Dis (Pater)
Roman
The richest of all the Roman gods; the god of death and the Underworld who was equated with the Greek Hades. He was also known as Orcus, even by the euphemism Pluto, which appears to have been adopted from the Greeks, as this title means "the wealth," a reference to his possession of all the rich metals and gems of earth.
Dithyrambus
A choral song dedicated to Dionysos that is sung by his votaries in their orgiastic, drunken frenzy.
Dius Fidius
An ancient god of contracts who has been equated with Mitra but is usually presented as an aspect of Jupiter, especially in later tradition.
Diva Angerona
Agoddess whose festival was celebrated at the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, and who has been equated, by some authorities, with the Vedic goddess Aditi.
Dodona
Mountainous location in Epirus of the earliest oracle of Zeus and where that god was sometimes depicted wearing a wreath of oak leaves. The oracle of Zeus interpreted the rustling of the sacred oak leaves as the voice of the god. An oak tree still stands on the site, where the remains of the sanctuary and an impressive theater can be seen.
Dolon
A Trojan spy who, dressed in a wolf skin, entered the Greek camp under cover of darkness but was captured by Diomedes and Odysseus. They forced him to reveal the strength and disposition of the Trojan forces, then killed him.
Donn
Romano-Celtic A form of Dis Pater, lord of the hunt and god of the Underworld and all the earth’s riches. He would appear to be a direct adaptation to Roman sensibilities of the purely Celtic Donn, god of the dead who welcomes the spirits of the dead to his island.
Dorian
The Dorians were an ancient Greek race that entered Greece c. 1100 B.C., bringing with them the worship of Apollo, their influence stretching as far south as Crete. They claimed to have originated in Doris, a small area in central Greece from which they take their name, though their name may have come from Dorus, the son of Hellen.
Doris
1. The daughter of Oceanos and Thetis; mother of the 50 Nereides by Nereus, whom some sources make her brother, others the son of Pontus and Ge.
2. A small area in central Greece from which the Dorian race, who conquered the Pelo-ponnesos, claimed they originated.
Dorus
The son of Hellen and, according to some sources, the mythical ancestor and eponym of the Dorian race. Other sources say this race originated in and took its name from Doris, a small area in central Greece.
Dougga
Also: Thugga
The best preserved Roman city in Tunisia in northern Africa. The temple of the Capitoline Triad was erected on the capitol during the second century A.D. The ruins of the temple of Juno Caelestis, and those dedicated to Concord, Liber, and Saturn, are also reasonably well preserved.
Draco
1. The sleepless dragon that guarded the Golden Fleece in the sacred grove of Ares in Colchis. Jason put it to sleep with a potion Medea gave him to enable the Argonauts to complete their quest. Some say it is this dragon that was subsequently placed in the heavens to form the constellation Draco.
2. A dragon Athene fought during the Titanomachia, the war between the Olympian deities and the Titans. Athene hurled it into the sky, where it became wrapped around the northern celestial pole, thus forming the constellation that bears its name.
Astronomical: One of the largest and most ill-defined of the constellations lying in the northern celestial hemisphere, almost wrapping itself for 180° around the northern celestial pole. The constellation lies between approximate right ascensions 9h10m and 21h00m, declination from +48° to +86°.
Drepanum
Greco-Roman Town in Sicily where Acestes welcomed Aeneas on his journey from Troy after the end of the Trojan War. It was here that his father, Anchises, died, after which Aeneas and his men stayed for a year before setting sail again. They returned after they had left Carthage, on this occasion staging funeral games in honor of Anchises before leaving once again for Italy.
Dryad
A specific category of nymph who lived in woodlands; Dryades were the guardian spirits of trees, being particularly protective of oaks. In art they were depicted with crowns of leaves, sometimes carrying axes. Why this latter attribute should be given to guardians of trees is unclear.
Dryope
A nymph, the daughter of either Eurytus of Oechalia or of King Dryops. Having being seduced and raped by Apollo, she was carried away by the Hamadryads and transformed into a lotus tree.
