Ellis Edward Sylvester
1000 Mythological Characters Briefly Described. Adapted to Private Schools, High Schools and Academies
Laurel (Lau′rel), see Daphne.
Laverna (Laver′na). The Roman patroness of thieves.
Law, see Menu.
Lawgiver, see Nomius.
Laws, see Themis.
Leander (Lean′der), see Hero.
Leather Bottle, see Ascolia.
Leda (Le′da) was the mother of Castor and Pollux, their father being Jupiter, in the shape of a swan. After her death she received the name of Nemesis.
Lemnius (Lem′nius). One of the names of Vulcan.
Lemures (Lem′ures). The ghosts of departed souls. Milton, in his “Ode to the Nativity,” says —
“Lemures moan with midnight plaint.”
They are sometimes referred to as the Manes of the dead.
Lenaeus (Lenae′us). One of the names of Bacchus.
Lerna (Ler′na). The lake or swamp near Argos where Hercules conquered the Lernaean Hydra.
Lethe (Le′the). One of the rivers of the infernal regions, of which the souls of the departed are obliged to drink to produce oblivion or forgetfulness of everything they did or knew while alive on the earth.
“A slow and silent stream,
Lethe, the river of oblivion, rolls
Her watery labyrinth, whereof who drinks
Forthwith his former state and being forgets,
Forgets both joy and grief, pleasure and pain.”
MILTON.
Leucothea (Leucoth′ea). The name of Ino after she was transformed into a sea nymph.
Levana (Leva′na). The deity who presided over new-born infants.
Level, The, see Daedalus.
Liakura (Liak′ura). Mount Parnassus.
Liberal Arts, see Minerva.
Liber Pater (Li′ber Pa′ter). A name of Bacchus.
Liberty, see Bacchus.
Libissa (Lib′issa). Queen of fays and fairies.
Libitina (Libiti′na). A Roman goddess, the chief of the funeral deities.
Licentiousness, see Belphegor.
Ligea (Lige′a). A Greek syren or sea-nymph, one of the Nereides.
Lightning, see Agni.
Lilith (Li′lith). A Jewish myth representing a finely dressed woman who is a great enemy to new-born children. She was said to have been Adam’s first wife, but, refusing to submit to him, was turned from Paradise and made a specter.
Lina (Li′na). The goddess of the art of weaving.
Lindor (Lin′dor). A lover in the shape of a shepherd, like Corydon; a love-sick swain.
Lion, see Atalanta, Chimaera.
Liver, see Tityus and Prometheus.
Locks, see Janus.
Lofen (Lo′fen). The Scandinavian god who guards friendship.
Lofua (Lof′ua). The Scandinavian goddess who reconciles lovers.
Loke. The Scandinavian Satan, the god of strife, the spirit of evil. Written also Lok, and Loki.
Lotis (Lo′tis). A daughter of Neptune, who fled from Priapus, and only escaped from him by being transformed into a lotus-plant.
Lotus-Plant (Lo′tus-Plant), see Lotis.
Love, see Cupid, Eros, Venus.
Lucian (Lu′cian). The impersonation of folly, changed into an ass.
Lucifer (Lu′cifer). The morning star.
Lucina (Luci′na). The goddess who presides at the birth of children. She was a daughter of Jupiter and Juno, or, according to others, of Latona.
“Lucina, hail! So named from thine own grove,
Or from the light thou giv’st us from above.”
OVID.
Lud. In ancient British mythology the king of the Britons. He is said to have given his name to London.
Luna (Lu′na). The name of Diana as a celestial divinity. See Diana and Hecate. Also, the Italian goddess of the moon.
Lupercus (Lu′percus), or Pan. The Roman god of fertility; his festival day was 15th February, and the festivals were called Lupercalia.
Lycaonian Food (Lycaon′ian). Execrable viands, such as were supplied to Jupiter by Lycaon. To test the divine knowledge of the god he served up human flesh, which Jove discovered, and punished Lycaon by turning him into a wolf.
Lycian Clowns were turned into frogs by Latona or Ceres.
Lymniades (Lymni′ades). Nymphs who resided in marshes.
Lynceus (Lyn′ceus). One of the Argonauts. The personification of sharpsightedness.
