HERMES

 Greek The winged messenger of the Greek gods; son of ZEUS and MAIA (1). Hermes is also associated with fertility, and is god of flocks, roads, trading, and thieves. Hermes was the inventor of the lyre and the guide of souls on the way to HADES. He was the father of many, including AUTOLYCUS, DAPH-NIS, and HERMAPHRODITUS. In Roman mythology, he is known as MERCURY.

Archaic artists portrayed Hermes as a bearded man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and winged sandals, and carrying a herald’s staff. From the fifth century B.C. on, artisans showed him as a nude and beardless young man, typical of an accomplished athlete.

The earliest center of Hermes’ cult was ARCADIA, where he was worshiped as a god of fertility with phallic images called hermae (hermai). These were heaps of stones set up by the ancient Greeks to mark boundaries or distances along roads. With the devel-opment of artistic taste, in the fifth century B.C. these crude piles became pillars crowned with the head of Hermes. In cities the hermae were erected at street corners and at the doors of houses.

The Childhood of Hermes Hermes, son of Zeus and Maia, was born in a cave in Mount Cyllene, in Arcadia. He grew miraculously fast, and soon after his birth he was able to walk out of the cave, kill a tortoise, and make the first lyre from its shell.

To complete the lyre, Hermes needed strings. He stole a herd of cows belonging to APOLLO by making them walk backward so that their tracks would lead Apollo in the wrong direction. He killed the cows and made strings for the lyre from their guts.

When Apollo finally discovered the thief (now back in his cradle), he brought Hermes before his father, Zeus. Zeus was more amused than angry at his infant son, and when Hermes produced the lyre and played it, even Apollo was charmed and offered the rest of his flock to Hermes in return for it.

Apollo also gave Hermes his CADUCEUS, a herald’s staff of gold. Hades instructed Hermes to lay the golden staff on the eyes of the dying and lead them gently to the realm of the dead.

Some accounts say that Apollo taught Hermes how to prophesy, ARTEMIS taught him to hunt, and PAN taught him to play the pipes. Hermes was undoubtedly a favorite with the gods.

HERO AND LEANDER Greek The subjects of a tragic love story. Hero was a priestess of APHRODITE. Leander, a young man from Abydos, Mysia, in ASIA MINOR, was her lover. He swam across the HEL-

LESPONT every night, guided by her light. One stormy night, the flame blew out and Leander drowned. In her grief, Hero cast herself into the waves to be with him and perished. The story has been the subject of many literary works, including a long poem, Hero and Leander, by Christopher Marlowe (1564–1593).

HESIOD Greek Poet whose work is usually dated between 800 and 700 B.C. Hesiod was a poor farmer. His poem Works and Days gives us a vivid picture of everyday life in ancient GREECE as it was lived by ordinary people, as opposed to the adventurers and courtiers of HOMER’s ILIAD and ODYSSEY. Hesiod’s Theogony is concerned with mythology; it describes the Greeks’ beliefs about creation, the universe, and the genealogy of the gods and goddesses. Hesiod also tells about sinister aspects of religion, such as witchcraft and human sacrifices. Both poems are invaluable sources for the study of Greek religion and mythology.

HESIONE Greek Daughter of LAOMEDON, king of TROY; sister of PRIAM. Laomedon offered Hesione as sacrifice to a sea monster to appease the gods POSEI-DON and APOLLO. HERACLES slew the monster and gave Hesione in marriage to TELAMON, with whom she bore a son, TEUCER. Hesione’s brother, Priam, now king of Troy, demanded her return. The refusal of the Greeks to return Hesione to her Trojan home was said to have caused some of the ill feeling that eventually led to the war between GREECE and Troy (see the TROJAN WAR).

HESPERIA Greek A DRYAD, or wood NYMPH; one of the sisters known as the HESPERIDES; either the daughters of EREBUS (Darkness) and NYx (Night) or the daughters of ATLAS and PLEIONE or Hesperis. Her sisters, those named by people writing during the classic age of Greek mythology, were AEGLE (2), ARETHUSA, and ERYTHEIA.

