiver, a golden or silver bow and arrows.

Often, she is shown in the shooting pose, and is accompanied by a hunting dog or stag. When portrayed as a lunar deity, Artemis wore a long robe and sometimes a veil covered her head. Her darker side is revealed in some vase paintings, where she is shown as the death-bringing goddess whose arrows fell young maidens and women, such as the daughters of Niobe.

Artemis was sometimes represented in Classical art with the crown of the crescent moon, such as also found on Luna and others.

On June 7, 2007, a Roman-era bronze sculpture of Artemis and the Stag was sold at Sotheby's auction house in New York state by the Albright-Knox Art Gallery for $25.5 million.

Apollo and Artemis kill the children of Niobe, 460-450 BC by the Niobid Painter. Louvre, Paris.

Artemis Hecate, as a goddess protector of the necropolis. Marble, 3rd century AD, Apollonia, Albania.

The taxonomic genus , which entirely comprises the family Artemiidae, derives from Artemis. Artemia species are aquatic crustaceans known as brine shrimp, the best-known species of which, Artemia salina, or sea monkeys, was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758. Artemia species live in salt lakes, and although they are almost never found in an open sea, they do appear along the Aegean coast near Ephesus, where the Temple of Artemis once stood.

The Artemis program is an ongoing robotic and crewed spaceflight program carried out by NASA, U.S. commercial spaceflight companies, and international partners such as ESA, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency. The program has the goal of landing "the first woman and the next man" on the lunar south pole region no earlier than 2025.

1. ^ "Artemis | Myths, Symbols, & Meaning". Encyclopedia Britannica.

2. Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature. Merriam-Webster. 1995. p. 74. ISBN 9780877790426.

3. ^ Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite (5), p.21-32

4. ^ "Artemis". Online Etymology Dictionary.

5. Babiniotis, Georgios (2005). "Άρτεμις". Λεξικό της Νέας Ελληνικής Γλώσσας. Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας. p. 286.

6. R. S. P. Beekes, Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, p.142

7. ^ Indogermanica et Caucasica: Festschrift fur Karl Horst Schmidt zum 65. Geburtstag (Studies in Indo-European language and culture), W. de Gruyter, 1994, Etyma Graeca, p.213-214, on Google books; Houwink ten Cate, The Luwian Population Groups of Lycia and Cilicia Aspera during the Hellenistic Period (Leiden) 1961:166, noted in this context by Brown 2004:252

8. Campanile, ^ Ann. Scuola Pisa 28:305; Restelli, Aevum 37:307, 312

9. Edwin L. Brown, "In Search of Anatolian Apollo", ^ Charis: Essays in Honor of Sara A. Immerwahr, Hesperia Supplements 33 (2004:243-257). p.251: Artemis, as Apollo's inseparable twin, is discussed in p.251ff

10. John Chadwick and ^ Lydia Baumbach, "The Mycenaean Greek Vocabulary" Glotta, 41.3/4 (1963:157-271). p.176f, s.v. Ἂρτεμις, a-te-mi-to- (genitive); C. Souvinous, "A-TE-MI-TO and A-TI-MI-TE", Kadmos 9 1970:42-47; T. Christidis, "Further remarks on A-TE-MI-TO and A-TI-MI-TE", Kadmos 11:125-28

11. Lang, Andrew (1887). Myth, Ritual, and Religion. London: Longmans, Green and Co. pp. 209-210.

12. ^ ἄρταμος . Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek-English Lexicon at the Perseus Project

13. ^ Ἄρτεμις . Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek-English Lexicon at the Perseus Project

14. ^ ἀρτεμής . Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek-English Lexicon at the Perseus Project

15. ^ Nilsson, "Geschichte", Vol. I, p. 482-487

16. Howell 1989",Howell, Reet A.; Howell, Maxwell L. (1989). "The Atalanta Legend in Art and Literature". Journal of Sport History. 16 (2): 127-139. JSTOR 43609443.

17. ^ Adrienne Mayor (22 September 2014). The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691147208.

18. ^ Larson, Jennifer (1997). "Handmaidens of Artemis?". The Classical Journal. 92 (3): 249-257. JSTOR 3298110.

19. ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867). "Aeginaea". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston. p. 26. Archived from the original on 11 February 2009.

20. ^ Parker, Robert (2005). Polytheism and Society in Athens. Oxford University Press. pp. 56, 178, 400, 419. ISBN 0-19-921611-8.

21. ^ Bell, Robert E. (1991). Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary. ABC-CLIO. pp. 17, 191, 253. ISBN 0-87436-581-3.

22. ^ Nilsson, "Gescichte", Vol. I, p.488-493

23. ^ Nelson, Thomas J. (2022). "Iphigenia in the Iliad and the Architecture of Homeric Allusion". TAPA. 152: 55-101. doi:10.1353/apa.2022.0007. S2CID 248236106.

24. ^ Imky Panen(2010) : When the bad bleeds, Bonn University Press

25. During the festival, the offerings ^ darata correspond to the offerings gamela (offerings of marriage) during the Apaturia : Nilsson, Vol I, p 493.

26. Smith, Amy C. (2005). "The politics of weddings at Athens: an iconographic assessment" (PDF). Leeds International Classical Studies. 4 (1): 1-32. pp. 2-4,24

27. ^ Brulé, Pierre (2003). "The feminine and the sacred". Women of Ancient Greece. Edinburgh University Press. pp. 18-19. ISBN 9780748679843.

28. ^ Howell, Reet A.; Howell, Maxwell L. (1989). "The Atalanta Legend in Art and Literature". Journal of Sporet History. 16 (2): 127-139. JSTOR 43609443.

29. ^ "The Library 2. 5. 3-4". Apollodorus the Library. Vol. 1. Translated by Frazer, Sir James George. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1921. pp. 191 with the Scholiast. ark:/13960/t00012x9f.

30. ^ Suddaby, Toryn (2014). "Masks and Maidens: Women and the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia". Constellations. 6 (1). doi:10.29173/cons24110. ISSN 2562-0509.

31. Margret Karola, Johannes Nollé: Götter, Städte, Feste. Kleinasiatische Münzen der römischen Kaiserzeit. Staatliche Münzsammlung, München 2014, S. 61

32. ^ Homer, Iliad 1.9 and 21.502-510; Hesiod, Theogony 918-920

33. ^ Homeric Hymn 3 to Apollo, 14-18; Gantz, p.38; cf. Orphic Hymn 35 to Leto, 3-5 (Athanassakis & Wolkow, p.31)

34. Or as a separate island birthplace of Artemis: "Rejoice, blessed Leto, for you bear glorious children, the lord Apollon and Artemis who delights in arrows; her in Ortygia, and him in rocky Delos," says the ^ Homeric Hymn; the etymology Ortygia, "Isle of Quail", is not supported by modern scholars

35. ^ Servius, Commentary on Virgil's Aeneid 3.73

36. ^ Bryce, Trevor R. (1 January 1983). "The Arrival of the Goddess Leto in Lycia". Historia: Zeitschrift für Alte Geschichte. 32 (1). Franz Steiner Verlag: 1-13. JSTOR 4435828.

37. "I think that this is an ^ aetiological myth, intended to explain the rite in which a human effigy was burnt upon a pyre in the festival of the hunters' goddess," observes Martin P. Nilsson, "Fire-Festivals in Ancient Greece", The Journal of Hellenic Studies 43.2 (1923:144-148) p.144 note 2; Pseudo-Apollodorus, Epitome 2.2

38. Forbes Irving, p.89, 149 n. 1, 166; Fontenrose, ^ p.125; Antoninus Liberalis, 17 (Celoria, p.71; Papathomopoulos, p.31)

39. Heath, "The Failure of Orpheus", ^ Transactions of the American Philological Association 124 (1994:163-196) p.196

40. ^ Walter Burkert, Homo Necans (1972), translated by Peter Bing (University of California Press) 1983, p.111

41. Lacy, "Aktaion and a Lost 'Bath of Artemis'" ^ The Journal of Hellenic Studies 110 (1990:26-42)

42. Apollodorus, 3.4.4

43. Aeschylus fr 135 (244), ^ Aeschylus: Agamemnon, Libation-Bearers, Eumenides, Fragments. Translated by Smyth, Herbert Weir. Loeb Classical Library Volume 146. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1926, p.464

44. ^ This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Actaeon". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 1 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 157.

45. Ovid, ^ Metamorphoses 3.138 ff.; Grimal, s.v. Actaeon, p.10

46. Pseudo-^ Eratosthenes, Catasterismi 32 Hesiod, Astronomia fr. 4 Evelyn-White, p.70-73 = fr. 7 Freeman, p.12-13; Hyginus, De Astronomica 2.26.2; Hard, p.564; cf. Hyginus, Fabulae 195

47. ^ Callimachus, Hymn III to Artemis 265; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 48.395

48. ^ Homer, Iliad 5.121-124; Gantz, p.97; Oxford Classical Dictionary, s.v. Orion; Hansen, p.118

49. Pseudo-^ Eratosthenes, Catasterismi 1 [= Hesiod, Astronomia fr. 3 Evelyn-White, p.68-71 = fr. 6 Freeman, p.12; Gantz, p.725; Oxford Classical Dictionary, s.v. Callisto; Pausanias, 1.25.1, 8.2.6; Hyginus, Fabulae 176, 177. According to the Bibliotheca, Eumelos "and some others" called Callisto the daughter of Lycaon, Asius called her the daughter of Nycteus, Pherecydes called her the daughter of Ceteus, and Hesiod called her a nymph. (Apollodorus, 3.8.2 [= Eumelos, fr. 32 (West 2003, p.248-249) = Asius fr. 9 (West 2003, p.258-259) = Pherecydes FGrHist 3 F86 = Hesiod, fr. 163 Merkelbach-West])

50. ^ Apollodorus, 3.8.2; Gantz, p.98; Tripp, s.v. Callisto, p.145-146; cf. Pseudo-Eratosthenes, Catasterismi 1 [= Hesiod, Astronomia fr. 4 Evelyn-White, p.70-73 = fr. 7 Freeman, p.12-13

51. Pseudo-^ Eratosthenes, Catasterismi 1 [= Hesiod, Astronomia fr. 3 Evelyn-White, p.68-71 = fr. 6 Freeman, p. 12; Gantz, p. 98, 725-726; cf. Hesiod, Astronomia fr. 3 Evelyn-White, p.68-71

52. ^ Hyginus, De Astronomica 2.1.3; Gantz, p.727. Compare with Hyginus, Fabulae p.177 and Pausanias, 8.2.6

53. ^ Hyginus, De Astronomica 2.1.4; Gantz, p.727; cf. Apollodorus, 3.8.2

54. ^ Apollodorus, 3.8.2; Gantz, p.727; Tripp, s.v. Callisto, p.145-146; cf. Eumelos, fr. 32 (West 2003, p.248-249) [= Apollodorus, 3.8.2. Gantz (p.727) suggests that this version may have come from Pherecydes, while West 2003 says that Eumelos "must have told the story of how Zeus made love to Callisto and changed her into a bear. Artemis killed her, but Zeus saved her child, who was Arcas." (West 2003, p.249, note 26 to fr. 32)

55. ^ Pausanias, 8.2.6; Gantz, p.727. Compare with Hyginus, De Astronomica 2.1.3 and Pausanias, 1.25.1

56. ^ Pausanias, 8.2.6-7; Gantz, p.727; cf. Apollodorus, 3.8.2

57. ^ Homer, Odyssey 11.580 ff; Pindar, Pythian Odes 4.161-165; Apollodorus 1.4.1; Quintus Smyrnaeus, Posthomerica 3.390 ff; Hard, p.147-148

58. ^ Hyginus, Fabulae 200; Hard, p.192

59. ^ Apollodorus, 3.14.4; cf. Ovid, Metamorphoses 10.652; Hyginus, Fabulae 248; Plutarch, Quaestiones Convivales 4.5.3; Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists 2.80

60. ^ Pindar, Pythian Ode 3 str1-ant3; Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.26.6

61. ^ Smith, Rowland (1901). The Greek romances of Heliodorus, Longus and Achilles Tatius; comprising the Ethiopics; or, Adventures of Theagenes and Chariclea; The pastoral amours of Daphnis and Chloe; and The loves of Citopho and Leucippe. London: G. Bell and Sons. p. 8.12.

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Artemis Goddess of nature, childbirth, wildlife, healing, the hunt, sudden death, animals, virginity, young women and archery Member of the Twelve Olympians Abode Mount Olympus Planet Moon Animals deer, serpent, dog, boar, goat, bear, quail, buzzard, guineafowl Symbol bow and arrows, crescent moon, animal pelts, spear, knives, torch, lyre, amaranth

# data[].attributes.body
Goddess of war
Relationship to Zeus: daughter
3 Adjectivesthe city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft
Symbol owl
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Athena

Goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft[1]

Member of the Twelve Olympians

Symbol

Aegis, helmet, spear, armor, Gorgoneion, chariot, distaff

Tree

Olive

Parents

Zeus and Metis[a]

Siblings

Aeacus, Angelos, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Dionysus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Eris, Ersa, Hebe, Helen of Troy, Hephaestus, Heracles, Hermes, Minos, Pandia, Persephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, the Graces, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses, the Moirai

Children

Erichthonius (adopted)

Canaanite equivalent
Anat

Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is dedicated to her. Her major symbols include owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion. In art, she is generally depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear.

From her origin as an Aegean palace goddess, Athena was closely associated with the city. She was known as Polias and Poliouchos (both derived from , meaning "city-state"), and her temples were usually located atop the fortified acropolis in the central part of the city. The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis is dedicated to her, along with numerous other temples and monuments. As the patron of craft and weaving, Athena was known as Ergane. She was also a warrior goddess, and was believed to lead soldiers into battle as Athena Promachos. Her main festival in Athens was the Panathenaia, which was celebrated during the month of Hekatombaion in midsummer and was the most important festival on the Athenian calendar.

In Greek mythology, Athena was believed to have been born from the forehead of her father Zeus. In some versions of the story, Athena has no mother and is born from Zeus' forehead by parthenogenesis. In others, such as Hesiod's , Zeus swallows his consort Metis, who was pregnant with Athena; in this version, Athena is first born within Zeus and then escapes from his body through his forehead. In the founding myth of Athens, Athena bested Poseidon in a competition over patronage of the city by creating the first olive tree. She was known as Athena Parthenos "Athena the Virgin," but in one archaic Attic myth, the god Hephaestus tried and failed to rape her, resulting in Gaia giving birth to Erichthonius, an important Athenian founding hero. Athena was the patron goddess of heroic endeavor; she was believed to have aided the heroes Perseus, Heracles, Bellerophon, and Jason. Along with Aphrodite and Hera, Athena was one of the three goddesses whose feud resulted in the beginning of the Trojan War.

She plays an active role in the , in which she assists the Achaeans and, in the , she is the divine counselor to Odysseus. In the later writings of the Roman poet Ovid, Athena was said to have competed against the mortal Arachne in a weaving competition, afterward transforming Arachne into the first spider; Ovid also describes how she transformed Medusa into a Gorgon after witnessing her being raped by Poseidon in her temple. Since the Renaissance, Athena has become an international symbol of wisdom, the arts, and classical learning. Western artists and allegorists have often used Athena as a symbol of freedom and democracy.

Athena is associated with the city of Athens. The name of the city in ancient Greek is ( Athȇnai), a plural toponym, designating the place where-according to myth-she presided over the Athenai, a sisterhood devoted to her worship. In ancient times, scholars argued whether Athena was named after Athens or Athens after Athena. Now scholars generally agree that the goddess takes her name from the city; the ending - ene is common in names of locations, but rare for personal names. Testimonies from different cities in ancient Greece attest that similar city goddesses were worshipped in other cities and, like Athena, took their names from the cities where they were worshipped. For example, in Mycenae there was a goddess called Mykene, whose sisterhood was known as Mykenai, whereas at Thebes an analogous deity was called Thebe, and the city was known under the plural form Thebai (or Thebes, in English, where the 's' is the plural formation). The name Athenai is likely of Pre-Greek origin because it contains the presumably Pre-Greek morpheme *-ān-.

In his dialogue , the ancient Greek philosopher Plato (428-347 BC) gives some rather imaginative etymologies of Athena's name, based on the theories of the ancient Athenians and his etymological speculations:

That is a graver matter, and there, my friend, the modern interpreters of Homer may, I think, assist in explaining the view of the ancients. Most of these in their explanations of the poet, assert that he meant by Athena "mind" [, ] and "intelligence" [, ], and the maker of names appears to have had a singular notion about her; and indeed calls her by a still higher title, "divine intelligence" [θεοῦ νόησις , theoũ nóēsis], as though he would say: This is she who has the mind of God [, a theonóa]. Perhaps, however, the name Theonoe may mean "she who knows divine things" [τὰ θεῖα νοοῦσα , ta theia noousa] better than others. Nor shall we be far wrong in supposing that the author of it wished to identify this Goddess with moral intelligence [εν έθει νόεσιν , en éthei nóesin], and therefore gave her the name Etheonoe; which, however, either he or his successors have altered into what they thought a nicer form, and called her Athena.

Thus, Plato believed that Athena's name was derived from Greek , Atheonóa-which the later Greeks rationalised as from the deity's (, theós) mind (, noũs). The second-century AD orator Aelius Aristides attempted to derive natural symbols from the etymological roots of Athena's names to be aether, air, earth, and moon.

Athena was originally the Aegean goddess of the palace, who presided over household crafts and protected the king. A single Mycenaean Greek inscription a-ta-na po-ti-ni-ja appears at Knossos in the Linear B tablets from the Late Minoan II-era "Room of the Chariot Tablets"; these comprise the earliest Linear B archive anywhere. Although Athana potnia is often translated as "Mistress Athena", it could also mean "the of Athana", or the Lady of Athens. However, any connection to the city of Athens in the Knossos inscription is uncertain. A sign series a-ta-no-dju-wa-ja appears in the still undeciphered corpus of Linear A tablets, written in the unclassified Minoan language. This could be connected with the Linear B Mycenaean expressions a-ta-na po-ti-ni-ja and di-u-ja or di-wi-ja ( Diwia, "of Zeus" or, possibly, related to a homonymous goddess), resulting in a translation "Athena of Zeus" or "divine Athena". Similarly, in the Greek mythology and epic tradition, Athena figures as a daughter of Zeus (Διός θυγάτηρ ; cfr. Dyeus). However, the inscription quoted seems to be very similar to " SY Za 1 by Jan Best. Best translates the initial a-ta-nū-tī wa-ya", quoted as a-ta-nū-tī, which is recurrent in line beginnings, as "I have given".

A Mycenean fresco depicts two women extending their hands towards a central figure, who is covered by an enormous figure-eight shield; this may depict the warrior-goddess with her , or her palladium in an aniconic representation. In the " Procession Fresco" at Knossos, which was reconstructed by the Mycenaeans, two rows of figures carrying vessels seem to meet in front of a central figure, which is probably the Minoan precursor to Athena. The early twentieth-century scholar Martin Persson Nilsson argued that the Minoan snake goddess figurines are early representations of Athena.

Nilsson and others have claimed that, in early times, Athena was either an owl herself or a bird goddess in general. In the third book of the , she takes the form of a sea-eagle. Proponents of this view argue that she dropped her prophylactic owl mask before she lost her wings. "Athena, by the time she appears in art," Jane Ellen Harrison remarks, "has completely shed her animal form, has reduced the shapes she once wore of snake and bird to attributes, but occasionally in black-figure vase-paintings she still appears with wings."

It is generally agreed that the cult of Athena preserves some aspects of the Proto-Indo-European transfunctional goddess. The cult of Athena may have also been influenced by those of Near Eastern warrior goddesses such as the East Semitic Ishtar and the Ugaritic Anat, both of whom were often portrayed bearing arms. Classical scholar Charles Penglase notes that Athena resembles Inanna in her role as a "terrifying warrior goddess" and that both goddesses were closely linked with creation. Athena's birth from the head of Zeus may be derived from the earlier Sumerian myth of Inanna's descent into and return from the Underworld.

Plato notes that the citizens of Sais in Egypt worshipped a goddess known as Neith, whom he identifies with Athena. Neith was the ancient Egyptian goddess of war and hunting, who was also associated with weaving; her worship began during the Egyptian Pre-Dynastic period. In Greek mythology, Athena was reported to have visited mythological sites in North Africa, including Libya's Triton River and the Phlegraean plain. Based on these similarities, the Sinologist Martin Bernal created the " Black Athena" hypothesis, which claimed that Neith was brought to Greece from Egypt, along with "an enormous number of features of civilization and culture in the third and second millennia". The "Black Athena" hypothesis stirred up widespread controversy near the end of the twentieth century, but it has now been widely rejected by modern scholars.

Cult and patronages

Panhellenic and Athenian cult

In her aspect of Athena Polias, Athena was venerated as the goddess of the city and the protectress of the citadel. In Athens, the Plynteria, or "Feast of the Bath", was observed every year at the end of the month of Thargelion. The festival lasted for five days. During this period, the priestesses of Athena, or plyntrídes, performed a cleansing ritual within the Erechtheion, a sanctuary devoted to Athena and Poseidon. Here Athena's statue was undressed, her clothes washed, and body purified. Athena was worshipped at festivals such as Chalceia as Athena Ergane, the patroness of various crafts, especially weaving. She was also the patron of metalworkers and was believed to aid in the forging of armor and weapons. During the late fifth century BC, the role of goddess of philosophy became a major aspect of Athena's cult.

As Athena Promachos, she was believed to lead soldiers into battle. Athena represented the disciplined, strategic side of war, in contrast to her brother Ares, the patron of violence, bloodlust, and slaughter-"the raw force of war". Athena was believed to only support those fighting for a just cause and was thought to view war primarily as a means to resolve conflict. The Greeks regarded Athena with much higher esteem than Ares. Athena was especially worshipped in this role during the festivals of the Panathenaea and Pamboeotia, both of which prominently featured displays of athletic and military prowess. As the patroness of heroes and warriors, Athena was believed to favor those who used cunning and intelligence rather than brute strength.

In her aspect as a warrior maiden, Athena was known as ( "virgin"), because, like her fellow goddesses Artemis and Hestia, she was believed to remain perpetually a virgin. Athena's most famous temple, the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis, takes its name from this title. According to Karl Kerényi, a scholar of Greek mythology, the name Parthenos is not merely an observation of Athena's virginity, but also a recognition of her role as enforcer of rules of sexual modesty and ritual mystery. Even beyond recognition, the Athenians allotted the goddess value based on this pureness of virginity, which they upheld as a rudiment of female behavior. Kerényi's study and theory of Athena explains her virginal epithet as a result of her relationship to her father Zeus and a vital, cohesive piece of her character throughout the ages. This role is expressed in several stories about Athena. Marinus of Neapolis reports that when Christians removed the statue of the goddess from the Parthenon, a beautiful woman appeared in a dream to Proclus, a devotee of Athena, and announced that the "Athenian Lady" wished to dwell with him.

Regional cults

Athena was not only the patron goddess of Athens, but also other cities, including Argos, Sparta, Gortyn, Lindos, and Larisa. The various cults of Athena were all branches of her panhellenic cult and often proctored various initiation rites of Grecian youth, such as the passage into citizenship by young men or the passage of young women into marriage. These cults were portals of a uniform socialization, even beyond mainland Greece. Athena was frequently equated with Aphaea, a local goddess of the island of Aegina, originally from Crete and also associated with Artemis and the nymph Britomartis. In Arcadia, she was assimilated with the ancient goddess Alea and worshiped as Athena Alea. Sanctuaries dedicated to Athena Alea were located in the Laconian towns of Mantineia and Tegea. The temple of Athena Alea in Tegea was an important religious center of ancient Greece. The geographer Pausanias was informed that the temenos had been founded by Aleus.

Athena had a major temple on the Spartan Acropolis, where she was venerated as Poliouchos and Khalkíoikos ("of the Brazen House", often latinized as Chalcioecus). This epithet may refer to the fact that cult statue held there may have been made of bronze, that the walls of the temple itself may have been made of bronze, or that Athena was the patron of metal-workers. Bells made of terracotta and bronze were used in Sparta as part of Athena's cult. An Ionic-style temple to Athena Polias was built at Priene in the fourth century BC. It was designed by Pytheos of Priene, the same architect who designed the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The temple was dedicated by Alexander the Great and an inscription from the temple declaring his dedication is now held in the British Museum.

Epithets and attributes

Athena was known as Atrytone ( "the Unwearying"), Parthenos ( "Virgin"), and Promachos ( "she who fights in front"). The epithet Polias (Πολιάς "of the city"), refers to Athena's role as protectress of the city. The epithet Ergane (Εργάνη "the Industrious") pointed her out as the patron of craftsmen and artisans. Burkert notes that the Athenians sometimes simply called Athena "the Goddess", hē theós (ἡ θεός), certainly an ancient title. After serving as the judge at the trial of Orestes in which he was acquitted of having murdered his mother Clytemnestra, Athena won the epithet Areia (Αρεία). Some have described Athena, along with the goddesses Hestia and Artemis as being asexual, this is mainly supported by the fact that in the Homeric Hymns, 5, To Aphrodite, where Aphrodite is described as having "no power" over the three goddesses.

Athena was sometimes given the epithet Hippia (Ἵππια "of the horses", "equestrian"), referring to her invention of the bit, bridle, chariot, and wagon. The Greek geographer Pausanias mentions in his Guide to Greece that the temple of Athena Chalinitis ("the bridler") in Corinth was located near the tomb of Medea's children. Other epithets include Ageleia, Itonia and Aethyia, under which she was worshiped in Megara. The word aíthyia () signifies a "diver", also some diving bird species (possibly the shearwater) and figuratively, a "ship", so the name must reference Athena teaching the art of shipbuilding or navigation. In a temple at Phrixa in Elis, reportedly built by Clymenus, she was known as Cydonia (Κυδωνία). Pausanias wrote that at Buporthmus there was a sanctuary of Athena Promachorma (Προμαχόρμα), meaning protector of the anchorage.

The Greek biographer Plutarch (AD 46-120) refers to an instance during the construction of the Propylaia of her being called Athena Hygieia (Ὑγίεια, i. e. personified "Health") after inspiring a physician to a successful course of treatment.

At Athens there is the temple of Athena Phratria, as patron of a phratry, in the Ancient Agora of Athens.

The word (, "little owl") is from the same root, presumably according to some, because of the bird's own distinctive eyes. Athena was associated with the owl from very early on; in archaic images, she is frequently depicted with an owl perched on her hand. Through its association with Athena, the owl evolved into the national mascot of the Athenians and eventually became a symbol of wisdom.

In the (4.514), the (3.378), the Homeric Hymns, and in Hesiod's , Athena is also given the curious epithet Tritogeneia (Τριτογένεια), whose significance remains unclear. It could mean various things, including "Triton-born", perhaps indicating that the homonymous sea-deity was her parent according to some early myths. One myth relates the foster father relationship of this Triton towards the half-orphan Athena, whom he raised alongside his own daughter Pallas. Kerényi suggests that "Tritogeneia did not mean that she came into the world on any particular river or lake, but that she was born of the water itself; for the name Triton seems to be associated with water generally." In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Athena is occasionally referred to as "Tritonia".

Another possible meaning may be "triple-born" or "third-born", which may refer to a triad or to her status as the third daughter of Zeus or the fact she was born from Metis, Zeus, and herself; various legends list her as being the first child after Artemis and Apollo, though other legends identify her as Zeus' first child. Several scholars have suggested a connection to the Rigvedic god Trita, who was sometimes grouped in a body of three mythological poets. Michael Janda has connected the myth of Trita to the scene in the in which the "three brothers" Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades divide the world between them, receiving the "broad sky", the sea, and the underworld respectively. Janda further connects the myth of Athena being born of the head (i. e. the uppermost part) of Zeus, understanding Trito- (which perhaps originally meant "the third") as another word for "the sky". In Janda's analysis of Indo-European mythology, this heavenly sphere is also associated with the mythological body of water surrounding the inhabited world ( cfr. Triton's mother, Amphitrite).

Yet another possible meaning is mentioned in Diogenes Laertius' biography of Democritus, that Athena was called "Tritogeneia" because three things, on which all mortal life depends, come from her.

She was the daughter of Zeus, produced without a mother, and emerged full-grown from his forehead. There was an alternate story that Zeus swallowed Metis, the goddess of counsel, while she was pregnant with Athena and when she was fully grown she emerged from Zeus' forehead. Being the favorite child of Zeus, she had great power. In the classical Olympian pantheon, Athena was regarded as the favorite child of Zeus, born fully armed from his forehead. The story of her birth comes in several versions. The earliest mention is in Book V of the Iliad, when Ares accuses Zeus of being biased in favor of Athena because " autos egeinao" (literally "you fathered her", but probably intended as "you gave birth to her"). She was essentially urban and civilized, the antithesis in many respects of Artemis, goddess of the outdoors. Athena was probably a pre-Hellenic goddess and was later taken over by the Greeks. In the version recounted by Hesiod in his , Zeus married the goddess Metis, who is described as the "wisest among gods and mortal men", and engaged in sexual intercourse with her. After learning that Metis was pregnant, however, he became afraid that the unborn offspring would try to overthrow him, because Gaia and Ouranos had prophesied that Metis would bear children wiser than their father. In order to prevent this, Zeus tricked Metis into letting him swallow her, but it was too late because Metis had already conceived. A later account of the story from the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus, written in the second century AD, makes Metis Zeus's unwilling sexual partner, rather than his wife. According to this version of the story, Metis transformed into many different shapes in effort to escape Zeus, but Zeus successfully raped her and swallowed her.

After swallowing Metis, Zeus took six more wives in succession until he married his seventh and present wife, Hera. Then Zeus experienced an enormous headache. He was in such pain that he ordered someone (either Prometheus, Hephaestus, Hermes, Ares, or Palaemon, depending on the sources examined) to cleave his head open with the , the double-headed Minoan axe. Athena leaped from Zeus's head, fully grown and armed. The "First Homeric Hymn to Athena" states in lines 9-16 that the gods were awestruck by Athena's appearance and even Helios, the god of the sun, stopped his chariot in the sky. Pindar, in his "Seventh Olympian Ode", states that she "cried aloud with a mighty shout" and that "the Sky and mother Earth shuddered before her."

Hesiod states that Hera was so annoyed at Zeus for having given birth to a child on his own that she conceived and bore Hephaestus by herself, but in Imagines 2. 27 (trans. Fairbanks), the third-century AD Greek rhetorician Philostratus the Elder writes that Hera "rejoices" at Athena's birth "as though Athena were her daughter also." The second-century AD Christian apologist Justin Martyr takes issue with those pagans who erect at springs images of Kore, whom he interprets as Athena: "They said that Athena was the daughter of Zeus not from intercourse, but when the god had in mind the making of a world through a word () his first thought was Athena." According to a version of the story in a scholium on the Iliad (found nowhere else), when Zeus swallowed Metis, she was pregnant with Athena by the Cyclops Brontes. The Etymologicum Magnum instead deems Athena the daughter of the Daktyl Itonos. Fragments attributed by the Christian Eusebius of Caesarea to the semi-legendary Phoenician historian Sanchuniathon, which Eusebius thought had been written before the Trojan war, make Athena instead the daughter of Cronus, a king of Byblos who visited "the inhabitable world" and bequeathed Attica to Athena.

Pallas Athena

Athena's epithet Pallas is derived either from , meaning "to brandish [as a weapon]", or, more likely, from and related words, meaning "youth, young woman". On this topic, Walter Burkert says "she is the Pallas of Athens, Pallas Athenaie, just as Hera of Argos is Here Argeie." In later times, after the original meaning of the name had been forgotten, the Greeks invented myths to explain its origins, such as those reported by the Epicurean philosopher Philodemus and the Bibliotheca of Pseudo-Apollodorus, which claim that Pallas was originally a separate entity, whom Athena had slain in combat.

In one version of the myth, Pallas was the daughter of the sea-god Triton; she and Athena were childhood friends, but Athena accidentally killed her during a friendly sparring match. Distraught over what she had done, Athena took the name Pallas for herself as a sign of her grief. In another version of the story, Pallas was a Gigante; Athena slew him during the Gigantomachy and flayed off his skin to make her cloak, which she wore as a victory trophy. In an alternative variation of the same myth, Pallas was instead Athena's father, who attempted to assault his own daughter, causing Athena to kill him and take his skin as a trophy.

The was a statue of Athena that was said to have stood in her temple on the Trojan Acropolis. Athena was said to have carved the statue herself in the likeness of her dead friend Pallas. The statue had special talisman-like properties and it was thought that, as long as it was in the city, Troy could never fall. When the Greeks captured Troy, Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, clung to the palladium for protection, but Ajax the Lesser violently tore her away from it and dragged her over to the other captives. Athena was infuriated by this violation of her protection. Although Agamemnon attempted to placate her anger with sacrifices, Athena sent a storm at Cape Kaphereos to destroy almost the entire Greek fleet and scatter all of the surviving ships across the Aegean.

Lady of Athens

In Homer's , Athena, as a war goddess, inspired and fought alongside the Greek heroes; her aid was synonymous with military prowess. Also in the Iliad, Zeus, the chief god, specifically assigned the sphere of war to Ares, the god of war, and Athena. Athena's moral and military superiority to Ares derived in part from the fact that she represented the intellectual and civilized side of war and the virtues of justice and skill, whereas Ares represented mere blood lust. Her superiority also derived in part from the vastly greater variety and importance of her functions and the patriotism of Homer's predecessors, Ares being of foreign origin. In the Iliad, Athena was the divine form of the heroic, martial ideal: she personified excellence in close combat, victory, and glory. The qualities that led to victory were found on the aegis, or breastplate, that Athena wore when she went to war: fear, strife, defense, and assault. Athena appears in Homer's Odyssey as the tutelary deity of Odysseus, and myths from later sources portray her similarly as the helper of Perseus and Heracles (Hercules). As the guardian of the welfare of kings, Athena became the goddess of good counsel, prudent restraint and practical insight, and war. In a founding myth reported by Pseudo-Apollodorus, Athena competed with Poseidon for the patronage of Athens. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and that Cecrops, the king of Athens, would determine which gift was better. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a salt water spring sprang up; this gave the Athenians access to trade and water. Athens at its height was a significant sea power, defeating the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis-but the water was salty and undrinkable. In an alternative version of the myth from Vergil's , Poseidon instead gave the Athenians the first horse. Athena offered the first domesticated olive tree. Cecrops accepted this gift and declared Athena the patron goddess of Athens. The olive tree brought wood, oil, and food, and became a symbol of Athenian economic prosperity. Robert Graves was of the opinion that "Poseidon's attempts to take possession of certain cities are political myths", which reflect the conflict between matriarchal and patriarchal religions.

