| Iapetos (Iapetus) |
| ee ah PEH tos |
| One of the Titans, i.e. one of the children of Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (the Heavens); the husband of Klymene (Clymene) and the father of Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoitios and Atlas. |
| After the Titans were defeated by the Olympians, Iapetos was banished to the lightless regions of Tartaros (Tartarus). |
| Theogony, lines 134 and 507 |
| Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 8, line 479 |
| Iliad (Fagles), book 8, line 554 |
| Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 8, line 544 |
| Iasion |
| ee ah SEE on |
| A son of Zeus and Electra (daughter of Atlas); the brother of Dardanos. |
| Zeus and Electra (daughter of Atlas) had two sons, Dardanos and Iasion; Dardanos, became the legendary patriarch of the Trojans. |
| When Iasion was a young man he lusted after the goddess Demeter; Iasion mated with Demeter in a thrice-turned field and conceived the child, Plutus, who became known as a symbol of abundance, i.e. rich harvests and fertile ground; Iasion was killed with a thunderbolt by his father, Zeus, for his impudence. |
| Theogony, line 970 |
| Apollodorus’ Library, book III, chapter 139 |
| Odyssey (Lattimore), book 5, line 126 |
| Odyssey (Loeb), book 5, line 125 |
| Odyssey (Fagles), book 5, line 139 |
| Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 5, line 132 |
| Ibykos (Ibycus) |
| ee BEE kos |
| A lyric poet circa 540 BCE; Ibykos was originally from Rhegion in southern Italy but later became a resident of the island of Samos. |
| 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. |
| Ibykos served at the court of the tyrant, Polykrates (Polycrates), on Samos; his poetry is usually described as Choral Lyric; his poems were collected into seven books at Alexandria, Egypt but, of those seven books, only a few fragments have survived. |
| One interesting element of Ibykos’ poems is that he seems to distance himself from the inspiration of the Muse; whereas the Epic Poetry of the preceding era always began with an invocation of the Muse, Ibykos remains humble and does not assume to be under the spell of divine guidance; he does, however, say that he is the slave of Aphrodite and that love envelopes him like a net. |
| 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. |
| Ida 1 |
| ee DAH |
| Mount Ida; a mountain in western Asia Minor, southeast of the ancient city of Troy; this is the mountain from which Zeus maintained his vigil of the Trojan War. |
| One of the initial causes of the Trojan War was a event called The Judgment of Paris which took place on Mount Ida; at the wedding of the immortal Nereid, Thetis, and the mortal, King Peleus, the goddess Eris (Discord) presented a Golden Apple that was inscribed “For the most beautiful one”; Hera, Athene and Aphrodite all assumed that the Golden Apple was for them and when it became obvious that there was never going to be an end to the bickering, Zeus intervened; the Trojan prince Paris (Alexandros) lived on Mount Ida and was asked to make the final decision as to which goddess deserved the Golden Apple and thus be declared “the most beautiful one”; Aphrodite promised Paris the hand of the most beautiful mortal woman in Greece, Helen, and he chose her as the most beautiful goddess; Hera and Athene never forgave the insult and the walls of Troy toppled as a direct result of Paris’ greed and desire. |
| The peaks of Mount Ida also witnessed the deception of Zeus by his cunning wife/sister, Hera; while Zeus was observing the progress of the Trojan War, Hera used her charms to seduce Zeus and then had Hypnos (Sleep) cast a spell on the sated Zeus so that the other Immortals could go onto the battlefield and assist the Greek army. |
| There was another incident that involved Mount Ida which was crucial to the history of Greece and, according to some sources, the Roman Empire; Aphrodite (goddess of Love) met and mated with a mortal man named Anchises who lived on Mount Ida; their son Aineias (Aeneas) was later to become one of the most fierce defenders of Troy when the Greeks tried to sack the city; the Romans believed that Aineias was responsible for the founding of Rome after his heroic escape from Troy as the Greeks were leveling the defeated city. |
| Zeus wanted to humble Aphrodite and caused her to become irresistibly attracted to a mortal man; he reasoned that Aphrodite had inflicted the burden of Love on so many mortals and Immortals alike that she deserved a taste of her own medicine; Aphrodite was compelled to go to Mount Ida disguised as a mortal woman to seduce a man named Anchises; he was not totally taken in by her disguise but could not resist the charms of the goddess; she finally revealed her true identity and assured Anchises that he would not be punished for his indulgence; she named their son Aineias, meaning Awful, because she had been made to love a mere mortal and, even though Anchises was righteous and handsome, she found their union to be offensive and beneath her station; regardless of her feelings, Aphrodite openly fought on the battlefield of Troy to protect Aineias from harm; she was actually wounded while fighting to save Aineias from the Greeks. |
| Ida is part of the Biokovo Range and the two highest peaks are Sveti Ilija (5,381 feet (1,640 meters) in height) and Sveti Jure (5,781 feet (1,762 meters) in height); the summits are called Gargaros, which literally means Throat, suggesting that the peaks got their name from the unique snow-packed caves which exist there. |
| Hymn to Aphrodite, lines 45-201 |
| Idas |
| ee DAHS |
| One of the sons of Aphareus and Arene; the husband of Marpessa and the father of Kleopatra (Cleopatra). |
| In his prime, Idas was known as the strongest man on the earth; he and his brother, Lynkeus (Lynceus) were both 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. |
| Besides his great strength, Idas had a volatile temper which would often cause him to overreact to frustrating situations; he and Lynkeus were the cousins of Phoibe (Phoebe) and Hilaeira and were perhaps involved in the death of Kastor (Castor). |
| When Kastor and his twin brother, Polydeukes (Polydeuces or Pollux), tried to kidnap Phoibe and Hilaeira, a fight arose and Kastor was killed; it is unclear as to exactly how Kastor was killed or exactly who killed him but, owing to Idas’ explosive temper, it’s easy to imagine his direct involvement. |
| Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 9, line 558 |
| Iliad (Fagles and Fitzgerald), book 9, line 680 |
| Argonautika, book 1, lines 151, 462, 469, 485 and 1043; book 2, line 830; book 3, lines 516, 556, 1169 and 1252 |
| Idomeneus |
| EE doh men eh us |
| One of the Greek heroes at the siege of the city of Troy; Idomeneus was the son of King Deukalion (Deucalion) of the island of Crete; he was the grandson of King Minos and thus directly descended from Zeus. |
| When Helen was taken from her home and husband in Sparta, Idomeneus was one of the many notable men who went to her rescue; at the siege of Troy, Idomeneus was the commander of the eighty ship contingent from Crete, which would have been approximately ten thousand men; his co-commander was Meriones. |
| Idomeneus took his troops to Troy to fulfill the oath he had made to Helen’s father, King Tyndareus of Sparta; when Helen was a young girl she was kidnapped and after her brothers safely returned her to her home, she was still the focus of attention from every man who met her; Helen was the daughter of Zeus and therefore semi-divine; her ultra-feminine manners and irresistible appearance were inherited from her immortal father. |
