"mythology to the indigenous pre-Greek societies: Crete, Mycenae, Pylos, Thebes and Orchomenus. Historians of religion were fascinated by a number of apparently ancient configurations of myth connected with Crete (the god as bull, Zeus and Europa, Pasiphaë who yields to the bull and gives birth to the Minotaur, etc.). Martin P. Nilsson asserts, based on the representations and general function of the gods, that a lot of Minoan gods and religious conceptions were fused in the Mycenaean religion. and concluded that all great classical Greek myths were tied to Mycenaean centres and anchored in prehistoric times. Nevertheless, according to Burkert,"
"Acacallis (mythology) Acacallis (Ancient Greek: Ἀκακαλλίς means ""unwalled"") in Greek mythology, was princess of Crete. The ""Bibliotheca"" calls her Acalle (Greek: Ἀκάλλη). Acacallis was the daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and Pasiphae or Crete. She was the sister Ariadne, Androgeus, Deucalion, Phaedra, Glaucus, Catreus and Xenodice. According to a Cretan mythological tradition, she bore a son to Hermes, Cydon, the founder of Cydonia. Other traditions give Cydon as the offspring of Acacallis and Apollo. Yet others wrote that Acacallis mothered Cydon with Hermes, and Naxos (eponym of the island Naxos) with Apollo. Another tradition relates that Acacallis and Apollo"
"Berger suggests that Queen Guinevere may have become a powerful female knight known as Britomart after the death of the King. Britomartis Britomartis () was a Greek goddess of mountains and hunting, who was primarily worshipped on the island of Crete. She was sometimes believed to be an oread, or a mountain nymph, but she was often conflated or syncretized with Artemis and Aphaea, the ""invisible"" patroness of Aegina. She is also known as ""Diktynna"" (Δίκτυννα; derived by Hellenistic writers as from δίκτυα [""diktya""], ""hunting nets""). According to Solinus, the name 'Britomartis' is from a Cretan dialect; he also says"
"Aerope of Crete In Greek mythology, Aerope (Ancient Greek: Ἀερόπη) was a daughter of Catreus, the king of Crete, and sister to Clymene, Apemosyne and Althaemenes. She was the wife of Atreus (or Pleisthenes), and by most accounts the mother of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Aerope's father was Catreus, the son of Minos, and king of Crete. Catreus had two other daughters, Clymene and Apemosyne, and a son Althaemenes. According to the tradition followed by Euripides in his lost play ""Cretan Women"" (""Kressai""), Catreus found Aerope in bed with a slave and handed her over to Nauplius to be drowned, but"
"Pasiphaë In Greek mythology, Pasiphaë (; ""Pasipháē"", ""wide-shining"" derived from ""pas"" ""all, for all, of all"" and ""phaos"" ""light"") was a queen of Crete. Pasiphae was the daughter of Helios, the Sun, and Perse, of the Oceanids. Like her doublet Europa, her origins were in the East, in her case at Colchis; she was the sister of Circe, Aeëtes and Perses, and she was given in marriage to King Minos of Crete. With Minos, she was the mother of Acacallis, Ariadne, Androgeus, Glaucus, Deucalion, Phaedra, Xenodice, and Catreus. She was also the mother of ""starlike"" Asterion, called by the Greeks"
"takes on many names and forms among different cultures and according to Canaanite mythology, is one and the same as the Assyro-Babylonian goddess Ištar, taken from the third millennium BC Sumerian goddess Inanna, the first primordial goddess of the planet Venus. Inanna was also known by the Aramaic people as the god Attar, whose myth was construed in a different manner by the people of Greece to align with their own cultural myths and legends, when the Canaanite merchants took the First papyrus from Byblos (the Phoenician city of Gebal) to Greece sometime before the 8th century by a Phoenician"
