Encyclopedia: B - Byzas: Greek mythology, people, places and things of ancient Greece

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B
The uppercase form of the second letter of the Greek alphabet; lowercase: β.
The ancient Greeks did not have lowercase letters in their alphabet; the lowercase letters were not invented until the ninth century CE, i.e. about eleven hundred years ago.
Alpha and Beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, were combined to give us the English word Alphabet.

Babylon
Babylon was the most magnificent and richest city of the ancient world.
The spectacular city straddled the Euphrates River and dominated western Asia from circa 2000-1000 BCE; as the capitol of an ancient empire, this city had no equal in size or material wealth; it was the pinnacle of culture and technical knowledge during the empire’s peak and was noted as the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the World, i.e. The Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
The historian, Herodotus, is thought to have visited Babylon but the details he gave as to the city’s size are thought to be exaggerated; Herodotus said that the walls of Babylon were over 300 feet (91 meters) in height, 85 feet (26 meters) in thickness and were made of bricks bound with asphalt; the city was in the shape of a square approximately 6 miles (10 kilometers) on each side which encompassed an area of 36 square miles (93 square kilometers).
Babylon was divided in half by the Euphrates River which provided for the various necessities required to sustain the enormous population; the city was virtually unassailable and, due to its reputation or its army, had never been captured by an aggressor; when threatened by an enemy, the Babylonians would retreat within their walls with enough supplies to withstand a siege lasting several years; this strategy worked until circa 535 BCE when the city was finally captured by the Persian king, Cyrus the Great.
Cyrus stationed part of his army at the walls of the city where the Euphrates River penetrated the walls and took the remainder of his army upstream to divert the waters of the river so that the level of the water that flowed into the city would be lowered; when the water level was low enough, his army entered the city by means of the dried-up river bed; it was later reported by Aristotle, over a century after Herodotus, that the city was so large that it took two days for many of the Babylonian citizens to realize that the city had been captured.
After this first occupation by a foreign power, Babylon never again regained its independence and was thereafter doomed to be a mere “prize” as opposed to the most spectacular city ever realized in the ancient world.
Approximate East Longitude 44º 24' and North Latitude 32º 33'

Bacchae ¹
The priestesses or female attendants of Bacchus (a.k.a. Dionysos, god of Wine) or the women who took part in the Bacchanalia, i.e. a festival in honor of Bacchus.

Bacchae ²
A tragic play by Euripides; produced posthumously, i.e. circa 406 BCE.
Cast of Characters:
Dionysos (a.k.a. Brominus, Evius and Bacchus)
Teiresias
Kadmos (Cadmus)
Pentheus
Agave
We do not have the complete text of this play and fifty or so lines have been added by various translators.
The play is a tragedy and dramatizes the return of Bacchus (a.k.a. Dionysos, god of Wine to the city of Thebes; the play begins with an optimistic mood but soon devolves into a bloody debacle of revenge and banishment.
Tragedies are supposed to be sad but this play seems to go beyond the bounds of human misery and tread on the borders of perverse wretchedness; during the course of the play, the god Bacchus changes from a displaced and melancholy wanderer into a specter from the darkest reaches of the human soul; to satisfy Bacchus, the founder of Thebes, Kadmos (Cadmus) and his wife Harmonia are turned into serpents and Kadmos’ daughter, Agave is banished because Bacchus induced her to murder her son; all in all a very strange play.
I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene, Euripides V (ISBN 0226307840); you can find this and other plays by Euripides in the 882 section of your local library or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site.

Bacchanalia
A festival in honor of Bacchus (a.k.a. Dionysos, god of Wine) that was fueled by wine which incited frenzy in the participants.
The Bacchanalia was banned by the Romans in the second century BCE because of the depraved and wanton nature of the festivities.

Bacchus

The god of Wine; Bacchus was originally called Dionysos; the son of Zeus and Thyone (a.k.a. Semele).
Dionysos has a page in the Immortals section of this site ... click on his image to view that page.

Bacchylides
bak hee LEE des
A lyric poet from the island of Keos (Ceos) circa 525 BCE.
The term Lyric Poetry is quite literal and designates poetry written to be sung to the accompaniment of the lyre; the lyric poets flourished from roughly 700 BCE until 400 BCE.
Bacchylides was the nephew of Simonides and, perhaps, a contemporary of Pindar; the surviving poems of Bacchylides are somewhat reminiscent of Pindar because both composed numerous victory odes for the winners of athletic games; this type of poetry seems to have been lucrative because patrons would pay poets, such as Pindar and Bacchylides, to laud the athletic achievements of their sons thus earning skillful poets a comfortable living; Bacchylides also has several poems concerning Theseus which are very interesting.
There are several excellent collections of lyric poetry that I can personally recommend; if you want to read a sampling of this poetic style, I suggest 7 Greeks by Guy Davenport or Greek Lyric, an Anthology in Translation by Andrew M. Miller; however, the most complete collection is undoubtedly the three volume collection from the Loeb Classical Library, Greek Lyric, Greek Lyric II and Greek Lyric III; you can sometimes find these books at your local library or you can purchase any of these books from the Book Shop on this site; look in the Poetry section.

Backrush
Palioxis; the Spirit of Flight or Backrush, i.e. as in retreat in battle.
Shield of Herakles, line 154

Bakelas (Bacelas)
The eunuchs who served the Asiatic goddess, Kybele (Cybele).

Bakis (Bacis)
An ancient prophet from Boeotia whose name became synonymous with male seers and prophets.

Baktria (Bactria)
An ancient country in southwestern Asia in the area now known as Balch in northern Afghanistan.
Baktria was conquered by Alexander the Great and ruled after his death as part of the Seleukid (Seleucid) Empire; the area was agriculturally prosperous and extensively developed as a Greek enclave in an otherwise Asian environment; circa 130 BCE the area was overrun by invaders from Iran and all Greek influence ended.

