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LGBTQ themes in Greek mythology

  • ZeusThe name Zeus appears in the earliest Greek records as di-we and di-wo, written in Linear B script on tablets from Mycenae.
  • PoseidonThe earliest written record of the name Poseidon appears on Linear B clay tablets from Mycenaean Greece, inscribed as Po-se-da-o or Po-se-da-wo-ne.
  • DionysusClay tablets unearthed at Pylos in the twelfth or thirteenth century BC bear the inscription di-wo-nu-so. This Mycenaean Greek form appears twice on…
  • ErosHesiod's Theogony, written around 700 BC, lists Eros as the fourth god to emerge from Chaos. He appeared after Gaia and Tartarus, establishing love as a…
  • AchillesLinear B tablets from the Mycenaean period record the name Achilleus in forms like a-ki-re-u and a-ki-re-we. These inscriptions appear on clay documents…
  • OrestesThe Greek name Orestes derives from two ancient words. The first word means mountain. The second word means to stand. Ancient scholars believed the combined…
  • HermesThe earliest written record of Hermes appears in Linear B inscriptions from Pylos, Thebes, and Knossos dating to the Bronze Age Mycenaean period.
  • AgamemnonScholars have debated the meaning of Agamemnon for centuries. One theory suggests the name means very steadfast or unbowed.
  • HeraclesThe story of Heracles began in the Neolithic hunter culture, where traditions of shamanistic crossings into the netherworld shaped his mythological…
  • LaiusThe year 320 to 310 BC captures a moment frozen in clay on an Apulian red-figure hydria. This ancient vessel depicts King Laius of Thebes carrying off the…
  • PatroclusIn the quiet town of Opus, a young boy named Patroclus stood over the body of his playmate Clysonymus. The game of dice had turned deadly when Patroclus…
  • OrpheusA two-word fragment from the 6th-century BC lyric poet Ibycus offers the earliest literary reference to Orpheus. The words translate simply as 'Orpheus…
  • MarsyasA young satyr named Marsyas stood near the river Meander in Phrygia. He found a double reed instrument called an aulos lying on the ground.