The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics) (47 page)

Bull
, Arcadian, killed by Argos, 58; Europa abducted by Zeus as, 96; sent up to Minos by Poseidon, 97, mates with Pasiphae, fathering the Minotaur, 98; Cretan killed by Heracles, 77, identifiable with Europa’s or with that sent by Poseidon?, 77; Marathonian, identifiable with the previous, 77, killed Androgeos, 136, killed by Theseus, 139; bull sent against Hippolytos by Poseidon, 142; bronze-footed, yoked by Jason, 53–4; Talos a bull?, 56; Aison killed by drinking bull’s blood, 56; Heracles takes and eats a bullock, 82, 89; Acheloos takes form of, when fighting Heracles, 88; Dirce bound to, 105.

Cattle
, of Admetos, 120, of Aeneas, rustled by Achilles, 152, of Apollo, stolen by Hermes, 118, of Augeias, 76, of Electryon, stolen by sons of Pterlaos, 69, of Eurytos, 85, of Geryon, taken by Heracles, 80–1, of Hades, 80, 84, of Phylacos, gained by Melampous, 46–7, of the Sun, 34, 55, 168; Arcadian, rustled by the Dioscuri and Idas and Lynceus, 122; Theban tribute to Orchomenos, 71–2.

Cow
, Io turned into, 59; guides Cadmos to site of Thebes, 100, Ilos to site of Ilion, 123; three-coloured, owned by Minos, 99; wooden, made for Pasiphae, 98.

Crow
, turned from white to black by Apollo, 119.

Deer
, Artemis turns herself into to cause death of Aloads, 38; Actaion turned into, 102; killed by Agamemnon, 150; substituted for Iphigeneia at sacrifice, 150; Athamas hunts his son thinking him a deer, 101.

Doe
, Telephos suckled by, 88, 116.

Dog
, unapproachable, guarding cattle of Phylacos, 46; of Minos, fated to catch prey, 70, 134, turned to stone by Zeus, 70; Molossian, kills son of Licymnios, 87–8; named Maira, leads Erigone to her father’s body, 133; monstrous, Cerberos, 83–4, Orthos, 80; dogs of Actaion hunt their master, 102, catalogue of their names, 172.

Dolphins
, Dionysos transforms pirates into, 103.

Dove
, sent out by Argonauts to test passage between Clashing Rocks, S2–3.

Dragon
, Delphyne, a she-dragon, 36;
see further under
serpents.

Eagle
, eats liver of Prometheus, 36, shot by Heracles, 83; abducts Ganymede, 123; presages birth of Aias, hence his name, 127.

Fox
, symbol of Messenia, 94; Teumessian,
see
vixen.

Gadfly
, sent by Hera against Io as cow, 59, against cattle of Geryon, 81.

Goat
, Amaltheia, whose milk is given to infant Zeus, 28. (Not explicitly named here as a goat; this can also be the name of the nymph owning it, cf. 89 and note.)

Goose
, Nemesis turns herself into, hoping to avoid intercourse with Zeus, 120.

Halcyon
(a mythical bird), Alcyone turned into, 38.

Hind
, Cerynitian, golden-horned and sacred to Artemis, caught by Heracles, 74–5.

Hoopoe
, Tereus turned into, 134.

Horses
, immortal, given to Peleus by Poseidon, 129, lent by Achilles to Patroclos, 154; man-eating mares of Diomedes, kill Abderos, captured by Heracles, 77–8; winged horses of Zeus, 36; horses given by Ares to Oinomaos, 144, by Zeus (to Tros) and thence to Laomedon, 79; Lycourgos killed by, 152; of Rhesos, 153; Pegasos, 64, 66; Areion, offspring of Demeter and Poseidon, owned by Adrastos, 111; Wooden horse at Troy, 156–7.

Hydra
, Lernaean, killed by Heracles, 74, its poison, 90.

Keux
(a semi-mythical bird, translated as sea-swallow), Ceux turned into, 38.

Kid
, Dionysos turned into, 101–2.

Lamb
, golden, sent to Atreus by Artemis, 145, 150.

Lion
, of Cithairon, 71, of Nemea, killed by Heracles, 73; Periclymenos turns himself into, 45; Atalante and Melanion, 117, companions of Odysseus, turned into, 166; suitors of Alcestis to yoke with boar, 107
;
on shield of Adrastos, 107.

Nightingale
, Procne turned into, 133.

Owl
, Ascalaphos turned into, 82.

