Chapter I: Part 1

A HANDY
DICTIONARY OF MYTHOLOGY

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A HANDY

DICTIONARY

OF

MYTHOLOGY

FOR EVERYDAY READERS

BY THE AUTHOR OF

‘A DICTIONARY OF DAILY BLUNDERS’
‘A DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH PROVERBS’
‘A HANDY BOOK OF SYNONYMS’
ETC. ETC.

LONDON: WHITTAKER & CO.

_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, _Edinburgh_.

PREFACE.

This _Handy Dictionary of Mythology_ is intended to supply the everyday reader with concise accounts of the gods and goddesses of the ancients in an accessible form.

Besides confronting us at every turn in the museums and picture galleries, these deities and heroes are constantly mentioned by poets and portrayed by painters and sculptors, and they are used for the purpose of illustration in the literature of the day. Nothing is more common than to find the comic newspapers resorting to Mythology for subjects for their pictures; and quite recently _Punch_ has given us some delightful cartoons by Tenniel, which, apart from the admirable drawing, are intensely amusing to people who know enough of Mythology to see the drift of the artist. For example, there is a cartoon representing Æacus, Minos, and Rhadamanthus sitting in judgment on the unlucky electioneering bribers, and underneath is the word “Nemesis.” Again, there was a capital cartoon representing the “Judgment of Paris,” in which the Duke of Richmond, Earl Cairns, and Lord Salisbury figure as Juno, Minerva, and Venus. This had reference to the selection of a Conservative Leader for the House of Lords, and was very popular. In order fully to enjoy similar works, and to appreciate the allusions, it is necessary that we should be able to find out readily something about these mythological beings. But to ascertain this “something” we do not want to waste time in wading through such a number of volumes as the compiler has used in making this Dictionary, even if it were possible to get access to them.

It has been a matter of astonishment to him to find how many different versions there are of the same fable, and to see how often various writers attribute the same actions to different gods or heroes. In fact, it has frequently been a difficult task to decide which version should be adopted,--which authority accepted. It may therefore be desirable to state that where doubts have arisen, either the various versions are given, or else Lempriere’s _Classical Dictionary_ has been referred to, to decide the questions. Besides Lempriere, the following works, with many others of less authority, have been consulted in compiling this Dictionary:--

POETICAL HISTORIES. “Written originally in French by the learned Jesuit, P. GALTRUCHIUS.” Translated into English by MARIUS D’ASSIGNY, B.D. Second edition, 1672.

THE PANTHEON. Representing the fabulous histories of the Heathen Gods in a plain and familiar method. By ANDREW TOOKE, A.M. 1713.

A NEW PANTHEON; or, Fabulous History of Heathen Gods, Heroes, and Goddesses. By SAMUEL BOYSE, A.M. 1753.

MYTHOLOGICAL, ETYMOLOGICAL, AND HISTORICAL DICTIONARY. By W. HOWELL, B.D. 1793.

ROWDEN’S PAGAN DEITIES. 1820.

Now, supposing that all these books were accessible to the general reader, it would still be in many instances impossible for him, without considerable labour, to find therein much of the information contained in this Dictionary, for some of the best of them have no index, but this book is an index to them all.

The proper pronunciation of the names being important, the accent is always marked; and the illustrative quotations from the poets have been specially selected with the intention of assisting the reader in finding out the number of syllables in a name, and by this means fixing the pronunciation.

It will be seen that the compiler has not confined himself to Greek and Roman Mythology, but has included the more important of the Egyptian, Scandinavian, and Hindoo deities, references to which often occur in modern literature.

The limited space at command has made it necessary to be as concise as possible, but every name connected with Mythology, of any note at all, has, it is hoped, been included, and care has been taken to avoid repetitions as much as possible. Where two or three names occur in connection with one fable, the tale is told once, and reference is made to it under the name of the other deities concerned therein.

There are a few names inserted which, though not strictly mythological, are mentioned because it frequently happens that in the history of ancient heroes there is something fabulous in the tales told concerning them.

As to some of the gods and heroes, the _Handy Classical Dictionary_ and _Plutarch’s Lives_ (part of this Series of Handy Books) may be consulted with advantage for fuller information; and it is hoped that the popularity of those two books will be at least equalled by the _Dictionary of Mythology_.

A HANDY

DICTIONARY OF MYTHOLOGY.

A′BAS, a son of Meganira, was turned into a newt, or water-lizard, for deriding the ceremonies of the Sacrifice.

ABSY′RTUS, brother of Medea.

ACHELO′US was a son of Oceanus and Terra. He had the power of assuming all shapes, and in a conflict with Hercules he turned himself into a serpent, and then into a bull, but he was finally defeated, and he then turned himself into a river, which has since been called Achelous.

ACH′ERON. One of the rivers of the infernal regions to which the spirits of the dead resorted, and waited there till Charon the ferryman took them over.

“Infernal rivers that disgorge
Into the burning lake their baleful streams.
... Sad Acheron, of sorrow black and deep.”

MILTON.

ACHIL′LES was the most valiant of the Greek heroes in the Trojan War. He was the son of Peleus, King of Thessaly. His mother, Thetis, plunged him, when an infant, into the Stygian pool, which made him invulnerable wherever the waters had washed him; but the heel by which he was held was not wetted, and that part remained vulnerable. He was shot with an arrow in the heel by Paris, at the siege of Troy, and died of his wound.

ACIDA′LIA, a name given to Venus from a fountain in Bœotia.

A′CIS. A Sicilian shepherd, loved by the nymph Galatea. One of the Cyclops who was jealous of him crushed him by hurling a rock on him. Galatea turned his blood into a river--the Acis at the foot of Mount Etna.

ACTÆ′ON was the son of Aristæus, a famous huntsman. He intruded himself on Diana while she was bathing, and was changed by her into a deer, in which form he was hunted by his own dogs and torn in pieces.

A′DES, see Hades.

ADO′NIS, the beautiful attendant of Venus, who held her train. He was killed by a boar, and turned by Venus into an anemone.

“Even as the sun with purple-coloured face
Had ta’en his last leave of the weeping morn,
Rose-cheeked Adonis hied him to the chase;
Hunting he loved, but love he laughed to scorn.”

SHAKESPEARE.

ADRASTÆ′A, another name of Nemesis, one of the goddesses of justice.

ADSCRIPTI′TII DII were the gods of the second grade.

ADVERSITY, see Echidna.

Æ′ACUS, one of the judges of hell, with Minos and Rhadamanthus. See Eacus.

