Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Tartarus

(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. ...

Horae

(Encyclopedia)Horae hōˈrē [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddesses of the seasons; daughters of Zeus and Themis. Although they controlled the recurrence of the seasons, they also attended other gods and...

Hellen

(Encyclopedia)Hellen hĕlˈən, –ēn [key], in Greek mythology, ancestor of the Hellenes, or Greeks; son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. He was the father of Dorus, Xuthus, and Aeolus, who were the progenitors of the pr...

constellation, in astronomy

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Constellations: Southern sky CE5 Constellations: Southern sky CE5 Constellations: Southern sky constellation, in common usage, group of stars that appear to form a configuration in the...

Hephaestus

(Encyclopedia)Hephaestus hĕfĕsˈtəs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, Olympian god. According to Homer he was the son of Hera and Zeus, but Hesiod states that he was conceived and borne by Hera alone. Orig...

Athamas

(Encyclopedia)Athamas ăthˈəmăs [key], in Greek mythology, king of Boeotia. He married Nephele, who bore him Phrixus and Helle, but he later fell in love with Ino, who bore him Learchus and Melicertes. According...

Argo

(Encyclopedia)Argo ärˈgō [key], in Greek mythology, ship in which Jason and the Argonauts sailed in quest of the Golden Fleece. Most legends say that Argus, son of Phrixus, was the builder, with the help of Athe...

Merope

(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...

Deucalion

(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...

Psyche

(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...