| When Helen was old enough to marry, her father’s household was besieged with anxious young men from every part of Greece; Idomeneus was one of Helen’s suitors; Tyndareus quickly realized that no matter which man he chose to be Helen’s husband, there would always be the possibility of her being kidnapped again; Tyndareus very wisely made all the suitors swear a solemn and sacred oath that they would come to Helen’s rescue if she was ever taken from her chosen husband; Idomeneus took the oath but Helen was finally married to Prince Menelaos (Menelaus) of Mycenae. |
| When Helen deserted Menelaos for Prince Alexandros (Paris) of Troy, an armada was assembled and over one thousand ships with over sixty thousand men sailed to Troy to rescue Helen. |
| The war became known as the Trojan War and lasted for ten brutal years; the Trojan War took place circa 1250 BCE and we might assume that Idomeneus was in his early or mid-twenties when the war began. |
| The supreme commander of the Greek forces against the Trojans was King Agamemnon of Mycenae and he showed his respect for Idomeneus in many ways; Idomeneus earned that respect by being clever and thoughtful in assembly as well as incredibly brave in battle; when the Trojan Prince Hector seemed to be unstoppable in his assault on the Greeks, Idomeneus was one of the first to volunteer to stand against him; however, when the god Apollon revived Hector after a serious wound, Idomeneus was one of the first to retreat; he was brave enough to face the most fierce Trojan warrior but he was also smart enough to know that when the Immortals became involved, it was time to withdraw. |
| Zeus decreed that the walls of Troy would eventually be toppled but he was also intent that it would be a slow and bloody process; in the tenth year of the war, the Greeks devised a clever plan whereby the Trojans would open their gates and unwittingly allow the Greeks to enter the city; a large Wooden Horse was constructed with enough room in the belly of the beast to hide some Greek warriors; the Greeks then sailed their ships to a nearby island out of sight of Troy; the Trojans assumed that the Wooden Horse was a peace offering and that the war was over; once the Wooden Horse was inside the walls of Troy, Helen became suspicious of the horse and the intentions of the Greeks; she walked around the Wooden Horse imitating the voices of different men's wives to see if any of the men she suspected to be hiding in the horse would answer; with one exception, all the men hiding inside the horse remained silent; Odysseus forcefully restrained a man named Antiklos (Anticlus) when he tried to answer Helen’s convincing imitation of his wife; when the Trojans relaxed their guard, the Greeks emerged from the horse and the real slaughter began; in The Odyssey, we are simply told that the best Greek warriors were inside the Wooden Horse so we can assume that Idomeneus was included in that category; after the war, Idomeneus and his surviving companions returned safely to Crete. |
| Catalogues of Women and Eoiae, fragment 68, line 67 |
| Ikarius (Icarius) |
| The first mortal man to taste wine. |
| When the god of wine, Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus), was traveling in Attica, he was entertained by the a kindly man named Ikarius. |
| As a reward for his hospitality, Dionysos gave Ikarios the gift of wine which was unknown to mortal men at that time; when Ikarios shared the wine with his neighbors, they became drunk, murdered Ikarios and hid his body; knowing something was wrong, Ikarios’ daughter, Erigone, used her faithful dog, Maira (Maera), to search for her father; when Erigone found Ikarios’ dead body she was so overwhelmed with sadness that she committed suicide by hanging herself from a tree; with Erigone and Ikarios both dead, the faithful dog, Maira (Maera), was placed in the sky as the brightest star and thereafter called the Dog Star. |
| Iliad |
| The epic poem ascribed to the poet, Homer, and thought to date from the eighth century BCE, the poem describes the final year of the ten year siege of the city of Troy by the Argives, i.e. the mainland Greeks. |
| The poem consists of approximately 15,691 lines and has been divided into twenty four books, presumably for each letter of the Greek alphabet; the name, Iliad, comes from one of the earliest names for Troy, i.e. Ilion. |
| Most modern translations are taken from the oldest complete manuscripts which date from the tenth century CE but there are papyri from the third century BCE that contain portions of the poem. |
| There has been a long-standing dispute as to the “true” author of The Iliad and also as to whether the original format of the poem was written or oral; the poetic consistency of the poem leads most researchers to assume that Homer was, in fact, one man and the author of the poem; the sheer length of the poem suggests that it was written and not oral but there are no definitive answers to these questions. |
| There are several excellent translations of The Iliad and many horrible translations; I suggest the translations of Richmond Lattimore (ISBN 0226469409) or Robert Fitzgerald (ISBN 0385059418); these books can be found at your library or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site. |
| Ilion |
| The Greek name for the city of Troy; the city was named after the fourth king of Troy, Ilos. |
| Troy was an ancient Greek city in Asia Minor in the province of Mysia between the rivers Skamandros (Scamander) and Simoeis (Simois); located near the coast of the Aegean Sea; an hours walk southwest of the Hellespont (Dardanelles Straits); according to The Iliad, Troy was founded by the grandson of Zeus, Tros, and thrived for three generations until the city was sacked under the reign of King Priam; the Troy of The Iliad was utterly destroyed circa 1250 BCE by the mainland Greeks and never re-established to its former glory or wealth. |
| After over a hundred years of excavation, the different layers of the ruins of ancient Troy have been divided into nine classifications designated with the Roman numerals I-IX with subdivisions of each classification indicated by lower cases letters, i.e. the original foundations of Troy are named Ia-Ik; the city we normally think of as the Troy of The Iliad is called Troy VI, i.e. Troy six, and is assumed to have been destroyed circa 1250 BCE. |
| The geographic location of Troy was vitally important to its continued habitation and prosperity; the fortunes of the Trojans fluctuated over the centuries but the city was continuously occupied and constantly revitalized after either natural disasters or armed conquests reduced the city to rubble and dust; the walls and buildings of the various cities were made of mud-brick and each successive city was built on the ruins of the previous foundations; the mud-brick construction made it impossible to reuse the raw materials and so the old city was simply leveled and the newest incarnation of the city was built on the ruins and therefore each new city was elevated slightly higher than the preceding city. |
| The original foundations of the city date to the Early Bronze Age circa 2900-2450 BCE; it was a modest city and covered an area approximately 100 yards in diameter; this phase of Troy is commonly known as Troy Ia-k. |
| The second incarnation of Troy, designated Troy IIa-h, also existed in the Early Bronze Age and lasted from circa 2450-2200 BCE; the size of the city increased and covered an area of approximately 900 square yards; this Troy, with towers and a megaron, also included a settlement outside the city’s circuit walls; at least two phases of Troy II were destroyed by what appears to be severe natural disasters; level IIg is called the Burnt City because the condition of the rubble strongly suggests that the wooden parts of the city were not merely torn down, but rather burned to the ground. |
