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I - Son of Celeus and Metanira, he was turned into a lizard by Demeter after he mocked her when she drank too eagerly.
II - Grandson of Danaus, twelfth King of Argolis. Renowned for his sacred shield, the very site of which subdued revolt. The father of Acrisius and Proetus.
The half brother of Æetes, murdered by Medea after his brother broke his promise to Jason. Medea killed him and chopped him into small bits which she threw over the side of their boat, Æetes stopped to collect the pieces for burial which allowed Jason and Medea to escape.
Son of Theseus and Phaedra. He went to Troy with Diomedes to demand the surrender of Helen. After the fall of Troy, he rescued his grandmother Æthra who had been a slave to Helen.
The son of Pelias, King of Iolcos. After Medea caused the death of his father Acastus banished her and Jason. He welcomed Peleus into his house, only to desert him when he suspected him of having an affair with his wife. Acastus and his wife were later killed by Peleus, but their daughter Laodamia was spared.
A river god, son of Oceanus and Tethys, he was defeated by Heracles in a competition over the hand of Deianeira, the daughter of King Oeneus. Achelous' daughter Callirrhoë married Alcmæon, who was being pursued by the Furies because he had killed his own mother.
Achilles was the son of the nymph Thetis and Peleus, King of the Myrmidones in Southern Thessaly. When he was a child Thetis had dipped her son in the River Styx thus making him invulnerable except for the heal by which she held him (hence 'Achilles Heal'). Achilles had been taught by Chiron and Phoenix and was renowned for his strength, speed and courage. He had a son, Neoptolemus (sometimes called Pyrrhus), by Deidamia, daughter of Lycomodes.
Achilles was the focus of several prophesies. Before he was even conceived it had been prophesied that Thetis' son would be more powerful than his father, this was the reason Zeus did not have a child with her. Calchas the prophet had said that Troy cold not be taken without Achilles' help. Achilles and his mother also knew that he could either live a long life but never be famous. Or die young but have his story told for all time.
Achilles led the Myrmidones to Troy, where he was the second Greek to land on Trojan soil and he slew many enemies. However in the 10th year of the siege Achilles had an argument with Agamemnon over the girl Briseis and withdrew from the fighting. He only returned to the battle after his best friend, cousin and aide Patroclus was killed by Hector. Achilles killed Hector and only returned the body after Priam begged him in person to do so.
Paris killed Achilles by shooting an arrow into his vulnerable heal, during a battle near the Scæon Gate at Troy.
The son of Abas, King of Argos. He split his father's kingdom with his twin brother Proetus and became King of Argos. An oracle told him that he would be killed by his daughter, Danaë's son. Despite the fact that he had imprisoned her, she became pregnant by Zeus. When her son Perseus was born, Acrisius set them both adrift at sea in a chest.
Many years later, Perseus returned to Argos, and Acrisius fled to Larissa. But Perseus travelled there for public games, and accidentally killed his grandfather with a discus.
Changed into a stag by Artemis and torn to pieces by his own dogs because he had seen the goddess bathing.
King of Pherae in Thessaly, husband of Alcestis. Apollo made it possible for Admetus to escape death, if one of his family would die in his place. When his wife died for him, she was rescued from the Underworld by Heracles.
Son of Talaus and The king of Argos, father of Argia and Deipyle. When Polyneices asked him for help regaining the kingdom of Thebes, he agreed and gave him Argia as a wife. Adrastus, as prophesied by the seer Amphiaraus (husband of Adrastus' sister Eriphyle) was the only one of the seven leaders who attacked Thebes to survive. Ten years after that attack Adrastus lead the Epigoni, the descendants of the seven, against Thebes. The group included his son Ægialeus, but he was killed before the walls of Thebes, and when his father heard of his death he died of grief.
The son of Zeus and Ægina, King of the Myrmidones. By his wife, Endeis he had two sons, Peleus and Telemon, and by a Nereid he had another son, Phocus. He helped Poseidon and Apollo build the walls of Troy. His life was so virtuous he became one of the three judges of the underworld.
The King of Colchis. He had been given the fleece of Phrixus' ram by Pelias. When Jason came to take it, Æëtes promised it to him if he could yoke together two firebreathing bulls, use them to plough the field of Ares and sow it with the dragon's teeth left over by Cadmus at Thebes. Jason completed the task with the aid of Medea, Æëtes' daughter by his first wife. However Æëtes did not keep his promise and Jason and Medea had to steal the fleece. When the King pursued them Medea murdered Absyrtus, his half brother and he stopped to pick up the pieces of his brother, allowing them to escape.
