Part 2

=Ancilia= (Ancilʹia), 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 Coena Saliaris.

=Andromeda= (Andromʹeda), 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.

=Anemone= (Anemʹone). Venus changed Adonis into this flower.

=Angeronia= (Angeroʹnia), otherwise Volupia, was the goddess who had the power of dispelling anguish of mind.

=Anna Perenna= (Anna Perenʹna), one of the rural divinities.

=Antaeus= (Antaeʹus), 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.

=Anteros= (Anʹteros), one of the two Cupids, sons of Venus.

=Anticlea= (Anticʹlea), the mother of Ulysses.

=Antiope= (Antiʹope) was the wife of Lycus, King of Thebes. Jupiter, disguised as a satyr, led her astray and corrupted her.

=Anubis= (Anuʹbis) (or Hermanubis (Hermanʹubis)). "A god half a dog, a dog half a man." Called _Barker_ by Virgil and other poets.

=Aonides= (Aonʹides), a name of the Muses, from the country Aonia.

=Apaturia= (Apaturʹia), an Athenian festival, which received its name from a Greek word signifying deceit.

=Aphrodite= (Aphʹrodiʹte), a Greek name of Venus.

=Apis=, a name given to Jupiter by the inhabitants of the Lower Nile. Also the miraculous ox, worshiped in Egypt.

=Apis= (Aʹpis), King of Argivia. Afterward called Serapis, the greatest god of the Egyptians.

=Apollo= (Apolʹlo). This famous god, some time 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 Didymaeus, Nomius, Paean, and Phoebus. 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 favorite 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 Aesculapius and Phaeton.

"Wilt thou have music? Hark! Apollo plays. And twenty cagëd nightingales do sing." Shakespeare.

=Apotheosis= (Apotheʹosis). The consecration of a god. The ceremony of deification.

=Arachne= (Arachʹne), a Lydian 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 disemboweled web, Arachne, in a hall or kitchen spreads. Obvious to vagrant flies." John Phillips.

=Arcadia= (Arcaʹdia), a delightful country in the center of Peloponnessus, a favorite place of the gods. Apollo was reputed to have been King of Arcadia.

=Arcas= (Arʹcas), a son of Calisto, was turned into a he-bear; and afterward into the constellation called Ursa Minor.

=Archer=, see Chiron.

=Areopagitae= (Areopʹagiʹtae), the judges who sat at the Areopagus.

=Areopagus= (Areopʹagus), the hill at Athens where Mars was tried for murder before twelve of the gods.

=Ares= (Aʹres). The same as Mars, the god of war.

=Arethusa= (Arethuʹsa) 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.

=Argonauts= (Arʹgonauts). 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.

=Argus= (Arʹgus) 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.

=Ariadne= (Ariadʹne), 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.

=Arion= (Ariʹon) 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 traveling 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.

=Aristaeus= (Aristaeʹus), 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 Actaeon.

=Armata= (Armaʹta), one of the names of Venus, given to her by Spartan women.

=Artemis= (Arʹtemis). This was the Grecian name of Diana, and the festivals at Delphi were called Artemisia.

=Arts and Sciences=, see Muses.

=Aruspices= (Arusʹpices), sacrificial priests.

=Ascalaphus= (Ascalʹaphus) 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.

=Ascanius= (Ascaʹnius), the son of Aeneas and Creusa.

=Ascolia= (Ascolʹia), Bacchanalian feasts, from a Greek word meaning a leather bottle. The bottles were used in the games to jump on.

=Asopus= (Asoʹpus). A son of Jupiter, who was killed by one of his father's thunderbolts.

=Assabinus= (Assabiʹnus), the Ethiopian name of Jupiter.

=Ass's ears=, see Midas.

=Astarte= (Astarʹte), one of the Eastern names of Venus.

=Asteria= (Asteʹria), daughter of Caeus, was carried away by Jupiter, who assumed the shape of an eagle.

=Astrea= (Astreʹa), 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.

=Atalanta= (Atalanʹta) was daughter of Caeneus. 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 afterward turned into lions by Cybele, for profaning her temple.

=Ate= (Aʹte). 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.

=Athena= (Atheʹna), 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 labor. 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 Aethra he had seven more, who were, in the same manner, called Hyades. Both the Pleiades and the Hyades are celestial constellations.

=Atreus= (Atʹreus), 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.

"Media must not draw her murdering knife, Nor Atreus there his horrid feast prepare." Lord Roscommon.

