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Listed 37 sub titles with search on: Homeric world  for wider area of: "MAKEDONIA CENTRAL Region GREECE" .


Homeric world (37)

Ancient towns

Aesyme

ESSYMI (Ancient city) SERRES
A Thracian city, which was ruled by Gorgythion, son of Teucer (Il. 8.304).

Country

Emathia

IMATHIA (Ancient area) GREECE
Hera went from Olympus to Athus via Pieria and Emathia (Il. 14.226).

Paeonia

PEONIA (Ancient area) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
Homer calls the country "deep-soiled" (Il. 17.350, 21,154).

Pieria

PIERIA (Ancient area) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
Homer locates the country near the Mt. Olympus (Il. 14.226) and mentions that Hermes went from Olympus to the sea via Pieria in order to go to the island of Calypso (Od. 5.50 etc.).

Gods & demigods

Giants or Gigantes

KASSANDRA (Peninsula) HALKIDIKI
A gigantic and wild tribe, hostile to the gods, that was related to the Phaecians (Od. 7.206) and was exterminated by Zeus (Od. 7.59, 10.120).

Gigantes. In Homer the Gigantes are a wild and gigantic race of aborigines, kinsmen of the gods, as are the Cyclopes and Phaeacians. With their king Eurymedon, they are destroyed for their wickedness. Hesiod makes them the sons of Gaea, sprung from the blood of the mutilated Uranus. Neither Hesiod nor Homer knew anything of their struggle with the gods (Gigantomachia), the story of which seems to be a reflection of the myth of the Titans and their contest with the gods, and to be associated with local legends. The two are often confused by later poets. The place of the contest was Phlegra, or the place of burning; and Phlegra was always localized in volcanic regions. In the earlier stories it is on the Macedonian peninsula of Pallene; and in later times on the Phlegraean plains in Campania between Cumae and Capua, or again at Tartessus in Spain. Led on by Alcyoneus and Porphyrion, they hurled rocks and burning trunks of trees against heaven. But the gods called Heracles to their assistance, a prophecy having warned them that they would be unable to destroy the giants without the aid of a mortal. Heracles slew not only Alcyoneus, but gave the others, whom the gods had struck down, their death-blow with his arrows. As Enceladus was flying, Athene threw the island of Sicily upon him. Polybotes was buried by Poseidon under the island of Nisyros, a piece of the island of Cos, which Poseidon had broken off with his trident, with all the giants who had fled there. Besides these, the following names are given among others: Agrius, Ephialtes, Pallas, Clytius, Eurytus, Hippolytus, Thoon.
    In the oldest works of art the Giants are represented in human form and equipped with armour and spears; but in course of time their attributes became terrific--awful faces, long hanging hair and beard, the skins of wild animals for garments, trunks of trees and clubs for weapons. In the latest representations, but not before, their bodies end in two scaly snakes instead of feet, as in the illustration. In the Gigantomachia of Pergamus, the grandest representation of the subject in antiquity, we find a great variety of forms; some quite human, others with snakes' feet and powerful wings, others with still bolder combinations of shape; some are naked, some clothed with skins, some fully armed, and others slinging stones.

