Listed 74 sub titles with search on: Homeric world for wider area of: "LEVADIA Province VIOTIA" .
ORCHOMENOS (Archaeological site) VIOTIA
Homer mentions that Orchomenos and the Egyptian Thebes had much wealth (Il. 9.380).
Also, according to Pausanias, Minyas built a treasury to receive his riches (Paus. 9,36,4 & 9,38,2).
ALALKOMENES (Ancient city) VIOTIA
"Alalcomenean" is a surname of the goddess Athena and derives from the infinitive "alalcein", which means "to have the defensive power", or, according to others, it derives from the Boeotian city of Alalcomenae (Il 4.8, 5.908).
Strabo refers to Alalcomenae and says that it is not listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships because there was an ancient and celebrated temple dedicated to Athena (Strab. 9,2,36).
Athena. The goddess of strength and wisdom and daughter of Zeus. In Homer, she is presented as a protector of the cities both during peace time (Il. 9.390, 14.178, Od. 2.116, 6.233, 7.110, 20.72, 23.160) and war time (Il. 1.200, 4.78, 5.333 & 837, 6.88, 21.498 etc.).
According to local mythology the goddess was born in Alalcomenae and was brought up by the hero Alalcomeneus.
Athene or Athena, one of the great divinities of the Greeks. Homer (Il. v. 880)
calls her a daughter of Zeus, without any allusion to her mother or to the manner
in which she was called into existence, while most of the later traditions agree
in stating that she was born from the head of Zeus. According to Hesiod (Theog.
886, &c.), Metis, the first wife of Zeus, was the mother of Athena, but when Metis
was pregnant with her, Zeus, on the advice of Gaea and Uranus, swallowed Metis
up, and afterwards gave birth himself to Athena, who sprang from his head. (Hesiod,
l. c. 924.) Pindar Ol. vii. 35, &c.) adds, that Hephaestus split the head of Zeus
with his axe, and that Athena sprang forth with a mighty war-shout. Others relate,
that Prometheus or Hermes or Palamaon assisted Zeus in giving birth to Athena,
and mentioned the river Triton as the place where the event took place. (Apollod.
i. 4. Β§ 6; Schol. ad Pind. Ol. vii. 66.) Other traditions again relate, that
Athena sprang from the head of Zeus in frill armour, a statement for which Stesichorus
is said to have been the most ancient authority. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 355; Philostr.
Icon. ii. 27; Schol. ad Apollon. iv. 1310.) All these traditions, however, agree
in making Athena a daughter of Zeus; but a second set regard her as the daughter
of Pallas, the winged giant, whom she afterwards killed on account of his attempting
to violate her chastity, whose skin [p. 398] she used as her aegis, and whose
wings she fastened to her own feet. (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. l. c.; Cic. de Nat. Deor.
iii. 23.) A third tradition carries us to Libya, and calls Athena a daughter of
Poseidon and Tritonis. Athena, says Herodotus (iv. 180), on one occasion became
angry with her father and went to Zeus, who made her his own daughter. This passage
shews more clearly than any other the manner in which genuine and ancient Hellenic
myths were transplanted to Libya, where they were afterwards regarded as the sources
of Hellenic ones. Respecting this Libyan Athena, it is farther related, that she
was educated by the rivergod Triton, together with his own daughter Pallas. (Apollod.
iii. 12. Β§ 3.) In Libya she was also said to have invented the flute; for when
Perseus had cut off the head of Medusa, and Stheno and Euryale, the sisters of
Medusa, lamented her death, while plaintive sounds issued from the mouths of the
serpents which surrounded their heads, Athena is said to have imitated these sounds
on a reed. (Pind. Pyth. xii. 19, &c.; compare the other accounts in Hygin. Fab.
165; Apollod. i. 4. Β§ 2 ; Paus. i. 24. Β§ 1.) The connexion of Athena with Triton
and Tritonis caused afterwards the various traditions about her birth-place, so
that wherever there was a river or a well of that name, as in Crete, Thessaly,
Boeotia, Arcadia, and Egypt, the inhabitants of those districts asserted that
Athena was born there. It is from such birth-places on a river Triton that she
seems to have been called Tritonis or Tritogeneia (Paus. ix. 33. Β§ 5), though
it should be observed that this surname is also explained in other ways; for some
derive it from an ancient Cretan, Aeolic, or Boeotian word, trito, signifying
" head," so that it would mean " the goddess born from the head," and others think
that it was intended to commemorate the circumstance of her being born on the
third day of the month. (Tztez. ad Lycoph. 519.) The connexion of Athena with
Triton naturally suggests, that we have to look for the most ancient seat of her
worship in Greece to the banks of the river Triton in Boeotia, which emptied itself
into lake Copais, and on which there were two ancient Pelasgian towns, Athenae
and Eleusis, which were according to tradition swallowed up by the lake. From
thence her worship was carried by the Minyans into Attica, Libya, and other countries.
(MΓΌller, Orchom. p. 355.) We must lastly notice one tradition, which made Athena
a daughter of Itonius and sister of Iodama, who was killed by Athena (Paus. ix.
34. Β§ 1; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 355), and another according to which she was the daughter
of Hephaestus.
These various traditions about Athena arose, as in most other cases,
from local legends and from identifications of the Greek Athena with other divinities.