Balios
bah lee OS
Balios and his brother, Xanthos (Xanthus), are the immortal horses of Achilles; both horses are the famed sons of Podarge (Podargus) and Zephyros (West Wind); the third horse in the team was Pedasos but Pedasos was mortal and was killed in the fighting at Troy.
When Patroklos (Patroclus) donned the armor of Achilles and charged into the Trojan defenses, he mounted Achilles’ chariot so that the illusion would be complete; he hoped the Trojans would think that he was actually Achilles and thus retreat in fear; at the same time, Patroklos wanted the Argives to believe that their most valiant warrior had entered the fight and regain their courage; Patroklos soon encountered a son of Zeus named Sarpedon; when Patroklos engaged Sarpedon, he killed Sarpedon’s charioteer, Thrasymelos (Thrasymelus); Sarpedon threw his spear at Patroklos but missed and hit Pedasos in the right shoulder; Pedasos screamed and went down into the dust, dead; one of Patroklos’ companions, Automedon, drew his sword and cut the reins binding Pedasos to Balios and Xanthos and the two immortal horses regained their footing; Patroklos again charged Sarpedon and killed him.
Patroklos continued his charge into the Trojan battle-lines and Balios and Xanthos faithfully carried Patroklos to his death but survived to once again take Achilles into the heat of the battle.
The Liddle and Scott Greek-English Lexicon defines Balios simply as Spotted or Dapple; Xanthos is defined as Yellow and Golden Hair (referring to bay or chestnut horses).
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 8, line 185; book 16, line 149; book 19, lines 400, 405 and 420
Iliad (Fagles), book 8, line 210; book 16, line 178; book 19, lines 473, 478 and 497
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 8, line 211; book 16, line 173; book 19, lines 441, 448 and 467

Balkan Peninsula
The peninsula of southeastern Europe which culminates in the Greek mainland and the Peloponnesian Peninsula; bounded by the Adriatic and Ionian seas on the west, the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas on the south and the Euxine (Black Sea) on the east.

Barathron
A cleft in the rock face behind the Acropolis at Athens into which convicted criminals were thrown to their death.

Barbaros
The Greek word from which we derived our word Barbarian; it literally means, “not Greek.”
The Greeks used the term to denote all foreigners but later writers used it exclusively to refer to the Persians.
It is humorous to note that in the tragedy, The Persians by Aeschylus, the Persians depicted in the play referred to themselves as barbarians.

Barbitos
BAR bee tos
A multi-stringed musical instrument similar to the lyre.
The barbitos was invented in the early seventh century BCE by the lyric poet, Terpander, to counter the low-pitched sounds of the Lydian pektis, i.e. lute; Terpander increased the number of strings from four to seven and brought the barbitos into a new realm of versatility and respectability; the word Barbitos is usually translated as Lyre because the two instruments are assumed to be virtually identical.

Barka (Barca)
An ancient, inland city in Libya west of the city of Kyrene (Cyrene); near the site of modern Al Marj.

Barsine (Stateira)
The sister of the last Persian king, Darius III and the wife of Alexander the Great.
In 325 BCE, after his conquest of India, Alexander returned to the city of Babylon and tried to consolidate his power before going home to Greece; he actively tried to mix the Greeks with the Persians through marriage and shared authority; to demonstrate his intentions, he married Darius’ sister, Barsine; her official name was Barsine but she was generally called Stateira.
Arrian, Campaigns of Alexander, book 7.4

Bassae
A city on the western-central Peloponnesian Peninsula.
The name Bassae means The Glens; a temple of Apollon Epikourios (The Helper) was constructed on the site as early as 625 BCE but several reconstruction projects occurred until the last temple was completed circa 500 BCE; the temple was small (perhaps 25 x 45 feet) and, unlike most Greek temples, was oriented north-south; the Ionic columns of the temple were punctuated by one column with a Corinthian capital which was one of the earliest known examples of this style of column.
The interior of the temple was decorated with a series of friezes depicting the war with the Amazons and the war of the Lapithae against the Centaurs; the ruins of the temple were partly unearthed in 1765 CE but the surviving friezes were not recovered until 1811 CE and sold at auction to the British Museum; the friezes are now on display at the British Museum in a special room and are arranged in a best-guess manner because the original arrangement of the friezes cannot be determined with any certainty.
Pictures of the Bassae Temple Reliefs

Bassarids
Worshipers of Dionysos (Bacchus, god of Wine); the name is derived from the word for Fox; whether this term referred to the dress or the nature of the worshipers is not clear.

Battle of Frogs and Mice
A comic poem usually ascribed to Hesiod or Homer and is usually included in the classification of Homerica; the poem consists of 333 lines and is assumed to date from the seventh century BCE.
The Battle of Frogs and Mice is a delightful parody of the epic battle scenes of The Iliad, complete with speeches and posturing.
After a misunderstanding, the Frogs and Mice don their battle-gear and fight until the Immortals intervene and stop the war; when Zeus asked Athene (Athena) to stop the war she replied that she most certainly would not because during her travels the Mice ruined her clothes by nibbling at them and the Frogs kept her awake all night with their croaking.
The poem is brilliant in its simplicity and truly does comic justice to the epic style; the Battle of Frogs and Mice is included in the Loeb Classical Library volume 57 (ISBN 0674990633); you can sometimes find this book at your local library or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site.

