Documents for "Folklore and Mythology":

• Aëdon in Greek legend, the wife of Zethus, king of Thebes. She had only one son, while her sister-in-law, Niobe , had many. Her jealousy increased until, in trying to murder Niobe's oldest son, she killed her own child. She was changed to a nightingale, and her song was a mournful call for her son, Itys or...

• abominable snowman or yeti , humanlike creature so named because it is associated with the perpetual snow region of the Himalayas. A figure unknown except through tracks ascribed to it and through alleged encounters, it is...

• Acastus in Greek mythology, son of Pelias , cousin of Jason. He accompanied Jason on the Argonaut expedition, but when Jason and Medea murdered Pelias and usurped the throne of Iolcus, Acastus drove them away. Later, his wife fell in love with Peleus , the father of Achilles, who did not return her affection. Enraged, she falsely accused him of raping her. Acastus took revenge by leaving Peleus unprotected on Mt. Pelion. Rescued by the centaur...

• Acca Larentia or Acca Larentina , in Roman mythology, wife of the shepherd Faustulus and foster mother of Romulus and Remus. Her 12 sons founded the priesthood of the Arval Brothers. According to one legend she...

• Achaeus see Creusa 1.

• Achelous in Greek mythology, river god; son of Oceanus and Tethys. He possessed the power to appear as a bull, a serpent, or a bullheaded man. Hercules defeated him and broke off one of his horns, which,...

• Acheron see Hades.

• Achilles in Greek mythology, foremost Greek hero of the Trojan War, son of Peleus and Thetis. He was a formidable warrior, possessing fierce and uncontrollable anger. Thetis, knowing that Achilles was...

• Acis see Galatea 1.

• Acontius in Greek mythology, young man who loved Cydippe. He met her at a festival of Artemis and threw before her an apple inscribed, "I swear by the temple of Artemis to marry Acontius." She read the inscription...

• Acrisius see Danaë and Perseus.

• Actaeon in Greek mythology, son of Aristaeus and Autonoë. Because he saw Artemis bathing naked, she changed him into a stag, and his own dogs killed him.

• Admetus see Alcestis.

• Adonis in Greek mythology, beautiful youth beloved by Aphrodite and Persephone. He was born of the incestuous union of Myrrha (or Smyrna) and Cinyras, king of Cyprus. Aphrodite left Adonis in the care of...

• Adrastus in Greek legend, king of Argos. He organized the ill-fated Seven against Thebes expedition and was the only survivor. Ten years later he successfully assisted the sons of the Seven, the Epigoni ,...

• Aeëtes see Jason.

• Aeacus in Greek mythology, son of Zeus and the nymph Aegina. He was the father of Peleus and Telamon. After a plague had nearly wiped out the inhabitants of his land, Zeus rewarded the pious Aeacus by changing a swarm of ants to men (known as Myrmidons)...

• Aegeus see Theseus.

• Aegina in Greek mythology, river nymph, daughter of the river god Asopus. She was abducted by Zeus to the island Oenone, where she bore him a son, Aeacus. Aeacus later renamed the island in her honor.

• aegis in Greek mythology, weapon of Zeus and Athena. It possessed the power to terrify and disperse the enemy or to protect friends. The aegis was usually described as a garment made of goatskin slung...

• Aegisthus in Greek mythology, according to most legends the incestuous offspring of Thyestes and his daughter Pelopia. At Thyestes' behest Aegisthus revenged the murder of his brothers by killing his uncle Atreus...

• Aegyptus see Danaüs.

• Aeneas in Greek mythology, a Trojan, son of Anchises and Aphrodite. After the fall of Troy he escaped, bearing his aged father on his back. He stayed at Carthage with Queen Dido, then went to Italy, where his descendants founded Rome. The deeds of...

• Aeolus in Greek mythology. 1 The wind god. He lived on the island of Aeolia, where he kept the winds in a cave. 2 Son of Hellen and ancestor of the Aeolian branch of the Hellenic race.

• Aesculapius see Asclepius.

• Agamedes see Trophonius.

• Agamemnon in Greek mythology, leader of the Greek forces in the Trojan War; king of Mycenae (or Argos). He and Menelaus were sons of Atreus and suffered the curse laid upon Pelops. Agamemnon married Clytemnestra, and their children were Iphigenia, Electra, and Orestes. To win favorable winds for the ships sailing against Troy, he sacrificed Iphigenia to Artemis and thus...