HESPERIDES (Daughters of the West) Greek The DRYADS, or wood NYMPHS; sisters, who lived in the beautiful garden on the western edge of the world and helped guard the tree that grew the golden apples of the goddess HERA. They were the daughters of EREBUS (Darkness) and NYx (Night) or the daughters of ATLAS and PLEIONE or Hesperis. Some sources say there were seven sisters, others three or four. Those who are named in Greek poetry are AEGLE (2), ERYTHEIA, HESPERIA, and ARETHUSA.

Hera suspected the Hesperides of being as likely to steal the apples as guard them, so she also put the dragon LADON in the garden to guard her treasure.

In his 12th labor, the hero HERACLES stole the apples either himself or by sending ATLAS to do the work.

HEsTiA (HEARTH) Greek Goddess of the hearth and fire; eldest daughter of CRONUS and RHEA; sister of ZEUS and HERA; one of the 12 OLYMPLAN LODS. Gentle, peace-loving, and pure, Hestia kept away from all disputes. She was the embodiment of a sacred principle—the household fire—and much honored as such, though there are few surviving stories about her.

Hestia and the Hearth It was a difficult task for primitive people to make and preserve fire. They tended the hearth with care and honored it as a source of power. When a member of the family left home, he or she carried a glowing ember from the hearth, thus symbolizing the continuity of the family. When groups of people began to form vil­lages and then towns, each community had a public hearth (prytaneum) where the fire was maintained. In later days, the fire of the public hearth was used

in religious sacrifices and took on a sacred character. Eventually, the character of the hestia was personified as the deity Hestia.

Hestia and Priapus The hearth was the center of domestic life in early GREECE. Hestia represented personal security and happiness and the sacred duty of hospitality. One story emphasizes the importance of the hearth as a symbol of hospitality and protection.

One day, at a rustic feast, the drunken god PRLAPUS assaulted Hestia. The guests were extremely angry and drove Priapus away. This anecdote represents a warning against the ill-treatment of guests, par-ticularly women, who are under the protection of the domestic or public hearth.

HippoDAMEiA Greek The daughter of King OENOMAUS, who lost her in a chariot race to PELOPS. Hippodameia and Pelops became the parents of ATREUS and THYESTES.

HippoLyTA Greek Queen of the AMAzONS; daugh-ter of ARES; wife of THESEUS; mother of Hippolytus.

The hero HERACLEs stole her girdle as part of his ninth great labor. Heracles had been accompanied on this exploit by Theseus, king of ATHENs. Hippolyta and the Amazons attacked Athens, but Theseus defeated them and made Hippolyta his wife. She bore him a son, Hippolytus. According to some legends, however, Heracles murdered Hippolyta.

HOMER Greek The great poet of ancient GREECE to whom the epic poems the iliAD and the oDys-sEy are usually attributed. Although he is Greece’s most famous name, hardly anything is known about Homer. His birthdate is estimated between 1050 and 750 B.C. His birthplace is not known, though the island of Chios, off the coast of Ionia, in AsIA MINoR, is a likely location according to references in the poems. Some say that the work of Homer may have been a kind of anthology of ancient writings that Homer gathered together with great genius and poetical unity. Other scholars say that the Iliad and the Odyssey were the work of a single poet, developed from older legendary material.

A second century B.C. Greek artist sculpted a bust of a man believed to be Homer, and a Roman artist copied the bust in the second century A.D. It stands in the Louvre in Paris. (Photograph by Hay Kranen.)

Whatever the origins of the poet, the poems had a tremendous influence on the Greeks, providing them with an elementary education in their mythology. Homer’s works have been of enormous value to his-torians, archaeologists, and students of comparative religion. His stories preserve the social and religious customs of the late Bronze Age Achaeans who invaded TRoY (3000 B.C.). After the fall of the Achaeans, there were three or four centuries of “darkness” until the great flowering of culture in the fifth century B.C. known as Classical Greece.

HONOS Roman God of honor, chivalry, and justice, particularly as displayed by soldiers. Honos was often called upon for support in military conflicts, often in prayers also offered to the goddess VIRTus.

Temples were built in his honor by leaders after successful battles against enemies. One stood in the city of Pompeii. On coins, Honos was often pictured as a young man carrying a spear and a CoRNuCoPIA.