The common notion which the Greeks entertained about her, and which was most widely
spread in the ancient world, is, that she was the daughter of Zeus, and if we
take Metis to have been her mother, we have at once the clue to the character
which she bears in the religion of Greece ; for, as her father was the most powerful
and her mother the wisest among the gods, so Athena was a combination of the two,
that is, a goddess in whom power and wisdom were harmoniously blended. From this
fundamental idea may be derived the various aspects under which she appears in
the ancient writers. She seems to have been a divinity of a purely ethical character,
and not the representative of any particular physical power manifested in nature;
her power and wisdom appear in her being the protectress and preserver of the
state and of social institutions. Everything, therefore, which gives to the state
strength and prosperity, such as agriculture, inventions, and industry, as well
as everything which preserves and protects it from injurious influence from without,
such as the defence of the walls, fortresses, and harbours, is under her immediate
care.
As the protectress of agriculture, Athena is represented as the inventor
of the plough and rake: she created the olive tree, the greatest blessing of Attica,
taught the people to yoke oxen to the plough, took care of the breeding of horses,
and instructed men how to tame them by the bridle, her own invention. Allusions
to this feature of her character are contained in the epithets boudeia, boarmia,
alripha, hippia, or chalinitis. (Eustath. ad Hom. p. 1076; Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 520;
Hesych. s. v. Hippia; Serv. ad Aen. iv. 402; Pind. Ol. xiii. 79.) At the beginning
of spring thanks were offered to her in advance (procharisteria, Suid. s. v.)
for the protection she was to afford to the fields. Besides the inventions relating
to agriculture, others also connected with various kinds of science, industry,
and art, are ascribed to her, and all her inventions are not of the kind which
men make by chance or accident, but such as require thought and meditation. We
may notice the invention of numbers (Liv. vii. 3), of the trumpet (ad Pind. p.
344), the chariot, and navigation. In regard to all kinds of useful arts, she
was believed to have made men acquainted with the means and instruments which
are necessary for practising them, such as the art of producing fire. She was
further believed to have invented nearly every kind of work in which women were
employed, and she herself was skilled in such work : in short Athena and Hephaestus
were the great patrons both of the useful and elegant arts. Hence she is called
ergane (Paus. i. 24. Β§ 3), and later writers make her the goddess of all widom,
knowledge, and art, and represent her as sitting on the right hand side of her
father Zeus, and supporting him with her counsel. (Hom. Od. xxiii 160, xviii.
190; Hymn. in Ven. 4, 7, &c.; Plut. Cim. 10; Ovid, Fast. iii. 833; Orph. Hymn.
xxxi. 8; Spanh. ad Callim. p. 643; Horat. Carm. i. 12. 19; comp. Dict. of Ant.
under Athenaia and Chalkeia.) As the goddess who made so many inventions necessary
and useful in civilized life, she is characterized by various epithets and surnames,
expressing the keenness of her sight or the power of her intellect, such as optiletis,
ophthalmitis, oxuderkes, glaukopis, poluboulos, polumetis, and mechanitis.
As the patron divinity of the state, she was at Athens the protectress
of the phratries and houses which formed the basis of the state. The festival
of the Apaturia had a direct reference to this particular point in the character
of the goddess. (Dict. of Ant. s. v. Apaturia.) She also maintained the authority
of the law, and justice, and order, in the courts and the assembly of the people.
This notion was as ancient as the Homeric poems, in which she is described as
assisting Odysseus against the lawless conduct of the suitors. (Od. xiii. 394.)
She was believed to have instituted the ancient court of the Areiopagus, and in
cases where the votes of [p. 399] the judges were equally diviled, she gave the
casting one in favour of the accused. (Aeschyl. Eum. 753; comp. Paus. i. 28. Β§
5.) The epithets which have reference to this part of the goddess's character
are axiopoinos, the avenger (Paus. iii. 15. Β§ 4), Boulaia, and aguraia. (iii.
11. Β§ 8.)
As Athena promoted the internal prosperity of the state, by encouraging
agriculture and industry, and by maintaining law and order in all public transactions,
so also she protected the state from outward enemies, and thus assumes the character
of a warlike divinity, though in a very different sense from Ares, Eris, or Enyo.
According to Homer (Il. v. 736, &c.), she does not even bear arms, but borrows
them from Zeus; she keeps men from slaughter when prudence demands it (Il. i.
199, &c.), and repels Ares's savage love of war, and conquers him. (v. 840, &c.,
xxi. 406.) She does not love war for its own sake, but simply on account of the
advantages which the state gains in engaging in it; and she therefore supports
only such warlike undertakings as are begun with prudence, and are likely to be
followed by favourable results. (x. 244, &c.) The epithets which she derives from
her warlike character are ageleia, laphria, alkimache, laossoos, and others. In
times of war, towns, fortresses, and harbours are under her especial care, whence
she is designated as erusiptolis, alalkomeneis, polias, poliouchos, akraia, akria,
kledouchos, pulaitis, promachorma, and the like. As the prudent goddess of war,
she is also the protectress of all heroes who are distinguished for prudence and
good counsel, as well as for their strength and valour, such as Heracles, Perseus,
Bellerophontes, Achilles, Diomedes, and Odysseus. In the war of Zeus against the
giants, she assisted her father and Heracles with her counsel, and also took an
active part in it, for she buried Enceladus under the island of Sicily, and slew
Pallas. (Apollod. i. 6. Β§ 1, &c.; comp. Spanheim, ad Callim. p. 643; Horat. Carm.
i. 12. 19.) In the Trojan war she sided with the more civilised Greeks, though
on their return home she visited them with storms, on account of the manner in
which the Locrian Ajax had treated Cassandra in her temple. As a goddess of war
and the protectress of heroes, Athena usually appears in armour, with the aegis
and a golden staff, with which she bestows on her favourites youth and majesty.
(Hom. Od. xvi. 172.)