ÆCAS′TOR, an oath used only by women, referring to the Temple of Castor.

ÆD′EPOL, an oath used by both men and women, referring to the Temple of Pollux.

ÆGE′ON, a giant with fifty heads and one hundred hands, who was imprisoned by Jupiter under Mount Etna. See Briareus.

Æ′GIS, the shield of Jupiter, so called because it was made of goat skin.

“Where was thine Ægis Pallas that appall’d?”

BYRON.

“Tremendous, Gorgon frowned upon its field,
And circling terrors filled the expressive shield.”

“Full on the crest the Gorgon’s head they place,
With eyes that roll in death, and with distorted face.”

POPE.

Æ′GLE. The fairest of the Naiads.

AEL′LO, the name of one of the Harpies.

ÆNE′AS was the son of Anchises and Venus. He was one of the few great captains who escaped the destruction of Troy. He behaved with great valour during the siege, encountering Diomed, and even Achilles himself. When the Grecians had set the city on fire Æneas took his aged father, Anchises, on his shoulders, whilst his son, Ascanius, and his wife, Creusa, clung to his garments. He saved them all from the flames. After wandering about during several years, encountering numerous difficulties, he at length arrived in Italy, where he was hospitably received by Latinus, king of the Latins. After the death of Latinus Æneas became king.

“His back, or rather burthen, showed
As if it stoopëd with its load;
For as Æneas bore his sire
Upon his shoulders through the fire,
Our knight did bear no less a pack
Of his own buttocks on his back.”

BUTLER.

ÆO′LUS was the god of the winds. Jupiter was his reputed father, and his mother is said to have been a daughter of Hippotus. Æolus is represented as having the power of holding the winds confined in a cavern, and occasionally giving them liberty to blow over the world. So much command was he supposed to have over them that when Ulysses visited him on his return from Troy he gave him, tied up in a bag, all the winds that could prevent his voyage from being prosperous. The companions of Ulysses, fancying that the bag contained treasure, cut it open just as they came in sight of Ithaca, the port they were making for, and the contrary winds rushing out drove back the ship many leagues. The residence of Æolus was at Strongyle, now called Strombolo.

“Æolus from his airy throne
With power imperial curbs the struggling winds,
And sounding tempests in dark prisons binds.”

DRYDEN.

ÆSCULA′PIUS, the god of physic, was a son of Apollo. He was physician to the Argonauts in their famous expedition to Colchis. He became so noted for his cures that Pluto became jealous of him, and he requested Jupiter to kill him with a thunderbolt. To revenge his son’s death Apollo slew the Cyclops who had forged the thunderbolt. By his marriage with Epione he had two sons, Machaon and Podalirus, both famous physicians, and four daughters, of whom Hygeia, the goddess of health, is the most renowned. Many temples were erected in honour of Æsculapius, and votive tablets were hung therein by people who had been healed by him; but his most famous shrine was at Epidaurus, where, every five years, games were held in his honour. This god is variously represented, but the most famous statue shows him seated on a throne of gold and ivory. His head is crowned with rays, and he wears a long beard. A knotty stick is in one hand, and a staff entwined with a serpent is in the other, while a dog lies at his feet.

“Thou that dost Æsculapius deride,
And o’er his gallipots in triumph ride.”

FENTON.

Æ′SON was father of Jason, and was restored to youth by Medea.

Æ′TA, a king of Colchis, was father of Medea.

AGAMEM′NON was the son of Plisthenes and brother of Menelaus. He was king of the Argives. His brother’s wife was the famous Helen, daughter of Tyndarus, king of Sparta; and when she eloped with Paris, Agamemnon was appointed leader of the Greeks in their expedition against Troy.

AGANIP′PIDES, a name of the Muses, derived from the fountain of Aganippe.

AGINE′US, see Apollo.

AGLA′IA was one of the Three Graces.

AG′NI. The Hindoo god of lightning.

A′JAX was one of the bravest of the Greek warriors in the Trojan war. His father was Telamon, and his mother Eribœa. Some writers say that he was killed by Ulysses; others aver that he was slain by Paris; while others again assert that he went mad after being defeated by Ulysses, and killed himself. Another Ajax, son of Oileus, also took a prominent part in the Trojan War.

ALCES′TIS, wife of Admetus, who, to save her husband’s life, died in his stead, and was restored to life by Hercules.

ALCI′DES, one of the names of Hercules.

ALCME′NA, the mother of Hercules, was daughter of Electrion, a king of Argos.

ALEC′TO was one of the Furies. She is depicted as having serpents instead of hair on her head, and was supposed to breed pestilence wherever she went.

ALEC′TRYON, a servant of Mars, who was changed by him into a cock because he did not warn his master of the rising of the sun.

AL′FADUR, in Scandinavian Mythology the Supreme Being--Father of all.

AL′MA MAMMO′SA, a name of Ceres.

ALPHE′US, a river god. See Arethusa.

ALTAR. A structure on which a sacrifice was offered. The earliest altars were merely heaps of earth or turf or rough unhewn stone; but as the mode of sacrificing became more ceremonious grander altars were built. Some were of marble and brass, ornamented with carvings and bas-reliefs, and the corners with models of the heads of animals. They varied in height from two feet to four, and some were built solid; others were made hollow to retain the blood of the victims. Some were provided with a kind of dish, into which frankincense was thrown to overpower the smell of burning fat. This probably was the origin of the custom of burning incense at the altar.

AMAL’THÆ’A the goat which nourished Jupiter.

AM’AZONS were a nation of women-soldiers who lived in Scythia. Hercules totally defeated them, and gave Hippolyte, their queen, to Theseus for a wife. The race seems to have been exterminated after this battle.

AMBARVA’LIA were festivals in honour of Ceres, instituted by Roman husbandmen to purge their fields. At the spring festival the head of each family led an animal, usually a pig or ram, decked with oak boughs, round his grounds, and offered milk and new wine. After harvest there was another festival, at which Ceres was presented with the first-fruits of the season. See Ceres.

AMBER, see Heliades.

AMBRO’SIA were Bacchanalian festivals.

AMI’CA, a name of Venus.

AMPHI’ON was the son of Jupiter and Antiope. He was greatly skilled in music; and it is said that, at the sound of his lute, the stones arranged themselves so regularly as to make the walls of the city of Thebes.

“Amphion, too, as story goes, could call
Obedient stones to make the Theban wall.”

HORACE.

“New walls to Thebes, Amphion thus began.”

WILLIAM KING.

“Such strains I sing as once Amphion played,
When list’ning flocks the powerful call obeyed.”

