Homer - The Iliad
Index FGHILMN
Fate, Aesa, Cer, Moira
BkXVI777 etc. The power of fate or destiny.
BkXIX74 One of the three forces, with Zeus and the Furies, determining human destiny.
Furies
See Erinys
Galatea
BkXVIII1 A Nereid. According to Ovid (the only source) Acis was loved by Galatea, and Polyphemus the Cyclops, jealous of him, crushed him under a huge rock. His blood was changed by the nymph into the river Acis or Acinius at the foot of mount Aetna.
Ganymedes
A son of Tros, and the most beautiful of all mortals, he was carried off by the gods to be cupbearer to Zeus. Zeus compensated the father for his loss with the present of divine horses.
Gargarus
The highest peak of Mount Ida near Troy.
BkVIII1 Mentioned.
BkXIV292 BkXIV352 Zeus and Hera make love there.
BkXV149 A seat of Zeus.
Ge, Earth
Gerenian
An epithet for Nestor, it indicates his venerable age or possibly a placename. (For the latter see Strabo, Geography, Book VIII, 3.)
BkII333 BkII394 BkII581 BkIV250 BkXIV1 etc. An epithet for Nestor.
Glaphyrae
An ancient city in Thessaly near the modern Glafyra village northwest of Nea Ionia.
BkII681 Mentioned.
Glauce
BkXVIII1 A Nereid. A personification of the sea’s blue-green colour.
Glaucus, father of Bellerophon
A grandson of Aeolus, he was a son of Sisyphus and Merope, and father of Bellerophontes. He lived at Potniae, despised the power of Aphrodite, and fed his horses on human flesh, to make them spirited and warlike. This excited the anger of Aphrodite or the gods in general, who punished him
Glaucus, son of Hippolochus
A son of Hippolochus, and grandson of Bellerophontes, he was a Lycian prince, and led his hosts from Xanthus to the assistance of Priam.
BkII811 Mentioned.
BkVI119 He meets Diomedes and exchanges armour with him.
BkXII80 He is a leader of the fifth company.
BkXII290 Sarpedon urges him on.
BkXII329 He joins the battle.
BkXII378 He is wounded by Teucer.
BkXVI508 He rouses the Lycians to save Sarpedon’s corpse.
BkXVII198 Hector summons him to battle.
Glisas
A Boeotian city, on the site of modern Ypato village northeast of Thiva.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Gonoessa
An ancient city near Corinth, near modern Pellini village, southwest of Xylokastro township.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Gorgon, Gorgo, Medusa
Medusa was the best known of the Three Gorgons, the daughters of Phorcys. A winged monster with snake locks, glaring eyes and brazen claws whose gaze turned men to stone. Her sisters were Stheino and Euryale.
BkVIII335 Her glaring eyes.
BkXI1 Depicted on Agamemnon’s shield.
Gorgythion
Hector’s charioteer.
Gortys, Gortyn
The ancient city in south central Crete, lay on the plain of Mesara, in modern Iraklion (near the village of Agioi Deka). Probably a term also for the region around.
BkII645 Mentioned.
Gouneus
A leader of the Enienes and Perrhaebi at Troy. His city is Cyphus, location unknown but presumed to be in Thessaly near Mount Olympus.
BkII681 Mentioned.
Graces, Charites
The goddesses of beauty, they were the daughters of Eurynome and Zeus. Their names were Pasithea, Cale, and Euphrosyne. In the Renaissance conceit they represent Giving, Receiving and Thanking.
BkV297 They made the divine robe worn by Aphrodite.
BkXIV224 Hera promises Pasithea to Hypnos, for his help.
Graea
A Boeotian city.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Granicus
A river flowing from the Ida range. It had its headwaters in the foothills of Mount Ida, and emptied into the Hellespont near the Mysian town of Priapos.
BkXII1 After the war, Poseidon diverted its streams to destroy the Greek wall.
Gygaean Lake
The modern lake, Marmara Gölü, near Sazköy, Manisa (Turkey).
Gyrtius
See Hyrtius
BkXIV458 The father of Hyrtius.
Gyrtone
A Thessalian city southwest of modern Makrychori.
BkII681 Mentioned.
Hades
The Halls of the Dead, which are in the underworld, it is also a title for their god. Hades is not the lowest pit, nor specifically a place of punishment, for which Tartarus is reserved. Hades was a son of Cronos and Rhea. He shares dominion of the world with his brothers Zeus who rules the Earth and Heavens, and Poseidon who rules the sea.
BkI1 BkIII310 BkV166 BkVI237 BkVII313 BkVIII1 BkXIV402 BkXV220 BkXX259 BkXXII1 BkXXII405 BkXXIII192 BkXXIV200 BkXXIV552 The destination for the dead, in particular slain warriors.
BkV590 BkXI401 BkXVI569 Hades, its god, represented as Horse Lord.
BkV767 The Cyclopes gave Hades a helmet of darkness, or invisibility, (they gave Zeus a thunderbolt, and Poseidon a trident), here donned by Athene to hide her from Ares (an example of the elder gods possessing superior magic).
BkVIII335 BkXIII402 Hades, its god, called the Closer and Warden of the Gate. The Hound of Hell, the Guardian of the Gate, was elsewhere named Cerberus.
BkIX79 Hated by mortals as the harshest and most unyielding of gods.
BkIX307 The Gates of Hades, an example of something hated.
BkIX430 Described as the Zeus of the Underworld. Persephone is his bride.
BkIX527 Invoked by Althaea, when cursing her son.
BkXV149 He shares dominion over the world with his brothers, as King of the Dead.
BkXX1 Called Aidoneus, the lord of the dead. He is fearful of the earthquakes caused by Poseidon.
BkXXII188 When weighed in the balance, Hector’s lot sinks towards Earth and therefore Hades.
BkXXII247 Hector’s spirit flees to Hades, on death.
BkXXIII54 Achilles perceives Hades as a place of spirits with semblances but without powers of reason.
Haemon
See Maeon
The father of Maeon. A son of Creon of Thebes.
BkIV326 Mentioned.
Haemon
See Laerces
BkXVII384 The father of Laerces, and grandfather of Alcimedon.
Haemon
BkIV250 A leader of the Pylian contingent at Troy.
Halcyone
Haliartus
A Boeotian city.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Halie
BkXVIII1 A Nereid. The plural Haliae is used as a name for sea nymphs in general.
Halius
A Lycian.
Halizones
A tribe allied to Troy, of unknown origin. Strabo (in his Geography) speculates that ‘distant Alybe’ may originally have read ‘distant Chalybe’, and he suggests that the Halizones may have been Chalybes, as well as Khaldi, thus associated with ancient metal-working, especially iron and steel. (The Chalybes settled in north Anatolia, near the shores of the Black Sea, from the Halys to Pharnakeia and Trabzon in the east and as far south as Lesser Armenia. Immediately to the east of these Khalib lived the related Khaldi or Kardu people, thought to be the ancestors of the Georgians (Kartvelebi). The Chalybs are also thought to be proto-Georgians.)
BkII811 Mentioned.
BkV1 Odius their leader is killed.
Harma
A Boeotian city, near modern Arma in Tanagra.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Harmon
See Tecton
BkV1 The father of Tecton.
Harpalion
A Paphlagonian, the son of Pylaemenes.
Hebe
The goddess personifying youth, she is a daughter of Zeus and Hera, and cupbearer to the gods.
BkIV1 She pouts nectar for the gods on Olympus.
BkV703 She readies Hera’s chariot.
BkV846 She bathes and dresses Ares.
Hecabe
In Latin Hecuba, a daughter of Dymas of Phrygia, and second wife of Priam, king of Troy, she was the mother of Hector.
BkVI72 Hector goes to urge her to lead the women in prayer to Athene.
BkVI237 She goes to pray at the shrine of Athene on the Trojan Acropolis.
BkVI440 Hector foresees her fall.
BkXVI684 Her brother Asius the Phrygian.
BkXXII1 She tries to persuade Hector to retreate within the city.
BkXXII188 The mother of Deiphobus.
BkXXII405 She grieves for Hector.
BkXXIV141 Priam tells her of his message from Zeus.
BkXXIV200 She tries to dissuade Priam from going to the Greek ships.
BkXXIV281 She encourages Priam to pray to Zeus and ask for an omen.
BkXXIV677 BkXXIV718 She mourns over the corpse of Hector.
Hecamede
The daughter of Arsinous of Tenedos, she was given as a slave to Nestor when Achilles took the island.
BkXI596 She serves refreshment to Nestor and his guest.
BkXIV1 She prepares a hot bath for Machaon, Nestor’s guest.
Hector
A son of Priam he was the chief hero of the Trojan army.
BkI223 The first mention of the Trojan hero.
BkII394 BkXI804 The most noted of the Trojan warriors.
BkII760 Iris urges him to assemble the armies.
BkII811 BkIV473 BkV166 He is leader of the Trojan host.
BkIII1 BkIII58 He berates Paris for his apparent cowardice.
BkIII310 He marks out the ground for the duel.
BkV431 Sarpedon exhorts him to fight.
