GLOSSARY

Abderus (ab’-duh-rus). A skilled horse-tamer, who helped Hercules subdue the mares of Diomedes.

Achelous (ak-eh-lo’-us). A river-god, who wrestled with Hercules for the hand of Deianeira.

Adriatic Sea (ay-dri-at’-ik). An extension of the Mediterranean Sea, between the east coast of Italy and the west coasts of Yugoslavia and Albania.

Aegean Sea (ee-jee’-an). An extension of the Mediterranean Sea, bounded by Asia Minor in the east and Greece in the north and west.

Alcmene (alk-mee’-nee). Wife of King Amphitryon, and mother of Hercules by Zeus.

Amphitryon (am-fit’-ri-on). Exiled King of Mycenae and mortal husband of Hercules’ mother.

Antaeus (an-tee’-us). King of Libya, born of Mother Earth, who won all his wrestling contests with strangers because he gained strength every time he touched the ground.

Apollo (a-pol’-o). God of light and healing.

Ares (air’-eez). God of war.

Artemis (ar’-te-mis). Virgin goddess of hunting and of wild animals.

Athene (a-thee’-nee). Goddess of wisdom and helper of heroes.

Atlas (at’-las). A giant forced by Zeus to support the heavens on his shoulders.

Augeias (aw-jee’-as). King of Elis, whose filthy stables Hercules had to clean.

Centaur (sen’-tawr). A creature that was half horse, half man.

Cerberus (ser’-ber-us). The three-headed watchdog who guarded the entrance to the Underworld.

Ceryneian hind (ser-i-nee’-yan). A lightning-swift deer, sacred to Artemis, caught by Hercules after a year’s chase.

Charon (ker’-on). The ferryman who transported the dead across the river Styx into the Underworld.

Cnossus (nos’-us). A city in ancient Crete; the capital of King Minos.

Copreus (kop’-roos). The herald of King Eurystheus, who conveyed the High King’s commands to Hercules.

Creon (Kree’-on). King of Thebes, the Greek city where Hercules was born.

Deianeira (dee-uh-nigh’-ra). Daughter of King Oeneus and sister of Meleager, who became the wife of Hercules.

Delphi (del’-figh). Site of the most famous Greek oracle, sacred to Apollo.

Diomedes (digh-o-mee’-deez). King of the Bistonians, whose man-eating horses Hercules had to capture.

Eleusinian Mysteries (ee-loo-sin’-i-yan). Ancient Greek religious rites that Hercules learned as a preparation for his descent into the Underworld.

Erginus (er-jigh’-nus). A king of Orchomenus, who conquered the Greek city of Thebes to avenge the death of his father in a chariot race.

Erymanthian boar (er-i-man’-thi-yan). A fierce beast that Hercules captured with the help of Artemis.

Eurystheus (you-ris’-thoos). High King of Mycenae and kinsman of Hercules, for whom he had to perform twelve labors.

Eurytion (you-rit’-i-on). The herdsman of King Geryon.

Geryon (jee-ree’-on). King of Tartessus, in Spain, whose famous cattle Hercules had to capture.

Hades (hay’-deez). King of the Underworld.

Hera (hee’-ra). The queen of heaven and wife of Zeus.

Hercules (her’-cue-leez). A Greek hero of tremendous strength, who performed twelve great labors and after his death became a god.

Hermes (her’-meez). Greek god. Messenger for the other gods.

Hesperides (hes-per’-i-deez). Daughters of Atlas, in whose garden grew the golden apples Hercules had to retrieve.

Hippolyte (hip-ol’-i-tee). Queen of the Amazons, whose golden belt Hercules had to retrieve.

Hyperboreans (high-per-bo’-ri-yans). The people who live at the back of the North Wind.

Iphicles (if’-i-kleez). The twin brother of Hercules.

Laomedon (lay-om’-e-don). King of Troy, whose daughter was rescued from a sea-monster by Hercules.

Megara (meg’-a-ra). The fiancée of Hercules.

Meleager (mel-ee-ay’-jer). Brother of Deianeira and a former shipmate of Hercules, whom he met again in the Underworld.

Minos (migh’-nos). King of Crete, whose realm Hercules freed of a destructive bull.

Mycenae (migh-seé-nee). An ancient Greek city in the Peloponnese, ruled by the High King.

Nemean lion (nee’-me-yan). A destructive beast killed by Hercules.

Nessus (nes’-us). A Centaur, half horse, half man, who gave Deianeira the poison that caused the death of Hercules.

Oeneus (ee’-noos). King of Calydon, and the father of Deianeira.

Olympus (o-lim’-pus). A mountain in Greece and the home of the gods.

Omphale (um-fa’-lee). Queen of Lydia whom Hercules served as a slave for one year after he had finished his twelve labors.

Orchomenus (or-komm’-eh-nus). A Greek city which received annual tribute from the city of Thebes until conquered by Hercules.

Peloponnese (pel’-o-puh-nees’). The southern peninsula of Greece, attached to the mainland by the Isthmus of Corinth.

Persephone (per-sef’-on-nee). Queen of the Underworld.

Perseus (per’-soos). A heroic ancestor of Hercules, famed for killing the Gorgon Medusa, whose head had turned all who looked on it to stone.

Pillars of Hercules. Two large columns built by Hercules—one in Europe and the other in Africa—where the waters of the Mediterranean Sea mingle with those of the Atlantic Ocean.

Poseidon (Po-sigh’-don). God of the sea.

Stymphalian birds (stim-fay’-li-yan). Man-eating birds that Hercules had to drive away as one of his labors.

Tartarus (tar’-ta-rus). The Underworld.

Teiresias (tigh-ree’-si-as). The most famous soothsayer in Greece when Hercules was a child.

Thebes (theebz). An ancient Greek city, where Hercules was born, and also the city he founded in Egypt.

Thermopylae (ther-mop’-i-lee). The stream made permanently hot when Hercules jumped in to escape the burning poison of his garment. A narrow pass nearby was the site of a famous Greek battle with the Persians.

Thespius (thes’-pi-us). The king whose cattle were killed by the Nemean lion and who helped purify Hercules after his madness.

Triple Goddess. The Great Mother Goddess of the Mediterranean basin, who was known by many names. The island of Samothrace was sacred to her.

Zeus (zoos). Supreme ruler of the gods.