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Oannes
Greek rendering of the Sumero-Babylonian god Ea, because of his connection with waters sometimes depicted as half man, half fish. In daytime he lived with men to instruct them in the arts and sciences, but at night he returned to the depths of the Persian Gulf.

Oceanids
Oceanids, from Greek mythology, were the nymphs of the great ocean, the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys. There were well over 4,000 of these oceanids. They were sometimes shy, but at other times they were passionate lovers. Most of the time nymphs were kind to mortals, but they sometimes punished people who mistreated them. In the forest, nymphs were represented with fauns and satyrs. You could sometimes find oceanids playing around the keels of ships. Nymphs lived for a long time, but they were usually not considered immortal.

Oceanus
The personification of the vast ocean. As geography became more precise, Oceanus began to refer to the water outside of the Pillars of Heracles, or the Atlantic Ocean. He was the eldest of the Titans and a son of Uranus and Gaia. He was the father of all rivers by his sister Tethys. The couple also had the Oceanids which personified springs and smaller bodies of waters, like lakes and ponds.

Ocypete
"The Swiftwing". One of the three Harpies.

Ocyrhoe
The daughter of Chiron and the nymph Chariclo. Because she performed as a seer, Apollo turned her into a mare.

Oenone
A Phrygian nymph who lived on Mount Ida. She was the daughter of the river-god Cebren. She was abducted by Paris and she became his first wife. Their son is Corythus. When she was abandoned by her husband, she died of grief. She prophesied the disastrous consequence of his voyage to Greece and, on Paris' death, killed herself. According to other sources, Paris summoned her when he was mortally wounded, since she possessed healing skills. Because of his infidelity, she refused to heal him, but when he died, she threw herself on his funeral pyre and was burned with him.

Oenopion
The king of Chios, believed to be responsible for the introduction of viniculture to Chios

Oenotrus
The son of Lycaon (1). He moved to Italy, where the southern pas was named after him (Oenotria).

Ogygia
In Greek mythology, Ogygia is a fabled island controlled by the nymph Calypso. It was a tree covered, dark, depressing land in which the temperature was cold and the beast were frighting. Calyspo detained Odysseus on Ogygia for seven long, miserable years as a prisoner of passion, a slave, and a husband. Zeus sent Hermes to Ogygia to have Calyspo send Odysseus on his way to Ithaca or suffer the consequences. So, she let him go much to her dismay.

Olenus
In Greek myth, a man who lived with his wife on Mt. Ida. The wife claimed she surpassed any goddess in beauty. For this assumption they were both turned to stone.

