Subject: (whorl) Names, animals and meanings (T)

From: mary whalen <marewhalen at yahoo.com>
Date: Mon, 03 Aug 1998 21:08:30 +0000

This is Sean Whalen (prion).

Tarsier.  Any species in in family Tarsiidae and  genus Tarsius. 
Small, nocturnal, tree-dwelling.  Best primates at leaping because of
a specialized tarsus (ankle bone).  Long legs, feet, and tails.  Large
eyes. Councillor of the Ayuntamiento in charge of architecture and
engineering.

Tartaros.  In Greek mythology one of the five gods who came into
existence at the time the universe formed out of Chaos (the others
were Gaia (Earth), Eros (Sexual Love, Procreation), Nyx (Night), and
Erebos(Darkness)). The meaning of his name is not known, and the word
doesn't seem to be Greek in origin. In some legends Tartaros had a
different origin.  Sometimes he is said to be the father of Typhon and
others with Gaia, and the the father of the eagle that tortured
Prometheus, and Thanatos (Death) and the giants (some of these he
might have fathered with Nyx).  God of the deepest part of the
underworld.  Also the name of that location. The place Tartaros (or
Tartara in the plural, which is also used) was as far below Haidou
(Hades, the "upper" portion of the underworld) as Earth was below
Heaven.  It would supposedly take nine days to fall to Tartaros. It
was the land of absolute darkness, sometimes said to be surrounded by
a wall of bronze, brass, or iron, and also sometimes by one of the
rivers of Hadou.  Tartaros was used by the gods as a prison for their
enemies, and as a place to punish the worst sinners (Haidou is not a
place of torment, just imprisonment and unconciousness).  Zeus
imprisoned the Titans (the earlier generation of gods, the parents and
relatives of the new gods) here, and had them guarded by the loyal
Hekatonchires (the Hundred-armed giants).  Supposedly Hemera (Day)
lived here during the night and came out onto the Earth at night when
her mother Nyx entered there.  It later became thought of as a section
of Haidou, or of the name of Haidou itself.  After it was a name of
Haidou, it became a name of Hades as well (the names of people and
their realms tend to come together in Greek myths, especially Hades,
who has no real name, because it would be unlucky to say it).  Erebos
also is also often used for Tartaros or Haidou. Major god.  One of the
Nine and of the Seven.  God of darkness, night, crime, and commerce. 
Associated with owls, bats, moles, and black animals.  Patron of the
third day of the week.  Supposed son of Typhon and Echidna.  Blind.

Teasel.  Any species of genus Dipsacus, especially Dipsacus fullonum
or Dipsacus sylvestris.  Girl at the palaestra.  Attacked by an inhumu.

Thelxiepeia.  Greek for enchanting speech.  In Greek mythology was one
of the Seirenes (Sirens).  Thelxiepeia was only given as the name of
one of them when the source said there were either two or four
Seirenes (when there were two named, they were Thelxiepeia and
Himeropa (Gentle Voice); when three they were Leucosia (White One),
Ligeia (Shrill), and Parthenope (Maiden Voice); when they were four
they were Thelxiepeia, Aglaopheme (Lovely Speech), Peisinoe
(Persuasive), and Molpe (Song).  Their parentage was disputed in
myths, usually they were the daughters of one of the Mousai (Muses)
and either Phorcys or Acheloos.  For more information on the Seirenes
see the entry on Molpe.  Major goddess.  One of the Nine and of the
Seven.  Goddess of learning, magic, mysticism, and poison.  Associated
with poultry, deer, apes, and monkeys.  Patroness of the fifth day of
the week.  Supposed child of Typhon and Echidna.  Apparently was a
witch, a drug-addict, and poisoner.

Thetis.  In Greek mythology one of the Nereides (Sea Nymphs of the
Mediterranean), the fifty daughters of Nereus (sea god son of Gaia and
Pontos (Sea)) and Doris (Doris was one of the Oceanides (Water
Nymphs), the three thousand daughters of Oceanos and his siter
Tethys).  Thetis was raised by Hera on Mount Olympos.  She loved Hera
(like a mother, apparently), but saved her son Hephaistos when Hera
cast him off the Mount for being lame.  Thetis also felt she had to go
against Hera when she, Poseidon, and Athena attempted to overthrow
Zeus.  She went to Tartaros and told Briareos, one of the
Hekatonchires, who rescued Zeus. She was very beautiful, and both Zeus
and Poseidon wanted to marry her.  Prometheus, however, knew from his
mother Themis (don't confuse these two) that Thetis' son would be
greater than his father.  Prometheus was able to get Zeus to free him
for giving him this information (and thus ending the chain of
son-overthrowing-father that began with Cronos castrating his father
Ouranos (Uranus) and then with Zeus imprisoning his father Cronos in
Tartaros).  The gods decided to avoid disaster by marrying Thetis to a
mortal, and chose Peleos, the king of Phthia.  Thetis didn't want to
marry him, however, and he had to catch her in a cave on the coast of
Magnesia.  He held on to her until she agreed to marry him, even
though she took on monstrous forms.  At the wedding all the gods were
invited except for Eris (Strife), who was felt to be bad luck.  Eris
was the daughter of Nyx and first wife of Zeus, so she felt important
enough to attend, and got angry.  She came anyway and threw a golden
apple among the guests inscribed "for the fairest."  Hera, Aphrodite,
and Athena all claimed it, and this began the events leading to the
Trojan War.  Thetis eventually bore Achilles to Peleos.  There are
many conflicting myths about how Achilles became invulnerable, and
what Thetis and Peleos did after that.  Later she saved the Argo, on
which Peleos was sailing, and helped Achilles all she could until he
was killed.  Minor goddess.  Goddess of lost travelers.  Leads
sacrifices to Scylla.  The Whorl theology that she leads ships to be
sunk is the exact opposite of what the Greek Thetis did to the Argo,
and the many other lives she saved.

