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Polyphonte
Polyphonte (Ancient Greek: means 'slayer of many') is a character in Greek mythology, transformed into a strix. Family Polyphonte was the daughter of Hipponous and Thrassa; her grandparents on her mother's side were the war god Ares and Tereine, a daughter of the river god Strymon.Antoninus Liberalis, ''Metamorphoses'' 21. tr., , Greek and Latin Mythology The story of her life is contained in only one source, namely Antoninus Liberalis's Metamorphoses. Antonius cites Boeus’ second book, ‘The Origin of Birds’ as the source of the story; however, Boeus’ work has been lost. Wrath of Aphrodite Wishing to remain a virgin, Polyphonte fled to the mountains to become a companion of Artemis. This provoked the ire of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and procreation, who viewed Polyphonte's decision as a personal affront. To punish Polyphonte for failing to honor her womanly duty, Aphrodite drove her mad and caused her to lust after a bear. Artemis was disgusted with Polypho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bears In Antiquity
Bears in antiquity had natural observations recorded about them from as the early as Classical Greece, and were part of most natural histories that followed. One knows from Pausanias that bears roamed ancient Greece, and archaeological evidence found such as bear teeth attest to his witness. Natural Histories that studied bears were recorded by Aristotle, Aelian, Pliny and Oppian and were probably based on their first hand accounts or the testimony of hunters. Bears came to represent a state between wild and tame, and were represented as such in cultural appropriations. The image of the bear was also commercialised in trade, as were its body parts. Natural Histories The anatomy Aristotle describes the erect posture of bears 'HA'' 2.17 507b the quality of having a single stomach like humans 'HA'' 2.17 507band the fact that like men they have paws with five fingers and three finger joints 'HA'' 2.1Aristotle. ''History of Animals, Volume I: Books 1-3.'' Translated by A. L. Pec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ares
Ares (; grc, Ἄρης, ''Árēs'' ) is the Greek god of war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for success in war but can also personify sheer brutality and bloodlust, in contrast to his sister, the armored Athena, whose martial functions include military strategy and generalship. An association with Ares endows places, objects, and other deities with a savage, dangerous, or militarized quality. Although Ares' name shows his origins as Mycenaean, his reputation for savagery was thought by some to reflect his likely origins as a Thracian deity. Some cities in Greece and several in Asia Minor held annual festivals to bind and detain him as their protector. In parts of Asia Minor, he was an oracular deity. Still further away from Greece, the Scythians were said to ritually kill one in a hundred prisoners of war as an offering to their equivalent of Ares. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Strix (mythology)
The strix (plural striges or strixes), in the mythology of classical antiquity, was a bird of ill omen, the product of metamorphosis, that fed on human flesh and blood. It also referred to witches and related malevolent folkloric beings. Description Physical appearance The ''strix'' is described as a large-headed bird with transfixed eyes, rapacious beak, greyish white wings, and hooked claws in Ovid's ''Fasti''.Frazer, James George (1933) ed., Ovid ''Fasti''VI. 131–, , tr. This is the only thorough description of the strix in Classical literature. Elsewhere, it is described as being dark-colored. Behavior The ''strīx'' () was a nocturnally crying creature which positioned its feet upwards and head below, according to a pre-300 BC Greek origin myth. It is probably meant to be (and translated as) an owl, but is highly suggestive of a bat which hangs upside-down. The ''strix'' in later folklore was a bird which squirted milk upon the lips of (human) infants. Pliny in his ''Na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agrius And Oreius (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Agrius (; Ancient Greek: Ἄγριος''Agrios'' means 'wild, savage') and Oreius were the twin sons of Polyphonte, daughter of Hipponous, and a bear. Mythology Polyphonte was punished by Aphrodite for the former did not worship her, instead becoming a devotee of the virgin goddess Artemis. The goddess of love made her to couple with a bear which resulted to her twin savage children, Agrius and Orius.'She .e Polyphontebrought forth two children, Agrius and Orius, huge and of immense strength. They honoured neither god nor man but scorned them all. If they met a stranger they would haul him home to eat, Zeus loathed them and sent Hermes to punish them in whatever way he chose. Hermes decided to chop off their hands and feet. But Ares, since the family of Polyphonte descended from him, snatched her sons from this fate. With the help of Hermes he changed them into birds. Polyphonte became a small owl whose voice is heard at night. She does not eat or drink and k ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thrassa
In Greek mythology, Thrassa ( grc, Θράσσα, Thrássa, Thracian), was the daughter of Ares and Tereine, daughter of the river-god Strymon. Hipponous, son of Triballos (eponym or god of the Triballoi (Τριβαλλοί) tribe of Thrace), married her and they had a daughter called Polyphonte. This daughter scorned the activities of Aphrodite and went to the mountains as a companion and sharer of sports with Artemis. Thus, the goddess of love made her fall in love with a bear and drove her mad. Polyphonte eventually coupled with a bear and bore the ursine giants Agrius and Oreion.Antoninus Liberalis21/ref> Note References * Antoninus Liberalis Antoninus Liberalis ( el, Ἀντωνῖνος Λιβεράλις) was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between AD 100 and 300. His only surviving work is the ''Metamorphoses'' (Μεταμορφώσεων Συναγωγή, ''Me ..., ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Artemis
