Metaboli - See Mætavoli.

Metageitnius - (Gr)  surname of Apollon in a temple near Athens, supposed to have been derived from the inhabitants of the suburb of Melite having, under his auspices, removed to that of Diomea:  the name implies a removal from one neighborhood to another.  Metageitnion wa the second month of the Athenian year.  (CM p.22)

mætæmpsykhohsis or metempsychōsis - (Gr. μετεμψύχωσις, ΜΕΤΕΜΨΎΧΩΣΙΣ)  Mætæmpsykhohsis is the Greek term meaning rebirth, reincarnation, or the transmigration of the soul.  This  is a late word;  the more ancient term is  palingænæsía (palingenesía; Gr. παλιγγενεσία, ΠΑΛΙΓΓΕΝΕΣΊΑ) [ref. Greek Philosophical Terms by F.E. Peters, 1967,  p.151].  See palingænæsía.

Metis - (Greek:  Μῆτις)

1)  In Orphic theogony, Metis is one of the three aspects of Phanes known as the Triple God (source:  G.R.S. Mead in Orpheus, 1965, p.107).    In this description, Metis is thought of as the 'intellect', while Phanes is said to be the 'father', and Erikepaios is the 'power'.  (Mead, p. 109)

2)  Metis is one of the Oceanid Titan daughters of Okeanos and Tethys (Hesiod Theogonia, 358, 924), swallowed by Zeus (Hesiod, 886) when about to deliver Athena.

3)  Metis was a naiad nymph who gave birth (by Maion) to the great poet Homer.  (source:  Homerica, Contest of Homer & Hesiod)

metriotes - moderation  as exemplified in the Delphic maxim "nothing to excess"

miasma - (Greek:  μίασμα)  1) stain, defilement, especially by murder or other crime, taint of guilt; 2)that which defiles, pollution.  (L&S p.1132, left column) 

Mila (Gr. Μῆλα, ΜΗΛΑ) Mila is the Apple, one of the Seven Toys of Dionysos.

Milesius - surname of Apollon, from Miletium, a town of Crete.  (CM p.22)

milikhia or meilichia - (Gr. μειλιχία, ΜΕΙΛΙΧΊΑ) kindness, sweetness.
- Lexicon entry: μειλιχ-ία, Ep. μειλιχίη, ἡ, gentleness, softness, μειλιχίη πολέμοιο lukewarmness in battle, Il.15.741; kindness, Hes.Th.206, A.R. 2.1279, etc. 2. = ἱκετεία, Hsch. (L&S p.1093, left column; within the entries beginning with μειλίχ-ἠ)

milk - Milk represents Queen Hera. While she was asleep, Zeus conspired to have the infant Herakles (or Hermes) suckle her breast, but she awoke, flinging milk throughout the universe, forming the galaxy, the Kosmic forces. Milk represents Hera and Earth, the Meristi substance.  Milk is used symbolically in ritual in the blessing of a house or a temple, washing the entryway.

Minerva - Roman name for Athena. 

Minotaur -  (Greek:   Μῑνώταυρος, Mīnṓtauros) Minos quarreled with his brothers over the throne of Crete.  He asked the assistance of Poseidon, asking the God for a sign:  a perfect white bull.  The God gave him this sign.  Minos promised Poseidon that he would sacrifice the bull, but was so taken by the animal's beauty that he did not keep his agreement.  As punishment, Poseidon cause the king's wife Pasiphaë to fall in love with the bull.

Pasiphaë conspired with Daedelus, the genius inventor, to copulate with the bull.  Daedelus created a wooden cow so realistic that the Cretan bull mated with Pasiphaë, who was hidden within it.  The union produced the monster called the Minotaur who had the body of a man, but the head and tail of a bull.

In one version of the story, Minos waged war against Athens for the murder of his son Androgeus, and won.  He exacted a terrible penalty on the city:  at regular intervals (every nine years perhaps) seven Athenian male youths and seven Athenian maidens were to be fed to the Minotaur.  At the third such event, the Athenian king's son, Theseus, volunteered to go.

While in Crete, Ariadne, the daughter of Minos, fell in love with Theseus.  She acquired the assistance of Daedalus, who had created the Labyrinth in which the monster lived and from which no one returned.  Ariadne gave Theseus a ball of thread, allowing him to find his way back out.  Theseus killed the Minotaur with his father's sword, the sword of Aegeus.

Theseus, having escaped and saved his city this terrible fate, returned to Athens by ship.  He had told his father that if the mission succeeded, they would change the sails from a black color to white.  Theseus forgot to do this, and before he arrived, Aegeus committed suicide.

Mira or Moira - (Gr. Μοίρα, ΜΟΊΡΑ)  The word mira has many meanings; for our purposes, we are concerned with the philosophical definition of the term: Mira is one of three words which are all translated as destiny, but each of these words has a distinct meaning. Mira is defined as degree, like the degrees of a circle, one's current position in destiny. 