Battle-Noise
Omados or Homados; the Spirit of Tumult or Battle-Noise.
Shield of Herakles, line 155

Battles
Hysminai; the children of Eris (Discord).
Theogony, line 228

Battus (Battos) ¹
BAH tus
The son of Phronime and Polymnestus; the founder of the city of Kyrene (Cyrene) in Libya.
Battus’ mother, Phronime, had come to the island of Thera (now Santorini) because she had been condemned to death by her father, King Etearchus of the city Oaxus on the island of Crete; after arriving on Thera, Phronime became the concubine of a respected man named Polymnestus and Battus was their son.
When the king of Thera, Grinnus, went to Delphi to consult the Oracle of Apollon, the Pythia (priestess of Apollon) told him that he would found a city in Libya; King Grinnus had never heard of a place called Libya and also thought that he was too old to undertake such an ambitious project; Grinnus pointed to Battus and asked that the Pythia lay the command on a younger man and gave no more thought to the Pythia’s words until his island home was plagued by seven years of drought and all but one tree died on Thera.
The story of how Battus set out on his journey to Libya has two different versions:
The Theraean Version - The Theraeans say that after the seven year drought they again consulted the Oracle at Delphi and were again told to settle Libya; not knowing where Libya was, messengers were sent to Crete; they found a man named Korobius (Corobius) who said that he had been to an island called Platea off the coast of Libya and he agreed to lead the Theraeans to it; a small group left Thera and, with the guidance of Korobius, successfully found Platea, they left Korobius on the island with a limited amount of provisions and returned to Thera to bring more colonists; two penteconters were filled with colonists and Battus was appointed to be the king of the new colony.
The Kyrenaean (Cyrenaean) Version - The historian, Herodotus, insists that the child was not originally named Battus but assumed that name after he became an adult; Battus had a speech impediment and the Greek word βαττος means Stammerer; he went to Delphi to seek a cure for his “voice” but the Pythia told him that Apollon wanted him to go to Libya and found a new colony; she addressed him as Battus which was the Libyan word for King; with her prophetic insight, the Pythia knew that the young man who stood before her would establish a successful Theraean colony in Libya, reject the name he was given at birth and assume the name Battus which would identify him as King and also be a subtle allusion to his speech impediment; at Apollon’s command, Battus took two penteconters in search of Libya; after an unsuccessful search, he returned to Thera but the Theraeans would not let the ships into the harbors and demanded that the search continue; this time Battus landed on the island of Platea.
At this point the Theraean and Kyrenaean versions of the colonization of Libya seem to merge; Battus stayed on Platea for two years but nothing good came of their efforts; he sailed to Delphi to ask for help or to be relieved of the obligation of the previous oracle; the Pythia said that Battus had never gotten to Libya and that he should try again.
On this attempt, Battus seemed more determined and actually landed on the shores of Libya; he settled in a place named Aziris and stayed there for six years until the native Libyans declared that they could lead them to a better place to establish the colony; the Libyans were careful not to let the Theraeans see the most bountiful portions of their country and took them to an area called Apollon’s Spring; the land was fertile and the colonists prospered in their new home; circa 630 BCE, the new city was named Kyrene in honor of the nymph of the spring who was the consort of Apollon.
Battus ruled for forty years and was followed to the throne by his son, Arkesilaos (Arcesilaus), who ruled for sixteen years; the descendants of Battus continued to rule Kyrene for eight generations which was in accord with the predictions of the Pythia at Delphi.
Histories, book 4.154-159

Battus (Battos) ²
BAH tus
King Battus the Fortunate of Kyrene (Cyrene) in Libya; he was named after his grandfather, Battus, who founded Kyrene circa 630 BCE.
Battus was the son of Arkesilaos (Arcesilaus) and assumed the throne circa 566 BCE; during the reign of Battus, the Pythia (priestess of Apollon) urged all Greeks to move to Libya and the Kyrenaeans promised a fair distribution of the land to all newcomers; the native Libyans, led by King Adicran, saw their powers being diminished and appealed to King Apries of Egypt to oust the Greeks from Libya; an army was sent and the opposing armies met at spring called Thestes; the Egyptians had no experience with the Greeks and were soundly defeated; as a result, the angry Egyptians revolted against King Apries.
Battus was married to a woman named Eryxo and they had several sons; one of their sons was named Arkesilaos who followed Battus on the throne; after a brief and unsuccessful reign, Arkesilaos was murdered by his brother, Haliarchus; Eryxo murdered Haliarchus and allowed Arkesilaos’ son, known as Battus the Lame, to become the new king of Kyrene.
Histories, book 4.160

Battus (Battos) ³
BAH tus
King Battus the Lame of Kyrene (Cyrene) in Libya; he was named after his grandfather and great-grandfather who were also named Battus.
Battus was the son of King Arkesilaos (Arcesilaus) and Eryxo; Battus’ father had a brief and unsuccessful reign as king of Kyrene; during a war with the native Libyans, Arkesilaos ventured too far into eastern Libya and suffered the loss of seven thousand soldiers; Arkesilaos fell ill and was finally strangled by his brother, Haliarchus.
Battus’ mother, Eryxo, avenged the death of her husband and allowed Battus to assume the throne as the new king; after the resounding defeat suffered by his father at the hands of the Libyans, the Kyrenaeans knew they needed to reform their government; they sent an envoy to Delphi to ask the Pythia (priestess of Apollon) for advice; this was not a new tactic for the Kyrenaeans because their original colony in Libya had been founded at the command of Apollon; the Pythia instructed the Kyrenaeans to seek a commissioner of reform from Mantinea in Arcadia; the man selected for the job was named Demonax; his changes were typical of many Greek transformations from monarchy to democracy; first of all, King Battus was to surrender most of his property to public holdings and assume the role of the formal head of the state religion; the citizens were divided into three “tribes” consisting of: 1) the original Theraean colonists and native Libyans, 2) the Peloponnesians and the Cretans, and 3) the inhabitants of the Greek islands; this form of government stayed in effect until after the death of Battus.
When Battus died his son Arkesilaos took the throne; he resented the concessions his father had made and tried to abolish the new government; he was eventually forced to flee Kyrene.
Histories, book 4.161 and 162

Baukis (Baucis) ¹
An aged Phrygian peasant woman who, with her husband Philemon, offered hospitality to Zeus and Hermes as they wandered the countryside disguised as mortals; as a reward for their good deed they were saved from a flood and turned into trees.

