DIONYSUS, who caused the Thracians to tear him to pieces. Orpheus was
celebrated in the ORPHIC MYSTERIES.
Pan
Pan (pan), in Greek mythology, pastoral god of fertility; worshiped principally in
ARCADIA. He was depicted as a merry, ugly man with a goat’s horns, ears, and
legs. All his myths deal with his amorous affairs. He came to be associated with
the Greek DIONYSUS and the Roman FAUNUS, both fertility gods.
Pandora
Pandora, in Greek mythology, first woman on earth. ZEUS ordered her creation as
vengeance on man and his benefactor, PROMETHEUS, to whose brother
Epimetheus he sent her. Zeus gave her a box that he forbade her to open. She
disobeyed and let out all the world’s evils. Only hope remained in the box.
Persephone
Persephone (persef?ene) or Proserpine (prosur?pene), in Greek and Roman
mythology, goddess of fertility, queen of the underworld; daughter of ZEUS and
DEMETER. She was abducted by PLUTO, who held her captive in HADES.
Demeter persuaded the gods to let her return to earth for eight months a year. Her
story, celebrated in the ELEUSINIAN MYSTERIES, symbolized the vegetative
cycle. When she left the earth, life withered; when she returned, it blossomed
anew.
Perseus
Perseus (pur?se-es), in Greek mythology, son of ZEUS and Danae. Told by an
oracle that Perseus would kill him, his grandfather Acrisius set him and Danae
afloat in a chest, from which they were rescued by King Polydectes. Later, seeing
Perseus as an obstacle to his love for Danae, the king sent him to fetch the head
of the GORGON Medusa. The gods aided Perseus, and he slew Medusa. Fleeing
from the other Gorgons, Perseus was refused aid by ATLAS, who was turned into
a stone mountain by Medusa’s head. On his way home, Perseus rescued
ANDROMEDA and married her. Later, while competing in a discus contest,
Perseus accidentally killed Acrisius, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
Phaedra
Phaedra (fU?dre), in Greek mythology, daughter of MINOS and PasiphaU, wife of
THESEUS. When her stepson, Hippolytus, rejected her love, she accused him of
rape, then hanged herself. The legend was dramatized by EURIPIDES, SENECA,
and RACINE.
Phaethon
Phaethon (fa?e-thon?) (fa?ethen) or Phaeton (fa?eten), in Greek myth, son of
HELIOS. He lost control of his father’s golden chariot, which in falling dried the
Libyan Desert. ZEUS avoided the universe’s destruction only by killing Phaethon.
Phrygia
Phrygia, ancient region, central Asia Minor (now central Turkey). The Phrygians,
apparently Indo-Europeans, entered (c.1200 B.C.) the area from the Balkans. The
kingdom of Phrygia (fl. 8th?6th cent. B.C.) is associated in Greek legend with
MIDAS and GORDIUS. Phrygia was later dominated in turn by Lydia, the Gauls,
Pergamum, and Rome.
Poseidon
Poseidon (po-sid?n) (posi?den), in Greek religion, god of the sea, protector of all
waters. Powerful, violent, and vengeful, he carried the trident, with which he
caused earthquakes. He was the husband of Amphitrite and the father of many
sons, most either brutal men (e.g., ORION) or monsters (e.g., POLYPHEMUS). He
was also important as Hippios, god of horses, and was the father of PEGASUS.
The Romans identified him with NEPTUNE.
Pygmalion
Pygmalion (pig-mal?yen), in Greek mythology, king of Cyprus, sculptor of a
beautiful statue of a woman. When he prayed to APHRODITE for a wife like it, she
brought the statue (Galatea) to life, and Pygmalion married her.
Rhea
Rhea (re?e), in Greek mythology, a TITAN; wife and sister of CRONUS; mother of
ZEUS, POSEIDON, PLUTO, HESTIA, HERA, and DEMETER. She aided Zeus in
the overthrow of Cronus. Associated with fertility, her worship was prominent in
CRETE. In Rome Rhea was worshiped as Magna Mater and identified with Ops.
silenus
silenus, in Greek mythology, part bestial, part human creature of forests and
mountains. Followers of DIONYSUS, the sileni are usually represented as aged
SATYRS. In some legends Silenus is the oldest satyr, the son of HERMES or
PAN, and the companion, adviser, or tutor of Dionysus.
Styx
Styx (st?ks), in Greek mythology, sacred river in HADES crossed by the souls of
the dead, who were ferried by Charon.
Tartarus
Tartarus (tar?ter-es), in Greek mythology, lowest region of HADES, where the
wicked, e.g., SISYPHUS, TANTALUS, were punished.
Theseus
Theseus, Athenian hero; son of King Aegeus. Of his many adventures the most
famous was the slaying of the MINOTAUR, which he accomplished with the help of
ARIADNE, daughter of King MINOS of Crete. As king of Athens he instituted
several reforms, notably the federalization of the Attic communities. In the land of
the AMAZONS he abducted Antiope, who bore him Hippolytus. When a vengeful
Amazon army invaded Athens Theseus defeated it. Antiope was killed, and
Theseus later married PHAEDRA. When he and his friend Piritho?s attempted to
take PERSEPHONE from HADES, they were imprisoned there until HERCULES
rescued Theseus. When Theseus returned to Athens he found it corrupt and
rebellious. He sailed to Skyros, where he was murdered by King Lycomedes.
Uranus
Uranus (y?r?e-nes), in Greek mythology, the heavens, first ruler of the universe;
son and husband of GAEA; father of TITANS, CYCLOPS, and Hundred-handed
Ones. Uranus was castrated and dethroned by CRONUS. His blood, falling onto
Earth, produced the vengeful FURIES; from his discarded flesh and the sea
APHRODITE arose.
Zeus
Zeus (z?s), in Greek religion, supreme god; son of CRONUS, whom he succeeded,
and RHEA; brother and husband of HERA. After the overthrow of the TITANS,
when lots were cast to divide the universe, the underworld went to HADES, the
sea to POSEIDON, and the heavens and earth to Zeus. An amorous god, he loved
goddesses, nymphs, and mortals, and fathered many children. Ruling from his
court on Mt. Olympus, Zeus was the symbol of power, rule, and law; the rewarder
of good; and the punisher of evil. Also the god of weather (his most famous
weapon was the thunderbolt) and fertility, he was worshiped in connection with
almost every aspect of life. The Romans equated Zeus with their own supreme
god, JUPITER.