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified with Selene, the Moon, and Hecate, another Moon goddess, and was thus regarded as one of the most prominent lunar deities in mythology, alongside the aforementioned two.Smiths.v. Artemis/ref> She would often roam the forests of Greece, attended by her large entourage, mostly made up of nymphs, some mortals, and hunters. The goddess Diana is her Roman equivalent. In Greek tradition, Artemis is the daughter of the sky god and king of gods Zeus and Leto, and the 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 land. Only the island of Delos gave refuge to Leto, allowing her to give birth to her children. Usually, Artemis i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include myrtles, roses, doves, sparrows, and swans. The cult of Aphrodite was largely derived from that of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, a cognate of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar, whose cult was based on the Sumerian cult of Inanna. Aphrodite's main cult centers were Cythera, Cyprus, Corinth, and Athens. Her main festival was the Aphrodisia, which was celebrated annually in midsummer. In Laconia, Aphrodite was worshipped as a warrior goddess. She was also the patron goddess of prostitutes, an association which led early scholars to propose the concept of "sacred prostitution" in Greco-Roman culture, an idea which is now generally seen as erroneous. In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', Aphrodite is born off the coast of Cythera from the foam (, ) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean De L'Ours
Jean de l'Ours () or John the Bear, John of the Bear, John-of-the-Bear, John Bear, is the leading character in the French folktale ''Jean de l'Ours'' classed as Type 301B in the Aarne–Thompson system; it can also denote any tale of this type. Some typical elements are that the hero is born half-bear, half-human; he obtains a weapon, usually a heavy iron cane, and on his journey; he bands up with two or three companions. At a castle the hero defeats an adversary, pursues him to a hole, discovers an underworld, and rescues three princesses. The companions abandon him in the hole, taking the princesses for themselves. The hero escapes, finds the companions and gets rid of them. He marries the most beautiful princess of the three, but not before going through certain ordeal(s) by the king. The character is said to be one of "the most popular tale-types in Hispanic and Francophone tradition". Numerous variants exist in France, often retaining the name Jean de l'Ours or something si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hipponous
In Greek mythology, Hipponous (Ancient Greek: Ἱππόνοος) referred to several people: *Hipponous, the Olenian father of Capaneus and Periboea by Astynome. He was son of Iocles, grandson of Astacus and great-grandson of Hermes and Astabe, a daughter of Peneus. *Hipponous, one of the fifty sons of Priam, the last Trojan whom Achilles killed before his death. *Hipponous, an Achaean warrior killed by Hector. *Hipponous, son of Triballus. He was the father of Polyphonte by Thrassa, the daughter of Ares and Tereine. *Hipponous, who together with his father, son of Adrastus, were said to have thrown themselves into fire in obedience to an oracle of Apollo. *Hipponous, the birth name of Bellerophon.Tzetzes, ''Chiliades'7.810 (TE2.149)';'' Scholia on Pindar, ''Olympian Ode'' 13.66 Notes References * Antoninus Liberalis, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992)Online version at the Topos Text Project.* Gaius Julius Hygi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pasiphaë
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, Pasiphaë (; grc-gre, Πασιφάη, Pasipháē, lit=wide-shining derived from πάσι (archaic dative plural) "for all" and φάος/φῶς ''phaos/phos'' "light") was a queen of Crete, and was often referred to as goddess of witchcraft and sorcery. The daughter of Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse, Pasiphaë is notable as the mother of the Minotaur. She conceived the Minotaur after mating with the Cretan Bull while hidden within a hollow cow that the Athenian inventor Daedalus built for her, after Poseidon cursed her to fall in love with the bull, due to her husband, Minos, failing to sacrifice the bull to Poseidon as he had promised. Family Parentage Pasiphaë was the daughter of god of the Sun, Helios, Antoninus Liberalis, ''Metamorphoses'41/ref> and the Oceanid nymph Perse. She was thus the sister of Aeëtes, Circe and Perses of Colchis. In some accounts, Pasiphaë's mother was identified as the island-nymph Crete ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antoninus Liberalis
Antoninus Liberalis ( el, Ἀντωνῖνος Λιβεράλις) was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between AD 100 and 300. His only surviving work is the ''Metamorphoses'' (Μεταμορφώσεων Συναγωγή, ''Metamorphoseon Synagoge'', literally "Collection of Transformations"), a collection of forty-one very briefly summarised tales about mythical metamorphoses effected by offended deities, unique in that they are couched in prose, not verse. The literary genre of myths of transformations of men and women, heroes and nymphs, into stars (see '' Catasterismi''), plants and animals, or springs, rocks and mountains, were widespread and popular in the classical world. This work has more polished parallels in the better-known ''Metamorphoses'' of Ovid and in the ''Metamorphoses'' of Lucius Apuleius. Like them, its sources, where they can be traced, are Hellenistic works, such as Nicander's ''Heteroeumena'' and ''Ornithogonia'' ascribed to Boios. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur ( , ;. grc, ; in Latin as ''Minotaurus'' ) is a mythical creature portrayed during classical antiquity with the head and tail of a bull and the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, a being "part man and part bull". He dwelt at the center of the Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. Etymology The word ''minotaur'' derives from the Ancient Greek , a compound of the name ( Minos) and the noun "bull", translated as "(the) Bull of Minos". In Crete, the Minotaur was known by the name Asterion, a name shared with Minos' foster-father. "Minotaur" was originally a proper noun in reference to this mythical figure. That is, there was only the one Minotaur. In contrast, the use of "minotaur" as a common noun to refer to members of a generic "species" of bull- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
