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Goddesses of Ancient Greece - P
Panacea
("heal-all" or "universal cure") A herb that is supposed
to heal all ailments. In ancient Greece she was personified as a minor
Greek goddess who symbolizes the power of healing through herbs. She is
said to be one of the daughters (or sister) of Asclepius and Epione.
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Pandia
("all-bright") She was the daughter of Zeus and Selene; she
was the sister of Ersa and Nemea. Pandia was the goddess of brightness,
especially the sun. She might have also been the goddess of the full
moon and the mate of Zeus Pandion, the full moon god.
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Pandora
In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman on earth. Zeus ordered
Hephaestus, the god of craftsmanship, to create her and he did, using
water and earth. The gods endowed her with many talents; Aphrodite gave
her beauty, Apollo music, Hermes persuasion, and so forth. Hence her name:
Pandora, "all-gifted". When Prometheus stole fire from heaven,
Zeus took vengeance by presenting Pandora to Epimetheus, Prometheus' brother.
With her, Pandora had a jar, which she was not to open under any circumstance.
Impelled by her natural curiosity, Pandora opened the jar, and all evil
contained escaped and spread over the earth. She hastened to close the
lid, but the whole contents of the jar had escaped, except for one thing,
which lay at the bottom, and that, was Hope.
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Parthenos
("virgin") An epithet of the goddess Athena. The Parthenon is
her temple on the Acropolis in Greece.
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Pasiphae
The daughter of Helios and Perse, and wife of King Minos. She was the
mother of Glaucus, Andogeus, Phaedra, and Ariadne. When Minos had the
misfortune of insulting Poseidon, the god kindled a passionate love in
Pasiphae for a bull. She had Daedalus design a construction so that she
could mate with the bull, and thus she became the mother of the Minotaur.
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Peitho
("persuasion") One of the daughters of Okeanos, she is the chief
attendent of Aphrodite, and is the Spirit of the art of persuasive discourse.
Greece
Pemphredo
("alarm") She is one of Graeae, the three old women from Greek
myth.
Perse
Also Perseis, was one of the Oceanids from Greek culture, and was one
the three thousand daughters of Oceanus and Tethys. With the sun god Helios,
she became mother of Calypso, Aetes, Circe, Pasiphae, and Perses. Another
version of Perse¹s life said Apollo was the father of her children.
Persephone
Queen of the Underworld. Destroyer Goddess. Crone of the Triple Goddess
with Kore and Demeter. Narcissus is Her flower. Daughter of Demeter, beloved
of Hades. He kidnapped her and took her to his Under-Earth Realm, where
she pined for the sun and the sky. Her mother searched over all the land
for her and, not finding her, withdrew Her Attribute from the land, causing
barreness and destruction. Zeus intervened and it was dicovered where
Persephone had been taken. She could not be released, however, because
she had tasted some nourishment, a single pomagranate seed. Nevertheless
an arrangement was worked out whereby She might visit Upper-Earth for
half a year. Her movements henceforth herald the coming of Summer and
Winter. In the Eleusinian mysteries, this happening was celebrated in
honor of Demeter and Persephone, who was known in this cult as Kore. The
Romans called her Proserpina.
Phaetusa
The daughter of Helios. With her sister Lampetia she was in charge of
the herds of her father.
Pheme
In Greek mythology, Pheme was the goddess of fame and report. She was
said to be the daughter of Gaia. Pheme was born at the time of her great
displeasure at the overthrow of the Giants. Pheme was always prying. She
announced whatever she heard, first to only a few, then louder until everyone
had known. Pheme was represented as a winged, gentle figure holding a
trumpet.
Phemonoe
The daughter of Apollo who, according to tradition, was the first Pythia
(the name of the first priest of Apollo's temple at Delphi). She is also
regarded as the inventor of the hexameter (six imperial feet), because
in this trance the oracle's answer was given.
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Philotes
The Greek personification of affection. She is usually ascribed as the
daughter of Nyx and sister of Apate ("deceit"), Geras ("old
age"), and Eris.
