In Greek mythology, Eiresione or Iresione was the personification of an object very important in many Greek rituals and ceremonies: a branch of olive or laurel, covered with wool, fruits, cakes and olive flasks, dedicated to Apollo and carried about by singing boys during the festivals of Pyanopsia and Thargelia, and afterwards hung up at the house door. It could only be carried by children who had two living parents. The song they were singing during the ritual was also known as "eiresione":
Eiresione for us brings figs and bread of the richest,
brings us honey in pots and oil to rub off from the body,
Strong wine too in a beaker, that one may go to bed mellow.
In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Phobetor, so called by men, or Icelos, so called by the gods, is one of the thousand sons of Somnus (Sleep). He appeared in dreams "in the form of beast or bird or the long serpent".
Aquaphobia is an irrational fear of water.
Panphobia, omniphobia, pantophobia, or panophobia is a vague and persistent dread of some unknown evil. Panphobia is not registered as a type of phobia in medical references.
Neophobia is the fear of anything new, especially a persistent and abnormal fear. In its milder form, it can manifest as the unwillingness to try new things or break from routine. In the context of children the term is generally used to indicate a tendency to reject unknown or novel foods. Food neophobia, as it may be referred to, is an important concern in pediatric psychology.
Ancient Greek philosophy differentiates main conceptual forms and distinct words for the Modern English word love: agápē, érōs, philía, philautía, storgē, and xenía.
A Greek–English Lexicon, often referred to as Liddell & Scott or Liddell–Scott–Jones (LSJ), is a standard lexicographical work of the Ancient Greek language originally edited by Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones, and Roderick McKenzie and published in 1843 by the Oxford University Press.
Osmophobia or olfactophobia refers to a fear, aversion, or psychological hypersensitivity to odors. Osmophobia seems to be a consistent part of the patient’s migraine history, but additional criteria are needed to differentiate it from episodic tension-type headache (ETTH). The phobia generally occurs in chronic migraine sufferers who may have odor triggered migraines. Such migraines are most frequently triggered by foul odors, but the hypersensitivity may extend to all odors. One study found as many as 25% of migraine sufferers had some degree of osmophobia. The condition may also be present in individuals in substance withdrawal, specifically opioid withdrawal syndrome, where it is usually associated with nausea and/or vomiting.
Phonophobia, also called ligyrophobia or sonophobia, is a fear of or aversion to loud sounds —a type of specific phobia. It is a very rare phobia which is often the symptom of hyperacusis. Sonophobia can refer to the hypersensitivity of a patient to sound and can be part of the diagnosis of a migraine. Occasionally it is called acousticophobia.
Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among toddlers, children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darkness. Most toddlers and children outgrow it, but this fear persists for some with scotophobia and anxiety. When waking up or sleeping, these fears may intertwine with sighting sleep paralysis demons in some people. Some degree of fear of the dark is natural, especially as a phase of child development. Most observers report that fear of the dark rarely appears before the age of two years and roughly peaks around the development stage of four years of age. When fear of the dark reaches a degree that is severe enough to be considered pathological, it is sometimes called scotophobia, or lygophobia.
Gerontophobia is the hatred or fear of the elderly, or a fear of age-related self-degeneration. The term comes from the Greek γέρων – gerōn, "old man" and φόβος – phobos, "fear". Gerontophobia that stems from a fear of aging has been linked to thanatophobia, as fear of old age can be a precursor to fear of death. Gerontophobia can be caused by stereotypes of elderly people displayed in the media.
Mysophobia, also known as verminophobia, germophobia, germaphobia, bacillophobia and bacteriophobia, is a pathological fear of contamination and germs. It is classified as a type of specific phobia, meaning it is evaluated and diagnosed based on the experience of high levels of fear and anxiety beyond what is reasonable when exposed to or in anticipation of exposure to stimuli related to the particular concept. William A. Hammond first coined the term in 1879 when describing a case of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibited in repeatedly washing one's hands.
Taphophobia is an abnormal (psychopathological) phobia of being buried alive as a result of being incorrectly pronounced dead.
Gynophobia or gynephobia (/ˌɡaɪnəˈfoʊbiə/) is a morbid and irrational fear of women, a type of specific social phobia. It is found in ancient mythology as well as modern cases. A small number of researchers and authors have attempted to pin down possible causes of gynophobia.
Gymnophobia is a fear (phobia) of or prejudice against nudity.
Gephyrophobia is the anxiety disorder or specific phobia characterized by the fear of bridges and tunnels, especially those that are older. As a result, sufferers of gephyrophobia may avoid routes that will take them over bridges, or if they are a passenger, will act very apprehensively when passing over a bridge. The term gephyrophobia comes from the Greek γέφυρα (gephura), meaning "bridge", and φόβος (phobos), meaning "fear".
Fear of fish or ichthyophobia ranges from cultural phenomena such as fear of eating fish, fear of touching raw fish, or fear of dead fish, up to irrational fear. Selachophobia, or galeophobia, is the specific fear of sharks.
According to the DSM-IV classification of mental disorders, the injury phobia is a specific phobia of blood/injection/injury type. It is an abnormal, pathological fear of having an injury.
Spotligectophobia, scopophobia, scoptophobia or ophthalmophobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by an excessive fear of being stared at in public or stared at by others.
Ombrophobe or ombrophobous/ombrophobic plant is a plant that cannot withstand much rain. A similar term are xerophile and xerophyte.
