Of Gods And Men: An A to Z of Mythology by Lestat http://www.clubi.ie/lestat/ofgodsz.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- A ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABASSI The god of the Efik,Abassi was instructed by his wife,Atai,to allow a human couple to settle on the Earth,but forbid them to procreate or work,for fear that they might excel Abassi in wisdom. For some time the humans observed this rule,but eventually they began to work and have children,for which Atai slew the man and his wife,and caused strife and discord between their children. AB KIN XOC The Maya war god of poetry,also known as Ppiz Hiu Tec. ABRAHAM The 'Father of Christianity',Abraham's faith was tempted when God instructed him to sacrifice his only son,Isaac,on a mountain that he would be shown. Ready to obey his god,Abraham was about to kill his son when God sent an angel to praise him for his faith,and released him from the obligation. ABZU See Tiamat. ACHELOOS A somewhat minor river-god in Greek myth,he was said to have fathered the Sirens (also hence called Acheloides),with one of the Muses being the mother. ACHELOIDES Also (and more widely) known as the Sirens,these were the daughters of the Greek river-god Acheloos,and were said to lure sailors to their deaths by virtue of their powerful,unearthly,entrancing singing. ACHERON One of the four rivers that ran through the underworld of Hades,in Greek mythology,Acheron was also called the "River of eternal woe." ACHILLES Son of Peleus,a mortal,and Thetis,a sea nymph,Achilles' mother was given a choice by the gods (Greek) as to how his life should be:short but glorious,or long but obscure. Fearing for her son's safety,Thetis chose the latter,and to this end bargained with the gods to protect her son from harm. This they granted,by advising the nymph to immerse the child in the waters of the Styx,which would immunise him from all harm. This Achilles' mother did,but having to hold on to her son by the ankle,that he would not be dragged away by the current,this part of the boy did not receive the protection of the gods,and indeed was to prove the death of Achilles. Fearing further for the boy's safety,Thetis disguised Achilles as a girl,and sent him to the court of King Lykomedes,on the island of Skyros. There he was brought up as a girl,among the king's daughters,falling in love with one of them,Deidamia,who bore him a son,Neoptolemos,who later fought in the war against Troy.However,another Greek hero,Odysseus,was sent to Skyros,his mission to locate Achilles and enlist him in the coming Trojan War. Gaining admittance to the court of King Lykomedes under a false pretext,Odysseus recognised Achilles,and ordered a magnificent suit of armour to be brought before the boy. Seeing the breathtaking splendour of the suit,Achilles' head was turned,and he yielded to the call to arms that Odysseus sounded on his battle-horn. The boy offered his services to the war,and was enlisted,as had been Odysseus' intention in the first place. On the way to Troy,the Greek party mistakenly landed in Mysia,which was ruled by Telephos,a son of Hercules. Telephos fought the invasion of his country,and in the battle was wounded by Achilles' spear. Now Achilles had studied healing and medicine under the Centaur Cheiron,and this knowledge had stood him in good stead when he had had to heal a wound that his friend Patroklos suffered. Telephos found that his wound would not heal,and on consulting an oracle,was advised that it would only be healed by he who had caused it.With the Greek fleet beached at Aulis,Telephos made his way there,where he presented himself to King Agamemnon,in disguise. He then abducted Agamemnon's infant son,Orestes,and threatened to kill the child if his wound were not seen to. Thereupon Odysseus scraped some of the rust from the spear of Achilles,applied it to the wound,which then healed. Delighted with the results,Telephos offered to lead the Greeks to Troy,which was in fulfillment of another oracle. Achilles then went on to distinguish himself in the long and hard-fought Trojan War,leading the Greeks to the brink of victory,and fulfilling the fate laid out for him by the gods,his mother's choice of which he had himself superseded,once having given in to the call of the warrior,there in Lykomedes' court. In the course of the Trojan War,Achilles gained great fame and respect,killing the Hero of Troy,Hector,as well as the Amazon Pentheselia,before finally being killed himself by Paris,instigator of the Trojan War by his stealing of the beautiful Helen from her husband Menalaus. ADAM In Christian belief,the first man on Earth,created from dust by God. Adam and his wife,Eve,were caretakers of the Garden of Eden,and instructed by God that they might eat the fruit of every tree in the Garden,bar one,the Tree of Knowledge. But Satan,appearing in the form of a snake,convinced Eve that she and her husband would be like gods themselves if they ate the fruit of the tree. Eve tasted a fruit,gave some of it to Adam,and for this crime they were cast out of Paradise. ADAPA The West Asian version of Adam. ADITI In the religion and mythos of the Hindu peoples,this word means three separate things:- 1) The illimitable space of sky beyond the far east,whence the bright light gods sprang; 2) The name for the mother in whose lap the gods were nursed; 3) The name for the incomprehensible and Infinite and Absolute of the metaphysicians. ADONIS A simple shepherd,Adonis gained partial immortality due to the intervention of Aphrodite,Greek goddess of love,who,on witnessing the young shepherd's death by a wild boar,would not allow the gods to take the lifeless body from her arms until they had agreed that Adonis should continue to live half of the year on Earth,during spring and summer,while the winter and autumn months should be spent in the kingdom of the dead,Hades,where she might spend the time with him,beside Persephone,Queen of the Dead,and wife to Hades,king of the Underworld. ADRASTEA One of the nymphs who tended the newborn Zeus,on Mount Ida,after his father,Kronos,had tried to devour the child,to try to thwart a prophecy Kronos had heard,that he would be dethroned by his youngest born child. ADROA The God of the Lugbara,who dwell in the area between Zaire and Uganda. Adroa had two aspects:good and evil. He was looked on as the creator of heaven and Earth,and was said to appear to a person who was about to die. Adroa was represented as tall and white,with only half a body---one eye,one ear,one arm,one leg. His children,the Adroanzi,frequented streams,large trees and rocks,and were fond of following people at night. Provided the person followed did not look back,they would be safe. But if they glanced over their shoulder,the Adroanzi would kill them. ADROANZI See Adroa. AEAKOS One of the three heroes who assisted Hades and Persephone in the Underworld in judging the souls of the dead. Aeakos,along with his two compatriots,had distinguished his life previously by his great sense of wisdom and justice,and it was he who held the keys to the lower region of Hades,being the gatekeeper of that region. AEETES Ruler of Kolchis,it was he who possessed the Golden Fleece,in search of which Jason and the Argonauts sailed. He set the adventurers many difficult tasks,before finally conceding defeat and allowing the Fleece to be taken. AEGEUS King of Crete,Aegeus married the witch Medea,whose son by Aethra banished her from Aegeus' court after she had tried to poison Theseus. Aegeus met his death when,on observing the return of his son's ship,he noted that the expected white sail was not flying,and thinking Theseus dead,he threw himself off the rocks,to his own death. AEGIPANES Minor,inferior forest deities,subjects of the goat god,Pan,they were represented,like Pan himself,as having cloven,goat's feet. They were also known as Paniski. AEGLE One of the three sisters of Phaeton,son of the sun god Helios,who,after receiving his father's permission to drive the chariot of the sun for a day,and losing control of it,was slain by Zeus. Aegle,with both her sisters,wept for so long at the demise of their brother that they all became transformed into larch trees,which overhang the banks of the rivers,their tears,constantly flowing,being changed by Zeus into amber. AELLO One of the three Harpies,daughters of the storm giant Thaumas and the nymph Elektra. Aello,like her two sisters,had the head of a woman,with the body and wings of a bird. AENEAS Son of Anchises and the goddess Aphrodite,Aeneas took part in the Trojan war,distinguishing himself in that conflict. He accompanied Paris on the latter's mission to abduct Helen from Troy. He also descended to the Underworld,accompanied by the Sibyl. There he encountered the woman who had loved him in the upper world,but whom he had had to leave,Dido. When he tried to speak to her,she turned away in silence. Aeneas met his father,Anchises,in Hades too,and he revealed to his son the future glories of Rome. Aeneas was one of the few people who escaped the sack of Troy. AEOLOS A minor deity of the winds,Aeolos was the son of a king called Hippotes,and lived on one of the rocky Lipara islands,close to Sicily. In the caves on this island were imprisoned the winds,and Aeolos,directed by the higher gods,let out these winds as soft breezes,gales,or whatever the higher gods wished.Being visited by the Greek hero Odysseus,Aeolos received him favourably,and on the hero's departure presented Odysseus with a bag containing all the adverse winds,so that his friend might reach Ithaca with a fair wind. Odysseus did as Aeolos bid,but in sight of his homeland,having been untroubled by foul weather,he fell asleep and his men,curious,opened the bag,thus releasing all the fierce winds,which blew their ship far off course. AESIR The collective name for the twelve great gods of Norse legend,they who lived in Asgard,and with the All-Father Odin,ruled the lives of mortal men. They were:- Thor,Balder,Freya,Tyr,Bragi,Hodur,Heimdall,Vithar,Vili,Ullr,Ve and Forseti. Their thrones were in Gladsheim,one of the two mansions of Asgard. AESON Father of the famous Greek hero Jason,Aeson was the rightful king of Iolkos in Thessaly. His own father was Aeolos,King of the Winds,and himself a minor deity. AETHER One of the sons of Nyx,daughter of Chaos,and Erebos,lord of darkness,Aether can,as his name suggests,be looked on more as an elemental of the pure air,rather than an actual god. AETHON A personification,in the world of ancient Greece,of famine. AGAMEMNON Brother to Menelaus,Agamemnon was king of Sparta. AGANIPPE One of the Muses,who were said to be nymphs of the streams that ran down the sides of Mount Helikon and Parnassos. AGATHODAEMON Considered the "good demon" in Greek life,as to every person was assigned at birth a demon,unmixed wine was usually poured out during mealtimes,as an offering to the Agathodaemon. AGENOR One of the two sons borne by Libya to the sea god,Poseidon. AGNI The Hindu god of fire,one of the more powerful gods of the East,Agni is said to have been created by the rubbing together of sticks,from which he burst forth like the wind. He is described as extremely powerful,as one would expect from he who is lord of the invincible fire. He is depicted as red of skin,with two faces and seven tongues,to lick up the butter used in sacrifices. It is said that once,having exhausted his strength by consuming too many oblations,Agni,together with Krishna and Arjuna,and in defiance of Indra,consumed the Khandava forest. AGROTORA Another name for the Greek goddess Artemis,under which title she was regarded as the patron goddess of hunters. AGWI The sea god of the Haitians. AH CHUY KAK The Maya war god known as the Fire Destroyer. AH CUN CAN The Maya war god known as the Serpent Charmer. AH PUCH Also known as Hunhau,he was the Maya god of death who ruled over Mitnal,the land of death. He was normally represented with the head of an owl on a human body. This figure of death has survived to this day,where the Indians of Central America and Mexico believe that someone will die when the owl screeches. In other representations Ah Puch is shown as a skeleton or a bloated corpse,adorned with bells. The god of death presided over the lowest and most horrible of the nine hells,Mitnal. AHOEITU The god Eitumatupua climbed down from the sky on a great tree,and took a worm descendant,Ilaheva,as his wife. Returning to the sky,the god left the woman and her child,Ahoeitu,on the Earth. But when Ahoeitu grew up he longed to visit his father in the sky,and his mother told him that he would find Eitumatupua catching pigeons. So Ahoeitu climbed the tree,met his father,and there was much rejoicing. However,Eitumaupua's other sons,children of the sky,grew jealous,and ambushed Ahoeitu,tore him to pieces,cooked and ate him.When their father had discovered the crime,he commanded his sons to vomit up the pieces of Ahoeitu that they had consumed,and then he remade the boy,with the aid of magic herbs. Ahoeitu was then sent back to Earth as the ruler of Tonga,while his sky-brothers were condemned to remain in the tree,though eventually Eitumatupua relented,and freed them. AHRIMAN The closest that Egyptian mythology comes to the Devil,Ahriman was regarded as the antithesis of the gods of Egypt,the personification of darkness and evil,and the eternal enemy of the highest and most exalted Egyptian god,Ormuzd. These two are,in fact,not so much considered as gods,but as pure spiritual beings,perhaps the fathers of the Egyptian gods that followed. In Persian mythology,too,Ahriman is seen as the personification of evil,he leading the dark forces against the hosts of Spenta Mainya,the holy spirit,who assisted Ahura Mazdah,the wise lord,and final victor of the cosmic conflict. Ahriman introduced the frost in winter,heat in summer,all manner of diseases and other ills,to thwart Ahura Mazdah,and he also created the dragon Azhi Dahaka,who brought ruin to the Earth. When Ahura Mazdah created the heavens,Azhi Dahaka sprung into the sky like a snake,and in opposition to the stars formed the planets. Both Ahriman and Ormuzd were offspring of Zurvan Akarana,who had vowed that the firstborn should reign as king. Ahriman thus ripped open his mother's womb,and Zurvan pronounced that he should rule only for nine thousand years,after which period his twin brother should reign in his place.Ahriman's chief weapon was concupiscence,through which all that was his should be devoured ,even his own creation. There was a female counterpart of Ahriman,called Az,and it is said that when Ahriman saw the righteous man he swooned,and lay in a faint for three thousand years,until the 'accursed whore',Jeh,awoke him and defiled men with her destructive spirit,introducing fear,jealousy,lust and greed into man. AHULANE The Maya war god,the archer. His shrine was on the island of Cozumel. AHURA MAZDAH In Persian belief,Ahura Mazdah was the supreme god,he who created the heavens and the Earth. Atar,his son,battled Azhi Dahaka,the great dragon of the sky,and bound it in chains on a high mountain. The dragon was,however,destined to escape and destroy a third of mankind at the final reckoning,before it was slain. Ahura Mazdah was the god of prophetic revelation,and bore both Ahriman and Ormuzd. AI APAEC Son of the mountain god of the Mochica,Ai Apaec was represented as having a feline mouth,with snake's-head earrings and a jaguar headdress. AIGAMUXA In Hottentot mythology,these are strange maneating monsters who are sometimes encountered among dunes. They have their eyes set on their instep,so that to see what is going on they have to get down on their hands and knees,and hold up one foot. AJAX Son of Telamon,Ajax was,with Achilles,the leader of the Greeks during the initial years of the Trojan War. After the death of Achilles,the hero's body was borne back to the Greek camp by Ajax and Odysseus. Thereafter,Achilles' wonderful armour was awarded to Odysseus. Ajax,believing that his neglect had caused---or at least contributed to---the death of his friend,went mad,and fell on his own sword,committing suicide. AJOK The god of the Lotuko,a Sudanese people,it was believed that he was benevolent,but only if men chose to keep him so. Family strife was seen to be the cue for death to enter the family,and indeed a story is told of a Lutuko mother who implored Ajok to restore her dead child to life. The god obliged,but the woman's husband was angry,and berated his wife,killing the child. Ajok,annoyed,declared that never again would he raise a Lotuko,and that from this on,death would be permanent for his people. AJYSYT The mother goddess of the Yakuts,Ajysyt was seen to be present whenever one of her people gave birth,and she brought with her the soul of the child,so that a complete human being could be brought into existence. She was also seen to reside on a mountain with seven storeys,where she wrote every new birth into a golden book,and controlled the fate of men. Ajysyt is said to have appeared to a white youth who,having encountered a clamlake of milk beside the cosmic tree,gave praise,and was then witness to the vision of the goddess from the roots of the tree. Ajysyt offered the youth milk from her breasts,and he drank,and found his strength increased a hundredfold. AKRISIOS One of two sons of Hypermnestra and Lynkeus,Akrisios and his brother Proetos were fierce rivals from an early age;they did,in fact,hate each other,so much so that,when they were both grown,Proetos fled to Lycia,while Akrisios stayed in Argos. However,having no heir to the throne bothered him,and he consulted the famous and wise Oracle of Delphi prophesised that he would have a daughter,who would bear him a son who in turn would slay his grandfather,and rule in his stead.This daughter,Danae,was imprisoned by Akrisios in an underground chamber,in an effort to stay the prophecy,but Zeus found his way to her as a golden shower,she became pregnant and bore a son,who was called Perseus. Incensed at this thwarting of his plan,and afraid that what the Oracle had prophesised was about to come to pass,he summoned Danae to the altar of Zeus,there to explain herself. Disbelieving her story,Akrisios had Danae and the newborn Perseus locked in a box,and this box then thrown into the sea. The box,however,was rescued,though these events are summed up more fully in the entry on Perseus himself.Having gone through various adventures,Perseus went in search of his father,and found he had left Argos,fearful of the fulfillment of the prophecy. He found him at Larisa,in Thessaly,there with the king of that land,who was engaged in public games in honour of his deceased father. Fulfilling the prophecy,Perseus threw a discus which landed on Akrisios' foot,killing him. AKTAEE One of the Nereides,nymphs of the sea;Aktaee represented the imperious rush of billows on island shores,together with her sister,Nesaie. AKTAEON A huntsman who had witnessed the goddess Artemis bathing,and as a punishment was transformed into a stag,and devoured by his own hounds. ALCHERA The 'dream time',when the ancestral spirits of the aboriginal tribes of Australia walked the Earth,later returning underground. ALEKTO One of the Furies,the one known as "the unwearied persecutor". ALILAT The Arabian mother goddess. ALKAEOS One of the two sons of Perseus and Andromeda. ALKESTIS Wife of Admetos,king of Pherae,she was willing to lay down her life for her husband,offering herself to Death in exchange for Admetos' life. However,Hercules saved her by holding Death in a stranglehold until he promised to let Alkestis return to her husband. ALKIPPE A daughter of Ares,Alkippe loved Halirrhotios,a son of Poseidon,and was slain by the war god,necessitating the convening of the Areopagus,the court that sat in judgement on gods. ALKMENE The mother of Hercules,she was a daughter of Elektryon,one of the two sons of Perseus and Andromeda,and her husband,Amphitryon,was a son of the other,Alkaeos. ALKYONEUS The finest warrior of the race of Giants,neither Athene nor great Zeus himself could best him in combat. This was because the Giants' mother Earth had made them proof against all of the weapons of the gods. However,they were susceptible to the weapons of mortals,and it was Hercules,called forth by Athene,who slew Alkyoneus with his arrows. ALLAH The god of Islam. ALOEUS Father of the Giants Otos and Ephialtes,who imprisoned Ares in a large brazen vase for thirteen months. Aloeus was known as 'the planter'. ALPHEIOS A minor river god,who became smitten with the nymph Arethusa,and chased her until she finally eluded him by appealing to Artemis,who caused the stream she represented to flow underground. ALSEIDS See Dryads. ALTJIRA The sky father of the Aranda tribes of Central Australia,Altjira is looked on as the god of the Alchera,the dream time. It is said that he made the Earth,then retired to the top of the sky,and is now indifferent to mankind. He is represented as a man with the feet of an emu,while his wives and daughters have the feet of dogs. AMALTHEA The goat which provided the infant Zeus with milk,while the nymphs took care of him on Mount Ida. AMARYNTHIA See Artemis. AMATERASU The Japanese sun goddess,she had to hide from her brother,Susanowo,the storm god,who wreaked havoc on the land (although he was actually a god of the sea). He destroyed rice-fields,uprooted trees,and tore down sacred buildings. He even ripped the roof of his sister's weaving hall,frightened her ladies to death,and drove Amaterasu herself into hiding in a cave,the entrance to which Susanowo then sealed shut,preventing the world being lit by the sun,and wild spirits ran free across the Earth,darkness covering the world. On the bed of the tranquil river of Heaven,Ama-no-yasu-gawara,a conference of the gods was held,to decide how to free Amaterasu. They tried many things to induce her to come out of her cave,but all failed until the gods enlisted Uzume,a dancer,to perform outside her prison. So amusing and entertaining was the dancer that the gods present laughed until the great plain of heaven shook with their merriment,and Amaterasu,opening the doorway to her cave slightly,asked how it was that the gods could laugh in the face of such darkness. Uzume replied that they were happy because there was a more illustrious deity than the sun goddess in heaven. Curious to see this new god,Amaterasu was shown a mirror and,startled by her own reflection,stared spellbound while the gods pulled her free of the cave,and a rope of straw was placed across the entrance,that she might never enter the cavern again. Thus the sun returned to the world,and all rejoiced. AMIDA-NYORAI The god to whom the Japanese turned at the moment of death. Amida-Nyorai's realm had a lotus pond brimming with ambrosia groves of jewel-studded trees,on the branches of which perched marvellous birds,while melodious bells depended from the boughs,and above this the Buddha and his angels circled,scattering petals on the gentle breeze. AMITABHA One of the six meditation Buddhas,Amitabha sprang from a lotus,and was the helper of the weak and the faltering. He vowed that he would refuse personal salvation unless he should gain the power to cause any being who appealed to him to be reborn in the Pure Land,immediately after death. AMMON An oracle at Lybia,to which the king Cepheus turned.His wife,Cassipoeia had dared to compare herself to the Nereides and thus called down a curse on her land of Aethiopia,sent by Poseidon,consisting of floods and a giant monster called the Kraken,which terrorised the land. Cepheus,seeking an end to this plague,was told by the oracle that he would have to offer his daughter,Andromeda,to the Kraken. AMORETTES Tiny winged children that surrounded Aphrodite,in classical painting and sculpture. AMOTKEN The creator deity of the Selish,North American Indians,he dwells in heaven,solitary and alone. He is an old man,wise and kind,with an infinite compassion for his creation. Coyote is his messenger. One of the legends relating to Amotken tells of his creating five young women from five hairs taken from his head. When the god asked the women what they wanted to be,he received five different replies. The first wished to be the mother of wickedness,the second that of goodness. The third wanted to be the mother of the Earth,the fourth of fire,and the fifth of water. Amotken granted their wishes,declaring that at first,wickedness should rule the world,but in time goodness would win out. AMPHIARAOS One of the 'Seven against Thebes',the seven heroes who sailed to Thebes,intent on reclaiming the throne from Eteokles. AMPHION Twin brother to Zethos,Amphion was blessed with a deep,romantic character,which he used to full effect in playing the lyre that Hermes had given him. Unlike his brother,Amphion disdained the rougher life of the hunter and warrior,preferring instead to accomplish by music whatever Zethos did by force. Like Orpheus,his music had great power,and during the building of the walls of Thebes,Amphion's music easily moved rocks that his brother would strain trying to budge by physical means. AMPHITRITE Goddess of the sea,Amphitrite was the wife of Poseidon,and had the care of the creatures of the sea. She could control the great waves,making them swamp ships or carry men to safety. She was the daughter of Okeanos and Tethys,and was usually represented with flowing hair and the toes of a crab protruding from her temples,sometimes seated on the back of one of the creatures of the deep---a triton,perhaps. AMPHITRYON Husband to Alkmene,mother of Hercules,Amphitryon was the son of Alkaeos,one of the two sons of Perseus and Andromeda. AMRITA The water of life in Hindu mythology,Amrita was recovered at the Churning of the Ocean,when Rahu the demon succeeded in obtaining a sip,forcing Vishnu to cut off his head in order to prevent him from gaining complete impregnability. AMUN Amun was the chief god of Upper Egypt,one of the most highly spiritual of the gods. He was known alternately as Amun-Ra,and Amun-Num,the extensions to his name both being other gods. Amun's goddess was Maut,and together with their son,Khuns,these three formed the Trinity of Upper Egypt. AMYKOS The king of Scutari,Amykos was famed as a boxer,and as a cruel man who challenged all who passed through his kingdom to a boxing match. He overstepped his mark however,when he challenged Pollux,one of the Argonauts! AMYMONE A beautiful Greek girl whom Poseidon came across in Lerna in Argos,weeping because she could not get the water that her father had sent her to obtain. Poseidon,struck by her beauty,struck the earth with his trident,and water gushed forth. AN In Sumerian mythology,An was the personification of heaven. ANADYOMENE See Aphrodite. ANASI Also known as Mr. Spider,Anasi is the greatest trickster in West African legend,beaten only in his encounter with the wax girl,to whom he stuck fast,having struck her with his legs when she refused to talk to him. The people then rushed forwards and beat the tricky Anansi. ANANTA The Serpent of Eternity,in Hindu mythology,on which Vishnu rests. Ananta has a thousand heads,all of which rise to form a canopy over the recumbent deity. As Balarma,the half-brother of Krishna,Ananta takes on human form,but as he is sitting beneath a tree,lost in thought,a serpent crawls from his mouth,and he is left disincarnate. In his serpentine form,Ananta spews forth venomous fire that destroys creation at the end of each kalpa. Having once made a truce,the gods and the demons used Ananta as a rope,which they twisted around Mount Mandara,and so churned the ocean for Amrita. ANCHISES A son of Aphrodite,Anchises was father to Aenas,and distinguished himself during the Trojan War,being one of the few people who escaped after the sack of the city. ANCILE The sacred shield of Mars,the Roman equivalent of Ares;Ancile was said to have fallen from Heaven,and was looked on by the Romans as an object of great reverence and luck. Roman soldiers,going into battle,would visit the temple of Mars and swing the shield,imploring the god to protect them in the coming conflict. ANDRIAMBAHOMANANA In the mythos of Madagascar,he was the first man created on the Earth. Asked what kind of death he and his wife wanted,after having created many children and grandchildren,Andriambahomanana chose to die like a banana plant,which soon puts forth shoots anew,while his wife asked to be sent to the moon,where she dies every month,to be born again the following month. ANDROGEOS The son of King Minos of Crete,who was murdered by King Aegus of Attica. As a punishment,Minos decreed that the people of Attica would send,every year,seven maidens and seven strong youths,to be offered as sacrifice to the monster,the Minotaur,in reparation for the murder of his son. ANDROMACHE Wife to the Hero of Troy (on the Trojan side),Hector. ANDROMEDA Daughter to Cepheus and Cassiopeia,rulers of Aethiopia,Andromeda was chained to a rock on the seashore as an offering to the monster,the Kraken,which had been terrorising the land. She was rescued by Perseus,who later married her. ANKAEOSA Greek hero who joined with Jason in the hunting of the Caledonian Boar. ANKOR WAT The huge palatial temple built by the Khmers in 1112,its walls and moats measure 300 yards along each side,and these walls depict the exploits of Vishnu,while nearby are the famous Mukha- Lingams,the sculptured towers of the Bayon temple,which represent the four faces of Shiva. The name Ankor Wat means 'palace-monastery'. ANOUKE In Egyptian mythos,the third member in the trinity of Northern Ethiopia. The other two were Sati and Neph. ANTAEOS A fierce Giant who lived in Cyrene,on the coast of North Africa. Hercules bested him in a wrestling match,despite the power given the Giant by his mother Earth. ANTEIA See Stheneboea. ANTICHRIST,THE Seen as the arch-enemy of Jesus Christ and the powers of good in Christian belief,the Antichrist was first mentioned in the last book of the Christian Bible,the Book of Revelations,where it was warned that the Dark One would appear and lay waste to all around him,corrupting the hearts of men and women,turning brother against brother,and heralding the cataclysmic end of the world.It was first believed that the Antichrist would appear in the Holy Land (Jerusalem),and so the First Crusade was initiated,to expel the Turks and Saracens,and other heathens from that land. Later,when Christianity split into two factions,the Catholics and the Protestants,each accused the other's leader of being the feared arch-destroyer.Generally,it was held that this Antichrist would be identified by the number 666,and that it would shrink from the symbols of Christianity (the crucifix,holy water,etc.) Although at first it was taken that the Enemy would be of human appearance,later the characteristics of a monster were ascribed to it:it was seen to be an enormous flying beast,with a huge head with flaming eyes,iron teeth,and the ears of an ass. (See also Satan) ANTIGONE Daughter of Oedipus and Jokaste,she was unaware of her bastardic origins until she and her sister and two brothers consulted an oracle,on a different matter. The siblings reacted differently,Antigone being the only one who stayed with her father,after Oedipus had put out his own eyes,and wandered the land. When he finally died,in Attica,Antigone returned to Thebes,to whose throne Kreon,her uncle,succeeded after the two brothers Eteokles and Polyneikes killed each other in combat. Although Kreon had the body of Eteokles buried with great ceremony and reverence,he refused to allow the same be done for that of Polyneikes,forbidding any to try,on pain of death. Antigone,unable to bear the knowledge that her brother's shade would know no rest,buried the body secretly,but was discovered and was sentenced to be buried alive. Sealed in a subterranean chamber,she hanged herself,to end it quickly. ANTIOPE Daughter of Thebe and Nykteus,Antiope bore two sons,the divergent Zethos and Amphion. Having been approached by Zeus in the form of a satyr,she was driven from her house,and found refuge with Epopeus,the king of Sikyon. She remained here awhile,despite the protestations and demands of her father,but was eventually surrendered to his brother,Lykos. Travelling back with him,she gave birth to the aforementioned twins on the way,the boys entrusted to a herdsman to be brought up. She herself was carried off to the court of Thebes,where she was subjected to relentless cruelty by Lykos' wife,Dirke. After years of this persecution,Antiope fled to Mount Cithaeron,where her two boys had been entrusted to the care of the herdsman. She met the two there,but did not recognise them. However,she was recognised by Dirke,who had arrived at Mount Cithaeron on some cermonial task. Dirke ordered the two herdsmen (Amphion and Zethos) to bind their mother to the horns of a wild bull,that it might tear her apart. The two boys were about to carry out the order when the old herdsman recognised Antiope,and revealed her as the mother of the twins. Incensed,Zethos and Amphion tied Dirke to the bull,where she met her death.When Antiope,now reunited with her lost sons,returned to Thebes,Lykos abdicated in favour of the twins. ANUBIS In Egyptian mythology,the watcher over the dead. Anubis is depicted as having a jackal's head,and his task was to supervise the passage of souls to their abode in the next world. He presides over tombs,and in this capacity,he is often depicted as standing over a bier on which a corpse is deposited. He was the son of Osiris and Nephthys,a sister of Isis,who,fearing the envy of Isis,hid the child by the seashore. AOEDTE One of the Muses.AO-LAIThe name of the district where,in Chinese mythology,the egg containing APELIOTES Greek god of the south-east wind,Apeliotes was depicted as wearing boots,and he carried all kinds of fruit with him. APHRODITE The Greek goddess of love,Aphrodite epitomised all that was beautiful and pure in woman. Daughter of Zeus and Dione,she bore a son,Eros,and was always accompanied by the Charites ,the Horae,Himeros ,Pothos and Peitho . She rescued the young shepherd Adonis,struck by his beauty,making the gods promise to allow the youth to live on the Earth for half of each year,spending the remainder in Hades,where she could visit him.Aphrodite married Hephaestos (Vulcan) who,after being told by Helios of his wife's amorous liaisons with Ares,caught both of the perpetrators in a cunning net of his own design,and brought them before Zeus,demanding punishment. Though Aphrodite could be kind and loving to those who found favour with her,she could be just as merciless with those who displeased her,as is illustrated in the list of people she destroyed:Hippolytos,whom she killed; Polyphonte,whom she changed into an owl;Arsinoe,whom she turned to stone;and Myrrha,whom she transformed into a myrtle tree.Like most beautiful women,Aphrodite hated to be outshone,and this vanity led to a contest between herself,Athene and Hera,wife of Zeus himself. How this contest came about was due to the goddess of strife,Eris. She,not being invited to the wedding of Thetis and Peleus,grew angry and threw a golden apple on the floor,labelled "to the most beautiful". Naturally,all three goddesses tried to claim the apple,and Zeus referred them to the shepherd Paris (who was later to gain infamy as the abductor of Helen of Troy,and so set in motion the events that would lead to the Trojan War).Paris,daunted at such a task,demurred,but was eventually convinced by each of the goddesses in turn,who offered him the throne of Asia (Hera),immortal fame as a hero (Athene),and the most beautiful wife in the world (Aphrodite). He finally found in favour of the goddess of love,and in so deciding made bitter enemies of Hera and Athene,which was to have dire consequences for he and his country.Aphrodite's sigils were the dove,ram,hare,dolphin,swan and tortoise. Her flower was the rose,and she was also associated with the myrtle tree,various beautiful plants,the apple and other fruits. APIS Apis was the beast-god of ancient Egypt. He was also known as Mnevis,and Onuphis. Apis / Mnevis / Onuphis (who,for the sake of simplicity,we will refer to hereafter as Apis) was regarded as the avatar of the god Osiris,whose soul it was said had transmigrated into the body of a bull. The sacred bull was allowed to live no more than 25 years,after which it was drowned in one of the sacred wells of the Nile. His death was followed by national mournings,soon forgotten and transformed into national thanksgiving when a new sacred bull was found,to take his place.The stigmata that marked a bull as the new incarnation of Apis / Osiris were a black coat,a white triangular spot on the forehead,a spot like a half-moon on its right side,and a knot like a beetle under its tongue. The ceremony thereafter was thus:the sacred scribes would approach the spot where the favoured cow had given birth to her calf,and would feed it milk for four months,in a house facing the rising sun. After this period had passed,the calf was conveyed in a boat,at the time of the new moon,to Memphis,where he was lodged in comfortable quarters,with ample space to exercise,provided with the most beautiful female companions that could be found. He was provided with a personal well from which to drink,as the waters of the Nile itself were considered too fattening. APOLLO Born as a son to Zeus and Leto,Apollo was the twin brother of Artemis,and his mother spent some time on the run from Hera,Zeus' jealous wife. She finally found shelter on the island of Delos,in the Aegan Sea,and there delivered her child. A golden burst of light showered the island on the birth of Apollo,and seven swans circled it. But Leto,still running from Hera,had to entrust her newborn children to Themis,who brought them up on ambrosia and nectar,with the result that Apollo attained manhood in only a few hours,and escaped from Themis,declaring his destiny was to become a bowman,a player of the lyre,and a supplier of truthful oracles to mankind. Though his true name was Phoebus-Apollo,he has become known down through the ages as merely Apollo. He was the god of light,the god of music and song,and he who watched over shepherds,goatherds and other herdsmen. So protective was he of animals that he is represented as herding the cattle of Laomedon,which multiplied greatly under his care. Apollo was the friendly god,the god of earthly blessings,his very arrows the rays of the sun that warm and nurture the land and those on it;he was the personification of youth and beauty;he was the god of medicine,who provided for the growth of healing plants;the god of music,whose power could soothe the beasts of the field,and finally he is the god of oracles,who could reveal what the future holds for his children. However,there was a darker side to Apollo's nature. As a child of the sun,it was he who controlled the weather that affected the world,and as such,any plagues,droughts or famines had to be ascribed to him. For this reason he is often looked on as a god of death,going under the name Carneios. In this character he also appeared under the apellation Hyacinthios,due to his inadvertent killing of the youth Hyacinthos,when throwing his disc at the annual games. It is also said that Zephyros,god of winds,jealous of Apollo's attraction to the boy,blew the god's disc back towards Hyacinthos,causing it to sever the youth's head.In vengeance,too,did Apollo,along with Artemis,destroy the children of Leto,Niobe's daughter,in response to the mother's claim that Leto's children rivalled even the beauty of the two gods. Apollo shot the boys with his arrows,while Artemis slew the girls. But when the last child was to die,Niobe begged the deities to spare her youngest daughter. Apollo and Artemis,however,refused,and the shaft pierced the mother's heart,which became as stone,and she was transformed into a rugged rock.Apollo exercised his power and anger,too,in the Trojan War when,fighting against the Greeks,he levelled heavy losses on the attackers of his city. Apollo was supposed to have travelled in a chariot drawn by swans,in which he would retire to the mythical land of Hyperborea during winter,returning when the spring arrived. He also had a mitra,or cap,and of course a lyre,from which he plucked music to charm the very stars from the heavens. The number 7 was sacred to Apollo,swans circling seven times Delos at his birth,which occurred on the seventh day of the month.Apollo was also the leader of the Muses,not surprisingly,due to his power of music,and played with them on the lyre that Hermes had made for him. In addition,he was supposed to have great powers of healing,and for this reason was regularly petitioned by those afflicted with disease or malaise. Apollo killed the great dragon Python,which had been barring the way to his oracle at Delphi,thus establishing forever his rightful claim on the place. This was contested somewhat by Hercules,who carried off Apollo's priestess,unhappy with her prophecy,necessitating Apollo's intervention,and the quarrel had to be settled by Zeus,after which the two gods lived in close friendship. Apollo also incurred the wrath of the Father of the Gods himself,having shot at some cyclops in revenge for Zeus having struck his son,Asklepios with a thunderbolt. For this crime,Apollo was exiled for a time from Olympus,and spent time on the Earth,acting as herdsman to Admetos,king of Pherae in Thessaly,and as already mentioned,Laomedon,prince of Troy.Apollo even went as far as to join with Poseidon in an attempt to oust Zeus from the throne of Olympus,but the attempt failed,and both gods were ordered to assist in the building of the walls of Troy. Once this had been accomplished,however,Laodemon refused to pay them as agreed,and in fury,Apollo sent a fierce pestilence that depopulated Troy. Apollo also argued with Pan,during his exile on Earth,the goat god insisting that the flute was a better instrument that the lyre. For a decision the two deities sought Midas,king of Lydia,who found in favour of Pan,and was punished by Apollo by having his ears grow long as a donkey's. Marsyas,boasting that he could play the flute better than Apollo,did not get off so lightly:he was flayed alive. APOYAN TACHI Sky father of the Pueblo Zuni,who sired all life. ARCHEMOROS The child of Jason and Hypsipyle,originally called Opheltes. In Nemea,Hypsipyle was met by the 'Seven against Thebes',and the heroes asked her to take them to a well,all the ones they had come across so far having been dry,seemingly as a punishment levied on them by Dionysos,the guardian deity of Thebes. Hypsipyle agreed,but first laid the child on the ground in the wood,contrary to advice previously received from an oracle. When she and the heroes got back,they found the child dead,within the coils of a snake. Tydeus and Kapaneus would have slain the serpent,but Amphiaraos announced it to be a miraculous creature,sent by Zeus as an evil omen. In honour of this,he renamed the child Archemoros,which means 'the dawn of mystery.' AREOPAGOS The hill in Athens,known as 'Mars' Hill',on which was held a court of justice,for the deliberation of cases involving life and death. Ares was sent there,to face justice after having killed Halirrhotios,a son of Poseidon,after the sea god's son had become involved with Ares' own daughter,Alkippe. ARES Another son of Zeus,Ares was perhaps more a legimate son to the Father of the Gods,as his mother was Hera,the wife of Zeus. He was originally looked on as a god of the storm and the tempest,and more particularly the hurricane. There is no doubt that he was the most terrible and fierce of all the gods,finally finding his niche as the god of war. Ares delighted in slaughter and massacre on a grand scale,and in this he was the antithesis of Pallas- Athene,who was the goddess of well-matched chivalrous fights. Pallas-Athene was invulnerable in battle,and always on the side of the victor,whereas Ares,being the very personification of war,was often wounded,and sometimes even taken prisoner. As an example of this,during the Trojan War,fighting on the side of the Trojans,having taking under his protection the hero Hector,he was wounded by the Greek Diomedes,and fell to the ground with a thundering crash. He was also wounded by Athene,and when he fell his body covered seven acres of ground.He was once captured by the Giants Otos and Ephialtes,and imprisoned in a huge brass vase for thirteen months. Ares found contention with Hercules,who slew the war god's son,Kyknos,but was unable to avenge the boy's death due to the intervention of Zeus. He had other sons,in particular Meleager,who slew the great Caledonian Boar,Parthenopaeos,one of the 'Seven against Thebes',and Oenomaeos,among others. Ares was usually accompanied by Eris,goddess of strife,who,it may be remembered,set the three goddesses Hera,Artemis and Aphrodite to quarelling over which was the most beautiful. Also accompanying him were Deimos and Phobos,signifying Dread and Alarm. He also formed an attachment with Aphrodite,in the course of a liaison with whom he was discovered by Helios,who alerted Hephaestos,who caught both the lovers in a special net he had designed,and dragged them before Zeus for judgement. The sigils of Ares were a spear and a burning torch;his animals were the dog and the vulture. ARETHUSA One of the nymphs of the fountains,who attracted the ardour of Alpheios,the river god,who pursued her with such persistence that she had to turn to Artemis,who caused the stream that Arethusa represented to flow underground,thus eluding the river god. ARGEIPHONTES See Hermes. ARGES One of the three Cyclops,whose power was a stream of light. ARGO The ship that carried the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece. ARGONAUTS The Greek heroes who sailed to Kolchis,in search of the Golden Fleece. They were led by Jason of Iolkos. ARIADNE The daughter of King Minos of Crete,and sister to the bestial Minotaur,Ariadne was carried off by Theseus when he escaped from Crete with the head of the Minotaur. Theseus and Aridane fell in love,but the hero,his heart hardened by the,in the end,merciless killing of the Minotaur,abandoned her on the island of Naxos. She was later found by the wine god Dionysos,and forgot her sorrow at the betrayal of Theseus. ARION A wonderful black horse,incredibly fleet,and gifted with intelligence and speech of a man. Arion was the result of the union of Demeter and Poseidon,and was also endowed with the power of flight. ARSINOE One of the luckless victims of Aphrodite,whom she turned to stone. ARTEMIS Also known as Diana,Artemis was the divine personification of the moon,and was twin sister to the sun god Apollo. She became goddess of fertility,of woods and forests,the patroness of the hunter,and,in some instances,the punisher of men through the agency of wild animals,as in the case of the Caledonian Boar. Her favourite animal was the stag,in keeping with her huntress aspect,and she was not slow to punish those who killed---inadvertently or otherwise---her prize animals.A case in point is the time when Agamemnon slew one of her stags,and Artemis detained the Greek fleet at Aulis,on its way to Troy,there extracting the sacrifice of Agamemnon's daughter,Iphigenia. Also,there is the story of the hunter Aktaeon,who observed the goddess bathing,and as a result was transformed into a stag himself,and eaten by his own hunting hounds. She also slew Orion,who was said to have angered Artemis in his pursuit of Eos,the morning.Artemis also became viewed as the protector of fishermen,due to her association with the moon,and its influence on the tides. It is told that,on escaping from King Minos of Crete,she had had to throw herself from a rock into the sea,and was caught in the net of a fisherman. Other attributes ascribed to her include goddess of music,goddess of childbirth,and goddess of virgins. She,like Apollo,was sometimes looked on as a goddess of death,but in her case it was said that someone stricken suddenly and without warning had been laid low by a kindly arrow from Artemis (or,in the case of men,Apollo).Pure in the fullest sense of the word,Artemis vowed when only a young maiden to remain always in a single state,and received the permission of Zeus for this;to punish with great severity any who tried to tamper with this resolve (in particular we see the nymph Daphne,whom she transformed into a laurel tree,and Callisto,whom she turned into a bear). Nymphs often accompanied her,and she was not angered at all of them. In fact,the story of Arethusa reflects this,the nymph being rescued by Artemis from the unwanted attentions of Alpheios,the river god.Artemis' sigils were,as already mentioned,the stag,but also the dog and the first fruits of the fields. ARTHUR,KING Son of Uther Pendragon,king of Britain,and Igraine,wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall,Arthur was conceived out of wedlock,and brought up by the wizard Merlin. As a youth he revealed his true heritage by drawing out the magical sword Excalibur from the stone into which it had been thrust,and from which none but the true king of Britain could budge it.Crowned at the age of fifteen,Arthur's military campaigns were always successful,and he soon expanded the British Empire,but his doom was sealed when he married Guinevere,against the advice of Merlin. Guinevere was in love with Sir Lancelot,and the infidelity of his queen cost Arthur an uprising by his nephew,Mordred. A great battle ensued,and almost all of Arthur's Knights of the Round Table were slain,Arthur himself badly wounded. He cast Excalibur into a lake,and was himself taken by the fairies to Avalon. ASA The father god of the Kenyan peoples,he is the strong lord,above the spirits,but also a merciful deity. He is ready to intervene when human help is slow or ineffectual. ASA BRIDGE See Bifrost. ASA FOLK See Aesir. ASGARD The Norse equivalent to Olympus,Asgard was the abode of Odin and the Aesir,and was reached from Midgard via the Rainbow Bridge,Bifrost. In Asgard were two mansions:Gladsheim,where the gods lived,and Vingolf,wherein dwelt the goddesses. Here also was the Hall of Heroes,Valhalla,where those mortals who had fallen heroicly in battle were received by Odin,or Freya,his wife. Also in Asgard were Elfheim,where the elves dwelt;Brediablick,abode of Balder the Beautiful;Himinbiorg,the tower of Thor,and Valaskialf,watchtower of the All-Father Odin. ASGAYA GIGAGEI The thunder god of the Cherokee Indians. ASH The first mortal created by Odin,Vili and Ve,the first three gods. Ash was formed from a piece of wood that the young gods found floating in the sea,at the beginning of Creation. Another piece of wood,floating side by side with that which became Ash,the gods changed into a woman,and called her Embla. ASHUR The Assyrian god of war,he was represented as a winged disc enclosing a stretched bow,ready to let fly an arrow. His consort was Ishtar,who responded to the warlike temperament of her mate by growing a beard that grew to her breasts. ASKLEPIOS The son of Apollo and Coronis,Askelpio's mother was slain at his birth by the arrows of Artemis,but Apollo saved the child,taking him to Mount Pelion,and gave him into the care of the famous physician Cheiron,who brought the child up,instructing him in the arts of medicine and healing,and in the skills of hunting. But Asklepios became so adept in the arts of healing that Hades,fearing that he would lose clients due to the boy's wonders,petitioned Zeus,who,stunned by the audacity of a mere mortal performing such miracles,destroyed Askelpios with a thunderbolt,earning for himself the enmity of Apollo,whom he subsequently banished from Olympus for a time. It was after his death that Askelpios became as a god to the Greeks,and indeed the Romans,seeking a cure to a pestilence that was ravaging their land,travelled to his temple at Epidauros. No sooner had they entered the temple than a serpent---the sigil of the god of healing---appeared from behind the statue of the god,and followed the Romans back to their ship. Looking on this as a portent of great luck,the men took it back home with them,where on landing in Italy the serpent proceeded to the temple of Asklepios in Antium,thereafter going back to the ship. It did not leave again until,on its way up the Tiber,the ship stopped at an island. Thereupon the pestilence was lifted,and a temple to Askelpios erected in his honour.Thereafter,the temple became a shrine,to which the sick and the deformed would travel,and all were cured. After having been treated,the details of their cases were inscribed on tablets,and hung up in the temple. Of Asklepios' children,the most famed was Hygeia,his wife Epigone, 'the soothing'. He himself is represented as an old,gentle,kind man,with a beard earnest,soothing eyes,resting on a staff around which is coiled a serpent,the sacred sign of his healing power. In addition to the serpent,Asklepios' sigils were the cock,staff and dish. ASOPOS One of the minor river gods of Greece. ASTARTE See Aphrodite. ASTRAEAT he Greek goddess of justice and good faith,modesty and truth,who forsook the Earth during the violence of the Iron Age,turning her back on the mortals,and returned to Olympus. ASTRAEOS The Greek god of starlight,who fathered the wind gods. ASURA A Central Asian word for the supreme spirit,or god. ATAENSIC The Iroquois sky woman and earth goddess,she is said to have died giving birth to the twins Hahgwehdiyu and Hahgwehdaetgah,who after her death created the world from her corpse. ATALANTE One of the heroes who took part in the hunt for the Caledonian Boar. ATE The Greek goddess of infatuation,mischief and guilt. Because of her propensity for leading men to commit actions that they later would rue,Zeus, her father,exiled her from Olympus,and thereafter she wandered the Earth,causing misery and hardship,seeking mischief and strife wherever she could. ATEA In Tuamotuan mythology,Atea was the sky god,who married Fa'ahotu,but after their firstborn,the magician Tahu,died of starvation on Fa'ahotu's flat bosom,and others followed,the two gods exchanged sexes. A legend is told of Atea and Tane,a younger god whom Atea tried to capture. After having sent a host of deities against Tane,the young god escaped to Earth and wandered,finally becoming so hungry that he killed and ate one of his ancestors. This was the beginning of what was to become cannibalism. Reaching manhood,Tane declared war on Atea,and slew him with the thunderbolts of his ancestor,Fatu-tiri. ATHENE Also known as Pallas-Athene,or Diana,she was supposed to have sprung to life fully-grown from the head of Zeus,while all Earth shook,the sea tossed like a living thing,and the light of day was extinguished. It was said that Zeus had previously swallowed his wife,Metis,to prevent her giving birth to a son. The operation of opening his head,that Athene might be born,was performed by Hephaestos. No being connected with the earth,whether god or mortal,had any part in her birth,she being entirely the issue of her father,and it is theorised that she was brought into being in order that she might carry out the deeds that he would want to do,but as the Supreme God,could not,having to be impartial. She was looked on alternately as fearful and powerful as the storm which attended her birth,and gentle and pure as the sky after that storm.For this reason---the dual nature of her character---she earned the double name,Pallas-Athene. As Pallas,she was goddess of the storms,and goddess of battle,but unlike Ares,she was the patron of the valiant fighter,the chivalrous warrior,the victor. In this difference to Ares she often had altercations with the war god. Her function,unlike Ares,whose goal was merely slaughter,massacre and bloodshed,often without reason,she looked on battle as the medium to advance to prosperity and peace---a means to an end.As Athene,she came into her own after the war had been won,teaching the people the ways of peace,and instructing them in all that gives beauty to life,in wisdom and art. Athene herself was very much a virgin,scorning the affections often laid at her feet. She was a being of pure mind,and had no time for the pursuits of the flesh. In her Pallas phase,the goddess helped Zeus immensely in the war against the Giants,who were proof against any weapons made by the gods,but not by mortals. Knowing this,Pallas called in the assistance of Hercules,who bested the titans. She herself singlehandedly defeated the Giant Enkelados,and when the Giants' threat to Zeus' rule was over,she took to watching over and helping the heroes on Earth who chose to battle the fierce monsters on it.In this office,she was the constant companion to Hercules,during his Twelve Labours,as well as his other feats and adventures,and also of Perseus,who she helped to slay the Gorgon Medusa. With Hera she protected the Argonauts,and helped Theseus in all his adventures. She also fought on the side of the Greeks,during the Trojan War,eventually giving Odysseus the idea for the Wooden Horse,which brought the war to a close at last.In times of peace however,she was seen as a goddess of all kinds of skill and handicraft,of clarity,and of mental activity. She taught the mortals how to care for the newborn,and she also became known as another goddess who practiced the healing arts. As well as these attributes,music was ascribed to her many talents,she being the inventor of the flute. She taught men to tame and train horses,ride chariots,and in general watched over and protected all people involved in art and industry.uinevere was in She created the olive tree,after a contest with Poseidon,in Athens. It is related how,when the fierce Persians came to torch her city,Athene begged Zeus to save it,but Zeus refused,and the Persians entered Athens,destroying everything,including even the sacred olive grove created by the goddess. But the olive tree root gave forth a shoot,which rapidy and miraculously grew to a length of three yards,proof that the city would rise again. Athene then lent her strength to the fleeing Athenians,who engaged the vastly superior Persian fleet,and destroyed it.Pallas-Athene's sigils were the cock,the snake,the owl and the olive tree. ATHOR One of the children of Ra,Egyptian god of the sun,Athor was said to be the goddess of light. ATIUS TIRAWA The creator deity of the Pawnee Indians. ATL The Aztec god of water. ATLAUA An obscure Mexican god,whose name meant 'Master of the waters'. ATLANTIDS Nymphs,daughters of Atlas. ATLAS A huge giant,who wassupposed to have stood upon the western confines of the Earth,and supported the heavens on his shoulders. Hercules sought his help in one of his Twelve Labours,that of picking three golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides,in order to accomplish which task Hercules had to temporarily relieve the giant of his burden. He did so,and when Atlas returned,the giant thought to trick the hero,by offering to convey the sacred apples to Eurystheus. Hercules appeared to agree,but asked Atlas to take the weight of the world for but a moment,while he went in search of a pad,on which to rest his head. Atlas agreed,took the world from Hercules,and the Greek hero made off with the apples.Later on,Perseus,returning to Seriphos,bearing the head of the Gorgon Medusa,turned the giant to stone,when Atlas refused to show the hero the proper hospitality. ATLI In the Saga of the Volsungs,in Old German mythology,Atli was King of Hunland,but it appears that he was merely the dark power masquerading as a mortal,for he invited his wife,Gudrun's brothers to his court,hoping to seize the golden treasure,the sunlight,which the brothers had received from the dead Sigurd. They had already buried these treasures in the Rhine river,and then went on to Hunland,where Atli,as they had expected,killed them both. ATROPOS One of the three Moerae (or in Norse mythology,Norns),Atropos,with her sisters Klotho and Lachesis,controlled the fates and destinies of mortals. Of the three,Atropos was the oldest,and it was she who cut the thread of life,thus bringing a mortal existence to a close. ATTIS A young Phrygian shepherd,with whom the goddess Rhea fell in love,suddenly appearing in the midst of the wedding ceremony,in which Attis was to be married to the daughter of the king of Pessinus. So affrighted was the shepherd that he ran off,escaped to the mountains,maiming himself,and died beside a pine tree,into which his soul transmigrated,while from his blood sprang violets like a wreath around the tree.Rhea implored Zeus to restore her lover,but the Father of the Gods reached a compromise with her:he granted that the body of Attis should never decay,that his hair should always grow,and that his little finger should always move. AUDHUMBLA In Norse mythology,the sacred cow on whose milk the Frost Giant Ymir fed,at the creation of the world. AUGEIAN STABLES,THE The famous stables of King Augeias,which Hercules was commanded to clean out,alone and in one day,as part of his Twelve Labours. He accomplished this by making a hole in the wall of the stable at one end,where the river approached it. The stream of the river Menios thus cleared the stable of all the accumulated filth. Augeias,however,was displeased with the result,and refused to pay Hercules the agreed reward of one tenth of his fabulous herd. This later led to war between the demigod and the king. AUGEIAS The king of Etis,who owned the famous Augeian Stables,which Hercules was compelled to clean out in one day,as part of his Twelve Labours. AUKA In Egyptian mythos,the wife of the god Neph. AULONIADS Nymphs of the mountain vales in which herds grazed. They were normally found in the company of Pan,frolicking though the meadows. The most famous of these Auloniads was the nymph Eurydice,for whose love Orpheus descended into Hades,determined to win her back. AURA Greek goddess of the morning wind. AURORA See Eos. AUSTRI In Norse legend,one of the four dwarves who held up the heavens (Austri held up the eastern section). AUXO One of the many Charites,or Graces. AVALOKITESVARA The Buddhist epitome of compassion and mercy,he declined to pass into Nirvana,having attained supreme consciousness,but chose instead to stay behind as the succour of the afflicted. He was represented as a handsome young man with a lotus flower in his left hand. His female consort was Tara. AVALON The mythical realm to which it is said King Arthurwas taken at the end of his reign. AVATARS OF VISHNU Avatars were like messengers,aspects of the gods who descended to Earth. In the Hindu mythos,the Avatars of Vishnu are many:firstly,Matsya,which appeared as a fish,to the good king Satyavrate,he and his family,and seven sages and their families having escaped the terrible flood which swamped the world,drowning all its wickedness,mirroring the Great Flood of Christian myth. Like Noah,Satyavrate escaped the deluge in a great ark,filled with the beasts of the earth,and the birds of the sky. The second Avatar,Kurma,appeared as a tortoise,supporting Mount Mandara on his back,while the gods churned the sea for the divine ambrosia. Varaha,the third Avatar,appeared as a boar,to save the Earth when it had been drowned a second time. The boar went into the sea and fished the Earth out on its tusks. Narasingha was the fourth,manifesting himself as a man-lion,to save the world from a monarch who,for his austerities,had been endowed with universal dominion by the gods. The subsequent Avatars were a dwarf,then Rama,hero of the Ramayana,then as Krishna himself. Buddha is also said to have been an Avatar of Vishnu. Nine of these Avatars have passed;the tenth is to be called Kalki Avatara,where he will appear armed with a scimitar,and riding on a white horse,where he will end the present age. After that,he will sleep on the waters,produce Brahma,and inaugurate the new world. AWITELIN TSTA The earth mother of the Pueblo Zuni,who with Apoyan Tachi gave birth to all life. AWONAWILONA The dual creator deity of the Pueblo Zuni,Awonawilona is said to have existed before all else. He created the sun,which fecundated the primeval sea,and formed a green scum over it. This hardened,then divided,becoming Awitelin Tsta,earth mother,and Apoyan Tachi,sky father. From these two beings then sprung all life. AZRA'IL In Hebrew mythology,Azra'il was the angel of death,whom Moses petitioned god to send to relieve people of their lives,having had a virgin who had lived for over 500 years resurrected,and hearing her complaining of the world weariness she had experienced. Allah then sent Azra'il to take people's lives after sixty or seventy years. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- B ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- BA A daughter of Heaven,in Chinese mythology. She signified drought. BAAL The Canaanite rain god,and son of El,Baal defeated the sea god Yam,and built for himself a house on Mount Saphon,seizing possession of numerous cities. Baal then declared that he would no longer acknowledge the authority of Mot,the god of death,and banished him to the deserts of the Earth,there to eat only dust. Mot then challenged Baal to meet him at his own abode,to taste his own fare,mud. Frightened at this dreadful summons to the land of the dead,but unable to back out,Baal coupled with a calf to give him strength,then set out.It was left to Anat,and Shapash the sun goddess to bring back the corpse of Baal,where the other gods mourned and mutilated themselves,placing Athar on the vacant throne. Beseeching Mot to restore her dead husband to life,Anat had eventually to resort to violence,tearing the god of the dead to pieces with a sharp knife and scattering his remains over the fields. When finally Baal returned,Mot again fought him,but neither could gain the victory,so El dismissed Mot,leaving Baal on the throne,which Athar had vacated. BABEL,TOWER OF The structure which Nimrod,king of Shinar,had built,in order to scale to Heaven. Yahweh,however,confounded the plan by confusing the tongues of the builders,so that none could understand the other,and conflict soon broke out. As a consequence of this,Yahweh allotted different languages to the seventy peoples of the world. BACCHUS See Dionysos BACHUE The mother goddess of the Chibcha people of Colombia. BAGADJIMBIRI The two brother gods to whom the Karadjeri of northwestern Australia attribute the creation of the world. Prior to the rising of the two brothers as dingos from the ground,there was nothing. The Bagadjimbiri made waterholes;from a toadstool and a fungus they formed genital organs for the first sexless people,and they instituted the ritual of circumcision.After the two brothers had assumed the shape of two giant men reaching up to the sky,they got into a quarrel with a cat man called Ngariman,whom they had annoyed with their laughter. Ngariman and his relatives killed the two brothers with spears,but the enraged Dilga,their mother,and the earth goddess,caused her milk to flow underground to the place of the murder,where it revived the victims and drowned the killers. Bagadjimbiri were reborn,but after some time decided to pass away,their bodies turning into water snakes and their spirits rising into the sky as great clouds. BAIAME The sky god of the Kamilaroi tribe of New South Wales,Baiame was master of life and death,and he answered all invocations for rain,while his favourite wife,Birrahgnooloo,sent floods on request. BALDER The most beautiful and well-loved of the Norse gods,Balder's name means 'the shining god'. His son was Brono,the daylight,and his abode was called Breidablick. Balder was also the most innocent and naive of the Norse gods,and as such met his death in the following way:Freya,wife of Odin,fearing a prophecy that foretold Balder's death,travelled the world,extracting a solemn promise from all the living things of the earth never to hurt the beautiful young god. All the living things of the earth gave their promise gladly---all except a sprig of mistletoe,which refused to take the oath.This was in fact Hel,goddess of death,and working in concert with her,Loki,god of mischief,planned Balder's death. Having received from everything (except the mistletoe) the promise that they would never harm the Bright One,the gods threw a great contest,where everyone hurled every damaging and potentially fatal weapon or thing they could find at Balder. Having taken the oath,nothing hurt the beautiful god. However,Loki compelled blind Hodur to throw the sprig of mistletoe he gave him at Balder,and this killed the young god. BALI Odin's son,who killed the duped Hodur,in revenge for the blind man's inadvertent slaying of Balder the Beautiful. BAMAPANA The trickster hero of the Murngin in northern Australia,Bamapana was obscene and broke clan incest taboos. He caused many quarrels and misunderstandings. BANOI One of the names that the peoples of the New Hebrides used for the land of the dead. Banoi was similar in most aspects to Earth,except for the fact that there were no gardens there,as there was no work required to be done. In Banoi the dead were segregated,those having died of a particular disease or in a particular way keeping together. BASILISK A small but deadly reptile,only six inches long,whose breath was poisonous,and who it was said only had to look at a person to turn them instantly to stone. BAUKIS Baukis,a poor peasant,with his wife Philemon,was visited by Zeus and Hermes,in the country of Phrygia. The gods,receiving such kindness and care from the two poor people,were touched by their devotion,and Zeus,ready to unleash a flood on the country,to punish the evildoers for their crimes,revealed himself to the couple,transformed their shabby cottage into a temple,and installed the two therein as his priest and priestess. He also granted their wish that they might die together,and when,many years later,death overtook them,he changed them into two trees---an oak and a linden---that grew side by side. BEELZEBUB See Satan. BENTEN The Japanese version of the Hindu river goddess,Saraswati,Benten was the goddess of music,the guardian of eloquence and the giver of wealth. She was also seen as the goddess of fortune. BELLEROPHON A hero of ancient Corinth,Bellerophon caught sight of the winged horse Pegasus,as it alighted near the citadel of Corinth,and tried in vain to catch it. Thwarted,he appealed to the seer Polyidos for help,and was told to lay down to sleep at night beside the altar of Athene. Doing so,Bellerophon dreamed that the goddess herself came to him,and presented him with a golden bridle,bidding him show it to his father,Poseidon,and at the same time sacrifice a white ox to him. On waking,he found he held the bridle in his hand,sacrificed the ox as instructed,and further dedicated an altar to Athene. Pegasus proved susceptible to the bridle,and Bellerophon became his master.Having accidentally slain a Corinth noble,the hero went to Argos,where he was kindly received by the king,Proetos. However,the king's wife,Stheneboea,took a fancy to Bellerophon,and when the young man rejected her advances,she dragged him before her husband,accusing the hero of trying to violate her. Shocked by this claim,Proetos sent Bellerophon to the court at Lycia,to King Iobates,giving the youth a letter in which,unbeknownst to him,were orders to kill the bearer. Arriving at the Lycian court,Bellerophon was entertained hospitably for nine days,and on the tenth the king asked the youth what his business was,received the letter Bellerophon bore,and dispatched the youth to slay the Chimera,a monster with a lion's front half,a serpent's rear and a goat in the middle. This monster infested the mountains,and slaughtered all who attacked it. But riding Pegasus,far out of the reach of the monster,Bellerophon killed the Chimera with his spear,and returned to Iobates triumphant. Next the king sent the hero to fight against the Solymi,a hostile neighbouring tribe,and again Bellerophon returned victorious. A third time the Lycian ruler sent his guest into danger,this time against the fierce warrior-women,the Amazons,and again he defeated them. When the final attempt to slay him failed (an ambush comprised of all Iobates' finest knights),the king realised that Bellerophon must be the son of a god,and gave the hero the hand of his daughter in marriage,plus half of his kingdom. But the gods,fickle and cruel as ever,decided that joy should not be Bellerophon's lot. His son Isandros was slain by Ares,his daughter Laodaemia by Artemis,and Bellerophon himself wandered the world,insane,sad and alone,avoiding the company of his fellow men,till in an attempt to climb Mount Olympus itself on the back of his mighty horse Pegasus,he was struck by one of Zeus' thunderbolts,fell to earth and died. BEREKUNTIA See Rhea. BES A popular household deity in Egypt,Bes was a dwarf with a large beard,shaggy eyebrows,long hair,with large projecting ears,a flat nose and a protruding tongue. His arms were thick and long,his legs bowed,and he wore a tail. He was a genial figure,associated with human pleasures,and a guardian against misfortune. He slew snakes,protected children,encouraged human fertility,and assisted the hippopotamus goddess Tawert in childbirth. BESTLA The wife of Bor,in Norse mythology,Bestla was the daughter of a frost giant,and she bore to her husband three sons:Odin,Vili and Ve. BHARADWAJA One of the Hindu Rishis,he lived through three lives,at the end of which he 'became immortal and ascended to the heavenly world,to union with the sun'. BHRIGU One of the Prajapatis,who surveyed the gods,to see which of them was worthy of the worship of both gods and men,finding Vishnu the only one worthy. BHAVANI In Hindu mythology,the sacti of the god Shiva,the Destroyer. BIFRONS One of the titles of Janus,which means 'two-headed'. BIFROST The 'Rainbow Bridge' that led from Asgard to the Underworld of Hel. The bridge burned with flame,so as to keep away the Frost Giants of Jotunheim. Bifrost was guarded by Heimdall,the Watchman of Asgard. BIRRAGNOOLOOS The favorite wife of Baiame,who sent floods on request. BISAMON-TENNO One of the Japanese guardians of the celestial world. BOBBI-BOBBI One of the ancestral snakes of the Binbinga people of northern Australia,Bobbi-Bobbi once sent a number of flying foxes for men to eat,but these bats escaped. So the snake,underground,watching,threw one of his ribs up,where the men on the ground received it and,using it as a boomerang,slew the bats and cooked them. Later they used the boomerang to make a hole in the sky,and Bobbi- Bobbi,angered,took back his rib,dragging down into his mouth two young men who had tried to hold onto the boomerang. BOCHICA The cultural founder hero of the Chibcha Indians,Bochica wandered through Colombia teaching his people how to make things. He gave the Chibcha strict moral laws,and when he departed into the west he left his footprints in certain rocks. After his departure,a woman named Chie,spurning Bochica's severe laws,urged the men to make merry and rejoice. The founder turned her into an owl,but she still helped the work god Chibchacum to flood the country,and in great distress the people turned to Bochica for help. He appeared in a rainbow,sent the rays of the sun to dry up the waters,and caused an outlet to carry away the flood of the sea. BOR The father of Odin,All-Father of the Norse gods. Bor was the son of Buri. BORARO,THE In the belief of the Tukano Indians of the upper Amazon,these are the spirits of the forests. Tall,with hairy chests and huge phalluses,their ears stick forwards and their feet backwards;the lack of a knee-joint causes them much difficulty in rising after a fall. The Tukano Indians believe that should a Boraro be sighted carrying a stone hoe,he is looking for someone to devour. BOREAS The Greek god of the north winter wind,who vied with the west spring wind,Zephyros,for the love of Chloris,goddess of buds and flowers. Bested by his rival,Boreas carried off the wife of Kekrops,the king of Attica,and when called upon by the Athenians when the Persians began their advance against Greece,he sent a terrible wind,which scattered the Persian fleet and largely destroyed it. BORGHILD The wife of Sigmund,in Old German mythology,by whom he had two children,Helgi and Hamund,but whom he later cheated by falling in love with Hjordis,an event which led to his death. BORI Father of Bor,and grandfather to Odin,Bori was brought into being by the licking of the ice-blocks of the world before the creation by the cow,Audhumbla,whose milk nourished the father of the Frost Giants,Ymir. BRAGI The Norse god of poetry and eloquence,possessed of the fairest speech and the most witty and cunnning tongue. He was married to Iduna,who dwelt in the Underworld. BRAHM In Hindu myth,not so much a god as a being in which the three major Hindu gods---Brahma,Vishnu and Shiva---are one. BRAHMA Brahma,one third of the Hindu Trinity,is represented as the quintessential essence of spirit,shown as a four-headed being,having originally had five,but one having been burned off by the third eye of Shiva,for having spoken disrespectfully. He bears in one hand a copy of the Vedas,in another a spoon for pouring out the lustral water contained in a vessel which he holds in his third hand,while the fourth hand holds a rosary. Brahma's sacti, or wife,is Saraswati,goddess of poetry,wisdom,eloquence and fine art. His vehan,or the vehicle on which he rode,is a goose.Brahma was born from the navel of Vishnu,on a lotus flower,and with his own daughter,Vak,created the race of men. BRAN Son of the Irish king Febal,Bran voyaged in search of the group of islands where can be found,according to a beautiful woman who appeared to him,a world without treachery,sickness,sorrow or death. Bran found these islands,especially the Island of Women,which he only left after being persuaded by a homesick comrade. Returning home,however,Bran found that he was unknown in his native Ireland,except as a legendary voyager to the otherworld,so he set sail again. BRES A legendary Irish king,Bres was the son of Elatha,a prince of the Fomoire,and Eriu,a woman of the Tuatha de Danann. Given the throne of Ireland in the hope that he would unite the people and ensure peace and goodwill between the Tuatha de Danann and the Fomoire,Bres did not live up to these expectations,being a cruel and oppressive king. Finally deposed,he fled and raised a formidable army from his own people,but was killed during the battle against the Tuatha de Danann. BRAURONIA Another name for Artemis. BREIDABLICK The mansion of Balder the Beautiful in Asgard. BRIAREUS One of the three Hekatoncheires. BRIGIT Daughter of the Irish god of life and death,Dagda,Brigit was the goddess of fire,fertility,cattle and poetry. She was known to be generous,kind and giving. BRITOMARTIS Another name for Artemis. BROMIOS Another name for Dionysos. BRONO The son of Balder,whose name means 'daylight'. BRONTES One of the three Cyclops,Brontes' weapon was his thunder. BRYNHILD In the Old German Saga of the Volsungs,Brynhild had sworn to marry only the man who could ride to her through the fire that surrounded her dwelling. BUBASTIS The cat god of the Egyptians,Bubastis was the daughter of the great Isis,and had the head of a cat,the animal being sacred to her. BUDDHA The founder and father of the Buddhist religion,Buddha was said to have been an Avatar of the great god Vishnu. Gautama Siddartha,who became the Buddha,urged his followers to isolate themselves from worldly life. In order to attain Nirvana,the highest possible and most desirable state in the religion,adherents of Buddha were required to completely extinguish their ego,free themselves from aversion and desire. Before he was incarnated as Gautama Siddartha,the Buddha resided in heaven,and told his followers that he had been Indra thirty-six times,and many hundred times ruler of the world. As the time approached for his birth,earthquakes and miracles occured on the Earth. In Kapilavastu,on the Indo- Nepalese border,his earthly mother,Queen Maya,experienced a vision in which she beheld the Buddha come down into her womb as a white elephant. This was interpreted as the birth of a world saviour,and when the time came for Maya to give birth,she went to a grove,where the child was born,emerging from her right side without causing her the slightest pain.The child was almost instantly endowed with the power of speech,and every time he took a step there appeared on the ground before him a lotus. Instantaneously was born his wife,Yasodhara Devi,his horse Kantaka,his charioteeer Chandaka,Ananda,his chief disciple,and the Bo Tree,under which he received Enlightenment.Maya,however,died seven days after the Buddha was born,and he,having attained to supreme knowledge,ascended to the Trayastrimsa Heaven and preached there to his mother for three months. Although his father,King Suddhodana,did his best to insulate the young Siddartha from the outside world (for fear that the youth would become a great sage,rather than a great ruler,should he become mindful of the injustices of the world),Siddartha encountered a corpse being carried to the cremation ground and,seeing the evil things of the world come to life before his eyes,he abandoned throne ,family and offspring,and became a wanderer,a hermit,seeking enlightenment. This did not come until six years later,however,when Siddartha paused for rest under a Bo Tree,received Enlightenment,and became the Buddha.Neither the attack of the demon Mara,nor the attraction of his daughters,nor the rush of an army of hideous devils could sway Buddha from his meditations,and when Mara used his final weapon,a fiery discus,and flung it at the monk's head,it turned into a canopy of flowers. For five weeks Buddha remained under the tree,while all his previous lives were revealed to him,and then the mighty tempest occurred,but Muchalinda,king of the Nagas,protected the monk by wrapping his serpentine body around the youth. Having attained Enlightenment,the Buddha was now faced with a choice:he could either enter Nirvana,or forsake this,and instead travel the world preaching the law. Mara urged the former course,but the Buddha chose the latter,on the advice of Brahma. BUE The cultural founder hero of the Gilbert Islands,Bue was the son of a woman magically impregnated by the sun. He set off in a canoe,determined to seek his inheritance of cleverness and knowledge from his father,and had to assault the sun to receive it. Bue taught men how to build canoes and houses,how to raise winds by magic,how to ensure health and propsperity,and how to compose dance chants. BUGA The supreme god of the Tungus people of Siberia,Buga created the first two people out of iron,fire,water and earth. Out of the earth he fashioned the flesh and bones,from the iron the heart,water the blood,and warmth from the fire. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- C ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- CANAAN A town where, in the Christian belief, Jesus went to a wedding where the wine soon ran out. The host was mortified, but Jesus bade him look in some barrels, which the distraught man swore contained only water. But Jesus persisted, and cursing him for a fool the host opened the barrels to discover that they had all been changed into wine. This was one of the many miracles Jesus worked while among men during his time on Earth. CALLISTO One of Artemis' nymphs,whom she punished by transforming her into a bear. CALYPSO One of the Okeanids,whose name meant 'like the hidden tide'. To her drifted the shipwrecked Odysseuson his way home,and falling in love with the Greek hero,Calypso detained him on her island for seven years. Odysseus however,disdaining her offer of immortality,and caring nothing for her love,missing his home,sat so disconsolate by the strand that the gods finally prevailed upon the nymph to allow him to leave. CARIDWEN The Welsh witch who prepared in her cauldron a magic brew which,after a year's boiling,was to yield three blessed drops,which would bestow knowledge of the secrets of the past,present and future on he who drank. When the boy Gwion Bach accidentally became the recipient of the elixir,Cardiwen pursued him vengefully,finally catching him and ate the boy,she disguised as a hen,he as a grain of wheat. CASSANDRA Daughter to Priam and Hecabe of Troy,Cassandra had received the power of prophecy from Apolloand when Paris was born to the king and queen,she declared that the boy would be the ruination of the city. CASTOR One of the two Dioscuri. CENTAURS A race of fantastic creatures,with the bodies of horses and the torsos of men,the Centaurs sprang from the union of Ixion and Hera,wife of Zeus. They were proud,arrogant,aggressive and boastful. CERBERUS The three-headed dog who guarded the entrance to Hades,Cerberus had a serpent's tail,and was also known as the Hound of Hades. Hercules was the only person who ever bested him,bringing him back up with him to the world of men for a time,as part of his Twelve Labours. CERES See Demeter. CERIGO See Cytherea. CHAC The Maya rain god,portrayed with two curling fangs and tears streaming from his eyes. Chac was friendly to man,the lord of wind,thunder,lightning,rain and fertility. CHALCHIHUITLICUE The Aztec water goddess,a personification of youthful beauty and ardour,Chalchihuitlicue was represented as a river from which grew a prickly pear tree laden with fruit,symbolising the human heart. CHARIS According to the Iliad,the wife of Hephaestos. CHARITES,THE In Greek legend,the goddesses of the grace and charm of beauty,and of cheerful amusement,both in nature and in men. They were represented as beautiful young modest maidens,winning and charming,always dancing,singing and running. They also bathed in fountains and decked themselves with flowers,especially with roses,as this flower was sacred to them. The Charites were usually to be found in the company of Aphrodite,doing her bidding or just generally following and adoring her. Their home was among the Muses of Olympus,where they often entertained the other gods. There are various legends as to their parentage;some say they were the offspring of Zeus and Eurynome,others Dionysos and Aphrodite. Their number,too,is in dispute. Three at least are known of,these being Aglaea, Euphrosyne and Thalia. Kleta and Phaenna are also spoken of,though these may merely be different names for two of the three already mentioned,as are Auxo and Hegemone. The youngest of them is generally agreed to be Pasithea. The Charites,also known as the Graces,helped out many of the gods,standing as they did for beauty and sweetness,which was well borne out in song,poetry and dance. Athene called for their aid in her minstrations over life, Hernes had them assist in his function as orator of the gods. Their sigils were the rose,myrtle and dice,ears of corn,and musical instruments such as the lyre,flute and syrinx. CHARON The Greek ferryman of the dead,Charon took the dead souls of men and women across the River Styx,into the underworld of Hades,but not before their bodies had been buried in the earth above,with all due ceremony of sacrifice and marks of affection. Until this was done,the souls of the dead would wander listlessly along the banks of the Styx. As payment for the journey across the River of the Dead,Charon demanded a coin,one per soul,which had to be placed under the tongue of the corpse. Without this fee,the Ferryman would refuse to convey a soul into Hades. CHIBCHACUM The work god of the Chibcha Indians. CHIMINIGAGUA The Creator god of the Chibcha Indians,Chiminigagua made large black birds,which carried light over the mountain peaks,and left the rest of creation to others,noticably Bachue,who created mankind. CHITRAGUPTA The Recorder,who,in the halls of the Hindu death palace,reads to Yama the account of a deceased person's life,that the god of death may judge them. CHIRON The wise Centaur who taught the young Asklepios the arts of medicine and healing,as well as the fleet foot of the hunter. Friend to gods and heroes,Chiron also watched over the childhood of Achilles and Jason. While trying to make peace between Hercules and the Centaurs,Chiron was hit by a poisoned arrow,the unintended victim of one of Hercules' missiles. Unable to cure the wound,which was causing him extreme pain,he offered himself to die in the place of Prometheus,which the gods accepted. CHIMAERA A fabulous monster with the front of a lion,the middle of a goat and a serpent's tail. The Greek hero Bellerophon slew the Chimaera,on orders from King Proetos of Lycia. CHIUTA The supreme god of the Tumbuka in Malawi,he is a powerful god,self-created and omniscient. He is also the rain god of the Tumbuka. CHLORIS Greek goddess of buds and flowers. CHRIST,JESUS In Christian belief,Jesus Christ is the Son of God,one third of the Blessed Trinity which comprises himself,his Father,and the Holy Spirit. Sent to Earth to atone for the awful sins of mankind,Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem,to mortal parents by virginal birth,known to Christians as 'the Immaculate Conception'. His mother on Earth was Mary,his father Joseph. Mary was elevated to the status of Queen of Heaven after Jesus' death,while Joseph was made a saint. Jesus preached for thirty years on the Earth,explaining to the large and ever-expanding following he attracted the mysteries of his kingdom,the Kingdom of Heaven,and how people could attain that wonderful place,simply by treating each other better. He gathered to him twelve acolytes,or Apostles,whom he later sent out into the world on their own,to cast out demons and bring the true word of God to the masses. Jesus himself performed many miracles while on the Earth,among them the changing of water into wine at a wedding feast in Canaan,the healing of the blind,the crippled and the lame,the curing of lepers,and even the resurrection from the dead of his friend,Lazarus. But all of this attracted the attention of the occupying Roman forces,who finally decided that they had to step in when the crowds proclaimed Jesus as their king. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot,one of his Apostles,Jesus was taken before the high priests of the Jews,tried before Pontius Pilate,the Roman Governor,and sentenced to be crucified on the cross. However,according to Christian myth,the Saviour rose from the dead after three days,and was seen to walk the Earth for some time,visiting again his Apostles,before being finally accepted back into Heaven,into which he ascended in glorious triumph,the sin of man expiated,his job on Earth accomplished. He is said to sit there since,at the right hand of his Father. The cross on which he died is still revered by Christians as a symbol of great power and reverence. CHRYSAOR The father of Geryoneus,whom Perseus freed from within the body of Medusa,when he slew the Gorgon. CHRYSIPPOS The beautiful son of Pelops and a nymph,whom Atreus and Thyestes,slew and were forced to leave Elis. CHU PA-CHIEH One of the helpers of the Chinese pilgrim,Tripitaka,Chu Pa-chieh had the aspect of a pig,and carried a muck-rake. His unsavoury appetites often got him into trouble. CHUKU The supreme deity of the Ibo of Eastern Nigeria,Chuku is the creator,and the Ibo believe that all good comes from him. Once he sent a dog messenger to men,advising them that,should anyone die,they should be lain on the ground and strewn with ashes,after which they would return to life. The dog,however,was tired and so delayed,so Chuku sent a sheep with the same message. It too got delayed,stopping to eat on the way,and on arriving had forgotten the wording of the message it had brought. Guessing,the sheep told men that they should bury a corpse in the earth. When the dog arrived later with the correct message,it was not believed,and so death was established on the Earth. CINTEOTL The maize god of the Aztecs,his penitence ensured for mankind a regular supply of food. He was under the protection of Tlaloc,the water god,and he had various feminine forms. CIRCE In Roman legend,a witch who,upon being spurned by Pictus,turned him into a woodpecker. In the mythos of the Greeks,she lived on the island of Aeaea,and she turned Odysseus' men into swine,though the hero himself convinced her to restore them to human form. She then afforded Odysseus and his men the hospitality of her island,and when they eventually left,she counselled them on how to pass safely by the deadly Sirens,and evade the monsters Scylla and Charybdis. COATLICUE The earth goddess of the Aztecs,she was one of the wives of the cloud serpent Mixcoatl. One day while she was sweeping a feathery ball descended to her like a lump of thread,and she took it and put it in her bosom. After the housework was done,she looked in vain for the ball,but could not find it. The legend says that she became magically impregnated by the ball. The miraculous conception,however,angered her 400 other offspring,who attacked her,but her new son,Huitzilopochtli emerged fully armed from her womb,and fought them off,killing many. Coatlicue was the earth serpent goddess,and was very horrible in aspect,her skirt being woven of writhing snakes,her necklace of human hearts and hands supported a skull pendant. Her hands and feet were clawed,her breasts were flabby,and her diet consisted of human corpses. COCKATRICE See Basilisk. COGAZ One of the two sons of Kaang,the creator deity of the Bushmen of Africa. CORMAC MAC AIRT One of the wisest of the Irish High Kings,Cormac's wisdom was derived from a golden cup which,if three lies were spoken over it,would break into three pieces. But if three truths were spoken over it,it could be made whole again. Cormac also possessed a magic branch,musical and made of silver,with three golden apples on it. When the High King shook the branch the wounded,the sick and women in childbed would fall asleep until the next day. Both artifacts were a gift to Cormac from Manannan Mac Lir,and at his death they vanished. COYOLXAUHQUI One of the daughters of Coatlicue,she disapproved of the plans of the other 399 offspring of the Aztec earth goddess to kill their mother,and rushed to warn her. Unfortunately,she was met by the newborn and fully-armed Huitzilopochtli,who killed her,going on to wreak carnage among the other sons and daughters of Coatlicue. When the fight was over,Huitzilopochtli's mother told him of his sister's goodness,and the god cut off Coyolxauhqui's head,throwing it up to the sky,where it became the moon. COYOTE The trickster god of southwestern North American mythology,Coyote and his dog Rattlesnake came up out of the ground,and Coyote watched Wonomi create Kuksu,the first man,and Laidamlulum-kule,his wife. But when Coyote tried to make people too,he laughed and his creations had glass eyes. Coyote watched the easy life that Wonomi had given man,and decided that it would be more interesting to add sickness,sorrow and death. The Trickster was even happy when the first fatality was his own son,bitten by Rattlesnake. Coyote tried submerging the body in a lake,as Wonomi had instructed man to do,in order to shed years,but this failed to restore his son. In the end,Kuksu buried the body,declaring that to be the way things must be done,until the world was changed. Coyote eventually killed himself,and roamed the Earth as a spirit. CRETAN BULL,THE This white bull had been presented by Poseidon to King Minos of Crete,and by Minos placed among the herd of cattle sacred to the sun. This angered the sea god,as Minos had begged the bull as a sacrifice,to be made to Poseidon,but instead kept the animal,seemingly insulting the sea god by putting it with cattle sacred to Helios. As a result of this,Poseidon caused the Cretan Bull to become wild,and it broke from its stall and ran off,pursued by Minos' wife,Pasiphae,whom Poseidon had cursed with an unnatural desire for the bull. Finally securing the beast in a meadow,Daedalus held it while the queen fulfilled her desire. Of this union was born the Minotaur,for whom the king of Crete later had Daedalus construct a huge,confusing labyrinth. The recovery and subjugation of the beast was attributed to Hercules,as another of his Twelve Labours. CUCHULAINN Son of Lug,Cuchulainn began life with the name Setanta,but after he had killed Conchobair Mac Neasa's favourite guard dog,after it had attacked him,he vowed to take the place of the dog,guarding the pass into Ulster,and thus became known as the Hound of Cualainn. Cuchulainn' s great heroic strength was mostly due to his 'warp spasm',a violent,unnatural occurence that channeled the power of Danu,the earth goddess,through his body,twisting and contorting his body into impossible shapes:his heels and calves stood out in front,one eye receded into his head,the other hung huge and red on his cheek. His hair bristled like spikes,with a drop of blood on the tip of each hair-spike,and from the top of his head arose a thick column of dark blood,that spouted like a geyser from his head. While the Men of Ulster were 'in their pangs',Cuchulainn held the pass into Ulster against hundreds of fighters,with the condition that only one man per day should come against them. All who fought him he slew,but he almost met his match in his brother Ferdia,and the two heroes fought for days before Ferdia was finally defeated,Cuchulainn himself the worse for the wear. CUMAEAN SIBYL The title by which the seeress Deiphobe became known. CUPID See Eros. CYCLOPS Three in number,they were created by Uranos at the beginning of the world,and had only one eye and tremendous strength. Their names were Brontes ,Steropes and Arges. CYPARISSUS The Roman god Silvanus was said to have changed her into a cypress. CYTHEREA Another name for Aphrodite. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- D ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- DA The great serpent power of the mythology of the Fon,of Dahomey,Da is a son of Mawu-Lisa,and he assists in the ordering of the cosmos. Above the earth Da has 3,500 coils,and the same number below;together they support Mawu-Lisa's creation. DAEDALUS One of the most famous artists and inventors in Greece,Daedalus had a son, Icarus,who was unlike his father very clumsy and slow. After having killed Icarus' cousin in a fit of jealous rage,Daedalus and his son fled to Crete,where the inventor was summoned to the court of King Minos. The king told Daedalus that he wished the artisan to construct a huge,labyrinthine maze,a prison for his bastard son,the Minotaur,which his wife had conceived after having lain with the Cretan Bull. On completion of this task,Daedalus and his son were sealed up in the labyrinth with the raging Minotaur,but due to the inventor's knowledge of the maze,they both managed to escape. Having no way off the island of Crete,Daedalus captured some birds and bees,using the beeswax to glue the birds' feathers to slats of wood,which he then made into the framework for two crude pairs of wings,which he attached,one pair to his own back,and one to that of his son. Thus the two escaped from the revenge of King Minos,but Icarus,flying too high and too close to the sun,found his wings melting and he fell into the sea. Daedalus mourned the loss of his son,and was never the same man he had been. When finally Minos caught up with him,by setting him a puzzle the wily inventor could not resist,though its solution gave away his secret,Daedalus slew the king,by diverting scalding water into the bath his captor was taking,preparatory to attending the execution of the Greek artisan. DAEMONS Daemons,also known as Genii,were a race of invisible beings,one being assigned by Zeus to every man,to attend,protect and guide him. They were nameless and numberless,the only ones enjoying names the ones that acted as personal attendants to specific gods and goddesses. In the case of daemons assigned to mere mortals,the genii would identify with its particular human,and would endeavour to guide him or her through their life,charting a wise course through the turbulent waters of existence,and on the demise of the mortal,his or her daemon died with them. To look after one's life,and to be cheerful was to honour a person's personal daemon,and to be reckless,sad or vexed was to go against the genius. On birthdays sacrifices of milk,flowers,wine or incense was offered to the genius,while at most meals some unmixed wine was poured out to the Good Daemon,or Agathodaemon. These personal attendants were usually represented in the form of a youth bearing a horn of plenty and a dish in one hand,and some heads of poppies and ears of corn in the other. A serpent could also represent one of these daemons. Besides the general daemons,the Romans had one great genius whom they reckoned among the gods of the second rank,and esteemed highly,believing that he had some control over the others. The belief of the Greeks later rose to the height of believing that the great heroes were possessed of daemons,and this credo stretched further,until it was believed that every hero who died was in fact translated to a life among the gods. DAGDA The Irish god of life and death,Dagda had a staff with one end of which he could kill nine men,but with the other restore them to life. He was chief of the Tuatha de Danann,and the lord of knowledge and great magic. Among his sacred possessions were an inexhaustible cauldron,two marvellous swine---one always roasting,the other always growing---and ever-laden fruit trees. His daughter was Brigit,goddess of fire,fertility,cattle and poetry. DAHAKA Or Azhi Dahaka,the three-headed dragon of Persian myth,he struggled with Atar,son of Ahura Mazdah,who finally bound it with strong chains on a high mountain. Dahaka was however destined to escape near the end of the world,and destroy a third of the world before he was slain. DAINICHI-NYORAI The Buddha Mahavairocana,the Great Illuminator,having decided that his work was done after a decade or so,had himself buried alive,but his body did not rot,awaiting the arrival of the Mirokubosatsu,the Buddha who is to come. It was said that nothing could disturb him,and once when sea serpents tried to distract him from his meditations,he dispersed them with magic,projecting upon them the rays of the morning star. Another time,as he was praying in a temple,he confounded the demonic Oni by the use of a magic circle. Dainichi-nyroai is depicted as seated in deep,serene contemplation on a white lotus. Around him are ranged his emanations,stretching outwards from bodhisattvas to saints,to the myriad beings that comprise the universe. DAKSHA One of the Rishis,Daksha was the son of Brahma,springing from the god's right thumb,but he was condemned to go through a rebirth as a result of a curse laid on him by Shiva,his son-in-law. This had to do with the inadvertent exclusion of the Destroyer from a sacrifice to Vishnu,for which the god retaliated to devastating effect,laying low most of the gods gathered there. Daksha himself was decapitated,and his head thrown in the sacrifical fire. After due apology and entreaty,Shiva agreed to restore his victims,but as Dashka's head could not be found,he had to make do with that of a ram. DAMASTES A Greek whose usual method of killing his victims was to place them on a bed that was always either too long or too short. If too short,he would cut off part of the person's body in order that that person might fit the bed;if too long,he would stretch his victim to the required length. Theseus slew Damastes,at Eleusis,on his way to Athens. DAMBALLAH The powerful serpent god of Voodoo mythos,he manifests himself in the sky above Haiti with his wife,Ayida,as a rainbow. The two divinities encompass the world. DANAE The daughter of Akrisios,whom he imprisoned in a subterranean chamber,in order to prevent the prophecy being fulfilled,that his daughter should bear a son who would slay Akrisios,and rule in his place. But a shower of gold,sent by Zeus,found its way to Danae,and she gave birth to a child,the hero Perseus. Raging at her explanation of the child's conception---and refusing to believe it---Akrisios had his daughter and grandchild sealed in a box,and cast into the sea. However,the box was ensnared by a fisherman called Diktys,as it drifted towards the island of Seriphos. Diktys took care of mother and child,but his brother,Polydektes,enamoured of Danae,sent Perseus to bring back the head of the Gorgon, Medusa,in order that the lad be taken out of the way. DANAIDES The daughters of Danaos,king of Argos,they were punished for the murder of their husbands by being sent to Tartaros after death,and being forced to carry water,continuing to pour it into a broken cistern or vase---futile labour,and persisting for all eternity. DANAOS Son of Belos,who was himself a son of Poseidon and Libya,Danaos quarreled with his brother,Aegyptos,and taking his fifty daughters with him,sailed to Argos,where he was kindly received by the king. At this time,Argos was suffering under the curse of a deadly drought,which Poseidon had sent,and Danaos sent his daughters to find a spring and bring back some water. It was while so engaged that one of them,Amymone,threw a spear at a stag,which missed but hit a sleeping satyr. Pursued by the satyr,Amymone called on Poseidon for help,and the sea god,smitten by her beauty,drove off the satyr,took the girl,and caused a perennial stream to flow,there at Lerna. Amuymone bore a son to Poseidon,Nauplios,who lured seafaring travellers to their deaths by deliberate misdirection,and enriched himself by plundering their cargoes. Meanwhile the sons of Aegyptos,having besieged Argos for some time,proposed to forget their differences with Danaos who,without relenting in the least,gave the sons of his brothers his own daughters as wives. However,evil festered in the mind and heart of Danaos,and he gave each of the daughters a knife,in order that they might slay their husbands on the night of the marriage. All agreed,except Hypermnestra,who for her refusal to commit murder was spared the fate her sisters shared after death. She,however,was thrown by Danaos in a dungeon,but when later brought to trial,was acquitted,and in fact succeeded to the throne of Argos,ruling there for many years. DANANN The mother of the ancient gods of Ireland,and the patroness of the Tuatha de Danann. DANIEL Hero of the Hebrew myths,Daniel was cast into the fiery furnace by King Nebuchadnezzar,but suffered no hurt,being under the protection of his god, Yahweh. When mysterious writings appeared on the wall of the palace,only Daniel could interpret them,their meaning being a prophecy of the imminent rise of the Persians. Continuing to refuse to pray to any god but his own,Daniel was thrown into a den of lions,but Yahweh sent his angel to protect his follower,and shut the lions' mouths. Eventually his persecutor,Nebuchadnezzar,was driven from the land to live as an animal in the desert. Further accounts of Daniel's unmasking of the deceit of priests is shown when he proves to Cyrus that the offerings set out for Bel in the temple are in fact eaten by the priests and their families. He disposes of the sacred serpent by feeding it with cakes made from boiled pitch,fat and hair,which burst its belly asunder. DAPHNE Whom Artemis turned into a laurel tree. DARDANOS The founder of the great,ill-fated city of Troy. DEIANEIRA Daughter of Oenus,king of Caledon,who offered her in marriage to the man who could vanquish the river god Acheloos at wrestling. Hercules did so,and Deianeira became his wife. Thereafter,Hercules destroyed the stronghold of Oechalia,and having put the king,who had reneged on a bargain to promise his daughter,Iole to him,despite the fact that Hercules had carried out all of the tasks asked of him,the demigod carried off Iole,intending to sacrifice her to Zeus. However,Deianeira,hearing of this and fearing that her husband's love for Iole was being rekindled,sent to him the robe in which he normally sacrificed,but steeped it in a preparation given her by the Centaur Nessor,meant to bring back the ardour of her husband for her. She did not realise that the potion was deadly posion,and Hercules,donning the robe,quickly died. On hearing of this,Deianeria killed herself. DEIMOS With Phobos,(Alarm),Deimos,(Dread) was one of the great hunting hounds of Ares,and both accompanied him on the battlefield. DEINO One of the Graeae,her name means 'dread',as does the warhound of Ares. DEIONEUS The father of Dia,whom Ixion married. Ixion had promised Deioneus,as was the custom,many presents which he later refused to provide. Deioneus,in his attempts to get what was his,perished in a great pit of fire,prepared for him by the murderous Ixion. This was believed to have been the first murder of a relation in the world. DEIPHOBE The oracle of Apollo at Cumae in Italy. She was a daughter of Glaukos,and later became known as the Cumaean Sybil. It was from her that the last king of Rome,Tarquin the Proud,received the three Sybilline Books that contained such important prophecies concerning Rome. DELPHI The major oracle of Apollo,from where he cast most of his prophecies. On entering the valley,the young god had to battle the great dragon Python,which barred his way. He vanquished it,and Delphi was ever afterward the seat of his oracle. DELPHINION,THE The temple of Apollo,in Athens. DELPHINIOS Another name for Apollo. DEMETER The goddess of the Earth,in its capacity as a fruitful,growing thing,Demeter (also known as Ceres),was a daughter of Kronos and Rhea,and was looked upon by the Greeks as the all-nourishing mother of the Earth. The way life evolves from the seed which is cast into the ground and allowed to rot was the principle tenet of the belief in her. The seed was in the keeping of her daughter,Persephone,Queen of Hades,and the life that sprang forth from that seed was Demeter's. In this way the two goddesses were inseparable,and were styled as 'the two in one',or 'the great deities'. When Hades carried off Persephone,to make her his bride,Demeter,with a mother's grief,mounted her car drawn by winged snakes and travelled through all lands searching for her,leaving traces of her blessing,in the form of instruction in the art of agriculture,wherever she was kindly received. But the person who treated her with the utmost hospitality was Keleos,in the district of Attica,where she in return taught him the use of the plough,and on departing presented Keleos' son,Triptolemos with the seed of the barley,plus her snake-drawn car,so that the boy could travel the lands,spreading the knowledge of agriculture to all men. In Arcadia,in Crete,she bore to Jasion,the first sower of grain,a son,Plutos,while in Thessaly she battled Erysichton,'the earth upturner',or 'the ploughman',and Aethon,the personification of famine. When Poseidon threatened to manhandle her,she turned herself into a horse and fled,but the sea god pursued her,turning also into a horse. He caught her,and together they produced the winged horse Arion. Horrified at this deed,Demeter hid for a long time in a cave,finally emerging to purify herself in the river Ladon,and rejoining the other gods and goddesses. Demeter's sigils were ears of corn and poppies,and her sacrifices were cows and pigs. DEUKALION With his wife Pyrrha,he was the only one saved from the great flood,sent by an angry Zeus,that destroyed all life on the Earth. The man and woman were commanded by the Father of the gods to repopulate the Earth,and to this end they went around casting stones on the ground,which grew into men and women. From these men and women sprang the Hellenic race,and its offshoots,the Aeolians,Dorians,Achaeans and Ionians. DEVI The great goddess of the Hindus,more properly known as Mahadevi,she is the consort of Shiva,and is also known in various aspects as Uma,Gauri,Parvati,Jaganmata,Durga,Kali,Chandi and Bhairavi. In her guise as Durga,she appeared as a beautiful warrior maiden,with yellow hair and seated on a tiger,who went forth and did battle with the demonic Mahisha,a great water-buffalo bull whom the combined might of the gods could not defeat. Durga overcame both Mahisha and his terrible weapon,a mighty mace,and because of this was deferred to by all the gods in matters of battle or weapons. As Kali,Devi stands on the prostrate body of Shiva,who is lying on a lotus bed. Kali wears a girdle of severed arms and a necklace of skulls,her tongue lolls from her mouth,probably savouring the taste of blood,and in her four arms she holds a bloody sword,a severed head held by the hair,the other two hands conferring a blessing and bidding her followers to show no fear. DHAKHAN Worshipped by the Kabi tribe on the Queensland coast of Australia,Dhakhan is the rainbow,half fish and half snake,who resides in water holes. He appears in the sky as a rainbow when he is passing from one water hole to another. DHARMA A Rishi who married thirteen of Daksha's daughters. DIA See Hebe. DIANA See Artemis. DIES IRAE See Judgement Day. DIKE See Astraea. DIKTYS The kindly fisherman who rescued the box that contained Danae and Perseus,drifting off the coast of Seriphos. Diktys took care of the daughter of Akrisios and her child,and for his kindness was spared,along with his own people,when Perseus turned the island to a barren rock. DILGA The earth goddess of the Karadjeri of northwestern Australia,she avenged the murder of her two sons,Bagadjimbiri,by drowning the killers in her milk,which at the same time restored her sons to life. DINDUMENE Another name for Rhea. DIOMEDES The king of Thrace,Diomedes was reputed to have been the son of Ares,and like his father,and the people he ruled over,was fierce in combat. He was the owner of horses that fed on human flesh,which,by consuming,they became furious and so powerful that they had to be chained with manacles of iron. Hercules was directed to bring these unearthly beasts to Mykenae,as part of his Twelve Labours,and in so doing,fought with and killed Diomedes,feeding the king to his own horses. DIONE The mother of Aphrodite. DIONYSOS The god of wine and gaiety,Dionysos was the son of Zeus and Semele,a daughter of King Kadmos of Thebes,and his birth was frowned upon by Hera,who,angry at this rival to her husband's affections,disguised herself and proceeded to Thebes,where she met and falsely befriended Semele,encouraging her to ask that Zeus should appear before her (Semele) in all his great majesty as god of thunder. On Hera's return to Olympus,Zeus,swearing to grant Semele's request,whatever it may be,had to hold to his oath,and therefore appeared as a display of thunder and lightning to Semele,a display which killed her. As she died,Semele gave birth to Dionysos,who of course died,but whom Zeus restored to life,and fearing his wife's reprisals,charged Hermes to convey the child to Nysa,where Silenos and the nymphs brought up the infant. Dionysos' formative years were spent in innocence in the company of the nymphs,satyrs,sileni,herdsmen and vine-tenders of Nysa. But when he attained manhood he set out on a journey through all lands,even into the remotest parts of India,instructing the people how to tend the vine,and other arts of peace,teaching them also the value of just and honourable dealings. Dionysos was praised everywhere as the greatest benefactor of mankind,but for all this if he met stubborn resistance from someone who refused to listen to his teachings,he always punished them severely. A case in point is Lykurgos,whom the wine god caused to become insane,so that he felled his son,mistaking him for a vine plant. The enormity of this deed caused Lykurgos to kill himself also. There was also Pentheus,king of Thebes,whom Dionysos caused to be torn to pieces by his own mother and her following of women,for daring to look on at their orgiastic rites. As a god of the spring rites,of the flowering plants and fruitful vines,Dionysos was said to be in terrible pain during winter,when most living things sicken and die,or hibernate,and in this way he was similar to Demeter,who sorrowed in winter for her lost daughter,Persephone. Dionysos was also revered as the god of the theatre,and all the performing arts. His sigils were the vine,ivy,pomegranate,and his sacrifices were of goats and pigs. DIOSCURI,THE The twin brothers,Castor and Pollux,who,having become enamoured of the brides of Lynkeus and Idas,Phoebe and Hilaeeira,tried to carry off the two women,and got into a fight with the two grooms. In the combat,Castor was slain,and Pollux,having avenged his brother's death,prayed to Zeus that Pollux be brought back to life,providing that each lived only on alternate days. Zeus granted this plea,and the brothers took on a divine aspect,represented as riding on white horses in the sky,with dazzling spears,each with a star above his brow. The Dioscuri were supposed to guide wandering mariners to safety. DIRAE See Erinys. DIRKE The wife of Lykos of Thebes,who subjected Antiope to terrible cruelty,so that the mother of Amphion and Zethos had to flee to Mount Kithaeron,where she had left her children in the care of a herdsman. Arriving there,Antiope encountered Dirke,who ordered the two brothers to bind their mother to the horns of a bull,that it might tear her apart. However,recognising Antiope,Amphion and Zethos turned instead on Dirke,lashing her to the bull,on whose horns she died. DISCORDIA See Eris. DITHYRAMBOS Another name for Dionysos. DIVES The Christian personification of the rich man,Dives was condemned to hell fire,while his counterpart,Lazarus the beggar reposed in the bosom of Abraham. DJANGGAWULS The divine trinity of north Australian mythology,Djanggawuls was made up of two sisters and a brother who came to Earth via Beralku,the island of the dead,and gave the landscape its shape and vegetation. DODONIDS See Hyads. DOHKWIBUHCH In Snohomish mythos,the creator deity. Dissatisfied with the way that Dohkwibuhch had made the world,a wise man discovered that everyone bumped their heads against the sky,as it was very low,while others climbed up high trees and went into the sky world. So he devised a plan. He said that if all the people and all the animals and all the birds pushed at once,the sky could be lifted away from the Earth. This was accomplished,but some people who did not know of the sky-lifting,hunting elk,followed the game up into the sky,and were stranded there forever. DONAR See Thor. DOORGA See Bhavani. DORIDES See Nereides. DORIANS One of the four offshoots of the Hellenic race,that sprang from the line of Deukalion and Pyrrha. DORIS Wife of Nereus,who gave birth to the Nereides. DREAM TIME,THE See Alchera. DRYADS Nymphs of woods and trees,they inhabited groves,valleys and ravines. They were fond of making merry with Pan, Apollo,Hermes,and were very attractive to satyrs. Sometimes they appeared as rustic huntresses or shepherdesses. DUDUGERA The leg child who became the sun,in Papuan mythology. One day a woman who was in a garden near the ocean,seeing a great fish playing in the surf,walked out into the water and played with it. Some time later the woman's leg,against which the fish had rubbed,began to swell and become painful,until at last she had her father make a cut in the swelling,out of which popped a baby. The child,called Dudgera,grew up in the village,but his aggressiveness made him unpopular with the other boys. Fearing for his safety,the woman brought her son to the huge fish,who seized Dudugera in his mouth,and swam away. Before departing with his father though,Dudugera warned his mother and her relatives to take refuge behind a great rock,as he was about to become the sun. Obeying the son's