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Greek Mythology > People, Places, & Things > Astydameia to Azov
A to Aegyptus Aello to Agesilaus I Agesilaus II to Akhaia Akhaian to Alkman Alkmene to Anaetius Anakeion to Apaturia Apeliotes to Argos Argus to Arkhidike Arkhilokhos to Astyanax Astydameia to Azov
The wife of Akastos (Acastus).
Akastos was one of the Argonauts and the son of Pelias; Pelias was the man who had sent Iason (Jason) and the Argonauts on the seemingly impossible quest for the Golden Fleece.
When the Argonauts returned to Iolkos (Iolcos) with the Fleece, Iason’s sorceress wife, Medea, induced Akastos’ sisters to kill their father, king Pelias.
At the traditional funeral games for Pelias, Astydameia became infatuated with another of the Argonauts, Peleus, and made unwanted advances towards him; when he rejected her, she lied to Akastos and as a result, Peleus was abandoned on Mount Pelion to die.
Peleus had been given a knife made by the hands of Hephaistos (Hephaestus) but Akastos took the knife so that Peleus’ would be defenseless; the Centaur, Kheiron (Chiron) restored the knife to Peleus and saved him from certain death.
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The daughter of Aktor (Actor); a consort of Ares (god of War) and the mother of the Greek commanders: Askalaphos (Ascalaphus) and Ialmenos.
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The virgin huntress who promised to marry the man who could win a foot race against her.
A man named Hippomenes (or Meilanion) took up the challenge and, at the suggestion of Aphrodite (goddess of Love), dropped three golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides in Atalanta’s path; when she stopped to pick up the golden apples, Hippomenes won the race and married Atalanta.
Atalanta was also a member of the Kalydonian (Calydonian) Hunt; she was the first to wound the savage boar that was sent to ravage Kalydon (Calydon) by Artemis and was awarded the skin after the boar was finally killed by Meleagros (Meleager).
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Blindness; one of the daughters of Eris (Discord).
Ate was an ancient Greek goddess personifying the crimes that human recklessness causes and the divine punishment that surely follows.
In The Iliad, Ate and the Litai (Prayers), are linked together; the Litai are described as old and feeble but Ate is strong and swift; the Litai follow Ate and, if called upon, heal the wounds that she inflicts but if a person denies the Litai, they go to Zeus, their father, and insist that Ate be summoned to hurt and punish the unbeliever.
Ate is sometimes defined as the personification of Ruin but her name literally means Blindness.
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The infamous father of Helle and Phrixus; the grandson of the euphonious founder of the Greeks, Hellen.
Athamas was the son of Aiolos (Aeolus) and Enarete; his siblings are variously listed as: Alkyone (Alcyone), Athamas, Kalyke (Calyce), Kanake (Canace), Kretheus (Cretheus), Makareos (Macareus), Perieres, Salmoneus, and Sisyphus.
Athamas was the ruler of Orkhomenos (Orchomenos) and married to the nymph, Nephele (Cloud); he rejected Nephele for the mortal woman, Ino, who then plotted to have Athamas’ son, Phrixus, killed as a sacrifice.
Nephele and the god, Hermes, devised the escape of Helle and Phrixus on a magical flying ram with a Golden Fleece; the youths flew away from Orkhomenos on the ram but Helle fell from its back and drowned in the sea.
Phrixus sought sanctuary in the land of Kolkhis (Colchis) on the eastern shores of the Euxine (Black Sea) and sacrificed the ram in the Garden of Ares; the Golden Fleece remained there until it was retrieved by Iason (Jason) and the Argonauts.
Athamas’ son, Phrixus, married a woman named Khalkiope (Chalciope) and had four sons; the grandsons of Athamas had sworn vengeance against him for the ill treatment of their father but when one of the sons, Kytissoros (Cytissoros), finally met Athamas, he found the old man in desperate circumstances; Athamas was in the town of Alus in Akhaia (Achaea) and was about to be sacrificed at the instruction of an oracle; Kytissoros saved his grandfather and incurred the wrath of Zeus; from that time forward, the eldest member of Athamas’ family was forbidden, on penalty of death, to enter the town hall of Alus.
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The Greek name for the city of Athens; the name is plural to denote the several parts that comprised the city.
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The gray-eyed goddess who is also called Pallas, Pallas Athena and Tritogeneia Athene.
Athene is the virgin goddess of wisdom, fertility, the useful arts and prudent warfare.
The origins of Athene are given in two sources: Theogony by Hesiod and Histories by Herodotus; Theogony is the oldest source and considered to be the most authoritative.
In Theogony, Athene is said to be the daughter of Zeus and Metis; at the advice of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (the Heavens), Zeus tricked Metis and put the unborn Athene inside his body; she sprang from the head of Zeus fully armed.
