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Lachesis- The one of the three Fates who fixed the length of the thread of life. See Fates.
Læding- In Norse mythology, a strong chain with which the wolf Fenris was bound. He easily broke the chain and from this legend has grown the saying, “to get loose out of Læding.” A stronger chain, known as Droma, was also broken by Fenris. See Droma.
Laertes- Mythical king of Ithaca and father of Ulysses. Laertes took part in the Calydonian hunt and in the expedition of the Argonauts. He was still alive when Ulysses returned to Ithaca, after the fall of Troy. During the absence of Ulysses he had withdrawn to the country in grief and bowed with age. It was his shroud which Penelope, the wife of Ulysses, was weaving and on the completion of which she promised to choose one of her suitors as husband. But each night she raveled what she had woven in the day.
Læstrygonians- A mythical race of giants who lived in Sicily. Ulysses sent two of his men to request that he and his crew might land, but the king ate one and the other fled. The Læstrygonians assembled on the coast and threw stones against Ulysses and his crew. Ulysses escaped after loosing many of his companions.
Lalus- King of Thebes, son of Labdacus, husband of Jocasta, and father of Œdipus, by whom he was slain.
Lamia- A daughter of Belus, king of Egypt, who, because she was loved by Jupiter, was transformed by the jealous Juno into a monster devouring human flesh. Greek and Roman children were often frightened by stories of her.
Laocoön- Son of Priam, and priest of Apollo. He opposed the reception of the wooden horse into Troy, thinking it some artifice of the deceitful Greeks, whereupon he and his two sons were killed by two monstrous serpents which came from the sea at the instance of Apollo, whom Laocoön had offended by offering sacrifice to Poseidon. The Trojans, however, interpreted the occurrence as evidence that Laocoön should not have opposed taking the horse into the city.
Laodamia- The wife of Protesilaus, who was slain before Troy. She begged to be allowed to converse with her dead husband for only three hours, and her request was granted. Hermes, or Mercury, led Protesilaus back to the upper world; when, at the end of the three hours, Protesilaus died a second time, Laodamia died with him.
Laomedon- The king that built the walls of Troy assisted by Neptune and Apollo, who had displeased Jupiter and were sent to work for wages. Neptune built the walls, while Apollo tended the king’s flocks on Mount Ida. When the two gods had done their work, Laomedon refused the reward he had promised and expelled them from the dominions. Neptune sent to ravage the country a sea monster which could be propitiated only by the sacrifice of Laomedon’s daughter, Hesione. When she was chained to a rock and the monster came to devour her, Hercules appeared and rescued her.
Lapithæ- A mythical people of Thessaly, noted for their defeat of the centaurs at the marriage feast of Peleus and Thetis.
Lares- Those deities which Romans chose as the protectors of their houses or cities and statues of whom were set up over the hearth. Each house chose two gods as its lares.
Latinus- A king of Latium, son of Faunus and of the nymph Marcia. He was the father of Lavinia, whom he gave in marriage to Æneas. Æneas built a town which he called Lavinium, capital of Latium. According to one account, Latinus, after his death, became Jupiter Latiaris, just as Romulus became Quirinus.
Latmus- A mountain in Caria. It was the mythological scene of the story of Selene, or Luna, and Endymion.
Latona- Daughter of Cœus, a Titan, and of Phœbe, and, by Jupiter, the mother of Apollo and Diana. The love of the king of the gods procured for her the hatred of Juno.
Lavinia- The daughter of Latinus and Amata, betrothed to Turnus, but married to Æneas. Æneas founded the town of Lavinium, called after Lavinia.
Leda- The mother of Helen. Jupiter visited her in the form of a swan, and “Leda and the Swan” has been a favorite subject with artists.
Leprechaun- In Irish mythical tales a fairy shoemaker resembling an old man, who resorts to out-of-the-way places, where he is discovered by the noise of his hammer. Besides making shoes, he grinds meal and in other ways assists people who are kind to him. While any one keeps his eye fixed upon him, he cannot escape, but the moment the eye is withdrawn he may vanish.
Lethe- The river that separates Hades from the Elysian fields. The souls of the dead drink of this river and straightway forget all their past.
Liber- A name frequently given by the Roman poets to the Greek Bacchus, or Dionysus. But the god Liber and the goddess Libera were ancient Italian divinities, presiding over the cultivation of the vine and the fertility of the fields. Hence they were worshipped in early times on conjunction with Ceres. The vine and ivy and the panther were especially sacred to him, and goats were usually offered in sacrifice to him.
Libertas- The deification of liberty, to whom as a goddess several temples were erected at Rome. She is represented in works of art as a matron wearing a wreath of laurel and holding in her hand the pileus, the cap given to freed slaves as a symbol of their emancipation.
Libitina- An ancient goddess of Rome who presided over the burial of the dead. At her temple in Rome everything necessary for funerals was kept, and might be bought or hired for use. As goddess of death she was often identified with Proserpina but, as she had originally been a goddess of gardens and of voluptuous joy, she was sometimes identified with Venus.
Lif- In Norse mythology, the name given to man in the state in which he is to occupy the purified earth when goodness resumes its sway.
Lilinau- In the folklore of certain North American Indians, a woman wooed by a phantom. She followed his green waving plume through the forest and was never seen again.
Lilith- In Hebrew mythology, a female specter who lies in wait for children in order to destroy them. The older traditions tell of Lilith as a former wife of Adam and the mother of demons. Amulets were worn as protection from her powers.
Lofen- The Scandinavian god who guards friendship.
Lofua- The Scandinavian goddess who reconciles lovers.
Loki- In Norse mythology, the contriver of all mischief among the gods. He is the father of Fenris the wolf, of the Midgard Serpent, and of Hel, “death.”
Lord of the Cold Weather- Among the Blackfeet Indians, a tall, old man, who sits and smokes in his white tepee far in the north country.
Lorelei- In German legend, a bewitching maiden who haunted a rock of the same name on the right bank of the Rhine. She combed her hair with a golden comb, and sang a wild song which enticed fisherman and sailors to destruction on the rocks and rapids at the foot of the precipice. In Norse mythology, Lorelei is represented as immortal, a daughter of the Rhine, and dwelling in the river bed.
Lotis- A nymph, who, to escape the embraces of Priapus, was metamorphosed into a tree, called, after her, “lotus.”
Lubins- A species of goblins in Normandy that take the form of wolves and frequent churchyards. They are very timorous and take flight at the slightest noise.
Lucifer- (1) “Light-bearer.” The name of the planet Venus, when seen in the morning before sunrise. The equivalent Greek is “Phosphor.” The same planet was called “Hesperus,” when it appeared in the heavens after sunset. (2) By a false etymology the church fathers connected the Hebrew word for Lucifer with a word meaning “to lament.” He thus became the fallen angel who lamented his original glory, which was bright as the morning star, and was identified with Satan by Dante and Milton, following the earlier writers.
Luna- The daughter of Hyperion and Thea. She was distinct in name, descent, and story, from Diana, who was regarded as goddess of the moon. To Luna was ascribed great influence in relation to the birth of children.
Lycomedes- A king in the island of Scyros, to whose court Achilles, disguised as a maiden, was sent by his mother, Thetis, who was anxious to prevent her son from going to the Trojan War.
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