BkV590 He leads the Trojans and kills Menesthes and Anchialus.
BkV703 He wreaks havoc among the Greeks.
BkVI72 BkVI237 He goes to the citadel of Troy to urge prayer.
BkVI312 He rouses Paris, and speaks to Helen.
BkVI369 He takes leave of his wife Andromache and son Astyanax.
BkVI440 He foresees the fall of Troy.
BkVI494 BkVII1 He returns to the battlefield with Paris.
BkVII1 BkVII54 BkVII120 BkVII161 Athene and Apollo lead him to issue a challenge.
BkVII233 He breaks off combat with Ajax and they exchange gifts.
BkVIII53 BkVIII112 He moves to attack Nestor.
BkVIII157 BkVIII212 He taunts Diomedes and attacks the Greeks, penning them in by the ships.
BkVIII335 He drives the Greeks to their ships.
BkVIII438 Zeus prophesies his supremacy until Achilles returns to the fight.
BkVIII489 He addresses the troops encamped before Troy.
BkIX222 BkIX307 The Greeks fear his onslaught.
BkIX606 Achilles vows not to fight till Hector reaches his ship.
BkX194 The Greeks assemble at the point where Hector had turned back.
BkX299 BkX515 He assembles the Trojan leaders and asks for a volunteer, sending out Dolon to spy on the Greeks.
BkX349 Odysseus questions Dolon as to Hector’s wherabouts.
BkXI1 He leads the Trojans into battle.
BkXI163 Zeus sends Iris to deliver instructions to him.
BkXI218 He is liberated by Agamemnon’s withdrawal from the field, and follows Zeus’ instructions to rouse the Trojans and attack.
BkXI299 He attacks the Greeks and in particular Diomedes and Odysseus.
BkXI349 Diomedes strikes him harmlessly with his spear.
BkXI489 He fights on the left flank by the Scamander then moves to the right avoiding Ajax.
BkXII1 BkXII80 BkXII290 BkXIII723 He leads an attack on the Greek ships.
BkXII175 He rejects Polydamas’ interpretation of the omen of eagle and snake.
BkXII251 BkXII378 BkXIII330 Zeus aids him and the Trojans.
BkXII442 BkXIII1 BkXIII239 BkXIII643 He shatters the gates in the Greek wall, and is first man inside. He drives the Greeks back towards the ships.
BkXIII136 He kills Antimachus.
BkXIII788 He agrees to re-group, and finds Paris in the front ranks.
BkXIV352 BkXIX74 He leads the Trojan attack on the ships.
BkXIV402 He is wounded by Ajax.
BkXV1 Zeus predicts his killing of Patroclus, and his subsequent death at the hands of Achilles.
BkXV220 Apollo re-invigorates him, and assists the Trojans.
BkXV281 Hector and Apollo rout the Greeks.
BkXV328 He kills Stichius and Arcesilaus.
BkXV458 He rouses his troops.
BkXV565 He kills Periphetes and closes in on the ships.
BkXV653 He reaches the ship of Protesilaus.
BkXVI101 He forces Ajax to retreat.
BkXVI351 His horses carry him from the field.
BkXVI508 Glaucus seeks him on the battlefield.
BkXVI684 He is urged by Apollo to return to the battle.
BkXVI726 He fights with Patroclus over Cebriones’ body.
BkXVI777 BkXVIII1 BkXVIII368 BkXIX338 He finishes Patroclus off.
BkXVII1 Apollo disguised as Mentes rouses him to fight.
BkXVII82 He advances to secure Patroclus’ armour, the armour of Achilles.
BkXVII140 BkXVII656 He wears Achilles’ armour.
BkXVII198 Zeus grants him power, but predicts his death.
BkXVII319 Aeneas calls for his support.
BkXVII384 Zeus decides he shall not have Achilles’ immortal horses.
BkXVII481 He attacks Automedon.
BkXVII543 He reacts to the death of his friend Podes.
BkXVII597 He wounds Leitus, and kills Coeranus.
BkXVII722 BkXVIII148 BkXIX145 BkXXI1 He leads an attack on the Greeks.
BkXVIII78 Achilles intends to kill him.
BkXVIII243 He foolishly rejects Polydamas’ advice.
BkXVIII310 Achilles promises to return to Patroclus’ grave with Hector’s severed head.
BkXIX1 Hector had benefited from Achilles’ absence from the field.
BkXX75 Achilles is eager to fight him.
BkXX153 Aeneas explains his and Hector’s joint lineage.
BkXX353 Apollo warns him to steer clear of Achilles.
BkXX419 Apollo saves him from Achilles.
BkXXI200 His death at the hands of Achilles is again indicated by the gods.
BkXXII1 He awaits Achilles by the Scaean Gate, and ignores the pleas of Priam and Hecabe.
BkXXII90 He debates his options with himself.
BkXXII131 Achilles pursues him round the walls of Troy.
BkXXII188 Athene incites him to stand and fight Achilles.
BkXXII247 Deceived by Athene, disguised as Deiphobus, he is killed by Achilles whose fate he prophesies.
BkXXII367 Achilles drags his corpse behind his chariot.
BkXXII405 He is mourned for in Troy.
BkXXIII1 Achilles drags his corpse to Patroclus’ bier.
BkXXIII108 Aphrodite and Apollo protect his corpse.
BkXXIV1 BkXXIV77 Achilles abuses his corpse, while Zeus determines it should be returned to Priam.
BkXXIV200 BkXXIV349 BkXXIV468 Priam prepares to ransom his corpse.
BkXXIV552 Achilles prepares the corpse for return to Troy.
BkXXIV621 Achilles allows a truce for Hector’s funeral.
BkXXIV677 BkXXIV718 Priam brings his body back to Troy.
BkXXIV776 His funeral rites.
Helen
The daughter of Leda and Zeus (Tyndareus was her putative father), sister of Clytemnaestra, and the Dioscuri. The wife of Menelaüs. She was taken, by Paris, to Troy, instigating the Trojan War, which she survived.
BkII155 BkII333 BkII581 BkIII58 BkIX307 BkXXII90
The cause (or pretext) of the war, Helen of Argos.
BkIII121 Iris visits her. Helen goes to Priam.
BkIII181 She points out the notable Greek warriors to Priam.
BkIII245 BkIV1 BkIV127 The prize of the duel between Menelaus and Paris.
BkIII310 BkIII395 Aphrodite visits her and summons her to Paris’ room.
BkVII313 Antenor proposes her return to Achaea.
BkIX79 BkIX222 The loveliest of the women at Troy.
BkXI84 Antimachus opposed returning her to the Greeks.
BkXI349 BkXI489 BkXIII723 Paris described as her husband.
BkXXIV718 BkXXIV776 She grieves for Hector.
Helenus
A Greek.
BkV703 Killed by Hector or Ares.
Helenus, son of Priam
A son of Priam and Hecabe, he was skilled in augury.
BkVI72 He urges Aeneas and Hector to rally the Trojans.
BkVII1 He is inspired to advise Hector to issue a challenge.
BkXII80 He is a leader of the third company.
BkXIII576 He kills Deipyrus and is wounded in the hand by Menelaus.
BkXIII723 Hector seeks but fails to find him in the front ranks.
BkXXIV200 His father berates him.
Helicaon
A son of Antenor, and husband of Laodice daughter of Priam.
BkIII121 Mentioned.
Helice
An ancient city on the Gulf of Corinth, northwest of modern Eliki village, northwest of Diakopto town-ship, near the mouth of the Selinous River, 20 miles east of Pátrai, Helice was noted for its sanctuary of Poseidon, and was a seat of the First Achaean League confederation on the Gulf of Corinth. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 373 B.C. Its ruins and those of a 4,500-year-old Bronze Age settlement that met a similar fate were discovered in 2000 and 2001 respectively.
BkII484 Mentioned.
BkVIII157 BkXX353 A site of worship of Poseidon.
Helius, see Hyperion
BkVII379 The sun.
Hellas
Greece, also specifically northern Greece. In the Iliad it also refers to Achilles’ territory in Thessaly.
BkII484 The pan-Hellene concept of Greece.
BkII681 Its contingent to the war at Troy.
BkIX307 BkIX430 Achilles’ homeland. The land of lovely women.
BkXVI569 The home of Bathycles son of Chalcon.
Hellespont, Dardanelles
The straits that link the Propontis with the Aegean Sea, were named after Helle, and close to the site of Troy. Helle was the daughter of Athamas and Nephele, and sister of Phrixus. Escaping from Ino’s malice, on the golden ram, she fell into the sea and was drowned, giving her name to the straits.
BkII811 BkXXIV468 The border of Thrace.
BkVII54 BkXII1 BkXV220 BkXVII384 BkXVIII148 BkXXIII1
BkXXIV281 The shore was a prominent site near Troy, where the Greek ships were drawn up.
Helos, in Laconia
A city in Laconia, it lay west of modern Skala.
BkII581 Mentioned.
Helos, in Nestor’s realm
A city in Messinia.
BkII581 Mentioned.
Hephaestus
The son of Zeus and Hera, and craftsman to the gods, he inhabited the island of Lemnos. The husband of Aphrodite.
