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Echidna
Echida is the hideously disgusting mate of Typhon and the daughter of Ceto. She has the head of a beautiful nymph, but the body of a serpent. Zeus spared her and her children's lives as challenges to futures heroes. Echidna's children are the Nemean Lion, Cerberus, Ladon, Chimera, Sphinx, and Hydra.

Echo
The chief god Zeus had many affairs with both mortals and gods, much to his wife's dislike. While he pursued his amours, it was Echo's duty to beguile Hera's attention by incessantly talking to her. Hera discovered the ruse and as punishment, she made Echo always repeat the voice of another. Echo fell in love with a vain youth named Narcissus, who ignored her. Narcissus found a pool of water and stared at his lovely reflection until he died. Echo watched him until she pined away, now her voice remains, repeating the last few things people say. The Greek version of the story of Echo (the above is of Roman origin (Ovid)) is as follows: Echo was a very beautiful and musical nymph. She could sing and play many instruments. She lived deep in the woods and denied the love of any man or immortal. She therefore attracted the hatred and anger of many, including the god Pan whose love she turned down. Pan caused his followers the shepherds to kill Echo and tear her to pieces that were subsequently scattered far and wide. Gaia, the Earth goddess, received the pieces in her bosom and thus Echo, scattered now all over the earth, retained her voice and talents answering or imitating every sound or voice.

Efreisone
The female personification of a Greek ritual object: a branch of olive wood, twined with wool and hung with fruits, which was carried in festivals by children with two living parents

Eileithyia
According Homer Eileithyia was the goddess of birth-pain, but Homer was often thinking about a few Eileithyiai, the daughters of Hera. Also Hesiod presented Eileithyia as the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hera, but Artemis too were sometimes taking a role of this goddess and her title. Pausanias is describing two versions about the deity's origin. (1) In the first story Eleithyia came from the Hyperboreans (from the legendary north) to Delos to help Leto, when she was giving birth to Artemis and Apollo. In the second case Eileithyia was born in a Cretan cave at Amnisos. There was a strong cult of the goddess Eileithyia in Crete, especially in the cities Lato and Eleutherna. The goddess is mentioned in Linear script B from Knossos as Eleuthia, which is a dialect form of her name, variously written in Greek language.(2) The offerings of different sorts found from her caves at Amnisos and at Inatos confirm that her cult was very popular in Crete. One stalagmite in Amnisos cave was perhaps treated as an aniconic religious image of the goddess. The cult in Crete continued from the Minoan period throughout the Hellenistic and Roman times. We have not any prove about worshipping the goddess Eileithyia in the Greek mainland during Mycenaean period. In tablets with Linear script B from Pylos she is not mentioned too. But many small terracotta figures (kourotrophos), are demonstrating , that a sacred nurse, taking care about children, existed. In Greek mythological iconography Eileithyia took a place probably under the Homeric tradition. One, but mostly two women - Eileithyiai attend Zeus during the birth of Athena on the decoration of some black figured vases from the 6th century BC. Evidently, they are sisters, -daughters of Hera-, their type and clothes are similar. The sanctuaries and shrines of the goddess Eileithyia in the Greek mainland during Hellenistic and Roman time are mentioned by Pausanias in Athens, Tenea and Argos, but mainly in Aigion, where existed a cult statue of the goddess from Damophon.(3) The wooden statue with the face, hands and feet from Pentelic marmor was dressed with fine cloths. Eileithyia was holding in both of her hands torches, because she was bringing children into light, out of darkness. With this attribute - torch - sometimes Artemis is depicted as well as Persephone.

Eirene
"Peace". One of the Greek Horae.

Elara
The daughter of King Orchomenus, and one of Zeus' many lovers. He placed her under the earth, to hid her from Hera, where she gave birth to the giant Tityas (who is therefore called a son of the earth).

