ENCYCLOPEDIA R - Z

RHADAMANTHYS One of the three judges of the dead in the underworld and lord of the Islands of the Blessed.

RHEA (Rheia) The Titan-goddess of female fertility and the mountain wilds. Her husband Cronus swallowed each of their children as they were born, but she managed to hide the youngest, Zeus, in a cave on the island Crete.

RHANIS One of the attendant nymphs of the goddes Artemis.

RHENE A nymph of the island of Samothrace loved by the god Hermes.

RHETIA The nymph mother of the Samothracian Corybantes by Apollo.

RHODE A sea-nymph and goddess of the island of Rhodes who was the wife of the sun-god Helius.

RHODOPE A Naiad-nymph daughter of the Thracian river Strymon. When she and her husband Haemus impersonated Zeus and Hera, the angry gods transformed them into mountains.

SABACTES (Sabaktes) The Daemon "Crash" who plagued the craftsman potter.

SAGARITIS A Hamadryas-nymph loved by Attis, consort of the goddess Cybele. When the goddess learned of their affair she destroyed Sagaritis by felling her tree.

SALAMIS A Naiad-nymph daughter of the river Asopus who was abducted to her eponymous island by the god Poseidon.

SALMACIS (Salmakis) The Naiad-nymph of a spring near the town of Halicarnassus who fell in love with the youth Hermaphroditus. When she prayed to be with him forever, a god merged their forms to create an hermaphrodite.

SAMIA The Naiad-nymph eponym of the island of Samos. She was wife its first king Ancaeus.

SANGARIUS (Saggarios) A river of Phrygia and its god.

SATYR OF ARGOS (Satyros Argios) A Satyr who attempted to violate the Danaid Amymone but was chased off by the god Poseidon who coupled with the girl instead.

SATYRS (Satyroi) Rustic spirits of the mountain wilds presiding over bestial fertility. They had the shape of men with the ears and tail of an ass.

SCAMANDER (Skamandros) A river of Troy and its god. When he attempted to drown the hero Achilles during the Trojan War, Hephaestus scorched his streams with fire.

SCIAPODS (Skiapodes) A tribe of African men. Each had a single, giant foot which they raised above their heads for shade against the burning sun.

SCIRON (Skiron) The god of the north-west wind.

SCORPIOS (Skorpios) A huge scorpion sent by Gaea to slay the giant Orion when he threatened to slay all the beasts of the earth.

SCYLLA (Skylla) A monstrous sea-goddess whose body was ringed with carnivorous wolf-heads. She dwelt in a cliffside cave opposite the whirlpool-daemon Charybdis.

SCYRTUS (Skyrtos) A satyr attendant of the god Dionysos who helped support the god as he stumbled along in a drunken stupor.

SELENE The goddess of the moon who rode through the night sky in a chariot drawn by winged horses or else seated side-saddle on an ass. Selene fell in love with the young shepherd Endymion and granted him mmortality in a state of eternal sleep.

SEMELE The mother of the god Dionysus who was consumed by the lightning of Zeus. Her son later fetched her up from the underworld and brought her to Olympus as the goddess Thyone.

SILENI (Seilenoi) Elderly drunken satyrs in the train of the god Dionysos.

SILENOS (Seilenos) The god of drunkenness who was the foster-father and constant companion of the god Dionysus.

SIMOEIS A river of Troy and its god.

SINOE An Arcadian nymph tasked with nursing the infant god Pan.

SINOPE A Naiad-nymph daughter of the river Asopus who was abducted to the Black Sea town of Sinope by Apollo. She tricked the god into allowing her to remain a virgin.

SIRENS (Seirenes) Three sea-nymphs with the heads of women and the bodies of birds who lured sailers to their death with an irresistable song. The only man to hear their song and live was Odysseus who had himself bound to the ship's mast. In frustration the Sirens leapt from their cliff into the sea and drowned.

SIRIUS (Sirios) The god of the dog-star who scorched the earth with the heat of mid-summer--the so-called "dog days of summer."

SITHNIDES The Naiad-nymphs of springs near the town Megara.

SMARAGOS The Daemon "Smash" who plagued the craftsman potter.

SOCUS (Sokos) A rustic demigod of the island of Euboea.

SOPHROSYNE The female personification of moderation and discretion.

SOSE A prophetic Oread-nymph loved by the god Hermes.

SOSIPOLIS A star-spangled child-god worshipped in Elis.

SOTER The male personification of safety and deliverance from harm.

SOTERIA The goddess-personification of safety, recovery and salvation.

SPARTA (Sparte) The Naiad-nymph wife of Lacedaemon, first King of Sparta.

