Heroes and Heroines of Greece and Rome

321 Pages·2011·55.08 MB·English

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HEROES
AND
HEROINES
of Greece and Rome
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Copyright © 2012 Marshall Cavendish Corporation
Published by Marshall Cavendish Reference
An imprint of Marshall Cavendish Corporation
All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system or transmitted,in any form or by any means,
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Request for permission should be addressed to Permissions,Marshall Cavendish Corporation,99 White Plains Road,
Tarrytown,NY 10591.
Tel:[phone],fax:[phone].
Website:www.marshallcavendish.us
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Heroes and heroines of Greece and Rome.
p.cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7614-7952-9 (alk.paper)
ISBN 978-0-7614-9981-7 (ebook)
1.Heroes--Greece. 2.Heroes--Rome. 3.Women heroes--Greece. 4.Women
heroes--Rome. 5.Mythology,Greek. 6.Mythology,Roman.
BL795.H46H45 2012
398.20938'02--dc22
2011006781
Printed in Malaysia
15 14 13 12 11 1 2 3 4 5
Marshall Cavendish
Publisher:Paul Bernabeo
Project Editor:Brian Kinsey
Production Manager:Michael Esposito
Indexer:Cynthia Crippen,AEIOU,Inc.
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CONTENTS
Introduction 5 Deucalion 84
Contributors 6 Diomedes 89
Echo 91
Achilles 7 Electra 93
Actaeon 13 Endymion 96
Adonis 15 Erichthonius 99
Aeneas 18 Europa 101
Agamemnon 23 Galatea 102
Ajax 27 Ganymede 105
Alcestis 30 Gorgons 107
Amazons 32 Harpies 109
Andromeda 38 Hector 113
Antigone 40 Hecuba 118
Arachne 42 Helen 120
Ariadne 44 Heracles 127
Atalanta 46 Hero 134
Atreus 48 Hesperides 137
Bellerophon 52 Hippolyte 139
Cadmus 55 Hippolytus 141
Callisto 57 Icarus 143
Calypso 59 Idomeneus 145
Cassandra 61 Iphigeneia 147
Castor and Pollux 64 Jason 150
Circe 66 Laocoon 154
Clytemnestra 68 Laomedon 157
Cyclopes 70 Leda 159
Daedalus 75 Lycaon 162
Danae 78 Maenads 165
Daphne 81 Medea 167
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CONTENTS
Memnon 170
Menelaus 173
Midas 177
Minos 180
Myrmidons 186
Myrrha 188
Narcissus 189
Nestor 192
Niobe 193
Odysseus 196
Oedipus 204
Orestes 210
Orion 214
Orpheus 217
Pandora 223
Paris 229
Pasiphae 234
Patroclus 238
Peleus 240
Pelops 242
Penelope 244 Sisyphus 287
Perseus 246 Tantalus 289
Phaethon 251 Theseus 291
Philoctetes 254 Tiresias 296
Pleiades 257 Tithonus 298
Priam 260 Troilus 301
Psyche 263
Pygmalion 268 Pronunciation Guide 304
Rhea Silvia 271 Major Figures 306
Romulus and Remus 273 Further Reading
Satyrs 278 and Resources 310
Sibyl 281 Index 312
Silenus 285 Picture Credits 320
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INTRODUCTION
H
eroes and heroines come in all shapes, sorceresses,and partially human creatures,such as
sizes,and ages.However,strictly speaking, satyrs.Because of their parentage,demigods form
heroes and heroines in Greek and a distinct,if overlapping,group where heroes and
Roman mythology all had one thing in common: heroines are concerned.For example,Perseus was
they were mortals.These individuals could be the son of the god Zeus and the mortal Danae,so
good,but that was not necessarily the case. he is not a hero by the strictest definition of the
Sometimes they obtained their status because term in relation to mythology,but he did perform
of actions rather than virtue.For example, heroic acts,including slaying the monster Medusa,
Agamemnon was portrayed as a brave hero of which leads many people to think of him as a
the Trojan War even though he sacrificed his hero.The same ambiguity characterizes other
daughter Iphigeneia to the gods in exchange demigods who fall into this middle territory
for winds to carry the Greek fleet to Troy. between the immortals and the mortals.
The idea of a person being a hero or heroine The 94 articles in Heroes and Heroines of Greece
was also related to the individual’s continued and Rome represent the most well-known heroes
influential presence after death (one meaning and heroines from those two civilizations,as well
of the Greek word heros is “ghost”).One way as the overlapping demigods,nymphs,sorceresses,
in which individuals could live on was to be and other creatures that inhabited the mortal
memorialized in unforgettable tales of their deeds. world and figured prominently in the myths of the
That is why many of the characters in Homer’s heroes and heroines.The abundant illustrations in
Iliad and Odyssey,including Agamemnon,are this volume represent many centuries of artistic
called heroes. interpretations of these famous beings and their
The ability to live on gave heroes and heroines mythologies.Each article includes a bibliography
a special position in the order of the world. and a selection of cross-references to related
Immortal gods and goddesses lived forever,and articles.At the end of the volume is a detailed
mere mortals died,but heroes and heroines could pronunciation guide,a list of the major figures in
do either—making them the intermediaries the world of heroes and heroines,resources for
between the immortals and the mortals.The further study,and an index.