ELPHINSTON.

AMPHITRI′TE (or Salatia), the wife of Neptune, was a daughter of Oceanus and Terra. She was the mother of Triton, a sea god.

“His weary chariot sought the bowers
Of Amphitrite and her tending nymphs.”

THOMSON.

AMY′CUS was king of Babrycia. He was a son of Neptune, and was killed by Pollux.

ANCÆ′US. A son of Neptune, who left a cup of wine to hunt a wild boar which killed him, and the wine was untasted. This was the origin of the proverb--“There’s many a slip ’twixt cup and lip.”

ANCIL′IA, the twelve sacred shields. The first Ancile was supposed to have fallen from heaven in answer to the prayer of Numa Pompilius. It was kept with the greatest care, as it was prophesied that the fate of the Roman people would depend upon its preservation. An order of priesthood was established to take care of the Ancilia, and on 1st March each year the shields were carried in procession, and in the evening there was a great feast called Cœna Saliaris.

ANDROM′EDA, the daughter of Cepheus, king of the Ethiopians, was wife of Perseus, by whom she was rescued when she was chained to a rock and was about to be devoured by a sea-monster.

ANEM′ONE. Venus changed Adonis into this flower.

ANGERO′NIA, otherwise Volupia, was the goddess who had the power of dispelling anguish of mind.

ANNA PEREN′NA, one of the rural divinities.

ANTÆ′US, a giant who was vanquished by Hercules. Each time that Hercules threw him the giant gained fresh strength from touching the earth, so Hercules lifted him off the ground and squeezed him to death.

AN′TEROS, one of the two Cupids, sons of Venus.

ANTIC′LEA, the mother of Ulysses.

ANTI′OPE was wife of Lycus, King of Thebes. Jupiter, disguised as a satyr, led her astray and corrupted her.

ANU′BIS (or Herman′ubis). “A god half a dog, a dog half a man.” Called _Barker_ by Virgil and other poets.

AON′IDES, a name of the Muses, from the country Aonia.

APH′RODI′TE, a Greek name of Venus.

APIS, a name given to Jupiter by the inhabitants of the Lower Nile. Also the miraculous ox, worshipped in Egypt.

A′PIS, King of Argivia. Afterwards called Serapis, the greatest god of the Egyptians.

APOL′LO. This famous god, sometime King of Arcadia, was the son of Jupiter and Latona. He was known by several names, but principally by the following:--Sol (the sun); Cynthius, from the mountain called Cynthus in the Isle of Delos, and this same island being his native place obtained for him the name of Delius; Delphinius, from his occasionally assuming the shape of a dolphin. His name of Delphicus was derived from his connection with the splendid Temple at Delphi, where he uttered the famous oracles. Some writers record that this oracle became dumb when Jesus Christ was born. Other common names of Apollo were Didymæus, Nomius, Pæan, and Phœbus. The Greeks called him Agineus because the streets were under his guardianship, and he was called Pythius from having killed the serpent Python. Apollo is usually represented as a handsome young man without beard, crowned with laurel, and having in one hand a bow, and in the other a lyre. The favourite residence of Apollo was on Mount Parnassus, a mountain of Phocis, in Greece, where he presided over the Muses. Apollo was the accredited father of several children, but the two most renowned were Æsculapius and Phæton.

“Apollo there with aim so clever,
Stretches his leaden bow for ever.”

LLOYD, 1750.

“Wilt thou have music? Hark! Apollo plays,
And twenty cagëd nightingales do sing.”

SHAKESPEARE.

APOTHE′OSIS. The consecration of a god. The ceremony of deification.

APPLE, see Atalanta.

ARACH′NE, a Lybian Princess, who challenged Minerva to a spinning contest, but Minerva struck her on the head with a spindle, and turned her into a spider.

“... So her disembowelled web,
Arachne, in a hall or kitchen spreads,
Obvious to vagrant flies.”

JOHN PHILLIPS.

ARCA′DIA, a delightful country in the centre of Peloponnessus, a favourite place of the gods. Apollo was reputed to have been King of Arcadia.

AR′CAS, a son of Calistro, was turned into a he-bear; and afterwards into the constellation called Ursa Minor.

ARCHER, see Chiron.

AREOP′AGI′TÆ, the judges who sat at the Areopagus.

AREOP′AGUS, the hill at Athens where Mars was tried for murder before twelve of the gods.

A′RES. The same as Mars, the god of war.

ARETHU′SA was one of the nymphs of Diana. She fled from Alpheus, a river god, and was enabled to escape by being turned by Diana into a rivulet which ran underground. She was as virtuous as she was beautiful.

AR′GONAUTS. This name was given to the fifty heroes who sailed to Colchis in the ship Argo under the command of Jason, to fetch the Golden Fleece.

AR′GUS was a god who had a hundred eyes which slept and watched by turns. He was charged by Juno to watch Io, but, being slain by Mercury, was changed by Juno into a peacock.

ARIAD′NE, daughter of Minos, King of Crete. After enabling Theseus to get out of the Labyrinth by means of a clew of thread, she fled with him to Naxos, where he ungratefully deserted her; but Bacchus wooed her and married her, and the crown of seven stars which he gave her was turned into a constellation.

ARI′ON was a famous lyric poet of Methymna, in the Island of Lesbos, where he gained great riches by his art. There is a pretty fable which has made the name of Arion famous. Once when travelling from Lesbos his companions robbed him, and proposed to throw him into the sea. He entreated the seamen to let him play upon his harp before they threw him overboard, and he played so sweetly that the dolphins flocked round the vessel. He then threw himself into the sea, and one of the dolphins took him up and carried him to Taenarus, near Corinth. For this act the dolphin was raised to heaven as a constellation.

ARISTÆ′US, son of Apollo and Cyrene, was the god of trees; he also taught mankind the use of honey, and how to get oil from olives. He was a celebrated hunter. His most famous son was Actæon.

ARMA′TA, one of the names of Venus, given to her by Spartan women.

AR′TEMIS. This was the Grecian name of Diana, and the festivals at Delphi were called Artemesia.

ARTS and SCIENCES, see Muses.

ARUS′PICES, sacrificial priests.

ASCAL′APHUS was changed into an owl, the harbinger of misfortune, by Ceres, because he informed Pluto that Proserpine had partaken of food in the infernal regions, and thus prevented her return to earth.

ASCA′NIUS, the son of Æneas.

ASCOL′IA, Bacchanalian feasts, from a Greek word meaning a leather bottle. The bottles were used in the games to jump on.