This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


Gigantes. In the story about the Gigantes or giants, we must distinguish the early legends from the later ones. According to Homer, they were a gigantic and savage race of men, governed by Eurymedon, and dwelling in the distant west, in the island of Thripacia; but they were extirpated by Eurymedon on account of their insolence towards the gods (Hom. Od. vii. 59, 206, x. 120; comp. Paus. viii. 29.2). Homer accordingly looked upon the Gigantes, like the Phaeacians, Cyclopes, and Laestrygones, as a race of Autochthones, whom, with the exception of the Phaeacians, the gods destroyed for their overbearing insolence, but neither he nor Hesiod knows any thing about the contest of the gods with the Gigantes. Hesiod (Theog. 185), however, considers them as divine beings, who sprang from the blood that fell from Uranus upon the earth, so that Ge was theirmother. Later poets and mythographers frequently confound them with the Titans (Serv. ad Aen. viii. 698, Georg. i. 166, 278; Hor. Carm. iii. 4. 42), and Hyginus (Praef. Fab. p. l) calls them the sons of Ge (Terra) and Tartarus. Their battle with Zeus and the Olympian gods seems to be only an imitation of the revolt of the Titans against Uranus. Ge, it is said (Apollod. i. 6.1, &c.), indignant at the fate of her former children, the Titans, gave birth to the Gigantes, that is, monstrous and unconquerable giants, with fearful countenances and the tails of dragons (Comp. Ov. Trist. iv. 7, 17). They were born, according to some, in Phlegrae (i. e. burning fields), in Sicily, Campania, or Arcadia, and, according to others, in the Thracian Pallene (Apollod., Paus. ll. cc.; Pind. Nem. i. 67; Strab.; Schol. ad Hom. Il. viii. 479). It is worthy of remark that Homer, as well as later writers, places the Gigantes in volcanic districts, and most authorities in the western parts of Europe. In their native land they made an attack upon heaven, being armed with huge rocks and the trunks of trees (Ov. Met. i. 151, &c.). Porphyrion and Alcyoneus distinguished themselves above their brethren. The latter of them, who had carried off the oxen of Helios from Erytheia, was immortal so long as he fought in his native land; and the gods were informed that they should not be able to kill one giant unless they were assisted by some mortal in their fight against the monsters (Comp. Schol. ad Pind. Nem. i. 100; Eratosth. Calast. 11). Ge, on hearing of this, discovered a herb which would save the giants from being killed by mortal hands; but Zeus forbade IIelios and Eos to shine, took himself the herb, and invited Heracles to give his assistance against the giants. Heracles, indeed, killed Alcyoneus, but as the giant fell on the ground, lie came to life again. On the advice of Athena, Heracles dragged him away from his native land, and thus slew him effectually. Porphyrion attacked Heracles and Hera, but was killed by the combined efforts of Zeus and Heracles, the one using a flash of lightning and the other his arrows (Comp. Pind. Pyth. viii. 19 with the Schol.). The other giants, whose number, according to Hyginus, amounted to twenty-four, were then killed one after another by the gods and Heracles, and some of them were buried by their conquerors under (volcanic) islands (Eurip. Cycl. 7; Diod. iv. 21; Strab.; Serv. ad Aen. iii. 578). The fight of the giants with the gods was represented by Phidias on the inside of the shield of his statue of Athena (Plin. H. N. xxxvi. 5. 4). The origin of the story of the Gigantes must probably be sought for in similar physical phenomena in nature, especially volcanic ones, from which arose the stories about the Cyclopes.

This text is from: A dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, 1873 (ed. William Smith). Cited Dec 2005 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


Ephialtes

Ephialtes, one of the giants, who in the war against the gods was deprived of his left eye by Apollo, and of the right by Heracles. (Apollod. i. 6.2)

Ophion & Eurynome

OLYMPOS (Mountain) GREECE
Eurynome, a daughter of Oceanus. When Hephaestus was expelled by Hera from Olympus, Eurynome and Thetis received him in the bosom of the sea. (Hom. Il. xviii, 395, &c.; Apollod. i. 2.2). Previous to the time of Cronos and Rhea, Eurynome and Ophion had ruled in Olympus over the Titans, but after being conquered by Cronos, she had sunk down into Tartarus or Oceans. (Apollon. Rhod. i. 503, &c.; Tzetz. ad Ly/coph. 1191). By Zeus she became the mother of the Charites, or of Asopus. (Hes. Theog. 908; Apollod. iii. 12.6)

Eidothea

TORONI (Ancient city) HALKIDIKI
A sea-goddess, daughter of Proteus (Od. 4.366).

Eidothea, a daughter of the aged Proteus, who instructed Menelaus, in the island of Pharos at the mouth of the river Aegyptus, in what manner he might secure her father and compel him to say in what way he should return home. (Hom. Od. iv. 365, &c.)

Hegemons

Asteropaeus

PEONIA (Ancient area) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
Son of Pelegon, grandson of the fluvial god Axius and Periboea, and leader of the Paeonians in the Trojan War, who was slain by Achilles (Il. 12.102, 21.137).