Lyre. This musical instrument is constantly associated with the doings of the ancient deities. Amphion built the walls of Thebes by the music of his lyre. Arion charmed the dolphins in a similar way. Hercules broke the head of Linus, his music-master, with the lyre he was learning to use; and Orpheus charmed the most savage beasts, and even the Harpies and gods of the infernal regions, with the enchanting music of the stringed lyre. See Mercury.
Maenades (Maen′ades). Priestesses of Bacchus.
Magicians, see Telchines.
Magna Dea (Mag′na De′a), a name of Ceres.
Magpies, see Pierides.
Mahasoor (Ma′ha′soor). The Hindoo god of evil.
Maia (Ma′ia). The mother of the Grecian Mercury.
Mammon (Mam′mon). The money god.
Manes (Ma′nes). The souls of the departed. The Roman god of funerals and tombs.
“All have their Manes, and their Manes bear.
The few who’re cleansed to those abodes repair,
And breathe in ample fields the soft Elysian air.”
Manuring Land, see Picumnus.
March 24, Bellona’s Day. See Bellona.
Marina (Mari′na). A name of Venus, meaning sea-foam, from her having been formed from the froth of the sea. See Aphrodite.
Marriage, see Cama, Hymen, Juno, Jugatinus.
Mars, the god of war, was the son of Jupiter and Juno. Venus was his favorite goddess, and among their children were Cupid, Anteros, and Harmonia. In the Trojan War Mars took the part of the Trojans, but was defeated by Diomedes. The first month of the old Roman year (our March) was sacred to Mars.
Marshes, see Lymniades.
Marsyas (Mar′syas). The name of the piper who challenged Apollo to a musical contest, and, being defeated, was flayed to death by the god. He was the supposed inventor of the flute.
Marut (Ma′rut). The Hindoo god of tempestuous winds.
Matura (Matu′ra). One of the rural deities who protected the growing corn at time of ripening.
Maximus (Max′imus). One of the appellations of Jupiter, being the greatest of the gods.
Measures and Weights, see Mercury.
Medea (Mede′a). Wife of Jason, chief of the Argonauts. To punish her husband for infidelity, Medea killed two of her children in their father’s presence. She was a great sorceress. See Jason.
“Now to Medaea’s dragons fix my reins.”
F. LEWIS.
“Let not Medea draw her murdering knife,
And spill her children’s blood upon the stage.”
LORD ROSCOMMON.
Medicine, see Apollo.
Meditation, see Harpocrates.
Medusa (Medu′sa). One of the Gorgons. Minerva changed her beautiful hair into serpents. She was conquered by Perseus, who cut off her head, and placed it on Minerva’s shield. Every one who looked at the head was turned into stone.
Ulysses, in the Odyssey, relates that he wished to see more of the inhabitants of Hades, but was afraid, as he says —
“Lest Gorgon, rising from the infernal lakes,
With horrors armed, and curls of hissing snakes,
Should fix me, stiffened at the monstrous sight,
A stony image in eternal night.”
POPE.
“Medusa with Gorgonian terror guards
The ford.”
MILTON.
“Remove that horrid monster, and take hence
Medusa’s petrifying countenance.”
ADDISON.
Megaera (Meg′aera). One of the three Furies – Greek goddesses of vengeance.
Megale (Meg′ale). A Greek name of Juno, meaning great.
Melicerta (Melicer′ta), see Palaemon.
Mellona (Mello′na). One of the rural divinities, the goddess of bees.
Melpomene (Melpom′ene). One of the nine Muses, the goddess of tragedy.
Memnon (Mem′non), son of Tithonus and of Eos, who after the death of Hector brought the Aethiopians to the assistance of Priam in the war against Troy.
Memory, see Mnemosyne.
Mendes (Men′des). An Egyptian god like Pan. He was worshiped in the form of a goat.
Menelaus (Menela′us). A Spartan king, brother of Agamemnon. The elopement of his wife Helen with Paris was the cause of the siege of Troy. See Helena.
Menu (Me′nu), or Manu (Ma′nu). The Hindoo law-giver. See Satyavrata.
Merchants, see Mercury.
Mercury (Mer′cury), the son of Jupiter and Maia, was the messenger of the gods, and the conductor of the souls of the dead to Hades. He was the supposed inventor of weights and measures, and presided over orators and merchants. Mercury was accounted a most cunning thief, for he stole the bow and quiver of Apollo, the girdle of Venus, the trident of Neptune, the tools of Vulcan, and the sword of Mars, and he was therefore called the god of thieves. He is the supposed inventor of the lyre, which he exchanged with Apollo for the Caduceus. There was also an Egyptian Mercury under the name of Thoth, or Thaut, who is credited with having taught the Egyptians geometry and hieroglyphics. Hermes is the Greek name of Mercury. In art he is usually represented as having on a winged cap, and with wings on his heels.
