|
The Suppliants (Euripides)
''The Suppliants'' ( grc, Ἱκέτιδες, ''Hiketides''; Latin ''Supplices''), also called ''The Suppliant Women'', first performed in 423 BC, is an ancient Greek play by Euripides. Background After Oedipus leaves Thebes, his sons fight for control of it. Polynices lays siege to Thebes against his brother Eteocles. Polynices has married the daughter of Adrastus, King of Argos. And so Polynices has on his side the Argive army, leaders of which are the Seven against Thebes. The invaders lose the battle, and Polynices and Eteocles both die. Creon takes power in Thebes and decrees the invaders are not to be buried. The mothers of the dead seek someone to help reverse this, so their sons can be buried. Story Aethra, the mother of the Athenian king Theseus, prays before the altar of Demeter and Persephone in Eleusis. She is surrounded by women from Argos whose sons died in battle outside the gates of Thebes. Because of Creon’s decree, their corpses remain unburied. Adras ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy i ... of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to him, but the ''Suda'' says it was ninety-two at most. Of these, eighteen or nineteen have survived more or less complete (''Rhesus (play), Rhesus'' is suspect). There are many fragments (some substantial) of most of his other plays. More of his plays have survived intact than those of Aeschylus and Sophocles together, partly because his popularity grew as theirs declinedMoses Hadas, ''Ten Plays by Euripides'', Bantam Classic (2006), Introduction, p. ixhe became, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Seven Against Thebes
The Seven against Thebes were seven champions in Greek mythology who made war on Thebes. They were chosen by Adrastus, the king of Argos, to be the captains of an Argive army whose purpose was to restore Oedipus' son Polynices to the Theban throne. Adrastus, although always the leader of the expedition against Thebes, was not always counted as one of the Seven champions. Usually the Seven were Polynices, Tydeus, Amphiaraus, Capaneus, Parthenopaeus, Hippomedon, and Adrastus or Eteoclus, whenever Adrastus is excluded. They tried and failed to take Thebes, and all but Adrastus died in the attempt. On their way to Thebes, the Seven stopped at Nemea, where they held funeral games for the infant Opheltes, which became the origin of the Nemean Games. Before arriving at Thebes, Adrastus sent Tydeus on ahead to resolve the dispute through negotiation, which failed. At Thebes, Capaneus was struck down by Zeus' thunderbolt while attempting to scale the city walls. Tydeus was mortally wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Telamonian Aias
Ajax () or Aias (; grc, Αἴας, Aíās , ''Aíantos''; archaic ) is a Greek mythological hero, the son of King Telamon and Periboea, and the half-brother of Teucer. He plays an important role, and is portrayed as a towering figure and a warrior of great courage in Homer's ''Iliad'' and in the Epic Cycle, a series of epic poems about the Trojan War, being second only to Achilles among Greek heroes of the war. He is also referred to as "Telamonian Ajax" (, in Etruscan recorded as ''Aivas Tlamunus''), "Greater Ajax", or "Ajax the Great", which distinguishes him from Ajax, son of Oileus, also known as Ajax the Lesser. Family Ajax is the son of Telamon, who was the son of Aeacus and grandson of Zeus, and his first wife Periboea. Through his uncle Peleus (Telamon's brother), he is the cousin of Achilles, and is the elder half-brother of Teucer. The etymology of his given name is uncertain. By folk etymology his name was said to come from the root of ''aiazō'' "to lamen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense of Troy, killing countless Greek warriors. He was ultimately killed in single combat by Achilles, who later dragged his dead body around the city of Troy behind his chariot. Etymology In Greek, is a derivative of the verb ἔχειν ''ékhein'', archaic form * grc, ἕχειν, hékhein, label=none ('to have' or 'to hold'), from Proto-Indo-European *'' seɡ́ʰ-'' ('to hold'). , or as found in Aeolic poetry, is also an epithet of Zeus in his capacity as 'he who holds verything together. Hector's name could thus be taken to mean 'holding fast'. Description Hector was described by the chronicler Malalas in his account of the ''Chronography'' as "dark-skinned, tall, very stoutly built, strong, good nose, wooly-haired, good beard, sq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patroclus
In Greek mythology, as recorded in Homer's ''Iliad'', Patroclus (pronunciation variable but generally ; grc, Πάτροκλος, Pátroklos, glory of the father) was a childhood friend, close wartime companion, and the presumed (by some later ancient sources) lover of Achilles. of name There are at least three pronunciations of the name 'Patroclus' in English. Because the penultimate syllable is light in Latin prose (''pă′.trŏ.clŭs''), the antepenult was stressed in Latin and would normally be stressed in English as well, for (analogous to 'Sophocles'). However, this pronunciation is seldom encountered: for metrical convenience, Alexander Pope had made the 'o' long, and thus stressed, in his translation of Homer, following a convention of Greek and Latin verse, and that pronunciation – of Latin ''pa.trō′.clus'' – has stuck, for English . Moreover, because in prose a penultimate Greco-Latin short ''o'' (omicron) would only be stressed in a closed syllable, the pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iliad