Baukis (Baucis) ²
The subject of a lost poem by a young woman named Erinna from the small island of Telos.
Erinna loved a young man named Baukis but he either married someone else or died before he and Erinna could consummate their love.

Bay of Pylos
Bay of Pilos; the body of water which lies off the southwestern coast of the Peloponnesian Peninsula near the city of Pylos; the site of an important victory by the Athenians over the Spartans in 425 BCE during the Peloponnesian War (404 BCE).

Bear Island
Although not really an island, the peninsula of Kyzikos is often called Bear Island, Mount of Bears as well as Bear Mountain.
Kyzikos is a peninsula which juts into the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) from the Phrygian mainland north of the Aisepos river; a six-handed race called the Earthborn dwell on Bear Island; the Earthborn were the aboriginal descendants of Poseidon (lord of the Sea).
Also, the Doliones lived on Bear Island and were ruled by King Kyzikos (Cyzicos); during their Quest for the Golden Fleece, the Argonauts were guests of the Doliones but, after they left Bear Island, they lost their way in the darkness and were blown off course; when they accidentally returned to Bear Island the Doliones mistakenly thought that the Earthborn warriors were attacking them and gave battle; during the confusion of the night-fight, Jason killed King Kyzikos.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 936-1039

Bellerophontes (Bellerophon)
belleh rho FON tees

Bellerophontes was the son of the lord of the Sea, Poseidon and Eurynome, the daughter of Nisus; the goddess of Wisdom, Athene (Athena), advised a man named Glaukos (Glaucus) to seek Eurynome as a bride but the love stricken man had no idea that he and Eurynome were to be mere instruments in the grand designs of the Immortals; although Eurynome became the wife of Glaukos they were not destined to have children; Glaukos was cursed by Zeus to never have children born of one father; this curse might be interpreted to mean that Glaukos would be the father of other men’s children but never be a father in the genetic sense; regardless, when Bellerophontes was born, Glaukos treated the child as if it was his own.
In The Iliad, Homer tells the tale of Bellerophontes in a battlefield dialogue between the Greek hero, Diomedes, and the Trojan ally, Glaukos (Glaucus).
Glaukos was the grandson of Bellerophontes and the namesake of Bellerophontes’ nominal father; Bellerophontes was blessed by the Immortals with beauty and manly stature but, while he was in the city of Argos, he offended the king’s wife, Anteia, when he refused her seductive advances; Anteia lied and told her husband, King Proetus (Proitos) of Argos, that Bellerophontes had tried to force himself on her; Proetus was furious but was too scrupulous to kill Bellerophontes; he sent Bellerophontes from Argos with a message to the ruler of Lykia (Lycia); the message said simply, Kill This Messenger.
For nine days, the lord of Lykia entertained Bellerophontes without reading the message that King Proetus had sent but on the tenth day he finally read the message and devised a clever plan for killing Bellerophontes without having to resort to out-and-out murder; he sent Bellerophontes to kill a fire breathing she-beast called the Chimera; to assure Bellerophontes’ success, Athene bridled the flying horse named Pegasos (Pegasus) which had been created from the blood of the severed head of the Gorgon, Medusa; Poseidon presented the immortal horse to Bellerophontes and, riding on the back of Pegasos, Bellerophontes killed the Chimera.

Bellerophontes astride Pegasos fighting the Chimera
The lord of Lykia then sent Bellerophontes to fight the Solymoi who Bellerophontes said were the most fierce fighters he had ever faced; Bellerophontes defeated the Solymoi and returned to Lykia.
Next the lord of Lykia sent Bellerophontes to slaughter the Amazons; upon his return from the slaughter of the Amazons, Bellerophontes was ambushed by the bravest fighters in Lykia; Bellerophontes killed all the soldiers that were sent against him and when he returned to Lykia, the lord was so impressed by this strong and god-like man that he gave up his desire to kill Bellerophontes and offered him his daughter in marriage.
The children of Bellerophontes were: Isandros, Laodameia and Hippolochos; Hippolochos was the mother of the Trojan warrior, Glaukos; Bellerophontes lost the favor of the Immortals and spent his last days as a wanderer; later versions of this story say that Queen Anteia of Argos was actually named Stheneboea and that the lord of Lykia was named Iobates.
Theogony, line 325
Catalogues of Women, fragment 7
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 6, lines 155, 162, 164, 190, 196, 216 and 220
Iliad (Fagles), book 6, lines 182, 193, 194, 212, 224, 232 and 237
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 6, lines 180, 185, 191, 224, 232 and 236

Belus
A descendant of the Heifer-Maiden, Io, and the father of Aegyptus and Danaus.
Before he died, Belus gave Aegyptus all the land of the Nile Valley; to his son Danaus, Belus gave all the land of northern Africa west of Egypt which was known as Libya.

Beta
The second letter of the Greek alphabet; uppercase: Β; lowercase: β.
The ancient Greeks did not have lowercase letters in their alphabet; the lowercase letters were not invented until the ninth century CE, i.e. about eleven hundred years ago.
Alpha and Beta, the first two letters of the Greek alphabet, were combined to give us the English word Alphabet.

Bia
The ancient Greek personification of Force; the daughter of Pallas and the Okeanid, Styx; sister of Kratos (Cratos), i.e. Strength, Nike, i.e. Victory and Zelos, i.e. Rivalry.
Theogony, line 385

Bias
The brother of Melampous (Melampus) and the father of the Argonauts: Areios, Leodokos (Leodocos) and Talaos.
The Argonauts were a company of the greatest heroes and adventurers in ancient Greece; the Argonauts were assembled by Jason to assist him in retrieving the Golden Fleece from the land of Kolchis (Colchis); their name was derived from their ship, the Argo (Argo + nautes = Argo-seamen); the Quest for the Golden Fleece can be assumed to have occurred circa 1285 BCE.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 118-121
Histories, book 9.34

Bias of Priene
(fl. 570 BCE) A widely respected Greek philosopher; born in the city of Priene in Ionia; he was always included as one of the Seven Sages.
The Seven Sages were a group of wise men who exemplified the characteristics and ideals of the ancient Greek rulers, lawgivers and advisors during the time period of 620-550 BCE.
The names of the men who were included as the Seven Sages varied with different ancient authors but several men were consistently included: Solon, Thales, Pittakus (Pittacus) and Bias; other men appeared on the list at one time or another: Chilon, Kleobulus (Cleobulus) and Periander.

