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 ...

, Praxidice (

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 ...

: Πραξιδίκη, ) may refer to the following characters: * Praxidice, goddess of judicial

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

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

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

, an

epithet An epithet (, ), also byname, is a descriptive term (word or phrase) known for accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, di ...

of Persephone: "Praxidike, subterranean queen. The Eumenides’ source

other Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

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 Dyke (UK) or dike (US) may refer to: General uses * Dyke (slang), a slang word meaning "lesbian" * Dike (geology), a subvertical sheet-like intrusion of magma or sediment * Dike (mythology), ''Dikē'', the Greek goddess of moral justice * Dikes ...

, goddess of justice. * Praxidice, according to

Stephanus of Byzantium Stephanus or Stephan of Byzantium ( la, Stephanus Byzantinus; grc-gre, Στέφανος Βυζάντιος, ''Stéphanos Byzántios''; centuryAD), was a Byzantine grammarian and the author of an important geographical dictionary entitled ''Ethni ...

, a daughter of

Ogygus Ogyges, also spelled Ogygos or Ogygus (Ancient Greek: Ὠγύγης or Ὤγυγος), is a primeval mythological ruler in ancient Greece, generally of Boeotia, but an alternative tradition makes him the first king of Attica. Etymology Though th ...

named Praxidike was married to Tremiles (after whom

Lycia Lycia (Lycian language, Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; el, Λυκία, ; tr, Likya) was a state or nationality that flourished in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean ...

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

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

Xanthus Xanthus (; grc, Ξάνθος, ''Xanthos'', "yellow, blond") or Xanthos may refer to: In Greek mythology * Xanthos (King of Thebes), the son of Ptolemy, killed by Andropompus or Melanthus *Xanthus (mythology), several figures, including gods, men, ...

, Pinarus and Cragus. 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 In Greek mythology, Milye (Ancient Greek: Μιλύης) was a local eponymous heroine and sister of Solymus, thus possible daughter of Zeus and Chaldene (mythology), Chaldene or Calchedonia. Her first husband was her own brother and later on of Cra ...

, sister of

Solymus In Greek mythology, Solymus or Solymos (Ancient Greek: Σολύμου) may refer to two individuals: * Solymus, an ancestral hero and eponym of the Milyas, Solymi, who inhabited Milyas (i.e the area around Solyma), in south-west Anatolia. He was ...

. The plural Praxidicae (Praxidikai) refers to the following groups of mythological figures who presided over exacting of justice: *

Arete ''Arete'' (Greek: ) is a concept in ancient Greek thought that, in its most basic sense, refers to 'excellence' of any kind Liddell, H.G. & Scott, R. ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', 9th ed. (Oxford, 1940), s.v.br>—especially a person or thi ...

and

Homonoia Homonoia ( gr, Ὁμόνοια) is the concept of order and unity, ''being of one mind together'' or ''union of hearts''. It was used by the Greeks to create unity in the politics of classical Greece. It saw widespread use when Alexander the G ...

, daughters of Praxidice and

Soter Soter derives from the Greek epithet (''sōtēr''), meaning a saviour, a deliverer; initial capitalised ; fully capitalised ; feminine Soteira (Σώτειρα) or sometimes Soteria (Σωτηρία). Soter was used as: * a title of gods: Poseidon ...

, sisters to Ktesios.''

Suda The ''Suda'' or ''Souda'' (; grc-x-medieval, Σοῦδα, Soûda; la, Suidae Lexicon) is a large 10th-century Byzantine encyclopedia of the ancient Mediterranean world, formerly attributed to an author called Soudas (Σούδας) or Souidas ...

'' s.v
''Praxidike''
/ref> *

Alalcomenia Alalcomenia (Ancient Greek: ) was, in Greek mythology, one of the daughters of Ogyges and the eponym of Alalcomenae. She and her two sisters, Thelxionoea and Aulis, were regarded as supernatural beings who watched over oaths and saw that they we ...

, Thelxionoea and Aulis, daughters of the early

Boeotia Boeotia ( ), sometimes Latinized as Boiotia or Beotia ( el, Βοιωτία; modern: ; ancient: ), formerly known as Cadmeis, is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Greece. Its capital is Livadeia, and its lar ...

n king

Ogyges Ogyges, also spelled Ogygos or Ogygus (Ancient Greek: Ὠγύγης or Ὤγυγος), 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 ...

. At

Haliartos Haliartus or Haliartos (), also known as Ariartus or Ariartos or Hariartus or Hariartos (Ἀρίαρτος or Ἁρίαρτος), was a town of ancient Boeotia, and one of the cities of the Boeotian League. It was situated on the southern side of La ...

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

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.William Smith, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, v. 3, page 517

Notes

References

* ''The Hymns of Orpheus''. Translated by Taylor, Thomas (1792). University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999

*

, ''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, ''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 Vengeance goddesses Greek goddesses Personifications in Greek mythology Boeotian characters in Greek mythology Religion in ancient Boeotia Epithets of Persephone