Electra
1. One of the Pleiades, the wife of Thaumas, mother of the goddess Iris and the Harpies. 2. Daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. She had a son, Dardanus, by Zeus. 3. The daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra (see: Electra).

Eleusinian mysteries
This Athenian religious festival was held in honor of the grain and fertility goddess Demeter, her name is purely Greek, meaning "spelt mother" (spelt is a type of grain.) The cult held this important festival at the town of Eleusis, 15 miles northwest of Athens, in the heart of the wheat and barley growing region. Each year, when it was time for the crops to be sown, in the month of Boedromion (September), this was the time of year for the Mysteries to be held. It all stems from the myth of Demeter and Persephone, when Hades, took Persephone (Kore -"maiden") down into the underworld. Demeter searched the world looking for her daughter, and while she searched Demeter neglected her duties and let the earth go barren. The gods were worried and Zeus, who had witnessed the abduction, intervened. Before she went back to the world of the living, Hades gave Persephone a pomegranate to eat, thus she would always be connected to his realm and had to stay there one-third of the year. This symbolic death and rebirth is the time the seed lies in the earth and then comes to life, reborn, as was Persephone. This was the basis of the cult, a fulfilling and happy afterlife. The ceremony began in Athens, and all those participating purified themselves by bathing in the sea, they also sacrificed a piglet. All sacred and secret objects that were to be used in the ceremonies, were kept in the Eleusinion (a temple located at the foot of the Acropolis in Athens). These objects had been brought from Eleusis some days prior to the start of the celebration. It was from the Kerameikos (the ancient cemetery of Athens) that the great procession of initiates started. The "Mysteries" were given this name (in Greek musteriai, from mustes, ("an initiate"). As the procession proceeded on route to Eleusis the participants would, at a certain place, shout obscenities. This was a re-enactment of an old mythical woman called "Iambe" who was said to have made Demeter smile, at a time when she was full of sorrow for the loss of her daughter Persephone. Also during the procession their would be shouts of Iakch' o Iakche, which was related to an equivocal deity, referring to "Iacchus" who was identified with Dionysus, but in some versions said to be the son of Persephone or Demeter. When the procession reached Eleusis they would rest and make ready for the next day, which was a day of fasting (Demeter did this when in mourning for Persephone). Once this part of the ceremony was over, the initiates drank a special brew of barley water mixed with penny-royal called, kykeon (a creeping mint cultivated for its supposed medicinal properties). The climax of the ceremony took place in the "Telesterion" (initiation hall). During the 5th century BC, "Ictinos" designed a huge hall which would hold several thousand people. In this hall, the secret and sacred objects were shown to the initiated, and also the priestesses would reveal the vision of the holy night, which is thought to have been a fire symbolizing life after death. These rituals were kept secret, shown only to the initiated, and it was totally forbidden to speak of them publicly. In the Hellenistic age (300-150 BC), the cult was taken over and run by the state, and two aristocratic families from Eleusis officiated (the Eumolpidae and Kerykes). In this age, mystery cults were becoming very popular, unlike classical Greece (400s BC) when the Eleusinian mysteries were a rare form of worship. The annual Eleusinian mysteries attracted thousands of people from all over the Greek world, and the only initial requirement to become a mystes (initiate) was to be without blood guilt nor a barbarian ( in other words, if you spoke Greek). It was open to both men and women, and remarkably, slaves were also allowed into the cult. The mysteries existed from Mycenaean times (circa 1600-1200 BC), thought to have been established in the 1500s BC and held annually for two thousand years. The Roman emperor Theodosius closed the sanctuary in AD 392 , and finally it was abandoned when Alaric, king of the Goths, invaded Greece in AD 396. This brought Christianity to the region, and all cult worship was forbidden.