The character of Athena, as we have here traced it, holds a middle
place between the male and female, whence she is called in an Orphic hymn (xxxi.
10) arsen kai thelus, and hence also she is a virgin divinity (Hom. Hymn. ix.
3), whose heart is inaccessible to the passion of love, and who shuns matrimonial
connexion. Teircsias was deprived of his sight for having seen her in the bath
(Callim. Hymn. pp. 546,589), and Hephaestus, who made an attempt upon her chastity,
was obliged to flee. (Apollod. iii. 6. Β§ 7, 14. Β§ 6; Hom. Il. ii. 547, &c.;
comp. Tzetz. ad Lycophr. 111.) For this reason, the ancient traditions always
describe the goddess as dressed; and when Ovid (Heroid. v. 36) makes her appear
naked before Paris, he abandons the genuine old story. lier statue also was always
dressed, and when it was carried about at the Attic festivals, it was entirely
covered. But, notwithstanding the common opinion of her virgin character, there
are some traditions of late origin which describe her as a mother. Thus, Apollo
is called a son of Hephaestus and Athena--a legend which may have arisen at the
time when the Ionians introduced the worship of Apollo into Attica, and when this
new divinity was placed in some family connexion with the ancient goddess of the
country. (MΓΌller, Dor. ii. 2. Β§ 13.) Lychnus also is called a son of Hephaestus
and Athena. (Spanheim, ad Callim. p. 644.)
Athena was worshipped in all parts of Greece, and from the ancient
towns on the lake Copais her worship was nitroduced at a very early period into
Attica, where she became the great national divinity of the city and the country.
Here she was afterwards regarded as the thea soteira, ugieia, and paionia, and
the serpent, the symbol of perpetual renovation, was sacred to her. (Paus. i.
23. Β§ 5, 31. Β§ 3, 2. Β§ 4.) At Lindus in Rhodes her worship was likewise very
ancient. Respecting its introduction into Italy, and the modifications which her
character underwent there, see MINERVA. Among the things sacred to her we may
mention the owl, serpent, cock, and olive-tree, which she was said to have created
in her contest with Poseidon about the possession of Attica. (Plut. de Is. et
Os.; Paus. vi. 26. Β§ 2, i. 24. Β§ 3; Hygin. Fab. 164.) At Corone in Messenia
her statue bore a crow in its hand. (Paus. iv. 34. Β§ 3.) The sacrifices offered
to her consisted of bulls, whence she probably derived the surname of taurobolos
(Suid. s. v.), rams, and cows. (Horn. Il. ii. 550; Ov. Met. iv. 754.) Eustathius
(ad Hom. l. c.) remarks, that only female animals were sacrificed to her, but
no female lambs. In Ilion, Locrian maidens or children are said to have been sacrificed
to her every year as an atonement for the crime committed by the Locrian Ajax
upon Cassandra; and Suidas (s. v. poine) states, that these human sacrifices continued
to be offered to her down to B. C. 346. Respecting the great festivals of Athena
at Athens, see Dict. of Ant. s. vv. Panathenaea and Arrhephoria.
Athena was frequently represented in works of art; but those in which
her figure reached the highest ideal of perfection were the three statues by Pheidias.
The first was the celebrated colossal statue of the goddess, of gold and ivory,
which was erected on the acropolis of Athens; the second was a still greater bronze
statue, made out of the spoils taken by the Athenians in the battle of Marathon;
the third was a small bronze statue called the beautiful or the Lemnian Athena,
because it had been dedicated at Athens by the Lemnians. The first of these statues
represented the goddess in a standing position, bearing in her hand a Nike four
cubits in height. The shield stood by her feet; her robe came down to her feet,
on her breast was the head of Medusa, in her right hand she bore a lance, and
at her feet there lay a serpent. (Paus. i. 24. Β§ 7, 28. Β§ 2.) We still possess
a great number of representations of Athena in statues, colossal busts, reliefs,
coins, and in vase-paintings. Among the attributes which characterise the goddess
in these works of art, we mention--1. The helmet, which she usually wears on her
head, but in a few instances carries in her hand. It is usually ornamented in
the most beautiful manner with griffins, heads of rams, horses, and sphinxes.
(Comp. Horn. Il. v. 743.) 2. The aegis. (Dict. of Ant. s. v. Aegis.) 3. The round
Argolic shield. in the centre of which is represented the head of Medusa. 4. Objects
sacred to her, such as an olive branch, a serpent, an owl, a cock, and a lance.
Her garment is usually the Spartan tunic without sleeves, and over it [p. 400]
she wears a cloak, the peplus, or, though rarely, the chlamys. The general expression
of her figure is thoughtfulness and earnestness; her face is rather oval than
round, the hair is rich and generally combed backwards over the temples, and floats
freely down behind. The whole figure is majestic, and rather strong built than
slender: the hips are small and the shoulders broad, so that the whole somewhat
resembles a male figure. (Hirt. Mythol. Bilderb. i. p. 46, &c.; Welcker, Zeitschrift
fΓΌr Gesch. der alten Kunst, p. 256, &c.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited April 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
(Athene) or Pallas Athene: A Greek goddess, identified with
the Roman Minerva. According to the story most generally current, she was the
daughter of Zeus, who had swallowed his first wife, Metis (Counsel), the daughter
of Oceanus, in the fear that she would bring forth a son stronger than himself.
Hephaestus (or, according to another version, Prometheus) clave open the head
of Zeus with an axe, on which Athene sprang forth in full armour, the goddess
of eternal virginity. But her ancient epithet Tritogeneia (born of Triton, or
the roaring flood) points to water--that is, to Oceanus --as the source of her
being. Oceanus was, according to Homer, the origin of all things and of all deities.
