A Breif Catalogue of Mythology

I prepared this catalogue while studying for the English Literature GRE's.  As one of my sources of information, I used The Wordsworth Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, a reference that I highly recommend.   This catalogue is by no means complete.  However, it contains mythological figures and stories that are often alluded to in literature, especially in neoclassical poetry. It is arranged in no particular order. 

The Land of Cockaigne
Medieval stories make reference to his imaginary land of idleness and luxury, named for London (a.k.a. The Land of Cockaigne, a pun on cockney).

Phaedera
Daughter of Minos, she loved her stepson Hippolytus. When he rejected her advance, she denounced him to her husband Theseus, which lead to Hippolytus's death.  Regretting her action, Phaedera killed herself. Her tragedy has been told by both Euripides and Racine. (Theseus had slain the Minotaur that Minos had kept in the labyrinth. The Minotaur was the offspring of Pasiphae and a bull that Posiedon, god of the Sea, had sent to her.)

Europa 
Phoenician princess abducted and carried to Crete by Zeus, who was disguised in the form of a white bull.

Antaeus
Gigantic wrestler, son of Gaea (earth) and Poseidon (sea), he became stronger whenever he touched the earth. Hercules lifted him from the ground, however, and killed him.

The Worthies
Joshua, David, Judas Maccabeus, Hector, Alexander, Caesar, Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfre of Boullion

Phoebus
Another name for Apollo, god of the sun and leader of the Muses. Phoebus loved Daphne, daughter of the river god Peneus, but she had resolved to pass he life in celibacy.   She fled from him, seeking the protection of the gods, who changed her into a bay-tree. Apollo said that from then on he would wear bay leaves instead of the oak, and that all who desired his favor should do likewise.

Aeolus
God of the winds

Ahasuerus
Legendary wandering Jew who, having ridiculed Christ as he bore His cross, was doomed to live and wander the earth until the Second Coming

Nemesis
Greek & Roman goddess of retribution, who punished the sin of hubris, or pride (presumption against the gods)

Astarte (Ashtoreth)
Caananite goddess of love and fertility

Psyche
After trials imposed by the jealous Venus, she was wed to Cupid and translated to heaven as an immortal.

The Trojan War (Told by Homer in The Iliad)
The ten year war began when Paris, son of Priam King of Troy, carried off Helen, wife of Menelaus. Priam was husband of Hecuba and father of Hector. Hector slew Patroclus, to whom Achilles had leant his armor.  Achilles's mother, the goddess Thetis, begged Hephaestos, god of the forge, to make Achilles new armor. Hector was then slain by Achilles, who lashed Hector to his chariot and dragged his dead body three times around Troy's walls. When the Greeks entered the gates of Troy by concealing themselves in the Trojan horse, Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, slew Priam. Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, was the leader of the Greeks at the siege. He returned from the war with Cassandra, the daughter of King Priam. She was a prophet, but because she had refused his advances, Apollo had cursed her so that her prophecies would never be believed. Agamemnon and Cassandra both were murdered by his wife Clytemnestra and her lover.

Andromache (Told by Racine and Euripides)
Hector's widow Andromache was given to Achilles's son Neoptolemus after the Trojan War. Hermione, Neoptolemus's wife, was jealous of Andromache's son Molossus. In fear, Andromache sought sanctuary in the temple of Thetis after sending her son to a neighbor. Meneleaus threatened to kill her son if she did not emerge from the sanctuary, so she did. But Achilles's father Peleas (once the husband of Thetis) freed her and ordered both Meneleaus and Hermione to leave. Hermione, fearing banishment, fled with Orestes, Agammemnon's son, who loved her. He murdered Neoptolemus in the temple of Phoebus. (Told by Racine and Euripides.)

Virgil's Aeneid
Aeneas recounts his adventures in a feast at Carthage. He tells of the fall of his native Troy and of how he fled from the city. Anchises, his father, died in Sicily, and Aeneas was blown by storms to Libya. Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas took refuge in a cave, where they had a liason.  When he set sail, Dido killed herself out of sorrow (although another older legend says she did it to avoid an unwanted marriage with a king). In Italy, Aeneas visited his father in the underworld, and he in turn showed Aeneus the future of Rome, telling him to found his kingdom at a place where he would "eat his table." In Latium, Latinus gave his daughter to Aeneas in marriage. Turnus, jealous, stirred up a revolt, and Juno, hating Aeneas, aided Turnus. Aeneas sought help from Evander, and Venus, his mother, gave him a shield made by Vulcan. Thus a war broke out between the Latins and the Trojans. Pallas, Evander's brave son, was slain in battle. Aeneas won, married Lavinia, and established Rome.

Ajax (Told by Sophocles)
Odysseus was selected instead of Ajax to replace Achilles, who was killed by Paris in the Trojan War. Athena cast a spell over Ajax and he slaughtered livestock, thinking they were the leaders who had chosen Odysseus instead of him. When he awoke, he was ashamed. He said he would bury his sword and live in shame for the sake of his female captive Tecmessa and their son Eurysaces, but instead he killed himself. Teucer, Ajax's half brother, feared his father might suspect him of murdering Ajax. Meneleaus told Teucer that Ajax could not have a proper burial, but Teucer dug the grave anyway and was rebuked by Agammemnon. Odysseyus, however, declared that no Greek should be buried improperly, and so the matter was resolved. (As told by Sophocles)

Asclepious (Told by Euripides)
Apollo's son Asclepius violated divine law by raising a mortal, Hippolytus, from the dead, so Zeus killed him with Cyclops's thunderbolts. Then Apollo killed the Cyclops, for which he was made to leave Mount Olympus and serve as herdsman to Admetus, King of Pherae. Admetus wed Alcestis, who had volunteered to die in Apollo's place when the time came. At death, she asked Admetus to care for the children and not to marry again. After death, Hercules arrived, ambushed Thanatus, and brought Alcestis back.

Leda
While she was bathing, Leda was raped by Jupiter (Zeus), who had asumed the form of a swan.  She laid two eggs.  One gave rise to Castor and Clytemnestra, and from the other Pollux and Helen. Castor and Pollux had many adventures, including sailing with Jason in his quest for the Golden Fleece. They were worshiped as gods, and they are considered to be the constellations Gemini.

Sibyl
A prophetess of classical legend. There were a number throughout the world. Medieval monks adopted the sibyls, made them 12, and gave each of them a separate prophecy and distinct emblem.

Sophocles's Antigone
Daughter of Oedipus, she buried her brother against Creon's wishes, who in turn decided she should die. Tiresias, a prophet, warned Creon that the gods were not pleased. Ismene, Antigone's sister, tried to soften his heart. Antigone was engaged to Creon's son, Haemon. Antigone hung herself, and Haemon then killed himself. In grief and regret, Creon had himself exiled (Sophocles).

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Last Revised: Sunday January 02, 2005 12:12 PM -0500