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Dactyls- They discovered iron and how to work with it. They were thought to have magical powers and to live in Crete.
Dædalus- A great Athenian architect and sculptor. He invented the wedge, ax, level, and gimlet, and was the first to use sails. He built the palace of Cnossus and constructed the marvelous labyrinth for the Minotaur under it. He helped Theseus to get through the maze and for this he was punished by King Minos. He was kept prisoner at the palace and he could not bear to stay there so he made himself wings with feathers and wax, and fitted them to his body and to that of his son Icarus. They sailed in the air, but the heat of the sun melted the wax on the wings of Icarus, who flew too high, and he fell into the sea, which after his has been called Icarian.
Dag- In Scandinavian mythology, (1) a god representing day, the son of Nott, "Night," and (2) the last survivor of a treacherous race, the Hundings.
Dagan- In Hindu mythology, a god who reconstructed the world when it had been destroyed after creation.
Dagda or Daghdha- In Celtic mythology, the lord of all knowledge and the chief of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Literally "the good god", he was also the god of fire and magic. He always had a huge appetite and he owned a bronze cauldron which no one ever came away from with hunger. He also had a staff that possessed great powers; one end could kill nine men at a time and the other could restore them all back to life. His attributes were the club, cauldron, and harp.
Dagon- A Syrian divinity who, according to the Bible, had richly adorned temples in several of the Philistine cities. he was a national god of the Philistines, formed in human shape upwards from the waist, his lower extremity resembling that of a fish.
Dahak- In Persian mythology, a wicked deity who is destined to break the chains in which he is bound, and to bring upon men the most terrible calamities for 1000 years. After this period the reign of Ormuzd will begin, when men will be good and happy.
Daikoku- A mythical god invoked by Japanese workers. He is represented as holding a full sack, which he beats to bring from it all useful articles, and the sack never becomes empty.
Daityas- Hindu titans or demons who made war on the gods and prevented sacrifices to them.
Danaë- The daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. He locked her up because of an oracle that said that her son would one day kill Acrisius. But Zeus came to her in the form of a golden shower and she became the mother of Perseus. When Acrisius heard the cries, he intended to kill the newborn until he found out that he was the son of Zeus. So instead, he put Danaë and Perseus in a chest and threw it into the sea. But Zeus protected them and a gentle fisherman named Dictys found them. They stayed with him and Perseus eventually grew to become a hero and see that the oracle came true.
Danaïdes- The fifty daughters of Danaüs, king of Argos, who married the fifty sons of their uncle Ægyptus. Danaüs secretly ordered them all to murder their husbands on their wedding night. Everyone obeyed but Hypermnestra, who fell in love with her husband, Lynceus. When they died, the forty-nine Danaïdes were condemned in the underworld to pour water into sieves and try to fill a bath so that they could wash away their sins.
Danaüs- The king of Argos who had fifty daughters called the Danaïdes.
Danu- Among the ancient Irish Celts, the mother of the gods. She was a goddess of fertility and so associated with the underworld.
Daphne- A mountain nymph that was the daughter of the river god Peneus. Apollo courted her, but she fled from him and was, at her own request, turned into a laurel tree.
Daphnis- A Sicilian shepherd, son of Hermes, by a nymph. He was taught by Pan to play on the flute, and was regarded as the inventor of bucolic poetry.
Dardanus- The daughter of Electra and the founder of the Trojan race.
Déchtire- In Celtic myth, the lover of Lug and the daughter of a druid. They had a renowned son named Cúchulainn.
Deianira- A Caledonian princess that became the wife of Hercules. When Hercules killed the centaur Nessus, he gave her some of his blood and told her to save it. He told her to put some of it on Hercules' tunic if she ever doubted his love and he would love her again. One day, she thought it necessary to use it and when Hercules put on his tunic, he did not fall in love with Deianira again, but he was poisoned. For the blood still had some of the deadly poison in it from the arrow that he had shot at Nessus.
Deimos- Pulled Ares (Mars) chariot with Phobos; his name means "terror".
Deiphobus- A son of Priam and Hecuba. After the death of Paris, he married Helen, but was betrayed by her to the Greeks. Next to Hector, he was the bravest among the Trojans. On the capture of Troy by the Greeks he was slain and fearfully mangled by Menelaus.
Deirdre- An Irish heroine, fated to be the cause of misfortune. King Conchobar secluded her as his intended bride. Accidentally meeting with Noisi, she loved him and, fleeing, lived with him and his two brothers on Alba. The king brought about the death of the brothers, and Deirdre committed suicide.
Delos- The only land that would allow Leto to give birth to the twins Artemis and Apollo.
Delphi- A town at the foot of Mount Parnassus, famous for its oracle and for a temple of Apollo.
Demeter- Daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea, she was a goddess of the earth, seedtime, the seasons, and of harvest. By Zeus she became the mother of Persephone. See Persephone.
Demogorgon- The tyrant genius of the soil or earth, the life and support of the plants. He was depicted as an old man covered with moss and was said to live underground. He is a figure of medieval European mythology.
Dendera- Location of the temple of the Egyptian Hathor.
Derceto- A Syrian mermaid goddess who had analogies with Dagon of the Philistines and who was regarded by the Romans as identical with Venus.
