

THi: STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



by her to the Greeks. Next to Hector, he was the bravest 

 among the Trojans. On the capture of 1'my by tin- 

 Greeks he was slain and fearfully mangled by Menelaus. 



De'lius. A name of Apollo, from the island m which 

 he was born. The name Delia has been traced to this 

 origin. 



Del'phi. A town on Mount Parnassus, famous for its 

 oracle, and for a temple of Apollo. 



Del'phos. The place where the temple was built 

 from which the oracle of Apollo was given. 



Deme'ter. The mother of Persephone, who was 

 evidently a goddess of the earth, whom some ancient 

 system married to Zeus, the god of the heavens. 



l>i- ino^or'iron. The tyrant irt-nius of the soil or 

 earth, the life and support of plants. He was depicted 

 as an old man covered with moss, and was said to live 

 underground. 



Deo. A name sometimes applied to Ceres. 



Den. ti-. \ Syrian goddess who corresponds to 

 Dagon of the Phil,- 



l>i;in a. An ancient Italian divinity, whom the Ro- 

 mans identified with the Creek Artemis. Her worship 

 is said to have been introduced at Rome by Servius 

 Tullius. who dedicated a temple to her on the Aventine. 

 At Home Diana was the goddess of light. She was a 

 daughter of Jupiter, and was born of Latona, or Leto, j 

 on the island Delos, at the same time with Apollo. As in 

 A i xil li the sun was deified and adored; so was the moon 

 in Diana. 



Dlctyn'na. A Greek name of Diana. The name is 

 connected with a Greek word meaning hunting-net, and 

 refers to Diana as huntress. 



Di'do. She was daughter of the Tyrian King Belus, 

 and sister of Pygmalion, who succeeded to the crown 

 after the death of his father. Dido was married to her 

 wealthy uncle Acerbas, who was murdered by Pyg- j 

 malion. Dido had vowed eternal fidelity to her late 

 husband, and under pretense of soothing' the manes of 

 Acerbas by sacrifices, she erected a funeral pile, on which 

 she stabbed herself in presence of her people. After her 

 death she was worshiped by the Carthaginians as a divinity. 



Dike. One of the three guardians of life appointed 

 by Themis, whose names are Eunomia (order). Dike 

 (punishment), Irene (peace). Their joffice was to pro- 

 mote unanimity by the exercise of equity and justice. 

 They likewise stand around the throne of Zeus, and their 

 regular occupation is to open and shut the gates of i 

 heaven, and yoke the steeds to the chariot of the Sun. 



Dind'ymus. A mountain in Phrygia, on the frontiers 

 of Galatia, near the town Pessinus, sacred to Cybele, 

 the mother of the gods, who is hence called Dindymene. 



Di'omed. A Greek hero of the Trojan War, was a 

 son of Tydeus, and became King of Argos. He was a i 

 favorite of Minerva, who, according to Homer, encour- ! 

 aged him to attack and wound both Mars and Venus, 

 who were engaged on the side of the Trojans. 



Diome'des. The cruel tyrant of Thrace, who fed his ! 

 mares on the flesh of his guests, was overcome by Hercules, 

 and was given to the same horses as food. 



Dio'ne. The youngest of the Titan sisters and re- 

 puted mother of Venus. The name has also been poeti- 

 cally applied to Venus, herself. 



Diony'sus. Son of Jupiter and Semele, the daughter 

 of Cadmus. He was the god of wine, and is generally 

 represented crowned with vine leaves. 



Di'rae. The avenging goddesses of Furies. 



Dls. Contracted from Dives, a name sometimes given 

 to Pluto, and hence also to the lower world. 



Dlscor'dia. A malevolent deity corresponding with 

 the Greek "Eris," the goddess of contention. She was 

 driven from Heaven by Jupiter because she sowed dis- 

 sension* among the gods. At the nuptials of Peleus and 

 Thetis she threw an apple among the gods, which was 

 the primary cause of the ruin of Troy, and of infinite 

 misfortunes to the Gr 



Dives. Demons of Persian mythology. According 

 to the Koran, they are ferocious and gigantic spirits 

 under the sovereignty of Eblis. 



Dodo'na. The most ancient oracle was that of Jupi- 

 ter at Dodona, a city of the Molossi, said to have been 

 built by Deucalion. 



Do'nar. A name given, sometimes, to Thor, the 

 thunder-god, in Norse mythology. 



Door'ga. A goddess worshiped among the Hindoos. 



Do ris. Daughter of Oceanus and Thetis, wife of her 

 brother Nereus, and mother of the Nereides. 



Dra'co. One of the hounds of Acteon. 



Draup'nlr. The marvelous ring belonging to Odin, 

 with which he worked magic. It was burned on the 

 funeral pyre of his son Balder. 



