In
Greek mythology
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...
, Astymedusa ( grc, Ἀστυμέδουσα, ''Astymédousa'') or simply
Medusa
In Greek mythology, Medusa (; Ancient Greek: Μέδουσα "guardian, protectress"), also called Gorgo, was one of the three monstrous Gorgons, generally described as winged human females with living venomous snakes in place of hair. Those ...
, was a
Mycenaean princess as daughter of King
Sthenelus In Greek mythology, Sthenelus (; Ancient Greek: Σθένελος ''Sthénelos,'' "strong one" or "forcer", derived from "strength, might, force") was a name attributed to several different individuals:
* Sthenelus, father of Cycnus and King of Lig ...
and
Nicippe Nicippe, also Nikippe (Ancient Greek: Νικίππη) is a name attributed to several women in Greek mythology.
* Nicippe, a priestess of Demeter in Dotion, Thessaly. Demeter assumes her shape to try to stop Erysichthon from cutting down the sacred ...
, daughter of
Pelops
In Greek mythology, Pelops (; ) was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus region (, lit. "Pelops' Island"). He was the son of Tantalus and the father of Atreus.
He was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the Oly ...
.
She was occasionally named as a later wife of
Oedipus
Oedipus (, ; grc-gre, Οἰδίπους "swollen foot") was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. A tragic hero in Greek mythology, Oedipus accidentally fulfilled a prophecy that he would end up killing his father and marrying his mother, thereby ...
. After parting with
Jocasta
In Greek mythology, Jocasta (), also rendered Iocaste ( grc, Ἰοκάστη ) and also known as Epicaste (; ), was a daughter of Menoeceus, a descendant of the Spartoi Echion, and queen consort of Thebes. She was the wife of first Laius, t ...
or after the death of
Euryganeia In Greek mythology, Euryganeia ( grc, Εὐρυγάνεια, ''Eurygáneia'') was a Theban queen.
Family
Euryganeia was either a daughter of Hyperphas, and thus, sister to Euryanassa. In some sources, she was described as Jocasta's sister, wh ...
, who was his second wife, Oedipus married Astymedousa. Astymedusa accused
Polynices
In Greek mythology, Polynices (also Polyneices) (; grc, Πολυνείκης, Polyneíkes, lit= manifold strife' or 'much strife) was the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia and the older brother of Eteocles (according to Sophocles' ...
and
Eteocles
In Greek mythology, Eteocles (; ) was a king of Thebes, the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia. Oedipus killed his father Laius and married his mother without knowing his relationship to either. When the relationship was revealed, ...
of attempting to rape her, thus driving Oedipus into a frenzy. This is held as an alternate cause for the curse which led to the fraternal discord at the heart of the myth of the wars at
Thebes.
[.]
Notes
References
*
Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to:
*Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium''
*Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC
*Pausanias of Sicily, physician of th ...
, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library* Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
Bibliography
*.
Princesses in Greek mythology
Queens in Greek mythology
{{Greek-myth-stub
Characters in Greek mythology