King of Athens and father of Theseus by Æthra. He later married Medea and their son was Medus. When Theseus returned from Crete he forgot to raise the white flag to show his father he was alive. Ægeus thought his son dead and threw himself into the sea in grief, the sea was named the Ægean.
The son of Adrastus (King of Argos), member of the Epigoni (the descendants of The Seven) who attacked Thebes. He was killed before the walls of Thebes, and on hearing of his son's death Adrastus died of grief.
The daughter of Asopus (a river god), mother of Æcus by Zeus.
Ægisthus was the son of Thyestes and Pelopia. Pelopia had been raped by her father and exposed the baby when he was born. But her husband Atreus (Thyestes' brother) thought the boy to be his and raised him. However when Thyestes was brought back to Mycenæ he recognised his son and ordered him to kill Atreus, thus Thyestes became king.
Atreus' son, Agamemnon later reclaimed the throne, expelling Thyestes and Ægisthus. When Agamemnon went away to the Trojan War, Ægisthus seduced his wife Clytemnestra. The couple killed Agamemnon and Cassandra when they returned to Mycenæ and ruled together. They were killed by Agamemnon and Clytemnestra's son Orestes with help from his sister Electra. The story of Agamemnon's arrival in Mycenæ, Orestes' revenge is told in Æschylus' Oresteian Trilogy.
See Danaides.
The son of Aphrodite and Anchises (a cousin of King Priam of Troy). He entered the battle for Troy after Achilles raided his flocks on Mount Ida. Although he fought bravely, he was frequently helped by the gods.
When the Greeks entered Troy, Æneas managed to carry his blind father away to safety. The story of his voyage is told in the Roman Epic Virgil's Æneid, eventually he reached Italy where he founded Lavinia.
I - King of Thessaly, son of Hellen, ancestor of all Æolic Greeks.
II - Son of Poseidon, King of the seven Æolian Islands. He was given control of the winds by Zeus and gave Odysseus a bag of wind to speed his journey home. However when Odysseus failed to follow his instructions and was blown back again, Æolus refused to help him again.
The second wife of Atreus, King of Mycenæ and mother of Agamemnon and Menelaus. She was also seduced by Thyestes, Atreus' brother.
Æson was the son of Tyro and Cretheus, founder and King of Iolcus. Æson was deprived of his kingdom by his two half brothers Pelias and Neleus, Tyro's sons by Poseidon. When Æson was imprisoned his son Jason was smuggled out and raised by Cheiron the Centaur. By the time Jason returned to the city with the Golden Fleece, Pelias had forced Æson to take his own life. Although Ovid and Shakespeare say that he was rejuvenated by Medea.
The mother of Theseus by Ægeus, King of Athens. Æthra secretly raised her son in the house of her father Pittheus, King of the Troezen. She took care of the young Helen, after she was carried off by Theseus in the village of Aphidnæ. When Helen was rescued by her brothers the Dioscuri, Æthra became her slave, and went to Troy with her. When Troy fell she was rescued by her grandsons Acamus and Demophon.
Agamemnon was the King of Mycenæ , son of Atreus (son of Pelops and descendant of Tantalus) and Ærope and brother of Menelaus. His wife was Clytemnestra, half sister of Menelaus' wife Helen, and he had three children, Iphigenia, Orestes and Electra.
When his sister-in-law Helen was kidnapped by Paris, Agamemnon led the Greek force that went to punish the Trojans. Agamemnon however had upset Artemis, and when they tried to set sail there was no wind. Agamemnon, on the advice of a prophet had his daughter Iphigenia sacrificed to appease the goddess.
After 10 years of siege there was an argument between Agamemnon and Achilles, which caused Achilles to withdraw from the fighting. Although Agamemnon apologised eventually, Achilles did not return until revenge prompted him to. This is one of the principle themes of the Iliad.
After Troy was conquered, Agamemnon returned home, taking Cassandra, a Trojan prophetess cursed by Apollo to have her advice ignored, as his prize. However he was murdered in his bath by Clytemnestra in revenge for killing their daughter Iphigenia.
The daughter of Cadmus, King of Thebes and Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. She was married to Echion and had a son Pentheus. Her son became the King of Thebes, but was killed by his mother and her sisters Autonoe and Ino when he resisted the worship of Dionysus, as described by Euripides, in The Bacchæ. They believed he was a wild beast and tore him to pieces, the women were collectively known as the Mænads or Bacchæ.
