Busiris
One of the numerous sons of Poseidon who became the king of either Libya or Egypt, the latter being the more likely as Busiris was the Greek name for the Egyptian Delta city of Djedu, an early cult center for the Egyptian deity Osiris. He had the habit of sacrificing all foreign visitors to his land to Zeus until Heracles visited and the tables were turned.
Butes
A priest of Pallas Athene and the son of the king of Athens, Pandion.
Byblis
A nymph who became infatuated with her brother, Caunus, until she was finally changed into a fountain.
Bybl~os, ~us
Greco-Romano-Phoenician Ancient Phoenician city (modern Jebeil) 32 kilometers (20 miles) north of Beirut, Lebanon. Known to the Assyrians and Babylonians as Gubla, it first became known as Byblos during the Roman period, when the city boasted an amphitheater, baths, and a temple dedicated to an unknown male god. It is, however, perhaps best known as the center for the worship of Adonis, the god of vegetation whose annual death and resurrection reflects the passing of the seasons.
Byzantium
Ancient Greek city located on the northern shore of the Thracian Bosphorus. Founded as a colony of the Greek city Megara on the Corinthian Isthmus about 667 B.C., it was recol-onized in 628 B.C. This settlement was wiped out by the Persians of Darius I but subsequently recaptured and recolonized with a mixed force from Sparta and Athens by Puasanias of Sparta following the battle of Plataea in 479 B.C.; its sovereignty was disputed by both Sparta and Athens throughout the fifth century B.C. Philip of Macedon laid siege to the city in 340 B.C., but it was preserved by a miraculous flash of light that revealed the approaching army, a miracle still used on Turkish coins.
The city continued to prosper, and it resisted the Thracian Gauls until it fell to the Roman Emperor Septimus Severus, who razed the city and then rebuilt it in 196 A.D. Emperor Constantine made it his capital in 330 a.d., renaming the city Constantinople. In 1453 the city fell to the Muslims and gradually extended the use of its Turkish name, Istanbul (Stamboul).
Cabiri
Originating in Phrygia, these fertility deities, usually described as twins though their number does vary, were worshipped in Thebes and Athens, to which the phallic hermas (cairns) were said to have been brought as part of their cult, but especially on the northern Aegean islands of Samothrace, Lemnos, and Imbros. The Samothracians put their number at four, christening them Axieros, Axiokersos, Axiokersa, and Cadmilus. They played an important role in the Samothracian mysteries, being identified with the Olympian deities— Demeter, Persephone, Hades, and Hermes.
Often referred to simply as the "Great Gods," their names appear related to the Semitic root kbr, which simply means "great," and they may represent the Phrygian version of the twin agricultural deities known elsewhere among the Indo-European peoples, such as the Vedic Ashvins. As twin deities they were often identified with the Dioscuri, in which guise they were regarded as helpers of distressed sailors, appearing to them in the form of Saint Elmo’s fire.
Their parentage greatly varied. On Lemnos they were said to be the children of Hephaistos and were regarded as smiths. Elsewhere they were said to have been sons of Uranos, who assisted the birth of Zeus, or of Proteus and thus guardians of sailors, or even of Zeus and the Muse Calliope.
Cacus 1. Romano-Etruscan Later to become identified with Caeculus, the legendary ancestor of the powerful Caecilii family of the Roman republic, this exceptionally beautiful youth, singer, and seer was killed by Hercules.
2. Greco-Roman Originating in Greek mythology, Cacus was later absorbed into Roman culture. He was described as a half-human demigod, a man-eating ogre, the son of Hephaistos and Medusa; the Romans made him the son of Vulcan, a direct parallel, but left his mother nameless. He was said to have lived in a cave on the Palatine Hill, though some sources make this the Aventine Hill, from where he terrorized the Arcadians.
During the tenth labor of Heracles that great hero drove the cattle he had taken from Geryon through Italy, encountering, on the Palatine Hill, Cacus, who attempted to make off with the oxen. Heracles clubbed him to death, a story subsequently told to Aeneas by King Evander, who some sources say used Cacus as a slave.
Cadme(i)a
The citadel of Thebes said to have been built by Cadmos with the aid of the five Sparti or "Sown Men" who survived their battle with each other. These five—Echion, Udaeus, Chthonius, Hyperenor, and Pelorus—became revered as the ancestors of Thebes. The fortifications below the Cadmea were built at a later date by Amphion and Zethus, the latter marrying Thebe, who gave her name to the city.
Cadm~os, ~us
The legendary founder of Thebes in Boeotia. According to common tradition, he was the son of Agenor (son of Poseidon and king of Phoenicia) and Telephassa. When his sister, Europa, was carried off by Zeus, who appeared to her in the form of a bull, Agenor sent his sons, Cadmos among them, to search for her.
Having no success, the sons returned without their sister, but Cadmos decided to consult the Delphic Oracle. There he was advised to relinquish his fruitless search and instead follow a cow until she sank down with fatigue and there found a city. This he did, following the cow from Phocis to Boeotia, where she sank down to rest; he decided to found his city there.
Sacrificing to Athene, he sent his men to fetch water from a spring that was sacred to Ares, not knowing that it was guarded by a dragon. This beast killed most of his men, but Cadmos prevailed and, upon the advice of Athene, sowed the teeth from the slain dragon. Immediately fully armed men, the Sparti or "Sown Men" sprang up from the teeth and began to menace Cadmos, who threw stones into their midst. Thinking that his neighbor was hitting him, each started to fight one another until only five remained. These five— Echion, Udaeus, Chthonius, Hyperenor, and Pelorus—helped Cadmos to build the Cadmea, the citadel of the city that was subsequently to become known as Thebes after Zethus had married Thebe and so became revered as ancestors of the city and its people.
To atone for killing the dragon, Cadmos became a slave to Ares for eight years before Zeus gave him Harmonia, the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, to be his wife. All the Olympian deities attended their wedding, the first time the gods had attended the wedding of a mere mortal, and several fabulous gifts were given to the bride. From Aphrodite came the famous necklace that had been made by Hephaistos, which Zeus had originally given to Europa and which bestowed irresistible loveliness on its wearer. From Athene she received a magic robe woven by the Graces that conferred divine dignity.
Cadmos was said to have introduced the alphabet and writing to Thebes from Phoenicia. The children of Cadmos and Harmonia were Autonoe, Ino, Semele (the mother of Dionysos), Agave, Polydorus, and later Illyrius. In his old age Cadmos relinquished his throne to his grandson, Pentheus, the son of Agave and Echion, but he was murdered attempting to resist the cult of Dionysos. Following the murder Cadmos and Harmonia left Thebes and went to Illyria; later, in the form of serpents, they were received in the Islands of the Blessed.
Caduceus Greco-Roman The winged staff carried by Hermes as an attribute along with his winged hat, the peta-sus, and winged sandals, the alipes. The staff was originally represented as being adorned with white ribbons, but these later became serpents due to Hermes’ association as the herald of Hades, the intimator of death who gently laid the golden rod on the eyes of the dying. When Hermes was absorbed into the Roman pantheon as Mercury, the caduceus remained as a serpent-entwined rod.
Though normally associated with Hermes or Mercury, the caduceus was also carried by Asclepios, the god of medicine, and has found its way into modern symbology as the emblem of many medical associations and organizations.
Caeles Vibenna Romano-Etruscan Brother of Aulus Vibenna with whom he attacked Cacus. Said to have given his name to the Caelian Hill in Rome, he was once rescued from a period of enforced captivity by his faithful companion, Mastarna.
Caeneus
Born as the nymph Caenis, she was raped by Poseidon, who, as was customary after such enjoyment by the gods, granted a boon. Caenis asked to be turned into a man to avoid being raped again. Poseidon consented, making him invulnerable at the same time. So Caeneus was created.
Having taken part in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar in the company of the Argonauts, Caeneus became the king of the Lapithae, demanding worship as a god. At Zeus’s instigation a great battle ensued between the Lapithae and the centaurs, who, unable to overcome Caeneus, bludgeoned him into the ground and buried him under a mass of felled trees, a scene depicted on a bronze plaque at Olympia. His soul was released in the form of a bird, after which his body regained its female form.
Caere
Romano-Etruscan A great metal-working center some 15 miles northwest of Rome. One of the most Hellenized of all the Etruscan cities, Caere had a large Phoenician population and controlled several dependant ports. Other important Etruscan cities within the vicinity were Tarquinii, Vulci, and Veii.
Calais
The brother of Zetes, winged twin sons of Boreas and Oreithya. They accompanied the expedition of Jason and the Argonauts and, upon reaching the island of Bebrycos, drove off the rapacious Harpies that had been plaguing the blind King Phineus, husband of their sister, Cleopatra, before releasing Cleopatra’s sons from imprisonment by their father, who falsely suspected they rather than the Harpies had been plaguing him.
Calchas
Treacherous Trojan seer; the father of Cres-sida and originating from either Mycenae or Megara. Fated to die when he met a better diviner than himself, he assisted the Greek forces in the run up to and during the Trojan War. Prior to the Greek fleet assembling at Aulis he foretold that Troy could not be taken without the aid of Achilles (then age nine), the son of Peleus (king of the Myrmidones and Phthia in Thessaly) and the Nereid Thetis.
Then, with the fleet becalmed at Aulis, Calchas advised that the only way to gain favorable winds was to sacrifice Iphigeneia, the daughter of the Greek commander-in-chief, Agamemnon, to the goddess Artemis to appease her for the killing of a hart. Agamemnon reluctantly consented, but the goddess carried the hapless maiden away to serve as her priestess in Tauris.
In the tenth year of the Trojan War there occurred the famous incident between Achilles and Agamemnon, the latter having taken Chryseis, the daughter of the Trojan priest Chryses, as his concubine. Apollo sent a plague among the Greek hordes, and on Calchas’s advice Chryseis was returned to her father.
Agamemnon now took Briseis, the concubine of Achilles, to recompense himself, and as a result Achilles refused to take any further part in the battle, turning the tide firmly in favor of the besieged city.
With many Greek heroes dead, Calchas said they must fetch the bow and arrows of Heracles then owned by Philoctetes, who had been left on the island of Lemnos because of the stench from a festering snake bite. Odysseus and Diomedes sailed to the island to persuade him to join their cause.
Next, Calchas advised the Greeks that they would gain final victory over Troy only if they were to capture Helenus, for only he knew the secret oracles that protected the city. He also participated in the plot that led to the death of Palamedes. Following the fall of Troy, Calchas, like Amphilochus, made his way overland to Colophon. There he contended in a contest of prophecy with Mopsus, a son of Apollo and Manto, and was beaten when Mopsus correctly stated the number of figs on a fig tree. Having been surpassed, he died of grief, as was fated, and was buried at Notium. Calchas and Mopsus are venerated as the joint founders of several cities including Perge, Selge, and Sillyum.
Calipe
A misspelling of Calpe, one of the Pillars of Heracles (Hercules), that appears in some early source texts.
Calliope
Greco-Roman One of the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne who were collectively known as the Muses. She was the eldest daughter and therefore the leading Muse—the Muse of eloquence, lyre-playing, and heroic or epic poetry. She is represented in art with a tablet and stylus, sometimes with a roll of paper or even a book. She had two daughters by Apollo and was the mother of Orpheus. Once Greek culture had been absorbed by the Romans, the Muses were said to have been the nine daughters of Jupiter.
Callir(r)hoe
1. The daughter of the river god Achelous who married Alcmaeon after her father had purified him. She demanded the necklace and robe of Harmonia from her husband, but he had already given them to Arsinoe, the daughter of Phlegeus to whom he was already married. Alcmaeon returned to Arsinoe and almost succeeded in getting the wondrous artifacts back, but Phlegeus discovered the true reason behind the request and ordered his sons to kill Alcmaeon.
2. A daughter of Oceanos and the mother of Geryon.
3. A daughter of the River Scamander; the wife of Tros and mother by him of Ilus, Assaracus, Ganymede, and Cleopatra.
Callisto
The daughter of Lycaon; a nymph, she was one of Artemis’s huntresses and, like that goddess, sworn to chastity. She was seduced and raped by Zeus, with some sources saying that Zeus appeared to her in the guise of Artemis, and the unfortunate maiden was then transformed into a bear. Here the sources again differ. Some say that the transformation was made by Zeus in order to deceive his wife, Hera, whereas others say that it was carried out by Artemis in anger when Callisto’s pregnancy became apparent.
As a bear she was hunted down and shot, and here again there is some confusion among varying accounts. Some say that Hera, discovering the attempt made by her deceitful husband to hide his lust for the maiden, contrived to have Artemis kill the bear that was Callisto, whereas others say she was hunted down and shot by her son by Zeus, Arcas (sometimes called Bootes), when she wandered into the sanctuary of Zeus Lycaeus.
Having been shot she was set in the heavens, some saying that she became Arctos, others that she became the constellation Ursa Major (Great Bear), her son becoming either Ursa Minor (Little Bear) or Arctophylax.
Hera now made the sea gods promise never to let her rival enter their realm, and so in the northern hemisphere the constellation Ursa Major never sets.
Astronomical: See the relevant entries for the constellations Bootes, Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor. The name Callisto has been given to the second largest of the four Galilean satellites of the planet Jupiter. With a diameter of 4,800 kilometers (300 miles) and orbiting every 16.7 days at a distance of 1.9 million kilometers (1.2 million miles) from the planet, its surface is covered with large craters. The moon lies fifth closest to the surface of the planet between the orbits of Ganymede and Leda.
Calpe
Greco-Roman The ancient name for Gibraltar, the European of the Pillars of Heracles (Hercules), the other being Abyla, or Ceuta, in North Africa. These pillars were supposedly markers of the western boundary of the known world, beyond which lay the legendary Atlantis.
Calydon
Town in Aetolia, north of the western stretch of the Gulf of Corinth. Situated in the mountains, it is most famous as the location of the epic struggle best known as the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, which was sent by Artemis to ravage Calydon, as its King Oeneus had forgotten to include the goddess in his annual offering of the first fruits to the gods.
Calydonian Boar
A huge boar that was sent to ravage Calydon by the goddess Artemis as Oeneus, king of Calydon, had omitted the goddess in his annual offering of first fruits to the gods. Oeneus pleaded with the Greek cities to send their greatest heroes to rid him of the monstrous beast, offering its hide as the prize to the hero who managed to kill it. Many cities replied by sending their heroes, and among those who took part in the hunt were Peleus, Amphiaraus, Meleager, and Atalanta. Meleager was the successful contestant in the hunt and, having been presented with the hide, promptly gave it to Atalanta, with whom he was in love. His uncles, the sons of Thestius, quarreled with Meleager over his gift of the hide to Atalanta, and this ultimately led to the heroes’ deaths.
Calypso
Greek
The nymph daughter of Atlas who lived on the island of Ortygia or Ogygia. Having fallen in love with Odysseus after he was washed ashore following a shipwreck while returning home to Ithaca at the end of Trojan War (having previously been held captive by Circe), she kept him there for seven or eight years, offering him ageless immortality as part of the bargain. Finally, Zeus sent Hermes to command that Odysseus be released. To help Odysseus return home, Calypso showed him how to make a raft on which he set sail from her island home. Apart from her role in the story of Odysseus as related in Homer’s Odyssey, Calypso is not referred to in any other context.
Camenae
Generic term used to refer to water nymphs.
Camilla
The Amazonian daughter of King Metabus of Privernum, king of the Volscii, who to preserve his daughter tied her to a javelin, dedicated her to Diana, and threw her across the River Amisenus. She was allied to Turnus during his great battle with Aeneas and was killed by Arruns.
Camillus, Murcus Furius
Roman
Historical figure who in 396 B.C. was appointed dictator—sole governor of Rome—for the duration of the Romans’ war against Veii, the Etruscan city that commanded the River Tiber at Fidenae. Having captured a soothsayer from the Etruscan city, the Romans were told that the only way to take the city was to drain Alban Lake, a fact confirmed by the Delphic Oracle. Camillus ordered it drained and then had his men tunnel under the city to a point below a temple sacred to Juno.
Above them they heard the king of the beleaguered city preparing to sacrifice to Juno, stating that whosoever should make the sacrifice would triumph in their war. At that point the Romans burst through, made the sacrifice, and took the city. Watching from a high tower as his troops stormed the city, Camillus wept. The figure of Juno from the temple in Veii was then taken to Rome, and spoils from the city were sent to be dedicated to Apollo at Delphi. Camillus, however, was charged with retaining some of the spoils for himself and was forced into exile.
This story has obvious parallels with the story of the sacking of Troy, in which gaining secret entry into the city after receiving information from one of the city’s seers is a common factor. Many years later, in a story that is a complete fabrication, Camillus was said to have returned from exile while Rome was besieged by the Gauls under Brennus and, attacking them from the rear, decimated their forces. The fact is the Gauls successfully sacked Rome and later left unharmed. It is practically certain that they captured the Capitoline Hill, said to have been saved by the cackling of Juno’s sacred geese, as well as the rest of the city, but this would have been an unacceptable fact to later generations, so a more suitable and fitting conclusion was thus invented—in the process restoring the name of the exiled Camillus.
Canc~er, ~ri Greco-Roman While Heracles was fighting the Hydra, the goddess Hera, who hated Heracles, sent a crab to bite the great hero and thereby distract him. Heracles simply crushed the insignificant creature, and for its loyal service Hera placed it in the heavens, where it formed the constellation Cancer. Later this constellation also was referred to as the Gate of Men, through which the souls descended from Heaven into newborn babies.
Astronomical: This famous but inconspicuous constellation lies in the northern celestial hemisphere, straddling the ecliptic between approximate right ascensions 9h15m and 7h55m, declination from +7° to +33°. It forms the fourth sign of the Zodiac (June 22-July 23), and the sun is today in Cancer from July 7 to August 11. The constellation contains the stars Asellus Australis (d Cnc) and Asellus Borealis (G Cnc), they being the Southern Ass and Northern Ass that were ridden by Dionysos and Silenus in their battle with the Titans.
Candace
A queen of Meroe who was visited by a disguised Alexander the Great. Candace, however, recognized him, for she had had his portrait drawn in secret. Originally it was her intention to kill Alexander, for he had executed King Porus of India, to whom she was related, but she relented when she discovered that he had actually saved her son, Candaules, from the Bebryces. Another of her sons, called Kargos, appears in later versions of the Alexander Romance, his name seeming to be a form of the modern Greek shadow-puppet hero Karagiozis.
Canes Venatici
Astronomical: "The Hunting Dogs." Though not defined until the seventeenth century by the Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius, this constellation represents Asterion (Starry) and Chara (Beloved), the dogs or hounds that are held on leash by Bootes pursuing the bear. Lying in the northern celestial hemisphere between approximate right ascensions 14h05m and 12h05m, declination from +28° to +53°, the constellation seems to reflect some more ancient naming of the stars within its boundaries. A single star, the Beta star (6 CVn), is said to represent both hounds.
Canis Major Greco-Egyptian Astronomical: "The Great Dog." One of the hunting dogs of Orion along with Canis Minor (the Small Dog). Sirius (the Dog Star), brightest in the sky, was carefully observed by the ancient Egyptians because around the date it rose at dawn the Nile would flood the surrounding countryside. The constellation Canis Major lies in the southern celestial hemisphere between approximate right ascensions 7h25m and 6h10m, declination from -12° to -34°.
Canis Minor Greco-Egyptian Astronomical: "The Small Dog." The companion of Canis Major (the Great Dog) and one of the hunting dogs of Orion. Placed in the sky for his loyal and faithful service, he drinks from the Milky Way, once thought to be a river. Whereas the Greeks called the whole group Procyon, the Egyptians referred to him as Anubis, the jackal-headed god. The alpha star of the group, a CMi, is known as Procyon and was particularly important to the Egyptians. Meaning "rising before the dog," it heralded the arrival of Sirius the Dog Star and thus the forthcoming inundation of the Nile.
Canis Minor is a small and badly defined constellation lying in the northern celestial hemisphere between approximate right ascensions 7h05m and 8h10m, declination from 0° (on the celestial equator) to +13°.
Canopus
The helmsman of Menelaus who, on the return from Troy at the end of the Trojan War, died in Egypt where a coastal town near Alexandria was named after him.
Astronomical: The primary or alpha star of the constellation Carina (a Car) is named after Menelaus’s helmsman. The second brightest star in the night sky, it is of magnitude -0.73, spectral type FOIb. Lying some 196 light-years from earth, it may be found at approximate celestial coordinates right ascension 6h20m, declination -53°.
Capaneus
Husband of Evadne (the daughter of Iphis), father of Sthenelus, and one of the Seven Against Thebes, his compatriots being named as Adrastus, Amphiaraus, Polyneices, Tydeus, Hippomedon, and Parthenopaeus. The attackers were soon repelled, Capaneus being struck by a bolt of lightning from Zeus as he scaled the walls. When his body was given funeral rites, his wife, Evadne, threw herself onto the pyre and perished.
Capella
Astronomical: Lying within the constellation Auriga, this star, the alpha, or primary, star of that grouping (a Aur), honors the she-goat that suckled the infant Zeus and may therefore be identified with Amalthea. Lying at approximate celestial coordinates right ascension 5h15m, declination +46°, the star is actually a spectroscopic binary, the primary being a G8III, slightly variable star at about 0.08 magnitude some 46 light-years from earth. Its companion is of type F. The pair makes up the sixth brightest star in the night sky.
Capitoline Hill
Roman
One of the seven hills of Rome. It was on this hill that Romulus, having become king of Rome, made a sanctuary where any fugitive might take refuge and so increase the population of the new settlement. This, however, led to a serious imbalance within the popula-tion—the men far out numbered the women— so at the time of the annual festival in honor of Consus, when Sabine visitors had flocked to Rome, Romulus ordered that all the Sabine women should be seized.
Titus Tatius, king of the Sabines, then led his army against Rome and was circling the Capitoline Hill when Tarpeia, the daughter of the Roman garrison commander, looked down on the Sabine enemies and was impressed by the gold ornaments they wore. She secretly sent a message to Titus Tatius suggesting that in return for all the gold worn by the Sabines on their left arms she would let them into the citadel by night. This she did, but when the time came for payment the Sabines hurled their gold shields at her and killed her.
The Capitoline Hill was later saved when the city was under siege from Brennus the Gaul, so it is said, by the cackling of the geese sacred to Juno. So far as it is known, this is a complete fabrication, for the Gauls successfully sacked all of Rome, including the Capitoline Hill.
Cappadocia
Ancient region of Asia Minor, the boundaries of which differed greatly at various times. A Roman province from 17 A.D., it was here that Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, was worshipped.
Capricorn(us) Greco-Roman There are two legends surrounding Capricorn, the first being Greek and relating an earthly event, the second being Roman after Greek culture had been absorbed. Legend says that the god Pan, to escape the giant Typhon, leaped into the River Nile and, midleap, his head, still above the waters of the river, became that of a goat while his hindquarters became the rear part of a fish. In this way the Sea Goat or Capricorn was created, later to be placed in the heavens as the constellation of the same name.
When their culture absorbed the complexities of Greek culture Romans added that the constellation Capricorn was a Gate of Men, through which the souls of the dead passed on their way to Heaven. This should be compared with Cancer, the Gate of Men through which souls were said to pass in the opposite direction.
Astronomical: The tenth sign of the Zodiac, Capricorn is a badly defined constellation lying in the southern celestial hemisphere straddling the ecliptic between approximate right ascensions 20h and 22h, declination from -9° to -30°.
Capys
Greek The father of Anchises.
Carina
Astronomical: "The Keel." One of the four constellations said to have been formed when Athene placed the Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts built by Argos, in the heavens. The other three constellations that make up the remaining parts of the vessel are Vela, the Sail; Puppis, the Poop or Stern; and Pyxis, the Ship’s Compass. The constellation lies in the southern celestial hemisphere, easily spotted near Canopus, the second brightest star in the night sky, between approximate right ascensions 6h05m and 11h10m, declination from -52° to -76°.
