Heroes: Volume II of Mythos

O THER I MMORTALS ARISTAEUS Minor god of rustic matters. Son of Apollo and Cyrene. Immortal brother of Idmon, and half-brother of Apollo’s other progeny. Husband of Autonoë. Father of Actaeon. Tragically besotted with Eurydice. CHIRON Greatest and wisest of centaurs. Son of Kronos and the Oceanid Phylira. Grandfather of Peleus and Telamon. Healer. Tutor of heroes, including Achilles, Asclepius, Jason and Thessalus. Tends to Pegasus’s Chimera burns. Possible victim of Lernaean Hydra blood. Catasterized as Sagittarius. CYBELE Phrygian mother goddess, often associated by the Greeks with Gaia, Rhea (the mother, by Kronos, of OLYMPIAN GODS) or Artemis. Punisher of Atalanta and Hippomenes. EILEITHYIA Goddess of childbirth. Daughter of Zeus and Hera. Half-sister of Zeus’s plethora of progeny. Fails to prevent birth of Heracles. EROS Youthful god of sexual desire. Son of Ares and Aphrodite. Brother of Phobos. Leader of the Erotes. Possessor of devastating bow and arrows. GLAUCUS Former fisherman turned god of distressed seamen. Prophecies prevent the Argonauts from turning back after they abandoned Heracles and Polyphemus. In later traditions, member of a tragically romantic love triangle with Circe and Scylla. GRAEAE Dino, Enyo and Pemphredo. Also known as the Phorcides. Daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. Sisters of the Gorgons. Cousins of Iris and the Graeae. Joint possessors of a single eye and tooth, information of value to Perseus, and seemingly not much else. HEBE Cupbearer of Hera and goddess of youth. Daughter of Zeus and Hera. Half-sister of Zeus’s plethora of progeny, not least Heracles; his wife after his apotheosis. HYMEN Also known as Hymenaios. Youthful god of wedding ceremonies; one of Eros’s retinue of Erotes. Son of Apollo and the muse Urania. Half-brother of Apollo’s other progeny. Cousin of the Sirens. Spoils his half-brother Orpheus’s wedding to Eurydice. IRIS Goddess of the rainbow and messenger of the gods. Daughter of the sea god Thaumas and the Oceanid Electra. Sister of the Harpies. Cousin of the Gorgons and the Graeae. Protects her sisters from attack by Calais and Zetes. MUSES Nine daughters of Zeus and the TITANESS Mnemosyne (Memory). Goddesses of poetry, song and dance, and learning. Half-sisters of Zeus’s plethora of progeny. They include: Calliope, Muse of epic poetry, and mother (by Apollo) of Linus and Orpheus; Melpomene, Muse of tragedy, and mother (by Achelous) of the Sirens; Terpsichore, Muse of dance; Thalia, Muse of comedy; and Urania, Muse of astronomy, and mother (by Apollo) of Hymen. NEPHELE Cloud goddess and goddess of xenia. Created by Zeus to decoy Ixion from Hera. Forebear (with Ixion) of the centaurs. Wife of Athamas. Mother of Phrixus and Helle. Sends golden ram to rescue them from Ino’s murderous plot. NEREIDS Sea nymphs. Daughters of Nereus and the Oceanid Doris. Cousins of Poseidon, and share his palace. Givers of gifts and hospitality, some say, to Theseus. OCEANIDS Sea nymphs. Daughters of Oceanus and Tethys. Sisters of Achelous and Nilus. Cousins of Poseidon. They include: Callirrhoë, mother (by Chrysaor) of Geryon; Doris, mother (by Nereus) of the Nereids; Electra, mother (by Thaumas) of Iris and the Harpies; Idyia, mother (by her nephew Aeëtes) of Absyrtus, Chalciope and Medea; Metis, mother (by Zeus) of Athena; Perseis, mother (by Helios) of Aeëtes, Circe and Pasiphae; Pleione, mother (by Atlas) of the Pleiades. PERSEPHONE Also known as Kore. Queen of the Underworld and goddess of spring. Daughter of Zeus and Demeter. Half-sister of Zeus’s plethora of progeny. Abducted and married by Hades, with whom she spends six months of every year. Persuades him to allow Orpheus the chance to bring Eurydice back from the dead. Target of unsuccessful kidnapping plot by Pirithous and Theseus. Worshipped in the Eleusinian Mysteries. PHOBOS Terror. Son of Ares and Aphrodite. Brother of Eros. Likely to be present at encounters between ordinary mortals and the heroes, gods and monsters of this book. PLEIADES Seven heavenly daughters of Atlas and the Oceanid Pleione. They include: Electra, mother (by Zeus) of Dardanus and Harmonia; Maia, mother (by Zeus) of Hermes; Merope, mother (by Sisyphus) of Glaucus of Corinth; Sterope, mother (by Oenomaus) of Hippodamia. Taygeta, ancestor (with Zeus) of Tyndareus.