HORAE Greek Daughters of ZEus and THEMIs; goddesses of the seasons. According to HEsIoD, there were three Horae: EIRENE (Peace), DIKE (Justice), and EuNoMIA (Order). The names and numbers of the Horae differed from place to place in ancient GREECE. The Horae, goddesses of flowers and fruits, controlled the four seasons, watched over agriculture, and had many names, including Thallo (flowers) and Carpo (fruits). Artwork showed them as beautiful maidens, often in the company of the graces in the retinue of the love goddess APHRoDITE. They were especially tender toward children.

HOUSEHOLD GODS Roman Throughout an-cient RoME, people believed in a variety of gods that influenced their home lives. In their homes were small altars to these gods. They performed small rituals to honor the household gods. In fact, some modern scholars suggest that the Roman cultures maintained familiar rituals from generation to generation without remembering their origins and in later times developed myths to explain these practices. The stories of these lesser gods may have been borrowed from nearby cultures to explain these Roman domestic rituals.

The most prominent among the household gods were the LAREs and the PENATEs. Each home had its own Lar, a spirit, originally a revered ancestor, that watched over the house and brought prosperity to the family. Homes typically had small shrines in them which included a statue that represented the

Lar. Family members placed a portion of each meal on this shrine, a token of thanks for the protection the Lar brought.

Two Penates dwelled in each home, protecting the storeroom or food cupboard from pests, molds, and thieves. Families recognized a certain spot on the hearth, near the family’s fire, where the Penates lived, and believed that these two spirits joined them at their table for every meal.

Doorways were particularly important to Roman citizens. The comings and goings of the family and the community represented opportunities for both success and danger. The greatest god of the doorway was JANUS, the two-faced god who could see forward and backward, in toward the home and out toward the community. He eventually became a prominent god in Roman society. Janus was joined in his service to the threshold by Limentinus, Lima, CARDEA, and Forculus.

VESTA, the goddess of the hearth and protector of the fire, like Janus, became a prominent Roman deity. In the home, Vesta watched over baking and food preparation. Here it was the younger daughters’ responsibility to watch over the fire. A portion of each meal was also dedicated to Vesta.

Even the tools of the household had forces pro-tecting them and watching over their users. Devera, for example, was the goddess of brooms, who was called upon to help clean the home for rituals and for welcoming a new child.

HYACINTHUS Greek A young man loved by the Greek god APOLLO; son of Amyclas, a Spartan king, and Diomede, or of Pierus and Clio, the MUSE. ZEPHYRUS, the West Wind, killed him with a flying disc. Apollo created a fragrant flower, the hyacinth, in honor of his friend.

Hyacinthus was an ancient, pre-Hellenic fertility god, whose worship was absorbed by Apollo’s cult in later years when the HELLENES were invaded by migratory tribes. Followers held a three-day festival, the Hyacinthia, at SPARTA in honor of the god, where boys and girls participated in games, competitions, sacrifices, and various entertainments.

HYDRA (Water Creature) Greek A many-headed serpent, the offspring of ECHIDNA and TYPHON. When one head was chopped off, another grew in its place. The second labor of HERACLES was to kill the dreaded serpent. Hydra’s blood was venomous. Arrows or garments dipped in it killed CHIRON, the CENTAUR; NESSUS; and PHILOCTETES.

HYGEIA (HyGiEiA; Health) Greek Goddess of physical and mental health. According to some leg-ends, Hygeia is a daughter of ASCLEPIUS, god of medicine, and granddaughter of APOLLO. Her sisters were AEGLE (1) (Brightness), PANACEA (All-healing), and Iaso (Healthy). Her brothers were Machaon, a surgeon, and Podalirius, a general practitioner. Hygeia is most often portrayed in the company of her father or her sisters. Sculptors show her wearing a long robe and feeding a huge snake from a cup. The word hygiene derives from this goddess’s name, and the symbol of Hygeia’s snake combined with her father’s scepter form the modern symbol of the medical profession, the CADUCEUS.

See also SALUS.

