Curated category
Deeds of Aphrodite
- HephaestusHephaestus refused to come home. The Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, and fire had been thrown out of heaven by his own mother, Hera, and his answer was…
- Paris (mythology)The name Paris appears in ancient texts as a figure of Luwian origin. A Hittite scribe recorded the name Parizitis, which scholars link to the Trojan prince.
- Trojan WarThe Trojan War began, according to Greek mythology, not with an army or a fleet, but with a wedding invitation that was never sent.
- EosEos, the Greek goddess of the dawn, rose every morning from the edge of the river Oceanus and scattered light across the sky before her brother Helios, the…
- PandoraPandora was, according to Greek myth, the first human woman ever made. Not born, but built: molded from earth by Hephaestus on the direct orders of Zeus…
- AnchisesAphrodite descended to the hills of Mount Ida while Anchises herded his cattle. The mortal man possessed beauty that rivaled an immortal god.
- HeliosThe word helios comes from a Proto-Indo-European root that ancient scholars trace back to the dawn of language itself. Walter Burkert noted in his 1985 book…
- PasiphaëPasiphaë was the queen of Crete, a daughter of the sun god Helios, and one of the most unsettling figures in all of Greek mythology.
- Judgement of ParisThe Judgement of Paris begins not with armies or heroes, but with a snub at a wedding. Eris, the goddess of discord, was left off the guest list for the…
- Phaedra (mythology)In Greek mythology, Phaedra was a Cretan princess. Her name derives from the Greek word phaidros, which means bright. She stood as the daughter of King Minos…
- Helen of TroyHelen of Troy was said to be the most beautiful woman in the world. Around the year 1604, the playwright Christopher Marlowe gave her the line most people…
- AdonisThe name Adonis comes from a Canaanite word meaning lord. This single term connects the Greek god to ancient Near Eastern traditions stretching back…
- AtalantaAtalanta is a heroine from Greek mythology who was left on a mountain to die as a newborn, raised by a bear and hunters in the wild, fought monsters with her…