General Notes

    [FAMILY.FTW]

    ACHIROE, Anchinoe, or Anchiroe was a daughter of Nilus, the Nile River. Her history is somewhat confusing because of the differnet spellings of her name by ancient writers and tentative assignment to her of offspring in quite separate geographical locations. Achiroe, called Anchinoe by Apollodorus (2.14), was the wife of Belus, son of Poseidon and Libya, who ruled at Chemnis. By him she became the mother of Aegyptus and Danaus, thereby becoming grandmother to the 50 sons of the first and 50 daughters of the second. According to some, Cepheus and Phineus were also sons of Achiroe and Belus. According to one writer, Ares begot by her a son, Sithon, who became a king in Thrace and had two daughters, Rhoeteia and Pallene. At this point, things become a little muddled, since Egypt and Thrace are quite far apart. Not only that, but at least one writer called Rhoeteia and Pallene sisters of Sithon, not daughters. According to still another writer, Pallene was his daughter by Achiroe(!). It is quite reasonable to assume ther might have been two Achiroes--one Egyptian and the other Macedonian--and that the Macedonian one was the mother, not the lover, of Sithon. [Tzetzes on Lycophron 583,1161.]

    ADMETE (2) was the daughter of Eurystheus and Antimache or Admete. Eurystheus, cousin of Heracles, succeede to the throne of Mycenae by being born before Heracles through Hera's manipulation. He also was in charge of selecting the labors Heracles had to perform as penance for the murder of Megara and his children by her. It was at the insistence of Admete that Heracles was required to perform his ninth labor. Hippolyte, queen of the Amazons, posessed a magnificent girdle, or belt, given to her by Ares. Admete had heard about this splendid belt and had always longed to own it, so she persuaded Eurystheus to have it brought to her as one of Heracles' labors. Heracles was therefore sent to fetch it and, accompanied by a number of volunteers, he sailed out. According to one writer, Admete accompanied him on this expedition. In another tradition, Admete was originally a priestess of Hera at Argos. She fled with the image of the goddess to Samos. The Argives hired pirates to bring the image back, but the ship on which they loaded the image would not move out of the harbor. They unloaded it and left. When the Samians found it, they tied it to a tree, but Admete purified the image and restored it to the temple of Samos. The Samians celebrated an annual festival, Tonea, to commemorate this event. It is likely that this story was invented by the Argives to prove their worship of Hera was older than that of Samos. It is curious that Admete was selected as the motivator, unless her status as a princess gave a special prestige to the Argive claim. In other respects, the office of priestess seems incongruous with an obviously spoi8led daughter who sent a cousin on a perilous mission for the sake of personal vanity. [Tzetzes on Lycophron 1327; Athenaeus 15.447.]

    AEGINA was the daughter of the god of the Asopus River, which flows from Phliasia through Sicyonia into the Corinthian Gulf. Asopus married Metope, daughter of the river-god Ladon, and had by her two sons, Ismenus and Pelagon, and twenty daughters, one of whom was Aegina. Since she was very beautiful, she attracted the attention of Zeus, who abducted her and carried her from her home in Phlius to the island of Oenone or Oenopia, afterward called Aegina. A little tired of having his beautiful daughters carried away by lustful gods (Poseidon and Apollo were other examples), Asopus went in search of Aegina. At Corinth her learned from Sisyphus, the king (perhaps in exchange for supplying the Acrocorinthus with a spring), the facts about Aegina's disappearance. Asopus then pursued Zeus until the god, by hurling thunderbolts at him, sent him back to his original bed. Pieces of charcoal found in the riverbed in later times were thought to be residue from the stormy struggle. For his interference in the affair, after his death Sisyphus received special punishment in the lower world. Aegina became by Zeus the mother of Aeacus. His youth was marked by the progressive disappearance of the island's population by a plague or a dragon sent by the ever-jealous Hera. When Aeacus eventually became king, he had almost no subjects to govern, so Zeus restored the people by changing ants into human beings. Aeacus went on to become such a just king that his counsel was sought even by the gods, and after his death he was made one of the judges of the lower world. After her affair with Zeus, Aegina married Actor, son of Deion, and became by him the mother of Menoetius, who became the father of Patroclus, the famous friend of Achilles. In fact, it was through Aegina that Patroclus and Achilles were related, on being her grandson and the other her great-grandson by the separate lines begun by her two husbands. One commentator (Pythaenetos, quoting the scholiast on Pindar's Olympian Odes 9.107) said Menoetius was Actor's son by Damocrateia, a daughter of Aegina and Zeus. This makes sense in terms of putting Patroclus and Achilles in the same generation. In that case, also, Aegina's sexual encounters with the greeatest of the gods would have remained inviolate, unless we consider the single account that she was the mother of Sinope (usually called her sister) by Ares. Even here she at least kept with the immortals for lovers. [Apollodorus 3.12.6; Pausanias 2.5.1; Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius 436.]

