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Herakles
Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through Amphitryon, Heracles receives the epithet Alcides, as "of the line of Alcaeus", father of Amphitryon. Amphitryon's own, mortal son was Iphicles. He was a descendant and half-brother (as they are both sired by the god Zeus) of Perseus. He was the greatest of the Greek heroes, the ancestor of royal clans who claimed to be Heracleidae (), and a champion of the Olympian order against chthonic monsters. In Rome and the modern West, he is known as Hercules, with whom the later Roman emperors, in particular Commodus and Maximian, often identified themselves. Details of his cult were adapted to Rome as well. Origin Many popular stories were told of his life, the most famous being the twelve Labours of Hercules; Alexandrian poets of the He ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Farnese Hercules
The ''Farnese Hercules'' () is an ancient statue of Hercules made in the early third century AD and signed by Glykon, who is otherwise unknown; he was an Athenian but he may have worked in Rome. Like many other Ancient Roman sculptures it is a copy or version of a much older Greek original that was well known, in this case a bronze by Lysippos (or one of his circle) that would have been made in the fourth century BC. This original survived for over 1500 years until it was melted down by Crusaders in 1205 during the Sack of Constantinople. The enlarged copy was made for the Baths of Caracalla in Rome (dedicated in 216 AD), where the statue was recovered in 1546, and is now in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale in Naples. The heroically-scaled ''Hercules'' is one of the most famous sculptures of antiquity, and has fixed the image of the mythic hero in the European imagination. The ''Farnese Hercules'' is a massive marble statue, following a lost original that was cast in bronze ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nemean Lion
The Nemean lion (; ; ) was a mythical lion in Greek mythology that lived at Nemea. Famously one of the mythical beasts killed by Heracles (Hercules) in his 12 labours. Because its golden fur was impervious to attack, it could not be killed with mortals' weapons. Its claws were sharper than mortals' swords and could cut through any strong armour. After Heracles killed the lion, its pelt would come to symbolize Heracles and his strength, being used in art to both recognize the myth itself and to draw connections between Heracles' heroism to others. Mythical Origins Hesiod writes that the Nemean lion is the offspring of Orthus and an ambiguous "she". This "she" is often understood as probably referring to either the Chimera, Echidna or possibly Ceto. The Nemean lion is also, depending on its parentage, brother to the Theban Sphinx and is of the same lineage as others within the Heracles myth, those being Cebreros and the Lernaian Hydra. Apollodorus however depicts the lion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megara (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Megara (; Ancient Greek: Μεγάρα) was a Theban princess and the first wife of the hero Heracles. Family Megara was the eldest daughter of Creon, King of Thebes, who was the brother of Jocasta and uncle of Oedipus.Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Apollodorus, ''Library,'2.4.11 If Creon is the same figure, Megara's mother is likely Creon's wife Eurydice of Thebes, Eurydice, and she would be the sister of Menoeceus (Megareus of Thebes, Megareus), Lycomedes (son of Creon), Lycomedes, Haemon, and Pyrrha (mythology), Pyrrha. Accounts of the names and number of Megara and Heracles' children vary based on the author. According to the mythographer Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Apollodorus, Megara was the mother of three sons by Heracles named Therimachus, Creontiades, and Deicoon. Dinias the Argive included the three children named by Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Apollodorus, however, he also added a fourth named Deion. Theban poet Pindar states tha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hebe (mythology)
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Hebe (; ) is the goddess of youth or of the prime of life. She was the cup-bearer for the gods of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia. On Sicyon, she was worshipped as a goddess of forgiveness or mercy. She was often given the epithet ''Ganymeda'' (). Hebe is a daughter of Zeus and Hera, and the divine wife of Heracles (Roman mythology, Roman equivalent: Hercules). She had influence over eternal youth and the ability to restore youth to mortals, a power that appears exclusive to her, as in Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', some gods lament the aging of their favoured mortals. According to Philostratus the Elder, Hebe was the youngest of the gods and the one responsible for keeping them eternally young, and thus was the most revered by them. Her role of ensuring the eternal youth of the other gods is appropriate to her role of serving as cup-bearer, as the word ''ambrosia'' has been linked to a possible Proto-Indo-Eur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lysippos
Lysippos (; ) was a Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Classical Greek era, bringing transition into the Hellenistic period. Problems confront the study of Lysippos because of the difficulty in identifying his style in the copies which survive. Not only did he have a large workshop and many disciples in his immediate circle, but there is understood to have been a market for replicas of his work, supplied from outside his circle, both in his lifetime and later in the Hellenistic and Roman periods. The ''Victorious Youth'' or Getty bronze, which resurfaced around 1972, has been associated with him. Biography Born at Sicyon around 390 BC, Lysippos was a worker in bronze in his youth. He taught himself the art of sculpture, later becoming head of the school of Argos and Sicyon. According to Pliny, he produced more than 1,500 works, all of them in bronze. Commentators noted his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Greeks (a name later adopted by the Ancient Rome, Romans) for a frenzy he is said to induce called ''baccheia''. His wine, music, and ecstatic dance were considered to free his followers from self-conscious fear and care, and subvert the oppressive restraints of the powerful. His ''thyrsus'', a fennel-stem sceptre, sometimes wound with ivy and dripping with honey, is both a beneficent wand and a weapon used to destroy those who oppose his Cult of Dionysus, cult and the freedoms he represents. Those who partake of his mysteries are believed to become possessed and empowered by the god himself. His origins are uncertain, and his cults took many forms; some are described by ancient sources as Thrace, Thracian, others as Greek. In O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artemis