HYPERION (The One Above) Greek One of the TITANS; son of URANUS and GAIA; father with THEIA of HELIOS, SELENE, and EOS (the Sun, the Moon, and Dawn). Hyperion is sometimes used as the name for the Sun itself. Earlier mythologies name Helios as the Sun. In some accounts, Hyperion, like Helios, is identified with APOLLO.

See also EURYLOCHUS and ODYSSEUS.

HYPNOS (Sleep) Greek The personification of sleep and the twin brother of THANATOS (Death); the son of NYx (Night) and EREBUS (Darkness).

Hypnos had power over mortals and gods and put them to sleep by sprinkling over them water from a twig or juice from a horn. Poets, such as the Greek HOMER and the Roman VIRGIL, gave him more characteristics than he has in records of religious practices.

The Romans gave Hypnos the name Somnus as Greek mythology influenced Roman religion.

iApetusAcheLous GreekIn A Grek first mthology, generation TITAN; son of URANuS and GAIA. Iapetus married CLYMENE, a daughter of his brother OCEANuS, and with her was father of four brothers, second-generation Titans: ATLAS, PROMETHEuS, EPIMETHEuS, and a lesser known son, MENOETIuS. The Greeks considered Iapetus the primary ancestor of the human race since it was his son, Prometheus, who was the primary supporter of humans.

When the OLYMPIAN GODS fought the Titans, ZEuS threw Iapetus down to TARTARuS, a realm even deeper down and farther away from the Earth than was HADES, the realm of the dead. According to one Greek poet, the gods put an island on top of Iapetus to keep him from escaping.

icArus Greek Son of the great inventor DAE-DALuS. When Daedalus wanted to escape from the island of CRETE, where he was being held prisoner by King MINOS, he invented and crafted wings from the feathers of birds, held together by wax. He and Icarus took flight, but Icarus ignored the warnings of his father and flew too near the Sun. The heat of the Sun melted the wax, and Icarus’s wings fell apart. Icarus plummeted into the sea and drowned.

The Icarian Sea, a part of the Aegean Sea between Turkey and the Greek islands of Patmos and Leros, is named after him.

idA (1) Greek The NYMPH who with her sister, ADRASTIA, and the goat-nymph, AMALTHEA, tended the infant god ZEuS on Mount IDA (2) in CRETE.

idA (2) Greek Mountain in the center of CRETE, associated with the childhood of ZEuS.

idA (3) Greek A mountain range in Mysia, north-west ASIA MINOR. It was from here that ZEuS seized the beautiful youth GANYMEDE and took him to OLYMPuS

to be a cupbearer to the gods. It was the scene of the Judgment of Paris (see under PARIS). From here, the gods watched the battles of TROY during the TROJAN WAR.

iLiAd Greek The name of the epic poem by HOMER, who is thought to have lived during the eighth century B.C. The name derives from Ilion, one of the names for TROY, an ancient city on the northwestern tip of ASIA MINOR.

The 24 books of the Iliad tell of the last few days of the TROJAN WAR, focusing especially on the Greek hero ACHILLES, who withdrew from the conflict, causing severe setbacks to the Greeks. However, Achilles rejoined the war, and slew HECTOR, the hero of the Trojans. The Iliad also tells of other leaders of the Greeks, such as ODYSSEuS, DIOMEDES (1), AJAx (1), and MENELAuS, who was the leader of the Achae-ans. It does not tell of the beginning of the Trojan War, which was supposed to have been caused by the abduction of HELEN, a Spartan princess, by the Trojan PARIS. Homer never calls the victors of the Trojan war “Greeks.” That was a name the Romans later gave to the people of the peninsula in southern Europe that would eventually become the nation of GREECE.

The Iliad tells not only of the war but of the peace-ful lives of shepherds, fishermen, and woodcutters of an era that is now supposed by historians and archae-ologists to have been between 1200 and 1300 B.C.

According to many scholars, the Iliad is one of the greatest works of literature, and certainly the earli-est. Achilles is the first hero of Western literature. The poem tells of petty rages and jealousies, but also speaks of heroism and nobility in a memorable narrative.

iLium (iliA) Greek Another name for TROY. In Greek legend, Ilus, son of Tros by CALLIRHOË, was the founder of Ilium, which was also called Tros or

Troy after his father. The iliAD by HOMER, means “about Troy.”