SPARTI (Spartoi) A race of earth-born warriors which sprang fully-grown and armed from the sown teeth of a dragon of Ares.

SPERCHEIDES (Sperkheides) The Naiad-nymph daughters of the river Spercheus.

SPERCHEUS (Sperkheios) A river of Malis and its god.

SPHINX A monster with the head of a woman, the body of a lioness and the wings of an eagle. She threw herself from a cliff after Oedipus guessed the answer to her riddle.

SPHRAGITIDES Oread-nymphs of a rustic oracle on Mount Cithaeron.

SPONDE The seventh of the twelve Horai (Hours) who presided over the hour of libations (after lunch).

STEROPE One of the starry Pleiad-nymphs who was loved by the god Ares.

STEROPES One of the three ancient, metal-working Cyclops.

STHENO One of the two immortal Gorgons.

STILBE A Naiad-nymph daughter of the Thessalian river Peneus loved by the god Apollo.

STILBON The god of the star of the planet Mercury.

STROPHIA The Naiad-nymph of a spring on Mount Cithaeron.

STRYMO A Naiad-nymph daughter of the Trojan river Scamander.

STRYMON A river of Thrace and its god.

STYMPHALIAN BIRDS A breed of man-eating birds which haunted Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia. One of Heracles' Twelve Labours was to drive them away from the lake.

STYX The goddess of the underworld river Styx, eldest of the Oceanids. She and her children allied with Zeus in the Titan-War and as a reward he made her waters the inviolate oath of the gods.

SUNTRIBUS (Suntribos) The Daemon "Shatter" who plagued the craftsman potter.

SYBARIS A monstrous lamia or dracaena who preyed upon the men of Phocis.

SYCE (Syke) The Hamadryad-nymph of the fig tree.

SYCEUS (Sykeus) A Gigante pursued by Zeus during the Giant-War. His mother Gaea hid him away beneath the earth as the seed of the first fig-tree.

SYLLIS A nymph of Sicyon loved by the god Apollo.

SYMAETHIS (Symaithis) A Sicilian river-nymph loved by the god Pan.

SYMAETHUS (Symaithos) A Sicilian river and its god.

SYRINX A Naiad-nymph who fled the embrace of the god Pan and was transformed by her sisters into river-reeds. The god crafted his famous panpipes from her plant.

TALOS A bronze giant which guarded the island of Crete, pelting passing ships with stones. He was slain by the Argonauts and the magic of the witch Medea.

TANAGRA A Naiad-nymph daughter of the river Asopus. The gods Ares and Hermes competed a boxing match to win her love.

TARAXIPPOI Horse-frightening ghosts or spirits which haunted the race-courses of Olympia, Nemea and the Isthmus.

TARTARUS 1 (Tartaros) The primordial deity of the storm-wracked pit of Tartarus who fathered the monstrous, giant Typhoeus.

TARTARUS 2 (Tartaros) The vast, stormy pit beneath the earth, prison of the Titan-gods. The walls of the Tartarean pit and the solid dome of the sky together enclosed the cosmos in an egg-shaped shell.

TAYGETE The starry Pleiad-nymph of Mount Taygetus loved by the god Zeus. She was the ancestress of the kings of Sparta.

TELCHINES (Telkhines) Evil magic-working daemons of the island of Rhodes. They were foster parents of the god Poseidon but were later destroyed by Zeus because of their destructive magic.

TELEDICE (Teledike) The nymph wife of the first mortal king Phoroneus.

TELESPHORUS (Telesphoros) The god of convalescence, a son of the medicine-god Asclepius.

TELETE The female personification of initiation into the orgiastic cult of the god Dionysus.

TELPHUSA (Telphousa) The Naiad-nymph of the Boeotian spring Telphusia. Apollo buried her waters beneath a pile of stones when she attempted to deceive him.

TELPHUSIA (Telphousia) A Boeotian Erinys who was the mother of the Ismenian dragon by the god Ares.

TEREINE A Thracian Naiad-nymph loved by the god Ares.

TERPSICHORE (Terpsikhore) The goddess-Muse of choral dance and song.

TETHYS The Titan-goddess of fresh-water, subterranean acquifers, and the nursing of the young. She was the wife of the Titan Oceanus who bore him three-thousand fresh-water nymphs and innumerable river-gods.

TEUMESSIAN FOX (Alopex Teumessios) A giant fox which ravaged the countryside of Thebes. It was destined never to be caught, so the hero Cephalus set the hunting-dog Laelaps on its spoor--a beast which was destined to always catch its mark. Zeus, perplexed by the paradox, turned the pair of beasts to stone.

