General Notes

[FAMILY.FTW]

AETHRA (1) was a daughter of Pittheus of Troezen and therefore sometimes called Pittheis. Pittheus was one of the sons of Pelops and therefore a brother of Atreus and Thyestes. His wife's name is never mentioned. We do know that Aethra had one sister, Henioche. Pittheus emigrated to this region of the Argolid peninsula with another brother, Troezen. Troezen incorporated the cities of Hyperes and Anthea into a single city, and the two brothers shared the reign with Aetius, who had inherited the throne from his father Anthas. Pittheus outlived the other two and became the sole ruler. He named the merged cities after his brother and founded there the temple of Apollo Theatius, said to be the oldest Greek temple. He was considered a wise king and was famous for his eloquence. He is said to have written a book on public speaking. When Aethra reached marriageable age she was courted by Bellerophon, but he was banished from Corinth before the nuptials could take place, and there was little hope of his return. Pittheus became concerned that his daughter might have trouble presenting him with an heir, so when Aegeus, king of Athens, paid a visit to Troezen, Pittheus contrived to bring Aegeus and Aethra together. Aegeus had been married twice but still was childless, probably, he decided, because of some slight to Aphrodite, whose worship he introduced at Athens by way of conciliation. He visited Delphi to consult the oracle about begetting heirs, and the Pythia gave him a characteristically obscure answer: "The bulging mouth of the wineskin, o best of men, loose not until thou hast reached the height of Athens." On his way back to Athens, he took a complicated detour by way of Troezen. He might have done so for two reasons. Along with other attributes, Pittheus had a reputation for being a seer and might therefore be able to interpret the oracle. Also, Pittheus had close relatives in Attica who might have talked about their spouseless royal cousin in Troezen. In any case, Aegeus was a guest at the palace and revealed to Pittheus the message of the oracle. Pittheus saw at once that the message said "Don't drink till you get home," and correctly interpreted it to carry the implicit complement "unless you want to father an illegitimate heir." The message he gave to Aegeus, however, probably did not go beyound telling him that he would become the father of a famous son. Pittheus proceeded to start his own prophecy in motion by getting Aegeus drunk and into Aethra's bed. Later in the night, Athena came to Aethra in a dream and told her to go to the tomb of Sphaerus, one of Pelops' charioteers, and pour libations.