BkI568 He acts as peacemaker to the gods.
BkII48 He made the sceptre Agamemnon bears. Its history is given.
BkII394 Mythologically, Prometheus stole fire from the gods on behalf of man, and specifically from Hephaestus’ forge.
BkV1 Dares, a priest of his at Troy.
BkVIII157 The maker of Nestor’s golden shield.
BkXIV135 BkXIV292 He had fashioned rooms for the gods, including Zeus and Hera, fitted with strong doors and hidden locks.
BkXIV224 The son of Hera, and a skilled artisan.
BkXV149 He supports the Greeks.
BkXV281 He made the aegis (sacred breastplate) for Zeus.
BkXVII82 The god of fire, as smith to the gods. Hector’s armour gleams like fire.
BkXVIII78 BkXVIII148 Thetis intends to ask him for fresh armour for Achilles.
BkXVIII468 BkXIX1 BkXIX338 BkXX259 BkXXII247 He forges new armour for Achilles.
BkXX1 He had built the colonnades of Zeus’ palace. He enters the war supporting the Greeks.
BkXXI298 He opposes Xanthus with his fires, and the River-god capitulates.
Heptaporus
A river flowing from the Ida range.
BkXII1 After the war, Poseidon diverted its streams to destroy the Greek wall.
Hera
The Queen of the Gods, she was the sister and wife of Zeus.
BkI53 She prompts Achilles to speak. She is called white-armed Hera.
BkI188 She sends Athene to counsel Achilles.
BkI357 She once attacked and bound Zeus.
BkI488 Zeus anticipates her opposition to his support for the Trojans.
BkI531 BkI568 She argues with Zeus.
BkII1 Zeus uses her name in a false dream sent to Agamemnon.
BkII155 She prompts Athene to stop the Greeks sailing home.
BkIV1 BkIX222 BkXV149 She insists on prolonging the war and supports the Greeks.
BkV352 She was once wounded by Heracles.
BkV703 BkV767 BkV846 She rouses Athene to enter the fray with her to support Diomedes.
BkVII379 BkX299 BkXIII136 BkXVI1 The wife of Zeus. He is therefore her lord.
BkVIII157 BkVIII212 She is angered by Hector’s boasting, and prompts Agamemnon to rally the Greeks.
BkVIII335 She rouses Athene to halt the Trojan advance.
BkVIII397 Zeus indicates her habitual defiance of his commands.
BkVIII438 She speaks up in opposition to Zeus.
BkXI218 The goddesses of childbirth are her daughters.
BkXIV135 She borrows Aphrodite’s magic belt to seduce Zeus.
BkXIV224 She elicits the help of Sleep (Hypnos).
BkXIV292 BkXIV352 She tempts Zeus into making love on Gargarus.
BkXV1 Zeus tells her the course of the war and his will, and issues his commands to her.
BkXV78 Hera goes to Olympus to address the gods.
BkXVI426 She persuades Zeus not to save Sarpedon.
BkXVIII78 Her persecution of Heracles.
BkXVIII148 She sends Iris with a message to Achilles.
BkXVIII310 Zeus admonishes her for her support of the Greeks.
BkXVIII368 Ashamed of his lameness she hurled her son Hephaestus from the summit of Olympus.
BkXIX74 She tricked Zeus by delaying the birth of Heracles.
BkXIX338 She grants Achilles’ horse Xanthus power of utterance.
BkXX1 BkXX75 She enters the war again in support of the Greeks.
BkXX259 She and Athene have vowed opposition to the Trojans.
BkXXI298 She calls on her son Hephaestus to oppose the River Xanthus and rescue Achilles.
BkXXI383 She boxes Artemis’s ears.
BkXXIV1 She approves of Achilles’ treatment of Hector’s corpse.
BkXXIV77 She welcomes Thetis to Olympus.
Heracles, Hercules
The hero was a son of Zeus and Alcmene, the wife of Amphitryon. He was called Alcides from Amphitryon’s father Alceus, also Amphitryoniades, also Tirynthius from Tiryns his home city in the Argolis. Zeus predicted at his birth that a scion of Perseus would be born, greater than all other descendants. Hera delayed Hercules birth and hastened that of Eurystheus, grandson of Perseus, making Hercules subservient to him. Hercules was set the famous twelve labours by Eurystheus at Hera’s instigation.
BkII645 BkV590 Father of Tlepolemus and Thessalus.
BkVIII335 Athene aided him in his tasks. Her comments are presumably also aimed at annoying Hera.
BkXI655 Heracles had attacked and burned Pylos after his conquest of Elis.
BkXIV224 BkXX75 Heracles had attacked and sacked Troy, after its king Laomedon had cheated him, when Heracles rescued Hesione from a sea-monster. He had been driven to the island of Cos by Hera.
BkXIV292 The son of Zeus and Alcmene.
BkXV1 Zeus had rescued him from Cos, where Hera and the North Wind had driven him, and carried him safely to Argos.
BkXV565 Copreus was sent by King Eurystheus to inform Heracles of the twelve labours.
BkXVIII78 Heracles eventually died a victim of Hera’s enmity.
BkXIX74 His birth delayed by Hera.
Hermes
The messenger god, he was the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Maia, the daughter of Atlas. His birthplace was Mount Cyllene. He had winged feet, and a winged cap, carried a scimitar, and had a magic wand, the caduceus, with twin snakes twined around it, that brought sleep and healing. The caduceus is the symbol of medicine. (See Botticelli’s painting Primavera.) He was summoned by Zeus to lull Argus, the many-eyed monstrous guard of Io, to sleep and killed him.
BkII48 Recipient of the sceptre made by Hephaestus.
BkXIV458 God of herds and flocks, wealth and trade.
BkXV149 He supports the Greeks.
BkXVI155 Called Argeiphontes, for slaying Argus the hundred-eyed monster. The father of Eudorus.
BkXX1 He enters the war in support of the Greeks. He is called the Helper as he facilitates human transactions (trade, travel, treaties, games etc)
BkXXIV1 The gods propose he, being the god of thieves, should steal Hector’s corpse.
BkXXIV281 Zeus sends him, as god of travellers, to escort Priam.
BkXXIV349 BkXXIV468 He leads Priam to Achilles’ hut, disguised as a Myrmidon.
BkXXIV677 He guides Priam back to the ford of Xanthus.
Hermione
A city of the southern Argolid, west of modern Ermioni town.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Hermus
The modern Gediz River in Turkey, located in the Aegean region of ancient Lydia. It flowed past Tmolus, and the ancient city of Sardis.
BkXX353 Mentioned.
Hicetaon
A son of Laomedon, and father of Melanippus.
BkIII121 BkXV514 BkXV565 BkXX153 Mentioned.
Hippasus
See Hypsenor
BkXIII402 Father of Hypsenor.
Hippasus
See Apisaon
A Trojan.
BkXI401 Father of Charops and Socus.
Hippemolgi
These are probably the Scythians, termed ‘mare-milkers’ by Hesiod (as cited by Eratosthenes) also.
BkXIII1 Mentioned.
Hippocoön
A Thracian leader, he is a kinsman of Rhesus.
BkX515 Apollo rouses him from sleep to witness the carnage.
Hippodamas
A son of Priam.
BkXX353 He is killed by Achilles.
Hippodameia, daughter of Anchises
BkXIII402 Eldest daughter of Anchises, and wed to Alcathous.
Hippodameia, wife of Peirithous
A daughter of Atrax, and wife of Peirithous.
BkII681 Mentioned.
Hippodamus
A Trojan warrior.
Hippolochus, son of Bellerephon
He was a son of Bellerophontes, and Philonoe or Anticleia, and father of Glaucus, the Lycian prince.
BkVI119 BkVII1 BkXII290 BkXII378 BkXVII140 Father of Glaucus.
Hippolochus, a Trojan
A son of Antimachus.
Hippomachus
A third son of Antimachus.
Hipponous
A leading Greek warrior.
Hippothous, son of Lethus
A son of Lethus, grandson of Teutamus, and brother of Pylaeus, he led a band of Pelasgian auxiliaries from Larissa to the assistance of the Trojans.
BkII811 Mentioned.
BkXVII198 Hector rouses him to battle.
BkXVII262 He is killed by Ajax.
Hippothous, son of Priam
A son of Priam.
BkXXIV200 His father berates him.
Hippotion, of Ascania
The father of Ascanius and Morys.
BkXIII788 He fights at the front.
Hire
A city, Ira, in Messinia, inland from the coast east of the Pylian country.
BkIX79 BkIX222 Promised to Achilles by Agamemnon.
Histiaea
A city of the Abantes, east of modern Orei village.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Horae, the Hours
The Olympian divinities of the weather and the ministers of Zeus, who guard the gates of Olympus and promote the fertility of the earth
BkVIII335 The guardians of the gates.
Hyades
The ‘rainy ones’ they were nymphs, the daughters of Atlas and Aethra and the half-sisters of the Pleiades. The constellation rising with the sun signalled the period of stormy weather. The constellation is a v-shaped cluster forming the face of Taurus the Bull on which the bright star Aldebaran, though distant from the cluster, is superimposed visually.