THALASSA The primordial goddess of the sea.

THALIA (1) (Thaleia) A Sicilian nymph loved by the god Zeus. Fearing the wrath of Hera she prayed to be swallowed up by the earth. Her sons, the Palici gods, were born as geysers.

THALIA (2) The goddess of festive good-cheer. She was one of the three Charites.

THALIA (3) (Thaleia) The goddess Muse of comedy.

THALLO The Hora goddess of the green buds and shoots of spring.

THANATUS (Thanatos) The god of (non-violent) death, twin-brother of Hypnos (Sleep).

THAUMAS The god of the wonders of the sea. He was the father of Iris the Rainbow and whirlwind Harpies.

THEA (Theia) The Titan-goddess of sight and shining blue of the sky. She was the mother of the Sun, Moon and Dawn.

THEAI The ancient Greek word for "goddesses".

THEBE A Naiad-nymph daughter of the river Asopus abducted to the town of Thebes by Zeus..

THEISOA One of the Arcadian nymph nurses of the god Zeus.

THELPUSA (Thelpousa) A Naiad-nymph daughter of the Arcadian river Ladon.

THEMIS (1) The Titan-goddess of divine law, natural order and the oracles of the earth. She was the mother of the Fates and the Seasons by the god Zeus.

THEMIS (2) A Naiad-nymph daughter of the Arcadian river Ladon loved by the god Hermes.

THEOI The ancient greek word for "gods"--from which this website gets its name!

THEOI GEORGICI (Theoi Georgikoi) The gods of agriculture and farming. Most of these were attendants of Demeter, queen of the fertile earth.

THEOI CHTHONIAN (Theoi Khthonioi) The gods of the underworld. They belonged to the court of King Hades.

THEOI HALIAN (Theoi Halioi) The gods of the sea. They were ruled by the sea-kng Poseidon.

THEOI NOMIAN (Theoi Nomioi) The gods of the countryside, the pastures and the wilds. Most of these were minions of Dionysus the lord of vegetation, Artemis queen of beasts, and Hermes god of herds.

THEOI OLYMPIAN (Theoi Olympioi) The twelve, great Olympian gods (and their offspring) who presided over the various facets of ancient Greek civilisation, society and culture.

THEOI URANIAN (Theoi Ouranioi) The gods of the sky. They were in the service of Zeus and Hera, the king and queen of the heavens.

THEOI TITANES The first generation of gods. They were largely superseded by the younger Olympians and were primarily associated with time and prophecy.

THERES The ancient greek word for "monsters" and "beasts".

THERES, ETHIOPIAN (Theres Aithiopikoi) Fantastic creatures believed to inhabit the distant Ethiopia (Sub-Saharan Africa) including Pegasi, Dragons, Sphinxes, and the Catoblepas, Yale, Leucrocota, and Amphisbaena.

THERES, INDIAN (Theres Indikoi) Fabulous beasts thought to inhabit the distant land of India.

THERO The nymph who nursed the infant god Ares.

THESEUS The great Athenian hero who slew the Minotaur of Crete.

THESIS The primordial goddess of creation and genesis.

THESPIA (Thespeia) A Naiad-nymph daughter of the river Asopus and eponym of the town of Thespia who was carried off by the god Apollo.

THETIS The leader of the fifty Nereids. The hero Peleus wrestled her on the sea-shore and held her fast, despite her shape-shifing, until she agreed to become his wife. Their son Achilles was the greatest of the heroes of the Trojan War.

THISBE The eponymous nymph of the Boeotian town of Thebes.

THOON A Gigante clubbed to death by the Moirae (Fates) with clubs of bronze in the Giant-War.

THOOSA A sea-nymph loved by the god Poseidon who bore him the Cyclops Polyphemus.

THRACE (Thrake) A mysterious goddess-witch of Thrace who bore sons to Cronus, Zeus and the giant Briareus.

THRASSA A Thracian nymph daughter of the god Ares.

THRASUS (Thrasos) The spirit of rash action and insolence.

THRIAE (Thriai) Three prophetic nymphs of Mount Parnassus in Phocis. They presided over the rustic art of divination by pebbles and were the goddesses of birds of omen. They were sometimes depicted with the bodies of bees.

THRONIA A Thracian Naiad-nymph loved by the god Poseidon.

THYIA A Naiad-nymph of Mount Parnassus loved by the god Apollo. She was the first to celebrate the orgies of Dionysus at Delphi.

THYMBRIS A prophetic Arcadian nymph who was the mother of the mantic god Pan by Zeus.