advice,his mother and her relatives watched from safety as the sun burned everything,withering people,animals and plants;but to prevent the total annihilation of all,she threw lime in the face of the sun one morning,which became the clouds,which shaded the Earth from the merciless rays of the sun. DURGA See Devi. DYAUS The chief Hindu god,Dyaus was the god of the bright sky,and also the rain-god. He finally gave place to his son,Indra,as the father of the Hindu gods. DYNAMENE One of the Nereids who,with her sister Pherusa,signified the great swell and impulse of mighty waves. DZELARHONS The Frog Princess of Haida mythology,she is also referred to as the Volcano Woman,who arrived from the sea with six canoe-loads of people. Her husband was Kaiti,the bear god. DZOAVITS A huge ogre who,according to the myths of the Shoshoneans,a primitive people of Nevada and Utah,stole the Dove's two children. Although Eagle and Crane assisted in the recovery,the monster pursued them so closely that they had to hide in one of Weasel's holes. Even then Dzoavits would have found them,had it not been for the intervention of Badger,who directed the ogre to a specially prepared hole,threw hot rocks in on him,and plugged the hole with a stone. EBEH The mountain god of the Sumerians,which Inanna overcame. ECHO A mountain nymph,who was a servant of Hera,but had to be kept at a distance,due to her talkativeness. She was loved by the god Pan,but conceived a passion and love for Narcissus,a son of the river god Kephissos:a passion that,unfortunately,he did not return. Echo grieved at this,and pined away day by day,until only her voice was left her. She then took to the woods that Pan frequented,occupying herself by mimicking every vocal sound she heard. EDAO One of the younger sons of Loa. EDDA,THE The account of the creation of the world ascribed to Norse mythology---the Norse Genesis. EILEITHYIA Another of the names given to Hera. EINHERJAR The souls of departed champions that gathered in Valhalla. EIRENE The Roman goddess of peace,also known as Pax,Eirene was one of the Horae---the most cheerful of the three. She was usually represented as holding a palm branch,or with armour under her feet. She was also shown as closing the temple of Janus. EITUMATUPUA The god of the Tongese,whose earth-born son,Ahoeitu,having climbed to the heaven tree to meet his father,was torn apart by his jealous siblings,and eaten. Eitumatupua ordered that each of his offspring regurgitate the parts of Ahoeitu that they had consumed,and thus he made his son whole again. EK CHUAH The black war leader god of the Mayas,Ek Chuah concerned himself principally with those who had died in battle. He was fierce and savage in aspect,having a black-rimmed eye,and he also patronised merchants,appearing sometimes as an itinerant salesman. EL The first Canaanite god,El dwelt on Mount Saphon,and it was under his aegis that Baal married Anat,defeated the sea god Yam and the death lord Mot,and was installed as the divine bestower of life-giving rain. Represented as an aged man,El wore bull's horns,the symbol of strength,and was usually depicted as seated. It is thought that he corresponded to the Hebrew god,Yahweh. EL DORADO Originally the name for the Mexican king who was said to be covered in powdered gold,El Dorado later took its place in myth as the fabled city of gold,the ancient and lost metropolis of the Incas. EL-LAL A legendary hero of the Indian tribes of Patagonia,El-lal's father, Nosjthej,wished to eat his son,and thus had snatched him from his mother's womb. El-lal was rescued by Rat,who carried him to the sanctuary of his hole. Having learned from this substitute father the secret lore,El-lal emerged into the world,mastering it by means of his invention,the bow and arrow. He had further adventures with his father,as well as fierce giants,all of whom he overcame,but eventually decided to leave the world. From that point on,he said,men would have to look after themselves. ELEKTRA An Okeanid nymph,said to have been the mother of the Harpies. ELEKTRYON One of the two sons of Perseus and Andromeda. ELFHEIM The region of Asgard where the elves lived. ELPIS God of hope,who stood over the grieving Eros,holding a lily. ELYSION Later known as the Elysian Fields,this was an alternative resting-place for the souls of the dead,rather than either Hades or Tartaros. Elysion was reserved mostly for the special favourites of the gods. EMATHION One of the two sons of Eos and Tithonos. EMBLA The name,in Norse mythology,of the first woman on the earth (Midgard). She and her husband,Ash ,were fashioned by Odin and his brothers from two floating pieces of wood. ENAGONIOS Another name for Hermes. ENDYMION A youth of whom the goddess Artemis became enamoured,and descended to him. EN-KAI The rain god of the Maasai in East Africa. ENKELADOS One of the Giants who warred against the Greek gods,and whom Artemis defeated. ENKI The water god of Eridu,Enki was a creator deity,who provided Dilmun,the garden of Paradise wherein all dwelt in harmony,and sickness and death was unknown. The only thing lacking was sweet water,which Enki provided by his union with the earth mother. A quarrel arose,however,when Enki devoured eight plants grown by Ninhursaga. She pronounced on him the curse of death,which took its toll,sickness attacking eight parts of his body. The other gods were aghast,and Enlil was powerless to arrest the disease. All seemed lost,until the fox offered to bring Ninhursanaga back to Dilmun,providing there was suitable reward. This happened and the earth mother created eight deities to heal her consort's afflictions. Another legend concerning Enki relates how the gods,grumbling at how hard it was to get food,woke Enki from his slumbers,and created for them servants out of clay. But the gods,having tired of their mortal servants,decided to drown the Earth,and Enki warned Ziusudra,the king of Sippar of the impending deluge. ENLIL The Sumerian god of the earth and the air,who was created at the beginning out of the primeval chaos,born of An and Ki,uniting with Ki to beget mankind. Enlil's chief gift to man was the pickaxe,which assisted them in their building of cities and temples. After having raped the goddess Ninlil,the earth god was banished to the nether world,but Ninlil decided to follow him in order to give birth in his presence. The banished god somehow managed the escape of their child,Nanna,who became the moon. Enlil it was also who sent the great flood that drowned the Earth,and which only pious King Ziusudra escaped in a boat. As Ellil,in Babylonian mythos,he became annoyed at the noise of mankind,and sent a great plague,then a drought,and finally a deluge. But Ea warned Atrahasis,who like Ziusudra escaped in a boat. Ellil also created the monster Labbu,to wreak havoc on Earth. ENUMCLAW One of two brothers who had been hunting for guardian spirits that would make them great medicine-men,Enumclaw became adept at throwing rocks,and so worried the sky father with his accuracy and threat that he made Enumclaw into the thunder spirit,and his brother Kapoonis into the spirit of lightning. ENYALIOS Another name for Ares. ENYO The Greek goddess of war,she was naturally associated with Ares,being in some accounts the wife of the fierce war god,in others his sister. She was known for spreading terror and alarm in combat,and in this way she was likened more to Ares than to Pallas-Athene,who favoured the more chivalrous forms of battle. She was represented with wild,flowing hair,rushing wildly here and there,with a lash in her hand,and armed with shield and spear. EOS A daughter of Theia and Hyperion,Eos,also called Aurora,was the goddess of the dawning morning. She was sister to Helios and Selene,and she herself gave birth to the star and winds of the morning,Zephyros,Boreas, Notos and Euros. Their father was Astraeos,the god of starlight.Eos was thought to ride in a carriage drawn by four white steeds,shedding light upon the Earth,although it was believed by others that she rode the great horse Pegasus, which Zeus had given to her after Bellerophon had failed to ride up to Olympus on it. She loved all fresh young life,and was the patron of those who rose early in the morning,to hunt or make war. She had a habit of carrying off beautiful youths she became smitten with,and obtaining immortality for them. Of the ones she did this for were Kleitos,Orion, Kephalos and Tithonos,the last of whom became her husband. However,in requesting immortality for Tithonos,Eos had forgotten to also ask for eternal youth for him,so that as he began to grow old,she did not act the same towards him,though still remaining attentive and loving. When he had become too decrepit for her to bear,though,Eos shut Tithonos in a chamber,where only the sound of his voice escaped,like the chirp of a grasshopper,into which he was transformed. Kephalos,another of Eos' consorts,angered the goddess Aura,by refusing her advances,as he resolutely remained faithful to his wife,Prokris. The goddess caused Kephalos to inadvertently kill his wife,as Prokris had been hiding in a thicket,observing the rendezvous of her husband and Aura. Kephalos,catching the sound of her and mistaking it for that of a hiding animal,threw his spear and killed his wife. Eos and Tithonos had two sons,Memnon and Emathion,the former very beautiful and widely mourned when Achilles slew him. His corpse was taken by his grieving mother to Thebes,and there she erected to his memory a wonderful monument,so designed that when the rays of the morning sun caught it,it gave forth a sound like the snapping of a harpstring. Eos was depicted as a spirited maiden,with large wings and clad in robes of dazzling white and purple. A star or cap was on her head,a torch in her hand,and she drove a chariot drawn by four horses,or sometimes rode on Pegasus. EPAPHOS A son of Zeus and Io, with whom Phaeton,son of Helios,had his famous argument concerning Epaphos' origin,that resulted in his crazed dash across the sky in Helios' sun-chariot. EPEIOS A famous sculptor in Greece,who fashioned the famous Wooden Horse for Odysseus,which finally broke the siege of Troy. EPHIALTES One of the Giants who made war against the gods;he was defeated by Apollo. EPIGONE Wife of Asklepios,her name meant 'the soothing'. EPIMELIOS Another name for Hermes. EPIMENIDES A prophet of Apollo,who,falling asleep as a herdsman for fifty-six years,and awoke with the gift of prophecy. EPIMETHEUS Husband of Pandora,it was he who opened the vase which he had been told was to remain closed,thus unleashing all manner of horrors upon humanity. EPONA The Celtic horse goddess,usually portrayed astride a mare,whose authority extended even beyond death,accompanying the soul on its final journey. ERATO One of the Nereides,whose province was the fascination of the gaily rising tide,along with her sisters Pasithea and Euneike. EREBOS Greek god of darkness. ERGANE Another name for Pallas-Athene. ERICHTHONIOS Son of Hepaesthos and Gaea. ERINYS,THE Their parentage is much discussed,being held by some to be the daughters of Night,by others Earth and Darkness,while still others ascribe to them Kronos and Eurynome as their parents. The Erinys were attendants of Hades and Persephone,and lived at the entrance to the Underworld. Their first duty was to see to the punishment of those who had committed some crime in the world above,but had arrived at Hades without obtaining absolution from the gods. Sometimes this duty extended to the world of men,where the Erinys (also called Dirae,Furiae,Eumenides or Semnae) would pursue criminals,at the behest of Nemesis,permitting the fugitive no rest. An example of the above is the tale of Agamemnon's son,Orestes,who slew his mother,Klytaemnestra,in revenge for his father's death. Orestes was pursued tirelessly and unceasingly by the Erinys,and only finally freed himself of them by bringing,on the advice of an oracle,an image of Apollo from Tauros to Argos. There were three of the Erinys. They were Tisphone,who avenged murder,Alekto,the unwearied persecutor,and Megaera,the grim. They were represented as terrible female figures,clad in black,sometimes winged,with hair made of vipers,and carrying a serpent,torch or knife in their hands. ERIS Known to the Romans as Discordia,it is from this name that we get a clue to this goddess's nature. Goddess of strife,she was employed by the other gods to stir up fierce disputes and mortal quarrels among men. It was she,in fact,who started the quarrel among the three goddesses,HeraAthene and Aphrodite,at the marriage of Peleus. She lived in the lower world with the Erinys,and was at times represented as the wife or sister of Ares. She was mother to Enyo,goddess of war. ERESHKIGAL The Sumerian death goddess,who ruled over the lower world,kur-nu-gi-a. When her sister,Inanna,descended to her realm she had her turned into a corpse and hung on a stake. The only person to overcome the dread mistress of death was Nergal,who,having been exiled from the company of his fellow gods,gained entrance to kur-nu-gi-a,where he seized Ereshkigal by the hair,intent on murdering her. She,however,begged him to spare her,promising that she would be his wife,that the kingdom of the dead should acknowledge the sovereignty of Nergal,and that she would place in his hands the tablets of wisdom. Nergal accepted this proposal,and thenceforth was the consort of Ereshkigal. ERLIK The Siberian spirit of evil,Erlik was also the lord of the underworld in Lapp mythos. The Altaic Tartars speak of his birth thus:once Ulgan saw a piece of Mud with human features floating on the ocean. The high god gave a spirit to it,and named the creature Erlik. But the friendship of Ulgan and Erlik did not last long,for the pride of the latter obliged his banishment to the depths,where he became the lord of the dead. Erlik claimed the dead as his own,leaving the living to Ulgan. When the creator commanded the first man to bring up a piece of earth from the depths of the primeval ocean,Erlik hid a piece in his mouth,hoping to create a world of his own. When it started to expand though,like the piece Ulgan threw on the surface of the water,the evil spirit was almost choked. Seeing Erlik's plan,Ulgan commanded him to spit out the earth,which he did:it became marshlands. The Altaic Tartars ascribe the creation of man to Erlik,relating how,when a demiurge had created the first human beings,he found it impossible to give them a life-giving soul. He therefore ascended to seek the help of Kudai,the supreme god,and while he was gone he left a naked dog watching over his creation. Erlik approached the dog and offered to give it a coat of golden hair in return for the 'soulless ones'. The dog agreed,and Erlik spat on the half-finished humans,then left. When the demiurge returned with the souls and saw what Erlik had done,he turned the bodies inside out,and this is why we have spittle in our intestines. ERLKONIG,THE King of the Elves,who lived in Elfheim in Asgard. EROS God of love,Eros was the son of Zeus and Aphrodite,and is represented at the beginning of creation as sorting out the formation of the world,bringing order from chaos,and causing that which was previously barren to become fruitful again. He held sway,not only over the hearts and minds of men,but of gods too,and as such is seen as perhaps one of the most powerful deities in Greek and Roman mythology. The Romans knew him as Amor,or Cupid,and it is in this latter aspect that he figures in the story of Psyche. She was a king's daughter,and most beautiful,so much so that Aphrodite became jealous of her,and sent Cupid to inflame her heart with love for some common man. But the god of love was himself struck by the beauty of Psyche,and carried her off to a secret place,where they spent happy hours together,with the proviso that Psyche was not allowed to look upon her lover with her mortal eyes. However,her sisters ribbed her about this,stirring up curiosity in the young princess's breast,and one night she finally gave in to temptation,taking a lamp and stealing into the god's sleeping chamber. In leaning over to see him,she dropped a hot drip of oil onto his shoulder,and Cupid,awakening and angry that she had disobeyed him,left her. Psyche searched everywhere in vain for her lover,until finally she arrived at the palace of Aphrodite,who charged her to descend to Hades and obtain a vial of beauty ointment from Persephone. Bringing this back,she became overpowered by its odour,sank to her knees and died. Cupid could resist no longer,and intervened,bringing her back to life,and thereafter marrying her,obtaining for her immortality. Eros was originally represented as a figure of youth and beauty,but in later times became more well-known as the chubby,angelic boylike being,with his mass of curly hair and armed with his bow and arrow,the shafts of which,once piercing a human (or divine) heart,infused that person with unremitting love for the first person they saw. ERYMANTHIAN BOAR,THE A wild and powerful animal that haunted the slopes of Mount Erymanthos,in northern Arcadia,and which Hercules was ordered to return alive with to Mykenae,as part of his Twelve Labours. ERYSICHTON Known as 'the earth upturner',or 'the ploughman',he was bitterly opposed by Demeter,goddess of the Earth. ERYTHEIS One of the seven Hesperides. ERZULIE The Voodoo love goddess,Erzulie is the goddess of elemental forces. She lives in fabulous luxury and appears powdered and perfumed. She is lavish with her love as with her gifts. On her fingers she wears three wedding rings,her three husbands being Damballah,the serpent god,Agwe,god of the sea and Ogoun the warrior hero. As Erzulie Ge-Rouge,she huddles together with her knees drawn up and her fists clenched,tears streaming from her eyes as she laments the shortness of life and the limitation of love. ESU The Yoruban god of watchfulness,he judges the blameworthy and the blessed,checks on the correctness of worship and sacrifice,and reports to Olorun the deeds of gods and men. ESTSANATLEHI The most respected goddess of the Navaho Indians,she is seen as the goddess of change,and it is said that she progresses through age to become an old woman,then becomes a young woman again. She passes through an endless stream of lives,always changing but never dying. The Navaho tales tell how the first man and woman observed a balck cloud descend onto a mountain,and perceiving great portents therein,appraoched the mountain,where they found a baby girl. This was Estsanatlehi,who grew into a full-grown woman within eighteen days of the couple taking her home. It is also said that the goddess,feeling lonely,fashioned men and women out of small pieces of her own skin,to keep her company. ETANA King of Kish,he tried to ascend to heaven on the back of an eagle in order to obtain the plant of birth,since his queen was barren. Shamash,the sun god of the Babylonians,had advised Etana to seek an eagle caught in a pit,where it had been trapped by a serpent,having eaten the young of the snake. Etana released the eagle,which gratefully carried the king towards heaven,but the eagle was unequal to the task,and it faltered,plummeting towards the earth,carrying Etana to his death. ETEOKLES One of the two sons of Oedipus and Jokaste,who,after the abdication of their father,ruled in Thebes,each for a year apiece,as per their agreement. However,when the time came for Polyneikes to take over his place on the throne,Eteokles refused to yield,and in fact exiled his brother from the city. Polyneikes gathered to him six heroes,and marched against Thebes,intent on regaining his rightful place on the throne. In fighting against his brother on the return of his army to Thebes,Polyneikes slew Eteokles,but was himself slain by his brother. EUMENIDES See Erinys. EUNEIKE One of the Nereides,who with her two sisters, Erato and Pasithea,signified the fascination of the gaily rising tide. EUNEOS The son of Jason and Hypsipyle. EUNOMIA One of the Horae,goddess of wise legislation. EUPHROSYNE One of the Charites. EUROPA The daughter of Agenor and Telephassa,Europa became the object of Zeus' affections,and the great god,turning himself into a great white bull,carried her off to Crete,where she gave birth to three sons,Minos,Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon. Having given birth to these three,Europa married Asterius,king of Crete,who adopted her three sons. Zeus rewarded him by sending him Talos,the man of bronze,to watch over the four,and defend Asterius' realm. EUROS The north wind,one of the sons of Eos and Astraeos. EURYALE One of the three Gorgons. EURYBIA One of the twelve Titans. EURYDICE One of the Napaeae,she was seen by and fell in love with Orpheus,but pursued by Aristaeos,a satyr who also loved her,she was bitten by a snake and died. Orpheus,his heart wrung by grief,descended to the Underworld,where he avoided the attentions of the beasts and unwholesome things that dwelled there,by virtue of his beautiful music. He finally came into the presence of Hades and Persephone,and begged for the return of Eurydice,playing his soulful music,to soften their hearts. Hades was unmoved,but his wife,swayed by the melancholic music,which awoke in her memories of the world she had left behind,begged her husband to grant Orpheus his wish. Hades agreed,but on one condition:while on the journey back to the upper world,Orpheus must never once look back to see if Eurydice was following. If he did,she would be lost to him forever. Near the entrance to the world of men,his frustration got the better of him,and he turned. Eurydice was torn from him,back to Hades. EURYNOME Mother of the Charites,who found and cared for the god Hephaestos,after his mother,Hera,had cast him off Olympus. She is also believed to have been the mother of the Erinys. EURYSTHEUS It was he who set,at the direction of Hera,the Twelve Labours that Hercules was to perform,in order that he be reckoned among the immortals of Olympus. EURYTHION One of the Centaurs,who took part in the altercation at the marriage of Peirithoos and Deidamia. EUTERPE One of the Muses,the goddess of music. EVE According to Christian myth,the first woman created by God,and the wife of Adam. Eve is said to have been the one who first gave in to the serpent Satan's blandishments,and tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden,thus ensuring hers and Adam's expulsion from Paradise. EXCALIBUR The enchanted sword bequeathed by King Uther Pendragon on his death to any who could pull it from the stone into which he had thrust it. Uther knew that only his son could perform this feat,and indeed,Arthur drew the sword out on his fifteenth birthday,proving himself King of Britain. Near his own death,Arthur threw the sword into a lake,where it is said the lady of the lake retrieved it,holding it forever beneath the still waters. FA'AHOTU The wife of the Tuamotuan god Atea,with whom he exchanged sexes,since Fa'ahotu's breast was too flat to nourish their children,who died one by one of malnutrition. FAFNIR The great worm who,in the Old German Tale of the Volsungs,guards the treasures of light,and is slain by Sigurd. FARBANTI A Giant from Jotunheim,father of Loki. It was Farbanti's job to ferry the souls of the dead across the river of the dead,to the lower world,as the Norse equivalent of Charon. FARO The water spirit of the Bambara people of the Niger River,and one of the two creator deities,Faro disliked the growing power of Pemba,the wood spirit,and so he uprooted him,thus creativity became dependent on Faro. FATE Also known as Ananke,and Fatum,to the Romans,Fate was the very personification of the destiny that holds sway over the lives of men,and even gods. Fate was the offspring of Night and Erebos,and her sentences were carried out by the Parcae. FATUUS See Faunus. FAUNA Either the wife or the daughter of Faunus,the Roman god of the field,she was called 'the kind goddess',and was supposed to have watched over the whole of creation,a kind of caretaker of the world. Her offspring were the Fatui,who were considered to be prophetic deities of the fields,and sometimes evil genii,who were seen as the cause of nightmares. Fauna was usually depicted as an aged woman,with pointed ears and holding a serpent in her hand. FAUNUS Basically a Roman version of the Greek god Pan. FENRIS The great wolf who lay bound in chains in Asgard,the labour of which cost Tyr his hand. Fenris was to rise at the onset of Ragnarok,and destroy the world,in concert with Niddhogg and the other enemies of the Norse gods. FINN MAC CUMAILL One of the very greatest of the ancient Irish heroes,Finn was High King of Ireland,and leader of the Fianna,the top warriors in that country. His exploits are many and numerous,and rival even the adventures of Cuchulainn. His son,Oisin,is best known for his famous visit to Tir na nOg,the eternal land of youth. FLORA See Chloris. FORSETI One of the Aesir. FORTUNA See Tyche. FREYA She was the wife of Odin,and into her care were placed half of the heroes who had fallen in battle. She was also known as Frigg. FREY Also called Fro,was the Norse god of fruitfulness,and also the patron of seafarers. His wife was Gredr. FRIGG See Freya. FUDO-MYOO The guardian of wisdom,in Japanese Buddhism. FUGEN-BOSATSU In Japan the bodhisattva Samantabhadra,who will be the final Buddha and at the moment out of his divine compassion is spreading around enlightened wisdom. He is pictured as a young man seated on an elephant,usually white with six tusks,and he carries either a lotus flower or has his hands joined together. Fugen-Bosatsu was a medieval courtesan,who appeared to a monk,to show that Buddhahood was not only reserved strictly for men. FULLA The handmaidens of Freya. FURIAE See Erinys. GA-GAAH According to Iroquois legend,Ga-gaah,the wise crow,flew from the kingdom of the sun,carrying in his ear a grain of corn which Hahgwehdiyu,the good creator god,planted in the body of the earth goddess,the great gift that the deity granted to his people. GA-GORIB In Hottentot myth,this monster would sit on the edge of a great pit and dare passers-by to throw stones at him. The stone always rebounded and killed the thrower,who then fell into the pit. It was the legendary hero Heitsi-eibib who finally defeated him. GAEA The Greek goddess of the Earth,one of the first supernatural beings created. GALAHAD One of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table,Galahad was said to be the most pure and incorruptible of them all,and it was he who had the vision of the Holy Grail that precipitated the quest for the same. GALATEA One of the Nereides,whom Zeus coveted. GALAXURE One of the Okeanids,her name meant 'like the refreshing coolness of a shady stream'. GALENE One of the Nereides,who with her sister Glauke,symbolised the peaceful shimmering light upon the gently moving bosom of the sea. GAMELIA Another name for Hera. GANESA One of the minor Brahmanic gods of the Hindu mythos,Ganesa was the son of Shiva and Pravati. Regarded as one of the wisest of the gods,Ganesa was the god of prudence and policy. He had the head of an elephant,represented as a short,pot-bellied man with yellow skin,with four hands,usually riding on a rat,or attended by one. He was invoked at the commencement of any enterprise,especially the beginning of a book. In one hand he held a shell,in another a discus,in a third a club,and in the fourth a water-lily. The legend of Ganesa's elephant head is related as follows:Parvati went to her bath and told her son to guard the entrance,which Ganesa took to mean against even his father,Shiva. The Destroyer ripped off Ganesa's head,but so upset was his mother that he replaced it with the first head that came to hand,that of an elephant. GANYMEDA See Hebe. GANYMEDE A son of the Trojan king Tros and Kallirhoe,Ganymede was found by Zeus on Mount Ida,where he himself had been brought up,and struck with Ganymede's beauty,he carried him off to Olympus,where he took over from Hebe as cup-bearer to the gods. Ganymede was usually represented as a youth of unsurpassed beauty,wearing a Phrygian cap,to identify his origin,and the eagle of Zeus by his side. GARUDA The sun bird of the Hindu mythos,Garuda is the vehicle of Vishnu himself,and is the enemy of all serpents. GAUNA The leader of the spirits of the dead,in African Bushman legend,Gauna (also known as Gawama and Gawa) seeks to disrupt the creation of Kaang,and harass the lives of men and animals. GAWAIN Seen as the perfect knight,and the enemy of Sir Lancelot,Sir Gawain found his reputation tested by the legendary and enigmatic Green Man,an adventure which begins in King Arthur's hall in Camelot on New Year's Eve. A huge green giant challenges the knights to a beheading contest,and Sir Gawain accepts and severs the head of the giant,who,unmoved,picks up his head and mounts his horse,the green lips on the severed head issuing a challenge for Gawain to meet the Green Knight in a lonely chapel,a year hence,to receive his share of the axe's edge. Reaching the appointed place,Gawain has his meeting with the Green Man,but as the axe descends he flinches,and so keeps his head but loses his reputation. GAYOMART The First Man in Persian mythology,the creation of Ahura Mazdah. For three thousand years Gayomart lived as a spirit before assuming the corporeal form of a handsome youth. After living thirty years on the Earth he was poisoned by Ahriman,through the whore Jeh. From his seed grew the father and mother of the human race,Mashye and Mashyane,who forsook Ahura Mazdah for Ahriman,and as punishment were condemned to the eternal hell. GEB The Egyptian earth goddess,who sprang from the union of Shu and Tefnut. GERDA Wife of Frey,in Norse mythology. GERYONEUS A son of Chrysaor and the Okeanid nymph Kallirhoe. He possessed the bodies of three men,the heads of three men,three pairs of legs and six arms. He was gigantic in size,heavily armed,powerful and winged. He was the lord of immense flocks of cattle. It was these kine that Hercules,as part of his Twelve Labours,had to capture and take away,which he did after fighting with and killing Geryoneus. GHEDE In the Voodoo mythology of Haiti,Ghede is the hungry figure in black top hat,long black tail coat and dark glasses,who stands at the eternal crossroads. Here pass the souls of the dead on their way to Guinee,the legendary place of origin and abode of the gods. Ghede is the wisest of the Voodoo gods,being the god of death,and thus having the knowledge of all those who have lived. He is also the lord of life,a phallic deity:he sustains the living,increases their number,and resurrects the dead. As if this wasn't enough,Ghede is also the god of love,known for his unpredictable obscenity and his prediliction for strong rum. He is liable to arrive at a ceremony for another loa and disrupt the proceedings. Not even the Hougans---the spirit masters of the Voodoo pantheon---can control his possession of his followers. GILGAMESH Legendary king of Uruk and hero of the Gilgamesh Epic,one of the major sagas of the Sumerian legends,Gilgamesh was said to have been the result of the union between a goddess and a man,and was two-thirds divinity himself. He was driven by an obsessive fear of death,and it was this that spurred him to the great adventures he undertook. Gilgamesh is described as a tyrant,overbearing and prone to sexual misdemeanours. His people beseeched the goddess Aruru for help,and on the stony steppe she created a man from spittle and clay,a wild,hairy,grass-eating person called Enkidu,whom Aruru set against Gilgamesh,hoping the wild man would topple the despot king,but Enkidu was himself defeated,and the two became fast friends. The two heroes began a series of breath-taking adventures,such as the invasion of the forest of the fire-breathing giant called Huwawa,whom they killed with the assistance of the sun god,Shamash. Next they had to destroy the wild bull sent by Ishtar to ravage the land,after Gilgamesh had rejected the goddess' advances. However,as a result of this,Enkidu was killed,and Gilgamesh greatly mourned his dead friend. Wandering desolate,Gilgamesh finally decided to consult his ancestor Utanapishtim,who had become immortal,and lived he knew not where. Reaching the sea at the edge of the world,the king was accosted by Siduri,a manifestation of Ishtar,who offered him wine,which he drank for seven days and seven nights,refusing to give up the corpse of Enkidu,until the goddess revealed that Utanapishtim resided across the waters of death,which could only be crossed with the aid of the Ferryman,Ursanapi. Enlisting the help of the Boatman,Gilgamesh made a special boat and crossed to the mouth of the rivers,where his ancestor and his wife lived. Utanapishtim reminded Gilgamesh of his mortality,and advised the king that his only chance of cheating death lay in the possession of a plant called 'Never grow old',which grew at the bottom of the sea. Gilgamesh descended to the sea bed,retrieved the plant at great risk to himself,and returned to his kingdom. However,on the way there,he fell asleep under a tree,and a snake,smelling the wonderful perfume of the leaves of the plant,ate it,and immediately gained the ability to slough its skin. Seeing his chance lost,Gilgamesh wept. GIMOKODAN The nether world of the Bagobo tribes of Mindanao in the Philippines,Gimokodan is surrounded by a dark river which is guarded by a huge woman,whose body is covered in nipples,and she suckles the spirit of infants before they pass on. The nether world itself is divided into two parts:the red section is reserved for those fallen in combat,while the white is like the world above,except that everything is reversed. Spirits go about at nights,in the daytime they turn into dew and rest in cupped leaves. GINKI The wise king who,at the beginning of the Eddas, travels to Asgard to gain information from the Aesir as to the nature of gods,and the creation of the world. GINNUNGA-GAP The empty space that existed in the world before the creation of the world,according to Norse myth. On one side it was bordered by Niflheim,and on the other,Muspellheim. The warmth from Muspellheim caused the ice of Niflheim to melt and topple over into the Ginnunga-Gap,and from this ice rose Ymir,father of the Ice Giants,and first being in the Norse world. GIOLL The Norse equivalent of the River Styx,the Gioll surrounded the Lower World,which was ruled over by the goddess Hel. GLADSHEIM The mansion of the gods of Asgard. GLAUKE One of the Nereides,who with her sister Galene signifies the peaceful shimmering light upon the gently moving bosom of the sea. Glauke fell in love with Jason,whom she married,and was later killed by the jealous Medea. GLAUKOPIS Another name for Pallas-Athene. GLAUKOS The son of Sisyphos,who owned a fine herd of horses. But these animals,having been fed on human flesh,turned wild and savaged their master to death. The Greeks believed that his spirit survived,wandering about and frightening horses,in revenge for his untimely death. GLUSKAP The legendary founder hero of the Abnaki Indians,whose great feats included riding on a whale. He retired from the world eventually,but is said to return some day to save his people. GOGA The rain and fire goddess of the Massim people of Papua,Goga is credited with the origin of fire. After men had stolen this from her,she tried to extinguish it by sending a downpour,but a large sanke preserved the flame on its tail. GOGMAGOG The giant figure cut into the chalk hills in Cambridge,also known as Gourmaillon. His origin is a mystery,but may be a representation of one of the huge giants who are said to have populated Britain in around the tenth century or so. GOMMATESVARA The son of Rishabha,in Jaina myth,he had a brother called Bharaba,with whom he struggled for control of the Indian Empire,but at the moment of victory he became disillusioned with the world,and handed over the empire to his brother,he himself retiring to the forest to do penance. This he accomplished by standing absolutely still for a year,while vines crept up his legs and arms,anthills rose about his feet,and snakes kept him company. GORA-DAILENG In the mythology of the Caroline Islands,Gora-Daileng was the god who punished the wicked after death. He lived by a subterranean river whose length was unknown,and having tortured souls by fire,he usually pushed them into this river so that they were borne away to oblivion. GORGONS,THE Three in number,the Gorgons were daughters of Phorkys and Keto. Their names were Stheino,Euryale and the most famous,Medusa. The Gorgons had the power to turn men to stone,simply by looking at them. If a man could avoid looking into the hypnotic eyes of the creatures,however,he could be saved. GORGOPHONE Another name for Pallas-Athene. GOTAMA One of the Rishis,to whom was ascribed the authorship of a book on law. GRACES,THE See Charites. GRAEAE Daughters of Phorkys and Keto,the Graeae were,like the Gorgons,three in number,and their names were Deino, Pephredo and Enyo,the last of whom was the goddess of war. The names of the three meant respectively 'alarm','dread' and 'horror'. As sisters to the Gorgons,the Graeae were also guardians of the trio,and were represented as misshapen and hideous creatures,hoary and withered from birth,with only one eye and one tooth between them. They lived in a dark cavern,near the entrance to Tartaros. GRAIL,THE HOLY This chalice was said to have been the same one that Jesus Christ used at the Last Supper,and further,had received the Saviour's blood after his side had been pierced by a spear,at the Crucifixion. Brought to Britain by Joseph of Arimithea,the Grail was lost over the ages,and the search for it occupied King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table,they believing that if it could be found the dark times which had fallen on Britain would lift. It was said to be in a mysterious castle,surrounded by desolate lands and stretches of water,and its custodian was the Fisher King,who lay wounded and immobile,neither dead nor alive. GRAM The mighty sword that Odin thrust into a log in the Saga of the Volsungs,predicting great things for the man who could draw it out. That man was Sigmund,who on his death bequeathed the sword to his son Sigurd,who went on to become the best known hero in Old German legend. GRENDEL The monster which plagued the lands of King Hrothgar of Denmark,terrible to behold,a ravener of the night,a prowler of the dark,which the Anglo-Saxon hero Beowulf sought and fought,chopping off the monster's arm after a long struggle. Beowulf later skew Grendel's mother,and finding the creature on its deathbed,finished off Grendel itself. GU In Fon legend,the heavenly blacksmith who,on the second day of creation,was sent by Mawu-Lisa to make the Earth habitable for mankind. GUDRUN Sigurd's lover,in the Saga of the Volsungs. GUHA A fierce demon in Hindu mythology,Guha had persuaded Brahma to make him invulnerable to even Vishnu and Shiva,through exceedingly painful self-inflicted sufferings. Unable to overthrow the demon,the two gods joined together as Hari-Hara,and defeated Guha. GUINECHEN The supreme deity of the Auca tribes of Chile,his authority extended over natural phenomena and the fertility of men,animals and plants. GUINEVERE The wife of King Arthur of Britain,and the Queen of that land for the duration of Arthur's rule. Guinevere loved Sir < Lancelot,however,and her infidelity with the knight sowed the seeds of doom for Arthur's kingdom. GULLTOPR Horse of Heimdall,watcher of Bifrost. GUNNAR In the Saga of the Volsungs,Gunnar is the brother of Gudrun,who swears to marry Brynhild by riding through fire to her dwelling. But it is in fact Sigurd who performs the feat,in Gunnar's shape. GWAWL Who took Rhiannon from Pwyll,but lost her again,his people placing a curse on Pwyll's people,so that ill luck dogged them,even after Pwyll's death. GWION BACH See Taliesin. GYGES One of the three Hekatoncheires. HACHIMAN The Shinto war god,Hachiman is also a protector of life,especially that of children,god of agriculture,and guardian deity of the archipelago. HADAD The main god of the Aramaean people of Syria,he it was who convulsed the earth,shook mountains and blasted trees. HADES Also known as Pluto,or Aides,he was the dark,grim god of the underworld,and ruled supreme there. He was a son of Rhea,and like his brothers Zeus and Poseidon,demanded a share of the Earth following the overthrow of Kronos. The three siblings cast lots,and to Hades fell the world below. His domain was a bleak one:the three rivers running along its environs were named Styx,Acheron (the river of eternal woe),Pyriplegethon (the stream of fire), Kokytos (the river of weeping and wailing) and Lethe (the river of forgetfulness). Once someone had passed over into the realm of Hades,there was no return (except in the case of Orpheus. Charon,the aged boatman of the dead,ferried the souls of the departed across the river Styx,which flowed into Hades,and once there they were received by Hades and his wife,Persephone. The lord of the dead had carried off Persephone from the world above,smitten with her beauty and deaf to the cries of her mother,Demeter. Indeed,when Demeter finally found her daughter,Persephone explained that she had eaten of a pomegranate that Hades had given her,and could never return to the upper world. The entrance to Hades was guarded by the triple-headed dog Cerberus,and for those who had led reasonably righteous lives,the afterlife in the underworld was a sort of shadow of their former life,where they could continue to perform the labours and carry on the occupations they had occupied in life. Occasionally,a shade might be allowed to return temporarily to the world above,as a ghost,to their friends,or even summoned by the sacrifice of blood which,when drank by the shade,restored to them partial speech and consciousness,so that they could discourse with the living. But for those who had lefd wicked lives---or lives the gods did not agree with---there was the realm of Tartaros,where all the sins and evils the departed had practiced in the world above were punished,usually in a manner symbolic of their crime. Cases in point here were Tantalos,Ixion,Sisyphos,Tityos and the Danaides,all of whom can be found under their own separate entries,so we will not go into their punishment here. There also existed in Tartaros Elysion,where the happy and the blessed were received,and which approximates as closely to the Christian ideal of Heaven as is possible,showing that Hades,though dark and forbidding,was not all doom and gloom,punishment and revenge. Hades and Persephone were also seen to be judges of the dead,and in this capacity they were assisted by three heroes whose earthly deeds had identified them as great in wisdom and justice. They were called Minos,Rhadamanthys and Aeakos,the last also being the gatekeeper of the lower region of Hades. HAHGWEHDAETGAH The evil brother of the creator deity Hahgwehdiyu challenged the goodness of his brother's creation,and fought against him. Hahgwehdaetgah lost,and was banished forever to an underground realm. HAHGWEHDIYU The good creator god of the Iroquois,he shaped the earth with his hand,placed his dead mother's face in the heavens as the sky,while from her breasts he made the moon and stars. To the earth he gave her body as the source of fertility. He fought against his twin brother,the evil creator Hahgwehdaetgah,who had challenged the goodness of Hahgwehdiyu's creation. The two gods fought a duel with the huge thorns of the great crab-apple tree,which luckily for mankind Haghwehdiyu won. HAI-URI A monster greatly feared by the Hottetots:one legged,one armed,one sided,and semi-invisible,the Hai-Uri can leap over clumps of scrub in pursuit of its human prey. HAKAWAU The greatest sorcerer in Maori myth,he attained to fame by the overthrow of the magical wooden head owned by the sorcerers Puarata and Tautohito,which bewitched anyone who dared approach the stronghold where it was kept. Hearing of this artifact,Hakawau and his companion set out,passing the corpses of their predecessors,but Hakawau had learned that the evil spirits of his rivals were not as powerful as they seemed,and his own army of good spirits were able to take the fortress,where Hakawau demonstrated his superiority. When Puarata tried to appeal to the head for help,it could only utter low moans,not the brazen shout that it used to. Before he left,unharmed,Hakawau clapped his hands and everyone in the stronghold died. HALIE One of the Nereides,who with her sister Thoe signified the play of fantastic waves. HALIRRHOTIOS A son of Poseidon,whom Alkippe loved,but who was killed by Ares. HAMADRYADS See Dryads. HAMUND One of the sons of Volsung and Borghild,in the Saga of the Volsungs. HANNAHANNA The mother goddess of the Hittites,who sent the weather god in search of the agriculture god,Telipinu,who had stalked off in a rage. HANUMAN The monkey god of Hindu mythology,he leapt across the sea to Sri Lanka,there to do battle with Ravana,but a female demon named Surasa tried to swallow him. Hanuman distended his body,forcing Surasa to grossly elongate her mouth,then he suddenly shrunk to the size of a thumb,shot through her head,and emerged from her right ear. Landing safely on the island,he dealt the forces of Ravana a mortal blow,and burned down the city there. For his services Rama awarded Hanuman the gift of perpetual life and youth. Hanuman's greatest exploits occur on a pligrimage to India from China,where he aids the Buddhist priest Tripitaka,on the way to recover the Buddhist scriptures and return them to China. HAPI A well-fed and plump Egyptian river god,who took pleasure in exchanging gifts. He was usually represented holding ears of corn and a cornucopia. HARI-HARA The joint deity formed by Vishnu and Shiva,in order that the two gods might defeat the demon Guha. HARMONIA Daughter of Ares and Aphrodite,whom Zeus gave as bride to Kadmos. HARPE The knife with which Hermes had cut off the head of Argos,which he presented to Perseus,on the hero's quest to slay the Gorgon. HARPIES,THE The three daughters of the Giant Thaumas and the Okeanid nymph Elektra,the Harpies were employed by the gods to punish crime on the Earth. Their names were Okypete,Aello and Kelaeno,also called Podarge. Their bodies were those of birds,the heads women's,and their manner of punishing a wrongdoer was to carry off all his food,or failing that,to foul it so that the criminal could not eat it. One such person who received such treatment from the Harpies was Phineas,a king of Thrace,who was eventually freed of the curse of the triple sisters by the Argonauts. HASTSEZINI The fire god of the Navaho Indians. HATHOR The cow goddess of Egypt,she was a fertility goddess,and attended at childbirth. She was regarded as the tutelary goddess of beauty,love and marriage. A legend relates how Re used Hathor to try to destroy mankind. Nervous and uncertain of his power,Re sent his Eye,in the form of the cow goddess,to destroy the impious. However,he was unwilling to watch fields of blood spread across the earth,and so he sent beer to flood the land,so that it resembled blood. Hathor,though,distracted by the sight,as well as her own reflection,forgot her grisly mission and instead became intoxicated. Thus mankind was saved. HAUMEA The mysterious fertility goddess of Hawaiian mythology,she was said to have been reborn,and in this way returned to marry her own children and grandchildren. Her most celebrated magic was the enchanted fruit trees,and a stick that could attract fish. One could order the sacred trees to produce fruit,but an accident with the 'fish tree' caused fish to be scattered all through the waters around the islands. HAYAGRIVA A demon who stole the scriptures from Brahma's mouth as he slept,and was killed by Vishnu in his Avatar as Matsya. HEBDOMEIOS Another name for Apollo. HEBE Also known as Ganymeda,or Dia,Hebe was the goddess of youth,herself remaining eternally young and beautiful. She was a daughter of Zeus and Hera,and like they and the other gods and goddesses,she staved off age by the use of nectar and ambrosia. On Olympus she was the cup-bearer of the gods;being the daughter of the two high deities it was her duty to wait on her father and mother,and their guests. She was also bound to yoke her mother's car,and when Apollo played with the Muses she danced with the other gods. Sometimes she accompanied Aphrodite. But the character in which she was best known was as the divine wife of Hercules,after the hero had been raised to Olympus as a reward for his completion of his extraordinary Twelve Labours on Earth. HECATE A daughter of Tartaros and Night,Hecate was of Titanic origin,and was the goddess of Nature,having control over birth,life and death,and she enjoyed great favour among the gods of Olympus. Her chief function was that of goddess of the nether world,of night and darkness;she was mistress of witchcraft and the black arts. HECTOR The greatest hero of Troy,Hector,son of King Priam,became the leader of the Trojan forces during that long and bloody war. It was he who led the attack against the Greek camp,after Achilles had withdrawn his men from it,following his arguement with Agamemnon. This raid almost destroyed the enemy and won the war,as the valiant Hector led his men in setting fire to the Greek ships in the harbour. He slew the Greek hero Patroklos,and then engaged in combat with Achilles,who in turn killed him. HEGEMONE One of the many Charites,or Graces. HEIMDALL Watchman on the Rainbow Bridge,Bifrost,Heimdall guarded the approach to Asgard,and for this his senses were razor-sharp,his eyes so keen that he could see the wool growing on the backs of sheep,though they were at the other side of the world,and his ears so acute that he could hear grass growing. Heimdall carried a great battlehorn,whose sounding was to signal the final battle,Ragnarok as the giants from Jotunheim swarmed across Bifrost,into Asgard. HEITSI-EIBIB The legendary hero of the Hottentots,Heitsi-Eibib was the son of a cow and some miraculous grass the cow had eaten. He was a great magician,a superb fighter,and the patron of hunters. Only he could rid the Hottentots of the monstrous Ga-gorib,who used to reside by a great pit and dare strangers to throw rocks at him,which always rebounded on the thrower,who then fell into the pit. Heitsi-Eibib defeated him by waiting until the monster was looking away,throwing a stone that struck him under the ear,and Ga-gorib fell into the pit. Heitsi-Eibib is said to have been killed on numerous occasions,resurrecting himself to come to the aid of his people. HEKABE Also known as Hecuba,she was the wife of King Priam of Troy. HEKATONCHEIRES,THE Hundred-handed beings,of whom there were three,the sons of Uranos and Gaea,who helped Zeus and his brothers overthrow their father Kronos,advancing like a mighty earthquake on Zeus' side. Their names were Kottos,Gyges and Briareus. HEL Who was the Norse goddess of the Underworld,being in fact one of the three children of Loki. She was half black and half blue,and lived on the brains and marrow of men. When the god Balder was taken by her,and the gods requested his return,she told the messenger that she would allow Balder to leave if every living thing in Asgard cried for him. HELA The Norse Underworld,the realm of Death. HELEN Daughter of Zeus and Nemesis,Helen was without a doubt the most famous and most beautiful woman in the ancient world,and it was for her sake that thousands died on the streets of Troy. As a young girl,Helen was so beautiful and graceful that she captured the hearts of many young men,all who vied for her as suitors. Indeed,it was the Greek hero Theseus who became so enamoured of her that he carried the girl off,but she was later rescued by Castor and Pollux,her brothers,who brought her back to Tyndareus,her foster-father. But Tyndareus grew alarmed at the amount of men sueing for Helen's hand,and wary of upsetting them---some of whom were very powerful,or had powerful fathers---he allowed the girl to choose for herself. Then he called upon all the suitors to swear an oath that they would stand by Helen's choice,and further,do all in their power to aid her husband,should he require assistance at any time in the future. All agreed,and Helen chose Menelaus,the brother of Agamemnon. Tyndareus,however,had omitted to make a sacrifice to Aphrodite,and the goddess cursed Helen with an insatiable need for love,and a total lack of fidelity. This was to have dire consequences later on in her life,when she met the young shepherd,Paris. Paris,the shepherd of Mount Ida,had been promised by Aphrodite the loveliest woman on Earth for his bride,when he had chosen the goddess of love as the most beautiful of the three goddesses,the others being Hera and Athene. After he had chosen her as the winner in the contest,Aphrodite advised him to visit Sparta,where he would find the one he sought. Falling in love with Helen over the course of his stay in Sparta,Paris took the opportunity,when Menelaus had to go abroad on an errand,leaving his wife in the care of the Trojan,to persuade Helen to elope with him,and return to Troy,to live there as his wife. Menelaus,receiving the news of his wife's deception at the court of Idomeneus in Crete,hurried back to Sparta,and with his brother Agamemnon,sought the advice of Nestor,one of the wisest men in Greece. His counsel was that nothing short of a full armed assault on Troy would be sufficient to punish the crime of the abduction of Helen,and expedite her return. Taking this advice,Menelaus then gathered all those who had competed against him for the hand of Helen,binding them to their oath to help him in times of difficulty. A great fleet was assembled,and the war against Troy began. After the death of Paris,Helen married Deiphobos,his brother,before being finally compelled to return to Sparta with Menelaus,who forgave his errant wife. From the fact that her memory launched the Greek attack fleet comes the famous desciption of Helen as 'the face that launched a thousand ships'. HELIADES,THE The three sisters of Phaeton---Phaethusa,Aegle and Lampetia---who wept so at the death of their brother that they were turned into larch trees,where the continual tears they shed were changed by the sun into amber. HELIOS Seen as another facet of Apollo,Helios was the Greek god of the sun,and every day he drove his sun-chariot across the sky,pulled by magical horses,shedding light over the face of the world,and disappearing at night. The most famous story concerning Helios is that of his son Phaeton,who,on engaging in an argument with Epaphos,a sonof Zeus and Io,as to who Phaeton's father was,implored Helios to prove his parentage of the boy by allowing him to drive the chariot of the sun across the sky for one day. After much wheedling and trying to change the boy's mind,Helios gave in to Phaeton's request,with the tragic result that the sun god's son lost control of the chariot,causing widespread damage upon the Earth,for which he had to be slain by Zeus. Helios owned seven herds of cows and seven herds of lambs,with fifty in each herd,whose number never increased or decreased. The herds were sacred to him,and he loved to watch them grazing when he rose in the morning,and when he descended in the evening. His sigils were horses' heads,a crown of seven rays,a cornucopia,and a ripened fruit. HELLE One of the two children of Aeolos and Nephele,Helle fled like her brother on the back of the ram with the golden fleece,sent by her mother to rescue them from the murderous attentions of their stepmother,but Helle fell from the ram's back,and was drowned. HELLEN The son of Deukalion,he propogated the mighty Hellenic race. HEMERA Goddess of the Day,Hemera was one of the first offspring of Erebos and Nyx,at the creation of the world. HEPHAESTOS More commonly known as Vulcan,Hephaestos was the son of Zeus and Hera,and was born crippled,lame in one leg. Disgusted at this flawed product of her loins,Hera cast him out of Olympus,and falling into the sea he was rescued by Thetis and Eurynome. These two cared for him,and he abided there for nine years,fashioning many wondrous artifacts,using his inborn sense of creativity and genius to form the most incredible objects and machines. One of the most ingenious things he fashioned while secluded with the sea gods was a throne,which he presented to Hera,knowing that once his mother sat in it,she would be locked there forever. Ares,hastening to force the smith to free Hera,was beaten off by Hephaestos,who brandished a torch of fire at the war god. It was Dionysos,god of music and sweet speech,who finally succeeded in talking the crippled god into freeing his mother. Hephaestos was god of fire,the unbridled,unchecked,raging inferno that is the heart of the volcano,and indeed this was fitting,as he was first and foremost a smith,a worker in metal and fire. Those wonders which Hephaestos made he gave away freely to his friends;he made the dreaded aegis and a sceptre for Zeus,the armour of Achilles and Memnon,and for himself he fashioned two beautiful handmaidens of gold,who would move around like living beings,and attend him wherever he walked. He also made the cunning net that was the undoing of Ares and his unfaithful wife,Aphrodite. It was he,too,who nailed Prometheus to a rock,after the god had stolen fire from the gods and given it to man. Hephaestos also became known and worshipped as the god of fertility,and the god of artistic creativity,especially pottery. He was represented as an aged bearded man,with serious furrowed face,and wearing a workman's cap,crouched over his anvil,working on some artifact of wonder,his lameness apparent. Although Hephaestos was married to Aphrodite,the goddess of love,he had no children by her,perhaps due to the fact that he was a cripple. HERA Also known as Juno,Hera was the wife of Zeus,and as such the Queen of Olympus. However,she was frequently jealous,angry and quarrelsome,and mistrustful of her husband,who,it must be said,was less than faithful to her. She was lofty and proud,aloof and cold,and prone to bitterness. The marriage of Zeus and Hera was never a smooth one;in one instance,Hera threw her own son,Hephaestos,off Olympus,because he was a cripple. In another,Zeus hung her out of Olympus with two great weights attached to her feet,and her arms bound by golden chains,as punishment for her having plotted against Hercules. Again,Hera tried to chain down Zeus,with the help of Poseidon and Athene,but the arrival of Thetis with the sea giant Aegaeon put paid to their plans. Hera was goddess of the storms and the mother of,among others,Ares,god of war. She herself liked to take part in war occasionally,as when she fought on the Greek side in the Trojan War,but her favourite companions,in times of peace,were the Charites and the Horae. Her constant attendant was Iris,goddess of the rainbow. Hera herself was also goddess of faithful women,and punished severely any who transgressed her law. This made it morally acceptable for her to act against those women with whom her husband had dallied,as with Semele,and Alkmene. Her worship was mostly restricted to women,who also saw her as the patroness of childbirth and care. She was jealous of the moon,personified by Io,with whom Zeus had been unfaithful to her,and she set Argos,with his innumerable eyes,as the constant surveyor of Io. Vain as were all the beautiful goddesses of Olympus,Hera was one of the two goddesses who lost out to Aphrodite,competing for the coveted title of the most fair goddess. Since it was Paris that made the final judgement,Hera ever after bore special enmity towards the shepherd,and his city,Troy. HERCULES (Including the Twelve Labours) Perhaps the most famous and celebrated of all the Greek heroes,and himself a demigod and more,Hercules was born as a son to Zeus and Alkmene,the wife of Amphitryon,a descendant of Perseus. On the day of his birth Hera,furious at her husband for allowing yet another child into the world that was not the union of their two bodies,obtained from Zeus a promise that the child born that day should have power and dominion over all who dwelt around him. Then he hastened to Argos,to speed the birth of the child Eurystheus,while simultaneously delaying the birth of Hercules. The result of this was that Hercules was born a subject of Eurystheus,who was later to make his life a misery and,paradoxically,elevate him to godhood. Refusing to suckle the infant Hercules,when her deceit had been discovered by Zeus,the Thunderer commanded Hermes to convey his son to Olympus,and place him at Hera's breast,so that she did not know whose child drew from her the divine milk that lent Hercules his almost godlike strength. Learning what had transpired later,Hera sent a serpent to kill Hercules,but the infant strangled it,utilising his new strength. On Earth,the youth of Hercules was spent under the instruction of the greatest heroes and wisest men of the day,like Rhadamanthys,who became one of the Argonauts,and Linos,who made the mistake of punishing Hercules for some neglect,resulting in the old man's death at the hands of the hero. Because of this,Amphitryon carried him off to the hills,where he grew up under the care of herdsmen,leading a simple,happy and frugal life. The hunting and sport out in the fresh air aided the development of his supernatural muscles,and he grew to an enormous size. At the age of eighteen he slew an enormous lion that had infested Mount Kithaeron,and on his return met the heralds of the king of Minyae,come to claim the traditional tribute of a hundred cattle from Thebes. Hercules' answer to this was to cut off the ears and noses of the heralds,bind their hands,and send them home. A war ensued,in which Hercules and his brother Iphikles distinguished themselves .But after the war was over,Hera commanded Eurystheus to exercise his power over Hercules,for the benefit of the Queen of Olympus,and Hercules,enquiring of the oracle at Delphi if it were possible to avoid the summons,was told it was not. But the oracle also told him that while in Eurystheus' service,he would be told to perform twelve great labours,and that once he had completed these,he would be reckoned with the gods of Olympus. With this in mind,he reported to Eurystheus. The Twelve Labours of Hercules ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. The Nemean Lion:- The offspring of Typhon and Echidna,this fearsome beast had been sent by Hera to devastate the neighbourhood of Nemea,a task in which it had succeeded. The lion was known to be invulnerable,proof against even the magic arrows Hercules had received from,and moreover,the Plain of Nemea was sacred to Zeus. Disdaining therefore his weapons,Hercules entered the cave of the lion,wrestled it and strangled. He used the inpenetrable skin as his own protection later on. 2. The Lernaean Hydra:- Also the fruit of the union of Typhon and Echidna,the Hydra was a terrible monster with nine heads,eight of which were mortal,while the ninth was invulnerable. The beast had been sent by Hera,and it lived in the marsh near the fountain of Amymone,even its smell bringing poisonous death. Hercules arrived at the spot in his chariot,attended by Iolaos,and flushed the Hydra from its den by shooting his arrows at it. As battle was joined,Hercules struck off one of the heads of the Hydra,but as soon as it toppled into the muck,two more appeared to take its place. To add to his difficulty,a giant crab arrived and seized him by the heel. Hercules ordered Iolaos to set the neighbouring wood on fire,and from it procure a burning brand. He then struck off one of the heads of the Hydra,and as soon as it fell he sealed the wound with the flame,and burned the severed head. In this way he proceeded until only the last head was left,the ninth. This too he struck off,and buried it under a huge rock. Having defeated the Hydra,Hercules dipped his arrows in the poison of the monster,but on returning to Eurystheus was told that the slaying of the Hydra did not count as one of the Labours,since Iolaos had rendered assistance. 