|
Phlegethon
In Greek mythology, the river Phlegethon () or Pyriphlegethon (, ) was one of the five rivers in the infernal regions of the underworld, along with the rivers Styx, Lethe, Cocytus, and Acheron. Mythology According to Homer's ''Odyssey'', the Phlegethon feeds into the river Acheron, alongside the Cocytus. Plato describes it as "a stream of fire, which coils round the earth and flows into the depths of Tartarus". In Orphic literature, in which there are four rivers of the underworld, the Phlegethon is associated with the element of fire, and the direction east.''Brill's New Pauly''s.v. Phlegethon (2) Orphic fr. 123 II (I p. 283), IV (I p. 283) Bernabé. In '' Oedipus'' by Seneca the Younger, the first singing of the chorus, which mainly describes the plague that has settled in Thebes, includes the line, "Phlegethon has changed his course and mingled Styx with Theban streams." While this is not essential to the plot of the play, the line figuratively serves to suggest Deat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inferno (Dante)
''Inferno'' (; Italian for 'Hell') is the first part of Italian writer Dante Alighieri's 14th-century narrative poem ''The Divine Comedy'', followed by and . The ''Inferno'' describes the journey of a fictionalised version of Dante himself through Christian views on Hell, Hell, guided by the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman poet Virgil. In the poem, Hell is depicted as nine concentric circles of torment located within the Earth; it is the "realm[...] of those who have rejected spiritual values by yielding to bestial appetites or violence, or by perverting their human intellect to fraud or malice against their fellowmen". As an allegory, the ''Divine Comedy'' represents the journey of the soul toward God, with the ''Inferno'' describing the recognition and rejection of sin. Prelude to Hell Canto I The poem begins on the night of Maundy Thursday on March 24 (or April 7), 1300, shortly before the dawn of Good Friday. The narrator, Dante himself, is 35 years old, and thus "midway i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nessus (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Nessus () was a famous centaur who was killed by Heracles, and whose poisoned blood in turn killed Heracles. He was the son of Centauros. He fought in the battle with the Lapiths and became a ferryman on the river Euenos. Mythology Nessus is known for his famous role in the story of the Tunic of Nessus. After carrying Deianeira, the wife of Heracles, across the river, he attempted to have intercourse with her. Heracles saw this from across the river and shot a Hydra-poisoned arrow into Nessus's breast. As he lay dying, as a final act of malice, Nessus told Deianeira that his blood would ensure that Heracles would be true to her forever, knowing the blood to be infected with the hydra's poison. Deianeira foolishly believed him. Later, when her trust began to wane because of Iole, she spread the centaur's blood on a robe and gave it to her husband. Heracles went to a gathering of heroes, where his passion got the better of him. Meanwhile, Deianeira ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greek Underworld
In Greek mythology, the underworld or Hades () is a distinct realm (one of the three realms that make up the cosmos) where an individual goes after death. The earliest idea of afterlife in Greek myth is that, at the moment of death, an individual's essence (''psyche'') is separated from the corpse and transported to the underworld. In early mythology (e.g., Homer's ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'') the dead were indiscriminately grouped together and led a shadowy post-existence; however, in later mythology (e.g., Platonism, Platonic philosophy) elements of post-mortem judgment began to emerge with good and bad people being separated (both spatially and with regards to treatment). The underworld itself—commonly referred to as Hades, after its Hades, patron god, but also known by various metonyms—is described as being located at the periphery of the earth, either associated with the outer limits of the ocean (i.e., ''Oceanus'', again also a god) or beneath the earth. Darkness and a l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acheron
The Acheron ( or ; ''Acheron'' or Ἀχερούσιος ''Acherousios''; ''Acherontas'') is a river in the Epirus (region), Epirus region of northwest Greece. It is long, and has a drainage area of . The river's source is located near the village Selloi, Ioannina, Zotiko, in the southwestern part of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit. The Acheron flows into the Ionian Sea in Ammoudia, Preveza, Ammoudia, near Parga. The Acheron also features prominently in Greek mythology, where it is often depicted as the entrance to the Greek Underworld where souls must be ferried across by Charon (although some later sources, such as Roman people, Roman poets, assign this role to the river Styx). Mythology Ancient Greek mythology saw the Acheron, sometimes known as the "river of woe", as one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld. The name is of uncertain etymology. Most classical accounts, including Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias (10.28) and later Dante's ''Infern ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tartarus
In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; ) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's '' Gorgias'' (), souls are judged after death and where the wicked received divine punishment. Tartarus appears in early Greek cosmology, such as in Hesiod's ''Theogony'', where the personified Tartarus is described as one of the earliest beings to exist, alongside Chaos and Gaia (Earth). Greek mythology In Greek mythology, Tartarus is both a deity and a place in the underworld. As a deity In the Greek poet Hesiod's ''Theogony'' ( late 8th century BC), Tartarus was the third of the primordial deities, following after Chaos and Gaia (Earth), and preceding Eros, and was the father, by Gaia, of the monster Typhon. According to Hyginus, Tartarus was the offspring of Aether and Gaia. As a location Hesiod asserts that a bronze anvil falling from heaven woul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lethe