“And there, without the power to fly,
Stands fix’d a tip-toe Mercury.”
LLOYD, 1750.
“Then fiery expedition be my wing,
Jove’s Mercury, and herald for a king.”
“Be Mercury, set feathers to thy heels
And fly, like thought, from them to me again.”
SHAKESPEARE.
Meru (Me′ru). The abode of the Hindoo god Vishnu. It is at the top of a mountain 8,000 leagues high. The Olympus of the East Indians.
Midas (Mi′das). A king of Phrygia, who begged of Bacchus the special gift that everything that he touched might be turned into gold. The request was granted, and as soon as he touched his food it also was turned to gold, and for fear of being starved he was compelled to ask the god to withdraw the power he had bestowed upon him. He was told to bathe in the river Pactolus. He did so, and the sands which he stood on were golden forever after. It was this same king who, being appointed to be judge in a musical contest between Apollo and Pan, gave the satyr the palm; whereupon Apollo, to show his contempt, bestowed on him a pair of asses’ ears. This gave rise to the term “Midas-eared” as a synonym for ill-judged, or indiscriminate.
“He dug a hole, and in it whispering said,
What monstrous ears sprout from King Midas’ head.”
OVID.
Milo (Mi′lo), a celebrated Croton athlete, who is said to have felled an ox with his fist, and to have eaten the beast in one day. His statue is often seen with one hand in the rift of a tree trunk, out of which he is vainly trying to withdraw it. The fable is, that when he got to be an old man he attempted to split an oak tree, but having lost his youthful vigor, the tree closed on his hand and he was held a prisoner till the wolves came and devoured him.
Mimallones (Mimallo′nes). The “wild women” who accompanied Bacchus, so called because they mimicked his actions, putting horns on their heads when they took part in his orgies.
Mimir (Mi′mir). In Scandinavian mythology the god of wisdom.
Mind, see Erinnys.
Minerva (Miner′va), the goddess of wisdom, war, and the liberal arts, is said to have sprung from the head of Jupiter fully armed for battle. She was a great benefactress of mankind, and patroness of the fine arts. She was the tutelar deity of the city of Athens. She is also known by the names of Pallas, Parthenos, Tritonia, and Glaukopis. She was very generally worshiped by the ancients, and her temple at Athens, the Parthenon, still remains. She is represented in statues and pictures as wearing a golden helmet encircled with an olive branch, and a breastplate. In her right hand she carries a lance, and by her side is the famous aegis or shield, covered with the skin of Amalthaea, the goat which nourished Jupiter; and for the boss of the shield is the head of Medusa. An owl, the emblem of meditation, is on the left; and a cock, the emblem of courage, on the right. The Elgin Marbles in the British Museum, London, were brought from the Parthenon, her temple at Athens.
Minos (Mi′nos). The supreme of the three judges of hell, before whom the spirits of the departed appeared and heard their doom.
Minotaur (Min′otaur). The monster, half man, half bull, which Theseus slew.
Mirth, see Momus.
Misery, see Genii.
Mithras (Mith′ras). A Persian divinity, the ruler of the universe, corresponding with the Roman Sol.
Mnemosyne (Mnemos′yne). Mother of the Muses and goddess of memory. Jupiter courted the goddess in the guise of a shepherd.
Moakibat (Moak′ibat). The recording angel of the Mohammedans.
Moloch (Mo′loch). A god of the Phoenicians to whom human victims, principally children, were sacrificed. Moloch is figurative of the influence which impels us to sacrifice that which we ought to cherish most dearly.
“First Moloch, horrid king, besmeared with blood
Of human sacrifice, and parents’ tears,
Though for the noise of drums and timbrels loud,
Their children’s cries unheard, that poured through fire
To this grim idol.”
MILTON.
Momus (Mo′mus). The god of mockery and blame. The god who blamed Jove for not having made a window in man’s breast, so that his thoughts could be seen. His bitter jests occasioned his being driven from heaven in disgrace. He is represented as holding an image of Folly in one hand, and raising a mask from his face with the other. He is also described as the god of mirth or laughter.