"and that from their union were born Phylacides and Phylander. People of the Cretan city Elyrus sent to Delphi a bronze statue of a goat suckling these two children, which suggests that they must have been abandoned by their mother. Acacallis was in Crete a common name for a narcissus. Acacallis (mythology) Acacallis (Ancient Greek: Ἀκακαλλίς means ""unwalled"") in Greek mythology, was princess of Crete. The ""Bibliotheca"" calls her Acalle (Greek: Ἀκάλλη). Acacallis was the daughter of Minos, king of Crete, and Pasiphae or Crete. She was the sister Ariadne, Androgeus, Deucalion, Phaedra, Glaucus, Catreus and Xenodice. According to a"
"era, the cults of Aphrodite in many Greek cities began to emphasize her relationship with Troy and Aeneas. They also began to adopt distinctively Roman elements, portraying Aphrodite as more maternal, more militaristic, and more concerned with administrative bureaucracy. She was claimed as a divine guardian by many political magistrates. Appearances of Aphrodite in Greek literature also vastly proliferated, usually showing Aphrodite in a characteristically Roman manner. Aphrodite is usually said to have been born near her chief center of worship, Paphos, on the island of Cyprus, which is why she is sometimes called ""Cyprian"", especially in the poetic works"
"in Greece. The cult was likely of Phoenician origin. Archaeology has established that Cypriots venerated a fertility goddess before the arrival of the Greeks, and developed a cult that combined Aegean and eastern mainland aspects. Before it was proved by archaeology it was understood that the cult of Aphrodite had been established before the time of Homer (c. 700 BC), as the grove and altar of Aphrodite at Paphos are mentioned in the ""Odyssey"" (viii. 362). Female figurines and charms found in the immediate vicinity date to the early third millennium BC. The temenos was well established before the first"
"B, through the words ""ke-re-te"" (*""Krētes""; later Greek: , plural of ), ""ke-re-si-jo"" (*""Krēsijos""; later Greek: ), ""Cretan"". In Ancient Greek, the name Crete () first appears in Homer's Odyssey. Its etymology is unknown. One proposal derives it from a hypothetical Luwian word, ""*kursatta"" (cf. ""kursawar"" ""island"", ""kursattar"" ""cutting, sliver""). In Latin, it became ""Creta"". The original Arabic name of Crete was ""Iqrīṭiš"" ( < , but after the Emirate of Crete's establishment of its new capital at ""Rabḍ al-Ḫandaq"" (modern Iraklion), both the city and the island became known as (""Chandax"") or (""Chandakas""), which gave Latin and Venetian ""Candia"","
"Hera, Athena was one of the three goddesses whose feud resulted in the beginning of the Trojan War. She plays an active role in the ""Iliad"", in which she assists the Achaeans and, in the ""Odyssey"", she is the divine counselor to Odysseus. In the later writings of the Roman poet Ovid, Athena was said to have competed against the mortal Arachne in a weaving competition, afterwards transforming Arachne into the first spider; Ovid also describes how she transformed Medusa into a Gorgon after witnessing her being raped by Poseidon in her temple. Since the Renaissance, Athena has become an"
"Creusa of Athens In Greek mythology, Creusa (; Ancient Greek: Κρέουσα ""Kreousa"" ""princess"" ) was an Athenian princess. Creusa was the fourth daughter of Erechtheus, King of Athens and his wife, Praxithea. She was the sister of Protogeneia, Pandora, Procris, Oreithyia and Chthonia. Apollodorus mentions Creusa as the mother of Achaeus and Ion by her husband Xuthus; she is presumably also the mother of Xuthus' daughter Diomede. However, according to Euripides' ""Ion"", in which she is a prominent character, Creusa was mother of Ion by Apollo, while Xuthus was infertile so he accepted Ion as his own son. Creusa is"
"of the Phoenician goddess Astarte. The Phoenicians introduced Astarte to the Greek islands of Cyprus and Cythera, where she either gave rise to or heavily influenced the Greek goddess Aphrodite. Aphrodite took on Inanna-Ishtar's associations with sexuality and procreation. Furthermore, she was known as Ourania (Οὐρανία), which means ""heavenly"", a title corresponding to Inanna's role as the Queen of Heaven. Early artistic and literary portrayals of Aphrodite are extremely similar to Inanna-Ishtar. Aphrodite was also a warrior goddess; the second-century AD Greek geographer Pausanias records that, in Sparta, Aphrodite was worshipped as ""Aphrodite Areia"", which means ""warlike"". He also mentions"