| Troy III existed from circa 2200-1700 BCE and is divided into the subdivisions a-d; this was during the Middle Bronze Age and the city doubled in size. |
| The cities of Troy IVa-e and Va-d seem to be less prosperous for the rulers and citizens of the city; these subdivisions are generally included in the time period that covers Troy III. |
| Homer’s Troy, Troy VI, dates from the Middle and Late Bronze Age and consists of levels a-h; this was probably the city that the Greeks destroyed after their ten year siege; the city was only slightly larger than Troy III but there are indications that this phase of the city was the most prosperous incarnation yet; the circuit wall was longer and thicker than any previous city wall and the outer settlement was larger than ever before; the city supported a population of five to ten thousand permanent residents; also of significance during this phase of Troy’s development is the fact that excavators found horse skeletons in the ruins of these levels and corresponds to Homer’s characterization of ‘the horse taming Trojans.’ |
| Troy VII, like the previous reconstructions of the city, was built on the ruins of preceding city; Troy VII existed in the Late Bronze Age, i.e. 1250-1050 BCE; although there are those who believe that this is the Troy of The Iliad, it has been pointed out that Troy VII appears to have been hastily built and the workmanship seems inferior to the prosperous city and outer settlement of Troy VI; the final phase of Troy VII was destroyed by fire and it is assumed that this is a sign of conquest rather than natural disaster. |
| Troy VIII is considered to be the last Greek attempt to keep Troy as a permanent settlement and, although a smaller and more humble city, might have lasted until as late as 85 BCE; Troy VIII is assumed to have been populated by settlers from Thessaly or another northern Greek state; the historian, Herodotus (484?-circa 425 BCE) (book 7, chapter 43), mentions that the Persian king, Xerxes, stopped at Troy on his way to conquer Greece and sacrificed one thousand cattle to the goddess, Athene (Athena) of Ilion; the Magi, the priests and magicians who accompanied Xerxes, made libations to the ancient heroes of Troy; Herodotus then makes a strange statement, he says that Xerxes and his company were seized with fear during the night but he does not elaborate as to the cause of their fear; also, Herodotus does not elaborate as to the population of Troy when Xerxes arrived or comment as to the physical condition of the city; Alexander the Great is also said to have visited Troy on his way to conquer the Persian Empire; the city was finally leveled in 85 BCE by the Roman legate, Flavius Fimbria. |
| Troy remained a pile of rubble until Julius Caesar visited the city circa 48 BCE; he began a rebuilding project which was continued by his successor, Caesar Augustus; the Romans believed that Troy was the mother-city of Rome because after the Trojan hero, Aineias (Aeneas), fled Troy, he found his way to the Italian peninsula and eventually united the tribes of Latium to form the basis of the Roman Empire. |
| Despite the historical references to Troy by historians such as Herodotus and Arrian, the actual existence of the city seems to have been considered a mere myth by serious scholars until the mid-eighteenth century; the most notable, and perhaps notorious, true believer in the actual existence of Troy was the wealthy businessman named Heinrich Schliemann; although Schliemann may not have been the first man to excavate the ruins of Troy, he is certainly the most famous; since his monumental and highly publicized discovery circa 1870 CE, Troy has become a well researched archeological site as well a popular tourist attraction. |
| One of the finest books on the subject is Troy c. 1700-1250 BC, by Fields, Spedaliere and Spedaliere, (ISBN 0841767034); the text is engaging and the illustrations are excellent; this book can be found at your library or you can order it from the Book Shop on this site. |
| The city is also called Ilios and Ilium. |
| Ilos (Ilus) |
| The grandfather of the last king of Troy, Priam; he was the eldest son of Tros and the father of Laomedon; Troy, i.e. Ilion, was named after him; he was the brother of Ganymede and Assarakos (Assaracos). |
| Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 10, line 415; book 11, lines 166 and 372; book 20, lines 232 and 236; book 24, line 349 |
| Iliad (Fagles), book 10, line 481; book 11, lines 193 and 437; book 20, lines 268 and 273; book 24, line 414 |
| Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 10, line 460; book 11, lines 192 and 422; book 20, lines 265 and 269; book 24, line 424 |
| Imbros |
| An island in the Aegean Sea located north-west of the city of Troy. |
| Imbros is 108 square miles (280 square kilometers) in area; it was in a gulf near Imbros where Poseidon (lord of the Sea) hobbled his horses when he went to assist the armies of the Greeks as they besieged Troy. |
| Approximate East Longitude 25º 85' and North Latitude 40º 18' |
| Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 13, line 33; book 14, line 281; book 21, line 43; book 24, lines 78 and 753 |
| Iliad (Fagles), book 13, line 41; book 14, line 337; book 21, line 49; book 24, lines 97 and 885 |
| Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 13, line 37; book 21, line 50; book 24, lines 95 and 900 |
| Hymn to Delian Apollon, line 36 |
| India |
| In relation to the ancient Greeks, India was simply the eastern-most border of the Persian Empire. |
| The islands of the Indian Ocean were also a probable source of the tin used in the manufacture of bronze which the Greeks used for weapons, household utensils and artwork. |
| The historian, Herodotus, gave many examples of how the Indian nation interacted with the Persians and served as a contingent of the Persian army; the Indians were said to be the most numerous people on earth and paid a tribute of 360 talents of gold dust (20,520 pounds) to the Persian Empire. |
| The Indians were also said to eat their parents after they died and to be black like the Ethiopians (Aithiopians) of Africa; when the Persians took the city of Babylon, the Persian satrap (governor) had so many Indian hunting dogs that the tribute (taxes) of four large villages was required to feed and maintain them. |
| The Indians were credited with the most unlikely method of obtaining gold that you will ever encounter; the inhabitants of northern India were the most war-like and it was this group who gathered the gold; they would harness three camels, two male and one female, and ride into the desert during the hottest part of the day, i.e. early morning; in the desert, there were large ants, smaller than dogs but larger than foxes; these ants would dig holes in the sand and the sand deposited on the surface contained gold; the heat of the sun would force the ants underground and the Indians would use this occasion to fill their bags with the gold laden sand; the ants would smell the intruders and bolt from their holes to defend their territory; when the ants emerged, the Indians would put the bags of sand on the female camel, take the male camels in tow, and ride for home as quickly as possible; there was nothing faster afoot than those ants and they soon overtook the fleeing Indians; when the ants were snapping at the heels of the camels, the Indians would cut the male camels loose and let the ants devour them while the rider made his escape on the female camel with his gold. |