• Aganippe in Greek mythology, nymph. Her spring on Mt. Helicon, sacred to the Muses , gave poetic inspiration to all who drank from it.

• Agave see Pentheus.

• Agenor in Greek mythology. 1 King of Tyre, father of Cadmus and Europa. When Europa disappeared, Agenor sent Cadmus and his other sons in search of her. 2 Trojan hero, son of Antenor.

• Aglaia see Graces.

• Ajax Gr. Aias, in Greek mythology. 1 Hero of the Trojan War, son of Telamon , thus called the Telamonian Ajax, also called Ajax the Greater. In the Iliad he is represented as a gigantic man, slow of thought and speech, but quick in battle and always showing courage. He led the troops of Salamis against Troy and was one of the foremost Greek...

• Alastor in Greek mythology, spirit of vengeance. It is an epithet applied to Zeus or any other god in his aspect as avenger and is also sometimes applied to an evildoer who is subject to vengeance.

• Alcestis in Greek mythology, daughter of Pelias. She was won in marriage by Admetus, who fulfilled her father's condition that her suitor come for her in a chariot pulled by a wild boar and a lion. So great was her devotion that when Admetus was...

• Alcinoüs in Greek mythology, king of Phaeacia, father of Nausicaä. He aided Odysseus in his journey back to Ithaca. In the story of Jason, he protects Jason and Medea from the Colchians.

• Alcmaeon in Greek legend, son of Amphiaraüs and Eriphyle, a leader of the expedition of the Epigoni against Thebes. He murdered his mother in revenge for his father's death and consequently was haunted by the Erinyes until he found haven on Achelous' island. There he married Callirrhoë, daughter...

• Alcmene see Amphitryon.

• Alcyone see Halcyone.

• Alexander in Greek mythology: see Paris.

• Aloadae or Aloidae , in Greek mythology, two giants who warred against the Olympian gods. Their names were Otus and Ephialtes, and they were sons of Aloeus' wife by Poseidon. They tried to reach heaven to overthrow the gods by piling Mt. Ossa on Mt. Olympus and Mt. Pelion on Mt. Ossa. Some said they were killed by Apollo,...

• Aloidae see Aloadae.

• Alpheus river god: see Arethusa.

• Amalthaea in Greek mythology, the stepmother of Zeus, a she-goat or nymph who nursed the infant Zeus. It was said that Zeus made one of her magnificent horns into the cornucopia and set her image among the...

• Amazon in Greek mythology, one of a tribe of warlike women who lived in Asia Minor. The Amazons had a matriarchal society, in which women fought and governed while men performed the household tasks. Each...

• ambrosia in Greek mythology, food and drink with which the Olympian gods preserved their immortality. Extraordinarily fragrant, ambrosia was probably conceived of as a purified and idealized form of honey...

• Amphiaraüs in Greek mythology, a prophet, one of the ill-fated Seven against Thebes. He foresaw the disaster of the expedition, but Polynices bribed his wife, Eriphyle, with the magic necklace of Harmonia, to convince him to go. Before setting out he commanded his sons, Alcmaeon...

• Amphilochus in Greek mythology, son of Amphiaraüs and Eriphyle and brother of Alcmaeon. He was one of the Epigoni and with his brother slew Eriphyle for her treachery in bringing about their father's...

• Amphion see Antiope 1.

• Amphitrite in Greek mythology, queen of the sea; daughter of Nereus. She was the wife of Poseidon and mother of Triton.

• Amphitryon in Greek mythology, son of Alcaeus. While betrothed to Alcmene, he accidentally killed her father, Electryon. Alcmene and Amphitryon fled to Thebes, but she demanded that he defeat Pterelaos, her...

• Anchises in Greek mythology, member of the ruling family of Troy; father of Aeneas by Aphrodite. When Anchises boasted of the goddess's love, Zeus crippled or, in some versions of the legend, blinded him...

• Androgeus see Minos.

• Andromache in Greek mythology, Trojan princess, wife of Hector and mother of Astyanax. After the Trojan War she was carried away by Neoptolemus , whose father, Achilles, had slain her husband. She later married...

• Andromeda in Greek mythology, princess of Ethiopia, daughter of King Cepheus, king of Ethiopia, and Cassiopeia. According to most legends Cassiopeia angered Poseidon by saying that Andromeda (or possibly...

