The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

by Apollodorus

  a son, Nicostratos: in Homer, Hermione is her only child (Od. 4. 12 ff., cf. Il. 3. 175). Nicostratos would have been born after the Trojan War, as his name, ‘Victorious Army’, indicates. According to P. 2. 18. 5, he was an illegitimate son of Menelaos by a slave-woman, like Megapenthes below (who is mentioned in Od. 4. 11); in any case, Menelaos was succeeded by Orestes, son of Agamemnon, which would indicate that he had no legitimate male heirs at the time of his death.

  because of their valour: the name of the Dioskouroi (kouros means a boy, Dios is the genitive of Zeus) suggests that they are sons of Zeus, but here Castor has been described as the son of Tyndareus, so some explanation of their name is required, and it is claimed that they owed it to their personal qualities rather than their joint birth. Their part in two great adventures has already been mentioned, pp. 40 and 49; Ap. now tells of their later life, in particular the incident that leads to their death, thus explaining why they are not present at Troy, and why Menelaos, a Pelopid, is ruling in Lacedaimon at that time. Tyndareus has no other male descendants.

  the daughters of Leucippos: a Messenian king (see p. 44, cf. P. 4. 2. 4). There was a tradition that Hilaeira and Phoebe were betrothed to Idas and Lynceus, the sons of his brother Aphareus, and that this abduction (rather than the following incident) was the cause of the quarrel that led to the death of the Dioscuri (e.g. Hyg. 80).

  Lynceus caught sight of Castor: on the fate of the Dioscuri Ap., and Pindar in his more detailed account in Nem. 10. 55 ff, largely follow the early epic the Cypria (judging by Proclus’ summary); there Lynceus saw both brothers hiding inside a hollow oak (sc. Pind. Nem. 10. 114).

  amongst mortals: strictly, amongst the dead; on their shared immortality, cf. Od. 11. 303–4. The story rests on the assumption that Castor was a son of Tyndareus, and thus of wholly mortal birth.

  he wanted to violate the goddess: she is commonly said to have actually slept with him, and willingly; according to Od. 5. 125 ff. on a thrice-ploughed field, causing Zeus to strike him dead afterwards when he came to hear of it. Demeter for her part gave birth to Ploutos (Wealth, here as related to successful harvests) in Crete (Theog. 969 ff.). See also DS 5. 77. 1 f.

  went to the mainland opposite: his departure from Samothrace is often associated with a great flood sent by Zeus (sometimes identified with Deucalion’s flood, p. 37), and he is said to have used inflated skins to cross the waters (e.g. Lycophron 72 ff, with scholia, and sc. Il. 20. 215).

  named the country Troy: although we commonly refer to the city as Troy (as does Homer on occasion), this was strictly the name of the Trojans’ land (Troia, or Troas, the Troad). The city was Ilios or Ilion (or in its Latin form, Ilium).

  Ganymede: cf. Il. 20. 232 ff., HH to Aphrodite 202 ff., without as yet the eagle (general in late accounts, e.g. Verg. Aen. 5. 253) or any suggestion that he became the beloved of Zeus (first recorded in Eur. Orestes 1392, cf. Plato Phdr. 255c).

  aroused Aphrodite’s amorous desire: the central theme of HH to Aphrodite, cf. Il. 2. 819 ff.

  found a city . . . where the cow lay down: this story, which is not in Homer, is clearly modelled on the Theban foundation myth, p. 100. Homer never expressly states that Ilos was the founder of Ilion, although he refers several times to his tomb on the plain (e.g. Il. 11. 166). In Il. 20. 231 ff., he is the son of Tros, but in the passing references in 11 (166 and 372), the son of Dardanos, which is probably the older tradition. Homer notes a movement from the mountains (for the kingdom of Dardanos lay on the slopes of Mount Ida, Il. 20. 215–18) to a more civilized and prosperous life on the rich farmland of the plains (ibid. 219 ff).

  the Palladion: a talismanic image which protected the city, see p. 156.

  Triton: a sea-god (p. 33, Theog. 931 f.), here as the god of the River Triton in Libya (see Hdt. 4. 179 ff.; P. 9. 33. 5 claims that Athene was reared by a small river of that name in Boeotia). The myth explains Athene’s title Tritogeneia (which is very ancient, and probably of quite different origin).

  aegis: the ‘goatskin’, an attribute of Zeus depicted as a short cloak or a shield; see Il. 5. 733 ff.

