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Tantalus
A king of Lydia, father of Niobe and Pelops. He is represented by the poets as being, in the infernal regions, placed in a pool of water…
Tarpeia
Daughter of Sp. Tarpeius, the governor of the Roman citadel on the Saturnian hill, afterwards called the Capitoline, who was tempted by the…
Tarquinius Priscus
The fifth king of Rome, and son of Demaratus, a native of Greece. He exhibited military talents in the victories he gained over the…
Tarquinius Superbus
He ascended the throne of Rome after Servius Tullius, whom he murdered, and married his daughter Tullia. His reign was characterized by…
Taygete
Daughter of Atlas and Pleione, one of the Pleiades, from whom Mount Taygetus in Laconia is said to have derived its name . By Zeus…
Telemachus
Son of Penelope and Ulysses. At the end of the Trojan war he went in search of his father, whom, with the aid of Minerva, he found. Aided…
Tempe
A valley in Thessaly through which the river Peneus flows into the Aegean. It is described by the poets as one of the most delightful…
Terentia
Wife of M. Cicero, the orator, to whom she bore two children, a son and a daughter. She was a woman of sound sense and great resolution…
Terminus
A Roman divinity, presiding over boundaries and frontiers. His worship is said to have been instituted by Numa, who ordered that everyone…
Terpander
The father of Greek music, and through it of lyric poetry. He established the first musical school or system that existed in Greece, and…
Terpsichore
One of the Muses, daughter of Jupiter and Mnemosyne. She presided over dancing. brated Christian writer of Carthage, who lived A. D. 196…
Thais
A celebrated woman of Athens, who accompanied Alexander the Great in his Asiatic conquests. She is alluded to by Dryden in his famous ode…
Thales
One of the seven wise men of Greece, born at Miletus in Ionia. His discoveries in astronomy were great, and he was the first who calculated…
Thalia
One of the Muses who presided over festivals and comic poetry. Thalassius, Talassius, or Talassio. A Roman senator of the time of Romulus…
Thebes
It was here that the use of letters was first introduced from Phoenicia into western Europe. It was the reputed birthplace of the two great…
Themis
Daughter of Uranus and Ge, who was married to Zeus (Jupiter), and by whom she became the mother of the Horae, Eunomia, Dice (Astraea)…
Themistocles
A celebrated general born at Athens. When Xerxes invaded Greece, Themistocles was intrusted with the care of the fleet, and at the famous…
Theocritus
A Greek poet who lived at Syracuse in Sicily B. c. 282. He distinguished himself by his poetical compositions, of which some are extant…
Theodosius Second
He became emperor of the Western Roman empire at an early age. His territories were invaded by the Persians, but on his appearance at the…
Theognis
An elegiac and gnomic poet of Megara, who is said to have flourished about B. C. 548. His poetry is distinguished for elegance of style and…
Theophrastus
A native of Lesbos. Diogenes enumerates the titles of more than two hundred treatises which he wrote. He died in his 107th year, в. c. 288.
Therapnae
A town in Laconia, on the left bank of the Eurotas and a little above Sparta, celebrated in mythology as the birthplace of Castor and…
Thermopylae
A narrow pass leading from Thessaly into Locris and Phocis, celebrated for a battle fought there, B. C. 480, between Xerxes and the Greeks…
Thersites
A deformed Greek, in the Trojan war, who indulged in ridicule against Ulysses and others. Achilles killed him because he laughed at his…
Theseus
King of Athens and son of Aegeus by Aethra, was one of the most celebrated heroes of antiquity. He caught the bull of Marathon and…
Thespis
A Greek poet of Attica, supposed to be the inventor of tragedy, в. c. 536. He went from place to place upon a cart, on which he gave…
Thessalia
The largest division of Greece, it was bounded on the north by the Cambunian Mountains, which separated it from Macedonia; on the west by…
Thetis
A sea deity, daughter of Nereus and Doris. She married Peleus, their son being Achilles, whom she plunged into the Styx, thus rendering him…
Thia
Daughter of Uranus and Ge, one of the female Titans, who became by Hyperion the mother of Helios (Sol), Eos (Aurora), and Selene…
Thracia
The name, in earlier times, of the vast space of country bounded on the north by the Danube, on the south by the Propontis and the Aegean…
Thrasybulus
A famous general of Athens, who, with the help of a few associates, expelled the Thirty Tyrants, B. C. 401. He was sent with a powerful…
Thucydides
A celebrated Greek historian born at Athens. He wrote a history of the events connected with the Peloponnesian war. He died at Athens in…
Timoleon
A celebrated Corinthian, son of Timodemus and Demariste. When the Syracusans, oppressed with the tyranny of Dionysius the Younger…
Timon
A native of Athens, called the Misanthrope, from his aversion to mankind. He is the hero of Shakespeare's play of Timon of Athens, in which…
Timotheus
A famous musician in the time of Alexander the Great. Dryden names him in his well-known ode, Alexander's Feast : "Timotheus, placed on…
Tiresias
A celebrated prophet of Thebes. Juno deprived him of sight, and to recompense him for the loss Jupiter bestowed on him the gift of…
Tiryns
An ancient town in Argolis, southeast of Argos, and one of the most ancient in all Greece, it is said to have been founded by Proetus, the…
Tisiphone
One of the Furies, daughter of Nox and Acheron. Titanes (The Titans). A name given to the gigantic sons of Coelus and Terra. The most…
Tithonus
Son of Laomedon and Strymo, and brother of Priam. By the prayers of Eos (Aurora), who loved him, he obtained from the gods immortality, but…
Titus Vespasianus
Son of Vespasian and Flavia Domitilla, famous on account of his valor, particularly at the siege of Jerusalem. He had been distinguished…
Tomyris
A queen of the Massagetae, by whom Cyrus was slain in battle, в. c. 529. Trajanus, M. Ulpius Crinitus. A Roman emperor born at Ithaca. His…
Tribuni Plebis
Magistrates at Rome created in the year u. C. 261. The office of Tribune to the people was one of the first steps which led to more…
Triptolemus
Son of Oceanus and Terra, or, according to some authorities, son of Celeus, king of Attica, and Neaera. He was in his youth cured of a…
Tros
King of Phrygia. The son of Erichthonius and Astyoche, and grandson of Dardanus. He was married to Callirrhoe, by whom he became the father…
Tullus Hostilius
The king of Rome who succeeded Numa. He was of a warlike disposition, and distinguished himself by his expedition against the people of…
Tusculum
An ancient town in Latium, situated about ten miles southeast of Rome, on a lofty summit of the mountains which are called, after the town…
Tyrus
One of the greatest and most famous cities of the ancient world, which stood on the coast of Phoenice, about twenty miles south of Sidon…
Tartarus, Thisbe, Triton & Triumviri
One of the regions of hell, where, according to Vergil, the souls of those who were exceptionally depraved were punished. A beautiful girl…