Appendix I: Glossary

Glossary
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Aeschylus:        Father of Greek tragedy, born in Eleusis (525-456 BC), very powerful writer in his works which involved Nature, man, legends as well as religious and philosophical views.

Agamemnon:        Son of Atria and brother of Menelaus, legendary King of Mycenae and Argos, leader of the troops in besieged Troy. He sacrificed his daughter Iphigenia to obtain the favours of the Gods.

Al Mamoun:        Abbasid Caliph from 827 to 847 who wanted to impose a theology inspired by Greek philosophy in parallel with the Koran BC. His humanism was abandoned at the end of his reign.

Alaric:                                King of the Visigoths.

Alexander the Great:        King of Macedonia (356-323 BC) who conquered Greece, Babylon, Persia and Egypt.

Alexius:                        Name of Byzantine Emperors. See Anna Kommena.

Anacreon:        Greek lyric poet, born in Teos (560-478 BC). His works celebrated pleasures with a gracious and lively style.

Anna Kommena:                Daughter of the Byzantine emperor Alexius Kommena.

Antium:        Ancient city of Latium where Coriolanus is said to have sought exile. It is the fatherland of Caligula and Nero.

Api or Hapi:        Sacred bull that the ancient Egyptians considered as the highest, most complete expression of Divinity in the animal kingdom and which comes from Osiris and Phtah.

Apollo:        Greek God of Light, Arts and Divination and son of Zeus and Leto, twin brother of Artemis.

Archimedes:        Illustrious scholar of Antiquity, born in Syracuse (around 287-212 BC). Found and invented many mathematical formulas and mechanical devices.

Arcopagus:        A hill west of the Acropolis where Mars is supposed to have been tried for a murder by the great Arcopagite Council. It is the hill where St Paul preached the Athenians against idolatry. Just also means a great council of the prominent people in a city.


Aristides:        Philosopher from Athens (Second Century AD) author of the most ancient �Apology� of the Christian religion.

Aristophanes:        Most famous Greek comedy writer in Athens (around 450-386 BC). His works were usually political and literary pamphlets.

Aristotle:        Famous Greek philosopher born in Macedonia (ancient Greece). Tutor of Alexander the great and founder of the peripatetic school. He wrote treatises about logics, politics, natural sciences as well as physics.

Aspasia:                        Mistress of Pericles. Famous for her beauty and wit.

Atlantis:                        A continent said to have sunken west of Gibraltar.

Attila:        King of the Huns in 445 AD, defeated the Emperors of Orient and Occident before succumbing to Aetius, Meroveus and Theodoric.

Brahma:        Supreme God of the ancient Hindus, personification of the Absolute, creator of the world, the Gods and the men, later associated with Vishnu (protector) and Shiva (destructor) to form the Hindu trinity.

Briareus:        Mythological giant, son of heaven and earth, entrusted with 50 heads and 100 arms. Was thrown to the sea by Poseidon and chained to the Etna, together with his brothers, by Zeus as a punishment for their revolt.

Caledonian:                        Ancient name of the people in Caledonia (Scotland).

Calypso:        Nymph, Queen of the island of Ogygia where she kept Ulysses captive for 7 years.


Cimmerian:        Pertaining to the Cimmerians, ancient people living on the banks of Pont Euxin (Black Sea) and which, in the 7th century B.C. invaded Lydia.

Cimon:        Athenian general (510-449 BC) who defeated the Persians in Eurymedon and re-established the supremacy of Athens in the Greek archipelago.

Clytemnestra:        Mother of Electra and Oreste. Together with her lover, she assassinated her husband Agamemnon and was later killed by her son.

Consensum:        Consent, approval, agreement.


Dade:        Proto-Indo-European vowel and resonant which was contracted to form the new Indo-Aryan sounds.


Darius or Darios the First:        King of Persia (521-486 BC), conquered India, Thrace, Macedonia but was defeated by the Greeks in Marathon.

Dejoce:        Illustrious King of Media who freed this country from the Assyrian occupation.

Delphos or Delphi:        Ancient city of Greece at the foot of Mount Parnassus where an Apollo temple was erected and where oracles were delivered by the Pythies.

Demiurge:        A Platonic deity who orders or fashions the material world out of chaos.


Deucalion:        Figure comparable to Noah in the Greek tales; or name of the flood in the Greek tales.

Deuteropathic:        Morbid state of a person which is developing under the strain of sickness.

Diana:        Roman goddess, daughter of Jupiter and Latonia, associated with the Greek goddess Artemis, was sacred queen of the woods and bestowed with spears and nymphs.

Diodor of Sicily:        Greek historian from the century of August, born in Agyrion, author of a very detailed �Historical library�, a universal history stretching back to 60 BC.