  Electro . . . raped: the daughter of Atlas, by Zeus (see p. 122, but it is not recorded there, or anywhere else, that she was raped by him).

  with Ate: reading met’Ates for met’autes (‘with her’, i.e. with Electra). This explains the name of the Hill of Ate mentioned above; that she fell to earth at Ilion and the hill was named after her is confirmed by sc. Il. 19. 131. Ate is the personification of delusion; when Zeus was deceived by Hera over his plans for Heracles, p. 68, Zeus threw her down to earth (see 77. 19. 91 ff), where her actions are clear to see.

  Dawn so loved Tithonos: see Theog. 984 ff. and HH to Aphrodite, 218 ff. On Emathion see p. 82 and note; Memnon will be an important ally of the Trojans, p. 154.

  as we mentioned: see p. 86.

  Aisacos ... was turned into a bird: the only other account, Ov. Met. 11. 749 ff., is quite different. Aisacos fell in love with the nymph Hesperia, who was bitten by a viper while he was pursuing her; and when he threw himself into the sea in grief at her death, Tethys transformed him into a bird (there a mergus, or diver, but the identification depends upon a purely Latin etymology).

  Hecuba had a dream: cf. Pind. Paean 8 (rather different), Eur. Troades 920 ff, Cicero On Divination 1.21. 42; not in Homer.

  protecting: alexesas: Alexander (strictly, Alexandros) was thus the man (aner, andros) who protected or defended.

  he rediscovered his parents: Hyg. 91 gives the full story. Priam’s servant came to fetch a bull for games that were to be held in honour of Priam’s lost son (i.e. Paris himself). Paris went to the city and took part in the games, defeating his brothers; and when one of them, Deiphobos, drew his sword on him, he took refuge at the altar of Zeus Herceios. When Cassandra declared prophetically that he was her brother, Priam accepted him as his son.

  Apollo . . . art of prophecy: cf. Aesch. Ag. 1202 ff.; there was another story that serpents licked the ears (cf. p. 46) of Cassandra and her brother Helenos when they were left overnight as children in the sanctuary of Thymbraean Apollo (sc. Il. 7. 44).

  if he mere ever mounded: we should probably assume that she knows by her prophetic powers that he will be wounded if he abducts Helen (as explicitly stated in Parthen. 4); a pathetic tale that appealed to later sentiment (Hellanicos in the fifth century is the earliest recorded source, Parthen. 4).

  learned from Sisyphos: see also p. 44 and note.

  turned the ants into people: suggested by the etymological fancy that the ancestors of the Myrmidons (the people commanded by Aiacos’ grandson Achilles at Troy) were created from ants, myrmekes.

  into a seal: she conceived Phocos, the eponym of the Phocians, while she was in the form of a seal, phoke.

  mhen Greece mas gripped . . . delivered from its barrenness: see further DS 4. 61. 1 ff, P. 2. 29. 6.

  guards the keys of Hades: see also Plato Apol. 41a, where he judges the dead, and Isocrates Evagoras 15, where he is said to sit beside Pluto and Kore, and enjoy the highest honours.

  Telamon . . . killed his brother: there is a varied tradition. In the earliest recorded source, the Alcmaionis, an early epic, both strike him (sc. Eur. Andr. 687). Peleus is often said to deal the deathblow (e.g. P. 2. 29. 7, where they are said to have killed him to please their mother, who would have been angry that Phocos was born to another woman). In DS 4. 72. 6 the death is accidental.

  because Heracles . . . Aias: for the full story see Pind. Isth. 6. 35 ff. The appearance of an eagle, the bird of Zeus, indicates that Zeus will respond positively to the prayer; the son is called Aias after the aietos (eagle). Ajax is the Latinized form of his name. For Telamon at Troy, see p. 86.

  concealing his sword: a magic sword made by Hephaistos; Acastos expects that Peleus will be killed by the Centaurs who live on Mount Helicon while he is searching for it (cf. Hes. Cat. fr. 209). But he is saved by the good Centaur Cheiron.