Olympia
The sanctuary of Olympia, the most ancient and is probably the most famous sanctuary in Greece, and home of the Olympic Games. It is situated in the valley of the Alpheios in the western region of the Peloponnese (the legendary king Pelops was the first ruler of the area and it was he who gave the whole peninsula its name "Peloponnesos", which means "Island of Pelops"). The sanctuary lies on the south west foot of a wooded hill known as Kronion (in honor of Cronus). The river which flows through the site is the Alpheios, which is known in the mythology of Heracles, also the river-god Alpheus, who was the son of Oceanus and Tethys. The mythology attached to Olympia is older than the games themselves, but the myth of how the Olympic Games were contrived comes from the contest to win the hand of the beautiful maiden HippodameaHippodamea, she was the daughter of king Oinomaos. The king dit not want his daughter to marry (legend has it that he loved her himself, and others that he would be killed by the son of his daughter). For which ever reason, king Oinomaos set a contest for Hippodamea's suitors, of which there were many. The king was an excellent equestrian, excelling in chariot racing, knowing he would most certainly win each race, he set the contest as the winner would get Hippodamea, but the loser would die. Oinomaos was challenged for many years, in that time he defeated and killed 13 suitors. His daughter Hippodamea was sure she would be a spinster for the rest of her life, but the next suitor was the hero Pelops. A chariot race seemed an easy challenge to a man who had overcome greater dangers: when Pelops was only a child his father Tantalus cooked him in a stew, then served him to the Olympian gods, for he was trying to trick the immortals into eating human flesh unknowingly. However, Demeter did take a bite from Pelops shoulder, but she recognized her mistake immediately. The gods saved Pelops and gave him an ivory shoulder, as a replacement for the part Demeter had inadvertently eaten. Pelops knew of the 13 suitors Oinomaos had already killed. Pelops, being a wise if not honorable hero, bribed the kings charioteer Myrtilus. He persuaded Myrtilus to loosen the linch-pins which held the wheels of his masters chariot to the axle. On the day of the race Myrtilus carried out Pelops wishes. King Oinomaos confident he would win, raced off at great speed, but at the first turn the linch-pins sprang free, letting both wheels fall from the axle. King Oinomaos was thrown from his chariot and killed. Being the victor Pelops married Hippodameia, but to keep his manner of victory secret, Pelops killed the disloyal Myrtilus. Pelops disposed of his body by throwing it into the Aegean, and there after that particular part became known as the Myrtoan Sea. There are other legends of how the games originated, some believe it was Heracles who founded them, after completing his sixth labor, of which he accomplished in the Peloponnese (the other six were in different regions of the known world). This labor was to cleanse the "Augean Stables" a task that involved clearing all the foul dirt which had built up over the years. The owner, king Augeas, had many herds of cattle and had neglected to clear the manure and filth. Heracles had one day to remove and cleanse them. He did this by diverting two rivers one being the Alpheios (which flows through Olympia) and the Kladeos (in some versions it was the Peneus). When the torrent of water flowed through the stables it carried away all the muck and filth. To celebrate this accomplished task Heracles founded the games. Some legends believe that the sanctuary of Olympia had been built where the palace and stables originally stood. The Labors of Heracles were commemorated on the "Temple of Zeus", and with its gold and ivory statue created by Pheidias, became one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The great Temple of Zeus was constructed between 470 BC and completed in 456 BC. The architect was Libon and his design was a Doric peripteral temple (entirely surrounded with columns), the largest in the Peloponnese. Both pediments depict scenes from mythology, which where wonderfully carved in marble. The sculpture on the east pediment depicts the chariot race between Oinomaos and Pelops, with Zeus in the center. On the western pediment it shows the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs, which occurred during the wedding of Peirithous and Deidameia, with Apollo in the center (these and many other wonderful sculptures are housed in the near-by museum). Also above the entrance to the "pronaos" (porch to the front of the cella), there are six metopes depicting scenes from the "Twelve Labors of Heracles), and the other six are above the "Opisthodomos"(the enclosed space at the rear of the cella, the cella is the sacred cult room within the temple). The "acroterion"(acroteria are pedestals for statutes and ornaments (acroterion) placed on the apex or lower angles of pediments) which stood at the center of the east pediment (the very top of the triangular pediment) was a sculpted marble Nike (victory), which had been gilded, this was the work of Paionios. There are many shrines temples and altars. Some shrines are from an early period, and are situated at the foot of Kronion (this is where most prehistoric finds have been located). They have been identified as the cults of Cronus, Rhea, Gaia, Eileithyia, Themis and Idaian Heracles. In the early Archaic period the Altis, (a sacred grove) would have been full of plain trees, wild olive, poplars, oak and pine, enclosed by a low hedge, with simple buildings and altars to the gods, and the heroa-tumuli of Pelops and Hippodameia. Pausanias said that a single column stood here, it was all that remained of the palace of Oinomaos. Legend says that it was eventually destroyed, by a single thunderbolt sent by Zeus. In this period the votive offerings would have been hung from the trees. Also in this era the sacred wild olive would have flourished here, a notable relic of an ancient tree cult. One legend says that Heracles introduced this species of tree to Olympia when he returned from the land of the Hyperboreans. The Olympic Games were founded (according to tradition) in 776 BC and held every four years in honor of Zeus. In the early years the games took place on just one day, as there were only two events, wrestling and the footrace. By 471 BC there where more competitions also religious sacrifices, and feasting. The classical period saw all the famous events taking place such as boxing, pankration and the pentathlon. The games remained a prestigious festival, even in the Roman era, but were disbanded in 393 AD by the Byzantine emperor Theodosius 1st as he prohibited all pagan festivals.