| The Persian emperor, Darius, was the first to conquer India when he sent a group of explorers down the Indus River to see where it entered the sea; the explorers determined the course of the river and proclaimed that it had the second largest number of crocodiles of any river in the world (we can assume that only the Nile River of Egypt had more crocodiles). |
| The Indians wore garments of a peculiar fabric called cotton; their infantry troops used reed bows and arrows tipped with iron; the Indian cavalry rode swift horses and drove chariots pulled by both horses and wild asses. |
| In 480 BCE, when the Persian navy was defeated near the island of Salamis, King Xerxes fled to his homeland but left a contingent of the Persian army in Thessaly; along with the elite Persian troops, the Indian infantry and cavalry were chosen as part of the occupying force; when the final battle took place near Plataea, the Indian army, like the Persians and their other allies, were soundly defeated by the Greeks. |
| Histories, book 1.192; book 3.38, 3.94, 3.97 and 3.102-106; book 4.44; book 5.3; book 7.65 and 7.86; book 8.113; book 9.31 |
| Ino |
| ee NOH |
| The daughter of Kadmos (Cadmus) and Harmonia of Thebes; the sister of Thyone (a.k.a. Semele), Agaue, Polydoros (Polydorus) and Autonoe. |
| Ino played three very important roles in Greek history: |
| 1) King Athamas of Orchomenos (Orchomenus) had two children by is nymph wife, Nephele (Cloud), Helle and Phrixus (Phrixos); Athamas rejected Nephele and married Ino; Ino began to plot against Helle and Phrixus and finally contrived a way to convince Athamas to sacrifice Phrixus; Nephele and the god Hermes arranged for the two children to escape on a flying ram with a Golden Fleece; the Quest for the Golden Fleece became one of the most important episodes in Greek history; |
| 2) Later, Ino was given the dreadful responsibility of caring for the infant god, Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus); when Ino’s sister, Thyone was transformed into a goddess and given the name Semele, the task of caring for Thyone’s infant son fell to Ino; Dionysos was the son of Thyone and Zeus so Zeus’ sister/wife, Hera, plotted against Thyone and her unborn son; Hera intended nothing but grief to come to anyone who was party to Dionysos’ birth or upbringing; Ino became an unwitting victim of Hera’s wrath; Hera compelled Athamas to murder his son, Learchos; to escape Hera’s punishment, Ino leapt into the sea with her son, Melikertes (Melicertes); |
| 3) After she leapt into the sea, Ino was transformed into a sea goddess and assumed the name, Leukothea (Leucothea), i.e. the White Goddess; Ino rescued Odysseus from drowning by giving him a magic veil that would keep him afloat in the raging sea. |
| Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 5, lines 333 and 461 |
| Odyssey (Fagles), book 5, lines 367 and 511 |
| Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 5, lines 344 and 486 |
| Theogony, line 976 |
| Histories, book 7.197 |
| Intaphrenes |
| One of the seven Persians who successfully mounted the revolt which deposed the usurper, Smerdis, from the throne of the Persian Empire. |
| When the second king of the Persian Empire, Kambyses (Cambyses) was occupied with the subjugation of Egypt, a Mede named Smerdis assumed the role of Kambyses’ dead brother, also named Smerdis, and claimed the throne for himself; Kambyses had secretly arranged the murder of his brother, Smerdis, and therefore knew that the Smerdis on the throne was not his brother but before Kambyses could return to confront the false-Smerdis and reclaim his throne, he accidentally wounded himself with his own sword and died. |
| The false-Smerdis was very clever at concealing his true identity and never left the palace or allowed high ranking Persians to see him; the false-Smerdis not only bore the same name as Kambyses’ brother but was also physically similar to him, with one exception: the Median Smerdis had no ears; Kambyses had inflicted a punishment on the Mede that required that his ears be lopped off. |
| One of the seven conspirators, Otanes, was the first to suspect that something was wrong and he devised a plan to determine the truth of the matter; Otanes’ daughter, Phaedyme, was the wife the true-Smerdis and was occasionally required to attend the false-Smerdis as part of his pretense to the throne; Otanes instructed her to secretly feel Smerdis’ head to see if he had any ears; Phaedyme bravely obeyed her father and recognized the false-Smerdis for what he was. |
| Otanes began to recruit other Persians in what would ultimately be a rebellion; with the help of Intaphrenes, Aspathines, Gobryas, Megabyzus, Darius and Hydarnes, Otanes plotted to murder the false-Smerdis and reclaim the throne of the empire for the Persians; the seven rebels fought their way into the false-king’s chamber and killed him; Intaphrenes was stabbed in the eye during the fight; when the populace found out what had transpired, a wave of violence swept the city and only darkness saved the Medes from complete extermination. |
| The seven men then debated as to which type of government to establish; the former king, Kambyses, had been cruel and excessive in the extreme but Darius argued for another monarchy and finally won the others to his point of view; Darius was installed as the third king of the Persian Empire in 521 BCE; Intaphrenes and the other rebels were granted special privileges in the new kingdom and were allowed to have an audience with the king at any time unless he was with one of his wives. |
| Histories, book 3.68-88 |
| Iokaste (Jocasta) |
| The wife of Laius and wife/mother of Oedipus. |
| Iokaste and her husband, Laius, the king of the city of Thebes, were warned by the oracle at Delphi that if they had a son, he would kill Laius and take his throne; when the son was born, Iokaste and Laius gave the infant to a shepherd with instructions to kill the child; the shepherd pierced the child’s ankles and intended to leave him in the wilderness to die; instead, the would-be killer gave the boy to another shepherd with the assumption that the boy would never be seen again and that Laius and Iokaste would never find out that he had disobeyed them. |
| The infant was taken to the city of Corinth where he was adopted by the king, Polybos; the orphaned child with the injured ankles was named Oedipus (which means “swollen ankles”). |
| Upon reaching manhood, Oedipus was told by the Delphic oracle that he would be the murderer of his father; Oedipus loved Polybos, who he assumed to be his natural father, and fled Corinth so that the prophecy could not be fulfilled; while traveling, Oedipus met a nobleman on the road and after suffering insults and blows, Oedipus killed the nobleman and all but one of his guards and proceeded to Thebes; he had no idea that the man he had just killed was his father, Laius. |
| Before he reached the city, Oedipus was stopped by the Sphinx which menaced and killed travelers on the road to Thebes; the Sphinx would ask riddles and if the travelers could not give the correct answers, she killed them; Oedipus was stopped and asked to answer a riddle; Oedipus answered the riddle correctly and the Sphinx killed herself. |
| When Oedipus reached Thebes he was welcomed as a hero and, since King Laius was now dead, Oedipus was made the king and allowed to unwittingly marry his mother, Iokaste. |
| Many years and four children later, she and Oedipus learned the truth of their unholy relationship; she hanged herself and Oedipus blinded himself and spent the rest of his life as a wanderer. |