Drp'ma. The chain forged for the purpose of bind- 

 ing the Fenris wolf, but which he broke. Hence the 

 proverb, "to dash out of Droma." 



Dry 'ads. Wood nymphs, believed to be sent from 

 heaven. The Dryads were distinguished from the 

 Hamadryads in this, that the latter were supposed to be 

 attached to some particular tree, with which they came 

 into being, lived and died; while the former had the 

 care of the woods and trees in general. 



Ducr'gar. Dwarfs who dwell in rocks and hills; 

 noted for their strength, subtilty, magical powers, and 

 skill in metallurgy. They are the personification of the 

 subterranean powers of nature. 



Dur'ga. In Hindu mythology, the wife of Siva, repre- 

 sented as having ten arms. 



l-'.'acu*. Son of Jupiter and Egina, one of the judges 

 of the infernal regions, who was appointed to judge the 

 Europeans. 



Eb'lis. Among Mohammedans, name given to the 

 prince of fallen angels who refused to worship the man, 

 Adam. 



Echno'bas. One of Actseon's hounds, whose bark 

 rose above all other sounds. 



Ech'o. A nymph who engaged the attention of Juno 

 by her never-ceasing talk, allowing Jupiter his freedom, 

 meanwhile. Juno found out her trick and accordingly 

 punished her. Echo loved Narcissus; as her love was 

 not returned, she pined away until nothing remained 

 but her beautiful voice. In Northern mythology, Echo 

 is the sound of the dwarf's talk. 



Eck'hardt. In German legends, Eckhardt appears 

 on the evening of Maundy Thursday to warn all persons 

 to go home, that they may not be injured by the head- 

 less bodies and two-legged horses which traverse the 

 streets on that night. 



Ee'tion. Wife of Hector and mother of Andromeche. 



Egeon. A giant sea-god, who assisted the Titans 

 against Jupiter. 



Ege'ria A nymph from whom King Numa Pompiliua 

 was fabled to have received his instructions respecting 

 the forms of public worship which he established in 

 Rome. 



E'gia. One of the nine beautiful giantesses seen by 

 Odin along the sea shore, known as wave-maidens. 

 Her son became guardian of Bi-frost, the rainbow 

 bridge. 



E'gil. The Vulcan of Northern mythology, one of 

 the three brothers who married the swan-maidens. He 

 was a great archer and killed his brother, Volund, by 

 command of the king, and himself later became a peasant. 



Egip'ans. Rural deities who inhabited the forests 

 and mountains, the upper half of the body being like 

 that of a man, and the lower half like that of a goat. 



E'gis. Part of the armor of Jupiter used by Minerva 

 as a shield. 



Ei'ra. An attendant of the goddess, Frigga, and a 

 skillful nurse. She gathered herbs and plants for the 

 cure of both sickness and wounds and taught the science 

 to women. 



El'atus. A prominent warrior among the mythical 

 people of Thessaly and the father of Caneus, whom Nep- 

 tune changed into the form of a man. 



El'begast. One of the dwarfs of Scandinavian myth- 

 ology who dwelt in a magnificent palace under ground, 

 and drew their servants from the bosom of the earth. 



El'ber-ich. In the German hero legends a dwarf 

 who aided the Lombard Emperor Otnit to win the 

 daughter of the Soldan of Syria. He is identical with 

 the Oberon of French and English fairy mythology. 



Elec'tra. The bright or brilliant one. A daughter 

 of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the sister of 

 Iphigenia. She became the accomplice of Orestes in 

 the murder of their mother. 



Elf. The water sprite, known also as Elb, from 

 which the name of the River Elbe is said to be derived. 

 Elves are more properly known as mountain fairies or 

 those airy creatures that dance on the grass or sit in 

 the leaves of trees and delight in the full moon. 



Eliva'gar. In Norse mythology, the name of a 

 great stream in Chaos, flowing from a fountain in the 

 land of mist. This stream was much frequented by 

 the elves at their creation. 



Ely'sium. The Paradise of the .Greeks, known also 

 as the Happyland. Departed mortals were adjudged to 

 Elysium or to Tartarus by the sentence of Minos and 

 his fellow judges in the "Field of Truth." Elysium is 

 described as adorned with beautiful gardens, meadows, 

 and groves; where birds ever warble; where the River 

 Kridanus winds between banks fringed with laurel, and 

 "divine Lethe" glides in a quiet valley; where the air 

 is always pure, and the day serene; where the blessed 

 have their delightful abode. 



Em'bla. An elm tree found in human form, by the 

 gods, according to Northern mythology. 



Empyre'an. A term used by the ancients to ex- 

 press the highest heaven, where the blessed enjoy the 



