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 ...

, Praxidice or Praxidike (, ) may refer to the following characters: * Praxidice, goddess of judicial

punishment Punishment, commonly, is the imposition of an undesirable or unpleasant outcome upon an individual or group, meted out by an authority—in contexts ranging from child discipline to criminal law—as a deterrent to a particular action or beh ...

and the exactor of vengeance, which were two closely allied concepts in the classical Greek world-view. * Praxidice, according to the ''

Orphic Hymn The ''Orphic Hymns'' are a collection of eighty-seven ancient Greek hymns addressed to various deities, which were attributed in antiquity to the mythical poet Orpheus. They were composed in Asia Minor (located in modern-day Turkey), most likel ...

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

'', was an

epithet An epithet (, ), also a byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) commonly accompanying or occurring in place of the name of a real or fictitious person, place, or thing. It is usually literally descriptive, as in Alfred the Great, Suleima ...

of Persephone: "Praxidike, subterranean queen. The Eumenides' source other fair-haired, whose frame proceeds from Zeus' ineffable and secret seeds." As ''

praxis Praxis may refer to: Philosophy and religion *Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised * Praxis model, a way of doing theology * Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...

'' "practice, application" of ''dike'' "justice", she is sometimes identified with Dike, goddess of justice. * Praxidice, according to

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephen of Byzantium (; , ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD) was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethnica'' (). Only meagre fragments of the dictionary survive, but the epit ...

, a daughter of Ogygus named Praxidike, married to Tremiles (after whom

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

had been previously named Tremile) and had by him four sons:

Tlos Tlos (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊍𐊀𐊇𐊀 ''Tlawa'', Hittite language, Hittite: 𒁕𒆷𒉿 ''Dalawa'', or Τλῶς) was an ancient Lycian city near the modern town of Seydikemer in the Mugla Province of southern Turkey, some 4 kilo ...

, Xanthus,

Pinarus The Pinarus River () is a small stream in southern Anatolia near today's Turkey—Syria border. It was famous in antiquity as the site of the First Battle of Issus, where Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia. Ancient sources desc ...

and Cragus. In one account, all sons were mentioned except Xanthus to be the progeny of Praxidice and Tremilus. Of them, Tlos had a Lycian city named Tlos after himself. Cragus may be identical with the figure of the same name mentioned as the husband of Milye, sister of Solymus. The plural Praxidicae (, ''Praxidikai'') refers to the following groups of mythological figures who presided over exacting of justice: *

Arete () is a concept in ancient Greek thought that refers to "excellence" of any kind—especially a person or thing's "full realization of potential or inherent function." The term may also refer to excellence in "Virtue, moral virtue." The conce ...

and Homonoia, daughters of Praxidice and

Soter Soter derives from the Ancient Greek epithet (''Sōtḗr''), meaning a saviour, a deliverer. The feminine form is Soteira (Σώτειρα, ''Sṓteira'') or sometimes Soteria (Σωτηρία, ''Sōtería''). Soter was used as: * A title of gods ...

, sisters to Ktesios.''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

'' s.v
''Praxidike''
/ref> * Alalcomenia, Thelxionoea and Aulis, daughters of the early

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 (adm ...

n king

Ogyges Ogyges, also spelled Ogygus (Ancient Greek: ), is a primeval mythological ruler in ancient Greece, generally of Boeotia, but an alternative tradition makes him the first king of Attica. Etymology Though the original etymology and meaning are "un ...

. At Haliartos in

, Pausanias saw the open-air "sanctuary of the goddesses whom they call Praxidikae. Here the Haliartians swear, but the oath is not one they take lightly". Their images only portrayed their heads, and only heads of animals were sacrificed to them.

Notes

References

* ''The Hymns of Orpheus''. Translated by Taylor, Thomas (1792). University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999
Online version at the theoi.com
* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt,'' edited by August Meineike (1790-1870), published 1849. A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*

Suida The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; ; ) is a large 10th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine encyclopedia of the History of the Mediterranean region, ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas () or Souidas (). It is an ...

, ''Suda Encyclopedia'' translated by Ross Scaife, David Whitehead, William Hutton, Catharine Roth, Jennifer Benedict, Gregory Hays, Malcolm Heath Sean M. Redmond, Nicholas Fincher, Patrick Rourke, Elizabeth Vandiver, Raphael Finkel, Frederick Williams, Carl Widstrand, Robert Dyer, Joseph L. Rife, Oliver Phillips and many others
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
{{Greek myth index Justice goddesses Justice deities Vengeance goddesses Greek goddesses Personifications in Greek mythology Mythological Boeotians Characters in Greek mythology Religion in ancient Boeotia Epithets of Persephone