| Oedipus and Iokaste had four children: Ismene, Antigone, Eteokles (Eteocles) and Polyneikes (Polyneices); the children suffered the curse of their parents and lived lives of sorrow and as outcasts. |
| She is also referred to as Epikaste or Epicaste. |
| Ion 2 |
| A drama by Euripides written circa 412 BCE dealing with the founder of the Ionian race, Ion. |
| Cast of Characters: |
| Hermes |
| Ion |
| Kreusa (Creusa) |
| Xanthus |
| The Pythia of Apollon |
| Athene (Athena) |
| This is a wonderful play; it’s full of history and drama; there are several striking elements which make it truly unique: |
| 1) At the beginning, we are given a brief tour of the Shrine of Apollon at Delphi as it must have appeared in Euripides’ time; a group of servants approach the outer precincts of the temple and meet Ion; they ask him questions and comment on the various sculptures and decorations; |
| 2) The scene where Ion and his mother, Kreusa (Creusa), are reunited is quite moving and sentimental; a true dramatic moment; and |
| 3) Euripides, using the voice of Kreusa, is hypercritical of Apollon and the other philandering gods; he denounces their thoughtless and often cruel manipulation of the humans who worship and revere them; however, at the end of the play, he very judiciously retracts his accusations and proclaims the acts of the Immortals to be beyond the scope of human understanding and essentially benign and nurturing. |
| I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene; 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. |
| Ionian Revolt |
| Circa 500 BCE, the political situation in Ionia became desperate; the Greek colonists of Ionia had survived good and bad rulers but since the Persian conquest fifty years hence, the plight of the Ionians was becoming less and less tolerable. |
| The seeds of the Ionian Revolt were planted when the political party of the democrats banished some rich men from the island of Naxos; these men took refuge in the Persian city of Miletos (Miletus) and appealed to the local tyrant, Aristagoras, for help in regaining control of Naxos; Aristagoras did not have the resources or authority to mount such an invasion so he took the matters up the Persian chain of command with promises of an easy victory and that Naxos could be used as a staging area for the invasion of the other islands of the Kyklades (Cyclades) Group and, finally, the Greek mainland. |
| The Persian king, Darius, approved the plan and a fleet of 200 ships was launched with a Persian named Megabates as the commander; preparing for the attack on Naxos, the fleet gathered near the island of Chios; when Megabates was making his inspection of the fleet, he found one of the ships unguarded; Megabates had the ship’s captain bound with his head protruding through an oar-hole; Aristagoras appealed for mercy but Megabates insisted on the humiliating punishment; Aristagoras deliberately disobeyed Megabates and freed the errant captain; Megabates was furious and devised a clever plan where Aristagoras would lose his wealth, power and his life. |
| Megabates secretly sent a messenger to Naxos and warned the unsuspecting islanders of the impending invasion; the people of Naxos made hasty preparations and were ready when the Persians arrived; a siege of four months ensued and the Persians realized that they could not afford to continue because their war-chest was empty and the easy victory which Aristagoras had promised was not to be had; the Persians withdrew and Aristagoras realized his future looked bleak. |
| At this same time, a captive of King Darius named Hestiaeus, sent a message to Aristagoras and urged him to organize a revolt of the Ionian Greeks; the time seemed right to Aristagoras so he plotted to arrest all the princes of the Ionian cities and replace them with men he could trust; with the institution of military governors and the revolt against Darius clearly in the open, Aristagoras sailed to Sparta to seek an alliance. |
| The Spartan king, Kleomenes (Cleomenes), when he heard how far the Persian capital of Susa was from the Aegean Sea (three months march), dismissed Aristagoras abruptly; Aristagoras then tried to bribe Kleomenes but was again rebuffed; Aristagoras took his appeal to the city of Athens and presented his proposal to the popular assembly; where Aristagoras had been unable to persuade one man (the Spartan king), he had no trouble gaining the support of the people of Athens; they promised twenty ships and appointed a commander named Melanthius to assist Aristagoras. |
| Other allies joined the revolt and Aristagoras organized an attack on the Persian city of Sardis; Aristagoras did not go to Sardis himself but sent a large ground force to capture the city while he waited in Miletos; circa 498 BCE, Sardis was burned but not captured; the homes of the city were made of straw and when one house was set ablaze, with the exception of the Acropolis, the entire city burned to the ground; the Ionians retreated to the city of Ephesus and were soundly defeated by the pursuing Persians. |
| The Athenians withdrew their support for the Ionians but the revolt continued; the city of Byzantium was captured and other northern provinces joined the Ionians against the Persians; the island of Cyprus tried to join the revolt but was soon recaptured by the Persians; Darius instructed his best generals to quash the revolt and the Ionians were soon losing territory to the Persian onslaught. |
| Aristagoras realized that his fate was not going to be one of victory or honorable defeat; he took his few supporters to Thrace and tried to continue his tyranny on the humble people of that land; he was finally killed trying to capture an unimportant town in a poor nation. |
| The Ionian Revolt ended with the Persians again in control of the Greek colonies but now the Persians were openly hostile to the cities of the Greek mainland for their support of the Ionians; when the Greeks had burned Sardis, the temple of the goddess Kybele (Cybele) was inadvertently destroyed and the Persians, in retribution, desecrated many Greek temples and shrines when they eventually invaded the Greek mainland in 490 and 480 BCE; also, the Persians never forgave the Athenians for meddling in the affairs of their empire and the burning of Sardis was a pretext for the burning of Athens in 480 BCE. |
| Histories, book 5.30-38, 5.49-51, 5.54-55, 5.65, 5.97-103 and 5.124-126 |
| Iphianassa 1 |
| ee fee AHN assa |
 |
| One of the three daughters of Agamemnon and Klytemnestra (Clytemnestra). |
| In The Iliad, she is called Iphianassa but later authors and other portions of the Epic Cycle name her as Iphigenia; in The Kypria, which is part of the Epic Cycle, Iphigenia and Iphianassa are said to be two different women but, for the sake of consistency, we shall assume that Homer was correct and that later authors were mistaken. |
| Iphianassa was one of the three daughters of Agamemnon and Klytemnestra (Clytemnestra) who was offered to Achilles if he would put away his anger and return to the battle with the Trojans. |
| When the Argive fleet was about to sail for Troy from Aulis, the goddess Artemis would not let the ships leave the harbor because Agamemnon had offended the goddess by boasting about his skills as a archer; the seer, Kalchas (Calchas), said that unless Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter, Iphianassa, to Artemis, the fleet would not be allowed to leave Aulis; Agamemnon had Iphianassa brought to Aulis on the pretext that she was to marry Achilles; when the time for the sacrifice came, Artemis took Iphianassa from the altar and substituted a deer in her stead; Iphianassa was taken to the land of Tauris to serve as a priestess for Artemis; she remained in Tauris until her brother, Orestes, was sent to steal the image of Artemis from the temple at Tauris; he and Iphianassa recognized each other and he persuaded her to flee with him; her name literally means Strong-Born. |