Moneta (Mone′ta). A name given to Juno by those writers who considered her the goddess of money.
Money, see Moneta.
Money-God, see Mammon.
Moon. The moon was, by the ancients, called Hecate before and after setting; Astarte when in crescent form; Diana when in full. See Luna.
“Soon as the evening shades prevail
The moon takes up her wondrous tale,
And nightly to the list’ning earth
Repeats the story of her birth.”
ADDISON.
Morpheus (Mor′pheus). The Greek god of sleep and dreams, the son and minister of Somnus.
“Morpheus, the humble god that dwells
In cottages and smoky cells;
Hates gilded roofs and beds of down,
And though he fears no prince’s frown,
Flies from the circle of a crown.”
SIR JOHN DENMAN.
Mors. Death, a daughter of Nox (Night).
Mountain, see Atlas, Nymph.
Mulciber (Mul′ciber). A name of Vulcan, sometimes spelled Mulcifer, the smelter of metals. See Vulcan.
Munin (Mun′in). The Scandinavian god of memory, represented by the raven that was perched on Odin’s shoulder.
Muscarius (Musca′rius). A name given to Jupiter because he kept off the flies from the sacrifices.
Muses, The (Mu′ses), were nine daughters of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. They presided over the arts and sciences, music and poetry. Their names were, Calliope, Clio, Erato, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Euterpe, Polyhymnia, and Urania. They principally resided in Mount Parnassus, at Helicon.
“Be thou the tenth Muse, ten times more in worth,
Than those old nine which rhymers advocate.”
SHAKESPEARE.
Music, see Apollo, Muses.
Mythras (My′thras). The Egyptian name of Apollo.
Naiads, The (Nai′ads), were beautiful nymphs of human form who presided over springs, fountains, and wells. They resided in the meadows by the sides of rivers. Virgil mentions Aegle as being the fairest of the Naiades.
Nandi (Nan′di). The Hindoo goddess of joy.
Narrae (Nar′rae). The name of the infernal regions amongst the Hindoos.
Narayan (Na′ra′yan). The mover of the waters. The Hindoo god of tides.
Narcissus (Narcis′sus), son of Cephisus and the Naiad Liriope, was a beautiful youth, who was so pleased with the reflection of himself which he saw in the placid water of a fountain that he could not help loving it, imagining that it must be some beautiful nymph. His fruitless endeavors to possess himself of the supposed nymph drove him to despair, and he killed himself. There sprang from his blood a flower, which was named after him, Narcissus.
“Narcissus so himself forsook,
And died to kiss his shadow in the brook.”
“Hadst thou Narcissus in thy face, to me
Thou wouldst appear most ugly.”
SHAKESPEARE.
Nastrond (Nas′trond). The Scandinavian place of eternal punishment, corresponding with Hades.
Natio (Na′tio). A Roman goddess who took care of young infants.
Nemaean Lion (Nemae′an), see Hercules.
Nemesis (Nem′esis), the goddess of vengeance or justice, was one of the infernal deities. Her mother was Nox. She was supposed to be constantly traveling about the earth in search of wickedness, which she punished with the greatest severity. She is referred to by some writers under the name of Adrasteia. The Romans always sacrificed to this goddess before they went to war, because they wished to signify that they never took up arms but in the cause of justice.
“Forbear, said Nemesis, my loss to moan,
The fainting, trembling hand was mine alone.”
DR. J. WHARTON.
Nephalia (Nepha′lia). Grecian festivals in honor of Mnemosyne, the mother of the Muses.
Neptune (Nep′tune), god of the sea, was a son of Saturn and Cybele, and brother to Jupiter and Pluto. He quarreled with Jupiter because he did not consider that the dominion of the sea was equal to Jupiter’s empire of heaven and earth; and he was banished from the celestial regions, after having conspired with Pluto to dethrone Jupiter. Neptune was married to Amphitrite, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, by whom he had a son named Triton. He was also father of Polyphemus (one of the Cyclopes), Phoreus, and Proteus. Neptune is represented as being seated in a shell chariot, drawn by dolphins or sea-horses, and surrounded by Tritons and sea-nymphs. He holds in his hand a trident, with which he rules the waves. Though a marine deity, he was reputed to have presided over horse-training and horse-races; but he is principally known as the god of the ocean; and the two functions of the god are portrayed in the sea horses with which his chariot is drawn, the fore-half of the animal being a horse, and the hind-half a dolphin. Ships were also under his protection, and whenever he appeared on the ocean there was a dead calm.
