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Atlantides

Atlantides

This article is about Greek mythology. For alternate meanings see Pleiades (disambiguation). The Pleiades Πληιόνης (pleye'-a-deez, also plee'-a-deez), companions of Artemis (ar'-te-mis), were the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas (at'-las) and the sea-nymph Pleione (pleye-oh'-nee) born on Mount Cyllene (seye-lee'-nee). They are the sisters of Calypso, Hyas, the Hyades, and the Hesperides. The Pleiades were nymphs in the train of Artemis, and together with the seven Hyades were called the Atlantides, Dodonides, or Nysiades, nursemaids and teachers to the infant Bacchus. There is some debate as to the origin of the name Pleiades. Previously, it was accepted the name is derived from the name of their mother, Pleione. However, the name Pleiades is more likely to come from πλει̂ν (to sail), because the Pleiades star cluster are visible in the Mediterranean at night during the summer, from the middle of May until the beginning of November, which coincided with the sailing season in antiquity. This derivation was recognized by the ancients, including Virgil (Georgics 1.136-138).

The Seven Sisters

Indeed, the Pleiades must have had considerable charms, for several of the most prominent male Olympian gods (including Zeus, Poseidon, and Ares) engaged in affairs with the seven heavenly sisters - and inevitably, these relationships resulted in the birth of children:
- Celaeno (se-lee'-noh) was mother of Lycus by Poseidon.
- Alcyone (al-seye'-a-nee) was mother of Hyrieus by Lycus.
- Electra (e-lek'-tra) was mother of Dardanus and Iasion by Zeus.
- Maia (may'-a, also meye'-a), eldest of the seven Pleiades, was mother of Hermes by Zeus.
- Sterope (stair'-a-pee) (also Asterope) was mother of Oenomaus by Ares.
- Taygete (tay-ij'-i-tee) was mother of Lacedaemon, also by Zeus.
- Merope (mair'-a-pee) was mother of Glaucus by Sisyphus. All of the Pleiades, except Merope had affairs with gods.

Mythology

After Atlas was forced to carry the world on his shoulders, Orion began to pursue all of the Pleiades, and Zeus transformed them first into doves, and then into stars to comfort their father. The constellation of Orion is said to still pursue them across the night sky. In the Pleiades star cluster only six of the stars shine brightly, the seventh, Merope, shines dully because she is shamed for eternity for having an affair with a mortal. Some myths also say that the star that doesn't shine is Electra, mourning the death of Dardanus, though a few myths say it is Sterope. One of the most memorable myths involving the Pleiades is the story of how these sisters became, quite literally, stars. According to some versions of the tale, all seven sisters committed suicide because they were so saddened by either the fate of their father, Atlas, or the loss of their siblings, the Hyades. In turn Zeus, the ruler of the Greek gods, immortalized the sisters by placing them in the sky. There these seven stars formed the constellation known thereafter as the Pleiades. The Greek poet Hesiod mentions the Pleiades several times in his Works and Days. As the Pleiades are primarily summer stars, they feature prominently in the ancient agricultural calendar. Here is a bit of advice from Hesiod: :"And if longing seizes you for sailing the stormy seas, :when the Pleiades flee mighty Orion :and plunge into the misty deep :and all the gusty winds are raging, :then do not keep your ship on the wine-dark sea :but, as I bid you, remember to work the land."

Pleiades (disambiguation)

Pleiades can refer to:
- Pleiades (star cluster) - an open cluster of stars in the constellation Taurus;
- Pleiades (mythology) - the seven sisters of Greek mythology;
- Pleiades (volcano group) - a group of volcanoes in Antarctica;
- La Pléiade - a group of 16th-century French poets.

Artemis

:This article is about the Greek goddess. For other meanings of the term, see Artemis (disambiguation). Artemis (disambiguation).]] In Greek mythology Artemis (Greek Άρτεμις) is the daughter of Zeus and Leto and the twin sister of Apollo. In later times she was conflated with the Goddess Diana of Roman mythology. In Etruscan mythology, she took the form of Artume.

Worship

Artume]] She was the virgin moon goddess of the hunt, wild animals, healing, wilderness, chastity, and childbirth. She was worshipped as a fertility/childbirth goddess in many places since, according to some myths, she assisted her mother in the delivery of her twin. At some point in the Classical period, she was identified by some with Hecate, the primal, pre-Olympian feral goddess. She much later became more identified with and eventually supplanted Selene as the moon goddess to complement her twin's identification with and supplantation of Helios as the sun god. Artemis also assimilated Caryatis (Carya). Her priestesses were addressed with the title Melissa, which means "bee". Artemis was not worshipped heavily in much of mainland Greece. In Asia Minor, however, she was a principal deity. The city of Ephesus is probably the best known of the Asian centers of her worship, from the story in the Acts of the Apostles, where the Ephesian metalsmiths who feel threatened by Paul's preaching of the new faith, zealously riot in her defense, shouting "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" (Acts 19:28 KJV) In Rome, she was heavily venerated at Mount Tifata near Capua and in holy forests (such as Aricia, Latium) Her high priest lived in Aricia; his position was passed to the person who was able to kill him with a bough, picked from a tree in the forest. Festivals in honor of Artemis include Brauronia, held in Brauron and the festival of Artemis Orthia in Sparta. Young girls were initiated into the cult of Artemis at puberty. However, before marrying (an event in which they had little say, and which occurred shortly after puberty), they were asked to lay all the accoutrements of virginity (toys, dolls, locks of their hair) on an altar to Artemis.

Diana

Diana was worshipped in a temple on the Aventine Hill where mainly lower-class citizens and slaves worshipped her. Slaves could ask for and receive asylum in her temples. She was worshipped at a festival on August 13. Her name may have come from diviana ("the shining one"). It is often presumed that defeated peoples become a substratum beneath that of their conquerors. It seems plausible that the association of Diana worship with slaves may reflect the conquest of Goddess worshippers by, presumably, the early Romans.

Artemis in art

August 13]] In art, she was typically portrayed with a crescent moon above her head and her bow and arrows, created by Hephaestus and the Cyclopes. These arrows, in contrast to her role as goddess of childbirth, were said to be the cause of women dying in childbirth. Her brother Apollo exhibited contradiction as well, as he was a god of healing who brought leprosy, rabies and gout. gout.]] In Ephesus, the Temple of Artemis became one of the Seven Wonders of the World. In Ephesus, and elsewhere in Asia Minor, she was worshipped primarily as an earth and fertility goddess, akin to Cybele, unlike in mainland Greece. Statues in Greece depict her with her bow and arrow. In Asia Minor, she was often depicted with multiple rounded protuberances on her chest. They were formerly believed to be multiple breasts but are now known to have represented bull testes (see right).

Appellations

As Agrotora, she was especially associated as the patron goddess of hunters. Artemis was often associated with the local Aeginian goddess, Aphaea. As Potnia Theron, she was the patron of wild animals; Homer used this title. As Kourotrophos, she was the nurse of youths. As Locheia, she was the goddess of childbirth and midwives. She was sometimes known as Cynthia, from her birthplace on Mount Cynthus on Delos. She sometimes used the name Phoebe, the feminine form of her brother, Apollo's, Phoebus.