3. The Erymanthian Boar:- This was a wild and savage animal that haunted the slopes of Mount Erymanthos,in Arcadia. Hercules slew it easily,but on his return,bearing the carcass on his shoulders,Eurystheus fled in fear,and hid in a large bronze vessel. To this Hercules,unknowing,proceeded,and deposited the body of the boar there,as the safest place for his latest prize. In connection with this part of his Labours is the story of when Hercules met his friend Pholos the Centaur. Opening a cask of the choicest Centaur wine,given his people by Dionysos,Pholos and Hercules drank together in comradeship. But the smell attracted other Centaurs,who went wild,and attacked Hercules. The hero beat most of them off,but after the fight his friend Pholos was killed when he accidentally dropped one of Hercules' poisoned arrows on his foot. 4. The Keryneian Stag:- With antlers of gold and hooves of brass,this stag was one of the fleetest animals on the Earth,and was sacred to Artemis. Hercules was ordered to capture it and bring it back alive. He pursued the stag for a whole year,eventually coming back to where he had started from,and would have killed the beast,had it not been for the intervention of Apollo and Artemis. 5. The Stymphalian Birds:- Maneaters and numberless,the birds of the Vale of Stymphalia had talons of iron and feathers sharp as arrows,and it was Hercules' Fifth Labour to rid the valley of them. To do this,he sounded a large bell,and when the birds emerged from the thick woods wherein were their nests,he shot many of them,and the rest flew away in fright. 6. The Augeian Stables:- Augeias,the rich king of Elis,owned endless stables,by the banks of the river Menios,and it was given to Hercules as a task to clean out the filthy stalls in one day,and alone. He accomplished this by breaking through the wall at a part where the river approached it. The inrushing water cleaned out the stables thoroughly,but Augeias refused to pay Hercules the price agreed before the undertaking of the task,that of a tenth of his herd. This later caused a war between Hercules and Elis. 7. The Cretan Bull:- Craving a sacrifice he could offer up to Poseidon,King Minos of Crete was presented by the sea god with a marvellous white bull,but the king refused to sacrifice it,instead setting it to graze with the sacred herds of Helios. This angered Poseidon,and he drove the bull wild,so that it broke from its traces and ran off,pursued by the wife of Minos,Pasiphae,whom the god of the sea had cursed with an unnatural passion for the beast. Finally catching it,with the aid of Daedalus,Pasiphae lay with the bull,and the outcome of their union was the monstrous Minotaur. The task set Hercules was to capture the bull and bring it back alive. This he did,riding on the Cretan Bull's back as it swam over the sea to Mykenae,and back to Eurystheus. 8. The Horses of Diomedes:- The reputed son of Ares,Diomedes was a king of Thrace,and a fierce warrior,like the people he ruled. He possessed monstrous horses,which fed on human flesh,being fed this by their master,the meat gained from the body of any unfortunates that were shipwrecked on the coast of Thrace. The horses,once fed on human meat,became so furious and powerful that they had to be secured with chains of iron. To Hercules fell the problem of bringing these wild,evil animals back alive to Eurystheus. He landed at Abdera,seat of Diomedes' power,and quickly overpowered the guards he found there,leading the famed horses away. But at the coast he was confronted by a host of the king's subjects,most of whom he slew,Diomedes himself among them. Then he continued on to Mykenae with the horses,presenting them to Eurystheus,from whom it is said they later escaped,being finally devoured by the wolves of Zeus. 9. The Girdle of Hippolyte:- Hippolyte was the queen of the Amazons,and wore a girdle which had been given her by Ares. It was supposed to be the symbol of the power of a rushing headlong storm. Hercules was charged to obtain this girdle for Admete,the daughter of Eurystheus. He slew the Amazon,and returned to Mykenae with the girdle. 10. The Cattle of Geryoneus:- Geryoneus was a fierce giant with three bodies,three heads and three sets of arms and legs,who owned immense herds of cattle,which Hercules was instructed to convey to Mykenae. He landed at Erytheia,stronghold of Geryoneus,having travelled in the vessel that Helios himself utilised when circuiting the world from west to east at night,and was immediately attacked by the two-headed dog of Geryoneus. He slew the beast,and was next attacked by the herdsman Eurytion,and after slaying him also,he was shown the cattle of Geryoneus by Menoitios. He was in the act of driving them away when the triple-giant himself appeared,and Hercules and Geryoneus engaged in fierce combat,which ended with the latter dead,shot through the heart by one of the poisoned arrows of Hercules. On his way home with the cattle,Hercules battled Cacous the robber,Giants and other enemies. At rest in the mountains between Rhegium and Locri,his sleep was disturbed by grasshoppers chirping in the night,and at his request the gods removed the creatures from the district forever. On the way across the south of Italy,one of Hercules' bulls escaped and he had to chase it across the sea to Sicily,holding on to the horns of one of the other bulls. In Sicily he met and fought with more Giants,particularly Eryx,found friendship among the nymphs of Himera and Egesta,and finally arrived at Mykenae,with more of his herd having been scattered by a gadfly sent by Hera. 11. The Apples of the Hesperides:- These golden fruits were said to be guarded by the Hesperides,in a garden sacred to them,whose location was unknown to any man. Hercules,on the way there to find the garden,met some nymphs who advised him that the sea god Nereus knew where it could be found. After many transformations,through all of which Hercules held on to the slippery god,Nereus told the hero the way,and he set off. Arriving in Libya,he met the Giant Antaeus,whose habit was to kill all strangers in his land. Antaeus was a son of Poseidon and the Earth,so as long as he remained in contact with the earth,he could not be bested. Hercules,however,lifted him off the ground,and thus defeated him,after which he lay down to rest. When he awoke,he found himself covered in tiny Pygmies,which he wrapped in his lion's skin and killed. He then continued on to Egypt,where he was captured by the followers of Busiris,and offered up,as were all travellers through that land,as a sacrifice. Hercules broke free,sacrificing instead Busiris,his son and all of his retinue. From there he went to India,where in the Caucasus Mountains he came across Prometheus,chained to a rock by the gods. He freed the prisoner,and the grateful Prometheus told him the way to the region of the Hyperboreans,where lived Atlas and the Hesperides. Finally reaching his destination,Hercules prevailed upon the Giant Atlas to pluck the three apples for him. But Atlas was engaged in the eternal task of holding up the world,and so Hercules must needs take the burden on his shoulders while Atlas fetched him the golden apples. The Giant,returning,tried to trick Hercules by offering to convey the fruits to Mykenae himself,and Hercules appeared to agree,but said that he would need to obtain a pad for his head,and asked Atlas to take the world from him a moment,while he fetched it. Of course,once Atlas had again shouldered his burden,Hercules made off with the golden apples. 12. Cerberus:- The last,and mightiest Labour of Hercules,was to descend to Hades,and from there steal the triple-headed guardian of the Underworld,Cerberus the dog,and bring it up to the world above. As he made his way down into Hades,the shades of the dead fled in terror before the sight of a living man in the kingdom of the dead. Hercules came across his friends Theseus and Peirithoos near the gates,attached to a rock as if growing from it,in great anguish. He freed Theseus,but the earth shook when he tried to repeat the process for Peirithoos. he did,however,obtain life for his friends by feeding them blood from one of the cows of Hades,which he had to fight Menoitios to take. Reaching the court of Hades himself,the dark king agreed that Hercules might borrow Cerberus,and take the dog to the upper world,provided he could do so without the assistance of any arms. This Hercules did,and leading Cerberus to Mykenae,completed the last of his Twelve Labours. Apart from his Labours,Hercules performed many other heroic feats,which added to his fame and legend,before being taken up to Olympus,to assume his place among the gods. Alkestis,wife of Admetos of Pherae,had offered up her own life to the gods,in a bargain with Hades,following the advice of an oracle that stated that the dying king would not recover unless someone could be found to take his place in the shadow world. Hercules,however,seized Hades and would not let go until the god promised to set both Alkestis and Admetos free. He accompanied Jason and the Argonauts,in their search for the Golden Fleece,and he took part in the first war against Troy,which was caused by a breach of faith on behalf of the then king,Laomedon,who had promised the hand of his daughter Hesione to Hercules,after the hero had saved her from a sea monster. Incensed at Laomedon's betrayal,Hercules and his men surrounded the king's citadel,took him and all of his sons prisoner,and slew them all except Podarkes,at the entreaties of Hesione. Hercules gave the girl to his friend Telamon,and Podarkes took over the Trojan throne,changing his name to Priam,and initiating a new dynasty there. Returning later in his life to Thebes,Hercules fell violently ill,and went temporarily insane,during which time he committed some unfortunate acts,including the carrying off of the priestess of Apollo's oracle at Delphi,for which outrage the god of light pursued and fought with him,their quarrel being finally decided by Zeus,their father. Seeking to atone for his misdeeds,Hercules placed himself in the service of Queen Omphale of Lydia for three years. Hercules had become enamoured of Iole,daughter of Eurytos,king of Oechalia,but despite carrying out many tasks for her father, he having promised Hercules her hand on these conditions,the pact was reneged on,and Hercules,furious,turned his attentions to Deianeira,a daughter of Oeneus,king of Kalydon. He swore to marry his daughter to the man who could wrestle the sea god Acheloos to a standstill. This Hercules did,and received Deianeira as his wife. Next he proceeded to take revenge against Iole's father,destroying his castle and killing him and all his children,except Iole,whom he bore to Euboea,intending to offer her as a sacrifice to Zeus. But his wife,thinking that Hercules' passion for Iole was reawakening,steeped his sacrifical robe in a concoction prepared by the Centaur Nessos,thinking the solution to be a charm to rekindle her husband's love for her. She did not know that it was in fact deadly poison. Once Hercules had donned the robe,the venom entered his body and he died shortly afterwards. He painfully built a pyre of wood,while in his death-throes,and after committing his famous bow and arrows to his friend Philoktetes,mounted the pyre and was consumed by it. Deianeira,learning of her tragic error,killed herself. Hercules' spirit rose as a cloud from the funeral pyre,was conducted by Iris and Hermes to Olympus,where he was reconciled to Hera,married the goddess Hebe,and ever afterward enjoyed great favour and honour among the gods,as had been promised him. HERMAPHRODITUS The son of Aphrodite,he excited the passions of the Salmacis,but spurned her advances. Desolate,Salmacis asked the gods that she and the boy be united as one,never to part. This was accomplished as Hermaphroditus bathed in the waters of her fountain;Salmacis embraced the youth and their bodies were forever joined as one. HERMES A son of Maia,a daughter of Olympus,conveying the wishes and edicts of the gods,and due to this he also became known and respected as an oracle. He even had the right of passage into Charon's ferry,conveying them into the presence of Hades and Apollo,under cover of darkness,and confused the sun god by attaching bunches of broom to their hooves,then driving the cattle backwards,into a cave at Pylos,giving the impression that they had left instead of entered the cave. When Apollo found out the trick,he was very angry and dragged Hermes before Apollo,determined to have the young god punished,and made an example of. But Hermes made a lyre out of tortoise shell,and began playing on it,so amusing both Zeus and Apollo that both forgot about the prank. Hermes then gave the lyre to Apollo. The sun god gave Hermes in return a golden divining-rod,and the power of prophecy,with a proviso attached:Hermes was not to communicate the future to men by words,as did Apollo,but by signs and occurrences. Somewhat of a thief by nature,Hermes stole the sceptre of Zeus,the girdle of Poseidon,Hephaestos,and Apollo's bow and arrows,but he always managed to make the damage good,by virtue of his irrepressible character. The most famous story of his exploits of these kind,however,was that of the many-eyed Argos,whom Hera had jealously set to watch over Io,another of her husband's paramours. Since Argos had a hundred eyes,only fifty of which were ever closed,even in his deepest sleep,Hermes found the order of Zeus,that he set free Io from her surveillance without using force,a tall one. However,he proceeded to Argos,and began telling him humorous and interesting tales,by which he gained the watchman's confidence. Then he played on the shepherd's pipe he had made,and lulled Argos into a sleep so deep that all hundred of his eyes slid closed. As soon as the last eyelid dropped,Hermes slew Argos,and set Io free. The messenger of the gods was companion and guide to heroes,and he watched over and helped those whom the gods favoured. He also aided human messengers and travellers. His sigils were a short staff with a pair of wings and a knotted snake attached to it,and a winged cap. His animals were cocks and goats,and the tongues of animals were sacrificed to him. HERMODR The brother of Balder,who rode down to Hel,to beg the release of his brother from the dark kingdom. HESPERE One of the seven Hesperides. HESPERIDES,THE The seven daughters of Atlas the Giant,they were entrusted with the care and protection of the golden apples which Titaea,a goddess of the Earth,had caused to grow on a wonderful tree that appeared out of thin air,at her direction,at the marriage feast of Zeus and Hera. The Hesperides and their apples resided in the Garden of the Hesperides,and the apples were so tempting that there had to be a guardian of the tree. This was the serpent Ladon,whom Hercules slew when he fetched three apples from the Garden of the Hesperides,as part of his Twelve Labours. The names of only four of the seven Hesperides are known,these being Aegle,Erytheis,Hespere and Arethusa. HESTIA Also known as Vesta,she was a daughter of Kronos and Rhea,and sister to Demeter. She was worshipped as the goddess of the hearth,the guardian of family life. Hestia detested love,and obtained from Zeus the permission to remain in a single state,a figure of virtue and chastity. She it was whose priestesses were the famous Vestal Virgins,innocence and virginity being her province. HEYVOSO The thunder god of the Fon people of Dahomey. HIMEROS Another name for Eros. HIMINBIORG The personal tower of Thor,from which he surveyed the world. HIPPIA Another name for Pallas-Athene. HIPPO An okeanid nymph,her name meant 'like a swift current'. HIPPOLOCHOS One of the three children of Bellerophon. HIPPOLYTE Queen of the Amazons,whose girdle Hercules had to steal as part of his Twelve Labours,and whom he slew in the act. HISAKITAIMISI The supreme god of the Creek Indians. HIYOYOA The underworld,in the mythology of the Wagawaga tribes of Papua. At death the soul is said to leave the body and travel to Hiyoyoa,a realm beneath the sea. There they work in the gardens of the lord of the dead,Tumudurere. HJORDIS Wife of Sigmund,in the Saga of the Volsungs,and mother to Sigurd. HOA-TAPU Only son of the Tahitian war god,Oro. HODER The Blind God,who in Norse mythology accidentally killed Balder,and was in turn slain by Bali,Odin's son. HOLAWAKA The mythical bird sent by god to tell the Galla of Ethiopia that they would not die. Holowaka was to say that when men found themselves growing weak and old,they were to slip off their skins and become young again. On the way,however,the bird met a snake who was devouring the carcass of a dead animal. The snake promised to share the meal with the bird if Holowaka would tell him its message. The bird altered the message,saying that 'man will grow old and die,but snakes will shed their skins and become young again.' HO'OHOKU-KA-LANI The daughter of the ancestor of the Hawaiian people,Wakea,whom the ancestor married,thus incurring the wrath of his gods,and bringing death into the world. HORAE,THE Goddesses of the seasons,they were daughters of Zeus and Themis,and were of indeterminate number. They were directly under the control of the higher gods,such as Zeus and Hera,and were often found in the company of the Charites. They could also be found with Aphrodite,and with Apollo and the Muses,delighting in the wonder of nature. Their duties also included the regulation of the weather,in respect to the sowing,germinating and harvesting of crops. They were tender and loving,and were always good to mankind. Another phase of the character of the Horae was to act as guides to human morality and propriety,and for this task in particular,three Horae were selected. Their names were Eunomia (wise legislation),Dike (justice) and Eirene (peace). Chloris,also known as Flora,goddess of buds and flowers,was also styled as a Hora. HORUS The son of Osiris,in Egyptian mythos,Horus was a god of the sun,seen as the avenger of his father,and he had the head of a hawk. He lost an eye in his battle with Seth,who had killed his father,and although he defeated Seth,and regained the lost eye,he gave it to Osiris,keeping in its place a serpent. HOU T'U Chinese god of the earth. HRESVELGR In the extreme north of Asgard dwelt the Giant Hresvelgr,the motion of whose huge wings caused the wind and the tempest. HRIMTHURSEN In Norse legend,the cold Giants who brought the winter. HRUNGNIR In Norse mythology,a huge Giant with a head of stone and a heart also of stone. HSIEN In the Taoist mythos,Hsien were seen as immortals who had partaken of the elixir of life. HSUAN-TSANG See Tripitaka. HUANG-TI The Yellow Emperor,patron saint of all Taoists. HUITACA In Chibcha mythology,the goddess of indulgence,drunkenness and licence. HUITZILOPOCHTLI The Aztec god of war,he was believed to be the sun,the young warrior who was born each day,defeated the stars of the night,and was aided in his western death and resurrection by the souls of warriors. HUNAB The creator deity of the Mayas,Hunab renewed the world after three deluges,which poured from the mouth of the sky serpent. The first world was inhabited by dwarves,the builders of cities,the second by the Dzolob,an obscure race, 'the offenders',and the third was inhabited by the Maya themselves. HUNHAU The chief of demons,another manifestation of the Maya god of death,Ah Puch. HUGIN One of the two great ravens that attended Odin,bringing him news of Midgard,reporting to him in his great tower Valaskialf. HYADS Daughters of Atlas and Aethra,and sisters to Hyas,they mourned their sister's death so that they were changed into seven stars. They were also called Dodonids. HYAKINTHIOS Another name for Apollo. HYAKINTHOS A boy whom Apollo dearly loved with,but whom the wind god Zephyros also loved,and caused Apollo's flung discus to fly back at the boy,severing his head. HYGEIA Greek goddess of health and medicine,she was represented as a young,active,smiling goddess,in whom Apollo took a special interest. HYLAEOS Another name for Pan. HYMEN Both the Greeks and Romans worshipped him as the god of marriage,and in this regard he was connected with Hera,who among other things was the goddess of the marriage troth. He was born so delicate and beautiful that he might be mistaken for a girl,and used this appearance to get close to a young Athenian maiden whom he loved,but whom he could not marry,on account of his poverty. Joining a band of maidens with whom she was engaged in celebrating a festival of Demeter,he was captured with the rest of the girls when robbers appeared and abducted them,carrying them off to their ship.nished,and After some time,the brigands landed at an island,where they became besotted with drink,and fell asleep. Hymen,seeing the opportunity,incited his fellow captives to rise up and slay the robbers,which they did. Returning to Athens,he sought an audience with the parents of the girl he loved,they fearing for her safety,and longing to have her home. He obtained from them a pledge that,should he return the girl,her parents would allow him to marry her. To this the distraught parents readily agreed,and Hymen set sail for the island where he had left the maidens,returning with them all,and gaining she whom he loved as his wife. So happy was the couple's marriage,that Hymen became identified with matrimony,and became elevated to the status of a god. Indeed,he was seen as the playmate of Eros,and was said to live with the Muses on Mount Helikon. He is supposed to have lost his voice,and his life,while singing the marriage song of Dionysos and Ariadne. He is always depicted as a youth of staggering beauty,with a mantle of golden colour---though sometimes he is nude---and carrying a torch,or a veil. HYPERBOREANS,THE A race of people who were rumoured to live in the north of the world,in a region where it was always light,and where Apollo would spend the winter months. In their land,too,was the Garden of the Hesperides. HYPERION Another name for Helios. HYPERMNESTRA One of the fifty daughters of Danaos,the only one who refused to obey her father's order that his daughters kill their newly-wed husbands. She was cast into a dungeon by Danaos,and later brought to trial,where she was acquitted,and her husband,Lynkeus,returned to claim the throne of Argos. HYPNOS Also known as Somnus,Hypnos was the god of rest,and a twin brother of Thanatos. His influence extended beyond men,to gods as well,the deities welcoming rest and refreshment as much as anyone. He lived in deep subterranean darkness near the entrance to Tartaros with his brother,and was styled many different ways:as a youth holding a poppy or a horn,from which sleep trickled down on those reposing;as a child;or as an aged,bearded man. On his head were the wings of a hawk or a night bird,and beside him frequently a lizard. He was looked on as a favourite of the Muses,because of the dreams he was supposed to communicate to men. HYPSIPYLE Jason's lover,who bore to him a child named Euneos. She had been sent into slavery by the other women of Lemnos,jealous of Jason's love for her,and had come into the possession of King Lykurgos,who charged her to take care of his child,Opheltes. On encountering the 'Seven against Thebes',and being asked by them if she could find them water in that parched land,she left the child down on the ground in the wood. When she returned,the child was dead,encircled in the coils of a serpent. Amphiaraos,however,pronounced the snake to be a miraculous creature,sent by Zeus as an evil omen,and renamed the child Archemoros. The heroes appeased the angry king by performing splendid obsequies to the child,and Hypsipyle was taken back to her home by Euneos,who had come looking for her. IAE The moon god of the Kamaiurans. IAPETUS A Titan,father of Prometheus. ICARUS The only son born to the Greek inventor Daedalus,Icarus disappointed his talented,gifted father by virtue of his innate clumsiness,and slowness of mind. In attempting to escape from King Minos of Crete,Daedalus fashioned wings for himself and his son,and counselling the boy to stick close to him,and fly not too high nor too low,the pair ascended into the heavens. However,Icarus soon forgot his father's warnings,overcome by the heady sensation of flight,and soared up towards the sun,whose heat melted the beeswax holding his wings together,and Icarus plunged into the sea,where he was drowned. ICTINIKE The deceitful son of the sun god in the mythology of the Iowa,one of the tribes of the Sioux. IDA One of the two nymphs who nursed the infant Zeus,on Mount Ida,after his mother,Rhea,had taken and hidden him there,in fear of her husband,Kronos. IDUNA In Norse mythology,she was the wife of Bragi,and the keeper of the sacred apples which gave the gods eternal youth. IGALUK The Eskimo moon god,in Alaska he is the supreme deity,directing natural phenomena,and under his control are all the creatures that elsewhere belong to the sea goddess Sedna. It is said that Igaluk was originally an ordinary Eskimo who,having discovered that he had lain with his sister (for they could not see in the dark),chased after her as she ascended into the sky with a flaming torch,having torn off her breasts in horror and cast them down in front of her brother. However,Igaluk's own torch went out,so that it only glowed. It is now believed by the Eskimoes that the sun and moon live together in a house in heaven,divided into two rooms. IGRAINE Wife of Duke Gorlois of Cornwall,she was the mother of Arthur,king of Britain,who was conceived in bastardy. IKELOS Assistant to the god of dreams,Morpheus,Ikelos fashioned dreams that had all the appearance of reality. ILAHEVA The mortal woman,a worm descendant,whom Eitumatupua took as wife,to father the Tonga hero Ahoeitu. ILIAD,THE The epic poem written by the Greek scribe Homer,describing the Trojan War,and the events that led up to it. ILIUM See Troy. ILITHYIA See Eileithyia. ILLUYANKAS The terrible dragon of Hittite mythology,whom the weather god vanquished. ILMATAR The air goddess of the Samoyeds. IMANA The god of the Banyarwanda people of Ruanda,Imana was seen as almighty and benevolent,intervening in one of the legends of those people in the altercation between a man who always borrowed beans from different people,but wriggled out of repaying the debt. However,this once his creditor was Death,who insisted on reimbursement,and would have taken the man's soul,had not Imana interfered. Imana and Death coexisted. At the beginning the god hunted Death,a kind of wild animal,and Imana ordered men to stay indoors,that Death should not have a hiding place. The quarry,however,sought the protection of an old woman,under whose skirt he hid. Imana,in order to punish the woman,decided that Death could remain with men. Another legend concerning man's loss of immortality blames women also;in this,there was a family consisting of a husband,wife and mother-in-law. The wife disliked the mother-in-law intensely,and was very happy when the latter died. Three days after the funeral she visited the grave and found it full of cracks,as if the dead woman were about to rise. She returned with a heavy pestle,pounded down the earth and cried "Stay dead!" One the following two days the same happened,and again the woman ordered the mother-in-law to remain dead. The third night no cracks were seen,and this signified the end of mankind's chances of revival. INACHOS A son of Okeanos,Inachos the river god was the forefather of the Argive line of heroes,siring Phoroneus and Io. INANNA The most important god in Sumerian mythology,Inanna was the daughter of An,and as a war goddess overcame the mountain god Ebeh. She was best known though as the goddess of fertility and love. She it was who descended into the Sumerian hell,kur-nu-gi-a,wishing to brave the dangers of the dread place and visit her awful sister Ereshkigal. Before she left,she charged her Vizier,Ninshubur,to rescue her,should she not return. As she descended to the dark underworld,Inanna passed the seven portals of kur-nu-gi-a,and at each of the portals she was obliged to remove an item of clothing,until at last she stood before Ereshkigal,totally naked. Her sister turned her into a corpse,and hung her on a stake. After three days and nights,Ninshubur sought the aid of the gods,who advised him that they were powerless against the edicts of the netherworld. But the Vizier appealed to Enki,who created two sexless beings,whose admission into kur-nu-gi-a could not be refused. These two gained access to Inanna's corpse,and rescussitated it with the food and water of life. Though Inanna was allowed to rejoin the world above,she was followed by an escort of demons,whom she could not shake off,and who accompanied her wherever she went. Finally demanding of the demons that they leave her alone,she was told by the ghastly escort that they would not depart until a replacement could be found to take her place in kur-nu-gi-a. Innna returned home,outraged to find her husband Dumuzi at a feast,and selected him to take her place in the dark world. INARI The Shinto god of rice,sometimes called the food god. INDRA Hindu god of thunder and storms,Indra was endowed with supernatural strength,and like Hercules in the Greek myths,pursued cattle which had been driven away. In this endeavour he was assisted by the Maruts,personifications of the storms as are Boreas,Zephyros et al,in the legends of Greece. He had a beard of lightning,and has been likened to the Norse god of thunder,Thor. Indra was credited with destroying the Abi,the throttling snakes,and setting free the seven rivers,of discovering the cattle stolen by Bale,and of creating fire within the clouds of heaven. INO See Leukothea. INTI The Inca sun god,he was looked on as the ancestor of the Incas,whom he had sent down to Earth in order to assist the development of civilisation. INUUS Another name for Pan. IO Another of Zeus' paramours,whom he transformed into a cow,in order that she might escape the vengeance of Hera. But the Queen of Olympus set Argos,the watchman with a hundred eyes,to keep her under constant surveillance,which he did,until Hermes slew him. IOLAOS Hercules' friend and helper,who assisted him in the despatching of the Hydra. The feat was later deemed by Eurystheus not to be counted as one of the Twelve Labours,as Iolaos had helped Hercules. IOLE The daughter of King Eurytos of Oechalia,with whom Hercules fell in love. But having performed the tasks set him by the king,in return for which he was to receive the maiden's hand in marriage,Eurytos refused to honour the bargain. For this,Hercules slew him and all his children,torched his citadel and carried off Iole to be sacrificed to Zeus. He was in the midst of the preparation for this when the poison-soaked robe that his wife had sent him took his life. ION A son of Apollo and Kreusa,Ion was taken at birth from his mother,to be brought up in the temple of Apollo's oracle at Delphi. Ion's mother had since married Xuthos,and this pair consulted the oracle concerning their prospects of posterity. They were advised to adopt the first youth they should meet,and as he was living in the temple,this happened to be Ion,who thus regained his mother,and a new father. IOSKEHA One of the two grandsons of the moon,in Huron mythology,Ioskewa fought against his brother Tawiscara for supremacy. Ioskewa had the horns of a stag as a weapon,while his brother could only seize a wild rose. Thus Tawiscara was defeated,and Ioskewa became the guardian deity of the Hurons,Mohawks and Tuscaroras. IPHIGENEIA A daughter of Agamemnon,whom the goddess Artemis demanded of the king as sacrifice,in recompense for his having slain one of her sacred stags. Agamemnon,wracked with grief,nevertheless could not gainsay the fierce goddess,and so he sent for his daughter to be brought to Aulis,ostensibly to marry Achilles. When she had arrived,Agamemnon made to sacrifice her,but Artemis,satisfied that he had obeyed her,appeared and carried the girl off,setting her to tend her temple in Taurus. It was in her office here that she later aided her brother Orestes,in his efforts to escape the Erinys,by taking from the temple am image of Apollo and returning with it to Greece. IPHIKLES One of the sons of Amphitryon,of whom Hercules was the other,albeit an adopted child,his real father being Zeus. Iphikles fought side by side with Hercules against the Minyaeans. IPHIMEDEIA Wife of the Giant Aloeus,who gave birth to Otos and Ephialtes,whose greatest claim to fame was that they once imprisoned Ares in a bronze vase for thirteen months. IRIS Goddess of the rainbow,a daughter of Thaumas and Elektra and a sister to the Harpies,Iris was also the personal messenger to Zeus and Hera (in this she differed from Hermes,who was messenger to all the gods of Olympus). She was also looked on,like Hermes,as a guide and an advisor,and she travelled with the speed of the wind,from one end of the world to the other,could penetrate to the bottom of the sea,or even to the Styx. She was believed to charge the clouds with water from lakes and rivers,so that the rain might fall and fertilise and refresh the land. Contrary to Christian myth,when her rainbow appeared in the sky it was taken as a sign of rain,welcomed by farmers. Represented as a beautiful virgin with wings the colour of the rainbow itself,Iris was said to ride on the rainbow,sometimes with a nimbus on her head,in which the colours of the rainbow were reflected. IRRA See Nergal. ISANDROS One of the three children of Bellerophon,Isandros was killed by Ares. ISHTAR The war goddess of the Babylonians,Ishtar,like Inanna in Sumerian mythlogy,descended to the underworld,the difference being that in face of her,the dread goddess of the netherworld blanched in horror. She was,however,like Inanna,overcome by Death there,and had to be released by the intervention of Ea,with the help of a eunuch,who captured Ereshkigal's heart. ISIS Egyptian goddess of death,Isis was the wife of Osiris. She was usually depicted as a woman suckling Horus,her son. She was also identified with the cow goddess,Hathor. A legend tells how Isis discovered the ineffable name of Ra,the sun god. Weary of wordly affairs,she decided to become a goddess by using the name of Ra,who was already in his dotage. She collected some of his spittle,mixed it with earth and thereby created a serpent,which she placed in Ra's path. Bitten and poisoned,Ra was advised by Isis to utter his own name,since the name of the sun god conferred life on whoever spoke it. He did so,and some of his power passed to Isis,who rose in the Egyptian pantheon. ISMENE One of the two daughters of Oedipus and Jokaste. ITHERTHER The primeval buffalo of Kabyl legend,he and his wife emerged from a dark place under the earth,called Tlam,to which they did not wish to return. Achimi,their first offspring,ran off and came to a village built by the first men. When the villagers tried to capture him,he ran back to his parents. Meanwhile a wise ant explained to men about the young bull,and also told Achimi about other animals. Although the ant advised Achimi that it was better for beasts to serve men,the bull did not heed this advice,returned to couple with his mother,and exiled his father. Itherther therefore found himself wandering in the mountains,and unable to forget his cow,Thamuatz. Every time he recalled her his semen ran into a natural bowl of rock,and from this semen rose the game animals,the first of which were gazelles. ITYS Son of Tereus,whom the two sisters Prokne and Philomena slew,and placed before the boy's father as a dish. ITZAMNA The most important deity in the Maya pantheon,Itzamna was the son of the creator god Hunab,and was lord of the heavens,and also lord of day and night. He was represented as a kindly old man,toothless with sunken cheeks and a pronounced nose. A cultural hero,he invented writing and books,established religious cermonies,and divided the land. He was entirely benevolent,never responsible for any destruction or disaster. IXCHEL In Maya mythos,the angry old woman who emptied the vials of her wrath on the earth,and assisted the serpent in creating the deluge. Ixchel was the goddess of floods and cloudbursts,a malevolent deity likely to cause sudden destruction in a tropical storm. She was the consort of Itzamna,and appears as a clawed water goddess,surrounded by the symbols of death and destruction,a writhing serpent on her head,and crossbones embroidered on her skirt. IXION Perpetrator of,it is said,the first murder of a relative in the world,Ixion reneged on his promise to provide many splendid gifts to Deioneus,on the marriage of Ixion to his daughter,Dia. When Deioneus came looking for the promised tribute,Ixion caused him to fall into a pit of fire which he had prepared. For this act he was punished by the gods with lunacy,and wandered the Earth mad,until Zeus received and purified him. However,Ixion then conceived a passion for Hera,and lay with her,fathering the race of the Centaurs. Rash enough to boast about the fact,he was despatched by Zeus to Tartaros,where he was bound to a huge revolving wheel,by Hermes. IXTAB The Maya goddess of suicide,Ixtab was portrayed as dangling from the sky with a rope around her neck,her eyes closed in death and her cheeks already showing signs of decomposition. The Mayas believed that suicide by hanging,among other selected deaths and persons,ensured the direct access of a soul to heaven. IYATIKU The corn goddess of the Keresan Puebloes. From Shipap,her underground realm,mankind first emerged,from there infants today are born,and thither go the dead. IZANGI The husband of the Shinto mother goddess,who descended into the underworld to try to rescue his wife from death. (See also next entry) IZANAMI The mother goddess of the Shinto legends,she was the sister spouse of Izangi,who descended to the netherworld after her,but failed to bring her back. At the beginning,according to Japanese myth,there was only an ocean of chaos. From this arose Kunitokotatchi,supreme deity of Shinto,and two other deities,Izanami and her husband. Together they created the world and also its divine rulers,Amaterasu the sun goddess,Tsuki-yomi the moon god and Susanowo the god of storms. Izanami died while giving birth to fire,and Izangi descended to the netherworld,seeking her release,explaining that the work of creation was not as yet finished. Meeting him at the entrance to yomotsu-kuni,Izanami requested that he remain there,while she secured her release with the death gods. Having waited for some time,Izangi entered and saw to his shock that Izanami was dead,rotting away. He fled,pursued by a hag,which he escaped by throwing down his headdress,which turned into a bunch of grapes,and while the hag stopped to eat the fruits,he ran on. Taking up the chase again,the hag was again delayed by Izangi,who broke his comb and threw it to the ground,where it became succulent bamboo shoots,which again the hag stopped to eat. Next,Izanami (who was the hag) sent eight thunder gods after her husband,with an army of horrible warriors,but Izangi reached the border between the land of the living and the land of the dead,and threw three peaches at his pursuers,routing them. Next he hauled a huge rock across the breach,sealing off yomotsu-kuni from the living world,and escaped to the world above. JACCHOS See Dionysos. JAGUAR The fanged god of pre-Columbian religion in South America,Jaguar is seen as the unfettered power,the strength of the warrior,and the symbol of fertility. JAMAD-AGNI One of the Hindu Rishis,Jamad-Agni perceived Renuka,his wife,as fallen from perfection,after her envious desires had been brought to the fore by her witnessing of a loving couple bathing,and ordered his five sons to kill her. Four refused,and were cursed to idiocy by the enraged father,but the fifth,Parasurama,obeyed,striking off his mother's head. This act of obedience calmed Jamad-Agni,and he granted his son's wish that his brothers be restored to sanity,and his mother restored to life. The Rishi was killed by one of the Kartavirya,whom Parasurama in turn slew. JANITA See Dyaus. JANUS A purely Roman god,Janus was seen as the origin of all things,the introducer of the system of the years,the changing of the seasons,the ups and downs of fortune,and the civilisation of the human race by means of agriculture,industry,art and religion. Janus was said to have been originally an ancient king who came from Greece to Latium,instituting the worship of the gods and the building of temples to them,and was himself later elevated to godhood. Almost as powerful as Jupiter himself,Janus was the orchestrator of all things,and any enterprises,even be they begun by Jupiter,were seen to be under the control of Janus. He opened and closed all things,and sat,not only on the confines of the Earth,but also at the gates of Heaven. Air,sea and land were in the hollow of his hands,and the world moved on its hinges at his command. He was popularly represented seated,with two heads,one that of a youth (to signify the concept of beginning),the other that of an aged man (indicating the end). In his left hand he held a key,to show that he opened all things in the beginning,and shuts them at the end,and in his right hand he carried the sceptre with which he controlled all undertakings and their progress. JAPETOS One of the twelve Titans created by Uranos and Gaea. JASION The first sower of grain,with whom Demeter lay,and from whose union sprang Plutos. JASO See Meditrina. JASON One of the great Greek heroes,Jason was born to Aeson,king of Iolkos in Thessaly,and grew up under the care of the wise Centaur Cheiron,after he had been smuggled out of the city,his father's throne having been usurped by his step-brother,Pelias. At the age of twenty,Jason was told by an oracle to return to Iolkos and present himself to Pelias,claiming back his father's throne. Pelias,however,had also been advised by an oracle that a descendant of Aeson would dethrone him,and moreover,that that descendant would appear wearing only one sandal. On his way back to Iolkos,Jason had to ford the river Enipeus,and was helped across by Hera,taking the form of an old woman. In the crossing,however,Jason lost one sandal,and so arrived at the court of Pelias wearing but one sandal. The king,recognising him,but reluctant to abdicate,instead set Jason the task of proving himself,by fetching the fabled Golden Fleece from Kolchis. Agreeing to this,Jason set about having a ship built,the largest vessel at the time,which he called Argo. When the ship was ready,he sent out a call for the greatest heroes in Greece to join him on his quest. Among those who answered his call were Hercules,Castor and Pollux,Meleagros,Orpheus,Peleus,Neleus,Admetos,Theseus,Peirithoos,his personal friend,and two sons of the wind god Boreas,called Kalais and Zetes. The story of the Golden Fleece was thus:Nephele,the departed wife of Athamas,himself a son of Jason's grandfather,the wind god Aeolos,appeared to Athamas,warning him that his new wife,Ino,disliked her two children,Phrixos and Helle,and was plotting to kill them. To save the two children,Nephele presented to Athamas a large golden ram,on which the two children escaped over the sea,Helle being drowned on the way. But Phrixos survived,and landing at Kolchis,sacrificed the ram to Zeus,and hung the fleece up in the temple of Ares. The heroes,or Argonauts,as they became known,set off on their search,and reached the island of Lemnos,where they stayed awhile,siring a new race of heroes. Jason fell in love with Hypsipyle,who bore to him a son called Euneos. Leaving the island,the heroes proceeded to Kyzikos,where Hercules,having broken his oar,went ashore to cut wood for a new one,accompanied by Hylas. But some nymphs on the island,taken with the beauty of Hylas,captured him,and Hercules resolved to remain there until he rescued his friend. The expedition could not wait,and the Argonauts had to proceed without their greatest hero. Next they reached Scutari,where the king,Amykos challenged them to a boxing match,as he did all strangers in his land. Famed as a boxer,and as a man of extraordinary cruelty,Amykos nevertheless met his match in Pollux,and the Argonauts continued their journey,reaching the district where the blind Phineus lived,constantly plagued by Harpies. Kalais and Zetes released him from this bondage,driving the foul creatures off,and in gratitude the aged man showed them a safe path through the Symplegades,two giant cliffs that closed together,crushing all caught in their deadly embrace. Jason sent a pigeon through the gap,and the rocks closed on the bird. Then,as they were moving apart again,the Argo sailed quickly through,passing safely,with the loss of her rudder only. Finally,the heroes reached Kolchis,but the king there,Aeetes,refused to give up the fleece unless the Argonauts could perform certain tasks for him. The first was to yoke his unmanageable bulls,which snorted fire and had hooves of brass,to a plough,and then to sow the fields with dragon's teeth,from which armed men would spring in the furrows. This was all done,and Jason was allowed fetch the Golden Fleece,which was guarded by a huge dragon where it hung on an oak,in a grove sacred to Ares. Jason,however,had been made proof against fire and sword by Medea,and he succeeded in taking the fleece. The Argonauts left Kolchis,Jason taking with him Medea,Aeetes' daughter. When he missed her,the king gave chase,and was only stopped when Medea,dismembering her younger brother and casting the pieces in the sea,delayed him. Jason returned to present the Golden Fleece to Pelias,who,refusing yet to give over the throne,was slain by the hero,who then ruled over Iolkos,as well as Corinth,which Medea's father had ruled before leaving for Kolchis. Jason ruled for some years with Medea by his side,but then he formed a relationship with Kreusa,and married her. Incensed by this,Medea sent her rival a poisoned dress,which took her life,and not content with this,set fire to the palace of her father,Kreon,and slew all the children she herself had borne to Jason. Then she fled to Athens,where she married Aegeus,living with him until Theseus drove her out. Jason himself,troubled at the grief his ex-wife had caused,retired to the isthmus of Corinth,where the Argo lay. But on approaching the ship,part of the stern gave way and fell on him,killing him. JEH The whore who roused Ahriman from his thousands-year swoon,into which he had fallen,on witnessing the goodness of man. Jeh spread her evil influence across the world,filling men with greed,envy,lust and prejudice. JIZO-BOSATSU The boddhisattva of Ksitigarbha,he wanders through the realms of hell for all eternity,comforting tortured souls and rescuing them from darkness by his very presence. He is usually depicted as a gentle-faced monk with a shaven head,dressed in a long robe and holding a staff with clattering rings on one end. The staff announces the otherwise silent mendicant,and is powerful enought to disperse the forces of evil. JOK God of the Alur tribesmen of Uganda and Zaire. JOKASTE The wife of Laios,whom her son,Oedipus,married,and had three children by. After the shameful nature of their parentage became known to the children,Jokaste slew herself. JORMUNGAND The world serpent that dwelled at the bottom of the sea,and that encircled the whole world. It was to rise against the gods at Ragnarok,helping the Fenris Wolf and Surt,and the other enemies of the gods,to destroy both Asgard and Midgard. JOTUNHEIM Realm of the fierce Giants in Asgard. JULANA God of the Jumu of western Australia,Julana delights in chasing women,whom he surprises by travelling under the sand. Both he and his father Njirana travelled the earth during Alchera,the Dream Time. JUOK God of the Shilluk,tribesmen living on the upper reaches of the River Nile. The Shilluk see the world as two divine loaves,opunne,the heaven and the earth,divided by the great river Nile. Juok is omnipresent;he gave the Shilluk cattle,millet,and fish,and is the giver of life through his breath. He also heals the sick. JUNO See Hera. JUNONES The spirits that guarded women,in Roman myth. JUPITER See Zeus. JUVENTES See Hebe. KA Seen as the guardian of the body in Egyptian mythology,the ka was born with the body and remained with it after death,staying on as a companion in the underworld. KAANG The creator god of the African Bushmen,Kaang is said to have made all things,but met with such opposition in the world that he went away. He is regarded as the god of natural phenomena,present in all things,but especially the mantis and caterpillar. Receiving disobedience from the first men he had created,Kaang sent fire and destruction to Earth,and removed his abode into the top of the sky. Kaang has many myths attached to him,and is almost figured as an epic hero himself. One of the myths concerns his being eaten by an ogre,who then vomited him back up. Another relates to the occasion that he was killed by thorns. The ants picked his bones clean,but Kaang reassembled his skeleton and rose again. The Bushmen say he created the moon from an old shoe. KADAKLAN The greatest deity of the Tinguian,a people living in the mountainous interior of Luzon,in the Philippines. Kadaklan is a thunder god,who lives in the sky with his faithful dog Kimat,the lightning,who will bite a house,a tree,or a field whenever Kadaklan desires a special ceremony to be performed. KADMILOS Another name for Hermes. KADMOS Son of Agenor---himself a son of Apollo--- and Telephassa,Kadmos was brother to Europa,Phoenix and Kilix. His sister,Europa,having disappeared,carried off by a great white bull,Kadmos and his brothers searched long for her,Phoenix and Kilix finally giving up in despair,while Kadmos continued the search,accompanied by his mother,who remained with him until she eventually wearied and died. Kadmos finally reached the oracle at Delphi,and sought its advice. This oracle told him to stop searching,and instead follow a cow which would cross his path,and where it lay down to found there a city. Leaving the oracle,he spied a cow,as predicted,and followed it until it lay down in the district of Thebes,where Kadmos later built the city of the same name,becoming therefore its founder. Intending to sacrifice the cow to Athene,Kadmos sent his servants to fetch water from a nearby fountain. However,the fountain was guarded by a fierce dragon,which devoured his men. Kadmos slew the monster,with the help of Athene,and at her direction sowed its teeth in the ground. From these seeds sprang a number of wild armed giants,called Spartae. The giants fought among themselves until only five remained,and it was from these five survivors that the noblest families in Thebes traced their lineage. Having angered Ares by slaying his dragon,Kadmos was compelled to enter the war god's service for eight years,at the end of which he was raised to the throne of Thebes by Athene,and given by the gods Harmonia as his wife. All the gods attended the marriage ceremony,and the Muses sang a wedding song. Some of the gifts presented by Kadmos to his new wife were a wonderful dress,called Peplos,which Athene had made for him,and a necklace made by Hephaestos. From Kadmos' marriage came four daughters,Semele,Ino,Autonoe and Agaue,and one son,Polydoros. However,all of his children came to grief,and Kadmos and Harmonia,leaving Thebes,wandered devastated until they died,their spirits being uplifted to Elysion,while their bodies were transformed into twin snakes,which lay beside their tomb. KAHAUSIBWARE A serpentine female spirit revered in the Solomon Islands,she made men,pigs,other animals,and trees,but she also introduced death into the world. When the first woman left the first baby with the snake woman,and went off to work in her garden,the infant screamed ceaselessly. Annoyed at the racket,Kahausibware coiled herself around the child and strangled it. The mother returned when the snake's body was still partly wound around the baby,and seizing an axe proceeded to chop at the snake. Though the damage was easily reparable by Kahausibware,she disliked the treatment,and retired to a distant island. As she swam away,she flung the taunt back at the islanders: "Who will help you now?" KAHOALI The sorcerer god of the Hawaiians. KAINEUS One of the Laptithae,Kaineus was originally a beautiful virgin,changed into a man by Poseidon,and made invulnerable. This proved itself true in his fight with the Centaurs,for in spite of the rocks and trunks of trees that they struck him with,and heaped above him,Kaineus remained untouched,sinking alive into the earth. KAI-N-TIKU-ABA The sacred tree of Samoan mythology,it was to have sprung from the spine of Na Atibu,the father of the gods,who died that the world could be made ready for mankind. KAITI The bear god of the Haida Indians,who married the Volcano Woman,Dzelarhons. KALAIS One of the two sons of Boreas,the wind god,who,with his brother Zetos,drove off the Harpies that plagued Phineus. KALI See Devi. KALI YUGA,THE In Hindu belief,the name for the present age of the world,which is supposed to last 432,000 years. KALKI AVATARA The tenth Avatar of Vishnu,which has yet to appear,in which Vishnu will appear armed with a scimitar and riding on a great white horse,where he will end the present age,then lie down to sleep on the waters,produce Brahma,and inaugurate the new world. KALIOPE The Greek Muse of heroic poems,looked on as the chief of the Muses,usually represented seated,holding a writing tablet and a stylus. KALLISTE Another name for Artemis. KALOU-VU The collective name for the pantheon of gods indigenous to the Fiji islands. KALUMBA The creator god of the Luba in Zaire,Kalumba knew that Life and Death would approach mankind,so he set a goat and a dog at the crossroads,with instruction to let Life pass,but not Death. The two animals quarreled,however,and the goat left the dog on duty. He,sleeping,did not notice Death slip by in disguise,but the next day,when the goat was on duty,he mistakenly captured Life. KALYDONIAN BOAR,THE A fierce,savage pig sent by Artemis to ravage the lands of Kalydon,and which caused untold destruction there,until a band of heroes,led by Meleagros,put a stop to its rampaging. In the expedition to hunt down the Boar were people like Theseus,Castor and Pollux,Jason,Peleus,Idas and Lynkeus,Admetos,Ankaeos and Atalante,many of whom later accompanied Jason in the hunt for the Golden Fleece of Kolchis. The Boar was finally slain by the spear of Meleagros,but as Atalante had in fact been the first to wound the animal,the leader of the expedition presented the skin of the Boar as trophy to her. However,on the way home she was robbed of it by the brothers of Meleagros' mother,Althaea. KAMA The Hindu god of love,Kama is depicted as an adroit youth,the husband of Rati,god of sensual desire. His sugar-cane bow has bees to make up the strings,and fire arrows tipped by flowers,whose scent announces the sweet,piercing,irresistable attack of love. Kama met his match in Shiva,however,when,commanded by Indra to fire at the Destroyer,in order that Shiva be inflamed with love for Parvati,Kama received the full force of the god's third eye,reducing him to cinders. In a later birth however,the god of love succeeded in piercing Shiva and kindling in him love for the goddess Sati,this attack instigated by Brahma. KAMADEVA One of the