Eleusis
Eleusis is the place, where the cult of the goddess Demeter existed many centuries and where the most famous religious festival, called the Eleusinian mysteries were performed in the honour of this deity. According to the "Homeric Hymn to Demeter" (7th c. BC.), when the goddess Demeter was desparetely looking for her daughter (=Kore) Persephone -kidnapped by Aidoneus (Hades)- during her wandering she came to the city Eleusis. Here she was welcomed by the Queen Metaneria. To thank her, Demeter took care about prince Demophon . Each night she brought the boy near the fire to make him immortal and she fed him with the nectar and ambrosia of the Gods. When the child´s mother saw once at night what was happening, she was astonished. Demeter revealed, who she was and she asked to build a sanctuary in her honour to teach them secret rituals. She closed herself in the temple, troubled for her daughter and she did not allow any seed to grow from the fields until she saw her daughter again. So, Zeus decided, that Persephone will spend one third of a year with Aidoneus in the underworld and the other two thirds with her mother, Demeter. When Persephone is leaving to the underworld Demeter mourns for her and all nature is ready to die, to be reborn again in the spring, when she is coming back to her mother. The myth is a base for the explanation of the changing of nature and the different seasons during a year. Also there was a tradition spread out by the Athenians about the first civilization in Eleusis who were cultivating grain, the gift of Demeter to Triptolemos, the son of the Eleusinian king. The sanctuary and its cult have roots in the Mycenaean period (1500 - 1425 BC.). The ritual was originally local and it could have had probably from the beginning an agrarian aspect. The Athenians established this cult as Panhellenic during the period of Peisistratus. It was florishing under the Roman supremacy until the proscription of the cult by Theodosius and the destruction of the sanctuary by the Goths about 400 AD. The name "Eleusinian mysteries" is connected with two Greek words eleusis,- eos - arrival, tó mystírion - secrecy. The people were arriving to this place to performed secret rites. The mysteries were kept in absolute secrecy, so it was strictly forbidden to talk about them under penalty of death. Nevertheless we have some informations from the different sources - many reflections in the literature, the epigraphical evidence, the archaeological findings (architectonical, sculptural, paintings on the vases, votive objects, cult vessels) related to the Eleusinian religious rites. All of these materials are used for the reconstruction of events. But well known is mainly this part of the celebration, which was performed in public. The ancient literature (Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Pindar, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristoteles, Pausanias) contains only allusions to this theme. But the authors are writing without any doubt, that the mortals who participated in the initiations, were blessed. They knew the beginning and the end of life, they had the happinies, while the others - uninitiated, had only misery and after death murky dark. Christian writers tried to break a secrecy about the ritual. They were describing some details from the initiation act, like drinking from the kykeon ( a special mixture of barley, water and aromatic mint) and moving with sacred tools, kiste and kalathos (kiste - the sacred chest, kalathos - the basket closed with a lid), which only initiate (mystes) members knew what it concealed. Unfortunately they could not give more references about it. Some authors of modern literature are supposing, that the secret of the Eleusinian mysteries was based on the hallucinogenic ingredients in the kykeon. The reliefs and vase paintings related to the Eleusinian mysteries are concentrated mainly around two themes. They are depicting the mythological story about blessing of agriculture for the earth and in the second case they illustrate the great proccesion from Athens to Eleusis. Triptolemos, receiving the seeds from the hands of Demeter, has to teach mankind how to cultivate the fields, while Kore keeps her hand over his head to protect him.This main story is depicted on the great Eleusinian relief ( from the half of the 5th century BC.), exhibited in the Archaeological National Museum in Athens. The mission of Triptolemos, seated on the winged throne or chariot with the ears of corn in his hand, surrounded by Demeter and Kore with pine-torches, is an occasional representation on some black and red figured vases and the votive reliefs between the 6th and the 4th centuries BC., when the myth about beginning of agriculture, connected with the Eleusinians, was very popular. The procession of initiates with Kore and Iakchos in front of Demeter on the Ninnion Tablet (from the lst half of the 4th c.BC.) in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens is showing many interesting details from the Eleusinian celebration. We are supposing that poeple arrived inside the sanctuary . Demeter with a sceptre is sitting on the sacred kiste and Kore with torches is introducing her initiates. Each of them is keeping branches, called bakchoi, which were swung rythmically along the thirty kilometers of the Sacred Way from Athens to Eleusis. The procession was moving with dancing attendants, some of them almost in ecstasy. The second row of procession was led by torch-bearer Iakchos in the function of priest at the mysteries, who leads the way and holds torches for performance of the rites. He is standing near omphalos , while a further unknown figure sitting on the closed kiste, keeps in her hands a sceptre and a vessel. Probably she is a priestress of Demeter, carrying kiste with the sacred symbols during the procession and keeping a vessel with kykeon. On the pediment of this Tablet is represented Pannychis, the whole-night feast. The festal activities were accompanied by dances, -perhaps across the Rharian field-,(where as the myth is saying the first corn ever grew) and later on by a bull-sacrifice also in the court of the sanctuary. The Eleusinian Mysteries had their fixed place in the calendar. The first stage of the initiation (Lesser Mysteries) were held usually in the spring in the month of Anthesterion (March). But it could take place also at various times in Eleusis or at the Eleusinion in Athens. The priests of the Mysteries prepared the candidates for receiving initiation (myesis). The first act was the sacrifice of a young pig, after which a purification ceremony followed. The Great Mysteries were celebrated for nine dayes in the month of Boedromion (September). On the first day - the 14th of Boedromion the sacred symbols were brought from Eleusis to Athens. After the hierophant opened the festal time with an official proclamation (prorrhesis). On the 16th of the month the initiates went together to the sea at Phaleron to purify themselves by bathing. On the 17th the sacrifices were made at the Eleusinion and the next day the initiates stayed at home. On the 19th of the month the procession moved to Eleusis, carrying the sacred symbols of Demeter. The gates of the sanctuary in Eleusis were open only for the initiates - men, women, foreigners who were admitted, but not murderers or barbarians. The initiation rites took place in the Telesterion building (which was made for several thousand people)on the 20th and 21st of the month.. On each of its sides there were the seats, from which initiates watched the mysteries. Almost in the center of the hall was built the Anaktoron(Palace), a rectangular stone construction for the sacred objects of Demeter. Only the hierophantes could enter it, to perform the rites and display their sacred things. Two classes of initiates participiated in the mysteries - the initiates, who took part for the first time and the others, who were present for at least a second time. The second group could attain epopteia, the highest stage of initiation, when the hierophant showed the greatest mystery. Next day the initiates honoured the dead with libations from special vases. On the 23rd of the month the celebrations took an end and everybody was returning home