Bion of Smyrna
A Greek pastoral poet (fl. 100 BCE); a resident of the island of Sicily where he died of poisoning; he is usually referred to as “a pastoral poet” but it is not certain if any of his work survives.

Bion the Borysthenite
A Greek philosopher and orator (circa 325-246 BCE); his sharp wit and popularity earned him an income and a reputation that allowed him to travel and lecture; he is credited with the style of speaking called the diatribe, i.e. spoken address; his name comes from his place of birth, Olbia, near the Borysthenes River (now called the Dnieper).

Birds
A comic play by Aristophanes produced in 414 BCE at the Great Dionysia at the city of Athens; Aristophanes won second prize for this masterwork of comic indulgence; like most of Aristophanes’ comedies, this play is silly, dramatic and bitingly satirical.
Cast of Characters:
Euelpides
Pisthetairos
Epops (The Hoopoe)
Iris
Kinesias (Cinesias)
Prometheus
Poseidon
Triballos
Herakles (Heracles)
The play revolves around the adventures of two Athenian men who left Athens in search of a bird-utopia where there were no corrupt politicians or wars; they both bought birds hoping that they would lead them to the abode of Tereus (the man who was turned into a hoopoe for the ill treatment of his wife, Prokne (Procne)).
The main character of this play is a clever man named Pisthetairos; he found Tereus in a state of severe feather loss and proceeded to convince the molting bird-man that if the birds would only unite, they could create their own dominion and rule over mortals and Immortals alike; a congregation of birds accepted Pisthetairos bizarre proposal and, using the talents of the various birds, built a walled city in the sky that would not allow commerce between heaven and earth, therefore denying the rule of the gods over the people of earth.
A variety of self appointed representatives from the earthbound people came to the bird city and demanded wings so that they might make the nation of birds as much like human civilization as possible; poets, prophets, priests, informers, politicians and a delinquent son all approached Pisthetairos and demand wings; he soundly beat and thrashed all of them while he explained their utter uselessness.
The chorus of the play is, of course, comprised of the Birds; they alternately accuse and praise the audience while they present rational arguments as to why the birds are in all ways superior to the human race; the goddess Iris arrived and was denounced by Pisthetairos; also, the great Immortal benefactor of the people of the earth, Prometheus, arrived to give Pisthetairos advice as to how he might successfully negotiate with the Olympian gods; a delegation arrived from Mount Olympos (Olympus) to sue for peace with the birds; the delegation is comprised of Poseidon, Herakles (Heracles) and a primitive god (who has recently come to reside on Mount Olympos because he is worshiped by the more base and stone-age minded politicians of Athens); Pisthetairos brokers a peace with the Immortals and the earth is saved from foolishness and folly (even though the play is itself a delightful exercise in foolishness and folly).
Aristophanes’ plays are sometimes difficult to appreciate because he was a very contemporary poet, i.e. he was writing for the Athenian audience of his day; he would use puns, parody regional accents and speak directly to the audience in ways that force modern translators to seek out the contextual meaning rather than the literal meaning of the poet’s words; for that reason, I suggest that if you find a translation that is difficult to enjoy, please don’t blame Aristophanes, simply look for a translation that you can enjoy; you may find this play at your local library in the 882 section or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site.

Bithynia
The ancient name for the Chalkedon (Chalcedon) Peninsula which is located on the Asiatic side of the Bosporus strait.

Black-Figure Vase

A style of vase painting dating from the seventh century BCE where the silhouette figure (a scene from myths or of animals) was painted on an unfired vase with the details incised with a sharp tool so that after the vase was fired they would remain the color of the clay; red and white paints were sometimes used for details; this style was supplanted by the Red Figure vase style circa 530 BCE.

Black Sea

The Black Sea lies between Europe and Asia and is bounded by the Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, and Romania; it is connected to the Aegean Sea by the Sea of Marmara (Propontis) and the Dardanelles Straits (Hellespont); numerous rivers flow into the Black Sea including: the Danube (Ister) and the Dnieper (Borysthenes); the Black Sea has a surface area of approximately 178,000 square miles (461,018 square kilometers) and a maximum depth of approximately 7,300 feet (2,225 meters).
At the eastern edge of the Black Sea was the land of the Golden Fleece, Kolchis (Colchis); circa 1285 BCE Jason and the Argonauts sailed along the southern edge of the sea to reach Kolchis but on their return voyage, after they had secured the Golden Fleece, they chose to enter the Danube River in order to escape the pursuers who were sent by King Aietes (Aeetes) of Kolchis.
The Black Sea was originally called Axenos (or Axine) by the ancient Greeks and then later called Euxine or Pontos Euxinus or simply Pontos; the word Axenos literally means, “an inhospitable place” but the name Euxine means, “kind to strangers.”