heroes and heroines generally seemed more Although these articles should also appeal to
approachable than the immortal gods and the general reader,they were written with high
goddesses,so people would turn to their heroes school students in mind,especially those who may
and heroines in times of need.Some heroes and find themselves in classes ranging from history
heroines were considered to have oracular powers and literature to art and music,where mythology
or curative powers,and their physical remains and plays a part.These articles illumine subjects that
possessions were believed to provide protection continue to reemerge in modern culture.
and power.Therefore,many heroes and heroines,
including Agamemnon and Odysseus,became the Additional information about Greek and Roman
objects of cult worship. mythology is available in the single-volume Gods
Also present in the world of the mortal heroes and Goddesses of Greece and Rome,the 11-volume
and heroines,as apposed to the world of the set Gods,Goddesses,and Mythology,and the online
immortal gods and goddesses,are the demigods Gods,Goddesses,and Mythology database at
(children of gods and mortals),nymphs, www.marshallcavendishdigital.com.
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CONTRIBUTORS
Laurel Bowman James M.Redfield
University of Victoria,Canada University of Chicago
Anthony Bulloch Carl Ruck
University of California,Berkeley Boston University
Andrew Campbell Feyo Schuddeboom
London,UK Hilversum,Netherlands
Alys Caviness Brian Seilstad
Noblesville,Indiana Lutherville,Maryland
Kathryn Chew Kirk Summers
California State University,Long Beach University of Alabama
Anna Claybourne Deborah Thomas
Edinburgh,UK Anderson,South Carolina
Peter Connor
London,UK
Barbara Gardner
Mendocino,California
Lyn Green
Toronto,Canada
Daniel P.Harmon
University of Washington
Karelisa Hartigan
University of Florida
Kathleen Jenks
Hartford,Michigan
Deborah Lyons
Johns Hopkins University
Jim Marks
Spokane,Washington
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ACHILLES
According to Homer’s Iliad,Achilles
Achilles’younger years
was the Greeks’ best fighter in the Another of Themis’s prophecies regarding Achilles was that
he would die in battle.When Achilles was born,Thetis
Trojan War, famed for his strength and
tried to protect her beloved son from his fate.According to
courage.The story of Achilles is one version of the story,she dipped him in the magical
Styx River in the underworld in order to make him
dominated by prophecies about the
immortal,but she held onto her son by the heel,which
future, and by desperate attempts to became the one vulnerable point on his body.In other
versions,Thetis tried to protect Achilles by applying
avoid fate—common themes in Greek
ambrosia (the ointment of the gods) to his body by day and
mythology.As in other tales, the
putting him in the embers of fire by night to burn away his
prophecies come true: despite the mortality.Peleus,however,was alarmed by his wife’s
behavior and prevented her from continuing her treatment
efforts of his mother,Achilles dies at
of Achilles.His intervention irritated Thetis,who left her
Troy while still a young man. husband but continued to watch over her son.
Peleus sent Achilles to be educated by Cheiron,a
centaur (a human with the body of a horse) famed for
A
chilles was the son of the sea goddess Thetis and his wisdom and kindness.Cheiron trained the boy to use
the mortal Peleus,king of Phthia.Long before his weapons and taught him many other skills,including
birth,the earth goddess Themis predicted that healing and playing the lyre (see box,page 9).However,
Thetis would give birth to a son who would be more as Achilles grew older,he became unruly,stealing things
powerful than his father.Zeus,king of the gods,and his and vandalizing the other centaurs’homes,and Cheiron
brother,the sea god Poseidon,had both wanted to marry despaired of his disobedience.After his time with Cheiron,
Thetis,but the prophecy put them off,since neither Achilles returned to live with Peleus.His new tutor was
wanted to be overthrown.Instead,Themis said that Thetis Phoenix,whom Peleus had made king of the Dolopians.
should marry a mortal,Peleus,so that her son would be During his time with Phoenix,Achilles became acquainted
half mortal and thus no threat to the gods.Other versions with the youth Patroclus.Peleus made Patroclus his son’s
say that Zeus’s wife,Hera,helped to raise Thetis,and the attendant,and the two became lifelong companions.
sea goddess refused Zeus’s advances out of loyalty to her.
