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Arachne
Arachne (; from , cognate with Latin ) is the protagonist of a tale in classical mythology known primarily from the version told by the Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE–17 CE). In Book Six of his epic poem ''Metamorphoses'', Ovid recounts how the talented mortal Arachne challenged the goddess Minerva to a weaving contest. When Minerva could find no flaws in the tapestry Arachne had woven for the contest, the goddess became enraged and beat the girl with her shuttle. After Arachne hanged herself out of shame, she was transformed into a spider. The myth both provided an etiology of spiders' web-spinning abilities and was a cautionary tale about hubris. Biography According to the myth as recounted by Ovid, Arachne was a Lydian maiden who was the daughter of Idmon of Colophon, who was a famous dyer in purple. She was credited to have invented linen cloth and nets while her son Closter introduced the use of spindle in the manufacture of wool. She was said to have been a nati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spider
Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all Order (biology), orders of organisms. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every land habitat. , 53,034 spider species in 136 Family (biology), families have been recorded by Taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. However, there has been debate among scientists about how families should be classified, with over 20 different classifications proposed since 1900. Anatomy, Anatomically, spiders (as with all arachnids) differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segmentation (biology), segments are fused into two Tagma (biology), tagmata, the cephalothorax or prosoma, and the opisthosoma, or abdomen, and joined by a small, cylindr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phalanx (mythology)
Phalanx () is a minor Attic figure in Greek mythology who features in a lesser-known narrative of the myth of Arachne, the girl who enraged the goddess Athena by boasting of being a better weaver than her and was thus transformed into a spider by Athena. In this version of the story, Phalanx is Arachne's brother, and they are both punished by the goddess when they break a societal taboo. Etymology In ''Liddell & Scott'' the ancient Greek feminine noun , usually used to mean the ''phalanx'' (a clustered mass of infantry), can refer among other things to beams, the bone between joints in fingers and toes, round pieces of wood, trunk or logs and generally beam-shaped objects (like a spider's legs). It is related to the word (''phalángion'', literally 'little phalanx') which is the ancient Greek word for the venomous barrel spider. According to Robert Beekes the ending formation in ''-nx'' (also found in the words , , and ) points to a pre-Greek origin for the word. Family Ph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
René-Antoine Houasse
René-Antoine Houasse (c. 1645–1710) was a decorative French painter. He was a pupil of Charles Le Brun, under whose direction he worked at the Manufacture des Gobelins, and with whom he worked on the decoration of the Château de Versailles. He was the director of the French Academy in Rome from 1699 to 1704. He painted an entire series of paintings depicting various myths involving the Graeco-Roman goddess Athena/Minerva. René-Antoine Houasse was married on 5 February 1673 to Marie Le Blé, cousin of Charles Le Brun, with whom he had three children: * Agnès-Suzanne Houasse (1674-1719), married on 18 September 1690 with Nicolas Coustou (1658-1733); * Michel-Ange Houasse (1680-1730), a painter of genre scenes. * Marie-Charlotte Houasse, possibly born around 1687 as she was described as being only about 32 years old at the death of her husband, the sculptor Pierre Le Gros the Younger. The couple had married on 20 October 1704 in Rome where they lived. The widowed Mari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypaepa
Hypaepa or Hypaipa () was an Ancient city and (arch)bishopric in ancient Lydia, near the north bank of the Cayster River, and 42 miles from Ephesus, Ephesus and remains a Latin Catholic titular see. Name and location Its name was derived from its situation at the foot of Mount Aipos, itself a southern foothill of Mount Tmolus, Its location was identified by the Frenchmen Cousinéry and Texier and confirmed by the excavations carried out by Demostene Baltazzi on behalf of the Ottoman government in 1892. The ruins are close to the present-day village of Günlüce (earlier known as Datbey or Tapaı; in the Ottoman vilayet of Smyrna), 4 kilometres northwest of the town of Ödemiş. Its position looking towards the plain of Caystrus, was a strategic one on the route between Sardis and Ephesus. History Kingdom of Pontus In 88 BC, Hypaepa rebelled against Mithridates VI of Pontus (r. 120-63 BC) and was severely punished. Roman period Under Roman Emperor Tiberius (AD 14- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Areopagus
The Areopagus () is a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. Its English name is the Late Latin composite form of the Greek name Areios Pagos, translated "Hill of Ares" (). The name ''Areopagus'' also referred, in classical times, to the Athenian governing council, later restricted to the Athenian judicial council or court that tried cases of deliberate homicide, wounding, and religious matters, as well as cases involving arson of olive trees, because they convened in this location. The war god Ares was supposed to have been tried by the other gods on the Areopagus for the murder of Poseidon's son Halirrhothius (a typical example of an aetiological myth). History The exact origin of the Areopagus as an institution remains unclear. In pre-classical times (before the 5th century BC), the Areopagus may have been a council of elders for the city of Athens, with membership restricted by constitutional conventions to those who had held hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poseidon
Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cities and colonies. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, Poseidon was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes, with the cult title "earth shaker"; in the myths of isolated Arcadia, he is related to Demeter and Persephone and was venerated as a horse, and as a god of the waters.Seneca quaest. Nat. VI 6 :Nilsson Vol I p.450 Poseidon maintained both associations among most Greeks: he was regarded as the tamer or father of horses, who, with a strike of his trident, created springs (the terms for horses and springs are related in the Greek language).Nilsson Vol I p.450 His Roman equivalent is Neptune. Homer and Hesiod suggest that Poseidon became lord of the sea when, following the overthrow of his father Cronus, the world was divided ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cinyras