(I) - The King of Phoenicia, son of Poseidon. He was married to Telephassa and their children were Cadmus and Europa.
(II) - Son of the Trojan Antenor and Theano
'The Bright One' one of the Graces.
I - The Great Ajax, son of King Telemon of Salamis. He was a courageous fighter during the Trojan War, boasting that he needed no help from the gods. He raided the Thracian Chersonesus and in Teuthrania killed the king and took his daughter Tecmessa. He fought Hector in single combat and killed Glaucus. He accompanied Menelaus to retrieve the body of Patroclus and also accompanied Odysseus to retrieve Achilles'. However Odysseus and Ajax argued over Achilles' armour, Odysseus won the armour in competition and Ajax was either killed during the fight (according to Homer) or that he was driven mad by his defeat and fell on his own sword (Sophocles' Ajax).
II - Little Ajax, son of Oileus, King of the Locrians. He was quite short, but a swift runner and skilled spear thrower. He travelled to Troy with forty ships and when Troy fell it was he who dragged Cassandra away from the sanctuary of Athene, where she had taken refuge.
The father of Amphitrion, King of Thebes.
The daughter of Pelias, wife of Admetus, King of Pherae in Thessaly. She volunteered to die in her husbands place, but was rescued from the underworld by Heracles, as told in Euripides' Alcestis.
The son of Amphiaraus and Eriphyle. He was unwilling to join the Epigoni and attack Thebes. But he was persuaded to do so by his mother who had been bribed by Thersander with the robe of Harmonia. When Alcmæon returned he killed his mother for her vanity and deception of him and his father and was persued by the Furies. He was purified by King Phlegeus, married his daughter Arsinoë and gave her Harmonia's necklace and robe, but was forced to flee again. He was then purified by Achelous and married his daughter Callirrhoë. She demanded the robe and necklace and when Alcmæon tried to retrieve them from Phlegeus he was killed by the king's sons.
The wife of Amphitrion, mother of Heracles by Zeus. Alcmene had refused to consummate her marriage to Amphitrion until he had avenged the death of her brothers. While he was away fighting the Taphians, Zeus visited Alcmene in the form of her husband, claiming to have been victorious.
Alcmene gave birth to two sons within two days, Heracles son of Zeus, and Iphicles son of Amphitrion. She attempted to expose Heracles in fear of Hera, but the goddess herself unknowingly rescued the child and he was later returned to Alcmene.
Following Heracles' death, Eurystheus tried to expel Alcmene and Heracles' children from Greece. They found protection in Athens and their pursuers were eventually killed. After Amphitrion's death, Alcmene married Rhadamanthus, from Crete.
One of the Furies. Her mother was Gaea, who bore the 3 Furies after drops of Uranus' blood fell on her.
King of Tegea, father of the priestess Auge.
The collective name for the giants Ephialtes and Otus, sons of Iphimedeia and Poseidon, names after Aloeus, the husband of their mother. They kidnapped Ares, and piled Mount Pelion on Ossa in their attack of Heaven. They were lured to the Island of Naxos, where Artemis tricked them into killing each other. Their spirits were tied back to back to a pillar in Tartarus.
The husband of Iphimedeia, namesake of the Aloeidæ.
The daughter of Thestius, wife of Oeneus and mother of Meleager, Gorge and Deianeira.
A Roman name for Eros.
A prophet, married to Eriphyle the sister of Adrastus the King of Argos. He prophesied that all the leaders who tried to reclaim Thebes for Polyneices would be killed except Adrastus. Despite this he was persuaded to join The Seven who went to Thebes by his wife, who had been given the necklace of Harmonia by Polyneices as a bribe. During the battle Amphiaraus tried to flee, but the ground opened up and swallowed him.
A seer, he founded the city of Mallus with Mopsus, but they fought over its possession and killed each other.
The son of Zeus and Antiope, twin brother of Zethus. Antiope had been divorced by her husband Lycus, King of Thebes and was cruelly treated by his second wife Dirce. Amphion and Zethus were raised by cattle men on Mt Cithæron. When they were old enough they killed Lycus and Dirce and took over Thebes. The two brothers ruled jointly and Amphion became so skilled at playing the lyre given to him by Hermes that he could make the rocks move. Amphion married Niobe and they had seven sons and seven daughters. However Niobe boasted that they were better than Leto's children, Apollo and Artemis were furious and killed the children. Niobe was turned to stone by Zeus and Amphion either took his own life or was killed by Apollo.