The worship of Athene and the story of her birth were accordingly connected with
many brooks and lakes in various regions--especially in Boeotia, Thessalia, and
Libya--to which the name Triton was attached.
From the first, Athene took a very prominent place in the Greek
popular religion. The Homeric hymns represent her as the favourite of her father,
who refuses her nothing. When solemn oaths were to be taken, they joined her name
with those of Zeus and Apollo, in a way which shows that the three deities represent
the embodiment of all divine authority. With the exception of the two gods just
mentioned, there is no other deity whose original character as a power of nature
underwent so remarkable an ethical development. Both conceptions of Athene, the
natural and the ethical, were intimately connected in the religion of Attica,
whose capital, Athens, was named after Athene and was the most important seat
of her worship. Athene was originally the maiden daughter of the god of heaven;
the clear transparent aether, whose purity is always breaking forth in unveiled
brilliancy through the clouds that surround it. As a deity of the sky, she, with
Zeus, is the mistress of thunder and lightning. Like Zeus, she carries the aegis
with the Gorgon's head, the symbol of the tempest and its terrors. In many statues,
accordingly, she is represented as hurling the thunder-bolt. But she also sends
down from sky to earth light and warmth and fruitful dew, and with them prosperity
to fields and plants. A whole series of fables and usages, belonging especially
to the Athenian religion, represent her as the helper and protector of agriculture.
The two deities Erechtheus and Erichthonius, honoured in Attica as powers of the
fruitful soil, are her fosterchildren. She was worshipped with Erechtheus in the
temple named after him the Erechtheum, the oldest sanctuary on the Athenian Acropolis.
The names of her earliest priestesses, the daughters of Cecrops--Aglaurus, Pandrosus,
and Herse--signify the bright air, the dew, and the rain, and are mere personifications
of their qualities, of such value to the Athenian territory.
The sowing season was opened in Attica by three sacred services
of ploughing. Of these, two were in honour of Athene as inventress of the plough,
while the third took place in honour of Demeter. It was Athene, also, who had
taught men how to attach oxen to the yoke; above all, she had given them the olive-tree,
the treasure of Attica. This tree she had made to grow out of the rock of the
citadel, when disputing the possession of the land with Poseidon. Several festivals,
having reference to these functions of the goddess, were celebrated in Attica--the
Callynteria and Plynteria, the Scirophoria, the Arrhephoria or Hersephoria, and
the Oschophoria, which were common to Athene with Dionysus. Even her chief feast,
the Panathenaea, was originally a harvest festival. It is significant that the
presentation of the peplos or mantle, the chief offering at the celebration, took
place in the sowing season. But afterwards more was made of the intellectual gifts
bestowed by the goddess.
Athene was very generally regarded as the goddess of war--an
idea which in ancient times was the prevailing one. It was connected with the
fact that, like her father, Zeus, she was supposed to be able to send storms and
bad weather. In this capacity she appears in story as the true friend of all bold
warriors, such as Perseus, Bellerophon, Iason, Heracles, Diomedes, and Odysseus.
But her courage is a wise courage, not a blind rashness like that of Ares; and
she is always represented, accordingly, as getting the better of him. In this
connection she was honoured in Athenian worship mainly as a protector and defender;
thus (to take a striking example), she was worshipped on the citadel of Athens
under the name of Promachos, "champion," "protector." But
she was also a goddess of victory. As the personification of victory (Athene Nike)
she had a second and especial temple on the Athenian Acropolis. And the great
statues in the temples represented her, like Zeus, with Nike in her outstretched
hand. The occupations of peace, however, formed the main sphere of her activity.
Like all the other deities who were supposed to dispense the blessings of nature,
she is the protectress of growing children; and, as the goddess of the clear sky
and of pure air, she bestows health and keeps off sickness. Further, she is (with
Zeus) the patroness of the Athenian phratriai or unions of kinsfolk. At Athens
and Sparta she protects the popular and deliberative assemblies; in many places,
and especially at Athens, the whole State is under her care (Athene Polias, Poliuchus).
Elsewhere she presides over the larger unions of kindred peoples. The festival
of Athene Itonia at Coronea was a confederate festival of all Boeotia. Under the
title of Panachais she was worshipped as the goddess of the Achaean League.
Speaking broadly, Athene represents human wit and cleverness,
and presides over the whole moral and intellectual side of human life. From her
are derived all the productions of wisdom and understanding, every art and science,
whether of war or of peace. A number of discoveries, of the most various kinds,
is ascribed to her. It has been already mentioned that she was credited with the
invention of the plough and the yoke. She was often associated with Poseidon as
the inventress of horse-taming and ship-building. In the Athenian story she teaches
Erichthonius to fasten his horses to the chariot. In the Corinthian story she
teaches Bellerophon to subdue Pegasus. At Lindus in Rhodes she was worshipped
as the goddess who helped Danaus to build the first fifty-oared ship. In the fable
of the Argonauts it is she who instructs the builders of the first ship, the Argo.
Even in Homer all the productions of women's art, as of spinning and weaving,
are characterized as "works of Athene." Many a Palladion, or statue
of Pallas, bore a spindle and distaff in its left hand. As the mistress and protectress
of arts and handiwork, she was worshipped at the Chalkeia, or Feast of Smiths,
under the title of Ergane. Under this name, too, she is mentioned in several inscriptions
found on the Acropolis. Her genius covers the field of music and dancing. She
is inventor of the flute and the trumpet, as well as of the Pyrrhic war-dance,
in which she was said to have been the earliest performer, at the celebration
of the victory of the Gods over the Giants.