Pseudo-Apollodorus records an archaic legend, which claims that Hephaestus once attempted to rape Athena, but she pushed him away, causing him to ejaculate on her thigh. Athena wiped the semen off using a tuft of wool, which she tossed into the dust, impregnating Gaia and causing her to give birth to Erichthonius. Athena adopted Erichthonius as her son and raised him. The Roman mythographer Hyginus records a similar story in which Hephaestus demanded Zeus to let him marry Athena since he was the one who had smashed open Zeus's skull, allowing Athena to be born. Zeus agreed to this and Hephaestus and Athena were married, but, when Hephaestus was about to consummate the union, Athena vanished from the bridal bed, causing him to ejaculate on the floor, thus impregnating Gaia with Erichthonius.

The geographer Pausanias records that Athena placed the infant Erichthonius into a small chest ( cista), which she entrusted to the care of the three daughters of Cecrops: Herse, Pandrosos, and Aglauros of Athens. She warned the three sisters not to open the chest, but did not explain to them why or what was in it. Aglauros, and possibly one of the other sisters, opened the chest. Differing reports say that they either found that the child itself was a serpent, that it was guarded by a serpent, that it was guarded by two serpents, or that it had the legs of a serpent. In Pausanias's story, the two sisters were driven mad by the sight of the chest's contents and hurled themselves off the Acropolis, dying instantly, but an Attic vase painting shows them being chased by the serpent off the edge of the cliff instead.

Erichthonius was one of the most important founding heroes of Athens and the legend of the daughters of Cecrops was a cult myth linked to the rituals of the Arrhephoria festival. Pausanias records that, during the Arrhephoria, two young girls known as the Arrhephoroi, who lived near the temple of Athena Polias, would be given hidden objects by the priestess of Athena, which they would carry on their heads down a natural underground passage. They would leave the objects they had been given at the bottom of the passage and take another set of hidden objects, which they would carry on their heads back up to the temple. The ritual was performed in the dead of night and no one, not even the priestess, knew what the objects were. The serpent in the story may be the same one depicted coiled at Athena's feet in Pheidias's famous statue of the Athena Parthenos in the Parthenon. Many of the surviving sculptures of Athena show this serpent.

Herodotus records that a serpent lived in a crevice on the north side of the summit of the Athenian Acropolis and that the Athenians left a honey cake for it each month as an offering. On the eve of the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, the serpent did not eat the honey cake and the Athenians interpreted it as a sign that Athena herself had abandoned them. Another version of the myth of the Athenian maidens is told in Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC - 17 AD); in this late variant Hermes falls in love with Herse. Herse, Aglaulus, and Pandrosus go to the temple to offer sacrifices to Athena. Hermes demands help from Aglaulus to seduce Herse. Aglaulus demands money in exchange. Hermes gives her the money the sisters have already offered to Athena. As punishment for Aglaulus's greed, Athena asks the goddess Envy to make Aglaulus jealous of Herse. When Hermes arrives to seduce Herse, Aglaulus stands in his way instead of helping him as she had agreed. He turns her to stone.

Patron of heroes

According to Pseudo-Apollodorus's Bibliotheca, Athena advised Argos, the builder of the , the ship on which the hero Jason and his band of Argonauts sailed, and aided in the ship's construction. Pseudo-Apollodorus also records that Athena guided the hero Perseus in his quest to behead Medusa. She and Hermes, the god of travelers, appeared to Perseus after he set off on his quest and gifted him with tools he would need to kill the Gorgon. Athena gave Perseus a polished bronze shield to view Medusa's reflection rather than looking at her directly and thereby avoid being turned to stone. Hermes gave him an adamantine scythe to cut off Medusa's head. When Perseus swung his blade to behead Medusa, Athena guided it, allowing his scythe to cut it clean off. According to Pindar's Thirteenth Olympian Ode, Athena helped the hero Bellerophon tame the winged horse Pegasus by giving him a bit.

In ancient Greek art, Athena is frequently shown aiding the hero Heracles. She appears in four of the twelve metopes on the Temple of Zeus at Olympia depicting Heracles's Twelve Labors, including the first, in which she passively watches him slay the Nemean lion, and the tenth, in which she is shown actively helping him hold up the sky. She is presented as his "stern ally", but also the "gentle... acknowledger of his achievements." Artistic depictions of Heracles's apotheosis show Athena driving him to Mount Olympus in her chariot and presenting him to Zeus for his deification. In Aeschylus's tragedy , Athena intervenes to save Orestes from the wrath of the Erinyes and presides over his trial for the murder of his mother Clytemnestra. When half the jury votes to acquit and the other half votes to convict, Athena casts the deciding vote to acquit Orestes and declares that, from then on, whenever a jury is tied, the defendant shall always be acquitted.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus' cunning and shrewd nature quickly wins Athena's favour. For the first part of the poem, however, she largely is confined to aiding him only from afar, mainly by implanting thoughts in his head during his journey home from Troy. Her guiding actions reinforce her role as the "protectress of heroes," or, as mythologian Walter Friedrich Otto dubbed her, the "goddess of nearness," due to her mentoring and motherly probing. It is not until he washes up on the shore of the island of the Phaeacians, where Nausicaa is washing her clothes that Athena arrives personally to provide more tangible assistance. She appears in Nausicaa's dreams to ensure that the princess rescues Odysseus and plays a role in his eventual escort to Ithaca. Athena appears to Odysseus upon his arrival, disguised as a herdsman; she initially lies and tells him that Penelope, his wife, has remarried and that he is believed to be dead, but Odysseus lies back to her, employing skillful prevarications to protect himself. Impressed by his resolve and shrewdness, she reveals herself and tells him what he needs to know to win back his kingdom. She disguises him as an elderly beggar so that he will not be recognized by the suitors or Penelope, and helps him to defeat the suitors. Athena also appears to Odysseus's son Telemachus. Her actions lead him to travel around to Odysseus's comrades and ask about his father. He hears stories about some of Odysseus's journey. Athena's push for Telemachos's journey helps him grow into the man role, that his father once held. She also plays a role in ending the resultant feud against the suitors' relatives. She instructs Laertes to throw his spear and to kill Eupeithes, the father of Antinous.

Punishment myths

The Gorgoneion appears to have originated as an apotropaic symbol intended to ward off evil. In a late myth invented to explain the origins of the Gorgon, Medusa is described as having been a young priestess who served in the temple of Athena in Athens. Poseidon lusted after Medusa, and raped her in the temple of Athena, refusing to allow her vow of chastity to stand in his way. Upon discovering the desecration of her temple, Athena transformed Medusa into a hideous monster with serpents for hair whose gaze would turn any mortal to stone.

In his Twelfth Pythian Ode, Pindar recounts the story of how Athena invented the , a kind of flute, in imitation of the lamentations of Medusa's sisters, the Gorgons, after she was beheaded by the hero Perseus. According to Pindar, Athena gave the aulos to mortals as a gift. Later, the comic playwright Melanippides of Melos ( c. 480-430 BC) embellished the story in his comedy Marsyas, claiming that Athena looked in the mirror while she was playing the aulos and saw how blowing into it puffed up her cheeks and made her look silly, so she threw the aulos away and cursed it so that whoever picked it up would meet an awful death. The aulos was picked up by the satyr Marsyas, who was later killed by Apollo for his hubris. Later, this version of the story became accepted as canonical and the Athenian sculptor Myron created a group of bronze sculptures based on it, which was installed before the western front of the Parthenon in around 440 BC.

A myth told by the early third-century BC Hellenistic poet Callimachus in his Hymn 5 begins with Athena bathing in a spring on Mount Helicon at midday with one of her favorite companions, the nymph Chariclo. Chariclo's son Tiresias happened to be hunting on the same mountain and came to the spring searching for water. He inadvertently saw Athena naked, so she struck him blind to ensure he would never again see what man was not intended to see. Chariclo intervened on her son's behalf and begged Athena to have mercy. Athena replied that she could not restore Tiresias's eyesight, so, instead, she gave him the ability to understand the language of the birds and thus foretell the future.

The fable of Arachne appears in Ovid's Metamorphoses (8 AD) (vi.5-54 and 129-145), which is nearly the only extant source for the legend. The story does not appear to have been well known prior to Ovid's rendition of it and the only earlier reference to it is a brief allusion in Virgil's , (29 BC) (iv, 246) that does not mention Arachne by name. According to Ovid, Arachne (whose name means spider in ancient Greek) was the daughter of a famous dyer in Tyrian purple in Hypaipa of Lydia, and a weaving student of Athena. She became so conceited of her skill as a weaver that she began claiming that her skill was greater than that of Athena herself. Athena gave Arachne a chance to redeem herself by assuming the form of an old woman and warning Arachne not to offend the deities. Arachne scoffed and wished for a weaving contest, so she could prove her skill.

Athena wove the scene of her victory over Poseidon in the contest for the patronage of Athens. Athena's tapestry also depicted the 12 Olympian gods and defeat of mythological figures who challenged their authority. Arachne's tapestry featured twenty-one episodes of the deities' infidelity, including Zeus being unfaithful with Leda, with Europa, and with Danaë. It represented the unjust and discrediting behavior of the gods towards mortals. Athena admitted that Arachne's work was flawless, but was outraged at Arachne's offensive choice of subject, which displayed the failings and transgressions of the deities. Finally, losing her temper, Athena destroyed Arachne's tapestry and loom, striking it with her shuttle. Athena then struck Arachne across the face with her staff four times. Arachne hanged herself in despair, but Athena took pity on her and brought her back from the dead in the form of a spider.

The myth of the Judgement of Paris is mentioned briefly in the , but is described in depth in an epitome of the , a lost poem of the Epic Cycle, which records that all the gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (the eventual parents of Achilles). Only Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited. She was annoyed at this, so she arrived with a golden apple inscribed with the word καλλίστῃ (kallistēi, "for the fairest"), which she threw among the goddesses. Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all claimed to be the fairest, and thus the rightful owner of the apple.

The goddesses chose to place the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to favor one of the goddesses, put the choice into the hands of Paris, a Trojan prince. After bathing in the spring of Mount Ida where Troy was situated, the goddesses appeared before Paris for his decision. In the extant ancient depictions of the Judgement of Paris, Aphrodite is only occasionally represented nude, and Athena and Hera are always fully clothed. Since the Renaissance, however, Western paintings have typically portrayed all three goddesses as completely naked.

All three goddesses were ideally beautiful and Paris could not decide between them, so they resorted to bribes. Hera tried to bribe Paris with power over all Asia and Europe, and Athena offered fame and glory in battle, but Aphrodite promised Paris that, if he were to choose her as the fairest, she would let him marry the most beautiful woman on earth. This woman was Helen, who was already married to King Menelaus of Sparta. Paris selected Aphrodite and awarded her the apple. The other two goddesses were enraged and, as a direct result, sided with the Greeks in the Trojan War.

In Books V-VI of the , Athena aids the hero Diomedes, who, in the absence of Achilles, proves himself to be the most effective Greek warrior. Several artistic representations from the early sixth century BC may show Athena and Diomedes, including an early sixth-century BC shield band depicting Athena and an unidentified warrior riding on a chariot, a vase painting of a warrior with his charioteer facing Athena, and an inscribed clay plaque showing Diomedes and Athena riding in a chariot. Numerous passages in the Iliad also mention Athena having previously served as the patron of Diomedes's father Tydeus. When the Trojan women go to the temple of Athena on the Acropolis to plead her for protection from Diomedes, Athena ignores them.

Athena also gets into a duel with Ares, the god of the brutal wars, and her male counterpart Ares blames her for encouraging Diomedes to tear his beautiful flesh. He curses her and strikes with all his strength. Athena deflects his blow with her aegis, a powerful shield that even Zeus's thunderbolt and lightning cannot blast through. Athena picked up a massive boulder and threw it at Ares, who immediately crumpled to the ground. Aphrodite, who was a lover of Ares, came down from Olympus to carry Ares away but was struck by Athena's golden spear and fell. Athena taunted the gods who supported Troy, saying that they will too eventually end up like Ares and Aphrodite, which scared them, therefore proving her power and reputation among the other gods.

In Book XXII of the Iliad, while Achilles is chasing Hector around the walls of Troy, Athena appears to Hector disguised as his brother Deiphobus and persuades him to hold his ground so that they can fight Achilles together. Then, Hector throws his spear at Achilles and misses, expecting Deiphobus to hand him another, but Athena disappears instead, leaving Hector to face Achilles alone without his spear. In Sophocles's tragedy , she punishes Odysseus's rival Ajax the Great, driving him insane and causing him to massacre the Achaeans' cattle, thinking that he is slaughtering the Achaeans themselves. Even after Odysseus himself expresses pity for Ajax, Athena declares, "To laugh at your enemies - what sweeter laughter can there be than that?" (lines 78-9). Ajax later commits suicide as a result of his humiliation.

Classical art

Athena appears frequently in classical Greek art, including on coins and in paintings on ceramics. She is especially prominent in works produced in Athens. In classical depictions, Athena is usually portrayed standing upright, wearing a full-length chiton. She is most often represented dressed in armor like a male soldier and wearing a Corinthian helmet raised high atop her forehead. Her shield bears at its centre the aegis with the head of the gorgon ( gorgoneion) in the center and snakes around the edge. Sometimes she is shown wearing the aegis as a cloak. As Athena Promachos, she is shown brandishing a spear. Scenes in which Athena was represented include her birth from the head of Zeus, her battle with the Gigantes, the birth of Erichthonius, and the Judgement of Paris.

The Mourning Athena or Athena Meditating is a famous relief sculpture dating to around 470-460 BC that has been interpreted to represent Athena Polias. The most famous classical depiction of Athena was the Athena Parthenos, a now-lost 11.5 m (38 ft) gold and ivory statue of her in the Parthenon created by the Athenian sculptor Phidias. Copies reveal that this statue depicted Athena holding her shield in her left hand with Nike, the winged goddess of victory, standing in her right. Athena Polias is also represented in a Neo-Attic relief now held in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, which depicts her holding an owl in her hand and wearing her characteristic Corinthian helmet while resting her shield against a nearby . The Roman goddess Minerva adopted most of Athena's Greek iconographical associations, but was also integrated into the Capitoline Triad.

Post-classical culture

Art and symbolism

Early Christian writers, such as Clement of Alexandria and Firmicus, denigrated Athena as representative of all the things that were detestable about paganism; they condemned her as "immodest and immoral". During the Middle Ages, however, many attributes of Athena were given to the Virgin Mary, who, in fourth-century portrayals, was often depicted wearing the Gorgoneion. Some even viewed the Virgin Mary as a warrior maiden, much like Athena Parthenos; one anecdote tells that the Virgin Mary once appeared upon the walls of Constantinople when it was under siege by the Avars, clutching a spear and urging the people to fight. During the Middle Ages, Athena became widely used as a Christian symbol and allegory, and she appeared on the family crests of certain noble houses.

During the Renaissance, Athena donned the mantle of patron of the arts and human endeavor; allegorical paintings involving Athena were a favorite of the Italian Renaissance painters. In Sandro Botticelli's painting Pallas and the Centaur, probably painted sometime in the 1480s, Athena is the personification of chastity, who is shown grasping the forelock of a centaur, who represents lust. Andrea Mantegna's 1502 painting Minerva Expelling the Vices from the Garden of Virtue uses Athena as the personification of Graeco-Roman learning chasing the vices of medievalism from the garden of modern scholarship. Athena is also used as the personification of wisdom in Bartholomeus Spranger's 1591 painting The Triumph of Wisdom or Minerva Victorious over Ignorance.

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Athena was used as a symbol for female rulers. In his book A Revelation of the True Minerva (1582), Thomas Blennerhassett portrays Queen Elizabeth I of England as a "new Minerva" and "the greatest goddesse nowe on earth". A series of paintings by Peter Paul Rubens depict Athena as Marie de' Medici's patron and mentor; the final painting in the series goes even further and shows Marie de' Medici with Athena's iconography, as the mortal incarnation of the goddess herself. The Flemish sculptor Jean-Pierre-Antoine Tassaert (Jan Peter Anton Tassaert) later portrayed Catherine II of Russia as Athena in a marble bust in 1774. During the French Revolution, statues of pagan gods were torn down all throughout France, but statues of Athena were not. Instead, Athena was transformed into the personification of freedom and the republic and a statue of the goddess stood in the center of the Place de la Revolution in Paris. In the years following the Revolution, artistic representations of Athena proliferated.

A statue of Athena stands directly in front of the Austrian Parliament Building in Vienna, and depictions of Athena have influenced other symbols of Western freedom, including the Statue of Liberty and Britannia. For over a century, a full-scale replica of the Parthenon has stood in Nashville, Tennessee. In 1990, the curators added a gilded forty-two-foot (12.5 m) tall replica of Phidias's Athena Parthenos, built from concrete and fiberglass. The Great Seal of California bears the image of Athena kneeling next to a brown grizzly bear. Athena has occasionally appeared on modern coins, as she did on the ancient Athenian drachma. Her head appears on the $50 1915-S Panama-Pacific commemorative coin.

Modern interpretations

One of Sigmund Freud's most treasured possessions was a small, bronze sculpture of Athena, which sat on his desk. Freud once described Athena as "a woman who is unapproachable and repels all sexual desires - since she displays the terrifying genitals of the Mother." Feminist views on Athena are sharply divided; some feminists regard her as a symbol of female empowerment, while others regard her as "the ultimate patriarchal sell out... who uses her powers to promote and advance men rather than others of her sex." In contemporary Wicca, Athena is venerated as an aspect of the Goddess and some Wiccans believe that she may bestow the "Owl Gift" ("the ability to write and communicate clearly") upon her worshippers. Due to her status as one of the twelve Olympians, Athena is a major deity in Hellenismos, a Neopagan religion which seeks to authentically revive and recreate the religion of ancient Greece in the modern world.

Athena is a natural patron of universities: At Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, a statue of Athena (a replica of the original bronze one in the arts and archaeology library) resides in the Great Hall. It is traditional at exam time for students to leave offerings to the goddess with a note asking for good luck, or to repent for accidentally breaking any of the college's numerous other traditions. Pallas Athena is the tutelary goddess of the international social fraternity Phi Delta Theta. Her owl is also a symbol of the fraternity.

References

Bibliography

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Augustine, De civitate dei xviii.8-9

Cicero, De natura deorum iii.21.53, 23.59

Eusebius, Chronicon 30.21-26, 42.11-14

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Hesiod, , in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, Massachusetts., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

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External links

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Athena Goddess of wisdom, warfare, and handicraft[1] Member of the Twelve Olympians Symbol Aegis, helmet, spear, armor, Gorgoneion, chariot, distaff Tree Olive Parents Zeus and Metis [a] Siblings Aeacus, Angelos, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Dionysus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Eris, Ersa, Hebe, Helen of Troy, Hephaestus, Heracles, Hermes, Minos, Pandia, Persephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, the Graces, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses, the Moirai Children Erichthonius (adopted) Canaanite equivalent Anat Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva.

# data[].attributes.body
Goddess of  harvest
Relationship to Zeus: sister
3 Adjectives agriculture, Fertility, Sacred Law
Symbol wing serpent
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demeter

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Demeter

Goddess of the harvest, agriculture, fertility, and sacred law

Member of the Twelve Olympians

Abode
Mount Olympus

Animals

Pig, serpent, gecko, turtledove, crane, screech owl

Symbol

Cornucopia, wheat, torch, poppy, bread

Festivals

Thesmophoria, Eleusinian Mysteries

Parents

Cronus and Rhea

Siblings

Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus; Chiron ( half)

Consort

Zeus, Poseidon, Iasion, Karmanor, Mecon

Children

Persephone, Despoina, Eubuleus, Arion, Plutus, Philomelus, Iacchus, Acheron, Hecate (Orphic)

Roman equivalent
Ceres

Egyptian equivalent
Isis

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: Dēmḗtēr [dɛːmɛ́ːtɛːr]; Doric: Dāmā́tēr) is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although she is mostly known as a grain goddess, she also appeared as a goddess of health, birth, and marriage, and had connections to the Underworld. She is also called Deo (). In Greek tradition, Demeter is the second child of the Titans Rhea and Cronus, and sister to Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Like her other siblings but Zeus, she was swallowed by her father as an infant and rescued by Zeus.

Through her brother Zeus, she became the mother of Persephone, a fertility goddess. One of the most notable Homeric Hymns, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, tells the story of Persephone's abduction by Hades and Demeter's search for her. When Hades, the King of the Underworld, wished to make Persephone his wife, he abducted her from a field while she was picking flowers, with Zeus' leave. Demeter searched everywhere to find her missing daughter to no avail until she was informed that Hades had taken her to the Underworld. In response, Demeter neglected her duties as goddess of agriculture, plunging the earth into a deadly famine where nothing would grow, causing mortals to die. Zeus ordered Hades to return Persephone to her mother to avert the disaster. However, because Persephone had eaten food from the Underworld, she could not stay with Demeter forever but had to divide the year between her mother and her husband, explaining the seasonal cycle, as Demeter does not let plants grow while Persephone is gone.

Her cult titles include Sito (), "she of the Grain", as the giver of food or grain, and Thesmophoros (, thesmos: divine order, unwritten law; , phoros: bringer, bearer), "giver of customs" or "legislator", in association with the secret female-only festival called the Thesmophoria. Though Demeter is often described simply as the goddess of the harvest, she presided also over the sacred law, and the cycle of life and death. She and her daughter Persephone were the central figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries, a religious tradition that predated the Olympian pantheon and which may have its roots in the Mycenaean period c.  1400-1200 BC.

Demeter was often considered to be the same figure as the Anatolian goddess Cybele, and she was identified with the Roman goddess Ceres.

Demeter may appear in Linear A as da-ma-te on three documents ( AR Zf 1 and 2, and KY Za 2), all three dedicated to religious situations and all three bearing just the name ( i-da-ma-te on AR Zf 1 and 2). It is unlikely that Demeter appears as da-ma-te in a Linear B ( Mycenean Greek) inscription ( PY En 609); the word , da-ma-te, probably refers to "households". On the other hand, , si-to-po-ti-ni-ja, " Potnia of the Grain", is regarded as referring to her Bronze Age predecessor or to one of her epithets.

Demeter's character as mother-goddess is identified in the second element of her name meter () derived from Proto-Indo-European (PIE) *méh₂tēr (mother). In antiquity, different explanations were already proffered for the first element of her name. It is possible that Da (), a word which corresponds to Gē () in Attic, is the Doric form of De (), "earth", the old name of the chthonic earth-goddess, and that Demeter is "Mother-Earth". Liddell & Scott find this "improbable" and Beekes writes, "there is no indication that [ da] means "earth", although it has also been assumed in the name of Poseidon found in the Linear B inscription E-ne-si-da-o-ne, "earth-shaker". John Chadwick also argues that the dā element in the name of Demeter is not so simply equated with "earth".

M. L. West has proposed that the word Demeter, initially Damater, could be a borrowing from an Illyrian deity attested in the Messapic goddess Damatura, with a form dā- ("earth", from PIE *dʰǵʰ(e)m-) attached to - matura ("mother"), akin to the Illyrian god Dei-paturos ( dei-, "sky", attached to - paturos, "father"). The Lesbian form Dō- may simply reflect a different colloquial pronunciation of the non-Greek name.

Another theory suggests that the element De- might be connected with Deo, an epithet of Demeter and it could derive from the Cretan word dea (), Ionic zeia ()-variously identified with emmer, spelt, rye, or other grains by modern scholars-so that she is the Mother and the giver of food generally. This view is shared by British scholar Jane Ellen Harrison, who suggests that Démeter's name means Grain-Mother, instead of Earth-Mother. R. S. P. Beekes rejects a Greek interpretation, but not necessarily an Indo-European one.

Wanax ( wa-na-ka) was her male companion (Greek: Πάρεδρος, Paredros) in Mycenaean cult. The Arcadian cult links her to the god Poseidon, who probably substituted the male companion of the Great Goddess; Demeter may therefore be related to a Minoan Great Goddess ( Cybele).

An alternative Proto-Indo-European etymology comes through Potnia and Despoina, where Des- represents a derivative of PIE *dem (house, dome), and Demeter is "mother of the house" (from PIE *dems-méh₂tēr).

Demeter was frequently associated with images of the harvest, including flowers, fruit, and grain. She was also sometimes pictured with her daughter Persephone. However, Demeter is not generally portrayed with any of her consorts; the exception is Iasion, the youth of Crete who lay with her in a thrice-ploughed field and was killed afterward by a jealous Zeus with a thunderbolt.

Demeter is assigned the zodiac constellation Virgo, the Virgin, by Marcus Manilius in his 1st-century Roman work Astronomicon. In art, the constellation Virgo holds Spica, a sheaf of wheat in her hand and sits beside constellation Leo the Lion.

In Arcadia, she was known as "Black Demeter". She was said to have taken the form of a mare to escape the pursuit of her younger brother, Poseidon, and having been raped by him despite her disguise, she dressed all in black and retreated into a cave to mourn and to purify herself. She was consequently depicted with the head of a horse in this region.

A sculpture of the Black Demeter was made by Onatas.

In the earliest conceptions of Demeter she is the goddess of grain and threshing, however her functions were extended beyond the fields and she was often identified with the earth goddess ( Gaia). Some of the epithets of Gaia and Demeter are similar showing the identity of their nature. In most of her myths and cults, Demeter is the "Grain-mother" or the "Earth-mother. In the older chthonic cults the earth goddess was related to the Underworld and in the secret rites (mysteries) Demeter and Persephone share the double function of death and fertility. Demeter is the giver of the secret rites and the giver of the laws of cereal agriculture. She was occasionally identified with the Great mother Rhea Cybele who was worshipped in Crete and Asia Minor with the music of cymbals and violent rites. It seems that poppies were connected with the cult of the Great Mother.

Demeter, enthroned and extending her hand in a benediction toward the kneeling Metaneira, who offers the triune wheat (c. 340 BC )

The [Eleusinian trio: Persephone, Triptolemus and Demeter (Roman copy dating to the Early Imperial period and hosted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, of the Great Eleusinian relief in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens el] marble bas-relief from Eleusis, 440-430 BC.)

In epic poetry and Hesiod's , Demeter is the Grain-Mother, the goddess of cereals who provides grain for bread and blesses its harvesters. In Homer's , the blond Demeter with the help of the wind separates the grain from the chaff. Homer mentions the Thalysia a Greek harvest-festival of first fruits in honour of Demeter . In Hesiod, prayers to Zeus-Chthonios (chthonic Zeus) and Demeter help the crops grow full and strong. This was her main function at Eleusis, and she became panhellenic. In Cyprus, "grain-harvesting" was damatrizein. Demeter was the zeidoros arοura, the Homeric "Mother Earth arοura" who gave the gift of cereals ( zeai or deai).

Most of the epithets of Demeter describe her as a goddess of grain. Her name Deo in literature probably relates her with deai a Cretan word for cereals. In Attica she was called Haloas (of the threshing floor) according to the earliest conception of Demeter as the Corn-mother. She was sometimes called Chloe (ripe-grain or fresh-green) and sometimes Ioulo (ioulos : grain sheaf). Chloe was the goddess of young corn and young vegetation and "Iouloi" were harvest songs in honour of the goddess. The reapers called Demeter Amallophoros (bringer of sheaves) and Amaia (reaper). The goddess was the giver of abundance of food and she was known as Sito (of the grain) and Himalis (of abundance ). The bread from the first harvest-fruits was called thalysian bread ( Thalysia) in honour of Demeter. The sacrificial cakes burned on the altar were called "ompniai" and in Attica the goddess was known as Ompnia (related to corns). These cakes were oferred to all gods.

In some fests big loafs ( artoi) were oferred to the goddess and in Boeotia she was known as Megalartos (of the big loaf) and Megalomazos (of the big mass, or big porridge). Her function was extended to vegetation generally and to all fruits and she had the epithets eukarpos (of good crop), karpophoros (bringer of fruits), malophoros (apple bearer) and sometimes Oria (all the fruits of the season). These epithets show an identity in nature with the earth goddess.

The central theme in the Eleusinian Mysteries was the reunion of Persephone with her mother, Demeter when new crops were reunited with the old seed, a form of eternity.

According to the Athenian rhetorician Isocrates, Demeter's greatest gifts to humankind were agriculture which gave to men a civilized way of life, and the Mysteries which give the initiate higher hopes in this life and the afterlife.

These two gifts were intimately connected in Demeter's myths and mystery cults. Demeter is the giver of mystic rites and the giver of the civilized way of life (teaching the laws of agriculture). Her epithet Eleusinia relates her with the Eleusinian mysteries, however at Sparta Eleusinia had an early use, and it was probably a name rather than an epithet. Demeter Thesmophoros (law-giving) is closely associated to the laws of cereal agriculture. The festival Thesmophoria was celebrated throughout Greece and was connected to a form of agrarian magic. Near Pheneus in Arcadia she was known as Demeter- Thesmia (lawfull), and she received rites according to the local version.

Demeter's emblem is the poppy, a bright red flower that grows among the barley.

In addition to her role as an agricultural goddess, Demeter was often worshipped more generally as a goddess of the earth, from which crops spring up. Her individuality was rooted to the less developed personality of Gaia (earth). In Arcadia Demeter- Melaina (the black Demeter) was represented as snake-haired with a horse's head holding a dove and dolphin, perhaps to symbolize her power over the Underworld, the air, and the water. The cult of Demeter in the region was related to Despoina, a very old chthonic divinity. Demeter shares the double function of death and fertility with her daughter Persephone. Demeter and Persephone were called Despoinai (the mistresses) and Demeters. This duality was also used in the classical period ( Thesmophoroi, Double named goddesses) and particularly in an oath: "By the two goddesses".

In the cult of Phlya she was worshipped as Anesidora who sends up gifts from the Underworld.

In Sparta, she was known as Demeter- Chthonia (chthonic Demeter). After each death the mourning should end with a sacrifice to the goddess. Pausanias believes that her cult was introduced from Hermione, where Demeter was associated with Hades. In a local legend a hollow in the earth was the entrance to the underworld, by which the souls could pass easily. In Elis she was called Demeter- Chamyne (goddess of the ground), in an old chthonic cult associated with the descent to Hades. At Levadia the goddess was known as Demeter- and she was associated with Trophonius, an old divinity of the underworld. The oracle of Trophonius was famous in the antiquity.

Pindar uses the rare epithet Chalkokrotos (bronze sounding). Brazen musical instruments were used in the mysteries of Demeter and the Great-Mother Rhea- Cybele was also worshipped with the music of cymbals.

In central Greece Demeter was known as Amphictyonis (of the dwellers-round), in a cult of the goddess at Anthele near Thermopylae (hot gates). She was the patron goddess of an ancient Amphictyony. Thermopylae is the place of hot springs considered to be entrances to Hades, since Demeter was a chthonic goddess in the older local cults.

The Athenians called the dead "Demetrioi", and this may reflect a link between Demeter and the ancient cult of the dead, linked to the agrarian belief that a new life would sprout from the dead body, as a new plant arises from buried seed. This was most likely a belief shared by initiates in Demeter's mysteries, as interpreted by Pindar: "Blessed is he who has seen before he goes under the earth; for he knows the end of life and knows also its divine beginning."

In Arcadia Demeter had the epithets Erinys (fury) and Melaina (black) which are associated with the myth of Demeter's rape by Poseidon. The epithets stress the darker side of her character and her relation to the dark underworld, in an old chthonic cult associated with wooden structures (xoana). Erinys had a similar function with the avenging Dike (Justice). In the mysteries of Pheneus the goddess was known as Cidaria. Her priest would put on the mask of Demeter, which was kept secret. The cult may have been connected with both the Underworld and a form of agrarian magic.

Drawing of a gold ring found at Mycenae showing a seated goddess bearing three poppy seedcases

Theocritus described one of Demeter's earlier roles as that of a goddess of poppies:

For the Greeks, Demeter was still a poppy goddess
Bearing sheaves and poppies in both hands.

Karl Kerényi asserted that poppies were connected with a Cretan cult which was eventually carried to the Eleusinian Mysteries in Classical Greece. In a clay statuette from Gazi, the Minoan poppy goddess wears the seed capsules, sources of nourishment and narcosis, in her diadem. According to Kerényi, "It seems probable that the Great Mother Goddess who bore the names Rhea and Demeter, brought the poppy with her from her Cretan cult to Eleusis and it is almost certain that in the Cretan cult sphere opium was prepared from poppies."

Terracotta Demeter figurine, Sanctuary of the Underworld Divinities, Akragas, 550-500 BC

In an older tradition in Crete the vegetation cult was related with the deity of the cave. During the Bronze Age, a goddess of nature dominated both in Minoan and Mycenean cults. In the Linear B inscriptions po-ti-ni-ja (potnia) refers to the goddess of nature who was concerned with birth and vegetation and had certain chthonic apects. Some scholars believe that she was the universal mother goddess. A Linear B inscription at Knossos mentions the potnia of the labyrinth da-pu-ri-to-jo po-ti-ni-ja. Poseidon was often given the title wa-na-ka () in Linear B inscriptions in his role as King of the Underworld, and his title E-ne-si-da-o-ne indicates his chthonic nature. He was the male companion (paredros) of the goddess in the Minoan and propably Mycenean cult. In the cave of Amnisos, Enesidaon is associated with the cult of Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, who was involved with the annual birth of the divine child. Elements of this early form of worship survived in the Eleusinian cult, where the following words were uttered: "the mighty Potnia had born a strong son."

