Mythological Dictionary on Letter #C

Cadmean Victory

Cadmus was informed by the oracle at Delphi that he would establish a great city. When he eventually...

Caduceus

In Latin the herald's staff was known as the caduceum, derived from the Greek word keryx or herald, ...

Calliope

Calliope was one of the nine muses, who gives her name to the musical instrument, the calliope, made...

Calypso or Calypso music

Calypso ("she who hides or conceals") was the daughter of Thetis and either Atlas, Nereus, or Oceanu...

Cassandra

Trojan Cassandra, daughter of Priam and Hecuba, was amorously pursued by the god Apollo. Having at f...

Catamite

Zeus was so impressed with the beauty of the Trojan youth Ganymede that he took the form of an eagle...

Cerberus

Cerberus, the hound of the underworld, stood guard at the gates of Hades and prevented those not per...

Cereal

Ceres (the Roman counterpart of Demeter) was goddess of grain and the fertility of the earth. From h...

Chaos or chaotic

Whether Chaos is to be understood as a void or a primordial, formless, undifferentiated, and seethin...

Chimera or chimerical or chimeric

A wild, hybrid creature, the Chimera had the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a s...

Cornucopia

The Latin cornucopia means "horn of plenty." There are two stories about this horn, which bestows up...

Cosmos

Cosmos or cosmic or cosmology or cosmetic or cosmetician. Cosmos refers to the universe, and all th...

Cupidity

The Latin word cupidus (desirous or greedy) gave rise to Cupido, Cupid, the Roman equivalent of the ...

Cyclopean

Here were two distinct groups of giants called the Cyclopes, whose name means circle-eyed and indica...

Cynosure

The constellation Ursa Minor ("little bear") was called Kunosoura ("the dog's tail") by the astronom...