Asteropaeus (Asteropaios), a son of Pelegon, and grandson of the river-god Axius, was the commander of the Paeonians in the Trojan war, and an ally of the Trojans. He was the tallest among all the men, and fought with Achilles, whom he at first wounded, but was afterwards killed by him. (Hom. Il. xxi. 139, &c.; Philostr. Heroic. xix. 7)

Heroes

Agastrophus

AMYDON (Ancient city) KILKIS
He was the son of Paeon and was slain by Diomedes in the Trojan War (Il. 11.338).

Hippasus

PEONIA (Ancient area) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
Father of Apisaon (Il. 17.348).

Pelegon

The son of the river Axius by Periboea, the daughter of Acessamenus, and father of Asteropaeus (Il. 16.141).

Perseus Project

Heroines

Castianeira

ESSYMI (Ancient city) SERRES
She was the mother of Gorgythion by Priam (Il. 8.305).

Periboea

KASSANDRA (Peninsula) HALKIDIKI
A daughter of Eurymedon, the king of the Giants, and mother of Nausithous by Poseidon (Od. 7.58).

Kings

Eurymedon

He was the king of the Giants and father of Periboea, who was the mother of Nausithous by Poseidon (Od. 7.58).

Mountains

Athos

AGION OROS (Mountain) HALKIDIKI
It is mentioned by Homer (Il. 14.229).

Personifications

Boreas

STRYMONAS (River) SERRES
He personifies the North Wind, who lived in Thrace, and is also mentioned by Homer (Il. 11.5, 20.223, 23.195).

Boreas (north wind)

  God of the north wind, Boreas was the only wind god with a cult in Athens. In 480 BC, Boreas helped the Athenians in the battle at sea of Artemision against the Persians because of his wife.
  He had abducted and married princess Oreithyia, daughter of king Erechteus of Attica. Together they had two sons, the Boreads: Kalais and Zethes. They took part in the expedition of he Argonauts and were the ones to defeat the Harpies.

This text is cited Sept 2003 from the In2Greece URL below.


Boreas. In Greek mythology, the North Wind, son of Astraeus and Eos, brother of Zephyrus, Eurus, and Notus. His home was in the Thracian Salmydessus, on the Black Sea, whither he carried Orithyia from the games on the Ilissus, when her father, Erechtheus, king of Athens, had refused her to him in marriage. Their children were Calais and Zetes, the so-called Boreades, Cleopatra, the wife of Phineus, and Chione, the beloved of Poseidon. It was this relationship which was referred to in the oracle given to the Athenians, when the fleet of Xerxes was approaching, that "they should call upon their brother-in-law." Boreas answered their prayer and sacrifice by destroying a part of the enemy's fleet on the promontory of Sepias, whereupon they built him an altar on the banks of the Ilissus.

This text is from: Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities. Cited Nov 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks


Rivers

Axius

AXIOS (River) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
It is a river in Macedonia, that Homer calls "wide-flowing" (Il. 2.849, 16.288, 21.141), "deep-eddying River" (Il. 21.143) and its water "the fairest over the face of the earth" (Il. 2.849, 21.157).

Trojan Allies

Amydon

AMYDON (Ancient city) KILKIS
Amydon is mentioned by Homer as belonging to the Paeonians. It was located near the Axius river (Il. 2.849, 16.288).

Paeonians

PEONIA (Ancient area) MAKEDONIA CENTRAL
Homer calls the Paeonians "with their long spears" and "lords of chariots" (Il. 21.155, 16.287). They participated in the Trojan War under the leadership of Pyraechmes on the side of the Trojans (Il. 2.848).

Trojan heroes of the Trojan War and their allies

Aenius

A Paeonian, who was slain by Achilles (Il. 21.210).

Apisaon

He was the son of Hippasus and came from Paeonia (Il. 17.348).

(Apisaon). A Paeonian, the son of Hippasus, who aided Priam at Troy with an army, but was killed by Lycomedes.

Astypylus

A Paeonian, who was slain by Achilles (Il. 21.209).

Thrasius

A Paeonian, who was slain by Achilles (Il. 21.210).

Ophelestes

A Paeonian, who was slain by Achilles (Il. 21.210).

Trojan leaders in the War

Pyraechmes

AMYDON (Ancient city) KILKIS
He led the Paeonians in the Trojan War and was slain by Patroclus (Il. 2.848, 16.287).

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