=Atropos= (Atʹropos), one of the three sisters called The Fates, who held the shears ready to cut the thread of life.

=Atys= (Aʹtys), son of Croesus, 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.

=Atys= (Aʹtys) was a youth beloved by Aurora, and was slain by her father, but, according to Ovid, was afterward turned into a pine-tree.

=Augaeas= (Augʹaeas), 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. Augaeas promised to give Hercules a tenth part of his cattle for his trouble but, for neglecting to keep his promise, Hercules slew him.

=Augury= (Auʹgury). 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.

=Aurora= (Auroʹra), 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.

=Auster= (Ausʹter), the south wind, a son of Jupiter.

=Avernus= (Averʹnus), 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.

=Averruncus Deus= (Averrunʹcus Deus), a Roman god, who could divert people from evil-doing.

=Axe=, see Daedalus.

=Baal= (Baʹal), a god of the Phoenicians.

=Baal-Peor= (Baʹal-Peʹor), a Moabitish god, associated with licentiousness and obscenity. The modern name is Belphegor.

=Babes=, see Rumia Dea.

=Bacchantes= (Bacʹchantes). The priestesses of Bacchus.

=Bacchus= (Bacʹchus), 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, Brisaeus, Iacchus, Lenaeus, 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.

=Balios= (Baʹlios). A famous horse given by Neptune to Peleus as a wedding present, and was afterward given to Achilles.

=Barker=, see Anubis.

=Bassarides= (Bassarʹides). The priestesses of Bacchus were sometimes so called.

=Battle=, see Valhalla.

=Bear=, see Calisto.

=Beauty=, see Venus.

=Bees=, see Mellona.

=Belisama= (Belisaʹma), a goddess of the Gauls. The name means the Queen of Heaven.

=Bellerophon= (Bellerʹophon), a hero who destroyed a monster called the Chimaera.

=Bellona= (Belloʹna), 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 Dirae's and in Discord's steps Bellona treads, And shakes her iron rod above their heads."

=Belphegor= (Belpheʹgor), see Baal-Peor.

=Belus= (Beʹlus). The Chaldean name of the sun.

=Berecynthia= (Berecynʹthia), a name of Cybele, from a mountain where she was worshiped.

=Biformis= (Biʹformis), 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 Thamyris.

=Blue eyes=, see Glaukopis.

=Bona Dea= (Boʹna Deʹa). "The bountiful goddess," whose festival was celebrated by the Romans with much magnificence. See Ceres.

=Bonus Eventus= (Boʹnus Evenʹtus). The god of good success, a rural divinity.

=Boreas= (Boʹreas), the north wind, son of Astraeus 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.

=Brahma= (Brahʹma). The great Indian deity, represented with four heads looking to the four quarters of the globe.

=Briareus= (Briʹareus), a famous giant. See Aegeon.

=Brisaeus= (Brisʹaeus). A name of Bacchus, referring to the use of grapes and honey.

=Brontes= (Brontʹes), one of the Cyclops. He is the personification of a blacksmith.

=Bubona= (Buboʹna), goddess of herdsmen, one of the rural divinities.

=Buddha= (Budʹdha). Primitively, a pagan deity, the Vishnu of the Hindoos.

=Byblis= (Bybʹlis). A niece of Sol, mentioned by Ovid. She shed so many tears for unrequited love that she was turned into a fountain.

"Thus the Phoebeian Byblis, spent in tears, Becomes a living fountain, which yet bears Her name." Ovid.

=Cabiri= (Cabʹiri). 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.

=Cacodaemon= (Cacʹodaeʹmon). The Greek name of an evil spirit.

=Cacus= (Caʹcus), a three-headed monster and robber.

=Cadmus= (Cadʹmus), one of the earliest of the Greek demi-gods. He was the reputed inventor of letters, and his alphabet consisted of sixteen letters. It was Cadmus who slew the Boeotian dragon, and sowed its teeth in the ground, from each of which sprang up an armed man.

=Caduceus= (Caduʹceus). 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."

=Calisto= (Calisʹto), 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.

=Calliope= (Calliʹope). The Muse who presided over epic poetry and rhetoric. She is generally depicted using a stylus and wax tablets, the ancient writing materials.

=Calpe= (Calʹpe). One of the pillars of Hercules.

=Calypso= (Calypʹso) was queen of the island of Ogygia, on which Ulysses was wrecked, and where he was persuaded to remain seven years.

=Cama= (Caʹma). The Indian god of love and marriage.