Histories states that Athene was the daughter of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and the Tritonian lake in Libya; after a falling out with her father, Athene sought the protection of Zeus and he claimed her as his daughter.
Athens is named after her because of her gift of the olive tree.
Her name was universally changed to Athena after 500 BCE to conform to her name in Attika (Attica).
Athene was the champion of several heroes such as: Herakles (Heracles), Odysseus and his son, Telemakhos (Telemachus) and Iason (Jason).
For more detailed information on Athene I suggest that you return to the Home Page of this site and consult the Immortals section.
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A statue of Athene (Athena), the Maiden.
The fifty foot, gold plated statue stood inside the main sanctuary of the Parthenon and was designed by the legendary sculptor, Phidias, during the time of Perikles (Pericles), i.e. 469-429 BCE.
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Athene, the Protectress.
Athene Promakhos was a statue of Athene on the Akropolis (Acropolis) which overlooked the city of Athens; the thirty foot statue was designed by the legendary sculptor, Phidias, and stood outdoors facing towards the west; when sailors approached Athens from the sea they could Athene’s the upraised golden sword before they could see any other landmark.
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The name of a temple dedicated to Athene (Athena) in the small town of Assesos in Asia Minor near the city of Miletus.
The ruler of Sardis, Alyattes, was continuing a war of attrition against the people of Miletus by burning their crops each year at harvest time; the Milesians were no match for the powerful army of Alyattes and suffered year after year of deprivation; in the twelfth year of the war, the army of Alyattes accidentally set fire to the temple of Athene at Assesos and it was utterly destroyed.
The barbarians gave little thought to the destruction of the temple until Alyattes was afflicted with a lingering illness; he sent an emissary to the oracle at Delphi seeking a cure for his illness; he was told that unless he rebuilt the temple of Athene at Assesos he would suffer ill health indefinitely.
The prince of Miletus, Thrasybulus, heard what the oracle had told Alyattes and contrived a way to end the yearly invasion of his country; when Alyattes sent a herald to Miletus seeking a truce so that the temple could be rebuilt, Thrasybulus had the people of Miletus gather all their meager stores of food and wine and stage a mock celebration; the herald of Alyattes saw the display of affluence and dutifully reported the scene to his master.
Alyattes was convinced that the years of war against Miletus were in vain and negotiated a permanent truce that included the construction of two temples for Athene.
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A first century Greek sculptor who, with Polydorus and Agesander, carved the original Laocoon (Laokoon) Group of sculpture which shows the Trojan seer, Laokoon, and his sons in the coils of a snake-like ketos, i.e. sea monster.
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A city in southeastern Greece; the principal city of Attika (Attica).
Athens is always referred to in the plural because it consisted of several parts; the city was named after Athene (Athena) because, according to legend, Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and Athene competed for the honor of being the patron of the newly formed city; Poseidon created a salt pool but Athene won the competition by creating the olive tree; both of these divine creations were worshiped in the Akropolis (Acropolis) at the shrine of Erekhtheus (Erechtheus) Earthborn.
Athens was built on ground that had been occupied by several prehistoric nations but it was not considered a unified city until the eighth century BCE.
According to the historian, Herodotus (Histories, book 8, chapter 44), the original inhabitants of Athens were Pelasgians who called themselves the Krania (Crania), after that the people were called Kekropidae (Cecropidae) in honor of king Kekrops (Cecrops), the name was changed again during the reign of the legendary king Erekhtheus (Erechtheus) to Athenians and finally, all the people of Attika (Attica) were called Ionians after Ion.
The most significant advancement in government was the transition from monarchy to the system where three archons were elected to govern the city’s religious, military and political life.
The city was sacked and burned by the Persians in the summer of 479 BCE and what we might consider modern Athens sprang from the ashes; the age of Perikles (Pericles) (circa 469-429 BCE) was one of the most prosperous and energetic periods in Athens’ history with the construction of the Parthenon (completed in 438 BCE) and numerous other public works projects which included the Propylaea and the protective Long Wall which went from Athens to the port of Piraeus.
Athens had always competed for the commercial and political domination of Greece but it wasn’t until the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) that all dreams of superiority were finally dashed; the Spartans finally defeated the Athenians after twenty-seven years of conflict and became the masters of all Greece and its colonies.
After the Peloponnesian War, the Spartans and the Athenians were constantly bickering over minor issues but the Spartans were magnanimous victors and allowed Athenian self government within reasonable limits; when Themistokles (Themistocles) (527?-460? BCE) rebuilt the Long Wall, which the Persians had destroyed, the Spartans intervened and tore down part of the wall so that Athens was still accessible in case the need arose for the Spartans to enter the city and impose “corrective measures” if the Athenians became too defiant or militant.
Approximate east longitude 23.43 and north latitude 37.58.
