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Greek Mythology > People, Places, & Things > R
The goddess, Aidos.
In the poem, Works and Days, Hesiod warns his brother, Perses, that in the fifth generation of mortal men (the Age of Iron) Aidos and Nemesis (Indignation) will leave the earth and there will be no defense against evil; she is also referred to as Shame and Modesty.
See Respect by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
The Returns; one of the fragmentary remains of the Epic Cycle which described the return of the Greek heroes after the sack of the city of Troy.
We have none of the actual poems from the Returns, which are attributed to Agias of Troezen, but instead we have a very brief description of the original five books; we can assume from the existing fragments that the temple of Athene (Athena) at Troy was either destroyed or defiled because Athene caused a quarrel between the leader of the Greek army, Agamemnon, and his brother, Menelaos (Menelaus); Agamemnon stayed at Troy to appease Athene but Menelaos and his wife, Helen, sailed unsuccessfully for home and lost all but five of their ships before they were finally stranded in Egypt.
Another interesting statement from the Returns concerns Iason’s (Jason’s) wife, Medea, and his father Aeson; Medea is said to have bewitched Aeson and turned him into a young man.
One confusing statement from the Returns concerns Herakles (Heracles): he was said to have been attacking the city of Themiskyra; this is confusing because Herakles was supposed to have died before the siege of Troy which would be ten years before the Returns took place.
The Returns also informs us that Odysseus’ son, Telemakhos (Telemachus), married the nymph, Kirke (Circe), and Kirke’s son, Telegonos, married Odysseus’ wife, Penelope.
For the complete translations of the Epic Cycle I recommend the Loeb Classical Library volume 57, ISBN 0674990633; you can sometimes find this book at the library or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site which is linked to Amazon.com.
See Returns by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
One of the sons of Europa and Zeus; his brothers were: Minos and Sarpedon.
Rhadamanthus was rewarded for the justice he exemplified during his life by being made, after his death, one of the judges of the dead in the Underworld where he served with his brother, Minos and his half-brother, Aeakus (Aeacus).
See Rhadamanthus by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
An ancient Greek city in southern Italy; located on the tip of the Italian peninsula on the Strait of Messina; now modern Rheggio.
Approximate east longitude 15.64 and north latitude 38.13.
See Rhegium by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
One of the Titans; the daughter of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (the Heavens); wife of Kronos (Cronos) and mother of the six original Olympians: Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Histia (Hestia), Hera and Demeter.
For more detailed information on Rheia I suggest that you consult the Immortals section of this site.
See Rheia by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
A river god; one of the many sons of Tethys and Okeanos (Ocean).
Zeus gave the Rivers, Apollon and the Okeanids the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.
See Rhesos (1) by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
A Thrakian (Thracian) commander who died at the hands of Odysseus and Diomedes.
In The Iliad, the Trojans finally seem to gain the advantage in the war and were on the verge of pushing the Greeks back into the sea when Odysseus and Diomedes snuck into the Trojan encampment and killed Rhesos, many of his troops and stole his prize horses.
See Rhesos (2) by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
A play by Euripides produced circa 455 or 450 BCE; assumed to be his earliest play.
This play is not too tragic but still has a certain amount of drama; the story centers around the night Odysseus and Diomedes snuck into the Trojan camp and reeked havoc by killing Rhesos and stealing his prized horses; the murder of the Trojan spy, Dolon, is mentioned but not elaborated upon; I personally considered the murder of Dolon a very important part of The Iliad and I was surprised to see it relegated to a secondary plot line in this play; the play is mostly talk and not much action.
I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene; you can find this and other plays by Euripides in the 882 section of your local library or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site which is linked to Amazon.com.
See Rhesos (3) by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
The seventeenth letter of the Greek alphabet; upper case: Ρ; lower case: ρ.
See Rho by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
A Greek island in the southeastern Aegean Sea off the coast of modern Turkey; the largest of the Dodekanese (Dodecanese) Islands with an area of 542 square miles (1,404 square kilometers); the primary city on the island is also named Rhodes.
Approximate east longitude 28.00 and north latitude 36.19.
See Rhodes (1) by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
The capital city of the island of Rhodes; located on the northeastern tip of the island.