  Polydora . . . River Spercheios: she is the mother of Menesthios
by this river in Il. 16. 173; but there she is the daughter of Peleus and wife of Boros, son of Perieres, as on p. 127. This report that Peleus married Polydora is unattested elsewhere, and may be an error.

  was told by Prometheus: alluded to in [Aesch.] PV 907 ff.; cf. Hyg. PA 15.

  according to others: see Pind. Isth. 8. 27 ff., AR 4. 783 ff.

  an ashwood spear . . . horses: later passed on to Achilles, see Il. 16. 140 ff. and 19. 400 ff.

  When Thetis gave birth . . . went back to the Nereids: following AR 4. 869 ff. Ambrosia, the food of the gods, would foster what was immortal in the child’s nature. For the use of fire to burn away what is mortal in the body, cf. p. 33. In some sources, Thetis is said to have killed several children born before Achilles while trying to immortalize them (sc. Aristoph. Clouds 1068a), or test whether they were mortal (sc. AR 4. 816). The passages in the Iliad where Homer refers to Thetis in her home under the sea at the time of the Trojan War (e.g. Il. 1. 358) seem to assume her departure; but in other passages there is talk of her welcoming Achilles home to the house of Peleus (e.g. 18. 441, cf. 332).

  not . . . lips: privative a (implied rather than directly stated) and cheile, hence Achilles! By feeding on the flesh and marrow of powerful and courageous animals, Achilles would come to share their qualities.

  slaughtering Astydameia: she had falsely accused him to her husband, p. 128.

  Lycomedes: he ruled the island of Scyros, off Euboea.

  Pyrrhos . . . later called Neoptolemos: because he was young, neos, when he went to war, polemos, at Troy (see p. 156), or because his father was (P. 10. 26. 1, reporting the Cypria). His previous name was explained by his red, pyrrhos, hair (Serv. on Am. 2. 469). Achilles refers to his son on Scyros in Il. 19. 326 f.

  causing a trumpet to be sounded: this is explained by Hyg. 96. Odysseus placed women’s finery in the courtyard of the palace with a shield and spear amongst it. He then had a trumpet sounded, accompanied by shouts and the clashing of arms. Thinking that they were under attack, Achilles took off his women’s clothing and seized the shield and spear. Or more simply, when women’s finery with arms mixed amongst it was placed before Achilles and his female companions, he instinctively seized the arms (sc. Il. 19. 326). In Homer’s account, Il. 11. 769 ff., Achilles remained with Peleus, and was eager to go when Nestor and Odysseus came to fetch him and Patroclos; and the present story was absent from the Cypria also (for Achilles came to Scyros and married Deidameia after the Greek attack on Mysia, Procl., cf. sc. Il. 19. 326 on the Little Iliad). Because Achilles was too young to be one of Helen’s suitors, he was not bound by oath to join the expedition (and subsequently, when Agamemnon offended him, he could threaten to go home, Il. 1. 169 ff., etc.).

  Phoenix had been blinded. . . seduced her: in Homer’s account, Il. 9. 447 ff., he actually sleeps with her, at the instigation of his mother (who is jealous of the concubine); he has to go into exile, but is not blinded.

  Patroclos had killed a boy: cf. Il. 23. 84 ff.

  Achilles had become his lover: this is never stated by Homer; see also Plato Symp. 180a. Patroclos was older than Achilles (Il. 11. 787).

  the Erechtheid Sea: not a sea in the literal sense, but a sea-water well in the Erechtheum on the Acropolis, from which the sound of waves could be heard to rise when the south wind was blowing (see P. 1. 26. 6, with Hdt. 8. 55). This symbolic sea, and the mark of his trident in the rock (which can still be seen), were the evidence that Poseidon produced to support his claim (P. 1. 26. 6).

  the Pandroseion: an enclosure near the Erechtheum. The olive tree survived until Roman times (after miraculously regrowing when the Persians set fire to Athens, P. 1. 27. 2, Hdt. 8. 55).

  flooded the Thriasian plain: to the north-west of the city. Not a permanent flood (although he wanted it to be, until Zeus sent Hermes to forbid it, Hyg. 164).