It was Phidias who finally fixed the typical representation of Athene in works
of art. Among his numerous statues of her, three --the most celebrated --were
set up on the Acropolis of Athens. These were:
(1) The colossal statue of Athene Parthenos, wrought in ivory and gold, thirty
feet in height (with the pedestal), and standing in the Parthenon. The goddess
was represented wearing a long robe falling down to the feet, and on her breast
was the aegis with the Gorgon's head. A helmet was on her head; in one hand she
bore a Victory, six feet in height, in the other a lance, which leaned against
a shield adorned with scenes from the battles of the Amazons with the Giants.
(2) The bronze statue of Athene Promachos, erected from the proceeds of the spoils
taken at Marathon, and standing between the Propylaea and the Erechtheum. The
proportions of this statue were so gigantic that the gleaming point of the lance
and the crest of the helmet were visible to seamen on approaching the Piraeus
from Sunium.
(3) The Lemnian Pallas, so named because it had been dedicated by the Athenian
colonists in Lemnos. The attractions of this statue won for it the name of "the
Beautiful." Like the second, it was of bronze; being a representation of
Athene as the goddess of peace, it was without a helmet.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Ergane or Ergatis, that is, the worker, a surname of Athena, who was believed to preside over and instruct man in all kinds of arts. (Paus. v. 14.5, i. 24.3; Plut. de Fort.; Hesych.)
Alalkomeneis, a surname of Athena, derived from the hero Alalcomenes, or from the Boeotian village of Alalcomenae, where she was believed to have been born. Others derive the name from the verb alalkein, so that it would signify the " powerful defender." (Hom. Il. iv. 8; Steph. Byz. s. v. Alalkomenion)
Trito or Tritogeneia and Tritogenes, a surname of Athena (Hom. Il. iv. 515, Od. iii. 378; Hes. Theoy. 924), which is explained in different ways. Some derive it from lake Tritonis in Libya, near which she is said to have been born (Eurip. Ion. 872 ; Apollod. i. 3. § 6; comp. Herod. iv. 150, 179); others from the stream Triton near Alalcomenae in Boeotia, where she was worshipped, and where according to some statements she was also born (Paus. ix. 33. § 4; comp. Horn. Il. iv. 8); the grammarians, lastly, derive the name from trito which, in the dialect of the Athamanians, is said to signify " head," so that it would be the goddess born out of the head of her father. (Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. iv. 1310; comp. Horn. Hymn. 28. 4 ; Hes. Theog. 924.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited April 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
With this lake (Tritonis) is connected the question of the epithet Tritogeneia, applied to Pallas as early as the days of Homer and Hesiod. But though the Libyan river and lake were much renowned in ancient times (cf. Aeschyl. Eum. 293; Eurip. Ion, 872, seq.; Pind. Pyth. iv.. 36, &c.), and the application of the name of Pallas to the lake connected with the Tritonis seems to point to these African waters as having given origin to the epithet, it is nevertheless most probable that the brook Triton near Alalcomenae in Boeotia has the best pretensions to that distinction. (Cf. Pausan. ix. 33. § 5; Schol. ad Apollon. Rhod. i. 109,. iv. 1315; Muller, Orchomenos, p. 355; Leake, Northern Greece vol. ii. p. 136, seq.; Kruse, Hellas, vol. ii. pt. 1
This extract is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited April 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
(Trito) or Tritogenia (Tritogeneia). A surname of Athene, derived by some from Lake Tritonis in Libya, by others from the stream Triton near Alalcomenae in Boeotia; and by the grammarians from trito, which, in the dialect of the Athamanians, is said to signify "head" (cf. Il.v. 875; Apollod.i.3.6)
Ageleia or Ageleis, a surname of Athena, by which she is designated as the leader or protectress of the people. (Hom. Il. iv. 128, v. 765, vi. 269, xv. 213, Od. iii. 378, &c)
ELIKON (Mountain) VIOTIA
The Muses, daughters of Zeus (Il. 2.491, Od. 1.10) by Memory (Mnemosyne), dwelt on Olympus, where they sang and entertained the gods (Il. 2.484), or on the Mt. Helicon, where they were worshipped. They were nine in number (Od. 24.60) and were considered godesses of arts: Calliope was the Muse of epic song, Clio of history, Polymnia of mimical art, Euterpe of lyric song, Terpsichore of choric poetry, Thalia of comedy and Urania of astronomy (Hesiod, Theogony 25).
In Greek mythology the Muses were originally the nymphs of springs,
whose waters gave inspiration, such as Hippocrene, Castalia, etc.; then goddesses
of song in general; and afterwards the representatives of the various kinds of
poetry, arts, and sciences. In Homer, who now speaks of one, and now of many Muses,
but without specifying their number or their names, they are considered goddesses
dwelling in Olympus, who at the meals of the gods sing sweetly to the lyre of
Apollo, inspire the poet and prompt his song. Hesiod calls them the nine daughters
of Zeus and Mnemosyne, born in Pieria, and mentions their names, to which we shall
at the same time add the province and the attributes afterwards assigned to each.
(1) Calliope (she of the fair voice), in Hesiod the noblest of all, the Muse of
epic song; among her attributes are a wax tablet and a pencil.
(2) Clio (she that extols), the Muse of history; with a scroll.
(3) Euterpe (she that gladdens), the Muse of lyric song; with the double flute.
(4) Thalia (she that flourishes), the Muse of comedy and bucolic poetry; with
the comic mask, the ivy wreath, and the shepherd's staff.