Dryops
One of the possible fathers of Dryope, the nymph who was seduced by Apollo and then transformed into a lotus tree. The other possible father is Eurytus of Oechalia.
Echemus
The king of Tegea who killed Hyllus in single combat.
Echidn~e, ~a
Half-snake, half-woman, usually described as the daughter of Ge and Tartarus. The wife of Typhon, she became the mother by him of the monstrous Chimaera, Hydra, Cerberus, Ladon, and Orthros. In later tradition she also became the mother of the Nemaean Lion, the Sphinx, and the Sow of Crommyum. She was finally killed by Argus of the hundred eyes.
Echion
1. The son of Hermes who took part in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar and joined the expedition of the Argonauts, acting as their herald.
2. One of the five Sparti who remained alive after their infighting and went on, with the survivors—Udaeus, Chthonius, Hyperenor, Pelorus—to help Cadmos build the Cadmea, thereby becoming revered as ancestors of Thebes. Married to Agave, Echion was the father of Pentheus, who became king of Thebes.
Echo
An oread or mountain nymph from Mount Helicon whose incessant chattering distracted the attention of Hera while Zeus amused himself with the nymphs. When Hera uncovered the ruse she took away Echo’s ability to use her voice, except to repeat what another had said. Echo then fell in love with Narcissus, a beautiful youth who repulsed her advances; unable to declare her love for him, she pined away until only her voice remained.
Edones
Ancient Thracian race whose king, Lycurgus, opposed the worship of Dionysos. Sent mad by Rhea, he mutilated his own son, for which he was blinded; later he cut off his own leg, thinking it a tree. His people further punished him by having him pulled apart between two horses.
Eetion
King of Thebes in Cilicia; the father of Andromache, who married Hector. He was killed by Achilles when his city was raided by that hero.
Egeria
Possibly deriving from the Etruscan Begoe or Vegoia, this goddess or nymph, who became the consort of Numa Pompilius, was credited with prophetic foresight. Her cult appears to have been brought to Rome from Aricia, a hypothesis strengthened by the fact that Ovid says Egeria went to Aricia to mourn after the death of Numa Pompilius.
Eileithyian Cave
Cave on Crete, approximately 5 kilometers (3 miles) east of the capital, Iraklion, where Hera was said to have given birth to Eileithyia. Archaeological evidence indicates that the cave has been used as a holy place since Neolithic times.
Eil(e)ithy(i)a
Goddess of childbirth; the daughter of Hera supposedly born in the Eileithyian Cave on Crete.
Elatus
One of the mythical Lapithae and father of Caeneus.
Electra
1. Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra who was married to a peasant afraid to consummate their union after Clytemnestra and Aegisthus had murdered Agamemnon on his return from the Trojan War. She smuggled her young brother, Orestes, out of Mycenae but, burning for revenge, plotted with Orestes the murder of her mother and her lover. Electra secretly tended the tomb of her father until, upon the return of Orestes (in the company of Pylades, whom she later married), she exacted revenge by helping her brother kill their mother, Clytemnestra, and Aegisthus, who was by that time her stepfather. Her story is told in surviving plays by the three great Attic tragedians, two simply entitled Electra (Sophocles and Euripides), the other being The Libation Bearers (the second play of Aeschylus’s trilogy).
2. A daughter of Oceanos and the mother of Iris and the Harpies.
3. A Pleiad, one of the seven daughters of Atlas and mother of Dardanos by Zeus. She was later, with her six sisters, transformed into a star grouping known as the Pleiades within the constellation Taurus.
Electryon
King of Mycenae; the son of Perseus and Andromeda and father of Alcmene, who married Amphitryon.
Eleus(in)ian Mysteries
The collective name of the various ceremonies celebrated in the temple of Demeter at Eleusis in honor of Demeter, Persephone, and Dionysos. During these ceremonies worshippers were said to have seen visions within the darkened confines of the temple, which was supposedly connected to the Underworld.
