by Stephen Fry
Macbeth, 139
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 254, 276
Much Ado About Nothing, 287
Sonnet CII, 248
Twelfth Night, 194
Venus and Adonis, 264
The Winter’s Tale, 221
Shaw, George Bernard, 285
Sibyl, 98, 147, 265
Silenus, 143, 202, 204, 302–5
Silver Age, 129, 134, 142, 214
Sipylus, Mount (Mount Spil), 217, 233–34
Sirens, 59
Sisyphus, 134, 216, 219–31
Skolio (mountain peak), 120–21
Smilax, 261
Smyrna (Myrrhe; Myrrha), 262–63
Socrates, 288, 312, 319
Sodom and Gomorrah, 299
Sophocles, 31, 253
spelling, 323
spider, Arachne transformed into, 244
Staphylos (king of Assyria), 203
Stefani (mountain peak), 120
Steropes, 22, 55, 212, 225
Stheno, 63
storge (form of love), 145
Strymon (river god), 59
Styx (river), 25, 68, 69, 132–33, 228, 230
swans, 181
Syceus, 316
sycophant, 252
Symaethis, 278
T
Tagides, 63
Tantalus (king of Lydia), 134, 217–18, 232
tarantella, 289
Tarentum, 288
Tartarus, 20, 27–29, 36, 37, 54, 65, 67, 69, 215, 218, 221, 228, 231
Telephassa (queen of Tyre), 182–83
Telesphorus, 212
Telmissus, 300
Tennyson, Alfred, 260
Tereus (king of Thrace), 247–48
Terpsichore (Muse of dance), 59, 60, 83
Tethys, 22, 24–25, 39, 41, 46, 61, 65, 67, 68, 70, 77, 172, 199, 232
Thalassa (sea), 20, 25, 39, 67, 70
Thalia (daughter of Euronyme and Zeus), 61
Thalia (Muse of comedy and idyllic poetry), 60
Thallo (Flora), 61
Thamyris of Thrace, 54
Thanatos (Death)
name, 32
under Hades’s rule, 68
accompanies dead, 133
impossible to avoid, 134
deceived by Sisyphus, 224–27
released, 227
takes Sisyphus to Hades, 227–28
Thasos, 182, 185
Thebes
founded by Cadmus, 191–92, 206
Pentheus rules, 194, 196
scourged by fox, 253–54
Theia, 22, 25
Theias (king of Cyprus), 262
Themis, 22, 26–27, 61, 98, 130
theoxenia, 67, 299
Theseus, 70
Thespiae, 267–70
Thetis, 77, 323
Thisbe, 254, 275–77
Thoon, 316
Thoosa, 278
three, as significant number, 60
thyrsus, 204, 316
Tiresias, 265–67
Tisiphone (vengeance), 35
Titans
Kronos leads, 36, 43, 46
and rise of gods, 50
war with gods (Titanomachy), 54–55, 61, 63, 72, 315
defeated, 64
punished and rewarded, 65
Tithonus, 256–61, 266
Tmolus, 232, 306
Triton, 70, 85, 90
Tros (king of Troy), 248–49
Troy (Troad; Ilium), 248, 321
Tyndareus, 243
Typhoeus, 316
Typhon, 28, 29, 69
tyrannos, 192
tyrant, meaning of, 192, 288
Tyro, 219–21, 227, 243
U
Udaeus, 192
Ulysses. See Odysseus Underworld, Hades given control of, 67–68
universe, origins of, 18
Urania (Muse of astronomy and stars), 60
Ursa Major (constellation), 246
Ursa Minor (constellation), 246
V
Valkyries, 62
Venus. See Aphrodite
Vesta. See Hestia
Vestal Virgins, 67
Virgil, 57, 133
Voluptas. See Hedone
Vulcan. See Hephaestus
W
wine, 202–4
women, creation of, 124–25, 129
writing, 184
X
xenia (hospitality), 67, 214–15, 223, 298, 303
Z
Zephyrus, 149, 153, 155–57, 162, 203, 254, 261, 285
Zethus, 192
Zeus (Jupiter; Jove)
birth and infancy, 43, 44
appearance and character, 45
growth to manhood, 45
taught by Metis, 46–47
and mother’s plot against Kronos, 48–50
in war with Titans, 54–55
as father of Muses, 57
inherits rich natural world, 64
sentences Atlas, 64
promiscuity, 65, 71, 91
and hospitality, 67
rewards Hades and Poseidon, 67–68
pursues Demeter, 70
union with Hera, 73–75
forms assembly of twelve gods (dodecatheon), 72–73, 108
and Third Order of divine beings, 72
and Hephaestus’s trapping of Hera, 78
wedding to Hera, 79–81
and Melissa’s honey, 81–83
makes love to Metis, 84–85
passion for Leto, 91–92, 94
suffers headache from Metis, 85–86
gives birth to Athena, 86, 87, 88
infatuated with Athena, 90
guided by Metis from within, 90–91
loves and protects Artemis, 93–95
exiles Apollo, 97–98
accepts Hermes as messenger of gods, 106, 107
rule, 108–9, 138
relations with Prometheus, 112–13, 120
proposes creating mankind, 113–19
and Prometheus’s theft of fire, 123
gives container to Pandora, 125, 126
turns Lycaon into wolf, 130
punishes Prometheus, 135–37
Eros tells of Psyche, 164
affair with Io, 168–71
as father of Epaphus, 172–73
carries off Europa as bull, 183
fathers Amphion and Zethus, 192
returns Cadmus and Harmonia to human shape for death, 195
love affair with Semele, 196–201
kills Asclepius for reviving dead, 212
punishes Apollo, 213
invites Ixion to Olympus, 215
abducts Aegina, 223
punishes Sisyphus, 223
and disappearance of Thanatos (Death), 226
and Sisyphus’s avoiding death, 229
Arachne depicts promiscuity in weaving competition, 242–43
ravishes Callisto, 246
love for Ganymede, 248–50
turns Lailaps and Cadmean Vixen to stone, 254
grants Eos immortality for
Tithonus, 257–59
liaisons with nymphs at Mount
Helicon, 267–68
visits Philemon and Baucis, 299
denies hope to mankind, 314
kills Porphyrion, 316
Zeus Sabazios, 300
Zona, 146, 147–48, 153–58, 162
Stephen Fry is an award-winning comedian, actor, presenter, and director. He rose to fame alongside Hugh Laurie in A Bit of Fry and Laurie (which he cowrote with Laurie) and Jeeves and Wooster, and he was unforgettable as General Melchett in Blackadder. He hosted over 180 episodes of QI and has narrated all seven of the Harry Potter audiobook recordings. He is the bestselling author of four novels—The Stars’ Tennis Balls, Making History, The Hippopotamus, and The Liar—as well as three volumes of autobiography—Moab is My Washpot, The Fry Chronicles, and More Fool Me.
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