In Greek mythology, Lethe (; Ancient Greek: ''Lḗthē''; , ) was one of the rivers of the underworld of Hades. In Classical Greek, the word '' lethe'' ( λήθη) literally means "forgetting", "forgetfulness". The river is also known as Amelēs Potamos, or the “river of unmindfulness.” The Lethe flowed around the cave of Hypnos and through the Underworld where all those who drank from it experienced complete forgetfulness. The river was often associated with Lethe, the personification of forgetfulness and oblivion, who was the daughter of Eris (Strife). Mythology Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, was one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld; the other four are Acheron (the river of sorrow), Cocytus (the river of lamentation), Phlegethon (the river of fire) and Styx (the river that separates Earth and the Underworld). In myth, the shades of the dead were only able to be reincarnated after they drank from the Lethe which would wash away all their memories. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cocytus
Cocytus or Kokytos (, literally "lamentation") is the river of wailing in the underworld in Greek mythology. Cocytus flows into the river Acheron, on the other side of which lies Hades, the underworld, the mythological abode of the dead. There are five rivers encircling Hades: the Styx, Phlegethon, Lethe, Acheron and Cocytus. In literature The Cocytus river was one of the rivers that surrounded Hades. Cocytus, along with the other rivers related to the underworld, was a common topic for ancient authors. Of the ancient authors, Cocytus was mentioned by Virgil, Homer, Cicero, Aeschylus, Apuleius and Plato, among others. Cocytus also makes an appearance in John Milton's epic poem ''Paradise Lost''. In Book Two, Milton speaks of "Cocytus, named of lamentation loud / Heard on the rueful stream". It is also mentioned in William Shakespeare's ''Titus Andronicus'' and in Rick Riordan's '' The House of Hades''. Cocytus also appears in Friedrich Schiller's poem "''Gruppe aus de ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Centaur
A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version of the myth, the centaurs were named after Centaurus (Greek mythology), Centaurus, and, through his brother Lapithes (hero), Lapithes, were kin to the legendary tribe of the Lapiths. Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being as wild as untamed horses, and were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, the Foloi oak forest in Ancient Elis, Elis, and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia. Centaurs are subsequently featured in Roman mythology, and were familiar figures in the medieval bestiary. They remain a staple of modern fantastic literature. Etymology The Greek word ''kentauros'' is generally regarded as being of obscure origin. The etymology from ''ken'' + ''tau ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 concern the ancient Greek religion's view of the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, nature of the world; the lives and activities of List of Greek deities, deities, Greek hero cult, heroes, and List of Greek mythological creatures, mythological creatures; and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' 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 mythmaking 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&n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attila
Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe. As nephews to Rugila, Attila and his elder brother Bleda succeeded him to the throne in 435, ruling jointly until the death of Bleda in 445. During his reign, Attila was one of the most feared enemies of the Western Roman Empire, Western and Byzantine Empire, Eastern Roman Empires. He crossed the Danube twice and plundered the Balkans but was unable to take Constantinople. In 441, he led an invasion of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, the success of which emboldened him to invade the West. He also attempted to conquer Roman Gaul (modern France), crossing the Rhine in 451 and marching as far as Aurelianum (Orléans), before being stopped in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains. He subsequently invaded Roman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alexander The Great
Alexander III of Macedon (; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), most commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the Ancient Greece, ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II of Macedon, Philip II to the throne in 336 BC at the age of 20 and spent most of his ruling years conducting Wars of Alexander the Great, a lengthy military campaign throughout West Asia, Western Asia, Central Asia, parts of South Asia, and ancient Egypt, Egypt. By the age of 30, he had created one of the List of largest empires, largest empires in history, stretching from History of Greece, Greece to northwestern History of India, India. He was undefeated in battle and is widely considered to be one of history's greatest and most successful military commanders. Until the age of 16, Alexander was tutored by Aristotle. In 335 BC, shortly after his assumption of kingship over Macedon, he Alexander's Balkan campaign, campaigned in the Bal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brill's New Pauly
The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedia An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...s on Greco-Roman topics and scholarship. The first of these, or (1839–1852), was begun by compiler August Pauly. Other encyclopedias in the set include ''Pauly–Wissowa'' (1890–1978), ''Little Pauly'' (1964–1975), and ''The New Pauly'' (1996–2012). Ur-Pauly The first edition was the ("Practical Encyclopedia of the Study of Classical Ancient History in Alphabetical Order") originally compiled by August Friedrich Pauly. As the basis for the subsequent PaulyWissowa edition, it is also known as the . The first volume was published in 1839 but Pauly died in 1845 before the last was completed. Christian Waltz (18021857 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