Birth

In Greek mythology Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo.

Childhood

At three years old, Artemis asked her father, Zeus, while sitting on the god king's knee, to grant her several wishes. She asked for perpetual virginity, lop-eared hounds, does to lead her chariot, and nymphs as her hunting companions. He granted her wishes. All of her companions remained virgins, and she guarded her chastity very closely.

Men

nymph]

Actaeon

She was once bathing nude in the woods when the Theban prince and hunter Actaeon stumbled across her. He stopped and stared, amazed at her ravishing beauty. He was so stunned that he accidentally stepped on a twig, and Artemis noticed him. She was so disgusted at his stares that she changed him to a stag and set his own hounds to kill him. He was torn apart by the deadly hunting dogs, who never knew that the stag they were hunting was their own master. Alternatively, Actaeon boasted that he was a better hunter than she and Artemis turned him into a stag and he was eaten by his hounds.

Adonis

In some versions of the story of Adonis, Artemis or Ares (her lover in this story) sent a wild boar to kill Adonis. This version is suspect because it implies that Artemis had lain with Ares and by virtually all accounts, she remained chaste throughout time.

Siproites

A Cretan, Siproites, saw Artemis bathing nude and was changed by her into a woman. (The complete story does not survive in any mythographer's works, but is mentioned offhand by Antoninus Liberalis.)

Orion

After leaving Eos, Orion became a follower of Artemis. She eventually killed him, though the reasons given vary: #Orion and Artemis were engaged. Her brother, Apollo didn't believe it was appropriate for her to marry a mortal. Apollo convinced Orion to walk out into the water and then dared Artemis to try to hit the barely visible speck (actually Orion's head) with an arrow from the shore. She succeeded, killing him. #Orion raped one of Artemis' female followers. She sent Scorpio, a scorpion, to kill him and both were placed in the stars as constellations. This legend explains why the constellation Scorpio rises just after Orion begins to set -- the scorpion still chases him. Orion's dog became Sirius, the dog-star.

Artemis in Neopaganism

Many Neopagans, particularly Hellenistic sects in the United States, that worship Artemis today seem to omit many of the ancient myths. Those myths which are accepted by modern Neopagans seem to be interpreted rather abstractly, as mostly metaphor. Artemis is believed to be rather concerned with her follower's well being, but to reserve her boons to those who respect nature. Artemis, in modern worship, is often seen as the goddess of wealth, magic, abundance, fertility, hunting, and longevity. While many who practice magic worship Hecate more favor Artemis for her supposed benevolence. Worship of Artemis may often include the burning of oils and incense, prayer, ritual nocturnal hunts, the burning of bread, and prostration. Artemis is thought to grant numerous boons and blessings on her followers, and is commonly worshipped by both men and women. Hecate) made in the 5th century B.C. ]] Category:Fertility goddesses Category:Greek goddesses Category:Health goddesses Category:Hunting goddesses Category:Lunar goddesses ---- Further Reading D'Este, Sorita, ARTEMIS - Virgin Goddess of the Sun & Moon, Avalonia Press, [2005] ko:아르테미스 ja:アルテミス

Atlas (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Atlas was a member of a race of giant gods known as Titans.

Mythology

Kinship

Atlas was the son of the Titan Iapetos and the Oceanid Klymene. Atlas had three brothers — Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoitios — and was the father of the Hesperides sisters, Maera, Hyas, the Hyades sisters, Kalypso and the Pleiades sisters.

Punishment

Atlas led the Titans in one of their wars against the Olympians. When the Titans were defeated, Zeus condemned Atlas to stand at the western edge of the earth and hold up the sky, to prevent the two from resuming their primordial embrace.

Variations

In a late story, a giant named Atlas tried to drive a wandering Perseus from the place where the Atlas mountains now stand. Perseus revealed Medusa's head, turning Atlas to stone. As is not uncommon in myth, this account cannot be reconciled with the far more common stories of Atlas' dealings with Herakles, who was Perseus' great-grandson. According to Plato, the first king of Atlantis was also named Atlas, but that Atlas was a mortal son of Poseidon. Another Atlas was said to have been a king of Mauretania and an expert astronomer. Mauretania

Encounter with Herakles

One of the hero Herakles' Twelve Labors involved the acquisition of some of the golden apples of the Hesperides. Herakles went first to their father Atlas and offered to hold the heavens for a little while in exchange for the apples, to which Atlas agreed. Upon his return with the apples, however, Atlas attempted to trick Herakles into carrying the sky permanently by offering to deliver the apples himself. Herakles, suspecting Atlas didn't intend to return again, pretended to agree to Atlas' offer, asking only that Atlas take the sky again for a few minutes so Herakles could rearrange his cloak as padding on his shoulders. When Atlas set down the apples and took the heavens upon his shoulders again, Herakles took the apples and went on his way. In some versions, Herakles instead built two great pillars to hold the sky away from the earth, liberating Atlas much as he liberated Prometheus.

Etymology

The etymology of the name Atlas is uncertain and still debated. Some derive it from the Proto-Indo-European root
- tel, 'to uphold, support'; others suggest that it is a pre-Indo-European name. Since the Atlas mountains fall in the region inhabited by Berbers, it could be that the name as we know it is taken from Berber.

Cultural influence

Since the middle of the sixteenth century, any collection of cartographic maps has come to be called an atlas. Gerardus Mercator was the first to use the word in this way, and he actually depicted the astronomer king. Atlas continues to be a commonly used icon in western culture (and advertising), as a symbol of strength or stoic endurance. He is often shown kneeling on one knee while supporting an enormous round globe on his back and shoulders. The globe originally represented the celestial sphere of ancient astronomy, but the use of the term atlas as a name for collections of terrestrial maps and the modern understanding of the earth as a sphere have combined to inspire the many depictions of Atlas' burden as the earth. (Both older and more accurate depictions adorn the sphere with constellations, not continents. The cosmology of Classical mythology understood the earth overall to be a disc surrounded by one ocean.) The comic book superhero Captain Marvel was granted the stamina of Atlas as part of his powers. The image of Atlas bearing a great burden serves as an important metaphor throughout Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged. "Atlas" is also used as the name of many objects and places (see Atlas (disambiguation)).