    AEROPE (2) was the daughter of Cepheus and by Ares the mother of a son, Aeropus. She died at the moment she gave birth to the child; Ares, wishing to save it, caused the child to derive milk from the breast of its dead mother. This wounder gave rise to the surname, Aphneius (Abundant). Under this name Ares had a temple on Mount Cresius near Tegea.

    ELECTRA was a daughter of Atlas and Pleione, and one of the seven Pleiades. Her story is a confusing one. Zeus fell in love with her and carried her to Olympus, a rather daring thing to do, considering the perennial jealousy of Hera. He succeeded in raping her, but she managed to escape in midrape and as a suppliant embraced the sacred Palladium, which Athena had establishe. Since she had been sullied, the divinity of her attacker notwithsanding, she was considered a defiler of the sacred object, and it was hurled from Olympus to land in Ilium (Troy), where it was revered as the city's principal security. Through her unwelcome encouter with the father of the gods, she became the mother of Iasion and Dardanus. They must have been twins, although this fact was never particularly emphasized. (According to an Italian version of her story, she was the wife of Corythus, king of Tuscia, and had Iasion by him and Dardanus later by Zeus.) When Dardanus and Iasion migrated to Samothrace from Arcadia (or Italy or Crete), they carried the Palladium with them. This is contrary to the story of its celestial origin, but there might have been two such images. Electra appears to have followed or accompanied her sons, for we find her on Samothrace. She was even said to have been the mother of Harmonia by Zeus in Samothrace, although Harmonia is nearly always called the daughter of Aphrodite and Ares. In keeping, though, with the accounts of the origin of the Samothracian mysteries, the presence of Harmonia appeared to be called for in establishing a connection between the Samothracian and Theban Cabeiri. It seems hardly likely that Electra voluntarily would have submitted Zeus after her first unfortunate experience with him. Thoroughly instructed in the mysteries by Demeter, his lover, Iasion passed on their knowledge to numerous heroes. He later married Cybele, according to some. Dardanus went to the Troad and was hospitably received by Teucer, the king of the region, who gave him part of the kingdom and his daughter Bateia. He built the city of Dardania (later Troy) and initiated the inhabitants into the mysteries of the gods of Samothrace. He introduce3d the cult of Cybele into Phrygia. Electra went with him to the Troad, and she brought the Palladium along from Samothrace. Again we have a conflicting account. Here is the very person who allegedly contaminated the Olympian Palladium, so that it was cast out of heaven, now bringing it to the city whose site was determined by the landing place in the earlier account. Apparently there needed to be an explanation fror the introduction of the mysteries into Troy. Although the Palladium was connected with Athena, who had no strong role in the mysteries, its function of guaranteeing the safety of the city was perhaps given more credibility by having Dardanus and Electra heavily involved in worship of the Cabeiri. Electra remained in Troy until its fall, according to some writers. Even though the Pleiades had a kind of second-class immortality, being daughters of a Titan, this would have made Electra well over 100 years old. According to the story, she watched the city founded by her son perishing in flames and tore out her hair in grief; she was placed among the stars as a comet. Other accounts say she and her sisters were already among the stars as the seven Pleiades and that Electra's brilliancy dimmed when Ilium was destroyed. [Apollodorus 3.10.1, 12.1.3; Servius on Virgil's Aeneid 1.32,384, 2.325, 3.167, 7.207, 10.272; Tzetzes on Lycophron 29; Diodorus Siculus 5.48; Scholiast on Euripides' Phoenician Maidens 1136; Eustathius on Homer's Iliad 1155.]