The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and contains 15,693 lines in its most widely accepted version, and was written in dactylic hexameter. Set towards the end of the Trojan War, a ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Mycenaean Greek states, the poem depicts significant events in the siege's final weeks. In particular, it depicts a fierce quarrel between King Agamemnon and a celebrated warrior, Achilles. It is a central part of the Epic Cycle. The ''Iliad'' is often regarded as the first substantial piece of European literature. The ''Iliad'', and the ''Odyssey'', were likely written down in Homeric Greek, a literary amalgam of Ionic Greek and other dialects, probably around the late 8th or early 7th century BC. Homer's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known for having written the '' Histories'' – a detailed account of the Greco-Persian Wars. Herodotus was the first writer to perform systematic investigation of historical events. He is referred to as " The Father of History", a title conferred on him by the ancient Roman orator Cicero. The ''Histories'' primarily cover the lives of prominent kings and famous battles such as Marathon, Thermopylae, Artemisium, Salamis, Plataea, and Mycale. His work deviates from the main topics to provide a cultural, ethnographical, geographical, and historiographical background that forms an essential part of the narrative and provides readers with a wellspring of additional information. Herodotus has been criticized for his inclusion of "legends and f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Histories (Herodotus)
The ''Histories'' ( el, Ἱστορίαι, ; also known as ''The History'') of Herodotus is considered the founding work of history in Western literature. Written around 430 BC in the Ionic dialect of classical Greek, ''The Histories'' serves as a record of the ancient traditions, politics, geography, and clashes of various cultures that were known in Greece, Western Asia and Northern Africa at that time. Although not a fully impartial record, it remains one of the West's most important sources regarding these affairs. Moreover, it established the genre and study of history in the Western world (despite the existence of historical records and chronicles beforehand). ''The'' ''Histories'' also stands as one of the earliest accounts of the rise of the Persian Empire, as well as the events and causes of the Greco-Persian Wars between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus portrays the conflict as one between the forces of slavery (the Pers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eteoclus
In Greek mythology, Eteoclus (Ancient Greek: Ἐτέοκλος) was the son of Iphis. Mythology Eteoclus participated in the war on Thebes by the Seven against Thebes, and was occasionally included on the list of the seven leaders. In Euripides' ''Suppliant Women'', Adrastus describes him as a young, poor yet dignified person who would reject luxurious gifts from friends and was highly honored by fellow Argives. In Aeschylus' play ''Seven Against Thebes'', Eteoclus is one of the seven champions who attack Thebes' seven gates. He attacks the Neistan gates, carrying a shield which displays a man scaling a tower with a ladder, on which shield it is written that not even Ares could cast him down. He is confronted by Megareus. However, in the ''Phoenician Women'', Adrastus is named as the assailant of the seventh gate of Thebes and Eteoclus is not mentioned. Other authors, among them Diodorus, Statius, and Hyginus, do not mention Eteoclus either. Eteoclus was said to have been kill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capaneus
In Greek mythology, Capaneus (; Ancient Greek: Καπανεύς ''Kapaneús'') was a son of Hipponous and either Astynome (daughter of Talaus) or Laodice (daughter of Iphis), and husband of Evadne, with whom he fathered Sthenelus. Some call his wife Ianeira. Mythology According to the legend, Capaneus had immense strength and body size and was an outstanding warrior. He was also notorious for his arrogance. He stood just at the wall of Thebes during the war of the Seven against Thebes and shouted that Zeus himself could not stop him from invading it. Vegetius refers to him as the first to use ladders in a siege. In Aeschylus, he bears a shield with a man without armour withstanding fire, a torch in hand, which reads 'I will burn the city,' in token of this. While he was mounting the ladder, Zeus struck and killed Capaneus with a thunderbolt, and Evadne threw herself on her husband's funeral pyre and died. His story was told by Aeschylus in his play ''Seven Against Thebes'', by E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tydeus
Tydeus (; Ancient Greek: Τυδεύς ''Tūdeus'') was an Aetolian hero in Greek mythology, belonging to the generation before the Trojan War. He was one of the Seven against Thebes, and the father of Diomedes, who is frequently known by the patronymic ''Tydides''. Life Tydeus was a son of Oeneus and either Periboea, Oeneus's second wife, or Gorge, Oeneus's daughter. He was the husband of Deipyle, the mother of Diomedes. Tydeus was banished from Calydon by his uncle Agrius, because he killed either his brother or a different uncle or six of his cousins. He travelled to Argos, where he married Deipyle, daughter of king Adrastus. Seven against Thebes Gathering of the Seven While housing Tydeus, King Adrastus of Argos also lodged Polynices, the exiled son of Oedipus who had shared the rule of Thebes with his brother Eteocles before he was expelled by the latter. Late one night, the two young exiles got into a fierce dispute over the guest room in Adrastus's palace. Awakened by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphiaraus
In Greek mythology, Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιάραος, Ἀμφιάρεως, "very sacred") was the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with Adrastus on this expedition against Thebes as he foresaw the death of everyone who joined the expedition. His wife, Eriphyle, eventually compelled him to go. Family Amphiaraus was the son of Oicles. This made Amphiaraus a great-grandson of Melampus, himself a legendary seer, and a member of one of the most powerful dynastic families in the Argolid. The mythographer Hyginus says that Amphiaraus's mother was Hypermnestra, the daughter of Thestius. She was the sister of Leda, the queen of Sparta who was the mother of Helen of Troy, Clytemnestra, and the Dioscuri (Castor and Pollux). Hyginus also reports that "some authors" said that Amphiaraus was the son of Apollo. Amphiaraus married Eriphyle, the sister of his cousin Adrastus (the grands ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