"Creusa of Troy In Greek mythology, Creusa (; Ancient Greek: Κρέουσα ""Kreousa"" ""princess"") was the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was the first wife of Aeneas and mother to Ascanius (also known as Iulus). Creusa's death at the will of the gods is dealt with briefly by Virgil in his ""Aeneid"". As Troy is falling to the Greeks, Aeneas goes to his home to lead his father Anchises, Creusa, and their son Ascanius out of the city and into the countryside. Anchises refuses to leave the house, prompting Aeneas to decide that he will stay in Troy so that"
"of Zeus and Leto and that she was the twin sister of Apollo. An account by Callimachus has it that Hera forbade Leto to give birth on either terra firma (the mainland) or on an island. Hera was angry with her husband Zeus because he had impregnated Leto but the island of Delos disobeyed Hera and Leto gave birth there. According to the Homeric Hymn to Artemis the island where Leto gave birth was Ortygia. In ancient Cretan history Leto was worshipped at Phaistos and, in Cretan mythology, Leto gave birth to Apollo and Artemis on the islands known today"
"Dido Dido ( ; , ) was, according to ancient Greek and Roman sources, the founder and first queen of Carthage. She is primarily known from the account given by the Roman poet Virgil in his epic, ""Aeneid"". In some sources she is also known as Elissa ( , ). Many names in the legend of Dido are of Punic origin, which suggests that the first Greek authors who mention this story have taken up Phoenician accounts. One suggestion is that ""Dido"" is an epithet from the same Semitic root as ""David"", which means ""Beloved"". Others state Didô means ""the"
"the more accepted mother of Selene, Helios, and in addition, Eos, and wife to Hyperion. It is unsure whether or not they are the same figure. Basilea is also mentioned quite differently in other versions. She is listed as a daughter of Coelus and Terra, and is implied to be the mother of all gods. It is also implied that she is another version of Aphrodite (Roman, Venus). Basilea (queen) Basilea was the first queen of the legendary Kingdom of Atlantis in ancient Greek folk tradition. Basilea was the eldest and one of the most celebrated daughters of Uranus, who"
"spear into the ground of the Acropolis, she knelt down and planted an olive branch in the hole, which quickly grew into Greece's very first moria (olive) tree. King Cecrops and the people of Attica deliberated the usefulness of the gifts. Poseidon's spring made of salt water was not suitable for drinking or much else, yet Athena's precious gift proved to be suitable for an abundance of purposes. Athena was hailed winner of the competition and was crowned patron goddess and protector of the city (polis) of Attica, whose people adopted the name Athens in her honor.From ""Olive Oil Times"","
"also equates the Cretan word βριτύ (""brite"") with Greek γλυκύ (""glyke"") 'sweet'. Other scholars have argued that ""Britomartis"" (""sweet maid"") is an epithet that does not reveal the goddess's name, nor her character, instead arguing that it may be an apotropaic euphemism. The goddess was frequently portrayed on Cretan coinage, either as herself or as Diktynna, the goddess of Mount Dikte, Zeus' birthplace. As Diktynna, she was depicted as a winged goddess with a human face, standing atop her ancient mountain, grasping an animal in each hand, in the guise of ""Potnia Theron"", the mistress of animals. By Hellenistic and"
"have its own local nymph, an oread. Peak sanctuaries, a feature of Minoan civilization on Crete, are also identified in some archaic sites in mainland Greece. They are not thought to be dedicated to the mountain itself. Ourea In Greek mythology, the Ourea ( ""mountains,"" plural of ) were progeny of Gaia, members of the Greek primordial deities, who were the first-born elemental gods and goddesses. According to Hesiod: ""And [Gaia] brought forth long hills, graceful haunts""<br> ""of the goddess Nymphs who dwell amongst the glens of the hills."" The nine ""ourea"", Aitna, Athos, Helikon, Kithairon, Nysos, Olympus, Oreios, Parnes,"