    HARMONIA, one of the inspired conceptions of some long-forgotten writer, was a tribute to the ability of the Greeks to create an ideal balance. She was the daughter of Love (Aphrodite) and War (Ares). Her brothers were Deimos (Terror) and Phobos (Fear), both mainly thought of in terms of war. Again, as if to balance things, some called Eros and Anteros full brothers as well, but in any case they were half-brothers. After Cadmus founded Thebes, Zeus gave him Harmonia as a wife. This was a union favored by all the gods and goddesses of Olympus, especially Athena, who was the self-appointed protectress of Cadmus. All the Olympians attended the wedding, and rich presents were give, the most opulent being a necklace of exquisite design studded with precious stones. Fashioned for him by Hephaestus, the was the groom's gift to the bride, along with a handsome peplus, or robe. Some said the necklace was presented to her by Aphrodite or Athena. Some said Cadmus had received it from his sister Europa, who had earlier received it from Zeus, but this would make no sense, since Cadmus never saw Europa again after her abduction. In fact, his fruitless search for her had resulted in his founding Thebes. This beautiful jewelry, whatever its origin, came with a curse as it was passed from generation to generation. The results of its attraction culminated in the battle of the Seven against Thebes and the subsequent campaign of the Epigoni. Even in Harmonia's possession, its virulence seemed to spread like poison over the family. The children of Harmonia by Cadmus were Autonoe, Ino, Semele, Agave, and Polydorus. While they were small, Harmonia seemed to lead a rather idyllic life. Undeniably immortal herself, she spent time in the company of other immortals such as the Charites (Graces), Hebe (the goddess of youth), the Horae (Seasons), the Muses, Apollo, and her mother Aphrodite. Some even claimed that the Charites were her daughters by Zeus, who was already her grandfather and later would become her son-in-law as well. The mellow life enjoyed by Harmonia came to an end when her daughters grew up. Ino's husband went insane and tried to kill her, but she leapt into the sea and became a sea divinity. Autonoe married the god Aristaeus, but he left her when their son Actaeon was turned into a stag, then killed and eaten by his hunting dogs. Semele was burned alive when she forced her lover Zeus to appear to her in his full splendor. He managed to save the child she was carrying, which turned out to be Dionysus. This grandchild did not help things when later he converted his aunts to his worship. One day the three of them got drunk and, mistaking him for a wild beast, tore Agave's son, Pentheus, apart with their bare hands. Only Polydorus, the son, turned out reasonably well, if we do not dwell on the fact that he was the great-grandfather of Oedipus. Cadmus and Harmonia left Thebes even before the death of Pentheus. Their leaving has never been explained; perhaps the tragedies of the other daughters caused them to go to a remote place. There was a prophecy among the Enchelean people in northern Greece that if Cadmus would lead them against their enemies, the Illyrians, the would be victorious. Cadmus did so, and the prophecy was fulfilled. He and Harmonia then ruled in Illyria. Although grandparents, they produced another son, Illyrius. Afterward, the gods changed them into dragons and transported them to Elysium, or the Isles of the Blessed. A variation of this account calls Harmonia the daughter of Zeus and Electra, daughter of Atlas. She was therefore sister to Dardanus and Iasion. She and her brothers lived on the island of Samothrace, where they had gone from Arcadia. When Cadmus went there searching for Europa, he fell in love with Harmonia. In this version also, the gods smiled on the marriage and attended the wedding celebration on Samothrace. Then Cadmus took Harmonia to Thebes, and the two stories merged at that point. The second version might have arisen in conjunction with the strong Cabeirian influence in Theban worship (the Cabeiri were the divinities worshipped on the islands of Lemnos and Samothrace). Dardanus and Iasion taught the mysteries in the Aegean and Asia Minor, and it would seem appropriate that Harmonia introduced them on the Greek mainland. [Apollodorus 3.4.2,5.4; Diodorus Siculus 1.68,4.48; Pindar, Pythian Odes 3.94,167; Statius, Thebaid 2.266; Euripides, Bacchanals 1233,1350; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.562-602; Pausanias 9.5.1,12.3; Hyginus, Fables 6,184,240; Ptolemaeus Hephaestion 1; Apollonius Rhodius 4.517.]

    STEROPE was one of the Pleiades, daughter of Atlas and Pleione. Like her sister Merope she married a mortal. He was Oenomaus, son of Ares and Harpinna, and king of Pisa in Elis. Sterope's children by Oenomaus were Leucippus, Hippodameia, and Alcippe. One writer also listed Dysponteus, who founded the city of Dyspontium. Sterope suffered the loss of Leucippus. He fell in love with a nymph who followed Artemis. He could find no other way to be near her, so he dressed as a maiden and became close friends with her. He was found out, however, and killed by her companions. Alcippe married Euenus, who unhappily imitated his father-in-law and forced contenders for the hand of their daughter Marpessa to compete with him in a chariot race. When Hippodameia grew up, reports of her beauty attracted many suitors. Oenomaus took a dim view of the, since he was in love with his daughter. We do not know whether or not Sterope was aware of this development. Onenomaus agreed to give Hippodameia to anyone who could beat him in a chariot race, but the price of losing was death to the contender. In spite of the grim probability of death, about 20 young men came forward and failed. Sterope and her daughters must have been horrified by the severed heads of recent losers strung over the doorway. Finally Pelops defeated Oenomaus, who died in the contest. He married Hippodameia and assumed Oenomaus' kindom. That meant that Sterope had a choice of remaining with them or going elsewhere. It is difficult to consider Sterope's story as Oenomaus' wife together with the story of the collective Pleiades, who were said by some to have been changed into doves when pursued by Orion or into stars as a result of grief for their father's punishment by Zeus. Several other Pleiades had independent lives as well, so their metamorphosis must be considered as having come about after their separate careers had ended. Sterope was called by some the mother of Oenomaus by Ares, which would have concurred with the statement that only one of the Pleiades married a mortal. To support this contention, the wife of Oenomaus was by some called Euarete or Eurythoe. [Apollodorus 3.10.1; Pausanias 5.10.5,22.5, 6.21.6.]