BkXVIII468 The constellation appears on Achilles’ shield.
Hyampolis
A Phocian city, west of modern Exarchos village near Atalanti.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Hyde
A Maeonian city it lay in the Hermus valley of ancient Lydia.
BkXX353 The home of Otrynteus.
Hyle
A Boeotian city, it lay on the shores of Lake Cephisis (Modern Lake Hylice/near vanished Lake Copais).
BkVII161 The home of Tychius the master-currier.
Hyllus, Hyllos
A tributary of the river Hermus, in Lydia, it flowed into Hermus from the north. In the time of Strabo (xiii. p. 626) the river was called Phrygius.
BkXX353 Mentioned.
Hypeirochus, a Trojan
Hypeirochus
See Itymoneus
BkXI655 A chieftain of Elis and father of Itymoneus.
Hypeiron
A Trojan general.
Hypereia
The spring in Thessaly near modern Yperia village, northwest of Mega Evydrio. Also perhaps a typical name for a Greek fountain.
Hyperenor
A Trojan, the son of Panthous.
BkXIV458 BkXVII1 Killed by Menelaus.
Hyperesia
An ancient city near Corinth, modern Egira on the Gulf of Corinth.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Hyperion, Helios
A name used for the sun god, and his father. Created by Eurynome, the Goddess of All Things.
BkVII379 BkVIII438 BkXIX338 The physical sun.
Hypnos, Sleep
The personification of sleep, and twin brother of Death.
BkXIV352 He puts Zeus to sleep, and informs Poseidon.
BkXVI426 BkXVI569 He and his brother carry Sarpedon’s body to Lycia.
Hypsenor, a Greek
Son of Hippasus.
BkXIII402 Killed by Deiphobus.
Hypsenor, a Trojan
A son of the Trojan priest Dolopion.
Hypsipyle
The wife of Jason and daughter of Thoas, King of Lemnos.
BkVII433 Mentioned.
Hyria, Hyrie
A town, site unknown, located close to Aulis.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Hyrmine
BkII581 Mentioned.
Hyrtacus
A Trojan, the husband of Arisbe, and father of Asius and Nisus, the Hyrtacides.
BkII811 Mentioned.
BkXII80 He is a leader of the third company.
BkXIII723 The father of Asius.
Hyrtius
A Mysian leader, son of Gyrtius.
BkXIV458 Killed by Ajax the Greater.
Iaera
BkII484 A son of Ares and Astyoche, and brother of Ascalaphus, together with whom he led the Minyans of Orchomenos against Troy
BkIX79 He leads a contingent of guards on sentry duty.
Ialysus
A city of Rhodes in the north of the island, near modern Trianda.
BkII645 Mentioned.
A Trojan leader.
BkXII80 He helps lead the attack on the Greek wall.
Ianassa
Ianeira
Iapetus
He was a brother of Cronos, and a Titan.
BkVIII438 He is imprisoned in darkness in Tartarus.
Iardanus
A small river in Elis in western Greece, near Pheia.
BkVII120 Mentioned.
Iason
The son of Aeson, leader of the Argonauts, he was the hero of the adventure of the Golden Fleece. The fleece is represented in the sky by the constellation and zodiacal sign of Aries, the Ram. In ancient times it contained the point of the vernal equinox (The First Point of Aries) that has since moved by precession into Pisces.
BkVII433 BkXXI34 BkXXIII740 He fathered Euneos by Hypsipyle of Lemnos.
Iasus
An Athenian leader. he was the son of Sphelus son to Bucolus.
BkXV328 He is killed by Aeneas.
Icarian Sea
Part of the Aegean Sea between Turkey and the Greek islands of Patmos and Leros, it includes the island of Icaria near which Icarus drowned and where he was buried. See Ovid’s Metamorphoses.
BkII109 Mentioned as prone to stormy seas due to southerly and easterly winds.
Ida
Mount Ida near Troy (not the sacred Mount Ida in Crete). Its topmost peak was called Gargarus. It is the modern Kaz Dağları, or Karataş Tepesi, a mountain range in northwestern Turkey, southeast of the ruins of Troy, along the north coast of the Gulf of Edremit.
BkII811 Aeneas born there. Zeleia a city on its slopes.
BkIII245 BkIII310 BkVIII1 BkVIII53 BkVIII157 BkVIII397 BkXI163 BkXII1 BkXIV135 BkXV149 A seat of Zeus, described as many-fountained (i.e. the source of many rivers)
BkIV473 Simoeisius born nearby.
BkXII251 Source of winds that blow across the plain.
BkXIII1 Visible from Samothrace.
BkXIV224 Hera and Hypnos reach the mountain. Ida is described as the mother of the wild creatures.
BkXIV292 BkXV1 Hera and Zeus make love on its summit, Gargarus.
BkXV149 Apollo and Iris meet Zeus there.
BkXX1 The Mountain is shaken by earthquakes.
BkXX75 Achilles had pursued Aeneas there.
BkXX153 Its slopes were the Trojans ancestral homeland.
BkXXI383 Apollo once worked as a herdsman for Laomedon there.
BkXXI526 A possible place of refuge for Agenor.
BkXXII131 Its summit was a place of sacrifice.
BkXXIII108 The logs for Patroclus’ pyre are felled there.
Idaeus, the Herald
A Trojan herald.
BkIII245 Mentioned.
BkVII233 He intervenes in the combat.
BkVII313 BkVII379 He is sent on an embassy to the Greek camp.
BkXXIV281 He accompanies Priam to the ships.
BkXXIV349 He sees Hermes approaching disguised as a Myrmidon.
BkXXIV468 BkXXIV552 He accompanies Priam to Achilles’ hut.
BkXXIV621 He retires to rest, with Priam.
BkXXIV677 He drives the mule-cart with Hector’s body back to Troy.
Idaeus, a Trojan
A son of Dares.
Idas
A son of Aphareus, and Arene the daughter of Oebalus, he was married to Marpessa, and became by her the father of Cleopatra or Alcyone.
BkIX527 Mentioned.
Idomeneus
King of Crete, leader of the Cretan contingent fighting against Troy. A son of Deucalion, and grandson of Minos and Pasiphae.
BkI101 A leader of the Greek armies at Troy.
BkII394 He assists Agamemnon in sacrificing to the gods and rousing the troops.
BkII645 Leader of the Cretan contingent at Troy.
BkIII181 Pointed out by Helen to Priam. His previous visits to Argos.
BkIV250 Agamemnon talks with him before the battle.
BkVI369 He assaults the walls of Troy.
BkVII161 He offers to fight Hector in single combat.
BkVIII53 BkVIII212 He leaves the battlefield when Zeus displays his menace, but returns to the attack.
BkX72 Nestor proposes summoning him.
BkXI489 He attacks the Trojan right.
BkXII80 Destined to kill Asius.
BkXIII206 He is roused by Poseidon.
BkXIII239 He re-enters the battle.
BkXIII330 He kills Asius and Othryoneus.
BkXIII468 He is attacked by Aeneas, and kills Oenomaus.
BkXV281 He forms part of the group of leaders opposing Hector.
BkXVII198 He goes to the support of Ajax and Menelaus.
BkXVII597 He fails to wound Hector, and retreats.
BkXIX282 He and the other generals try to comfort the grieving Achilles.
BkXXIII108 BkXXIII850 Meriones is his squire.
BkXXIII448 He quarrels with Ajax the Lesser.
Ilean Plain
BkXXI526 The plain before Troy.
Ilioneus
A Trojan, the son of Phorbas.
Ilium, Ilion, Ilios, Troy
The citadel of Troy, named after Ilus great-grandson of Dardanus.
BkI53 Calchas guided the Greeks to Troy.
BkII109 BkIII245 BkVI1 BkXVIII1 BkXVIII368 The citadel, an alternative name for Troy itself.
BkVI440 Hector foresees its fall.
BkIX307 Noted for it pre-war wealth.
BkXI163 Described here and elsewhere as holy, sacred.
Ilus
A son of Tros and grandson of Erichthonius, his mother was Calirrhoe, and being a great-grandson of Dardanus, he is called Dardanide. He was a brother of Assaracus, Ganymedes, and Cleopatra, and married to Eurydice, the daughter of Adrastus, by whom he became the father of Laomedon, so that he was the grandfather of Priam. He was believed to be the founder of Troy. His tomb was in the neighbourhood of Troy.
BkX412 The Trojans meet by Ilus’ tomb.
BkXI163 BkXI349 BkXXIV349 His tomb mentioned as a landmark. There is some confusion here with an Ilos the ‘son’ of Dardanus, who purportedly died childless and left his kingdom to his brother Ericthonius (Apollodorus iii.12.1 etc). The word scion, descendant, covers both possibilities.
BkXX153 The son of Tros.
Imbrasus
See Peiros
BkIV473 Father of Peiros.
Imbrius
A son of Mentor, and husband of Medesicaste, a daughter of Priam.
Imbros
The island located at the entrance to Saros Bay in the northern Aegean Sea, now referred to as Gökçeada in Turkey.
BkXIII1 Mentioned.
