Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Cerberus sûrˈbərəs [key], in Greek mythology, many-headed dog with a mane and a tail of snakes; offspring of Typhon and Echidna. He guarded the entrance of Hades. One of the 12 labors of Hercules ...

(Encyclopedia) Hylas hīˈləs [key], in Greek mythology, beautiful youth. He was a favorite companion of Hercules. While on the expedition of the Argonauts, Hylas was dragged into a spring by water nymphs enchanted...

(Encyclopedia) ambrosia ămbrōˈzhə [key], in Greek mythology, food and drink with which the Olympian gods preserved their immortality. Extraordinarily fragrant, ambrosia was probably conceived of as a purified an...

(Encyclopedia) Geryon jĕrˈēən, jərĭˈən [key], in Greek mythology, three-bodied monster who, with his dog Orthrus, watched over a great herd of cattle. He and Orthrus were killed by Hercules when, as his 10th...

(Encyclopedia) suburb, a community in an outlying section of a city or, more commonly, a nearby, politically separate municipality with social and economic ties to the central city. In the 20th cent., particularly i...

(Encyclopedia) Jónsson, Einar āˈnär yōnˈsôn [key], 1874–1954, Icelandic sculptor and painter. His subjects were drawn from Nordic mythology, Icelandic folklore, and the Bible. His statue of the explorer Tho...

(Encyclopedia) Hermaphroditus hərmăfrədīˈtəs [key], in Greek mythology, beautiful son of Hermes and Aphrodite. He scorned the nymph Salmacis, who prayed that they might never be separated. When Hermaphroditus ...

(Encyclopedia) Mimir mēˈmĭr [key], in Norse mythology, giant who guarded the well of wisdom. According to one legend Mimir was beheaded by the enemies of the gods of Asgard; his head was then preserved by Odin, w...

(Encyclopedia) Astraea ăstrēˈə [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddess of justice; daughter of Zeus and Themis. Because of the wickedness of man, she withdrew from the earth at the end of the Golden Age ...

(Encyclopedia) Asopus əsōˈpəs [key], in Greek mythology, river god. He tried to prevent Zeus from abducting his daughter Aegina, but Zeus drove him off with a thunderbolt. ...