INCUBUS Roman In folklore and very early reli-gious beliefs, an evil spirit or devil that came out at night and sat on the chests of sleeping people. People believed an incubus caused nightmares and had intercourse with sleeping women.

INDIGETES (Dii iNDiGiTEs) Roman Apparently, lesser gods of the many people who inhabited Central Italy in the seventh and early sixth centuries B.c. These gods were numerous and responsible for specific aspects of life, some governing the individual, some the household, some the land and farming, and some the city of ROME itself. Many of these deities received names that indicated their functions, usually verbs in the original languages of the people who first wor-shipped them. Others were referred to on monuments by group names or functions, but these collective gods appear to have been as important to the early Romans as the gods who received names.

The worship of these gods continued for centu­ries, their names and functions carried on as cultures merged. Centuries after the earliest surviving men­tions of them were created, Roman historians, such as VIRGIL, who lived from 70-19 B.c., early Christian writers, such as Augustus of Hippo (Saint Augustine), who lived from A.D. 354-430, and writers from Near East cultures, mention them, by name or as indigetes, but in ways that do not make their origins or func-tions clear to modern audiences. That references to so many of these minor gods survived indicates to many experts the importance of the roles these gods played in daily life and the development of the Roman society.

Modern scholars have worked to sort out the origins of these gods. They disagree over the meaning of the term indigete as it would have been used in the sixth century B.c. That disagreement has been taking place since at least the 1920s. Using linguistics and language studies, some scholars have tried to decipher the meaning of the word indigete itself. Other scholars have used the works of the poets and historians and carvings on monuments and markers from across the Roman Empire to decipher just who these gods were and the roles they played in people’s lives.

Today, scholars seem to agree that too little is known to state absolutely who the indigetes were. Beyond that agreement, though, there are differing opinions. Some experts say the indigetes were ancestors that people worshipped after their deaths. Others modify that and

say that the indigetes were the great heroes who people later deified, or worshipped as gods, such as AENEAS, the hero from TROY, who settled in Italy.

Others argue that the indigetes were HOUSEHOLD GODS or PERSONAL GODS who directed the daily lives of individuals. In this view, even the greater Roman gods, such as JANUS and CERES, began as personal gods. As the Roman society grew and merged with other cultures, many, but not all, of these gods took on more roles and prominence and moved from their influence on individuals to influence on all of society.

Still others argue that classical Roman authors used the term dii indigites to distinguish the many personal gods from the dii novensiles, or newcomer gods, particularly those brought to the Italian penin-sula by Greek colonists. Some argue more specifically that the indigetes were the group of gods named in one of the oldest recovered calendars of Roman festivals, inscribed in a stucco wall sometime in the sixth century B.c. and discovered by archaeologists in the early 20th century.

See also AGRIcULTURAL GODS; HOUSEHOLD GODS; PERSONAL GODS; STATE GODS.

INo Greek Daughter of CADMUS and HARMO-NIA; sister of Agave, Antonoë, and SEMELE; wife of ATHAMAS. Ino was a moon goddess and a corn god-dess. She is important in the legend of JASON and the ARGONAUTS as the second wife of ATHAMAS.

Ino hated her stepson PHRIxUS, the firstborn of Athamas and NEPHELE. Ino, as a corn goddess, per-suaded the women of BOEOTIA to roast the corn seeds secretly before sowing them, so that no new corn would grow from the dead seeds. She then bribed an ORAcLE to tell Athamas that Phrixus must be sacrificed to the corn goddess to make the barren fields fertile. Terrified, Athamas agreed to the sacrifice. The winged ram that wore a GOLDEN FLEEcE rescued Phrixus.

Ino and her husband, Athamas, took care of the infant DIONYSUS (son of Ino’s sister Semele), which earned them the gratitude of ZEUS (father of Diony-sus) but the wrath of HERA (wife of Zeus), who visited madness on both Ino and Athamas.