  Agraulos, the daughter of Actaios: her name appears in the form Aglauros elsewhere. Actaios was presumably invented to explain why Attica was previously called Acte (see above); Pausanias (1. 2. 6) records a tradition that he was the first king of Attica and that Cecrops succeeded to the throne by marrying his daughter.

  was tried on the Areiopagos: the Areiopagos, the traditional Athenian high court which dealt especially with cases involving blood-guilt, met on the place of that name to the north-west of the Acropolis. The present story explains its name (the ‘Hill of Ares’) and its prime function. Because his victim was trying to rape a close relative, and was caught in the act, Ares’ defence would have been acceptable in classical Athens.

  Herse . . . Phaethon: in Theog. 984 ff., Dawn bears Memnon and Emathion to Tithonos (as on p. 124), and Phaethon to Cephalos. On p. 44 this Cephalos was said to be a son of Deion; but it seems likely that Cephalos son of Deion, the hunter and husband of Procris, p. 134, was originally not the same figure as the son of Hermes associated with Dawn. In Theog. 986 ff. this Phaethon is abducted by Aphrodite and made guardian of one of her temples; he should not be identified with the more famous son of the Sun who borrowed his father’s chariot and was struck by Zeus with a thunderbolt when he was unable to control the horses and almost set the earth on fire, DS 5. 23, Ov. Met. 2. 19 ff.

  slept with foreigners: presumably a reference to temple prostitution in connection with the cult of Aphrodite-Astarte. The cause of Aphrodite’s anger (perhaps neglect of her cult) is not recorded. Cinyras was associated with the cult of Paphian Aphrodite in Cyprus (Pind. Pyth. 2. 15 ff., Tacitus Hist. 2. 3).

  a son of Theias: the following story of incest between father and daughter is most generally favoured to explain Adonis’ birth, whether the king in question is called Theias (cf. AL 34) or Cinyras (e.g. Hyg. 58, where Cinyras is described as the king of the Assyrians; cf. Ov. Met. 10. 298 ff.). As we see in Ovid, his daughter is sometimes called Myrrha (in Greek, Smyrna was an alternative word for myrrh).

  born to Hephaistos and Athene: it will be seen that this is a loose expression, as he is born from the earth as a son of Hephaistos. The following story allows him to be earthborn (in a peculiar way) and yet have a special connection with Athene although she is a virgin goddess.

  with a piece of wool: this was introduced into the story for etymological reasons, to explain Erichthonios’ name by his birth from the ground, chthon, when the wool, erion, fell on it (as in Et. Magn.; others pointed to the struggle, eris, between Athene and Hephaistos, e.g. Hyg. 166).

  a snake: placed there by Athene to guard him (cf. Eur. Ion. 21–3, where there are two snakes, and VM 2. 37); but the serpent is sometimes identified with the earthborn Erichthonios himself (Hyg. PA 13; in Hyg. 166, he is half serpent like Cecrops).

  her sanctuary: the Erechtheum on the Acropolis.

  the wooden image of Athene: a primitive olive-wood statue (xoanon), comparable to the Palladion at Troy, p. 123 (and said by some to have fallen from the sky as the Palladion did, P. 1. 26. 7).

  Panathenaia: the great summer festival celebrated in honour of Athene as patroness of the city. There was a procession to the Parthenon (as depicted in its frieze), bulls were sacrificed, and a new robe was offered to the enormous statue of Athene in the temple.

  Demeter . . . at Eleusis: see p. 33. Eleusis was independent until the seventh century. Demeter introduced corn, Dionysos wine.

  Labdacos: king of Thebes, see p. 103, in Boeotia, which lay on Attica’s northern border; this is the only mythical tale associated with his brief reign.

  hid her away in the country: this is followed by a problematic phrase omitted in the translation, ‘and then, after marrying Philomela, he went to bed with her’. There is no suggestion in any surviving source that Tereus married Philomela, nor is it implied elsewhere in the present account. On the contrary, he sleeps with her secretly, and Procne remains his wife. It was said that Tereus had travelled to Athens to fetch Philomela because her sister wanted to see her, and he raped her on the journey back (e.g. VM 1. 8).

  reached Daulis in Phocis: Phocis lay to the west of Boeotia and Attica. Tereus was co
mmonly said to have been king of Daulis (Thuc. 2. 29, P. 1. 41. 8, etc.), but here he lives far to the north in Thrace (as in Hyg. 45) and pursues the sisters to Daulis. It was generally accepted that he was of Thracian descent.