Diogenes:        Greek philosopher (413-323) who was known for his cynicism and disinterest for social comedy. Was known for saying �I am looking for a human being� when asked what he was doing with a kindled lamp in the streets of Athens in the middle of the day.

Diomedes:        1. Fabulous King of Thrace known for his cruelty. Hercules had him eaten by his own horses which he fed with human flesh.

2. King of Argos, one of the hero of the battle of Troy. As he was fighting against Enea, he wounded Venus who was protecting her son with her mantle.

Dodona or Dodon:        Ancient city of Epire, it had a temple dedicated to Zeus near a oak tree forest, which sounds would be interpreted as oracles.

Draco or Dracon:        Legislator of Athens whose laws were so severe that they were hold for being written with blood (end of 7th Century BC).

Duplum:                        A double or a duplicate.


Eleusis:        Town in the Attica, North West of Athens which had a temple dedicated to Ceres and Proserpine, where famous mysteries were celebrated about the unity of the existence of God and the immortality of the soul

Elysium:        Paradise of the Greeks and the Romans, underground fields where the virtuous shadows have their places.

Eo ipso:                        By that fact alone.

Epaminondas:        Theban general and statesman who lived around the fifth century BC. Founded democracy in Thebes and defeated the Lacedemonians but was mortally wounded during the last war with them.


Epopt:        A person holding the highest rank among the people initiated to the Mysteries in Eleusis.

Erinnies:                        Greek goddesses, called Furies by the Romans.

Euripides:        One of the last three great poets of Greece (480-406 BC) who was imitated by many Modern writers for his sense of pathetic, his depictions of passion and the overall harmony which is distinguishable in his numerous dramas.

Euxin or Pont Euxin:                Name given by the Greeks to the Black Sea.

Ex abrupto:                        Suddenly, abruptly.

Ex professo:                        In its specific meaning.


Fama:                                Rumour considered here, as an allegoric divinity.


Glaucus:        Son of Sisyphus who was devoured by his horses as a punishment for his despise for Venus.

Gnidus:                        Ancient city of Cary with a famous lacedemonian Venus temple.


Hannibal:        Famous general from Carthagena, who defeated Sagonia, travelled through Spain and southern Gales to reach Rome through the Alps and defeated the Romans.


Heautonomy:        The condition in which judgment subjectively legislates its own activity.

Hercules:        Latin semi-god associated with the Greek Heracles. He is known for his extraordinary strength and survived the ordeal of the famous twelve perilous works which his cousin Euryatheus forced upon him.

Hermann or Arminius:        Chief of the Cherusques who defeated the roman legions in Varus 5 AD.

Hesperus:        Name given by the Greeks to Italy (the land in the west of Greece) and by the Romans to Spain (the land in the west of Rome).

Hippocrates:        Famous doctor of Antiquity (around 460-375 BC) whose competence was universally recognized in his time.

Homer:        Greek poet of the 9th Century BC, author of the �Iliad� and the �Odyssey�. However, many facts about his life are unproved.

Horace:        Latin poet (65-8 BC) who preached moderation as the source of happiness.


Huisis mensis:                        this month

Hydra:        Snake with seven heads which could grew again unless one cut them all together.


Illuminat:        Member of circles who boasted to have particular inspiration and relationship with the spiritual world.

Iphigenia:        Daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Her father sacrificed her to Diane in order to obtain the favours of the Gods in his war against Troy.

Irmin or Irmino:        Idol of the ancient Saxons who built his statue on Mount Eresberg under the traits of Arminius.


Jason:        Son of King Iolcos who was deprived of his throne by Pelias. He led the Argonauts to Colchide to steal the Golden Fleece and to ravish Medea.

Jethro:                                Moses father in law.

Judicium:                        Judgment, judiciousness.

Juno:        Daughter of Saturn, wife of Jupiter. Poets represent her as jealous, aggressive and haughty.

Jupiter:        Father and master of all gods in the Latin mythology. He reigned in Rome from the Capitol.

Juvenal:        Satiric Latin poet (65-128 AD) who was known for his critiques of Rome�s vices.


Kistophores:        Name given to the fourth degree in the Egyptian mysteries. In this degree, the mystery-name Iao was communicated to the candidate.

Lacedemonian:        Pertaining to Lacedemone or Sparta, capital of Laconia (Republic of Sparta) in ancient Greece, organized according to a strict and aristocratic constitution made by Lycurgus, submitted by force the whole Peloponnesus and finally, Athens, before succumbing to the Athenians in 404 B.C.


Laocoon:        Son of Priam and Hecube, priest in the Apollo temple in Troy. He was strangled with his sons by two monstrous snakes.

Latitudinarian:                Person with liberal views especially in religious matters.


Leine:        Name of a river in the northern part of Germany, between G�ttingen and Hanover.