(5) Melpomene (she that sings), the Muse of tragedy; with tragic mask, ivy wreath,
and occasionally with attributes of individual heroes-- e. g. the club, the sword.
(6) Terpsichore (she that rejoices in the dance), the Muse of dancing; with the
lyre.
(7) Erato (the lovely one), the Muse of erotic poetry; with a smaller lyre.
(8) Polymnia or Polyhymnia (she that is rich in hymns), the Muse of serious sacred
songs; usually represented as veiled and pensive.
(9) Urania (the heavenly), the Muse of astronomy; with the celestial globe. See
the separate articles on the Muses.
Three older Muses were sometimes distinguished from these.
Melete (Meditation), Mneme (Remembrance), Aoide (Song), whose worship was said
to have been introduced by the Aloadae, Otus and Ephialtes, near Mount Helicon.
Thracian settlers in the Pierian district at the foot of Olympus and of Helicon
in Boeotia are usually mentioned as the original founders of this worship. At
both these places were their oldest sanctuaries. According to the general belief,
the favourite haunts of the Muses were certain springs, near which temples and
statues had been erected in their honour: Castalia, at the foot of Mount Parnassus,
and Aganippe and Hippocrene, on Helicon, near the towns of Ascra and Thespiae.
After the decline of Ascra, the inhabitants of Thespiae attended to the worship
of the Muses and to the arrangements for the musical contests in their honour
that took place once in five years. They were also adored in many other places
in Greece. Thus the Athenians offered them sacrifices in the schools, while the
Spartans did so before battle. As the inspiring nymphs of springs they were early
connected with Dionysus; the god of poets, Apollo, is looked on as their leader
(Mousagetes), with whom they share the knowledge of past, present, and future.
As beings that gladden men and gods with their song, Hesiod describes them as
dwelling on Olympus along with the Charites and Himeros. They were represented
in art as virgin goddesses with long garments of many folds, and frequently with
a cloak besides; they were not distinguished by special attributes till comparatively
later times.
The Roman poets identified them with the Italian Camenae, prophetic
nymphs of springs and goddesses of birth, who had a grove at Rome outside the
Porta Capena. (See Egeria.) The Greeks gave the title of Muses to their nine most
distinguished poetesses: Praxilla, Moero , Anyte, Erinna, Telesilla, Corinna,
Nossis, Myrtis, and Sappho.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Dec 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Muse : Perseus Project
PANOPEFS (Ancient city) CHERONIA
He was the son of Gaea and laid outstretched on the ground in Hades, covering nine roods, while two vultures devoured his liver as a punishment because he had tried to violate Leto (Od. 11.576 etc.). In the Odyssey (Od. 7.324) he resided in Euboea but according to the posterity he lived in Panopeus.
According to Apollodorus, he was the son of Zeus by Elare (Apollod. 1,4,1).
Tityus: Perseus Project
Tityus:
Son of Gaea, or of Zeus and Elara, the daughter of Orchomenus. He was a giant in Euboea. Instigated by Here, he attempted to offer violence to Artemis when she passed through Panopaeus to Pytho, but he was killed by the arrows either of Artemis or Apollo; according to others, Zeus destroyed him with a flash of lightning. He was then cast into Tartarus, and there he lay outstretched on the ground, covering nine acres, while two vultures (others say snakes) devoured his liver.
Elara:
The daughter of Orchomenus or Minyus, and mother by Zeus of the giant Tityus. Through fear of Here, Zeus concealed her under the earth
"And I saw Tityos, son of glorious Gaea, lying on the ground. Over nine roods he stretched, and two vultures sat, one on either side, and tore his liver, plunging their beaks into his bowels, nor could he beat them off with his hands. [580] For he had offered violence to Leto, the glorious wife of Zeus, as she went toward Pytho through Panopeus with its lovely lawns." (Homer, Odys. 11,576)
He was the son of Panopeus and constructed the Wooden Horse with the help of Athena (Od. 8.493). At the funeral games in the honour of the dead Patroclus, he defeated Euryalus in boxing, but was defeated in discus by Eetion (Il. 23.664 & 840).
Epeius. A son of Panopeus, called the artist, who went with thirty ships from the Cyclades to Troy. (Dict. Cret. i. 17.) About the close of the Trojan war, he built the wooden horse under the protection and with the assistance of Athena. (Od. viii. 492, xi. 523; Il. xxiii. 664, &c., 840; Paus. ii. 29.4.) According to Justin (xx. 2) the inhabitants of Metapontum, which he was believed to have founded, shewed in a temple of Athena the tools which he had used in constructing the horse. In the Homeric poems he appears as a mighty and gallant warrior, whereas later traditions assign to him an inferior place among the heroes at Troy. Stesichorus (ap. Eustath. ad Hom.; Athen. x.) called him the water-bearer of the Atreidae, and as such he was represented in the temple of Apollo at Carthea. His cowardice, further, is said to have been so great, that it became proverbial. (Hesych. s. v.) According to Virgil (Aen. ii. 264), Epeius himself was one of the Greeks concealed in the wooden horse, and another tradition makes him the founder of Pisa in Italy. (Serv. ad Aen. x. 179.) There were at Argos very ancient carved images of Hermes and Aphrodite, which were believed to be the works of Epeius (Paus. ii. 19. § 6), and Plato (Ion) mentions him as a sculptor along with Daedalus and Theodorus of Samos. Epeius himself was painted by Polygnotus in the Lesche of Delphi in the act of throwing down the Trojan wall, above which rose the head of the wooden horse. (Paus. x.26.1)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Epeios: Various WebPages
LEVADIA (Ancient city) VIOTIA
He was the son of Lycus and leader of the Boetians in the Trojan War, who was slain by Hector (Il. 2.495, 12.325)
Arcesilaus (Arkesilaos), a son of Lycus and Theobule, was the leader of the Boeotians in the Trojan war. He led his people to Troy in ten ships, and was slain by Hector (Hom. II. ii. 495, xv. 329; Hygin. Fab. 97). According to Pausanias (ix. 39.2) his remains were brought back to Boeotia, where a monument was erected to his memory in the neighbourhood of Lebadeia. A son of Odysseus and Penelope of the name of Arcesilaus is mentioned by Eustathius. (Ad Hom.)