Tablets from Pylos of c. 1400 - c. 1200 BC record sacrificial goods destined for "the Two Queens and Poseidon" ("to the Two Queens and the King": wa-na-ssoi, wa-na-ka-te). The "Two Queens" may be related to Demeter and Persephone or their precursors, goddesses who were no longer associated with Poseidon in later periods. In Pylos potnia (mistress) is the major goddess of the city and "wanax " in the tablets has a similar nature with her male consort in the Minoan cult. Potnia retained some chthonic cults, and in popular religion these were related to the goddess Demeter. In Greek religion potniai(mistresses) appear in plural (like the Erinyes) and are closely related to the Eleusinian Demeter.

Probably the earliest Amphictyony centred on the cult of Demeter at Anthele (Ἀνθήλη), lay on the coast of Malis south of Thessaly, near Thermopylae.

Azes coin in India, with Demeter and Hermes, 1st century BC

"Saint Demetra"

Statue of Saint Demetra, Fitzwilliam Museum

Even after Theodosius I issued the Edict of Thessalonica and banned paganism throughout the Roman Empire, people throughout Greece continued to pray to Demeter as "Saint Demetra", patron saint of agriculture. Around 1765-1766, the antiquary Richard Chandler, alongside the architect Nicholas Revett and the painter William Pars, visited Eleusis and mentioned a statue of a Caryatid as well as the folklore that surrounded it, they stated that it was considered sacred by the locals because it protected their crops. They called the statue "Saint Demetra", a saint whose story had many similarities to the myth of Demeter and Persephone, except that her daughter had been abducted by the Turks and not by Hades. The locals covered the statue with flowers to ensure the fertility of their fields. This tradition continued until the 19th century, when the statue was forcibly removed by Edward Daniel Clarke who presented it to the University of Cambridge.

Demeter's two major festivals were sacred mysteries. Her Thesmophoria festival (11-13 October) was women-only. Her Eleusinian mysteries were open to initiates of any gender or social class. At the heart of both festivals were myths concerning Demeter as Mother and Persephone as her daughter.

In the Roman period, Demeter became conflated with the Roman agricultural goddess Ceres through interpretatio romana. The worship of Demeter has formally merged with that of Ceres around 205 BC, along with the ritus graecia cereris, a Greek-inspired form of cult, as part of Rome's general religious recruitment of deities as allies against Carthage, towards the end of the Second Punic War. The cult originated in southern Italy (part of Magna Graecia) and was probably based on the Thesmophoria, a mystery cult dedicated to Demeter and Persephone as "Mother and Maiden". It arrived along with its Greek priestesses, who were granted Roman citizenship so that they could pray to the gods "with a foreign and external knowledge, but with a domestic and civil intention". The new cult was installed in the already ancient Temple of Ceres, Liber and Libera, Rome's Aventine patrons of the plebs; from the end of the 3rd century BC, Demeter's temple at Enna, in Sicily, was acknowledged as Ceres' oldest, most authoritative cult centre, and Libera was recognized as Proserpina, Roman equivalent to Persephone. Their joint cult recalls Demeter's search for Persephone after the latter's abduction into the Underworld by Hades. At the Aventine, the new cult took its place alongside the old. It did not refer to Liber, whose open and gender-mixed cult played a central role in plebeian culture as a patron and protector of plebeian rights, freedoms and values. The exclusively female initiates and priestesses of the new " greek style" mysteries of Ceres and Proserpina were expected to uphold Rome's traditional, patrician-dominated social hierarchy and traditional morality. Unmarried girls should emulate the chastity of Proserpina, the maiden; married women should seek to emulate Ceres, the devoted and fruitful mother. Their rites were intended to secure a good harvest and increase the fertility of those who partook in the mysteries.

Beginning in the 5th century BCE in Asia Minor, Demeter was also considered equivalent to the Phrygian goddess Cybele. Demeter's festival of Thesmophoria was popular throughout Asia Minor, and the myth of Persephone and Adonis in many ways mirrors the myth of Cybele and Attis.

Some late antique sources syncretized several "great goddess" figures into a single deity. For example, the Platonist philosopher Apuleius, writing in the late 2nd century, identified Ceres (Demeter) with Isis, having her declare:

I, mother of the universe, mistress of all the elements, first-born of the ages, highest of the gods, queen of the shades, first of those who dwell in heaven, representing in one shape all gods and goddesses. My will controls the shining heights of heaven, the health-giving sea winds, and the mournful silences of hell; the entire world worships my single godhead in a thousand shapes, with divers rites, and under many a different name. The Phrygians, first-born of mankind, call me the Pessinuntian Mother of the gods; ... the ancient Eleusinians Actaean Ceres; ... and the Egyptians who excel in ancient learning, honour me with the worship which is truly mine and call me by my true name: Queen Isis.

Lineage, consorts, and offspring

Triptolemus, Demeter and Persephone by the Triptolemos-painter, c. 470 BC, Louvre

Hesiod's (c. 700 BC) describes Demeter as the second daughter and child of Cronus and Rhea. Like her sisters and two of her brothers, she was swallowed as a newborn by her father due to his fear of being overthrown by one of his children; she was freed when her youngest brother Zeus made Cronus disgorge all his children by giving him a special potion.

Demeter is notable as the mother of Persephone, described by both Hesiod and in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter as the result of a union with her younger brother Zeus. An alternate recounting of the matter appears in a fragment of the lost Orphic theogony, which preserves part of a myth in which Zeus mates with his mother, Rhea, in the form of a snake, explaining the origin of the symbol on Hermes' staff. Their daughter is said to be Persephone, whom Zeus, in turn, mates with to conceive Dionysus. According to the Orphic fragments, "After becoming the mother of Zeus, she who was formerly Rhea became Demeter."

Before her abduction by Hades, Persephone was known as Kore ("maiden"), and there is some evidence that the figures of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld and Kore, daughter of Demeter, were initially considered separate goddesses. However, they must have become conflated by the time of Hesiod in the 7th century BC. Demeter and Persephone were often worshipped together and were often referred to by joint cultic titles. In their cult at Eleusis, they were referred to simply as "the goddesses", usually distinguished as "the older" and "the younger"; in Rhodes and Sparta, they were worshipped as "the Demeters"; in the Thesmophoria, they were known as "the thesmophoroi" ("the legislators"). In Arcadia they were known as "the Great Goddesses" and "the mistresses". In Mycenaean Pylos, Demeter and Persephone were probably called the "queens" (wa-na-ssoi).

Both Homer and Hesiod, writing c. 700 BC, described Demeter making love with the agricultural hero Iasion in a ploughed field during the marriage of Cadmus and Harmonia. According to Hesiod, this union resulted in the birth of Plutus.

According to Diodorus Siculus, in his Bibliotheca historica written in the 1st century BC, Demeter and Zeus were also the parents of Dionysus. Diodorus described the myth of Dionysus' double birth (once from the earth, i.e. Demeter, when the plant sprouts) and once from the vine (when the fruit sprouts from the plant). Diodorus also related a version of the myth of Dionysus' destruction by the Titans ("sons of Gaia"), who boiled him, and how Demeter gathered up his remains so that he could be born a third time (Diod. iii.62). Diodorus states that Dionysus' birth from Zeus and his older sister Demeter was somewhat of a minority belief, possibly via conflation of Demeter with her daughter, as most sources state that the parents of Dionysus were Zeus and Persephone, and later Zeus and Semele.

Dionysus (Bacchus) and Demeter (Ceres), antique fresco in Stabiae, 1st century

In Arcadia, a major Arcadian deity known as Despoina ("Mistress") was said to be the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon. According to Pausanias, a Thelpusian tradition said that during Demeter's search for Persephone, Poseidon pursued her. Demeter turned into a horse to avoid her younger brother's advances. However, he turned into a stallion and mated with the goddess, resulting in the birth of the horse god Arion and a daughter "whose name they are not wont to divulge to the uninitiated". Elsewhere, he says that the Phigalians assert that the offspring of Poseidon and Demeter was not a horse, but Despoina, "as the Arcadians call her".

In Orphic literature, Demeter seems to be the mother of the witchcraft goddess Hecate.

The goddess took Mecon, a young Athenian, as a lover; he was at some point transformed into a poppy flower.

Demeter's daughter Persephone was abducted to the Underworld by Hades, who received permission from her father Zeus to take her as his bride. Demeter searched for her ceaselessly for nine days, preoccupied with her grief. Hecate then approached her and said that while she had not seen what happened to Persephone, she heard her screams. Together the two goddesses went to Helios, the sun god, who witnessed everything that happened on earth thanks to his lofty position. Helios then revealed to Demeter that Hades had snatched a screaming Persephone to make her his wife with the permission of Zeus, the girl's father. Demeter then filled with anger. The seasons halted; living things ceased their growth and began to die. Faced with the extinction of all life on earth, Zeus sent his messenger Hermes to the Underworld to bring Persephone back. Hades agreed to release her if she had eaten nothing while in his realm, but Persephone had eaten a small number of pomegranate seeds. This bound her to Hades and the Underworld for certain months of every year, most likely the dry Mediterranean summer, when plant life is threatened by drought, despite the popular belief that it is autumn or winter. There are several variations on the basic myth; the earliest account, the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, relates that Persephone is secretly slipped a pomegranate seed by Hades and in Ovid's version, Persephone willingly and secretly eats the pomegranate seeds, thinking to deceive Hades, but is discovered and made to stay. Contrary to popular perception, Persephone's time in the Underworld does not correspond with the unfruitful seasons of the ancient Greek calendar, nor her return to the upper world with springtime. Demeter's descent to retrieve Persephone from the Underworld is connected to the Eleusinian Mysteries.

Demeter rejoiced, for her daughter was by her side.

The myth of the capture of Persephone seems to be pre-Greek. In the Greek version, Ploutos (πλούτος, wealth) represents the wealth of the corn that was stored in underground silos or ceramic jars ( pithoi). Similar subterranean pithoi were used in ancient times for funerary practices. At the beginning of the autumn, when the corn of the old crop is laid on the fields, she ascends and is reunited with her mother, Demeter, for at this time, the old crop and the new meet each other.

A Greek terracotta figurine of Baubo, of the face-in-torso type

In the Orphic tradition, while she was searching for her daughter, a mortal woman named Baubo received Demeter as her guest and offered her a meal and wine. Demeter declined them both because she mourned the loss of Persephone. Baubo then, thinking she had displeased the goddess, lifted her skirt and showed her genitalia to the goddess, simultaneously revealing Iacchus, Demeter's son. Demeter was most pleased with the sight and delighted she accepted the food and wine. This tale survives in the account of Clement of Alexandria, a Christian who tried to discredit pagan practices and mythology. However, several Baubo figurines (figurines of women revealing their vulvas) have been discovered, supporting the story.

Demeter's search for her daughter Persephone took her to the palace of Celeus, the King of Eleusis in Attica. She assumed the form of an old woman and asked him for shelter. He took her in, to nurse Demophon and Triptolemus, his sons by Metanira. To reward his kindness, she planned to make Demophon immortal; she secretly anointed the boy with ambrosia and laid him in the hearth's flames to gradually burn away his mortal self. But Metanira walked in, saw her son in the fire and screamed in fright. Demeter abandoned the attempt. Instead, she taught Triptolemus the secrets of agriculture, and he, in turn, taught them to any who wished to learn them. Thus, humanity learned how to plant, grow and harvest grain. The myth has several versions; some are linked to figures such as Eleusis, Rarus and Trochilus. The Demophon element may be based on an earlier folk tale.

Homer's (c. late 8th century BC) contains perhaps the earliest direct references to the myth of Demeter and her consort Iasion, a Samothracian hero whose name may refer to bindweed, a small white flower that frequently grows in wheat fields. In the Odyssey, Calypso describes how Demeter, "without disguise", made love to Iasion. "So it was when Demeter of the braided tresses followed her heart and lay in love with Iasion in the triple-furrowed field; Zeus was aware of it soon enough and hurled the bright thunderbolt and killed him." However, Ovid states that Iasion lived up to old age as the husband of Demeter. In ancient Greek culture, part of the opening of each agricultural year involved the cutting of three furrows in the field to ensure its fertility.

Roman copy of 4th century BC Greek bust (National Roman Museum)

In Arcadia, located in what is now southern Greece, the major goddess Despoina was considered the daughter of Demeter and Poseidon Hippios (" Horse-Poseidon"). In the associated myths, Poseidon represents the river spirit of the Underworld, and he appears as a horse, as often happens in northern European folklore. The myth describes how he pursued his older sister, Demeter, who hid from him among the horses of the king Onkios, but even in the form of a mare, she could not conceal her divinity. Poseidon caught and raped his older sister in the form of a stallion. Demeter was furious at Poseidon's assault; in this furious form, she became known as Demeter Erinys. Her anger at Poseidon drove her to dress all in black and retreat into a cave to purify herself, an act which was the cause of a universal famine. Demeter's absence caused the death of crops, livestock, and eventually of the people who depended on them (later Arcadian tradition held that it was both her rage at Poseidon and her loss of her daughter caused the famine, merging the two myths). Demeter washed away her anger in the River Ladon, becoming Demeter Lousia, the "bathed Demeter".

"In her alliance with Poseidon," Kerényi noted, "she was Earth, who bears plants and beasts, and could therefore assume the shape of an ear of grain or a mare." Moreover, she bore a daughter Despoina (: the "Mistress"), whose name should not be uttered outside the Arcadian Mysteries, and a horse named Arion, with a black mane and tail.

At Phigaleia, a (wood-carved statue) of Demeter was erected in a cave which, tradition held, was the cave into which Black Demeter retreated. The statue depicted a Medusa-like figure with a horse's head and snake-like hair, holding a dove and a dolphin, which probably represented her power over air and water:

The second mountain, Mount Elaius, is some thirty stades away from Phigalia, and has a cave sacred to Demeter surnamed Black ... the Phigalians say, they concluded that this cavern was sacred to Demeter and set up in it a wooden image. The image, they say, was made after this fashion. It was seated on a rock, like to a woman in all respects save the head. She had the head and hair of a horse, and there grew out of her head images of serpents and other beasts. Her tunic reached right to her feet; on one of her hands was a dolphin, on the other a dove. Now why they had the image made after this fashion is plain to any intelligent man who is learned in traditions. They say that they named her Black because the goddess had black apparel. They cannot relate either who made this wooden image or how it caught fire. But the old image was destroyed, and the Phigalians gave the goddess no fresh image, while they neglected for the most part her festivals and sacrifices, until the barrenness fell on the land.

Demeter orders Famine to strike Erysichthon, Elisha Whittelsey Collection

Another myth involving Demeter's rage resulting in famine is that of Erysichthon, king of Thessaly. The myth tells of Erysichthon ordering all of the trees in one of Demeter's sacred groves to be cut down, as he wanted to build an extension of his palace and hold feasts there. One tree, a huge oak, was covered with votive wreaths, symbols of the prayers Demeter had granted, so Erysichthon's men refused to cut it down. The king used an axe to cut it down, killing a dryad nymph in the process. The nymph's dying words were a curse on Erysichthon. Demeter punished the king by calling upon Limos, the spirit of unrelenting and insatiable hunger, to enter his stomach. The more the king ate, the hungrier he became. Erysichthon sold all his possessions to buy food but was still hungry. Finally, he sold his daughter, Mestra, into slavery. Mestra was freed from slavery by her former lover, Poseidon, who gave her the gift of shape-shifting into any creature to escape her bonds. Erysichthon used her shape-shifting ability to sell her numerous times to make more money to feed himself, but no amount of food was enough. Eventually, Erysichthon ate himself.

In a variation, Erysichthon tore down a temple of Demeter, wishing to build a roof for his house; she punished him the same way, and near the end of his life, she sent a snake to plague him. Afterwards, Demeter put him among the stars (the constellation Ophiuchus), as she did the snake, to continue to inflict its punishment on Erysichthon.

In the Pergamon Altar, which depicts the battle of the gods against the Giants ( Gigantomachy), survive remains of what seems to have been Demeter fighting a Giant labelled "Erysichthon." Demeter is also depicted fighting against the Giants next to Hermes in the Suessula Gigantomachy vase, now housed in the Louvre Museum. Usually, ancient depictions of the Gigantomachy tend to exclude Demeter due to her non-martial nature.

Demeter in an ancient Greek fresco from Panticapaeum, 1st century Crimea.

While travelling far and wide looking for her daughter, Demeter arrived exhausted in Attica. A woman named Misme took her in and offered her a cup of water with pennyroyal and barley groats, for it was a hot day. Demeter, in her thirst, swallowed the drink clumsily. Witnessing that, Misme's son Ascalabus laughed, mocked her, and asked her if she would like a deep jar of that drink. Demeter then poured her drink over him and turned him into a gecko, hated by both men and gods. It was said that Demeter showed her favour to those who killed geckos.

Before Hades abducted her daughter, he had kept the nymph Minthe as his mistress. But after he married Persephone, he set Minthe aside. Minthe would often brag about being lovelier than Persephone and say Hades would soon come back to her and kick Persephone out of his halls. Demeter, hearing that, grew angry and trampled Minthe; from the earth then sprang a lovely-smelling herb named after the nymph. In other versions, Persephone herself is the one who kills and turns Minthe into a plant for sleeping with Hades.

In an Argive myth, when Demeter arrived in Argolis, a man named Colontas refused to receive her in his house, whereas his daughter Chthonia disapproved of his actions. Colontas was punished by being burnt along with his house, while Demeter took Chthonia to Hermione, where she built a sanctuary for the goddess.

Demeter pinned Ascalaphus under a rock for reporting, as sole witness, to Hades that Persephone had consumed some pomegranate seeds. Later, after Heracles rolled the stone off Ascalaphus, Demeter turned him into a short-eared owl instead.

Once, the Colchian princess Medea ended a famine that plagued Corinth by making sacrifices to Demeter and the nymphs.

Head of a statue of Demeter, marble, Roman imperial period, 2nd century CE

Demeter gave Triptolemus her serpent-drawn chariot and seed and bade him scatter it across the earth (teach humankind the knowledge of agriculture). Triptolemus rode through Europe and Asia until he came to the land of Lyncus, a Scythian king. Lyncus pretended to offer what's accustomed of hospitality to him, but once Triptolemus fell asleep, he attacked him with a dagger, wanting to take credit for his work. Demeter then saved Triptolemus by turning Lyncus into a lynx and ordered Triptolemus to return home airborne. Hyginus records a very similar myth, in which Demeter saves Triptolemus from an evil king named Carnabon who additionally seized Triptolemus' chariot and killed one of the dragons, so he might not escape; Demeter restored the chariot to Triptolemus, substituted the dead dragon with another one, and punished Carnabon by putting him among the stars holding a dragon as if to kill it.

During her wanderings, Demeter came upon the town of Pheneus; to the Pheneates that received her warmly and offered her shelter, she gave all sorts of pulse, except for beans, deeming it impure. Two of the Pheneates, Trisaules and Damithales, had a temple of Demeter built for her. Demeter also gifted a fig tree to Phytalus, an Eleusinian man, for welcoming her in his home.

In the tale of Eros and Psyche, Demeter, along with her sister Hera, visited Aphrodite, raging with fury about the girl who had married her son. Aphrodite asks the two to search for her; the two try to talk sense into her, arguing that her son is not a little boy, although he might appear as one, and there's no harm in him falling in love with Psyche. Aphrodite took offence at their words. Sometime later, Psyche in her wanderings came across an abandoned shrine of Demeter, and sorted out the neglected sickles and harvest implements she found there. As she was doing so, Demeter appeared to her and called from afar; she warned the girl of Aphrodite's great wrath and her plan to take revenge on her. Then Psyche begged the goddess to help her, but Demeter answered that she could not interfere and incur Aphrodite's anger at her, and for that reason, Psyche had to leave the shrine or else be kept as a captive of hers.

Hierax, a man of justice and distinction, set up sanctuaries for Demeter and received plenteous harvests from her in return. When the tribe neglected Poseidon favour of Demeter, the sea god destroyed all of her crops, so Hierax sent them instead his own food and was transformed into a hawk by Poseidon.

Besides giving gifts to those who were welcoming to her, Demeter was also a goddess who nursed the young; all of Plemaeus's children born by his first wife died in a cradle; Demeter took pity on him and reared herself his son Orthopolis. Plemaeus built a temple to her to thank her. Demeter also raised Trophonius, the prophetic son of either Apollo or Erginus.

Demeter seems to have accompanied Dionysus when he descended into the Underworld to retrieve his mother Semele in order to visit her now married daughter, and perhaps lead her back to the land of the living for the remainder of the year. In many vases from Athens Dionysus is seen in the company of mother and daughter.

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Hesiod, Works and Days, in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

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Homer, The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter, in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Hyginus, Gaius Julius, , in The Myths of Hyginus, edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. Online version at ToposText.

Kerényi, Karl (1951), The Gods of the Greeks, Thames and Hudson, London, 1951.

Lycophron, Alexandra in Callimachus and Lycophron with an English translation by A. W. Mair; Aratus, with an English translation by G. R. Mair, London: W. Heinemann, New York: G. P. Putnam 1921. Internet Archive.

McKay, Kenneth John, Erysichthon, Brill Archive, 1962.

Morford, Mark P. O., Robert J. Lenardon, Classical Mythology, Eighth Edition, Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-19-530805-1.

Nilsson Martin P. Die Geschichte der Griechieschen Religion Vol I, C.H Beck's Verlag Munchen, 1967

Ovid. Metamorphoses, Volume I: Books 1-8. Translated by Frank Justus Miller. Revised by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library No. 42. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1977, first published 1916. ISBN 978-0-674-99046-3. Online version at Harvard University Press.

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Smith, Tyler Jo; Plantzos, Dimitris (18 June 2018). A Companion to Greek Art. Wiley Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-8604-9.

Robertson N.D, New light in Demeters mysteries. The festival Petrosia in GRBS37 (1996) p. 319-379

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Dalby, Andrew (2005), The Story of Bacchus, London: British Museum Press, ISBN 0-7141-2255-6

Kerenyi, Karl (1967). Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter. Translated by Ralph Manheim. New York City, New York: Pantheon Books.

J. Paul Getty Museum (1983). Greek Vases in the J. Paul Getty Museum. Vol. 1. Malibu, California: Getty Publications. ISBN 0-89236-058-5. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023.

Hymn to Demeter, Ancient Greek and English text, Interlinear Translation edited & adapted from the 1914 prose translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, with Greek-English glossary, notes and illustrations.

Foley P. Helene, The Homeric hymn to Demeter: translation, commentary, and interpretive essays, Princeton Univers. Press, 1994. with Ancient Greek text and English translation.

Text of Homeric Hymn to Demeter

Online book of Martin P. Nilsson, Greek Popular Religion

"The Political Cosmology of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter"

"The Sophian Prayer to Demeter"

The Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Demeter)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Demeter Goddess of the harvest, agriculture, fertility, and sacred law Member of the Twelve Olympians Abode Mount Olympus Animals Pig, serpent, gecko, turtledove, crane, screech owl Symbol Cornucopia, wheat, torch, poppy, bread Festivals Thesmophoria, Eleusinian Mysteries Parents Cronus and Rhea Siblings Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Zeus; Chiron ( half) Consort

# data[].attributes.body
God of fruitfulness and vegetation
Relationship to Zeus: son
3 Adjectives fertility and wine
Symbol thyrsus
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysus

# data[].attributes.body
God of dead and underworld
Relationship to Zeus: brother
3 Adjectives stern and pitiless, unmoved by prayer or sacrifice
Symbol cornucopia
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hades

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hades

King of the underworld

God of the dead and riches

Abode
Greek underworld

Symbol

Cornucopia, Cypress, Narcissus, keys, serpent, mint plant, white poplar, dog, pomegranate, sheep, cattle, screech owl, horse, chariot

Parents

Cronus and Rhea

Siblings

Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Zeus

Consort
Persephone

Children

Macaria, and in some cases Melinoë, Zagreus and the Erinyes

Roman equivalent

Pluto, Dis Pater, Orcus

Hades (; Greek: , Háidēs, Attic Greek: or ), in the ancient Greek religion and mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also made him the last son to be regurgitated by his father. He and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, defeated their father's generation of gods, the Titans, and claimed joint rulership over the cosmos. Hades received the underworld, Zeus the sky, and Poseidon the sea, with the solid earth (long the province of Gaia) available to all three concurrently. In artistic depictions, Hades is typically portrayed holding a bident and wearing his helm with Cerberus, the three-headed guard-dog of the underworld, standing at his side.

Roman-era mythographers eventually equated the Etruscan god Aita and the Roman gods Dis Pater and Orcus with Hades and merged all these figures into Pluto, a Latinisation of Plouton ( Greek: , Ploútōn), itself a euphemistic title (meaning "the rich one") often given to Hades.

The origin of Hades' name is uncertain but has generally been seen as meaning "the unseen one" since antiquity. An extensive section of Plato's dialogue Cratylus is devoted to the etymology of the god's name, in which Socrates is arguing for a folk etymology not from "unseen" but from "his knowledge () of all noble things". Modern linguists have proposed the Proto-Greek form * Awides ("unseen"). The earliest attested form is Aḯdēs (), which lacks the proposed digamma. Martin Litchfield West argues instead for an original meaning of "the one who presides over meeting up" from the universality of death.

Hades (right) and Persephone (left). Detail from an Attic red-figure amphora, c. 470 BC. From Italy

Perhaps from fear of pronouncing his name, around the 5th century BC, the Greeks started referring to Hades as Plouton ( Ploútōn, ), with a root meaning "wealthy", considering that from the abode below (i.e., the soil) come riches (e.g., fertile crops, metals and so on). Plouton became the Roman god who both rules the underworld and distributed riches from below. This deity was a mixture of the Greek god Hades and the Eleusinian icon Ploutos, and from this he also received a priestess, which was not previously practiced in Greece. More elaborate names of the same genre were Ploutodótēs (Πλουτοδότης , [pluː.toˈdo.tεːs]) or Ploutodotḗr (Πλουτοδοτήρ , [pluː.to.doˈtεːr]), meaning "giver of wealth".

He was also referred to as Zeus katachthonios (Ζεὺς καταχθόνιος, [zdeu̯s ka.taˈkʰtʰo.ni.os]), meaning "the Zeus of the underworld", by those avoiding his actual name, as he had complete control over the underworld.

Early years

Pinax with Persephone and Hades Enthroned, 500-450 BC, Greek, Locri Epizephirii, Mannella district, Sanctuary of Persephone, terracotta - Cleveland Museum of Art

In Greek mythology, Hades, the god of the Greek underworld, was the first-born son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. He had three older sisters, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, as well as a younger brother, Poseidon, all of whom had been swallowed whole by their father as soon as they were born. Zeus was the youngest child and through the machinations of their mother, Rhea, he was the only one that had escaped this fate. Upon reaching adulthood, Zeus managed to force his father to disgorge his siblings. After their release, the six younger gods, along with allies they managed to gather, challenged the elder gods for power in the Titanomachy, a divine war. The war lasted for ten years and ended with the victory of the younger gods. Following their victory, according to a single famous passage in the ( Book XV, ln.187-93), Hades and his two brothers, Poseidon and Zeus, drew lots for realms to rule. Zeus received the sky, Poseidon received the seas, and Hades received the underworld, the unseen realm to which the souls of the dead go upon leaving the world as well as any and all things beneath the earth.

Hades obtained his wife and queen, Persephone, through abduction at the behest of Zeus.[citation needed ] This myth is the most important one Hades takes part in; it also connected the Eleusinian Mysteries with the Olympian pantheon, particularly as represented in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, which is the oldest story of the abduction, most likely dating back to the beginning of the 6th century BC. Helios told the grieving Demeter that Hades was not an unworthy groom or son-in-law given his status among the gods, as her own brother and king on his own right:

But, Goddess, give up your strong grief; let go
of your infinite anger. Hades isn't an unsuitable
son-in-law among the gods: Lord of the Many Dead,
your own brother from the same seed. As for honor,
he won the third share back when the division was made
and now lives among those whom he was allotted to rule."

King of the underworld

Hades and Persephone, 1864

Despite modern connotations of death as evil, Hades was actually more altruistically inclined in mythology. Hades was portrayed as passive and never portrayed negatively; his role was often maintaining relative balance. That said, he was also depicted as cold and stern, and he held all of his subjects equally accountable to his laws. Any other individual aspects of his personality are not given, as Greeks refrained from giving him much thought to avoid attracting his attention.

Red figure volute krater with scene of the underworld, follower of the Baltimore Painter, Hermitage

Hades ruled the dead, assisted by others over whom he had complete authority. The House of Hades was described as full of "guests," though he rarely left the underworld. He cared little about what happened in the world above, as his primary attention was ensuring none of his subjects ever left his domain.

He strictly forbade his subjects to leave his domain and would become quite enraged when anyone tried to leave, or if someone tried to steal the souls from his realm. His wrath was equally terrible for anyone who tried to cheat death or otherwise crossed him, as Sisyphus and Pirithous found out to their sorrow. While usually indifferent to his subjects, Hades was very focused on the punishment of these two people; particularly Pirithous, as he entered the underworld in an attempt to steal Persephone for himself, and consequently was forced onto the "Chair of Forgetfulness". Another myth is about the Greek god Asclepius who was originally a demigod, son of Apollo and Coronis, a Thessalian princess. During his lifetime, he became a famous and talented physician, who eventually was able to bring the dead back to life. Feeling cheated, Plouton persuaded Zeus to kill him with a thunderbolt. After his death, he was brought to Olympus where he became a god. Hades was only depicted outside of the underworld once in myth, and even that is believed to have been an instance where he had just left the gates of the underworld, which was when Heracles shot him with an arrow as Hades was attempting to defend the city of Pylos. After he was shot, however, he traveled to Olympus to heal. Besides Heracles, the only other living people who ventured to the underworld were also heroes: Odysseus, Aeneas (accompanied by the Sibyl), Orpheus, to whom Hades showed uncharacteristic mercy at Persephone's urging, who was moved by Orpheus' music, Theseus with Pirithous, and, in a late romance, Psyche. None of them were pleased with what they witnessed in the realm of the dead. In particular, the Greek war hero Achilles, whom Odysseus conjured with a blood libation, said:

O shining Odysseus, never try to console me for dying.
I would rather follow the plow as thrall to another
man, one with no land allotted to him and not much to live on,
than be a king over all the perished dead.

-  Achilles' soul to Odysseus. Homer, 11.488-491 (Lattimore translation)

Abduction of Persephone

Cinerary altar with tabula representing the rape of Proserpina. White marble, Antonine Era, 2nd century CE.

Persephone and Hades: tondo of an Attic red-figured kylix, ca. 440-430 BC

A fresco showing Hades and Persephone riding in a chariot, from the tomb of Queen Eurydice I of Macedon at Vergina, Greece, 4th century BC

Oil painting of Hades abducting Persephone. 18th Century. Oil on wood with gilt background. Property of Missing Link Antiques.

The consort of Hades was Persephone, daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Persephone did not submit to Hades willingly, but was abducted by him while picking flowers in the fields of Nysa (her father, Zeus, had previously given Persephone to Hades, to be his wife, as is stated in the first lines of the Homeric Hymn to Demeter). In protest of his act, Demeter cast a curse on the land and there was a great famine; though, one by one, the gods came to request she lift it, lest mankind perish and cause the gods to be deprived of their receiving gifts and sacrifices, Demeter asserted that the earth would remain barren until she saw her daughter again. Zeus then sends for his son, Hermes, and instructs him to go down to the underworld in hopes that he may be able to convince Hades to allow Persephone to return to Earth, so that Demeter might see Persephone and cause the famine to stop. Hermes obeys and goes down to Hades' realm, wherein he finds Hades seated upon a couch, Persephone seated next to him. Hermes relays Zeus' message, and Hades complies, saying,

Go now, Persephone, to your dark-robed mother, go, and feel kindly in your heart towards me: be not so exceedingly cast down; for I shall be no unfitting husband for you among the deathless gods, that am own brother to father Zeus. And while you are here, you shall rule all that lives and moves and shall have the greatest rights among the deathless gods: those who defraud you and do not appease your power with offerings, reverently performing rites and paying fit gifts, shall be punished for evermore.

Afterwards, Hades readies his chariot, but not before he secretly gives Persephone a pomegranate seed to eat; Hermes takes the reins, and he and Persephone make their way to the Earth above, coming to a halt in front of Demeter's temple at Eleusis, where the goddess has been waiting. Demeter and Persephone run towards each other and embrace one another, happy that they are reunited. Demeter, however, suspects that Persephone may have eaten food while down in the underworld, and so she questions Persephone, saying:

My child, tell me, surely you have not tasted any food while you were below? Speak out and hide nothing, but let us both know. For if you have not, you shall come back from loathly Hades and live with me and your father, the dark-clouded son of Cronos and be honored by all the deathless gods; but if you have tasted food, you must go back again beneath the secret places of the earth, there to dwell a third part of the seasons every year: yet for the two parts you shall be with me and the other deathless gods. But when the earth shall bloom with the fragrant flowers of spring in every kind, then from the realm of darkness and gloom thou shalt come up once more to be a wonder for gods and mortal men. And now tell me how he rapt you away to the realm of darkness and gloom, and by what trick did the strong Host of Many beguile you?

Hades abducting Persephone, fresco in the small Macedonian royal tomb at Vergina, Macedonia, Greece, c. 340 BC

Persephone does admit that she ate the food of the dead, as she tells Demeter that Hades gave her a pomegranate seed and forced her to eat it. Persephone's eating the pomegranate seed binds her to Hades and the underworld, much to the dismay of Demeter. Zeus, however, had previously proposed a compromise, to which all parties had agreed: of the year, Persephone would spend one third with her husband.