Daughter of Nereus, she was persuaded to become Posiedon's wife by Delphinos, and her son by him was Triton. She is said to have turned Scylla, one of Poseidon's lovers, into a monster with six heads and twelve feet.
Son of Alcæus, husband of Alcmene, father of Iphicles and King of Thebes. His wife refused to consummate their marriage until he had avenged the deaths of her brothers. She was visited by Zeus while her husband was away, and by him she became the mother of Heracles. Amphitrion took Heracles into his house and taught him how to drive a chariot, but later sent him away to watch flocks after he killed his lyre teacher. Amphitrion was killed during a campaign against the Minyans.
The king of the Island of Bebrycos. He was a renowned boxer and killed all strangers by challenging them to a boxing match. However when Jason and the Argonauts arrived, Polydeuces accepted his challenge, and killed him.
The father of Bias and the seer Melampus.
A cousin of King Priam of Troy and father of Æneas by Aphrodite. When Zeus overheard him bragging about his affair with the goddess he struck him blind with a thunderbolt. He was rescued from Troy as the Greeks sacked the city by his son, and travelled with him on his 7 year voyage.
Husband of Gorge. He succeeded Oeneus as King of Calydon and was father of Thoas.
The son of King Minos of Crete and Pasiphaë and the brother of Ariadne, Phædra and Glaucus. He won every contest at the Panathenaic Games and was killed at the orders of Ægus. In revenge Minos extracted from Athens seven men and women to be devoured by the Minotaur.
The daughter of Eëtion, Hector's wife and mother of Astyanax. After the fall of Troy she was taken by Neoptolemus to Epirus where she married Helenus.
The daughter of Cepheus, King of Æthiopia and Cassiopeia. Her mother had bragged that she was more beautiful than the Nereids, and the nymphs had complained to Poseidon. He had sent a monster to destroy the country, and the oracle said the only way to save the country was to sacrifice Andromeda to the monster. She was rescued by Perseus, whom she married.
The wisest of the Trojans, he was frequently sent as an envoy or ambassador. Priam sent him to Telemon, to demand the return of Hesione, Priam's sister. He received Odysseus, Menelaus sand Palamedes, the envoys from Greece who asked for Helen's return, he advised that their request be granted, but he was ignored.
After Paris' death Antenor was sent to the Greeks to sue for peace, but he hated Helen's new husband, Deiphobus and conspired with the Greeks. He told them how to gain entry to the city and obtain Athene's Palladium. After Troy fell, Antenor, his wife Theano and their children were spared and were said to have founded Venice and Padua. His other son, Laocoön who realised the Trojan horse was a trick, was killed by serpents sent by Apollo.
Daughter of Autolycus the thief, wife of Lærtes and mother of Odysseus. She died of greif following the disappearance of Odysseus, however she appeared to him when he summoned the spirits of the dead in the land of the Cimmerians.
Antigone was the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, sister of Eteocles, Polyneices and Ismene. She went into exile with her father, after the discovery of his incest. After her return to Thebes she disobeyed the orders of the king (Jocasta's brother Creon) and buried Polyneices, who had been refused burial as a traitor. At Creon's command she was buried alive in a cave, when her betrothed, Hæmon the son of Creon persuaded him to release her, she had taken her own life. The story of Oedipus and Antigone is told in Sophocles' plays Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonos and Antigone.
The son of Nestor. He was too young to sail to Troy with the Greeks at the beginning of the war, but joined them later. He was killed by Memnon.
The leader of the suitors who persued Penelope while Odysseus was missing. Odysseus killed him using the great bow of Eurytus.
I - The Amazon, carried off by Theseus (although it may have been her sister Hippolyte). In revenge the Amazons attacked Attica.
II - Wife of Lycus of Thebes until he divorced her. By Zeus she was mother of Amphion and Zethus by who avenged the bad treatment she received from Lycus' second wife, Dirce by killed them both.
King of Messene, father of the Apharetidæ Idas and Lynceus.
Birth
There are many different versions of Aphrodite's birth. The most popular story is that when Cronus attacked Uranus a few drops of blood from Uranus' wound fell into the ocean. And Aphrodite arose naked from the sea near the island of Cythera, as in Botticelli's picture "The Birth of Venus". The nymphs recognised her as a goddess and after cleaning and clothing her, took her to Olympus. Homer described her as the daughter of Zeus and Dione.