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A term meaning Labors and used to denote the Labors of Herakles (Heracles); the Labors were:
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Mount Athos; a mountain in the district of Khalkidike (Chalcidice) in northern Greece.
Khalkidike has three finger-like peninsulas jutting into the Aegean Sea and Mount Athos is on the southern-most tip of the eastern peninsula.
Mount Athos rises to a height of 6,670 feet (2,033 meters).
Approximate east longitude 24.19 and north latitude 40.09.
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A legendary island first mentioned by Plato in two of his dialogues, Timaeus (Timaios) and Kritias (Critias).
Plato described Atlantis as an island in the Atlantic Ocean west of the Pillars of Herakles (Heracles); in Timaeus, Plato merely mentioned Atlantis but in Kritias, he gave a more complete description of the island, its rulers and its history.
According to Plato, Atlantis was the size of Libya, i.e. Africa, and Asia combined; the empire of Atlantis extended its rule to many parts of Libya and Europe but when it tried to subjugate the Greeks, it was defeated and pushed out of the Mediterranean area.
Afterwards, violent floods and earthquakes sank Atlantis in a single day and night; after the destruction of Atlantis, the Atlantic ocean became impassable and impenetrable because of the mud shoals created by the island’s subsidence.
Atlantis existed nine thousand years prior to Plato’s time, i.e. 8600 BCE; the ancient gods, in their ultimate wisdom, divided the domains of the earth fairly and evenly; the lord of the Sea, Poseidon, held dominion over the island of Atlantis; he took a mortal woman, Kleito (Cleito), as his wife and they fostered five pairs of twin male children; the eldest of the first pair was named Atlas and he was made king over all the other brothers; from king Atlas we derive the name for the Atlantic Ocean but whether Atlas was named after Atlantis or vice versa is not clear.
Plato described the island as a paradise with every form of food, an abundance of natural resources and all types of animals (the only animals specifically mentioned by Plato were: bulls, horses and elephants); the industrious citizens of Atlantis built palaces, temples, harbors and docks.
The center of the island was dominated by a massive silver and gold temple dedicated to Poseidon and Kleito; at the center of the temple was a pillar made of orichalcum with a list of commandments and immutable laws which Poseidon had dictated to the first kings of Atlantis.
For uncounted years the kings governed themselves with dignity and restraint but, as the generations progressed, the divine spark of Poseidon began to fade from his bloodline; eventually, the rulers and people of Atlantis became repellant to Zeus and the other Immortals and divine punishment was prescribed; the island was rocked by earthquakes and inundated with floods which caused the island to sink beneath the waves in a single day and night with only a muddy shoal to mark the site of the greatest civilization to ever populate the earth.
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A son of the Titan, Iapetos, and the Okeanid, Klymene (Clymene).
Atlas was the brother of Prometheus, Menoitios and Epimetheus; Atlas was condemned by Zeus to support the heavens on his shoulders for his part in the Titan’s war upon the Olympians.
Atlas is the father of the Pleiades and the Hyades and the nymph, Kalypso (Calypso); from his position at the edge of the world he could hear the Hesperides sing; his name was given to the Atlas Mountains in northwestern Africa.
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The son of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and a mortal woman named Kleito (Cleito).
Atlas was the eldest of five pairs of twin boys born to Poseidon and Kleito and the first king of the island of Atlantis.
As the eldest son, Atlas had dominion over his other nine brothers and gave each of them various parts of the island to rule; from king Atlas we derive the name for the Atlantic Ocean but whether Atlas was named after Atlantis or visa versa is not clear.
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One of the daughters of Kyrus (Cyrus) the Great.
Atossa was married to her brother Kambyses (Cambyses) while he was the second king of the Persian Empire; the marriage was forced on her by her seemingly insane brother.
After Kambyses died, Atossa was required to marry the new king, Darius I.
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Referring to the sons of Atreus, i.e. Agamemnon and Menelaos (Menelaus).
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One of the sons of Pelops and Hippodamia; husband of Aerope and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaos (Menelaus).
As the king of Mykenai (Mycenae), Atreus inherited a family curse; his father, Pelops, was cursed by Myrtilus because of an unpaid debt, i.e. a breach of honor.
When Pelops died, his brother, Thyestes, was to become the ruler but Atreus drove him and his family from Mykenai and became king; Atreus supposedly killed several of Thyestes’ children and, as an ultimate insult, fed them to him at a feast.
Atreus’ other sons were Anaxibia and Plisthenes.
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One of the Fates.
Atropos and her sisters are the daughters of Zeus and Themis; the three sisters determine the life and death of all mortal beings; Atropos was the eldest of the three and superior to her sisters; her sisters are: Klotho (Clotho) and Lakhesis (Lachesis).
Atropos cuts the thread of life when the proper time has come for death.
Klotho spins the thread of life and Lakhesis determines the length of the thread.