| The above image shows the stag being substituted for Iphianassa so that she can be saved from being sacrificed. |
| Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 9, lines 145 and 287 |
| Iliad (Fagles and Fitzgerald), book 9, lines 174 and 348 |
| The Kypria, fragment 1 |
| Iphigenia at Aulis |
| A play that was begun by Euripides but finished, it is assumed, by his son circa 405 BCE. |
| Cast of Characters: |
| Agamemnon |
| Menelaos (Menelaus) |
| Klytemnestra (Clytemnestra) |
| Iphigenia |
| Achilles |
| This play is not complete and different translators present it in different ways; the prologue to the play seems to be misplaced and sometimes does not appear at the beginning of the play and the ending is assumed to have been added or rewritten at a much later date; regardless, the body of the play is intact and is very enjoyable and dramatic. |
| The Greeks are assembled at Aulis and awaiting a favorable wind so they can sail to Troy and retrieve Helen from her Trojan lover, Alexandros (Paris); the seer, Kalchas (Calchas), has foreseen that the fleet cannot sail until Agamemnon sacrifices his daughter, Iphigenia, at the altar of the goddess, Artemis; Agamemnon has sent for Iphigenia on the pretext that she will be married to Achilles; only Agamemnon, Menelaos (Menelaus), Odysseus and Kalchas know of the intended sacrifice; Agamemnon has second thoughts and sends a messenger to stop Iphigenia from coming but Menelaos intercepted the messenger and the message is not delivered. |
| Menelaos berates Agamemnon for trying to save Iphigenia and the two brothers exchange bitter words; Agamemnon blames Menelaos for having a faithless wife such as Helen and is willing to accept the violent reaction of the assembled army in order to save the life of his eldest daughter; he knows that when the truth is finally revealed, the eager soldiers will attack him and destroy his kingdom; he finally comes to the conclusion that he can either kill Iphigenia or face death for his entire family. |
| When Iphigenia arrives at Aulis, she is accompanied by her mother, Klytemnestra (Clytemnestra) and her infant brother Orestes; Agamemnon is not prepared to face his wife, he assumed that Iphigenia would arrive alone and that his bloody deed would go unchallenged; Klytemnestra is delighted that her daughter is going to marry such a noble and renown man as Achilles and when she accidentally meets him, she begins to talk about the upcoming marriage; Achilles is dumbfounded and tells her that there will be no marriage; a faithful servant intervenes and tells Klytemnestra and Achilles of Agamemnon’s plan to sacrifice Iphigenia; Klytemnestra is understandably shocked and Achilles is incensed that Agamemnon would use his good name to foist such a diabolical scheme; he vows to stop the sacrifice but asks Klytemnestra to try to persuade Agamemnon to abandon the sacrifice before he has to raise his sword. |
| Klytemnestra confronts Agamemnon and begs him not to destroy their family by committing such a cowardly act as killing Iphigenia; she tells him that he will lose the love and respect of his entire family and disgrace his ancestors if he dares to kill his daughter; Agamemnon hardens his heart and tells her that he will not be dissuaded; Iphigenia begs her father to spare her life and reminds him of the many happy moments they shared while she was growing up; her touching and heartfelt appeal is one of the most touching moments of the play. |
| Agamemnon is determined to proceed with the sacrifice; and Klytemnestra has only Achilles to defend her; when Achilles tries to speak out for Iphigenia, he is assaulted by the army and even his own troops turn against him but he is a man of his word and is determined to defend Iphigenia even if it means his own death; at this point, Iphigenia has an inspired moment of clarity; she sees her death as a symbolic gesture to save Greece from the barbarians of Asia Minor; she radiates inner strength and tells her mother and Achilles to not interfere with the sacrifice; she is willing to walk unaided to the altar and bare her throat for the sword. |
| I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene or the Bantam Classic, Ten Plays by Euripides translated by Moses Hadas and John McLean (ISBN 0553213636); 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. |
| Iphigenia in Tauris |
| A play by Euripides produced circa 414 BCE. |
| Cast of Characters: |
| Iphigenia |
| Pylades |
| Orestes |
| Thoas |
| Athene (Athena) |
| This play is a pleasant combination of action and tragedy; although this play is not as tragic as other plays by Euripides, it still has the elements of sadness and futility that leave you with a sense of hope tempered with dismay. |
| The action takes place in the land of Tauris, in Scythia, where Thoas is king and Iphigenia is the priestess of the goddess, Artemis; when Iphigenia’s father, Agamemnon tried to kill her as a human sacrifice, Artemis secretly substituted a deer on the altar and transported Iphigenia to her temple in Tauris; to avenge the attempted sacrifice of Iphigenia, Artemis has made her temple in Tauris into an instrument of revenge for the outrageous treatment of Iphigenia; Artemis has decreed that any hapless Greeks who happen to come to Tauris will be killed on her altar; Iphigenia’s duty to purify the sacrifices for slaughter. |
| As the play opens, Iphigenia has had a disturbing dream which she interprets to mean that her brother, Orestes, is dead; they were parted when she had been a young woman and he was only a child; throughout her life in exile she has wondered what became of her dear brother and now, after a vivid dream, she is convinced that he is dead; when she receives word that two new Greeks have been captured and are being brought to the temple for sacrifice, she hardens her heart and prepares herself for the blood that will soon flow. |
| Unknown to Iphigenia, Orestes and his companion, Pylades, have come to Tauris at the bidding of the god Apollon; after murdering his mother, Orestes can only escape the constant pursuit of the Furies by stealing a statue of Artemis and returning it to Athens; since Artemis is Apollon’s sister, it seems that Orestes will be allowed to complete his mission with the protection of Apollon; regardless, the two thieves still exercise caution when the plan their heist. |
| Before Orestes and Pylades can secretly enter the temple and steal the statue, they are seen on the beach and captured; as part of the death ritual, they are taken to Iphigenia to be purified; Orestes is more relieved than worried because he can see an end to his fugitive life and a relief from the guilt of matricide; Iphigenia begins to question them because she wants to hear news from her homeland; Iphigenia does not identify herself by name and asks her questions cautiously; Orestes answers Iphigenia’s questions evasively but when she finally learns that they are from Argos, she asks pointed questions about the fate of her mother and father and sister and brother; being desperate to contact her family, she offers Orestes and Pylades a deal that will spare one of their lives; she says that only one of them will have to be sacrificed if the other one will swear to take a message back to Argos; Orestes volunteers to die if Pylades is allowed to go free but Pylades says that he will be disgraced if he returns to Argos with the blood of his dear friend on his hands; Orestes finally prevails and Pylades is chosen to take a message to Argos for Iphigenia. |
