|
Medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her was Petrifaction in mythology and fiction, turned to stone. Medusa and her Gorgon sisters Euryale and Stheno were usually described as daughters of Phorcys and Ceto; of the three, only Medusa was mortal. Medusa was beheaded by the Greek hero Perseus, who then used her head, which retained its ability to turn onlookers to stone, as a weapon until he gave it to the goddess Athena to place on her Aegis, shield. In classical antiquity, the image of the head of Medusa appeared in the apotropaic magic, evil-averting device known as the ''Gorgoneion''. According to Hesiod and Aeschylus, she lived and died on Sarpedon, somewhere near Cisthene (Mysia), Cisthene. The 2nd-century BC novelist Dionysios Skytobrachion puts her somewhere in Ancient Libya, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gorgons
The Gorgons ( ; ), in Greek mythology, are three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, said to be the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They lived near their sisters the Graeae, and were able to turn anyone who looked at them to stone. Euryale and Stheno were immortal, but Medusa was not and was slain by the hero Perseus. Gorgons were dread monsters with terrifying eyes. A Gorgon head was displayed on Athena's aegis, giving it the power both to protect her from any weapon, and instill great fear in any enemy. Gorgon blood was said to have both the power to heal and harm. Representations of full-bodied Gorgons and the Gorgon face, called a gorgoneion (pl. gorgoneia), were popular subjects in Ancient Greek, Etruscan and Roman iconography. While Archaic Gorgons and gorgoneia are universally depicted as hideously ugly, over time they came to be portrayed as beautiful young women. Etymology The name 'Gorgon' is associated with the Ancient Greek adjective (), which, of a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perseus
In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. He beheaded the Gorgon Medusa for Polydectes and saved Andromeda (mythology), Andromeda from the sea monster Cetus (mythology), Cetus. He was the son of Zeus and the mortal Danaë, as well as the half-brother and great-grandfather of Heracles (as they were both children of Zeus, and Heracles's mother was Perseus' granddaughter). Etymology Because of the obscurity of the name "Perseus" and the legendary character of its bearer, most etymologists presume that it might be pre-Greek; however, the name of Perseus's native city was Greek and so were the names of his wife and relatives. There is some idea that it descended into Greek from the Proto-Indo-European language. In that regard Robert Graves, Grave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euryale And Stheno
In Greek mythology, Stheno (; ) and Euryale ( ; ) were two of the three sister Gorgons, the third being Medusa, who were able to turn anyone who looked at them to stone. When Perseus beheaded Medusa, the two Gorgons pursued him but were unable to catch him. Family According to Hesiod, and Apollodorus, Stheno and Euryale, along with Medusa, were daughters of the primordial sea-god Phorcys and the sea-monster Ceto, while, according to Hyginus, they were daughters of "the Gorgon", an offspring of Typhon and Echidna, and Ceto. Mythology The Gorgons Stheno and Euryale were immortal, whereas their Gorgon sister Medusa was mortal. The only story involving them is their pursuit of Perseus after he has beheaded Medusa. The Hesiodic ''Shield of Heracles'' (c. late seventh–mid sixth century BC) describes the two Gorgons' pursuit of Perseus, as depicted on Heracles' shield: While the "great Fear" rioting upon the heads of the Gorgon, in the passage from the ''Shield'' quoted a ... [...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] |
Petrifaction In Mythology And Fiction
Petrifaction, or petrification, defined as turning people into solid stone, is a common theme in folklore and mythology, as well as in some works of modern literature. Amos Brown noted that "Fossils are to be found all over the world, a clear evidence to human beings from earliest times that living beings can indeed turn into stone (...) Previous to the modern scientific accounts of how fossils are formed, the idea of magicians or gods turning living creatures into stone seemed completely plausible in terms of these cultures". Historical Petrification is associated with the legends of Medusa (mythology), Medusa and the Svartálfar among others. In fairy tales, characters who fail in a quest may be turned to stone until they are rescued by the successful hero, as in the tales such as The Giant Who Had No Heart in His Body, The Water of Life (Spanish fairy tale), The Water of Life and The Dancing Water, the Singing Apple, and the Speaking Bird, as well as many troll tales. In Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pegasus