Eleutherios
An epithet of Dionysus and Eros, meaning "the liberator".

Elpis
God of hope, who stood over the grieving Eros, holding a lily

Elymus
A Trojan, the mythical ancestor of the Elymi, a people of Sicily.

Elysian Fields
Elysium. In Greek mythology, the abode of the blessed, paradise. Situated at the end of the world it is here that those chosen by the gods are sent to.

Empusa
Empusa was a specter (a ghost-like spirit) in ancient Greek mythology. Empusa devoured and frightened travelers that were found near its sight. It showed no mercy when travelers crossed its path. Empusa was feared by the people that were near its town, and had the reputation of being evil.

Enceladus
One of the hundred-armed Gigantes. He fought against the Olympians, and Zeus hit him with a bolt of lightning and locked him beneath Mt. Aetna, which shook each time he rolled over to his other side.

Endymion
Endymion was a beautiful shepherd boy of Asia Minor, the mortal lover of the moon goddess Selene. Each night he was kissed to sleep by her. She begged Zeus to grant him eternal life so she might be able to embrace him forever. Zeus complied, putting Endymion into eternal sleep and each night Selene visits him on Mt. Latmus, near Milete, in Asia Minor. The ancient Greeks believed that his grave was situated on this mountain. Selene and Endymion have fifty daughters.