ASO′PUS. A son of Jupiter, who was killed by one of his father’s thunderbolts.

ASSABI′NUS, the Ethiopian name of Jupiter.

ASSES-EARS, see Midas.

ASTAR′TE, one of the Eastern names of Venus.

ASTE′RIA, daughter of Cæus, was carried away by Jupiter, who assumed the shape of an eagle.

ASTRE′A, mother of Nemesis, was the goddess of justice; she returned to heaven when the earth became corrupt.

“... Chaste Astrea fled,
And sought protection in her native sky.”

JOHN HUGHES.

ATALAN′TA was daughter of Cæneus. The oracle told her that marriage would be fatal to her, but, being very beautiful, she had many suitors. She was a very swift runner, and, to get rid of her admirers, she promised to marry any one of them who should outstrip her in a race, but that all who were defeated should be slain. Hippomenes, however, with the aid of Venus, was successful. That goddess gave him three golden apples, one of which he dropped whenever Atalanta caught up to him in the race. She stopped to pick them up, and he was victorious and married her. They were both afterwards turned into lions by Cybele, for profaning her temple.

A′TE. The goddess of revenge, also called the goddess of discord and all evil. She was banished from heaven by her father Jupiter.

“With Ate by his side come hot from hell.”

SHAKESPEARE.

ATHE′NA, a name obtained by Minerva as the tutelary goddess of Athens.

ATLAS, was King of Mauritania, now Morocco, in Africa. He was also a great astronomer. He is depicted with the globe on his back, his name signifying great toil or labour. For his inhospitality to Perseus that king changed him into the mountain which bears his name of Atlas. A chain of mountains in Africa is called after him, and so is the Atlantic Ocean. He had seven daughters by his wife Pleione, they were called by one common name, Pleiades; and by his wife Æthra he had seven more, who were, in the same manner, called Hyades. Both the Pleiades and the Hyades are celestial constellations.

AT′REUS, the type of fraternal hatred. His dislike of his brother Thyestes went to the extent of killing and roasting his nephews, and inviting their father to a feast, which Thyestes thought was a sign of reconciliation, but he was the victim of his brother’s detestable cruelty.

“Medea must not draw her murdering knife,
Nor Atreus there his horrid feast prepare.”

LORD ROSCOMMON.

AT′ROPOS, one of the three sisters called _The Fates_, who held the shears ready to cut the thread of life.

A′TYS, son of Crœsus, was born dumb, but when in a fight he saw a soldier about to kill the king, he gained speech, and cried out, “Save the king!” and the string that held his tongue was broken.

A′TYS was a youth beloved by Aurora, and was slain by her father, but, according to Ovid, was afterwards turned into a pine-tree.

AUG′ÆAS, a king of Elis, the owner of the stable which Hercules cleansed after three thousand oxen had been kept in it for thirty years. It was cleansed by turning the river Alpheus through it. Augæas promised to give Hercules a tenth part of his cattle for his trouble, but, for neglecting to keep his promise, Hercules shot him.

AU′GURY. This was a means adopted by the Romans of forming a judgment of futurity by the flight of birds, and the officiating priest was called an augur.

AURO′RA, the goddess of the morning,

“Whose rosy fingers ope the gates of day.”

She was daughter of Sol, the sun, and was the mother of the stars and winds. She is represented as riding in a splendid golden chariot drawn by white horses. The goddess loved Tithonus, and begged the gods to grant him immortality, but forgot to ask at the same time that he should not get old and decrepit. See Tithonus.

“... So soon as the all-cheering sun
Should, in the farthest east, begin to draw
The shady curtains of Aurora’s bed.”

SHAKESPEARE.

AUS′TER, the south wind, a son of Jupiter.

AVER′NUS, a poisonous lake, referred to by poets as being at the entrance of the infernal regions, but it was really a lake in Campania in Italy.

AVERRUN′CUS DEUS, a Roman god, who could divert people from evil doing.

AXE, see Dædalus.

BA′AL, a god of the Phœnicians.

BA′AL-PE′OR, a Moabitish god, associated with licentiousness and obscenity. The modern name is Belphegor.

BABES, see Rumina Dea.

BAC′CHANTES. The priestesses of Bacchus.

BAC′CHUS, the god of wine, was the son of Jupiter and Semele. He is said to have married Ariadne, daughter of Minos, King of Crete, after she was deserted by Theseus. The most distinguished of his children is Hymen, the god of marriage. Bacchus is sometimes referred to under the names of Dionysius, Biformis, Brisœus, Iacchus, Lenæus, Lyceus, Liber, and Liber Pater, the symbol of liberty. The god of wine is usually represented as crowned with vine and ivy leaves. In his left hand is a thyrsus, a kind of javelin, having a fir cone for the head, and being encircled with ivy or vine. His chariot is drawn by lions, tigers, or panthers.

“Jolly Bacchus, god of pleasure,
Charmed the world with drink and dances.”

T. PARNELL, 1700.

BA′LIOS. A famous horse given by Neptune to Peleus as a wedding present, and was afterwards given to Achilles.

BARKER, see Anubis.

BASSAR′IDES. The priestesses of Bacchus were sometimes so called.

BATTLE, see Valhalla.

BEAR, see Calistro.

BEAUTY, see Venus.

BEES, see Mellona.

BELISA′MA, a goddess of the Gauls. The name means the Queen of Heaven.

BELLER′OPHON, a hero who destroyed a monster called the Chimæra.

BELLO′NA, the goddess of war, and wife of Mars. The 24th March was called Bellona’s Day, when her votaries cut themselves with knives and drank the blood of the sacrifice.

“In Diræ’s and in Discord’s steps Bellona treads,
And shakes her iron rod above their heads.”

BELPHE′GOR, see Baal-Peor.

BE′LUS. The Chaldean name of the sun.

BERECYN′THIA, a name of Cybele, from a mountain where she was worshipped.

BI′FORMIS, a name of Bacchus, because he was accounted both bearded and beardless.

BIRDS, see Augury.

BIRTHS, see Lucina and Levana.

BLACKSMITH, see Brontes and Vulcan.

BLIND, see Thanyris.

BLUE EYES, see Glaukopis.

BO′NA DE′A. “The bountiful goddess,” whose festival was celebrated by the Romans with much magnificence. See Ceres.

BO′NUS EVEN′TUS. The god of good success, a rural divinity.

BO′REAS, the north wind, son of Astræus and Aurora.