Blapsei
Envy; the foul and evil accomplice of wretched mortals.
Works and Days, line 195

Blaze (Aithon)
One of the chariot horses of the Trojan hero, Hector.
Hector’s other horses were: Lampos (Lampus), Podargos (Podargus) and Xanthos (Xanthus).
The Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon defines Aithon as Fiery, Fierce or Tawny.
The names of Hector’s horses are rendered in the various translations as:
1) Aithon:
Blaze (Fagles)
Dusky (Fitzgerald)
Aithon (Lattimore)
Aethon (Loeb)
2) Lampos:
Sliver Flash (Fagles)
Dapple (Fitzgerald)
Lampos (Lattimore)
Lampus (Loeb)
3) Podargos:
Whitefoot (Fagles and Fitzgerald)
Podargos (Lattimore)
Podargus (Loeb)
4) Xanthos:
Golden (Fagles)
Tawny (Fitzgerald)
Xanthos (Lattimore)
Xanthus (Loeb)
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 8, line 185
Iliad (Fagles), book 8, line 210
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 8, line 211

Blindness
The goddess Ate; one of the daughters of Eris (Discord).
Ate is an ancient Greek goddess personifying the crimes caused by human recklessness and the divine punishment that surely follows; in The Iliad, Ate and the Litai, i.e. Prayers, are linked together; the Litai are described as old and feeble but Ate is strong and swift; the Litai follow Ate and, if called upon, heal the wounds that she inflicts; but if a person denies the Litai, they go to Zeus, their father, and insist that Ate be summoned to hurt and punish the unbeliever.
Ate is sometimes defined as the personification of Ruin but her name literally means Blindness.
Iliad (Lattimore, translated as Ruin in book 9 and Delusion in book 19), book 9, lines 504, 505 and 512; book 19, lines 91, 126, 128 and 136
Iliad (Loeb, translated as Ate), book 9, lines 504, 505 and 512; book 19, lines 91, 126, 129 and 136
Iliad (Fagles, translated as Ruin), book 9, lines 613, 614 and 622; book 19, lines 106, 148, 151 and 162
Iliad (Fitzgerald, translated as Folly except book 19, line 155, where she is mentioned as “my folly, my delusion”), book 9, lines 613 and 621; book 19, lines 100, 104, 145, 148 and 155

Boedromion
Boedromion was the third month of the year in Attica and approximately corresponds to the third week of August to the third week of September of our calendar; this was the month of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries which were held at Athens and Eleusis in memory of the abduction and return of Persephone and in honor of Demeter and Bacchus (a.k.a. Dionysos, god of Wine); the public ceremonies began on the fifteenth day of Boedromion and lasted from seven to nine days; the sacred rites at Eleusis were shrouded in mystery and only initiates were allowed to participate in the final ceremonies.

Boedromion

Boedromion was the third month of the year in Attica and approximately corresponds to the third week of August to the third week of September of our calendar; this was the month of the Greater Eleusinian Mysteries which were held at Athens and Eleusis in memory of the abduction and return of Persephone and in honor of Demeter and Bacchus (a.k.a. Dionysos, god of Wine); the public ceremonies began on the fifteenth day of Boedromion and lasted from seven to nine days; the sacred rites at Eleusis were shrouded in mystery and only initiates were allowed to participate in the final ceremonies.

Boeotarch (Boiotarches)
A magistrate akin to the office of polemarch in the city of Thebes.
A polemarch was similar to a modern military general; other districts and cities defined the role of the polemarch as that of a magistrate.

Boeotia
A district in ancient Greece northwest of Athens; the capital was the city of Thebes.

Boeotus
A son of Arne and Poseidon (lord of the Sea); the progenitor of the inhabitants of Boeotia.

Bootes
The constellation by the same name, which represents “a plowman”; from the Greek word Bootein, i.e. plow.
The Astronomy, fragment 3

Boreas
boh REE ahs

The North Wind.
Boreas is one of the sons of Eos (Dawn) and Astraios; his brothers are: Zephyros (West Wind) and Notos (South Wind); the Athenians believed that Boreas married Orithyia, the daughter of King Erechtheus; when the Persians invaded Greece in 480 BCE, the Athenians, in accordance with a prophecy they had been given, sacrificed to Boreas and Orithyia so that the god and his wife would intervene and send a storm to stop the Persian navy; a supernatural storm assailed the Persians off the coast of Sepias and four hundred ships were lost; to demonstrate their devotion and thankfulness, the Athenians built a shrine to Boreas on the river Ilissus.
There are two types of winds: 1) the divinely created winds, i.e. Boreas (North Wind), Notos (South Wind), Zephyros (West Wind) and the Etesian winds, and 2) the ill-favored winds which were created by the monster, Typhoeus, when Zeus imprisoned him under the earth; the divinely created winds nourish and bless the earth but the winds of Typhoeus are wild and destructive.
Orithyia was the daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens; the above image shows Boreas kidnapping Orithyia.
Theogony, lines 379 and 870
Works and Days, lines 506, 518, 547 and 553
Histories, book 7.189
Iliad (Lattimore), book 5, line 524; book 9, line 4; book 19, line 358; book 20, line 222; book 23, line 195; book 23, line 208
Iliad (Loeb), book 5, line 524; book 9, line 5; book 19, line 358; book 20, line 223; book 23, lines 195 and 208
Iliad (Fagles), book 5, line 605; book 9, line 5; book 19, line 423; book 20, line 259; book 23, lines 224 and 239
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 5, line 601; book 9, line 8; book 19, line 393; book 20, line 256; book 23, line 240
Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 5, lines 296, 328, 331 and 385; book 9, lines 67 and 81; book 10, line 507; book 13, line 110; book 14, lines 253, 299, 475 and 533; book 19, line 200
Odyssey (Fagles), book 5, lines 325, 361, 364 and 424; book 9, lines 77 and 90; book 10, line 557; book 13, line 123; book 14, lines 286, 337, 540 and 602; book 19, line 230
Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 5, lines 306, 342, and 402; book 9 (not mentioned by name), lines 74 and 88; book 10, line 563; book 13 (not mentioned by name), line 135; book 14, lines 295, 348, 562 and (wind) 631; book 19, line 235

Borysthenes
A river in Scythia now called the Dnieper; approximately 1,400 miles (2,253 kilometers) in length, it flows into the northern-most portion of the Euxine (Black Sea).

Bosporus
The narrow water passage, 18 miles (29 kilometers) long, connecting the Euxine (Black Sea) and the Propontis (Sea of Marmara) and separating European Turkey from Asian Turkey.
Also called the Dardanelles Strait which was named after Dardanos (Dardanus), the ancestor of the Trojans.