ORCHOMENOS (Archaeological site) VIOTIA
The son of Ares and Astyoche and brother of Ascalaphus. He was one of the Argonauts and a suitor of Helen. After the destruction of Troy he wandered about with his followers, the Orchomenians, and founded colonies in Colchis.
Ialmenus (Ialmenos), a son of Ares and Astyoche, and brother of Ascalaphus of
the Boeotian Orchomenos (Hom. Il. ii. 512, &c.). Others call him an Argive and
a son of Lycus and Pernis (Hygin. Fab. 97, 159), and mention him among the Argonauts
(Apollod. i. 9.16) and the suitors of Helena (Apollod. iii. 10.8; Paus. ix. 37,
in fin.). After the destruction of Troy, he is said to have wandered about with
the Orchomenians on the Pontus, and to have founded colonies on the coast of Colchis.
(Strab. ix.; Eustath. ad Hom.)
The son of Ares and Astyoche, who led, with his brother Ialmenus, the Minyans of Orchomenus against Troy, and was slain by Deiphobus. (Il 2.511, 9.83, 15.112)
Askalaphus (Askalophos), a son of Ares and Astyoche, and brother of Ialmenus, together with whom he led the Minyans of Orchomenos against Troy, in thirty ships (Hom. H. ii. 511, &c.). In the war against Troy, he was slain by the hand of Deiphobus, at which Ares was filled with anger and indignation (H. xiii. 519, &c., xv. 110, &c.; comp. Paus. ix. 37.3). According to Apollodorus (i. 9.16, iii. 10.8) Ascalaphus was one of the Argonauts, and also one of the suitors of Helen. Hyginus in one passage (Fab. 97) calls Ascalaphus and lalmenus sons of Lycus of Argos, while in another (Fab. 159) he agrees with the common account. One tradition described Ascalaphus as having gone from Troy to Samareia, and as having been buried there by Ares. The name of Samareia itself was derived from this occurrence, that is, from sama or sema and Ares (Eustath. ad Hom.).
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Oct 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
PANOPEFS (Ancient city) CHERONIA
Son of Iphitus and Hippolyte, dwelt in a house in famous Panopeus, and was king over many men, slain by Hector (Il. 2.517, 17.305), suitor of Helen.
Schedius: Perseus Project
He was the son of Iphitus and Hippolyte, suitor of Helen and, according to tradition, he and his brother Schedius founded the city of Temessa in South Italy during their return from Troy.
Epistrophus: Perseus Project
ALIARTOS (Ancient city) VIOTIA
The city of Haliartus participated in the War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships. The poet calls it "piienta" (= grassy) (Il. 2.503).
ANTIKYRA (Ancient city) VIOTIA
Cyparissus participated in the war and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.519).
ASPLIDON (Ancient city) VIOTIA
Aspledon participated in the Trojan War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.511).
DAVLIS (Ancient city) VIOTIA
Daulis participated in the Trojan War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.520).
KORONIA (Ancient city) VIOTIA
Coroneia participated in the war and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.503).
LEVADIA (Ancient city) VIOTIA
Mideia participated in the War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.507).
MEDEON (Ancient city) VIOTIA
Medeon participated in the war and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships. Homer calls it "euctimenon ptoliethron (= well-built citadel)" (Il. 2.501).
OKALEI (Ancient city) VIOTIA
Ocalea participated in the Trojan War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.501).
ORCHOMENOS (Archaeological site) VIOTIA
Orchomenus participated in the Trojan War with 30 ships under the leadership of Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, children of Ares (Il. 2.511-516, also see Od. 11.284).
This is how Homer refers to Orchomenos (Od. 11.284, Il. 2.511).
PANOPEFS (Ancient city) CHERONIA
Panopeus participated in the Trojan War and is listed in the Homeric Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.520). Homer calls the city "with its lovely lawns" (Od. 11.581) and "famous" (Il. 17.307). He also mentions that Schedius, son of Iphitus, "far the best of the Phocians", dwelt in Panopeus (Il. 17.307).
Iphitus. A son of Naubolus, and father of Schedius, Epistrophus, and Eurynome, in Phocis, was likewise one of the Argonauts. (Hom. Il. ii. 518, xvii. 306; Paus. x. 4. Β 1; Apollod. i. 9. Β 16; Apollon. Rhod. i. 207; Orph. Arg. 144.)
PARNASSOS (Mountain) VIOTIA
Autolycus, was the son of Hermes, father of Anticlea by Amphithea (Od. 19.416) and grandfather of Odysseus (Il. 10.267, Od. 19.394).
Pausanias mentions that he was married to Neaera, daughter of Pereus, from the Mt. Cyllene (Paus. 8,4,6).
Autolycus, (Autolukos). Son of Hermes and Chione, or (according
to another account) Philonis; father of Anticlea, the mother of Odysseus. In Greek
mythology he figured as the prince of thieves. From his father he inherited the
gift of making himself and all his stolen goods invisible, or changing them so
as to preclude the possibility of recognition. He was an accomplished wrestler,
and was said to have given Heracles instruction.