“... I snatched her from the rigid north,
Her native bed, on which bleak Boreas blew,
And bore her nearer to the sun....”

YOUNG, 1710.

BOUNDARIES, see Terminus.

BOXING, see Pollux.

BRAH′MA. The great Indian deity, represented with four heads looking to the four quarters of the globe.

BRI′AREUS, see Ægeon.

BRIS′ÆUS. A name of Bacchus, referring to the use of grapes and honey.

BRONT′ES, one of the Cyclops. He is the personification of a blacksmith.

BUBO′NA, goddess of herdsmen, one of the rural divinities.

BUD′DAH. A pagan deity, the Vishnu of the Hindoos.

BYB′LIS. A niece of Sol, mentioned by Ovid. She shed so many tears for unrequited love that she was turned into a fountain.

“Thus the Phœbeian Byblis, spent in tears,
Becomes a living fountain, which yet bears
Her name.”

OVID.

CAB′IRI. The mysterious rites connected with the worship of these deities were so obscene that most writers refer to them as secrets which it was unlawful to reveal.

CAC′ODÆ′MON. Greek name of an evil spirit.

CA′CUS, a three-headed monster and robber.

CAD′MUS, one of the earliest of the Greek demigods. He was the reputed inventor of letters, and his alphabet consisted of sixteen letters. It was Cadmus who slew the Bœotian dragon, and sowed its teeth in the ground, from each of which sprang up an armed man.

CADU′CEUS. The rod carried by Mercury. It has two winged serpents entwined round the top end. It was supposed to possess the power of producing sleep, and Milton refers to it in _Paradise Lost_ as the “opiate rod.”

CALIS′TRO, an Arcadian nymph, who was turned into a she-bear by Jupiter. In that form she was hunted by her son Arcas, who would have killed her had not Jupiter turned him into a he-bear. The nymph and her son form the constellations known as the Great Bear and Little Bear.

CALLI′OPE. The Muse who presided over epic poetry and rhetoric. She is generally depicted using a stylus and wax tablets, the ancient writing materials.

CAL′PE. One of the pillars of Hercules.

CALYP′SO was queen of the island of Ogygia, on which Ulysses was wrecked, and where he was persuaded to remain seven years.

CA′MA. The Indian god of love and marriage.

CAMIL′LUS, a name of Mercury, from his office of minister to the gods.

CAN′ACHE. The name of one of Actæon’s hounds.

CANO′BA. The Indian Apollo.

CANO′PUS. The Egyptian god of water, the conqueror of fire.

CAP′IS or CAP′ULA. A peculiar cup with ears, used in drinking the health of the deities.

CAPITOLI′NUS. A name of Jupiter, from the Capitoline hill, on the top of which a temple was built and dedicated to him.

CAP′RI′PEDES. Pan, the Egipans, the Satyrs, and Fauns, were so called from having goats’ feet.

CAPROTI′NA. A name of Juno.

CASSAN′DRA, a daughter of Priam and Hecuba, who was granted by Apollo the power of seeing into futurity, but having offended that god he prevented people from believing her predictions.

CASSIOPE′IA. The Ethiopian queen who set her beauty in comparison with that of the Nereides, who thereupon chained her to a rock and left her to be devoured by a sea-monster, but she was delivered by Perseus.

CASTA′LIA. One of the fountains in Mount Parnassus, sacred to the Muses.

CASTA′LI′DES, a name of the Muses, from the fountain Castalia or Castalius.

CAS′TOR, son of Jupiter and Leda, twin brother of Pollux, noted for his skill in horsemanship. He went with Jason in quest of the Golden Fleece.

CAU′THER, in Mohammedan mythology, is the lake of paradise, whose waters are as sweet as honey, as cold as snow, and as clear as crystal; and any believer who tastes thereof is said to thirst no more.

CEL′ENO was one of the Harpies, progenitor of Zephyrus, the west wind.

CEN′TAUR. A huntsman who had the fore-part like a man, and the remainder of the body like a horse. The Centauri lived in Thessaly.

CEP′HALUS was married to Procris, whom he accidentally slew by shooting her, while she was secretly watching him, he thinking she was a wild beast. Cephalus was the type of constancy.

CERAU′NIUS. A Greek name of Jupiter, meaning The Fulminator, from his thunderbolts.

CER′BERUS. Pluto’s famous three-headed dog, which guarded the gate of the infernal regions, preventing the living from entering, and the inhabitants from going out.

“Three-headed Cerberus, by fate
Posted at Plato’s iron gate;
Low crouching rolls his haggard eyes,
Ecstatic, and foregoes his prize.”

CEREMONIES, see Themis.

CE′RES, daughter of Saturn, the goddess of agriculture, and of the fruits of earth. She taught Triptolemus how to grow corn, and sent him to teach the inhabitants of the earth. She was known by the names of Magna Dea, Bona Dea, Alma Mammosa, and Thesmorphonis. Ceres was the mother of Prosperine. See Ambarvalia.

“To Ceres bland, her annual rites be paid
On the green turf beneath the fragrant shade.--
... Let all the hinds bend low at Ceres’ shrine,
Mix honey sweet for her with milk and mellow wine,
Thrice lead the victim the new fruits around,
On Ceres call, and choral hymns resound.”

“Ceres was she who first our furrows ploughed,
Who gave sweet fruits and every good allowed.”

POPE.

CES′TUS, the girdle of Venus, which excited irresistible affection.

CHA′OS allegorically represented the confused mass of matter supposed to have existed before the creation of the world, and out of which the world was formed.

“... Behold the throne
Of Chaos, and his dark pavilion spread
Wide on the wasteful deep; with him enthroned
Sat sable-vested Night, eldest of all things,
The consort of his reign.”

MILTON.

CHAR′ON was the son of Nox and Erebus. He was the ferryman who conveyed the spirits of the dead, in a boat, over the rivers Acheron and Styx to the Elysian Fields. “Charon’s toll” was a coin put into the hands of the dead with which to pay the grim ferryman.

“From the dark mansions of the dead,
Where Charon with his lazy boat
Ferries o’er Lethe’s sedgy moat.”

CHARYB′DIS. A dangerous whirlpool on the coast of Sicily. Personified, it was supposed to have been a woman who plundered travellers, but was at last killed by Hercules. Scylla and Charybdis are generally spoken of together to represent alternative dangers.

“Charybdis barks, and Polyphemus roars.”

FRANCIS.

CHE′MOS. The Moabitish god of war.

CHILDREN, see Nundina.

CHIMÆ′RA. A wild illusion, personified in the monster slain by Bellerophon. It had the head and breast of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent. It used to vomit fire.

