Hades the Greek god of death and riches; ruler of the Underworld
Hadrian the fourteenth emperor of Rome; ruled from 117 to 138 CE; known for building a wall that marked the northern limit of Britannia
harpy a winged female creature that snatches things
Hecate goddess of magic and crossroads
Hecuba queen of Troy, wife of King Priam, ruler during the Trojan War
Helen of Troy a daughter of Zeus and Leda and considered the most beautiful woman in the world; she sparked the Trojan War when she left her husband Menelaus for Paris, a prince of Troy
Helios the Titan god of the sun; son of the Titan Hyperion and the Titaness Theia
Hephaestus the Greek god of fire, including volcanic, and of crafts and blacksmithing; the son of Zeus and Hera, and married to Aphrodite; Roman form: Vulcan
Hera the Greek goddess of marriage; Zeus’s wife and sister; Apollo’s stepmother
Heracles the Greek equivalent of Hercules; the son of Zeus and Alcmene; born with great strength
Hercules the Roman equivalent of Heracles; the son of Jupiter and Alcmene; born with great strength
Hermes Greek god of travelers; guide to spirits of the dead; god of communication
Herophile the daughter of a water nymph; she had such a lovely singing voice that Apollo blessed her with the gift of prophecy, making her the Erythraean Sibyl
Hestia Greek goddess of the hearth and home
Hyacinthus a Greek hero and Apollo’s lover, who died while trying to impress Apollo with his discus skills
hydra a many-headed water serpent
Hypnos Greek god of sleep
Imperial gold a rare metal deadly to monsters, consecrated at the Pantheon; its existence was a closely guarded secret of the emperors
Incitatus the favorite horse of Roman emperor Caligula
Janus the Roman god of beginnings, openings, doorways, gates, passages, time, and endings; depicted with two faces
Jupiter the Roman god of the sky and king of the gods; Greek form: Zeus
Katoptris Greek for mirror; a dagger that once belonged to Helen of Troy
khanda a double-edged straight sword; an important symbol of Sikhism
kusarigama a traditional Japanese weapon consisting of a sickle attached to a chain
Kymopoleia Greek goddess of violent storm waves; daughter of Poseidon
La Ventana a performance and event venue in Buenos Aires, Argentina
Labyrinth an underground maze originally built on the island of Crete by the craftsman Daedalus to hold the Minotaur
legionnaire a member of the Roman army
Leto mother of Artemis and Apollo with Zeus; goddess of motherhood
Little Tiber the barrier of Camp Jupiter
Lucrezia Borgia the daughter of a pope and his mistress; a beautiful noblewoman who earned the reputation of being a political schemer in fifteenth-century Italy
Marcus Aurelius Roman Emperor from 161 to 180 CE; father of Commodus; considered the last of the “Five Good Emperors”
Mars the Roman god of war; Greek form: Ares
Medea a Greek enchantress, daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis and granddaughter of the Titan sun god, Helios; wife of the hero Jason, whom she helped obtain the Golden Fleece
Mefitis a goddess of foul-smelling gasses of the earth, especially worshipped in swamps and volcanic areas
Meliai Greek nymphs of the ash tree, born of Gaea; they nurtured and raised Zeus in Crete
Michelangelo an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance; a towering genius in the history of Western art; among his many masterpieces, he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican
Minotaur the part-man, part-bull son of King Minos of Crete; the Minotaur was kept in the Labyrinth, where he killed people who were sent in; he was finally defeated by Theseus
Mount Olympus home of the Twelve Olympians
Mount Vesuvius a volcano near the Bay of Naples in Italy that erupted in the year 79 CE, burying the Roman city of Pompeii under ash
Naevius Sutorius Macro a prefect of the Praetorian Guard from 31 to 38 CE, serving under the emperors Tiberius and Caligula
Neos Helios Greek for new sun, a title adopted by the Roman emperor Caligula
Nero ruled as Roman Emperor from 54 to 58 CE; he had his mother and his first wife put to death; many believe he was responsible for setting a fire that gutted Rome, but he blamed the Christians, whom he burned on crosses; he built an extravagant new palace on the cleared land and lost support when construction expenses forced him to raise taxes; he committed suicide
Nine Muses goddesses who grant inspiration for and protect artistic creation and expression; daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne; as children, they were taught by Apollo; their names are Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, Melpomene, Terpsichore, Erato, Polymnia, Ourania, and Calliope
Niobids children who were slain by Apollo and Artemis when their mother, Niobe, boasted about having more offspring than Leto, the twins’ mother
nunchaku originally a farm tool used to harvest rice, an Okinawan weapon consisting of two sticks connected at one end by a short chain or rope
nymph a female deity who animates nature
Oracle of Delphi a speaker of the prophecies of Apollo
Oracle of Trophonius a Greek who was transformed into an Oracle after his death; located at the Cave of Trophonius; known for terrifying those who seek him
Orthopolis the only child of Plemnaeus who survived birth; disguised as an old woman, Demeter nursed him, ensuring the boy’s survival
Ouranos the Greek personification of the sky; husband of Gaea; father of the Titans
Palatine Hill the most famous of Rome’s seven hills; considered one of the most desirable neighborhoods in ancient Rome, it was home to aristocrats and emperors
Pan the Greek god of the wild; the son of Hermes
pandai (pandos, sing.) a tribe of men with gigantic ears, eight fingers and toes, and bodies covered with hair that starts out white and turn black with age
parazonium a triangular-bladed dagger sported by women in ancient Greece
Petersburg a Civil War battle in Virginia in which an explosive charge designed to be used against the Confederates led to the deaths of 4,000 Union troops
phalanx a body of heavily armed troops in close formation
Philip of Macedon the king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BCE until his assassination in 336 BCE; father of Alexander the Great
physician’s cure a concoction created by Asclepius, god of medicine, to bring someone back from the dead
Plemnaeus the father of Orthopolis, whom Demeter reared to ensure that he would flourish
Pompeii a Roman city that was destroyed in 79 CE when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried it under ash
Poseidon the Greek god of the sea; son of the Titans Kronos and Rhea, and the brother of Zeus and Hades
praetor an elected Roman magistrate and commander of the army
praetorian guard a unit of elite Roman soldiers in the Imperial Roman Army
princeps Latin for first citizen or first in line; the early Roman emperors adopted this title for themselves, and it came to mean prince of Rome
Python a monstrous dragon that Gaea appointed to guard the Oracle at Delphi
River Styx the river that forms the boundary between Earth and the Underworld
Sarpedon a son of Zeus who was a Lycian prince and a hero in the Trojan War; he fought with distinction on the Trojan side but was slain by the Greek warrior Patroclus
Saturnalia an ancient Roman festival held in December in honor of the god Saturn, the Roman equivalent of Kronos
satyr a Greek forest god, part goat and part man