Enipeus
A river god from Thessaly. He was loved by Tyro, who was mislead by Poseidon in Enipeus' shape. From their union Neleus and Pelias came forth.

Enosichthon
"Earth-shaker", and epithet of Poseidon.

Enyalius
A Spartan god of war. It is also an epithet of Ares.

Enyo
A Greek goddess of war and waster of cities, sometimes depicted as the daughter of Ares, but also as his mother or his sister. She appears covered in blood, and striking attitudes of violence. Enyo ("horror") is one of the Graeae, the three 'old women'. In Rome she was identified with Bellona.

Eos
The Greek personification of the dawn, the daughter of the Hyperion and Theia and the sister of Helios (sun) and Selene (moon). By Astraeus she was the mother of the four winds: Boreas, Eurus, Zephyrus and Notus; and also of Heosphorus and the Stars. She was depicted as a goddess whose rosy fingers opened the gates of heaven to the chariot of the Sun. Her legend consists almost entirely of her intrigues. She first slept with Ares; this earned her the wrath of Aphrodite who punished her by changing her into a nymphomaniac. Her lovers were Orion, Cephalus and Tithonus.

Epaphus
The son of Zeus and Io, who bore him after she arrived at the banks of the Nile after her wonderings and recovered her human form again. Epaphus became the king of Egypt and founded the city of Memphis.

Ephialtis
Ephialtis was one of the Aloadae, the son of Poseidon. He was a Greek who allegedly told the Persians of the Greek position during the battle of Thermopylae in 400 BC. Along with his brother, Otus, Ephialtis was colossal in size. Together, Ephialtis and Otus battled the gods. Every year, the brothers grew an ell in breadth and a fathom in length, and within nine year they were 36 feet tall. Because the two were founders of Naxos and Boeotian Ascra, they were worshiped as heroes in those cities.

Epicaste
1. Synonym for Jocasta. 2. Name of the wife and daughter of Augeas.

Epimenides
A prophet of Apollo, who, falling asleep as a herdsman for fifty-six years, and awoke with the gift of prophecy. A religious teacher and miracle worker in Crete who is said to have fallen asleep in a cave as a boy, and that he did not wake up for 57 years. Cretan generator of paradox "I am a consistent liar."

Epimetheus
Epimetheus ("afterthought") is the son of Iapetus and Clymene. He foolishly ignored his brother Prometheus' warnings to beware of any gifts from Zeus. He accepted Pandora as his wife, thereby bringing ills and sorrows to the world.

Erato
The Muse of lyric poetry, particularly love and erotic poetry, and mimicry. She is usually depicted with a lyre.

Erebus
Erebus was known as the embodiment of primordial darkness, the son of Chaos (who was the void from which all things developed, known also as Darkness). According to Hesiod's Theogony, Erebus was born with Nyx (Night), and was the father of Aether (the bright upper atmosphere) and Hemera (Day). Charon, the ferry-man who took the dead over the rivers of the infernal region, is also said to be the son of Erebus and Nyx. Later legend describes Erebus as the Infernal Region below the earth. In this version, Hades was split into two regions: Erebus, which the dead have to pass shortly after they have died, and Tartarus, the deepest region, where the Titans were imprisoned. Aristophanes' Birds says that Erebus and Nyx were also the parents of Eros, the god of love. He is often used metaphorically for Hades itself.

Eridanus
In Virgil (VI, 659) a river of the underworld. In Herodotus (III, 115) a river which, by some of his contemporaries, was associated with the river Po. This because the Po is situated near the end of what used to be the so-called Amber trail. According to legend, amber originated from the tears shed by the Heliades over the death of their brother Phaeton, who fell from the sky into the river Eridanus.