minor Hindu Brahmanic gods,the god of love,who is depicted as riding on a dove,armed with an arrow of flowers,and a bow whose string is formed of bees. KAMAPUA'A A popular figure in the mythology of Hawaii,Kamapua'a dug the earth with his huge snout and raised a great hill for the gods. His snout was also useful in battle,where he would uproot the crops of his enemies,and he also wielded a club in his hands. Once,as a handsome man,Kamapua'a tried to woo the goddess Pele,who refused him,insulting him as 'pig' and 'son of a pig'. A fight broke out,witnessed and taken part in to some degree by the gods,and finally Kamapua'a won,and had his way with Pele. KAMRUSEPAS The Hittite goddess of spells. KANASSA The creator god in Kuikuru mythology,it is said that at the beginning of creation that Kanassa could not see what he was doing,and having drawn a ray in the mud at the water's edge,stood on it and was stung by it. In rage he railed against the firefly,who he accused of not giving him any light. Then he remembered that the king vulture,Ugwvu-cuengo,was the master of fire,and he tricked the bird,seizing it by one leg and forcing it to bring down to him an ember from the sky. Although the frogs tried to extinguish the flame with water,a serpent helped Kanassa to carry it away safely,and so Kanassa became the bringer of fire. KANE The chief god of generation in Hawaiian mythology,he had a dazzling phallus and was the maker of the three worlds:the upper heaven,the lower heaven and the earth. At the beginning Kane dwelt in darkness,then light was created and Ku and Lono helped Kane to fashion the earth and the things thereon. Later they created Man and Woman,but the misbehaviour of both forced Kane to leave the earth and return to Heaven,after he had made mankind subject to Death. KAPOONIS Brother of Enumclaw,Kapoonis became the lightning spirit. KARNEIOS Another name for Apollo . KARPO One of the Horae,the goddess of harvest and fruit. KARTAVIRYA The thousand-armed king of the Himalayas,who despoiled the area subject to Renuka,and stole the sacred cow Surabhi,for which Parasurama killed him,and twenty-seven of his family. KASAGONAGA The female rain spirit of the Chaco tribes of the Pampas. KASSIEPEIA Wife to King Kepheus of Aethiopia,Kassiepeia had dared to compare her own beauty to that of the Nereids,and for this temerity the Nereids' protector,Poseidon,visited the land with a terrible flood,and also sent the Kraken to terrorise the citizenry. Kepheus and Kassiepeia were advised by an oracle that the only way that the plague would be lifted from their country was for the rulers to sacrifice their daughter,Andromeda,to the Kraken. KASTALIA One of the nine Muses. KATONDA The creator god of the Ganda,of East Africa,Katonda is the father of the gods living in the heavens,and the final judge of the dead,selecting for saving those whom he chooses. He exercises his control over the natural forces of the earth by means of Balubaale,his nature spirits,of which there are fifty,some of whom are deified heroes. KAZIKAMUNTU The first man in Banyarwandan mythology. Created by Imana,he had many children,but they quarreled,and were dispersed throughout the lands. KEKROPS Father of the race of the people of Attica,Kekrops had extremities in the shape of snakes,and he was asked to judge in a contest between Pallas-Athene and Poseidon,as to who should have control of the city. Arguing that the sea was common to all,while the olive was particularly adapted to the soil of his city,he found in favour of the goddess. KELAENO One of the three Harpies. KELEOS One who received the goddess Demeter so cordially,during her search for her abducted daughter,Persephone,that the goddess taught him the use of the plough,and before departing presented his son,Triptolemos,with the carriage she rode in,and the seed of the barley,so that he might travel the lands,teaching man the art of agriculture. KEPHALOS One of the youths whom the goddess Eos took an interest in,but who rebuffed her advances. In anger at this,Eos caused him to slay his own wife accidentally. KEPHEUS King of Aethiopia,whose daughter,Andromeda,had to be sacrificed to the sea beast,the Kraken,in order to lift the curse of Poseidon from his land. KEPHISSOS One of the river gods of Greece,whose son was Narcissus. KERYNEIAN STAG One of the fleetest animals in the world,with antlers of gold and hooves of brass,which Hercules had to capture,as part of his Twelve Labours. KETO Father of both the Gorgons and the Graeae. KHEM The Egyptian god of generation and reproduction,Khem also corresponds to the garden god,Ranno. KHENTI-AMENTIU Seen as the guardian 'dog of the dead' in Egyptian mythology. KHEPRA A god with the head of a scarab beetle which the Egyptians regarded as Ra in the morning. KHONVUM The supreme deity of the Pygmy religion,Khonvum is seen as formless and eternal,and makes contact with men through the intermediataries of animals,usually the chameleon. After the creation of the world,Khonvum lowered from the sky to the earth the first men,the Pygmies,providing for them all that they needed. At night,Khonvum collects all the broken pieces of stars in a sack and tosses armfuls of them into the sun,so that it can rise again in the morning. KHUNS With Amun and Mut,Khuns made up the Trinity of Upper Egypt. Khuns was the son of the two aforementioned gods. KHURZANE The creator deity of the Luvedo,a southern Bantu tribe living in the northeastern Transvaal. KI The Sumerian earth goddess,from whose union with An sprang Enlil. KIBUKA One of Katonda's fifty Balubaale,Kibuka is the spirit of war. KICI MANITU The supreme god of the Algonquins,in India,Kici Manitu created heaven,earth,men,animals and plants. Mankind he made from earth and a spirit he breathed into the body. According to the Arapahoes,Kici Manitu roamed the huge watery waste at the beginning of the world,weeping and fasting as he searched for a place to build the new earth. With a loud voice he called together all birds and reptiles,which already existed,and asked their advice. The turtle knew where earth could be found,and the water fowl brought back portions of it in their beaks. Kici Manitu dried the clay on his pipe,made the world,and took delight in its beauty. Even the arrival of the despoiler,man,could not mar that perfect moment of creation. KIDILI The moon man of the mythology of the Mandjindja in western Australia,who tried to force his attentions on the first women,for which the lizard men,Kurukadi and Mumba attacked and wounded him,he later dying in a water hole. KILIX One of the three sons of Agenor and Telephassa. KIMAT The faithful dog of Kadaklan,the thunder god of Tinguian mythos,who is the lightning,and strikes wherever his master bids him. KINGU The second husband to Tiamat,whom Marduk slew,and from whose blood the god created man. KINTU An immortal,and king of Uganda,Kintu was in the habit of visiting Katonda with news of goings-on on the Earth. Once the god entrusted to Kintu a sack,telling him not to open it,nor let anyone else near it,but becoming drunk,Kintu left the sack on the hill where he met Katonda,and the watchful god,annoyed at his instructions being disobeyed,deprived the king of his immortality,and sent sickness and death to Uganda. KISHIMO-JIN The Japanese protectress of children,she is represented as a mother suckling an infant,while her sigil is the pomegranate,which stands for fertility. KITHAERON An Oread nymph,native to the slopes of the mountain of the same name. KIVATI See Kwatee. KLEITOS Another of the conquests of the goddess Eos,whom she carried off and obtained immortality for. KLETA One of the Charites. KLING The Iban god of war. KLOTHO One of the three Parcae,Klotho was the youngest,and it was she who spun the thread that she and her sisters worked on,fashioning the destinies of men. KLYTAMNESTRA Wife of Agamemnon,she slew her husband in favour of Aegisthos,by tangling a cloth around his head as Agamemnon climbed out of his bath,and thus blinded,unable to protect himself,the king was killed. Agamemnon's son,Orestes,later slew his mother in revenge for the foul murder of his father. KLYTIOS One of the Giants who warred against the gods,and was overcome by Hephaestos. KOIOS One of the twelve Titans. KOMOS God of festal banquets,mirthful enjoyment and lively humour,fun and social pleasures. He was also seen as the god of overindulgence,represented often as drunk,asleep or leaning against something. KONONATOO The creator god of the Warau Indians of Guyana wished his people to live in heaven,but they found a hole in the sky and descended to earth,where they have been stuck ever since,as a fat woman got stuck in the opening,and prevented them returning. Saddened by the disobedience of his children,Kononatoo refused to make any more holes in the heavens. KORA See Persephone. KORONIDES Another name for Asklepios. P> KOSHARE,THE According to the Pueblo Indians,these were the first men,created by a goddess who wished to impress her companions,and so rubbed a ball of skin off herself to create men. KOTHAR The smith god of the Canaanites . KOTTOS One of the three Hekatoncheires. KREIOS One of the twelve Titans. KRISHNA See Vishnu. KRONIDES Another name for Zeus. KRONION Another name for Zeus. KRONOS A son of Uranos,and father to Zeus,Kronos was 'the ripener','the harvester god'. Deposing his father from the throne of Olympus,Kronos married his own sister,Rhea,thus siring not only Zeus,but Poseidon,Hades,Hestia,Demeter and Hera. Fearing that the prophecy that warned him that his youngest born would dethrone him,Kronos swallowed his first five children,but when it came to Zeus' turn,Rhea gave her husband a stone shaped like an infant,and secretly conveyed the baby away to Mount Ida,in Crete. There he was looked after by the nymphs Ida and Adrastea,with Rhea's servants,the Kuretes,being appointed to carry on a continual noise by dancing and clashing their swords and shields,lest the infant's cries be heard by his father. When Zeus had grown to manhood he returned to Olympus,persuading Kronos to yield back into the world the five sons he had swallowed,and the six then plotted together to overthrow their father. In this they were opposed by the Titans,whom Kronos had created,and a long war began between the two factions. KU A god who helped Kane to create the earth. KUAN TI The god of war in Confucian tradition,Kuan Ti is different to most other gods of war,in that he prevents,not encourages,war,but he is always ready to fight to protect his country. KUAT The Kamaiuran sun god,with his brother Iae,the moon,wished to create light so that their people could see,but lacked the means,so Kuat decided to steal the day from Urubutsin,the vulture king. He sent the flies with a effigy,full of maggots,but the vulture king could not make sense of the hum. One of his subjects eventually divined that the maggots were an offering from Kuat,and bore an invitation to visit the sun god and eat many more. But when Urubutsin landed on another effigy,this one hiding Kuat and Iae,Kuat seized his foot and would not let him go until the sun was given as ransom. KUDAI The supreme deity of the Altaic Tartars. KUKSU The first man,in the mythology of the Maidu Indians. KUKULCAN The Maya wind god. KUL The Siryan water spirit,an evil being living in deep waters,Kul had a human shape. KULIMINA The creator goddess of the Arawak Indians,who created women. KULU See Kidilli. KUMANG The mother goddess of the Ibans,Kumang had charge of Paradise. KUMARBI The father of the gods of the Hurrians,Kumarbi attacked Anu,emasculated him and spat out three new gods,one of which,Teshub the storm god,deposed Kumarbi. KUMU-HONUA The first man in Hawaiian mythology,he lived with his wife,Lalo-honua,in the garden of paradise built for them by Kane,but like the couple Adam and Eve in Christian myth,they ate of the bark of the sacred tree,and were expelled by Kane from the garden,pursued by a great white albatross. KUMUSH The 'old man of the ancients' in Modoc Indian legend,Kumush descended with his daughter to the underground realm of spirits,and having spent six days and six nights there,decided to return,and bring some of the shades with him. He collected the bones in a big basket,and set off,but was balked twice by the long and steep climb out of the netherworld. Every time he fell,the bag opened and the bones leapt out,taking flesh as the spirits whose bones they were,shouting and singing. The third time he shouted angrily to the spirits to remain quiet,and he managed the climb out of the underworld,bringing the spirits with him,including those that begot the tribe of the Modocs. Then he finished his arrangement of the world,travelled along the sun's road,and built for himself and his daughter a house in the middle of the sky,where they still live today. KUNAPIPI The mother goddess of the aboriginal tribes of northern Australia,she once travelled across the world with a band of heroes and heroines,and a rainbow serpent heralded her approach. KURETES Servants of Rhea,whom she employed during the deception of Kronos to set up a continual noise,so that her husband would not hear the cries of his child on Mount Ida. KURMA One of the Avatars of Vishnu,in which he appeared as a tortoise,supporting Mount Mandara on his back,while the gods churned the sea for the divine ambrosia. KURUKADI One of the two ancestor gods of the Mandjindja. KURURUMANY The creator god of the Arawak Indians,Kururumany created men,while Kulumina created women. KUVERA The Hindu god of worth. KWAN-YIN The mother goddess of China,also the goddess of mercy. KWATEE The trickster god of the Indian tribes resident in the Puget Sound region of Washington. Kwatee and his assistants changed the world from its ancient form into the world we known today. Kwatee was opposed in his plans to change the world,specifically by the giant animal people,such as the Spider,Ant,Beaver and Fox,but the trickster god merely changed them into ordinary animals,then he rubbed his hands over his own body until he made little balls of dirt and sweat,into which he fashioned people,the first Indians. On his wanderings,Kwatee created other people,changing them from dogs and teaching them to use stones as mallets and cutting tools. He also killed the monster living in Lake Quinault. When the cavernous maw of this beast opened to swallow Kwatee's brother and his canoe,the trickster god tossed hot rocks into the lake. The monster boiled in the water,dying and rising to the top of the lake. Slitting the creature's stomach he released his brother,who had changed into the father of hermit crabs. Old and tired at last,Kwatee reviewed his work of transformation and saw that he had made all the changes he could to help mankind. He sat on a rock,watching the sun disappear over the western rim of the ocean,and when it had set he pulled a blanket over his face,and turned himself to stone. KWOTH The great spirit of the Nuer tribesmen living in the southern Sudan,Kwoth has neither fixed abode nor form,and manifests himself in natural phenomena. He is compassionate and spares the poor and miserable,but punishes the wicked and the guilty. KYBELE Another name for Rhea. KYKNOS A friend of the slain Phaeton,who mourned the loss of the son of Helios so that the gods transformed him into a swan. He was later slain by Hercules,this being the focus of an altercation between Ares and the Greek hero,which had to be decided by Zeus. KYLLENIOS Another name for Hermes LABBU Also known as Lahmu,this was a fearsome monster created by Enlil to wreak havoc on the Earth. Labbu was the offspring of the terrible dragon,Tiamat. LACHESIS One of the three Parcae,Lachesis' job was to spin the thread that fashioned the destinies of men. LADON The serpent placed around the tree on which grew the golden apples of the Hesperides. The snake was put there to discourage the guardians of the apples from eating them themselves. It was finally slain by Hercules. LAIDAMLULUM-KULE Morning Star Woman,the first woman in Maidu Indian myth,and the wife of Kuksu. LAIOS Father of Oedipus,who the hero slew,unaware that he fought his own father,when the two met during Oedipus' travels. LAKSHMANA The brother to Rama,an incarnation of Vishnu. Sent into exile with Rama and his wife,Sita,Lakshmana and Rama pursued the demon Ravana,who had carried off Sita at the instigation of his sister,Surpanakha. On the way there they slew a headless monster called Kabandha,whose spirit advised the two brothers to seek the aid of Sugriva,king of monkeys. The king and his lieutenant,Hanuman,helped the pair to cross to Sri Lanka,where Ravana held Sita,and after a long battle,freed Rama's wife. LAKSHMI Wife,or sacti,of the great Hindu god Vishnu,Lakshmi was the lotus goddess,and also the goddess of agriculture. LALO-HONUA The wife of Kumu-honua,and first woman on the Earth,according to Hawaiian myth. She and her husband were cast from the garden of paradise by Kane for eating the fruit of the sacred tree. LAMPETIA One of the three daughter of Helios,who,along with her sisters,was turned into a larch tree,so much did she weep at her brother's death. LANCELOT Sir Lancelot du Lac,Lancelot of the Lake,was abducted when he was one year old and raised by the Lady of the Lake,Nimue. He joined King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table at Camelot,but sowed the seeds of his lord's downfall when he fell in love with Guinevere,rendering himself unfit for the Quest for the Holy Grail. After Arthur had 'passed away',he became a priest and tended the king's grave. LAODAMIA One of the three children of Bellerophon,she was killed by Artemis. LAOKOON A priest of Apollo,who,on seeing the huge Wooden Horse at Troy,warned his people not to accept the gift of the invaders. He even went as far as to stick his spear into the wooden belly of the contraption,and the clank of swords and spears was heard to issue from within. For this defacement of the sacred horse,the gods punished Laokoon by sending two enormous serpents,which issued from the sea as Laokoon and his two sons were sacrificing to Apollo. The snakes wrapped around the boys first,then their father,and dragged the three to their painful death. Seeing this as a judgement on them by the gods for their doubt of the gift of the Greeks,the Trojans accepted the Wooden Horse,and brought it into their city. From Laokoon's advice comes of course the famous sayings "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" and "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts". LAOMEDON King of Troy before Priam,he had enlisted the help of the gods Apollo and Poseidon in building the wall around the city,but when it was finished he refused to provide the reward promised. Angry at this,Poseidon sent a great flood to devastate the land,and also a sea monster,to get rid of which Laomedon was told he must sacrifice his daughter Hesione. Hercules,however,slew the beast and rescued Hesione. The king,however,reneged again on a promise,this time that of offering Hesione's hand to Hercules. For this he was slain by the hero,along with all of his family,except Podarkes,who took over the rule of the city,changing his name to Priam. LAO-TZU One of the first founders of Taoism,Lao-tzu simply decided to leave society,and would have vanished without a trace from the world had not the customs official on the border asked him to write a book before leaving. Lao-tzu wrote about the proper way to live,then he went out of the kingdom. No-one knows where he went,how,when or if he died. LARA Mother,in Roman legend,of the Lares,she was a nymph,and had lain with Mercury (Hermes) to give birth to the above. LARES Protecting spirits,peculiar to the Roman mythos,who guarded homes,cities and towns,fields and people. It was generally believed that the Lares were the spirits of the Genii or Daemons of good people who had died. LARVAE The antithesis of the Lares,these were believed to have been the Genii of evil people,who after death wandered the Earth afflicting mankind with illness for which there was no remedy but expiatory sacrifices to the gods. If a person died without expiating every wrong they had done in life,they were pursued by the Larvae in the lower world. Larvae were also called Lemures. LATMIKAIK One of the two Micronesian creator deities,and the consort of Tperakl,she lived at the bottom of the sea,where she gave birth to two sons,as well as shoals of fish. LATONA See Leto. LAUFAKANAA The wind god of Ata,a low Tongan island. According to their legends,the sky god Tamapoulialamafoa sent Laufakanaa down to Earth as the ruler of Ata,and the controller of the winds,charging him to send fair winds to vessels in trouble. The god brought down from Heaven and planted on Ata the banana and several edible roots;he also invented the fishing net. LAZARUS The beggar who crouched at the table of Dives,the rich man,in Christian myth. After death,Lazarus dwelt in the bosom of Abraham,while Dives writhed in eternal flame. LAZARUS Brother of Martha, whom Jesus raised from the dead, as one of the many miracles he performed during his time on Earth. LEARCHOS One of the two children borne by Ino to Athamas,whom the woman placed above Athamas' own children by Nephele,even to the extent of plotting to slay the two .LE-EYO The great ancestor of the Maasai,Le-eyo learned that if a man was to die,he should say when discarding the body, "Man,die,and come back again;moon,die,and remain away." However,when a child died,and he tried to use this charm,Le-Eyo got the phrase mixed up,and said it backwards. Thus when his own child died,he found that he could not resurrect him,nor could anyone after that. LEGBA In Voodoo belief,Legba is the old man at the gate. LEIB-OLMAI The bear god of the Lapps,he is seen as the patron of the hunter. LEIMONIADS Nymphs of meadows and flowers. LEMURES See Larvae. LERNAEAN HYDRA A fearsome beast with nine heads,whose very breath or odour was poison,eight of the Hydra's heads were mortal,the ninth invulnerable. As soon as one head was struck off,two more grew to take its place. To Hercules was given the task of defeating this awesome creature,as part of his Twelve Labours. LETHE The 'River of forgetfulness',in Hades. It was said that any who drank from it completely forgot their former life,in the world above. LETO Mother of Apollo and Artemis,by Zeus>. LEUKOPHRYNE Another name for Artemis . LEUKOSIA One of the three Sirens. LEUKOTHEA Protecting goddess of those who travelled the sea,Leukothea was originally the second wife of Athamas,Ino,who plotted such wrong against his two children by Nephele. She had suckled the infant Bacchus,angering Hera,who sent her husband raving after her. She was thrown into the sea,where she took her place as a marine goddess,friendly to all sailors,mariners and seafarers. LEVIATHAN The sea serpent of Hebrew myth,female whereas her counterpart,Behemoth,is seen to be male. It is believed that in the last days of the world Leviathan will repulse attacks by angels,until Behemoth kills her. LEZA The supreme god in Kaonde mythology,who summoned to his presence the honey bird,and gave it three calabashes,all of them closed at both ends,charging the bird to take them to the first human beings,and tell them that they might open two of the calabashes,which contained seed. The third,however,was not to be opened until Leza himself came on the Earth to provide instructions as to its contents.On the way to carry out its mission though the honey bird could not contain its curiosity,and opened the three calabashes. Though the first two did contain seed as promised,the third contained death,sickness,all kinds of beasts of prey and dangerous reptiles. Neither the honey bird nor Leza himself could recapture these things,which swarmed out over the earth. LIBERA Another name for Persephone LIF One of the two mortals that were to survive the dreaded Ragnarok. LIFTHRASIR One of the two mortals that were to survive the dreaded Ragnarok. LIGEIA One of the three Sirens. LIMBO The realm where dwelt the virtuous pagan dead,according to Christian belief,Limbo was supposed to be in an obscure part of Hell,and though its denizens suffered no pain there,they were also excluded from heavenly bliss. LIMDUNANJI The first woman in the mythology of the Marshall Islands. LIMNADS Nymphs of lakes,marshes and swamps,they lured travellers to their deaths by singing,or by mimicking the screams of distressed people. LIMNAIA Another name for Artemis. LIOUMERE A ghastly spirit of the Caroline Islands,Lioumere was a female demon with iron teeth,she actually lost these teeth through the covetousness of one of the islanders,who got her to grin at a very ugly clown,and when she showed her teeth,he dashed them out with a stone. LIPS One of the female wind gods of Greece,she wafted home the ships from the southeast. She was depicted holding the ornament from a ship's stern in her hands. LITAE,THE Sweet- natured goddesses,whose special task was to provide recompense for the people whom Ate had reduced to distress and ruin. They are described as lame,wrinkled and squinting:these deformities brought on by their trying to make good the evil done by Ate,which they accomplished by placing the prayers of the penitent before their father,Zeus. LOA The supreme deity in the Marshall Islands,Loa dwelt alone in the primeval sea at the beginning,and through loneliness and boredom created great reefs and sandbanks,plants and birds,stationing a god at each of the cardinal points. From Loa's leg emerged Wulleb and Limdunanji,the first man and woman. When their offspring conspired to kill his father,Wulleb fled and fell to Earth,where from his leg came two more sons,Edao and Olofat. LOKI The personification of mischief and evil in Norse mythology,Loki was the son of the Giant Farbanti,and had three children,Fenris,the huge wolf who awaited to swallow the world,Jormungand,the Midgard serpent,and Hel,goddess of the Underworld. LONO God of the heavens,who helped Kane make the earth. LUCIFER The morning star,who normally lit the way before Eos. LUCIFER See Satan. LUCINA Another name for Hera. LUGEILAN The teaching god of the mythology of the Caroline Islands,Lugeilan descended from the sky to teach men for the first time. In particular he taught them about tattooing,hairdressing and agriculture. LUNA See Selene. LUNG,THE The dragon of Chinese folklore,the Lung is seen as a benevolent and highly-regarded god. He is the rainbringer,the lord of the waters. The Lung were called upon in ancient times to refresh the earth with their waters. The Lung can make themselves as small as silkworms,or become so large that they can overshadow the entire world. They can soar through the clouds as well as penetrate to the deepest springs.In appearance they are composed of different parts of different animals:the horns of a stag sit on the head of a camel,with the eyes of a demon and the neck of a snake. They are covered in the scales of a fish,and have the claws of an eagle,the pads of a tiger,the ears of a bull and the whiskers of a cat. LUPERCUS Another name for Pan. LYAEOS Another name for Dionysos. LYKIOS Another name for Apollo. LYKOS God of light,who ruled over Thebes,but who,on the return of the brothers Amphion and Zetos,abdicated in their favour,and commenced the building of the wall around the city. LYKURGOS King of Thrace,whom Dionysos sent insane,causing him to fell and slay his son,thinking the boy a vine-plant. Following this episode,Lykurgos killed himself. MAAT The daughter of Ra,Maat was the Egyptian goddess of truth,wearing as her symbol a single ostrich feather,which was placed in one side of the scales of judgement,which were used for weighing the fate of a soul before Osiris. MAENADS Followers of Dionysos,these were women who engaged in riotous ceremonies of dancing and orgy,and their rituals often included the rending of human flesh. MAIA The mother of Hermes. MAMAN BRIGITTE The female counterpart to the Voodoo god Ghede. MANANNAN MAC LIR The sea god of the Irish people,it was he who gave the magic cup and branch to Cormac Mac Airt. MANES,THE The shades of the departed,who inhabited Hades. MANGAR-KUNJER-KUNJA The lizard creator god of the Aranda of Central Australia. It is said that he found the undeveloped first beings,the Rella manerinja,on the slope of a hill;these beings were in fact two fused together. Mangar-kunjer-kunja separated them with a stone knife,and cut the openings for their eyes,ears,noses and mouths. Next he presented the stone knife,fire,the spear,the shield,the boomerang,and a sacred obj ect called the Tjurunga to his new creatures. Finally he regulated their marriage system. MANU Hindu myth's version of Noah,Manu was washing his hands in the river one day when the waters brought to him a tiny fish,which begged him to save it,saying that it would return the favour. Manu naturally asked the fish how it thought it could save him,and it replied that there was a great flood on the way,which would wash away all living things. So Manu put the fish in a pot,but it soon outgrew this,and he had to move it successively to a tank,a lake,and finally the sea itself. Once there,the fish advised Manu to build a boat,for the flood was coming. Manu complied,and when the ship was built and the waters rose,the fish returned and towed the vessel by a cable fastened to its horne,thus saving Manu. MAORI The sky god of the Makoni tribe of Zimbabwe,who created the earth. MARA One of the two transcedent powers in Indian lore,Mara is the master magician of illusion,and became in Buddhist belief the Evil One. It was he who assailed the original Buddha,Gautama,as the priest lay in meditation under the Bo Tree. But Gautama gathered the gods to him,and Mara,shamed,retired. It is believed that he waits on the edge of the world,waiting to seize the souls of the dying. MARAWA The spider spirit of Melanesia,Marawa was the friend and also the foe of Qat,the other potent spirit. Not only was Marawa responsible for making man a mortal being,but he directly opposed Qat's conquest of the sea,replacing every night the chips which his friend/foe cut from the tree trunk he was making into a canoe. When Qat surprised him one night,however,Marawa agreed to help the other spirit. MARDUK The son of Ea,Marduk assumed leadership of the Babylonian pantheon during their battle with Tiamat,slaying the dragon,and creating a new world order. His consort was Sarpanitu. MARS See Ares. MARSAYAS Who had boasted that he could play the flute better than Apollo. For this he was flayed alive. MARUTS,THE The fierce wind-demons of the Hindus,the Maruts are they who toss and foam the sea,and are allied to the wind god,Vayu. They also accompany Indra,god of thunder. MASEWI One of the two brothers whom the universal mother of the Pueblo Indians sent into the world,to place the sun correctly in the sky,and assign people to their clans. MASHYANE The mother,in Persian mythos,of the human race,who with her husband abandoned the teachings of Ahura Mazdah,cleaving instead to Ahriman,for which crime they were banished to eternal punishment in hell. MASSASSI The maiden created for Mwuetsi,in the mythology of the Makoni tribe of Zimbabwe,she bore to her husband grasses,bushes and trees. MAT Goddess of moral light,she is one of the daughters of Ra. MATABIRI The ugly swamp spirits of Papuan mythology,they are pot-bellied with sunken cheeks. They are a class of Matagaigai. MATAGAIGAI Tree spirits of Papuan belief,they look human,except that the female has breasts of different sizes. They only appear to people who are sick,to ascertain whether they will recover or die. If their fingers sink into the patient's flesh,death is certain. MATSYA The first Avatar of the god Vishnu,who appeared in the form of a fish,to save King Satyavrate,when the world was deluged for its wickedness. MAUI The diminuitive Polynesian cult hero and trickster,Maui was thrown into the sea by his mother,Taranga,saved by his great ancestor,Tama-nui-ki-te-rangi,and eventually returned to earth to rejoin his family. His exploits and adventures are many,among them his fishing up of islands from the sea bed,snaring the sun to slow its passage,lifting the sky to give men more room on earth,and getting fire. In Maori myth Maui used the jawbone of his ancestress,Muri-ranga-whenua,as his enchanted weapon. With its keen point he drew land from the sea,but his brothers and sisters,ignoring his warning,sliced it up,thus causing the mountain-studded triangle of Polynesia and the island of New Zealand. With the mighty jawbone and a flaxen rope he also assailed the sun,thinking the interval between day and night too short. He caught the sun in a noose and dealt it many fierce blows until it was so weak it could only creep along its course. Maui used a poker to push the sky upwards and away from men. This happened as he was preparing an earth oven,and his poker became jammed in the sky. Infuriated,Maui reversed it and shoved the sky upwards. He stole the secret of fire from the mud hens;every time he approached these celestial chickens they scratched out the flames,but when he finally managed to capture the smallest chicken,she told him that fire was in a tree called wai-mea,and showed him how to obtain it. Maui is said to have finally met his death while trying to pass through the body of Hine-nui-te-poo,the goddess of death. Had he managed to complete the feat,death would have been banished from the world forever. But the twittering of birds awoke the sleeping goddess,and she squeezed Maui to death. MAUT Mother Nature in Egyptian mythology,she is the second in the Theban Trinity. MAVUTSINIM The creator deity of the Kamaiura Indians,who turned a shell into a woman and begot a son,the first man. Then Mavutsinim took away the child and the tearful mother went to a lagoon,returning to a shell again. MAWU-LISA The dual creator god of the Fon of Dahomey,Mawu-Lisa can be broken down into the male part (Lisa) and the female (Mawu). Their offspring are the vodu,sky gods,who helped Mawu-Lisa create the world. Mawu is associated with the moon,night,fertility,motherhood,gentleness,forgiveness,rest and joy,whereas Lisa is identified with the sun,day,heat,work,power,war,strength and toughness. The cosomology of the Fon has the Earth as floating on the water,while above circle the heavenly bodies on the inner surface of a gourd. The son of Mawu-Lisa,Da the cosmic serpent,helps in ordering the universe;he had 3500 coils above the earth,and the same number below. Together these coils support Mawu-Lisa's creation. Other vodu are assigned governorship of other parts of the world:the sky is under the aegis of Heyvoso,the earth the domain of Sakpata,the sea and the waters are the realm of Agbe-Naete,while Age has sway over the barren wastes. MECHANTIS Another name for Pallas-Athene. MEDEA Daughter of King Aeetes of Kolchis,she fell in love with Jason during his recovery of the Golden Fleece,and returned with him to Iolkos,dismembering her younger brother on the way,to slow down her vengeful pursuing father. Ten years later,her husband conceived a passion for Kreusa,and married her. Fuming at this treatment,Medea steeped a costly dress in posion,and sent it to her rival,this bringing about her death. She also slew Kreusa's father,Kreon,and put to death all the children she herself had borne to Jason. Then she fled,arriving at last in Athens,where she lived for a time with Aegeus,until the intervention of Theseus precipitated her departure,she cursing both father and son. MEDITRINA The Roman goddess of health,Meditrina was identical with the Greek goddess Jaso,but differed from Hygea in that whereas the Greek deity preserved good health,Meditrina restored it. MEDUSA One of the three Gorgons,Medusa was the youngest,and orginally very beautiful. But she had loved the god Poseidon,and appeared in his temple,for which profanity the god took away her beauty,and replaced her hair with hissing,writhing snakes. She lived,with her two sisters,in a cave at the entrance to Tartaros. With Poseidon she had sired the wonder horse,Pegasus. It was the Greek hero Perseus who finally slew her,using the shield of polished brass that Athene had given him,to protect him against the Gorgon's stare,which could turn a man to stone instantly. Creeping up on her,Perseus cut off her head,and from her trunk sprang Pegasus and Chrysaor,the father of Geryoneus. MEGAERA 'The grim',one of the three Erinys. MELEAGROS The Greek hero who headed the expedition that hunted the Kalydonian Boar,and who later joined the Argonauts in their search for the Golden Fleece. MELETE One of the nine Muses. MELIAN NYMPHS,THE Nymphs of the oak,from whose wood the shafts for the arrows of war were fashioned. MELIKERTES Youngest son of Leukothea,he was saved from the sea by the Nereides,having been thrown in with his mother. Melikertes became the god of harbours,under the name of Palaemon. MELOLOSIS One of the Okeanids,her name meant 'like a river that waters the meadows.' MELPOMENE One of the nine Muses,Melpomene was the Muse of tragedy,a serious,dignified figure,who was depicted as standing with her foot raised on a rock,in her right hand a mask,in her left a scroll,as for a part in a play. She wore a long robe girt under the breast,and fell in wide folds. From her shoulders hung a mantle. MEMNON A son of Eos and Tithonos,who was famed for his beauty,Memnon took part in the Trojan War,fighting on the side of the defenders. He met Achilles in combat,and as they were fighting,both the heroes' mothers petitioned Zeus to spare their sons. Zeus,checking the outcome in the golden balance which weighed out life and death,announced that it was Memnon's fate to die at the hands of Achilles. Anxiously,Eos sped to Troy,but found that her son was already dead. She built a great monument to Memnon in Thebes,which,when the first rays of the sun struck it,gave forth a sound like the snapping of a harpstring. MENALAUS Brother to Agamemnon,Menalaus ruled over Sparta with his wife,the immortal Helen. Thither came Paris from Troy,and after ingratiating himself with the king,took the opportunity to abscond with Helen,with whom he had fallen in love. Menalaus then called on all of Helen's previous suitors to honour the vow they had taken at the girl's choice of him:to render aid to her husband whenever he needed it. Gathering a fleet,he proceeded to Troy,where Paris and Helen had fled,and laid siege to the city. After years of war,the city was finally taken,sacked,its defenders put to death,and Menalaus,reconciling himself to his now penitent wife,took Helen with him back to Sparta. MENEHUNE A mythical race of pygmies,whom the Hawaiians believed to be about two feet in height,and who shot tiny arrows at the careless or the inquisitive. Left alone they lived happily in caves. MERCURY See Hermes . MERLIN The wizard who brought together the two who were to become the parents of the most famous king of Britain,Arthur. King Uther Pendragon fathered on Igraine,wife to Duke Gorlois of Cornwall,and Merlin took over the youth's rearing,after his father was killed. Merlin is credited with the building of Stonehenge,and the fashioning of the Round Table. Born himself under dubious and uncertain circumstances,Merlin eventually fell in love with Nineve,the daughter of a Siren,and taught her how to bind him magically to her,so that he remained forever in the enchanted wood with her. METIS The first wife of Zeus,and a daughter of the Titan Okeanos,she was swallowed by Zeus,in fear that,like his own father,his child would prove to be the ruination of him. Unlike Kronos,however,Zeus did not wait for the child to be born,but swallowed the mother before she could conceive. MICLANTECUHTLI The Aztec god of death,who ruled in the restful and silent kingdom of the dead,Mictlan. MIDAS To whom fell the unenviable task of judging between Apollo and Pan,as to which instrument was better:the flute,which Pan played,or the lyre,Apollo's instrument. Midas found for Pan,and in consequence was punished by Apollo by having his ears grow long like those of a donkey. More well-known though is the story concerning his 'golden touch'. Midas,having aided Dionysos,was asked by the god to name his desire,and Midas requested that everything he touch turn to gold. This was granted,but Midas soon found that the god had taken him literally,and when he embraced his daughter,she turned to a gold statue,and any food he tried to eat also turned to gold. Eventually,Midas returned to Dionysos and asked him to take back the gift,which he did. MIDGARD The world of men,in Norse mythology. MI-LO The future Buddha,who at present lives in Tushita Heaven,Mi-lo is represented as a fat,jovial man,and often referred to as the Laughing Buddha. MIMIR Keeper of the Well of Wisdom,at the foot of the world tree Yggdrassil,Mimir drank daily from these waters,thus he knew everything there was to know. He allowed no-one else to partake of the spring,apart from the one time he had given in to Odin,who for the favour had to lose one of his eyes. MIN A chtonic deity worshipped at the cities of Panopolis and Coptos,in Lower Egypt,Min was usually depicted as a man wearing a headdress from which rose two plumes,holding a sceptre in the form of a whip,and sexually aroused. Min was the tutelary god of nomads and hunters and his domain was the eastern desert. He was seen as a god of virility and generation. MINATA-KARAIA,THE A mythical tribe of Brazil,who were believed to have a hole in the top of their heads that produced a high,loud whistle. They were also supposed to have bunches of coconuts growing from under their armpits;these fruits they snatched,broke against their heads and ate. MINAWARA One of the two ancestral heroes of the Nambutji tribe of Central Australia,Minawara and his brother Multultu are kangaroo men,who emerged from a heap of debris carried by the flood,and travelled southwards,walking on all fours. When they camped they made a little hole and slept there,covering themselves with rubbish. For this they were reproved by a rat man,who advised them to sit in the shade of the tree. Minawara and Multultu continued their journey into the desert,where they donned feathers,their mucus and lungs being tossed away as stones. MINERVA See Athene. MINOS A son of Zeus,Minos ruled over Crete with exemplary justice,but ran afoul of Poseidon when,asking for a sacrifice,he was presented with a shimmering white bull that rose out of the sea. Instead of sacrificing the bull though,Minos set it to graze with his own herds,which were close by the pasture of the herd owned by Helios. Enraged at this deceit,Poseidon made the bull wild,and awoke within Queen Pasiphae an unnatural desire for it,she pursuing it until she finally caught it,and gave birth to the Minotaur. Having set the Greek inventor Daedalus to construct a vast labyrinth in which to incarcerate the Minotaur,Minos sealed the architect of the maze in it,with his son,Icarus,but both escaped the labyrinth,later leaving Crete by flying with wings fashioned by Daedalus. Icarus died,but Daedalus survived,to cause the death of Minos by superheating the bathwater in his tub,and so scalding him to death. Following this,Minos was made one of the assistants on judicial matters to the king and queen of the Underworld,Hades and Persephone. MINOTAUR,THE The bastard child of King Minos of Crete,conceived by his wife with the white bull Poseidon had sent to the king as sacrifice. The Minotaur had the body of a man,with the head of a bull. It fed on human flesh,and lived in a vast labyrinth which King Minos had had built. It was killed by the Greek hero,Theseus. MITHRA The most popular of the gods worshipped in Persia,Mithra was the son of Ahura Mazdah,and from his penetrating gaze nothing could be hidden. Mithra knew everything,no matter how small,and he was the terrible war god of the Persians,the special protector of warriors. His weapons were deadly arrows,a huge mace,incurable diseases,and the boar Verethraghna,who smashed everything with one blow,and destroyed men who broke faith with their god. MIXCOATL The Aztec cloud serpent,husband of Coatlicue. MJOLLNIR The hammer of the Norse thunder god,Thor. It was made by the dwarf smith Brok,could penetrate anything,and would always return to the hand of he who threw it. MNEME One of the nine Muses. MNEMOSYNE One of the twelve Titans,and mother of the Muses. MNEVIS See Apis. MOERA She whose province was the management of the world in regard to social matters involving right and reason. Moera was answerable to no deity---not even Zeus himself. MOERAE,THE Also known as the Parcae,these were three goddesses---more like witches really---who controlled,shaped and defined the destinies of men. Unlike Moera herself though,these three were subject to the will and command of Zeus,whom they called Moeragetes. They were supposed to have been present at both Zeus' marriage to Themis,and to Hera. The Moerae symbolised the three stages of life---birth,years and death,and to this end they were each of a different age and appearance,the youngest being Klotho,she who placed the golden and silver thread of life onto the spindle of the loom on which all three sisters worked,while Lachesis spun it,and Atropos,the oldest and ugliest,cut the thread,thus bringing to a close the life of a person on Earth. The Moerae were also known as the Norns in Norse legend, and also the Fates. MOERAGETES Another name for Zeus. MOKELE-MBEMBE,THE A mythical beast reported to have roamed West Africa,it was the size of an elephant,with a long neck,a single horn or tooth,and a strong serpentine tail. Although it attacked small boats and inhabited marine caves,it was said to be vegetarian. MOKOI An evil spirit,in the mythology of the Murngin of northern Australia,the Mokoi is said to strike down a person due to the black magic of a sorcerer. MOLOCH The Canaanite god who received the sacrifice of children to his fire. MOMOS Perhaps one of the most spiteful deities in Greek mythology,Momos' function was to laugh and jeer bitterly at the actions of gods and men,even unto complaining of the creation by Prometheus of a man,that there was no window in the man's breast,through which to see his thoughts. Momos died of terminal annoyance,unable to find anything to jeer or mock Aphrodite about. MORDRED Nephew of King Arthur of Britain,who raised a rebellion that split Arthur's kingdom,and became the downfall of the king. MORGAN LE FAY The half-sister of Arthur of Britain,she was an enchantress. MORPHEUS Morpheus was one of the two Greek gods of dreams,it being his function to shape and mould the visions which men saw as they slept,and in the manner in which the gods wished them to be sent to mortals. In this he was assisted by Ikelos,who made his dreams seem real,Phobetor,the maker of alarming dreams,and Phantasos,who troubled sleepers with many strange phenomena. Morpheus was also seen as the guardian or watchman of dreams. MORS See Thanatos. MOT Canaanite god of death,who invited Baal to his kingdom,where he imprisoned the god. Baal,however,returned to fight Mot,and defeated him. MR. SPIDER See Anansi. MU One of the children of Ra,whose name meant 'physical light'. MUCHALINDA A gigantic serpent-genie,known as a Nagawho dwelt in the roots of the Bo Tree under which the Buddha attained Nirvana,Muchalinda saved the meditating Buddha from the storm by winding his coils around him,thus shielding the Buddha until the tempest had passed. MUKURU The sky god of the Herero people of Southwest Africa,Mukuru is all alone,with no parents or companions. He is a benevolent deity,showing his kindness through lifegiving rain,healing the sick,and upholding the very old. Even death is seen as a benevolent act---the calling home of the god's children. MULTULTU See Minawara. MULUNGU God of the Nyamwezi people of Tanzania. MUMBA See Kurukadi. MUMMU One of the creator deities of Babylonian myth,Mummu was referred to as the mists hovering above the surface of Abzu and Tiamat. MUSSO-KORONI The first woman to be created,in the mythology of the Bambara people of the Niger river. Musso-Koroni planted Pemba in the soil but disliked his thorns,and so forswore the god,instead wandering the world causing sadness and disorder. MUNIN One of the two ravens that flew from Odin's watchtower,Valaskialf,to scour the world and bring back news of Midgard to the All-Father. MUNYCHIA Another name for Artemis. MUSAGETES Another name for Apollo. MUSES,THE The personification of the fine arts by the Greeks,the nine Muses were said to be nymphs of the springs that splashed down the slopes of Mount Parnassos. Their mother was the Titan nymph Mnemosyne,and their father Zeus. The Muses generally lived around the summit of Mount Helikon,Parnassos and Pindos,but they often visited Olympus,entertaining the gods and goddesses. They sometimes performed at weddings of auspicious note,such as that of Kadmos and Harmonia;and appeared once in a while at events of tragic sorrow,such as the death of Achilles. Their leader was Apollo,though they also accompanied Dionysos. Although nine in number in popular myth,three more are known to exist,these being Mneme,Melete and Aoedte. The true nine,however,are listed as follows: KLIO:- The Muse of History,was depicted as seated,wearing a laurel wreath and holding a half-open inscribed roll of parchment. Beside her stood a cylindrical box,full of more scrolls. MELPOMENE:- The Muse of Tragedy,was shown as a serious,dignified figure,standing with her foot raised on a rock,and holding in her right hand an actor's mask,while in her left she gripped a small scroll,part in a play. She wore a long robe girt under her breast,and hanging in loose folds,and from this a mantle fell carelessly. THALIA:- The Muse of Comedy and Burlesque,she stood clad in a robe or tunic,over which was a fringed mantle,thrown over her left shoulder,and wrapped around her legs,leaving her right arm free. In the hand of this right arm she carried a shepherd's crook,and in the other an actor's mask. KALIOPE:- The Muse of Heroic Poems,she was represented as seated,holding a writing tablet and a stylus. She was looked on as the chief of the Muses. URANIA:- The Muse of Astronomy,she was always seated beside a globe,holding a compass in one hand and pointing with the other,upwards towards the heavens. EUTERPE:- The Muse of Music,depicted standing,playing on a double flute. POLYHYMNIA:- The Muse of Song and Oratory,she was also considered as the inventor of myths,and for this reason was usually represented in an attitude of contemplation,with one finger raised to her lips. ERATO:- The Muse of Love and Marriage Songs,usually depicted wearing a wreath,and playing on a large,many-stringed lyre.rotect him TERPSICHORE:- The Muse of Dancing,was similarly represented to Erato,playing a lyre and dancing,wearing a wreath. MUSPELLHEIM One of the two areas that bordered Ginnungagap,in Norse myth,before the creation. Muspellheim was the land of smoke and fire. MUT See Isis. MWAMBU The first man,in the legends of the Abaluyia tribesmen of Kenya,he lived with his wife in a house on stilts MWUETSI In the mythology of the Makoni tribe of Zimbabwe,Mwuetsi was the primeval man,and the moon also. The sky god Maori created him,and gave him a horn filled with ngona oil,setting him to live at the bottom of a lake,but Mwuetsi insisted that he should be allowed live on the earth. When Maori allowed this,Mwuetsi found that the earth was barren and desolate,and he wept aloud. Maori,seeing this,created a woman for Mwuetsi,called Massassi,with whom he lived for two years,and who bore him grasses,bushes and trees. At the end of the two years,however,Massassi left,and Mwuetsi's distress was so great that Maori decided to give him another woman. This was Morongo,and from their union came chickens,sheep,goats,cattle and children. Although Mwuetsi had been warned by Maori that he was soon to die,and instructed not to produce any more children,the first man continued to sleep with his wife,who gave birth to lions,leopards,snakes and scorpions. Morongo developed a relationship with the snake though,and slept with it,while Mwuetsi busied himself with his daughters. A day came,however,when Mwuetsi tried to force his wife,and the snake bit him and he fell ill. Then the land sickened;rain did not fall,plants withered,streams ran dry and people fell ill. Learning that their father should return to the primeval lake,Mwuetsi's children strangled him,buried him and chose a new king. MYRRHA Whom Aphrodite changed into a myrtle tree. NA ATIBU The father of the gods of the Gilbert Islands,Na Atibu allowed his son Nareau to slay him,so that the younger god could remove his eyes and cast them into the heavens,where they became the sun and the moon, while his brain became the stars,and his body the world. NAGAS Serpent-genies of Hindu,Jain and Buddhist myth,the Nagas are water gods,generally friendly in disposition. An example of this friendship is shown in the instance of the Naga Muchalinda protecting the Buddha from the storm. Nagas were depicted as having a human face with the tail of a serpent,and the expanded neck of the cobra. They are sons of Kadru,the daughter of Daksha,and inhabit subaquatic paradises,dwelling at the bottom of lakes,rivers and seas in splendid,jewel-encrusted palaces ever alive with dancing and song. NAGLFAR The awful ship constructed from dead men's fingernails,Naglfar was to sail against the gods of Asgard at the onset of Ragnarok,carrying the giants of Jotunheim,and captained by Loki. NAIADS Nymphs of the liquid element,these were daughters of Zeus,and known as 'fostering nymphs'. They were generally found in the company of Poseidon,Dionysos,Persephone and Aphrodite,as well as Zeus himself. They were also looked on as goddesses of marriage and sacred rites. NAIJOK See Ajok. NA KIKA Octopus lord of the gods of the Gilbert Islands. NANA BULUKU The creator of the Fon god Mawu-Lisa. NANDI The vehicle of Shiva,Nandi is a milk-white bull,and also the guardian of four-legged creatures. NANIUMLAP In the Caroline Islands,the god of fertility and festivity. Naniumlap ensured that plants grew,animals fattened,and women bore children. NANNA The Sumerian moon god. NAPAEAE Nymphs of the mountain vales in which herds grazed,these were usually found in the company of Pan,and were also known as Auloniads. The most famous of these Napaeae was the nymph Eurydice,with whom Orpheus fell in love. NAPI The creator god of the Blackfoot Indians,having made the world he fashioned men from clay,and by a river introduced himself to them. He was asked by a woman,how long they should live---should they die,and he decided the issue by tossing a piece of wood into the river,and saying that if it floated,in four days after death people would rise again,but if it sank,there would be no escape from death. The chip floated,but the woman,drunk on power,seized a stone and pronounced the same conditions on its fate. It of course sank,and death came to the Blackfoot. NARAYANA The Hindu god of the spirit moving on the waters,he is represented as a graceful and comely youth,lying on a snake couch which floats on the water,he holding his toe in his mouth. NARASINGHA The forth Avatar of Vishnu,in which the Hindu god appeared as a lion,to tear to pieces the man who,for his piety to the gods,had been granted universal dominion. NARCISSUS Son of the river god Kephissos,Narcissus was a vain youth,who spent most of his time languishing by the waters,staring at his own reflection in abject self-adoration. At length,dismayed that he could never love himself enough,he pined away,and for his arrogance the gods changed him into a flower,which still bears his name. This was poetic justice,as the nymph Echo had herself all but pined away for the unrequited love of the vain Narcissus. NAREAU The creator god of the people of the Gilbert Islands,at the beginning Nareau walked alone on Te Bo ma Te Maki,and created out of sand and water two beings,Na Atibu and Nei Teukez,from whose union sprang the gods. NASTE ESTSAN The spider woman of Navaho myth,she aided the brothers Nayenezgani and Tobadzistsini,who were on their way to the house of the sun god. She presented the brothers with two charms which were to help them on their way past four dangers which they were due to encounter on the way:the rocks which crush the traveller,the reeds which cut him to pieces,the cacti which tear him to pieces,and the boiling sands. The two charms that Naste Estsan presented to the two brothers were feathers:one to subdue enemies and one to preserve lives. NAYENEZGANI One of the two cultural heroes of the Navaho Indians,with his brother Tobadzistsini he performed many services to his people,the most famous of these being,as related in the last entry above,when the two brothers met the spider woman,Naste Estsan,who presented them with two feathers to ward off four dangers which they were to face. Having experienced many adventures,the two brothers finally reached their destination,the house of the sun god,Tsohanoai,where two women wrapped them up and placed them on a shelf. The sun god,returning,demanded to know who dared to call in his absence. His wife cautioned him,but the enraged god dragged the bundles down from the shelf,and proceeded to test the strength of the two brothers,by first throwing them on sharp spikes. Nayenezgani and Tobadzistsini,however,held tightly to the feathers that Naste Estsan had given them,and they suffered no harm. Next,Tsohanoai tried to steam the two brothers,again to no avail,thanks to the spider woman's feathers. Finally,he forced them to taste a smoking-pipe filled with poison,but a caterpillar warned them of the danger and gave them something to put in their mouths. satisfied at last,the sun god acknowledged the two brothers as his sons,and offered them the hospitality of his home. Asked about the reason for their seeking him,the two brothers told the sun god of Anaye,the monsters who devour men,and requested that he furnish them with divine weapons. Tsohanoai agreed,providing the brothers with a chain-lightning arrow,a sheet-lightning arrow,a sunbeam arrow and a rainbow arrow. The two then left the house of the sun god,descended to Earth and encountered Yeitso,chief of the Anaye (and son of Tsohanoai) by a lake. They killed and scalped him;then Nayenezgani himself slew Teelget,the dreaded four-footed beast with the horns of a deer. Using a tunnel burrowed into the monster's hide by a gopher,he succeeded in reaching Teelget's enormous heart,which he pierced with a chain-lightning arrow. Nayenezgani also slew the eagle-like Tsenahale,the Binaye Ahani,the Tsenagahi and a ferocious bear. NASTRAND In Norse mythos,the very worst spot in the underworld ruled by the goddess Hel. The roofs and doors of Nastrand were wattled with hissing snakes,that spat poison,through which perjurers and murderers had to wade,as punishment for their crimes. NAUPLIOS The son borne by Amymone to Poseidon,he became the wrecker of ships,by leading them by means of false lights and signals astray. NAUSIMEDON One of the three sons of Nauplios. NDAUTHINA The Fijian god of seafaring and fishing,Ndauthina was also the fire god. According to legend his mother tied lighted reeds upon his head when he was a child,and ever since he has roamed the reefs by night hooded with a flaming brazier. During the hours of darkness he was said to cause mischief,being the patron of adulterers. NDENGEI The serpentine creator god of the Fijians,it was said that earthquakes were caused by the shifting and turning of Ndengei in his cave. NEI NGUIRIKI The wife of Bakoa. NEITH Egyptian goddess of the upper heaven,and mother of Ra. NEI TITUAABINE The vegetation goddess of the Gilbert Islands. NEMEAN LION,THE The offspring