BkXIV224 Hera passes it on her way from Lemnos to Ida.
BkXXIV77 Thetis’ cave is half-way between Imbros and Samothrace.
BkXXIV718 Its slave-market.
Iolcus, Iolchos, Iolciacus
An ancient city in Thessaly it lay southwest of modern Iolkos village southwest of Anakassia.
BkII681 Mentioned.
Ionians
The Ionian Greeks occupied mainly the shores and islands of the eastern Aegean Sea. Ionian states were identified by tradition and by their use of Eastern Greek. Ionia proper comprised a narrow coastal strip from Phocaea in the north near the mouth of the river Hermus (now the Gediz), to Miletus in the south near the mouth of the river Maeander, and included the islands of Chios and Samos. It was bounded by Aeolia to the north, Lydia to the east and Caria to the south.
BkXIII643 They fight to repel the Trojan attack on the ships.
Ipheus
BkXVI351 A Trojan killed by Patroclus.
Iphianassa
A daughter of Agamemnon.
Iphiclus, Iphicles
King of Phylace.
BkII681 Mentioned.
BkXXIII566 Once defeated in a foot-race by Nestor.
Iphidamas
A son of Antenor, reared in Thrace.
Iphinous
A Greek, the son of Dexius.
Iphis
Mistress to Patroclus, she was captured at the taking of Scyrus.
BkIX656 Mentioned.
Iphition
A Trojan general, he was the son of Otrynteus.
BkXX353 He is killed by Achilles.
Iphitus
A son of Naubolus, and father of Schedius, Epistrophus, and Eurynome, in Phocis, he was one of the Argonauts.
BkII484 Mentioned.
BkXVII262 Father of Schedius.
Iphitus, the Trojan
The father of Archeptolemus.
BkVIII112 Mentioned.
Iris
A daughter of Thaumas and Electra, and sister of the Harpies she was the minister of the Olympian gods, and carried messages from the gods to other gods and men.
BkII760 She carries a message to the Trojans.
BkIII121 She carries a message to Helen.
BkV352 She escorts the wounded Aphrodite from the battlefield.
BkVIII397 She carries Zeus’ message to Hera and Athene.
BkXI163 She carries Zeus’ message to Hector, and is described as wind-footed and golden-winged.
BkXV1 BkXV78 She is to carry a message from Zeus to Poseidon on the battlefield.
BkXV149 She delivers her message to Poseidon.
BkXVIII148 She carries a message from Hera to Achilles.
BkXXIII192 She carries Achilles’ request to the Winds.
BkXXIV77 She carries Zeus’ message to Thetis.
BkXXIV141 She carries Zeus’ message to Priam.
Isander
Or Isandrus, a son of Bellerophon, killed by Ares in the fight with the Solymi.
BkVI119 Mentioned.
Isus
A son of Priam and Hecuba. While he was tending the flocks on Mount Ida with his brother Antiphus, he was made prisoner by Achilles, but was restored to freedom after a ransom was given for him.
Ithaca
The island home of Odysseus, off the coast of Greece, in the Ionian Sea (to the west of mainland Greece) traditionally accepted as the modern Thiaki.
Ithaemenes
BkXVI569 The father of Sthenelaus.
Ithome
A Thessalonian city near modern Agios Akakios, southwest of Fanari.
BkII681 Mentioned.
Iton
A city, ancient Thitonio, near modern Gefyria village, southeast of Sofades.
BkII681 Mentioned.
Itymoneus
A chieftain of Elis, son of Hypeirochus.
BkXI655 Killed by Nestor in the war between Elis and Pylos.
Ixion
King of the Lapithae or Phlegyes, he was the putative father of Peirithous.
BkXIV292 His wife was Dia whom (in one variant of myth) Zeus seduced disguised as a stallion.
Laas
A city in Laconia, east of modern Chossiari village, southwest of Gythio.
BkII581 Mentioned.
Lacedaemon
The kingdom of Sparta, ruled by Menelaus.
BkII581 Its contingent sent to the war.
BkIII181 The home of the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux.
BkIII310 BkIII395 The Greek home of Helen.
Laerces
A Myrmidon, the son of Haemon, and father of Alcimedon.
Laertes
The father of Odysseus, and son of Arceisius.
BkII155 BkIV326 BkVIII53 BkIX307 BkXIX145 The father of Odysseus.
Lampus, a Trojan
A son of Laomedon, and father of Dolops, he was one of the Trojan elders.
BkIII121 BkXV514 BkXX153 Mentioned.
Lampus
BkVIII157 One of Hector’s horses.
Laodamas
A son of Antenor.
Laodameia
A daughter of Bellerophon, became by Zeus the mother of Sarpedon, and was killed by Artemis.
BkVI119 Mentioned.
Laodice, daughter of Agamemnon
A daughter of Agamemnon.
Laodice, daughter of Priam
A daughter of Priam and Hecabe, she was the wife of Helicaon.
BkIII121 Mentioned.
BkVI237 Described as the fairest of the daughters.
Laodocus, a Greek
Charioteer to Antilochus.
BkXVII656 He acts as squire to Antilochus.
Laodocus
A son of Antenor.
BkIV68 Athene disguises herself as him.
Laogonus, son of Bias
A Trojan.
Laogonus, son of Onetor
A Trojan the son of Onetor, Idaean priest of Zeus.
Laomedon
A king of Troy, he was the son of Ilus and Eurydice, and the father of Priam, Tithonus, Lampus, Clytius, Hicetaon, and Bucolion.
BkIII245 Mentioned.
BkV239 BkXXIII262 Zeus presented him with divine horses in exchange for his son Ganymedes who was carried off to become cupbearer to the gods.
BkV590 Heracles sacked Troy and slew Laomedon (see the extended myth sequence elsewhere).
BkVI1 He fathered Bucolion on the nymph Calybe.
BkVII433 BkXXI383 Poseidon and Apollo built the walls of Troy for Laomedon. He reneged on the bargain and Poseidon punished him.
BkXV514 Grandfather of Dolops, and father of Lampus.
BkXX153 The grandfather of Hector.
Laothoe
A wife of Priam, she was the daughter of Altes.
BkXXI34 BkXXII1 The mother of Lycaon and Polydorus.
Lapithae
They were an ancient people of south western Thessaly. The marriage of Peirithoüs and Hippodameia was disrupted by Eurytion one of the Centaurs invited to the feast, leading to the battle between the Lapiths and Centaurs. (See the sculpture from the west pediment of the Temple of Zeus at Olympia – e.g. the detail, Lapith Woman and Centaur)
BkXII80 BkXII175 Polypoetes, a son of Peirithous, and Leonteus, both Lapiths, defend the Greek wall.
Larisa, Larissa
An ancient city in Turkey, it lay in the immediate vicinity of the Menemen district of İzmir, not to be confused with the Larisa in Greece.
BkII811 Mentioned.
BkXVII262 Home of Hippothous.
Lectum
Cape Lectum or Lecton (Modern Babakale) is the westernmost promontory of Anatolia, between Tenedos and Lesbos.
BkXIV224 Hera crosses the shoreline there on her way from Lemnos to Ida.
Leitus
A son of Alector or Alectryon, by Cleobule, he is mentioned among the Argonauts and commanded the Boeotians in the war.
BkII484 Mentioned.
BkXIII81 He is roused by Poseidon.
Leleges
One of the aboriginal peoples of southwest Anatolia they were conquered by the Carians.
Lemnos
The northern Aegean island, it was the mythical home of Hephaestus the blacksmith of the gods, to whom it was sacred.
BkI568 Hephaestus fell there when hurled from heaven by Zeus.
BkII681 Philoctetes abandoned there.
BkVII433 Euneos sends wine from Lemnos to the Greeks at Troy. It was and still is noted for its red wines.
BkVIII212 The Greeks had touched at Lemnos on the way to Troy.
BkXIV224 Hera seeks out the god Sleep (Hypnos) there.
BkXXI34 Lycaon was sold there.
BkXXIV718 Its slave-market. The reference to the veil of cloud appears to indicate the sacred smoke from the shrine there. But the Giant’s forge was located inside Aetna, and so the blacksmith Hephaestus’ shrine here suggests volcanic activity, though no trace has yet been found.
Leocritus
A Greek, he was the son of Arisbas and friend to Lycomedes.
Leonteus
A son of Coronus, and prince of the Lapithae. In conjunction with Polypoetes, he led the Lapithae against Troy
BkII681 Mentioned.
BkXII80 BkXII175 He defends the Greek wall and kills a number of Trojans.
BkXXIII826 He competes in the throwing contest.
Lesbos
The island (modern Lesvos) in the eastern Aegean is off the west coast of Turkey. Among its ancient cities were Mytilene and Methymna. Famous as the home of Sappho the poetess, whose love of women gave rise to the term lesbian.
BkIX79 BkIX222 Taken by Achilles during an earlier year of the war.
BkIX656 Achilles’ mistress was from there, Diomede.
BkXXIV468 It was once ruled by the legendary king Macar. A boundary of Priam’s rule.
Lethus
Father of Hippothous and Pylaeus.