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Philyra
Philyra was the Greek daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. Some believe that
she was the wife of Nauplius, with whom she had many children. She was
the mother of the wise centaur Chiron. She was the goddess of beauty,
perfume, healing, and writing. Philyra was also the inventor of paper.
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Phoebe
("bright one") One of the Titans, child of Uranus and Gaea (Heaven
and Earth). By Koeus, she is the mother of Leto. Another name for Artemis
as moon-goddess. The name is the feminine form of Phoebus, the name of
her twin brother Apollo as sun-god.
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Phorcydes
The offspring of Phorcys and Ceto: the Graeae, the Gorgons, and Echidna.
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Pleiades
The Pleiades are the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione. They were the
virgin companions of Artemis. When Orion, a beautiful hunter, pursued
them and their mother, they prayed to the gods for rescue. The gods answered
they prayer and they were changed into doves, and later into stars. Zeus
placed them in the sky where they formed a part of the constellation of
Taurus. According to another myth, they committed suicide after the death
of their sisters the Hyades. The Pleiades are Alcyone, Electra, Celaeno,
Maia, Sterope, Merope and Taygete.
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Pleione
One of the Oceanids, and by Atlas the mother of the seven Pleiades.
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Podarge
One of the Harpies. By Zephyrus she became the mother of Xanthus and Balius,
the horses of Achilles.
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Polyhymnia
("many songs") One of the nine Muses. Her realm was that of
Sacred Poetry, sacred hymn, eloquence and dance. She is usually represented
in a pensive or meditating position. She is a serious looking woman, dressed
in a long cloak and resting with an elbow on a pillar. Sometimes she holds
a finger to her mouth. The Muses are daughters of Zeus by Mnemosyne, and
between them inspire creative workings.
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Potnia
Potnia was the most important goddess in Greece in the Late Bronze Age,
which is called Mycenaean (1600 - 1100 BCE). In Mycenaean monuments, Potnia
appears with many attributes: the snakes, the double axes, the lions,
the doves, the griffin, as well as other kinds of animals and sacred features.
Sometimes standing alone they have to indicate the presence of the goddess.
Potnia is the protector of nature, vegetation, fertility and in this case
she is closely related to the Minoan Mother of the Mountains. During Late
Helladic III period (after 1400 BCE) Potnia is depicted more war-like.
Armed with weapons, wearing a helmet, she is accompanied by the griffin.
In Greek Olympian religion the place of Potnia disappeared. Her role and
her divine attributes spread out between many goddesses.
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Psyche
The personification of the human soul. In the well-known fable of the
Roman writer Apuleius (ca. 125 - ca. 180), Psyche is the youngest of three
daughters. She was of such extraordinary beauty that Aphrodite herself
became jealous of her. The goddess then sent her son Eros to make Psyche
fall in love with an ugly man. However, the god himself fell in love with
the girl and visited her every night, but forbade her to see his face,
so she did not know who her lover was. On her sisters' instigation she
tried to discover the true identity of her beloved. When he lay asleep
in her bed, she lit an oil lamp but when she bent over to see Eros' face,
a drop of oil from her lamp fell on him and he awakened. When he noticed
her intent, he left her. Psyche wandered the earth in search of her lover,
until she was finally reunited with him. On ancient Greek vases, Psyche
is portrayed in the shape of a bird with a human head, sometimes with
a beard. Later she is shown in the shape of a cock, butterfly, or a small
human figure. As the beloved of Eros she is a fair maiden, often with
butterfly wings.
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Pyrrha
Pyrrha is the daughter of Epimetheus and the wife of Deucalion. They were
the sole survivors of the flood sent by Zeus to drown the world and its
degenerate race of mankind. When the waters sank back into the earth,
Pyrrha and Deucalion created a new race of humans by throwing stones.
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Pythia
The name of the priestesses of Apollo's temple at Delphi. Seated on a
tripod above a crack in the earth, she went into a trance by the stupefying
vapors rising from the earth and by chewing laurel leaves. From the incoherent
babbling which the priestess spoke in her ecstasy, the temple priests
formulated the oracle.
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