Cretan of the island of Crete
Cyclops (Cyclopes, pl.) a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his or her forehead
Daedalus a skilled craftsman who created the Labyrinth on Crete in which the Minotaur (part man, part bull) was kept
daimon Greek for demon; an intermediary spirit between mortals and the gods
Dambe a centuries-old form of boxing associated with the Hausa people of West Africa
Danubian bordering the Danube river in Europe
Daphne a beautiful naiad who attracted Apollo’s attention; she was transformed into a laurel tree in order to escape him
Delos a Greek island in the Aegean Sea near Mykonos; birthplace of Apollo
Demeter the Greek goddess of agriculture; a daughter of the Titans Rhea and Kronos
Demophon the baby son of King Celeus, whom Demeter nursed and tried to make immortal as an act of kindness; brother of Triptolemus
Dionysus the Greek god of wine and revelry; the son of Zeus
Dionysus Festival a celebration held in Athens, Greece, to honor the god Dionysus, the central events of which were theatrical performances
Doors of Death the doorway to the House of Hades, located in Tartarus; doors have two sides—one in the mortal world, and one in the Underworld
elomìíràn the Yoruba word for others
Elysium the paradise to which Greek heroes were sent when the gods gave them immortality
Erythaea an island where the Cumaean Sibyl, a love interest of Apollo, originally lived before he convinced her to leave it by promising her a long life
Eubouleus son of Demeter and Karmanor; the Greek god of swineherds
Fields of Punishment the section of the Underworld where people who were evil during their lives are sent to face eternal punishment for their crimes after death
Flavian the Flavians were an imperial dynasty that ruled the Roman Empire between 69 and 96 CE
Gaea the Greek earth goddess; wife of Ouranos; mother of Titans, giants, Cyclopes, and other monsters
Ganymede a divine hero from Troy whom Zeus abducted to serve as his cupbearer in Olympus
Germani (Germanus, sing.) tribal people who settled to the west of the Rhine river
Gidigbo a form of wrestling that involves head-butting, from the Yoruba of Nigeria, Africa
gloutos Greek for buttocks
Gorgons three monstrous sisters (Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa) who have hair of living, venomous snakes; Medusa’s eyes can turn the beholder to stone
Greek fire an incendiary weapon used in naval battles because it can continue burning in water
griffin a winged creature with the head of an eagle and the body of a lion; the sacred animal of Britomartis
Grove of Dodona the site of the oldest Greek Oracle, second only to Delphi in importance; the rustling of trees in the grove provided answers to priests and priestesses who journeyed to the site
Hades the Greek god of death and riches; ruler of the Underworld
harpy a winged female creature that snatches things
Hausa a language spoken in northern Nigeria and Niger; also the name of a people
Hecate goddess of magic and crossroads
Hemithea teenage daughter of King Staphylus of Naxos; sister of Parthenos; Apollo made her and her sister divine to save them when they jumped off a cliff to escape their father’s rage
Hephaestus the Greek god of fire and crafts and of blacksmiths; the son of Zeus and Hera, and married to Aphrodite
Hera the Greek goddess of marriage; Zeus’s wife and sister; Apollo’s stepmother
Heracles the Greek equivalent of Hercules; the son of Zeus and Alcmene; the strongest of all mortals
Hercules the Roman equivalent of Heracles; the son of Jupiter and Alcmene, who was born with great strength
Hermes Greek god of travelers; guide to spirits of the dead; god of communication
Hessian mercenaries the approximately thirty thousand German troops hired by the British to help fight during the American Revolution when they found it too difficult to recruit their own soldiers
hippocampi (hippocampus, sing.) half-horse, half-fish creatures
Hunters of Artemis a group of maidens loyal to Artemis and gifted with hunting skills and eternal youth as long as they reject romance for life
Hyacinthus a Greek hero and Apollo’s lover, who died while trying to impress Apollo with his discus skills
ichor the golden fluid that is the blood of gods and immortals
ìgboyà the Yoruba word for confidence, boldness, and bravery
Imperial gold a rare metal deadly to monsters, consecrated at the Pantheon; its existence was a closely guarded secret of the emperors
Iris the Greek goddess of the rainbow, and a messenger of the gods
Julius Caesar a Roman politician and general who became a dictator of Rome, turning it from a republic into the Roman Empire
Karmanor a minor Greek harvest god; a local deity in Crete who married Demeter; together they had a son, Eubouleus, who became the god of swineherds
karpoi (karpos, sing.) grain spirits
Kronos the youngest of the twelve Titans; the son of Ouranos and Gaea; the father of Zeus; he killed his father at his mother’s bidding; Titan lord of fate, harvest, justice, and time
Labyrinth an underground maze originally built on the island of Crete by the craftsman Daedalus to hold the Minotaur
Lethe the Greek word for forgetfulness; the name of a river in the Underworld whose waters caused forgetfulness; the name of a Greek spirit of oblivion
Leto mother of Artemis and Apollo with Zeus; goddess of motherhood
Little Tiber the barrier of Camp Jupiter
Lityerses the son of King Midas; he challenged people to harvesting contests and beheaded those he beat, earning him the nickname “Reaper of Men”
Marcus Aurelius Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 CE; father of Commodus; considered the last of the “Five Good Emperors”
Marsyas a satyr who lost to Apollo after challenging him in a musical contest, which led to Marsyas being flayed alive
melomakarona Greek Christmas honey cookies
Midas a king with the power to transform anything he touched to gold; Lityerses’s father; he selected Marsyas as the winner in the musical contest between Apollo and Marsyas, resulting in Apollo giving Midas the ears of a donkey
Minotaur the half-man, half-bull son of King Minos of Crete; the Minotaur was kept in the Labyrinth, where he killed people who were sent in; he was finally defeated by Theseus
Mnemosyne Titan goddess of memory; daughter of Ouranos and Gaea
Mount Olympus home of the Twelve Olympians
Mount Othrys a mountain in central Greece; the Titans’ base during the ten-year war between the Titans and the Olympians
myrmeke a large antlike creature that poisons and paralyzes its prey before eating it; known for protecting various metals, particularly gold
Narcissus a hunter known for his beauty; the son of the river god Cephissus and the nymph Liriope; he was vain, arrogant, and disdainful of admirers; he fell in love with his own reflection; Narcissus was also the name of Commodus’s personal trainer and wrestling partner, who drowned the emperor in his bathtub—these were two different Narcissuses
Nemean Lion a large, vicious lion that plagued Nemea in Greece; its pelt was impervious to all human weapons; Hercules strangled it with his bare hands
Nero ruled as Roman Emperor from 54 to 58 CE; he had his mother and his first wife put to death; many believe he was responsible for setting a fire that gutted Rome, but he blamed the Christians, whom he burned on crosses; he built an extravagant new palace on the cleared land and lost support when construction expenses forced him to raise taxes; he committed suicide