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Melisseus
In Greek mythology, Melisseus (Ancient Greek: Μελισσεύς means 'bee-man' or 'honey-man'), the father of the nymphs Adrasteia, Ida and Althaea who were nurses of the infant Zeus on Crete. His parentage differs from telling to telling, ranging from Gaia and Uranus, to Karystos the eponym of Karystos, and Socus and Combe. Mythology Melisseus was the eldest and leader of the nine Kuretes of Crete. They were chthonic ''daimones'' of Mount Ida, who clashed their spears and shields to drown out the wails of infant Zeus, whom they received from the Great Goddess, Rhea, his mother. The infant-god was hidden from his cannibal father and was raised in the cave that was sacred to the Goddess (''Da'') celebrated by the Kuretes, whose name it bore and still bears. The names of the two daughters of Melisseus, one called the "inevitable" (Adrasteia) and the other simply "goddess" (Ida, ''de'') are names used for the Great Mother Rhea herself. The ''Dionysiaca'' of Nonnus, learned and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amaltheia
In Greek mythology, Amalthea or Amaltheia (Ancient Greek: Ἀμάλθεια) is the most-frequently mentioned foster-mother of Zeus. Etymology The name ''Amalthea'', in Greek "tender goddess", is clearly an epithet, signifying the presence of an earlier nurturing goddess or maiden-goddess whom the Hellenes, whose myths we know, knew to be located in Crete, where Minoans may have called her a version of "Dikte". Mythology There were different traditions regarding Amalthea. Amalthea is sometimes represented as the goat who suckled the infant-god in a cave in Cretan Mount Aigaion ("Goat Mountain"), sometimes as a goat-tending nymph of uncertain parentage (the daughter of Oceanus, Helios, Haemonius, or—according to Lactantius—Melisseus), who brought him up on the milk of her goat. The possession of multiple and uncertain mythological parents indicates wide worship of a deity in many cultures having varying local traditions. Other names, like Adrasteia, Ide, the nymph of Mount ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adrasteia
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Adrasteia (; , ), also spelled Adrastia, Adrastea, Adrestea, Adastreia or Adrasta), originally a Phrygian mountain goddess, probably associated with Cybele, was later a Cretan nymph, and daughter of Melisseus, who was charged by Rhea with nurturing the infant Zeus in secret, to protect him from his father Cronus. By at latest the fifth century BC, she became identified with Nemesis, the goddess of divine retribution. Cult Adrasteia was the goddess of "inevitable fate", representing "pressing necessity", and the inescapability of punishment. She had a cult at Cyzicus (with nearby temple), and on the Phrygian Mount Ida. Adrasteia was also the object of public worship in Athens from at least as early as 429 BC. Her name appears in the "Accounts of the Treasurers of the Other Gods", associated with the Thracian goddess Bendis, with whom she seems to have shared a treasury or accounts, indicating that in Athens her cult was supported by publ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ida (nurse Of Zeus)
In Greek mythology, Ida or Ide ( Ancient Greek: Ἴδη, ''Idē'', 'wooded mountain') was one of the nurses of the infant Zeus on Crete. Mythology According to Apollodorus, Rhea gave the infant Zeus to the nymphs Adrasteia and Ida, daughters of Melisseus, to nurse, and they fed Zeus on the milk of the goat Amalthea. According to Hyginus, Ida and Adrasteia (along with Amalthea) were daughters of Oceanus, whom "others say they were the daughters of Melisseus". She was associated with the Cretan Mount Ida. According to the second-century geographer Pausanias, Ida was represented, on the altar of Athena Alea at Tegea. Ida was one of eight nymphs on either side of the central figures of Rhea and the nymph Oenoe holding the infant Zeus. On one side were Glauce, Neda, Theisoa and Anthracia, and on the other Ida, Hagno, Alcinoe and Phrixa. According to Diodorus Siculus, Zeus rewarded Ida and Adrasteia by turning them into the constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zeus
Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. His name is cognate with the first element of his ancient Roman religion, Roman interpretatio graeca, equivalent Jupiter (mythology), Jupiter.''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. His mythology and powers are similar, though not identical, to those of Indo-European deities such as Jupiter, Perkūnas, Perun, Indra, Dyaus, and Zojz (deity), Zojz. Entry: "Dyaus" 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 m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Melissa
Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". ''Melissa'' also refers to the plant ''Melissa officinalis'' (family Lamiaceae), known as lemon balm. Melissa is a common variant form, with others being Malissa, Melesa, Melessa, Meliza, Mellisa, Melosa, and Molissa. In Ireland it is sometimes used as a feminine form of the Gaelic male name ''Maoilíosa'', which means "servant of Jesus", which is of an origin independent of the Hittites. According to Greek mythology, perhaps reflecting Minoan culture, making her the daughter of a Cretan king Melisseus, whose ''-issos'' ending is Pre-Greek, Melissa was a nymph who discovered and taught the use of honey and from whom bees were believed to have received their name. She was one of the nymph nurses of Zeus, sister to Amaltheia, but rather than feeding the baby milk, Melissa, appr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Socus