Pigs
, companions of Odysseus turned into, 166; Achilles fed on entrails of wild swine, 129
.

Quail
, Asteria turns herself into, 31.

Ram
, with golden fleece, carries Phrixos and Helle through sky, 43, its fleece fetched by Jason, 49, 53–4.

Seal
, Psamathe turns herself into, 126.

Sea-swallow
,
see
Keux.

Sea-monster
, Andromeda exposed to, 66, killed by Perseus, 67; Hesione exposed to, killed by Heracles, 79.

Snakes
(including dragons, which are typically of serpent form), guarding oracle at Delphi, killed by Apollo, 31, guarding spring of Ares at Thebes, killed by Cadmos, 100, sowing of latter’s teeth, 53–4, 100; guarding apples of Hesperides, 81, 83; devastating Salamis, killed by Telamon, 127. Eurydice killed by, 30, the companions of Cadmos, 100, Opheltes (Archemoros), 109, the daughters of Cecrops, 132, the sons of Laocoon, 157, Orestes, 164; coils of, found in Admetos’ marriage chamber, 48, hold down Theseus and Peirithoos in Hades, 143. Periclymenos turns himself into, 45, Cadmos turned into, 103; mast and oars of pirate ship turned into by Dionysos, 130; Snakes confer divinatory powers on Melampous, 46, show Polyidos how to bring Glaucos back to life, 99–100; Teiresias changes sex on injuring copulating snakes, 110; portent of snake and sparrows at Aulis, 149; Cecrops half-serpent, 120; snake coiled round Erichthonios, 132; Triptolemos’, 33, Medea’s, 57, chariot of winged dragons; Talos uses jawbone of snake to make a saw, 138; symbol of Laconia, 34.

Sow
, of Crommyon, Phaia, killed by Theseus, 139; riddle of pregnant sow, 159.

Sparrows
, portent of snake and, at Aulis, 149.

Swan
, Zeus turns himself into, to have intercourse with Leda or Nemesis, 120.

Toad
, symbol of Argos, 94.

Tortoise
, Hermes uses its shell to make lyre, 118.

Vixen
, Teumessian, fated to catch its prey, petrified by Zeus, 70.

Vultures
, feed on heart of Tityos, 32; vulture tells Melampous how to cure Iphiclos, 47.

Wolves
, Athamas offered hospitality by, 44; Stymphalian birds flee from, 77; companions of Odysseus turned into, 166.

Wood-worms
, overheard by Melampous, 47.

Other transformations
: Teiresias, turned into opposite sex and back, 110, Caineus originally a woman but transformed into an invulnerable man by Poseidon, 142; nymphs who reared Dionysos turned into the constellation of the Hyades, 102, Callisto into the (Great) Bear, 115; Smyrna into a myrrh-tree, 131; Polydectes and friends turned to stone by Medusa’s head, 67, Niobe by Zeus, 105, Phaeacian ship by Poseidon,
168; snake in portent at Aulis petrified, 149; stones thrown by Deucalion and Pyrrha turn into men and women, 37; the children of Callirhoe turned into adults by Zeus, 113; Metis, 31, Nereus, 82, turn themselves into many different shapes, Thetis into fire, water, wild beast, 128–9; the gods flee to Egypt through fear of Typhon and turn themselves into animals, 35.

Transformations of the gods: Demeter, 33, Apollo and Poseidon, 79, into human form; Hera into an Amazon, 79; Zeus into a shower of gold, to seduce Danae, 65, into Artemis or Apollo to seduce Callisto, 115, Poseidon into the River Enipeus to seduce Tyro, 45; Demeter into a Fury, 111.

Content

The Library provides the fullest inventory of mythological characters and genealogies to be found in any single ancient source; in view of this, it was considered desirable that the index should be as full as possible, even if many figures may be obscure or otherwise unrecorded. All personal names are included, except for those listed in the following five catalogues:

The Nereids, p. 29.

The fifty daughters of Danaos and fifty sons of Aigyptos, and their respective mothers, p. 61–2.

The fifty daughters of Thespios and their sons by Heracles, pp. 91–2.

The fifty sons of Lycaon, p. 114(one name missing).

The suitors of Penelope, p. 168–9 (one hundred and twenty-nine names).

Since virtually none of these figures appears in any other connection (and for the most part these catalogues are genealogical blind alleys), it is improbable that anyone would seek them individually in an index; but the few who do appear elsewhere are included.