Leto
Daughter of the Titan Coeus, she was the mother of Apollo and Artemis by Zeus. Pursued by a jealous Hera, she was given sanctuary by Delos, a floating island. There between an olive tree and a date-palm she gave birth to Apollo and Artemis, by Mount Cynthus. Delos became fixed. A variant has Artemis born on the nearby islet of Ortygia.
BkI1 BkI22 BkXIV292 BkXVI777 BkXIX338 Mother of Apollo by Zeus.
BkXX1 She enters the war in support of the Trojans.
BkXXI383 Hermes concedes to her.
Leucus
A Greek warrior, the friend of Odysseus.
Licymnius
A son of Electryon and the Phrygian slave Mideia, and consequently a half-brother of Alcmene. He was married to Perimede, by whom he became the father of Oeonus, Argeius, and Melas. He was a friend of Heracles, whose son Tlepolemus slew him, according to some unintentionally, and according to others in a fit of anger.
BkII645 Mentioned.
Lilaea
A Phocian city, northest of modern Lilea village near Polydrossos.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Limnoreia
Lindos
A city of Rhodes in the east of the island, modern Lindos village.
BkII645 Mentioned.
Linos, Linus
The personification of a dirge or lament associated with vegetation rites (the death of the harvest, birth of the new year etc, see The Golden Bough). Linos (with many variants) is the son of Apollo by a Muse. He is said to have received from his father the three-stringed lute, and is himself called the inventor of new melodies, of dirges (thrênoi), and of songs in general.
BkXVIII468 The singer, associated with him, is depicted on Achilles’ shield, clearly in this case a vegetation rite is in progress.
Locrians
The region of Locria comprised two separate districts. Opuntian Locris or Eastern Locris was on the mainland coast stretching from Thermopylae to Larymna, opposite Euboea, while Ozolian Locris or Western Locris was on the northern coast of the Corinthian Gulf between Naupactus and Crisa, going inland up the Amphissa valley.
BkII484 The Locrian contingents at Troy.
BkXIII643 They fight to repel the Trojan attack on the ships.
Lycaon
A Lycian king and father of Pandarus.
BkII811 BkIV68 BkV166 Mentioned.
Lycaon, son of Priam
A son of Priam and Laothoe, he was the brother of Polydorus.
BkIII310 Paris borrows his half-brother’s cuirass.
BkXX75 Apollo disguises himself as Lycaon.
BkXXI34 BkXXII1 He is killed by Achilles.
BkXXIII740 He had been bought from Patroclus for a silver bowl.
Lycastos
A city in Crete, near modern Profitis Elias.
BkII645 Mentioned
Lycia
A region in the modern-day provinces of Antalya and Muğla on the southern coast of Turkey, it was a federation of ancient cities in the region and later a province of the Roman Empire.
BkII811 BkIV68 BkV84 BkV166 Mentioned.
BkV431 BkV590 BkXII290 BkXIV402 BkXVI426 Sarpedon’s country.
BkVI72 BkX412 BkXI218 BkXIII136 BkXV379 Major ally of the Trojans.
BkVI119 Bellerephon sent there.
BkVII1 BkXII290 BkXVI569 BkXVII140 Glaucus, leader of the Lycians.
BkXII329 BkXII378 The Lycians attack the Greek wall.
BkXVI351 The Lycians flee before Patroclus.
BkXVI508 Apollo worshipped there.
Lyco
A Trojan.
Lycomedes
A Greek, the son of Creon.
BkIX79 He leads a contingent of guards on sentry duty.
BkXII329 He is deputed by Ajax to lead a defence of the Greek wall.
BkXVII319 A friend of Arisbas, he kills Apisaon.
BkXIX238 He accompanies Odysseus to bring the gifts.
Lycophontes
BkVIII273 A Trojan killed by Teucer.
Lycophron
A son of Mastor, who had been obliged to quit his native place Cythera, on account of a murder he had committed. He accompanied Telamonian Ajax against Troy.
Lyctus
A city in Crete, near modern Xydas village, east of Kasteli.
BkII645 Mentioned.
BkXVII597 Home city of Coeranus.
Lycurgus
A son of Dryas, he was king of the Edones in Thrace. He is famous for his persecution of Dionysus who was worshipped on the sacred mountain of Nyseion in Thrace. The god himself leaped into the sea, where he was kindly received by Thetis. Zeus thereupon blinded the impious king, who died soon after, since he was hated by the immortal gods.
BkVI119 Glaucus narrates the tale.
Lycurgus, the Arcadian
A son of Aleus and Neaera, he was king in Arcadia, and killed Areithous with his lance, meeting him in a narrow valley. He took the club with which his enemy had been armed, and used it himself; and on his death he bequeathed it to his slave Ereuthalion, his sons having died before him
BkVII120 He killed Areithous and took his armour. Nestor relates the tale.
Lyrnessus
A city in Dardania (Asia Minor), inhabited by Cilicians. It was closely associated with the nearby Cilician Thebe. At the time of the Trojan War, it was ruled by King Mynes.
BkII681 BkXIX1 BkXX75 Achilles destroyed it and stole Mynes’ wife, Briseis.
BkXX153 Aeneas fled there, running before Achilles.
Lysander
A Trojan.
Macar, Macareus
A son of Helios and Rhodos, or, according to others, a son of Crinacus, or Crineus, he fled, after the murder of Tenages, from Rhodes to Lesbos, and became king of the island.
BkXXIV468 Mentioned.
Machaon
A son of Asclepius and Epione or Arsinoe, he was a brother of Podaleirius, with whom he led the Thessalians of Tricca against Troy.
BkII681 Mentioned.
BkIV127 BkIV198 He is summoned to attend the wounded Menelaus.
BkXI489 He is wounded by Paris.
BkXI596 BkXI804 Nestor helps him from the battlefield.
BkXIV1 Nestor grants him hospitality in his hut.
Meander
The Büyük Menderes River (historically the Maeander also spelled Meander) is in southwestern Turkey. It rises in west central Turkey near Dinar before flowing west through the Büyük Menderes graben until reaching the Aegean Sea in the proximity of the ancient Ionian city Miletus. The word ‘meander’ is also used metaphorically to describe a winding pattern, from the river’s wandering course.
BkII811 Mentioned.
Maemalus
BkXVI155 A Myrmidon, the father of Peisander.
Maeon
A son of Haemon of Thebes. He and Lycophontes were the leaders of the band that lay in ambush against Tydeus, in the war of the Seven against Thebes. Maeon was the only one whose life was spared by Tydeus, and when the latter fell, Maeon is said to have buried him.
BkIV326 Mentioned.
Maeonia
Ancient Lydia, an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in Turkey’s modern provinces of Manisa and inland İzmir.
BkIV127 Noted for its working of ivory.
BkX412 Allied to Troy.
BkXVIII243 Trojan possessions sold there to help finance the war.
Maera
Magnetes
A tribe of south-eastern Thessaly, giving their name to the area known as Magnesia.
BkII681 Mentioned.
Mantineia
A city in Arcadia, west of modern Nestani in Mantinia.
BkII581 Mentioned.
Maris
Brother of Atymnius, the Trojan.
BkXVI257 Killed by Thrasymedes.
Marpessa
A daughter of Evenus and Alcippe, she was the mother of Cleopatra.
BkIX527 Mentioned.
Mases
A city of the southern Argolid, southeast of modern Kilada village.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Mastor
A Greek from Cythera.
BkXV379 The father of Lycophron.
Mecisteus, son of Echius
BkVIII273 He helps carry Teucer from the battlefield.
BkXIII402 He helps carry Hypsenor from the battlefield.
BkXV328 He is killed by Polydamas.
Mecisteus, son of Talaus
A son of Talaus and Lysimache, he was the brother of Adrastus, and father of Euryalus of Thebes.
BkII484 BkVI1 BkXXIII651 Mentioned.
Medeon
A Boeotian city, northeast of modern Aliartos.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Medesicaste
A natural daughter of Priam married to Imbrius.
BkXIII136 Mentioned.
Medon, an ally of the Trojans
BkXVII198 Hector rouses him to battle.
Medon, son of Oileus
A son of Oïleus and Rhene, he was a half-brother of the lesser Ajax. Having slain a kinsman of his step-mother Eriopis, he fled to Phylace. When Philoctetes was wounded, Medon commanded in his place.
BkII681 A leader of the Thessalians at Troy.
BkXIII643 He fights to repel the Trojan attack, leading the Pththians.
BkXV328 He is killed by Aeneas.
Megas
See Perimus
BkXVI684 The father of Perimus.
Meges
A son of Phyleus by Eustyoche, Ctimene, or Timandra, and a grandson of Augeas. He led the warriors from Dulichium and the Echinades against Troy.
BkII581 Mentioned.
BkX72 Nestor proposes summoning him.
BkXIII643 He fights to repel the Trojan attack.
BkXV281 He forms part of the group of leaders opposing Hector.
BkXV514 He tries to avenge the death of his friend Otus.
BkXIX238 He accompanies Odysseus to bring the gifts.
Melanippus, of Percote
The son of Hicetaon, and kinsman of Dolops, the Trojan.