| Iphigenia gives Pylades a letter and makes him take a solemn oath that he will faithfully convey her message to Argos; Pylades swears that the only thing that will prevent him from delivering the message is if his ship is wrecked and her letter is lost in the disaster; in case of such an occurrence, Iphigenia decides to make Pylades memorize the message; as she recites her message, it becomes obvious to Orestes that she is his older sister; a joyful reunion is cut short when they realize the deadly seriousness of their situation; the king and the population expect a human sacrifice and Orestes and Pylades cannot escape without some sort of clever scheme. |
| A plot is hatched and Iphigenia agrees to help Orestes steal the statue of Artemis and return to Argos with her brother and Pylades; the temple attendants have heard and seen the entire scene and they can either become part of the conspiracy or betray the thieves to the king; Iphigenia sways the attendants with a sorrowful plea for their cooperation. |
| When King Thoas enters, Iphigenia tells him that the Greek strangers must be taken to the shore of the sea and purified before they can be sacrificed; she tells the king that, when the strangers entered to temple, the statue of the goddess turned away in revulsion because the men were guilty of matricide and now the statue must also be taken to the sea and purified; the king completely trusts Iphigenia and believes her story; he takes his retinue into the temple and begins to purify it with torches while Iphigenia takes the statue and strangers to the sea for ritual purification. |
| While the king is preoccupied at the temple, Iphigenia and Orestes attempt to escape; some of the kings men suspect Iphigenia’s betrayal and try to stop her from boarding Orestes’ ship; after a fierce battle, Orestes and Iphigenia board the ship and, as the ship struggles for the open sea, the winds blow it back towards the rocks on the shore; their escape seems hopeless; King Thoas orders his subjects to mount their horses and ships to save the statue and bring Iphigenia back for punishment. |
| When things could not be any worst for Iphigenia and Orestes, the goddess Athene, (Athena) enters the scene; she tells King Thoas to stop his pursuit and says that her sister, Artemis, will not intervene or be offended by Iphigenia’s actions; the lord of the Sea, Poseidon, will calm the seas and Orestes and Iphigenia will be transported safely back to Athens; Athene explains that the statue that Orestes stole will be placed in a special shrine at Athens and that his crime of matricide will finally be forgiven. |
| One very interesting element of this play is the nature of the statue that Orestes was sent to steal; the statue of Artemis was not a carved statue or any type of artwork, it was a divine gift from the goddess that was dropped from the heavens; when Iphigenia told King Thoas that Artemis’ statue had turned away from the impure sacrificial victims, he did not question the reality of the event because he knew that the statue was imbued with the character of Artemis and therefore capable of lifelike actions; another factor in the play that is sometimes overlooked by modern readers is that what we call the temple of Artemis was not a place of worship as we perceive churches; the temples of the ancient Greeks were the actual, literal houses of the gods and goddesses; the Immortals resided in their temples and thus we should not underestimate the seriousness and reverence accorded these sacred structures. |
| The play is also called: Iphigenia Among the Tauris, Iphigenia Among the Tauri and Iphigenia in Taurica. |
| I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene or the Bantam Classic, Ten Plays by Euripides translated by Moses Hadas and John McLean (ISBN 0553213636); 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. |
| Iphiklos (Iphiclus) 1 |
| The son of Phylakos (Phylacos) and Klymene (Clymene); the uncle of Jason. |
| Jason’s father, Aeson, married Iphiklos’ sister, Alkimede (Alcimede) and this kinship inclined Jason to include Iphiklos in the Argonauts and the quest for the Golden Fleece. |
| Iphiklos was the father of Protesilaus (Protesilaos) and Podarkes (Podarces); Protesilaus was the first Greek soldier killed at Troy. |
| Iphiklos was a rich man and what we might call a cattle baron; his rich herds were thought to be such a prize that Neleus offered his daughter Pero to any man who could steal Iphiklos’ cows; a young seer named Melampous (Melampus) wanted to marry Pero and accepted the challenge but was caught by Iphiklos while trying to steal the cattle; a deal was struck in which Melampous would serve as seer for Iphiklos for one year and then Iphiklos would give Melampous the cattle he needed to marry Pero. |
| His name may also be rendered as Iphiklus or Iphiclos. |
| Argonautika, book 1, lines 45-48 |
| Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 2, line 705; book 13, line 698; book 23, line 636 |
| Iliad (Fagles), book 2, line 806; book 13, line 807; book 23, line 709 |
| Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 2, line 840; book 13, line 801; book 23, line 727 |
| Iphitos (Iphitus) 1 |
| A son of Eurytos (Eurytus) who was thrown to his death from the walls of the city of Tiryns by Herakles (Heracles). |
| For killing Iphitos, Herakles was forced into slavery for one year and purchased by the queen of Lydia, Omphale. |
| Iphitos and his brother, Klytios (Clytius), were 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. |
| Argonautika, book 1, lines 86-89 |
| Ippeis |
| A class of Athenian citizens, i.e. horsemen or charioteers. |
| When the noted statesman, Solon, reorganized the Athenian society (circa 594 BCE) he divided the citizens into four specific groups; the four classes under Solon’s constitution were: |
| 1) Pentakosiomedimnoi (the owners of large, productive tracts of land); |
| 2) Ippeis (named for their social class as horsemen or charioteers); |
| 3) Zeygitai (named for their social class as ox drivers); and |
| 4) Thetes (the lowest of the four classes of Athenian citizens, literally they were hired farm workers and served as lightly-armed soldiers and common seamen). |
| Irene (Eirene) 2 |
| Peace; a comic play by the Athenian poet, Aristophanes, produced in 421 BCE at the Great Dionysia where it won second prize. |
| Cast of Characters: |
| Trygaios |
| Hermes |
| Ares |
| Eirene (Peace) |
| Hierokles (Hierocles) |
| Son of Lamachos |
| Son of Kleonymos (Cleonymos) |
| Tumult (Omados or Homados) |
| When this play was presented, the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE) had been going on for ten years and the need for peace was becoming urgent; shortly after the production of Peace, Athens and Sparta managed to negotiate a treaty which gave the war ravaged Greeks a five year reprieve from the brutal and unrelenting war. |
| The story revolves around a common man named Trygaios who has had enough of the war and decides to take his complaint directly to Zeus; he does not intend to pray or sacrifice in order to get Zeus’ attention, he intends to go to Mount Olympos (Olympus) and confront Zeus face to face. |
| Mounting a flying dung-beetle named Pegasos (Pegasus), Trygaios files to Mount Olympos and is greeted by Hermes; the majority of the gods and goddesses have fled the sacred mountain; Ares (god of War) seems to be in charge of the mountain and he’s urgently looking for a pestle for his mortar so he can grind more Greek cities into dust; he is dismayed to find that the Athenian Kleon (Cleon) and the Spartan Brasides have been killed in the war because they were the best pestles he had. |