Sources

- [http://www.mapforum.com/01/atlas.htm Origin of "Atlas" for a collection of maps] Category:Titans ja:アトラス

Pleione

Pleione may refer to
- Pleione (mythology), a figure in Greek mythology
- Pleione (star), a star belonging to the Pleiades star cluster
- Pleione (orchid), a genus mainly of ground orchids

Mount Kyllini

Mount Kyllini or Mount Cyllene (Greek: Κυλλήνη, Kyllíni; sometimes in modern times Ζήρια, Zíria), is a mountain on the Peloponnesus peninsula in Greece. It rises to 2374 m (7789 ft) above sea level, making it the second-highest on the peninsula. It is located near the border between the historic regions of Arcadia and Achaea—in the northeast of Arcadia, and entirely within modern Corinthia. It is located west of Corinth, northwest of Stymfalia, north of Tripoli, and south of Derveni. In Greek mythology, Hermes was born in a sacred cave on the mountain, and so Cyllenius is a frequent epithet of his. The Homeric Hymn Hymn to Pan recalled that "Hermes ... came to Arkadia ... there where his sacred place is as god of Kyllene. For there, though a god, he used to tend curly-fleeced sheep." In ancient times there was a temple and statue dedicated to him on the mountain's summit. Much of the mountain is barren and rocky, although the area below 2000 m (6500 ft) is largely forested. There is an observatory at 908 m (2979 ft), at 22.67 east longitude and 37.97 north latitude. From the top a large portion of northeastern Peloponnesus is visible, including the eastern part of Achaia and Chelmos, the Gulf of Corinth and most of Corinthia, the southern part of Corinthia and parts of northeastern Arcadia. The nearest mountain ranges are Oligyrtos to the south and Chelmos/Aroania to the west. Roads pass near the southern and western slopes, but there are not many on the mountain itself, as much of the mountain is part of a park. The municipal boundary between of Stymfalia - Feneos - Evrostini and Xylokastro passes through the mountain.

Nearest places

- Feneos
- Kastania (1,000 m)
- Kessari, southeast
- Goura, southwest

External links

- [http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?tb=1&city=Kyllini&country=GR Mapquest - Kyllini]
- http://www.pbase.com/dead_poet/ziria
- http://www.gianniskofinas.com/Vouna/ziria/z.htm
- http://www.loizosgroup.com/Greek/M35K.htm
- http://www.mountains.gr/geographia/ziria.html
- http://www.oreivatein.com/page/mountains/q_z/ziria/ziria_f.htm
- http://victorian.fortunecity.com/degas/455/ziria.htm ---- Cyllene or Kyllene herself was a mountain nymph (an oread) who had taken for her consort Pelasges in the most ancient times that Greek mythographers could recall. ---- There was a port in Elis in Antiquity named Cyllene near the mouth of the Alfeios River, where the traveller Pausanias noted the image of Hermes, "most devoutly worshipped by the inhabitants, is merely the male member upright on the pedestal." Several nearby modern places are also named Kyllini. Cyllene is the name given to an Indo-Pacific genus of snails (Gastropoda). Category:Corinth Kyllini Category:Nymphs

Kalypso (mythology)

In Greek mythology Kālypsō (Greek: 'Καλυψώ', 'I will conceal'), or Calypso, was a sea nymph, daughter of Atlas, who delayed Odysseus on her dark and depressing island (Ogygia) for seven years. Athena intervened and asked Zeus to order her to let him go. Zeus sent Hermēs and Kalypsō reluctantly agreed. She had promised him immortality if he stayed. He left to be with his beloved Penelope. Kalypsō died in grief. With Odysseus, she was the mother of Nausinous. Homer, Odyssey V and VII; Apollodorus, Epitome VII, 24.

Daughter of Perse

Another Calypso is the daughter of Perse (and hence granddaughter of Oceanus and Tethys) and either Helios or Apollo.

Calypso in Popular Culture

- Suzanne Vega sings from Calypso's point of view on her second album Solitude Standing in the song Calypso. Category:Nymphs Category:Characters in the Odyssey

Hyas

Hyas, in Greek mythology, was a son of the Titan Atlas by Aethra (one of the Oceanids). He was a notable archer who was killed by his intended prey. Some stories have him dying after attempting to rob a lion of its cubs. Some have him killed by a serpent, but most commonly he is said to have been gored by a wild boar. His sisters, the Hyades, mourned his death with so much vehemence and dedication that they died of grief. Zeus, in recognition of their familial love, took pity upon them and changed them into stars - the constellation Hyades - and placed them in the head of Taurus, where their annual rising and setting are accompanied by plentiful rain. The mythological use for a Hyas, apparently a back formation from Hyades, may simply have been to provide a male figure to consort with the archaic rain-nymphs, the Hyades, a chaperone responsible for their behavior, as all the archaic sisterhoods— even the Muses— needed to be controlled under the Olympian world-picture (Ruck and Staples). In fact among the poets it is immaterial whether Hyas is described as their father or their brother. And his death gave these weepy rain-nymphs a cause for their weeping, mourning for a male being an acceptably passive female role in the patriarchal culture of the Hellenes. Hyas had no separate existence except as progenitor/guardian of the Hyantes, neither in mythic narrative nor in rite, even the alternative accounts of his demise being somewhat conventional and interchangeable: compare the death of Meleager or Actaeon. The Hyantes, descendants of Hyas—or rather of the Hyades, for the fertility of rain-nymphs needs no male consort— were the original ("Pelasgian") inhabitants of Boeotia, from which country they were expelled by the followers of Cadmus (Peck' Pliny's Natural History, iv.12). Into late Classical times (as by Pausanias, for example), Cadmus was remembered as having been a Phoenician, or at least backed by a Phoenician army, and there may be a nugget of political reality at the heart of the myth, that a Phoenician colony established along the Boeotian coast had displaced some of the area's aboriginal inhabitants while absorbing others. Some of the Hyantes are said to have emigrated to isolated and pastoral Phocis, where they founded Hyampolis, or at least that gave a good etiological explanation for the city's name. Others supposedly fled to Aetolia, another region that retained a primitive character into Classical times. The poets used the adjective Hyantius as equivalent to Boeoticus, or "rural" partly as a demonstration of how conversant they were with such arcane details: :"Thus, then, Hyantius to his Partners spake, :That trod the Mazes of the pathlesse Wood: :My Friends our nets and javelins reake with blood: :Enough hath been the fortune of this day:" (Ovid) The speaker is Actaeon, grandson of Cadmus, who came to an end somewhat similar to that of Hyas.

References

- Carl A.P. Ruck and Danny Staples, The World of Classical Myth, 1994. Part III: The Liminal Hero
- Harry Thurston Peck, Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities, 1898. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=1999.04.0062&loc=hyantes "Hyantes"]
- William Smith, editor. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Bigraphy and Mythography: [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104&query=label%3D%233003&word=Hyantes "Hyantes"]
- [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/vor?lang=en&full=1&alts=1&advanced=1&lookup=Hyantes Pereus Lookup Tool:] Hyantes"
- Hyginus, Poet. Astr. ii. 21;
- Ovid Fasti v. 181
- Eustathius Ad Odysseam (?unchecked) ----- Hyas is a genus of spider crabs, such as H. araneus, the Great Spider Crab found in the Atlantic and the North Sea, on almost all the coasts of the British Isles, for example, though more spottily distributed in the south and west Category:Greek mythology

Hesperides

:For the ancient Greek city Hesperides see Benghazi. In Greek mythology, the Hesperides are nymphs who tend a blissful garden in a far west corner of the world, located, according to various sources, in the Arcadian Mountains in Greece, near the Atlas mountains in Libya, or on a distant island at the edge of the ocean. According to the Greek poet Stesichorus, in his poem the "song of Geryon", and the Greek geographer Strabo, in his book Geographika (volume III), the Hesperides are in Tartessos, a location placed to the south of Iberia (Spain). The Greek poet Hesiod said that the ancient name of Cádiz was Erytheia. Additionally, Hesperides (also called Fortunate Isles) is a name given by the ancients to a series of islands located to the extreme west of the then known world. These may have included the Canary Islands, the Madeira Islands, and Cape Verde.