of Typhon and Echidna,the Nemean Lion was proof against all weapons---even Hercules' poisoned arrows---but to the Greek hero fell the task of slaying it,as one of his Twelve Labours. After he had killed the beast,Hercules wore the skin of the lion,which made him almost impervious to harm. NEMESIS She was the Greek goddess of vengeance,and her province was especially in the area of crimes that had gone unpunished. She was seen as the goddess of punishment,the tracker down of the wrongdoer,the giver of luck to the fortunate,and the taker of fortune from the unworthy. Also called Adrasteia and Rhamnusia,she was represented as a thoughtful,beautiful figure of queenly aspect,with a winged crown on her head,and driving a carriage pulled by griffins. She is said to have been the daughter of either Okeanos or Erebos,with Zeus as her lover,and Helen as their daughter. To help her execute her justice,she had three attendants,Dike (Justice),Poena (Punishment) and Erinys (Vengeance). NEPH Known also as Nef,Num,Nu,Cnouphis and Cenubis,he was the Egyptian god seen as the 'spirit of God moving on the waters'. He was represented as having a ram's head with curved horns,and his sacti was Auka. NEPHELE First wife of Athamas,after her death she feared for the safety of her children,at risk from her husband's second wife,Ino,and she appeared as a shade to them,presenting them with the Golden Fleece which secured their escape. NEPHTHYS Mother of both Isis and Osiris,and in that regard,seen in Egyptian mythology as the mother of the gods. NEPTUNE See Poseidon . NEREIDES The daughters of Nereus,the ancient sea god,the Nereides---or Dorides,as they were also called---numbered,according to one account,fifty;to another,a hundred. They dwelt in a splendid cave at the bottom of the sea,and rode on dolphins or other creatures of the deep. Like all nymphs,the Nereides were playful,given to splashing about in the water,swimming,or sitting on rocks at the sea's edge,drying their wonderful tresses. It may be from them that the legend of mermaids sprung. The most famous of the Nereides were Amphitrite,Thetis,Panope and Galates. Amphitrite married Poseidon,while Zeus was strongly attracted to Thetis,but on learning that the marriage would bring forth a son who would surpass his father in might,Zeus relinquished his wish,and gave Thetis in marriage to Peleus,to whom she bore Achilles,and thereafter returned to her sisters of the sea. Of the other Nereides,it was seen that each represented a function or faculty of the sea. Galene and Glauke,for example,represented the peaceful shimmering light upon its gently moving bosom,while Thoe and Halie stood for the play of fantastic waves. The impetuous rush of billows on island shores were the province of Nesaie and Aktaee,while Pasithea,Erato and Euneike were linked with the fascination of the gaily rising tide. The swell and rush of mighty waves were seen to be under the control of Phersusa and Dynamene. NEREUS Father of the Nereides,he was the ancient sea god,who ruled before Poseidon. Represented as an old man with a look of dignity,Nereus lost his dominion over the sea when the Earth was divided among Zeus,Hades and Poseidon,and the latter was alotted the kingdom of the deep,but Nereus obtained a position under Poseidon,and also the power of prophecy. NERGAL Babylonian god of the dead,Nergal gained this position by the use of an escort of fourteen demons which followed him around;he descended to the netherworld and forced its mistress Ereshkigal to agree to be his consort,and give him dominion over not only her,but her realm also. Nergal was represented as wearing a crown and waited upon by the fourteen demons through which he had gained admittance to the underworld. He was the god of plague,pestilence,fire,battle and the desert. NESAIE One of the Nereides,under whose control was the impetuous rush of billows on island shores,together with her sister,Aktaee. NESSOS A Centaur,who gave to Deianeira,wife of Hercules,a potion which he told her was a love draught,and in which the woman steeped her husband's sacrifical robe,hoping to win back his love. But the concoction was in fact deadly poison,and Hercules,donning the robe,died soon after. NESTOR One of the wisest men in Greece who,when asked by Menalaus how he should retrieve his abducted wife,Helen,told the king that nothing less than a mighty armed force moving against Troy would restore the honour of the city,the king himself,and his errant wife. NGARIMAN A cat man who argued and fought with the brothers Bagadjimbiri,and slew the two. He was punished by the earth goddess Dilga,however,by being drowned in her milk. NGEWO God of the Mende tribesmen of Sierra Leone. NIBLUNGENLIED,THE The German version of the Norse Tale of the Volsungs. NIDUD The Anglo-Saxon king who seized Wayland the smith,and held him as his prisoner on his island fortress,having cut the sinews of the man's legs to prevent him escaping. NIFLHEIM In the Norse myth of the Creation,the great void was occupied by two regions,of which Niflheim was the region snow,ice and mist. NIKE Also known as Victoria,she was the goddess of victory,and a daughter of the giant Pallas and the Okeanid nymph Styx. She was always represented as winged,holding a palm branch,a wreath and sometimes a trophy of armour. NIMUE The Lady of the Lake,who presented to King Arthur the sword Excalibur,and who accepted it back after Arthur's defeat. She also raised the knight Sir Lancelot. NIMROD The godless king of Hebrew myth,he had attained world dominion by the wearing of the original garments of Adam and Eve,which were imbued with great power. However,not satisfied with power over the world,Nimrod wished dominion over Heaven too,and to this end decided that he would have a tower built to scale Heaven. His plan was confounded by Yahweh,though,who confused the languages of the men and women working on the construction of the Tower of Babel,so that strife broke out over misunderstandings among his people,and the tower was never completed. NINEVE The daughter of a Siren,she captured the heart of the great wizard Merlin,who allowed himself to be enslaved by her,and remained in her enchanted forest. NINHURSAGA One of the principal Sumerian gods,Ninhursaga was the goddess of reproductivity,and Enlil was her husband. NINLIL The goddess for whose rape Enlil was banished to the netherworld. Ninlin followed Enlil down into the underworld,wishing to give birth in his presence. She produced Nanna,the moon,whose escape Enlil engineered from the netherworld. NINURTA The Sumerian war god,Ninurta also had sway over the rising flood and the thunderstorm. NIOBE Who had such pride in her daughter Leto's children,that she compared them to Apollo and Artemis,who,enraged,slew all of the children. Apollo killed all the sons,while Artemis slew the daughters. When it came to the turn of the last,and youngest,daughter,Niobe begged the deities to spare the child,but they were relentless. As the final arrow entered her heart,Niobe refused to utter a sound,and was transformed into a rock,down which tears trickled silently. NJAMBI The creator god of the Lele people,his greatest gift to his children---after life itself---was the provision of the tropical forest,wherein dwelt his people. Njambi 'owns' men,protects them,orders them and avenges injustice. The animals of the forest are also under Njambi's control,as well as the spirits,the Mingehe. NJINYI The creator god of the Bamum of Cameroon,he created men healthy and strong,and was therefore unable to understand why they became cold and stiff. Njinyi asked Death to explain this,asking if it were he who caused this to happen. Death replied that men themselves desired to die,and to prove it he sat by the wayside,while the god concealed himself behind a banana hedge. Presently along came a slave,who loudly wished that he had never been born;Death relieved him of his life. So,too,the next person to pass by,an old woman who bewailed her fortune. Death took her also,and then turned to Njinyi,saying "You see how it is? They call me,and I answer their desire." Njinyi then went away sad,for he saw the truth of what Death said. NJORD The sea god of the Norse peoples,Njord had a son and a daughter,the two gods of the Vanir,Frey and Freya. NOAH The grandson of Methuselah,Noah was warned by Yahweh that a great deluge was on the way,and that he should have his sons build him a great ark,into which he was to take two of each species of animal,bird and insect,that they might escape the great flood. Noah did as ordered,and when the flood came,he and his family and all the animals were safe,being buffetted for forty days and forty nights on the sea that arose,finally emerging onto the soaked earth,and repopulating the human race. NOMIOS Another name for Apollo. NOMMO The creator deity of Dogon mythology. Amma,the supreme god,created a cosmic egg,which was divided into twin placenta,each with a pair of twin Nommo,emanations of the godhead. These sons of the god,after the gestation period of twenty years had passed,became involved in wordly affairs. NORDRI The name of the dwarf,one of four in Norse legend,who held up the four corners of the world. Nordri held up the north sky. NORNS The Norse Fates,three sisters who decided the destiny of men. (see also the Moerae) NOSJTHEJ The father of El-lal,who wished to eat his son,who eventually fought and killed him. NOTOS In Greek mythology,Notos was the god of the south wind. NOX See Nyx. NTORO The spirits that the Ashanti believe inhabit every person. They are divided into twelve types:the tough,the human,the distinguished,the audacious,the eccentric,the fanatic,the chaste,the truculent,the virtuoso,the fastidious,the liberal and the chivalrous. NUM The sky god of the Samoyeds,Num sent birds to explore the watery chaos at the beginning of the world,and from the mud they brought back he made land. NUT The sky goddess of Egypt,she was the mother of Osiris,Seth,Isis and Nepthys. She was usually depicted as a huge,naked woman whose arched back,supported by Shu,contained the heavens. NU'U The Hawaiian version of Noah,Nu'u escaped from the flood sent by Kane in a huge ark,only to be told by the god,after the deluge had passed,that its advent had been a mistake. NYAME In Akan mythology,Nyame is the supreme god. NYAMI ABE The goddess of the moon,in the mythology of the Tukano Indians. NYMPHS Personifications of the more pleasant aspects of nature,nymphs were a kind of middle being between gods and men,communicating with both,loved and respected by both. They were gifted with the power to make themselves visible or invisible at will,they could perform many feats normally only possible to the gods,and they were always young,beautiful and happy,carefree and loving,but yet when they were entrusted with the care of a thing or person,as in the case of Ida and Althaea,who were charged with looking after the infant Zeus,they took this responsibility very seriously,showing the practical,able side of female nature. There were many different classes of nymphs---different ones for rivers,others for mountains,other for trees,and so on---but they were universally female and beautiful. They lived,like the gods,on ambrosia,but seldom visited Olympus,preferring instead to remain in their secluded grottoes and forests,mountains and rivers,trees and lakes. They accompanied many of the gods when the deities walked the Earth,in particular Apollo,Hermes,Artemis and Dionysos,but they were always hostile to the wanton Satyrs. The twelve main classes of nymphs were Dryads or Hamadryads (nymphs of woods and trees),Oreads (nymphs of mountains),Limoniads (nymphs of meadows and flowers),Napaeae or Auloniads (nymphs of mountain vales),Okeanids (nymphs of fountains and streams),Nereides (nymphs of the sea),Naiads (nymphs of the liquid element),Potamids (nymphs of rivers),Limnads (nymphs of lakes,marshes and swamps---these were the only evil nymphs),Pleiads (seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione),Atlantids (daughters of Atlas) and Hyads (daughters of Atlas and Aethra). NYX Also known as Nox,was a daughter of Chaos,who became the wife of Erebos and bore to him two children,Aether and Hemera. Nyx was looked on as the goddess of night,and to her was attributed power over illness,suffering,dreams,misfortunes,quarrels,war,murder,sleep and death. In fact,anything inexplicable or frightening that befell men was attributed to her. She was supposed to occupy a place in the lower world of the Greeks,together with Day. When this latter entered the palace,Nyx would ride out in a black chariot drawn by two dark steeds,and accompanied by many stars,she would traverse the heavens until daybreak,when she would return to the palace. She was depicted as a serious figure clad in long heavy drapery,on her head a black star-spangled veil. She sported black wings,and carried two children in her arms. One was black (Death),the other white (Sleep). NZAMBI God of the Bacongo people of Angola,Nzambi is self-existent,almighty and all-knowing. He is a benevolent god,showing kindness even to the most destitute members of society. He is incapable of evil or wrongdoing,is just and merciful,the ruler and sustainer of the universe. OA ROVE A Papuan deity of unlimited life and strength,Oa Rove is seen as a shapeshifter,able to change his form at will. A legend is told of the time when he persuaded all the women of a village to get into a giant canoe,which he sailed to the top of a mountain. This was as punishment on the men who had taken all his game and birds. When the women's husbands came to rescue them,Oa Rove insisted that they fight and kill each other. ODIN All-Father of the Gods in Norse mythology,Odin was the god of battle,and he ruled,with twelve of the Aesir,in Asgard. Odin watched the world of men,Midgard,from his high seat atop Valaskialf,the tower from which he could see everything that transpired in the world below. Odin had two ravens,Hugin and Munin,who brought to the All-Father news of the world of men,and two hunting wolves also. Son of Bor and Bestla,a giantess,Odin had two brothers,Vili and Ve,and together the three destroyed the first ice giant,Ymir,and created the world. After this,Odin and his brothers created man and woman,from two lumps of driftwood they found. The man they called Ash,the woman Embla. Odin's eldest son was Thor,the god of thunder. He was also father to Balder the Beautiful,the most handsome and loved god in Asgard. His wife was Freya,and he also professed a fathership towards Loki,the god of mischief,which is somewhat in doubt,Loki having been the son of one of the giants of Jotunheim. Wishing to attain ultimate wisdom,Odin approached the wise Mimir,who guarded the waters of wisdom in his well at the root of Yggdrasil,and the father of the gods was told that if he wanted wisdom,he must pay for it. The price in this case proved to be one of Odin's eyes,which he pulled out himself and tossed into the waters of the well,thus earning a drink from the enchanted spring,and attaining the wisdom he required. It is also said that Odin hung himself on the trunk of Yggdrasil to attain knowledge. ODYSSEUS Another of the greatest heroes in Greek mythology,Odysseus has his Roman counterpart in Ulysses,and is most famous for his long voyage back from the sacking of Troy,called the Odyssey,and the adventures he had on his way home. But in fact,the story of his joining in the Trojan War is less than complimentary:visited by Agamemnon and Menalaus on their search to engage the best fighters and most heroic men for the assault against Troy,Odysseus pretended insanity,as he did not wish to go,having a good life with his faithful wife Penelope and his young son Telemachos,where he lived on the island of Ithaca. He put on a fisherman's hat,yoked a horse and an ox together,and commenced to plough,but when his son was placed in the path of the plough,Odysseus had to swerve aside,thus proving he was indeed sane,and ensuring his place in the expedition against Troy. Born a son of Laertes,king of Ithaca,Odysseus was fated to distinguish himself in the ensuing war,and become a hero of folkore. In the Trojan War he fought well,leading the Greek forces with Achilles,and indeed it was to he that the latter's famed armour was awarded,on the death of Achilles. He also it was who made the prophet Helenos,brother of Priam,disclose to the enemy the means by which the city might be taken. These were the assistance of Achilles' son,Neoptolemos,the bow and arrows of Hercules and the possession of the Palladium,an image of Pallas-Athene. The first condition was easy to fulfill,as Neoptolemos,languishing in Skyros,was eager for battle,and Odysseus journey there to bring the boy back to Troy. The second part of the bargain,however,was a little more difficult. The bow and arrows of Hercules were in the possession of Philoktetes,whom the Greeks had abandoned on the island of Lemnos,not caring to endure the screams of the injured man,who had hurt his foot. Philoktetes was not kindly disposed towards the Greeks,but Odysseus travelled to Lemnos anyway,and succeeded in tricking Philoktetes into coming to Troy,where his wound was healed,and the grateful Philoktetes handed over the famous weapon. The first victim it claimed was the instigator of the war,Paris. After his fall,the Trojans shut themselves up in their city,afraid to come out. The capture of the Palladium was a somewhat different matter. This was held within the walls of the besieged city,and again it was the brave Odysseus who ventured inside,disguised as a beggar at first,to find out where the idol was kept. Then,returning with Diomedes,and with the help of Helen,he captured the statue,brought it back to the Greek camp,thus fulfilling the third and final condition for victory. Next came the celebrated strategy of Odysseus who,on the advice of Athene,had a huge horse of wood constructed,and within concealed soldiers of Greece,himself included. The rest of the Greek fleet then set sail,giving the impression that they had abandoned the city. Joyously,the Trojans,suspicious,asked the freed Sinon,a friend of Odysseus whom the hero had left bound on the shore,as in a sacrifice,and whom King Priam had taken pity on,what the idea of the horse was. Sinon replied that it was a sacred object,and that if the Trojans took the horse into their city,they would be under the divine protection of the gods. Delighted,the Trojans followed Sinon's advice,taking the wooden horse in through the gates of the city,and revelled and partied all night,celebrating their deliverance from enemy,until they all fell asleep,drunk. Now Sinon approached the horse,opening a secret flap in its side,and the Greeks emerged from the hollow horse,signalling to the fleet,which lay at anchor not far away. Returning silently and entering the city,the Greeks fell upon the surprised Trojans,and slew most of them,putting the city to the torch,and carrying off their women. Returning from the now-conquered city,Odysseus had his most famous adventures,being blown off-course from his homeward track. The first place he came to was the country of the Cyclops,where in a cave he met one of them,Polyphemos by name,a son of Poseidon. Odysseus and his men had taken shelter in the cave,the Cyclops being absent at the time. As evening fell,the giant returned,driving his sheep,and closed up the entrance to the cave with a huge stone. Discovering the strangers,he ate two of them,then fell asleep. When he left the following morning,taking his sheep to pasture,he closed over the entrance to the cave again,reluctant to let more suppers escape. After some nights of this---and the loss of several men---Odysseus hit upon a plan for their salvation. When the Cyclops had eaten his usual meal,the hero offered him some wine. Never having tasted the drink before,Polyphemos shouted for more,which he got,until,intoxicated,he fell asleep. Then Odysseus and some of his men heated a long pole,and with it burned out the single eye of the Cyclops. Waking in a fury,blinded,Polyphemos groped around for the men,but unable to find them in the darkness,he removed the stone at the mouth of the cave,and sat there,while his sheep ambled out. He meant to grab the humans as they ran out,but Odysseus and his men had fastened each themselves to the belly of a sheep,and as the Cyclops counted and felt the fleece of his herd as they emerged,he never thought to check further,and Odysseus and his men passed out safely.Once out,and safely on the way back to the ship,Odysseus cried back jeeringly at the giant his name,which he gave as 'Nobody'. Polyphemos,imploring the aid of his brothers,cried out that he had been sorely wounded,but when they asked by who,and he told them,they laughed shortly,saying that if nobody had hurt him,what was he howling for? Enraged and frustrated,the Cyclops called upon his father,Poseidon,to punish those who had maimed him. The sea god did just this,blowing Odysseus' ships even further off-course,until he arrived at the island of Aeolos,king of the winds. Aeolos received him courteously,presenting him at his departure with a bag containing all of the unfavourable winds,that Odysseus not be torubled any further. However,as the captain slept,his men,curious as to the contents of the bag,emulated Pandora and opened the sack,thus releasing the wild winds which blew them again way off-course. This time the ships of Odysseus were blown towards the island of the sorceress Circe,whose first act was to transform Odysseus' men into swine. Softened by the hero's manner,the witch relented,changing his men back,and entertained the party there for a year,after which she advised Odysseus to journey to the Underworld,there to enquire of the shade of the seer Teiresias as to the fate in store for him. Taking her advice,the Greek hero travelled to Hades,meeting many former friends of his,and returned to Circe. Next of his adventures was to be the first mortal to successfully pass the infamous Sirens,whose singing drove men mad,and caused them to land on the shores of Sicily,where the Sirens devoured them. Ordering himself bound to the mast,Odysseus gave strict instructions that,no matter what he said during the passage through the country of the Sirens,he was not to be released until they were safely through. His men followed his orders,and though the hero strained at his bonds and frothed at the mouth,they would not untie him until they were safely past. Thus Odysseus became the first man to hear the song of the Sirens,and live,and as a result of this,the ancient enchantment of the Sirens was broken,and their power was destroyed.The expedition successfully passed the monsters Scylla and Charybdis,landed on the island of Trinakia,where grazed the sacred flocks of the sun god. Despite the warnings of both Circe and Teriesias,they plundered the herd,and as a punishment were struck at sea by a terrible storm,in which all of Odysseus' men died. He,clinging to a piece of driftwood for nine days,finally washed up on the shores of the island where lived the nymph Calypso. Despite the entreaties of the nymph to remain with her,Odysseus scorned her offer,pining for seven years on the shores of that island,till finally Calypso was prevailed upon by the gods to release him,and Odysseus left the island on a raft fashioned by the nymph,but blown about again by Poseidon,he would have perished,had it not been for the timely intervention of the sea nymph,Leukothea. Swimming to land,Odysseus was found by the daughter of the king of the Phaeakians,and after spending some time there,relating his stories to the king,the hero was sent home in a great ship. Returning to his own land,Odysseus found that his wife had remained faithful to him through all those years,despite the many suitors who had vied,and were still vying for her hand. Together with his son Telemachos,now grown to manhood,he came among the suitors,raised a quarrel and slew them all. After putting down an insurrection masterminded by the friends of the dead suitors,Odysseus spent the rest of his life reigning peacefully over Ithaca,his travels and adventures at last at an end. ODYSSEY,THE See Odysseus. OEDIPUS Son of Laios,king of Thebes,Oedipus was another victim of an oracle,which foretold that the child would slay his father and marry his mother. Fearing this,Laios sent the child to the slopes of Mount Kithaeron,where he exposed it,hoping it would die. But some herdsmen found it,and brought it to Corinth,where the king,Polybos,took to the child readily,his wife being childless. Arriving at manhood,Oedipus enquired of an oracle as to his parentage,and was told to avoid the lands of his ancestors,or he would kill his father and marry his mother. Puzzled at this,Oedipus left Corinth and took to wandering. It was in the course of his travels that he met his father,neither recognising the other,and a heated quarrel arose,during which Oedipus slew his father,thus fulfilling half of the prophecy. Oedipus finally arrived back at Thebes,the place of his birth,without actually knowing it was such. There he found the inhabitants most distressed,due to the rule of a mighty beast called the Sphinx,which lived on a high rock and guarded the entrance to the city,refusing passage to anyone who could not answer the riddle she put them,and moreover eating the luckless ones who failed to solve the problem. The riddle was this:What is it that goes on four legs in the morning,two legs at evening and three at night? The answer being,of course,Man,who crawls as a baby on four legs in the morning,or beginning of his life,walks on two legs most of his life,but needs the assistance of a walking stick,or third leg,as he approaches old age. The Sphinx,enraged,threw herself off the high cliff,and the curse was lifted from Thebes.Jokaste,the widow of Laios,had been promised to any who could free the land from the plague of the Sphinx,and also the throne of the city. Oedipus received both,thus fulfilling the second part of the prophecy uttered at his birth,marrying his own mother. He had four children by her,two sons,Eteokles and Polyneikes,and two daughters,Antigone and Ismene. When the shameful truth of their birth came to light,Jokaste killed herself,and Oedipus,accompanied only by Antigone,left Thebes,and took to wandering.Father and daughter finally arrived in Attica,and settled down,left in peace until his sons,warring over the throne of Thebes,were told by an oracle that victory would go to the one who brought their father back to the city. Neither able to persuade him to return,Eteokles sent Kreon,his uncle,to bring Oedipus back,by force if necessary. Theseus interposed though,and Oedipus,cursing both his sons,that they might die by each other's hand,died peacefully in the sacred grove of the Eumenides in Kolonos. OGOUN The Voodoo warrior hero of Haiti. OI A mythical nation who were supposed to live in Brazil,the Oi were very tall and sang in chorus as they walked. OIAX One of the three sons of Nauplios. OILEUS See Ajax. OISIN Son of Finn MacCumhaill,Oisin sailed for the mythical land of Tir na nOg,and finding it,spent 300 years there as its king. In a wood he encountered a strange being with the body of a beautiful woman,but the head of a pig. The creature declared that it was under an enchantment,that would vanish if Oisin would swear to marry it. Oisin did so,and the woman became whole,beautiful,and Oisin married her.Wishing to return to his native Ireland,Oisin was warned by his wife that many hundreds of years had passed,and that if he wished to go back,he must ride on a magical steed and not allow his own foot to touch the ground. Unfortunately,he slipped and fell from the horse,whereupon he aged rapidly,and died. OKEANIDS One of the twelve classes of Nymphs,the Okeanids were daughters of Okeanos,and were nymphs of fountains and streams. Their names reflected the different aspects of streams---Prymno,whose name meant 'like a cascade that falls over an abrupt height',Hippo,'like a swift current',Plexaure,'like a dashing brook',Galaxaure,'like the refreshing coolness of a shady stream,Calypso,'like the hidden tide',Rhodeia,'flowing among rose trees',Kallirrhoe,'like a beautiful stream',Melolois,'like a river that waters the meadows',and Telesto,'nymph of the cool springs'. OKEANOS A son of Uranos and Gaea,Okeanos was a god of the sea,like Nereus,whom he resembled,except for the addition of two short horns,and a sceptre in his hand to indicate his power. He was usually depicted as riding on a sea monster,or seated beside his wife,Tethys,in a carriage drawn by creatures of the deep. A Titan himself,he is said to have been the only one who did not take part in the war against the gods,and is generally considered the most friendly of the giants. His refusal to join in the revolt against Uranos led to his being allowed to keep his station,while his brothers were consigned to Tartaros for their treachery.Okeanos and Tethys watched over the flowering to womanhood of Hera,and it was to the two friendly Titans that the future mother of the gods turned for shelter,during the war against Uranos. Okeanos had so many children that it was said his sons alone numbered three thousand,but it was his daughters that he was proudest of,they being the Okeanids,nymphs of the streams. One of his important sons,however,was Proteus,who only left his dwelling deep in the sea for one purpose,that of taking the sea-calves of Poseidon to graze. Endowed with the power of prophecy,Proteus detested using his gift,and would go to any lengths to avoid it. OKYPETE One of the three Harpies. OLOFAT The Micronesian hero,whose exploits are recounted in the legends of that people. He was the son of Lugeilan,his mother a mortal woman. He decided to visit heaven on a column of smoke,in order to claim the recognition of his celestial relatives. This brought about a long war between the sky gods and himself,and his own death. But Lugeilan felt sorry for his son,and resurrected him,making room for him in the sky.Olofat's trickster nature was in no way mollified by this deification,however,and he continued to have adventures,and deliberately misinterpreted his father's orders concerning men,one of these resulting in sharks receiving teeth. OLORUN The chief god in the Yoruban pantheon,Olorun is the master of heaven,active in celestial and terrestrial affairs. He can see and do all things,and he knows everything. He created the universe,appointed night and day,arranged the seasons,and fixed the destinies of men. Death was introduced by Olorun to his people,at their request,since they did not die at the beginning,but remained on,old and feeble,begging for release. OLYMPUS Abode of the Greek gods,Mount Olympus was where Zeus and the other deities sat and watched,judged and controlled the world of men. OMETECUHTLI The highest god in the Aztec pantheon,Ometecuhtli was the lord of duality and the source of all existence. ONEIROPOMPOS Another name for Hermes. ONEIROS One of the two Greek gods of dreams,Oneiros was the personification of dreams,whether idle or prophetic. The former were said to issue from the ivory gate of the Palace of Dreams,the latter from the horn gate. ONI,THE Japanese demons. In Shinto,the Oni are associated with disease,calamity and misfortune. These interfering spirits are basically human in shape,but possess three eyes,a wide mouth,horns,and three sharp talons on both hands and feet. Oni can fly,often swooping down to seize the soul of a wicked man who is about to die. Buddhist monks are the sworn enemies of the Oni,and said to be the scourge of the little demons. ONUPHIS See Apis. ONYANKOPON The creator god of the Ashanti,at first he lived very close to men,but was obliged to remove his abode to the top of the sky,as a certain old woman kept banging her long pestle against him when she pounded yams. As soon as she learned what had happened,the old woman instructed her children to gather all the mortars they could find,and pile them one atop the other. This they did,until they required but one more mortar in order to be able to reach Onyankopon,and the woman told her children to take a mortar from the bottom and place it on top. As soon as this was done,though,the whole structure collapsed of course,and many people were killed. OPHELTES See Archemoros. OPS Wife of Saturn. OREADS Nymphs of mountains. ORESTES Son of Agamemnon,he avenged his father's murder by slaying Klytaemnestra,his mother,who had perpetrated the deed. For this,however,he was pursued by the tireless Erinys,who permitted him no rest. Orestes had,however,been acting under the instructions of Apollo,and begging the god for assistance,he was told that if he were to bring an image of Artemis from Taurus to Delphi,he would be saved. Travelling to the temple at Taurus,Orestes would have been sacrificed by the priestess of the temple,for the temerity of his having tried to remove the idol,had not it come to light that the same priestess was his own sister,Iphigeneia,who had been carried off by Artemis,on the point of being sacrificed to the goddess. Iphigeneia helped Orestes,and the youth returned to Delphi with the statue.However,his persecution at the hands of the demonic Erinys did not desist,and Apollo advised Orestes to take the image of Artemis to Athens,to the Areopagus,where he called for a fair trial. Apollo defended him,Athene appealing for justice on his behalf. The Erinys appeared as plaintiffs. When the voting had been cast,the decision was half-and-half,but Athene,with the casting vote,brought about Orestes' acquittal. Thereafter,he ascended his father's throne,and married Hermione. ORION A hunter whom Artemis killed,annoyed at his advances towards Eos. ORMUZD One of the highest gods in Egyptian belief,he being the personification of spiritual goodness,and the deadly enemy of Ahriman. ORO The war god of Tahiti,Oro was the 'manslayer',who took pleasure in bloody conflict and human sacrifice. He had three fearsome daughters:Toi-mata,Ai-tupuai,and Mahu- fatu-rau. His only son was Hoa-tapu. ORPHEUS The son of the Muse Kalliope and Apollo,Orpheus inherited from his mother the power to enchant every living thing with the sweetness of his music,which he played on the lyre,and with his beautiful,melodic voice,as he sang. His music won the heart of the nymph Eurydice,but tragically she died,bitten by a snake as she tried to avoid the satyr Aristaeos. Unwilling to go on living without her,Orpheus descended to the very kingdom of death,the Underworld ruled by Hades and Persephone,there to beg the return of his loved one.The power of his music gained Orpheus safe passage through the Underworld,charming and enthralling everything as he made his way towards the court of Hades. Reaching his goal at last,the bard played and sang for Hades and Persephone,and implored them to release Eurydice. Their hearts finally softened by the unearthly music (especially Persephone,to whom the music brought bittersweet memories of the world she called home,the world above from which she had been abducted),the monarchs of the realm of the dead relented,and Hades granted that Eurydice be allowed return to the world above.But there was one condition that the pale king laid down:all through the journey upwards to the living world,Orpheus must never once look back to see if the nymph was following. If he so much as turned once to check,she would be dragged back down to Hades,there to remain forever. Orpheus began the long climb to the world of light above,but the further he went,the more the silence at his back whispered to him that his loved one was not following,and eventually,just as they reached the entrance to the real world,Orpheus' frustration and fear got the better of him,and he turned.On the instant,Eurydice was pulled back down into Hades,lost forever to Orpheus. The bard dazedly returned to the world he had left,his life shattered. For seven months he sat,disconsolate by the banks of the river Strymon,his heart breaking,refusing food or drink. He broke his lyre,and would sing no more,for he had nothing to sing for now. Eventually,he retired to the higher slopes of Mount Rhodope and Haemos,but there he was discovered by a band of Maenads,who tore him limb from limb.The Muses gathered up his limbs and conveyed them to Mount Olympus,where they buried them. His head and lyre floated down the Hebros,where they arrived at the island of Lesbos,later famed for its musicians. There the head of Orpheus was buried,and nightingales sang sweeter there than anywhere in Greece. OSAWA The sky god of the Ekoi,Osawa sent a frog to men with a message that death would be the end of all things,at the same time sending a duck with the message that men should arise from the dead. Unfortunately,only the frog made the trip,and men did not hear Osawa's message of hope. OSIRIS One of the greatest gods of the Egyptians,Osiris was the god of the dead,the judge of the Underworld. He listened to Thoth describe the character of the souls of the dead,these being introduced by his son,Horus,after their good and bad deeds have been weighed in the scale of truth by Anubis. Also present at these underworld trials were forty officers,the Assessors of the Dead,represented as human but with different heads,that of a hawk,a man,a hare,a hippopotamus,a fox,a ram,a snake,and others.Osiris was depicted as bearded,either green or black in colour,wearing the crown of Upper Egypt,and swathed like a mummy. In his hands were a flail and a crook. Osiris was credited with the introduction of agriculture and other crafts,and was the initiator of religious rituals,especially the process of embalment and mummification. The legend surrounding Osiris tells of his drowning,dismembering,and the scattering of his limbs across the land and water. He was shut in a chest by his brother Seth,and dumped on the breast of the Nile. He drifted until he was discovered in the port of Byblos by Isis,his wife and sister. Seth seized the coffin,cut up Osiris' body into fourteen pieces,and scattered them throughout Egypt. Isis,however,sought the pieces of her husband,and with the aid of his mother,Nut,resurrected Osiris. His genitals,however,having been consumed by fish,could not be regrown.Osiris did not stay long on the Earth after his resurrection however,descending to the underworld,to become the judge of the dead. His murder,however,was avenged by his dutiful son,Horus. OTOS One of the two sons of Aloeus the giant,whose greatest fame was that the two brothers managed to imprison Ares in a bronze vase for thirteen months. With his brother,Ephialtes,the giant tried to ascend Mount Olympus,and both were killed by Apollo's arrows. OVDA An unfriendly forest spirit,Ovda wandered in the woods of Finland,as a naked human being with feet turned backwards,sometimes appearing as a man,sometimes a woman. Ovda would entice its victims to death by challenging them to dance or wrestle,then it would tickle or dance them to death. OYOYEWA The twin brother of Masewi. PACHACAMAC An ancient creator deity of Peru,Pachacamac forgot to provide his newly-created people with food,and when the man died of starvation,the woman accused the god of neglect,whereupon he made her fertile. Pachacamac killed the son she bore and cut the corpse into pieces,from which grew vegetables and fruits. He was,however,unable to catch the second son,so instead slew the mother. The son,Wichama,pursued the god and drove him into the sea,to avenge his mother's death. PACHAMAMA The earth goddess of the Incas. PAGE ABE The creator deity of the Tukano Indians. In the beginning was Page Abe,the sun,and Nyami Abe,the moon. Having no wife of his own,Nyami Abe tried to force the sun god's wife. Hearing of this,Page Abe deprived the moon god of his headdress and ordered him to keep away from his family. After this dispute,Page Abe created the earth and put on it animals,plants and men. His own daughter,Abe Mango,descended to earth to help teach men how to live well,teaching them the use of fire,building,pottery,weaving and cookery. PAHUANUIAPITAAITERAI A terrible sea demon,in Tahitian myth. PAKA'A The Hawaiian god of wind. PAMBA The god of the Ovambo. PAMURI-MAHSE A semi-divine assistant to Page Abe,in the mythology of the Tukano Indians. Pamuri-mahse brought down to earth many dangerous animals,including the large snakes of the river. One of the snakes,a large one with seven heads,fell in love with a girl and would have carried her off had it not been for the intervention of a medicine man and a dog,who after a fierce battle succeeded in killing all seven heads. Then the medicine man brought firewood and burned the carcass of the snake,but the smoke that arose was carried by the wind to the sea,and the snake was reborn. to the living world, PALAEMON Son of Leukothea,goddess of the sea,Paleamon was thrown in the sea with his mother,and being rescued by the Nereides,became the god of harbours. PALAMEDES One of the three sons of Nauplios. PALES Pales was the god of cattle-rearing,and it is unsure as to whether the god should be referred to as male or female,but usually depicted as an aged woman leaning on a leafless branch of a tree,or holding a shepherd's crook in her hand. PALLADIUM,THE A small wooden figure of Pallas-Athene,which was supposed to have fallen from heaven to land on the citadel of Troy,and was carried thereafter to Greece,and then to Rome. The possession of the Palladium was supposed to ensure the safety and prosperity of the city that held it,and for this reason there was outcry and horror when Diomedes and Odysseus stole the figure from the city of Troy,and indeed shortly afterwards the city fell to the Greek forces. PALLANTIDES,THE A family of fifty giants that Theseus slew single-handed,after they had tried to remove him from Athens,in order to take over the government of that city. PALLAS-ATHENE See Athene. PALLAS One of the giants who revolted against Uranos,and who was defeated by Athene. PAN Greek god of the pasture-fields,herds and herdsmen,Pan was also identified with Dionysos,god of gaiety and merriment. Woods and plains,hunting and fishing were under his immediate care and patronage,and he was also associated with music,playing the reed pipes that became known as the pipes of Pan,the story being that the god had fallen in love with a beautiful nymph called Syrinx,but she was transformed into a reed. Pan then cut and shaped the reed,and fashioned from it pipes that gave forth such haunting and wonderful music that he was once moved to challenge Apollo to a musicians' contest,over which Midas presided,judging the god of fields to be the better player. Like the herdsmen and nomads who were under his patronage,Pan travelled extensively,wandering from place to place,never settling down in one area,forever on the move. Indeed,the feeling of solitude and loneliness felt by travellers in mountains,when the weather is stormy and no sound can be heard gave rise to the word panic,the uneasiness being attributed to knowledge that Pan was near. Normally Pan associated with Oreads and nymphs,who danced to the strains of his pipes,and who he sometimes chased with violence. During the war between the gods and the Titans,Pan fashioned a kind of trumpet from a sea shell,and with it raised such a commotion that the Titans took flight,believing some monster was pursuing them. Again,when Dionysos had been set upon by many men,and was in dire straits,Pan used the trick again to set his enemies to flight. This is another instance of the origin of the word panic. Usually represented as a bearded man with a large hooked nose,Pan was also called Hylaeos,and had the ears and horns and legs of a goat. His body was covered with thick hair,and usually held either the pipes of Syrinx,or a shepherd's crook in his hand. Pan also taught men the art of breeding cattle,and how to use dogs to protect their herds against wolves and other dangers. PANDORA The daughter of no-one,Pandora was in fact fashioned by Hephaestos from clay,at the direction of Zeus,and infused by him with incredible beauty,but with also all of the weaknesses and failings of humans. Athene instructed her in the industrial occupation of women,Aphrodite gave her grace of manners,and taught her the arts of beauty,while Hermes tutored her in flattering and soothing,and the Horae and Charites helped to make her irresistable to men.Then Pandora was given to Epimetheus,who,though warned by his brother Prometheus to accept no gift from Zeus,yielded to the girl's beauty,and married her. Pandora brought with her a vase,whose lid was to remain forever closed,but her husband could not contain his curiosity,and opened it,thus setting free the evils that have beset mankind ever since. All that remained was hope. PANDROSOS One of the three daughters of Kekrops,who became the first priestess of Athene. PANOPE One of the Nereides,who became the wife of Poseidon. P'AN-KU In Chinese mythos,P'an-ku was the primeval man,who hatched from a cosmic egg. At the beginning of creation,the universe itself was an egg,which hatched open,the top half becoming the sky and the bottom half the earth. P'an- ku,emerging from the egg,grew ten feet taller every day,just as the sky became ten feet higher and the earth ten feet thicker. After 18,000 years P'an-ku died;then,like the cosmic egg,he split into a number of parts. His head became the sun and the moon,his blood formed the rivers and seas,his hair the forests,his sweat the rain,his breath the wind,his voice thunder and his fleas the ancestors of mankind. PAPA The earth goddess of the Hawaiian people,Papa was queen of the underworld,and mother of the gods. She married a mortal,Wakea,but the man's incestuous love for his daughter Ho'ohoku-ka-lani caused Papa to leave her husband,and instigate death for the Hawaiian people. PARASURAMA One of the best known of the Hindu Rishis,it was Parasurama who obeyed his father's order and slew his mother,but later asked for her to be restored,and also for the restoration of his brothers,whom angry Bharadwaja had driven insane,for their disobediance. When the thousand-armed Kartavirya invaded and carried off the sacred cow Surabhi,Parasurama killed the king,and vowed revenge on his family. PARCAE,THE See Moerae. PARIS Born a son of King Priam of Troy,and his wife Hekabe,it was prophesied by Cassandra that the boy would grow to be the death of his city. In order to try to avoid this,Priam had the child taken to Mount Ida,where he hoped it would die of exposure. The baby Paris was however found by shepherds,who brought him up. It was while under their care that the three goddesses,Aphrodite,Athene and Hera approached the young Trojan,commanding him to decide who was most beautiful. This was in reaction to the gauntlet thrown down (almost literally) by Eris,when she cast a golden apple among the three goddesses,advising them that the most beautiful of them could claim the prize. Each thinking herself worthy of the prize,the three were referred by Zeus to Paris.Each promised him something wonderful:Athene vowed that he should have immortal fame as a hero,Hera promised him the throne of Asia,while Aphrodite said that she would obtain for him the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife. At length,and after much deliberation,Paris found for Aphrodite,and in so doing drew down upon himself and his country the bitter enmity of the two losers. At that time,it transpired that oxen were required for a sacrifice being offered in Troy,and to Mount Ida came two sons of King Priam,Hector and Helenos,who took one of the herd watched over by Paris. Unwilling to give in,the shepherd followed the princes back to Troy,intending to demand restoration of his cattle. A quarrel ensued on the way,and it looked like Paris was fated to fall at the hands of his brothers,unbeknownst to any. But then Cassandra appeared and revealed the story of Paris' birth,and with great rejoicing the three returned to Troy,where Paris took his place as a son of King Priam,and a prince of the city.Commanded by Aphrodite to set sail for Sparta,Paris there met the woman whom the goddess had promised would be his wife,the most beautiful woman on earth,almost like unto a goddess herself,Helen,wife of Menalaus. The two developed a friendship that turned into something more serious and intimate,and when the opportunity to elope presented itself,Paris and Helen fled Sparta and returned to Troy,where they were married.Menalaus,however,did not take this lying down,and commanded those who had sworn an oath to aid him to now take up arms against Troy and sail to the city to rescue Helen. Thus began the nine-year Trojan War,in which so many were to die. During this war Paris distinguished himself by killing the Greek hero Achilles,but was in the end himself slain by Odysseus,with the arrows of Hercules. PARTHENIA Another name for Hera. PARTHENOS Another name for Athene. PARTHENOPE One of the three Sirens . PARVATI See Devi. PASIPHAE The wife of King Minos of Crete,who became so inflamed with desire for the White Bull of Crete that she pursued it,caught it and had by it the monster Minotaur. PASITHEA One of the Nereides,who symbolised the fascination of the gaily rising tide,together with her sisters Erato and Euneike. She was also one of the Charites. PAX See Eirene. PEGASUS The offspring of Poseidon and the Gorgon Medusa,Pegasus was a wonderful horse,fleet as the wind and with wings that could carry it through the air. After Perseus slew the Gorgon and cut off her head,Pegasus sprang from the trunk,and Perseus mounted the fabulous horse. Bellerophon also rode the horse,until he was destroyed trying to scale Olympus on its back. Zeus then presented Pegasus to Eos. PEITHO The daughter of Aphrodite,Peitho,also called Suadela,was the goddess of persuasion and soft speech. PELE The Polynesian fire goddess,renowned for her beauty,Pele wandered the world for a long time before finally settling on Hawaii. Having assumed the form of a beautiful maiden,Pele won the heart of a young chief called Lohiau. She left him on the third night of their marriage and told him to await her messenger to bring him to her house. But because of the time she was away,the young chief died of grief.Undaunted,Pele and her sisters recalled the chief's spirit and restored it to his body. Then they started on the long journey back to Pele's residence. But the goddess became enraged at her sisters' open admiration for Lohiau,and she overwhelmed them all with fire,leaving the young chief's soul to wander a second time. PELEUS The father of Achilles,at whose wedding the goddess of discord,Eris,threw down the challenge to the three goddesses as to who was the most beautiful. Peleus took part in both the first and second wars against Troy,the hunting of the Caledonian Boar,and the quest for the Golden Fleece. PELIAS The stepbrother of Aeson,who drove the latter from the throne of Thebes,and when challenged by Jason for the throne,set the hero the task of recovering the famed Golden Fleece from Kolchis. When Jason returned with the fleece,Pelias refused to step down,and was killed by Jason. PELOPS Son of King Tantalos,it was Pelops' flesh that was set before the gods by his father,Tantalos having invited them to a feast in order to test their omniscience. The gods,however,perceived the trick,and restored Pelops to life,replacing the shoulder they had already eaten with one of ivory,and despatched Tantalos to Tartaros for his crime.Pelops grew to manhood under the guidance of the gods,especially Poseidon,from whom he learned the art of managing horses,and fell in love with Hippodameia,daughter of the king of Elis. The king had been warned that his daughter's husband would kill him,so he had had an edict issued that any who could outrace him in a chariot race would have his daughter's hand,but all who failed would perish at his hand. Pelops,riding a golden chariot and winged horses,won,and Hippodameia became his wife. PEMBA Pemba and Faro,creator divinities of the Bamba people of the Niger river,descended from the sky to make the earth,but it was Pemba who first sought government over the world. He was a wood spirit,the maker of women,and the king of trees. Musso-koroni,the first woman,planted Pemba,but she did not like his thorns,and so deserted him,wandering the world causing misery and hardship. Pemba's counterpart,Faro the water god,jealous of Pemba's growing power,uprooted him. PENATES,THE See Lares. PENEIS One of the Greek river gods. PENELOPE The wife of Odysseus,who remained true to him,even through all his travels,so that when he returned from his Odyssey and found her under siege by many suitors,he slew them all. PENTHESILEA Leader of the Amazons,who came against the Greeks during the Trojan War. Achilles fought her in single combat,and killed her,though he lamented the necessity of slaying such a beautiful woman,and treated her body gently and reverently after death,handing it over for a ceremonial and honourable burial. PENTHEUS A king of Thebes,whom Dionysos had torn to pieces by his own wife and her followers,because he had dared to spy on their orgiastic rites. PEPHREDO One of the three Graeae. Her name meant 'dread'. PERIKLYMENOS A strange being who had the power of assuming any form he desired. He was defeated by Hercules. PERIPHATES An oppoent who fell to Theseus,Periphates' practice was to crush with one blow of his iron club all travellers that ventured through his territory,which lay between Troezene and Epidauros. PERSEPHONE A daughter of Zeus and Demeter,Persephone was carried off to the Underworld by Hades,who,having received the sanction of his brother---and Persephone's father---Zeus,suddenly rose up from a hole in the earth while the girl was gathering narcissus,seized her and dragged her,in his black chariot,down to the kingdom of the dead. Persephone,frightened,implored the gods to help her,but Zeus' word having been given to his brother,he made no move to help,nor would he suffer any of the other gods to render assistance to the stricken girl. Demeter searched the Earth in vain,looking for a sign of her abducted daughter,until she finally found out where Persephone had been taken. On learning this,she entreated the gods to return her daughter to her,and they agreed,with one proviso:if Persephone had eaten of nothing of the Underworld,they said,she would be released. But if she had tasted a morsel,she must remain. Unfortunately Persephone had already eaten half of a pomegranate that Hades had offered her as proof of his love,and thus she was destined to remain with the shadowy king. However,a compromise was reached,in which Persephone was allowed to spend half of the year with her mother and the gods on Olympus,with the other half being passed in the Underworld,as the consort of Hades. As queen of the shades she had control over the various dreaded beings whose occupation was to beguile men to their deaths,like the Sirens,or to avenge murder and other heinous crimes,as did the Erinys. PERSEUS Born to the imprisoned Danae when a shower of gold sent by Zeus found its way to her,Perseus was to become one of the greatest Greek heroes of all time. Shortly after his birth,Perseus was sealed,with his mother,inside a closed box which was then set on the sea,and drifted far. This was due to the fear of Danae's father,Akrisios,that the boy would grow up and slay him,taking his throne. The box was eventually rescued by a kindly fisherman named Diktys as it drifted off the coast of the island of Seiphos. Brought to the court of the king there,Polydektes,Perseus grew up under the care of his people,but when Polydektes began to woo Perseus' mother,he found the presence of the youth a problem. So he set him a task:to fetch for the king the head of the foul Gorgon,Medusa. Eager to prove himself,Perseus set off,aided by Hermes and Athene,who led him to the lair of the Graeae,three ancient hags with only one eye and one tooth between them,which they shared. Seizing the eye and the tooth,Perseus forced the drabs to tell him where he might find the nymphs who guarded the helmet of Hades,the winged shoes and the pouch which he had been advised by the gods he would need. On arriving at the place designated,Perseus obtained from the nymphs the three items,to which Hermes added Harpe,his knife with which he had cut off the head of Argos. Buckling on the winged shoes,Perseus proceeded to the lair of the Gorgon with blinding speed.The helmet of Hades made him invisible to the Gorgon---and everyone else's---sight,and using the polished brass shield which Athene had given him to see the Gorgon without actually looking into her deadly eyes,the stare from which turned men to stone,he sneaked up unseen and chopped off her head. Instantly from the severed trunk sprang Chrysaor,father of Geryoneus,and the winged horse Pegasus. Perseus put the head of Medusa into the special pouch,as directed by the gods,and left on Pegasus,pursued by the two sisters of the Gorgon. On his way back to Seriphos,Perseus met the giant Atlas,whom he turned to stone for Atlas' refusal to treat him courteously,and also released Andromeda,daughter of Kepheus and Kasseipeia,who had been chained to a rock as a sacrifice for the fearsome Kraken. Struck by the girl's beauty,Perseus vowed to save her if she would marry him. And thus the Kraken was slain,and Perseus carried off Andromeda.Returning to Seriphos,the hero found his mother under the unwanted attention of Polydektes,and presented himself to the king,showing the head of the Gorgon to him and all his nobles,who were all turned to stone.Perseus then also turned the island into a great rock,sparing only Diktys and his people. His quest over,Perseus handed back the winged shoes,the pouch and the helmet to Hermes,for return to the nymphs from whom he had borrowed them. He presented the head of Medusa to Athene,who ever after wore it on her shield,and then he took his mother and his wife in search of his grandfather,finding him at last in Larisa in Thessaly. There Perseus took part,alongside Akrisios,in games to comemmorate the death of the father of the king of Thessaly. In the course of throwing the discus,however,Perseus dropped it on Akrisio's foot,thus killing him and fulfilling the prophecy uttered before his birth. Perseus returned to Argos,but chose to rule instead over Tiryns,later founding Mykenae. He had two sons by Andromeda,Elektryon and Alkaeos. PERUNU The ancient Slavic thunder god,portrayed as a man,usually carved out of wood,with a silver head and a gold moustache. PHAENNA One of the Charites. PHAETON Son of the sun god,Helios,Phaeton got into an argument with Epaphos concerning his parentage,and begged his father to prove that he was indeed his son,by allowing him to drive his sun chariot across the sky for one day. Resisting the idea at first,Helios finally gave in,and Phaeton rode the chariot of day across the sky. But the boy could not control the horses,and the chariot went out of control,causing terrible carnage on the Earth below. Zeus,alarmed at the further damage that the son of Helios could cause,struck him dead. PHAETHUSA One of the sisters of Phaeton,who wept so for his death that they all three were transformed into larch trees,whose tears,constantly flowing,were changed to amber. PHANTASOS One of the helpers of Morpheus,Phantasos tricked dreamers with innumerable and strange phenomena. PHEME The goddess of fame and report,whether good or bad,she was sleepless,always prying,swift of foot,announcing whatever she saw or heard,at first only to a few people,and in a whisper,then to larger groups and people,and louder,until finally she had traversed heaven and earth communicating it. She was a daughter of Gaea,and represented as a gentle,tender figure,winged and