Pegasus (; ) is a winged horse in Greek mythology, usually depicted as a white stallion. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. Pegasus was the brother of Chrysaor, both born from Medusa's blood when their mother was decapitated by Perseus. Greco-Roman poets wrote about his ascent to heaven after his birth and his obeisance to Zeus, who instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus. Pegasus is the creator of Hippocrene, the fountain on Mount Helicon. He was captured by the Greek hero Bellerophon, near the fountain Peirene, with the help of Athena and Poseidon. Pegasus allowed Bellerophon to ride him in order to defeat the monster Chimera, which led to many more exploits. Bellerophon later fell from Pegasus's back while trying to reach Mount Olympus. Both Pegasus and Bellerophon were said to have died at the hands of Zeus for trying to reach Olympus. Other tales have Zeus bring Pegasus to Olympus to carry his thund ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chrysaor
In Greek mythology, Chrysaor (, gen. ), "he who has a golden sword" (from "golden" and "sword"]) was the brother of the winged horse Pegasus, often depicted as a young man, the son of Poseidon and Medusa, born when Perseus decapitated the Gorgon Medusa. Mythology In Greek mythology, Medusa was one of the Gorgons, three monstrous siblings. Medusa, unlike her sisters Stheno and Euryale, was mortal, and was beheaded by Perseus. Chrysaor and Pegasus sprang from the blood of her decapitated body. In art, Chrysaor's earliest appearance seems to be on the great pediment of the Temple of Artemis, Corfu dated to the early 6th century BCE, where he is shown beside his mother, Medusa. Offspring Chrysaor and Callirrhoe may have also been the parents of Echidna. In an alternate genealogy from Stephanus of Byzantium's ''Ethnica'', Chrysaor is a son of Glaucus and grandson of Sisyphus, and his son Mylasus goes on to found Mylasa. This ancestry would make Chrysaor a double of Belleropho ... [...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] |
The Graeae
In Greek mythology, the Graeae (; ''Graiai'', , alternatively spelled Graiai), also called the Grey Sisters and the Phorcides (), were three sisters who had gray hair from their birth and shared one eye and one tooth among them. They were the daughters of the primordial sea gods Phorcys and Ceto and, among others, sisters of the Gorgons and the Hesperides. Their names were Deino (), Pemphredo (), and Enyo (; not to be confused with the war god, Enyo). The Graeae are best known from their encounter with Perseus, who, after capturing their eye, forced them to reveal information about the Gorgons. Etymology The word ''Graeae'' is probably derived from the adjective "old woman", derived from the Proto-Indo-European root , "to grow old" via . Mythology The Graeae were daughters of the sea-deities Ceto and Phorcys (from which their name the Phorcydes derived) and sisters to the Gorgons.Harris, Stephen L., and Gloria Platzner. ''Classical Mythology: Images and Insights'' ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aegis
The aegis ( ; ''aigís''), as stated in the ''Iliad'', is a device carried by Athena and Zeus, variously interpreted as an animal skin or a shield and sometimes featuring the head of a Gorgon. There may be a connection with a deity named Aex, a daughter of Helios and a nurse of Zeus or alternatively a mistress of Zeus (Gaius Julius Hyginus, Hyginus, ''Astronomica'' 2. 13). The modern concept of doing something "under someone's ''aegis'' means doing something under the protection of a powerful, knowledgeable, or benevolent source. The word ''aegis'' is identified with protection by a strong force with its roots in Greek mythology and adopted by the Roman mythology, Romans; there are Comparative mythology, parallels in Norse mythology and in Egyptian mythology as well, where the Greek word ''aegis'' is applied by extension. Etymology The Greek language, Greek ''aigis'' has many meanings, including: # "violent windstorm", from the verb ''aïssō'' (word stem ''aïg-'') = "I ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