The evening

According to different accounts, there were either three, four, or seven Hesperides, but they are usually numbered three, like the other Greek triads (the Three Graces and the Moirae). Among the names given to them are Aegle ("dazzling light"), Arethusa, Erytheia (or Erytheis), Hesperia (or Hespereia), Hespere (or Hespera), Hestia, and Hesperusa. They are sometimes called the Western Maidens, the Daughters of Evening, or the Sunset Goddesses, all apparently tied to their imagined location in the distant west, and Hesperis is appropriately the personification of the evening (as Eos is of the dawn) and the Evening Star is Hesperus. They are also called the African Sisters, perhaps when thought to be in Libya. In addition to their tending of the garden, they were said to have taken great pleasure in singing. They are sometimes portrayed as the evening daughters of Night (Nyx) and Darkness (Erebus), in accord with the way Eos in the farthermost east, in Colchis, is the daughter of the titan Hyperion. Or they are listed as the daughters of Atlas, or of Zeus and either Hesperius or Themis, or Phorcys and Ceto.

The Garden of the Hesperides

Ceto The Garden of the Hesperides is Hera's orchard in the west, where either a single tree or a grove of immortality-giving golden apples grew. The apples were planted from the fruited branches that Gaia gave to her as a wedding gift when Hera accepted Zeus. The Hesperides were given the task of tending to the grove, but occasionally plucked from it themselves. Not trusting them, Hera also placed in the garden a never-sleeping, hundred-headed, dragon, named Ladon, as an additional safeguard. Although Herakles was supposed to perform only ten labours, Eurystheus discounted those where he was aided or paid, and so two additional labours were given. The first of these (the eleventh overall) was to steal the apples from the garden. Heracles first caught Nereus, the shape-shifting sea god, to learn where the Garden of the Hesperides was located. In some versions of the tale, Herakles did not know where to travel, and so sought help, being directed to Prometheus to ask, and when reaching Prometheus freed him from his torture as payment. This tale is more usually found in the position of the Erymanthian Boar, since it is associated with Chiron choosing to forgoe immortality and taking Prometheus' place. In some variations, Herakles, either at the start or at the end of his task, meets Antaeus, who was invincible as long as he touched his mother, Gaia, the earth. Antaeus was killed by placing him above the earth, suspended in a tree. Occasionally, versions tell that Herakles stopped in Egypt, where King Busiris decided to make him the yearly sacrifice, but Herakles burst out of his chains. Finally making his way to the Garden of the Hesperides, Herakles tricked Atlas into retrieving some of the golden apples for him, by offering to hold the heavens for a little while (Atlas was able to take them as in this version, Atlas was the father of the Hesperides). Upon his return with the apples, Atlas decided not to take the heavens back from Heracles, but Heracles tricked him again by agreeing to take his place on condition that Atlas relieved him temporarily so that Herakles could make his cloak more comfortable. Atlas agreed, Heracles walked away. According to an alternative version, Herakles slew Ladon instead. Herakles was the only person to successfully steal the apples, although Athena later returned the apples to their rightful place, in the garden.

Origin

Directly above Libra is the constellation Ursa Minor. Ursa Minor was considered a constellation only after the 6th century BC, at which point it was thought of as a small bear. Before that time it was considered to be seven sisters, specifically, the Hesperides, who also formed the wing of the constellation Draco (although in since Roman times, the wing has been no longer thought of as part of Draco). The constellation Ursa Major lies between Ursa Minor and the ecliptic of Libra. In ancient times it was thought of as an apple tree, having its three apples, the brightest stars in its constellation, in what is now considered the bear's tail. Between Ursa Minor and Ursa Major is the constellation Draco, the dragon, which appears to be protecting both the tail stars, the apples, of Ursa Major, and sits as the front line behind which are the stars of Ursa Minor. Draco looks menacingly toward the sun when it is in Libra. Intimately associated with this group of constellations is the constellation of Boötes, which is between them and Libra. Early legends concerning the constellation of Boötes reflected the fact that parts of it are close to Polaris, the pole star, and as such, it was considered to be the man who held up the heavens, Atlas. His three sets of seven daughters were considered to be the groups of small constellations of seven stars, the Hespirides, the Hyades, and the Pleiades. Boötes appears to be heading toward Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (which is why it is also known as the Bear Watcher). The Greeks did not consider Libra as a separate constellation (considering it part of Scorpio), it is uncertain as to what took its place, but it may have been Boötes, since it is a large constellation in the approximate area. Since Boötes is not actually on the ecliptic, or part of the zodiac band, the place it should occupy in the zodiac itself is vacant, and thus the sun, when in Libra, can be said to have taken its place. The presence of the giant Antaeus in some tellings of the tale may be indicative of a second application of the constellations, namely a myth concerning Boötes, and how Boötes is not in contact with the ecliptic, though it stands as if it ought to be. Busiris, an Egyptian, is generally thought to be a corruption of the name Osiris, and his myth a corruption of the sacrifice of Osiris (a sun god) by Seth, representative of the apparent freezing of the sun's path on its ecliptic during the two weeks after the solstice (its being bound), and its near death (i.e. the solstice itself). The tale's presence, unconnected with Libra, may have originated when the connection to the Zodiac was lost, and an association was made instead with having to travel to the Atlas mountains via Africa, and hence via Egypt.

External link

- [http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/picture-of-month/displaypicture.asp?venue=7&id=137 'The Garden of the Hesperides'] in the [http://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/ladylever/index.asp Lady Lever Art Gallery] Category:Nymphs Category:Twelve labours of Herakles

Artemis

Worship

Diana

Artemis in art

Appellations

Birth

In Greek mythology Artemis is the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister of Apollo.

Childhood

Men

nymph]

Actaeon

Adonis

Siproites

A Cretan, Siproites, saw Artemis bathing nude and was changed by her into a woman. (The complete story does not survive in any mythographer's works, but is mentioned offhand by Antoninus Liberalis.)

Orion

Artemis in Neopaganism

Dionysus

:For historical figures with a similar name, see Dionysius. Dionysius] Dionysus or Dionysos (Ancient Greek: Διώνυσος or Διόνυσος; also known as Bacchus in both Greek and Roman mythology and associated with the Italic Liber), the Thracian god of wine, represents not only the intoxicating power of wine, but also its social and beneficent influences. He is viewed as the promoter of civilization, a lawgiver, and lover of peace — as well as the patron deity of both agriculture and the theater. Greeks borrowed Dionysus' figure and within the Olympian tradition he is made to be the son of Zeus and Semele; other versions of the story contend that he is the son of Zeus and Persephone.