Erinyes
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Eris
Eris is the Greek goddess of discord and strife. She is Ares' constant companion and follows him everywhere. Eris is sinister and mean, and her greatest joy is to make trouble. She has a golden apple that is so bright and shiny everybody wants to have it. When she throws it among friends, their friendship come to a rapid end. When she throws it among enemies, war breaks out, for the golden apple of Eris is the Apple of Discord. She did this once during the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, and this act brought about the Trojan War.

Eros
Eros, the Greek god of love and sexual desire (the word eros, which is found in the Iliad by Homer, is a common noun meaning sexual desire). He was also worshiped as a fertility god, believed to be a contemporary of the primeval Chaos, which makes Eros one of the oldest gods. In the Dionysian Mysteries Eros is referred to as "protagonus", the first born. But there are many variations to whom the parents of Eros really where. According to Aristophanes (Birds) he was born from Erebus and Nyx (Night); in later mythology Eros is the offspring of Aphrodite and Ares. Yet in the Theogony, the epic poem written by Hesiod, it mentions a typified Eros as being an attendant of Aphrodite, but not her son. Another legend says that he was the son of Iris and Zephyrus. From the early legend of Eros it is said that he was responsible for the embraces of Uranus (Heaven or Sky) and Gaia (Earth), and from their union were born many offspring. It was also written that Eros hatched our race and made it appear first into the light (Birds, by Aristophanes). Although one of the oldest gods, he was a latecomer to Greek religion. He was worshiped in many regions of Greece, at Thespiae there was an ancient fertility cult, and in Athens he and Aphrodite had a joint cult. Also in Athens the forth day of every month was sacred to Eros. Sometimes Eros was worshiped by the name Erotes (which is the plural of Eros); this personified all the attractions that evoked love and desire, this included heterosexual and homosexual allurements. Anteros (the Returner of Love also known as the god of Mutual Love) was the brother of Eros, which comes from the version of which Aphrodite and Ares are said to be the mother and father of Eros. Eros is usually depicted as a young winged boy, with his bow and arrows at the ready, to either shoot into the hearts of gods or mortals which would rouse them to desire. His arrows came in two types: golden with dove feathers which aroused love, or leaden arrows which had owl feathers that caused indifference. Sappho the poet summarized Eros as being bitter sweet, and cruel to his victims, yet he was also charming and very beautiful. Being unscrupulous, and a danger to those around him, Eros would make as much mischief as he possibly could by wounding the hearts of all, but according to one legend he himself fell in love. This legend tells us that Eros was always at his mothers side assisting her in all her conniving and godly affairs. The legend goes on to say that Aphrodite became jealous of the beauty of a mortal, a beautiful young woman named Psyche. In her fit of jealousy Aphrodite asked Eros to shoot his arrow into the heart of Psyche and make her fall in love with the ugliest man on earth. He agreed to carry out his mothers wishes, but on seeing her beauty Eros fell deeply in love with Psyche himself. He would visit her every night, but he made himself invisible by telling Psyche not to light her chamber. Psyche fell in love with Eros even though she could not see him, until one night curiosity overcame her. She concealed a lamp and while Eros slept she lit the lamp, revealing the identity of Eros. But a drop of hot oil spilt from the lamp awakening the god. Angered she had seen him Eros fled and the distraught Psyche roamed the earth trying in vain to find her lover. In the end Zeus took pity and reunited them, he also gave his consent for them to marry. There are variations of this legend but most have the same outcome. The Romans borrowed Eros from the Greeks and named him Cupid (Latin cupido meaning desire). Eros has been depicted in art in many ways. The Romans regarded him as a symbol of life after death and decorated sarcophagi with his image. The Greeks regarded him as most beautiful and hansom, the most loved and the most loving. They placed statues of him in gymnasiums (as most athletes were thought to be beautiful). He was depicted on every form of utensil, from drinking vessels to oil flasks, usually showing him ready to fire an arrow into the heart of an unsuspecting victim.
Ersa
Ersa was the Greek goddess of the dew. She was the daughter of Zeus and Eos, sister of Pandia.

Erytheia
One of the Hesperides.

