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Giants (Greek Mythology)
In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Ancient Greek, Greek: Γίγαντες, ''wiktionary:gigantes, Gígantes'', Γίγας, ''wiktionary:gigas, Gígas''), were a race of great strength and aggression, though not necessarily of great size. They were known for the Gigantomachy (also spelled Gigantomachia), their battle with the Olympian gods. According to Hesiod, the Giants were the offspring of Gaia (Earth), born from the blood that fell when Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Sky) was castrated by his Titan (mythology), Titan son Cronus. Archaic and Classical representations show Gigantes as man-sized hoplites (heavily armed ancient Greek foot soldiers) fully human in form. Later representations (after c. 380 BC) show Gigantes with Anguiped, snakes for legs. In later traditions, the Giants were often confused with other opponents of the Olympians, particularly the Titan (mythology), Titans, an earlier generation of large and powerful children ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Poseidon Polybotes Cdm Paris 573
Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in religion in ancient Greece, ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, 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, Greece, Thebes, with the cult title "earth shaker"; in the myths of isolated Arcadia (ancient region), 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 Interpretatio graeca, Roman equivalent is Neptune (mythology), Neptune. Homer and He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hoplites
Hoplites ( ) ( ) were citizen-soldiers of Ancient Greek city-states who were primarily armed with spears and shields. Hoplite soldiers used the phalanx formation to be effective in war with fewer soldiers. The formation discouraged the soldiers from acting alone, for this would compromise the formation and minimize its strengths. The hoplites were primarily represented by free citizens – propertied farmers and artisans – who were able to afford a linen or bronze armour suit and weapons (estimated at a third to a half of its able-bodied adult male population). Some states maintained a small elite professional unit, known as the '' epilektoi'' or logades ('the chosen') because they were picked from the regular citizen infantry. These existed at times in Athens, Sparta, Argos, Thebes, and Syracuse, among other places. Hoplite soldiers made up the bulk of ancient Greek armies. In the 8th or 7th century BC, Greek armies adopted the phalanx formation. The formation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phaiakian
Scheria or Scherie (; or ), also known as Phaeacia () or Faiakia, was a region in Greek mythology, first mentioned in Homer's '' Odyssey'' as the home of the Phaeacians and the last destination of Odysseus in his 10-year journey before returning home to Ithaca. It is amongst one of the earliest descriptions of a utopia. From Ogygia to Scheria (Odysseus) Before leaving Ogygia, Odysseus builds a raft and sails eastwards, instructed by Calypso to navigate using the stars as a celestial reference point. On the eighteenth day appear the shadowy mountains of the land of the Phaeacians, that looked like a ''shield'' in the misty deep. Poseidon spots his raft and seeking vengeance for his son Polyphemus who was blinded by Odysseus, produces a storm that torments Odysseus. After three days of struggle with the waves, he is finally washed up on Scheria. Odysseus meets Nausicaa Meanwhile, the goddess Athena sneaks into the palace, disguised as a sea-captain's daughter, and instructs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divided into 24 books. It follows the heroic king of Ithaca, Odysseus, also known by the Latin variant Ulysses, and his homecoming journey after the ten-year long Trojan War. His journey from Troy to Ithaca lasts an additional ten years, during which time he encounters many perils and all of his crewmates are killed. In Odysseus's long absence, he is presumed dead, leaving his wife Penelope and son Telemachus to contend with a group of unruly suitors competing for Penelope's hand in marriage. The ''Odyssey'' was first written down in Homeric Greek around the 8th or 7th century BC; by the mid-6th century BC, it had become part of the Greek literary canon. In antiquity, Homer's authorship was taken as true, but contemporary sch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history. The ''Iliad'' centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The ''Odyssey'' chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The epics depict man's struggle, the ''Odyssey'' especially so, as Odysseus perseveres through the punishment of the gods. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language that shows a mixture of features of the Ionic Greek, Ionic and Aeolic Greek, Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)
The ''Bibliotheca'' (Ancient Greek: ), is a compendium of Greek mythology, Greek myths and heroic legends, genealogical tables and histories arranged in three books, generally dated to the first or second century AD. The work is commonly described as having been written by Apollodorus (or sometimes Pseudo-Apollodorus), a result of its false attribution to the 2nd-century BC scholar Apollodorus of Athens. Overview The ''Bibliotheca'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus is a comprehensive collection of myths, genealogies and histories that presents a continuous history of Greek mythology from the earliest gods and the origin of the world to the death of Odysseus.. The narratives are organized by genealogy, chronology and geography in summaries of myth. The myths are sourced from a wide number of sources like early epic, early Hellenistic poets, and mythographical summaries of tales. Homer and Hesiod are the most frequently named along with other poets.Kenens, Ulrike. 2011. "The Sources of Ps.-A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meliai