Worship

Dionysus is a god of mystery religious rites, such as those practiced in honor of Demeter and Persephone at Eleusis near Athens. In the Thracian mysteries, he wears the "bassaris" or fox-skin, symbolizing new life. His own rites the Dionysian Mysteries were the most secretive of all (See also Maenads) Many scholars believe that Dionysus is a syncretism of a local Greek nature deity and a more powerful god from Thrace or Phrygia such as Sabazios. Herodotus, (in Histories 2:146) was aware that the worship of Dionysus arrived later among the Greeks than the Olympian pantheon, for he remarks :"as it is, the Greek story has it that no sooner was Dionysus born than Zeus sewed him up in his thigh and carried him away to Nysa in Ethiopia beyond Egypt; and as for Pan, the Greeks do not know what became of him after his birth. It is therefore plain to me that the Greeks learned the names of these two gods later than the names of all the others, and trace the birth of both to the time when they gained the knowledge. Many Greeks were sure that the cult of Dionysus arrived in Greece from Anatolia, but Greek concepts of where Nysa was, whether set in Anatolia, or in Libya ('away in the west beside a great ocean'), Ethiopia (Herodotus), or Arabia (Diodorus Siculus), are variable enough to suggest that a magical distant land was intended, perhaps named 'Nysa' to explain the god's unreadable name, as the 'god of Nysa.' Apollodorus seems to be following Pherecydes, who relates how the infant Dionysus, god of the grapevine, was nursed by the rain-nymphs, the Hyades at Nysa. The Anatolian Hittites' name for themselves in their own language ("Nesili") was "Nesi," however. The Hittites' influence on early Greek culture is often unappreciated. The above contradictions suggest to some that we are dealing not with the historical memory of a cult that is foreign, but with a god in whom foreignness is inherent. And indeed, Dionysus's name is found on Mycenean Linear B tablets as "DI-WO-NI-SO-JO"¹, and Kerenyi traces him to Minoan Crete, where his Minoan name is unknown but his characteristic presence is recognizable. Clearly, Dionysus had been with the Greeks and their predecessors a long time, and yet always retained the feel of something alien. The bull, the serpent, the ivy and wine are the signs of the characteristic Dionysian atmosphere, infused with the unquenchable life of the god. Their numinous presence signifies that the god is near. (Kerenyi 1976). Dionysus is strongly associated with the satyrs, centaurs and sileni. He always carries a thyrsus. Besides the grapevine and its wild barren alter-ego, the toxic ivy plant, both sacred to him, the fig was also his. The pine cone that tipped his thyrsus linked him to Cybele, and the pomegranate linked him to Demeter. The Dionysia and Lenaia festivals in Athens were also dedicated to Dionysus.

Bacchanalia

Lenaia :Main article: Bacchanalia Introduced into Rome (c. 200 BC) from the Greek culture of lower Italy or by way of Greek-influenced Etruria, the bacchanalia were held in secret and attended by women only, on three days in the year in the grove of Simila near the Aventine Hill, on March 16 and 17. Subsequently, admission to the rites were extended to men and celebrations took place five times a month. The notoriety of these festivals, where many kinds of crimes and political conspiracies were supposed to be planned, led in 186 BC to a decree of the Senate — the so-called Senatus consultum de Bacchanalibus, inscribed on a bronze tablet discovered in Calabria (1640), now at Vienna — by which the Bacchanalia were prohibited throughout all Italy except in certain special cases which must be approved specifically by the Senate. In spite of the severe punishment inflicted on those found in violation of this decree, the Bacchanalia were not stamped out, at any rate in the south of Italy, for a very long time. (See: Further Reading below for an ancient description of the banned Bacchanalia) Dionysus is equated with both Bacchus and Liber (also Liber Pater). Liber ("the free one") was a god of fertility and growth, married to Libera. His festival was the Liberia, celebrated on March 17.

Appellations

Dionysus sometimes has the epithet Bromios, meaning "the thunderer" or "he of the loud shout". Another epithet is Dendrites; as Dionysus Dendrites ("he of the trees"), he is a powerful fertility god. Dithyrambos ("he of the double door") is sometimes used to refer to him or solemn songs sung to him at festivals. The name refers to his premature birth. Iacchus, possibly an epithet of Dionysus, is associated with the Eleusinian Mysteries; in Eleusis, he is known as a son of Zeus and Demeter. The name "Iacchus" may come from the ιακχος, a hymn sung in honor of Dionysus. Eleutherios ("the liberator") was an epithet for both Dionysus and Eros. As Oeneus, he is the god of the wine-press. With the epithet Liknites ("he of the winnowing fan") he is a fertility god connected with the mystery religions. A winnowing fan was similar to a shovel and was used to separate the chaff from the good, cut grain. In addition, Dionysus is known as Lyaeus ("he who releases") as a god of relaxation and freedom from worry. In the Greek pantheon, Dionysus (along with Zeus) absorbs the role of Sabazios, a Phrygian deity, whose name means "shatterer" and to whom shattered pottery was sacrificed (probably to prevent other pottery from being broken during firing). In the Roman pantheon, Sabazius became an alternate name for Bacchus. Roman pantheon

Birth

Dionysus had an unusual birth that evokes the difficulty in fitting him into the Olympian pantheon. His mother was Semele (daughter of Cadmus), a mortal woman, and his father Zeus, the king of the gods. Zeus's wife, Hera, a jealous and vain goddess, discovered the affair while Semele was pregnant. Appearing as an old crone, Hera befriended Semele, who confided in her that her husband was actually Zeus. Hera pretended not to believe her, and planted seeds of doubt in Semele's mind. Curious, Semele demanded of Zeus that he reveal himself in all his glory as proof of his godhood. Though Zeus begged her not to ask this, she persisted and he agreed. Mortals, however, cannot look upon a god without dying, and she perished. Zeus rescued the fetal Dionysus, however, by sewing him into his thigh. A few months later, Dionysus was born. In another version of the same story, Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Persephone, the queen of the underworld. A jealous Hera again attempted to kill the child, this time by sending Titans to rip Dionysus to pieces after luring the baby with toys. Zeus drove the Titans away with his thunderbolts, but only after the Titans ate everything but the heart, which was saved, variously, by Athena, Rhea, or Demeter. Zeus used the heart to recreate him in the womb of Semele, hence he was again "the twice-born". Sometimes people said that he gave Semele the heart to eat to impregnate her. The rebirth in both versions of the story is the primary reason he was worshipped in mystery religions, as his death and rebirth were events of mystical reverence. This narrative was apparently used in certain Greek and Roman mystery religions. Variants of it are found in Callimachus and Nonnus, who refer to this Dionysus under the title Zagreus, and also in several fragmentary poems attributed to Orpheus.

Childhood

Orpheus]] The legend goes that Zeus took the infant Dionysus and gave him in charge to the rain-nymphs of Nysa, who nourished his infancy and childhood, and for their care Zeus rewarded them by placing them as the Hyades among the stars (see Hyades star cluster). Alternatively, he was raised by Maro. When Dionysus grew up he discovered the culture of the vine and the mode of extracting its precious juice; but Hera struck him with madness, and drove him forth a wanderer through various parts of the earth. In Phrygia the goddess Cybele, better known to the Greeks as Rhea, cured him and taught him her religious rites, and he set out on a progress through Asia teaching the people the cultivation of the vine. The most famous part of his wanderings is his expedition to India, which is said to have lasted several years. Returning in triumph he undertook to introduce his worship into Greece, but was opposed by some princes who dreaded its introduction on account of the disorders and madness it brought with it. (See King Pentheus or Lycurgus.) As a young man, Dionysus was exceptionally attractive. Once, while disguised as a mortal on a ship, the sailors attempted to kidnap him for their sexual pleasures. Dionysus mercifully turned them into dolphins but saved the captain, Acoetes, who recognized the god and tried to stop his sailors.