Eleusis
Religious and cultural center in Attica that is second in importance only to Athens. Today the complex ruins indicate the splendor and importance of Eleusis, the site of one of Greece’s most remarkable cults. It was here, in the darkened temple of Demeter, that the Eleusinian Mysteries were celebrated in honor of Demeter, her daughter, Persephone, and Dionysos. It is said that the rites were instigated by King Celeus upon the order of Demeter, with worshippers witnessing strange visions within the temple, itself connected to the Underworld. An annual procession took place from Eleusis to Athens, where Eleusinian-style festivals were established by the tyrant Pesistratus in the sixth century B.C.
Elis
Ancient Greek kingdom in the northwest Peloponnesos, south of Arcadia, that was ruled by King Augeias, the owner of the largest herd of cattle in the world. It was housed in the Augean Stables, which Heracles had to clean in a day as the sixth of his Great Labors.
Elpenor
The youngest of Odysseus’s crewmen who, while sleeping on the roof or window ledge of Circe’s palace on Aeaea, had fallen to his death, some accounts saying because he was drunk. When Odysseus later visited the Underworld to consult the spirit of his father, Elpenor angrily reproached Odysseus for not giving him a proper funeral. Odysseus returned to Aeaea to do this.
Elys~ian, ~ium
Usually depicted as the Elysian Fields or Elysian Plain, this paradisiacal land, situated near the River Oceanos and sometimes called the Islands of the Blessed, was the place where souls who found favor with the gods—or with the three judges of the Underworld, Aeacus, Rhadamanthus, and Minos—were sent to live a life of ideal happiness. Although this land was said to be near the Underworld, it formed no part of the realm of Hades. It was a blessed place, with neither cold nor snow nor strong winds, where it never rained and the chosen ones lived in eternal sunshine, a direct contrast to the miserable gloom that surrounded the unfortunate souls committed for all eternity to the realm of Hades.
Usually this paradisiacal land was said to be ruled over by Cronos along with Rhad-amanthus. Homer placed it far to the west; later Greek geographers stated simply that it lay beyond the Pillars of Heracles (Hercules). Pausanias identifies it with the White Isle (Leuce) in the Black Sea, where Achilles, Patroclus, the two Ajaxes, Antilochus, and Helen lived on after death. Eventually it came to be identified with the Canary Isles and Madeira.
Empusae
Horrible demons, the daughters of Hecate, with the haunches of asses and wearing brazen slippers. These dreadful beings had the ability to change their form at will to that of a bitch, a cow, or a beautiful maiden. In the latter guise they were most dreadful, for they would lie with men and sap their strength until they died. The origin of the Empusae may lie in Palestine, where the daughters of Lilith, the Lilim, displayed similar characteristics.
Enceladus
One of the 24 giants with serpent’s tails—the sons of Ge who sought to avenge the imprisonment of their brothers, the Titans, by attacking Olympus. Led by Alcyoneus, others in this revolt were Porphyrion, Ephialtes, Mimas, Pallas, and Polybutes. After a terrible struggle the gods finally were victorious, but only after Heracles—who appears here before his apotheosis, indicating the late origin of the myth— gave the gods a magical herb of invulnerability. Heracles himself always deals the final blow to each giant.
In punishment Enceladus was buried beneath Mount Etna, which some used to explain the volcanic nature of that mountain, for when Enceladus stirred, Etna erupted.
Astronomical: One of the satellites of Saturn lying fourth closest to the planet between the orbits of Mimas and Tethys.
Endymion
A beautiful youth, sometimes described as the king of Elis or as a shepherd, with whom Selene, the moon goddess, became enamored. Spotting him asleep in a cave on Mount Latmus in Caria, Selene came down and kissed him. Later he returned to the cave, where he fell into a dreamless, eternal sleep, some saying so he might retain his youthful beauty, others so Selene might keep him in perpetuity. Another variant says that he was granted eternal sleep as a favorable alternative to death for his attempted rape of Hera.
