As I edit the descriptions of characters, it occurs to me that it might be useful to establish and/or make explicit some conventions of descriptions (of characters, groups and events) so that they will be consistent:

• All descriptions should be in the present tense.
• Descriptions should not be overly detailed. They should provide just enough detail to disambiguate characters of the same name, or to jog someone's memory about who a character is. Do not try to summarize an entire myth, but do refer very briefly to the myth
• The descriptions should be written in natural sounding English, and should not borrow archaic, awkward or euphemistic words or phrases from the descriptions in the sources (eg "wroth" "begat" "lie with" "slay")
• References to particular sources or authors should not be included in the descriptions. That is, don't say "according to Homer" or "in the Iliad"