Midas

Once, Dionysus found his old school master and foster father, Silenus, missing. The old man had been drinking, and had wandered away drunk, and was found by some peasants, who carried him to their king, Midas (alternatively, he passed out in Midas' rose garden). Midas recognized him, and treated him hospitably, entertaining him for ten days and nights with politeness, while Silenus entertained Midas and his friends with stories and songs. On the eleventh day he brought Silenus back to Dionysus. Dionysus offered Midas his choice of whatever reward he wanted. Midas asked that whatever he might touch should be changed into gold. Dionysus consented, though was sorry that he had not made a better choice. Midas rejoiced in his new power, which he hastened to put to the test. He touched and turned to gold an oak twig and a stone. Overjoyed, as soon as he got home, he ordered the servants to set a feast on the table. Then he found that his bread, meat, daughter and wine turned to gold. Upset, Midas strove to divest himself of his power (the Midas Touch); he hated the gift he had coveted. He prayed to Dionysus, begging to be delivered from starvation. Dionysus heard and consented; he told Midas to wash in the river Pactolus. He did so, and when he touched the waters the power passed into them, and the river sands changed into gold. (Note: this explained why the sands of the river Pactolus were rich in gold)

Influence on Christianity

It is possible that Dionysian mythology would later find its way into Christianity. There are many parallels between the legends of Dionysus and Jesus; both were said to have been born from a mortal woman but fathered by a god, to have returned from the dead, and to have transformed water into wine. The modern scholar Barry Powell also argues that Christian notions of eating and drinking the flesh and blood of Jesus in order for individual followers to feel Jesus within them was influenced by the cult of Dionysus. Certainly the Dionysus myth contains a great deal of cannibalism, in its links to Ino. Dionysus was also distinct among Greek gods, as a deity commonly felt within individual followers. In a less benign example of influence on Christianity, Dionysus' followers, as well as another god, Pan, are said to have had the most influence on the modern view of Satan as animal-like and horned.² It is also possible these similarities between Christianity and Dionysiac religion are all only representations of the same common religious archetypes. Furthermore, it is worth noting that the story of Jesus turning water into wine is only found in the Gospel of John, which differs on many points from the other Synoptic Gospels. That very passage, it has been suggested, was incorporated into the Gospel from an earlier source focusing on Jesus' miracles. ³

Modern interpretations

In his book The Birth of Tragedy, the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche contrasted Dionysus with the god Apollo as a symbol of the basic, unrestrained life force versus the world of reason, form and beauty represented by the latter. In contrast, the Russian poet and philosopher Vyacheslav Ivanov elaborated the theory of Dionysianism, which traces the roots of literary art in general and the art of tragedy in particular to ancient Dionysian mysteries. His views were expressed in the treatises The Hellenic Religion of the Suffering God (1904), and Dionysus and Early Dionysianism (1921). Inspired by James Frazer, some have labeled Dionysus a life-death-rebirth deity. The mythographer Karl Kerenyi devoted much energy to Dionysus over his long career; he summed up his thoughts in Dionysos: Archetypal Image of Indestructible Life (Bollingen, Princeton) 1976. In his graphic novel series Eddie Campbell used the character of Bacchus to explore conventions of the super-hero comic book whilst also utilising the character to explore such themes as the human experience; artistic endeavour; myths, stories and narrative; and also as reference to Nietzsche with his contrast of the eternal Dionysus, Bacchus, against the temporary Apollo, Simpson.

Dionysus in Neopaganism

Modern Neopagans view Dionysus in different lights, depending largely on the individual sects and the other gods worshipped by a sect. Dionysus is often seen as the god of Earthly Delights and is thought to play a role in euphoria. In the United States, some Hellenistic Neopagan sects forbid the worship of Dionysus, because Dionysus worship is associated with hedonism. Sects which worship Hera and Themis in particular may forbid Dionysus worship. However, there are sects that make Dionysus a central figure of their faiths. Many sects may include both the worship of Themis and Dionysus, holding that moderation is key to virtue and that earthly delights are virtuous when maintaining responsibility and moderation. Depending on individual sects, and the other gods within the sect, worship of Dionysus can take many forms. Sects that include worship of Themis and Hera for instance may allow the drinking of wine and various festivities, but actively discourage "decadence" and promiscuity. Those sects who worship Dionysus exclusively, or in more common cases Dionysus and Aphrodite, are sometimes known to conduct orgiastic rituals and use numerous intoxicants in attempts to reach earthly gratification and euphoria (Such sects are often considered cults even by Neopagan standards). Most sects agree that it is unwise to trade future well being for a moment's pleasure. However, some followers of Dionysus believe that they are inspired to relish in earthly delights, ignoring any consequences. ----

names with the origin Dionysus

- Dennis - Denes - Nis (as of the nordic surname Nissen) - Nils (Nicholas is another origin)

References

# Adams, JP. (2005?) Dionysos. http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/dionysos.html # Powell, Barry B. Classical Myth. Second ed. With new translations of ancient texts by Herbert M. Howe. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1998. # The HarperCollins Study Bible. New Revised Standard Version. With the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books. London, UK: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 1993.

Bibliography

- [http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/txt/ah/Livy/Livy39.html] Titus Livy, History of Rome, Book 39:13, Description of banned Bacchanalia in Rome and Italy
- [http://www.empirecontact.com/narrative/dionysus.html "Dionysus"], a narrative poem by Michael J. Farrand.

External links

A series of [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/CGPrograms/Catalogue/Script/Dionysos.html casts showing Dionysos] held by the Beazley Archive at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford. Category:Fertility gods Category:Greek gods Category:Life-death-rebirth gods Category:Nature gods Category:Roman gods Category:Thracian gods Category:Wisdom gods ko:디오니소스 ja:ディオニュソス

Virgil

AD.]] Publius Vergilius Maro (October 15, 70 BC–19 BC), known in English as Virgil or Vergil, is a Latin poet, the author of the Eclogues, the Georgics and the Aeneid, the last being an epic poem of twelve books that became the Roman Empire's national epic.

Life

Virgil was born in the village of Andes, near Mantua in Cisalpine Gaul (Gaul south of the Alps; present-day northern Italy). Virgil was of non-Roman Italian ancestry, which he alluded to and defended in the Aeneid when he said that Rome will be of mixed blood.