BkXV514 Hector urges him to avenge Dolops’ death.
BkXV565 He is killed by Antilochus.
Melanippus, a Greek
BkXIX238 He accompanies Odysseus to bring the gifts.
Melanippus, a Trojan
Melanippus, a Trojan
A Trojan.
BkXVI684 He is killed by Patroclus.
Melanthius
BkVI1 A Trojan killed by Eurypylus.
Melas
A son of Portheus.
BkXIV82 Mentioned.
Meleager
A son of Oeneus and Althaea, the daughter of Thestius. Other accounts call Meleager a son of Ares, by Althaea. He is one of the most famous Aetolian heroes of Calydon, and distinguished himself by his skill in throwing the javelin, as one of the Argonauts, and in the Calydonian boar hunt.
BkII581 Mentioned.
Meliboea
A city in Thessaly northeast of modern Sotiritsa.
BkII681 Mentioned.
Melite
Menelaus
King of Sparta. The younger son of Atreus, brother of Agamemnon, hence called Atrides minor. Paris’s theft of his wife Helen instigated the Trojan War.
BkI148 BkXXII90 The Trojan War fought to obtain recompense for Menelaus.
BkII394 He assists Agamemnon in sacrificing to the gods. He is described as Menelaus of the loud war-cry.
BkII581 He leads the Laconian contingent to the war.
BkIII1 He sees Paris in the Trojan ranks.
BkIII58 BkIII121 BkIII245 He accepts the terms of a duel with Paris.
His previous embassy to the Trojans, and his hospitality to Idomeneus of Crete.
BkIII310 BkIII395 He fights Paris but Aphrodite thwarts his victory.
BkIV1 He has the goddesses Hera and Athene as supporters.
BkIV68 BkV166 Pandarus attempts to kill him.
BkIV127 Athene saves him, though he is slightly wounded.
BkIV198 He is attended by the physician Machaon.
BkV1 He kills Scamandrius.
BkV519 He kills Pylaemenes.
BkVI1 He captures Adrastus, but releases him to Agamemnon who kills him.
BkVI369 He assaults the walls of Troy.
BkVII54 BkVII120 Agamemnon dissuades him from accepting Hector’s challenge.
BkVII313 BkVII379 Mentioned as one of the Atridae and the husband of Helen.
BkVIII212 He attacks the Trojans.
BkX72 Nestor reproaches him wrongly.
BkX194 He joins the counsel and wishes to carry out a mission.
BkXIII576 BkXIII643 He wounds Helenus, kills Peisander, and questions Zeus’ support for the Trojans.
BkXV565 He rouses Antilochus.
BkXVI257 He kills Thoas, a Trojan.
BkXVII1 He defends the corpse of Patroclus and kills Euphorbus.
BkXVII82 He elicits Ajax’s aid in securing the corpse of Patroclus.
BkXVII198 He calls for support.
BkXVII481 Automedon appeals to him for support.
BkXVII543 Athene inspires him and he kills Podes.
BkXVII597 Ajax sends him to find Antilochus.
BkXVII656 He sends Antilochus to tell Achilles of Patroclus’ death.
BkXVII722 He and Meriones carry Patroclus’ body from the field.
BkXIX282 He and the other generals try to comfort the grieving Achilles.
BkXXIII262 He competes in the chariot race.
BkXXIII362 BkXXIII499 Antilochus forces him into third place.
BkXXIII566 Antilochus placates him.
Menesthes
A Greek veteran.
Menestheus
A son of Peteos, and an Athenian king, he led the Athenians against Troy.
BkII484 Mentioned.
BkIV326 Agamemnon urges him to fight.
BkXII329 Defending the Greek wall, he sends to Ajax for help.
BkXIII136 BkXIII643 A commander of the Athenians.
BkXV328 Arcesilaus his friend is killed by Hector.
Menesthius, a Boeotian
A Greek from Arne. A son of Areïthous and Philomedusa,
Menesthius, a Myrmidon
The son of the river-god Spercheus by Polydora, Peleus’ daughter: in name he was the son of Borus, Perieres’ son.
BkXVI155 Leader of a company of the Myrmidons.
Menoetius
The Opoeian, a friend of Heracles.
BkI285 BkIX162 BkXI596 BkXVI1 BkXVI426 BkXVI777 BkXVII319 BkXXIII54 BkXXIII192 The father of Patroclus.
BkXI762 His advice to Patroclus on leaving for the war.
BkXVIII310 Achilles had promised him that Patroclus would return from Troy.
Menon
A Trojan.
Mentes
Leader of the Cicones.
BkXVII1 Apollo disguises himself as Mentes.
Mentor
A Trojan ally from Pedaeum, a horse-breeder, father of Imbrius.
BkXIII136 Mentioned.
Meriones
A son of Molus, conjointly with Idomeneus he led the Cretans against Troy.
BkII645 Mentioned.
BkIV250 Agamemnon sees him before the battle.
BkVII161 He offers to fight Hector in single combat.
BkVIII212 He attacks the Trojans, with his comrades.
BkIX79 He leads a contingent of guards on sentry duty.
BkX194 He joins the counsel and wishes to volunteer for a mission.
BkX254 He acts as squire to Odysseus. He inherited the helmet he gives to him.
BkXIII81 He is roused by Poseidon.
BkXIII136 He attacks Deiphobus unsuccessfully.
BkXIII239 He re-enters the battle.
BkXIII468 He fights alongside Idomeneus.
BkXIII526 He wounds Deiphobus.
BkXIV458 He kills Morys and Hippotion, a Trojan.
BkXV281 He forms part of the group of leaders opposing Hector.
BkXVII198 He goes to the support of Ajax and Menelaus.
BkXVII597 Coeranus his charioteer is killed.
BkXVII656 He helps to defend Patroclus’ corpse.
BkXVII722 He and Menelaus carry Patroclus’ body from the field.
BkXIX238 He accompanies Odysseus to bring the gifts.
BkXXIII108 He commands the wood-gathering for Patroclus’ pyre.
BkXXIII262 He competes in the chariot race.
BkXXIII499 BkXXIII566 He comes in fourth in the chariot race.
BkXXIII850 He wins the archery contest.
BkXXIII884 He receives second prize for the javelin competition without competing.
Mermerus
A Trojan leader.
BkXIV458 Killed by Antilochus.
Merops
A king of Rhindacus, of Percote, on the Hellespont, is also called Macar, or Macareus. He was a celebrated soothsayer and the father of Cleite, Arisbe, Amphius, and Adrastus.
BkII811 Mentioned.
BkXI299 His two sons killed by Diomedes.
Messe
A city in Laconia, southwest of modern Mina, southeast of Diros.
BkII581 Mentioned.
Messeis
BkVI440 A spring, perhaps in Thessaly, perhaps a generic name for a typical Greek fountain.
Mesthles
A Maeonian leader at Troy.
BkII811 Mentioned.
BkXVII198 Hector rouses him to battle.
Mestor
A son of Priam.
BkXXIV200 His father bemoans his loss.
Methone
A city in Thessaly southwest of modern Kala Nera near Mount Pelion.
BkII681 Mentioned.
Mideia
A Boeotian city, on the site of modern Levadia.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Miletus, in Asia
An ancient seaport of Western Asia Minor, in Caria, on the mainland not far from Sámos.
BkII811 Mentioned.
Miletus, in Crete
A city in Crete, north of modern Milatos village, northwest of Neapoli.
BkII645 Mentioned
Minos
BkXIII402 Father of Deucalion.
BkXIV292 His mother was Europa.
Minyan
The post-Pelasgian culture Greeks, with an eponymous founder, Minyas, associated with Boeotian Orchomenus.
BkII484 The Greek contingent from Orchomenus and its environs.
Minyeius
A river meeting the sea near Arene.
BkXI655 Mentioned.
Mnesus, a Paeonian
BkXXI200 He is killed by Achilles.
Moira
See Fate
Molion
Charioteer and squire to Thymbraeus.
Moliones
Eurytus and Cteatus, the sons of Actor, or Poseidon, by Molione, are so designated. They were nephews of Augeas, king of the Epeians.
BkXI655 They took part in the war on Pylos.
BkXXIII566 They once defeated Nestor in a chariot race.
Molus
A son of the Cretan Deucalion, and father of Meriones.
BkX254 Mentioned as receiving the stolen cap from Aphidamas.
Morys
A Phrygian leader from Ascania. A son of Hippotion.
BkXIII788 He fights at the front.
Mulius, an Epeian
An Epeian chieftain, a son-in-law of Augeias.
BkXI655 He had been killed by Nestor.
Mulius, a Trojan
A Trojan.
BkXVI684 He is killed by Patroclus.
Mulius, a Trojan
Muse
The daughter of Mnemosyne, goddess of Memory, and Zeus, she was patroness of poetry and literature. Homer also speaks of the Muses, of whom there are nine in later mythology.
BkI568 Mentioned as singing in harmony to Apollo’s lyre.
BkII484 BkII760 As Goddesses of Memory, the poet requires them to prompt him with the long list of leaders and place-names in the catalogue of ships.