Sinopians themselves referred the foundation of their city to Autolycus, a companion of Heracles, and one of the Argonauts, to whom they paid heroic honours (Strab. l. c.) (see http://www.gtp.gr/AncientSinope )
Autolycus (Autolukos). A son of Hermes or Daedalion by Chione, Philonis, or Telauge. (Apollod. i. 9.16; Hygin. Fab. 201; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 804.) He was the husband of Neaera (Paus. viii. 4.3), or according to Homer (Od. xix. 394), of Amphithea, by whom he became the father of Anticleia, the mother of Odysseus and Aesimus. He had his residence on mount Parnassus, and was renowned among men for his cunning and oaths. (Comp. Hygin. l. c.; Ov. Met. xi. 311.) Once when he came to Ithaca as a guest, the nurse placed his newly-born grandson Odysseus on his knees, and he gave the child the name Odysseus. Afterwards, when Odysseus was staying with him, he was wounded by a boar during the chase on Parnassus, and it was by the scar of this wound that Odysseus was subsequently recognized by his aged nurse, when he returned from Troy (Paus. x. 8.4; Ov. Met. xi. 295, & c.; Hygin. Fab. 200). Polymede, the mother of Jason, was, according to Apollodorus, a daughter of this Autolycus, and the same writer (ii. 4.9) not only describes him as the teacher of Heracles in the art of wrestling, but mentions him among the Argonauts; the latter of which statements arose undoubtedly from a confusion of this Autolycus with the Thessalian of the same name. Autolycus is very famous in ancient story as a successful robber, who had even the power of metamorphosing both the stolen goods and himself. (Hom. Il. x. 267; Hygin. Fab. 201 ; Apollod. ii. 6.2; Strab. ix; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 408; Serv. ad Aen. ii. 79.)
This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited April 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
STIRIS (Ancient city) DISTOMO
Peteos, a son of Orneus, and father of Menestheus, was expelled from Athens by Aegeus, and is said to have gone to Phocis, where he founded the town of Stiris. (Hom. Il. ii. 552, iv. 338; Apollod. iii. 10.8; Paus. ii. 25.5, x. 35.5; Plut. Thes. 32.)
ORCHOMENOS (Archaeological site) VIOTIA
She was the daughter of Actor and mother of the twin brothers Ascalaphus and Ialmenus by Ares (Il. 2.513).
Father of Actor, grandfather of Astyoche (Il. 2.512)
Azeus, a son of Clymenus of Orchomenos, was a brother of Erginus, Stratius,
Arrhon, and Pyleus, father of Actor and grandfather of Astyoche. (Hom. Il. ii.
513; Paus. ix. 37.2.) He went with his brothers, under the command of Erginus,
the eldest, against Thebes, to take vengeance for the murder of his father, who
had been slain by the Thebans at a festival of the Onchestian Poseidon.
Actor, king of Orchomenus, entertained Ares, who coupled with his daughter Astyoche and had twin sons by her, Ascalaphus and Ialmenus (Il. 2.513).
King of Orchomenus and father of Amphion (Od. 11.283).
He was the son of Iasius and king of Orchomenus. Neleus married his daughter Chloris and Nestor of Pylos was their son (Od. 11.281).
Amphion. A son of Jasus and husband of Persephone, by whom he became the father of Chloris. (Hom. Od. xi. 281, &c.) In Homer, this Amphion, king of Orchomenos, is distinct from Amphion, the husband of Niobe; but in earlier traditions they seem to have been regarded as the same person. (Eustath. ad Hom.)
Father of Erginus and Eurydice (Od. 3.452).
PANOPEFS (Ancient city) CHERONIA
He was the son of Phocus, father of Epeius (Il. 23.665). He participated in the hunt of the Calydonian boar and joined Amphitryon in his expedition against the Taphians. He was said to be the founder of the city.
Panopeus: Perseus Project
Father of Iphitus
Son of Naubolus and Perineice, an Argonaut, father of Schedius & Epistrophus (Il. 2.517, 17.306).
Iphitus: Perseus Project
PARNASSOS (Mountain) VIOTIA
A mountain in Phocis, which is mentioned by Homer (Od. 19.432).
ORCHOMENOS (Archaeological site) VIOTIA
Their cities Aspledon & Orchomenus, receive tribute from Thebes, are forced by Herakles to pay tribute to Thebes.
Minyae (Minuai). An ancient Greek race, originally dwelling in Thessaly. Their ancient hero, Minyas, is said to have migrated from Thessaly into the north of Boeotia, and there to have established the empire of the Minyae, with the capital of Orchomenus. As the greater part of the Argonauts were descended from the Minyae, they are themselves called Minyae. The Minyae founded a colony in Lemnos, called Minyae, whence they proceeded to Elis Triphylia, and to the island of Thera.
This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Minyae (Minuai), an ancient race in Greece, said to have been descended from Minyas, the son of Orchomenus, who originally dwelt in Thessaly, and afterwards migrated into Boeotia, and founded Orchomenus. Most of the Argonautic heroes were Minyae; and some of them having settled in the island of Lemnos, continued to be called Minyae. These Lemnian Minyae were driven out of the island by the Tyrrhenian Pelasgians, and took refuge in Lacedaemon, from whence some of them migrated to Thera, and others to Triphylia in Elis, where they founded the six Triphylian cities. (Herod. iv. 145-148.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
The Phlegyes were a warlike people who lived in Gytrone at Thessaly but afterwards they settled in Boeotia (Il. 13.302).
Perseus Project
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