| The goddess Eirene (Peace) has been buried in a pit and Trygaios urges the chorus (who represent the various people of Greece) to help him dig her out; the city-folk in the chorus work at cross purposes but the country-folk work together and free Eirene from captivity; there follows a very interesting and highly symbolic scene where Eirene will not speak directly to the chorus but whispers to Hermes and he relates her messages; it seems that the Greeks have called upon Eirene too often with false promises and betrayed her trust; she does not feel that they will give her true homage and therefore will not favor them with her life sustaining voice. |
| Trygaios persuades Eirene to allow her handmaiden to return to Athens with him so that he can show the Council that Eirene will help them if they will give up their hateful ways; when Trygaios is once again on the earth’s surface he faces the audience and tells them that they looked very small and wicked when he flew above them on his dung-beetle and, now that he’s closer, they seem even more so. |
| A sacrifice is made to Eirene and the tradesmen start to approach Trygaios; the sickle-maker is jubilant because business is booming with the farmers working in their fields again; the craftsmen who made war implements are distraught because their products are now worthless; Trygaios suggests that shields be used as commodes and that helmets have handles attached so they can be used as wine pitchers; in the end, all seems to be as it should be with all the people of Greece reclaiming their peaceful traditions. |
| 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; when trying to find a readable translator, 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. |
| Ischys |
| A youth who offended Apollon by marrying Apollon’s consort, Koronis (Coronis). |
| Ischys was the son of Elatus and Koronis was the daughter of Phlegyas; Koronis was of divine birth and eventually became mother of the famous healer, Asklepios (Asclepius), with Apollon as the father. |
| Apollon was in Pytho when he learned that Koronis had married Ischys and he became enraged; supposedly, the messenger who brought him the news was a crow; up until that time, crows were white birds but, in his rage, Apollon turned every crow black. |
| Ischys and Koronis were both killed by Apollon for their insulting behavior. |
| Catalogues of Women, fragment 89 |
| Hymn to Pythian Apollon, line 210 |
| Isis |
| EE sis |
 |
| Known to the Egyptians as Ast; the wife of Asar (Osiris) and mother of Horus. |
| Isis was variously identified by the Greeks with the Heifer-Maiden, Io, Demeter and Athene (Athena). |
| When Herodotus was traveling in Egypt, he became aware of the Egyptian custom of treating cows and bulls as if they were holy; representations of Isis were adored with horns and thus her association with the Greek Heifer-Maiden, Io; the Greeks honored Io but did not refrain from eating cows; for that reason, no Egyptian would kiss a Greek on the mouth or use a Greek knife, spit or cauldron; when cows died in Egypt, they were thrown in the Nile River; bulls were buried until they were reduced to bones and then taken to an island in the Nile delta and ritualistically buried; there was also a shrine of Isis in the Egyptian city of Busiris where Isis was worshiped as Demeter. |
| The worship of Isis was quite common in ancient Greece and her shrines could be found in many cities, most notably on the acropolis of Corinth; the Greek Isis was not portrayed in the same way as the traditional Egyptian goddess; just as the famous Ptolemaic Kleopatra (Cleopatra) took on the appearance of a Egyptian even though she was Greek, the Isis who was revered in ancient Greece was essentially Greek in her appearance and attributes. |
| Histories, book 2.41, 2.59; book 4.186 |
| Islands of the Blest |
| The islands in the far West in the streams of Okeanos (Ocean) where the deceased heroes live in peace and untouched by sorrow. |
| After Zeus released Kronos (Cronos) from Tartaros (Tartarus) he placed him as the lord of the Islands of the Blest; also known as the Elysian Fields. |
| Works and Days, line 171+ |
| Odyssey (Lattimore and Loeb), book 4, line 563 |
| Odyssey (Fagles), book 4, line 635 |
| Odyssey (Fitzgerald), book 4, line 599 |
| Ismene |
| Ismene was one of the unfortunate daughters of King Oedipus of the city of Thebes. |
| Ismene’s lineage is difficult to explain in ordinary terms because her father was also her brother. |
| Her grandfather, Laius, was the king of Thebes and was married to Iokaste (Jocasta); because of offenses he had committed in his youth, Laius was told by the oracle at Delphi that his son would kill him and marry his wife; when Laius and Iokaste had a son they plotted to kill the child but, through a series of divinely directed events, their infant son, Oedipus, escaped death and was raised in Corinth as the son of king, Polybos. |
| When Oedipus grew to manhood the oracle at Delphi told him that he was destined to kill his father so he left Corinth and returned to Thebes without realizing that Thebes, not Corinth, was the home of his true mother and father; on the way to Thebes, Oedipus met Laius on the road and, after an altercation, killed him; Oedipus also encountered the Sphinx on the road to Thebes and after answering her riddle, she killed herself. |
| When Oedipus arrived in Thebes he was hailed as a hero for outwitting the Sphinx; he became the king of Thebes and, since Iokaste was now a widow, married her without realizing that she was his mother. |
| Oedipus and Iokaste had four children: Antigone, Ismene, Eteokles (Eteocles) and Polyneikes (Polyneices); when the children were young adults, Oedipus realized what had happened and that he had, true to the prophecy, killed his father and was now married to his mother; Iokaste killed herself in shame; Oedipus blinded himself and went into a self-imposed exile. |
| Ismene stayed in Thebes but Antigone went with her father as his guide and companion; Eteokles, as the eldest son, became the king of Thebes and exiled his brother, Polyneikes. |
| After many years of wandering, Oedipus took refuge in the sanctuary of the Eumenides (the Furies) near the town of Kolonus (Colonus); Ismene found Oedipus and Antigone in the sanctuary and tried to warn him that Iokasta’s brother, Kreon (Creon), and Polyneikes were both seeking his support in the coming confrontation between Eteokles and Polyneikes; Kreon appeared in the sanctuary and kidnapped Ismene and Antigone in order to bring pressure on Oedipus to return to Thebes but the king of Athens, Theseus, rescued the young women before Kreon could make his escape. |
| Soon afterwards, Oedipus died at Kolonus; Polyneikes went to Thebes with his armies to depose Eteokles but both brothers were killed in the fray; Kreon decreed that Eteokles would have a proper burial because he had died defending Thebes but Polyneikes’ body would be left to the dogs and vultures because he had died in disgrace by attacking his homeland and trying to depose the rightful king. |
| Antigone sought the help of Ismene so that Polyneikes could be buried properly but Ismene would not be a part of any plan that might antagonize Kreon; without Ismene’s help, Antigone defied Kreon and gave her brother a proper burial. |
| The age of Antigone and Ismene is a matter of debate; their ages are not clearly given but many scholars believe that Ismene was the eldest simply because her actions were more mature and reserved. |
| For the complete telling of this story, read The Theban Plays by Sophocles; you can find these plays at your local library or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site. |