"into hard flints."" The story of Venus and her vengeance on the Propoetides for failing to worship her properly is a common theme in a number of stories and poems written about the goddess. According to Ovid, after seeing the Propoetides prostituting themselves, Pygmalion determined that he was ""not interested in women"". This drove him to create a woman of his own in statue form, with whom he then fell in love. Propoetides In Greek mythology, the Propoetides (Ancient Greek: Προποιτίδες) are the daughters of Propoetus from the city of Amathus on the island of Cyprus. In Roman literature, they"
"mythology, Athena was believed to have been born from the head of her father Zeus. In the founding myth of Athens, Athena bested Poseidon in a competition over patronage of the city by creating the first olive tree. She was known as ""Athena Parthenos"" (""Athena the Virgin""), but, in one archaic Attic myth, the god Hephaestus tried and failed to rape her, resulting in Gaia giving birth to Erichthonius, an important Athenian founding hero. Athena was the patron goddess of heroic endeavor; she was believed to have also aided the heroes Perseus, Heracles, Bellerophon, and Jason. Along with Aphrodite and"
"Hesione In Greek mythology and later art, the name Hesione (; Ancient Greek: Ἡσιονη) refers to various mythological figures, of whom the Trojan princess Hesione is most known. According to the ""Bibliotheca"", the most prominent Hesione was a Trojan princess, daughter of King Laomedon of Troy, sister of Priam and second wife of King Telamon of Salamis. The first notable myth Hesione is cited in is that of Hercules, who saves her from a sea monster. However, her role becomes significant many years later when she is described as a potential trigger of the Trojan War. Apollo and Poseidon were"
"tree, like Erigone and the hanging Artemis, a Mesopotamian theme. Some scholars have posited, due to her thread-spinning and winding associations, that she was a weaving goddess, like Arachne, supporting this theory with the mytheme of the Hanged Nymph (see weaving in mythology). Dionysus descended into Hades and brought her and his mother Semele back. They then joined the gods in Olympus. Karl Kerenyi and Robert Graves theorize that Ariadne (whose name they derive from Hesychius's listing of Άδνον, a Cretan-Greek form for ""arihagne"", ""utterly pure"") was a Great Goddess of Crete, ""the first divine personage of Greek mythology to"
"Kerenyi, Carl A. P. Ruck and Danny Staples interpret the goddesses Demeter the ""mother,"" Persephone the ""daughter"" and Hecate the ""crone,"" as aspects of a former Great goddess identified by some as Rhea or as Gaia herself. In Crete, a goddess was worshiped as ""Potnia Theron"" (the ""Mistress of the Animals"") or simply Potnia (""Mistress""), speculated as Rhea or Gaia; the title was later applied in Greek texts to Demeter, Artemis or Athena. The mother-goddess Cybele from Anatolia (modern Turkey) was partly identified by the Greeks with Gaia, but more so with Rhea and Demeter. Many Neopagans worship Gaia. Beliefs"
"could be considered an appendage of the larger Erechtheion—perhaps fittingly considering the manner in which the myth surrounding Pandrosos intertwines with the tale of the birth of Erechtheus. Pandrosus Pandrosos or Pandrosus (Ancient Greek: Πάνδροσος) was known in Greek myth as one of the three daughters of Kekrops, the first king of Athens, along with her sisters Aglauros and Herse. The three of them together are often referred to collectively as the Kekropidai after their father. The name ""Pandrosos"" carries the meaning of ""all dew"" or ""all bedewed"" in the Greek language (drosos, dew). For this reason, Pandrosos is at"