The Spelling and Pronunciation of Greek Nantes

With a few exceptions (which are cross-referenced), the names are given in their original Greek form; please see p. xxix above for some brief remarks on this matter. It should therefore be remembered that the Greek diphthongs
ai
and
oi
will be found rather than their Latin equivalents
ae
and
oe
(thus Aigeus and Oineus rather than Aegeus and Oeneus), and that Greek
ei
will not be replaced by a long
i
(so if a name like Chiron or Tiresias seems to be missing, it should be sought as Cheiron or Teiresias).

In ordinary speech, it is usual for English speakers to pronounce Greek names in the way that seem most natural without attempting to reproduce the exact pronunciation of the ancient Greeks. This conventional (or compromise) pronunciation presents no great problems if a few rules are observed:

Vowels:
There are no mute vowels. In particular, a final
-e
and the
e
in final
-es
should always be sounded, as in familiar names like Aphrodite and Socrates.

In Greek,
ae, oe
, and
oo
are never diphthongs, and each vowel should be sounded separately (e.g. in Danae, Iphinoe, Acheloos).

Of diphthongs,
ai
should be pronounced as in
high, au
as in
how
, and
oi
as in
boil;
and
eu
is commonly pronounced as in
eulogy
, or when followed by an
r
, as in
Europe
.

In names,
ei
is usually a diphthong, which can be pronounced as in
pay
(e.g. in Teiresias, Deianeira), but not always (especially at the end of names, e.g. Endeis, the Nereids).

Consonants: C
is used for Greek kappa (although when transliterating Greek it is usual to use a
k)
. This is properly a hard
c
(or
k)
, but where it seems natural for an English speaker, it is often pronounced as a soft
c
(as in Alcibiades or Eurydice).

Ch
is used for Greek chi, which represents an aspirated
k
. In names, e.g. Achilles, it can be pronounced like a
k
. It should
not
be pronounced like
ch
in
chapter
.

G is properly hard as in
gallery
, but again, where it seems natural (as with the name Aigeus) it is often pronounced as in
gin
.

N.B. Genealogical indications, most commonly a patronymic, are included for practical convenience, but it must be remembered that there are often conflicting traditions, and if it is stated, for instance, that somebody is the mother of a particular person, that may be only one of several traditions recorded (whether in the present work or elsewhere).

Information not derived from the text is bracketed.

Where there are more than two entries under a particular name,
bold type
is used to distinguish those which refer to mythical stories or passages which give biographical (rather than purely genealogical) information; and generally, where an entry is
italicized
, this indicates that it refers to the inclusion of the character in one of the four main heroic catalogues:

Those who joined the hunt for the Calydonian boar, pp. 40–1.

The Argonauts, pp. 49–50.

Helen’s suitors, p. 121.

The Greeks who joined the expedition against Troy, page 148.

Abas, son of Lynceus 62, 63

Abas, son of Melampous 47

Abderos, son of Hermes 78

Acalle, daughter of Minos 97

Acamas, son of Antenor 152

Acamas, son of Eusoros 152

Acamas, son of Theseus 141,
143, 157

Acarnan, son of Alcmaion 113

Acastos, son of Pelias 46,
49
,
57, 127–8, 129
, 130
129
, 130

Acastos, the sons of 160

Achaios, son of Xouthos 37

Acheloos 30, 38, 40,
88–9
,
113–14,
167

Acheron, father of Ascalaphos 33

Achilles (
strictly
Achilleus), son of Peleus
129–30,
148
,
149–55,
157
158

Acrisios, son of Abas 62–3,
64–5,
67 119

Actaion, son of Aristaios 102, 171

Actaios, father of Agraulos 130

Actaios, father of Telamon 126

Actor, father of Eurytos and Cteatos, 87

Actor, son of Deion 44, 49

Actor, son of Hippasos
49

Actor, son of Myrmidon 38, 41, 127

Acousilaos (of Argos, historian, 6th-5th cent.
BC
) 58 (2F25a, Jacoby), 59 (F26 and 27), 63 (F28), 77 (F29), 102 (F33), 114 (F25b), 121 (F41), 126 (F21), 134 (F31)

Admete, daughter of Eurystheus 78

Admetos, son of Pheres
40
,
48
,
49
, 85
120, 121, 148

Adonis, loved by Aphrodite 30, 131–2

Adrasteis, nurse of Zeus 28

Adrastos, father of Eurydice 124

Adrastos, son of Merops 152