It is during this time, when Persephone is down in the underworld with her husband, that winter falls upon the earth, "an aspect of sadness and mourning."

Visitors in the underworld

The hero Orpheus once descended into the underworld in search of his late wife Eurydice, who died when a snake bit her. So lovely was the music he played that it charmed even Hades (as well as his wife Persephone), who allowed him to take Eurydice to the land of the living, as long as he did not look back at her on his way out.

In another story, Theseus and Pirithous pledged to kidnap and marry daughters of Zeus. Theseus chose Helen and together they kidnapped her and decided to hold onto her until she was old enough to marry. Pirithous chose Persephone. They left Helen with Theseus' mother, Aethra, and traveled to the underworld. Hades knew of their plan to capture his wife, so he pretended to offer them hospitality and set a feast; as soon as the pair sat down, snakes coiled around their feet and held them there. Theseus was eventually rescued by Heracles but Pirithous remained trapped as punishment for daring to seek the wife of a god for his own. According to a scholium on Aristophanes' by John Tzetzes, Euripides in a now lost play Pirithous had Pirithous, for having tried to abduct Persephone, fed to Cerberus.

Hades abducts Persephone, pot made and found in Taranto, 350-325 BC

Sisyphus was a mortal king from Corinth who was punished in Tartarus for revealing to the river god Asopus the whereabouts of his daughter Aegina after Zeus abducted her, and for trying to cheat death as well. Zeus, angry at Sisyphus for revealing the secret, sent Thanatos to Sisyphus, but he cleverly cast Death into his own bonds, and as a result no one could die until Ares freed Thanatos and delivered Sisyphus to him. But still, Sisyphus ordered his wife Merope not to perform any funeral rites for him and what else was accustomed as tribute to the underworld gods before he was brought to Hades. After some time that Merope had not offered proper honours, Hades learnt of this, and allowed Sisyphus to return to the world of the living so that he could punish his wife, with the understanding that he would return afterwards. Sisyphus, however, never returned as promised until years later, when he died of old age. Hades punished Sisyphus by making him roll a boulder up a hill in the underworld; but every time he reached the top, the boulder would roll down again and again. In another version, it is Persephone who lets him out.

Heracles' final labour was to capture Cerberus. First, Heracles went to Eleusis to be initiated into the Eleusinian Mysteries. He did this to absolve himself of guilt for killing the centaurs and to learn how to enter and exit the underworld alive. He found the entrance to the underworld at Taenarum. Athena and Hermes helped him through and back from Hades. Heracles asked Hades for permission to take Cerberus. Hades agreed as long as Heracles did not harm Cerberus. When Heracles dragged the dog out of Hades, he passed through the cavern Acherusia. In the myth of Admetus and Alcestis, after Alcestis chose to die in place of her husband Admetus in order to save him, Heracles brought her back from the dead by fighting and defeating Hades. In other versions, like Euripides' play , Heracles fought Thanatos instead. At another time, Heracles sieged the town of Pylos and during the fight he wounded Hades, who had sided with the Pylians. In great pain, Hades went to Olympus to be healed by the physician of the gods, Paean.

Lovers of Hades

Leuce was the most beautiful of the nymphs and a daughter of Oceanus. Hades fell in love with her and abducted her to the underworld. She lived out the span of her life in his realm, and when she died, the god sought consolation by creating a suitable memorial of their love: in the Elysian Fields where the pious spend their afterlife, he brought a white tree into existence. It was this tree with which Heracles crowned himself to celebrate his return from the underworld.

Minthe was a nymph of the river Cocytus who became Hades' mistress. A jealous Persephone trampled the nymph under her foot, transforming her into garden mint in the process. According to a scholiast on Nicander, Hades turned his dead lover into the mint herb after Persephone tore her into pieces for sleeping with him. In another version, Hades had kept Minthe as his mistress before he married Persephone, and set her aside afterwards. Minthe boasted of being more beautiful than Persephone, and that Hades would soon take her back. In anger over the hubris directed toward her daughter, Demeter trampled Minthe and turned her into mint.

Theophile was a girl who claimed that Hades loved her and that she was better than Persephone.

Other works

The Abduction of Persephone by Pluto, Amphipolis, Greece.

Once, when a plague hit Aonia, a region in Boeotia, the people consulted the Oracle of Delphi, and the god replied that they should make an appeal to the gods of the underworld; they had to sacrifice two young maidens to appease the anger of Hades and Persephone. The girls that were chosen were Menippe and Metioche, the daughters of Orion. The girls accepted solemnly in order to save their countrymen. As they were led to the altar to be sacrificed, Hades and Persephone took pity in both of them, and transformed them into comets.

In some versions Hades is considered the master of the goddesses of Fate, not his brother Zeus and the god who designates the end and origin of all things and orders the alternation of birth and destruction, the arbiter of life and death. This relationship is very clear in Roman epics like Statius's , where they are mentioned taking souls to be judged by Hades and inflicting severe punishments or in Claudian's De raptu Proserpinae where they appear begging their master not to release the Titans and saying everything they do is for him, after Hades threatens Zeus to release the Titans against him if he does not give him a wife.

Hades is considered the father of the Furies in some versions, but the mother's identity varies. in Virgil's their mother is the night goddess Nyx and in the Orphic Hymns their mother is Persephone by Hades. One of the rare occasions when he appears interacting with them is in Statius's , when Hades orders Tisiphone to punish humans for having invaded the underworld. He is said to hate Alecto, even though she is one of his children.

In contrast to many of his other classical representations the satirical author Lucian of Samosata presents Hades in a more positive and even comic way. In his Dialogues of the Dead, he is represented trying to solve problems of some famous mythological figures and one of the most outstanding dialogues is with Protesilaus, one of the Greek heroes killed in the Trojan War. In this conversation Protesilaus asks him to be reunited with his (still living) lover, and brings up as example that Hades did the same for Admetus and Alcestis, Orpheus and Eurydice, and that he himself also knows what being in love is like. Hades is skeptical, but Persephone manages to persuade him.

According to Hesiod, when the monstrous Typhon attacked the Olympian gods, Hades is said to have trembled in fear in the underworld while Zeus fought Typhon above.

In one of Plato's dialogues, Socrates talks about Hades as a figure capable of making everyone fall by his enchantments and that is why no one ever leaves the underworld, including the sirens.

Cult and epithets

Hades and Cerberus, in Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1888

Hades, as the god of the dead, was a fearsome figure to those still living; in no hurry to meet him, they were reluctant to swear oaths in his name, and averted their faces when sacrificing to him. Since to many, simply to say the word "Hades" was frightening, euphemisms were pressed into use. Since precious minerals come from under the earth (i.e., the "underworld" ruled by Hades), he was considered to have control of these as well, and as such the Greeks referred to him as Πλούτων (Greek Plouton; Latin PLVTO, Pluto, "the rich one"). This title is derived from the word Ploutos ( Ancient Greek: Πλοῦτος, Ploútos, 'wealth, riches', ). Sophocles explained the notion of referring to Hades as Plouton with these words: "the gloomy Hades enriches himself with our sighs and our tears." In addition, he was called Clymenus (, Klýmenos, ' infamous', ), Polydegmon (Πολυδέγμων , Polydégmon, 'host of many', Eubuleus (, [po.lyˈdeg.mɔːn]), and perhaps Eubouleús, 'good counsel', epithets.[eu̯.buːˈleu̯s]), all of them euphemisms for a name that was unsafe to pronounce, which evolved into

He spent most of the time in his dark realm. Formidable in battle, he proved his ferocity in the famous Titanomachy, the battle of the Olympians versus the Titans, which established the rule of Zeus.

Feared and loathed, Hades embodied the inexorable finality of death: "Why do we loathe Hades more than any god, if not because he is so adamantine and unyielding?" The rhetorical question is Agamemnon's. Hades was not, however, an evil god, for although he was stern, cruel, and unpitying, he was still just. Hades ruled the underworld and was therefore most often associated with death and feared by men, but he was not Death itself - it is Thanatos, son of Nyx and Erebus, who is the actual personification of death, although Euripides' play " Alkestis" states fairly clearly that Thanatos and Hades were one and the same deity, and gives an interesting description of Hades as being dark-cloaked and winged; moreover, Hades was also referred to as Hesperos Theos ("god of death & darkness").

When the Greeks propitiated Hades, they banged their hands on the ground to be sure he would hear them. Black animals, such as sheep, were sacrificed to him. While some suggest the very vehemence of the rejection of human sacrifice expressed in myth might imply an unspoken memory of some distant past, there is no direct evidence of such a turn. The blood from all chthonic sacrifices including those to propitiate Hades dripped into a pit or cleft in the ground. The person who offered the sacrifice had to avert his face.

One ancient source says that he possessed the Cap of invisibility. His chariot, drawn by four black horses, made for a fearsome and impressive sight. These beasts were variously named as, according to Claudian: Orphnaeus, Aethon, Nycteus and Alastor while other authors listed also: Nonius, Ametheus, Abastor, Abetor and Metheus. His other ordinary attributes were the narcissus and cypress plants, the Key of Hades and Cerberus, the three-headed dog. In certain portraits, snakes also appeared to be attributed to Hades as he was occasionally portrayed to be either holding them or accompanied by them. This is believed to hold significance as in certain classical sources Hades ravished Kore in the guise of a snake, who went on to give birth to Zagreus-Dionysus. While bearing the name 'Zeus', Zeus Olympios, the great king of the gods, noticeably differs from the Zeus Meilichios, a decidedly chthonian character, often portrayed as a snake, and as seen beforehand, they cannot be different manifestations of the same god, in fact whenever 'another Zeus' is mentioned, this always refers to Hades. Zeus Meilichios and Zeus Eubouleus are often referred to as being alternate names for Hades.

The philosopher Heraclitus, unifying opposites, declared that Hades and Dionysus, the very essence of indestructible life , are the same god. Among other evidence, Karl Kerényi notes in his book that the Homeric Hymn To Demeter, votive marble images and epithets all link Hades to being Dionysus. He also notes that the grieving goddess Demeter refused to drink wine, as she states that it would be against themis for her to drink wine, which is the gift of Dionysus, after Persephone's abduction, because of this association; indicating that Hades may in fact have been a "cover name" for the underworld Dionysus. He suggests that this dual identity may have been familiar to those who came into contact with the Mysteries. Dionysus also shared several epithets with Hades such as Chthonios ("the subterranean"), Eubouleus ("Good Counselor"), and Euclius ("glorious" or "renowned") .

Bust of Eubouleus in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens.

Evidence for a cult connection is quite extensive, particularly in southern Italy, especially when considering the death symbolism included in Dionysian worship; statues of Dionysus found in the Ploutonion at Eleusis gives further evidence as the statue bears a striking resemblance to the statue of Eubouleus also known as the youthful depiction of the Lord of the underworld. The statue of Eubouleus is described as being radiant but disclosing a strange inner darkness. Ancient portrayals show Dionysus holding in his hand a kantharos, a wine-jar with large handles, and occupying the place where one would expect to see Hades. Archaic artist Xenocles portrayed on one side of a vase, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, each with his emblems of power; with Hades' head turned back to front and, on the other side, Dionysus striding forward to meet his bride Persephone, with a kantharos in his hand, against a background of grapes.

Both Hades and Dionysus were associated with a divine tripartite deity with Zeus. The Orphics in particular believed that Zeus and Hades were the same deity and portrayed them as such. Zeus was portrayed as having an incarnation in the underworld identifying him as literally being Hades and leading to Zeus and Hades essentially being two representations and different facets of the same god and extended divine power. This nature and aspect of Hades and Zeus displayed in the Orphic stories is the explanation for why both Hades and Zeus are considered to be the father of Melinoë and Zagreus. The role of unifying Hades, Zeus and Dionysus as a single tripartite god was used to represent the birth, death and resurrection of a deity and to unify the 'shining' realm of Zeus and the dark realm of Hades that lay beneath the Earth.

Among the other appellations under which Hades or Pluto is generally known, are the following:

In Greek:

Adesius, his name in Latium. It is expressive of the grace.

Agelastus, from his melancholy countenance.

Agesilaus, expressive of his attracting all people to his empire.

Agetes or Hegetes, a name assigned to him by Pindar, as to one who conducts.

Aidoneos, this name is probably derived from Hades' having been sometimes confounded with a king of this name among the Molossi, whose daughter Persephone, Theseus and Pirithous attempted to carry off.

Axiocersus, or the shorn god, a name of Pluto in the mysteries of the Cabiri: he was there represented as without hair.

Iao, his name at Clares, a town of Ionia.

Moiragetes, his name as guide of the Fates.

Ophieus, his name as the blind god among the Messenians: it was derived from their dedicating certain Augurs to him, whom they deprived of sight at the moment of their birth.

In Latin or Etruscan:

Altor, from alo, to nourish.

, from Februa, signifying the sacrifices and purifications adopted in funeral rites.

Feralis Deus, the dismal or cruel god.

Lactum, his name among the Sarmatians.

Larthy Tytiral, sovereign of Tartarus, his name in Etruria.

Mantus or Manus, the diminutive of , an Etruscan epithet.

Niger Deus, black god, his epithet as god of the Infernal Regions.

Postulio, a name assigned to him by Varro, under which he was worshipped on the shores of the lake Curtius, from the circumstance of the earth's having opened at that spot, and of the Aruspices having presumed that the King of Death thus asked for (postula, I ask,) sacrifices.

Profundus Jupiter, deep or , from his being sovereign of the deep, or infernal regions.

Quietalis, from quies, rest.

Rusor, because all things return eventually to the earth.

Salutaris Divus, a name assigned to him when he restored the dead to life. Whenever the gods wished to re-animate a body, Pluto let fail some drops of nectar from his urn upon the favoured person: this may account for bis being sometimes represented with an inverted vase.

Saturnius, from his father Saturn.

Soranus, his name among the Sabines, in the temple dedicated to him on Mount Soracte.

Stygius, from the river Styx.

Summanus, from summus manium, prince of the dead.

Tellumo, a name derived from those treasures which Pluto possesses in the recesses of the earth. Tellumo denotes (according to Varro) the creative power of the earth, in opposition to Tellus the productive.

Uragus, expressive of bis power over fire.

Urgus, from urgeo, to impel.

In Egypt:

Amenthes, a name of Pluto among the Egyptians. Plutarch informs us, that the word Amenthes has a reference to the doctrines of the metempsychosis, and signifies the "place which gives and receives";' on the belief that some vast gulf was assigned as a receptacle to the souls, which were about to animate new bodies.

Artistic representations

Fresco of Hades and Persephone, Tomb of Orcus II, Montarozzi, Tarquinia, 4th century BC

Hades was depicted infrequently in artwork, as well as mythology, because the Greeks were so afraid of him. His artistic representations, which are generally found in Archaic pottery, are not even concretely thought of as the deity; however at this point in time it is heavily believed that the figures illustrated are indeed Hades. He was later presented in the classical arts in the depictions of the Rape of Persephone. Within these illustrations, Hades was often young, yet he was also shown as varying ages in other works. Due to this lack of depictions, there were not very strict guidelines when representing the deity. On pottery, he has a dark beard and is presented as a stately figure on an "ebony throne." His attributes in art include a bident (less commonly, a scepter), a helm, cornucopias, roosters, and a key. They key plays a doubly symbolic role in that it represents his control over the underworld and acts as a reminder that the gates of the underworld were always locked so that souls could not leave. Even if the doors were open, Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the underworld, ensured that, while all souls were allowed to enter into the underworld freely, none could ever escape. Cerberus is a very integral symbol of Hades so much so that when Cerberus is depicted, the depiction very rarely portrays him without Hades. Sometimes, artists painted Hades as looking away from the other gods, as he was disliked by them as well as humans.

As Pluto, he was regarded in a more positive light. He holds a cornucopia, representing the gifts he bestows upon people as well as fertility, which he becomes connected to.

Realm of Hades

Aeneas's journey to Hades through the entrance at Cumae mapped by Andrea de Jorio, 1825

In older Greek myths, the realm of Hades is the misty and gloomy abode of the dead (also called Erebus) where all mortals go when they die. Very few mortals could leave Hades once they entered. The exceptions, Heracles and Theseus, are heroic. Even Odysseus in his ( Odyssey, xi) calls up the spirits of the departed, rather than descend to them. Later Greek philosophy introduced the idea that all mortals are judged after death and are either rewarded or cursed.[citation needed ]

There were several sections of the realm of Hades, including Elysium, the Asphodel Meadows, and Tartarus. The mythographer Apollodorus, describes Tartarus as "a gloomy place in Hades as far distant from Earth, as Earth is distant from the sky." Greek mythographers were not perfectly consistent about the geography of the afterlife. A contrasting myth of the afterlife concerns the Garden of the Hesperides, often identified with the Isles of the Blessed, where the blessed heroes may dwell.

In Roman mythology, the entrance to the underworld located at Avernus, a crater near Cumae, was the route Aeneas used to descend to the realm of the dead. By synecdoche, "Avernus" could be substituted for the underworld as a whole. The were a collective of underworld divinities.

For Hellenes, the deceased entered the underworld by crossing the Styx, ferried across by Charon (kair'-on), who charged an a small coin for passage placed in the mouth of the deceased by pious relatives. Paupers and the friendless gathered for a hundred years on the near shore according to Book VI of Vergil's Aeneid. Greeks offered propitiatory libations to prevent the deceased from returning to the upper world to "haunt" those who had not given them a proper burial. The far side of the river was guarded by Cerberus, the three-headed dog defeated by Heracles (Roman Hercules). Passing beyond Cerberus, the shades of the departed entered the land of the dead to be judged.

The five rivers of the realm of Hades, and their symbolic meanings, are Acheron (the river of sorrow, or woe), Cocytus (lamentation), Phlegethon (fire), Lethe (oblivion), and Styx (hate), the river upon which even the gods swore and in which Achilles was dipped to render him invincible. The Styx forms the boundary between the upper and lower worlds. See also Eridanos.

The first region of Hades comprises the Fields of Asphodel, described in xi, where the shades of heroes wander despondently among lesser spirits, who twitter around them like bats. Only libations of blood offered to them in the world of the living can reawaken in them for a time the sensations of humanity.

Beyond lay Erebus, which could be taken for a euphonym of Hades, whose own name was dread. There were two pools, that of Lethe, where the common souls flocked to erase all memory, and the pool of Mnemosyne ("memory"), where the initiates of the Mysteries drank instead. In the forecourt of the palace of Hades and Persephone sit the three judges of the underworld: Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus. There at the trivium sacred to Hecate, where three roads meet, souls are judged, returned to the Fields of Asphodel if they are neither virtuous nor evil, sent by the road to Tartarus if they are impious or evil, or sent to Elysium (Islands of the Blessed) with the "blameless" heroes.

In the Sibylline oracles, a curious hodgepodge of Greco-Roman and Judaeo-Christian elements, Hades again appears as the abode of the dead, and by way of folk etymology, it even derives Hades from the name Adam (the first man), saying it is because he was the first to enter there. Owing to its appearance in the New Testament of the Bible, Hades also has a distinct meaning in Christianity.

In popular culture

References

1. Reckoning by this reverse order is preferred by ^ Poseidon in his speech at Homer, Iliad 15.187.

2. ^ Bane, Theresa (29 May 2020). Encyclopedia of Mythological Objects. McFarland Myth and Legend Encyclopedias. McFarland. p. 30. ISBN 9781476639208. Hades's pitchfork[:] The bident (a two-pronged spear) was the traditional weapon of Hades (Roman god Dis/Pluto), the god of the Underworld, in classical Greek mythology; his black bident had the ability to create earthquakes [...].

3. ^ Palmer, Abram Smythe (1882). "Hades". Folk-etymology: A Dictionary of Verbal Corruptions Or Words Perverted in Form Or Meaning, by False Derivation Or Mistaken Analogy. London: G. Bell and Sons. p. 480. Another form of the same word may be Aita, Hades, the Pluto or King of the Shades in the Etruscan mythology, whose majestic figure, with his name attached, has been discovered in the wall paintings of the Grotto dell' Orco at Corneto [...].

4. Tripp, p. 256.

5. According to Dixon-Kennedy, ^ p. 143 (following Kerényi 1951, p. 230) says "...his name means 'the unseen', a direct contrast to his brother Zeus, who was originally seen to represent the brightness of day". Ivanov, p. 284, citing Beekes 1998, pp. 17-19, notes that derivation of Hades from a proposed *som wid- is semantically untenable; see also Beekes 2009, p. 34.

6. ^ "Gale Virtual Reference". Archived from the original on 21 May 2011.

7. ^ Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound, 806, note. Translated by Smyth, Herbert Weir (1922) in Loeb Classical Library, Volume 145.

8. ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867). "Agesander (1)". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston: Little, Brown and Company. p. 68. Archived from the original on 12 October 2013.

9. ^ Liddell, Henry; Scott, Robert (1996). A Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. s.v. ISBN 0-19-864226-1.

10. ^ Callimachus, Hymn. in Pallad. 130, with Friedrich Spanheim's note; Hesychius of Alexandria s.v.; Aeschyl. ap. Athen. iii. p. 99

11. ^ Tripp, p. 257.

12. ^ Walter Burkert, in The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age, 1992, (pp 90ff) compares this single reference with the Mesopotamian Atra-Hasis: "the basic structure of both texts is astonishingly similar." The drawing of lots is not the usual account; Hesiod (Theogony, 883) declares that Zeus overthrew his father and was acclaimed king by the other gods. "There is hardly another passage in Homer which comes so close to being a translation of an Akkadian epic," Burkert concludes (p. 91).

13. See ^ γαμβρός .

14. ^ Plato. Cratylus. p. 403.

15. ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses 10.1-85; Apolldorus, 1.3.2; Hyginus, De Astronomica 2.7.1; Seneca, Hercules Furens 569; Statius, Thebaid 8.63.

16. ^ Tzetzes on Aristophanes' Frogs 142a

17. ^ Scholia on Homer's Iliad 6.153

18. Morford, Mark P. O.; Lenardon, Robert J. (1999). ^ Classical Mythology. Oxford University Press, pg 491

19. Apollodorus, ^ Bibliotheca 2.7.3; Pindar, Olympian Odes 9.2; Pausanias, Description of Greece 6.25.2; Seneca, Hercules Furens 559

20. ^ Servius, note to Eclogue 7.61: Leuce, Oceani filia, inter nymphas pulcherrima fuit. hanc Pluton adamavit et ad inferos rapuit. quae postquam apud eum completo vitae suae tempore mortua est, Pluton tam in amoris, quam in memoriae solacium in Elysiis piorum campis leucen nasci arborem iussit, ex qua, sicut dictum est, Hercules se, revertens ab inferis, coronavit.

21. ^ Scholia ad Nicandri Alexipharmaca 375

22. ^ "Hades' Newest Bride: A Remarkable Epitaph". 17 March 2020.

23. ^ Iliad, ix

24. ^ Versnel, Henk (2011). Coping With the Gods: Wayward Readings in Greek Theology. Brill. doi:10.1163/ej.9789004204904.i-594. ISBN 978-90-04-20490-4. S2CID 220830615.

25. ^

26. ^ Summary of Karl Kerenyi: "The Hymn tells us that Persephone was abducted in Nysion pedion, or the Nysian Plain, a plain that was named after the Dionysian mountain of Nysa. Nysa was regarded as the birthplace and first home of Dionysus. The divine marriage of Plouton and Persephone was celebrated on 'the meadow'. The dangerous region that Kore let herself be lured to in search of flowers was likely not originally connected to Plouton but to Dionysus, as Dionysus himself had the strange surname of 'the gaping one', though despite this the notion that the wine god in his quality as the Lord of the underworld does not appear on the surface of the hymn. People would not be able to detect the hidden meaning it if it was not for archaic vase portrayals." Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter [P. 34, 35,]. "The Hymn to Demeter later mentions that Queen Metaneira of Eleusis later offers the disguised Demeter a beaker of sweet wine, something that Demeter refuses on the grounds that it would be against themis, the very nature of order and justice, for her to drink red wine and she instead invents a new beverage called kykeon to drink instead. The fact that Demeter refuses to drink wine on the grounds that it would be against themis indicates that she is well aware of who Persephone's abductor is, that it is the Subterranean cover name of Dionysus. The critic of the mysteries, the severe philosopher Herakleitos once declared "Hades is the same as Dionysos." The subterranean wine god was the ravisher, so how could Demeter accept something that was his gift to mankind" [P. 40]

27. ^ Summary of Karl Kerenyi: "The book later refers to Herakles initiation into the Eleusinian Mysteries so that he may enter the underworld. In the iconography after his initiation Herakles in shown wearing a fringed white garment with a Dionysian deerskin thrown over it. Kore is shown with her mother Demeter and a snake twined around the Mystery basket, foreshadowing the secret, as making friends with snakes was Dionysian [P. 58]. The god of the Anthesteria was Dionysus, who celebrated his marriage in Athens amid flowers, the opening of wine jars, and the rising up of the souls of the dead [P. 149]. There are two reliefs in a marble votive relief of the fourth century BCE. One depicts Kore crowning her mother Demeter, the deities at the second altar are Persephone and her husband Dionysus as the recumbent god has the features of the bearded Dionysus rather than of Plouton. In his right hand, he raises not a cornucopia, the symbol of wealth, but a wine vessel and in his left, he bears the goblet for the wine. Over their heads an inscription reads "To the God and Goddess" [P. 151, 152]. The fragments of a gilded jar cover of the Kerch type show Dionysus, Demeter, little Ploutos, Kore, and a curly-haired boy clad in a long garment, one of the first son's of the Eleusinian king who was the first to be initiated. On another vase, Dionysus sits on his omphalos with his thyrsos in his left hand, sitting opposite Demeter, looking at each other severely. Kore is shown moving from Demeter towards Dionysus, as if trying to reconcile them [P. 162].Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter

28. ^ Summary of Karl Kerenyi: Kore and Thea are two different duplications of Persephone; Plouton and Theos are duplications of the subterranean Dionysus. The duplication of the mystery god as subterranean father and subterranean son, as Father Zagreus and the child Zagreus, husband and son of Persephone, has more to do with the mysteries of Dionysus than with the Eleusinian Mysteries. But a duplication of the chthonian, mystical Dionysus is provided even by his youthful aspect, which became distinguished and classical as the son of Semele from the son of Persephone. Semele, though not of Eleusinian origin, is also a double of Persephone [P. 155].Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter

29. ^ pl:Andrzej Wypustek Andrzej Wypustek (Ph.D)] "Votive inscriptions frequently mentioned Pluto but very rarely Hades. Particularly at Eleusis, the Pluto cult was for a deity who, like Persephone and Demeter, was favourably disposed to humans. He was frequently portrayed as a majestic elder with a sceptre, ranch, cornucopia, pomegranate, or drinking vessel in his hand; sometimes he was accompanied by an eagle. His iconography resembled that of Zeus, and especially that of some chthonic personification of the ruler of the gods, above all Zeus Meilichios. We can now go a step further. The nearest equivalent to the contrast between Hades and Pluto as presented in the Theophile epigram can be found in the Orphic Hymns, which are assumed to have originated from the Τελεται of the Dionysiac mystic circles in Asia Minor of the 1st - 3rd centuries. Hymn 41 worships Antaia, i.e. Demeter, the goddess who had searched for her daughter in Hades and discovered her in 'the sacred bed of the sacred chthonic Zeus'. This formulation in itself is not surprising because the name Zeus (as a synonym for a deity and ruler) was used in reference to Hades-Pluto as the ruler of the underworld. In an interesting, though, sadly, only partly preserved inscription from Appia-Murathanlar in the Tembris Valley (in 3rd century AD Phrygia) the deceased appeals to "Zeus, god of the dead [φθιηένων*], Pluto" to protect his grave. The term "Chthonic Zeus" could, however, mean something more than a mere euphemism for the name Hades. The idea of defining Zeus as χθόνιος, κατα (χθόνιος) ἄλλος or simply Hades had been present in ancient Greek literature from Homer to Nonnos. This was a sort of extension, aspect or 'shadow' of the universal power of Zeus in the kingdom of the dead, where he was the judge of the dead and the also the consort of Persephone-Kore.Moreover, he was the provider of riches, Πλουτοδότης; a personification which was abbreviated to Πλούτων. Among other things, he controlled the crops and it was to him (as well as to Demeter) that the farmers turned for the promise of a good harvest. These are hardly well known traditions today. Some scholars maintain that their obscurity is on account of the secret role they played in the mysteries. ... Therefore, the Orphics worshipped Pluto as the saviour and judge of the deceased, as Zeus χθόνιος. They most likely assumed that Zeus had another embodiment of sorts in the underworld, in Hades. The effect of this assumption was the myth, known to us in several versions, of how Zeus had lain with Persephone (even though she was his daughter). The so-called great Orphic tablet of Thurii refers to the abduction of Persephone by Zeus, who then fathers her son, Dionysus. Their child was revered by the Orphics as Dionysus Zagreus, Dionysus Iacchus, which shows how much importance they attached to the love affair of that particular couple." (Images of Eternal Beauty in Funerary Verse Inscriptions of the Hellenistic Period)[circular reference ]

30. ^ This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Murray, John (1833). A Classical Manual, being a Mythological, Historical and Geographical Commentary on Pope's Homer, and Dryden's Aeneid of Virgil with a Copious Index. Albemarle Street, London. pp. 5-6.

31. Homeric Hymn to Demeter

32. ^ Downing, Christine (June 2006). Gleanings: Essays 1982-2006. iUniverse. ISBN 978-0-595-40036-2.

33. ^ Aeneid, book 6.

34. According to ^ Homer, Iliad 1.570-579, 14.338, Odyssey 8.312, Hephaestus was apparently the son of Hera and Zeus, see Gantz, p. 74.

35. According to ^ Homer, Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus (Iliad 3.374, 20.105; Odyssey 8.308, 320) and Dione (Iliad 5.370-71), see Gantz, pp. 99-100.

Bibliography

Hesiod, , in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, Massachusetts., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Homeric Hymn to Demeter (2), in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, Massachusetts., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Euripides, in Euripides. Euripides, with an English translation by David Kovacs. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1994. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Strabo, Geography, translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924). LacusCurtis, Books 6-14, at the Perseus Digital Library

Statius, Thebaid. Translated by Mozley, J H. Loeb Classical Library Volumes. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1928.

Oppian, Halieutica in Oppian, Colluthus, Tryphiodorus. Oppian, Colluthus, and Tryphiodorus. Translated by A. W. Mair. Loeb Classical Library 219. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1928. Online version at topos text.

Claudian, Rape of Persephone in Claudian: Volume II. Translated by Platnauer, Maurice. Loeb Classical Library Volume 136. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. 1922.

Lucian, Dialogues of the Dead. Dialogues of the Sea-Gods. Dialogues of the Gods. Dialogues of the Courtesans, translated by M. D. MacLeod, Loeb Classical Library No. 431, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1961. ISBN 978-0-674-99475-1. Online version at Harvard University Press. Internet Archive.

Anatole, Bailly (1963). Dictionnaire Grec-Français (26th ed.).

Beekes, Robert S. P. (1998). "Hades and Elysion". In Jasanoff, Jay; Melchert, H. Craig; Oliver, Lisi (eds.). Mír curad: Studies in honor of Calvert Watkins. Institut für Sprachwissenschaft der Universität Innsbruck. pp. 17-28.

Beekes, Robert S. P. (2009), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Bell, Malcolm, Morgantina Studies, Volume I: The Terracottas, Princeton University Press, 1982. ISBN 9781400853243.

Dixon-Kennedy, Mike, Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman Mythology, ABC-CLIO (December 1, 1998). ISBN 978-1576070949. Internet Archive

Gantz, Timothy, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: ISBN 978-0-8018-5360-9 (Vol. 1), ISBN 978-0-8018-5362-3 (Vol. 2).

Guirand, Felix, Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, Batchworth Press Limited, 1959.

Grant, Michael; Hazel, John (2002). Who's Who in Classical Mythology. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0415260418.

Hansen, William, William F. Hansen, Classical Mythology: A Guide to the Mythical World of the Greeks and Romans, Oxford University Press, 2005. ISBN 9780195300352.

Hughes, Dennis D. (2013) Human Sacrifice in Ancient Greece. London: Routledge. ISBN 9781134966394

Ivanov, Vyacheslav V., "Old Novgorodian Nevide, Russian nevidal' : Greek ἀίδηλος" Archived 2017-01-05 at the Wayback Machine In UCLA Indo European Studies Volume 1 edited by Vyacheslav V. Ivanov and Brent Vine, July 1999. pp. 283-293.

Kerényi, Carl (1951), The Gods of the Greeks, Thames and Hudson, London, 1951.

Tripp, Edward, Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology, Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). ISBN 069022608X.

Diane J. Rayor, The Homeric Hymns: A Translation, with Introduction and Notes, updated edition, University of California Press 2014, ISBN 978-0-520-28211-7.

External links

Maps of the underworld (Greek mythology)

The God Hades

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hades King of the underworld God of the dead and riches Abode Greek underworld Symbol Cornucopia, Cypress, Narcissus, keys, serpent, mint plant, white poplar, dog, pomegranate, sheep, cattle, screech owl, horse, chariot Parents Cronus and Rhea Siblings Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Zeus Consort Persephone Children Macaria, and in some cases Melinoë, Zagreus and the Erinyes Roman equivalent Pluto, Dis Pater, Orcus Hades (; Greek: , Háidēs , Attic Greek: or ), in the ancient Greek religion and mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous.