"Lower Egypt. Leto was also worshipped in Crete, whether one of ""certain Cretan goddesses, or Greek goddesses in their Cretan form, influenced by the Minoan goddess"". Veneration of a local Leto is attested at Phaistos (where it is purported that she gave birth to Apollo and Artemis at the islands known today as the Paximadia (also known as Letoai in ancient Crete) and at Lato, which bore her name. As ""Leto Phytia"" she was a mother-deity. Pindar calls the goddess ""Leto Chryselakatos"", an epithet that was attached to her daughter Artemis as early as Homer. ""The conception of a goddess"
"Greek primordial deities In Greek mythology, the primordial deities are the first gods and goddesses born from the void of Chaos. In Orphic tradition, they are born from Chronos and Ananke. Hesiod's first (after Chaos) are Gaia, Tartarus, Eros, Erebus and Nyx. The primordial deities Gaia and Uranus give birth to the Titans, the Cyclopses and from the castration of Uranus, Aphrodite. The Titans Cronus and Rhea give birth to Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera and Demeter who overthrow the Titans. The warring of the gods ends with the reign of Zeus. Hesiod's ""Theogony"" (c. 700 BC) tells the story"
"first woman, physically beautiful and sexually attractive, so that she may become ""an evil men will love to embrace"". Aphrodite ""spills grace"" over Pandora's head and equips her with ""painful desire and knee-weakening anguish"", thus making her the perfect vessel for evil to enter the world. Aphrodite's attendants, Peitho, the Charites, and the Horae, adorn Pandora with gold and jewelry. According to one myth, Aphrodite aided Hippomenes, a noble youth who wished to marry Atalanta, a maiden who was renowned throughout the land for her beauty, but who refused to marry any man unless he could outrun her in a"
"called Cadmus the first King of Thebes. Astarte was worshipped in Syria and Canaan beginning in the first millennium BC and was first mentioned in texts from Ugarit. She came from the same Semitic origins as the Mesopotamian goddess Ishtar, and an Ugaritic text specifically equates her with Ishtar. Her worship spread to Cyprus, where she may have been merged with an ancient Cypriot goddess. This merged Cypriot goddess may have been adopted into the Greek pantheon in Mycenaean and Dark Age times to form Aphrodite. Stephanie Budin, however, argues that Astarte's character was less erotic and more warlike than"
"in the two main centers of her cult, the Heraion of Samos and the Heraion of Argos in the Argolis, were the very earliest monumental Greek temples constructed, in the 8th century BCE. According to Walter Burkert, both Hera and Demeter have many characteristic attributes of Pre-Greek Great Goddesses. According to Homeric Hymn III to Delian Apollo, Hera detained Eileithyia to prevent Leto from going into labor with Artemis and Apollo, since the father was Zeus. The other goddesses present at the birthing on Delos sent Iris to bring her. As she stepped upon the island, the divine birth began."
"Oenone In Greek mythology, Oenone (; Ancient Greek: Οἰνώνη ""Oinōnē"" means ""wine woman"") was the first wife of Paris of Troy, whom he abandoned for the Queen Helen of Sparta. In Jean Racine's play ""Phèdre"", the name Oenone is given to Phaedra's nurse. (Note that Oenone was also the ancient name of an island, which was later named after Aegina, daughter of the river god Asopus.) Oenone was a mountain nymph (an oread) on Mount Ida in Phrygia, a mountain associated with the Mother Goddess Cybele, alternatively Rhea. Her gift of prophecy was learned from Rhea. Her father was either"
"Leto In Greek mythology, Leto (; ""Lētṓ""; Λατώ, ""Lātṓ"" in Doric Greek) is a daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, the sister of Asteria. The island of Kos is claimed as her birthplace. In the Olympian scheme, Zeus is the father of her twins, Apollo and Artemis, which Leto conceived after her hidden beauty accidentally caught the eyes of Zeus. Classical Greek myths record little about Leto other than her pregnancy and her search for a place where she could give birth to Apollo and Artemis, since Hera in her jealousy caused all lands to shun her. Finally, she"