=Camillus= (Camilʹlus), a name of Mercury, from his office of minister to the gods.

=Canache= (Canʹache). The name of one of Actaeon's hounds.

=Canopus= (Canoʹpus). The Egyptian god of water, the conqueror of fire.

=Capis= (Capʹis) or =Capula= (Capʹula). A peculiar cup with ears, used in drinking the health of the deities.

=Capitolinus= (Capitoliʹnus). A name of Jupiter, from the Capitoline hill, on the top of which a temple was built and dedicated to him.

=Capripedes= (Capʹriʹpedes). Pan, the Egipans, the Satyrs, and Fauns, were so called from having goat's feet.

=Caprotina= (Caprotiʹna). A name of Juno.

=Cassandra= (Cassanʹdra), 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.

=Cassiopeia= (Cassiopeʹia). 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. See Andromeda.

=Castalia= (Castaʹlia). One of the fountains in Mount Parnassus, sacred to the Muses.

=Castalides= (Castaʹliʹdes), a name of the Muses, from the fountain Castalia or Castalius.

=Castor= (Casʹtor), 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.

=Cauther= (Cauʹther), 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.

=Celeno= (Celʹeno) was one of the Harpies, progenitor of Zephyrus, the west wind.

=Centaur= (Cenʹtaur). A huntsman who had the forepart like a man, and the remainder of the body like a horse. The Centauri lived in Thessaly.

=Cephalus= (Cepʹhalus) 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.

=Ceraunius= (Cerauʹnius). A Greek name of Jupiter, meaning The Fulminator, from his thunderbolts.

=Cerberus= (Cerʹberus). 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 Pluto's iron gate; Low crouching rolls his haggard eyes, Ecstatic, and foregoes his prize."

=Ceremonies=, see Themis.

=Ceres= (Ceʹres), daughter of Saturn, the goddess of agriculture, and of the fruits of the 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 Proserpine. 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 plowed, Who gave sweet fruits and every good allowed." Pope.

=Cestus= (Cesʹtus), the girdle of Venus, which excited irresistible affection.

=Chaos= (Chaʹos) 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.

=Charon= (Charʹon) 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."

=Charybdis= (Charybʹdis). A dangerous whirlpool on the coast of Sicily. Personified, it was supposed to have been a woman who plundered travelers, 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.

=Chemos= (Cheʹmos). The Moabitish god of war.

=Children=, see Nundina.

=Chimaera= (Chimaeʹra). 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 enjoined, 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.

=Chiron= (Chiʹron), the centaur who taught Achilles hunting, music, and the use of medicinal herbs. Jupiter placed him among the stars, where he appears as Sagittarius, the Archer.

=Chloris= (Chloʹris). The Greek name of Flora, the goddess of flowers.

=Chou.= An Egyptian god corresponding to the Roman Hercules.

=Chronos= (Chroʹnos). Time, the Grecian name of Saturn.

=Cillaros= (Cilʹlaros), see Cyllaros.

=Circe= (Cirʹce), 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 Aeaea, where she lived, she turned all his followers into swine.

=Cisseta= (Cisseʹta). The name of one of Actaeon's hounds.

=Citherides= (Citherʹides). A name of the Muses, from Mount Citheron.

=Clio= (Cliʹo). One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over history.

=Cloacina= (Cloaciʹna). The Roman goddess of sewers.

=Clotho= (Cloʹtho) 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 Lycia, The= (Lyʹcia), were changed into frogs by Latona, because they refused to allow her to drink at one of their streamlets.

=Cluacina= (Cluʹaciʹna). 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.

=Clytemnestra= (Clyʹtemnesʹtra), wife of Agamemnon, slew her husband and married Aegisthus. She attempted to kill her son Orestes, but he was delivered by his sister Electra, who sent him away to Strophius. He afterward returned and slew both Clytemnestra and Aegisthus.

=Clytie= (Clytʹie). 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 toward Sol, a name of Apollo.

=Cneph.= In Egyptian mythology the creator of the universe.

=Cocytus= (Cocyʹtus), 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.

=Coeculus= (Coeʹculus), a violent robber, was a son of Vulcan.

=Coelus= (Coeʹlus), also called Uranus (or Heaven), was the most ancient of the gods.

=Coena Saliaris= (Coeʹna Saliaʹris), see Ancilia.

=Collina= (Colliʹna) was one of the rural deities, the goddess of hills.

=Comedy=, see Thalia.