Io Greek The beautiful daughter of the river god Inachus, and a priestess of HERA. Hera’s husband, the great god ZEUS, fell in love with Io. To protect Io from the wrath and jealousy of Hera, Zeus changed Io into a pretty white heifer (a young cow). Hera was not deceived. She asked Zeus for the heifer and Zeus was forced to hand over Io. Hera put Io under the

care of the hundred-eyed ARGUS (1), who watched her night and day, for his eyes never closed.

Stricken with remorse, Zeus sent the god HERMES to rescue Io. Hermes told long stories and sang songs until all the eyes of Argus closed in sleep. Then Hermes cut off the monster’s head and released Io. Io fled, but Hera, still jealous, sent a gadfly to torment her. Io eventually reached Egypt, where at last she became a woman again and bore Zeus a son, EPAPHUS.

It is said that the Ionian Sea is named after Io, for she swam across it. The Bosporus, a narrow strait between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, is also named after her. (Bosporus means “cow ford,” a crossing for cows.)

Some say that the strange story of Io had its origin in pre-Hellenic religion, when perhaps Io was a moon goddess. It is said that moon goddesses wore horns, as Io did as a heifer. Some accounts say that Io was but one aspect of the goddess Hera, ancient EARTH MOTHER, often described as “ox-eyed.”

IOLAUS Greek The son of IPHICLES (halfbrother of HERACLES). Iolaus was the constant companion of Heracles and also his charioteer. Iolaus helped Heracles slay the HYDRA.

IOLCUS Greek A town in Magnesia, a region of THESSALY. In Greek mythology, it was the home of PELIAS and JASON, and the starting point for the expe-dition of the ARGONAUTS in search of the GOLDEN FLEECE.

IOLE Greek Daughter of EURYTUS, king of Oechalia. HERACLES loved Iole. It was because of this love affair that DEIANIRA, Heracles’ wife, unwittingly caused her husband’s death by administering to him what she thought was a love potion but which was actually poison. After Heracles’ death, Iole married his son, Hyllus.

IPHICLES Greek Halfbrother of the hero HERA-CLES; son of AMPHITRYON, a prince of TIRYNS, and his wife, ALCMENE, who was a daughter of the king of MYCENAE; husband to Automedusa, and later, to the youngest daughter of King Creon of THESES.

Heracles’ mother was also Alcmene but his father was the great god ZEUS. The brothers were born on the same day, leading some writers to call them twins.

However, the boys were conceived a night apart, after Zeus disguised himself as Amphitryon and slept with their mother, the night before Amphitryon returned from war and conceived Iphicles.

Iphicles proved himself mortal when, in his first test in life as an infant, he was frightened, unlike his brother. One night, as the two babies slept, HERA, wife of Zeus, or according to some, Amphitryon himself, put a snake in their room. Iphicles cowered in terror and Heracles fought and killed the snake.

Iphicles was with Heracles when the hero went mad and began killing family members. Iphicles managed to save his eldest son, IOLAUS, and Heracle’s wife, MEGARA (2), but two of Iolaus’s children and two of Heracle’s children died at Heracle’s hands. Iphicles accompanied his brother on several of his 12 great labors. He also fought in the CALYDONIAN BOAR HUNT and at Heracle’s side in TROY, when the hero rescued King LAOMEDON’s daughter, whom the ocean god POSEIDON had demanded as a sacrifice. Iphicles died in Troy.

IPHIGENIA Greek Daughter of CLYTEMNESTRA and AGAMEMNON, king of MYCENAE and leader of the Greek forces in the TROJAN WAR; sister of ELECTRA and ORESTES. Agamemnon sacrificed Iphigenia to placate the goddess ARTEMIS, whom he had offended, and to ensure by this sacrifice fair winds on the voyage to TROY. Greek tragedians, notably SOPHOCLES and EURIPIDES, cited the death of Iphigenia as as motive for the murder of Agamemnon by Clytemnestra.

IRIS Greek Messenger of the gods, especially of ZEUS, and a devoted attendant of HERA. Iris personifies the rainbow, a path, it was said, that she often trav-eled. Daughter of the TITAN THAUMUS; sister of the HARPIES.