The three sisters are also called the Moirai to denote their descent from the original goddess of Fate, Moira.
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Another name for Athene (Athena); the name literally means Unwearied.
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The geographic region in southeastern Greece that surrounds the city of Athens.
Attika was one of the more stable regions in prehistoric Greece because it was not very fertile and therefore not the object of conquest; other regions were constantly invaded and conquered because they were the source of agricultural wealth but Attika was spared the constant changes of population because of its relatively poor soil.
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One of the two sons of the Lydian king, Kroesus (Croesus).
Atys’ other brother was a deaf mute and therefore Kroesus assumed that Atys would follow him as the next king of Lydia; when Atys was a young man, Kroesus had a dream in which Atys was killed by an iron spear; Kroesus sought to protect Atys and had all spears removed from his home and refused to allow Atys to participate in any military actions.
The Mysians, who lived to the north of Lydia, were plagued by a fierce boar and asked Kroesus to send Atys and other brave men to help them drive the boar from their country; at first, Kroesus refused to allow Atys to go on the hunt because of the ill-omened dream but Atys convinced his father that he was in no danger from the boar, or any other beast, because he was not fated to die by tooth or claw but by an iron spear; Kroesus saw the logic of Atys’ argument and agreed that he should go on the hunt to prove his manhood and gain the respect of his people as a man of strength and skill.
At this same time, a supplicant named Adrastus came to Lydia and begged Kroesus for sanctuary because he had accidentally killed his brother and was driven from his home by his father; Kroesus welcomed Adrastus into his home and absolved him of his blood-guilt.
As repayment for his hospitality, Kroesus ordered Adrastus to accompany Atys on the hunt as serve as Atys’ guardian and protector; during the course of the hunt, Adrastus cast his spear at the boar and accidentally killed Atys; when he faced Kroesus and admitted his guilt, Kroesus forgave him and said that the death of his son was not the work of any man but the will of the Immortals.
Adrastus could not live with his shame and killed himself; Kroesus was left with no heir to his ever expanding kingdom.
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One of the sons of Aldus; brother of Amphidamas, Kepheus (Cepheus) and Lykurgos (Lycurgus).
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The mother, by Herakles (Heracles), of Telephus; the daughter of Aleus and the wife of Teuthras; she had been seduced by Herakles before she married Teuthras.
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The father of the healer, Agamede, who was noted for her skill at using herbs for healing.
See Augeas (1) by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
The king of Elis who owned the stables that Herakles (Heracles) was ordered to clean in only one day as his Fifth Labor.
Augeas had three thousand oxen (or cattle) and the stables had not been cleaned for thirty years; Herakles undertook this Labor with the same shrewd combination of brain and brawn that characterized his other Labors; with the help of his protector, Athene (Athena), he diverted the rivers Alpheius and Peneus to the stables and, using a large wrecking bar, knocked a hole in the wall allowing the torrential waters to flush out the accumulated detritus.
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The son of Helios (the Sun).
Augeias was the wealthy ruler of the city of Elea in southwestern Italy on the coast of Lukania (Lucania) and one of the Argonauts.
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A companion of Artemis who bore twins to Dionysus; Zeus changed her into a spring because she, in a fit of madness, killed one of her children.
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A thief; the son of Hermes and Khione (Chione); the father of Antikleia (Anticleia) and the maternal grandfather of Odysseus.
Autolykos possessed the power of changing the shape of whatever he stole and making it, and himself, invisible.
His name may also be rendered as Autolykus or Autolycos.
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One of the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris collectively known as the Nereids, i.e. the daughters of the Nereus.
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A daughter of Kadmus (Cadmus) and Harmonia; the sister of Ino, Agaue, Polydorus and Semele.
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A series of stone lions which were a gift from the island of Naxos for the shrine of Apollon on the island of Delos.
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The large inland sea which we call the Black Sea.
Originally called Axenos by the Greeks and then later called Euxine (Pontos Euxinus); the word Axenos literally means, “an inhospitable place” but the name Euxine means, “kind to strangers.”
Approximately 178,000 square miles (461,018 square kilometers) in area.
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A river in Makedon (Macedon) which runs north to south and enters the Aegean Sea near the city of Therme.
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The god of the river, Axios, in Makedon (Macedon).
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The goddess of Growth.
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The Sea of Azov.
A body of water which connects to the northwestern corner of the Euxine (Black Sea); called the Maeetian Lake (Maeotic Lake) by the ancient Greeks.
Approximately 14,000 square miles in area (36,260 square kilometers).
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A to Aegyptus Aello to Agesilaus I Agesilaus II to Akhaia Akhaian to Alkman Alkmene to Anaetius Anakeion to Apaturia Apeliotes to Argos Argus to Arkhidike Arkhilokhos to Astyanax Astydameia to Azov
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