Myrmidon (hero)

In Greek mythology, Myrmidon (/ˈmɜːrmɪdən/[1]or /ˈmɜːrmɪdɒn/[2]; Ancient Greek: Μυρμιδόνος) was the eponymous ancestor of the Myrmidons in one version of the myth.[3]

Family

Myrmidon was the son of Zeus and Eurymedusa,[4][5] daughter of Cleitor (Cletor) of Arcadia[6][7] or of the river god Achelous.[8][9]

Myrmidon married Peisidice, daughter of Aeolus and Enarete, and by her became the father of Antiphus and Actor.[10] Also given as his sons are Erysichthon[11] and Dioplethes, himself father of Perieres,[12] although Erysichthon and Perieres have been ascribed different parentage as well. He also had two daughters: Eupolemeia (mother of the Argonaut Aethalides by Hermes)[13][14] and Hiscilla (mother of Phorbas by Triopas).[15]

Mythology

Zeus was said to have approached Eurymedusa in the form of an ant (Greek μύρμηξ myrmēx), which was where her son's name came from; others say that Myrmex was the name of Eurymedusa's mortal husband, and that it was his shape that Zeus assumed to approach her.[16]

Notes

1. Wright, Thomas (1992). Comprehensive Dictionary of the World, Volume 1, Part 2. Mittal Publications. p. 1099. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
2. Manser, Martin H.; Pickering, David (2003). The Facts On File Dictionary of Classical and Biblical Allusions. Facts On File. p. 253. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
3. Hellanicus in Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller's Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, vol. 1, 48, 17
4. Eustathius on Iliad, 113. 1 & 320. 42
5. Eratosthenes in Servius on Aeneid, 2. 7
6. Clement of Alexandria, Protrepticus, 1. p.41 (p. 34)
7. Arnobius, Adversus Nationes, 4. 26
8. Clement of Alexandria, Recognitions, 10. 22
9. Pseudo-Clement, Homilia, 5. 13
10. Pseudo-Apollodorus. Bibliotheca, 1.7.3
11. Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 10.9b
12. Scholia on Homer, Iliad, 16. 177
13. Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, 1. 54
14. Hyginus, Fabulae, 14
15. Hyginus, Poetical Astronomy, 2. 14
16. Scholia on Clement of Alexandria, Protrepticus, 1. p.426

References

• Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853-1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Clement of Alexandria, Recognitions from Ante-Nicene Library Volume 8, translated by Smith, Rev. Thomas. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. 1867. Online version at theio.com
• Hyginus, Astronomica from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
• Pseudo-Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.

• Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft, Band XVI, Halbband 31, Molatzes-Myssi (1933), s. 1107 (German)