In
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 co ...
, Amechania or Amekhania (
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
: Àμηχανίην) was the spirit of helplessness. She was regarded as a close companion (and sister) of
Penia
In Plato's ''Symposium'', Penae ("deficiency" or "poverty" in Latin) or Penia (; "deficiency" or "poverty" in Greek) was the personification of poverty and need. She married Porus at Aphrodite's birthday and was sometimes considered the mother ...
and
Ptocheia
Ptocheia or Ptokheia (pronounced pa-toh-KEE-uh; Ancient Greek: Πτωχείας) was the ancient Greek female spirit of beggary. She was regarded as a companion (and a sister) of Penia and Amechania. Her opposites were Euthenia and Ploutos.Arist ...
. She was virtually identical to
Aporia
In philosophy, an aporia ( grc, ᾰ̓πορῐ́ᾱ, aporíā, literally: "lacking passage", also: "impasse", "difficulty in passage", "puzzlement") is a conundrum or state of puzzlement. In rhetoric, it is a declaration of doubt, made for rh ...
. Amechania was mentioned by ancient Greek authors such as
Alcaeus and
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
.
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
, ''Histories
Histories or, in Latin, Historiae may refer to:
* the plural of history
* ''Histories'' (Herodotus), by Herodotus
* ''The Histories'', by Timaeus
* ''The Histories'' (Polybius), by Polybius
* ''Histories'' by Gaius Sallustius Crispus (Sallust), ...
'' 8.111.1
Notes
References
*
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
, ''The Histories'' with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Cambridge. Harvard University Press. 1920.
Online version at the Topos Text Project.Greek text available at Perseus Digital Library
Greek goddesses
Personifications in Greek mythology
{{Greek-deity-stub