Boukolion (Boucolion)
The eldest son of Laomedon; consort of the water nymph, Abarbare; the father of the twins, Pedasos and Aisepos; the half-brother of Hesione, Priam and Tithonos.
His name may also be rendered as Bukolion or Bucolion.
Iliad (Latimore and Loeb), book 6, lines 22 and 23
Iliad (Fagles), book 6, lines 25 and 26
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 6, lines 24 and 25

Boutes
Boutes and his brother, Erybotes, were the sons of Teleon; both brothers became Argonauts.
The Argonauts were a company of the greatest heroes and adventurers in ancient Greece; the Argonauts were assembled by Jason to assist him in retrieving the Golden Fleece from the land of Kolchis (Colchis); their name was derived from their ship, the Argo (Argo + nautes = Argo-seamen); the Quest for the Golden Fleece can be assumed to have occurred circa 1285 BCE.
After the Argonauts had successfully captured the Golden Fleece and were making their perilous voyage home, Boutes and Erybotes could not resist the call of the Sirens as the Argo sailed past the island of Anthemoessa; the two heroes jumped overboard and would have died on the rocky shore if Aphrodite (goddess of Love) had not plucked them from the sea and transported them safely to Libya.
Argonautika, book 1, lines 95-104 and 885-921

Brauron
A city on the coast of Attica east and slightly south of Athens; site of the festival for Artemis held every four years.
Approximate East Longitude 24º 02' and North Latitude 37º 92'

Briareos (Briareus)
Briareos and his brothers, Kottos (Cottos) and Gyes, are three of the most terrible creatures ever to be produced by Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (the Heavens).
Briareos and his brothers have fifty heads and fifty arms sprouting from their massive shoulders.
The Immortals use the name Briareos to name him but mere mortals call him Aigaios’ son.
When Briareos and his brothers were in the womb of Gaia, Ouranos would not let them be born; when they attempted to come out, Ouranos would push them back inside; it wasn’t until the Titan, Kronos (Cronos), attacked and wounded his father, Ouranos, that the brothers were allowed to be free; Gaia made a sickle of flint and begged for one of her Titan children to attack Ouranos but only Kronos came to her aid; Kronos laid in ambush for his father and struck him down with the flint sickle; the three fifty-headed brothers were allowed to escape Gaia’s womb and the blood of Ouranos created the Furies, the Giants, the Nymphs of the Ash Trees and the goddess of Love, Aphrodite.
Kronos had helped his mother, Gaia, free Briareos and his monstrous brothers but he feared their strength and was jealous of their beauty so he imprisoned them under the earth where they remained until the war between the Titans and the Olympians began.
Zeus, the son of Kronos, brought Briareos and his brothers back into the light and gave them nectar and ambrosia to renew their vitality; Briareos, Kottos and Gyes joined the Olympians in the war against the Titans.
After ten years of war, Zeus let loose all his fury and the earth and heavens trembled under his thunderbolts; at that moment, Briareos, Kottos and Gyes bombarded the rebel Titans with three-hundred boulders that buried them, thus ending the war.
Long after the war with the Titans, Thetis summoned Briareos to Mount Olympos (Olympus) to keep Hera, Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and Pallas Athene (Athena) from binding Zeus; when Briareos ascended Mount Olympos he simply sat beside Zeus and his fierce presence deflected all thoughts of aggression.
Briareos was wedded to the daughter of Poseidon, Kymopolea (Cymopolea).
Briareos is also referred to as Obriareos.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 1, line 403
Iliad (Fagles), book 1, line 478
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 1, line 462
Theogony, lines 149, 615, 712 and 817

Brimo

Another name for the goddess, Hekate (Hecate); queen among the dead.
During the adventures of Jason and the Argonauts, the priestess of the goddess Hekate (Hecate), Medeia (Medea), mixed a potion from the blood-like ichor that Prometheus had shed while he was chained to the Caucasus Mountains; she called upon “Brimo of the underworld, queen among the dead, night-wandering Brimo” to make the potion effective.
Hekate has a page in the Immortals section of this site ... click on her photo to view that page.
Argonautika, book 3, lines 861-863

Briseis

The daughter of Briseus; a young girl who was taken as a slave by the Greeks during the tenth year of the siege of the city of Troy.
Briseis was awarded to Achilles as a “prize” but when the leader of the army, Agamemnon, took her from Achilles, the two men began a long and bitter feud; Achilles swore that he and his troops would not fight for Agamemnon and that no apology or act of contrition could end the dispute.
Finally, when the Greeks were being overwhelmed by the Trojans, Agamemnon offered to return Briseis to Achilles with many other gifts including one of his daughters and a part of his kingdom; Achilles refused these offers until his life-long friend, Patroklos (Patroclus), was killed by the Trojans; at that point, he accepted Briseis and the other gifts that Agamemnon offered, although they meant nothing to him, donned his armor and entered the battle.
Iliad (Lattimore), book 1, lines 184, 323, 336 and 346; book 2, line 689; book 9, line 107; book 19, lines 246, 261 and 282; book 24, line 676
Iliad (Loeb), book 1, lines 184, 323, 336 and 346; book 2, line 689; book 9, line 106; book 19, lines 246, 261 and 282; book 24, line 676
Iliad (Fagles), book 1, lines 218, 378, 397 and 409; book 2, line 785; book 9, line 127; book 19, lines 290, 307 and 333; book 24, line 794
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 1, lines 215, 376, 392 and 402; book 2, line 817; book 9, line 126; book 19, lines 270, 287 and 310; book 24, line 807