... “And on the craggy top
Chimera dwells, with lion’s face and mane,
A goat’s rough body and a serpent’s train.”

POPE.

“First, dire Chimera’s conquest was enjoyned,
A mingled monster of no mortal kind.
Behind, a dragon’s fiery tail was spread,
A goat’s rough body bore a lion’s head,
Her pitchy nostrils flaky flames expire,
Her gaping throat emits infernal fire.”

MILTON.

CHI′RON, the centaur who taught Achilles hunting, music, and the use of medicinal herbs. Jupiter placed him amongst the stars, where he appears as Sagittarius the Archer.

CHLO′RIS. The Greek name of Flora, the goddess of flowers.

CHOU. An Egyptian god corresponding to the Roman Hercules.

CHRO′NOS. Time, the Grecian name of Saturn.

CIL′LAROS, see Cyllaros.

CIR′CE, daughter of the Sun. The knowledge of poisonous herbs enabled her to destroy her husband, the King of the Sarmatians, for which act she was banished. When Ulysses landed at Æcea, where she lived, she turned all his followers into swine.

CISSE′TA. The name of one of Actæon’s hounds.

CITHER′IDES. A name of the Muses, from Mount Citheron.

CLI′O. One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over history.

CLOACI′NA. The Roman goddess of sewers.

CLO′THO was one of the Fates. She was present at births, and held the distaff from which was spun the thread of life. See Atropos and Lachesis.

CLOWNS OF LY′CIA, THE, were changed into frogs by Latona, because they refused to allow her to drink at one of their streamlets.

CLU′ACI′NA. A name of Venus, given to her at the time of the reconciliation of the Romans and the Sabines, which was ratified near a statue of the goddess.

CLY′TEMNES′TRA, wife of Agamemnon, slew her husband and married Ægisthus. She attempted to kill her son Orestes, but he was delivered by his sister Electra, who sent him away to Strophius. He afterwards returned and slew both Clytemnestra and Ægisthus.

CLYT′IE. A nymph who got herself changed into a sunflower because her love of Apollo was unrequited. In the form of this flower she is still supposed to be turning towards Sol, a name of Apollo.

CNEPH. In Egyptian mythology the creator of the universe.

COCY′TUS, the river of Lamentation. One of the five rivers of the infernal regions.

“Infernal rivers that disgorge
Into the burning lake their baleful streams.
... Cocytus, named of lamentation loud,
Heard on the rueful stream.”

MILTON.

CŒ’CULUS, a violent robber, was a son of Vulcan.

CŒ’LUS, also called Uranus (or Heaven), was the most ancient of the gods.

CŒ′NA SALIA′RIS, see Ancilia.

COLLI′NA was one of the rural deities, the goddess of hills.

COMEDY, see Thalia.

CO′MUS was the god of revelry. He presided over entertainments and feasts.

CON′CORD. The symbol of Concord was two right hands joined, and a pomegranate.

CONCOR′DIA. The goddess of peace. One of the oldest Roman goddesses. She is represented as holding a horn of plenty in one hand, and in the other a sceptre, from which fruit is sprouting forth.

CONSTANCY, see Cephalus.

CONSU′ALIA. Games sacred to Neptune.

CON′SUS. A name given to Neptune as being the god of counsel.

COPHE′TUA. A legendary king of Africa, who disliked women, but ultimately fell in love with a “beggar-maid,” as mentioned in _Romeo and Juliet_.

“... Cupid, he that shot so trim
When King Cophetua loved the beggar-maid.”

SHAKESPEARE.

CO′PIA, the goddess of plenty.

CO′RAN. One of Actæon’s hounds was so named.

CORN, see Ceres.

COR′ONIS, was a consort of Apollo and mother of Æsculapius. Another Coronis was daughter of a king of Phocis, and was changed by Athena into a crow.

CORYBAN′TES were priests of Cybele. They obtained the name because they were in the habit of striking themselves in their dances.

CORY′DON. A silly love-sick swain mentioned by Virgil.

CORY′THAIX. A name given to Mars, meaning Shaker of the Helmet.

COTYT′TO. The Athenian goddess of immodesty.

“Hail! goddess of nocturnal sport,
Dark-veiled Cotytto, to whom the secret flame
Of midnight torches burns; mysterious dame.”

MILTON.

COUNSEL, see Consus.

CREDITORS, see Jani.

CROW, see Coronis.

CULTIVATED LAND, see Sylvester.

CUP-BEARER, see Ganymede.

CU′PID, the god of love, was the son of Jupiter and Venus. He is represented as a naked, winged boy, with a bow and arrows, and a torch. When he grew up to be a man he married Psyche.

“For Venus did but boast one only son,
And rosy Cupid was that boasted one;
He, uncontroll’d, thro’ heaven extends his sway,
And gods and goddesses by turns obey.

EUSDEN, 1713.

CUVE′RA. The Indian god of wealth, corresponding to the Greek Plutus.

CY′BELE. The mother of the gods, and hence called Magna Mater. She was wife of Saturn. She is sometimes referred to under the names of Ceres, Rhea, Ops, and Vesta. She is represented as riding in a chariot drawn by lions. In one hand she holds a sceptre, and in the other a key. On her head is a castellated crown, to notify that she was the first to protect castles and walls with towers.

“Nor Cybele with half so kind an eye
Surveyed her sons and daughters of the sky.”

DRYDEN.

“Might she the wise Latona be,
Or the towered Cybele,
Mother of a hundred gods,
Juno dares not give her odds.”

MILTON.

CY′CLOPS or CY′CLOPES were the gigantic, one-eyed workmen of Vulcan, who made Jove’s thunderbolts. Hesiod gives their names as Arges, Brontes, and Steropes.

“Meantime, the Cyclop raging with his wound,
Spreads his wide arms, and searches round and round.”

POPE.

CYG′NUS, the bosom friend of Phaëton. He died of grief on the death of his friend, and was turned into a swan.

CYLL′AROS, one of Castor’s horses. The colour is mentioned as being coal-black, with white legs and tail. See Cillaros.

CYL′LO. The name of one of Actæon’s hounds, which was lame.

CYLLOP′OTES. A name given to one of Actæon’s hounds which limped.

CYN′OSURE. One of the nurses of Jupiter, turned by the god into a conspicuous constellation.

“Towers and battlements it sees
Bosomed high in tufted trees,
Where perhaps some beauty lies,
The Cynosure of neighbouring eyes.”

MILTON.