In Greek mythology, Cinyras (; – ''Kinyras'') was a famous hero and king of Cyprus. Accounts vary significantly as to his genealogy and provide a variety of stories concerning him; in many sources he is associated with the cult of Aphrodite on Cyprus, and Adonis, a consort of Aphrodite, is mentioned as his son. Some scholars have proposed a connection with the minor Ugaritic deity Kinnaru, the god of the lyre. The city Cinyreia on Cyprus was believed to have taken its name from Cinyras. According to Strabo, he had previously ruled in the city of Byblos in Phoenicia. Biography The name Cinyras does not appear again until he is mentioned by Pindar as "beloved of Apollo," and the priest of Aphrodite. Pindar mentions Cinyras as being fabulously rich in ''Nemean Ode 8'' line 18. Later, in Greek and Roman literature and in the Christian fathers such as Clement of Alexandria, the story of Cinyras is elaborated. They say that on Cyprus, Cinyras was revered as the creator of ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antigone Of Troy
Antigone of Troy ( ; ) is a minor figure in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. She is a Trojan princess, the daughter of king Laomedon and the sister of Priam. Antigone features in a little-known myth in which she incurs the wrath of the goddess Hera by comparing herself to her, and then suffers the consequences via metamorphosis. Etymology Antigone's name is derived from the ancient Greek words ''ἀντι-'', meaning "opposite" or "in place of" and ''γένος'', which translates to "birth", "descent" or even "generation". Antigone's name thus could mean "in place of a mother". Family Antigone was the daughter of King Laomedon of Troy by an unnamed mother. She was thus (half-)sister to Priam, Lampus, Clytius, Hicetaon, Bucolion, Tithonus, Hesione, Cilla, Astyoche, Aethilla, Medesicaste and Proclia. Mythology The earliest mention of Antigone and her myth comes from Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' around the first century. During her competition with the Lydian seamstre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gerana
Gerana, sometimes also called Oenoe, is a queen of the Pygmy folk in Greek mythology, who incurred the wrath of the goddess Hera and was subsequently turned into a bird bearing her name, the crane. This aetiological tale explains the ancient rivalry between the Pygmies and the cranes, and also serves as a cautionary tale against the people who hubristically claimed to be better than even the gods themselves. Gerana's story bears some resemblance to that of Lamia, who was also a beautiful woman cursed by Hera and transformed into something unappealing. Etymology The proper name is a modified spelling of , which is the Ancient Greek word for crane. It derives from the Proto-Indo-European root ''*gerh2-en-/-eu-'', meaning the same thing; cognate with the English word 'crane.' It seems to be attested in Mycenaean Greek in the dative plural form gerenai (Linear B: , ''ke-re-na-i''), though Beekes expressed some doubt over it. Mythology According to Antoninus Liberalis, who at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haemus
In Greek mythology, King Haemus (; , ''Haîmos'') of Thrace, was the son of Boreas, the north wind. Mythology Haemus was vain and haughty and compared himself and his wife, Queen Rhodope, to Zeus and Hera. The gods changed him and his wife into mountains (respectively Haemus Mons, now known as the Balkan Mountains, and the Rhodope Mountains). In ancient Greek, the Balkan Peninsula was thus known as the "Peninsula of Haemus" (), a name which retains some currency in modern Greek. Another classic etymology derives the name 'Haemos' from the myth about the fight of Zeus and the dragon Typhon: :He was again driven to Thrace and hurled entire mountains at Zeus in the battle around Mount Haemus. When these bounced back upon him under the force of the thunderbolt, blood gushed out on the mountain. From this, they say, the mountain is called haemus ("bloody"). Notes References * Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhodope (queen)
In ancient Greek and Roman mythology, Rhodope () is the wife of Haemus and queen of Thrace. She and her husband were punished together by being transformed into mountain ranges after daring to compare themselves to Zeus and Hera, the highest gods. The Rhodope Mountains, shared between Bulgaria and Greece, were named after this queen. Family Rhodope's parentage is not clear in ancient texts; a scholiast makes a Thracian Rhodope the daughter of the river-god Strymon, but it is not clear whether this is supposed to be the same Rhodope. In the ''Homeric Hymn to Demeter'', a Rhodope is the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and playmate of Persephone before her abduction. Rhodope married Haemus, and together they had a son named Hebrus, the namesake of the Hebrus river (now more commonly known as Maritsa) which now forms one of the northern bounderies of Greece. Mythology Rhodope married Haemus, king of Thrace, and became queen. She and Haemus had a good marriage that led to them ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiton (costume)
A chiton (; ) is a form of tunic that fastens at the shoulder, worn by men and women of ancient Greece and Rome. There are two forms of chiton: the Doric and the later Ionic. According to Herodotus, popular legend was that Athenian women began to wear the chiton as opposed to the peplos after several women stabbed a messenger to death with the bronze pins characteristic of the peplos. Etymology The word ''chiton'' is derived from a Central Semitic language *''kittān'' (e.g. Hebrew ), ultimately from a word for 'flax'. Different forms and wearing styles A shorter version of the chiton was called the chitoniskos. Doric chiton The Doric chiton is a single rectangle of woolen or linen fabric. It can be worn plain or with an overfold called an ''apoptygma'' (ἀπόπτυγμα), which is more common to women. It can be draped and fastened at the shoulder by pins (Greek: peronai; Latin: fibulae) or sewing, or by buttons. Ionic chiton The Ionic chiton could also be m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
