{
  "id": "epithet",
  "type": "glossary",
  "name": "Epithet",
  "summary": "A fixed descriptive name attached to a god — Zeus \"the aegis-holder\" and \"son of Cronos\", Athena \"Tritogeneia\" and \"bright-eyed\", Hera \"gold-shod\", Odin \"Valfather\" — which in the poems identifies the god as surely as the name, and in Roman cult (Jupiter Stator, Feretrius, Optimus Maximus) names a distinct temple and function.",
  "locale": "en",
  "tags": [
    "comparative",
    "glossary",
    "concepts",
    "names",
    "poetics"
  ],
  "relations": [
    {
      "rel": "example",
      "target": "zeus"
    },
    {
      "rel": "example",
      "target": "athena"
    },
    {
      "rel": "example",
      "target": "hera"
    },
    {
      "rel": "example",
      "target": "odin"
    },
    {
      "rel": "example",
      "target": "thor"
    },
    {
      "rel": "example",
      "target": "jupiter"
    },
    {
      "rel": "example",
      "target": "juno"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "target": "how-to-cite-mythology-sources"
    }
  ],
  "questions": [
    "What is an epithet in mythology?",
    "Why is Zeus called the aegis-holder?",
    "Why is Athena called Tritogeneia?",
    "What does Valfather mean?",
    "What are the epithets of Jupiter?"
  ],
  "claims": [
    {
      "id": "c1",
      "text": "Hesiod opens by naming the gods through their epithets: \"Zeus the aegis-holder, and queenly Hera of Argos who walks on golden sandals, and the daughter of Zeus the aegis-holder bright-eyed Athena, and Phoebus Apollo, and Artemis who delights in arrows, and Poseidon the earth holder who shakes the earth\" (Theog. 11–15); Zeus is also \"the son of Cronos\" throughout (Theog. 4, 412, 450).",
      "sources": [
        "hesiod-theogony"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c2",
      "text": "Homer's formulae do the same work: Athena is \"daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus\" and returns \"to the palace of aegis-bearing Zeus\" (Il. 1.202, 1.222); Hera is \"ox-eyed, queenly Hera\" (Il. 8.471); Poseidon \"the Shaker of Earth\" (Il. 20.13).",
      "sources": [
        "homer-iliad"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.94
    },
    {
      "id": "c3",
      "text": "Athena's epithet Tritogeneia is hers at birth: Metis was to bear \"the maiden bright-eyed Tritogeneia, equal to her father in strength and in wise understanding\" (Theog. 895), and \"Zeus himself gave birth from his own head to bright-eyed Tritogeneia\" (Theog. 924); the Hymn calls her \"Pallas Athena … bright-eyed, inventive, unbending of heart, pure virgin, saviour of cities, courageous, Tritogeneia\" (HH28 1–4). Hera is \"gold-shod Hera\" among Rhea's children (Theog. 454) and \"goldshod Hera\" as Hebe's mother (Theog. 952).",
      "sources": [
        "hesiod-theogony",
        "homeric-hymns"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.95
    },
    {
      "id": "c4",
      "text": "The Norse poems name Odin by epithet more often than by name: the seeress addresses him as \"Valfather\" (Voluspo 1, 27) and \"Heerfather\" (Voluspo 30; Grimnismol 19, 25), and Grimnismol lists his names — \"Allfather, Valfather, Atrith, Farmatyr: / A single name have I never had\" (Grimnismol 46–54). Thor is \"Vingthor\", \"the son of Jorth\", \"Hlorrithi\" and \"Sif's mate\" within one poem (Thrymskvitha 1, 6, 24).",
      "sources": [
        "poetic-edda-bellows"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.94
    },
    {
      "id": "c5",
      "text": "In Roman cult an epithet is a temple: Romulus vowed the first temple in Rome to Jupiter Feretrius for the spolia opima (Livy 1.10.5–7), vowed another to \"Jove the Stayer\" (Stator) to halt a rout, and rallied his men with \"Jupiter Optimus Maximus bids you stand\" (Livy 1.12.4–7). Virgil's Juno is \"Saturn's daughter\" and \"Saturnian Juno\" (Aen. 1.23, 1.130; cards 1.12 and 1.124) — a genealogical epithet in the Greek manner.",
      "sources": [
        "livy-ab-urbe-condita-1",
        "virgil-aeneid"
      ],
      "confidence": 0.92
    }
  ],
  "takeaways": [
    "Greek epic epithets are fixed formulae (aegis-holder, bright-eyed, gold-shod, Earth-Shaker) and sometimes birth-names (Tritogeneia, Theog. 895, 924).",
    "Odin has dozens (Grimnismol 46–54); \"Valfather\" is the seeress's address in Voluspo 1.",
    "Roman cult epithets (Feretrius, Stator, Optimus Maximus) name separate temples and vows — Livy explains each."
  ],
  "faqs": [],
  "evidence_tier": "primary",
  "evidence": {
    "level": "theoretical",
    "source_types": [
      "paper"
    ]
  },
  "moat_flag": false,
  "winning_edge": "Pairs each epithet with the line that uses it, and separates the poetic formula (Greek, Norse) from the cult title (Roman), which the dictionaries lump together.",
  "confidence": 0.93,
  "last_verified": "2026-09-03",
  "media": [],
  "x": {
    "myth": {
      "pantheon": "comparative",
      "kind": "concept"
    }
  },
  "canonical_url": "https://mythosdata.dev/k/epithet",
  "api_url": "https://mythosdata.dev/api/k/epithet.json",
  "jsonld": {
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "name": "Epithet",
    "description": "A fixed descriptive name attached to a god — Zeus \"the aegis-holder\" and \"son of Cronos\", Athena \"Tritogeneia\" and \"bright-eyed\", Hera \"gold-shod\", Odin \"Valfather\" — which in the poems identifies the god as surely as the name, and in Roman cult (Jupiter Stator, Feretrius, Optimus Maximus) names a distinct temple and function.",
    "url": "https://mythosdata.dev/k/epithet",
    "license": "https://spdx.org/licenses/CC-BY-4.0.html",
    "dateModified": "2026-09-03",
    "citation": [
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition",
        "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit/blob/master/data/tlg0020/tlg001/tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng2.xml"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "The Homeric Hymns — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition",
        "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit/blob/master/data/tlg0013/"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Homer, Iliad — tr. A. T. Murray (Loeb, 1924), Perseus TEI edition",
        "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-greekLit/blob/master/data/tlg0012/tlg001/tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng3.xml"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Virgil, Aeneid — tr. Theodore C. Williams (1910), Perseus TEI edition",
        "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-latinLit/blob/master/data/phi0690/phi003/phi0690.phi003.perseus-eng2.xml"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "Livy, Ab Urbe Condita, Books 1–10 — tr. Rev. Canon Roberts (1912), Perseus TEI edition",
        "url": "https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-latinLit/blob/master/data/phi0914/phi001/phi0914.phi001.perseus-eng3.xml"
      },
      {
        "@type": "CreativeWork",
        "name": "The Poetic Edda — tr. Henry Adams Bellows (American-Scandinavian Foundation, 1923), XML edition by fjarri",
        "url": "https://github.com/fjarri/poetic_edda/tree/master/chapters"
      }
    ],
    "@type": "DefinedTerm"
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}