CYPARIS′SUS. A boy of whom Apollo was very fond; and when he died he was changed, at Apollo’s intercession, into a cypress tree, the branches of which typify mourning.

CY′PRESS, see Cyparissus.

CY′PRIA. A name of Venus, because she was worshipped in the island of Cyprus.

CYTH′ERA. A name of Venus, from the island to which she was wafted in the shell.

DACTY′LI were priests of Cybele. They were given the name, because, like the fingers, they were ten in number.

DÆD′ALUS was a great architect and sculptor. He invented the wedge, the axe, the level, and the gimlet, and was the first to use sails. Dædalus also constructed the famous labyrinth for Minos, King of Crete. See Icarus.

“Now Dædalus, behold, by fate assigned,
A task proportioned to thy mighty mind.”

POPE.

DA′GON. A god of the Philistines, half man half fish, like the mermaid. Milton describes him as “Upward man and downward fish.”

DA′HAK. The Persian devil.

DAI′TYAS. In Hindoo mythology the devils or evil gods.

DAN′Æ was a daughter of Acrisius and Eurydice. She had a son by Jupiter, who was drifted out to sea in a boat, but was saved by Polydectes and educated.

DANA′IDES, see Danaus.

DANA′US, King of Argos, was the father of fifty daughters, who, all but one, at the command of their father, slew their husbands directly after marriage. For this crime they were condemned to the task of for ever trying to draw water with vessels without any bottoms. See Hypermnestra.

DANCING, see Terpsichore.

DANGERS, see Scylla.

DAPH′NE. The goddess of the earth. Apollo courted her, but she fled from him, and was, at her own request, turned into a laurel tree.

“... As Daphne was
Root-bound, that fled Apollo.”

MILTON.

DAR′DANUS, a son of Jupiter, who built the city of Dardania, and by some writers was accounted the founder of Troy.

DEAD-TOLL, see Charon.

DEATH, see Nox.

DECEIVER, THE, see Apaturia.

DEIANI′RA, daughter of Œneus, was wife of Hercules. See Hercules.

DE′LOS, a name of Apollo, from the island in which he was born.

DEL′PHI. A town on Mount Parnassus, famous for its oracle, and for a temple of Apollo. See Delphos.

DEL′PHICUS. A name of Apollo, from Delphi.

DEL′PHOS, the place where the temple was built from which the oracle of Apollo was given.

DE′MARUS. The Phœnician name of Jupiter.

DE′MOGOR′GON was the tyrant genius of the soil or earth, the life and support of plants. He was depicted as an old man covered with moss, and was said to live underground. He is sometimes called the king of the elves and fays.

“Which wast begot in Demogorgon’s hall
And saw’st the secrets of the world unmade.”

SPENCER.

DEUCHA′LION, one of the demigods, son of Prometheus and Pyrra. He and his wife, by making a ship, survived the deluge which Jupiter sent on the earth, circa 1503 B.C.

DEVIL, see Dahak, Daityas, and Obambou.

DI′ANA, goddess of hunting and of chastity. She was the sister of Apollo, and daughter of Jupiter and Latona. She was known amongst the Greeks as Diana or Phœbe, and was honoured as a triform goddess. As a celestial divinity she was called Luna; as a terrestrial Diana or Dictynna; and in the infernal regions Hecate.

DICTYN′NA, a Greek name of Diana as a terrestrial goddess.

DI′DO. A daughter of Belus, King of Tyre. It was this princess who bought a piece of land in Africa as large as could be encompassed by a bullock’s hide, and when the purchase was completed, cut the hide into strips, and so secured a large tract of land. Here she built Carthage; and Virgil tells that when Æneas was shipwrecked on the neighbouring coast, she received him with every kindness, and at last fell in love with him. But Æneas did not reciprocate her affections, and this so grieved her that she stabbed herself. A tale is told in _Facetiæ Cantabrigienses_ of Professor Porson, who being one of a set party, the conversation turned on the subject of punning, when Porson observing that he could pun on any subject, a person present defied him to do so on the Latin gerunds, _di_, _do_, _dum_, which, however, he immediately did in the following admirable couplet:--

“When Dido found Æneas would not come,
She mourned in silence, and was _Dido dumb_.”

DI′ES PA′TER, or Father of the Day, a name of Jupiter.

DII SELEC′TI composed the second class of gods. They were Cœlus, Saturn, Genius, Oreus, Sol, Bacchus, Terra, and Luna.

DIN′DYME′NE. A name of Cybele, from a mountain where she was worshipped.

“Nor Dindymene, nor her priest possest,
Can with their sounding cymbals shake the breast
Like furious anger.”

FRANCIS.

DIOME′DES, the cruel tyrant of Thrace, who fed his mares on the flesh of his guests, was overcome by Hercules, and was given to the same horses as food.

DIO′NE. A poetic name of Venus.

DIONY′SIA were festivals in honour of Bacchus.

DIONY′SIUS. A name of Bacchus, either from his father Jupiter (Dios), or from his nurses, the nymphs called Nyseæ.

DI′OS, a name of Jupiter.

DIOS′CURI. Castor and Pollux, the sons of Jupiter.

DI′RÆN. A name of the Furies.

DIS. A name of Pluto, god of hell, signifying riches.

“... That fair field
Of Enna, where Proserpine gathering flowers,
Herself a fairer flower, by gloomy Dis
Was gathered.”

MILTON.

DISCORD, see Ate.

DISCOR′DIA, sister of Nemesis, the Furies, and Death, was driven from heaven for having sown discord amongst the gods.

DISEASES, see Pandora.

DISTAFF, see Pallas.

DODO′NA was a celebrated oracle of Jupiter.

“O where, Dodona, is thine aged grove,
Prophetic fount, and oracle divine?”

BYRON.

DODONÆ′US. A name of Jupiter, from the city of Dodona.

DOG, see Lares.

DOLA′BRA. The knife used by the priests to cut up the sacrifices.

DOL′PHIN, see Arion.

DOOR′GA. A Hindoo goddess.

DO′RIS was daughter of Oceanus, and sister of Nereus, two of the marine deities. From these two sisters sprang the several tribes of water nymphs.

DO′TO. One of the Nereids or sea nymphs.

DRA′CO. One of Actæon’s hounds.

DRAGON, seven-headed, see Geryon.

DREAMS, see Morpheus.

DRY′ADS were rural deities, the nymphs of the forests, to whom their votaries offered oil, milk, and honey.

“Flushed with resistless charms he fired to love
Each nymph and little Dryad of the grove.”