Nereides, The (Nere′ides), were aquatic nymphs. They were daughters of Nereus and Doris, and were fifty in number. They are generally represented as beautiful girls riding on dolphins, and carrying tridents in the right hand or garlands of flowers.
Nereus (Nere′us). A sea deity, husband of Doris. He had the gift of prophecy, and foretold fates; but he had also the power of assuming various shapes, which enabled him to escape from the importunities of those who were anxious to consult him.
Nessus (Nes′sus). The name of the Centaur that was destroyed by Hercules for insulting his wife Deianira. Nessus’s blood-smeared robe proved fatal to Hercules.
Nestor (Nes′tor). A grandson of Neptune, his father being Neleus, and his mother Chloris. Homer makes him one of the greatest of the Greek heroes. He was present at the famous battle between the Lapithae and the Centaurs, and took a leading part in the Trojan war.
“… Here’s Nestor
Instructed by the antiquary times,
He must, he is, he cannot but be wise.”
SHAKESPEARE.
Nicephorus (Niceph′orus). A name of Jupiter, meaning the bearer of victory.
Nidhogg (Nid′hogg). In Scandinavian mythology the dragon who dwells in Nastrond.
Niflheim (Nifl′heim). The Scandinavian hell. It was supposed to consist of nine vast regions of ice beneath the North Pole, where darkness reigns eternally. See Nastrond.
Night, see Nox.
Nightingale, see Philomela.
Nightmare, see Incubus.
Nilus (Ni′lus), a king of Thebes, who gave his name to the Nile, the great Egyptian river.
Nine, The, see Muses.
Niobe (Ni′obe) was a daughter of Tantalus, and is the personification of grief. By her husband Amphion she had seven sons and seven daughters. By the orders of Latona the father and sons were killed by Apollo, and the daughters (except Chloris) by Diana. Niobe, being overwhelmed with grief, escaped further trouble by being turned into a stone.
Nomius (No′mius). A law-giver; one of the names of Apollo. This title was also given to Mercury for the part he took in inventing beneficent laws.
Norns. Three Scandinavian goddesses, who wove the woof of human destiny. The three witches in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” have their origin in the Scandinavian Norns.
Notus (No′tus). Another name for Auster, the south wind.
Nox was the daughter of Chaos, and sister of Erebus and Mors. She personified night, and was the mother of Nemesis and the Fates.
Nundina (Nundi′na). The goddess who took charge of children when they were nine days old – the day (Nona dies) on which the Romans named their children.
Nuptialis (Nuptia′lis). A title of Juno. When the goddess was invoked under this name the gall of the victim was taken out and thrown behind the altar, signifying that there should be no gall (bitterness) or anger between married people.
Nuriel (Nu′riel). In Hebrew mythology the god of hailstorms.
Nyctelius (Nycte′lius). A name given to Bacchus, because his festivals were celebrated by torchlight.
Nymphs. This was a general name for a class of inferior female deities who were attendants of the gods. Some of them presided over springs, fountains, wells, woods, and the sea. They are spoken of as land-nymphs or Naiads, and sea-nymphs or Nereids, though the former are associated also with fountains and rivers. The Dryads were forest-nymphs, and the Hamadryads were nymphs who lived among the oak-trees – the oak being always specially venerated by the ancients. The mountain-nymphs were called Oreads.
“With flower-inwoven tresses torn,
The nymphs in twilight shade
Of tangled thickets mourn.”
MILTON.
Nysae (Ny′sae). The names of the nymphs by whom Bacchus was nursed. See Dionysius.
Nysaeus (Ny′saeus). A name of Bacchus, because he was worshiped at Nysa, a town of Aethiopia.
Nysus (Ny′sus). A king of Megara who was invisible by virtue of a particular lock of hair. This lock his daughter Scylla cut off, and so betrayed her father to his enemies. She was changed into a lark, and the king into a hawk, and he still pursues his daughter, intending to punish her for her treachery.
Oannes (Oan′nes). An Eastern (Babylonian) god, represented as a monster, half-man, half-fish. He was said to have taught men the use of letters in the day-time, and at night to have retired to the depth of the ocean.
Oath, see Lapis.
Obambou (Obam′bou). A devil of African mythology.
Ocean, see Neptune.
