Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities ...

, Angelos ( grc, Ἄγγελος) or Angelia (Ἀγγελία) was a daughter of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

and Hera who became known as a chthonic deity.

Mythology

Angelos' story only survives in

scholia Scholia (singular scholium or scholion, from grc, σχόλιον, "comment, interpretation") are grammatical, critical, or explanatory comments – original or copied from prior commentaries – which are inserted in the margin of t ...

Theocritus Theocritus (; grc-gre, Θεόκριτος, ''Theokritos''; born c. 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from h ...

' ''Idyll'' 2, and is as follows:

Angelos was raised by
nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ...
to whose care her father had entrusted her. One day she stole her mother Hera's anointments and gave them away to Europa. To escape Hera's wrath, she had to hide first in the house of a woman in labor, and next among people who were carrying a dead man. Hera eventually ceased from prosecuting her, and Zeus ordered the Cabeiroi to cleanse Angelos. They performed the purification rite in the waters of the Acherusia Lake in the
Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underwor ...
. Consequently, she received the world of the dead as her realm of influence, and was assigned an epithet ''katachthonia'' ("she of the underworld").

The story of Angelos is cited by the scholiast in a series of rare myths concerning the birth of

Hecate Hecate or Hekate, , ; grc-dor, Ἑκάτᾱ, Hekátā, ; la, Hecatē or . is a goddess in ancient Greek religion and mythology, most often shown holding a pair of torches, a key, snakes, or accompanied by dogs, and in later periods depict ...

, which makes it possible to think that Angelos was essentially equal to Hecate. This is to some extent confirmed by the fact that, according to Hesychius, ''Angelos'' was a surname of

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

in Syracuse, being that Artemis as goddess of the moon was identified with Hecate. Angelos could be an early version of Hecate, the one that pertained both to the upper world and the underworld, similar to the position of

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

.'' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', Band I, Halbband 2, Alexandrou-Apollokrates (1894), s. 2189

References

Greek death goddesses Underworld goddesses Greek goddesses Children of Hera Children of Zeus Women in Greek mythology Epithets of Artemis Greek underworld {{Greek-deity-stub