In Greek mythology, the Meliae (also called Meliads) (; or ) were usually considered to be the nymphs of the ash tree, whose name they shared. Mythology According to Hesiod, the Meliae (probably meaning all tree-nymphs) were born from the drops of blood that fell on Gaia arthwhen Cronus castrated Uranus. In Hesiod's ''Works and Days'', the ash trees, perhaps meaning the Melian nymphs, are said to have been the progenitors of the generation of men belonging to Hesiod's Bronze Age. The Meliae were nurses of the infant Zeus in the Cretan Dikti mountains, according to the 3rd century BC poet Callimachus, ''Hymn to Zeus'', where they fed him on the milk of the goat Amalthea and honey. Callimachus appears to make the Theban nymph Melia, who was, by Apollo, the mother of Tenerus (son of Apollo), Tenerus and Ismenus, one of the "earth-born" Meliae. Elsewhere, however, this Melia is an Oceanid, one of the many daughters of Oceanus and Tethys (mythology), Tethys. The mythographe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erinyes
The Erinyes ( ; , ), also known as the Eumenides (, the "Gracious ones"), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth take vengeance on men, whosoever hath sworn a false oath". Walter Burkert suggests that they are "an embodiment of the act of self-cursing contained in the oath". Their Roman counterparts are the Furies, also known as the Dirae. The Roman writer Maurus Servius Honoratus ( AD) wrote that they are called "Eumenides" in hell, "Furiae" on Earth, and "Dirae" in heaven. Erinyes are akin to some other Greek deities, called Poenai. According to Hesiod's '' Theogony'', when the Titan Cronus castrated his father, Uranus, and threw his genitalia into the sea, the Erinyes (along with the Giants and the Meliae) emerged from the drops of blood which fell on the Earth ( Gaia), while Aphrodite was born from the crests of sea foam. Apollodorus also re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adamant
Adamant in classical mythology is an archaic form of diamond. In fact, the English word ''diamond'' is ultimately derived from ''adamas'', via Late Latin and Old French . In ancient Greek (), genitive (), literally 'unconquerable, untameable'. In those days, the qualities of hard metal (probably steel) were attributed to it, and ''adamant'' became an independent concept as a result. In the Middle Ages adamant also became confused with the magnetic rock lodestone, and a folk etymology connected it with the Latin , 'to love or be attached to'. Another connection was the belief that adamant (the diamond definition) could block the effects of a magnet. This was addressed in chapter III of ''Pseudodoxia Epidemica'', for instance. Since the contemporary word ''diamond'' is now used for the hardest gemstone, the increasingly archaic noun ''adamant'' has been reduced to mostly poetic or anachronistic use. In that capacity, the name, and various derivatives of it, are frequently used i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hundred-Handers
In Greek mythology, the Hecatoncheires (), also called Hundred-Handers or Centimanes (; ), were three monstrous giants, of enormous size and strength, each with fifty heads and one hundred arms. They were individually named Cottus (the furious), Briareus (or Aegaeon, the sea goat) and Gyges (or Gyes, the long-limbed). In the standard tradition, they were the offspring of Uranus (Sky) and of Gaia (Earth), and helped Zeus and the Olympians to overthrow the Titans in the Titanomachy. Names The three Hundred-Handers were named Cottus, Briareus and Gyges. Cottus (''Κόττος'') is a common Thracian name, and is perhaps related to the name of the Thracian goddess Kotys. The name Briareus (''Βριάρεως'') was probably formed from the Greek ''βριαρός'' meaning "strong". Hesiod's ''Theogony'' also calls him "Obriareus". The name Gyges is possibly related to the mythical Attic king Ogyges (''Ὠγύγης''). "Gyes", rather than Gyges, is found in some texts. Homer's '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cyclopes
In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, the Cyclopes ( ; , ''Kýklōpes'', "Circle-eyes" or "Round-eyes"; singular Cyclops ; , ''Kýklōps'') are giant one-eyed creatures. Three groups of Cyclopes can be distinguished. In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', the Cyclopes are the three brothers, Brontes, Steropes, and Arges (Cyclops), Arges, who made Zeus's weapon, the thunderbolt. In Homer's ''Odyssey'', they are an uncivilized group of shepherds, the brethren of Polyphemus encountered by Odysseus. Cyclopes were also famous for being the builders of the Cyclopean masonry, Cyclopean walls of Mycenae and Tiryns. In ''Cyclops (play), Cyclops'', the fifth-century BC play by Euripides, a satyr play, chorus of satyrs offers comic relief based on the encounter of Odysseus and Polyphemus. The third-century BC poet Callimachus makes the Hesiodic Cyclopes the assistants of smith-god Hephaestus, as does Virgil in the Latin epic ''Aeneid'', where he seems to equate the Hesiodic and Homeric Cyclop ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Online Etymology Dictionary
Etymonline, or ''Online Etymology Dictionary'', sometimes abbreviated as OED (not to be confused with the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', which the site often cites), is a free online dictionary that describes the etymology, origins of English language, English words, written and compiled by Douglas R. Harper. Description Douglas R. Harper is an American Civil War historian and copy editor for LNP Media Group. He compiled the etymology dictionary to record the history and evolution of more than 50,000 words, including slang and technical terms. The core of its etymology information stems from ''The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology'' by Robert Barnhart, Ernest Klein's ''Comprehensive Etymology Dictionary of the English Language'', ''The Middle English Compendium'', ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', and the 1889–1902 ''Century Dictionary''. Harper also researches on digital archives. On the ''Etymonline'' homepage, Harper says that he considers himself "essentially and for the m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