Early works

Virgil received his earliest education at five years old. He later went to Rome to study rhetoric, medicine, and astronomy, which he soon abandoned for philosophy. In this period, while Virgil was in the school of Siro the Epicurean, he began writing poetry. A group of minor poems attributed to the youthful Virgil survive, but are largely considered spurious. One, the Catalepton, consists of fourteen short poems, some of which may be Virgil's, and another, a short narrative poem titled the Culex (the mosquito), was attributed to Virgil as early as the 1st century AD. These dubious poems are sometimes referred to as the Appendix Vergiliana. In 42 BC, after the defeat of Julius Caesar's assassins, Brutus and Cassius, the demobilized soldiers of the victors settled on expropriated land and Virgil's estate near Mantua was confiscated. However, the first of the Eclogues, written around 42 BC, is taken as evidence that Octavian restored the estate, for it tells how "Tityrus" recovered his land through Octavian's intervention, and "Tityrus" is usually identified as Virgil himself. Virgil soon became part of the circle of Maecenas, Octavian's capable agent d'affaires who sought to counter sympathy for Mark Antony among the leading families by rallying Roman literary figures to Octavian's side. After the Eclogues were completed, Virgil spent the years 37 BC–29 BC on the Georgics ("On Farming"), which was written in honor of Maecenas, and is the source of the expression tempus fugit ("time flees"). However, Octavian, who had defeated Antony at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and four years later had the title "Augustus" given to him by the Roman Senate, was already pressing Virgil to write an epic to praise his regime.

Composition of the Aeneid and death

Virgil responded with the Aeneid, which took up his last ten years. The first six books of the epic tell how the Trojan hero Aeneas escapes from the sacking of Troy and makes his way to Italy. On the voyage, a storm drives him to the coast of Carthage, where the queen, Dido, welcomes him, and before long Aeneas falls deeply in love. But Jupiter recalls Aeneas to his duty and he slips away from Carthage, leaving Dido to commit suicide, cursing Aeneas as revenge. On reaching Cumae, in Italy, Aeneas consults the Cumaean Sibyl, who conducts him through the Underworld and reveals his destiny to him. Aeneas is reborn as the creator of Imperial Rome. The first six books (of "first writing") are modeled on Homer's Odyssey, but the last six are the Roman answer to the Iliad. Aeneas is betrothed to Lavinia, daughter of King Latinus, but Lavinia had already been promised to Turnus, the king of the Rutulians, who is roused to war by the Fury Allecto. The Aeneid ends with a single combat between Aeneas and Turnus, whom Aeneas defeats and kills, spurning his plea for mercy. Virgil travelled with Augustus to Greece. There, Virgil caught a fever, from which he died in Brundisium harbor, leaving the Aeneid unfinished. Augustus ordered Virgil's literary executors, Lucius Varius Rufus and Plotius Tucca, to disregard Virgil's own wish that the poem be destroyed and to publish it with as few editorial changes as possible. As a result, the text of the Aeneid that exists is a draft version, and contains faults which Virgil was planning to correct before publication:
- Verses which are not a complete line of dactylic hexameter.
- Future tenses made by adding -s-, such as faxo for faciam. These so-called S-futures were a feature of earlier Latin, seen often in, for instance, the stage works of Plautus and Terence, but obsolete in learned diction by the first century B.C. and out of place in the elegant High Augustan style. (Such inclusions were undoubtedly an artifact of the poet's country origins.) Incomplete or not, the Aeneid was immediately recognized as a masterpiece. It proclaimed the imperial mission of the Roman Empire, but at the same time could pity Rome's victims and feel their grief. Dido and Turnus, who are both casualties of Rome's destiny, are more attractive figures than Aeneas, whose single-minded devotion to his goal may seem almost repellent to the modern reader. However, at the time Aeneas was considered to exemplify virtue and pietas (roughly translated as piety), duty to one's gods, family and homeland. However, Aeneas struggles between doing what he wants to do as a man, and doing what he must as a virtuous hero. Aeneas' inner turmoil and shortcomings make him a more realistic character than the heroes of older poems, such as Odysseus.

Later views of Virgil

Even as the Roman world collapsed, literate men acknowledged that the Christianized Virgil was a master poet, even when they ceased to read him. Gregory of Tours read Virgil and some other Latin poets, though he cautions us that "We ought not to relate their lying fables, lest we fall under sentence of eternal death." Surviving medieval collections of manuscripts containing Virgil's works include the Vergilius Augusteus, the Vergilius Vaticanus and the Vergilius Romanus. Dante made Virgil his guide to Hell and Purgatory in The Divine Comedy. Virgil is still considered one of the greatest of the Latin poets, and the Aeneid is a fixture of most classical studies programs.

Mysticism and hidden meanings

The Divine Comedy.]] In the Middle Ages, Virgil was considered a herald of Christianity for his Eclogue 4 verses () concerning the birth of a boy, which were re-read to prophesy Jesus' nativity. The poem may actually refer to the pregnancy of Octavian's wife Scribonia, who in fact gave birth to a girl. Also during the Middle Ages, as Virgil developed into a kind of magus or wizard, manuscripts of the Aeneid were used for divinatory bibliomancy, the Sortes Virgilianae, in which a line would be selected at random and interpreted in the context of a current situation (Compare the ancient Chinese I Ching). The Old Testament was sometimes used for similar arcane purposes. Even in the Welsh myth of Taliesin, the goddess Cerridwen is reading from the "Book of Pheryllt"—that is, Virgil. More recently, professor Jean-Yves Maleuvre has proposed that Virgil wrote the Aeneid using a "double writing" system, in which the first, superficial writing was intended for national audience and Augustus' needs, while the second one, deeper and hidden, unnoticed before Maleuvre discovered it, reflected Virgil's true point of view and his true historical reconstruction of the past. Maleuvre also believes that Augustus had Virgil murdered. Maleuvre's ideas have not met with general acceptance.

Virgil's tomb

The tomb known as "Virgil's tomb" is found at the entrance of Posilippo Cave (also known as "grotta vecchia") in the Parco di Virgilio a Piedigrotta, located in the Piedigrotta district two miles from old Naples, on the road heading north along the coast to Pozzuoli. The site called Parco Virgiliano is some distance further north along the coast. While Virgil was already the object of literary admiration and veneration before his death, in the following centuries his name became associated with miraculous powers, his tomb the destination of pilgrimages and pagan veneration. The poet himself was said to have created the cave with the fierce power of his intense gaze. It is said that the Chiesa della Santa Maria di Piedigrotta was erected by Church authorities to neutralize this pagan adoration and "Christianize" the site. The tomb, however, is a tourist attraction, and still sports a tripod burner originally dedicated to Apollo, bearing witness to the Pagan beliefs held by Virgil.

Virgil's name in English

In the Middle Ages "Vergilius" was frequently spelled "Virgilius." There are two explanations commonly given for the alteration in the spelling of Virgil's name. One explanation is based on a false etymology associated with the word virgo (maiden in Latin) due to Virgil's excessively "maiden"-like (parthenias or παρθηνιας in Greek) modesty. Alternatively, some argue that "Vergilius" was altered to "Virgilius" by analogy with the Latin virga (wand) due to the magical or prophetic powers attributed to Virgil in the Middle Ages. In Norman schools (following the French practice), the habit was to anglicize Latin names by dropping their Latin endings, hence "Virgil." In the 19th century, some German-trained classicists in the United States suggested modification to "Vergil," as it is closer to his original name, and is also the traditional German spelling. Modern usage permits both, though the Oxford Style Manual recommends Vergilius to avoid confusion with the 8th-century Irish grammarian Virgilius Maro Grammaticus. Some post-Renaissance writers liked to affect the sobriquet "The Swan of Mantua."