TICKNELL.

DUMB′NESS, see Atys.

DWEUR′GAR. Scandinavian god of the Echo--a pigmy.

E′ACUS, son of Jupiter and Egina, one of the judges of the infernal regions, who was appointed to judge the Europeans. See Æacus.

EARTH, see Antæas.

EB′LIS, the Mohammedan evil genius.

ECHID′NA. A woman having a serpent’s tail. She was the reputed mother of Chimera, and also of the many-headed dog Orthos, of the three hundred headed dragon, of the Hesperides, of the Colchian dragon, of the Sphinx, of Cerberus, of Scylla, of the Gorgons, of the Lernæan Hydra, of the vulture that gnawed away the liver of Prometheus, and also of the Nemean lion; in fact, the mother of all adversity and tribulation.

ECHNO′BAS, one of Actæon’s hounds.

ECH′O was a nymph who fell in love with Narcissus. But when he languished and died she pined away from grief and died also, preserving nothing but her voice, which repeats every sound that reaches her. Another fable makes Echo a daughter of Air and Tellus. She was partly deprived of speech by Juno, being allowed only to reply to questions.

“Sweet Echo, sweetest nymph, that liv’st unseen
Within thy airy shell.
. . . . . . .
Sweet queen of parley, daughter of the sphere,
So may’st thou be translated to the skies,
And give resounding grace to all heaven’s harmonies.”

MILTON.

“Oft by Echo’s tedious tales misled.”

OVID.

EGEON. A giant sea-god, who assisted the Titans against Jupiter.

EGE′RIA. A nymph who is said to have suggested to Numa all his wise laws. She became his wife, and at his death was so disconsolate, and shed so many tears, that Diana changed her into a fountain.

E′GIL. The Vulcan of northern mythology.

EGIP′ANS were rural deities who inhabited the forests and mountains, the upper half of the body being like that of a man, and the lower half like a goat.

E′GIS was the shield of Minerva. It obtained its name because it was covered with the skin of the goat Amalthæa, which nourished Jupiter. See Ægis.

ELEUSIN′IAN MYSTERIES. Religious rites in honour of Ceres, performed at Eleusis in Attica.

ELYS′IUM, or the ELYSIAN FIELDS. The temporary abode of the just in the infernal regions.

EMPYRE′AN, THE. The fifth heaven, the seat of the heathen deity.

ENDYM′ION. A shepherd, who acquired from Jupiter the faculty of being always young. One of the lovers of Diana.

ENTERTAINMENTS, see Comus.

ENVY, see Furies.

ENYO was the Grecian name of Bellona, the goddess of war and cruelty.

E′OLUS, see Æolus.

E′OS. The Grecian name of Aurora.

E′OUS. One of the four horses which drew the chariot of Sol, the sun. The word is Greek, and means red.

EPH′IAL′TES. A giant who lost his right eye in an encounter with Hercules, and the left eye was destroyed by Apollo.

ER′ATO. One of the Muses, the patroness of light poetry; she presided over the triumphs and complaints of lovers, and is generally represented as crowned with roses and myrtle, and holding a lyre in her hand.

ER′EBUS, son of Chaos, one of the gods of Hades, sometimes alluded to as representing the infernal regions.

ERGA′TIS. A name given to Minerva. It means the work-woman, and was given to the goddess because she was credited with having invented spinning and weaving.

ERIC′THEUS, fourth King of Athens, was the son of Vulcan.

ERIN′NYS. A Greek name of the Furies. It means Disturber of the Mind.

ERISICH′THON was punished with perpetual hunger because he defiled the groves of Ceres, and cut down one of the sacred oaks.

ER′OS. The Greek god of love.

EROS′TRATUS. The rascal who burnt the temple of Diana at Ephesus, thereby hoping to make his name immortal.

ERYC′INA. A name of Venus, from Mount Eryx in Sicily.

ERYTHRE′OS. The Grecian name of one of the horses of Sol’s chariot.

ESCULA′PIUS, see Æsculapius.

E′TA, see Æta.

E′THON, one of the horses who drew the chariot of Sol--the sun. The word is Greek, and signifies hot.

ET′NA. A volcanic mountain, beneath which, according to Virgil, there is buried the giant Typhon, who breathes forth devouring flames.

EU′DROMOS. The name of one of Actæon’s hounds.

EU′LALON, one of the names of Apollo.

EUMEN′IDES, a name of the Furies, meaning mild, and referring to the time when they were approved by Minerva.

EUPHRO′SYNE, one of the three Graces, see Graces.

“Come thou goddess fair and free,
In heaven ycleped Euphrosyne.”

MILTON.

EU′RUS. The east wind. A son of Æolus.

EURY′ALE was one of the Gorgons, daughter of Phorcus and Ceto.

EURYD′ICE, wife of Orpheus, who was killed by a serpent on her wedding night.

“Nor yet the golden verge of day begun,
When Orpheus (her unhappy lord),
Eurydice to life restored,
At once beheld, and lost, and was undone.”

F. LEWIS.

EURYTH′ION. A seven-headed dragon. See Geryon.

EU′TERPE, one of the Muses, the patroness of instrumental music. The word means agreeable.

EU′VYHE, an expression meaning “Well done, son.” Jupiter so frequently addressed his son Bacchus by those words that the phrase at last became one of his names.

EVENING STAR, see Hesperus.

EVIL, see Cacodæmon.

EVILS, see Pandora.

EYE, see Cyclops and Glaukopis.

FAME was a poetical deity, represented as having wings and blowing a trumpet. A temple was dedicated to her by the Romans.

FATE, see Nereus.

FATES, or PARCÆ, were the three daughters of Necessity. Their names were Clotho, who held the distaff; Lachesis, who turned the spindle; and Atropos, who cut the thread with the fatal shears.

FAUN. A rural divinity, half man and half goat. They were very similar to the Satyrs. The Fauns attended the god Pan, and the Satyrs attended Bacchus.

FAVO′NIUS. The wind favourable to vegetation, that is, Zephyr--the west wind.

“... Time will run
On smoother, till Favonius re-inspire
The frozen earth, and clothe in fresh attire
The lily and the rose, that neither sowed nor spun.”

MILTON.

FAYS.

“The yellow-skirted Fays
Fly after the night-steeds,
Leaving their moon-loved maze.”

MILTON.

FEASTS, see Comus.

FE′BRIS (fever), one of the evil deities, was worshipped that she might not do harm.

FEB′RUUS. A name of Plato, from the part of the funeral rites which consisted of purifications.