myth summary
Learn about the modern study of myth
Below is the article summary. For the full article, see myth.
Arachne Summary
Arachne, in Greek mythology, the daughter of Idmon of Colophon in Lydia, a dyer in purple. Arachne was a weaver who acquired such skill in her art that she ventured to challenge Athena, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason. Athena wove a tapestry depicting the gods in majesty, while
Ariadne Summary
Ariadne, in Greek mythology, daughter of Pasiphae and the Cretan king Minos. She fell in love with the Athenian hero Theseus and, with a thread or glittering jewels, helped him escape the Labyrinth after he slew the Minotaur, a beast half bull and half man that Minos kept in the Labyrinth. Here the
Astarte Summary
Astarte, great goddess of the ancient Middle East and chief deity of Tyre, Sidon, and Elat, important Mediterranean seaports. Hebrew scholars now feel that the goddess Ashtoreth mentioned so often in the Bible is a deliberate conflation of the Greek name Astarte and the Hebrew word boshet, “shame,”
Attis Summary
Attis, mythical consort of the Great Mother of the Gods (q.v.; classical Cybele, or Agdistis); he was worshipped in Phrygia, Asia Minor, and later throughout the Roman Empire, where he was made a solar deity in the 2nd century ad. The worship of Attis and the Great Mother included the annual