Lexicon entry for Mira:  part. 2. portion of land, of a country, etc. 3. division of a people. 4. political party.  5. degree, in the astron. and geog. sense; a division of the zodiac. II. lot, portion or share which falls to one, esp. in the distribution of booty.  2. generally, part, lot.  III. one's portion in life, lot, destiny.  2. like μόρος, man's appointed doom; also, the cause of death.  IV. that which is meet and right.  2. respect, esteem.  B. Μοῖρα the Goddess of Fate = destiny. (L&S pp.1140-1141)

Visit this page: DESTINY-ΜΟΊΡΑ-ΠΕΠΡΩΜΈΝΟ-ἘΙΜΑΡΜΈΝΗ.

miracle - One of the definitions of the word miracle found in the 1944 edition of The New Century Dictionary is: "an effect in the physical world which surpasses all known human or natural powers and is therefore ascribed to supernatural agency (as, 'A miracle may be accurately defined, a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity, or by the interposition of some invisible agent') ." [1] This definition of miracle is regarded as superstition and an incorrect view of the nature of the Gods, who not only have dominion over the Natural Laws, but never violate them.  There is no spiritual or supernatural agency because the Kosmos consists of material substances; there is no "spiritual" god that is "above" and "before" the natural world.  The Gods are intrinsic to the Kosmos and therefore are expressions of the natural world with its laws.  Is there a type of miracle?  Yes, a genuine miracle is a wonderment, a marvel of the natural world.  The action of Zeus on the soul is a miracle, but this miracle is part of the natural world and complies with its laws.

[1] The New Century Dictionary of the English Language, Vol. Two, p.1067; P.F. Collier & Son, NY, 1944 edition.

Mirror - See Æsoptrona.

Mnemosyne - (Greek Mνημοσύνη, ΜΝΗΜΟΣΥΝΗΣ) the Goddess of remembrance, Memory. She is an extremely important deity for the Mysteries, as it is she who opens the key to former lives. Visit this page: MNEMOSYNE

Moira - See Mira.

Moirai - see The Fates

Momos - Blame 

Monad -  See Æn.

monism – the belief that all phenomena are manifestations of a single principle

monotheism – the belief that there is one, and only one, God

Moon, Full - It is said that the Aithir (Aether or Ether; Gr. Gr. Αἰθήρ) is swollen at the full moon and that it is, therefore, an auspicious time.

Moritasgus - Keltic God equated with Apollon.  (source:  Dictionary of Celtic Religion and Culture by Bernhard Maier, 2000, p. 198)

Moros - Moros is doom.\

morphe - See morphi.

Morphi - (Morphe; Gr. Μορφή, ΜΟΡΦΗ)  Morphi is Form, the fourth Natural Law under the Dominion of mighty Iphaistos.  2) Morphi "pertains to the colour, figure, and magnitude of superficies" (superficies = outward appearance).  (TTS XV p. 10)

Morta - (Latin) = Μορτή, one of the Fates (LD p.1167, left column), in Greek: Atropos.

Mousagetes or Musagetes - (Gr)  epithet of Apollon:  Apollo, companion of the Nine Muses.  (CM p.22)

Mousaios or Musaeus - (Gr. Μουσαῖος, ΜΟΥΣΑΙΟΣ) Mousaios is pronounced moo-SAY-ohs (not myoo-say-ohs)

The details of Mousaios life are clouded in obscurity and there are various tales about all the details of his life.  He was thought to be a pupil or son of Orphefs (Orpheus; Gr. Ὀρφεύς, ὈΡΦΕΎΣ) and a seer and priest.  He composed and is thought of as the founder of priestly poetry, writing mystical hymns, oracles, and prose.  The oracles were collected by the scholar Onomakritos (Onomacritus; Gr. Ονομακριτος, ΟΝΟΜΑΚΡΙΤΟΣ) 530-480 BCE, although this scholar was accused of adding forgeries of his own making.  The name Mousaios is associated with the mystic and oracular verses and customs of Attica, and particularly the Ælefsinian (Eleusinian) Mysteries.  He was buried on Mousion Hill (Gr. Μουσεῖον, ΜΟΥΣΕΙΟΝ), southwest of the Akropolis (Acropolis; Gr. Ακρόπολις, ΑΚΡΌΠΟΛΙΣ) in Athens. 

Movement = Kinisi (Gr. Κίνηση) - Movement is the first of the Natural Laws, ruled by the Goddess ÆSTIA.  Movement in the divine world is ruled by ÆRMIS. See Kinisi.

multipotent - See polythynamos.

Musaeus - See Mousaios.

Myricæus - (Gr) surname of Apollon, from his bearing a branch of heath, or broom (myrica), the emblem of divination, over which he presided.  (CM p.22)

Myrinus - surname of Apollon, from the town Myrina in Æolia.  (CM p.23)

myrrh - (Greek:  smurna or smyrna, σμύρνα) the resin obtained from Commiphora myrrha, used as incense.  It is requested five times in the Orphic hymns.  Most resins and gums have medicinal qualities, but myrrh is known as much for its healing qualities as it is for use as incense.  Thus, you may find  mention of myrrh in ancient literature indicating a healing aspect about a deity or personage. 

Mystagogue -  a teacher of the Mysteries

Mystagogy or Mystagogics - the principles and interpretation of the Mysteries

Mysteries or Mystery Religion - The subject of Mystery Religion is too complicated for a short essay in the Glossary, requiring a page of its own: Mystery Religion

Mystery Month - The Mystery Month is anther name for the Orphic Zodiacal Month.  See Zodiacal Rulerships.  Also, visit this page: Hellenic Zodiacal Calendar

Mythologia - Please visit this page: MYTHOLOGY IN HELLENISMOS - ΜΥΘΟΛΟΓΊΑ.