By his mortal wife he had four sons, one of them being Aetolus, who later invaded the land now called Aetolia; Selene reputedly bore him 50 daughters. His tomb and sanctuary may be visited outside Heracleia.
Astronomical: The name applied to an impact crater located in the upper western quadrant of the surface of the moon, slightly above and to the west of those known as Hercules and Atlas.
Enipeus
The river god who was beloved by Tyro.
Enna
Greco-Roman Site in Sicily that was, according to Latin poets commenting on Greek tradition, the site of Persephone’s abduction by Hades.
Eos
Goddess of the dawn, daughter of Hyperion and Theia, and sister to Helios (Sun) and Selene (Moon). The Romans equated Eos with Aurora. She drove her chariot across the sky to announce the approach of her brother, Helios; as Hemera (Day) she accompanied him across the sky, becoming Hespera (Evening) upon her arrival in the west. She was the mother of the evening star, Hesperus, and the four winds, Boreas, Zephyrus, Eurus, and Notus, by Astraeus (though some sources say simply that all the stars and winds were their children with the exception of Eurus, the east wind). She was cursed by Aphrodite for having an affair with Ares, whom Aphrodite herself loved. This was just one of many hopeless love affairs entered into by Eos, her most famous being that with Tithones, who fathered Memnon and Emathion by her, though she also trysted Orion and Cephalos. She asked Zeus to bestow immortality upon Tithones but forgot to also ask for eternal youth for him; he subsequently became the oldest man in Olympus, shrinking away until he finally became a cicada. Some say that she was actually married to Tithones, her constant infidelity accounting for the blush of dawn.
Epaphus
The son of Zeus and Io who reigned over Egypt and was rumored to be Apis, the sacred bull of the ancient Egyptians.
Epeius
The cowardly son of Panopeus who, under the supervision of Athene, built the Wooden Horse, carving upon it an inscription dedicating it to the goddess. After the end of the Trojan War he was said to have been among the Greek survivors who emigrated to Italy. See also: Wooden Horse
Ephesia
Epithet applied to Artemis at Ephesus, where she was worshipped as an orgiastic goddess, an aspect of an earlier mother goddess originating in Asia Minor.
Ephesus
Magnificent Ionian city on the coast of Asia Minor at the mouth of the River Cayster that became the principal city of the Ionian Greeks. In the sixth century B.C. it came under the control of the Lydian King Croesus. It was destroyed by Goths in 262 a.d. Excavation of the site has revealed much of the earlier splendor of Ephesus and includes the slight remains of the temples to the Artemis Ephesia, whose worship was focused here; Saint Paul was said to have encountered Artemis in this aspect (see Acts 19:1-35).
Ephialtes
There are two similar stories surrounding the character of Ephialtes, each giving him different parentage. The earlier of these makes him the brother of Otus and one of the giants, Aloeidae, the sons of Iphimedeia by Poseidon but named after Aloeus, whom their mother later married. At the age of nine the pair captured and immured Ares. With the god of war out of harm’s way they decided, for reasons not explained, to outrage both Hera and Artemis, and to reach the lofty heights of Mount Olympus they piled Mount Pelion atop Mount Ossa. Artemis, however, tricked the giants into going to Naxos, where they thought they would meet the goddess. Disguised as a doe, Artemis leaped between them and they killed each other. Hermes now released Ares; the spirits of the Aloeidae were condemned to Tartarus, where they were tied back-to-back to a pillar with vipers.
A later, post-Homeric tale makes Ephialtes one of the 24 giant sons of Ge with serpents’ tales who revolted against the Olympian deities to avenge the imprisonment of their brothers, the Titans. In this version the battles, collectively known as the Titanomachia, were led by Alcyoneus, some of his brothers being named as Enceladus, Porphyrion, Mimas, Pallas, and Polybutes. They were soundly defeated by the Olympians, who had the help of Heracles, though chronologically this was before his apotheosis.
