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Oceanids- Daughters of Oceanus, sea nymphs said to be 3000 in number.
Oceanus- The god of the river which was thought to surround the whole earth, in early times believed flat and round. He was the son of heaven and earth, the husband of Tethys, and the father of all the river gods and water nymphs. Out of and into this river the sun and the stars were supposed to rise and set; and on its banks were the abodes of the dead.
Odhrerir- In Scandinavian mythology, the name of the cauldron containing mead or nectar made of honey mingled with the blood of Kvasir, wisest of men. This potion conferred wisdom and the poetic faculty on those who drank of it.
Odin- The king of gods and men, and the reputed progenitor of the Scandinavian kings. He corresponds both to the Jupiter and to the Mars of Greco-Roman mythology. As god of war, he held his court in Valhalla, surrounded by all warriors who had fallen in battle, and attended by two wolves, to which he gave his share of food; for he himself lived on wine alone. On his shoulders he carried two ravens, Hugin, "mind," and Munin, "memory," whom he dispatched every day to bring him news of all that was being done throughout the world. He had three great treasures: Sleipnir, an eight-footed horse of marvelous swiftness; Gungnir, a spear, which never failed to strike what it was aimed at; and Draupnir, a magic ring, which every ninth night dropped eight other rings of equal value. The German tribes worshipped Odin under the name of "Woden."
Odur- In Scandinavian mythology, husband of Freya, whom he deserted. After a long search she found him again and was restored to happiness by his love.
Odysseus- Greek form of the name Ulysses. See Ulysses.
dipus- The son of Laius, king of Thebes. Laius, having been warned by an oracle that his throne and life were in danger from this son, gave him immediately after birth to a herdsman to be killed. But the child was saved, and reared by a peasant. Having grown up he ransomed Thebes from the sphinx by answering her riddle, unwittingly killed his own father, and, on becoming king of Thebes, married his father's wife, that is, his own mother, Jocasta. Subsequently discovering his parentage, he destroyed his eyesight and wandered away from Thebes, attended by his daughter Antigone, who remained with him till his death.
Oenomaüs- Son of Ares, king of Elis, and father of Hippodamia.
Ogre- In nursery mythology, a giant of very malignant disposition, who lives on human flesh.
Old One- Among the Thompson River Indians, the god who created the earth and taught the people how to hunt and fish and to do all the other things needful for living.
Olympus- A range of mountains in Thessaly, the abode of the gods. A gate of clouds, kept by the goddesses named the Seasons, unfolded to permit the passage of the deities to earth, or to receive them on their return.
Omphale- Queen of Lydia.
Ops- A Roman goddess of plenty, and of fertility, the wife of Saturn, and the patroness of husbandry.
Orestes- The son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. On the murder of his father by Ęgisthus and Clytemnestra, his sister Electra saved Orestes from the same fate. She caused him to be secretly carried to Strophius, king of Phocis, who was married to Anaxibia, the sister of Agamemnon. There he formed a close and intimate friendship with the king's son Pylades; and, when he had grown up, he repaired secretly to Argos with his friend, and avenged his father's death by slaying Clytemnestra and Ęgisthus. After the murder of his mother he was seized with madness, and fled from land to land, pursued by the Erinyes, or Furies. At length, on the advice of Apollo, he took refuge in the temple of Athena at Athens, where he was acquitted by the court of the Areopagus, which the goddess had appointed to decide his fate.
Orion- A mighty giant and hunter, famous for his beauty. Having come to Chios, he fell in love with Merope, the daughter of nopion; his treatment of the maiden so exasperated her father, that, with the assistance of Dionysus, he deprived the giant of his sight. Being informed by an oracle that he should recover his sight if he exposed his eyeballs to the rays of the rising sun, he followed the sound of a Cyclopss hammer, and at Lemnos he found Vulcan, who gave him Cedalion as a guide to the abode of the sun. After the recovery of his sight he lived as a hunter with Artemis, or Diana. Orion was slain by Diana, or, as some say, by Jupiter, and placed among the stars.
Orithyia- A daughter of Erechtheus, beloved by Boreas, who carried her off as she was wandering near the river Ilissus.
Orlog- A god of Norse fable personifying the eternal law of the universe. From his decree there was no appeal.
Ormuzd- In the Avesta, called Ahura Mazda. The name of the supreme deity of the ancient Persians, and of their descendants, the Parsees and Ghebers. He is, according to them, an embodiment of the principle of good, and is in perpetual conflict with Ahriman, the principle of evil. He created the earth, moon, sun, and stars, and continues to regulate their motion.
Orpheus- The son of Apollo or of agrus, a river god, and of Calliope. Presented with the lyre by Apollo, and instructed by the Muses in its use, he enchanted with its music not only the wild beasts, but the trees and rocks upon Olympus, so that they moved from their places to follow the sound of his golden harp. He accompanied the Argonauts in their expedition. After his return, he took up his abode in Thrace, where he married the nymph Eurydice. His wife having died of the bite of a serpent, he followed her into the abodes of Hades. Here his lyre so charmed King Pluto that Eurydice was released from death, but on the condition that Orpheus should not look back until he had reached the earth. He was just about to place his foot on the earth when he turned around, and Eurydice vanished from him in an instant.
Osiris- An Egyptian god, said to have been the son of Jupiter by Niobe, to have ruled first over the Argives, and afterwards to have become king of the Egyptians. His wife was Isis, who is by many said to be the same as Io, daughter of Inachus. Osiris was at length slain by Typhon, and his corpse was concealed in a chest and thrown into the Nile. Isis, after many searches, by the aid of keen-scented dogs, found the body and placed it in a monument on an island near Memphis. The Egyptians paid divine honor to his memory, and chose the ox to represent him, because, according to one account, a large ox appeared to them after the body of Osiris was interred, or, according to others, because Osiris had instructed them in agriculture. Osiris was generally respected with a cap on his head like a miter, and with two horns; he held a stick in his left hand, a w whip with three tongs in his right. Sometimes he appears with the head of a hawk.
Ostara or Eįstre- Saxon goddess of spring and returning life. At her festival it was customary to exchange gifts of painted eggs. Christianity adopted the festival as Easter and gave it a new meaning.
Otus- One of the two giants who were usually called the Aloadę. The other was Ephialtes. The two were renowned for their extraordinary strength and courage.
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