Leonidas:        King of Sparta who together with 300 Spartans defended Sparta in Thermopylae against the Persians and died there.


Leucothea:        Previously called Ino, the second wife of King Athamas. Threw herself into the sea from a cliff after Juno made her husband mad. Neptune renamed her Leucothea (the white goddess). She is held as the saviour of sailors lost in storms.


Livius Andronicus:        One of the first Latin poets (around 285 - 204 av. J.-C.) who made a transition between the Greek and Latin poetry.



Lucian:        Greek writer born in Samosate (125 to 190 BC). He wrote many pieces with scepticism, wit and verve.

Lucretia:        1. Roman lady who died of despair after an outrage done to her by the son of Tarquinius the Great. It is a name given to virtuous and proud women.

2. Latin poet (98-55 BC) scientific author who developed the Epicurean system in a lyrical and vigorous poetry.

Ludovisi Juno:        Name of a colossal sculpture of the head of Juno which is one of the famous statues of Antiquity.

Lycia:        Ancient region of Asia between Cary and Pamphylia, near the Mediterranean.

Lykurgus or Lycurgus:        1. Legendary legislator of Sparta who is supposed to have lived in the 9th Century BC. Travelled in many countries and brought reforms back to Sparta. See also Lacedemonian.

2. Athenian politician and orator (390-324 BC). Ally to Demosthenes, he rules the finances of Athens for 12 years.

Lysimachus:        One of the generals of Alexander the Great. He became King of Thrace, and of Macedonia (Ancient Greece). He was killed in 281 BC.


Mameluks:        Turco-egyptian militia made mostly of slaves who conquered and ruled Egypt from 1250 to 1517. They were defeated by Mehmet Ali in 1811.

Manetho or Manethon:        Egyptian priest and historian of the 3rd Century BC, author of the disappeared �History of Egypt�.


Medea:        Princess from Colchid who followed Jason and had children with him. She murdered them after Jason abandoned her. She is renowned in Antiquity for being a magician and a sorceress. See also Jason.

Medians:                        Inhabitants of Media. See also Dejoce.


Melpomene:        Third muse. She is the singing muse of tragedy and is supported by a dagger on one hand and Hercules�s club on the other.


Mithridate the Great:        King of Pont from 123 to 63 BC. His reckless wars against the Romans lasted from 90 to 63 BC, without interruption, until his death.

Mosaic:        Pertaining to Moses, according to Moses.

Mount Ida:                        Name of a mountain chain near Troy and near Crete.

Mucius Scaevola:        Legendary hero of Rome who conspired to kill the King of Etrusca but who was caught and endured the ordeal of the hand in the fire which he resisted with great calm. After the incident the Etruscans and the Romans signed a peace treaty.

Mutatis mutandis:                With the necessary modifications.


Nero:        Roman emperor (37-68 AD) known for his cruelty, particularly his assassination of Britannicus, of his mother Agrippina and of his wife Octavia.

Niobe:        Wife of King Amphion who had 7 sons and 7 daughters, she mocked Latone who only had Apollo and Diana as children. These latter avenged their mother by killing all the children of Niobe. In her horror and sorrow, she was transformed into stone. She is a symbol of maternal love and sorrow.

Oedipus:        Mythological hero, who killed his father, resolved the Sphinx�s enigma and without knowing it, became the husband of his mother who later killed herself.

Olympia:        Queen of Macedonia (ancient Greece), mother of Alexander the Great. Repudiated by Philip of Macedonia, she was supposed to have instigated his assassination.

Olympus:        Mountain chains between Macedonia and Thessaly. It is the home of the Gods.

Omar:        Successor to Abou Bekr and second caliph of Mecca (581-644 AD) he conquered Syria, Persia and Egypt. He is supposed to have burned the library of Alexandria because it contained works which were blasphemous to the Islam faith.

Orkus:        Land of shadows, chaos and darkness where Pluto and Proserpina reigned. It is associated with hell. Its distance from beneath the earth is as far as the distance to heaven.


Ovid:        Latin poet (43 BC-17 AD) known for his easy, gracious poems. Exiled from Rome in 9 AD, he died in Tomi despite his ardent requests.

Palladium:        Monument hosting the statue of Pallas, protector of Troy or an object to which a city or an empire attributed their duration. Guarantee for protection.

Pathos:                                Capacity to arouse sorrow, pity �in literature.

Per excellentiam:                Par excellence.

Peregrinius:        Name given to strangers who lived in Rome and who had to follow a special code.

Pericles:        Athenian statesman (499-429 BC) rival of Cimon. He established democracy further and strengthened the frontiers of Athens. Left many monuments in Athens and was the father of the Greek golden age.

Perseus:        Greek hero who killed the Medusa, married Andromeda, became King of Tirynthe and founded Mycenae.