Several events occurred at the wedding of Peleus and Sent away to hide
Thetis that would have a bearing on Achilles’life.For When Achilles was nine,the seer Calchas said that the great
a wedding gift,the gods gave the happy couple the war that was to take place at Troy could only be won if the
enchanted horses Xanthus and Balius,which would later Greeks had Achilles fighting on their side.This prophecy
pull Achilles’chariot.More significant,during the wedding terrified Thetis,who dreaded her son’s death in battle.
ceremony,Eris,goddess of discord,threw a golden apple Hoping to save him from the war,she disguised Achilles as
among the guests.The apple was inscribed with a girl named Pyrrha and took him to live in secret at the
the words For the fairest,and was claimed by three court of King Lycomedes on the island of Scyros.She told
goddesses:Hera;Athena,goddess of arts and war;and the Lycomedes that Pyrrha was Achilles’sister,and the king
love goddess Aphrodite.Zeus asked the mortal Paris,son believed her.In another version of events,Thetis sent her
of King Priam of Troy,to judge the victor.Paris chose son to Scyros before Calchas’s prophecy,and it was only
Aphrodite in return for the goddess’s promise to help him after the seer gave his prediction that she insisted Achilles
win the most beautiful woman alive—Helen,daughter of hide from the Greeks by pretending to be Pyrrha.At first
Zeus and the mortal Leda. Achilles was mortified at having to dress as a girl,but he
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ACHILLES
Above:Thetis is depicted in this painting dipping her son Achilles in the The outbreak of war
River Styx,by Flemish artist Peter Paul Rubens (1577–1640). Paris sparked off the Trojan War when,aided by Aphrodite,
he ran away with Helen,who was married to King
soon realized it was a good way to get close to Lycomedes’ Menelaus of Sparta.Many other Greek leaders who had
daughter,Deidamia.The two fell in love,and by the time originally hoped to marry Helen themselves had sworn an
Achilles left Scyros,at age 15,Deidamia had given birth to oath to her stepfather Tyndareos that they would fight
their son,Neoptolemus. anyone who tried to harm her marriage to Menelaus.They
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ACHILLES
now were obliged to go to Troy to help Menelaus win them back to their ships.Achilles,however,stood firm and
back his wife.Achilles himself had not taken the oath,but inflicted a serious wound on Telephus.An oracle told
because of Calchas’s prophecy,the Greeks needed him to Telephus that his wound could only be cured by the one
go to Troy,too.Odysseus,king of Ithaca,having heard who had caused it.He raced after the Greeks.Odysseus,
where Achilles was,went to Scyros to collect him.He guessing that the cause of the wound was Achilles’spear,
tricked Achilles out of his disguise by lining up a row of advised Achilles to rub rust from the weapon into the
ornaments together with a spear and a shield.Odysseus king’s body.In thanks,Telephus showed the Greeks the way
then played a war trumpet,which caused Achilles to Troy. As their journey continued,however,the Greeks
instinctively to reach for the weapons,revealing himself as a stopped at the island ofTenedos,where Achilles fell for
trained soldier. Hemithea,the sister of King Tenes.Tenes tried to keep
Achilles eagerly responded to Odysseus’s request that he Achilles away from her,and in a fit of anger the young
join the Greeks in their war against Troy.Still only 15,he Greek killed him.This murder caused even more grief for
became the leader of the Myrmidons,an army of soldiers Thetis,for it had been said that whoever killed Tenes
from Phthia,who took 50 ships to Troy.His closest friend, would in turn be killed by his father,the sun god Apollo.
Patroclus,also went with him to the war.Events before the During the ten-year siege of Troy,the Greeks raided
Greeks landed at Troy demonstrated both Achilles’valor other settlements in the area for supplies,or attacked them
and his hotheadedness.He attempted to save the life of because they supported the Trojans.Achilles and his men
Iphigeneia,daughter of the Greek leader Agamemnon, sacked the island of Lesbos and captured 12 nearby cities.
when Agamemnon was poised to sacrifice her to ensure The warrior also killed countless Trojans and their
favorable winds for the Greek ships.Iphigeneia,however, supporters,including King Priam’s son Troilus,and Cycnus,
offered herself for sacrifice anyway,and the Greeks set sail, a son of Poseidon,whose body could withstand the blows
landing not in Troy but,by accident,in Mysia,where of any weapons.Achilles killed Cycnus by strangling him
Achilles acted honorably for a second time.On Mysia,an with the straps of his own helmet.Besides fighting,Achilles
army led by King Telephus attacked the Greeks and drove managed to develop passionate feelings for Polyxena,a
daughter of King Priam,even though she was a Trojan.He
also kept a slave girl,Briseis,in his camp.He had captured
her in Lyrnessus,one of the cities he had raided.
The Centaur Cheiron
Acentaur was a creature that was human from the
waist up, but with the body and legs of a horse. The
centaurs, who were said to have been born out of a cloud,
lived in the mountains of Thessaly in central Greece. They
were mostly drunken and violent creatures, but one of
them, Cheiron, was not like the rest. He was the son of
Cronus, the ruler of the Titans, and he was renowned for
his gentleness and wisdom. Cheiron was a master of
healing. He knew all about medicinal herbs and potions—
Asclepius, god of healing, gained his knowledge of
medicine from Cheiron. Besides helping to raise Achilles,
the great centaur also taught Jason, Actaeon, Patroclus,
and Peleus, Achilles’ father, among others. Cheiron’s life
ended after the hero Heracles accidentally shot him with
a poisoned arrow. He was badly hurt and longed to die,
but he could not because he was immortal. However, the
Titan Prometheus offered to become immortal in his
place, and Cheiron was finally allowed to die.
Left:A Roman fresco from c.100 BCE–70 CE depicts the kindly
centaur Cheiron teaching Achilles how to play the lyre.
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