• Antaeus in Greek mythology, giant; son of Poseidon and Gaea, the goddess of the earth. He became stronger whenever he touched the earth, his mother. He killed everyone with whom he wrestled until Hercules...

• Antenor in Greek mythology, wise elder of Troy who urged that Helen be returned to Menelaus. The Greeks spared him and his family when they sacked Troy. A later myth portrays Antenor as a traitorous spy...

• Anteros see Eros.

• Antigone in Greek mythology, daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta. In Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus, she and her sister Ismene follow their father into exile at Colonus. When her brothers Eteocles and Polynices killed each other in the war of the Seven against Thebes , Creon, King of Thebes, forbade the burial of the rebel Polynices. Antigone defied him and performed the funeral service. She hanged herself in the cave where Creon ordered her buried alive. In...

• Antilochus in Greek mythology, young hero of the Trojan War, a favorite of Achilles. While protecting his father, Nestor, he was killed by Memnon. He was buried with Achilles and Patroclus.

• Antiope in Greek mythology. 1 Theban princess, daughter of Nycteus. She was seduced by Zeus and bore him twin sons, Zethus and Amphion. Fleeing to Sicyon to escape the wrath of her father, she was forced to abandon her infants...

• apple of discord see Paris , in Greek mythology.

• Arachne in Greek mythology, a Lydian woman who challenged Athena to a trial of skill in weaving. When Arachne won, the goddess forced Arachne to hang herself. Athena then turned Arachne into a spider and...

• Arcas see Callisto.

• Arethusa in Greek mythology, nymph favored by Artemis and loved by the river god Alpheus. While Arethusa was bathing in his stream, Alpheus rose up and tried to abduct her, but she fled under the ocean to...

• Argo in Greek mythology, ship in which Jason and the Argonauts sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece. Most legends say that Argus, son of Phrixus, was the builder, with the help of Athena. The Argo included...

• Argonauts see Jason ; Argo ; Golden Fleece.

• Argos in Greek mythology: see Argus.

• Argus or Argos , in Greek mythology. 1 Many-eyed monster, also called Panoptes. He guarded Io after she had been changed into a heifer. After Hermes slew the monster, Hera took his eyes and placed them in the tail of her bird, the...

• Ariadne in Greek mythology, Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë. She loved Theseus , and gave him the skein of thread that enabled him to make his way out of the labyrinth after killing the Minotaur. When Theseus left Crete, Ariadne went with him, but before they reached Greece,...

• Aristaeus in Greek mythology, son of Apollo and Cyrene, especially honored as the inventor of beekeeping. Aristaeus tried to violate Eurydice, wife of Orpheus. Eurydice was fatally bitten by a snake while...

• Asclepius Lat. Aesculapius , legendary Greek physician; son of Apollo and Coronis. His first teacher was the wise centaur Chiron. When he became so skillful in healing that he could revive the dead, Zeus killed him. Apollo...

• Asgard in Norse mythology, home of the gods, also known as Aesir. It consisted of luxurious palaces and halls, in which the gods (whose chief was Odin) dwelled, conferred, and banqueted. One of the most...

• Asopus in Greek mythology, river god. He tried to prevent Zeus from abducting his daughter Aegina, but Zeus drove him off with a thunderbolt.

• Asteria in Greek mythology, daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, mother of Hecate by Perses. To escape Zeus' amorous advances, she turned into a quail, jumped into the sea, and became the isle of...

• Astraeus see Eos.

• Astyanax in Greek mythology, son of Hector and Andromache. When the Greeks captured Troy, they killed him out of fear that he would avenge his father and his city. He was also known as Scamandrius.

• Atalanta in Greek mythology, huntress famous for her speed and skill. She took part in the Calydonian hunt and was rewarded by Meleager with the pelt of the boar. Later, warned by an oracle not to marry,...

• Ate in Greek mythology, personification of the rash temper that leads men to folly and misfortune. She was the daughter of Zeus, who, angered by her mischief, cast her from Olympus. In Greek tragedy...

• Athamas in Greek mythology, king of Boeotia. He married Nephele, who bore him Phrixus and Helle, but he later fell in love with Ino , who bore him Learchus and Melicertes. According to one legend, Athamas...

• Atlantis in Greek legend, large island in the western sea (the Atlantic Ocean). Plato, in his dialogues the Timaeus and the Critias, tells of the high civilization that flourished there before the island was destroyed by an earthquake. The legend persists, and societies for the discovery of Atlantis remain active. Plato...