Rhodes is the site of the 100+ foot statue of Helios (the Sun); commonly known as the Colossus of Rhodes, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the World; the statue, which was erected in 290 BCE, stood in the harbor until it was toppled in an earthquake, sixty six years later, in 224 BCE.
Approximate east longitude 28.13 and north latitude 36.26.
See Rhodes (2) by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
A river god; one of the many sons of Tethys and Okeanos (Ocean).
Zeus gave the Rivers, Apollon and the Okeanids the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.
See Rhodios by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
The famous Greek courtesan who was very rich and famous; she is our only historical link to the “story teller,” Aesop.
Rhodopis was the most famous courtesan in Greece and spent one tenth of her wealth on iron ox-spits which she presented as a tribute at the oracle of Apollon at Delphi.
See Rhodopis by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
A Greek sculptor and architect; fl. sixth century BCE; he was from the island of Samos and the son of Philes; he is credited as the builder of the Temple of Hera on Samos.
His name may also be rendered as Rhoekus or Rhoecus.
See Rhoekos by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
When the Temple of Hera (the Heraion) on the island of Samos was destroyed by the Persians during the reign of Kyrus the Great (559-529 BCE), Rhoikos was commissioned to re-construct the temple; his improvements and enlargements were soon destroyed by the Persians and his son, Theodoros, rebuilt the temple circa 520 BCE.
See Rhoikos by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
A simple drinking cup.
See Rhyton by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
The Rivers are the sons of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys; Zeus gave the Rivers, Apollon and the Okeanids the special obligation of having the young in their keeping.
The Rivers are: Aisepos, Akheloios (Acheloios), Alpheus, Ardeskos (Ardescos), Eridanos, Euenos, Grenikos (Grenicos), Haliakmon (Haliacmon), Heptaporos, Hermos, Istros, Kaikos (Caicus), Ladon, Maiandros (Meander), Neilos (Nile), Nessos, Parthenios, Peneios, Phasis, Rhesos, Rhodios, Sangarios, Simoeis, Skamandros (Scamander) and Strymon.
For more complete information on Rivers I suggest that you consult the Immortals section of this site.
See Rivers by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
One of the two mountains which were called the Pillars of Herakles (Heracles); located at the western extreme of the Mediterranean Sea where it connects with the Atlantic Ocean.
The two promontories, Jebel Musa and Gibraltar, were fabled to have been raised by Herakles; Gibraltar was known as Kalpe (Calpe) and Jebel Musa was known as Abyla.
Approximate west longitude 5.21 and north latitude 36.08.
See Rock of Gibraltar by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
The people of Rome; inhabitants of the city in east-central Italy which founded the empire which replaced the Greeks as the dominant power in the known civilized world.
The mythology of Rome is closely linked to that of the Greeks but differs in many fundamental ways; the Roman deities were very similar to the Greek Immortals and included some of the same names and genealogies but the interpretations of the meanings and subtleties of the Greek religion was filtered through the more “modern” and more aggressive minds of the Romans and thus became a separate and distinctly different religion.
See Romans by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
The city in east-central Italy on the left bank of the Tiber River.
The traditional founding date for Rome has been established as 753 BCE, which is only twenty years after the first Olympian Games in Greece; beginning with the legendary orphan, Romulus, Rome was ruled by a series of kings until the Roman Republic was established in 509 BCE; in the Aeneid, by Virgil, the founding of Rome was accomplished by the ancestors of the Trojan hero, Aineias (Aeneas).
See Rome by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
The goddess Ate; one of the daughters of Eris (Discord); an ancient Greek goddess personifying the crimes caused by human recklessness and the divine punishments that surely follow.
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 continue the punishment of the unbeliever.
Ate is sometimes defined as the personification of Ruin but her name literally means Blindness.
See Ruin by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
The wine feasts, processions and dramatic performances composing a festival honoring Dionysus held in mid-December in ancient Attika (Attica).
There was also a Spring festival called the City Dionysia (Great Dionysia) which was notable for the performance of dithyrambs (a wild and irregular choral song or chant), tragedies, comedies and satyr plays (ribald dramas with a chorus of satyrs).
See Rural Dionysia by itself with citation tips (best for bookmarking).
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