IXION Greek King of the LAPITHS in THESSALY, the largest ancient region of north-central GREECE. Ixion fell in love with HERA, wife of the god ZEUS. Angry at the advances of Ixion to his wife, Zeus tricked Ixion by creating a cloud, NEPHELE, in the likeness of Hera. Ixion made love to the cloud and from the union was born CENTAURUS, the ancestor of the CENTAURS. Zeus then hurled a thunderbolt at Ixion and had him tied to a fiery wheel, condemned to whirl forever through the heavens.

The poet OvID saw Ixion as symbolic of sensuality.

jAnusAcheLous (ianus) In Greek Roman mtholoy, One of the principal Roman gods and one of the oldest. Janus was the guardian of gates and doors, and as such his name is used in the name of the month of January, the gate-way to the year. He is depicted as being two-faced or two-headed: One of his faces looks forward, into the future; the other looks backward, into the past. Janus was the opener and closer of all things. His name was mentioned in prayers even before that of JUPITER.

The people of ROME dedicated a shrine to Janus in the Forum. The doors to this shrine were opened only in time of war to allow the warriors to march forward into battle.

The chief festival of Janus was on New Year’s Day.

jAson (iasOn) Greek The hero of one of the most famous Greek legends, often known as “Jason and the GOLDEN FLEECE,” or “Jason and the ARGO-NAUTS.” Jason was the son of AESON, king of IOLCUS, in THESSALY, and of Queen Alcimede. When PELIAS, the half-brother of Aeson, deposed Aeson and claimed the throne of Iolcus, threatening to kill any who disputed his claim, Jason, the heir to the throne, was smuggled away from the kingdom and put into the care of CHIRON, the gentle CENTAUR.

After many years, Jason made his way back to Iol-cus to regain his kingdom. On his way, he helped an old woman by carrying her across a river. He lost one of his sandals in the stream but earned the gratitude of the woman, who was the goddess HERA in disguise. Hera would always be an ally of Jason.

Pelias had been warned by an ORACLE to beware of a man wearing one sandal. When Jason appeared with one bare foot, Pelias sent him on an expedition to find the Golden Fleece, knowing it was unlikely that Jason would ever return. However, Jason came back triumphant. As well as the fleece, Jason also brought with him the sorceress-queen MEDEA, who brought him disaster after he deserted her for Glauca.

Jason lived a lonely and unhappy life, wandering about from place to place, until he finally died under the prow of his ship, the ARGO.

Jason and the Argonauts Jason was the hero of this, one of the most famous Greek myths. Pelias, who had usurped the kingdom of Iolcus, sent Jason to capture the Golden Fleece, a quest from which he thought Jason would never return.

However, Jason had won the favor of the god-desses Hera and ATHENE. With their help, Jason built the fabled ship Argo, which had 50 oars. He recruited 50 remarkable people called the Argonauts. They included one woman, ATALANTA; HERACLES, the strongest man who ever lived; ORPHEUS, the poet from THRACE who could sing more sweetly than the SIRENS; and CASTOR AND POLLUX, brothers of HELEN. They set sail for the Black Sea where legend said the Golden Fleece was hidden.

After many adventures, the Argonauts reached the kingdom ruled by AEETES. The king, whose help the Argonauts needed, imposed seemingly impossible tasks upon Jason. One was to harness fire-breathing BULLS with brazen feet and plow a field. Then he was to sow the plowed field with dragons’ teeth, from which would spring fully armed warriors. Fortunately for Jason, Medea, daughter of Aeetes, had fallen in love with him. She used her powers as a sorceress to help him. Jason mastered the bulls, and when the armed men sprang from the dragons’ teeth, Jason did what CADMUS had done before him: he threw a stone into the midst of the warriors, who accused each other of throwing the stone. They fought among themselves until all were dead.

Medea then led Jason to the place where the Golden Fleece hung, guarded by a terrible dragon. Using a magic potion, Medea put the dragon to sleep, allowing Jason to secure the precious trophy.

Jason and the Argonauts went to sea, accompanied by Medea, and pursued by King Aeetes. Medea slew her brother, AsSYRTUS, who had accompanied them.

