Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Pheme ( ;

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: , ''Phēmē'';

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

equivalent: Fama), also known as Ossa in Homeric sources, was the personification of fame and renown, her favour being notability, her wrath being scandalous rumours. She was a daughter either of

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; , a poetic form of ('), meaning 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea (), is the personification of Earth. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenogenic—of all life. She is the mother of Uranus (S ...

or of Elpis (Hope), was described as "she who initiates and furthers communication" and had an altar at

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. A tremendous gossip, Pheme was said to have pried into the affairs of mortals and gods, then repeated what she learned, starting off at first with just a dull whisper, but repeating it louder each time, until everyone knew. In art, she was usually depicted with wings and a

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

. In

Roman mythology Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans, and is a form of Roman folklore. "Roman mythology" may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to th ...

, Fama ("rumour") was described as having multiple tongues, eyes, ears, and feathers by

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; 15 October 70 BC21 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet of the Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Augustan period. He composed three of the most fa ...

(in ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan War#Sack of Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Ancient Rome ...

'' IV line 180 and following) and other authors.

wrote that she "had her feet on the ground, and her head in the clouds, making the small seem great and the great seem greater". In Homer Pheme is called the Rumour goddess or the messenger of Zeus. In Book One of the Odyssey, the purpose of Telemachus' journey to Pylos is so that he might gain "pheme" among the world. In

English Renaissance theatre The English Renaissance theatre or Elizabethan theatre was the theatre of England from 1558 to 1642. Its most prominent playwrights were William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson. Background The term ''English Renaissance theatr ...

, Rumour was a stock personification, best known from

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Henry IV, Part 2 ''Henry IV, Part 2'' is a history play by William Shakespeare believed to have been written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by '' Richard II'' and ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and succeeded by '' Henry V''. The p ...

'' in the quote "Open your ears; for which of you will stop The vent of hearing, when loud Rumour speaks?". James C. Bulman's

Arden Shakespeare The Arden Shakespeare is a long-running series of scholarly editions of the works of William Shakespeare. It presents fully edited modern-spelling editions of the plays and poems, with lengthy introductions and full commentaries. There have been t ...

edition notes numerous lesser known theatrical examples.

Linguistic associations

The Greek word ''pheme'' is related to Φάναι "to speak" and can mean "fame", "report", or "rumor". The Latin word ''fama'', with the same range of meanings, is related to the Latin ''fari'' ("to speak"), and is, through French, the

etymon A root (also known as a root word or radical) is the core of a word that is irreducible into more meaningful elements. In morphology, a root is a morphologically simple unit which can be left bare or to which a prefix or a suffix can attach. The ...

of the English "fame".

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

, 1st Edition, 1891, ''s.v.'' 'fame'

Notes

References

* Smith, William; ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

'', London (1873)
"Ossa"
* Gianni Guastella, "La Fama degli antichi e le sue trasformazioni tra Medioevo e Rinascimento(The fame of the antiquity and its transformations between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance)," in Sergio Audano, Giovanni Cipriani (ed.), ''Aspetti della Fortuna dell'Antico nella Cultura Europea: atti della settima giornata di studi(Aspects of Ancient Fortune in European Culture: Proceedings of the Seventh Study Day),

Sestri Levante Sestri Levante () is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Genoa, Liguria, Italy. Lying on the Mediterranean Sea, it is approximately south-east of Genoa and is set on a promontory. While nearby Portofino and the Cinque Terre are pro ...

, 19 Marzo 2010'' (Foggia: Edizioni il Castello, 2011) (Echo, 1), 35–74.

External links

Theoi Greek Mythology -- Pheme
* {{Authority control Greek goddesses Personifications in Greek mythology Children of Gaia

Linguistic associations

See also

Notes

References

External links