Oceanides (Ocean′ides). Sea-nymphs, daughters of Oceanus and Tethys. Their numbers are variously estimated by different poets; some saying there were as many as 3,000, while others say they were as few as sixteen. The principal of them are mentioned under their respective names, as Amphitrite, Doris, Metis, etc.
Oceanus (Oce′anus), son of Coelus and Terra, and husband of Tethys. Several mythological rivers were called his sons, as Alpheus, Peneus, etc., and his daughters were called the Oceanides. Some of the ancients worshiped him as the god of the seas, and invariably invoked his aid when they were about to start on a voyage. He was also thought to personify the immense stream which it was supposed surrounded the earth, and into which the sun and moon and other heavenly bodies sank every day.
Ocridion (Ocrid′ion). A king of Rhodes, who was deified after his death.
Ocypete (Ocy′pete). One of the Harpies, who infected everything she touched. The word means swift of flight.
Ocyroe (Ocy′roe). A daughter of Chiron, who had the gift of prophecy. She was metamorphosed into a mare.
Odin (O′din). In Scandinavian mythology the god of the universe, and reputed father of all the Scandinavian kings. His wife’s name was Friga, and his two sons were Thor and Balder. The Wodin of the early German tribes.
Oeagrus (Oe′agrus). King of Thrace, and father of Orpheus.
Oedipus (Oed′ipus). A son of Laius, King of Thebes, best known as the solver of the famous enigma propounded by the Sphinx. In solving the riddle Oedipus unwittingly killed his father, and, discovering the fact, he destroyed his own eyesight, and wandered away from Thebes, attended by his daughter Antigone. Oedipus is the subject of two famous tragedies by Sophocles.
Oenone (Oeno′ne). Wife of Paris, a nymph of Mount Ida, who had the gift of prophecy.
Ogygia (Ogyg′ia). An island, the abode of Calypso, in the Mediterranean Sea, on which Ulysses was shipwrecked. It was so beautiful in sylvan scenery that even Mercury (who dwelt on Olympus) was charmed with the spot.
Ointment, see Phaon.
Olenus (Ole′nus). A son of Vulcan, who married Lathaea, a woman who thought herself more beautiful than the goddesses, and as a punishment she and her husband were turned into stone statues.
Olives, see Aristaeus.
Olympius (Olym′pius). A name of Jupiter, from Olympia, where the god had a splendid temple, which was considered to be one of the seven wonders of the world.
Olympus (Olym′pus) was the magnificent mountain on the coast of Thessaly, 9,000 feet high, where the gods were supposed to reside. There were several other smaller mountains of the same name.
“High heaven with trembling the dread signal took,
And all Olympus to the center shook.”
POPE.
Olyras (Oly′ras). A river near Thermopylae, which, it is said, attempted to extinguish the funeral pile on which Hercules was consumed.
Omophagia (Omopha′gia). A Bacchanalian festival at which some uncooked meats were served.
Omphale (Om′phale). The Queen of Lydia, to whom Hercules was sold as a bondsman for three years for the murder of Iphitus. Hercules fell in love with her, and led an effeminate life in her society, wearing female apparel, while Omphale wore the lion’s skin.
Onarus (Ona′rus). A priest of Bacchus, said to have married Ariadne after she had been abandoned by Theseus.
Onuva (Onu′va). The Venus of the ancient Gauls.
Opalia (Opa′lia). Roman festivals in honor of Ops, held on 14th of the calends of January.
Opiate-rod, see Caduceus.
“Eyes … more wakeful than to drowse,
Charmed with Arcadian pipe – the pastoral reed
Of Hermes or his opiate-rod.”
MILTON.
Ops. Mother of the gods, a daughter of Coelus and Terra. She was known by the several names of Bona Dea, Rhea, Cybele, Magna Mater, Proserpine, Tellus, and Thya; and occasionally she is spoken of as Juno and Minerva. She personified labor, and is represented as a comely matron, distributing gifts with her right hand, and holding in her left hand a loaf of bread. Her festival was the 14th day of the January calends.
Oracles, see Themis.
Oraea (Orae′a). Certain sacrifices offered to the goddesses of the seasons to invoke fair weather for the ripening of the fruits of the earth.
Orbona (Orbo′na). Roman goddess of children, invoked by mothers when they lost or were in danger of losing their offspring.
Orchards, see Feronia.
Oreades (O′reades) were mountain nymphs, attendants on Diana.
