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aegis

(Encyclopedia)aegis ēˈjĭs [key], in Greek mythology, weapon of Zeus and Athena. It possessed the power to terrify and disperse the enemy or to protect friends. The aegis was usually described as a garment made o...

Silvanus

(Encyclopedia)Silvanus, in Roman religion, ancient pastoral deity, protector of uncultivated lands. It was also said that he was the guardian of field boundaries, flocks, and herds. Like the Greek Pan, with whom he...

Fortuna

(Encyclopedia)Fortuna fôrto͞oˈnə [key], in Roman religion, goddess of fortune. Worshiped under several forms, she appears to have originally been a goddess of fertility. She was later identified with Tyche, the...

Müller, Max

(Encyclopedia)Müller, Max (Friedrich Maximilian Müller, Friedrich Max Müller, or Friedrich Max-Müller) ;frēˈdrĭkh mäkˌsēmēlˈyän [key], 1823–1900, German philologist and Orientalist, b. Dessau; son of...

mysteries

(Encyclopedia)mysteries, in Greek and Roman religion, some important secret cults. The conventional religions of both Greeks and Romans were alike in consisting principally of propitiation and prayers for the good ...

Müller, Karl Otfried

(Encyclopedia)Müller, Karl Otfried mülˈər [key], 1797–1840, German classical scholar and archaeologist. He was professor of classics at the Univ. of Göttingen (1819–39), lecturing on art history, literatu...

Daedalus

(Encyclopedia)Daedalus dĕdˈələs [key], in Greek mythology, craftsman and inventor. After killing his apprentice Talos in envy, he fled from Greece to Crete. There, he arranged the liaison between Pasiphaë and ...

Aristaeus

(Encyclopedia)Aristaeus ărĭstēˈəs [key], in Greek mythology, son of Apollo and Cyrene, especially honored as the inventor of beekeeping. Aristaeus tried to violate Eurydice, wife of Orpheus. Eurydice was fatal...

Teucer

(Encyclopedia)Teucer tyo͞oˈsər [key], in Greek mythology. 1 Ancestor and king of the Trojans, who are also called the Teucri. He was the father-in-law of Dardanus. 2 Son of Telamon and Hesione. He was the greate...

Apaturia

(Encyclopedia)Apaturia ăpəcho͝oˈrēə, –tyo͝oˈrēə [key], in Greek religion, annual festival celebrated by the Ionians and the Athenians. It was held in October or November, in the season when various phra...