• Atlas in Greek mythology, a Titan ; son of Iapetus and Clymene and the brother of Prometheus. When the Titans were defeated, Atlas was condemned to hold the sky on his shoulders for all eternity—a mythical explanation of why the sky...

• Atli see Etzel.

• Atreus in Greek mythology, the son of Pelops and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. He vied with his brother Thyestes for the throne of Mycenae. When Thyestes seduced Atreus' wife, Aerope, in order to...

• Augeas in Greek mythology, son of Helios and king of Elis. He kept his huge herds of cattle in the Augean Stables. As his sixth labor, Hercules cleaned the stables in one day by diverting the course of a...

• Autolycus in Greek mythology, the son of Hermes, from whom he received special powers in thieving and trickery. According to one legend Autolycus stole from Sisyphus, who revenged himself by seducing...

• Barlaam and Josaphat legend popular in medieval times. It corresponds in part to the legend of Buddha. Versions of the story have been found in nearly every language. At the birth of Josaphat (or Joasaph), the son of...

• Baucis see Philemon and Baucis.

• Bellerophon in Greek mythology, son of Glaucus; originally called Hipponoüs. He changed his name after he murdered a countryman and was forced to flee to exile. He became a suppliant at the court of King...

• Bellona see Mars.

• Bifrost see Asgard.

• Bigfoot or Sasquatch, large apelike creature reportedly sighted hundreds of times in the United States and Canada (most often in the Pacific Northwest) since the mid-19th cent. Similar to Asia's abominable snowman , Bigfoot is variously described as standing 7-10 ft (2-3 m) tall and weighing over 500 lb (227 kg), with footprints 17 in. (43 cm) long. Sasquatch is a Native American name for the creature. Most...

• Biton and Cleobis in Greek mythology, sons of the priestess Cydippe. When their mother wanted to see a famous temple of Hera, which was many miles away, the brothers dragged her chariot there. At the end of the...

• Boreas see Eos.

• Brünnehilde see Brunhild.

• Briseis see Achilles ; Agamemnon.

• brownie in Celtic folklore, household spirit associated with farmsteads. Brownies help with chores, but, if criticized, they will make mischief, such as spoiling crops. If payment other than food is...

• Brunhild Brünnehilde , or Brynhild , mighty female warrior of Germanic mythology and literature. In the Nibelungenlied, a medieval German epic poem (see under Nibelungen ), she is the warlike queen of Iceland, whom Siegfried defeats in combat and wins for his brother-in-law, Gunther. Hating Siegfried, Brunhild contrives his death at the hands of Gunther's henchman,...

• Brynhild see Brunhild.

• Cadmus in Greek legend, son of Agenor and founder of Thebes. Misfortune followed his family because he killed the sacred dragon that guarded the spring of Ares. Athena told him to sow the dragon's teeth, and from these sprang the Sparti [sown men],...

• caduceus wing-topped staff, with two snakes winding about it, carried by Hermes, given to him (according to one legend) by Apollo. The symbol of two intertwined snakes appeared early in Babylonia and is...

• Calchas in Greek legend, seer whose prophecies aided the Greeks in the Trojan War. In medieval romances, he is the father of Cressida.

• Calliope see Muses ; Orpheus.

• Callirrhoë kelĬr´ōē : see Alcmaeon.

• Callisto in Greek mythology, an attendant of Artemis. Because she forsook her chastity and bore a son, Arcas, to Zeus, she was transformed into a bear by Artemis. According to another legend she was...

• Capaneus see Seven against Thebes.

• Cassandra in Greek legend, Trojan princess, daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was given the power of prophecy by Apollo, but because she would not accept him as a lover, he changed her blessing to a curse,...

• Cassiopeia in Greek mythology: see Andromeda.

• Castalia in Greek mythology, spring on Mt. Parnassós. Named for a nymph, it was sacred to the Muses and was said to give poetic inspiration to those who bathed in it.

• Castor and Pollux in classical mythology, twin heroes called the Dioscuri; Castor was the son of Leda and Tyndareus, Pollux the son of Leda and Zeus. They were brothers to Helen and Clytemnestra. Castor excelled as a horseman and Pollux as a boxer. They were great warriors and were noted for their...

• Cecrops in Greek mythology, founder and first king of Athens. A primeval being, he was half man and half serpent. As a maker of laws, he abolished human sacrifice, established monogamy, and initiated...