Orgies. Drunken revels. The riotous feasts of Bacchus were so designated.
Orion (Ori′on). A handsome hunter, of great stature, who was blinded by Oenopion for a grievous wrong done to Merope, and was therefore expelled from Chios. The sound of the Cyclops’ hammers led him to the abode of Vulcan, who gave him a guide. He then consulted an oracle, and had his sight restored, as Longfellow says, by fixing
“His blank eyes upon the sun.”
He was afterward slain by Diana and placed amongst the stars, where his constellation is one of the most splendid.
Orithyia (Ori′thy′ia). A daughter of Erechtheus, whose lover, Boreas, carried her off while she was wandering by the river Ilissus. Her children were Zetus and Calais, two winged warriors who accompanied the Argonauts.
Ormuzd (Or′muzd). In Persian mythology the creator of all things.
Oros (O′ros). The Egyptian Apollo.
Orphans, see Orbona.
Orpheus (Or′pheus) was son of Apollo and the Muse Calliope. He was married to Eurydice; but she was stung by a serpent, and died. Orpheus went down to Hades to claim her, and played so sweetly with his lute that Pluto allowed Eurydice to return to the earth with Orpheus, but on condition that he did not look behind him until he had reached the terrestrial regions. Orpheus, however, in his anxiety to see if she were following him, looked round, and Eurydice disappeared from his sight, instantly and forever.
“Orpheus’ lute was strung with poets’ sinews.”
SHAKESPEARE.
Osiris (Osi′ris). The Egyptian god of the sun, the source of warmth, life, and fruitfulness; he was worshiped under the form of a sacred bull, named Apis.
“… After these appeared
A crew who, under names of old renown,
Osiris, Isis, Orus, and their train,
With monstrous shapes and sorceries abused
Fanatic Egypt and her priests to seek
Their wandering gods, disguised in brutish forms
Rather than human.”
MILTON.
Ossa (Os′sa). One of the mountains of Thessaly (once the residence of the centaurs) which the giants piled on the top of Mount Pelion to enable them to ascend to heaven and attack the gods.
Ox, see Apis.
Owl, see Aesculapius and Itys.
Pactolus (Pacto′lus). The river in Lydia where Midas washed himself by order of Bacchus, and the sands were turned to gold.
Paean (Pae′an). A name given Apollo, from paean, the hymn which was sung in his honor after he had killed the serpent Python. Paeans were solemn songs, praying either for the averting of evil and for rescue, or giving thanks for help vouchsafed.
“With hymns divine the joyous banquet ends,
The Paeans lengthened till the sun descends.”
POPE.
Palaemon (Palae′mon), or Melicerta, a sea-god, son of Athamas and Ino.
Pales (Pa′les). The goddess of shepherds and sheepfolds and protectress of flocks; her festivals were called by the Romans Palilia.
“Pomona loves the orchard,
And Liber loves the wine,
And Pales loves the straw-built shed,
Warm with the breath of kine.”
MACAULAY.
“Great Pales help, the pastoral rites I sing,
With humble duty mentioning each thing.”
POPE.
Palladium (Palla′dium). A famous statue of the goddess Pallas (Minerva). She is sitting with a spear in her right hand, and in her left a distaff and spindle. Various accounts are given of the origin of the statue. Some writers say that it fell from the skies. It was supposed that the preservation of the statue would be the preservation of Troy; and during the Trojan War the Greeks were greatly encouraged when they became the possessors of it.
Pallas (Pal′las), or Minerva. The name was given to Minerva when she destroyed a famous giant named Pallas. The Greeks called their goddess of wisdom Pallas Athene. See Minerva.
“Apollo, Pallas, Jove, or Mercury,
Inspire me that I may this treason find.”
SHAKESPEARE.
Pan. The Arcadian god of shepherds, huntsmen, and country folk, and chief of the inferior deities, is usually considered to have been the son of Mercury and Penelope. After his birth he was metamorphosed into the mythical form in which we find him depicted, namely, a horned, long-eared man, with the lower half of the body like a goat. He is generally seen playing a pipe made of reeds of various lengths, which he invented himself, and from which he could produce music which charmed even the gods. These are the Pan-pipes, or Syrinx. Pan’s terrific appearance once so frightened the Gauls when they invaded Greece that they ran away though no one pursued them; and the word panic is said to have been derived from this episode. The Fauns, who greatly resembled Pan, were his attendants.