List of works

Dates are approximate.
- (50 BC) Appendix Vergiliana
- (37 BC) Eclogues (or "Bucolics") -- 10 books
- (29 BC) Georgics (or "On Farming") -- 4 books
- (19 BC) Aeneid -- 12 books

External links

- Collected Works
-
- [http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/virgil/index.htm Sacred Texts: Classics: The Works of Virgil]
- [http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/verg.html Latin Library: P. Vergilivs Maro]
-
- Biography
- [http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/pwh/suet-vergil.html Suetonius: The Life of Virgil], an English translation.
- [http://www.forumromanum.org/literature/donatus_vita.html Vita Vergiliana], Aelius Donatus' Life of Virgil in the original Latin.
- [http://www.virgil.org/vitae/a-donatus.htm Virgil.org: Aelius Donatus' Life of Virgil translated into English by David Wilson-Okamura]
- Project Gutenberg edition of [http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/10960 Vergil—A Biography], by Tenney Frank.
- Commentary
- [http://www.virgil.org/bibliography Virgil in Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance: an Online Bibliography]
- [http://www.virgilmurder.org Virgilmurder] (Jean-Yves Maleuvre's website setting forth his theory that Virgil was murdered by Augustus)
- [http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/AV/ The Secret History of Virgil], containing a selection on the magical legends and tall tales that circulated about Virgil in the Middle Ages.
- Quotes
- [http://www.quote-fox.com/QuoteFox/plBrowse.php/?browse_cmd=browse_source&author_name=Virgil Virgil Quotes]

Bibliography

- http://www.mynet.it/mantova/turismo/storiamn/origini/virgilio/virgil-e.htm
- http://www.lateinforum.de/vergil.htm
- http://www.ilsecondorinascimento.it/Pages/TxtNEGR.htm ---- The article above was originally sourced from [http://www.nupedia.com/ Nupedia] and is open content. Category:70 BC births Category:19 BC deaths Category:Roman era poets Category:Characters in the Divine Comedy ko:베르길리우스 ms:Virgil ja:ウェルギリウス simple:Virgil

Georgics

The Georgics, written in 29 BC, is the second major work by the Latin poet Virgil. Its subject is rural life and farming and the work is generally categorized as a "didactic poem".

The work contains 2188 hexametric verses divided into four books. Books one and two deal with agriculture (respectively crops and trees). Books three and four deal with the keeping of animals, book three concerned with different kinds of cattle breeding and book four especially with beekeeping. However, the didactic subject is merely the surface of the poem. The underlying theme is the beauty of the countryside. The poem also has a political dimension. Virgil's patron Maecenas, in whose honor the poem was written, was a confidant and advisor to Caesar Augustus, and he used his patronage to influence the great poets of his time, Virgil and Horace, to write about themes supportive of Augustus' political interests. Thus, the poem's praise of rural life, can be seen to reflect Augustus' desire to restore agricultural activity in Italy after its devastation by civil war.

Influences

The Georgics are influenced by Hesiod, whose Works and Days was regarded as the first work of didactic poetry, but references to Hellenistic poets Aratus and Nicander are more numerous. Also Lucretius' On the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura) is heavily echoed.

Online Text

- [http://classics.mit.edu/Virgil/georgics.html The Georgics] at MIT
- French translations: Bibliotheca Classica Selecta: [http://bcs.fltr.ucl.ac.be/Virg/georg/georgi.html Georgiques]
- Gutenberg Project: [http://www.gutenberg.net/etext/232 Georgics (English)]
- Category:Agriculture books

Poseidon

In Greek mythology, Poseidon (Ποσειδώνας) was the god of the sea. In Greek and Roman mythology, Poseidon was known as Nethuns and Neptunus, respectively. Poseidon was also the god of earthquakes and horses. In the heavily sea-dependent Mycenean culture, Poseidon's importance was that of Zeus, if surviving Linear B clay tablets can be trusted. The name PO-SE-DA-WO-NE (Poseidon) occurs with greater frequency than does DI-U-JA (Zeus). A feminine variant, PO-SE-DE-IA, is also found, indicating the existence of a now-forgotten consort goddess. Tablets from Pylos record sacrificial goods destined for "the Two Queens and Poseidon" and to "the Two Queens and the King" compounding the mystery further. The most obvious identification for the "Two Queens" is with Demeter and Persephone (or some precursors), who were not associated with Poseidon in later periods. Poseidon is already identified as "Earth-Shaker"— E-NE-SI-DA-O-NE— in Mycenaean Knossos [http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/mycen.html], a powerful attribute where earthquakes had accompanied the collapse of the Minoan palace-culture. Demeter and Poseidon's names are linked in one Pylos tablet, where they appear as PO-SE-DA-WO-NE and DA-MA-TE, in the context of sacralized lot-casting. The 'DA' element in each of their names is seemingly connected to an Indo-European root relating to distribution of land and honors (compare Latin dare "to give"), thus 'Poseidon' would mean something like "distribution-lord" or "husband of the distributor", to match 'Damater' "distribution-mother". Given Poseidon's connection with horses as well as the sea, and the landlocked situation of the likely Indo-European homeland, some scholars have proposed that Poseidon was originally an aristocratic horse-god who was then assimilated to Near Eastern aquatic deities when the basis of the Greek livelihood shifted from the land to the sea. In any case, the early all-importance of Poseidon can still be glimpsed in Homer's Odyssey, where Poseidon rather than Zeus is the major mover of events.

Worship

In the historical period, Poseidon was often referred to by the epithets Enosichthon, Seischthon and Ennosigaios, all meaning "earth-shaker" and referring to his role in causing earthquakes. Poseidon was a major civic god of several cities: in Athens, he was second only to Athena in importance; while in Corinth and many cities of Magna Graecia he was the chief god of the polis. According to

Atlantides

The Seven Sisters

Mythology

See also

Pleiades (disambiguation)

Artemis

Worship

Diana

Artemis in art

Appellations

Birth

Childhood

Men

Actaeon

Adonis

Siproites

Orion

Other stories

Callisto

Agamemnon and Iphigenia

Niobe

Taygete

Otus and Ephialtes

The Meleagrids

Chione

Atalanta and Oeneus

Artemis in Neopaganism

Atlas (mythology)

Mythology

Kinship

Punishment

Variations

Encounter with Herakles

Etymology

Cultural influence

Sources

Pleione

Mount Kyllini

Nearest places

External links

Kalypso (mythology)

Daughter of Perse

Calypso in Popular Culture

Hyas

References

Hesperides

The evening

The Garden of the Hesperides

Origin

External link

Artemis

Worship

Diana

Artemis in art

Appellations

Birth

Childhood

Men

Actaeon

Adonis

Siproites

Orion

Other stories

Callisto

Agamemnon and Iphigenia

Niobe

Taygete

Otus and Ephialtes

The Meleagrids

Chione

Atalanta and Oeneus

Artemis in Neopaganism

Dionysus

Worship

Bacchanalia

Appellations

Birth

Childhood

Midas

Other stories