# data[].attributes.body
God of fire
Relationship to Zeus: son
3 Adjectives kind, hardworking , limp
Symbol anvil
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hephaestus

# data[].attributes.body
Goddess of women, marriage, and childbirth
Relationship to Zeus:  sister-wife
3 Adjectives royal, lotus-tipped scepter, accompanied by a lion
Symbol scepter
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hera

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hera

Queen of the Gods

Goddess of marriage, women, marital harmony, and the protector of women during childbirth

Member of the Twelve Olympians

Major cult center

Argos, Mycenae, Samos

Abode
Mount Olympus

Animals

Cow, cuckoo, peacock

Symbol

Pomegranate, sceptre, crown ( polos or diadem)

Parents

Cronus and Rhea

Siblings

Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, Zeus; Chiron ( half)

Consort
Zeus

Children

Angelos, Arge, Ares, the Charites, Eileithyia, Eleutheria, Eris, Hebe, Hephaestus

Roman equivalent
Juno

In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; Greek: , Hḗrā; , Hḗrē in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Olympus, sister and wife of Zeus, and daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. One of her defining characteristics in myth is her jealous and vengeful nature in dealing with any who offend her, especially Zeus' numerous adulterous lovers and illegitimate offspring.

Her iconography usually presents her as a dignified, matronly figure, upright or enthroned, crowned with a or diadem, sometimes veiled as a married woman. She is the patron goddess of lawful marriage. She presides over weddings, blesses and legalises marital unions, and protects women from harm during childbirth. Her sacred animals include the cow, cuckoo and the peacock. She is sometimes shown holding a pomegranate, as an emblem of immortality. Her Roman counterpart is Juno.

The name of Hera has several possible and mutually exclusive etymologies; one possibility is to connect it with Greek ὥρα hōra, season, and to interpret it as ripe for marriage and according to Plato ἐρατή eratē, "beloved" as Zeus is said to have married her for love. According to Plutarch, Hera was an allegorical name and an anagram of aēr (ἀήρ, "air"). So begins the section on Hera in Walter Burkert's Greek Religion. In a note, he records other scholars' arguments "for the meaning Mistress as a feminine to Heros, Master." John Chadwick, a decipherer of Linear B, remarks "her name may be connected with hērōs, ἥρως, 'hero', but that is no help since it too is etymologically obscure." A. J. van Windekens, offers "young cow, heifer", which is consonant with Hera's common epithet βοῶπις ( boōpis, "cow-eyed"). R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Her name is attested in Mycenaean Greek written in the Linear B syllabic script as e-ra, appearing on tablets found in Pylos and Thebes, as well in the Cypriotic dialect in the dative e-ra-i.

Andreas Willi addresses some additional possibilities: "M. Peters, starts from the verbal root... 'to catch, take'... and posits a related root noun... with the meaning '(violent) taking' > 'rape' > 'booty'... This root noun would have served as the basis for an exocentric derivative... 'belonging/relating to the rape, of the rape' whose feminine... would have meant 'she of the rape... Formally this theory is unobjectionable (especially if the postulated noun were, despite the divergent semantics, reflected in Homeric... 'to gratify' < 'to pay tribute'...), but it seems most uncertain whether in the eyes of a (Proto-)Greek a raped (booty) woman could have become one of the legitimate wives who are protected by Hera. Moreover, the derivation presupposes that Hera herself must have been imagined as a 'raped girl' at some point...

Hera on an antique fresco from Pompeii

Hera may have been the first deity to whom the Greeks dedicated an enclosed roofed temple sanctuary, at Samos about 800 BCE. It was replaced later by the Heraion of Samos, one of the largest of all Greek temples (altars were in front of the temples under the open sky). There were many temples built on this site, so the evidence is somewhat confusing, and archaeological dates are uncertain.

The temple created by the Rhoecus sculptors and architects was destroyed between 570 and 560 BCE. This was replaced by the Polycratean temple of 540-530 BCE. In one of these temples, we see a forest of 155 columns. There is also no evidence of tiles on this temple suggesting either the temple was never finished or that the temple was open to the sky.

Earlier sanctuaries, whose dedication to Hera is less certain, were of the Mycenaean type called "house sanctuaries". Samos excavations have revealed votive offerings, many of them late 8th and 7th centuries BCE, which show that Hera at Samos was not merely a local Greek goddess of the Aegean: the museum there contains figures of gods and suppliants and other votive offerings from Armenia, Babylon, Iran, Assyria, Egypt, testimony to the reputation which this sanctuary of Hera enjoyed and to the large influx of pilgrims. Compared to this mighty goddess, who also possessed the earliest temple at Olympia and two of the great fifth and sixth-century temples of Paestum, the termagant of Homer and the myths is an "almost... comic figure", according to Burkert.

The Temple of Hera at Agrigento, Magna Graecia.

Though the greatest and earliest free-standing temple to Hera was the Heraion of Samos, in the Greek mainland Hera was especially worshipped as "Argive Hera" ( Hera Argeia) at her sanctuary that stood between the former Mycenaean city-states of Argos and Mycenae, where the festivals in her honor called were celebrated. "The three cities I love best," the ox-eyed Queen of Heaven declares in the , book iv, "are Argos, Sparta and Mycenae of the broad streets." There were also temples to Hera in Olympia, Corinth, Tiryns, Perachora and the sacred island of Delos. In Magna Graecia, two Doric temples to Hera were constructed at Paestum, about 550 BCE and about 450 BCE. One of them, long called the Temple of Poseidon was identified in the 1950s as a temple of Hera.

The Daedala fire festival on Cithaeron near Plataea, included an account of Hera's quarrel with Zeus and their reconciliation.

Hera's importance in the early archaic period is attested by the large building projects undertaken in her honor. The temples of Hera in the two main centers of her cult, the Heraion of Samos and the Heraion of Argos in the Argolis, were the very earliest monumental Greek temples constructed, in the 8th century BCE.

In the same vein, British scholar Charles Francis Keary suggests that Hera had some sort of " Earth Goddess" worship in ancient times, connected to her possible origin as a Pelasgian goddess (as mentioned by Herodotus).

According to Homeric Hymn II to Delian Apollo, Hera detained Eileithyia to prevent Leto from going into labor with Artemis and Apollo, since the father was Zeus. The other goddesses present at the birthing on Delos sent Iris to bring her. As she stepped upon the island, the divine birth began. In the myth of the birth of Heracles, it is Hera herself who sits at the door, delaying the birth of Heracles until her protégé, Eurystheus, had been born first.

The Homeric Hymn to Pythian Apollo makes the monster Typhaon the offspring of archaic Hera in her Minoan form, produced out of herself, like a monstrous version of Hephaestus, and whelped in a cave in Cilicia. She gave the creature to Python to raise.

Roman copy of a Greek 5th century Hera of the "Barberini Hera" type, from the Museo Chiaramonti

In the Temple of Hera, Olympia, Hera's seated cult figure was older than the warrior figure of Zeus that accompanied it. Homer expressed her relationship with Zeus delicately in the Iliad, in which she declares to Zeus, "I am Cronus' eldest daughter, and am honourable not on this ground only, but also because I am your wife, and you are king of the gods."

There has been considerable scholarship, reaching back to Johann Jakob Bachofen in the mid-nineteenth century, about the possibility that Hera, whose early importance in Greek religion is firmly established, was originally the goddess of a matriarchal people, presumably inhabiting Greece before the Hellenes. In this view, her activity as goddess of marriage established the patriarchal bond of her own subordination: her resistance to the conquests of Zeus is rendered as Hera's "jealousy", the main theme of literary anecdotes that undercut her ancient cult.

However, it remains a controversial claim that an ancient matriarchy or a cultural focus on a monotheistic Great Goddess existed among the ancient Greeks or elsewhere. The claim is generally rejected by modern scholars as insufficiently evidenced.

Hera was most known as the matron goddess, Hera Teleia; but she presided over weddings as well. In myth and cult, fragmentary references and archaic practices remain of the sacred marriage of Hera and Zeus. At Plataea, there was a sculpture of Hera seated as a bride by Callimachus, as well as the matronly standing Hera.

Hera was also worshipped as a virgin: there was a tradition in Stymphalia in Arcadia that there had been a triple shrine to Hera the Girl (Παις [Pais]), the Adult Woman (Τελεια [Teleia]), and the Separated (Χήρη [Chḗrē] 'Widowed' or 'Divorced'). In the region around Argos, the temple of Hera in Hermione near Argos was to Hera the Virgin. At the spring of Kanathos, close to Nauplia, Hera renewed her virginity annually, in rites that were not to be spoken of ( arrheton). Robert Graves interprets this as a representation of the new moon ( Hebe), full moon (Hera), and old moon ( Hecate), respectively personifying the Virgin (Spring), the Mother (Summer), and the destroying Crone (Autumn).

Jupiter and Juno on Mount Ida by James Barry, 1773 (City Art Galleries, Sheffield)

In Hellenistic imagery, Hera's chariot was pulled by peacocks, birds not known to Greeks before the conquests of Alexander. Alexander's tutor, Aristotle, refers to it as "the Persian bird." The peacock motif was revived in the Renaissance iconography that unified Hera and Juno, which European painters focused on. A bird that had been associated with Hera on an archaic level, where most of the Aegean goddesses were associated with "their" bird, was the cuckoo, which appears in mythic fragments concerning the first wooing of a virginal Hera by Zeus.

Her archaic association was primarily with cattle, as a Cow Goddess, who was especially venerated in "cattle-rich" Euboea. On Cyprus, very early archaeological sites contain bull skulls that have been adapted for use as masks (see Bull (mythology)). Her familiar Homeric epithet Boôpis, is always translated "cow-eyed". In this respect, Hera bears some resemblance to the Ancient Egyptian deity Hathor, a maternal goddess associated with cattle.

Scholar of Greek mythology Walter Burkert writes in Greek Religion, "Nevertheless, there are memories of an earlier aniconic representation, as a pillar in Argos and as a plank in Samos."

Hera bore several epithets in the mythological tradition, including:

Ἀλέξανδρος (Alexandros) 'Protector of Men' (Alexandros) (among the Sicyonians)

Αἰγοφάγος (Aigophágos) 'Goat-Eater' (among the Lacedaemonians[40])

Ἀκραῖα (Akráia) '(She) of the Heights'[41]

Ἀμμωνία (Ammonia)

Ἄνθεια (Antheia), meaning flowery[42]

Ἀργεία (Argéia) '(She) of Argos'

Βασίλεια (Basíleia) 'Queen'

Βουναία (Bounáia) '(She) of the Mound' (in Corinth[43][44])

Βοῶπις (Boṓpis) 'Cow-Eyed'[45] or 'Cow-Faced'

Λευκώλενος (Leukṓlenos) 'White-Armed'[45]

Παῖς (Pais) 'Child' (in her role as virgin)

Παρθένος (Parthénos) 'Virgin'

Τελεία (Teléia) (as goddess of marriage)

Χήρη (Chḗrē) 'Widowed'

Τελχινία (Telchinia), Diodorus Siculus write that she was worshiped by the Ialysians and the Cameirans (both were on the island of Rhodes). She was named like that because according to a legend, Telchines (Τελχῖνες) were the first inhabitants of the island and also the first who created statues of gods.[46]

Ζυγία (Zygia), as the presider over marriage. Her husband Zeus had also the epithet Zygius (Ζυγίος). These epithets describing them as presiding over marriage.[47]

Hera (according to inscription); tondo of an Attic white-ground kylix from Vulci, ca. 470 BCE

Hera is the daughter of the youngest Titan Cronus and his wife, and sister, Rhea. Cronus was fated to be overthrown by one of his children; to prevent this, he swallowed all of his newborn children whole until Rhea tricked him into swallowing a stone instead of her youngest child, Zeus. Zeus grew up in secret and when he grew up he tricked his father into regurgitating his siblings, including Hera. Zeus then led the revolt against the Titans, banished them, and divided the dominion over the world with his brothers Poseidon and Hades.

However, other traditions indicate that, like Zeus and Poseidon, Hera may not have been swallowed by Cronus. Pausanias states that she was nursed as an infant by the three daughters of the river Asterion: Euboia, Prosymna, and Akraia. Furthermore, in the Iliad, Hera states she was given by her mother to Tethys to be raised: "I go now to the ends of the generous earth on a visit to the Ocean, whence the gods have risen, and Tethys our mother who brought me up kindly in their own house, and cared for me and took me from Rheia, at that time when Zeus of the wide brows drove Kronos underneath the earth and the barren water."

Hera is the goddess of marriage and childbirth rather than motherhood, and much of her mythology revolves around her marriage with her brother Zeus. She is charmed by him and she seduces him; he cheats on her and has many children with other goddesses and mortal women; she is intensely jealous and vindictive towards his children and their mothers; he is threatening and violent to her.

In the , Zeus implies their marriage was some sort of elopement, as they lay secretly from their parents. Pausanias records a tale of how they came to be married in which Zeus transformed into a cuckoo to woo Hera. She caught the bird and kept it as her pet; this is why the cuckoo is seated on her sceptre. According to a scholion on Theocritus' Idylls when Hera was heading toward Mount Thornax alone, Zeus created a terrible storm and transformed himself into a cuckoo who flew down and sat on her lap. Hera covered him with her cloak. Zeus then transformed back and took hold of her; because she was refusing to sleep with him due to their mother, he promised to marry her.

In one account Hera refused to marry Zeus and hid in a cave to avoid him; an earthborn man named Achilles convinced her to give him a chance, and thus the two had their first sexual intercourse. A variation goes that Hera had been reared by a nymph named Macris on the island of Euboea, but Zeus stole her away, where Mt. Cithaeron, in the words of Plutarch, "afforded them a shady recess". When Macris came to look for her ward, the mountain-god Cithaeron drove her away, saying that Zeus was taking his pleasure there with Leto.

According to Callimachus, their wedding feast lasted three hundred years. The Apples of the Hesperides that Heracles was tasked by Eurystheus to take were a wedding gift by Gaia to the couple.

After a quarrel with Zeus, Hera left him and retreated to Euboea, and no word from Zeus managed to sway her mind. Cithaeron, the local king, then advised Zeus to take a wooden statue of a woman, wrap it up, and pretend to marry it. Zeus did as told, claiming "she" was Plataea, Asopus's daughter. Hera, once she heard the news, disrupted the wedding ceremony and tore away the dress from the figure only to discover it was but a lifeless statue, and not a rival in love. The queen and her king were reconciled, and to commemorate this the people there celebrated a festival called Daedala. During the festival, a re-enactment of the myth was celebrated, where a wooden statue of Hera was chosen, bathed in the river Asopus and then raised on a chariot to lead the procession like a bride, and then ritually burned.

Heracles strangling the snakes sent by Hera, Attic red-figured stamnos, ca. 480-470 BCE. From Vulci, Etruria.

Hera is the stepmother and enemy of Heracles. The name Heracles means "Glory of Hera". In Homer's Iliad, when Alcmene was about to give birth to Heracles, Zeus announced to all the gods that on that day a child by Zeus himself, would be born and rule all those around him. Hera, after requesting Zeus to swear an oath to that effect, descended from Olympus to Argos and made the wife of Sthenelus (son of Perseus) give birth to Eurystheus after only seven months, while at the same time preventing Alcmene from delivering Heracles. This resulted in the fulfillment of Zeus's oath in that it was Eurystheus rather than Heracles. In Pausanias' recounting, Hera sent witches (as they were called by the Thebans) to hinder Alcmene's delivery of Heracles. The witches were successful in preventing the birth until Historis, daughter of Tiresias, thought of a trick to deceive the witches. Like Galanthis, Historis announced that Alcmene had delivered her child; having been deceived, the witches went away, allowing Alcmene to give birth.

Hera's wrath against Zeus' son continues and while Heracles is still an infant, Hera sends two serpents to kill him as he lies in his cot. Heracles throttles the snakes with his bare hands and is found by his nurse playing with their limp bodies as if they were a child's toy.

The Origin of the Milky Way by Jacopo Tintoretto, 1575

One account of the origin of the Milky Way is that Zeus had tricked Hera into nursing the infant Heracles: discovering who he was, she pulled him from her breast, and a spurt of her milk formed the smear across the sky that can be seen to this day. Her milk also created a white flower, the lily. Unlike any Greeks, the Etruscans instead pictured a full-grown bearded Heracles at Hera's breast: this may refer to his adoption by her when he became an Immortal. He had previously wounded her severely in the breast.

When Heracles reached adulthood, Hera drove him mad, which led him to murder his family and this later led to him undertaking his famous labours. Hera assigned Heracles to labour for King Eurystheus at Mycenae. She attempted to make almost all of Heracles' twelve labours more difficult. When he fought the Lernaean Hydra, she sent a crab to bite at his feet in the hopes of distracting him. Later Hera stirred up the Amazons against him when he was on one of his quests. When Heracles took the cattle of Geryon, he shot Hera in the right breast with a triple-barbed arrow: the wound was incurable and left her in constant pain, as Dione tells Aphrodite in the , Book V. Afterwards, Hera sent a gadfly to bite the cattle, irritate them and scatter them. Hera then sent a flood which raised the water level of a river so much that Heracles could not ford the river with the cattle. He piled stones into the river to make the water shallower. When he finally reached the court of Eurystheus, the cattle were sacrificed to Hera.

Eurystheus also wanted to sacrifice the Cretan Bull to Hera. She refused the sacrifice because it reflected glory on Heracles. The bull was released and wandered to Marathon, becoming known as the Marathonian Bull.

Some myths state that in the end, Heracles befriended Hera by saving her from Porphyrion, a giant who tried to rape her during the Gigantomachy, and that she even gave her daughter Hebe as his bride. Whatever myth-making served to account for an archaic representation of Heracles as "Hera's man" it was thought suitable for the builders of the Heraion at Paestum to depict the exploits of Heracles in bas-reliefs.

When Hera discovered that Leto was pregnant and that Zeus was the father, she convinced the nature spirits to prevent Leto from giving birth on terra-firma, the mainland, any island at sea, or any place under the sun. Poseidon gave pity to Leto and guided her to the floating island of Delos, which was neither mainland nor a real island where Leto was able to give birth to her children. Afterwards, Zeus secured Delos to the bottom of the ocean. The island later became sacred to Apollo. Alternatively, Hera kidnapped Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labor. The other gods bribed Hera with a beautiful necklace nobody could resist and she finally gave in.

Either way, Artemis was born first and then assisted with the birth of Apollo. Some versions say Artemis helped her mother give birth to Apollo for nine days. Another variation states that Artemis was born one day before Apollo, on the island of Ortygia and that she helped Leto cross the sea to Delos the next day to give birth to Apollo.

Later, Tityos attempted to rape Leto at the behest of Hera. He was slain by Artemis and Apollo.

Io with Zeus by Giovanni Ambrogio Figino, 1599

The myth of Io has many forms and embellishments. Generally, Io was a priestess of Hera at the Heraion of Argos. Zeus lusted after her and either Hera turned Io into a heifer to hide her from Zeus, or Zeus did so to hide her from Hera but was discovered. Hera had Io tethered to an olive-tree and set Argus Panoptes ( lit. 'all-seeing') to watch over her, but Zeus sent Hermes to kill him. Infuriated, Hera then sent a gadfly (Greek oistros, compare oestrus) to pursue and constantly sting Io, who fled into Asia and eventually reached Egypt. There Zeus restored her to human form and she gave birth to his son Epaphus.

This is one of the many works depicting the event. Hera is the goddess in the center, wearing the crown. Das Urteil des Paris by Anton Raphael Mengs, ca. 1757

A prophecy stated that a son of the sea-nymph Thetis, with whom Zeus fell in love after gazing upon her in the oceans off the Greek coast, would become greater than his father. Possibly for this reason, Thetis was betrothed to an elderly human king, Peleus son of Aeacus, either upon Zeus' orders, or because she wished to please Hera, who had raised her. All the gods and goddesses as well as various mortals were invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis (the eventual parents of Achilles) and brought many gifts. Only Eris, goddess of discord, was not invited and was stopped at the door by Hermes, on Zeus' order. She was annoyed at this, so she threw from the door a gift of her own: a golden apple inscribed with the word καλλίστῃ (kallistēi, "To the fairest"). Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena all claimed to be the fairest, and thus the rightful owner of the apple.

The goddesses quarreled bitterly over it, and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favoring one, for fear of earning the enmity of the other two. They chose to place the matter before Zeus, who, not wanting to favor one of the goddesses, put the choice into the hands of Paris, a Trojan prince. After bathing in the spring of Mount Ida where Troy was situated, they appeared before Paris to have him choose. The goddesses undressed before him, either at his request or for the sake of winning. Still, Paris could not decide, as all three were ideally beautiful, so they resorted to bribes. Hera offered Paris political power and control of all of Asia, while Athena offered wisdom, fame, and glory in battle, and Aphrodite offered the most beautiful mortal woman in the world as a wife, and he accordingly chose her. This woman was Helen, who was, unfortunately for Paris, already married to King Menelaus of Sparta. The other two goddesses were enraged by this and through Helen's abduction by Paris, they brought about the Trojan War.

Hera plays a substantial role in , appearing in several books throughout the epic poem. She hates the Trojans because of Paris' decision that Aphrodite was the most beautiful goddess, and so supports the Greeks during the war. Throughout the epic, Hera makes many attempts to thwart the Trojan army. In books 1 and 2, Hera declares that the Trojans must be destroyed. Hera persuades Athena to aid the Achaeans in battle and she agrees to assist with interfering on their behalf.

In book 5, Hera and Athena plot to harm Ares, who had been seen by Diomedes in assisting the Trojans. Diomedes called for his soldiers to fall back slowly. Hera, Ares' mother, saw Ares' interference and asked Zeus, Ares' father, for permission to drive Ares away from the battlefield. Hera encouraged Diomedes to attack Ares and he threw his spear at the god. Athena drove the spear into Ares' body, and he bellowed in pain and fled to Mount Olympus, forcing the Trojans to fall back.

In book 8, Hera tries to persuade Poseidon to disobey Zeus and help the Achaean army. He refuses, saying he doesn't want to go against Zeus. Determined to intervene in the war, Hera and Athena head to the battlefield. However, seeing the two flee, Zeus sent Iris to intercept them and make them return to Mount Olympus or face grave consequences. After prolonged fighting, Hera sees Poseidon aiding the Greeks and giving them the motivation to keep fighting.

Hera and Prometheus, tondo of a 5th-century BCE cup from Vulci, Etruria

When Hera learned that Semele, daughter of Cadmus King of Thebes, was pregnant by Zeus, she disguised herself as Semele's nurse and persuaded the princess to insist that Zeus show himself to her in his true form. When he was compelled to do so, having sworn by Styx, his thunder and lightning destroyed Semele. Zeus took Semele's unborn child, Dionysus, and completed its gestation sewn into his own thigh.

In another version, Dionysus was originally the son of Zeus by either Demeter or Persephone. Hera sent her Titans to rip the baby apart, from which he was called Zagreus ("Torn in Pieces"). Zeus rescued the heart; or, the heart was saved, variously, by Athena, Rhea, or Demeter. Zeus used the heart to recreate Dionysus and implant him in the womb of Semele-hence Dionysus became known as "the twice-born". Certain versions imply that Zeus gave Semele the heart to eat to impregnate her. Hera tricked Semele into asking Zeus to reveal his true form, which killed her. Dionysus later managed to rescue his mother from the underworld and have her live on Mount Olympus.

Lamia was a lovely queen of Libya, whom Zeus loved and slept with. Hera in jealousy robbed Lamia of her children, either by kidnapping and hiding them away, killing them, or causing Lamia herself to kill her own offspring. Lamia became disfigured from the torment, transforming into a terrifying being who hunted and killed the children of others.

Cydippe, a priestess of Hera, was on her way to a festival in the goddess' honor. The oxen which were to pull her cart were overdue and her sons, Biton and Cleobis, pulled the cart the entire way (45 stadia, 8 kilometers). Cydippe was impressed with their devotion to her and Hera, and so asked Hera to give her children the best gift a god could give a person. Hera ordained that the brothers would die in their sleep.

Tiresias was a priest of Zeus, and as a young man, he encountered two snakes mating and hit them with a stick. He was then transformed into a woman. As a woman, Tiresias became a priestess of Hera, married, and had children, including Manto. After seven years as a woman, Tiresias again found mating snakes; depending on the myth, either she made sure to leave the snakes alone this time, or, according to Hyginus, trampled on them and became a man once more.

As a result of his experiences, Zeus and Hera asked him to settle the question of which sex, male or female, experienced more pleasure during intercourse. Zeus claimed it was women; Hera claimed it was men. When Tiresias sided with Zeus, Hera struck him blind. Since Zeus could not undo what she had done, he gave him the gift of prophecy.

An alternative and less commonly told story has it that Tiresias was blinded by Athena after he stumbled onto her bathing naked. His mother, Chariclo, begged her to undo her curse, but Athena could not; she gave him a prophecy instead.

At the marriage of Zeus and Hera, a nymph named Chelone was disrespectful or refused to attend the wedding. Zeus thus turned her into a tortoise.

Hera hated Pelias because he had killed Sidero, his step-grandmother, in one of the goddess's temples. She later convinced Jason and Medea to kill Pelias. The Golden Fleece was the item that Jason needed to get his mother freed.

When Zeus had pity on Ixion and brought him to Olympus and introduced him to the gods, instead of being grateful, Ixion grew lustful for Hera. Zeus found out about his intentions and made a cloud in the shape of Hera, who was later named Nephele, and tricked Ixion into coupling with it. From their union came Centaurus. So Ixion was expelled from Olympus and Zeus ordered Hermes to bind Ixion to a winged fiery wheel that was always spinning. Therefore, Ixion was bound to a burning solar wheel for all eternity, first spinning across the heavens, but in later myth transferred to Tartarus.

Zeus

An underworld goddess

Her story only survives in scholia on Theocritus' Idyll 2. She was raised by nymphs. One day she stole Hera's anointments and gave them away to Europa. To escape her mother's wrath, she tried to hide. Hera eventually ceased prosecuting her, and Zeus ordered the Cabeiroi to cleanse Angelos. They performed the purification rite in the waters of the Acherusia Lake in the Underworld. Consequently, she received the world of the dead as her realm of influence, and was assigned the epithet katachthonia ("she of the underworld").

Not named

Goddesses of grace and beauty

Though usually considered as the daughters of Zeus and Eurynome, or Dionysus and Coronis according to Nonnus, the poet Colluthus makes them the daughters of Hera, without naming a father.

Eileithyia

Zeus

Goddess of childbirth

In Theogony and other sources, she is described as a daughter of Hera by Zeus. Although, the meticulously accurate mythographer Pindar in Seventh Nemean Ode mentions Hera as Eileithyia's mother but makes no mention of Zeus.

Eleutheria

Zeus

Personification of liberty

Eleutheria is the Greek counterpart of Libertas (Liberty), daughter of Jupiter (Zeus) and Juno (Hera) as cited in Hyginus, Fabulae Preface.

Zeus

A war goddess

She was responsible for the destruction of cities and an attendant of Ares, though Homer equates Enyo with Eris.

Zeus

Goddess of discord

She appears in Homer's Book IV, equated with Enyo as the sister of Ares and so presumably the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Alternatively, Hesiod refers to Eris as the daughter of Nyx in both Works and Days and .

Zeus

Goddess of youth

She was a daughter of Zeus and Hera. In a rare alternative version, Hera alone produced Hebe after being impregnated by eating lettuce.

Hephaestus

Zeus

God of fire and the forge

Attested by the Greek poet Hesiod, Hera was jealous of Zeus' giving birth to Athena with Metis, so she gave birth to Hephaestus without union with Zeus (though Homer has Hephaestus refer to "father Zeus"). Hera was then disgusted with Hephaestus' ugliness and threw him from Mount Olympus. In a version of the myth, Hephaestus gained revenge against Hera for rejecting him by making her a magical throne that did not allow her to leave once she sat on it. The other gods begged Hephaestus to return to Olympus to let her go, but he repeatedly refused. Dionysus got him drunk and took him back to Olympus on the back of a mule. Hephaestus released Hera after being given Aphrodite as his wife.

One of the Graces

Although in other works Pasithea doesn't seem to be born to Hera, Nonnus made the Grace Hera's daughter. Elsewhere in the book, Pasithea's father is said to be Dionysus, but it's unclear whether those two together are meant to be Pasithea's parents.

Prometheus

God of forethought

Although usually Prometheus is said to be the son of Iapetus by his wife Clymene or Asia, Hellenistic poet Euphorion made Prometheus the son of Hera by the giant Eurymedon, who raped the young goddess while she was still living with her parents.

-

Serpent-monster

Typhon is presented both as the son of Hera (in Homeric Pythian Hymn to Apollo) and as the son of Gaia (in Hesiod's Theogony). According to the Homeric Hymn to Apollo (6th century BCE), Typhon was the parthenogenous child of Hera, whom she bore alone as a revenge at Zeus who had given birth to Athena. Hera prayed to Gaia to give her a son as strong as Zeus, then slapped the ground and became pregnant. Hera gave the infant Typhon to the serpent Python to raise, and Typhon grew up to become a great bane to mortals. The b scholia to Iliad 2.783, however, has Typhon born in Cilicia as the offspring of Cronus. Gaia, angry at the destruction of the Giants, slanders Zeus to Hera. So Hera goes to Cronus and he gives her two eggs smeared with his own semen, telling her to bury them, and that from them would be born one who would overthrow Zeus. Hera, angry at Zeus, buries the eggs in Cilicia "under Arimon", but when Typhon is born, Hera, now reconciled with Zeus, informs him.

Ancient Greece portal Myths portal Religion portal

1. ^ "The Linear B word e-ra". Palaeolexicon. Word study tool of Ancient languages. Raymoure, K.A. "e-ra". Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B. Deaditerranean. Archived from the original on 2016-03-22.

2. Martin Persson Nilsson, ^ The Minoan-Mycenaean Religion and Its Survival in Greek Religion (Lund) 1950 pt. I.ii "House Sanctuaries", pp 77-116; H. W. Catling, "A Late Bronze Age House- or Sanctuary-Model from the Menelaion, Sparta," BSA 84 (1989) 171-175.

3. Her name appears, with Zeus and Hermes, in a ^ Linear B inscription (Tn 316) at Mycenean Pylos (John Chadwick, The Mycenaean World [Cambridge University Press] 1976:89).

4. P.C. Sestieri, ^ Paestum, the City, the Prehistoric Acropolis in Contrada Gaudo, and the Heraion at the Mouth of the Sele (Rome 1960), p. 11, etc. "It is odd that there was no temple dedicated to Poseidon in a city named for him (Paestum was originally called Poseidonia). Perhaps there was one at Sele, the settlement that preceded Paestum," Sarantis Symeonoglou suggested (Symeonoglou, "The Doric Temples of Paestum" Journal of Aesthetic Education, 19.1, Special Issue: Paestum and Classical Culture: Past and Present [Spring 1985:49-66] p. 50.

5. ^ Burkert, Walter; Burkert, Walter (1998). Greek religion. Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-674-36281-9.

6. ^ O'Brien, Joan V. (1993). The Transformation of Hera: A Study of Ritual, Hero, and the Goddess in the Iliad. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-8476-7808-2.

7. "The goddesses of Greek polytheism, so different and complementary"; ^ Greek mythology scholar Walter Burkert has observed, in Homo Necans (1972) 1983:79f, "are nonetheless, consistently similar at an earlier stage, with one or the other simply becoming dominant in a sanctuary or city. Each is the Great Goddess presiding over a male society; each is depicted in her attire as Potnia Theron "Mistress of the Beasts", and Mistress of the Sacrifice, even Hera and Demeter."

8. Harrison, Jane Ellen. Myths of Greece and Rome. 1928. pp. 12-14

9. Bachofen, ^ Mutterrecht 1861, as Mother Right: An Investigation of the Religious and Juridical Character of Matriarchy in the Ancient World. Bachofen was seminal in the writings of Jane Ellen Harrison and other students of Greek myth.

10. Pausanias, ^ 9.2.7- 9.3.3 Archived 2015-11-06 at the Wayback Machine; Pausanias explains this by telling the myth of the Daedala.

11. Farnell, I 194, citing Pausanias ^ 8.22.2 Archived 2015-11-06 at the Wayback Machine' Pindar refers to the "praises of Hera Parthenia [the Maidenly]" Olympian ode 6.88 Archived 2015-11-06 at the Wayback Machine

12. S. Casson: "Hera of Kanathos and the Ludovisi Throne" ^ The Journal of Hellenic Studies 40.2 (1920), pp. 137-142, citing Stephanus of Byzantium sub Ernaion.

13. ^ Burkert, Walter (1985). Greek religion. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. pp. 131-135. ISBN 0674362810.

14. ^ Evslin, Bernard (2012-10-30). Gods, Demigods and Demons: An Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology. Open Road Media. ISBN 9781453264386.

15. ^ Mandowsky, Erna (1938). "The Origin of the Milky Way in the National Gallery". The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs. 72 (419): 88-93. JSTOR 867195.

16. ^ Anonymous (900s). Geoponika: Agricultural Pursuits. Vol. II. Translated by Thomas Owen 1805. London. pp. 81-82.

17. Rutherford, Ian (1988). "Pindar on the Birth of Apollo". The Classical Quarterly. 38 (1): 65-75. doi:10.1017/S000983880003127X. JSTOR 639206. S2CID 170272842.

18. Pseudo-Apollodorus, ^ Bibliotheke 1.4.1; Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses, 35, giving as his sources Menecrates of Xanthos (4th century BCE) and Nicander of Colophon; Ovid, Metamorphoses vi.317-81 provides another late literary source.

19. Dowden, Ken (1996). "Io". In Hornblower & Spawforth (ed.). The Oxford Classical Dictionary (Third ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 762-763. ISBN 019866172X.

20. ^ Johnston, Sarah Iles, ed. (2013). Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece. Univ of California Press. p. 174. ISBN 9780520280182.

21. Detienne, Marcel (2002-11-25). The Writing of Orpheus: Greek Myth in Cultural Context. JHU Press. ISBN 9780801869549.

22. ^ Murray, John (1833). A Classical Manual, being a Mythological, Historical and Geographical Commentary on Pope's Homer, and Dryden's Aeneid of Virgil with a Copious Index. Albemarle Street, London. p. 8.