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later times, she was identified with Selene, the Lunar deity, personification of the Moon.Smiths.v. Artemis/ref> She was often said to roam the forests and mountains, attended by her entourage of nymphs. The goddess Diana (mythology), Diana is her Religion in ancient Rome, Roman equivalent. In Greek tradition, Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and twin sister of Apollo. In most accounts, the twins are the products of an extramarital liaison. For this, Zeus' wife Hera forbade Leto from giving birth anywhere on solid land. Only the island of Delos gave refuge to Leto, allowing her to give birth to her children. In one account, Artemis is born first and then proceeds to assist Leto in the birth of the second twin, Apollo. Artemis was a kouro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeus
Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea (mythology), Rhea, the youngest of his siblings to be born, though sometimes reckoned the eldest as the others required disgorging from Cronus's stomach. In most traditions, he is married to Hera, by whom he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Eileithyia, Hebe (mythology), Hebe, and Hephaestus.Hard 2004p. 79 At the oracle of Dodona, his consort was said to be Dione (Titaness/Oceanid), Dione, by whom the ''Iliad'' states that he fathered Aphrodite. According to the ''Theogony'', Zeus's first wife was Metis (mythology), Metis, by whom he had Athena.Hesiod, ''Theogony'886900 Zeus was also infamous for his erotic escapades. These resulted in many divine and heroic offspring, including Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telephus
In Greek mythology, Telephus (; , ''Tēlephos'', "far-shining") was the son of Heracles and Auge, who was the daughter of king Aleus of Tegea. He was adopted by Teuthras, the king of Mysia, in Asia Minor, whom he succeeded as king. Telephus was wounded by Achilles when the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans came to his kingdom on their way to sack Troy and bring Helen of Troy, Helen back to Sparta, and later healed by Achilles. He was the father of Eurypylus (son of Telephus), Eurypylus, who fought alongside the Troy, Trojans against the Greeks in the Trojan War. Telephus' story was popular in ancient Greek and Roman iconography and tragedy. Telephus' name and mythology were possibly derived from the Hittites, Hittite god Telipinu (mythology), Telepinu. Birth to adulthood Summary Telephus' mother was Auge, the daughter of Aleus, the king of Tegea, a city in Arcadia (ancient region), Arcadia, in the Peloponnese of mainland Greece. His father was Heracles, who had seduced or raped Auge, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name. The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is dedicated to her. Her major symbols include Owl of Athena, owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion. In art, she is generally depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear. From her origin as an Aegean tutelary deity, palace goddess, Athena was closely associated with the city. She was known as ''Polias'' and ''Poliouchos'' (both derived from ''polis'', meaning "city-state"), and her temples were usually located atop the fortified acropolis in the central part of the city. The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis is dedicated to her, along with numero ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boeotia
Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinisation of names, Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia (; modern Greek, modern: ; ancient Greek, ancient: ), is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the modern regions of Greece, region of Central Greece (administrative region), Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its largest city is Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Boeotia was also a region of ancient Greece, from before the 6th century BC. Geography Boeotia lies to the north of the eastern part of the Gulf of Corinth. It also has a short coastline on the Gulf of Euboea. It bordered on Megaris (now West Attica) in the south, Attica in the southeast, Euboea in the northeast, Opuntian Locris (now part of Phthiotis) in the north and Phocis in the west. The main mountain ranges of Boeotia are Mount Parnassus in the west, Mount Helicon in the southwest, Cithaeron in the south and Parnitha in the east. Its longest river, the Cephissus (Boeotia), Cephissus, flows in the central part, where most of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Omphale
In Greek mythology, Omphale (; ) was princess of the kingdom of Lydia in Asia Minor. Diodorus Siculus provides the first appearance of the Omphale theme in literature, though Aeschylus was aware of the episode. The Greeks did not recognize her as a goddess: the undisputed etymological connection with ''omphalos'', the world-navel, has never been made clear. In her best-known myth, she is the mistress of the hero Heracles during a year of required servitude, a scenario that, according to some, offered writers and artists opportunities to explore sexual roles and erotic themes. Family According to Diodorus Siculus, Omphale was the daughter of Iardanus (father of Omphale), Iardanus while according to the mythographer Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus), Apollodorus, the name of her father was Iardanes, and she was the wife of Tmolus (son of Ares), Tmolus, a king of Lydia from whom she inherited his throne. Mythology Heracles and Omphale In one of many Greek variations on the them ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