BkII581 The Muses punished Thamyris by robbing him of his sight and powers of song.
BkXI218 BkXIV458 BkXVI101 The poet asks the Muses to prompt him. They dwell on Olympus.
Mycale
Mycale, or Samsun Daği and Dilek Daği, in modern Turkey is a mountain on the west coast of central Anatolia north of the mouth of the Maeander and divided from the Greek island of Samos by the Samos Strait.
BkII811 Mentioned.
Mycalessus
A Boeotian city, near modern Ritsona and Vathy.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Mycenae
The royal city in the Argolis, north of the cities of Argos and Tiryns, was sited northeast of modern Mykines village. It was excavated by Schliemann who opened the ‘beehive’ tombs of the royal tomb circle. Famous for its Lion Gate once topped perhaps by a statue of the Cretan Great Goddess.
BkII484 Its contingents at the war.
BkIV1 A city beloved of the goddess Hera.
BkVII161 BkIX1 BkXI1 Agamemnon is king of the city, and surrounding area.
BkXV565 Periphetes, a Mycenean.
Mydon, a Paeonian
BkXXI200 He is killed by Achilles.
Mydon, a Paphlagonian
Charioteer, and friend of Pylaemenes.
BkV519 Killed by Antilochus.
Mygdon
A son of Acmon, a Phrygian king. He fought with Otreus and Priam against the Amazons.
BkIII181 Mentioned.
Mynes
A son of Evenus of Lyrnessus, and husband of Briseis, he was slain by Achilles.
Myrine
A daughter of Teucer and the wife of Dardanus.
BkII811 Mentioned.
Myrmidons
The Myrmidons were a race of men led by Achilles to the war against Troy. The name presumably derived from the Greek word for ant, μύρμηξ. In later mythology said to be a race created from ants.
BkI148 BkI318 BkII681 BkIX162 BkIX606 BkXI762 BkXVI1 BkXIX282 BkXXI136 BkXXIII54 BkXXIV468 Led by Achilles at Troy, ruled still by Peleus his father.
BkXVI155 BkXVIII368 They prepare to enter the battle.
BkXVI257 They drive back the Trojans from the ships.
BkXVI426 Myrmidons restrain the masterless horses.
BkXVI569 Epeigeus, son of Agacles, a Myrmidon leader is killed.
BkXVIII1 Achilles hears of the death of their leader, Patroclus.
BkXVIII310 BkXXIII1 BkXXIII108 They mourn for Patroclus.
BkXIX1 They are awed by Achilles’ new armour.
BkXIX238 They return Briseis and the gifts to Achilles.
BkXXIV349 Hermes pretends to be a Myrmidon.
Myrsinus
A city in Elis, it was sited near modern Areti village northeast of Lechena.
BkII581 Mentioned.
Mysia
A region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor or Anatolia (part of modern Turkey), it was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lydia on the south, Aeolis on the southwest, Troad on the west and by the Propontis on the north.
BkII811 Mentioned.
BkX412 Allied to Troy.
BkXIII1 Hand to hand fighters according to Homer.
BkXIV458 Hyrtius a Mysian leader is killed.
BkXXIV200 They had gifted Priam a team of mules.
Naiads
Minor divinities of nature, they are nymphs of fresh water, such as rivers, lakes, brooks, or wells.
BkXIV402 A Naiad bore Satnius to Enops.
BkXX353 A Naiad bore Iphition to Otrynteus.
Nastes
A son of Nomion, together with his brother Amphimachus he led a host of Carians to the assistance of the Trojans.
BkII811 Mentioned.
Naubolus
A son of Ornytus, and father of Iphitus, he was king of Phocis.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Neleus
King of Pylos, son of Poseidon and the nymph Tyro. Father of Nestor, and his eleven brothers including Periclymenus.
BkVIII53 BkXI489 BkXIV1 BkXXIII262 The father of Nestor.
BkXI596 His famous breed of horses.
Nemertes
Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus)
The son of Achilles, and Deidameia the daughter of Lycomedes, he was also called Pyrrhus. Alternatively he was a son of Achilles and Iphigeneia, and after the sacrifice of his mother was carried by his father to the island of Scyros, where he was brought up in the house of Lycomedes, and was subsequently taken to Troy to assist the Greeks, his presence being essential according to prophecy.
BkXIX282 Achilles thinks of him, as he grieves for Patroclus.
BkXXIV349 Mentioned, but not by name.
Nereids, Nereides
Daughters of Nereus, and Doris, they were marine nymphs of the Mediterranean, as distinct from the Naiades, or nymphs of fresh water, and the Oceanides, the nymphs of the great ocean.
BkXVIII1 They gather round Thetis.
BkXVIII78 They act as messengers for Thetis.
Nereus
A son of Pontus and Gaea, he was the husband of Doris, by whom he became the father of the Nereides. He is described as the wise and unerring old man of the sea.
BkXVIII1 BkXVIII78 BkXXIV552 Father of Thetis.
Neritum, Neriton
A mountain on Homer’s Ithaca. Or perhaps Mount Enos or another mountain on nearby Kefallonia.
BkII581 Mentioned.
Nesaea
Nestor
King of Pylos, and son of Neleus, he is noted in the Iliad for his wisdom and eloquence. Described as Gerenian Nestor.
BkI223 He offers his advice to Achilles and Agamemnon.
BkII1 Zeus sends a dream to Agamemnon in the guise of Nestor.
BkII48 The assembly beside Nestor’s ship.
BkII333 Nestor rouses the troops and advises Agamemnon.
BkII394 He assists Agamemnon in sacrificing to the gods and rousing the troops.
BkII484 The most experienced of the Greeks in the handling of chariots and troops.
BkII581 Leader of a contingent to the war from Messinia.
BkIV250 Agamemnon talks with him before the battle.
BkV519 BkVI1 BkXIII330 BkXIII526 BkXVI257 BkXVII597
BkXXIII262 Father of Antilochus.
BkVI1 He urges the Greeks to forgo looting and attack the Trojans.
BkVII120 He rebukes the Greeks.
BkVII161 He chooses Ajax by lot to face Hector.
BkVII313 He suggests building a defensive wall.
BkVIII112 He fights alongside Diomedes, and takes the reigns.
BkVIII157 Nestor’s golden shield described.
BkIX1 He advises the council.
BkIX79 BkXVI257 Father of Thrasymedes.
BkIX162 He chooses ambassadors to go to Achilles.
BkX72 Agamemnon seeks him out.
BkX131 He rouses Odysseus and Diomedes and visits the sentries.
BkX515 He welcomes Odysseus and Diomedes back after their raid.
BkXI489 He attacks the Trojan right.
BkXI596 His chariot carries the wounded Machaon from the battle.
BkXI655 He recounts the war between Pylos and Elis.
BkXI804 He urges Patroclus to use his influence on Achilles.
BkXIV1 He suggests the wounded leaders devise some stratagem to respond to the Trojan attack on the ships.
BkXV328 He prays to Zeus for help.
BkXV653 He exhorts the Greeks to stand fast at the ships.
BkXVII319 His orders to his sons Thrasymedes and Antilochus.
BkXIX238 His sons accompany Odysseus to bring the gifts.
BkXIX282 He and the other generals try to comfort the grieving Achilles.
BkXXIII566 BkXXIII651 Achilles awards him a prize.
Nicippe
A daughter of Pelops, and wife of Sthenelus, she was the mother of Eurystheus.
BkXIX74 Homer does not give her name, but mentions her role.
Niobe
A daughter of Tantalus, she was the sister of Pelops, and married to Amphion, king of Thebes, by whom she became the mother of six sons and six daughters. Being proud of the number of her children, she deemed herself superior to Leto, who had only given birth to two. Apollo and Artemis, indignant at such presumption, slew all the children of Niobe, who was turned to stone.
BkXXIV552 Achilles mentions her.
Nireus
A son of Charopus and Aglaia, was, next to Achilles, the handsomest among the Greeks at Troy. He led the contingent from Syme.
BkII645 Mentioned.
Nisa
A Boeotian city.
BkII484 Mentioned.
Nisyrus
Modern Nysirros Island in the Dodecanese, 30km southwest of Kos.
BkII645 Mentioned.
Noemon, a Greek
A friend of Antilochus.
BkXXIII566 Mentioned.
Noemon, a Trojan
Nomion
He was the father of Nastes and Amphimachus.
BkII811 Mentioned.
Notus
The South Wind, bringer of the storms of late summer and autumn.
BkXXI298 Hera summons a westerly wind from the sea.
Nymphs
They were the lesser female divinities of streams, water, hills, trees etc.
BkVI119 The nymphs of Mount Nysa who nurtured Dionysus were Macris, Nysa, Erato, Bromie and Bacche.
BkXXIV552 Those that dance on the banks of the River Achelous.
Nysa
Mount Nyseion, variously located, but here in Thrace, where Dionysus was nurtured in a cave by the nymphs. He invented the process of wine-making there.
BkVI119 Lycurgus attacked him there.
Nyx, Night
The personification of night, she was the mother of Hypnos and Thanatos, Sleep and Death.
BkXIV224 Hypnos fled to her for sanctuary.