Powers
Aphrodite was worshipped as the goddess of beauty, desire and fertility. She was said to possess a magic girdle which made the wearer irresistible.
Aphrodite's counterparts in other cultures included, Venus in Roman religion, Ishtar of Babylon and Astarte of Syria.
Family
Aphrodite was married to Hephæstus and their children included Harmonia. However she was not faithful, and bore sons to Poseidon, Hermaphroditus to Hermes, and Priapus to Dionysus. Eros, the god of love, was her son by one of the other gods.
Her relationship with Anchises, cousin of Priam was the theme of Shakespeare's Venus and Adonis. And Æneas, the hero of Virgil's epic The Æneid was her son by him.
Myths
Birth
Apollo's mother was the Titan goddess, Leto. Zeus had an affair with her, but Hera found out about it and threatened to destroy Leto. She declared that no land where the sun shone was to to give sanctuary to Leto. The people were afraid of Hera so turned Leto away. Poseidon took pity on Leto and covered the island of Delos with his waves, thus hiding it from the Sun. The waves allowed Leto to enter, and there she gave birth to twins; Apollo and Artemis.
Aided by Themis and Eileithyia the children grew very fast. Apollo and Artemis showed their talents when they killed the giant Tityus, whom Hera had sent to harass them, using their arrows. Apollo then took his mother and sister up to Olympus, where all the immortals welcomed them. The twins' music even made Hera forget her jealousy.
The son of Apollo and Cyrene. He fell in love with Eurydice who died of a snake bite while she was fleeing from him. As a punishment he lost his bees and how he raised a new swarm is told in Virgil's fourth Georgics. After death he was worshipped as a god.
Ares was the god of war, but as the ancient Greeks disliked purposeless war, he was not commonly worshipped. The Romans worshipped him as Mars, and was more popular with the Thracians.
Because of his love of battle for its own sake, he was not popular with the other gods either, except for Eris, Hades and Aphrodite with whom he had an affair.
Despite his powers he was not indefeatable. He was beaten by Athene twice, and Heracles. And even the mere mortals, The Aloeidæ conquered him and imprisoned him for thirteen months, until Hermes rescued him.
Myths featuring Ares include :
A Cyclopes, son of Gaea and Uranus.
The daughter of Adrastus (King of Argos) wife of Polyneices, mother of Thersander.
The crew of The Argo, who accompanied Jason on his quest to find the golden fleece. They included the Dioscuri, Heracles and Orpheus.
The ship which carried Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece, hence the Argonauts.
Daughter of Minos, King of Crete, and Pasiphaë and the sister of Phædra, Glaucus and Androgeos. She fell in love with Theseus when he came to fight the Minotaur and helped him kill it by giving him a sword and ball of thread. She fled Crete with Theseus but was deserted by him on the Island of Naxos. Dionysus found her here and they were married. She eventually went up to Olympus with Dionysus.
A fabulous horse, the son of Poseidon and Demeter. He and his sister Despoena were born after Poseidon raped Demeter in the form of a horse.
The daughter of King Phlegeus of Psophis, she married Alcmæon and was given Harmonia's necklace and robe. However Alcmæon was being persued by the Furies and was forced to leave her. He then married Callirrhoë.
See Apollo or the legend of Artemis' birth.
Artemis shared many characteristics with her twin brother Apollo. She too was a hunter and carried a bow and arrow made by Hephæstus, and could cause plague and death. In her other 'roles' she was identified with Selene, the moon, and was a protector of children and young animals. She was known as the Goddess of the Chase. She was also the patron of Ephesus, Marseilles and Syracuse.
Artemis never married and was often described as the maiden goddess, several of the myths involving her featured punishment of those who were unchaste. She changed Actæon into a stag, because he had seen her bathing. However she befriended Orion and he became her hunting partner.
There are many different 'versions' of Artemis in different areas. The Arcadian Artemis was a huntress among the Nymphs, and not related to Apollo. The Romans called her Diana, in Syracuse she was known as Artemis Arethusa/Artemis of Tauris was much fiercer, and strangers were sacrificed to her. And Brauronian Artemis was worshipped in Athens and Sparta were young boys sprinkled their blood on her altar. Her role varied from the young huntress to the age-old mother-goddess.
