Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Tartarus, in Greek mythology, lowest region of the underworld. The wicked (e.g., Sisyphus, Tantalus, and Ixion) were sent to Tartarus as punishment for their sins. ...

(Encyclopedia) Egeria ējērˈēə [key], in Roman religion and mythology, goddess or nymph of fountains. Consort and adviser of King Numa, she was also identified with Diana and worshiped as a goddess of childbirth...

(Encyclopedia) Merope mĕrˈəpē [key], in Greek mythology. 1 One of the Pleiades. She was the wife of Sisyphus, king of Corinth, and the mother of Glaucus. According to one legend she became the lost Pleiad becaus...

(Encyclopedia) Deucalion dyo͞okāˈlēən [key], in Greek mythology, son of Prometheus and father of Hellen. When Zeus, angered by humanity's irreverence, flooded the earth, Deucalion, warned by Prometheus, survive...

(Encyclopedia) Sisyphus sĭsˈĭfəs [key], in Greek mythology, son of Aeolus and founder and king of Corinth. Renowned for his cunning, he was said to have outwitted even Death. For his disrespect to Zeus, he was c...

(Encyclopedia) Psyche sīˈkē [key], in Greek mythology, personification of the human soul. She was so lovely that Eros (Cupid), the god of love, fell in love with her. He swept her off to a beautiful, isolated cas...

(Encyclopedia) Gorgon gôrˈgən [key], in Greek mythology, one of three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa; daughters of Ceto and Phorcus. Their hair was a cluster of writhing snakes, and their faces we...

(Encyclopedia) Euhemerus yo͞ohĕmˈərəs [key], fl. c.300 b.c., Cyrenaic philosopher, b. Sicily. He is famous for a theory of mythology embodied in his philosophical romance, Sacred History, a work of which only f...

(Encyclopedia) Dice: see Horae.

(Encyclopedia) Dike: see Horae.