Myrmidon (hero)
{{short description|Greek mythical character}}
{{Other uses|Myrmidon (disambiguation)}}
In Greek mythology, Myrmidon ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɜr|m|ɪ|d|ə|n|}}{{cite book|last1=Wright|first1=Thomas|title=Comprehensive Dictionary of the World, Volume 1, Part 2|date=1992|publisher=Mittal Publications|page=1099|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RTfu1nRKGq4C&pg=PA1099|accessdate=8 April 2018}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɜr|m|ɪ|d|ɒ|n|}};{{cite book|last1=Manser|first1=Martin H.|last2=Pickering|first2=David|title=The Facts On File Dictionary of Classical and Biblical Allusions|date=2003|publisher=Facts On File|page=253|isbn=9780816048687 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LIcL56NQ3gsC&pg=PA253|accessdate=8 April 2018}} {{langx|grc|Μυρμιδόνος}}, Murmidónos) was the eponymous ancestor of the Myrmidons in one version of the myth.Hellanicus in Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller's Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, vol. 1, 48, 17
Family
Myrmidon was the son of Zeus and Eurymedusa,Eustathius ad Homer, Iliad 113.1 & 320.42; Eratosthenes in Servius ad Virgil, Aeneid [https://topostext.org/work/548#2.7 2.7] daughter of Cleitor (Cletor)Clement of Alexandria, Protrepticus [https://topostext.org/work/215#2.36 1, p. 41 (p. 34)]; Arnobius, Adversus Nationes 4.26 or of the river god Achelous.Clement of Alexandria, Recognitions [https://www.theoi.com/Text/ClementRecognitions.html 10.22]; Pseudo-Clement, Homilia 5.13
He married Peisidice, daughter of Aeolus and Enarete, and by her became the father of Antiphus and Actor.Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+1.7.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:book=1:chapter=7&highlight=Myrmidon 1.7.3] Also given as his sons were ErysichthonAelian, Varia Historia [https://topostext.org/work/220#1.27 1.27]; Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae [https://topostext.org/work/218#10.9b 10.9b] and Dioplethes, father of Perieres,Scholia ad Homer, Iliad 16.177 although Erysichthon and Perieres have been ascribed with different parentage. Also, Myrmidon had two daughters: Eupolemeia (mother of the Argonaut Aethalides by Hermes)Apollonius Rhodius, [https://topostext.org/work/126#1.51 1.55]; Hyginus, Fabulae [https://topostext.org/work/206#14 14] and Hiscilla (mother of Phorbas by Triopas).Hyginus, De astronomia [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.14.5 2.14.5]
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.Scholia ad Clement of Alexandria, Protrepticus [https://topostext.org/work/215#2.36 1, p. 426]
Notes
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References
= Primary sources =
- 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. {{ISBN|0-674-99135-4}}. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website].
- Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853–1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. [https://topostext.org/work/126 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
- Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0227 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
- Athenaeus of Naucratis, The Deipnosophists or Banquet of the Learned. London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1854. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2013.01.0003 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
- Athenaeus of Naucratis, Deipnosophistae. Kaibel. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Lipsiae. 1887. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2013.01.0001 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
- Claudius Aelianus, Varia Historia translated by Thomas Stanley (d.1700) edition of 1665. [https://topostext.org/work/220 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
- Claudius Aelianus, Claudii Aeliani de natura animalium libri xvii, varia historia, epistolae, fragmenta, Vol 2. Rudolf Hercher. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Lipsiae. 1866. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0591 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. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ClementRecognitions.html 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. [https://topostext.org/work/207 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. [https://topostext.org/work/206 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
= Secondary sources =
- Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft, Band XVI, Halbband 31, Molatzes-Myssi (1933), s. 1107 (German)