Myth's involving Artemis include :
Asclepius (or Æsculapius) was the son of Apollo by Coronis. He was brought up by Cheiron, who taught him the art of medicine. However when he brought a dead man back to life, Zeus killed him with a thunderbolt. At Apollo's request however he was placed among the starts.
According to Homer, Asclepius was not a god, but a native of Epidaurus. His sons were Podalirius and Machaon physicians to the Greek army at Troy. His descendants were known as the Asclepiadæ, a caste of priest through whom the knowledge of medicine passed from father to son.
The followers of Asclepius.
A river god and son of Oceanus and Tethys. His daughters were Evadne, Euboea, and Ægina.
The young son of Hector and Andromache, he was flung from the walls of Troy by the Greeks to avoid him later avenging the murder of his family.
Son of Æolus, King of Orchomenus in Boeotia. He married Nephele at Hera's command and their children were Helle and Phrixus. He was in love with Ino and their children were Learchus and Melicertes. Ino tried to trick him into killing Helle and Phrixus but they escaped. Athamus was driven mad by Hera because he sheltered Dionysus, he killed Laerchus and fled to Thessaly.
Birth
Pallas Athene's parents were Zeus and Methis, but before her birth Zeus received an oracle saying that Methis' child would be a boy who would depose his father. To prevent this Zeus swallowed Methis, and later, suffered an agonising headache. Hermes realised what the cause was and persuaded Hephætus (or Prometheus) to cleave open Zeus' skull. Athene sprang from his head, fully grown and completely armed.
Powers
Athene, known as Minerva in Rome, was the goddess of Wisdom and power, and the patron of women's arts. She used her wisdom both on the battle field where she was a wise tactician and in the court of the Areopagus where she had casting vote as in the trial of Orestes. She was also the patron of Athens and Attica, having beaten Poseidon in a contest for possession of the city by giving the better gift of an olive tree. There were many festivals in Athens to Athene, including the Panathanaic festival, celebrated every four years and depicted on the frieze of the Parthenon. On the East end gable of the Parthenon is a depiction of Athene's birth, and on the west end, is the contest with Poseidon. Athens also placed a picture of Athene on their coins, and a picture of an owl, Athene's bird on the other side.
Myths
Son of Iapetus and Clymene, father of the Pleiades, Hyades and Hesperides. His brothers were Prometheus and Epimetheus
Leader of the Titans who fought against Zeus and the other Olympians in the war known as the Titanomachia. The Olympians beat the Titans after 10 years of war and with some assistance from Gaea, the Cyclopes and the Hundred-handed giants from Tartarus. Atlas was punished by being forced to carry the sky on his shoulders. Heracles held the globe for him for a short time while he stole three of Hera's golden apples, but Heracles then tricked him into taking it back.
Atreus was the son of Pelops and Hippodameia, brother of Thyestes and father of Agamemnon and Menelaus by Ærope.
Atreus and Thyestes fled from their home in Pisa after killing their half brother Chrysippus. They were kindly received in Mycenæ by King Eurystheus, but after his death Atreus seized the throne and banished Thyestes.
Thyestes seduced Ærope and tricked Atreus into killing his son by his first wife, Pleisthenes. Atreus lured his brother to Mycenæ and there served him a dinner made from the flesh of Thyestes' own children. Thyestes cursed the house of Atreus and fled.
Atreus later travelled to Sicyon where he married Pelopia who he did not know was the daughter of Thyestes and was carrying her father's child. When she gave birth to Ægisthus Atreus thought it was his child. Ægisthus later killed Atreus at his father's command.
One of the Fates (aka Moirai) who held the threads of human life in their hands. They were the daughters of Zeus. Atropos cut the thread at the end of life.
A priestess, daughter of Aleus. Mother by Heracles of Telephus.
The king of Elis, famous for his stables, he had more cattle and sheep than any man on Earth. Heracles offered to clean the stables in one day in exchange for one tenth of the cattle, Augeias agreed and his son Phyleus was a witness. Heracles diverted the Rivers Penieus and Alphaeus through the stables, and they were clean by the end of the day. Augeias refused to pay him, and banished Phyleus when he was loyal to the truth.
Years later Heracles returned to Elis and in revenge killed Augeias, all of his sons and their allies.
Son of Hermes, father of Anticleia. A thief, he also taught Heracles to wrestle.
The daughter of Cadmus, King of Thebes and Harmonia, daughter of Ares and Aphrodite. She helped to destroy Pentheus, the son of her sister Agave when he resisted the worship of Dionysus, as described by Euripides, in The Bacchæ.