What is "acraea"

Acraea ( Greek: ) was a name that had several uses in Greek and Roman mythology.

• Acraea was a daughter of the river-god Asterion near Mycenae, who together with her sisters Euboea and Prosymna acted as nurses to Hera. A hill Acraea opposite the temple of Hera near Mycenae derived its name from her.
• Acraea and Acraeus are also epithets given to various goddesses and gods whose temples were situated upon hills, such as Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite, Pallas, Artemis, and others.

''As invalidly established by Hübner in 1819, Acraea refers to butterflies currently placed in '' Actinote.

Acraea is a genus of brush-footed butterflies ( family Nymphalidae) of the subfamily Heliconiinae. It seems to be highly paraphyletic and has long been used as a " wastebin taxon" to unite about 220 species of anatomically conservative Acraeini. Some phylogenetic studies show that the genus Acraea is monophyletic if Bematistes and neotropical Actinote are included (see Pierre & Bernaud, 2009). Most species assembled here are restricted to the Afrotropic ecozone, but some are found in India, Southeast Asia, and Australia.