Thyone.  Her name is probably not Greek, but if it is, it means
raging, storming.  In Greek mythology this was the name taken by
Semele upon becoming a god.  This is probably because of the joining
of two different goddesses with similar appearances or functions into
one in Greece (Semele is a Thracian name).  The name Semele probably
means earth in a non-Greek language.  Zeus took on mortal guise to
become the lover of Semele, and she conceived Dionysos (Diounsis in
Thrace).  Hera was jealous and appeared in disguise to Semele.  She
said that Zeus' claim to be a god might be false, and that Semele
should ask Zeus to appear to her in his godly form to prove it.  When
he did, she died. Zeus saved Dionysos by cutting open his thigh,
placing Dionysos within, and incubating him there until his birth. 
When Dionysos grew up, he took Semele out of the underworld and onto
Mt. Olympos, where she became a goddess and called herself Thyone. 
Minor goddess.  Invoked by those who tell fortunes by throwing wine. 
Thyone's son Dionysos was god of wine, and this is probably the
connection to her function.  There seem to be many gods in the Whorl
with the first letters th, plus Typhon and Tartaros.

Tick.  Any species of superfamily Ixodoidea.  Larger than mites, suck
blood, parasitic, carry disease, six legs, no outer segmentation.  A
catachrest.

Tiger.  Panthera tigris.  The largest of the great cats.  Black
stripes.  Nocturnal, shy.  Lieutenant under Oosik.

Titi.  Any species of genus Callicebus.  Small South American monkeys
with hairy tails.  Also the blue-footed petrel (Pterodroma cookii). 
Also a tree (Cyrillaceae Cliftonia monophylla) with white flowers. One
of Spider's spycatchers.  Titi can be either a plant or animal, and
Titi is a transvestite.

Trematode.  Greek for pierced with holes.  Any species of class
Trematoda.  They are flukes and parasitic flatworms.  They have
adhesive suckers.  A cuticle of chitin covers the body instead of
skin.  Vironese Commissioner in charge of ceremony, protocal, and
diplomacy.  Government officials don't seem to have very complementary
names in Viron.

Trotter.  A horse used in racing.  Owner of a bar.

Tussah.  An Oriental silkworm, the larva of the moth Antheraea paphia
or Antheraea mylitta producing a brown silk.  Also the fabric produced
by these worms.  Calde of Viron.  Assassinated by the Ayuntamiento. 
Also Patera Tussah, a black mechanic.

Typhon.  Greek for smoking one (if the name is Greek). In Greek
mythology, Gaia became angry at Zeus either after he imprisoned the
Typhons or defeated the Giants (both of these groups were children of
Gaia).  She mated with Tartaros and bore Typhon (also called Typhoeus;
sometimes they are regarded as two different beings, Typhon being the
child of Typhoeus and Echidna or vice versa).  Typhon had a hundred
heads that looked like snakes.  Each had fiery eyes (or breathed fire)
and smoke in its own voice, each different and terrible.  Typhon
attacked Zeus, who fought him with thunderbolts.  During this fight,
some stories say the other gods fled to Egypt and disguised themselves
as animals.  Typhon took Zeus' sickle and cut out his sinews.  He gave
the sinews (along with Zeus) to Delphyne (Wombed One) to guard. 
Delphyne is probably another name for Echidna, since they seem
identical and Echidna is more associated with the womb than stories
using the name Delphyne.  Hermes rescued Zeus, who got more
thunderbolts and attacked Typhon again.  Typhon sought help from the
Moirai (Fates), who said he should eat the food of mortals to gain
strength.  This actually weakened him, and Zeus shed his blood on Mt.
Haimos (haima is Greek for blood) and threw Sicily on top of him,
where he created Mt. Etna with his fiery breath.  In other stories
Typhon was sent down to Tartaros, and became father of the harmful
winds.  The Egyptians associated Typhon with Set.  Typhon mated with
the Echidna (who is his sister in some stories) and became the father
of many monsters.  Typhon was the Monarch of Urth and many other
planets.  He had the Whorl built.  He took the name Pas to use on the
Whorl, where he simulated himself on computers.

prion
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