She cut his body into pieces and flung them into the sea and onto the surrounding land, knowing that Aeetes would gather up the dismembered pieces of his son’s body to give them a ceremonial burial. Thus the Argonauts escaped with the Golden Fleece, and returned it to Iolcus.

JUNO (iuNO) Roman An old goddess among the Roman people who became one of the principal dei-ties of ancient ROME. In her earliest traditions, Juno was a goddess of the Moon and seen as the queen of the heavens. She was very important to women and protected them during childbirth. Married and unmarried women celebrated her great festival, the Matronalia, on March 1. Juno developed great status in Roman society and, with JUPITER and MINERVA, became part of the supreme trio of the state religions. (Juno and Minerva replaced MARS and QUIRINUS, who were part of an older supreme trio with Jupiter.) In 509 s.c., the people of Rome dedicated a great temple to Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva on the Capitoline Hill. As the empire grew, people built temples to them throughout the conquered territories.

Juno developed great cult status in Rome. Her name is joined with a variety of titles that show her special functions in society. Juno Lucina was the bringer of light. Juno Moneta was the goddess of helpful counsel to whom the Romans dedicated a mint; the word money comes from this name for Juno. Rome’s leaders turned to her to support their wars and to help them on diplomatic missions. Juno accompanied colonists as they moved into new lands behind the Roman armies.

The month of June is named after Juno.

JUPITER (iupiTER; JOvE) (Jove) Roman The supreme god of the Roman PANTHEON; son of SATURN and OPS; husband of JUNO. Jupiter was an ancient sky god of LATIUM, in central Italy, before the rise of Roman power. He was master of thunder, lightning, rain, and light, and also the giver of victory and peace. Jupiter was the special protector of ROME. Eventually, he became the supreme god of the Romans.

Jupiter was the principal god of the two divine trios worshiped by the Romans. The older trio, Jupi­ter, MARS, and QUIRINUS, were worshiped in the early years of Rome as a regional power. As Rome grew to a republic and a great military power in the Mediter-ranean, the religion changed and people worshiped Jupiter as the most powerful member of the supreme trio that included Juno and MINERVA.

Romans built great temples to Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill.

Jupiter is also the name of the largest planet in our SOLAR SYSTEM.

JUSTITIA (iusTiTiA; Justice) Roman The goddess of justice; some say a mere personification of the legal concept of fairness. Justitia was often portrayed as blindfolded so that she was not swayed by what she saw, and carrying scales in her hands to weigh each side of a disagreement.

Some sources say that the Roman emperor Augus-tus introduced a cult to Justitia in ROME in 13 s.c., at the same time that he introduced the goddesses SALUS (Public Welfare), CONcORDIA (Harmony), and PAX (Peace), to inspire in his people the traits he wanted society to have. Other sources say that Justitia, like the Greek goddess ASTRAEA, was the last of the great gods to dwell among humans, but when their conflicts became too fierce and her influence too weak, Justitia fled to the heavens where she became the constellation VIRGO.

JUTURNA (iuTuRNA) Roman An ancient goddess of springs and fountains. In her earliest forms, Juturna was worshiped most notably on the banks of the river Numicius, which flowed near the city of Lavinium, founded by the Trojan hero AENEAS after he settled in Italy. She also provided protection against fire.

According to some legends, Juturna was the sister of TURNUS, king of the RUTULI people, and fought with her brother against Aeneas for the love of LAVINIA. In her own story, Juturna became the love interest of JUPITER, supreme Roman god, who granted her immortality and reign over small bodies of water.

Some early historians say Juturna was the wife of JANUS, one of the oldest Roman gods, and by him the mother of FONS, the Roman god of springs. Juturna’s cult moved to Rome as the city became an urban center. A famous spring dedicated to her flowed in the Roman Forum near the temples to VESTA and the divine twins, CASTOR AND POLLUX.

JUVENTAS (JuvENTus, iuvENTus) Roman The goddess of youth, especially of youths who had reached the age of wearing adult clothing, which usually began at age 14. Juventas also protected young men who had reached the age of preparing for active military duty, which was typically 17. Juventas appears to be a very old deity in Rome’s religions, for hers is one of the oldest temples built on the Capitoline Hill, a center for religious activities in the oldest part of the city.