• centaur in Greek mythology, creature, half man and half horse. The centaurs were fathered by Ixion or by Centaurus, who was Ixion's son. Followers of Dionysus, they were uncouth and savage, but some, such...

• Cephalus in Greek mythology, husband of Procris. The two swore eternal fidelity, but Eos, who had fallen in love with Cephalus, persuaded him to test his wife. Cephalus disguised himself and offered to pay...

• Cerberus in Greek mythology, many-headed dog with a mane and a tail of snakes; offspring of Typhon and Echidna. He guarded the entrance of Hades. One of the 12 labors of Hercules was to capture him.

• Cerynean hind in Greek mythology, golden-horned hind sacred to Artemis. The fourth labor of Hercules was to capture the hind.

• Charites see Graces.

• Charon in Greek mythology: see Hades.

• Charybdis in Greek mythology, a female monster. Because she stole Hercules' cattle, Zeus hurled her into the sea. There she lay under rocks across from Scylla and sucked in and spewed out huge amounts of...

• Chimera see Bellerophon and Typhon.

• Chiron in Greek mythology, centaur, son of Kronos. He was a renowned sage, physician, and prophet. Among his pupils were Hercules, Achilles, Jason, and Asclepius. When Hercules accidentally wounded...

• Chryseis in the Iliad, a woman captured by Agamemnon. When ransom efforts failed, her father, the priest Chryses, appealed to Apollo, who promptly sent a plague to terrorize the Greek army; when Agamemnon released...

• Cinderella heroine of one of the most famous folktales in the world. She is rescued from a life of drudgery by her fairy godmother and eventually marries a handsome prince. The story (dating back to...

• Circe in Greek mythology, enchantress; daughter of Helios. She lived on an island, where she decoyed sailors and treacherously changed them into beasts. According to the Odyssey, she changed the companions of Odysseus into swine, but with the aid of Hermes, Odysseus forced her to break the spell. In post-Homeric legend she bore Odysseus a son, Telegonus, who unwillingly...

• Cleobis see Biton.

• Clio see Muses.

• Clymene in Greek mythology. 1 Daughter of the Titan Oceanus. The wife of Iapetus, she bore him Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius. 2 Nymph, wife of Helios and mother of Phaëthon.

• Clytemnestra in Greek mythology, the daughter of Leda and Tyndareus. Homer described her as the noble-minded wife of Agamemnon, persuaded to infidelity by the tyrant Aegisthus. However, the Greek tragedians,...

• Cocytus see Hades.

• Comus in late Roman legend, god of mirth and revelry. A follower of Dionysus, he was represented as a drunken youth bearing a torch. In Milton's poetic masque, Comus, he is the mischievous son of Bacchus...

• cornucopia in Greek mythology, magnificent horn that filled itself with whatever meat or drink its owner requested. Some legends designate it as a horn of the river god Achelous, others as a horn of the goat...

• Creon a name given to several minor legendary Greek kings. In the legend of Oedipus, Creon is the brother of Jocasta and after the death of Oedipus' sons becomes king of Thebes. In Euripides' Medea, Creon...

• Cretan bull in Greek mythology, giant bull that Hercules captured as his seventh labor. Some versions of the legend state that this bull was the same one that carried Europa to Crete; others claim that it was...

• Creusa in Greek mythology. 1 Daughter of Erechtheus and wife of Xuthus. Her sons, Achaeus by Xuthus, and Ion by Xuthus or Apollo, are the ancestors of the Achaeans and the Ionians. 2 Princess of Corinth:...

• Cuchulain Irish legendary hero of Ulster, of prodigious strength and remarkable beauty. He is the central figure of the Ulster legends, the greatest work of which is the Táin Bó Cúalnge [the cattle raid of Cooley]. The great feature of this is Cuchulain's stand at a ford on the boundary of Ulster, where he defended single-handedly his province against the armies of the rest of...

• Cupid see Eros.

• Curiatii see Horatii.

• Cyclops plural Cyclopes , in Greek mythology, immense one-eyed beings. They appear in at least two distinct traditions. According to Hesiod the Cyclopes were smiths, the sons of Uranus and Gaea. They were imprisoned in...

• Daedalus in Greek mythology, craftsman and inventor. After killing his apprentice Talos in envy, he fled from Greece to Crete. There, he arranged the liaison between Pasiphaë and the Cretan Bull that...

• Damocles in classical mythology, courtier at the court of Dionysius I. He so persistently praised the power and happiness of Dionysius that the tyrant, in order to show the precariousness of rank and...

