Cap of invisibility
In classical mythology, the Cap of Invisibility (Ἄϊδος κυνέην (H)aidos kuneēn in Greek, lit. dog-skin of Hades) is a helmet or cap that can turn the wearer invisible.[1] It is also known as the Cap of Hades, Helm of Hades,[2] or Helm of Darkness. Wearers of the cap in Greek myths include the goddess of wisdom Athena, the messenger god Hermes, and the hero Perseus. The Cap of Invisibility enables the user to hide from the eyes of other supernatural beings, functioning much like the cloud or mist that the gods surround themselves in to become undetectable.[3]
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[edit] Origins
The Bibliotheca (2nd/1st century BC) implies that the Helm of Invisibility was created by the Uranian Cyclopes, who gave Zeus the thunderbolt, Poseidon the trident, and a helmet to Hades for their war against the Titans (Titanomachy).[4] The helmet is not specifically said to be the aidos kyneê, and its attribution to Hades may have been suggested by the descriptive aidos, with its similarity to the name of Hades, the ruler of the underworld. Other myths about the helmet never say that it was borrowed or obtained from Hades, nor does he use it elsewhere.[5] In the classical mythology of the Renaissance, however, the helmet is regularly said to belong to the god of the underworld, and becomes proverbial for those who conceal their true nature by a cunning device.[6]
[edit] Users
[edit] Athena
Athena, the goddess of wisdom, battle, and handicrafts, wore the Cap of Invisibility in one instance during the Trojan War.[7] She used it to become invisible to Ares when she aided Diomedes, his enemy. Her assistance even enabled Diomedes to injure the god of war with a spear.
[edit] Hermes
The messenger god Hermes wore the Cap during his battle with Hippolytos, the giant.[citation needed]
[edit] Perseus
In some stories, Perseus received the Cap of Invisibility (along with the Winged Sandals) from Athena when he went to slay the Gorgon Medusa, which helped him escape her sisters.[8] In other myths, however, Perseus obtained these items from the Stygian nymphs.[9] The Cap of Invisibility was not used to avoid the Gorgons' petrifying gazes, but rather to escape from the immortal Sthenno and Euryale later on after he had decapitated Medusa.[10]
[edit] In popular culture
In the Dragon Quest role-playing video game series, there is a piece of equipment named "Hades' helm." It is cursed, and is therefore useless, in every game but Dragon Quest IX, in which it can be alchemised into a Great helm.
In the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, Annabeth Chase (a Daughter of Athena) received a New York Yankees baseball cap from her mother that was a disguised cap of invisibility.
[edit] See also
- Cloak of invisibility
- Cloaking device
- Tarnhelm
- Mambrino - a fictional Moorish king who possessed a golden helmet that would make the wearer invulnerable
[edit] References
- ^ Hansen, William (2004-06-10). Handbook of Classical Mythology. World Mythology. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 978-1576072264.
- ^ Michael W. Stewart (2006-08-15). "Helm of Hades (Cap of Hades)". Greek Mythology: From The Iliad To The Fall Of The Last Tyrant.. http://www.mythagora.com/encyctxt/subtexth/helmhades.html. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ G. S. Kirk (1990). The Iliad: A Commentary, Books 5-8. Cambridge University Press. pp. 147–148. ISBN 9780521281720.
- ^ Apollodorus, The Library 1.1–2, 1911 Loeb Classical Library edition, translation and notes by J.G. Frazer. Recent scholarship refers to the author of the Bibliotheca or Library as Pseudo-Apollodorus.
- ^ William Hansen, Classical Mythology: A Guide to the Mythical World of the Greeks and Romans (Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 182.
- ^ Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel Book 5, Chapter 8; Erasmus, Adagia 2.10.74, where he calls it the Orci galea, "helmet of Orcus"; Francis Bacon, Essays Civil and Moral 21, "Of Delays" ("the helmet of Pluto, which maketh the politic man go invisible, is secrecy in the counsel, and celerity in the execution").
- ^ "...but Athene put on the cap of Hades, to the end that mighty Ares should not see her." Homer. Iliad 5.844-845. Translation By A. T. Murray.
- ^ Joel Skidmore (2006-06-10). "Hermes". Mythweb. http://www.mythweb.com/gods/Hermes.html. Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ Morford, Mark P.O.; Robert J. Lenardon (2006-07-18). "Perseus and the Legends of Argos". Classical Mythology (Eighth ed.). USA: Oxford University Press. pp. 506–518. ISBN 978-0195308051.
- ^ Phinney Jr., Edward (1971). "Perseus' Battle with the Gorgons". Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association (The Johns Hopkins University Press) 102: 445–463. doi:10.2307/2935950. JSTOR 2935950.