THYONE The mother of the god Dionysus who was first destroyed by the lighning-bolts of Zeus but later recovered by her son from the underworld and brought to Olympus as a goddess.

THYSA The goddess-nymph of the frenzied state of the celebrants of the Bacchic orgies. She was a daughter of the god Dionysus.

TIASA The Naiad-nymph of a Spartan stream.

TISIPHONE One of the three Erinyes, goddesses of vengeance.

TITANIDES The female Titans. The eldest of these were six daughters of Uranus named Rhea, Themis, Thea, Mnemosyne, Tethys, Phoebe and Dione. They remained neutral in the Titan-War and retained their role as minor earth-goddesses. Many of the daughters of the Titans were also called Titanides such as Leto, Eos, Selene, and Hecate.

TITANS (Titanes) The six sons of Uranus--Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Iapetus, Hyperion and Cronus--who deposed their father as king of the cosmos. They were in turn cast down by Zeus and imprisoned in the pit of Tartarus--except for Oceanus who remained neutral. Some of their sons and grandsons such as Atlas, Prometheus and Helius were also called Titans.

TITHONUS (Tithonos) A handsome shepherd-prince carried off by the dawn-goddess Eos. She obtained the gift of immortality for him but forget to ask for eternal youth and in time he shrivelled up and was transformed into a cicada.

TITHOREA The eponymous Dryad-nymph of the Phocian town of Tithorea.

TITYRI (Tityroi) A tribe of flute-playing, rustic daemones related to the Satyrs. They were companions of the god Dionysus.

TITYUS (Tityos) A giant who was slain by Apollo when he attempted to violate the goddess Leto and afterwards sentenced to eternal torment in Hades.

TRACHIUS (Trakhios) One of the metal-working Cyclops-giants.

TRIPTOLEMUS (Triptolemos) The agricultural-god of the sowing and the threshing of grain. He was a champion of the goddess Demeter who gave him a winged, serpent-drawn chariot to spread knowldedge of agriculture throughout the world.

TRITEIA The warlike sea-nymph of the Achaean town of Triteia who was a consort of the god Ares.

TRITON The sea-god herald of the god Poseidon who calmed the seas with the trumpeting of his conch-shell horn. He was a merman with one, or a pair of, fish-tails in place of legs.

TRITONIDES Sea-nymphs daughters of the god Triton.

TRITONIS The goddess of Lake Tritonis in Libya. She was the mother of the Libyan Athena.

TRITOPATORES The "three fathers", ancient wind-gods responsible for the generation and delivery of new souls.

TROCHILUS (Trokhilos) The demigod of the mill-stone used for grinding wheat into flour. He was one of the Eleusinian attendants of the goddess Demeter.

TROGLODYTES A tribe of underground-dwelling men.

TROPHONIUS (Trophonios) A man swallowed up by the earth and transformed into an oracular daemon.

TYCHE (Tykhe) The goddess of the good fortune and luck.

TYCHON (Tykhon) A phallic fertility-daemon.

TYPHOEUS (Typhoeus) A monstrous storm-giant with a hundred bestial heads, serpentine legs and giant wings. He besieged heaven, wrestled Zeus for his lightning bolts, tore out his sinews and locked him away in a cave. The god was restored by his sons and, striking Typhoeus down with his thunderbolts, imprisoned him in Tartarus or beneath the volcano Etna.

TYPHON (Typhon) Another name for the monster Typhoeus.

UPIS (Oupis) A Hyperborean nymph in the retinue of the goddess Artemis.

URANIA (Ourania) The godess Muse of astronomy.

URANUS (Ouranos) The primordial god of the sky--a solid, bronze dome which enclosed the flat earth and upper half of the cosmos. Uranus was the first ruler of the universe who was castrated and deposed by his son Cronus.

XANTHUS (Xanthos) One of the immortal horses owned by the hero Peleus and his son Achilles.

ZAGREUS (Zagreos) The first-born son of Zeus who was seated on the throne of heaven by his father as a babe and armed with thunderbolts. The Titan-gods stole into Olympus, distracted the child with toys and dismembered him with their knives. Athena recovered his heart and he was reborn through Semele as the god Dionysus.

ZELUS (Zelos) The personification of rivalry. He and his three siblings were henchmen of the god Zeus.

ZEPHYRUS (Zephyros) The god of the gentle west-wind and the season of spring.

ZEUS The king of the gods, greatest of the twelve Olympians. He was the god of the heavens, weather, fate, and kings. His weapon was the flaming thunderbolt.

ZEUXIPPE An Athenian Naiad-nymph, mother of the Argonaut Butes.