In Greek mythology, Myrtilus (Ancient Greek: Μυρτίλος) was a divine hero and son of Hermes. His mother is said variously to be the Amazon Myrto; [1] Phaethusa, daughter of Danaus; [2] or a nymph [ citation needed ] or mortal woman named Clytie, [3] Clymene or Cleobule [4] [5] (Theobule [6] ). Myrtilus was the charioteer of King Oenomaus of Pisa in Elis, on the northwest coast of the Peloponnesus.
On the eve of the fateful horse race that would decide the marriage between Pelops and Hippodamia, Myrtilus was approached by Pelops (or in some accounts, by Hippodamia) who wanted him to hinder the efforts of his master, Oenomaus, to win the race. Myrtilus was offered as bribe the privilege of the first night with Hippodamia.
Myrtilus, who loved Hippodamia himself but was too afraid to ask her hand of her father, agreed and sabotaged the king's chariot by replacing the bronze linchpins with fake ones made of bees' wax. In the ensuing accident Oenomaus lost his life, cursing Myrtilus as he died. Shortly thereafter Myrtilus tried to seduce Hippodamia, who ran crying to Pelops, although Myrtilus said this was the bargain. Enraged, Pelops murdered Myrtilus by casting him into the sea off the east coast of the Peloponnesus, which was later named the Myrtoan Sea in honor of the hero. His body was later recovered and brought in the temple of Hermes where it was honored with annual sacrifices. Some say that Myrtilus was transformed into the constellation of Auriga.
As Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops. This curse would haunt future generations of Pelops' family, including Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon, Aegisthus, Menelaus, Orestes and Chrysippus. Also, the burial place of Myrtilus was a taraxippus in Olympia.
In Greek mythology, Phoroneus was a culture-hero of the Argolid, fire-bringer, primordial king of Argos.
In Greek mythology, Euryale was the name of the following characters:
In Greek mythology, Pelops was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region. His father, Tantalus, was the founder of the House of Atreus through Pelops's son of that name.
Hippodamia was a Greek mythological figure. She was the queen of Pisa as the wife of Pelops.
In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus of Pisa, was the father of Hippodamia and the son of Ares. His name Oinomaos signifies him as a wine man.
In Greek mythology, Chrysippus was a divine hero of Elis in the Peloponnesus (Greece), sometimes referred to as Chrysippus of Pisa.
Dia, in ancient Greek religion and folklore, may refer to:
In Greek mythology, Lycaon was a king of Arcadia who, in the most popular version of the myth, tested Zeus' omniscience by serving him the roasted flesh of Lycaon's own son Nyctimus, in order to see whether Zeus was truly all-knowing.
Stilbe in Greek mythology may refer to the following personages:
In Greek mythology, Phoenix or Phoinix is the eponym of Phoenicia who together with his brothers were tasked to find their abducted sister Europa.
In Greek mythology, the Danaïdes, also Danaides or Danaids, were the fifty daughters of Danaus. In the Metamorphoses, Ovid refers to them as the Belides after their grandfather Belus. They were to marry the 50 sons of Danaus' twin brother Aegyptus, a mythical king of Egypt. In the most common version of the myth, all but one of them killed their husbands on their wedding night, and are condemned to spend eternity carrying water in a sieve or perforated device. In the classical tradition, they came to represent the futility of a repetitive task that can never be completed.
In Greek mythology, Criasus was a king of Argos.
In Greek mythology, the name Cleobule or Cleoboule or Cleobula refers to:
In Greek mythology, the name Hippalcimus may refer to:
In Greek mythology, the name Clytie or Clytia may refer to:
In Greek mythology, Cephalus was a member of the Athenian royal family as the son of Princess Herse and Hermes.
In Greek mythology, Eupolemeia was a Phthian princess as daughter of King Myrmidon and possibly Peisidice, thus sister to Antiphus, Actor, Erysichthon, Dioplethes and Hiscilla. Eupolemeia consorted with the messenger god and by him, became the mother of Aethalides, herald of the Argonauts.
In Greek mythology, Dioplethes was a Phthian prince as son of King Myrmidon and possibly Peisidice, thus brother to Antiphus, Actor, Erysichthon, Eupolemeia and Hiscilla. In some accounts, he was the father of Perieres, King of Messenia.
In Greek mythology, Hiscilla was a Phthian princess as daughter of King Myrmidon and possibly Peisidice, thus the sister to Antiphus, Actor, Dioplethes and Eupolemeia and probably Erysichthon who was otherwise known as her son by Triopas. By the latter, she also became the mother of Phorbas and Iphimedeia.
In Greek mythology, Aeopolus was the father of Cleobule (Theobule), one of the possible mother of Myrtilus by Hermes. He was also called Aeolus.
| Myrtilus myths as told by story tellers |
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| Bibliography of reconstruction: Pindar, Olympian Ode, I (476 BC); Sophocles, (1) Electra, 504 (430 - 415 BC) & (2) Oenomaus, Fr. 433 (408 BC); Euripides, Orestes, 1024-1062 (408 BC); Bibliotheca , Epitome 2, 1–9; Diodorus Siculus, Histories, 4.73 (1st century BC); Hyginus, Fables, 84: Oinomaus; 224: Mortals who were made immortal; Poetic Astronomy, II (1st century AD); Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5.1.3 - 7; 5.13.1; 6.21.9; 8.14.10 - 11 (c. 160 - 176 AD); Philostratus the Elder Imagines, I.30: Pelops (170 - 245 AD); Philostratus the Younger, Imagines, 9: Pelops (c. 200 - 245 AD); First Vatican Mythographer, 22: Myrtilus; Atreus et Thyestes; Second Vatican Mythographer, 146: Oenomaus; Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, 1. 752; Tzetzes on Lycophron, 157 |
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