Dolus

In Classical mythology, Dolus (Latin: Dolus, lit. 'Deception, Guile, Deceit')[1] is a figure who appears in an Aesopic fable by the Roman fabulist Gaius Julius Phaedrus, where he is an apprentice of the Titan Prometheus. According to the Roman mythographer Hyginus, Dolus was the offspring of Aether and Terra (Earth),[2] while Cicero has Dolus being the offspring of Aether and Dies (Day).[3]

  1. ^ The proper noun 'Dolus' is variously translated as 'Deception' (Smith and Trzaskoma), Guile (Rackham; Perry), 'Deceit' (Grant); compare The Pocket Oxford Latin Dictionary, s.v. dolus. For the use of dolus, particularly in Roman law, see Meissel, s.v. Dolus.
  2. ^ Hyginus, Fabulae Preface, 3.1.
  3. ^ Cicero, De Natura Deorum 3.44.