Ethon
The eagle that gnawed the liver of Prometheus.

Eumenides
A euphemistic Greek term for the Erinyes (Furies). The name means something like "the kind ones, the well-minded, or well-disposed ones, or protectors of the suppliant". This title was applied to the Furies, who were female spirits who tormented the guilty. They were born from the blood of Uranus. Uranus was killed by his own son Cronus, who was helping his mother, Gaia. Gaia made a sickle from her body so Cronus could arm himself. When Uranus' blood fell upon the earth, the Furies were made. It was also used for the title of the play called Oresteia. It was the third play in the series.

Eunomia
"Good order". Eunomia was the goddess of order and legislation in Greek mythology. She was one of the three Horae. She was the daughter of Zeus and Themis. Her sisters were Eirene and Dice. The Horae were the goddesses of the seasons. Eunomia was not one of the goddesses who lived on Mt. Olympus.

Euphrosyne
"Joy". One of the three Charites, the Graces

Europa
Europa was the daughter of Agenor, and was beloved by Zeus. Zeus took the form of a beautiful white bull and encountered Europa at the seashore. By appearing to be very tame, he coaxed her to climb onto his back and then swam off with her across the sea to Crete. In Crete, Europa had three sons by Zeus -- Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthys. Zeus also gave her three gifts: the bronze man, Talos, to act as her guardian; a dog, Laelaps, which never failed of its quarry; and a javelin which never missed its mark. Europa afterwards married Asterius, the king of Crete. Europa is also the name of a daughter of Tityus, and mother of Euphemus.

Eurus
Eurus was the child of Eos and Astraeus. Eurus is the Greek god of the east wind, and his siblings, the other winds. The Greeks were not sure whether the winds were male or female, but they knew that they had wings. Eurus was the wind who brought warmth and rain from the east. A symbol showing this was a vase inverted, pouring out rain. Eurus was the unfavorable one. His Roman equivalent is Vulturnus.

Euryale
One of the three Gorgons. Literally, "far-roaming".

Eurydice
Eurydice and Orpheus were young and in love. So deep was their love that they were practically inseparable. So dependent was their love that each felt they could not live without the other. These young lovers were very happy and spent their time frolicking through the meadows. One day Eurdice was gaily running through a meadow with Orpheus when she was bitten by a serpent. The poison of the sting killed her and she descended to Hades immediately. Orpheus was son of the great Olympian god Apollo. In many ways Apollo was the god of music and Orpheus was blessed with musical talents. Orpheus was so sad about the loss of his love that he composed music to express the terrible emptiness which pervaded his every breath and movement. He was so desperate and found so little else meaningful, that he decided address Hades. As the overseer of the underworld, Hades heart had to be hard as steel, and so it was. Many approached Hades to beg for loved ones back and as many times were refused. But Orpheus' music was so sweet and so moving that it softened the steel hearted heart of Hades himself. Hades gave permission to Orpheus to bring Eurydice back to the surface of the earth to enjoy the light of day. There was only one condition--Orpheus was not to look back as he ascended. He was to trust that Eurydice was immediately behind him. It was a long way back up and just as Orpheus had almost finished that last part of the trek, he looked behind him to make sure Eurydice was still with him. At that very moment, she was snatched back because he did not trust that she was there. When you hear music which mourns lost love, it is Orpheus' spirit who guides the hand of the musicians who play it.

Eurynome
1. An Oceanid, one of the many daughters of Oceanus. She is the mother of the Charites. 2. A servant of Penelope. 3. The mother of Adrastus. 4. The mother of Agenor.

Euterpe
Euterpe, from the Greek culture, is one of the nine Muses of Apollo. Her name means "rejoicing well" or "delight". She was born from Zeus and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, along with her other eight sisters. Euterpe is the Muse of music and lyric poetry. She is also the Muse of joy and pleasure and of flute playing and was thought to have invented the double flute, which is her attribute.