23. In Homer, viii. 312 Hephaestus addresses "Father Zeus"; cf. Homer, i. 578 (some scholars, such as Gantz, ^ Early Greek Myth, p. 74, note that Hephaestus' reference to Zeus as 'father' here may be a general title), xiv. 338, xviii. 396, xxi. 332. See also Cicero, De Natura Deorum 3.22.

24. Deris, Sara (2013-06-06). "Examining the Hephaestus Myth through a Disability Studies Perspective". Prandium: The Journal of Historical Studies at University of Toronto Mississauga. 2 (1). Archived from the original on 2016-12-20.

25. Guy Hedreen (2004) The Return of Hephaistos, Dionysiac Processional Ritual and the Creation of a Visual Narrative. ^ The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 124 (2004:38-64) p. 38 and note.

26. Karl Kerenyi (1951) The Gods of the Greeks, pp 156-158.

27. The return of Hephaestus on muleback to Olympus accompanied by Dionysus was a theme of the Attic vase painters, whose wares were favored by Etruscans. The return of Hephaestus was painted on the Etruscan tomb at the "Grotta Campana" near Veii (identified by Peterson; the "well-known subject" was doubted in this instance by A. M. Harmon, "The Paintings of the Grotta Campana", ^ American Journal of Archaeology 16.1 (January - March 1912):1-10); for further examples, see Hephaestus#Return to Olympus.

28. ^ Decker, Jessica Elbert (2016-11-16). "Hail Hera, Mother of Monsters! Monstrosity as Emblem of Sexual Sovereignty". Women's Studies. 45 (8): 743-757. doi:10.1080/00497878.2016.1232021. ISSN 0049-7878. S2CID 151482537.

29. ^ Homeric Hymn to Apollo 306-348. Stesichorus, Fragment 239 (Campbell, pp. 166-167) also has Hera produce Typhon alone to "spite Zeus".

30. Kirk, Raven, and Schofield. ^ pp. 59-60 no. 52; Ogden 2013b, pp. 36-38; Gantz, pp. 50-51, Ogden 2013a, p. 76 n. 46.

Burkert, Walter, Greek Religion 1985.

Burkert, Walter, The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age, 1998.

Evelyn-White, Hugh, The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914.

Farnell, Lewis Richard, The cults of the Greek states I: Zeus, Hera Athena Oxford, 1896.

This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Freese, John Henry (1911). "Apollo". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 184-186.

Gantz, Timothy, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: ISBN 978-0-8018-5360-9 (Vol. 1), ISBN 978-0-8018-5362-3 (Vol. 2).

Hard, Robin, The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology", Psychology Press, 2004, ISBN 9780415186360. Google Books.

Hesiod, Theogony, in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Hyginus, Gaius Julius, The Myths of Hyginus. Edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960.

Kerenyi, Carl, The Gods of the Greeks 1951 (paperback 1980)

Kerenyi, Karl, 1959. The Heroes of the Greeks Especially Heracles.

Kirk, G. S., J. E. Raven, M. Schofield, The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts, Cambridge University Press, Dec 29, 1983. ISBN 9780521274555.

Murray, John (1842). A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities, edited by William Smith. London: Taylor and Walton.

Nonnus, Dionysiaca; translated by Rouse, W H D, III Books XXXVI-XLVIII. Loeb Classical Library No. 346, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1940. Internet Archive.

Ogden, Daniel (2013a), Drakon: Dragon Myth and Serpent Cult in the Greek and Roman Worlds, Oxford University Press, 2013. ISBN 9780199557325.

Ogden, Daniel (2013b), Dragons, Serpents, and Slayers in the Classical and early Christian Worlds: A sourcebook, Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-992509-4.

Ovid, Metamorphoses. Translated by A. D. Melville; introduction and notes by E. J. Kenney. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 2008. ISBN 978-0-19-953737-2.

Ruck, Carl A.P., and Danny Staples, The World of Classical Myth 1994

Seyffert, Oskar. Dictionary of Classical Antiquities 1894. (On-line text)

Seznec, Jean, The Survival of the Pagan Gods : Mythological Tradition in Renaissance Humanism and Art, 1953

Slater, Philip E. The Glory of Hera : Greek Mythology and the Greek Family (Boston: Beacon Press) 1968 (Princeton University 1992 ISBN 0-691-00222-3 ) Concentrating on family structure in 5th-century Athens; some of the crude usage of myth and drama for psychological interpreting of "neuroses" is dated.

Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873). "Gali'nthias"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Hera Queen of the Gods Goddess of marriage, women, marital harmony, and the protector of women during childbirth Member of the Twelve Olympians Major cult center Argos, Mycenae, Samos Abode Mount Olympus Animals Cow, cuckoo, peacock Symbol Pomegranate, sceptre, crown ( polos or diadem) Parents Cronus and Rhea Siblings Poseidon,

# data[].attributes.body
God of herald
Relationship to Zeus: son
3 Adjectives messenger, dead, "devine trickster"
Symbol caduceus
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermes

# data[].attributes.body
Goddess of hearth
Relationship to Zeus: sister
3 Adjectives virgin, gentle, mild
Symbol fire
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hestia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hestia (; Greek: , "hearth" or "fireside") is the virgin goddess of the hearth, the right ordering of domesticity, the family, the home, and the state. In myth, she is the firstborn child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea.

Greek custom required that as the goddess of sacrificial fire, Hestia should receive the first offering at every sacrifice in the household. In the public domain, the hearth of the functioned as her official sanctuary. Whenever a new colony was established, a flame from Hestia's public hearth in the mother city would be carried to the new settlement. The goddess Vesta is her Roman equivalent.

Hestia's name means "hearth, fireplace, altar", This stems from the PIE root *wes, "burn" (ultimately from "dwell, pass the night, stay"). It thus refers to the domestic life, home, household, house, or family. Burkert states that an "early form of the temple is the hearth house; the early temples at Dreros and Prinias on Crete are of this type as indeed is the temple of Apollo at Delphi which always had its inner hestia". The Mycenaean great hall (), like Homer's hall of Odysseus at Ithaca, had a central hearth. Likewise, the hearth of the later Greek was the community and government's ritual and secular focus. Hestia's naming thus makes her a personification of the hearth and its fire, a symbol of society and family, also denoting authority and kingship.

The worship of Hestia was centered around the hearth, both domestic and civic. The hearth was essential for warmth, food preparation, and the completion of sacrificial offerings to deities. At feasts, Hestia was offered the first and last libations of wine. Pausanias writes that the Eleans sacrifice first to Hestia and then to other gods. Xenophon in Cyropaedia wrote that Cyrus the Great sacrificed first to Hestia, then to sovereign Zeus, and then to any other god that the magi suggested.

The accidental or negligent extinction of a domestic hearth fire represented a failure of domestic and religious care for the family; failure to maintain Hestia's public fire in her temple or shrine was a breach of duty to the broad community. A hearth fire might be deliberately, ritually extinguished at need; but its lighting should be accompanied by rituals of completion, purification, and renewal, comparable with the rituals and connotations of an eternal flame and of sanctuary lamps. At the level of the , the hearths of Greek colonies and their mother cities were allied and sanctified through Hestia's cult. Athenaeus, in the Deipnosophistae, writes that in Naucratis the people dined in the Prytaneion on the birthday of Hestia Prytanitis.

Responsibility for Hestia's domestic cult usually fell to the leading woman of the household, although sometimes to a man. Hestia's rites at the hearths of public buildings were usually led by holders of civil office; Dionysius of Halicarnassus testifies that the prytaneum of a Greek state or community was sacred to Hestia, who was served by the most powerful state officials. However, evidence of her dedicant priesthood is extremely rare. Most stems from the early Roman Imperial era, when Sparta offers several examples of women with the priestly title "Hestia"; Chalcis offers one, a daughter of the local elite. Existing civic cults to Hestia probably served as stock for the grafting of Greek ruler-cult to the Roman emperor, the Imperial family, and Rome itself. In Athens, a small seating section at the Theatre of Dionysus was reserved for priesthoods of "Hestia on the Acropolis, Livia, and Julia", and of "Hestia Romain" ("Roman Hestia", thus "The Roman Hearth" or Vesta). At Delos, a priest served "Hestia the Athenian Demos" (the people or state) "and Roma". An eminent citizen of Carian Stratoniceia described himself as a priest of Hestia and several other deities, as well as holding several civic offices. Hestia's political and civic functions are further evidenced by her very numerous privately funded dedications at civic sites, and the administrative rather than religious titles used by the lay-officials involved in her civic cults.

Shrines, temples and colonies

Every private and public hearth was regarded as a sanctuary of the goddess, and a portion of the sacrifices, to whatever divinity they were offered, belonged to her. Aeschines, On the Embassy, declares that "the hearth of the Prytaneum was regarded as the common hearth of the state and a statue of Hestia was there, and in the senate-house there was an altar of the goddess." A temple at Ephesus was dedicated to Hestia Boulaea - Hestia "of the senate", or boule. Pausanias reports a figurative statue of Hestia in the Athenian Prytaneum, together with one of the goddess Eirene ("Peace"). Hestia offered sanctuary from persecution to those who showed her respect and would punish those who offended her. Diodorus Siculus writes that Theramenes sought asylum directly from Hestia at the Council Chamber, leaping onto her hearth not to save himself, but in the hope that his slayers would demonstrate their impiety by killing him there".

Very few free-standing temples were dedicated to Hestia. Pausanias mentions one in Ermioni and one in Sparta, the latter having an altar but no image. Xenophon's Hellenica mentions fighting around and within Olympia's temple of Hestia, a building separate from the city's council hall and adjoining theatre: A temple to Hestia was in Andros.

Prospective founders of city-states and colonies sought approval and guidance not only of their "mother city" (represented by Hestia) but of Apollo, through one or another of his various oracles. He acted as consulting archegetes (founder) at Delphi. Among his various functions, he was patron god of colonies, architecture, constitutions and city planning. Additional patron deities might also be persuaded to support the new settlement, but without Hestia, her sacred hearth, an and prytaneum there could be no polis.

Hymns, odes and oaths

Homeric Hymn 24, To Hestia, is an invocation of five lines, alluding to her role as an attendant to Apollo:

Hestia, you who tend the holy house of the lord Apollo, the Far-shooter at goodly Pytho, with soft oil dripping ever from your locks, come now into this house, come, having one mind with Zeus the all-wise: draw near, and withal bestow grace upon my song.

Homeric Hymn 29, To Hestia invokes Hestia and Hermes:

Hestia, in the high dwellings of all, both deathless gods and men who walk on earth, you have gained an everlasting abode and highest honor: glorious is your portion and your right. For without you mortals hold no banquet, -- where one does not duly pour sweet wine in offering to Hestia both first and last. And you, slayer of Argus ( an epithet of Hermes), Son of Zeus and Maia, the messenger of the blessed gods, bearer of the goldenrod, the giver of good, be favorable and help us, you and Hestia, the worshipful and dear. Come and dwell in this glorious house in friendship together; for you two, well knowing the noble actions of men, aid on their wisdom and their strength. Hail, Daughter of Cronos, and you also, Hermes, bearer of the goldenrod! Now I will remember you and another song also.

Bacchylides Ode 14b, For Aristoteles of Larisa:

Golden-throned Hestia (Ἐστία χρυσόθρον᾽), you who increase the great prosperity of the rich Agathocleadae, seated in the midst of city streets near the fragrant river Peneius in the valleys of sheep-nurturing Thessaly. From there Aristoteles came to flourishing Cirrha, and was twice crowned, for the glory of horse-mastering Larisa ... (The rest of the ode is lost)

In one military oath found at Acharnai, from the Sanctuary of Ares and Athena Areia, dated 350-325 BC, Hestia is called, among many others, to bear witness.

The Hestia tapestry is a Byzantine tapestry, made in Egypt during the 6th century AD. It is a late and very rare representation of the goddess, whom it identifies in Greek as Hestia Polyolbos; ( Greek: Ἑστία Πολύολβος "Hestia full of Blessings"). Its history and symbolism are discussed in Friedlander (1945).

Hestia is a goddess of the first Olympian generation. She is the eldest daughter of the Titans Rhea and Cronus, and sister to Demeter, Hades, Hera, Poseidon, and Zeus. Immediately after their birth, Cronus swallowed all his children (Hestia was the first who was swallowed) except the last and youngest, Zeus. Instead, Zeus forced Cronus to disgorge his siblings and led them in a war against their father and the other Titans. As "first to be devoured . . . and the last to be yielded up again", Hestia is thus both the eldest and youngest daughter; this mythic inversion is found in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite (700 BC).

Zeus assigned Hestia a duty to feed and maintain the fires of the Olympian hearth with the fatty, combustible portions of animal sacrifices to the gods. Wherever food was cooked, or an offering was burnt, she thus had her share of honor; also, in all the temples of the gods, she has a share of honor. "Among all mortals she was chief of the goddesses".

The gods Poseidon and Apollo both (her brother and nephew respectively) fell in love with Hestia and vied for her hand in marriage. But Hestia would have neither of them, and went to Zeus instead, and swore a great oath, that she would remain a virgin for all time and never marry. In the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, Aphrodite is described as having "no power" over Hestia.

At Athens, "in Plato's time," notes Kenneth Dorter "there was a discrepancy in the list of the twelve chief gods, as to whether Hestia or Dionysus was included with the other eleven. The altar to them at the agora, for example, included Hestia, but the east frieze of the Parthenon had Dionysus instead." However, the hearth was imovable, and "there is no story of Hestia's "ever having been removed from her fixed abode". Burkert remarks that "Since the hearth is immovable Hestia is unable to take part even in the procession of the gods, let alone the other antics of the Olympians".

Her mythographic status as firstborn of Rhea and Cronus seems to justify the tradition in which a small offering is made to Hestia before any sacrifice ("Hestia comes first"), though this was not universal among the Greeks. In Odyssey 14, 432-436, the loyal swineherd Eumaeus begins the feast for his master Odysseus by plucking tufts from a boar's head and throwing them into the fire with a prayer addressed to all the powers, then carved the meat into seven equal portions: "one he set aside, lifting up a prayer to the forest nymphs and Hermes, Maia's son."

Hestia is identified with the hearth as a physical object, and the abstractions of community and domesticity, in contrast to the fire of the forge employed in blacksmithing and metalworking, the province of the god Hephaestus. Portrayals of her are rare and seldom secure. In classical Greek art, she is occasionally depicted as a woman simply and modestly cloaked in a head veil. At times, she is shown with a staff in hand or by a large fire. She sits on a plain wooden throne with a white woolen cushion and, Robert Graves declares, "did not trouble to choose an emblem for herself". Her associated sacrificial animal was a domestic pig.

Her Roman equivalent is Vesta; Vesta has similar functions as a divine personification of Rome's "public", domestic, and colonial hearths, binding Romans together within a form of extended family. The similarity of names between Hestia and Vesta is, however, misleading: "The relationship hestia-histie-Vesta cannot be explained in terms of Indo-European linguistics; borrowings from a third language must also be involved," according to Walter Burkert. Herodotus equates Hestia with the high ranking Scythian deity Tabiti. Procopius equates her with the Zoroastrian holy fire () of the Sasanians in Adhur Gushnasp.

1. ^ a Graves, Robert (1960). "The Palace of Olympus". Greek Gods and Heroes. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday. b

2. ^ R. S. P. Beekes. Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, p. 471.

3. Calvert Watkins, "wes-", in: ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Boston 1985 (web archive).

4. ^ Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q. (2006-08-24). The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World. OUP Oxford. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-19-928791-8.

5. Herman-Hansen, Mogens and Tobias Fischer-Hansen. 1994. "Monumental Political Architecture in Archaic and Classical Greek Poleis. Evidence and Historical Significance." In D. Whitehead, ed., Historia Einzel-Schriften 87: ^ From Political Architecture to Stephanus Byzantinus: Sources for the Ancient Greek Polis. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 30-37 ISBN 9783515065726

6. ^ Kajava, p. 5.

7. ^ Kajava, pp. 1, 3, 5.

8. ^ Hymn 24 to Hestia.

9. ^ Homeric Hymn to Hestia 29.1 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

10. ^ Orphic Hymn 84 to Hestia (Athanassakis & Wolkow, pp. 64-65).

11. ^ Pindar, Nemean Odes 11.1, EN

12. Friedlander, Paul. (1945). ^ Documents of Dying Paganism. University of California Press.

13. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 453 ff.

14. ^ Kajava, pp. 1-2.

15. ^ Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite (5), 21-32

16. Dorter, K. (1971). "Imagery and Philosophy in Plato's Phaedrus". ^ Journal of the History of Philosophy, 9 (3), 279-288 (July 1971).

17. ^ Robert Fagles' translation

18. ^ Kajava, p. 2.

19. , Bremmer, Jan. N., in Ogden, D. (ed.). (2010). ^ A Companion to Greek Religion, Wiley-Blackwell, p. 134. ISBN 978-1-4443-3417-3.

20. Hughes, James. (1995). ^ Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia, p. 215. Larousse/The Book People.

21. Procopius, ^ History of the Wars, Book II, XXIV.

22. This chart is based upon ^ Hesiod's Theogony, unless otherwise noted.

23. According to ^ Homer, Iliad 1.570-579, 14.338, Odyssey 8.312, Hephaestus was apparently the son of Hera and Zeus, see Gantz, p. 74.

24. According to ^ Homer, Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus (Iliad 3.374, 20.105; Odyssey 8.308, 320) and Dione (Iliad 5.370-71), see Gantz, pp. 99-100.

Evelyn-White, Hugh, The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Homeric Hymns. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914.

Friedlander, Paul. (1945). Documents of Dying Paganism. University of California Press.

Gantz, Timothy, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: ISBN 978-0-8018-5360-9 (Vol. 1), ISBN 978-0-8018-5362-3 (Vol. 2).

Hesiod, , in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, Massachusetts., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Kajava, Mika. "Hestia Hearth, Goddess, and Cult", Harvard Studies in Classical Philology 102 (2004): 1-20. JSTOR 4150030.

Nagy, Gregory (1990). Greek Mythology and Poetics. Cornell University Press. ISBN 0-8014-8048-5.

Ovid, Ovid's Fasti: With an English translation by Sir James George Frazer, London: W. Heinemann LTD; Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1959. Internet Archive.

Stephenson, Hamish. (1985). The Gods of the Romans and Greeks. NYT Writer.

West, M. L., Indo-European Poetry and Myth, Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-19-928075-9. Google Books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Hestia (; Greek: , "hearth" or "fireside") is the virgin goddess of the hearth, the right ordering of domesticity, the family, the home, and the state. In myth, she is the firstborn child of the Titans Cronus and Rhea.

# data[].attributes.body
God of sea
Relationship to Zeus: brother
3 Adjectives bad-tempered, moody and greedy
Symbol trident
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poseidon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Poseidon

King of the sea

God of the sea, storms, earthquakes, and horses

Member of the Twelve Olympians

Abode

Mount Olympus, or the sea

Symbol

Trident, fish, dolphin, horse, bull

Parents

Cronus and Rhea

Siblings

Hades, Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Zeus; Chiron ( half)

Consort

Amphitrite, Aphrodite, Demeter, various others

Children

Theseus, Triton, Polyphemus, Orion, Belus, Agenor, Neleus, Atlas, Pegasus, Chrysaor, Cymopolea

Roman equivalent
Neptune

Poseidon (; Greek: ) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes. He also had the cult title "earth shaker". In the myths of isolated Arcadia he is related with Demeter and Persephone and he was venerated as a horse, however, it seems that he was originally a god of the waters. He is often regarded as the tamer or father of horses, and with a strike of his trident, he created springs which are related to the word horse. His Roman equivalent is Neptune.

Poseidon was the protector of seafarers, and of many Hellenic cities and colonies. Homer and Hesiod suggest that Poseidon became lord of the sea following the defeat of his father Cronus, the world was divided by lot among his three sons; Zeus was given the sky, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the sea, with the Earth and Mount Olympus belonging to all three. In Homer's , Poseidon supports the Greeks against the Trojans during the Trojan War and in the , during the sea-voyage from Troy back home to Ithaca, the Greek hero Odysseus provokes Poseidon's fury by blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, resulting in Poseidon punishing him with storms, the complete loss of his ship and companions, and a ten-year delay. Poseidon is also the subject of a Homeric hymn. In Plato's Timaeus and Critias, the legendary island of Atlantis was Poseidon's domain.

The origins of the name "Poseidon" are unclear. One theory breaks it down into an element meaning "husband" or "lord" (Greek ( posis), from PIE *pótis) and another element meaning "earth" ( da), Doric for ( gē)), producing something like lord or spouse of Da, i.e. of the earth; this would link him with Demeter, "Earth-mother". Walter Burkert finds that "the second element δᾶ- remains hopelessly ambiguous" and finds a "husband of Earth" reading "quite impossible to prove." According to Robert S. P. Beekes in Etymological Dictionary of Greek, "there is no indication that δᾶ means 'earth'", although the root da appears in the Linear B inscription E-ne-si-da-o-ne, "earth-shaker".

Another, more plausible, theory interprets the second element as related to the (presumed) Doric word *δᾶϝον dâwon, "water", Proto-Indo-European *dah₂- "water" or *dʰenh₂- "to run, flow", Sanskrit दन् dā́-nu- "fluid, drop, dew" and names of rivers such as Danube (< *Danuvius) or Don. This would make * Posei-dawōn into the master of waters. It seems that Poseidon was originally a god of the waters. There is also the possibility that the word has Pre-Greek origin. Plato in his dialogue Cratylus gives two traditional etymologies: either the sea restrained Poseidon when walking as a "foot-bond" (ποσίδεσμον), or he "knew many things" (πολλά εἰδότος or πολλά εἰδῶν).

At least a few sources deem Poseidon as a "prehellenic" (i.e. Pelasgian) word, considering an Indo-European etymology "quite pointless".

Linear B (Mycenean Greek) inscriptions

If surviving Linear B clay tablets can be trusted, the name po-se-da-wo-ne ("Poseidon") occurs with greater frequency than does di-u-ja ("Zeus"). A feminine variant, po-se-de-ia, is also found, indicating a lost consort goddess, in effect the precursor of Amphitrite. Poseidon carries frequently the title wa-na-ka (wanax), meaning "king" in Linear B inscriptions. The chthonic nature of Poseidon-Wanax is also indicated by his title E-ne-si-da-o-ne in Mycenean Knossos and Pylos, a powerful attribute (earthquakes had accompanied the collapse of the Minoan palace-culture). In the cave of Amnisos (Crete) Enesidaon is related with the cult of Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth. She was related with the annual birth of the divine child. During the Bronze Age, a goddess of nature, dominated both in Minoan and Mycenean cult, and Wanax ( wa-na-ka) was her male companion (paredros) in Mycenean cult. It is possible that Demeter appears as Da-ma-te in a Linear B inscription (PN EN 609), however the interpretation is still under dispute.

In Linear B inscriptions found at Pylos, E-ne-si-da-o-ne is related with Poseidon, and Si-to Po-tini-ja is probably related with Demeter. Tablets from Pylos record sacrificial goods destined for "the Two Queens and Poseidon" ("to the Two Queens and the King": wa-na-soi, wa-na-ka-te). The "Two Queens" may be related with Demeter and Persephone, or their precursors, goddesses who were not associated with Poseidon in later periods.

The illuminating exception is the archaic and localised myth of the stallion Poseidon and mare Demeter at Phigalia in isolated and conservative Arcadia, noted by Pausanias (2nd century AD) as having fallen into desuetude; the stallion Poseidon pursues the mare- Demeter, and from the union she bears the horse Arion, and a daughter ( Despoina), who obviously had the shape of a mare too. The violated Demeter was Demeter Erinys (furious). In Arcadia, Demeter's mare-form was worshiped into historical times. Her of Phigaleia shows how the local cult interpreted her, as goddess of nature. A Medusa type with a horse's head with snaky hair, holding a dove and a dolphin, probably representing her power over air and water.

It seems that the Arcadian myth is related to the first Greek-speaking people who entered the region during the Bronze Age. (Linear B represents an archaic Greek dialect). Their religious beliefs were mixed with the beliefs of the indigenous population. It is possible that the Greeks did not bring with them other gods except Zeus, Eos, and the Dioskouroi. The horse ( numina) was related with the liquid element, and with the underworld. Poseidon appears as a beast (horse), which is the river spirit of the underworld, as it usually happens in northern-European folklore, and not unusually in Greece. Poseidon "Wanax", is the male companion (paredros) of the goddess of nature. In the relative Minoan myth, Pasiphaë is mating with the white bull, and she bears the hybrid creature Minotaur. The Bull was the old pre-Olympian Poseidon. The goddess of nature and her paredros survived in the Eleusinian cult, where the following words were uttered: "Mighty Potnia bore a strong son".

In the heavily sea-dependent Mycenaean culture, there is not sufficient evidence that Poseidon was connected with the sea. We do not know if "Posedeia" was a sea-goddess. Homer and Hesiod suggest that Poseidon became lord of the sea following the defeat of his father Cronus, when the world was divided by lot among his three sons; Zeus was given the sky, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the sea, with the Earth and Mount Olympus belonging to all three. Walter Burkert suggests that the Hellene cult worship of Poseidon as a horse god may be connected to the introduction of the horse and war-chariot from Anatolia to Greece around 1600 BC.

There is evidence that Poseidon was once worshipped as a horse, and this is evident by his cult in Peloponnesos. However, some ancient writers held he was originally a god of the waters, and therefore he became the "earth-shaker", because the Greeks believed that the cause of the earthquakes was the erosion of the rocks by the waters, by the rivers who they saw to disappear into the earth and then to burst out again. This is what the natural philosophers Thales, Anaximenes and Aristotle believed, which may have been similar to the folklore belief.

In any case, the early importance of Poseidon can still be glimpsed in Homer's , where Poseidon rather than Zeus is the major mover of events. In Homer, Poseidon is the master of the sea.

Poseidon was a major civic god of several cities: in Athens, he was second only to Athena in importance, while in Corinth and many cities of Magna Graecia he was the chief god of the polis.

In his benign aspect, Poseidon was seen as creating new islands and offering calm seas. When offended or ignored, he supposedly struck the ground with his trident and caused chaotic springs, earthquakes, drownings and shipwrecks. Sailors prayed to Poseidon for a safe voyage, sometimes drowning horses as a sacrifice; in this way, according to a fragmentary papyrus, Alexander the Great paused at the Syrian seashore before the climactic battle of Issus, and resorted to prayers, "invoking Poseidon the sea-god, for whom he ordered a four-horse chariot to be cast into the waves."

According to Pausanias, Poseidon was one of the caretakers of the oracle at Delphi before Olympian Apollo took it over. Apollo and Poseidon worked closely in many realms: in colonization, for example, Delphic Apollo provided the authorization to go out and settle, while Poseidon watched over the colonists on their way, and provided the lustral water for the foundation-sacrifice. Xenophon's Anabasis describes a group of Spartan soldiers in 400-399 BC singing to Poseidon a paean-a kind of hymn normally sung for Apollo. Like Dionysus, who inflamed the maenads, Poseidon also caused certain forms of mental disturbance. A Hippocratic text of ca 400 BC, On the Sacred Disease says that he was blamed for certain types of epilepsy.

Poseidon is still worshipped today in modern Hellenic religion, among other Greek gods. The worship of Greek gods has been recognized by the Greek government since 2017.

Poseidon had a variety of roles, duties and attributes. He is a separate deity from the oldest Greek god of the sea Pontus. In Athens his name is superimposed οn the name of the non-Greek god Erechtheus ( Poseidon Erechtheus). In Iliad he is the lord of the sea and his palace is built in Aegai, in the depth of the sea. His significance is indicated by his titles Eurykreion (Εὐρυκρείων ) "wide-ruling", an epithet also applied to Agamemnon and Helikonios anax (Ἑλικώνιος ἂναξ ), "lord of Helicon or Helike" In Helike of Achaia he was specially honoured. Anax is identified in Mycenaean Greek ( Linear B) as wa-na-ka,a title of Poseidon as king of the underworld. Aeschylus uses also the epithet anax and Pindar the epithet Eurymedon () "widely ruling".

Some of the epithets (or adjectives) applied to him like Enosigaios (Ἐνοσίγαιος ), Enosichthon () ( Homer) and Ennosidas () ( Pindar), mean "earth shaker". These epithets indicate his chthonic nature, and have an older evidence of use, as it is identified in Linear B, as , E-ne-si-da-o-ne. Other epithets that relate him with the earthquakes are Gaieochos () and Seisichthon () The god who causes the earthquakes is also the protector against them, and he had the epithets Themeliouchos (Θεμελιούχος ) "upholding the foundations", Asphaleios () "securer, protector" with a temble at Tainaron. Pausanias describes a sanctuary of Poseidon near Sparta beside the shrine of Alcon, where he had the surname Domatites (), "of the house"

Homer uses for Poseidon the title Kyanochaites (Κυανοχαίτης ), "dark-haired, dark blue of the sea". Epithets like Pelagios () "of the open sea", Aegeus (),"of the high sea" in the town of Aegae in Euboea, where he had a magnificent temple upon a hill, Pontomedon (Ποντομέδων )," lord of the sea" ( Pindar, Aeschylus) and Kymothales (), "abounding with waves", indicate that Poseidon was regarded as holding sway over the sea. Other epithets that relate him with the sea are, Porthmios (), "of strait, narrow sea" at Karpathos, () "god worshipped on the coast", in Samos., Alidoupos, () "sea resounding". His symbol is the trident and he has the epithet Eutriaina (), "with goodly trident" ( Pindar). The god of the sea is also the god of fishing, and tuna was his attribute. At Lampsacus they offered fishes to Poseidon and he had the epithet phytalmios () His epithet Phykios (), "god of seaweeds" at Mykonos, seems to be related with fishing. He had a fest where women were not allowed, with special offers also to Poseidon Temenites () "related to an official domain ". At the same day they made offers to Demeter Chloe therefore Poseidon was the promotor of vegetation. He had the epithet phytalmios () at Myconos, Troizen, Megara and Rhodes, comparable with Ptorthios () at Chalcis.

Poseidon had a close association with horses. He is known under the epithet Hippios (), "of a horse or horses" usually in Arcadia. He had temples at Lycosura, Mantineia, Methydrium, Pheneos, Pallandion. At Lycosura he is related with the cult of Despoina. The modern sanctuary near Mantineia was built by Emperor Hadrian. In Athens on the hill of horses there was the altar of Poseidon Hippios and Athena Hippia. The temple of Poseidon was destroyed by Antigonus when he attacked Attica. He is usually the tamer of horses ( Damaios, at Corinth), and the tender of horses Hippokourios Ἱπποκούριος ) at Sparta, where he had a sanctuary near the sanctuary of Artemis Aiginea. In some myths he is the father of horses, either by spilling his seed upon a rock or by mating with a creature who then gave birth to the first horse. In Thessaly he had the title Petraios , "of the rocks". He hit a rock and the first horse "Skyphios" appeared. He was closely related with the springs, and with the strike of his trident, he created springs. He had the epithets Krenouchos (), "ruling over springs", and nymphagetes (Νυμφαγέτης ) "leader of the nymphs" On the Acropolis of Athens he created the saltspring Sea of Erechtheus (Ἐρεχθηίς θάλασσα ). Many springs like Hippocrene and Aganippe in Helikon are related with the word horse (hippos). (also Glukippe, Hyperippe). He is the father of Pegasus, whose name is deriven from , ( pēgē) "spring".

The cult of Poseidon is often related with festivals. At Corinth the Isthmian games was an athletic and music festival to honour the god who had the epithet Isthmios (). The Amphictiony of Kalaureia belonged to him. At Tainaron he had a famous temple and festival. Other games which belonged to him are the Pohoidaia () in Helos and Thuria and the race in Gaiaochō () Poseidon Gaieochos () had a temple near Sparta beside a Hippodrome. Τhe epithet probably means " the one who moves under the earth" ' and therefore shakes the earth. This seem to relate Poseidon with the rivers at Peloponnesus that seem to disappear and then flow under the earth. At Ephesus there was a fest "Tavria" and he had the epithet Tavreios (), "related with the bull".

Poseidon was the second son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. In most accounts he is swallowed by Cronus at birth and is later saved, along with his other siblings, by Zeus.

However, in some versions of the story, he, like his brother Zeus, did not share the fate of his other brother and sisters who were eaten by Cronus. He was saved by his mother Rhea, who concealed him among a flock of lambs and pretended to have given birth to a colt, which she gave to Cronus to devour.

According to John Tzetzes the kourotrophos, or nurse of Poseidon was Arne, who denied knowing where he was, when Cronus came searching; according to Diodorus Siculus Poseidon was raised by the Telchines on Rhodes, just as Zeus was raised by the Korybantes on Crete.

According to a single reference in the , when the world was divided by lot in three, Zeus received the sky, Hades the underworld and Poseidon the sea.

Athena became the patron goddess of the city of Athens after a competition with Poseidon. Yet Poseidon remained a numinous presence on the Acropolis in the form of his surrogate, Erechtheus. At the dissolution festival at the end of the year in the Athenian calendar, the Skira, the priests of Athena and the priest of Poseidon would process under canopies to Eleusis. They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and the Athenians would choose whichever gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprang up; the water was salty and not very useful, whereas Athena offered them an olive tree.

The Athenians or their king, Cecrops, accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought wood, oil and food. After the fight, infuriated at his loss, Poseidon sent a monstrous flood to the Attic Plain, to punish the Athenians for not choosing him. The depression made by Poseidon's trident and filled with salt water was surrounded by the northern hall of the Erechtheum, remaining open to the air. "In cult, Poseidon was identified with Erechtheus," Walter Burkert noted; "the myth turns this into a temporal-causal sequence: in his anger at losing, Poseidon led his son Eumolpus against Athens and killed Erectheus."

The contest of Athena and Poseidon was the subject of the reliefs on the western pediment of the Parthenon, the first sight that greeted the arriving visitor.