Phidias:        Greatest sculptor of Ancient Greek who was responsible for the decoration of the Parthenon.

Philoctet:        One of the most illustrious Greek warriors during the siege of Troy and possessor of the poisoned spears of Hercules.

Phocion:        General and orator from Athens, member of the aristocratic party (around 400-317 BC) famous for his disinterest and falsely condemned to drink a deadly poison.

Plato:        Greek philosopher, disciple of Socrates and Aristotle�s master (429-347 BC), adept of dialectic method. Truth is contained in ideas and not in events.

Plutarch:        Greek historian around the first century, who wrote two main books, made mostly of anecdotes and fact telling.
Polyhymnia:        Eighth muse of songs who is thoughtful and enthusiastic or who is bestowed with importantly enhanced rights.

Propertius or Properz:        Latin poet of the last century BC who wrote mainly four masterpieces in alexandrines.

Regulus:        Roman general, famous for dedication and loyalty, consul in 267 and 256 BC. Refused to give in to the Carthaginians and was tortured.

Rhadamanthus:        One of the three judges in Hell, son of Zeus and brother of Minos. He was known for his acute sense of fairness.

Roxelane:        Slave who became wife of Sultan Suleiman II, and mother of Sultan Selim II.

Sais:                                City in ancient Egypt.


Sanhedrin:        The highest court and supreme council of the ancient Jewish nation.

Saturn:        Very ancient agricultural divinity. Chased by Jupiter from heaven, he took refuge in Latium where he instated peace and prosperity and taught agriculture to humans.


Seneca:        The Philosopher, tutor of Nero, who asked him to cut his veins. Author of many philosophical treatises, he belonged to the Stoics.

Serape:        Egyptian God from the Lagidis and Roman periods, whose Temple was discovered in Memphis. He was later associated with Pluto, Esculape or Jupiter.


Socrates:        Illustrious Greek philosopher (470-399 BC) who created moral sciences and put the human being at the centre of philosophical concerns. He never wrote any book and taught through dialectics amidst the citizens.

Solon:        Legislator of Athens, one of the seven wise men of Greece (640-558 BC). He raised the national spirit of the Athenians, alleviated the burden of the poorest citizens and re-established harmony in the city to which he gave a more liberal constitution.

Sophistics:                         Doctrine of the Sophists based on an apparent, subtle wisdom.

Sophocles:        Greek tragic writer (495-405 BC) who improved radically the Greek tragedy by diminishing the chorus and increasing the focus on the human willpower in the action.


Strabo or Strabon:        Greek geographer born in Amaseum, Cappadoce (around 58 BC) and author of a precious �Geography�.

Suleiman:                        Sultan of the Turks from 1402 to1410 and son of Bajazet.

Swammerdamm:        Naturalist who wrote a famous �Biblia Naturae �. The gold bug was named after him, he was a contemporary to Boerhave.

Swift:        Irish writer (1667-1745) and partisan of Ireland who depicted with virulence the then English society.


Tacitus:                        Latin historian (55-120 AD).

Tarquinius Sextus:        Son of Tarquinius the Great, his outrage to Lucrecia led to the overturning of royalty in Rome.


Tauris:                                Ancient city of Persia.

Thalia:        One of the three graces. Muse of comedy and idyll, represented by a mask and Ivy leaves. It is also the name of a famous journal where F. Schiller used to be editor.


Theseus:        King of Athens. He is a hero and a legend at the same time. Guided by Arian in the labyrinth of Crete, he killed the Minotaur but was condemned to Inferno.


Tiberius:                        Second Roman emperor of the first century.

Tibur:        Ancient name of a city where the rich Romans used to take vacation, now named Tivoli.

Timoleon:        Greek statesman (410-336 BC) who liberated Syracuse. His love of law and freedom was so keen that he allowed his brother Timophane to be condemned on charge of conspiration.

Timophane:                        Brother of Timoleon.

Titans:        Sons of Heaven and Earth, angry against the Gods, they piled mountains upon mountains to reach heaven but Jupiter sent them a thunder.


Trojan:        Habitant of Troy, which was besieged by the Greeks for 10 years.


Ulysses:        Legendary Greek King of Ithaca, hero of the Trojan siege. Known for the cleverness and strength he showed during the ordeal.


Venus Cytherea:        Cytherea: Island where Venus had a magnificent temple. It is associated with enchantment. It is the Land of Love.

Venus Urania:        Urania: Muse of astronomy and geometry. It is associated with geometric precision and perfection.

Virgil:        Latin poet (71-19 BC) who made prevail the beautiful, the sensitive and the noble.


Zeus:        The supreme God among the twelve major Greek Gods. After conquering his place in Olympus, he turned his actions to the human genre and wanted to better them by encouraging kindness and punishing arrogance.