Olympus
Mount Olympus, in Greek mythology, is the abode of the chief god Zeus. Also, the foremost gods of the Greek pantheon have their palaces at the summit. It is here that the gods assemble to consume nectar and ambrosia ("immortal"), the substances which reinforces their immortality. According to the myth, the top of the Olympus, which is covered in snow and hidden in the clouds, reaches all the way into the aether. It is the highest mountain of Greece and lies on the border of Macedonia and Thessaly.

Omphalos
Omphalos (literally, "navel") is a sacred oval or hemispherical stone in Delphi. There it was situated in the center of the temple of Apollo (currently a museum). To the ancient Greeks this stone was the center, the 'navel', of the earth. According to legend, Zeus determined the spot by sending forth two eagles simultaneously to fly from the eastern and western ends of the earth, and they met at Delphi.

Oneiroi
The Oneiroi are the personified deities of specific types of dreams such as nightmares, sexual dreams, etc. They were thought to dwell on the shores of the Ocean in the extreme west. True dreams issue from a gate of horn, while deceptive dreams issue from a gate of ivory. The most important one is Morpheus, the god of dreams. His brothers are Icelus, Phobetor and Phantasos. At his command, they sent forth the various shapes that appear in the dreams of humans.

Onuris
The Greek form of the Egyptian god Anhur.

Ophion
Literally, "serpent". One of the Titans. In one tradition, Ophion and his consort Eurynome reigned over Olympus until they were dethroned by the younger generation of gods. He was cast in the Tartarus by Cronus.

Oracle
In its modern usage, the word "oracle" is used to describe either a prophet inspired by spiritual forces, or to describe a particular prophesy. In ancient Greece, the oracle was a place where these divinely-inspired prophesies of the future were passed down to mortals. Usually these prophesies were given in response to questions, but sometimes they flowed out randomly from the priest or priestess acting as an intermediary. To be an oracle, the place needed to have a variable and periodic attribute that could be subject to the interpretation of the priesthood. The priests would then ascribe both the event and the interpretation of the event to their patron god or goddess. For example, the ancient oracles of Zeus were areas where priests could interpret the wind rustling through the trees. An exception to this definition was the oracle of Asclepius at Epidaurus, where the sick were treated with something akin to faith-healing and hypnosis. Although the priests performed the healings with no local natural events to inspire them, these miracles were attributed to the place and the divine powers that resided there. The most famous oracle was that of Apollo at Delphi, discovered as a fissure in the side of Mt. Parnassus emitting a gas that would cause seizures among the goats that grazed nearby. The convulsions and wild ravings of a goatherd who was also affected were interpreted by the locals as "divine inspiration", and the priesthood moved in rapidly to take advantage of the unusual situation. The oracle was ascribed to a few other deities before the temple of Apollo was established. The Pythia was the priestess of this oracle who was crowned in laurel and seated on a tripod perched over the cleft that produced the intoxicating vapors. Her utterances while under the influence were usually so disjointed that additional clergy were needed to provide interpretation.

Oreads
The Greek nymphs of mountains and grottoes (from the Greek oros "mountain"). They belong to the retinue of Aphrodite.

Orithyea
The daughter of King Erechtheus of Athens. She was abducted by Boreas and became the mother of his sons Calais and Zetes.

Orphne
Orphne is a nymph from Greek mythology. She lived with Hades in the underworld. Also, Orphne was married to Acheron. Acheron is the god of the river Acheron.

Otus
Otus was a son of Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea. He was also the brother of Ephialtis. They both were giant Aloadae. The two brothers decided to lay siege on Mt. Olympus by dethroning Zeus and raping Artemis. During their siege on Mt. Olympus, they captured Ares and put him in a jar for thirteen months. Finally, Artemis offered to lay with Otus if he set Ares free. This made Ephialtis very jealous and the two got into a fight. During the brawl, Artemis changed herself into a doe and sprung between them. Both, not wishing for Artemis to flee, drew their spears and at the same time threw them at the doe. Artemis then disappeared and the spears hit Otus and Ephialtis killing them instantly.

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