• Damon and Pythias two youths whose loyalty to each other symbolizes true friendship. Pythias, a Pythagorean, condemned to death for plotting against Dionysius I of Syracuse, was given leave to arrange his affairs...

• Danaë in Greek legend, daughter of Acrisius. When it was prophesied that Danaë's son would kill Acrisius, her father imprisoned her in a bronze tower. However, Zeus came to her in the form of a shower...

• Danaüs in Greek mythology, son of Belus and Anchinoe and twin of Aegyptus. Danaüs, who had 50 daughters, the Danaïds, and Aegyptus, who had 50 sons, ruled Libya and Arabia. When Belus died the brothers...

• Danann see Tuatha De Danann.

• Daphne in Greek mythology, a nymph. She was loved by Apollo and by Leucippus, a mortal who disguised himself as a nymph to be near her. When Leucippus betrayed his sex while bathing, the nymphs tore him...

• Daphnis in Greek mythology, shepherd, the son of Hermes and a nymph. He was unfaithful to a nymph who loved him, and in revenge she blinded him. He tried to comfort himself by playing melancholy songs...

• Dardanus in Greek mythology, founder of Troy; son of Zeus and the Pleiad Electra. His descendants, the Trojans, were sometimes called the Dardani.

• Davy Jones personification or spirit of the sea. The name is best known in the expression "Davy Jones's locker," meaning the bottom of the sea, to which drowned sailors go.

• Deianira see Hercules.

• Deidamia see Achilles.

• Deirdre beautiful heroine of Irish legend. A druid prophesied at her birth that she would bring great misfortunes. Deirdre, chosen to be the wife of Conchobar, king of Ulster, fell in love with Naoise,...

• Deucalion in Greek mythology, son of Prometheus and father of Hellen. When Zeus, angered by humanity's irreverence, flooded the earth, Deucalion, warned by Prometheus, survived by taking refuge with his...

• Dido in Roman mythology, queen of Carthage, also called Elissa. She was the daughter of a king of Tyre. After her brother Pygmalion murdered her husband, she fled to Libya, where she founded and ruled...

• Diomed see Diomedes.

• Diomedes in Greek legend. 1 Son of Tydeus, he was one of the principal Greek warriors in the Trojan War. Previously he had avenged his father's death in the expedition of the Epigoni against Thebes. 2...

• Dioscuri see Castor and Pollux.

• Don Giovanni see Don Juan.

• Don Juan legendary profligate. He has a counterpart in the legends of many peoples, but the Spanish version of the great libertine has become the most universal. At the height of his licentious career, Don...

• Dorus see Hellen.

• dragon mythical beast usually represented as a huge, winged, fire-breathing reptile. For centuries the dragon has been prominent in the folklore of many peoples; thus, its physical characteristics vary...

• dryads see nymph.

• Echidna see Typhon.

• Echo in Greek mythology, mountain nymph. She assisted Zeus in one of his amorous adventures by distracting Hera with her chatter. For this Hera made her unable to speak except to repeat another's last...

• Electra in Greek mythology. 1 Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. After her mother and Aegisthus murdered Agamemnon, Electra, eager for revenge, longed only for the return of her brother, Orestes. The reunion and vengeance of the brother and sister were dramatized by the three great tragedians Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. However, only in the work of Euripides did Electra take an...

• elf in Germanic mythology, a type of fairy. Usually represented as tiny people, elves are said to dwell in forests, in the sea, and in the air. Although they can be friendly to man, they are more...

• Endymion in Greek mythology, young shepherd, loved by Selene (the moon). In one version of his legend, he asked Zeus for immortality and perpetual youth. Zeus consented on the condition that Endymion...

• Ephialtes see Aloadae.

• Epigoni in Greek legend, the sons of the Seven against Thebes , who avenged the death of their fathers. Under the leadership of Adrastus and Alcmaeon, the Epigoni conquered Thebes 10 years after the Seven had fought alongside Polynices for the throne of...

• Epimetheus in Greek mythology: see Pandora.

• Erato see Muses.

• Erechtheus in Greek mythology, king of Athens. On the advice of an oracle he sacrificed one of his daughters during the battle between the Athenians and the Eleusinians. This enabled him to win the battle,...

• Erichthonius in Greek mythology, son of Hephaestus and Athena, half man and half serpent. After his birth Athena concealed him in a chest that she gave to the daughters of Cecrops to keep. They opened it and...