holding a trumpet. PHERUSA One of the Nereides,her province was the swell and impulse of mighty waves,with her sister Dynamene. PHILOKTETES One of the many heroes who sailed against Troy,Philoktetes had inherited the bow and arrows of Hercules,and on the way to Troy was bitten by a snake,his cries of pain so offputting to the Greeks that they determined to leave him on the island of Lemnos,where he had suffered his injury. He had later to be returned for though,as the oracle advised that the famous bow and arrows of Hercules would have to be used in the war,if the Greeks were to achieve victory. Odysseus sailed to Lemnos,got around Philoktetes to come to Troy with him,where his snakebite injury was cured,and Philoktetes reconciled to the Greeks. There the bow and arrows were used to slay first Paris,then ensure the defeat of Troy. PHILOMENA One of the two daughters of Pandion,Philomena and her sister Prokne exacted a terrible revenge on Tereus of Thrace,who obtained Proken as his wife,but then wanted Philomena also,and pretending the former was dead, tore out her tongue to prevent her from revealing the truth. Prokne,however,embroidered the details of her mutilation on a piece of tapestry,and sent it to her sister. The two then killed the king's son,Itys,and placed his flesh before Tereus as a dish. Pursuing the two sisters,Tereus was turned into a lapwing,while Prokne was transformed into a swallow,Philomena becoming a nightingale. PHINEUS A king of Thrace,whom the gods had punished for the crime of cruelty to his own son and---more importantly- --contempt of they themselves,by setting on him the Harpies,who allowed him no rest,fouling or carrying off his food. Having shown the Argonauts the way to Kolchis,however,he was freed of the dread sisters by the two sons of Boreas the wind god,Kalais and Zetes. PHOBETOR An assistant to Morpheus,Phobetor was the author of alarming dreams. PHOBOS Whose name means 'alarm'. Phobos was one of the two hunting hounds of Ares. PHOEBE One of the twelve Titans. PHOEBOS See Apollo . PHOENIX One of the three sons of Agenor,and brother to Europa. PHOLOS A Centaur,Pholos was a good friend of Hercules,and prior to his capture of the Erymanthian Boar,the Greek hero called on him in the cave in which he dwelt,on Mount Pholoe. There the Centaur offered Hercules food,and also wine given the Centaurs by Dionysos,and which was the communal property of all the Centaurs. His people,however,aroused by the smell of the wine,surrounded the cave and a great fight ensued between they and Hercules,during which the hero slew most of them.However,after the fight Pholos was examining one of the poisoned arrows of Hercules,when it fell into his foot and he died. PHORKYS Mother of the Sirens,and the Gorgons. PHRIXOS One of the two children of Nephele and Athamas,Phrixos escaped with Helle on the golden ram sent by his mother,and whereas Helle perished in the sea,Phrixos safely reached Kolchis,where he sacrificed the ram to Zeus,and hung up the fleece,which was the selfsame Golden Fleece that Jason and the Argonauts later sought. PICUS A prophet and forest god of the Romans,,Picus was a son of Saturnus,and spurning the affections of Circe the witch,was turned into a woodpecker by the sorceress. PICUMNUS With his brother Pilumnus,Picumnus was one of the Roman gods who watched over married life. PIERIDES,THE See Muses,the. PIEROS A Thracian who had nine daughters,and so proud of their musical skills was he that he had them challenge the Muses to a contest of music,which the mortal women naturally lost,and were as a consequence changed into singing-birds. PILLAN In Auca mythology,the god to whom was attributed sudden storms,floods and volcanic eruptions. PILUMNUS See Picumnus. PIMPLA One of the streams of which were the Muses. PINGA In Eskimo belief,the goddess who acts as the guardian of game,the controller of the hunt,the protectress of the living and the helper of the Angakut,the Eskimo medicine men. PLEIADS Seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione,sisters of the Hyads. PLEIONE Mother of the Pleiads,and wife of Atlas. PLEXAURE One of the Okeanids,whose name meant 'like a dashing brook'. PLUTO>BR> See Hades. PLUTOS Son ofJasion and Demeter. PODARGE One of the three Harpies. POENA One of the three personal attendants of Nemesis,Poena was concerned with the punishment of wrongdoers. POLIAS Another name for Pallas-Athene. POLLUX See Dioscuri,the. POLYBOTES One of the giants who warred against the gods,and fled when the cause was lost. He was slain by Poseidon,who flung a rock at him,which buried the giant. POLYDEKTES King of Seriphos,and a brother to the fisherman Diktys,who had rescued the castaway Danae and her infant Perseus. Polydektes,amorous of Danae,set Perseus the task of retrieving the head of the Gorgon Medusa,and returning it to the king. While the youth was away on this quest,Polydektes wooed his mother,but she held firm,and when Perseus returned with his prize he used the head of the Gorgon to turn Polydektes and all his retinue to stone. POLYDOROS The only son born to Kadmos and Harmonia. POLYHYMNIA The Muse of Song and Oratory. (See also Muses,the) POLYIDOS The seer who gave to Bellerophon the advice he needed to catch the winged horse Pegasus. POLYNEIKES One of the two sons of Oedipus,Polyneikes and his brother Eteokles had taken over the rule of Thebes after the abdication of their father,and had agreed among themselves that each should reign a year about. But when it came to time for Polyneikes to ascend to the throne for his year,Eteokles refused to give rule of the city over to him,even exiling his brother from Thebes. Polyneikes went to Sikyon,where he became friends with Tydeus,another pretender to the throne. Here he hatched a plot to take the throne of Thebes from his brother by force,and to this end he enlisted the aid of six other heroes,among them his friend Tydeus and the king of Sikyon,Adrastos. Also in the company were Kapaneus,Eteoklos and Parthenopaeos,and the princely seer Amphiaraos. These seven,then,marched against Thebes,where,instead of regaining his throne,Polyneikes died at the hands of his brother,killing Eteokles with his last breath. POLYPHEMOS A son of Poseidon,Polyphemos was a Cyclops,whom Odysseus met while on the way back to his native land. (See also Odysseus) POLYPHONTE Whom Aphrodite changed into an owl. POMONA The goddess of garden fruits,she was represented wearing a wreath of these objects,or holding in her hand a cornucopia of them,with a dog by her side. She is normally depicted as a virgin in rustic garments. She was supposed to have been originally a Hamadryad,but yielded her affection to Vertumnus. She was specifically a Roman goddess. PONTOS The unfruitful sea,whose child,with Gaea,was the sea god Nereus. PORPHYRION The king of the giants that warred against the gods. POSEIDON One of the three sons of Kronos,Poseidon (also known as Neptune) was allotted the dominion over the sea when the world was divided between the three brothers,Zeus,Hades and himself. Poseidon was given total control and domination over the water element,and thus became the god of the sea. He vied with Athene for the sovereignty of the soil of Attica,the gods agreeing that whoever could perform the greatest wonder,while at the same time conferring the most useful gift on the land,should have dominion over Attica.With a stroke of his trident Poseidon caused a brackish spring to well up on the Acropolis of Athens,a rock 400 feet high,which had previously been totally arid and without water. But Athene went one better,causing the first olive tree to grow on the same barren rock,and thereby won the contest,gaining sovereignty over Attica. Hardly graceful in defeat,Poseidon was known to strike back at those who had beaten him,by using his powers as god of the sea. In the instance related above,he afterwards flooded the land of Attica,and in another dispute,this time with Hera,over the district of Argos,he did the opposite,causing a perpetual drought to assail the land. Again,he had quarrels with Helios,over the possession of Corinth,Zeus over Aegina,Dionysos,concerning Naxos,and Apollo for Delphi. These,however,were but mild expressions of Poseidon's anger and wrath;the more obvious and damaging aspect of the sea god's revenge was shown in the monsters he sent to plague towns and coasts,like the Kraken,which he sent to devour Andromeda. He also it was who caused the White Cretan Bull,which he had given to King Minos as a sacrifice,to turn wild,and he too who placed within Minos' wife,Pasiphae,an unnatural desire for the beast. He was not always an angry god,though. In Lerna in Argos,he pierced the earth with his trident,bringing forth water for the love of Amymone,who was in distress as she could not find the water that her father had sent her to fetch. In Thessaly another stroke of his mighty trident broke through the high mountain,freeing the land from the constant floods that had beset it. Poseidon fathered the fabulous flying horse Arion,with Demeter,and Pegasus,with Medusa,the Gorgon. He also sired the golden ram that Nephele sent to her children,to save them from the murderous attentions of their new mother,and whose Golden Fleece the hero Jason later sought. Also offspring of his were Antaeos the giant,Polyphemos the Cyclops,Pelias and Nestor. The horse was one of his strongest symbols,both at sea and on land. In this capacity he was closely identified with Demeter,with whom he had sired Arion,and his capacity for work reflected in the fact that,after having argued with Zeus after the conclusion of the war with the Titans,both he and Apollo were sentenced to a year in the employ of Laomedon,the king of Troy,in the building of the walls of that city. Poseidon's rule over the sea had been suspended for that year,and the two gods worked hard,but at the end of their service Laomedon refused to pay them as agreed. Furious,the sea god devastated the land with a flood,and sent one of his sea monsters to plague the coast. He wanted Laomedon to sacrifice his daughter Hesione to the beast,but Hercules slew the monster and carried the girl off. POSHAIYANGKYO The first man,in the mythology of the Pueblo Zuni,he found a way out of the womb in which all things were born,and asked the sun to release all the other creatures still imprisoned. So Awonawilona sent the divine twins to cleave the earth with thunderbolts,descend on threads of spider web,and bring the race of men into the light. POTAMIA Another name for Artemis. POTAMIDS Nymphs of the rivers. POTHOS Greek god of the anxieties of love. PRIAM Son of Laomedon,whom Hercules slew after the king refused to grant,as agreed,his daughter Hesione's hand to the hero,Priam (who had previously been named Podarkes,and the only one spared by Hercules,at the entreaties of his sister,Hesione) became ruler of Troy in Laomedon's stead,and had by his wife Hekabe a most famous son,Paris. When the time came for Paris to be born Priam,warned by Cassandra that the boy would grow up to be the ruin of his country,abandoned Paris on the slopes of Mount Ida. Paris,however,was found by shepherds who raised him,and thus the boy brought terrible misfortune on his country.It was Priam who believed the story of Sinon who,having been left behind when the Greek pretended to retreat,leaving only the Wooden Horse and Sinon behind. Priam,too,it was who ordered the horse taken into the city,thus sealing the fate of Troy. Priam fell by the hand of Neoptolemos. PRIAPOS Also called Lutinus by the Romans,Priapos was the son of Dionysos and Aphrodite,and was the god of the fertility of nature. He was seen as the guardian of vineyards,gardens and cultivated fields. His sigils were a drinking cup and a spear. PROETOS Brother of Akrisios,and son of Abas,Proetos and his brother hated each other from infancy,and Proetos,growing to manhood and finding himself constantly defeated in the fraternal encounters,left for Lycia,where he was welcomed by the king there. With the aid of a Lycian army he marched against his brother,gaining dominion over Argos and Corinth,fortifying himself in the citadel of Tiryns,while his brother held out at Larsia. Proetos had three daughters,whose haughty manner and scorn of the gods resulted in their being driven insane by Hera,wandering aimlessly through the woods of Argos and Arcadia,lowing like cows,which they believed they were. Proetos called upon his prophet,Melampos,to try to cure them,but the man demanded a third of the kingdom for the service,and Proetos sent him away. The evil worsened,however,and Proetos had to call Melampos back again,this time the prophet demanding a further third of the kingdom,for his brother,Bias. Now the king agreed,and Melampos,gathering to him a body of able youths,pursued the daughters of the king across the mountains,on to Sikyon,where the eldest died,and the other two,being cured,were married to Melampos and Bias. Proetos also figured in the legend of Bellerophon,where the hero,residing at his court,was accused by the king's wife,Stheneboea,of trying to ravish her,and as a result of this,Proetos sent Bellerophon to Lycia,with a letter that asked the king to have the bearer killed. PROKNE See Philomena. PROKRIS The wife of Kephalos,for whose love the Greek withstood the advances of Aura. Prokris was slain by her,by accident,but as part of Aura's revenge on Kephalos. PROKRUSTES See Damastes. PROMETHEUS Son of the Titan Japetos,Prometheus saw the deplorable condition of man,who was without the fire that Zeus so jealously guarded,and his heart was wrung with pity for them. Prometheus had already incurred the wrath of the father of the gods when he had officiated in a test to see exactly how much of an animal should be sacrificed by men to the gods. Prometheus slaughtered an ox,wrapped up all the edible parts in the skin of the animal as one portion,and disguised the bones and other worthless parts with fat as the other portion. Then he offered the two portions to Zeus,who chose the worthless one. Prometheus snatched fire from the forge of Hephaestos and brought it to man,and for this audacity he was chained living by the crippled god to a rock in the Caucasus Mountains,where a vulture came every day to gnaw on his liver. The Titan endured this punishment for a long time,until finally Zeus allowed Hercules to release him from his torment,as Prometheus possessed secret knowledge of the end of Zeus himself. PROSERPINA See Persephone. PROTEUS The son of Okeanos and Tethys,Proteus lived in a deep cave under the sea,leaving there only to lead the sea- calves of Poseidon to graze. He had the power of prophecy,but hated using it,and would go to great lengths to avoid having to employ his power. In order to accomplish this,he had the power to transform himself into any shape he desired. PRYMNO One of the Okeanids,whose name meant 'like a cascade which falls over an abrupt height'. PSYCHE A beautiful king's daughter,of whom Aphrodite became jealous,and charged Eros to visit her and inspire her with love for some common man. The god of love,however,on seeing Psyche was himself struck with her pretenatural beauty,and carried her off. They spent much happy time together,but Psyche was not allowed to look upon Eros with her mortal eyes. However,being only mortal,her curiosity got the better of her,and she stole into his bedchamber one night,holding a lamp the better to see the face of her mysterious lover. But in alarm at her discovery,she dropped a globule of hot oil on the god's shoulder,which caused him to awake,and,furious at her having disobeyed him,flew off.Psyche searched everywhere for Eros,finally arriving at the temple of---unbeknownst to her--her rival,Aphrodite. The goddess charged her to descend to the Underworld,there to fetch her a box of Persephone's beauty ointment,which she brought back. The scent,however,overpowered her and she sank dead. But Eros,wrung with remorse,brought her back to life and obtained for her immortality,the two being married thereafter. PSYCHOPOMPOS Another name for Hermes. PTAH The artisan of the Egyptian gods,Ptah is in fact another facet of Neph. He is normally represented as a man holding the Ankh,the symbol of life and the generative forces of the universe. PUARATA One of the evil sorcerers whom Hakawau overthrew. PULOTU The Tongan land of the dead,which they believe to be an unseen island,to which one journeyed in a boat. PURGATORY In Christian myth,Purgatory is believed to be an intermediatary between Heaven and Hell. Souls judged not evil enough to be consigned to the Flames,but not yet pure enough for Heaven,are believed to be sent there,where they await the intercession of those on Earth,who can secure their release by prayers. The basic belief is that,once a soul has been purged of its evil,it may then pass through the gates of Paradise. PUSHAN The Hindu god of cattle and possessions,Pushan carries an ox-goad,and rides in a carriage drawn by goats. He is said to have no teeth,due to an altercation that arose between Shiva and the other gods,during which the Destroyer wrought unmentionable havoc. PWYLL One of the greatest Welsh heroes,Pwyll encountered grey-clad Arawn,the magician,and king of the underworld,Annwfn,and they agreed to exchange forms and responsibilities for a year. Later he married Rhiannon,but lost her temporarily to the deceitful Gwawl,the disappointed suitor who had the support of her family. Later he recovered her,but the curse of Gwawl's family meant that the family underwent terrible hardship and misfortune,even after Pwyll was dead. PYGMALION The Adonis of Cyprus,into whose statue Aphrodite breathed life. PYRRHA Wife of Deukalion,who were both saved by Zeus from the great flood,and thereafter repopulated the world. PYTHIOS Another name for Apollo. PYTHON The great snake which barred Apollo's way to his oracle at Delphi,and which he slew,ever afterward establishing his seat at Delphi. QASAVARA The cannibal queen of the mythology of Banks Island,who ate the brothers of Qat,and was killed by him. QAT The good-natured spirit hero of Banks Island,Qat was a vui.born of Qatgoro,the rock that burst asunder,and he found himself able to talk at once,growing to full maturity immediately. He had eleven brothers,of whom the most notable were Tangaro Gilagilala,who was omniscient,and Tangaro Loloqong,who was a fool,and knew nothing,behaving like an idiot. Qat created trees,pigs,night and men,the latter with the assistance of the spider vui Marawa. For six days Qat carved the bodies of men and women from a tree,then he hid them for three days,and then he brought them forth,beguiling them to life by dancing and beating on a drum. Marawa,however,took his people and buried them in a pit,leaving them there for six days. After that time,he dug them up,but they were dead,and so death entered the world. Marawa and Qat were friendly rivals,and often helped each other. There was an occasion when Qat's brothers,jealous of his wife,Ro Lei,tried to drown him,seized his wife and paddled off to a distant island. Qat then took a coconut-shell bottle and put all his things within it,made himself small and got into the bottle,having his mother throw it into the sea. Pursuing the canoe of his brothers,Qat threw a banana skin in the water,that they might see he was still alive. Then he landed on the shore,smashed the canoe,and took back his wife. The cannibal queen,Qasavara,actually ate Qat's brothers when they went in search of fruit,but Qat killed the queen and found his brothers' bones in the monster's food chest. He revived them by blowing through a reed,and bidding them,if they were his brothers,laugh. QATGORO The giant stone from which was hatched the hero Qat. QETESH Egyptian goddess of love and beauty,she was depicted as a naked woman,standing full face on a lion,holding a bunch of flowers in one hand and a snake in the other. QUDLIVUN The Eskimo heaven. QUETZALCOATL The plumed serpent god of Central America,Quetzalcoatl was the giver of breath and the god of the winds. He was also a creator god,who descended into the land of the dead,Mictlan,where he fell like one dead. On his recovery,he gathered up the precious bones there,returned to earth and,sprinkling them with his own blood,turned them into human beings. Quetzalcoatl's enemy was Tezcatlipoca,a chief warrior who tricked the god into taking his form. Quetzalcoatl was then consumed by drunkenness and sensuality,and after a mock death in a stone box,he ordered the abandonment of the city of Tollan. He burned his palace,buried his treasures,and,putting on his insignia of feathers as well as his green mask,he departed in great sorrow. Reaching the seashore,he sailed away on a raft of serpents,declaring that some day he would return to reclaim his throne. QUIRINUS A Roman war god associated with Jupiter and Mars. RA God of the sun,and one of the major gods in Egyptian mythology,Ra was represented with a hawk's head,over which was a solar disk. His mother was Neith,and he married Mut. Ra's children were Athor, Mu and Mat. From Ra's name comes the word Phrah,which later became translated as Pharaoh,thus every Pharaoh was titled as son of the sun.house. But Ra was the Egyptian creator god,who brought forth the divine pair, Shu and Tefnut,from whose union came the earth god Geb and the sky goddess, Nut. Ra's arch-enemy was the serpent Apophis,and it was his son Shu that eventually overcame the dragon. The Egyptians believed that the struggle between Ra and Apophis took place during the night,when Ra,as the sun god,had to retreat from the heavens. Indeed,even during the day the evil serpent was believed to defy the power of Ra,raising storm clouds in the sky,in an attempt to obscure the light and power of the sun. Ra ruled for an age,and during that time he became old and senile,and many of the legends that attach to him relate to the period of his dotage,such as when Isis tricked him into uttering his name,thus giving her much more power than she had. Or the cow goddess Hathor,whom Ra sent to destroy the world,but who was diverted by the lakes of beer sent by the addled god,since he could not face the sight of men's blood.Ra also played a conspicuous role in the care of the dead,setting up with Horus in the royal tomb the ladder of escape for the dead pharaoh. Ra also led the spirits of dead kings into the palace of the gods. RAGNAROK The Twilight of the Gods,Ragnarok was the time spoken of in Norse myth when the forces of evil would rise and march against the gods of Asgard,led by the renegade Loki. On Midgard,the Fimbul Winter would come,an axe age,a sword age,when brother would kill brother,and peace and goodness would pass from the world. Above,in Asgard,the gods would march to meet the frost giants,and the awful children of Loki, Jormungand the world serpent,and Fenrir the wolf,as well as the Evil One himself. The giants would swarm across the Rainbow Bridge,which would break under their assault.In Ragnarok,all the gods were fated to die in different ways,and also all the mortals of Midgard,except for two,who would live on and recreate the race. Balder,the shining god slain inadvertently by blind Hodur,at Loki's urging,would return to lead these people to a new age. RAHU The Hindu demon who succeeded in obtaining a sip of the water of life, Amrita,at the Churning of the Ocean. Infused with the power of this elixir,Rahu forced Vishnuto cut off his head in order to prevent him gaining complete impregnability. RAKHSHASAS,THE The powers of darkness,in the Hindu mythos,against which Indra constantly battles. RAKIM The carpenter god of the Caroline Islands,who helped the people there build their canoes and houses. RAMA One of the incarnations of Vishnu,Rama was born in response to the threat of the demon Ravana,who had attained extreme power due to severe penances and austere devotion to Brahma. Appearing to Das-ratha within the sacrificial fire,Vishnu gave the king a pot of nectar,directing that his wives should drink it. Das-ratha's wife Kausalya drank half of it,then gave birth to Rama. The young Rama was approached by the sage Viswamitra,pleading his help against the folk of Ravana,and Rama,overcoming his aversion to fighting a woman,slew the female demon Taraka. Later the sage brought Rama and his brothers to the court of King Janaka of Videha,where Rama met and married the king's daughter, Sita,in response to the king's challenge to bend the bow of Shiva. Rama not only bent the bow,but broke it.When the time came for him to become the successor to his father, Bharata's mother prevailed upon Das-ratha to install her son as king for fourteen years,and send Rama into exile. Although Bharata declined the throne,and asked Rama to return,the god asked him to remain as regent,while he completed his exile. Taking his wife and his brother, Lakshmana,Rama travelled extensively,rebuffing the advances of the female demon Surpanakha,who in revenge had her brother Ravana carry off Sita.In their pursuit,Rama and Lakshmana slew Kabandha,a headless monster,whose spirit advised them to seek the aid of the monkey king, Sugriva. Assisted by he and Hanuman,they invaded Ravana's stronghold,slew the demon,and reclaimed Sita. RANGI The sky god of the Maoris,Rangi embraced his wife, Papa,so closely that their children could not break free of the womb. Of these children,two, Tu-matauenga and Tane-mahuta,decided to slay their parents and thereby escape the womb. However,this proved not to be as easy a task as spoken,and Tane-mahuta eventually had to do the work,rending the two deities apart. RANNO Garden god of the Egyptians,Ranno was depicted as an asp. RASHNU The just judge of Persian mythology,he judges the souls of the dead,along with Mithra and Sraosha,and he is not open to persuasion. He weighs the good or bad of a person regardless of their status in life previously. The soul was thought to sit beside the corpse for three days,awaiting Rashnu's verdict. Then,the saved would be assisted in crossing over the Bridge of Separation by a fair maiden,and led to heaven. The damned,however,woudl find that the bridge was thin as a razor's edge,and would topple down to hell,where a hideous woman was waiting. She passed on the condemned soul to the demons,and they imprisoned it in Druj,the place of torment. RATI The Balinese goddess of fertility and maternity,Rati was depicted as a pregant woman,leering. RATOVOANTANY The creator god of the Madagascan pantheon,Ratovoantany was himself created by the supreme god, Zanahary,who found him on the earth,drying clay figures of human beings and animals that he had made. Ratovoantany,however,could not give these figures life,and Zanahary said he would do so,but the creatures must live in heaven. The other god refused,and as a compromise they agreed that the supreme god could give life to the men,but he was also allowed to take it back. RATU-MAI-MBULA The ruler of the dead in the belief of Fiji,Ratu-mai-mbula was a serpentine deity,and also the god of fertility. RAVANA The demon ruler of Sri Lanka,who stole Rama's wife, Sita. For this Rama invaded the demon's kingdom and destroyed it,killing Ravana himself. REGIN In Norse mythology,Regin was the brother of the otter killed by Loki,and also of Fafnir,who was transformed by the power of the curse of Andvari's ring into a great dragon. Regin was a smith,who taught the young hero Sigurd all the arts and sciences,and forged for him a great sword,which which the hero was to kill Fafnir,that Regin might have the treasures that the dragon guards. But the sword broke upon its first trial,and Sigurd,in contempt,had Regin reassemble the sword of his father,the great blade Gram. When Sigurd had slain Fafnir,and Regin demanded the treasure,Sigurd slew him with the sword. REIFRIESEN,THE Norse giants who brought the winter. REIMTHURSEN,THE In Norse legend,the great Frost Giants. REMUS With his brother, Romulus,Remus was the offspring of Mars and a vestal virgin. They were both abandoned at birth,but found and suckled by a she- wolf,and brought up by herdsmen. Returning to the land of their birth,the twins founded the city of Rome,but Remus was killed by Romulus,in a quarrel. Romulus found that his city,Rome,suffered from a lack of women,and righted this situation by carrying off the Sabine maidens at a festival. Romulus reigned for forty years in Rome,after which he vanished. RENUKA The wife of the Hindu Rishi Bharadwaja,whom he ordered killed,having discovered that she felt jealous on seeing a loving couple in the river. Of all his sons,only Parasurama would carry out the deed,though he later asked his father to restore his mother,which Bharadwaja did. RERIR Father of Volsung,and descendant of Odin. REVELATIONS,BOOK OF The apocalyptic concluding book of the Christian Bible,which describes the coming of the Antichrist, Judgement Day and the end of the world. RHADAMANTHYS One of the three sons of Europa,he taught the young Hercules,and at his death was selected as one of the three judges who helped Hades and Perspephone decide the fates of the dead. RHAMNUSIA Another name for Nemesis. RHEA Wife of Kronos,and mother to such gods as Poseidon, Hera, Demeter, Zeus, Hades and Hestia,Rhea represented the fertilising force in nature. It was she who saved her son Zeus from being swallowed by his father,when Kronos had determined that,in order to prevent an oracle coming true,he would devour every one of his sons. Rhea offered the god a rock shaped roughly like a baby,and Kronos,unsuspecting,swallowed it. Thus Zeus lived,to return and challenge---and in the end,oust---his father. Drawn to the irresistable beauty of the shepherd Attis,who was due to marry the daughter of the king of Pessinus,Rhea appeared suddenly amongst the wedding-guests,causing great fright and consternation,and spurring Attis to terrified flight. The shepherd maimed himself,and died beside a pine tree,into which his soul transmigrated,and his blood turned into violets that ringed the tree. Grieved by the incident,Rhea implored Zeus to restore her lover. But as this could not be,Zeus reached a compromise with her:he declared that Attis' body should never decay,that his hair should always grow,and that his little finger should always move. RHIANNON Wife of the Welsh hero Pwyll. RHODEIA One of the Okeanids,whose name meant 'flowing among rose trees'. RHOETOS One of the giants who rebelled against the gods,Rhoetos was slain by Dionysos. RIITI The eel god of the Gilbert Islands .RISHIS The Hindu seers,of whom many were incarnations of Vishnu. The most famous were Gotama, Bharadjawa, Viswamitra, Jamad-agni, Vasishtha, Kasyapa and Atri,as well as Bhrigu and Daksha. RO LEI The wife of Qat. ROGO-TUMU-HERE The demon octopus of Polynesian myth,which captured Hina-a-rauriki,and was killed by Tagaroa. ROKOLA The carpenter god of Fiji,he built the canoes that allowed the islanders to navigate the seas and settle Fiji. ROMULUS See Remus. RO'O The Tahitian prayer chanter,Ro'o cured the sick and the injured by driving out evil spirits. He was the son of the sky god Atea. RUDRA See Shiva. RUGABA The creator deity of the Ankore of Uganda. RUHANGA God of the Ugandan Banyoro tribes,Ruhanga supplies his people with fertility and plenty,giving them children,animals and harvest. He is,however,also the author of disease,sickness and death. Man lost his ability to come back from the dead due to the refusal of a woman,whose dog had died,to dress up and meet the newly risen,as was required. Seeing that men cared little about the dead,Ruhanga declared that from that on,they would no longer rise from the dead. SAKPATA The ruler of the earth,in the myth of the Fon,Sakpata's dreadful weapon is smallpox. SAOSHYANT In Persian mythology,he is the saviour who will come to renew life at the end of time. He will remove every trace of the evil of Ahriman,and usher in the 'second existence',uniting souls with their bodies. The Judgement Day of the Persians was seen to manifest itself in a mighty conflagration that will engulf the earth,and seem just like warm milk to the righteous,while to the evi it will be exactly as it was. But even the sins of the damned will be purged in this fire,and all shall return in joy to Ormuzd. SARASWATI The Hindu goddess of poetry,eloquence,wisdom amd fine art,she is the sacti of Brahma. SARPANITU The consort of Marduk. SARPEDON One of the three sons of Europa,and brother to Minos and Rhadamanthys. SASABONSAM A monster from Ashanti myth,the Sasabonsam was a hairy beast with large bloodshot eyes,long legs and feet pointing both ways. Its favourite trick was to sit in the high branches of a tree and dangle its long legs,so as to entrap unwary hunters. SATAN In Hebrew,the word Satan means 'adversary',and indeed the myth built up by the Christian belief of Satan,the Evil One,is that in the beginning he was an angel who resided in Heaven with God,one of his more favoured ones. But attempting to seize the throne of Heaven for himself,Satan was defeated and he and his followers thrown out of Paradise,down into a specially-prepared domain where Satan ruled. The demense was called Hell,and here the Adversary plotted and schemed how he might pay God back for the insult and the ignominy he had suffered. At last he saw his chance:having created Paradise on Earth,the Garden of Eden,God set the first two humans,Adam and Eve,as caretakers of this place,charging them to eat anything but the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Satan,sliding into Eden as a snake,convinced the woman Eve to taste the fruit of the tree,telling her that she and her husband would be as God himself if they did so. Eve gave in,tasted the fruit,and passed some to Adam. For breaking the only rule God had set them,the pair were cast out of Eden,and Satan had his revenge. But that was only the beginning. Ever since then,Satan has been seen in Christian belief as the antithesis of all things good,as the perpetual enemy of God and his children,and as the tempting force that would lure Christians from the path of goodness,dragging them down into the evil Satan represented. Indeed,Satan (whose other names are numerous,including Lucifer,Beelzebub,the Father of Lies,the Tempter,the Adversary,the Dark One,Prince of Darkness,the Devil,and so on) even tried to tempt God's son,Jesus Christ,when the Saviour was fasting in the desert. SATI The Egyptian goddess of the lower heavens. SATURN Saturn was in fact a king of the fertile region that stretches along the banks of the Tiber,in Rome,on each side. He presented himself to Janus,and received kindly by him,proceeded to teach his subjects the arts of gardening and agriculture,as well as how to nurse the vine,and how to tend and cultivate fruit trees. Having performed such wonderful work for his king,he was invited by Janus to share the reign of the region with him,and the two ruled jointly. During Saturn's rule the land thrived and the people were happy,with innocence,freedom and love all through the land,so much so that the period of his reign was known as a golden age. His wife was Ops. SATYAVRATE A king of India who was selected to escape the great flood sent by Vishnu to punish the wickedness of its inhabitants,King Satyavrate was saved by the first Avatar of Vishnu,which appeared in the form of a fish,and which towed the ark to safety into which Satyavrate and his family,as well as seven sages and their families,had entered,taking with them at the god's instruction two of each species of animal on the Earth. SATYRISKI One of the three classes of Satyrs,the youngest and most juvenile of them. SATYRS Forest deities,the Satyrs represented the genial,luxuriant life in nature,which spreads over fields,woods and meadows. Companions of Dionysos,they exhibited typically some small sign of their bestial nature,as in tiny horns on the head,a small goat's tail,or suchlike. They were divided into three classes,the first and highest were those who nearly resembled their god,Dionysos,and whose occupation was either to play the flute for his amusement,or pour out his wine. The second class were older,and called Sileni,and the third,very young and juvenile,were known as Satyriski. The lives of Satyrs were spent in woods and hills,in a constant round of amusement and drinking,hunting,dancing,music and gathering and pressing grapes. They were often found in the company of Dionysos,whirling in wild,frenetic dances with the Maenads. Their musical instruments were the syrinx,flute and cymbals. SAULE The sun goddess of the Balts,who was much given to weeping. SAVITAR One of the sun gods of the Hindus,Savitar was said to be golden-eyed,golden-tongued and golden-handed. The story ran that he had cut off his hand at a sacrifice,and the priests had given him a golden one in place of it. SCIAPOD In medieval Europe,Sciapod was a man with one foot so large that he could lie on his back and use it as a sunshade. SCYLLA A fierce sea-monster which barred the passage of Jason,but he defeated it,with the loss of six of his men. SEB In Egyptian mythology,Seb is the son of Ra. SEDNA The sinister sea goddess of the Eskimos,only an Angakoq could withstand her awful one-eyed stare. She had a violent temper,and ruled over the dead. Sedna was the daughter of giant parents,and had a voracious appetite;she once started eating the limbs of her parents as they slept,but they awoke in horror,took her in a boat and cast her into the sea. Even then,she would not let go,and held on to the side of the boat;her father had to cut off her fingers one by one to make her let go. As the severed fingers touched the sea they became whales,seals,and shoals of fish.Sedna rules over Adlivun,which houses the spirits of those who have disobeyed her during life. SEKER An Egyptian funerary god,Seker had the form of a mummified man with a falcon's head. SELA The first woman,in the mythology of the Abaluyia tribesmen of Kenya. SELENE Also known as Luna,Selene was the sister-goddess of the moon to Artemis,she representing the orb of the moon,rather than the actual character and influence of it,which was taken under the aegis of Artemis. Selene,representing evening and night,was depicted clad in long heavy robes,with a veil covering the back of her head. She carried a torch,and wore a half-moon on her brow,leaning forward as if moving with speed,riding in a chariot drawn by two horses.sent by The story is told of her love for Endymion,whom she found asleep on a hillside and descended to him. SEMELE The mother of Dionysos,she incurred the wrath of Hera,who,on discovering that her husband Zeus was the father of the baby,visited Semele in disguise,and after winning her trust,advised her to get Zeus to swear to appear to her in all his majesty as thunder god. When Semele did this,Zeus had no choice but to agree to her request,as he had sworn 'by the black waters of the Styx'---one of the most solemn oaths man or god could swear---to grant her wish,before hearing what it was. Therefore he appeared to her as a thunderstorm,resplendent with lightning and loud crashing,which unfortunately was the death of Semele. SEMNAE See Erinys. SERAPIS The state god of Ptolemaic Egypt,Serapis was portrayed as a man with curly hair and beard,and was a healer of the sick,superior himself to fate,and was involved in the underworld. SETH Lord of Upper Egypt,Seth was the brother of Osiris,whom he slew,and the uncle of Horus,who slew him. Seth was represented as a huge dog. SHA HO-SHANG The mortal priest who accompanied Tripitka,Hanuman and Chu Pa-chieh on their journey to recover the sacred scriptures from India and return them to China. SHAKA-NYORAI The Buddha known as 'the silent sage of the Shaka clan',he is the embodiment of virtue. SHAMASH The Babylonian sun god,who advised the king Etana to enlist the aid of an eagle caught in a pit,in order that he might claim the plant of birth. SHAPASH The Canaanite sun goddess,who with Anat brought back the corpse of Baal from Mot's realm. SHEBA The queen who came to Solomon's court,and tested his wisdom with difficult questions. Solomon lay with her,and together they produced Nebuchadnezzar,who was to give Daniel such a difficult time. SHIVA The most violent and dangerous of the Hindu gods,Shiva was known as the Destroyer. He had four arms,four faces and three eyes. The third eye,in the center of his forehead,is lethally destructive. Shiva wore the skin of a tiger and a snake twined around his neck,trophies of the very animals he had defeated when they had been sent against him by jealous Rishis. Commanded by Indra to inflame the Destroyer with love for the goddess Parvati,Kama fired an arrow at the god,who,shaken from his meditation,lashed out and destroyed Kama. As Bhairava,Shiva haunts cemeteries and places of cremation,wearing serpents round his head and skulls for a necklace,attended by a host of demons and imps. In general representation,Shiva is shown as standing on one leg,standing upon a tiny figure,a dwarf which signifies human ignorance. In one of his four hands the god holds a drum,the second offers his blessing,the third contains a tongue of fire,while the fourth hand points downwards to the uplifted foot.One of the tales relating to Shiva speaks of his allowing the Ganges,which the sage Bhagiratha had induced to fall from heaven,to save the world from drought,to flow over his head,taking the brunt of its awesome force. Another,less complimentary myth speaks of his coming upon a sacrifice to Brahma,to which the gods had omitted to invite him. Enraged,Shiva went on a rampage,injuring many of the gods and Rishis.Shiva's vehicle is Nandi,a milk-white bull who is the protector of all four-legged creatures. SHOTEN The Japanese god of enterprise,who removes obstacles and vouchsafes wisdom. Shoton is joined to Kwannon,the two making a single,dual-bodied deity. SHU One of the primeval Egyptian gods,Shu was the god of the air,and fathered Nut,who in turn bore the gods of the Egyptian pantheon. SI The Mochica moon god. SIDDHARTHA See Buddha. SIF The wife of Thor, in Norse mythology. SIGI Father of Rerir,who was the father of Volsung. SIGMUND Son of Volsung,to whom the great sword Gram went,Sigmund being the only person who could draw it from the log into which Odin had thrust it. After Sigmund died,he bequeathed the sword to his as yet unborn son,Sigurd. SIGURD The greatest hero in Germanic legend,and central character of the Saga of the Volsungs,Sigurd was the son of Sigmund,and inherited the mighty warsword Gram,which Odin had given to Sigmund. Sigurd was tutored in all the arts and sciences by Regin,the brother of Fafnir the dragon. Regin wished to possess the treasure which his brother guarded,and to this end forged a great sword for Sigurd,but it broke the first time it was tested,and Sigurd had his father's sword reassembled and reforged,and Gram stood every test.Sigurd slew Fafnir,and claimed the dragon's treasure as his own,slaying also Regin,who complained that since it was his forging of the weapon that had won the victory,the hoard was his. Sigurd then went to free the Valrryie maiden Brynhild,who lay in a magical sleep,cast there by Odin,for daring to rise above his wishes. But Brynhild had sworn only to marry the man who could ride through the fire that surrounded her dwelling. Gunnar wanted her,but could not perform the feat,but Sigurd in Gunnar's shape did so. Thus Brynhild agreed to marry Gunnar. However,Gudrun,with whom Sigurd had fallen in love,revealed the secret. SILENI One of the three classes of Satyrs,these were the older figures. SILVANUS A purely Roman god,Silvanus' function was to watch over the interests of herdsmen living in woods and fields,and taking care to preserve boundary lines and banks of rivers. He was said to have been the first to mark a boundary with stones,and thus was looked on as the founder of a regular system of landowning. He is represented as a human figure,a cheerful aged man holding a shepherd's pipe,being given to music,like most forest and wood deities,and carrying a branch of a tree to mark him specifically as a forest god. This branch is supposed to have been Cyparissus,whom he changed into a cypress tree,having fallen in love with her. SIMBI In Voodoo mythology,Simbi is one of the three cosmic serpents. SIN See Nanna. SINAA The feline ancestor of the Juruna Indians of Brazil,Sinaa's father was a huge jaguar,his mother a woman. Both father and son had eyes set in the back of their heads;although Sinaa was very old,he rejuvenated every time he took a bath,pulling his skin off over his head. SINIS The feared robber,whom Theseus met and defeated on the isthmus of Corinth. SINON A friend of Odysseus,who was left behind bound in the attitude of a sacrifice when the Greek fleet made its pretence of sailing away from Troy defeated. When King Priam freed him and invited him into the city,it was Sinon who unfastened the secret door in the Wooden Horse which allowed egress for the Greek soldiers therein,and spelled the doom of Troy. SIRENS,THE The daughters of Phorkys and Acheloos,the Sirens had been nymphs and playmates of Persephone.,and as punishment for their not trying to prevent the carrying off of her daughter by Hades,Demeter transformed them into beings half woman and half bird,then changed her mind later and gave them the lower half of fish. There were three whose names are known,and they are Parthenope,Ligeia and Leukosia. During the time when they were half bird in form,the Sirens challenged the Muses to a competition in singing,but they lost,and the Muses plucked their feathers from the Sirens,bedecking themselves with them. When they had been further transformed into marine beings,the Sirens inhabited the cliffs of the islands between Sicily and Italy,the sweetness of their singing luring unwary travellers on the seas to their deaths. The song of the Sirens would compel them to land on the islands,where they would be torn apart and eaten by the daughters of Phorkys.The first to successfully pass by the Sirens was Orpheus,who,in company with the Argonauts,kept the attention of the crew fixed on his own beautiful and haunting music,and then came Odysseus,who had his crew stop their ears,while he himself,bound to the mast but having given strict instructions that he was not to be released for any reason until they were safely by,heard their ghostly music and survived.This feat was sufficient to break the power of the Sirens forever,and they hurled themselves into the sea,where they became cliffs. SISIMATAILAA According to Tongan legend,Sisimatailaa was the son of the sun,but he fell ill when he had grown,and his mother told him to climb a hill and address the rising sun. This he did,and received from his father two packages:one was riches,and could be opened,the other was to remain closed. But on the way to Tonga by boat,Sisimatailaa's wife persuaded him to open the second package,whereupon the boat sank under the weight of the things that emerged. SISYPHOS One of the Greek heroes who sought to better himself by informing the river god Asopos of what he had seen,Zeus carrying of the god's daughter Aegina. Sisyphos put this condition on the release of his knowledge to the river god:that Asopos would create a spring of water on the parched citadel of Corinth. Asopos did so,and Sisyphos told him what he knew. Zeus,however,was not pleased,and sent the daemon of death to claim the informer,but Sisyphos caught him,bound him with strong chains,and held him,so that no-one could die until Ares arrived and broke the chains. Sisyphos was thereafter handed over to the daemon of death,but before leaving for Hades he charged his wife,Merope,not to offer the customary sacrifice to Hades and Persephone. Arriving in the underworld,he moaned so at his wife's 'neglect' that he was eventually returned to the upper world.However,after his death he was sentenced to Tartaros,where he had to continually roll a huge stone up a hill,where,reaching the summit,it always rolled back down upon him,so that he must commence pushing it up again. SITA The wife of Vishnu,in his incarnation as Rama. She was carried off by the demon Ravana,but rescued by Rama and his brother,with the help of Hanuman. SKRYMIR A giant that Thor and Loki met on the way to Utgard,with their mortal servant. They inadvertently slept in Skrymir's glove,thinking it a house with five rooms. When they awoke the next morning,Thor tried to kill the giant with his hammer,but Skrymir shrugged off his attacks,warning them not to approach Utgard. Later they found that Skrymir was in fact Utgard-Loki,ruler of Utgard,and that he had used trickery to save himself from the thunder god's mighty wrath. SLEIPNIR Odin's great eight-legged horse,which was the offspring of the stallion of the giant and the mare which Loki became,in order to thwart plans to build the wall around Asgard. SOKO The creator god of the Nupe,of northern Nigeria. SOL See Helios. SOMA In Hindu mythos,the all-powerful god who gave Indra the strength to conquer his enemy Vrita,the snake of darkness. He was also seen as the supporter of the heavens and of Earth,and of gods and men. SOMNUS See Hypnos. SOPONA The Yoruban god of smallpox. SOTEIRA Another name for Pallas- Athene .SPENTA MAINYA The 'holy spirit' who assisted Ahura Mazdah against Ahriman. SPHINX A terrible beast that held the city of Thebes in thrall,during the time before Oedipus arrived. The Sphinx would ask a riddle of any travellers,and if they could not answer it,thrown them from the cliffs. Oedipus,however,solved its riddle,and the Sphinx threw itself into the sea. SRAOSHA The messenger of Ahura Mazdah,in Persian mythology,he listened for the cries of men on earth wronged by the servants of Ahriman. Because all wicked things are most active at night,Sraosha descended to earth after darkness and hunted Aeshma,the demon of anger and violence,who was his principal adversary. In the heavenly court Sraosha alone was allowed to stand in front of Ahura Mazdah. STA-AU According to the Blackfoot Indians,these are the ghosts of wicked people. STEROPES One of the three Cyclops,whose power was his lightning. STHEINO One of the three Gorgons. STHENEBOEA The wife of King Proetos who,finding Bellerophon proof against her wiles,devised the story that the hero had tried to assault her,which resulted in Proetos' sending Bellerophon to his intended death at the hands of the king of Lycia. STYMPHALIAN BIRDS,THE One of the Twelve Labours of Hercules. STYX The river of the dead,which led into Hades,and across which Charon the boatman ferried the souls of the dead into the kingdom of shadow. SUADA See Peitho. SUGRIVA King of the monkeys,who with Hanuman aided Rama and Lukshkha on their quest to rescue the abducted Sita. SUKUNA-BIKO The dwarf god of Japan,he was the ally of Okuninushi,and was skilful in medicine and agriculture. Sukuna-biko was omniscient,and travelled everywhere. SUMERU The world mountain of Hindu mythology,where the gods rule. SUN HON-TZU See Hanuman. SUQE-MUTUA The evil god of the mythology of the New Hebrides,against whom Tagaro struggled. SURASA A demon that tried to swallow Hanuman. SURT The guardian of Muspellheim,in Norse mythology,who was to stride forth with his burning sword at the time of Ragnarok,and set the world ablaze .SURYA A Hindu sun god,Surya was described as short,with a burnished coppery body,riding through the sky in a chariot drawn by seven ruddy horses and driven by Aruna,dawn. When his wife,Sanjna,fled from him,overpowered by his brilliance,she turned into a mare and sought the shade of a forest. But Surya pursued her,as a stallion. SUSANOWO Shinto storm god,Susanowo lost his beard,had his possessions confiscated,and was sentenced to banishment for his harrassment of the sun goddess Amaterasu. He had been assigned the sea as his domain,but forsook it and instead went rampaging across the land,uprooting trees,causing great destruction and devastation. In exile,Susanowo fought a huge serpent with eight heads,and when he had defeated it,he cut the carcass to pieces,and from its tail fell a wondrous sword,which he sent to Amaterasu as a peace offering. he also afforested the Pacific coast,conquered Korea and put down the plague,and made trees out of his own hairs,which he planted on the mountains. SVANTEVIT A four-headed war god of Slavic mythos,his attributes were a saddle,a bridle,a sword and a white horse. SVAROG The father of Svarozic. SVAROZIC The ancient Slavic fire god. SYMPLEGADES,THE Two cliffs which moved on their bases,coming together and smashing all in their grip. SYRINX A nymph whom Pan loved,followed and transformed into a reed,from which he fashioned pipes,which he ever afterwards played. TA'AROA The supreme god of Tahiti,Ta'aroa was also the creator deity,the author of life and death;his shadows were the whale and the blue shark. He made the first temple out of his own body. Ta'aroa himself gestated inside the cosmic egg,developing himself in solitude,having no father or mother. He cracked the egg,emerged and stood on the broken pieces,and realised that he was alone. Wearying of the loneliness,Ta'aroa created the world from the pieces of the egg. TABAKEA One of the gods of the Gilbert Islands who set the universal process in motion,under the watchful eye of the creator,Nareau. TAGARO The wise and benevolent spirit hero of the mythology of the New Hebrides,Tagaro came down from heaven and made men and other things,then went back to heaven again. In the enterprise of creating men,however,Tagaro was opposed by the dark spirit,Suqe-mutua,who wanted men to walk like pigs,whereas the creator wished them to go on two legs. Tagaro won the contest of wills. Another time Tagaro saw winged women flying down from heaven to bathe,and as they removed their wings he stole a pair,and hid them in his house. Then he returned to the spot where the winged women were bathing,and found that they had all flown away except one,Vinmara,whom he married. However,the later scolding of Vinmara by Tagaro's brothers led to her weeping in Tagaro's house,until her tears wore away the earth surrounding the hiding place of her wings. Donning them,she returned to heaven. TAHU The firstborn of the sky goddess Fa'ahotu,Tahu was a magician,but he died due to undernourishment. T'AI SHAN The most revered of the five sacred mountains of China. TALIESIN The Welsh wizard bard,he began life as Gwion Bach,a servant to the witch Cardiwen,who was one day mixing a great concoction which,after a year's boiling,would yield three blessed drops. Whoever swallowed these drops would know all the secrets of the past,present and future. Helping to tend the fire beneath the cauldron,Gwion Bach's hand was scorched by some of the dripping liquid,and before Cardiwen could stop him,he had sucked his finger,and received the knowledge.Enraged,the witch chased the boy,finally catching him,after numerous transformations,in the shape of a hen while he took the form of a grain of wheat. Thrown into the sea at last,he was caught in a fish trap,and called Taliesin by those who saw him,because of his radiant brow. He went on to become one of the most accomplished wizards and sages in the kingdom. TALOS A man of bronze,who had been placed in Crete by Zeus,to watch over Europa. To this end he was commanded to run around the island three times a day,to see who landed there. It was his practice to catch strangers,press them to his brazen bosom,and leap into a fire,laughing. From this practice comes the phrase 'sardonic laughter'. When the Argonauts landed on Crete,Talos stood against them,but they knew his secret,that although made entirely of bronze,Talos had one vein running from neck to heel,which contained all of his lifeblood. Poeas,the father of Philoktetes,hit this vein using the arrows of Hercules,and Talos fell and died. TAMAPOULIALAMAFOA The sky god of Ata,he sent Laufakanaa,the wind god,down to earth as its ruler,and to regulate its winds. "If there is a vessel that has bad winds," he told the wind god, "and men come to you and ask for your aid,then you must give fair winds to that vessel." TANE-MAHUTA In Maori mythology,the father of forests and all that inhabit them,or that are constructed from trees. He separated Rangi,the sky father,from Papa,the earth mother,but lost his place to Tu-matauenga,the god and father of fierce human beings. His chief enemy,however,was the sea god Tangaroa. TANGARO GILAGILALA The omniscient brother of the Banks Island hero,Qat. TANGARO LOLOQONG The idiot brother of Qat,who knew nothing and acted like a fool. TANGAROA The Polynesian god of fish and reptiles,Tangaroa once sailed to the island of Faumea,who was a woman who had eels in her vagina that killed men,but which Tangaroa had learned to entice outside. The sea god married her and had two children. When one of them was surfing,the demon octopus Rogo-tumu- here seized her and dragged her to the bottom of the ocean. On a hook baited with sacred feathers Tangaroa drew up the octopus to the surface,hacked off tentacle after tentacle,then finally the monstrous head. The antagonism between Tangaroa and Tane-mahuta stems from the time of the conflict with Tawhiri-ma-tea,when some of Tangaroa's children decided not to follow him to the ocean,but took refuge inland. Afterwards Tane-mahuta supplied the offspring of Tawhiri-ma-tea with canoes,spears,fish hooks and nets,that they might hunt and destroy the children of Tangaroa. In response to this,the sea god would sink canoes,flood the land,and eat away at the shore. TANTALOS Despatched to Tartaros by Zeus for his cruelty to his own son,Tantalos had to suffer the unceasing dread of being crushed by a huge rock which hung suspended above his head,he standing up to the throat in water,possessed of a terrible thirst that he could never quench,and a gnawing hunger that he tried to assuage with the tempting fruits that hung above his head,but withdrew as soon as he reached for them. TARA The spouse of Avalokitesvara. TARTAROS The region in Hades to which the punishment of any who had offended the gods while on Earth was seen to. Here were held Tantalos,Ixion,Sisyphos,Tityos and the Danaides. TAUTOHITO One of the Maori sorcerers that Hakawau destroyed. TAWHIRI-MA-TEA The storm god of the Maoris,who sided with his father,Rangi,against his brothers and sisters,who,trapped in the womb,wished to slay their parents in order to escape. Though Tu-matauenga could not defeat the storm god,he left him as an enemy of man both on land and on sea. TAWISCARA The Huron spirit of evil,Tawiscara was one of the twin grandsons of the moon,the other being Ioskeha. Fighting against his brother for supremacy,Tawiscara could only find a wild rose as a weapon,while Ioskeha used the horns of a wild stag,and so drove off the evil spirit. TCHUE An African Bushman cultural founder hero,Tchue was a genius of fruit,and had been at different times a fly,a lizard,an elephant,a bird and a water hole. He also gave his people the gift of fire. TE BO MA TE MAKI In the mythology of the Gilbert Islands,the primordial substance,before creation---the Void. TECCIZTECATL In Aztec mythology,the moon god,depicted as an old man who carried a large white sea shell on his back. TEELGET In Navaho Indian belief,Teelget was a huge,four footed beast with the horns of a deer which the hero Nayenezgani slew. TEFNUT One of the orginal progenitive gods,Tefnut was the god of moisture. From him came Nutthe mother of the gods. TEIRESIAS The seer who communicated to Odysseus the details concerning his future,and whom he had to descend to Hades to see,at the advice of Circe. Teiresias further warned Odysseus not to touch the sacred cattle of the sun god on the island of Trinakia,a warning which the hero ignored,and for which he paid dearly. TELEIA Another name for Hera .TELEMACHOS The son of Odysseus,who was put in front of the plough