This myth is construed by Robert Graves and others as reflecting a clash between the inhabitants during Mycenaean times and newer immigrants. Athens at its height was a significant sea power, at one point defeating the Persian fleet at Salamis Island in a sea battle.

The Corinthians had a similar story to the foundations of Athens, about their own city Corinth. According to the myth, Helios and Poseidon clashed, both desiring to make the city their own. Their dispute was brought to one of the Hecatoncheires, Briareos, an elder god, who was thus tasked to settle the fight between the two gods. Briareus decided to award the Acrocorinth to Helios, while to Poseidon he gave the isthmus of Corinth. In this tale, Helios and Poseidon are supposed to represent fire versus water. Helios, as the sun god, received the area that is closest to the sky, while Poseidon, who is the sea god, got the isthmus by the sea.

Consort, lovers, victims and children

Poseidon was said to have had many lovers of both sexes (see expandable list below). His consort was Amphitrite, a nymph and ancient sea-goddess, daughter of Nereus and Doris. In one account, attributed to Eratosthenes, Poseidon wished to wed Amphitrite, but she fled from him and hid with Atlas. Poseidon sent out many to find her, and it was a dolphin who tracked her down. The dolphin persuaded Amphitrite to accept Poseidon as her husband, and eventually took charge of their wedding. Poseidon then put him among the stars as a reward for his good services. Oppian says that the dolphin betrayed Amphitrite's whereabouts to Poseidon, and he carried off Amphitrite against her will to marry her. Together they had a son named Triton, a merman.

Poseidon was the father of many heroes. He is thought to have fathered the famed Theseus.

A mortal woman named Tyro was married to Cretheus (with whom she had one son, Aeson), but loved Enipeus, a river god. She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances. One day, Poseidon, filled with lust for Tyro, disguised himself as Enipeus, and from their union were born the heroes Pelias and Neleus, twin boys. Poseidon also had an affair with Alope, his granddaughter through Cercyon, his son and King of Eleusis, begetting the Attic hero Hippothoon. Cercyon had his daughter buried alive but Poseidon turned her into the spring, Alope, near Eleusis.

After having raped Caeneus, Poseidon fulfilled her request and changed her into a male warrior.

A mortal woman named Cleito once lived on an isolated island; Poseidon fell in love with the human mortal and created a dwelling sanctuary at the top of a hill near the middle of the island and surrounded the dwelling with rings of water and land to protect her. She gave birth to five sets of twin boys; the firstborn, Atlas, became the first ruler of Atlantis.

Not all of Poseidon's children were human. In an archaic myth, Poseidon once pursued Demeter. She spurned his advances, turning herself into a mare so that she could hide in a herd of horses; he saw through the deception and became a stallion, captured and raped her. Their child was a horse, Arion, which was capable of human speech. Poseidon also raped Medusa on the floor of a temple to Athena. Medusa was then changed into a monster by Athena. When she was later beheaded by the hero Perseus, Chrysaor and Pegasus emerged from her neck.

His other children include Polyphemus (the Cyclops) and, finally, Alebion and Bergion and Otos and Ephialtae (the giants).

The philosopher Plato was held by his fellow ancient Greeks to have traced his descent to the sea-God Poseidon through his father Ariston and his mythic predecessors the demigod kings Codrus and Melanthus.

Poseidon also took the young Nerites, the son of Nereus and Doris (and thus brother to Amphitrite) as a lover. Nerites was also Poseidon's charioteer, and impressed all marine creatures with his speed. But one day the sun god, Helios, turned Nerites into a shellfish. Aelian, the author of this tale, says it is not clear why Helios did this, but theorizes he might have been offended somehow, or that he and Poseidon were rivals in love, and Helios wanted Nerites to travel among the constellations instead of the sea-monsters. From the love between Poseidon and Nerites was born Anteros, mutual love.

Other male lovers included Pelops and Patroclus.

As mentioned above, Poseidon and his male lover Nerites were the fathers of Anteros, the mutual love, according to a version by Aelian.

In Greek art, Poseidon rides a chariot that was pulled by a hippocampus or by horses that could ride on the sea. He was associated with dolphins and three-pronged fish spears ( tridents). He lived in a palace on the ocean floor, made of coral and gems.

In the Poseidon favors the Greeks, and on several occasion takes an active part in the battle against the Trojan forces. However, in Book XX he rescues Aeneas after the Trojan prince is laid low by Achilles.

In the , Poseidon is notable for his hatred of Odysseus who blinded the god's son, the Cyclops Polyphemus. The enmity of Poseidon prevents Odysseus's return home to Ithaca for many years. Odysseus is even told, notwithstanding his ultimate safe return, that to placate the wrath of Poseidon will require one more voyage on his part.

In the , Neptune is still resentful of the wandering Trojans, but is not as vindictive as Juno, and in Book I he rescues the Trojan fleet from the goddess's attempts to wreck it, although his primary motivation for doing this is his annoyance at Juno's having intruded into his domain.

Due to his status as a Greek god, Poseidon has made multiple appearances in modern and popular culture.

Poseidon has also appeared in modern literature. This includes Percy Jackson & the Olympians in which he plays a role as Percy Jackson's father.

Poseidon has been very popular especially in god-related films. John Putch directed the 2005 film The Poseidon Adventure. Wolfgang Petersen also film adapted Paul Gallico's novel and directed the 2006 film .

Poseidon appears in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief as the father of Percy Jackson and in Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters as the father of Tyson the Cyclops. He also appears in the ABC television series Once Upon a Time as the guest star of the second half of season four played by Ernie Hudson. In this version, Poseidon is portrayed as the father of the Sea Witch Ursula.

Poseidon has made multiple appearances in video games, such as in by Sony. In the game, Poseidon appears as a boss for the player to defeat. He also appears in as a playable character.

Poseidon myths as told by story tellers

Bibliography of reconstruction:

Bibliography of reconstruction:

Pindar, Olympian Ode, I (476 BC)

Sophocles, (1) Electra, 504 (430 - 415 BC) & (2) Oenomaus, Fr. 433 (408 BC)

Euripides, Orestes, 1024-1062 (408 BC)

Diodorus Siculus, Histories, 4.73 (1st century BC)

Hyginus, Fables, 84: Oinomaus; Poetic Astronomy, ii (1st century AD)

Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5.1.3 - 7; 5.13.1; 6.21.9; 8.14.10 - 11 (c. AD 160 - 176)

Philostratus the Elder Imagines, I.30: Pelops (AD 170 - 245)

Philostratus the Younger, Imagines, 9: Pelops (c. 200 - 245)

First Vatican Mythographer, 22: Myrtilus; Atreus et Thyestes

Second Vatican Mythographer, 146: Oenomaus

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2. ^ Burkert 1985, pp. 136-139.

3. Plato (1971). Timaeus and Critias. London, England: Penguin Books Ltd. pp. 167. ISBN 9780140442618.

4. Also it has been interpreted that Plato or someone before him in the chain of the oral or written tradition of the report accidentally changed the very similar Greek words for "bigger than" ("meson") and "between" ("mezon") - Luce, J.V. (1969). The End of Atlantis - New Light on an Old Legend. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 224.

5. Liddell & Scott, ^ A Greek-English Lexicon, Ποσειδῶν Archived 9 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine.

6. Pierre Chantraine ^ Dictionnaire etymologique de la langue grecque Paris 1974-1980 4th s.v.; Lorenzo Rocci Vocabolario Greco-Italiano Milano, Roma, Napoli 1943 (1970) s.v.

7. ^ R. S. P. Beekes. Etymological Dictionary of Greek, Brill, 2009, p. 324 (s.v. "Δημήτηρ")

8. ^ Δημήτηρ . Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.

9. Dietrich, pp. ^ 220 Archived 23 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine-221 Archived 24 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine.

10. Ventris/Chadwick,^ Documents in Mycenean Greek p. 242; Dietrich, p. 172, n. 218 Archived 24 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine.

11. ^ Pausanias, 8.25.5; Raymond Bloch "Quelques remarques sur Poseidon, Neptunus et Nethuns" in Comptes-rendus des séances de l' Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Letres 2 1981 p. 345.

12. Pseudo-Apollodorus, ^ Bibliotheke 3.1.4 Archived 4 July 2017 at the Wayback Machine

13. ^

14. ^ Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller's ed. Papyrus Oxyrrhincus Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum 148, 44, col. 2; quoted by Robin Lane Fox, Alexander the Great (1973) 1986:168 and note. Alexander also invoked other sea deities: Thetis, mother of his hero Achilles, Nereus and the Nereids

15. ^

16. ^ Brunwasser, Matthew (20 June 2013). "The Greeks Who Worship Ancient Gods". BBC.

17. ^

18. ^ Virgil, Aeneid iii. 74, where Servius erroneously derives the name from the Aegean Sea

19. ^ Schmitz, Leonhard (1867). "Aegaeus". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Vol. 1. Boston. p. 24.

20. ^ Smith, >Steven D. (2019), Maria Kanellou; Ivana Petrovic; Chris Carey (eds.), "Art, Nature, Power: Garden Epigrams from Nero to Heraclius", Greek Epigram from the Hellenistic to the Early Byzantine Era, Oxford University Press, p. 348, ISBN 978-0-192-57379-7

21. ^ Leonhard Schmitz (1870). "Epactaeus". In Smith, William (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

22. In the 2nd century AD, a well with the name of ^ Arne, the "lamb's well", in the neighbourhood of Mantineia in Arcadia, where old traditions lingered, was shown to Pausanias. (Pausanias, 8.8.2)

23. Homer, ^ Iliad 15.184-93 Archived 11 May 2019 at the Wayback Machine)

24. ^ Ogden, Daniel (2021). The Oxford Handbook of Heracles. Oxford University Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-19-065098-8.

25. Gill, N.S. (2007). "Mates and Children of Poseidon". Archived from the original on 23 December 2006.

26. ^ Philip Freeman (2013). Oh My Gods: A Modern Retelling of Greek and Roman Myths. p. 30. ISBN 9781451609981.

27. Hesiod, ^ Ehoiai fr. 40a as cited in Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1358 fr. 2

28. ^ Herodorus, fr. 62 Fowler (Fowler 2000, p. 253), apud schol. Pindar, Olympian Odes 7.24-5; Fowler 2013, p. 591

29. ^ Hyginus, Fabulae 157

30. Scholia on Pindar, ^ Olympian Ode 10.83 quoted in Hesiod, Ehoiai fr. 64

31. ^ Probus on Virgil's Georgics 2.197

32. ^ Apollodorus, 2.1.5, 2.7.4; Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.133-139; Hyginus, Fabulae 14, 169.

33. ^ Plutarch, Parallela minora 38

34. Murray, John (1833). A Classical Manual, being a Mythological, Historical and Geographical Commentary on Pope's Homer, and Dryden's Aeneid of Virgil with a Copious Index. Albemarle Street, London. p. 78.

35. Stephanus of Byzantium, ^ Ethnica s.v. Byzantion

36. Hyginus, ^ Fabulae 14; Pindar, Pythian Ode 4.45

37. Scholia on ^ Homer, Odyssey 11.326 = Hesiod, fr. 62 (Loeb edition, 1914)

38. ^ Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 1.230-3b

39. ^ Scholia on Pindar, Pythian Odes 4.122

40. Pseudo-Eratosthenes, ^ Catasterismi 19; Hyginus, Poeticon astronomicon 2.20

41. Stephanus of Byzantium, ^ s.v. Dyrrhakhion

42. Hyginus, Fabulae, 38.

43. ^ Antoninus Liberalis, 22 Archived 2 October 2018 at the Wayback Machine

44. ^ Eustathius ad Homer, Odyssey p. 1649

45. ^ Servius ad Virgil, Aeneid 2.27

46. According to ^ Homer, Iliad 1.570-579, 14.338, Odyssey 8.312, Hephaestus was apparently the son of Hera and Zeus, see Gantz, p. 74.

47. According to ^ Hesiod, Theogony 927-929 Archived 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Hephaestus was produced by Hera alone, with no father, see Gantz, p. 74.

48. According to ^ Hesiod, Theogony 886-890 Archived 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine, of Zeus' children by his seven wives, Athena was the first to be conceived, but the last to be born; Zeus impregnated Metis then swallowed her, later Zeus himself gave birth to Athena "from his head", see Gantz, pp. 51-52, 83-84.

49. According to ^ Hesiod, Theogony 183-200 Archived 5 May 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Aphrodite was born from Uranus' severed genitals, see Gantz, pp. 99-100.

50. According to ^ Homer, Aphrodite was the daughter of Zeus (Iliad 3.374, 20.105 Archived 2 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine; Odyssey 8.308 Archived 2 November 2018 at the Wayback Machine, 320) and Dione (Iliad 5.370-71), see Gantz, pp. 99-100.

51. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (19 December 2014). "Ernie Hudson To Play Poseidon On 'Once Upon a Time'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 24 December 2014.

Apollodorus, Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.

Apollonius of Rhodes, Apollonius Rhodius: the Argonautica, translated by Robert Cooper Seaton, W. Heinemann, 1912. Internet Archive.

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Dietrich, B. C., The Origins of Greek Religion, Bristol Phoenix Press, 2004. ISBN 978-1-904675-31-0.

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Volume III: Books 4.59-8, translated by C. H. Oldfather, Loeb Classical Library No. 340. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1939. ISBN 978-0-674-99375-4. Online version at Harvard University Press. Online version by Bill Thayer.

Dionysius of Halicarnassus. Roman Antiquities, Volume I: Books 1-2, translated by Earnest Cary. Loeb Classical Library No. 319. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1937. Online version by Bill Thayer. Online version at Harvard University Press.

Gantz, Timothy, Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: ISBN 978-0-8018-5360-9 (Vol. 1), ISBN 978-0-8018-5362-3 (Vol. 2).

Halieutica in Oppian, Colluthus, Tryphiodorus. Oppian, Colluthus, and Tryphiodorus. Translated by A. W. Mair, edited by W. H. D. Rouse. Loeb Classical Library 219. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1928.

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Poseidon King of the sea God of the sea, storms, earthquakes, and horses Member of the Twelve Olympians Abode Mount Olympus, or the sea Symbol Trident, fish, dolphin, horse, bull Parents Cronus and Rhea Siblings Hades, Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Zeus; Chiron ( half) Consort Amphitrite, Aphrodite, Demeter, various others Children Theseus, Triton, Polyphemus, Orion, Belus, Agenor, Neleus, Atlas, Pegasus, Chrysaor, Cymopolea Roman equivalent Neptune Poseidon (; Greek: ) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.

# data[].attributes.body
God of sky and weather
Relationship to Zeus: self
3 Adjectives ruler, protecter, father of all
Symbol lighting bolt
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus

# data[].attributes.body
Reason for the War: kidnapping of queen helen
Major Parties Involved: greeks and trojans
The Trojan Horse Explained: a wooden horse given by the trojans to the greeks as a "gift" actually used to enter kindom secretly and attack at night
Outcome of the War: greeks won
Great Heroes of the War: achilles, agamemnon, odysseus, ajax, diomedes
Source of Information (Website URL):https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trojan_War

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the 12th or 13th century BCE. The war was waged by the Achaeans ( Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology, and it has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's . The core of the Iliad (Books II - XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.

The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located near the Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of the or . By the mid-19th century AD, both the war and the city were widely seen as non-historical, but in 1868, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was at what is now Hisarlik in Turkey. On the basis of excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most scholars.

Whether there is any historical reality behind the Trojan War remains an open question. Many scholars believe that there is a historical core to the tale, though this may simply mean that the Homeric stories are a fusion of various tales of sieges and expeditions by Mycenaean Greeks during the Bronze Age. Those who believe that the stories of the Trojan War are derived from a specific historical conflict usually date it to the or , often preferring the dates given by Eratosthenes, 1194-1184 BC, which roughly correspond to archaeological evidence of a catastrophic burning of Troy VII, and the Late Bronze Age collapse.

The events of the Trojan War are found in many works of Greek literature and depicted in numerous works of Greek art. There is no single, authoritative text which tells the entire events of the war. Instead, the story is assembled from a variety of sources, some of which report contradictory versions of the events. The most important literary sources are the two epic poems traditionally credited to Homer, the Iliad and the Odyssey, composed sometime between the and centuries BC. Each poem narrates only a part of the war. The Iliad covers a short period in the last year of the siege of Troy, while the Odyssey concerns Odysseus's return to his home island of Ithaca following the sack of Troy and contains several flashbacks to particular episodes in the war.

Other parts of the Trojan War were told in the poems of the Epic Cycle, also known as the Cyclic Epics: the , , Little Iliad, Iliou Persis, , and . Though these poems survive only in fragments, their content is known from a summary included in Proclus' Chrestomathy. The authorship of the Cyclic Epics is uncertain. It is generally thought that the poems were written down in the and , after the composition of the Homeric poems, though it is widely believed that they were based on earlier traditions.

Both the Homeric epics and the Epic Cycle take origin from oral tradition. Even after the composition of the Iliad, Odyssey, and the Cyclic Epics, the myths of the Trojan War were passed on orally in many genres of poetry and through non-poetic storytelling. Events and details of the story that are only found in later authors may have been passed on through oral tradition and could be as old as the Homeric poems. Visual art, such as vase painting, was another medium in which myths of the Trojan War circulated.

In later ages playwrights, historians, and other intellectuals would create works inspired by the Trojan War. The three great tragedians of Athens, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides, wrote a number of dramas that portray episodes from the Trojan War. Among Roman writers the most important is the poet Virgil; in Book 2 of his , Aeneas narrates the sack of Troy.

Traditionally, the Trojan War arose from a sequence of events beginning with a quarrel between the goddesses Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. Eris, the goddess of discord, was not invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and so arrived bearing a gift: a golden apple, inscribed "for the fairest". Each of the goddesses claimed to be the "fairest", and the rightful owner of the apple. They submitted the judgment to a shepherd they encountered tending his flock. Each of the goddesses promised the young man a boon in return for his favour: power, wisdom, or love. The youth-in fact Paris, a Trojan prince who had been raised in the countryside-chose love, and awarded the apple to Aphrodite. As his reward, Aphrodite caused Helen, the Queen of Sparta, and most beautiful of all women, to fall in love with Paris. The judgement of Paris earned him the ire of both Hera and Athena, and when Helen left her husband, Menelaus, the Spartan king, for Paris of Troy, Menelaus called upon all the kings and princes of Greece to wage war upon Troy.

The Burning of Troy (1759/62), oil painting by Johann Georg Trautmann

Menelaus' brother Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, led an expedition of Achaean troops to Troy and besieged the city for ten years because of Paris' insult. After the deaths of many heroes, including the Achaeans Achilles and Ajax, and the Trojans Hector and Paris, the city fell to the ruse of the Trojan Horse. The Achaeans slaughtered the Trojans, except for some of the women and children whom they kept or sold as slaves and desecrated the temples, thus earning the gods' wrath. Few of the Achaeans returned safely to their homes and many founded colonies in distant shores. The Romans later traced their origin to Aeneas, Aphrodite's son and one of the Trojans, who was said to have led the surviving Trojans to modern-day Italy.

The following summary of the Trojan War follows the order of events as given in Proclus' summary, along with the Iliad, Odyssey, and Aeneid, supplemented with details drawn from other authors.

Origins of the war

Plan of Zeus

According to Greek mythology, Zeus had become king of the gods by overthrowing his father Cronus; Cronus in turn had overthrown his father Uranus. Zeus was not faithful to his wife and sister Hera, and had many relationships from which many children were born. Since Zeus believed that there were too many people populating the earth, he envisioned Momus or Themis, who was to use the Trojan War as a means to depopulate the Earth, especially of his demigod descendants.

These can be supported by Hesiod's account:

Now all the gods were divided through strife; for at that very time Zeus who thunders on high was meditating marvelous deeds, even to mingle storm and tempest over the boundless earth, and already he was hastening to make an utter end of the race of mortal men, declaring that he would destroy the lives of the demi-gods, that the children of the gods should not mate with wretched mortals, seeing their fate with their own eyes; but that the blessed gods henceforth even as aforetime should have their living and their habitations apart from men. But on those who were born of immortals and of mankind verily Zeus laid toil and sorrow upon sorrow.

Judgement of Paris

The Judgement of Paris (1599) by Hendrick van Balen the Elder. Gemäldegalerie, Berlin

Zeus came to learn from either Themis or Prometheus, after Heracles had released him from Caucasus, that, like his father Cronus, he would be overthrown by one of his sons. Another prophecy stated that a son of the sea-nymph Thetis, with whom Zeus fell in love after gazing upon her in the oceans off the Greek coast, would become greater than his father. For one or both of these reasons, either upon Zeus' orders, or because she wished to please Hera, who had raised her, Thetis was betrothed to an elderly human king, Peleus, son of Aeacus.

All of the gods were invited to Peleus and Thetis' wedding and brought many gifts, except Eris (the goddess of discord), who was stopped at the door by Hermes, on Zeus' order.

Insulted, she threw from the door a gift of her own: a golden apple (το μήλον της έριδος) on which was inscribed the word καλλίστῃ Kallistēi ("To the fairest"). The apple was claimed by Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. They quarrelled bitterly over it, and none of the other gods would venture an opinion favouring one, for fear of earning the enmity of the other two. Eventually, Zeus ordered Hermes to lead the three goddesses to Paris, a prince of Troy, who, unaware of his ancestry, was being raised as a shepherd on Mount Ida, because of a prophecy that he would be the downfall of Troy. After bathing in the spring of Ida, the goddesses appeared to him naked, either for the sake of winning or at Paris' request. Paris was unable to decide among them, so the goddesses resorted to bribes. Athena offered Paris wisdom, skill in battle, and the abilities of the greatest warriors; Hera offered him political power and control of all of Asia; and Aphrodite offered him the love of the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen of Sparta. Paris awarded the apple to Aphrodite, and, after several adventures, returned to Troy, where he was recognised by his royal family.

Thetis gives her son Achilles weapons forged by Hephaestus (detail of Attic black-figure hydria, 575-550 BC)

Musician figures from clay in Troy Museum.

Peleus and Thetis bore a son, whom they named Achilles. It was foretold that he would either die of old age after an uneventful life, or die young in a battlefield and gain immortality through poetry. Furthermore, when Achilles was nine years old, Calchas had prophesied that Troy could not again fall without his help. A number of sources credit Thetis with attempting to make Achilles immortal when he was an infant. Some of these state that she held him over fire every night to burn away his mortal parts and rubbed him with ambrosia during the day, but Peleus discovered her actions and stopped her.

According to some versions of this story, Thetis had already killed several sons in this manner, and Peleus' action therefore saved his son's life. Other sources state that Thetis bathed Achilles in the Styx, the river that runs to the underworld, making him invulnerable wherever he was touched by the water. Because she had held him by the heel, it was not entirely immersed during the bathing and thus the heel remained mortal and vulnerable to injury (hence the expression " Achilles' heel" for an isolated weakness). He grew up to be the greatest of all mortal warriors. After Calchas' prophecy, Thetis hid Achilles in Skyros at the court of King Lycomedes, where he was disguised as a girl. At a crucial point in the war, she assists her son by providing weapons divinely forged by Hephaestus (see below).

Elopement of Paris and Helen

The most beautiful woman in the world was Helen, one of the daughters of Tyndareus, King of Sparta. Her mother was Leda, who had been either raped or seduced by Zeus in the form of a swan. Accounts differ over which of Leda's four children, two pairs of twins, were fathered by Zeus and which by Tyndareus. However, Helen is usually credited as Zeus' daughter, and sometimes Nemesis is credited as her mother. Helen had scores of suitors, and her father was unwilling to choose one for fear the others would retaliate violently.

Finally, one of the suitors, Odysseus of Ithaca, proposed a plan to solve the dilemma. In exchange for Tyndareus' support of his own suit towards Penelope, he suggested that Tyndareus require all of Helen's suitors to promise that they would defend the marriage of Helen, regardless of whom he chose. The suitors duly swore the required oath on the severed pieces of a horse, although not without a certain amount of grumbling.

Tyndareus chose Menelaus. Menelaus was a political choice on her father's part. He had wealth and power. He had humbly not petitioned for her himself, but instead sent his brother Agamemnon on his behalf. He had promised Aphrodite a hecatomb, a sacrifice of 100 oxen, if he won Helen, but forgot about it and earned her wrath. Menelaus inherited Tyndareus' throne of Sparta with Helen as his queen when her brothers, Castor and Pollux, became gods, and when Agamemnon married Helen's sister Clytemnestra and took back the throne of Mycenae.

Paris, under the guise of a supposed diplomatic mission, went to Sparta to get Helen and bring her back to Troy. Before Helen could look up to see him enter the palace, she was shot with an arrow from Eros, otherwise known as Cupid, and fell in love with Paris when she saw him, as promised by Aphrodite. Menelaus had left for Crete to bury his uncle, Crateus.

According to one account, Hera, still jealous over the judgement of Paris, sent a storm. The storm caused the lovers to land in Egypt, where the gods replaced Helen with a likeness of her made of clouds, Nephele. The myth of Helen being switched is attributed to the Sicilian poet Stesichorus, while for Homer the Helen in Troy was one and the same. The ship then landed in Sidon. Paris, fearful of getting caught, spent some time there and then sailed to Troy.

A map of Homeric Greece

Paris' abduction of Helen had several precedents. Io was taken from Mycenae, Europa was taken from Phoenicia, Jason took Medea from Colchis, and the Trojan princess Hesione had been taken by Heracles, who gave her to Telamon of Salamis. According to Herodotus, Paris was emboldened by these examples to steal himself a wife from Greece, and expected no retribution, since there had been none in the other cases.

Gathering of Achaean forces and the first expedition

According to Homer, Menelaus and his ally, Odysseus, travelled to Troy, where they unsuccessfully sought to recover Helen by diplomatic means.

Menelaus then asked Agamemnon to help him enforce the oath of Helen's suitors, which was to defend her marriage, regardless of which suitor was chosen. Agamemnon agreed, and sent emissaries to all the Achaean kings and princes to call them to observe their oath and retrieve Helen.

Odysseus and Achilles

A scene from the Iliad where Odysseus (Ulysses) discovers Achilles dressed as a woman and hiding among the princesses at the royal court of Skyros. A late Roman mosaic from La Olmeda, Spain, 4th-5th centuries AD

Since Menelaus's wedding, Odysseus had married Penelope and fathered a son, Telemachus. In order to avoid the war, he feigned madness and sowed his fields with salt. Palamedes outwitted him by placing Telemachus, then an infant, in front of the plough's path. Odysseus turned aside, unwilling to kill his son, so revealing his sanity and forcing him to join the war.

According to Homer, however, Odysseus supported the military adventure from the beginning, and travelled the region with Pylos' king, Nestor, to recruit forces.

At Skyros, Achilles had an affair with the king's daughter Deidamia, resulting in a child, Neoptolemus. Odysseus, Telamonian Ajax, and Achilles' tutor Phoenix went to retrieve Achilles. Achilles' mother disguised him as a woman so that he would not have to go to war, but, according to one story, they blew a horn, and Achilles revealed himself by seizing a spear to fight intruders, rather than fleeing. According to another story, they disguised themselves as merchants bearing trinkets and weaponry, and Achilles was marked out from the other women for admiring weaponry instead of clothes and jewellery.

Pausanias said that, according to Homer, Achilles did not hide in Skyros, but rather conquered the island, as part of the Trojan War.

First gathering at Aulis

The Achaean forces first gathered at Aulis. All the suitors sent their forces except King Cinyras of Cyprus. Though he sent breastplates to Agamemnon and promised to send 50 ships, he sent only one real ship, led by the son of Mygdalion, and 49 ships made of clay. Idomeneus was willing to lead the Cretan contingent in Mycenae's war against Troy, but only as a co-commander, which he was granted. The last commander to arrive was Achilles, who was then 15 years old.

Following a sacrifice to Apollo, a snake slithered from the altar to a sparrow's nest in a plane tree nearby. It ate the mother and her nine chicks, then was turned to stone. Calchas interpreted this as a sign that Troy would fall in the tenth year of the war.

When the Achaeans left for the war, they did not know the way, and accidentally landed in Mysia, ruled by King Telephus, son of Heracles, who had led a contingent of Arcadians to settle there. In the battle, Achilles wounded Telephus, who had killed Thersander. Because the wound would not heal, Telephus asked an oracle, "What will happen to the wound?". The oracle responded, "he that wounded shall heal". The Achaean fleet then set sail and was scattered by a storm. Achilles landed in Skyros and married Deidamia. A new gathering was set again in Aulis.

Telephus went to Aulis, and either pretended to be a beggar, asking Agamemnon to help heal his wound, or kidnapped Orestes and held him for ransom, demanding the wound be healed. Achilles refused, claiming to have no medical knowledge. Odysseus reasoned that the spear that had inflicted the wound must be able to heal it. Pieces of the spear were scraped off onto the wound, and Telephus was healed. Telephus then showed the Achaeans the route to Troy.

Some scholars have regarded the expedition against Telephus and its resolution as a derivative reworking of elements from the main story of the Trojan War, but it has also been seen as fitting the story-pattern of the "preliminary adventure" that anticipates events and themes from the main narrative, and therefore as likely to be "early and integral".

Second gathering

Eight years after the storm had scattered them, the fleet of more than a thousand ships was gathered again. When they had all reached Aulis, the winds ceased. The prophet Calchas stated that the goddess Artemis was punishing Agamemnon for killing either a sacred deer or a deer in a sacred grove, and boasting that he was a better hunter than she. The only way to appease Artemis, he said, was to sacrifice Iphigenia, who was either the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, or of Helen and Theseus entrusted to Clytemnestra when Helen married Menelaus.

Agamemnon refused, and the other commanders threatened to make Palamedes commander of the expedition. According to some versions, Agamemnon relented and performed the sacrifice, but others claim that he sacrificed a deer in her place, or that at the last moment, Artemis took pity on the girl, and took her to be a maiden in one of her temples, substituting a lamb. Hesiod says that Iphigenia became the goddess Hecate.

The Achaean forces are described in detail in the Catalogue of Ships, in the second book of the Iliad. They consisted of 28 contingents from mainland Greece, the Peloponnese, the Dodecanese islands, Crete, and Ithaca, comprising 1186 pentekonters, ships with 50 rowers. Thucydides says that according to tradition there were about 1200 ships, and that the Boeotian ships had 120 men, while Philoctetes' ships only had the fifty rowers, these probably being maximum and minimum. These numbers would mean a total force of 70,000 to 130,000 men. Another catalogue of ships is given by the Bibliotheca that differs somewhat but agrees in numbers. Some scholars have claimed that Homer's catalogue is an original Bronze Age document, possibly the Achaean commander's order of operations. Others believe it was a fabrication of Homer.

The second book of the Iliad also lists the Trojan allies, consisting of the Trojans themselves, led by Hector, and various allies listed as Dardanians led by Aeneas, Zeleians, Adrasteians, Percotians, Pelasgians, Thracians, Ciconian spearmen, Paionian archers, Halizones, Mysians, Phrygians, Maeonians, Miletians, Lycians led by Sarpedon and Carians. Nothing is said of the Trojan language; the Carians are specifically said to be barbarian-speaking, and the allied contingents are said to have spoken many languages, requiring orders to be translated by their individual commanders. The Trojans and Achaeans in the Iliad share the same religion, same culture and the enemy heroes speak to each other in the same language, though this could be dramatic effect.

Nine years of war

Philoctetes

Philoctetes on Lemnos, with Heracles' bow and quiver (Attic red-figure lekythos, 420 BC)

Philoctetes was Heracles' friend, and because he lit Heracles's funeral pyre when no one else would, he received Heracles' bow and arrows. He sailed with seven ships full of men to the Trojan War, where he was planning on fighting for the Achaeans. They stopped either at Chryse Island for supplies, or in Tenedos, along with the rest of the fleet. Then Philoctetes was bitten by a snake. The wound festered and had a foul smell; on Odysseus's advice, the Atreidae ordered Philoctetes to stay on Lemnos.

Medon took control of Philoctetes's men. While landing on Tenedos, Achilles killed king Tenes, son of Apollo, despite a warning by his mother that if he did so he would be killed himself by Apollo. From Tenedos, Agamemnon sent an embassy to the Priam king of Troy composed of Menelaus and Odysseus, asking for Helen's return. The embassy was refused.

Philoctetes stayed on Lemnos for ten years, which was a deserted island according to Sophocles' tragedy Philoctetes, but according to earlier tradition was populated by Minyans.

Calchas had prophesied that the first Achaean to walk on land after stepping off a ship would be the first to die. Thus even the leading Greeks hesitated to land. Finally, Protesilaus, leader of the Phylaceans, landed first. Odysseus had tricked him, in throwing his own shield down to land on, so that while he was first to leap off his ship, he was not the first to land on Trojan soil. Hector killed Protesilaus in single combat, though the Trojans conceded the beach. In the second wave of attacks, Achilles killed Cycnus, son of Poseidon. The Trojans then fled to the safety of the walls of their city.

The walls served as sturdy fortifications for defence against the Greeks. The build of the walls was so impressive that legend held that they had been built by Poseidon and Apollo during a year of forced service to Trojan King Laomedon. Protesilaus had killed many Trojans but was killed by Hector in most versions of the story, though others list Aeneas, Achates, or Ephorbus as his slayer. The Achaeans buried him as a god on the Thracian peninsula, across the Troäd. After Protesilaus' death, his brother, Podarces, took command of his troops.

Achilles' campaigns

Achilles' surrender of Briseis to Agamemnon, from the House of the Tragic Poet in Pompeii, fresco, 1st century AD, now in the Naples National Archaeological Museum

The Achaeans besieged Troy for nine years. This part of the war is the least developed among surviving sources, which prefer to talk about events in the last year of the war. After the initial landing the army was gathered in its entirety again only in the tenth year. Thucydides deduces that this was due to lack of money. They raided the Trojan allies and spent time farming the Thracian peninsula. Troy was never completely besieged, thus it maintained communications with the interior of Asia Minor. Reinforcements continued to come until the very end. The Achaeans controlled only the entrance to the Dardanelles, and Troy and her allies controlled the shortest point at Abydos and Sestos and communicated with allies in Europe.