• Eriphyle in Greek legend, wife of Amphiaraüs and sister of Adrastus. She forced her husband into the battle of the Seven against Thebes when Polynices bribed her with the magic necklace of Harmonia. She...

• Erymanthian boar in Greek mythology, a huge boar that ravaged the environs of Mt. Erymanthos. As his third labor, Hercules captured it by chasing it into deep snow and binding it with heavy chains.

• Eteocles see Seven against Thebes.

• Etzel in Germanic mythology, king who corresponds to the historic Attila. In the Nibelungenlied he appears as Etzel and in the Volsungasaga as Atli.

• Euphrosyne see Graces.

• Europa yoorō´pe , in Greek mythology, daughter of Agenor and Telephassa. Zeus, enamored of her, appeared as a white bull, enticed her to climb on his back, and swam off with her to Crete. There...

• Eurydice see Orpheus.

• Eurynome in Greek mythology, daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and mother, by Zeus, of the Graces. In the mythology of the Pelasgians, an aboriginal non-Greek people living in Greece before the Mycenaean...

• Euterpe see Muses.

• fairy in folklore, one of a variety of supernatural beings endowed with the powers of magic and enchantment. Belief in fairies has existed from earliest times, and literatures all over the world have...

• faun see Faunus.

• Fenris see Loki.

• folklore the body of customs, legends, beliefs, and superstitions passed on by oral tradition. It includes folk dances , folk songs , folk medicine (the use of magical charms and herbs), and folktales (myths, rhymes, and proverbs). The study of folklore emerged significantly in the 19th cent., partly out of the rise of European romanticism, with its interest in the past, and partly out of...

• Fools, Feast of burlesque religious festival of the Middle Ages. It occurred during the Christmas and New Year's revels, on or near New Year's Day. In many places a Lord of Misrule ruled over the revels. In France...

• Fortunate Isles or Isles of the Blest, in classical and Celtic legend, islands in the Western Ocean. There the souls of favored mortals were received by the gods and lived happily in a paradise. Belief in the islands long persisted, and...

• Galatea in Greek mythology. 1 Sea nymph, daughter of Nereus and Doris. She was loved by the brutish Polyphemus, a Cyclops who wooed her with love songs; but Galatea loved Acis, the handsome son of a river nymph. When Polyphemus...

• Gambrinus mythical Flemish king, to whom the invention of beer is attributed. He is represented in modern folk art as straddling a keg.

• Ganymede in Greek mythology, a youth of great beauty. He was carried off by Zeus to be cupbearer to the gods.

• genie see jinni.

• Geryon in Greek mythology, three-bodied monster who, with his dog Orthrus, watched over a great herd of cattle. He and Orthrus were killed by Hercules when, as his 10th labor, he stole the cattle.

• giant in mythology, manlike being of great size and strength. The giant has been the symbol for the expression of certain recurring beliefs in the mythologies of all races. He is universally represented...

• Gilgamesh in Babylonian legend, king of Uruk. He is the hero of the Gilgamesh epic, a work of some 3,000 lines, written on 12 tablets c.2000 BC and discovered among the ruins at Nineveh. It tells of the...

• Glaucus in Greek mythology. 1 Sea god who loved Scylla. 2 Trojan hero who, according to Homer, exchanged his golden armor for the bronze armor of Diomed. 3 Son of Sisyphus and father of Bellerophon....

• gnome in folklore, tiny subterranean creature associated with mines and quarries. Usually represented as misshapen, frequently as hunchbacked, gnomes are said to be guardians of hidden treasures.

• goblin or hobgoblin, in French folklore, small household spirit, similar to the Celtic brownie. Goblins perform household tasks but also can make mischief, such as pulling the covers off sleepers. They...

• Golden Age in classical mythology: see mythology.

• Golden Fleece in Greek mythology, the magic fleece of the winged ram that saved Phrixus and Helle, the children of Nephele and Athamas, from the jealousy of Ino, Athamas' second wife. The ram flew to Colchis,...

• Gordian knot see Gordius.

• Gordius in Greek mythology, king of Phrygia. An oracle had told the Phrygians that the king who would put an end to their troubles was approaching in an oxcart, and, thus, when Gordius, a peasant,...

• Gorgon in Greek mythology, one of three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa; daughters of Ceto and Phorcus. Their hair was a cluster of writhing snakes, and their faces were so hideous that...