the hero was driving,pretending to be insane,in order that he not have to accompany the army that sailed on Troy in pursuit of Helen, and thus had to swerve to avoid,proving his lucidity of mind. When his father returned from the Trojan War,Telemachos helped him rid his mother of her unwanted suitors,killing them all. TELEPHASSA Wife to Agenor,and mother of Europa,Phoenix,Kilix and Kadmos. TELEPHOS A Son of Hercules,Telephos stoutly opposed the invasion of his country of Mysia,where the Greeks had landed by mistake,on their way to Troy. In the fighting,Telephos received a wound from the spear of Achilles,a wound that would not heal,and consulting an oracle was told that the injury could only be cured by he that had caused it. Consequently,Telephos proceeded to Aulis,where the Greek fleet lay at anchor,and presenting himself in disguise to Agamemnon,abducted his son,Orestes,and demanded to be healed. Odysseus,however,stepped in and scraped some of the rust from the spear of Achilles to the wound,which then healed. In gratitude,Telephos offered to lead the Greeks to Troy. TELIPINU The Hittite agriculture god,who once stormed off in a temper,and had to be recalled by Hannahanna,the mother goddess,as the earth was withering without his influence. Although both an eagle and a bee failed to induce the god to return,the goddess of spells,Kamrusepas,was able to convince him to come back. TELESPHOROS He was looked on as a genius of that secret and mysterious vitality which sustains the convalescent. He was normally represented by the side of Asklepios,as a small barefoot boy,wrapped closely in a mantle,and with a hood on his head. TELESTO One of the Okeanids,whose name meant 'nymph of the cool springs'. TEMAUKEL The supreme god of the Ona,he was without body,wife or children,and the souls of dead people travelled to his realm after death. TENGRI The sky god of the Mongols,their creator deity. Tengri was regarded as the author of all things visible and invisible,the controller of destiny,and the ruler of the world. TENGU,THE Evil spirits of the Japanese mythos,akin to the Oni,noted for their fury and threatening behaviour. One kind are semi-human with the wings and claws of great eagles,another type are completely birdlike. TESHUB The Hurrian storm god,Teshub overthrew his father,Kumarbi,but the defeated god married the sea god's daughter and begot the titan Ullikummi,against which Teshub was powerless,and was forced to abdicate. He was,however,reinstated when Ea defeated the giant by cutting off its stone feet. TEREUS The monarch of Thrace who,having received the hand of Prokne,desired also her sister Philomena,and married her,declaring Prokne dead,and having her tongue torn out to prevent her from revealing the secret. TERMINUS God of boundaries,both to the Romans and the Greeks. TERPSICHORE The Muse of Dancing. TERRA See Gaea. TETHYS Wife of Nereus. TUETATESA Celtic war god worshipped by the Gauls. TEZCATLIPOCA The Aztec trickster god,he was the patron of warriors,and was the original sun god,knocked out of the sky by Quetzalcoatl and turned into a tiger. He was associated with witches,thieves and evildoers in general,and could take or give life. THAMUATZ The female calf that accompanied the buffalo Itherther out of the primeval cave,in Kabyl mythology,and whose own calf,Achimi,mated,exiling his father. THALASSIOS Another name for Hymen. THALIA The Muse of Comedy and Burlesque. THALLO One of the Horae. THAMYRISA Son of the king Philammon and the nymph Argiope,Thamyris was famed for his beauty and the power of his music,so much so that he boasted himself equal even to the Muses. For this indignity the Muses met him on the road and put out his eyes,taking away both his beauty and his power of music. THANATOS The god of death,a son of Night and twin brother of Sleep,it was the task of Thanatos to introduce the whole of humanity to Tartaros. This function led to his being frequently associated with pain,and represented as a powerful figure,with shaggy beard and fierce visage,with great wings flapping at his shoulders,resembling Boreas the wind god. In the case of death coming timely,or welcome,Thanatos was depicted as a quiet pensive youth,winged and standing with his legs crossed,often beside an urn with a wreath on it,and holding an extinguished torch reversed. THARGELIOS Another name for Apollo. THAUMAS A giant,father of the Harpies. THEBAIS,THE The epic poem that told the story of the seven heroes who went against Thebes. THEIA One of the twelve Titans. THEMIS A daughter of Uranos and Gaea,she was the personification of that divine law of right which ought to control all human affairs,of that highest and noblest sense of right which is subject to no human influences. She was also viewed as the goddess of the rights of hospitality. She gave the power of prophecy to Apollo,having held the post at Delphi before him. Zeus wooed her for a long time before she consented to become his wife,and to him she bore the Horae,Moerae and Astraea,the goddess of justice. Because of her great integrity and sense of justice,all the gods consulted Themis when seeking advice. Even Zeus sought her counsel,being warned by her that he should not marry Thetis,as the son who would spring from the marriage would grow up to overthrow his father. Taking her advice,Zeus gave Thetis to the mortal Peleus as his wife. Themis was represented as a woman of mature age,with large,open eyes,holding a sword and chain in one hand,with a balance in the other,to indicate the severity and the accuracy with which justice is to be meted out and administered. THERSITES One of the Greeks who attacked Troy,a mean and deformed man who,when Achilles had struck down the beautiful Amazon Penthisilea,stuck his spear in the dead woman's eye. For this indignity to a valiant fallen foe,Achilles killed him on the spot. THESEUS One of the greatest Greek heroes of all time,Theseus was born the son of Aegeus,king of Attica,and Aethra,a daughter of the king of Troezene. His father had left Aethra early in Theseus' life,and had hidden his sword and sandals under a great rock at Troezene,telling her that when the boy was able to move the rock,he would be ready to come to Athens,and that he should bring the sword and sandals as a token with him. Theseus accomplished this feat when only sixteen,and set out for the court of his father.Reaching Athens,he fell foul of Medea,who was then the consort of Aegeus,the witch giving him a poisoned drink. But Aegeus,recognising the sword and sandals,cried out,knocked the goblet from Theseus' startled fingers,and thus the life of his son was saved. Medea fled,cursing both father and son,predicting that they should bring each other only sorrow and grief. On the way to Athens Theseus had many adventures,among them the slaying of Periphates,whose practice had been to crush with a single blow of his iron club all who travelled through his territory,the defeat of the feared robber Sinis,and the slaying of the wild bull of Krommyon. He encountered another fearful robber,Skiron,who had been in the habit of throwing his victims off the high cliffs into the sea,and Theseus performed the same service for the thief. He also slew the powerful Kerkyon,and Damastes,whose manner of killing his victims involved his tying them down on a bed which was always too short or too long. The victim being too short,was stretched till he fit,or if too tall,Damastes chopped off the bits of the victim that stuck out from the bed. Arriving at Athens,Theseus was scoffed at because of the long Ionain dress he wore,and his long hair,but he soon put paid to any ideas that he was effeminate by unyoking a laden wagon that was standing by and throwing it up into the air. Next he slew the fifty sons of Pallas,the giants called Pallantides,who were trying to overthrow him. But his greatest adventure was without doubt the slaying of the beast,the Minotaur,offspring of the wife of King Minos of Crete,Pasiphae,and the White Cretan Bull,which Minos had had imprisoned in a vast underground labyrinth designed by the craftsman Daedalus. To this monster was brought the annual sacrifice of seven youths and seven maidens,which had to be sent as tribute to Crete in recompense for the murder of Minos' son. The Minotaur,a fearsome flesh- eater,devoured these,but was never satisfied,and roamed its labyrinthine prison,seeking a way out.Here came Theseus,disguising himself as one of the sacrificial youths,and arriving at the court of King Minos,won the favour of his daughter,Ariadne. She gave him a spool of thread,which she said he must pay out behind him as he progressed into the maze,otherwise though he slay the monster,he might never find his way out. Theseus met and slew the Minotaur,and returned to Athens,taking with him Ariadne,who had fallen in love with him. However,fearing to take home as his wife the daughter of the very king who had exacted such cruel tribute from his homeland,Theseus abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos. She was found,swathed in sorrow,by Dionysos,and her sorrow lifted. Before leaving for Crete,Theseus' father had made his son promise to ensure to fly a white sail on his return home,signalling a successful enterprise. The hero,however,had forgotten his promise,and as they sailed into Attica the ship flew a black sail,as it had when Theseus had departed from Attica. Aegeus,watching from the high promontory where he had kept vigil since his son had left for his encounter with the Minotaur,believed his son dead,and flung himself into the Aegean Sea.Theseus had also taken part in the expedition to recover the Golden Fleece,mounted by Jason,and had in fact carried off Hippolyte,whose girdle his friend Hercules had been commanded by Eurystheus to obtain,as part of his Twelve Labours. In reprisal for this act,a large body of Amazons invaded Attica,but were repulsed by Theseus. The Greek hero also had a longstanding friendship with the Thessalian prince Peirithoos,showing this friendship in driving off the Centaurs that tried to carry off his friend's bride at his wedding,and secondly when Peirithoos conceived a passion for Persephone,and resolved to carry her off from Hades. In this enterprise he was aided by Theseus,but the attempt failed,and the two were kept in chains in Hades,until Hercules rescued them. After the death of Aegeus,Theseus ascended to the throne of Attica,ruled prudently,and introduced institutions of a liberal kind among his people.He united the previously splintered states of Attica into one kingdom,with Athens at its head. He eventually died at the hands of Lykomedes,where he had sought sanctuary after a tumult in Athens. THETIS One of the Nereides,and perhaps the most famous,Thetis was to be married to Zeus,but at the warning of Themis that their son would rise to overthrow his father,Zeus relinquished his wish,giving instead the nymph in marriage to Peleus,and from their union sprang the famous Greek hero Achilles. THOE One of the Nereides,whose province was the play of fantastic waves,together with her sister Halie. THOR Norse god of thunder,Thor was the son of Odin,and commanded the storms and the lightnings. He rode in a chariot drawn by two goats,called Toothgrinder and Toothgnasher,and when the chariot moved its wheels groaned and rumbled like thunder,while sparks struck from the wheels echoed the lightning. Thor possessed the magical hammer Mjollnir,which had been forged for him by the dwarf Brok,and which would destroy anything it was thrown at,always returning to the hand of the caster. It was also used as the symbol for blessing a marriage,the hammer being laid in the bride's lap. Only Thor could wield this sacred weapon,and to do so he needed to put on his iron gloves. Thor's personal tower in Asgard was Himinbiorg,and his wife was Sif. When the gods of Asgard travelled to their daily meetings at the foot of the root of Yggdrassil,the World Tree,Thor could not cross the Rainbow Bridge Bifrost as did his fellows:his thunderous chariot would destroy the bright bridge. So he walked through the waters of the world to reach the council spot.Thor also possessed a belt of strength,which,when pulled,gave him supernatural strength. He was represented as a huge,muscular figure,with a red beard and flashing eyes. He travelled widely throughout Asgard,occasionally visiting Midgard,though not as often as his father. Some of his adventures are related below. When Loki and Thor set out to visit Utgard,city of the giants of Jotunheim,they came across a peasant's cottage,and going in were made welcome by the peasant,who unfortunately had not enough food to satisfy the voracious appetite of the thunder god. Thor,however,seeing the problem,killed his goats,and they ate the meat,Thor's strict instructions being that no-one should break any of the bones. The peasant's son,however,a lad called Thialfi,unable to resist,broke a tiny bone and sucked the marrow. When morning came,Thor gathered the bones of his goats together,waved his hammer over them,and they sprang back to life. Thor noticed,however,that one of them limped slightly,and he perceived that his orders had been disobeyed. Furious,he demanded to know who had defied him,and Thialfi admitted that it had been he. Because the lad confessed of his own free will,Thor relented,and took Thialfi with him to Utgard. On the way there,the trio encountered a huge mansion with five rooms,and they slept in one. During the night,however,they were disturbed by terrible noises,and on awakening the next morning found that the mansion they had slept in was in fact the glove of a huge giant,who introduced himself as Skrymir. The giant's ribbing annoyed Thor,and he cast his hammer three times at Skrymir's head,but the giant just shrugged the blows off contemptuously. Finally he left,advising the three to stay away from Utgard. They went anyway. Greeted by the king of the city,Utgard-Loki,the three were asked to prove themselves worthy to sit at table with giants,and Thialfi offered to race their fastest youth,but though he ran his fastest,his opponent always outstripped him,sometimes arriving back at the finish line before Thialfi had left. Disheartened,the boy admitted he was defeated,and Loki challenged their best eater. Although he ate like a horse,Loki could not beat his opponent either,who not only ate the meat and bones,but the dishes and table as well. Finally,it was Thor's turn.Given a huge horn to drink from,he was told that their weakest man could empty it in three draughts,but though he drank long and deep,by the time he had taken his third attenpt at emptying it,the horn was still almost full. Next,he was asked to try to pick up Utgard-Loki's cat,but could only move one paw off the ground. Finally,much embarrassed,he challenged the giant's best wrestler,but Utgard-Loki scoffed that his giants would not lower themselves,in the light of how the thunder god had acquitted himself so far. But if he liked,said the king slyly,Thor could wrestle his old grandmother. Dismayed,Thor found himself struggling against the old crone,who in fact forced him down to one knee. Much ashamed,the trio partook of Utgard-Loki's hospitality,and the next day made to leave.But the king met them at the gate,and explained to them that they should not feel so disheartened:for the youth Thialfi had raced was none other than thought,which no man can beat in speed,Loki's opponent had been fire,which devours everything,and as for Thor! The first of his feats,the lowering of the level in the drinking-horn,Utgard-Loki explained,the horn had had one of its ends in the sea,and the level of the sea in that area had gone down a considerable distance due to the thunder god's massive draught. The cat Thor had tried to lift had been Jormungand,the world serpent,and the giants had been much afraid to see that the thunder god could actually lift one of its feet up! And the old woman had been old age,against which no man has defence. The king of the giant city also admitted that he had been Skrymir,and that he had only avoided serious injury from Thor's hammer by moving a mountain between his head and Mjollnir.Hearing of the deception,Thor hurled his hammer at Utgard-Loki,but the giant had disappeared,as had the city. Another time,Thor went fishing with the giant Hymir and,wishing to prove himself against the giant,Thor rowed the boat out as far as he could,then,using a boar's head as bait,he caught Jormungand,and was about to deal it a blow of his hammer when Hymir cut the thunder god's line in fright,and the world serpent disappeared back under the water. Thor also battled the giant Hrungnir,who was made of stone. He defeated him,but a chip of whetstone lodged in his forehead. Another myth concerning Thor tells of the time that the giant Thrymir stole Mjollnir,and Thor,disguised as Freya (at the mischevious Loki's suggestion) travelled to the domain of the frost giant to recover the hammer. Thrymir had demanded the hand of Freya,Odin's wife,in return for the hammer,but Thor recovered it,although his ruse was almost discovered twice:once when the food was brought in,and Thor ate seven oxes whole,an appetite which Loki quickly explained as being the result of a fast that Thor / Freya had been on,due to her anticipation of the wedding day. Similarly,when Thrymir looked into Thor's flashing red eyes,he drew back in fright,but again Loki told the giant that the redness was the result of 'Freya''s not having slept for seven nights. Thrymir was satisfied,and fetched the hammer,to bless the bride,and Thor seized it,leapt up and killed everyone,escaping with Loki and the hammer back to Asgard. Undoubtedly one of the major heroes of Norse mythology,Thor's role in the dreaded Ragnarok was as crucial as his role in life:the thunder god was to destroy the serpent Jormungand,but at the end fall dead from its poisonous breath. THOTH One of the Egyptian gods of the dead,who related the tales of the recently deceased to Osiris,who then judged them as he saw fit. THRYMIR The frost giant who stole Thor's hammer,intending to ransom it for Freya as his bride. THYENE One of the Hyads. TIAMAT The dreaded dragon of Babylonian legend,Tiamat was the scourge of the Babylonian gods,and was eventually defeated by Marduk,who shot a raging wind into her mouth,so that she could not close it and swallow him,then shafted an arrow into her belly,slaying her. Marduk then created the heavens and earth out of her carcass.Tiamat was said to be revolting in appearance,being a cross between a bird,a serpent and an animal,and she was seen as utterly evil. TIEHOLTSODI The water monster of Navaho Indian mythology. TILO God of the Tonga tribes of Zambia and Malawi. TINIA The Etruscan storm god,Tinia held boundaries sacred,watched over them and ensured their inviolability. TIR NA NOG The mythical 'land of the young',where Oisin became king for 300 years,before returning to Ireland,and his death. TISIPHONE One of the three Erinys,Tisiphone was the avenger of murder. TITAEA A goddess of the Earth,who attended the marriage ceremony of Zeus and Hera,and planted there the tree which gave forth the golden apples of the Hesperides. TITANS,THE The result of the union between Gaea and Uranos,the Titans were giants,and twelve in number. Their names were Okeanos,Tethys,Hyperion,Theia,Kreios,Eurybia or Mnemosyne,Koios,Phoebe,Kronos,Rhea,Japetos and Thenis. Of these,Kronos and Rhea became the parents of the race of Greek gods,being in turn deposed by their children. The others rose against Uranos,and later Zeus,who defeated them. TITHONOS One of the mortals who found favour with Eos,who carried him off and obtained for him,as she did for all her mortal lovers,immortality. However,in the case of Tithonos,she had omitted to ask Zeus in addition for eternal youth for her latest beau. As a result of this oversight,Tithonos grew old as time passed,and although Eos tried to love him as she had when he had been young and beautiful,she eventually had him shut up in a chamber,from which only his voice issued,like the chirp of a grasshopper;and indeed,it is said that he was transformed into that very creature. TITYOS A giant who had misused his strength to outrage Leto,and was as punishment condemned to Tartaros,where two enormous vultures gnawed continually at his liver,which always grew back again. TLALOC The rain god of ancient Mexico,Tlaloc was the controller of clouds,rain,lightning and mountain springs. His kingdom received the spirits of those killed by thunderbolts,water,leprosy,and contagious disease. TLAUIXCALPANTECUHTLI A destructive Tollan deity. TLAZOLTEOTL The goddess of filth,in Aztec mythology,she was associated with witchcraft and the purification of sin,acting as a go-between for the penitent in respect of the god Tezcatlipoca. She was seen as the power behind all forms of unclean behaviour,and her special terror was sex. TOBADZISTSINI The brother of Nayenezgani. TOI-MATA One of the daughters of Oro. TO-KABINANAA Melanesian creator hero,To-Kabinana's adventures and exploits were always for the good of his people,although his brother,To-Karvuvu,always got into trouble. One day To-Kabinana climbed a coconut tree,picked two unripe fruit,threw them down to the ground,where they split and released two beautiful women. Seeking to emulate his brother,To-Karvuvu also threw down two coconuts,but his landed point down,and his women were ugly,with flat noses. Another day To-Kabinana carved a fish out of wood and cast it into the sea,where it might live ever after. This grateful fish drove other fish up to the shore,so that To-Kabinana could pick them up and eat them. Impressed,his brother carved a shark and set it in the sea. It,however,did not return the compliment,and To-Kabinana was most annoyed. TO-KARVUVU The brother of To-Kabinanaa. TONAPA One of the divine assistants of Viracocha,the creator deity of Peru,he was bound and set adrift on Lake Titicaca as punishment for having rebelled against his master. TONATIUH Another Aztec sun god. TONENILI The rain god of the Navaho Indians,he was given to having fun and playing tricks. TPEREAKLA Micronesian creator deity,he and his wife,Latmikaik,who rose from a wave-beaten rock,rule the universe together. Tpereakl lived in the sky,while his wife had her residence under the sea. TRIFORMIS Another name for Hecate. TRIMURRTI The Hindu Trinity,made up of Vishnu,Brahma and Shiva. TRIPITAKA The great Chinese pilgrim,who travelled to India to recover the sacred scrolls from India,and return them to China. He was accompanied on his quest by Hanuman,the monkey chief,and also Chu Pa-chieh,and he rode on a white horse that was in fact a dragon,which had transformed after the monster had eaten the priest's original mount. The trio had many adventures on their way to India. TRIPTOLEMOS The son of Keleos,to whom Demeter presented the seed of the barley,and her chariot,that he might travel the world,teaching mankind how to sow and reap grain,a task which he performed admirably. TRITOGENEIA Another name for Pallas-Athene. TRITON The son of Poseidon and Amphitrite,Triton was a minor marine god,and the herald of his father,Poseidon. When the sea was tossed by storms he was supposed to be blowing on a long twisted shell which he used as a horn,and when the storm had passed he would sound a gentle note. When Poseidon travelled on the waves,it was Triton who announced his approach,and gathered the rest of the marine deities. His own servants were the Tritons,who looked like him,and performed similar duties.In the war against the giants he rendered considerable service to Zeus by raising such a din with his shrill trumpet that the giants,fearing the approach of some great sea monster,fled in fright.Triton and his Tritons were depicted as of human form as far as the waist,covered with small scales,holding in hand a sea shell,their lower half that of a dolphin. Triton himself sailed across the sea in a chariot drawn by horses. TRIVIA Another name for Hecate. TROLLWEIBER,THE In Norse mythology,these were phantoms from the land of the dead,who in the dark of night rode to the Earth on a wolf bridled with snakes. TROJAN WAR,THE It was the abduction of Helen,the wife of King Menalaus of Sparta,by Paris,prince of Troy,that began the war that lasted ten years,and took so many lives,resulting in the total destruction of the city of Troy,and the surrounding countryside,and the end of its dynasty.Paris,promised by Aphrodite the most beautiful woman on Earth as his wife,was told by the goddess to go to Sparta,where he met Helen,with whom he soon formed a strong bond of friendship,and then something more intimate,culminating in the eloping of Helen and Paris. The fugitive couple fled to Troy,where Helen married Paris. Meanwhile,Menalaus sought the advice of the wise Nestor,who told him that the only way to regain his and Helen's honour was to mount a war-party to attack Troy,and endeavour to take his wife from them by force. Acting on this advice,Menalaus set about forcing the other suitors for Helen's hand before him to make good on the oath they had sworn,that they would all rise to Menalaus' aid,should he need it,and mounting a great warfleet,sailed for Troy.Agamemnon,Menalaus' brother,was elected to command the fleet,and they assembled at Aulis,over one thousand ships in all,the largest fleet ever mounted. While at anchor in Aulis,they observed a strange phenomenon:a serpent coiled itself around a plane tree,on which was a sparrow's nest with nine young birds therein. The snake devoured the young birds,but on attacking the mother,was instantly turned to stone. Kalchas,the high priest,divined this omen as proof that they must fight nine years around Ilium--or Troy--and on the tenth take the city. The Greek fleet then set sail,but landed by mistake in Mysia,where the king,Telephos,resisted the invaders fiercely. There he received a wound from Achilles,which would not heal. The Greeks returned to Aulis,and Telephos,following them and being cured of the wound by Achilles,offered to lead the fleet to Troy,an offer the invaders gratefully accepted.Finally reaching Troy,the Greeks met the defending forces,led by Priam's eldest son,Hector. They beat back the Trojans,but suffered considerable losses,and Agamemnon,seeing that the Trojans would not willingly hand over Helen,prepared to lay siege to the town. During the many raids that the Greeks mounted on the surrounding territories,they captured in particular Chryseis,a daughter of Chryses,a priestess of Apollo,who appealed to the god for assistance. Apollo sent a plague to ravage the Greek forces,and Agamemnon,enquiring of Kalchas how the god could be appeased,was told that the beautiful Chryseis must be released. The Greek commander,however,accused Kalchas of being in league with Achilles,to which the Greek hero responded by withdrawing all of his forces from the Greek camp.Thetis,the mother of Achilles,begged Zeus to decree that as long as her son remained at odds with his allies,the Greeks would be defeated in every encounter,and so it came to be. The Trojans,emboldened by the retreat of Achilles and their repeated successes,sallied forth from their city walls,and succeeded in driving the invaders back to their ships,where the Greeks took refuge. Agamemnon,realising that he needed Achilles,sent emissaries to the hero's pavilion,imploring him to reconsider and rejoin the siege,promising that Achilles should have his own daughter's hand,and seven towns as a dowry. But Achilles would not relent,and the tide of battle continued to turn against Greece.The end seemed in sight when the Trojans,under Hector,had stormed the Greek camp and set some of their ships on fire,but Patroklos begged Achilles to loan him his famous armour,and thus clad he went against the Trojans,pushing them back from the camp,back to the walls of Troy. But not satisfied with this,Patroklos pursued Hector himself until,in single combat with the Trojan prince,he fell. This was the spur to action that Achilles needed. Reconciling himself to his countrymen,the Greek hero strode forth,bringing his forces back to the battle.Under Achilles' sword Hector fell,and the Trojan ranks fled in disarray,but unappeased by the death of the hero of Troy,Achilles bound the corpse to his chariot and dragged it around the walls of the city three times,before casting it face down in the dirt,in the Greek camp. The gods were not happy with such dishonourable conduct,and they took care of the body of Hector,also softening the heart of Achilles,so that when King Priam came to respectfully beg the body of his son,Achilles gave it willingly and with great reverence. Patroklos was buried with all due honours.As the Greeks and Trojans mourned each their fallen heroes,an army of Amazons arrived to fight on the side of the defenders,and their leader,the beautiful Penthisilea,met Achilles in single combat,and by his hand was slain. He,however,practiced none of the indignity on her body that he had on that of Hector,praising her valour and strength,and handing over her body for decent burial to her people. There was one in the Greek camp however who felt no such kinship with the Amazon. He was called Thersites,and he stabbed Penthisilea through the eye as she lay on the ground. For this act Achilles killed him on the spot.Diomedes,however,a relation of Thersites,was aggrieved at this treatment of his brother,and demanded of Achilles the usual sum of money,in reparation for the killing. Achilles,incensed at this,took umbrage and once again abandoned the Greek cause,taking ship to Lesbos,to which Odysseus had to be sent to bring him back. On Achilles' return,a new hero entered the Trojan camp,Memnon,son of Eos. He met and fought in single combat with the Greek hero,and as the two fought on Earth,their respective mothers on Olympus each petitioned Zeus for victory for her son. Zeus,weighing the fate of each in the balance of Moera,found that Memnon was fated to die. Flying to the battlefield,Eos found her son already dead. But it was not long before Achilles himself died,shot by an arrow drawn by Paris.The body of the great hero was carried back to the Greek camp by Ajax and Odysseus,fighting all the way,and buried with great pomp and splendour. Achilles' armour was offered to one of the two heroes who had brought back his body,and it was Odysseus who received it,Ajax,thinking himself unworthy,fell on his own sword and died. Meanwhile Helenos,the son of King Priam,was captured by the Greeks and forced to tell of the manner in which the city might be taken. Helenos,like his sister Cassandra,had been endowed with the power of prophecy,and he told under duress that three things would be needed to compass victory for the Greeks. These were the bow and arrows of Hercules,at present held by Philoktetes,the assistance of Achilles' son,Neoptolemos,and the possession of the Palladium,the image of Pallas- Athene,which stood in the citadel of Troy. The help of Achilles' boy was no problem:the youth was willing and eager to take part in the war and prove his manhood. The bow and arrows of Hercules,on the other hand,meant that Odysseus had to travel to Lemnos,and convince Philoktetes to return with him,where the first of the defenders to fall to the Greek hero's arrows was Paris. The Trojans,afraid now to come out and face the fearsome arrows of Philoktetes,shut themselves up inside the walls of Troy. Then Odysseus stole into the city,and daringly stole the Palladium from under the noses of the Trojans.Victory now within their grasp,the Greeks had now to devise a method of entering the city,and for this they turned to Odysseus,who in turn consulted Athene. The goddess suggested that Epeios,a famous sculptor,should construct a fabulous horse of wood,which would be hollowed inside,with room for a complement of Greek soldiers. This model was built,and the Greeks left Sinon bound in the attitude of a sacrifice,the horse standing outside the gates of the city,and pretended to sail away in defeat. Although warned by Laokoon not to accept the gift,Priam had the Wooden Horse brought into the city,and also Sinon,whom he freed;and the Trojans spent the night celebrating and toasting their victory over the superior force. Sinon it was who,when all of the Trojans had fallen into a drunken sleep,released the catch on the side of the horse and welcomed his countrymen into the city. The Greek soldiers (Odysseus and Diomedes among them) then silently opened the city gates,signalled to the ships lying off the coast,which returned. The full Greek force entered the city,descending savagely on the surprised and bleary Trojans,and slew most of them,King Priam himself falling to Neoptolemos,the Greeks torching the city and carrying off the women and riches.Menalaus,reconciled to his now contrite wife,took Helen back with him,the other Greek heroes taking the more beautiful or noble Trojan women,and the fleet returned to Sparta. Thus ended the ten- year Trojan War,and so came to pass the prophecy made by Cassandra at the birth of Paris. .TSAO CHUN The Chinese kitchen god,he is portrayed as a kindly old man surrounded by children. TSENAGAHI The 'travelling stone',a mischevious rock spirit whom Nayenezgani defeated. TSENAHALE Huge eagle-like beasts that Nayenezgani defeated. TSOEDE The cultural founder hero of the Nupe,Tsoede showed his people how to work metals and build canoes,and instituted marriage and sacrifices. TSOHANOAI The sun god of the Navaho Indians. TULUNGUSAQ One of the creator deities of the Eskimos,Tulungusaq the crow father was given aid in the creation of the world by a swallow. TU-MATAUENGA The fierce god of human beings,in Maori myth. Trapped inside the womb by their parents,the gods sought to escape by slaying their parents,and Tu-matauenga was left to fight Tawhiri-ma- tea,alone,for the storm god opposed the slaying of his parents. In rage,Tu-matauenga consumed the rest of the gods. Ever afterwards,Tu-matauenga and Tawhiri-ma-tea were eternal enemies. TYCHE The goddess of luck and chance,Tyche (also called Fortuna) was a daughter of Zeus,and sister to the Moerae. She was believed to have guided the careers of men,whether for good or bad. She was often represented as winged,with her eyes bound,and holding a double rudder in her hands,to steer the lives of men through one of two courses. She was also depicted standing on a ball or a wheel,to show that luck rolls this way and that,beyond the control of men. TYDEUS One of the 'Seven against Thebes'. TYPHO The Greek name for Seb. TYPHON The father of destructive winds. TYR The Norse god of war,Tyr lost one of his hands when the other gods were in the process of binding the Fenris Wolf. The monster would only allow itself approached if one of the gods would put his hand in the animal's mouth,as security. Tyr did so,and when the Wolf realised that it had been tricked,it bit his hand off. UAICA Uaica was out hunting in the forest one day when he noticed a lot of dead animals under a large tree. Approaching the heap,he felt dizzy,swooned and went to sleep. In his deep sleep he beheld Sinaa,the jaguar ancestor of the Juruna,who spoke to him. This happened on several occasions,until finally Sinaa told Uaica not to visit him anymore.Uaica made a drink from the bark of the tree,and acquired many great powers from this potion. He became a great medicine man,who could take away disease with the touch of his hand. Finally marrying,Uaica's wife was unfaithful to him,her lover trying to kill the medicine man,who saw the blow before it fell,as he had eyes in the back of his head,and left his people in disgust. UEUECOYOTL The trickster god of ancient Mexico. UIXTOCIHUATL The Aztec salt goddess. UKULAN-TOJON The water spirit of the Yakuts,Ukulan-tojon was the lord of the waters. ULANJI One of the snake ancestors of the Binbinga of northern Australia,Ulanji was said to have climbed rocks in order to bite the heads off flying foxes,and he also took out two of his ribs and his heart. ULLIKUMMI The giant stone monster which Kumarbi fathered on the Hurrian sea god's daughter,and then placed on the shoulder of Upelluri,the Atlas of Hurrian myth. Ullikummi grew so fast and huge that it reached the heavens,at which point Teshub,having failed to make any impression on the giant with his thunder and rain,fled,abdicating the throne and asking Ea for his help. Ea went to visit Upelluri who,absorbed in his meditations,had not even felt the stone giant being put on his shoulder,as he told Ea. Ea then cut the feet of the giant off from the dreaming god's shoulder,and it toppled,and its power was broken. ULLR Norse god of the chase,a skilful runner and a deadly bowman. ULYSSES See Odysseus. UNICORN A fabulous beast,a horse with a single horn of ivory in the centre of its head. Unicorns were magical creatures,and said to be personifications of innocence and purity,and for this reason were usually identified with virgins. UNKULUNKULU The sky god of the Zulu,he is a self- originating deity,very little is known about him. He made men and the earth,and brought death to earth. Once he sent a chameleon with the message of eternal life,and a lizard with the announcement of death. The chameleon was slow and stopped at a bush to eat,so the lizard arrived first. When the chameleon arrived at last,it found that the message of the lizard had already been accepted as the correct one by men.Unkulunkulu instituted the ceremony of marriage,provided men with doctors for the treatment of diseases,and fire for the preparation of food. UPELLURI The 'dreaming god' of the Hurrians,on whose shoulder was placed the stone giant Ullikummi,unbeknownst to him. URANIA Another name for Aphrodite. URANOS The very first of the Greek gods,the father to them all,Uranos was a sky- god,a son of Gaea,whom he later married,fathering the races of the Titans,the Hekatoncheires and the Cyclops. The Titans,twelve in number,rose against Uranos,and were defeated by him,being cast into Tartaros for their crimes. But Gaea,grieving for her sons,presented Kronos with a knife,and showed him how to wound their father fatally. This was done,the Titans were set free,and Kronos supplanted his father. Thereafter was the race of Greek gods brought into existence. URASHIMA The fisher boy of Japanese folklore,he married a sea maiden and lived in a palace beneath the waves,but wishing to see his parents again,he decided to return to the land of his birth. His wife gave him a casket which if unopened would ensure his safe return to her. Dismayed to learn that centuries had passed since he had left,however,Urashima opened the casket,and at once a puff of white smoke arose from it and drifted away across the sea,followed by a cold wind that shook the boy and turned him instantly to an ancient man,then a corpse. URDR One of the Norse Norns,whose name meant 'past'. USHAS The Hindu goddess of the dawn. UTGARD City of the giants in Jotunheim,in Norse lore. UTGARD-LOKI King of the city of the giants,Utgard. He fooled Thor and his companions on their visit to Utgard by means related in the entry on Thor. UTHER PENDRAGON Father of King Arthur of Britain. UTIXO God of the Hottentots,Utixo is a benevolent deity who inhabits the sky,sends rain for the crops,and speaks with the voice of thunder. Utixo sent a message to his people that death would not be eternal,carried by a hare,but the animal became confused and told men that they would not rise again. UZUME The goddess who danced outside the cave in which Amaterasu had hid,to entice her out. VAHAGN The national deity of the ancient Armenians,Vahagn was a god of war. He had a beard of flame,hair of fire,and his eyes were suns. VAI-MAHSE According to the legends of the Tukano Indians,he is a dwarf with his body painted red,and controls the game of the hunter,the fishes in the river,and the herbs beneath the trees. His weapon is a short wand,highly polished and red in colour. He sends sickness to pregnant women,being jealous that he was not the cause of their condition. VALASKIALF The tower in Asgard from which Odin watched the world of men. VALHALLA The hall of heroes,in Asgard,where those who had fallen in battle were received and honoured by Odin. VALKYRIES,THE Fierce warrior-maidens who presided over the field of battle,decreeing the death or victory of fighting men,as dictated by their master,Odin. VAJRASATTVA One of the six 'meditation Buddhas',he has a violent temper,which manifests itself in the rain,hail and snow which he sends to protect the Nagas from the talons of the Garuda birds. VANIR,THE Originally rivals of the Aesir in Norse mythology,the Vanir wereled by Frey and Freya,but later made peace with their enemies and the Aesir and the Vanir became one people. VARAHA,THE The third Avatar of Vishnu,in which he appeared as a boar,to save the world after it had been drowned in a great flood. The boar went into the sea and fished out the Earth on its tusks. VARUNA A sky-god of the Hindus,Varuna was seen as a benevolent god who watched over his charges on the Earth. VAYU The god of the winds,or of the air,in Hindu mythology. Allied to Vayu are the Maruts,the storm devils. VE One of the brothers of Odin. VEGTAM The name that Odin often took,when wandering Midgard in disguise. VENUS See Aphrodite. VERTUMNUS The Roman god who watched over the seasons and the garden fruits,he was the husband of Pomona. VESTA See Hestia. VESTAL VIRGINS The priestesses of Hestia,the Vestal Virgins were six in number,and their duty was to feed the sacred flame of the temple of the goddess,and to present sacrifices and prayers for the welfare of the state. Their robes were white,with a fillet around the hair,and a veil. Girls selected for service in the temple of Hestia were required to be between six and ten years of age when chosen,and were obliged to take a vow of chastity,and serve in the temple for thirty years,after which period they could choose to leave,if they wished. Although marriage was allowed after the girls had left the service of the goddess,generally this practice was frowned upon by the populace,who feared the wrath of Hestia. While in the service of the goddess,the Vestal Virgins enjoyed special privileges:their person was inviolable,they were free from paternal control,and they were allowed dispose of their property as they saw fit. When they marched in procession through the streets of the city,should the Virgins meet a criminal on the way to his execution,they had the prerogative of ordering him set free. If the priestesses were found to be guilty of neglect of duty,they were most severely dealt with. A Virgin who allowed the sacred flame in the temple to die out was taken to a dark chamber,and there she was flogged. Should a Vestal Virgin allow her chastity to be violated,she was condemned to be buried alive,and her seducer publicly scourged to death. VICTORIA See Nike. VILI One of the brothers of Odin. VINGOLF The mansion in Asgard reserved for the goddesses. VINMARA The wife of Tagaro. VIRACOCHA The supreme deity of the Incas,Viracocha was a storm god and a sun god,who was represented as wearing the sun for a crown,with thunderbolts in his hands,and tears descending from his eyes as rain. Like Odin,his wandered the earth disguised as a beggar,and wept when he saw the plight of the creatures he had created,but knew that he must sustain them.Viracocha made the earth,the stars,the sky and mankind,but his first creation displeased him,so he destroyed it with a flood,and made a new,better one,taking to his wanderings as a beggar,teaching his new creations the rudiments of civilisation,as well as working numerous miracles. Viracocha eventually disappeared across the Pacific Ocean,and never returned. VIRGIN MARY The woman chosen by the Christian God as the mother of his son,Jesus Christ. Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel,who announced to her that she was to be the vessel of the coming of the Saviour. Mary gave birth in a stable in Bethlehem,the inns there being full,due to the influx of people from outside,in response to a new census being taken by Rome,which required every person to return to the place of his or her birth,there to register with the census.After the crucifixion of her son,Mary was assumed into Heaven,where she became the Blessed Virgin,who intercedes for those on Earth. VISHNU Perhaps the highest of the Hindu gods,Vishnu was the personification of the preserving power of the divine spirit. Vishnu was described as of a blue colour,with four hands,in which he held a shell,a quoit,a club and a lotus. Vishnu's vahan was Garuda,the winged half-man,half-bird,king of birds,and his sacti was Lakshmi. Vishnu was said to rest on the serpent of eternity,Ananta,awaiting the end of the Kali Yuga,when from his navel would spring forth a lotus stalk,on the top of which would appear Brahma,to remake the world.Vishnu appears in many incarnations,the most popular being those of Krishna and Rama. As Krishna he battled the great water serpent Kaliya,but spared him,banishing him to the ocean,assuring Kaliya of his protection from Garuda,the enemy of all serpents. Vishnu appeared in many Avatars,or incarnations,the most famous being that of Matsya- Avatara,Kurma-Avatara,Varaha-Avatara,Nrishima-Avatara,and Vamana-Avatara,all of which are recounted in detail in the entry on Avatars of Vishnu.Rama,another powerful incarnation of the god,was brought into being in order to fight the demon Ravana,and his exploits are recounted elsewhere,under the entry concerning Rama. Krishna's adventures,however,we will relate here. Born from a hair of Vishnu,which the god placed in the womb of Devaki,Krishna had to be exchanged for the newborn daughter of the cowherd Nanda and his wife Yasoda,as Krishna's mother had been instructed by Kansa that her son would usurp him. Krishna then went on to slay the serpent Kaliya,abduct the daughter of the Gandharva king,overthrow the flying city of Daityas,and obtain the discus from the fire god Agni.On reaching manhood,Krishna left the cowherds and returned to Mathura,where he killed Kansa,as per the prophecy. He played a central role in the war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas,later being killed by an arrow fired by the hunter Jaras. VISWAMITRA One of the great Rishis of Hindu legend,he once ordered the river Saraswati to bring to him Vasishtha for execution,but the river defied him,instead carrying his prey far away. In rage,Viswamitra turned the river to blood. VODEN See Odin. VOLUNDR See Wayland. VULCAN See Hephaestos. VITHAR The Norse god next in strength to Thor,Vithar was supposed to destroy the Fenris wolf,by placing one foot on the lower jaw,grasping the upper and tearing the wolf's mouth apart. VOLSUNG The son of Rerir,who was the son of Sigi,who in turn was the son of Odin,Volsung lay in his mother's womb for seven years,and when he was finally born,gave rise to the great and epic Saga of the Volsungs. Volsung's descendants were the great Germanic heroes Sigmund and his son Sigurd. VRITA In Hindu mythology,Vrita was the personification of evil,the snake of darkness against which Indra fought. WAKEA The ancestor of all Hawaiian people,who enraged Papa by his incestuous relationship with his daughter. WAKONDA The great mysterious power alluded to by the Sioux Indians,Wakonda is the source of all wisdom and power. WALUMBE One of the fifty Balubaale of Katonda,Walumbe is death. WATAUINEIWA The sky god of the Yahgan tribes of Tierra del Fuego. WATI-KUTJARA See Kurkadi and Mumba. WAYLAND The smith god of the Anglo- Saxons,Wayland and his two brothers married swan princesses,and lived in peace until one day Wayland's wife left him,and Nidud,the king,captured Wayland and set him to work on his island kingdom,fashioning wonderful items for him and his family. To ensure that the smith did not escape,the king had his men cut the sinews of Wayland's legs,thus crippling him. But Wayland had his revenge on the king,by slaying his sons,who came to visit the smith,and making of their skulls fine goblets,which he gave to the king,and fashioning their eyes into jewels,which he gave to the queen. He fell in love with the king's daughter,fathered a child on her and escaped from the island. Nidud's daughter had already extracted a promise from her father that he would not hurt her son,so the king could do nothing about Wayland's baby son. WELE The supreme god of the Abaluyia of Kenya,Wele created the heavens and supported them by pillars,then he created two assistants,with whose help he placed the sun and the moon in the sky. But the two,sun and moon,fought each other,so that Wele had to decree that they should only occupy the sky at alternate times. Then Wele created clouds,lightning,stars,rain,rainbows,and air. Thereafter he created man,and the earth.Death was brought into the world by the meanness of a farmer who refused to share his food with a hungry chameleon,Wele in disguise,who cursed the farmer and his descendants with the loss of immortality. WEPWAWET An assistant to Anubis,Wepwawet was the 'Opener of the Ways',regarded as a helper and guide to the dead. WERE The supreme deity of the Luo of Kenya,life and death is under the control of Were,and he uses his thunderbolts to strike down wrongdoers. WESTRI The name of the dwarf who held up the western part of the heavens,in Norse myth. WISHPOOSH According to the Nez Perce Indians of Washington,the beaver monster Wishpoosh refused to allow anyone to fish. Whenever a person came to the lake wherein he dwelt,he would seize him with his huge claws and drag him underwater. The Indians therefore turned to the trickster god Coyote for help,who fashioned a huge spear with a long,strong handle,and fastened it to his wrist with a flaxen cord. Then he went to the lake to catch some fish.Wishpoosh seized the trickster god,but Coyote stabbed him with the spear,and at the bottom of the lake the two fought a fierce battle. The struggle drew the pair across the Pacific Ocean,where Wishpoosh ate whales to renew his strength. During this interval Coyote paused for a rest. Changing himself into a branch of firwood,Coyote was swallowed by Wishpoosh,but once inside the monster he became a sharp knife,and cut the heart of the beast out. WIYOT A creator deity of certain Indians of California,Wiyot fathered a race of beings that existed before mankind. When he died,Coyote leapt onto the pyre and tore a strip of Wiyot's flesh off,eating it. This may mean that he had some part in the death of Wiyot. WODEN See Odin. WONOMI The creator god of the Maidu Indians,Wonomi created men,but they chose to follow instead the trickster Coyote. WULLEB The first man,in the myth of the Marshall Islands,Wulleb came from the leg of Loa,and later had to flee to earth,when his offspring conspired to kill him. WYRD See Urdr. XAMAN EK The snub-nosed god of the North Star,he was the guide of merchants. XIPETOTEC The 'flayed god' of the Aztecs,he was a god of agriculture and vegetation,who skinned himself to provide mankind with food. He was also seen as the god of penitential torture,and sent such illnesses to man as smallpox,plague,scabs and blindness. He,like most of the Aztec gods,had a great interest in Mictlan,the underworld. XIUHTECUHTLI The Aztec fire god,he assisted the spirits of the deceased in their absorption into the earth. XOCHIPILLI The Aztec god of flowers and lord of souls. XOCHIQUETZAL The Aztec goddess of the flowering and fruitful surface of the earth. XOLOTL A deformed Aztec deity,often shown with backward feet,Xolotl was usually seen as the giver of misfortune. YAHWEH The Hebrew God,later accepted as the Christian God. YAKUSHI-NYORAI One of the six 'meditation Buddhas',he is worshipped in Japan as the saviour who promised to cure all sickness and to obtain for mankind the remedies it needs. YALAFATH The creator god of Yap,in the Caroline Islands. He was looked on as a benevolent but indolent god,and was sometimes seen to be incarnate in the albatross. YAMA The Hindu god of death,he was the terrible judge and punisher of the guilty. His was depicted as of a green colour,armed with a noose and a club,and seated on a buffalo. Two insatiable dogs with four eyes and broad nostrils guard the road to his realm,where they watch the souls of the dead hurry past,towards their meeting with Yama,where Chitragupta,the Recorder,reads the offences of the soul,and Yama sentences them. YAMI Yama's sister. YAMBE-AKKA In Lapp mythology,she has charge of the underworld. YEN WANG The Chinese god of death. YGGDRASIL The World Tree,which in Norse mthyos had its upper roots in Asgard,its lower in Hel,and its third in Niflheim. The gods met beneath its branches in council every day,and around its base Niddhogg the dragon gnawed at its roots,while the squirrel Ratatosk ran from top to bottom of the Tree,bringing news and insults from Nidhogg to the great eagle that dwelt in Yggdrasil's topmost branches. The well of Mimir was at the base of the World Tree. YI A mythical hero of China,Yi the archer shot down with a magic bow nine of the original ten suns that were in the sky,as their heat was oppressing the population. In addition to this feat,Yi also obtained the elixir of life,but his wife stole it,ate it and flew to the moon. YIN-YANG The two interacting forces that sustain the Chinese cosmos,the harmony of the universe is thought to depend on the balance maintained between these two forces---Yin is female,and seen as negative,dark,the earth,while Yang is male,positive,light,heaven. YMIR Father of all the Norse gods,Ymir was the first Frost Giant,and was created by the mixture of the smoke and heat from Muspellheim and the ice of Nifllheim,at the beginning of the creation of the world. From his body the three brother gods Odin,Vili and Ve fashioned the Earth. YOLKAI ESTSAN Similar to Estsanatlehi,she is seen by the Navaho Indians as the goddess of the sea. YRYN-AI-TOJON The creator deity of the Yakuts,he noticed a bladder floating on the waters,and in reply to his enquiry the bladder told him that it was the spirit of evil,the inhabitant of the ground hidden beneath the water. Then Yryn-ai-tojon demanded that the bladder bring him a sample of this earth that resided under water. The creator god then blessed this patch of earth,and sat upon it. When the evil one tried to drown Yryn-ai-tojon he was dismayed to find that the further he stretched the land,the stronger it became,until it was a full continent. YUGA In Hindu cosmology,a Yuga is an age of the world. During each Yuga different things characterise it. YUM KAAX The Maya god of agriculture. YURLUNGUR The great copper python of the Murngin in northern Australia. Yulungur was roused from his great sleep by the odour of the menstrual blood of one of the women who took refuge in his cave. The great snake rose and drowned the land,and devoured the two women. However,later at a conference of snakes,Yulungur,accused of eating his kin,admitted that he had,and was told to regurgitate the two women.Yulungur is the rainbow serpent,for the water of the well in which he lives shines like the rainbow. His voice is thunder. ZALTYS The serpent revered by the Balts,and beloved by the sun goddess,Saule. ZANAHARY The supreme god of the Madagascan pantheon,he made the earth but left it desolate. Thereupon Ratovoantany shot up like a plant from the ground,and when Zanahary returned some time later,he found the other god drying clay figures of humans he had made. But Ratovoantany was unable to give the creatures he had made life,and Zanahary would only agree to do so if they lived in heaven,while the other wanted them to live on earth. A compromise was reached,whereby Zanahary gave the humans life,and they remained on the earth,but he was authorised to take back that life,and then the creatures would dwell with him in heaven.Zanahary's wife is Andriamanitra,queen of heaven. ZEPHYROS God of the west wind,in Greek legend,Zephyros,like his three brothers,Boreas,Notos and Euros,was the son of Eos and Astraeos. The god of the west wind vied with his brother Boreas for the love of Chloris,who chose Zephyros,and remained his faithful wife from then on. Zephyros had a maligant side to his character also though:there was a youth,called Hyakinthos,whom both Zephyros and Apollo loved,and the wind- god,in frustration at the success Apollo was having with the boy,blew back the discus Apollo had thrown,into the face of Hyakinthos,killing him. ZETES One of the two sons of Boreas who,with his brother Kalais,took part in Jason's quest for the Golden Fleece,in the process setting free the blind Phineas from the attention of the Harpies;the two sons of the wind god killed the evil creatures. ZETHOS One of the two sons of Antiope,Zethos was the one given to physical exertion in order to get the job done,while his brother,Amphion,accomplished the same tasks by dint of his superlative musical skills. ZEUS Known to the Romans as Jupiter,or sometimes Jove, Zeus was the father of all the gods on Mount Olympus,although he was not the eldest. In the section on his father,Kronos,it is related how the god,afraid that his sons would overthrow him,ate each of his children as they were born,and had consumed five of them before his wife,Rhea,gave him a stone shaped like an infant to eat,and spirited the baby Zeus off to Mount Ida,where he grew up,unbeknownst to his father,and later returned to defeat the rebellious Titans,oust Kronos from the throne of Olympus,and persuade his father to yield back the five children he had consumed. Thus Zeus became leader of the gods,and with his two brothers,Hades and Poseidon,divided up the Earth between the three of them. Zeus married Metis,but under the same paranoia as Kronos,he swallowed his pregant wife before she could deliver the child that gestated in her womb. This child,however,burst forth from the very head of Zeus,and was Pallas-Athene. Next Zeus married Themis,siring Astraea and the Horae. But it was the goddess Hera that really captured his heart,and though he had to pursue her for a long time before she gave in to his advances,Zeus finally married Hera,and from their marriage came Hebe,Ares and Hephaestos.Zeus did not remain faithful to her though,siring many other children,as in the case of Persephone,whom he had by Demeter,Apollo and Artemis,who were the children of Leto,Aphrodite,by Dione,the Muses,by Mnemosyne,the Charites,by Eurynome,Dionysos,of Semele,Hermes,of Maia,and Hercules,who was borne to him by Alkmene. Having defeated the Titans,Zeus now faced a new uprising:that of the Giants,who had come into being from the blood of Uranos. Their leader was Porphyrion,who Zeus and Athene struggled against,while other gods fought others of the rebels. The mother of the Giants,Gaea,had made her sons proof against all weapons of the gods,but not by those of mortals,so Hercules was called forth,and broke their power.When the golden ages had passed,and men struggled to overcome each other for gain,Zeus was angered,and let loose a terrible flood on the Earth,destroying everyone on it,except Deukalion and Pyrrha,whom he saved to procreate the new race.Zeus' favourite sacrifice was a bull,and his sigils were the eagle,oak and olive .ZIU See Tyr. ZOMBI A soulless body,in Voodoo mythology,Zombis are the slaves of magicians,and Ghede has power to animate them. ZU The lion-headed bird of Sumerian legend,which took the tablets on which the law had been inscribed from Enlil,and thereby threatened the very existence of the gods,as whoever possessed the tablets was invulnerable. It was Ninurta,the son of Enlil,who finally found and scaled the nest of Zu,and rescued the tablets. ZURVAN AKARANA The progenitor of both Ahriman and Ahura Mazdah,who declared that the firstborn should rule:Ahriman tore his way out of the womb to be the first. ZYGIA Another name for Hera.