The encyclopedia
Greek mythology, properly told
50 entries on the monsters, heroes and places the myths are actually built from — the old versions, from the old sources, with a note on what the modern retellings change.
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Monsters & spirits
The things heroes are measured against, and the older powers that were never anyone's enemy — just the rules. Most were somebody's child, which is the part the myths never let you forget.
- The MinotaurMIN-uh-torThe bull-headed man at the centre of the Labyrinth, and the debt a king refused to pay.
- Medusameh-DOO-suhThe Gorgon whose gaze turned men to stone — and, in the best-known version, a victim before she was ever a monster.
- CerberusSUR-ber-usThe three-headed dog at the gates of the Underworld, who lets everyone in and no one out.
- The Lernaean HydraHY-druhThe many-headed serpent that grew two heads for every one cut off — the original problem that gets worse when you attack it.
- The Chimeraky-MEER-uhLion in front, goat in the middle, serpent behind, and fire out of all three — the creature whose name became a word.
- The Cyclopessy-KLOH-peezOne-eyed giants — smiths to the gods in one tradition, shepherds who eat sailors in the other.
- The SirensSY-runzSingers on a rock in the sea whose song promised knowledge, and whose beach was covered in bones.
- Scylla and CharybdisSIL-uh and kuh-RIB-disA six-headed monster on one side of the strait and a whirlpool on the other — the original choice between two disasters.
- The FuriesFYOOR-eezThree ancient spirits of vengeance who hunt oath-breakers and kin-killers, and never stop.
- Echidnaih-KID-nuhHalf beautiful woman, half serpent — and the mother of nearly every monster a Greek hero ever fought.
- TyphonTY-fonThe last child of Gaia, and the only creature that ever came close to taking Olympus from Zeus.
- The SphinxSFINKSA lion with a woman's face who strangled anyone who failed her riddle — and destroyed herself when someone finally answered it.
- The Nemean Lionnee-MEE-un LY-unA lion whose hide no weapon could cut — so Heracles took it apart with his hands and then wore it.
- The HarpiesHAR-peezWinged spirits who snatch things away — including food, and including people who are never seen again.
- CharonKAIR-onThe ferryman of the dead, who takes no one across without the fare — and the reason the Greeks buried coins with their dead.
Heroes
Mortals with a god for a parent, sent to do the impossible. Greek heroism is rarely clean and almost never ends well.
- PerseusPUR-see-usSon of Zeus and a golden shower, sent to fetch Medusa's head by a king who expected him to die trying.
- TheseusTHEE-see-usThe Athenian who killed the Minotaur, and whose forgetfulness killed his father.
- HeraclesHAIR-uh-kleezThe strongest man who ever lived, working off a crime he committed while out of his mind.
- Odysseusoh-DIS-ee-usThe hero who wins by thinking — and spends ten years getting home because he could not resist gloating once.
- OrpheusOR-fee-usThe musician who talked the Underworld into giving his wife back, then lost her by looking.
- Achillesuh-KIL-eezThe greatest warrior at Troy, invulnerable but for one heel, who chose a short life with glory.
- Jason and the ArgonautsJAY-sun and the AR-guh-nawtsThe first great crew — every hero in Greece on one ship, sailing east for a stolen throne.
- Atalantaat-uh-LAN-tuhLeft on a mountain to die, raised by a bear, and faster than every man who ever raced her — until three golden apples.
- Bellerophonbuh-LAIR-uh-fonTamed Pegasus, killed the Chimera, and then tried to fly to Olympus — the hero undone entirely by his own success.
Mortals
Kings, inventors and cautionary tales. No divine parent, no quest — just people whose names turned into words for what they did wrong.
Titans & primordials
The order that ruled before the Olympians, and the powers older than any of them.
- KronosKROH-nosThe Titan who overthrew his father, ate his own children to keep the throne, and lost it anyway.
- AtlasAT-lusThe Titan condemned to hold up the sky — not the world, whatever the statues suggest.
- Prometheuspruh-MEE-thee-usThe Titan who stole fire for humanity and paid for it daily, forever.
Places
The geography of Greek myth — the mountain, the maze, and the country under the earth.
- The UnderworldUN-der-wurldThe country under the earth — not a hell, but a destination, with regions for every kind of life.
- The River StyxSTIKSThe river the gods swear by, where an oath broken costs a god nine years of silence.
- TartarusTAR-tuh-rusThe pit beneath the Underworld — as far below Hades as the earth is below the sky.
- Elysiumih-LIZH-ee-umThe part of the afterlife with sunlight — reserved for heroes, and for those the gods simply liked.
- The LabyrinthLAB-uh-rinthThe maze under Knossos, built so well its own architect nearly could not escape it.
- Mount Olympusoh-LIM-pusThe home of the twelve gods — a real mountain in Greece, and the address of everything above it.
- The Oracle of DelphiDEL-fyThe most important religious site in Greece, where a priestess answered questions in words that were always true and rarely useful.
- The Garden of the Hesperideshes-PAIR-ih-deezA garden at the western edge of the world where golden apples grew, guarded by nymphs and a hundred-headed dragon.
Objects & creatures
The fleece, the flying horse, the apple that started a war.
- The Golden FleeceGOHL-den FLEESThe hide of a flying ram, guarded by a dragon that never sleeps — and the object an entire crew was assembled to steal.
- PegasusPEG-uh-susThe winged horse born from Medusa's blood, tamed with a golden bridle and eventually set among the stars.
- Pandora's Jarpan-DOR-uhz JARThe container that held every evil — and it was a jar, not a box, until a translator slipped.
- The Golden AppleGOHL-den AP-ulOne piece of fruit inscribed 'to the fairest', and the ten-year war that followed.
- The Lotus-EatersLOH-tus EE-terzAn island where the food makes you forget home — the gentlest trap in the Odyssey, and the hardest to escape.
- CentaursSEN-torzHalf man, half horse, and almost entirely uncivilised — except for the one who taught every hero in Greece.
- SatyrsSAY-terzGoat-legged followers of Dionysus — wine, music, and no interest whatsoever in behaving.
- NymphsNIMFSMinor goddesses bound to a place — a spring, a tree, a mountain — and mortal in the ways that matter most.
- Ambrosia and Nectaram-BROH-zhuh and NEK-tarThe food and drink of the gods — what makes them deathless, and what kills a mortal who takes too much.
- The AegisEE-jisZeus's storm-shield, worn by Athena with Medusa's head on it — and the reason we say we are under someone's aegis.
- The TridentTRY-dentPoseidon's three-pronged spear — a fishing tool scaled up until it could split the earth open.
- The Helm of Darknesshelm of DARK-nisThe helmet that makes its wearer unseeable — the least famous of the three great weapons, and arguably the most useful.
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