Briseus
The father of Briseis; Briseis was a young girl who was taken as a slave by the Greeks during the tenth year of the siege of the city of Troy.
Briseis was awarded to Achilles as a “prize” but when the leader of the army, Agamemnon, took her from Achilles, the two men began a long and bitter feud; Achilles swore that he and his troops would not fight for Agamemnon and that no apology or act of contrition could end the dispute.
Finally, when the Greeks were being overwhelmed by the Trojans, Agamemnon offered to return Briseis to Achilles with many other gifts including one of his daughters and a part of his kingdom; Achilles refused these offers until his life-long friend, Patroklos (Patroclus), was killed by the Trojans; at that point, he accepted Briseis and the other gifts that Agamemnon offered, although they meant nothing to him, donned his armor and entered the battle.
Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 1, line 392; book 9, lines 132 and 274
Iliad (Fagles), book 1, line 466; book 9, lines 158 and 332
Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 1, line 451; book 9, lines 159 and 334

Brontes
One of the cyclops; one of the sons of Gaia (Earth); he and his brothers, Steropes and Arges, forge the thunderbolts for Zeus; his name means, Thunderer.
Theogony, line 139

Bronze

The Iliad and The Odyssey took place at the end of the Bronze Age and the beginning of the Iron Age; the use of bronze came to different parts of the world at different times but, in Greece, the Bronze Age is considered to be roughly 3000-1200 BCE.

Bronze was a quantum leap in metallurgy because it required very hot furnaces and the combination of copper (which was relatively easy to obtain) and tin (which was not native to Greece or anywhere nearby); metals such as gold, silver and copper can be found in a relatively pure state and can be easily molded and cast whereas bronze is a combination of eighty percent copper and twenty percent tin and requires a great deal of preparation and forethought; the tin used for the production of Greek bronze was obtained from either the British Isles or from islands in the Indian Ocean.

Thomas Bruce (Lord Elgin)

(1766-1841) Thomas Bruce was the seventh Earl of Elgin and earned his place in history as the man responsible for the removal of a good number of the marble decorations from the Parthenon in Athens; the many statues and reliefs he secured were finally placed on display in a special gallery of the British Museum.
Lord Elgin was the British Ambassador in Constantinople for only four years (1799-1803) but his brief tour of duty resulted in saving many of the ancient marble reliefs which decorated the Parthenon; in 1801 Lord Elgin organized a team to record the ancient Greek buildings and sculptures; at that time, Greece had been ruled by the Ottoman Empire for over 350 years; when Lord Elgin learned of the alarming rate at which the Parthenon was being defaced, he petitioned Mehemmed Raschid Aga, the highest ranking Ottoman official in Athens, and received permission to remove the Parthenon marbles; in 1802 Lord Elgin began making overtures to the British Museum but it wasn’t until 1816 that the British Parliament voted special funds for the purchase of the marbles so that they could be placed in the British Museum.
The so called Elgin Marbles are now on display in the Duveen Gallery of the British Museum; the construction of the new gallery for the Parthenon sculptures was funded by Sir Joseph (later Lord) Duveen in 1931; the architect was the American, John Russell Pope, who also designed the National Gallery in Washington, D.C.

Bubastis
The Egyptian goddess who was known as Artemis by the Greeks.
Histories, book 2.137

Budii
One of the six tribes that comprised the original Medes; the other five tribes were: Arizanti, Busae, Magi, Paratakeni (Parataceni) and Struchates.
Histories, book 1.101

Bukephalus (Bucephalas)
boo keh FAH lus
The horse of Alexander the Great; the word generally means Bull-Headed and was the common epithet for the horses of Thessaly.
Alexander’s father, Phillip, was presented with a gift of an untamed horse by a man from Thessaly named Philoneikus (Philoneicus); Phillip’s trainers could not manage the animal and, try as they might, could not mount or make the horse heed their commands; Phillip was ready to have the horse led away when Alexander spoke up and said that they were losing a good horse because of the lack of skill and courage of the trainers; at first, Phillip ignored Alexander but when the young man would not be silent, Phillip scolded him for presuming to know more than his elders; Alexander refused to back down and made a wager with his father that he could ride the seemingly untamed animal; Alexander said that he would forfeit the price of the horse if he failed; Phillip and the attendants laughed at the precocious youth but Alexander proved them all wrong; he had noticed that the horse was spooked by its own shadow so he turned the horse so it could not see its shadow and took the bridle; once the horse was calm, Alexander mounted and, without using the whip or tugging at the bit, ran the horse down the course and back; he named the horse Bukephalus and from that moment on, Alexander was the only person who could manage him.
An incident which shows the utter devotion that Alexander had for Bukephalus occurred when he was near the Caspian Sea (the Hyrkanian (Hyrcanian) Sea); a group of barbarians captured Bukephalus; it’s doubtful that the bandits knew that they were stealing the king’s horse, they were probably just opportunistic horse thieves; Alexander sent out heralds to inform the inhabitants that he would lay waste to the country and put every man, woman and child to the sword if his horse was not returned; the barbarians returned Bukephalus and unconditionally surrendered their country; Alexander put aside his anger, paid a ransom for his horse and thereafter treated the inhabitants kindly.
Bukephalus went with Alexander on his military campaigns and served as his mount in battle; when Alexander was not in battle he would ride other horses so as to save Bukephalus’ strength for actual combat; there are conflicting accounts of the way in which Bukephalus died but he either died of old age or was struck down in a fight with an army of Indians by the river Hydaspes; Alexander ordered that a city be built in honor of Bukephalus and named it Bukephala (Bucephala).
Arrian, The Campaigns of Alexander, book 5.15 and 5.20
Plutarch’s Lives, Alexander, VI and XLIV
Diodorus Siculus, book 17.96

Busae
One of the six tribes that comprised the original Medes; the other five tribes were: Arizanti, Budii, Magi, Paratakeni (Parataceni) and Struchates.
Histories, book 1.101

Byzantium
A city on the European side of the Bosporus Strait; founded in 657 BCE by colonists from Megara at the advice of the oracle at Delphi.

Byzas
A son of Poseidon (lord of the Sea) and the eponymous founder of Byzantium.