Greek Mythology - Part 3

nectar

Beverage of the gods, which conferred immortality on any mortal lucky enough to partake of it.

Eris

Greek goddess of chaos, strife and discord. She was the daughter of Zeus and Hera; according to other myths, she was the daughter of Nyx (dark night) alone. Her opposite was Harmonia. The equivalent Roman goddesses of Eris and Harmonia were Discordia and Concordia.

Eros/Cupid

Some myths make him a primordial god, while in other myths, he is the son of Aphrodite. He was one of the winged love gods, Erotes.

Narcissist

a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves

Narcissus

hunter from Thespiae in Boeotia who was known for his beauty. He was the son of the river god Cephissus and nymph Liriope. He was proud, in that he disdained those who loved him.

Prometheus

is a Titan, culture hero, and trickster figure who is credited with the creation of man from clay, and who defies the gods by stealing fire and giving it to humanity, an act that enabled progress and civilization.

River Styx

is a deity and a river that forms the boundary between Earth and the Underworld (the domain often called Hades, which also is the name of its ruler)

Field of Asphodel

is a section in the Underworld where indifferent or ordinary souls who lived a life of neither good or evil are sent to live after death

ambrosia

is sometimes the food or drink of the Greek gods, often depicted as conferring longevity or immortality upon whoever consumed it.

Tartarus

is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans

Charon

is the ferryman of Hades who carries souls of the newly deceased across the rivers Styx and Acheron that divided the world of the living from the world of the dead.

Briareus

one of three 100-armed, 50-headed Hecatoncheires (from the Greek words for "hundred" and "hands"), the sons of the deities Uranus (Heaven) and Gaea (Earth). Homer (Iliad, Book I, line 396) says the gods called him Briareus; mortals called him Aegaeon (lines 403-404)

Elysian Fields

originally the paradise to which heroes on whom the gods conferred immortality were sent. It probably was retained from Minoan religion.

didactic

poems give us a systematic account of Greek mythology, the creation myths and the gods, as well as an insight into the day-to-day lives of Greek farmers of the time.

Isles of the Blest

semi-legendary islands in the Atlantic Ocean, variously treated as a simple geographical location and as a winterless earthly paradise inhabited by the heroes of Greek mythology.

Cerberus

three-headed dog that guarded the entrance of the Underworld, allowing the dead to enter but letting none out.

Argus

was a hundred-eyed giant in Greek mythology. He was a giant, the son of Arestor, whose name "Panoptes" meant "the all-seeing one". He was a servant of Hera; one of the tasks that were given to him was to slay the fearsome monster Echidna, wife of Typhon, which he successfully completed.

Arachne

was a weaver who challenged Athena and was consequently transformed into a spider.

Echo

was an Oread who resided on Mount Cithaeron. Zeus loved consorting with beautiful nymphs and often visited them on Earth.

Persephone

was the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and the queen of the underworld. She was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld, infuriating her mother who made the crops wither and the earth barren.

Pandora

was the first human woman created by the gods, specifically by Hephaestus and Athena on the instructions of Zeus. As Hesiod related it, each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts.

Psyche

was the goddess of the soul and the wife of Eros (Roman Cupid) god of love. She was once a mortal princess whose extraordinary beauty earned the ire of Aphrodite (Roman Venus) when men began turning their worship away from the goddess towards the girl.