In Greek mythology, the name Socus ( Ancient Greek: Σῶκος) may refer to the following personages: *Socus of Euboea, father of the seven Corybantes ( Prymneus, Mimas, Acmon, Damneus, Ocythous, Idaeus, Melisseus) by Combe. He expelled his wife and sons from the island, and was ultimately killed by Cecrops, in whose kingdom the Corybantes sought refuge. His name is also mentioned by Hesychius of Alexandria in the form Sochus (Σωχός). *Socus, a defender of Troy, son of Hippasus and brother of Charops. The brothers were killed by Odysseus. *Socus, an epithet of Hermes of obscure etymology. According to a scholiast on the Homeric line where the epithet appears, there was an adjective σῶκος which meant "strong". The ancient authors linked the epithet to the Greek stem σω- < σαο- "whole, safe". Despite the attempts of modern scholars to elaborate on this etymological suggestion, no satisfactory explanation has been provided as of 1977.Chantraine, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entheogen
Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood (psychology), mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants: Ethnopharmacology and Its Applications'' pub. Park Street Press 2005 in sacred contexts. Anthropological study has established that entheogens are used for religion, religious, Magic (supernatural), magical, shamanism, shamanic, or spirituality, spiritual purposes in many parts of the world. Entheogens have traditionally been used to supplement many diverse practices geared towards achieving Transcendence (religion), transcendence, including divination, meditation, yoga, sensory deprivation, healings, asceticism, prayer, trance, rituals, chanting, Imitation of sounds in shamanism, imitation of sounds, hymns like peyote songs, Drum circle, drumming, and ecstatic dance. The Psychedelic drug, psychedelic experience ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Graves
Captain Robert von Ranke Graves (24 July 1895 – 7 December 1985) was a British poet, historical novelist and critic. His father was Alfred Perceval Graves, a celebrated Irish poet and figure in the Gaelic revival; they were both Celticists and students of Irish mythology. Graves produced more than 140 works in his lifetime. His poems, his translations and innovative analysis of the Greek myths, his memoir of his early life—including his role in World War I—''Good-Bye to All That'', and his speculative study of poetic inspiration ''The White Goddess'' have never been out of print. He is also a renowned short story writer, with stories such as "The Tenement" still being popular today. He earned his living from writing, particularly popular historical novels such as ''I, Claudius''; '' King Jesus''; ''The Golden Fleece''; and ''Count Belisarius''. He also was a prominent translator of Classical Latin and Ancient Greek texts; his versions of ''The Twelve Caesars'' and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Io (mythology)
Io (; grc, Ἰώ ) was, in Greek mythology, one of the mortal lovers of Zeus. An Argive princess, she was an ancestor of many kings and heroes, such as Perseus, Cadmus, Heracles, Minos, Lynceus, Cepheus, and Danaus. The astronomer Simon Marius named a moon of Jupiter after Io in 1614. Because her brother was Phoroneus, Io is also known as Phoronis (an adjective form of Phoroneus: "Phoronean"). She was sometimes compared to the egyptian goddess Isis, whereas her Egyptian husband Telegonus was "Osiris". Family In most versions of the legend, Io was the daughter of Inachus, though various other purported genealogies are also known. If her father was Inachus, then her mother would presumably have been Inachus' wife (and sister), the Oceanid nymph Melia, daughter of Oceanus. The 2nd century AD geographer Pausanias also suggests that she is the daughter of Inachus and retells the story of Zeus falling in love with Io, the legendary wrath of Hera, and the metamorphosis by whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, nature of the world, the lives and activities of List of Greek mythological figures, deities, Greek hero cult, heroes, and List of Greek mythological creatures, mythological creatures, and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' own cult (religious practice), cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the nature of myth-making itself. The Greek myths were initially propagated in an oral tradition, oral-poetic tradition most likely by Minoan civilization, Minoan and Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean singers starting in the 18th century BC; eventually the myths of the heroes of the Trojan War and its after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornucopia
In classical antiquity, the cornucopia (), from Latin ''cornu'' (horn) and ''copia'' (abundance), also called the horn of plenty, was a symbol of abundance and nourishment, commonly a large horn-shaped container overflowing with produce, flowers, or nuts. Baskets or panniers of this form were traditionally used in western Asia and Europe to hold and carry newly harvested food products. The horn-shaped basket would be worn on the back or slung around the torso, leaving the harvester's hands free for picking. In Greek/Roman mythology Mythology offers multiple explanations of the origin of the cornucopia. One of the best-known involves the birth and nurturance of the infant Zeus, who had to be hidden from his devouring father Cronus. In a cave on Mount Ida on the island of Crete, baby Zeus was cared for and protected by a number of divine attendants, including the goat Amaltheia ("Nourishing Goddess"), who fed him with her milk. The suckling future king of the gods had unusual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Callimachus
Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide variety of genres, most of which did not survive. He espoused an aesthetic philosophy, known as Callimacheanism, which exerted a strong influence on the poets of the Roman Empire and, through them, on all subsequent Western literature. Born into a prominent family in the Greek city of Cyrene in modern-day Libya, he was educated in Alexandria, the capital of the Ptolemaic kings of Egypt. After working as a schoolteacher in the city, he came under the patronage of King Ptolemy II Philadelphus and was employed at the Library of Alexandria where he compiled the ''Pinakes'', a comprehensive catalogue of all Greek literature. He is believed to have lived into the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes. Although Callimachus wrote prolifically in prose and p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
