Scylla (ski´-la): a sea goddess who lives in a cave near Charybdis. The daughter of Cratais and Phorcys, she has six heads, each with the voice of a hungry dog. 12.85.
Scyros (skai´-ros): an island in the Aegean Sea, and the home of Achilles’ son Neoptolemus. 11.509.
Sidon (sai´-don): a major Phoenician city, on the eastern coast of the Mediterannean; now in modern Lebanon. 4.84.
Sintians (sint´-ee-yans): a mythical people who inhabited areas of Thrace and the island of Lemnos. 8.294.
Sirens: mythical female creatures whose seductive singing causes sailors to forget their homes and waste away until they die. 12.38.
Sisyphus (si´-see-fus): son of Aeolus, the mythical progenitor of the Aeolians, and father of Glaucus. A consummate trickster who seduced his brother’s wife and killed travelers and guests, Sisyphus was condemned to punishment in the underworld: he had to roll a rock up a mountain, but every time, just before he reached the top, the rock rolled back down. 11.593.
Solyma, Mount (sol´-im-a): a mountain in Lycia, in eastern Greece. Poseidon pauses here on his return from Ethiopia. 5.282.
Sounion (soo´-nee-yon): a cape located at the southernmost end of Attica; the site of an important temple dedicated to Poseidon. 3.278.
Sparta: a Doric city in the region of Lacedaemon in the Peloponnese, ruled by Menelaus. 1.94.
Stratius (stray´-tee-yus): a son of Nestor. 3.412.
Styx (stix): the river that forms the boundary of the underworld. 5.185.
Sun God: a Titan descended from Hyperion, the Olympian god associated with the sun. Also called Helius (q.v.), and distinct from Apollo. 1.8.
Syria (si´-ree-ya): a seemingly fictional geographical place that does not correspond to the modern state in the Middle East. 15.405.
Tantalus (tan´-ta-lus): king of an Anatolian city called Sipylus and, like Sisyphus, a mythological criminal. Tantalus’ crime varies according to mythological tradition: according to some, he was granted a wish by Zeus and asked to live like a god, while according to others he stole nectar and ambrosia from the gods. Tantalus’ punishment in the underworld is to stand in water that retreats whenever he tries to drink it, and to have fruit hovering above him that pulls back when he reaches for it. 11.584.
Taphos (tay´-fos): an island in the Ionian Sea; its inhabitants, the Taphians, are often described as pirates. 16.429.
Taygetus (tai´-ge-tus): a mountain range in the southern Peloponnese. 6.102.
Tecton (tek´-ton): a Phaeacian. His name means “Shipwright.” 8.113.
Telamon (te´-la-mon): son of Aeacus and brother of Peleus. He is the father of Ajax and Teucer, the Trojan War heroes. 11.553.
Telemachus (te-le´-ma-kus): the only son of Odysseus and Penelope. Telemachus goes in search of his father in Books 1–4 (often called the “Telemachy”). On his return to Ithaca, Telemachus assists his father in the massacre of the suitors. 1.113.
Telemus (te´-le-mus): son of Eurymus; he lived among the Cyclopes as a soothsayer. 9.508.
Telephus (te´-le-fus): the son of Heracles and Auge; he fought in the Trojan War on the side of the Troy and was killed by Neoptolemus. 11.519.
Telepylus (te-le-pai´-lus): a town in Laestrygonia; the name suggests “Far Gate.” 10.82.
Temese (te´-me-see): a city in Bruttium, the Greek colony in the “toe” region of Italy (modern-day Calabria). 1.185.
Tenedos (te´-ne-dos): an island in the northeast Aegean Sea. 3.159.
Thebes (theebs) (1) a city in Upper Egypt. 4.126. (2) a city in the Greek region of Boeotia. 11.264.
Theoclymenus (thee-yo-cli´-men-us): a seer from Argos, whom Telemachus brings back to Ithaca. 15.259.
Theseus (thee´-see-yus): son of Poseidon and Aethra, a mythological hero associated with Athens. With the help of Ariadne, daughter of Minos, Theseus killed the Minotaur, the son of Minos, a man-bull hybrid enclosed in the king’s labyrinth on Crete. Theseus and Ariadne fled, but Theseus abandoned her before he returned to Athens. 11.324.
Thesprotia (thes-proh´-sha): a region of Epirus in Greece. Its inhabitants are Thesprotians. 14.316.
Thetis (the´-tis): a sea goddess; daughter of Nereus and the sea goddess Doris; mother, with Peleus, of Achilles. According to most versions of the legend, she was engaged to Peleus against her will and attempted in vain to escape him by shape-shifting into various forms. 11.546.
Thoas (thoh´-was): Greek warrior in Odysseus’ fictional story to Eumaeus. 14.500.
Thon (thohn): Egyptian nobleman and husband of Polydamna. 4.229.
Thoön (tho´-ohn): Phoenician athlete; the name suggests “Quick.” 8.110.
Thoösa (tho-woh´-sa): mother, by Poseidon, of Polyphemus. 1.72.
Thrace (thrays): a region of northeastern Greece. 8.361.
Thrasymedes (thra-si´-mee-deez): a son of Nestor. 3.39.
Thrinacia (thri-nay´-sha): a mythical island where Helius the Sun God kept his cattle, attended by his daughters. 11.107.
Thyestes (thai-yes´-teez): son of Pelops; brother of Atreus; and father of Aegisthus. In exile with Atreus after their joint murder of their half brother, Thyestes seduced Atreus’ wife and attempted to seize the throne of Mycenae from Atreus, but was banished. According to some versions of the legend, Atreus served Thyestes a meal of his own children, with the exception of Aegisthus, who lived to take revenge on Atreus’ son Agamemnon. 4.517.
Tiresias (tai-ree´-see-yas): famous blind Theban seer. 10.493.
Tithonus (ti-thoh´-nus): a son of Laomedon and the brother of Priam. He was abducted by Dawn to be her lover. According to legend, Dawn requested immortality for Tithonus but not eternal youth, so he aged and wasted away until only his voice was heard, chirping like a grasshopper. In some versions of the myth he was transformed into a cicada or grasshopper. 5.1.
Tityus (ti´-tee-yus): son of Zeus and Elara. To hide Elara’s pregnancy, Zeus concealed her under the earth, which then birthed out the giant Tityus. He was shot dead by Artemis and Apollo, and punished in the underworld by having two vultures eat away at his innards. 7.324.
Tyndareus (tin-da´-ree-yus): king of Sparta and husband of Leda. According to variations in traditions, either he or Zeus was the father of Helen, Castor, and Polydeuces; he is also the father, with Leda, of Clytemnestra. 11.299.
Tyro (tai´-roh): daughter of Salmoneus and wife of Cretheus. 2.120.
Zacynthus (za-kin´-thus): an island in the Ionian Sea. 1.246.