Achilles and Ajax were the most active of the Achaeans, leading separate armies to raid lands of Trojan allies. According to Homer, Achilles conquered 11 cities and 12 islands. According to Apollodorus, he raided the land of Aeneas in the Troäd region and stole his cattle. He also captured Lyrnassus, Pedasus, and many of the neighbouring cities, and killed Troilus; it was said that if he reached 20 years of age, Troy would not fall. According to Apollodorus,

He also took Lesbos and Phocaea, then Colophon, and Smyrna, and Clazomenae, and Cyme; and afterwards Aegialus and Tenos, the so-called Hundred Cities; then, in order, Adramytium and Side; then Endium, and Linaeum, and Colone. He took also Hypoplacian Thebes and Lyrnessus, and further Antandrus, and many other cities.

Kakrides comments that the list is wrong in that it extends too far into the south. Other sources talk of Achilles taking Pedasus, Monenia, Mythemna (in Lesbos), and Peisidice.

Among the loot from these cities was Briseis, from Lyrnessus, who was awarded to him, and Chryseis, from Hypoplacian Thebes, who was awarded to Agamemnon. Achilles captured Lycaon, son of Priam, while he was cutting branches in his father's orchards. Patroclus sold him as a slave in Lemnos, where he was bought by Eetion of Imbros and brought back to Troy. Only 12 days later Achilles slew him, after the death of Patroclus.

Ajax and a game of petteia

Ajax, son of Telamon, laid waste the Thracian peninsula of which Polymestor, a son-in-law of Priam, was king. Polymestor surrendered Polydorus, one of Priam's children, of whom he had custody. He then attacked the town of the Phrygian king Teleutas, killed him in single combat and carried off his daughter Tecmessa. Ajax also hunted the Trojan flocks, both on Mount Ida and in the countryside.

Achilles and Ajax engaged in a game, c. 540-530 BC, Vatican Museums

Numerous paintings on pottery have suggested a tale not mentioned in the literary traditions. At some point in the war Achilles and Ajax were playing a board game ( petteia). They were absorbed in the game and oblivious to the surrounding battle. The Trojans attacked and reached the heroes, who were only saved by an intervention of Athena.

Death of Palamedes

Odysseus was sent to Thrace to return with grain, but came back empty-handed. When scorned by Palamedes, Odysseus challenged him to do better. Palamedes set out and returned with a shipload of grain.

Odysseus had never forgiven Palamedes for threatening the life of his son. In revenge, Odysseus conceived a plot where an incriminating letter was forged, from Priam to Palamedes, and gold was planted in Palamedes' quarters. The letter and gold were "discovered", and Agamemnon had Palamedes stoned to death for treason.

However, Pausanias, quoting the Cypria, says that Odysseus and Diomedes drowned Palamedes, while he was fishing, and Dictys says that Odysseus and Diomedes lured Palamedes into a well, which they said contained gold, then stoned him to death.

Palamedes' father Nauplius sailed to the Troäd and asked for justice, but was refused. In revenge, Nauplius travelled among the Achaean kingdoms and told the wives of the kings that they were bringing Trojan concubines to dethrone them. Many of the Greek wives were persuaded to betray their husbands, most significantly Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, who was seduced by Aegisthus, son of Thyestes.

Near the end of the ninth year since the landing, the Achaean army, tired from the fighting and from the lack of supplies, mutinied against their leaders and demanded to return to their homes. According to the Cypria, Achilles forced the army to stay. According to Apollodorus, Agamemnon brought the Wine Growers, daughters of Anius, son of Apollo, who had the gift of producing by touch wine, wheat, and oil from the earth, in order to relieve the supply problem of the army.

Chryses pleading with Agamemnon for his daughter (360-350 BC)

Chryses, a priest of Apollo and father of Chryseis, came to Agamemnon to ask for the return of his daughter. Agamemnon refused, and insulted Chryses, who prayed to Apollo to avenge his ill-treatment. Enraged, Apollo afflicted the Achaean army with plague. Agamemnon was forced to return Chryseis to end the plague, and took Achilles' concubine Briseis as his own. Enraged at the dishonour Agamemnon had inflicted upon him, Achilles decided he would no longer fight. He asked his mother, Thetis, to intercede with Zeus, who agreed to give the Trojans success in the absence of Achilles, the best warrior of the Achaeans.

After the withdrawal of Achilles, the Achaeans were initially successful. Both armies gathered in full for the first time since the landing. Menelaus and Paris fought a duel, which ended when Aphrodite snatched the beaten Paris from the field. With the truce broken, the armies began fighting again. Diomedes won great renown amongst the Achaeans, killing the Trojan hero Pandaros and nearly killing Aeneas, who was only saved by his mother, Aphrodite. With the assistance of Athena, Diomedes then wounded the gods Aphrodite and Ares. During the next days, however, the Trojans drove the Achaeans back to their camp and were stopped at the Achaean wall by Poseidon. The next day, though, with Zeus' help, the Trojans broke into the Achaean camp and were on the verge of setting fire to the Achaean ships. An earlier appeal to Achilles to return was rejected, but after Hector burned Protesilaus' ship, he allowed his companion Patroclus to go into battle wearing Achilles' armour and lead his army. Patroclus drove the Trojans all the way back to the walls of Troy, and was only prevented from storming the city by the intervention of Apollo. Patroclus was then killed by Hector, who took Achilles' armour from the body of Patroclus.

Achilles, maddened with grief over the death of Patroclus, swore to kill Hector in revenge. The exact nature of Achilles' relationship to Patroclus is the subject of some debate. Although certainly very close, Achilles and Patroclus are never explicitly cast as lovers by Homer, but they were depicted as such in the archaic and classical periods of Greek literature, particularly in the works of Aeschylus, Aeschines and Plato. He was reconciled with Agamemnon and received Briseis back, untouched by Agamemnon. He received a new set of arms, forged by the god Hephaestus, and returned to the battlefield. He slaughtered many Trojans, and nearly killed Aeneas, who was saved by Poseidon. Achilles fought with the river god Scamander, and a battle of the gods followed. The Trojan army returned to the city, except for Hector, who remained outside the walls because he was tricked by Athena. Achilles killed Hector, and afterwards he dragged Hector's body from his chariot and refused to return the body to the Trojans for burial. The body nevertheless remained unscathed as it was preserved from all injury by Apollo and Aphrodite. The Achaeans then conducted funeral games for Patroclus. Afterwards, Priam came to Achilles' tent, guided by Hermes, and asked Achilles to return Hector's body. The armies made a temporary truce to allow the burial of the dead. The Iliad ends with the funeral of Hector.

Penthesilea and the death of Achilles

Achilles killing the Amazon Penthesilea

Shortly after the burial of Hector, Penthesilea, queen of the Amazons, arrived with her warriors. Penthesilea, daughter of Otrera and Ares, had accidentally killed her sister Hippolyte. She was purified from this action by Priam, and in exchange she fought for him and killed many, including Machaon (according to Pausanias, Machaon was killed by Eurypylus), and according to one version, Achilles himself, who was resurrected at the request of Thetis. In another version, Penthesilia was killed by Achilles, who would later mourn her after her death. Thersites, a simple soldier and the ugliest Achaean, taunted Achilles over his grief and gouged out Penthesilea's eyes. Achilles slew Thersites, and after a dispute sailed to Lesbos, where he was purified for his murder by Odysseus after sacrificing to Apollo, Artemis, and Leto.

While they were away, Memnon of Ethiopia, son of Tithonus and Eos, came with his host to help his stepbrother Priam. He did not come directly from Ethiopia, but either from Susa in Persia, conquering all the peoples in between, or from the Caucasus, leading an army of Ethiopians and Indians. Like Achilles, he wore armour made by Hephaestus. In the ensuing battle, Memnon killed Antilochus, who took one of Memnon's blows to save his father Nestor. Achilles and Memnon then fought. Zeus weighed the fate of the two heroes; the weight containing that of Memnon sank, and he was slain by Achilles. Achilles chased the Trojans to their city, which he entered. The gods, seeing that he had killed too many of their children, decided that it was his time to die. He was killed after Paris shot a poisoned arrow that was guided by Apollo. In another version he was killed by a knife to the back (or heel) by Paris, while marrying Polyxena, daughter of Priam, in the temple of Thymbraean Apollo, the site where he had earlier killed Troilus. Both versions conspicuously deny the killer any sort of valour, saying Achilles remained undefeated on the battlefield. His bones were mingled with those of Patroclus, and funeral games were held. Like Ajax, Achilles is represented as living after his death in the island of Leuke, at the mouth of the Danube River.

Judgment of Arms

The suicide of Ajax depicted on Greek pottery by Exekias, now on display at the Château-musée de Boulogne-sur-Mer

A great battle raged around the dead Achilles. Ajax held back the Trojans, while Odysseus carried the body away. When Achilles' armour was offered to the smartest warrior, the two that had saved his body came forward as competitors. Agamemnon, unwilling to undertake the invidious duty of deciding between the two competitors, referred the dispute to the decision of the Trojan prisoners, inquiring of them which of the two heroes had done most harm to the Trojans. Alternatively, the Trojans and Pallas Athena were the judges in that, following Nestor's advice, spies were sent to the walls to overhear what was said. A girl said that Ajax was braver:

For Aias took up and carried out of the strife the hero, Peleus'
son: this great Odysseus cared not to do.
To this another replied by Athena's contrivance:
Why, what is this you say? A thing against reason and untrue!
Even a woman could carry a load once a man had put it on her
shoulder; but she could not fight. For she would fail with fear
if she should fight. (Scholiast on Aristophanes, Knights 1056 and Aristophanes ib)

According to Pindar, the decision was made by secret ballot among the Achaeans. In all story versions, the arms were awarded to Odysseus. Driven mad with grief, Ajax desired to kill his comrades, but Athena caused him to mistake for the Achaean warriors the cattle and their herdsmen. In his frenzy he scourged two rams, believing them to be Agamemnon and Menelaus. In the morning, he came to his senses and killed himself by jumping on the sword that had been given to him by Hector, so that it pierced his armpit, his only vulnerable part. According to an older tradition, he was killed by the Trojans who, seeing he was invulnerable, attacked him with clay until he was covered by it and could no longer move, thus dying of starvation.[citation needed ]

Prophecies

A fresco depicting Odysseus, Diomedes, and Cassandra, from Pompeii, Italy, - 1st century AD

After the tenth year, it was prophesied that Troy could not fall without Heracles' bow, which was with Philoctetes in Lemnos. Odysseus and Diomedes retrieved Philoctetes, whose wound had healed. Philoctetes then shot and killed Paris.

According to Apollodorus, Paris' brothers Helenus and Deiphobus vied over the hand of Helen. Deiphobus prevailed, and Helenus abandoned Troy for Mount Ida. Calchas said that Helenus knew the prophecies concerning the fall of Troy, so Odysseus waylaid Helenus. Under coercion, Helenus told the Achaeans that they would win if they retrieved Pelops' bones, persuaded Achilles' son Neoptolemus to fight for them, and stole the Trojan Palladium.

The Greeks retrieved Pelops' bones, and sent Odysseus to retrieve Neoptolemus, who was hiding from the war in King Lycomedes's court in Skyros. Odysseus gave him his father's arms. Eurypylus, son of Telephus, leading, according to Homer, a large force of Kêteioi, or Hittites or Mysians according to Apollodorus, arrived to aid the Trojans. Eurypylus killed Machaon and Peneleos, but was slain by Neoptolemus.

Disguised as a beggar, Odysseus went to spy inside Troy, but was recognised by Helen. Homesick, Helen plotted with Odysseus. Later, with Helen's help, Odysseus and Diomedes stole the Palladium.

Trojan Horse

The earliest known depiction of the Trojan Horse, from the Mykonos vase c. 670 BC

The end of the war came with one final plan. Odysseus devised a new ruse-a giant hollow wooden horse, an animal that was sacred to the Trojans. It was built by Epeius and guided by Athena, from the wood of a cornel tree grove sacred to Apollo, with the inscription: "The Greeks dedicate this thank-offering to Athena for their return home". The hollow horse was filled with soldiers led by Odysseus. The rest of the army burned the camp and sailed for Tenedos.

When the Trojans discovered that the Greeks were gone, believing the war was over, they "joyfully dragged the horse inside the city", while they debated what to do with it. Some thought they ought to hurl it down from the rocks, others thought they should burn it, while others said they ought to dedicate it to Athena.

Both Cassandra and Laocoön warned against keeping the horse. While Cassandra had been given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, she was also cursed by Apollo never to be believed. Serpents then came out of the sea and devoured either Laocoön and one of his two sons, Laocoön and both his sons, or only his sons, a portent which so alarmed the followers of Aeneas that they withdrew to Ida. The Trojans decided to keep the horse and turned to a night of mad revelry and celebration. Sinon, an Achaean spy, signalled the fleet stationed at Tenedos when "it was midnight and the clear moon was rising" and the soldiers from inside the horse emerged and killed the guards.

Sack of Troy

Neoptolemus, son of Achilles, kills King Priam (detail of Attic black-figure amphora, 520-510 BC)

The Achaeans entered the city and killed the sleeping population. A great massacre followed which continued into the day.

Blood ran in torrents, drenched was all the earth,
As Trojans and their alien helpers died.
Here were men lying quelled by bitter death
All up and down the city in their blood.

The Trojans, fuelled with desperation, fought back fiercely, despite being disorganised and leaderless. With the fighting at its height, some donned fallen enemies' attire and launched surprise counterattacks in the chaotic street fighting. Other defenders hurled down roof tiles and anything else heavy down on the rampaging attackers. The outlook was grim though, and eventually the remaining defenders were destroyed along with the whole city.

Neoptolemus killed Priam, who had taken refuge at the altar of Zeus of the Courtyard. Menelaus killed Deiphobus, Helen's husband after Paris' death, and also intended to kill Helen, but, overcome by her beauty, threw down his sword and took her to the ships.

Ajax the Lesser raped Cassandra on Athena's altar while she was clinging to her statue. Because of Ajax's impiety, the Acheaens, urged by Odysseus, wanted to stone him to death, but he fled to Athena's altar, and was spared.

Antenor, who had given hospitality to Menelaus and Odysseus when they asked for the return of Helen, and who had advocated so, was spared, along with his family. Aeneas took his father on his back and fled, and, according to Apollodorus, was allowed to go because of his piety.

The Greeks then burned the city and divided the spoils. Cassandra was awarded to Agamemnon. Neoptolemus got Andromache, wife of Hector, and Odysseus was given Hecuba, Priam's wife.

The Achaeans threw Hector's infant son Astyanax down from the walls of Troy, either out of cruelty and hate or to end the royal line, and the possibility of a son's revenge. They (by usual tradition Neoptolemus) also sacrificed the Trojan princess Polyxena on the grave of Achilles.

Aethra, Theseus' mother, and one of Helen's handmaids, was rescued by her grandsons, Demophon and Acamas.

The gods were very angry over the destruction of their temples and other sacrilegious acts by the Achaeans, and decided that most would not return home. A storm fell on the returning fleet off Tenos island. Nauplius, in revenge for the murder of his son Palamedes, set up false lights in Cape Caphereus (also known today as Cavo D'Oro, in Euboea) and many were shipwrecked.

Agamemnon had made it back to Argos safely with Cassandra in his possession after some stormy weather. He and Cassandra were slain by Aegisthus (in the oldest versions of the story) or by Clytemnestra or by both of them. Electra and Orestes later avenged their father but Orestes was the one who was chased by the Furies.

Nestor, who had the best conduct in Troy and did not take part in the looting, was the only hero who had a fast and safe return. Those of his army that survived the war also reached home with him safely but later left and colonised Metapontium in Southern Italy.

Ajax the Lesser, who had endured more than the others the wrath of the Gods, never returned. His ship was wrecked by a storm sent by Athena, who borrowed one of Zeus' thunderbolts and tore the ship to pieces. The crew managed to land in a rock but Poseidon struck it and Ajax fell in the sea and drowned. He was buried by Thetis in Myconos or Delos.

Teucer, son of Telamon and half-brother of Ajax, stood trial by his father for his half-brother's death. He was disowned by his father and wasn't allowed back on Salamis Island. He was at sea near Phreattys in Peiraeus. He was acquitted of responsibility but found guilty of negligence because he did not return his dead body or his arms. He left with his army (who took their wives) and founded Salamis in Cyprus. The Athenians later created a political myth that his son left his kingdom to Theseus' sons (and not to Megara).

Neoptolemus, following the advice of Helenus, who accompanied him when he travelled over land, was always accompanied by Andromache. He met Odysseus and they buried Achilles' teacher Phoenix on the land of the Ciconians. They then conquered the land of the Molossians (Epirus) and Neoptolemus had a child by Andromache, Molossus, to whom he later gave the throne. Thus the kings of Epirus claimed their lineage from Achilles, and so did Alexander the Great, whose mother was of that royal house. Alexander the Great and the kings of Macedon also claimed to be descended from Heracles. Helenus founded a city in Molossia and inhabited it, and Neoptolemus gave him his mother Deidamia as wife. After Peleus died he succeeded Phtia's throne. He had a feud with Orestes (son of Agamemnon) over Menelaus' daughter Hermione, and was killed in Delphi, where he was buried. In Roman myths, the kingdom of Phtia was taken over by Helenus, who married Andromache. They offered hospitality to other Trojan refugees, including Aeneas, who paid a visit there during his wanderings.

Diomedes was first thrown by a storm on the coast of Lycia, where he was to be sacrificed to Ares by king Lycus, but Callirrhoe, the king's daughter, took pity upon him, and assisted him in escaping. He then accidentally landed in Attica, in Phaleron. The Athenians, unaware that they were allies, attacked them. Many were killed, and Demophon took the Palladium. He finally landed in Argos, where he found his wife Aegialeia committing adultery. In disgust, he left for Aetolia. According to later traditions, he had some adventures and founded Canusium and Argyrippa in Southern Italy.

Philoctetes, due to a sedition, was driven from his city and emigrated to Italy, where he founded the cities of Petilia, Old Crimissa, and Chone, between Croton and Thurii. After making war on the Leucanians he founded there a sanctuary of Apollo the Wanderer, to whom also he dedicated his bow.

According to Homer, Idomeneus reached his house safe and sound. Another tradition later formed. After the war, Idomeneus's ship hit a horrible storm. Idomeneus promised Poseidon that he would sacrifice the first living thing he saw when he returned home if Poseidon would save his ship and crew. The first living thing he saw was his son, whom Idomeneus duly sacrificed. The gods were angry at his murder of his own son and they sent a plague to Crete. His people sent him into exile to Calabria in Italy, and then to Colophon, in Asia Minor, where he died. Among the lesser Achaeans very few reached their homes.

House of Atreus

The murder of Agamemnon (1879 illustration from Alfred Church's Stories from the Greek Tragedians)

According to the Odyssey, Menelaus's fleet was blown by storms to Crete and Egypt, where they were unable to sail away because the winds were calm. Only five of his ships survived. Menelaus had to catch Proteus, a shape-shifting sea god, to find out what sacrifices to which gods he would have to make to guarantee safe passage. According to some stories the Helen who was taken by Paris was a fake, and the real Helen was in Egypt, where she was reunited with Menelaus. Proteus also told Menelaus that he was destined for Elysium (Heaven) after his death. Menelaus returned to Sparta with Helen eight years after he had left Troy.

Agamemnon returned home with Cassandra to Argos. His wife Clytemnestra (Helen's sister) was having an affair with Aegisthus, son of Thyestes, Agamemnon's cousin who had conquered Argos before Agamemnon himself retook it. Possibly out of vengeance for the death of Iphigenia, Clytemnestra plotted with her lover to kill Agamemnon. Cassandra foresaw this murder, and warned Agamemnon, but he disregarded her. He was killed, either at a feast or in his bath, according to different versions. Cassandra was also killed. Agamemnon's son Orestes, who had been away, returned and conspired with his sister Electra to avenge their father. He killed Clytemnestra and Aegisthus and succeeded to his father's throne.

Odysseus' ten-year journey home to Ithaca was told in Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus and his men were blown far off course to lands unknown to the Achaeans; there Odysseus had many adventures, including the famous encounter with the Cyclops Polyphemus, and an audience with the seer Teiresias in Hades. On the island of Thrinacia, Odysseus' men ate the cattle sacred to the sun-god Helios. For this sacrilege Odysseus' ships were destroyed, and all his men perished. Odysseus had not eaten the cattle, and was allowed to live; he washed ashore on the island of Ogygia, and lived there with the nymph Calypso. After seven years, the gods decided to send Odysseus home; on a small raft, he sailed to Scheria, the home of the Phaeacians, who gave him passage to Ithaca.

Once in his home land, Odysseus travelled disguised as an old beggar. He was recognised by his dog, Argos, who died in his lap. He then discovered that his wife, Penelope, had been faithful to him during the 20 years he was absent, despite the countless suitors that were eating his food and spending his property. With the help of his son Telemachus, Athena, and Eumaeus, the swineherd, he killed all of them except Medon, who had been polite to Penelope, and Phemius, a local singer who had only been forced to help the suitors against Penelope. Penelope tested Odysseus with his unstrung recurve bow to ensure it was him, and he forgave her. The next day the suitors' relatives tried to take revenge on him but they were stopped by Athena.

The Telegony picks up where the Odyssey leaves off, beginning with the burial of the dead suitors, and continues until the death of Odysseus. Some years after Odysseus' return, Telegonus, the son of Odysseus and Circe, came to Ithaca and plundered the island. Odysseus, attempting to fight off the attack, was killed by his unrecognised son. After Telegonus realised he had killed his father, he brought the body to his mother Circe, along with Telemachus and Penelope. Circe made them immortal; then Telegonus married Penelope and Telemachus married Circe.

The journey of the Trojan survivor Aeneas and his resettling of Trojan refugees in Italy are the subject of the Latin epic poem the by Virgil. Writing during the time of Augustus, Virgil has his hero give a first-person account of the fall of Troy in the second of the Aeneid's twelve books; the Trojan Horse, which does not appear in the Iliad, became legendary from Virgil's account.

Aeneas leads a group of survivors away from the city, among them his son Ascanius (also known as Iulus), his trumpeter Misenus, father Anchises, the healer Iapyx, his faithful sidekick Achates, and Mimas as a guide. His wife Creusa is killed during the sack of the city. Aeneas also carries the Lares and Penates of Troy, which the historical Romans claimed to preserve as guarantees of Rome's own security.

The Trojan survivors escape with a number of ships, seeking to establish a new homeland elsewhere. They land in several nearby countries that prove inhospitable, and are finally told by an oracle that they must return to the land of their forebears. They first try to establish themselves in Crete, where Dardanus had once settled, but find it ravaged by the same plague that had driven Idomeneus away. They find the colony led by Helenus and Andromache, but decline to remain. After seven years they arrive in Carthage, where Aeneas has an affair with Queen Dido (since according to tradition Carthage was founded in 814 BC, the arrival of Trojan refugees a few hundred years earlier exposes chronological difficulties within the mythic tradition). Eventually the gods order Aeneas to continue onward, and he and his people arrive at the mouth of the Tiber River in Italy. Dido commits suicide, and Aeneas's betrayal of her was regarded as an element in the long enmity between Rome and Carthage that expressed itself in the Punic Wars and led to Roman hegemony.

At Cumae, the Sibyl leads Aeneas on an archetypal descent to the underworld, where the shade of his dead father serves as a guide; this book of the Aeneid directly influenced Dante, who has Virgil act as his narrator's guide. Aeneas is given a vision of the future majesty of Rome, which it was his duty to found, and returns to the world of the living. He negotiates a settlement with the local king, Latinus, and was wed to his daughter, Lavinia. This triggered a war with other local tribes, which culminated in the founding of the settlement of Alba Longa, ruled by Aeneas and Lavinia's son Silvius. Roman myth attempted to reconcile two different founding myths: three hundred years later, in the more famous tradition, Romulus founded Rome after murdering his brother Remus. The Trojan origins of Rome became particularly important in the propaganda of Julius Caesar, whose family claimed descent from Venus through Aeneas's son Iulus (hence the Latin name Iulius), and during the reign of Augustus (see for instance the Tabulae Iliacae and the " Troy Game" presented frequently by the Julio-Claudian dynasty).

Dates of the Trojan War

Since this war was considered among the ancient Greeks as either the last event of the mythical age or the first event of the historical age, several dates are given for the fall of Troy. They usually derive from genealogies of kings. Ephorus gives 1135 BC, Sosibius 1172 BC, Eratosthenes 1184 BC/1183 BC, Timaeus 1193 BC, the Parian marble 1209 BC/1208 BC, Dicaearchus 1212 BC, Herodotus around 1250 BC, Eretes 1291 BC, while Douris gives 1334 BC. As for the exact day Ephorus gives 23/24 Thargelion (6 or 7 May), Hellanicus 12 Thargelion (26 May) while others give the 23rd of Sciroforion (7 July) or the 23rd of Ponamos (7 October).

The glorious and rich city Homer describes was believed to be Troy VI by many twentieth century AD authors, and destroyed about 1275 BC, probably by an earthquake. Its successor, Troy VIIa, was destroyed around 1180 BC; it was long considered a poorer city, and dismissed as a candidate for Homeric Troy, but since the excavation campaign of 1988, it has come to be regarded as the most likely candidate.

Historical basis

The historicity of the Trojan War, including whether it occurred at all and where Troy was located if it ever existed, is still subject to debate. Most classical Greeks thought that the war was a historical event, but many believed that the Homeric poems had exaggerated the events to suit the demands of poetry. For instance, the historian Thucydides, who is known for being critical, considers it a true event but doubts that 1,186 ships were sent to Troy. Euripides started changing Greek myths at will, including those of the Trojan War. Near AD 100, Dio Chrysostom argued that while the war was historical, it ended with the Trojans winning, and the Greeks attempted to hide that fact. Around 1870 it was generally agreed in Western Europe that the Trojan War had never happened and Troy never existed. Then Heinrich Schliemann popularised his excavations at Hisarlik, Çanakkale, which he and others believed to be Troy, and of the Mycenaean cities of Greece. Today many scholars agree that the Trojan War is based on a historical core of a Greek expedition against the city of Troy, but few would argue that the Homeric poems faithfully represent the actual events of the war.

In November 2001, geologist John C. Kraft and classicist John V. Luce presented the results of investigations into the geology of the region that had started in 1977. The geologists compared the present geology with the landscapes and coastal features described in the Iliad and other classical sources, notably Strabo's Geographica. Their conclusion was that there is regularly a consistency between the location of Troy as identified by Schliemann (and other locations such as the Greek camp), the geological evidence, and descriptions of the topography and accounts of the battle in the Iliad, although of course this could be a coincidence.

Since the twentieth century, scholars have attempted to draw conclusions based on Hittite and Egyptian texts that date to the time of the Trojan War. While they give a general description of the political situation in the region at the time, their information on whether this particular conflict took place is limited. Andrew Dalby notes that while the Trojan War most likely did take place in some form and is therefore grounded in history, its true nature is unknown. The Tawagalawa letter mentions a kingdom of Ahhiyawa (Achaea, or Greece) that lies beyond the sea (that would be the Aegean) and controls Milliwanda, which is identified with Miletus. Also mentioned in this and other letters is the Assuwa confederation made of 22 cities and countries which included the city of (Ilios or Ilium). The Milawata letter implies this city lies on the north of the Assuwa confederation, beyond the Seha river. While the identification of Wilusa with Ilium (that is, Troy) is always controversial, in the 1990s it gained majority acceptance. In the Alaksandu treaty ( c. 1280 BC) the king of the city is named Alaksandu, and Paris's name in the Iliad (among other works) is Alexander. The Tawagalawa letter (dated c.  1250 BC) which is addressed to the king of Ahhiyawa actually says: "Now as we have reached agreement on the matter of Wilusa over which we went to war-..."

Formerly under the Hittites, the Assuwa confederation defected after the battle of Kadesh between Egypt and the Hittites ( c. 1274 BC). In 1230 BC Hittite king Tudhaliya IV ( c. 1240-1210 BC) campaigned against this federation. Under Arnuwanda III ( c. 1210-1205 BC) the Hittites were forced to abandon the lands they controlled in the coast of the Aegean. It is possible that the Trojan War was a conflict between the king of Ahhiyawa and the Assuwa confederation. This view has been supported in that the entire war includes the landing in Mysia (and Telephus' wounding), Achilles's campaigns in the North Aegean and Telamonian Ajax's campaigns in Thrace and Phrygia. Most of these regions were part of Assuwa. That most Achaean heroes did not return to their homes and founded colonies elsewhere was interpreted by Thucydides as being due to their long absence. Nowadays the interpretation followed by most scholars is that the Achaean leaders driven out of their lands by the turmoil at the end of the Mycenaean era preferred to claim descent from exiles of the Trojan War.

In popular culture

The inspiration provided by these events produced many literary works, far more than can be listed here. The siege of Troy provided inspiration for many works of art, most famously Homer's Iliad, set in the last year of the siege. Some of the others include by Euripides, Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer, Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare, Iphigenia and Polyxena by Samuel Coster, Palamedes by Joost van den Vondel and Les Troyens by Hector Berlioz.

Films based on the Trojan War include Helen of Troy (1956), The Trojan Horse (1961) and (2004). The war has also been featured in many books, television series, and other creative works.

References

Further reading

Tabula Iliaca, a Roman bas-relief depicting scenes from Trojan War narratives

Ancient authors

Apollodorus, Gods & Heroes of the Greeks: The Library of Apollodorus, translated by Michael Simpson, The University of Massachusetts Press, (1976). ISBN 0-87023-205-3.

Apollodorus, Apollodorus: The Library Archived 21 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, translated by Sir James George Frazer, two volumes, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press and London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Volume 1: ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Volume 2: ISBN 0-674-99136-2.

Euripides, Andromache Archived 21 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine, in Euripides: Children of Heracles, Hippolytus, Andromache, Hecuba, with an English translation by David Kovacs. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. (1996). ISBN 0-674-99533-3.

Euripides, Helen Archived 21 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine, in The Complete Greek Drama, edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. in two volumes. 1. Helen, translated by E. P. Coleridge. New York. Random House. 1938.

Euripides, Hecuba Archived 19 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine, in The Complete Greek Drama, edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. in two volumes. 1. Hecuba, translated by E. P. Coleridge. New York. Random House. 1938.

Herodotus, Histories Archived 1 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, A. D. Godley (translator), Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1920; ISBN 0-674-99133-8. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].

Pausanias, Description of Greece Archived 25 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine, (Loeb Classical Library) translated by W. H. S. Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. (1918). Vol 1, Books I-II, ISBN 0-674-99104-4; Vol 2, Books III-V, ISBN 0-674-99207-5; Vol 3, Books VI-VIII.21, ISBN 0-674-99300-4; Vol 4, Books VIII.22-X, ISBN 0-674-99328-4.

Proclus, Chrestomathy, in Fragments of the Kypria Archived 20 February 2005 at the Wayback Machine translated by H.G. Evelyn-White, 1914 (public domain).

Proclus, Proclus' Summary of the Epic Cycle Archived 9 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine, trans. Gregory Nagy.

Quintus Smyrnaeus, Posthomerica, in Quintus Smyrnaeus: The Fall of Troy Archived 1 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Arthur Sanders Way (Ed. & Trans.), Loeb Classics #19; Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA. (1913). (1962 edition: ISBN 0-674-99022-6).

Strabo, Geography Archived 9 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine, translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924)

Modern authors

Burgess, Jonathan S. 2004. The Tradition of the Trojan War in Homer and the Epic Cycle (Johns Hopkins). ISBN 0-8018-7890-X.

Castleden, Rodney. The Attack on Troy. Barnsley, South Yorkshire, UK: Pen and Sword Books, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 1-84415-175-1).

Davies, Malcolm (2000). "Euripides Telephus Fr. 149 (Austin) and the Folk-Tale Origins of the Teuthranian Expedition" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik. 133: 7-10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 June 2007.

Durschmied, Erik. The Hinge Factor:How Chance and Stupidity Have Changed History. Coronet Books; New Ed edition (7 Oct 1999).

Frazer, Sir James George, Apollodorus: The Library Archived 21 September 2008 at the Wayback Machine, two volumes, Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press and London: William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Volume 1: ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Volume 2: ISBN 0-674-99136-2.

Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths, Penguin (Non-Classics); Cmb/Rep edition (6 April 1993). ISBN 0-14-017199-1.

Kakridis, J., 1988. Ελληνική Μυθολογία ("Greek mythology"), Ekdotiki Athinon, Athens.

Karykas, Pantelis, 2003. Μυκηναίοι Πολεμιστές ("Mycenean Warriors"), Communications Editions, Athens.

Latacz, Joachim. Troy and Homer: Towards a Solution of an Old Mystery. New York: Oxford University Press (US), 2005 (hardcover, ISBN 0-19-926308-6).

Simpson, Michael. Gods & Heroes of the Greeks: The Library of Apollodorus, The University of Massachusetts Press, (1976). ISBN 0-87023-205-3.

Strauss, Barry. The Trojan War: A New History. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7432-6441-X).

Thompson, Diane P (2004). The Trojan War: Literature and Legends from the Bronze Age to the Present. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. ISBN 0-7864-1737-4.

Troy: From Homer's Iliad to Hollywood Epic, edited by Martin M. Winkler. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 2007 (hardcover, ISBN 1-4051-3182-9; paperback, ISBN 1-4051-3183-7).

Wood, Michael. In Search of the Trojan War. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998 (paperback, ISBN 0-520-21599-0); London: BBC Books, 1985 (ISBN 0-563-20161-4).

External links

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The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the 12th or 13th century BCE. The war was waged by the Achaeans ( Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta.