Eurystheus
Greco-Roman Son of Sthenelus and Nicippe, the daughter of Pelops, king of Mycenae, Argos, or Tiryns. When Heracles murdered his wife and children in a bout of madness, the Delphic Oracle commanded him to labor for 12 years under Eurystheus, doing whatever that king bid without question, after which time immortality would be conferred upon him. Eurystheus set Heracles, who was accompanied and aided by Iolaus, 12 enormous tasks, which were:
1. To bring back the skin of the Nemaean or Cleonaean Lion. When Heracles returned wearing the skin as his armor, Eurystheus became so terrified that he took to hiding in a brazen urn whenever Heracles approached.
2. To kill the Hydra.
3. To capture the Ceryneian Hind.
4. To capture alive the Erymanthian Boar. Following the completion of this task there was a pause in the sequence when Heracles left to join the expedition of Jason and the Argonauts.
5. To clean the Augean Stables in a single day.
6. To kill the Stymphalian Birds.
7. To capture the Cretan Bull. Eurystheus released the bull after Heracles brought it back to him. It roamed through Greece to Marathon, where it became known as the Marathonian Bull. There it was captured by Theseus, who took it back to Athens for sacrifice to Athene.
8. To capture the man-eating mares of Dio-medes. Eurystheus subsequently released these creatures on the slopes of Mount Olympus, where they were eaten by wild beasts.
9. To fetch the golden girdle of the Amazon Queen Hippolyte for Admete, the daughter of Eurystheus.
10. To fetch the oxen of Geryon without demanding them or paying for them. When Heracles delivered the oxen, Eurystheus sacrificed them to Hera.
11. To fetch the Golden Apples of the Hesperides. Eurystheus, in a rare display of generosity, made a gift of these fabulous apples to Heracles, who dedicated them to Athene, and she returned them to their rightful place.
12. To bring back the three-headed dog Cerberus that guarded the entrance to the Underworld. When Heracles brought the animal back to show him, Eurystheus was so afraid that he made the hero immediately return the beast to its proper home.
Eurystheus went on to attempt to rid Greece of Alcmene and all the children of Heracles. They fled to Athens, and when Eurystheus attacked that city he was resisted by Theseus (or his son, Demophoon), Iolaus, and Hyllus. An oracle demanded the sacrifice of one of Heracles’ children to save the city, so Macaria killed herself. Eurystheus was then defeated by either Iolaus or Hyllus and was killed by Alcmene. Although Eurystheus belongs firmly to Greek tradition, his name followed that of Heracles, with whom he is inexorably connected, into later Roman tradition.
Eurytion
Son of Ares and herdsman to Geryon, protecting the latter’s cattle in the company of the two-headed dog Orthros. When Heracles came to steal the cattle as his tenth labor, both Eurytion and Orthros were felled by that great hero’s club.
Eurytus
King of Oechalia and father of Iole; a great archer and friend of Heracles, he taught him his skills with bow and arrows. He owned a great bow that could be fired only by himself or Heracles. He offered his daughter, Iole, to whomever could surpass him in an archery contest. Heracles accomplished this feat, but Eurytus would not surrender his daughter, for Heracles had previously murdered his own wife and children. Later his country was invaded from Trachis by an army led by Heracles, who was determined to take Iole as fair-won maiden. Heracles killed Eurytus and all his family and sent Iole to be looked after by his wife, Deianeira, an event that would eventually lead to Heracles’ death.
Euterpe
Greco-Roman One of the nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne who were collectively known as the Muses. Euterpe was the patron of flautists, being represented in art with a flute, and was the Muse of lyric poetry.
Evadne
Daughter of Iphis, wife of Capaneus, and mother of Sthenelus. When her son received his funeral rites following the failed expedition of the Seven Against Thebes, Evadne threw herself onto the flaming pyre and perished.
Evander Greco-Roman A minor Arcadian deity who is often associated with Pan, an association that led the Romans to sometimes identify him with Faunus. Legend names his father as Hermes and his mother as the nymph Carmentia, or Themis. Roman tradition said that he led a group of Arcadians to Italy and founded Rome many years before Aeneas and his Trojan refugees landed. Evander and his followers settled on the Palatine Hill, which, so this early tradition said, was named after Pallenteum, the Arcadian city from which they had set out. Many years later, when Aeneas and his followers landed, they were said to have consulted Evander, who told them of Hercules’ visit to the Palatine Hill and his slaughter of Cacus, the terrible man-eating ogre and the son of Vulcan, who had attempted to steal the cattle of Geryon, which Hercules was driving through Italy. Evander further promised to support Aeneas against Turnus, with his son, Pallas, joining the Trojan forces.
Evenus
Father of Marpessa. When his daughter was abducted by Idas, Evenus drowned himself in the river that thenceforth carried his name.
Fates
Greco-Roman The name by which the Moirae (Moerae) are better known, though to the Romans they were the Parcae. These three goddess-spirits where said to have been the children of Uranos and Ge, though later tradition made them the offspring of Erebos and Night. They applied the decrees of individual destiny and were named as follows: Clotho, who spun the thread of life and was therefore the Fate who decided birth; Lachesis, who represented the element of chance, spun out the course of life, and measured the thread spun by Clotho, thus becoming the Fate of life itself; and Atropos, the eldest, the inevitable Fate, who cut the thread with her shears and therefore determined the length of any life and became the Fate of death.
As a combined force they appear in a great number of the classical traditions, notably that concerning Meleager, who they declared would die when a brand laying in a fire when he was born was consumed. His mother, Althaea, immediately seized the brand and hid it away. However, when Meleager grew up he took part in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar, killed it, and gave its head to Atalanta. He quarreled with Althaea’s brothers over this gift—and killed them. His mother then threw the brand back onto the fire, and the prophecy of the Fates was fulfilled.
Usually depicted in art as elderly and dressed in white robes, the Fates, it has been suggested, originally represented phases of the moon. With the help of Hermes they were the supposed inventors of the alphabet. Although they attracted widespread cult following, only Clotho and Atropos were worshipped at Delphi.
Faun
One of any number of rural deities that were represented with horns, pointed ears, and the tail of a goat. Later they were also depicted as having goats’ legs to bring their image into closer alignment with the satyrs, with whom they had always been associated. Their apparent leader was the god Faunus.
Faunus
Rural god of fertility and prophecy, Faunus was also regarded as a law-giver. The grandson of Saturn or Mars, father of Latinus by the nymph Marica, he was the leader of the Fauns, being portrayed with the same characteristics of goats’ ears, horns, tail, and legs. He was directly identified with the Greek Pan and was sometimes identified as Evander, though he was said to have welcomed Evander and his Arcadians to Italy. Worshipped by shepherds and farmers, he was said to have been able to adopt the form of a wolf known as Lupercus, though some believe that Lupercus more correctly relates to the she-wolf that raised the twins Romulus and Remus.
Legend says that he was once trapped by Numa Pompilius, who, with the aid of Picus, mixed wine and honey in their own drinking water. Having caught Faunus, they persuaded him to tell them all his secrets, including a charm against thunderstorms.
As a god of fertility Faunus was approached by sterile women who desired children. The priests celebrated his rites naked so that their sexual identity was clear, for it was alleged that Faunus once mistakenly tried to make love to Hercules while he was dressed as a woman. He appears to have had a female associate, Fauna, whose rites were exclusively reserved for women and were said to have been excessively lewd.
Faustulus
Shepherd who discovered the twins Romulus and Remus being tended by a she-wolf and took them home to his wife, Acca Larentia. This connection has led Faunus to sometimes be considered as the she-wolf Lupercus.
Februus
The eponym of the last month of the Roman calendar, February. A god of purification, he appears to have been adapted from an ancient Etruscan god of the dead. In Rome, February was celebrated as the month of the dead.
Flamen
A sacrificial priest in ancient Rome. Originally there were three flamens for every deity, but later 12 more were added. His post was held for life, being terminated only if he committed some misdemeanor or when his wife, who assisted in his duties, died.
Flood, the
Common among most world traditions is a legend concerning a mighty deluge that covered the face of the earth. Greek tradition says that Zeus, tired of the impiety of mankind (though some sources add man’s infernal racket), decided to destroy man with a great flood. However, Prometheus warned his son, Deucalion, who constructed a vessel in which he and his wife, Pyrrha, the daughter of Epimetheus, could ride out the storm.
After nine days the water subsided and the vessel came to rest on the slopes of Mount Parnassus. Wondering how they might repop-ulate the earth, Deucalion and Pyrrha prayed at the shrine of Themis, who appeared to them and commanded them to throw the bones of their mother behind them. Unsure what this meant at first, it was Pyrrha who came to understand she meant the rocks of Mother Earth. Rocks flung by Deucalion became men, whereas those thrown by Pyrrha became women.
Flora
Personification and goddess of flowers, budding fruits, youth, and spring. Depicted as garlanded with flowers, she was honored as a fertility goddess at the bawdy Floralia, a festival in her honor held toward the end of May.
Floralia
Bawdy fertility festival held toward the end of May in honor of Flora.
Fornax
Goddess of baking in the oven. Though there is a constellation in the southern night sky, it is a fairly recent depiction and has no connection to this goddess.
Fortuna
Goddess of chance and good fortune who has her Greek equivalent in Tyche. Worshipped originally as a fertility goddess, Fortuna adopted her role as the goddess of luck only after the absorption of the Greek pantheon. Usually thought of as the first-born daughter of Jupiter, she was propitiated by those wanting to increase their share of luck and thus bring increased prosperity to themselves or family.
Fortunate Isles
The name for Elysium sometimes used by later writers and geographers who located this paradisiacal abode of the blessed dead— where neither snow nor rain fell and the winds never blew—beyond the Pillars of Heracles, thereby eventually identifying it with the Canary Isles and Madeira.
Fortunatorum Insulae
Literally "the Islands of the Blessed/ Fortunate," the original name of Elysium in Roman tradition, which later changed back to the Greek name.
Furies
The name by which the Erinnyes are possibly best known. Euphemistically referred to as the Eumenides, the Furies were three hideous and terrible goddesses of ven-geance—Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone—who were sent from Tartarus to avenge wrong, punish crime, and torment those who had committed social crimes. Often depicted as snake-haired, they are sometimes confused with the Gorgons.
Gabii
An extinct city near Rome where the infants Romulus and Remus were traditionally raised. The city features also in a legend concerning Tarquinius Sextus, who asked his father, Tarquinius Superbus, how Gabii might be taken. Tarquinius Superbus silently decapitated the tallest poppies in his garden. Taking the hint, Tarquinius Sextus executed the Gabian leaders, and his father then took the city. See also: Remus; Romulus
Ga~ea, ~ia
Variant form of Ge.
Gaia Caecilia
An alternative name for Tanaquil.
Galatea
1. Sea nymph, the daughter of Nereus and Doris. She was loved by Acis and the centaur Polyphemus, whom she shunned on account of his ugliness. In jealousy Polyphemus killed Acis by crushing him under a huge rock; he was released by Galatea, who turned him into a river. Some of the rocks thrown by Polyphemus landed in the sea, where they became the Isole Ciclopi off Acireale in Sicily, thus giving us a location for the incident.
2. The statue made by Pygmalion with which he fell in love. He named the woman Galatea after the statue was brought to life by Aphrodite in answer to his prayers.
Galinthias
Daughter of Proetus of Thebes and a friend of Alcmene.
Ganymede
The most beautiful of all mortal youths; raped on Mount Ida in Phrygia, he was carried away by the gods to be cupbearer to Zeus in place of Hebe. Homeric tradition makes him the son of King Tros and Callirrhoe, though his father is also sometimes named as Laomedon. Later tradition said that Ganymede was carried off by an eagle, possibly Aquila, or by Zeus himself in the guise of an eagle, after which his father was sent a pair of white horses, or a golden vine, as compensation. When Ganymede died he was placed in the heavens as the constellation Aquarius for his faithful service. To the Romans Ganymede was known as Catamitus, a name that has given us catamite and hints of the frequent homosexual tendencies of the classical gods.
Astronomical: For the constellation Aquarius see the relevant entry. Ganymede is the largest moon of the planet Jupiter and the largest satellite within the solar system at 5,300 kilometers (3,300 miles) in diameter, making it larger than the planet Mercury. It orbits the planet once every 7.2 days at an average distance of 1.1 million kilometers (700,000 miles) from the surface of the planet, its own surface being a mixture of cratered and grooved terrain. Ganymede is the fourth most distant satellite of Jupiter, lying between the orbits of Europa and Callisto.
Ge
Also: Ga~ea, ~ia
The personification of Earth, the Mother Goddess, patroness of marriage; she was less actively worshipped than goddesses of later origin, having been ousted by the gods and goddesses of Olympus by the time of the classical Greeks. When she was worshipped during classical times she was seen as the giver of dreams and presided over growing plants and children. She was identified as Tellus by the Romans.
Born out of Chaos, the limitless emptiness that existed before creation, along with Tartarus and Eros, Ge gave birth to Pontus (the Sea) and Uranos (the Heavens), who became her consort. Ge remains one of the most prolific of all the classical goddesses. Having given virgin birth to Pontus and Uranos, she went on, usually by Uranos, to become the mother of the Hecatoncheires: Cottus, Briareus (also called Aegaeon), and Gyas, or Gyges; the one-eyed Cyclopes—Brontes, Steropes, and Arges; and the 12 Titans, though here they are not so easy to name, for different sources give different names. The most frequently mentioned Titans are Cronos, Oceanos, Hyperion, Iapetus, Themis, Rhea, Tethys, and Mnemosyne.
After Uranos had thrown the rebellious Cyclopes into Tartarus, Ge persuaded the Titans, with the exception of Oceanos, to rebel. She gave Cronos, the youngest, a flint sickle that he used to castrate Uranos. Blood from the wound fell onto Mother Earth (Ge), and she gave birth to the three Erinnyes (Alecto, Tisiphone, and Megaera) as well as the Meliae. Some sources say that this was also the means by which she conceived the Gigantes. Drops that fell into the sea conceived Aphrodite. In some legends she is also the mother of Typhoeus, Tityus, Arion, and Echidne by Tartarus and Antaeus by Poseidon. She helped the Horae to nurse Aristaeus and was responsible, in some accounts, for the death of Orion. She had oracular powers, as is common with earth goddesses in other traditions; her oracle at Delphi, given to her by Python, later became the Delphic Oracle of Apollo.
Titan
Greco-Roman Although the Heavenly Twins, Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux to the Romans), were never called Gemini in the legends, the constellation that carries their name has been identified with them since classical times.
Astronomical: A constellation of the northern celestial hemisphere lying between approximate right ascensions 5h58m and 8h05m, declination from +10° to +35°. The stars Castor and Pollux are the prominent members of this star grouping.
Geryon(es)
A powerful monster with three bodies and three heads, the son of Chrysaor and Callirrhoe who lived on the island of Erytheia, its exact location being subject to numerous theories. Some have placed it beyond the farthest ocean, whereas others have sought to identify it with Gades, an island off of Cadiz. He had a herd of cattle guarded by Orthros, the two-headed dog that was one of the monstrous offspring of Typhon and Echidne, and the herdsman Eurytion. This herd became the subject of Heracles’ tenth labor. Having felled both Orthros and Eurytion with his club, Heracles turned his attention to Geryon, whom he overcame.
Giant
The giants were huge humanoid beings abound throughout classical Greek mythology, but those most commonly referred to are the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Heca-toncheires. At the instigation of their mother, Ge, the giants made war on Olympus. They are variously named, but their king is usually called Porphyrion. Others were Alcyoneus, who was killed by Heracles during the great battle, the Titanomachia, many years before that hero’s apotheosis; Enceladus was killed by Athene; Mimas was blasted by Zeus’s thunderbolt; Ephialtes was blinded by Apollo and Heracles; Hippolytus was killed by Hermes, who was wearing Hades’ cap of invisibility; Agrius and Thoas were killed by the Fates using bronze clubs. Apollodorus said that Athene flung the island of Sicily on Enceladus, trapping him below Mount Etna, which still vents his anger, and that Poseidon threw a fragment of Cos onto Polybutes, forming the island of Nisyrus.
Later traditions added a great number of giants to the classical legends, some of whom were ambivalent, others decidedly nasty. All exhibit superhuman attributes, and many have connections with chthonic principles, particularly volcanoes.