Deucalion and Pyrrha- Zeus and Poseidon once destroyed the race of men with a flood. Only Deucalion and Pyrrha, his wife, escaped, finding refuge on Parnassus. After ten days, the rain stopped and at the behest of Zeus, who felt pity for them, they took up stones and cast them behind them. These stones took form as a new, hardy race of men and women, who peopled the earth again.
Devaki- In Hindu mythology, the mother goddess. A black hair plucked from Vishnu was placed in her womb and from it, Krishna was born.
Dian Cécht- The Irish god of medicine.
Diana- The Roman goddess of light, woods, forest, moon, virginity, and of childbirth. Identified with Artemis, she became the goddess of the chase. She was often identified with Hecate, as a deity presiding over incarnations. Her worship is said to have been introduced at Rome by Servius Tullius, who dedicated a temple to her on the Aventine.
Dictynna- One of the names of the Cretan goddess Britomartis, identified by the Greeks with Artemis.
Dictys- The kind fisherman that found and took in Danaë and Perseus after Acrisius had put them into a chest and threw them into the sea.
Dido- The founder and Queen of Carthage.
Dike- One of the three guardians of life appointed by Themis, whose names are Eunomia, "order", Dike, "justice", Irene, "peace". Their office was to promote unanimity by the exercise of equity and justice. They likewise stand around the throne of Zeus, and their regular occupation is to open and shut the gates of heaven, and to yoke the steeds to the chariot of the Sun.
Dindymus- Mountains between Phrygia and the frontiers of Galatia, near the town Pessinus, sacred to Cybele, the mother of the gods.
Diomedes or Diomed- (1) A Greek hero of the Trojan War, son of Tydeus, and king of Argos. He was a favorite of Athena, who, according to Homer, encouraged him to attack and wound both Ares and Aphrodite who were engaged on the side of the Trojans. He survived the siege of Troy, but on his return home found his wife untrue to him. He fled to Italy and remained in exile. (2) The cruel tyrant of Thrace, who trained his mares to devour all of the strangers that came to the land. He was overcome by Hercules, and was given to the same horses as food.
Dione- The youngest of the Titan sisters, a nymph reputed as the mother of Aphrodite.
Dionysus- Son of Zeus and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus. He was the god of wine, fertility, and ecstasy and is generally represented crowned with vine leaves, drawn in a car by tigers, and accompanied by satyrs and many reveling women, called Bacchantes. He was saved from death by his father Zeus as his mother was being burned to death by the jealous wife of Zeus, Hera. Zeus hid Dionysus inside his thigh until he was fully grown. He was a very popular god, especially among the women. See Bacchus.
Diræ- The avenging goddesses, or Furies.
Dirce- The wife of Lycus, a ruler of Thebes. Their daughter, Antiope, had two sons by Zeus named Zethus and Amphion. Lycus and Dirce treated Antiope with great cruelty and so she and her sons came together and killed them both. Dirce was tied to a bull by her hair and she died a horrible death.
Dis- A name sometimes given to Pluto, and hence also the lower world.
Discordia- A malevolent deity corresponding to the Greek Eris, the goddess of contention. Zeus drove her from heaven because she sowed distensions among the gods. At the nuptials of Peleus and Thetis she threw an apple among the gods inscribed with the words, "For the fairest," which, stirring up a quarrel between Aphrodite, Hera, and Athena, led eventually to the Trojan War.
Dives- Demons of Persian mythology. According to the Koran, they are ferocious and gigantic spirits under the sovereignty of Eblis.
Dodona- The most ancient oracle in Greece, by which Zeus used to make known his will. It was said to have been built by Deucalion.
Dolichenus- The Syrian weather god.
Domovoy- A protector of households in Russia. There was said to be one in every household hiding in a corner. But they must be well taken care of or they will not protect the house and it's possessions.
Donar- A name sometimes given to Thor, the thunder god in Norse mythology.
Dragon- A fabulous snake-like monster, thought originally to typify the life giving and also the destructive aspect of water and of nature generally. It was for many years the national symbol of China. In some religions, including Christianity , it represented the power of evil.
Draupnir- The magic ring, symbolic of fertility, which belonged to Odin. It was burned on the funeral pyre of his son Balder.
Droma- The chain forged for the purpose of binding the wolf Fenris, but which he broke. Hence the proverbial phrase, "to dash out of Droma".
Dryads- Wood nymphs. The dryads were sometimes distinguished from the hamadryads in that the latter were supposed to be attached to some particular tree, with which they came into being, lived, and died, while the former had the care of the woods and trees in general.
Dryope- Daughter of King Dryops and probably the mother of Hermes.
Duergar- In Norse mythology, dwarfs who dwelt in rocks and hills. They were noted for their strength, subtlety, magical powers, and skill in metallurgy and were regarded as the personification of the subterranean powers of nature.
Durga or Doorga- A ten-armed goddess worshipped among the Hindus. She was the principal wife of Siva.
Dwarfs- Ugly creatures that were masterful craftsmen who lived under the earth.
Dyaus- The Hindu creator and sky god and father of Surya the sun god and Agni the god of fire.

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