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Priam

(Encyclopedia)Priam prīˈəm [key], in Greek mythology, king of Troy during the Trojan War, son of Laomedon. Priam had several wives and was the father of 50 sons and many daughters. His chief wife, Hecuba, bore h...

Smith, Sir William

(Encyclopedia)Smith, Sir William, 1813–93, English editor and lexicographer. He was editor of the Quarterly Review from 1867 until his death and also edited reference works esteemed for their accuracy and compreh...

Laocoön

(Encyclopedia)Laocoön lāŏkˈōŏn [key], in Greek mythology, priest of Apollo who warned the Trojans not to touch the wooden horse made by the Greeks during the Trojan War. While he and his two sons were sacrifi...

Hellen

(Encyclopedia)Hellen hĕlˈən, –ēn [key], in Greek mythology, ancestor of the Hellenes, or Greeks; son of Deucalion and Pyrrha. He was the father of Dorus, Xuthus, and Aeolus, who were the progenitors of the pr...

Horae

(Encyclopedia)Horae hōˈrē [key], in Greek religion and mythology, goddesses of the seasons; daughters of Zeus and Themis. Although they controlled the recurrence of the seasons, they also attended other gods and...

Niobe

(Encyclopedia)Niobe nīˈōbē [key], in Greek mythology, queen of Thebes, wife of Amphion and daughter of Tantalus. The mother of six sons and six daughters, she boasted of her fruitfulness, saying that Leto had o...

Nereus

(Encyclopedia)Nereus nērˈo͞os, –ēəs [key], in Greek mythology, seagod. He was the son of Pontus and Gaea and the father of the nereids (see nymph). A kindly, wise old man of the sea, Nereus could change into...

Tartarus

(Encyclopedia)Tartarus, in Greek mythology, lowest region of the underworld. The wicked (e.g., Sisyphus, Tantalus, and Ixion) were sent to Tartarus as punishment for their sins. ...

Hephaestus

(Encyclopedia)Hephaestus hĕfĕsˈtəs [key], in Greek religion and mythology, Olympian god. According to Homer he was the son of Hera and Zeus, but Hesiod states that he was conceived and borne by Hera alone. Orig...

Athamas

(Encyclopedia)Athamas ăthˈəmăs [key], in Greek mythology, king of Boeotia. He married Nephele, who bore him Phrixus and Helle, but he later fell in love with Ino, who bore him Learchus and Melicertes. According...