![Pelops and Hippodamia racing](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Pelops_and_Hippodamia_racing.jpg)
Hippodamia (, ; also Hippodamea and Hippodameia;
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...
: Ἱπποδάμεια "she who masters horses" derived from ''hippos'' "horse" and ''damazein'' "to tame") was a
Greek mythological
A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of d ...
figure. She was the queen of
Pisa
Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
as the wife 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 ...
.
Family
Hippodamia was the daughter of King
Oenomaus
In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus (also Oenamaus; grc-gre, Οἰνόμαος, ''Oἱnómaos'') of Pisa, was the father of Hippodamia and the son of Ares. His name ''Oinomaos'' denotes a wine man.
Family
Oenomaeus' mother was either naiad Har ...
of Pisa either by
Sterope Sterope (; Ancient Greek: Στερόπη, , from , ''steropē'', lightning) was the name of several individuals in Greek mythology:
* Sterope (or Asterope), one of the Pleiades and the wife of Oenomaus (or his mother by Ares).
* Sterope, a Pleu ...
, daughter of
Atlas
An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth.
Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...
and
Pleione,
Evarete, daughter of
Acrisius
In Greek mythology, Acrisius (; Ancient Greek: Ἀκρίσιος means 'ill-judgment') was a king of Argos. He was the grandfather of the famous Greek demi-god Perseus.
Family
Acrisius was the son of Abas and Aglaea (or Ocalea, depending on th ...
and
Eurydice
Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music.
Etymology
Several meanings for the name ...
, or
Eurythoe
In Greek mythology, Eurythoe is one of the Danaïdes. She is one of the possible mothers of Oenomaus by Ares;Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica'' 1.752. she is alternatively the mother of Hippodamia by Oenomaus.Tzetzes on Lycophron
Ly ...
, daughter of
Danaus
In Greek mythology, Danaus (, ; grc, Δαναός ''Danaós'') was the king of Libya. His myth is a foundation legend of Argos, one of the foremost Mycenaean cities of the Peloponnesus. In Homer's ''Iliad'', "Danaans" ("tribe of Danaus") and " ...
. She was probably the sister of
Leucippus
Leucippus (; el, Λεύκιππος, ''Leúkippos''; fl. 5th century BCE) is a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher who has been credited as the first philosopher to develop a theory of atomism.
Leucippus' reputation, even in antiquity, was obscured ...
and
Alcippe, wife of
Evenus and mother of
Marpessa
In Greek mythology, Marpessa ( grc, Μάρπησσα, Márpēssa, "the robbed one" or "snatcher" or "gobbler") may refer to the following figures:
* Marpessa, an Aetolian princess and daughter of Evenus.
* Marpessa or Marpesia, an Amazon queen ...
.
Hippodamia married Pelops, son of King
Tantalus
Tantalus ( grc, Τάνταλος ) was a Greek mythological figure, most famous for his punishment in Tartarus: he was made to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches, with the fruit ever eluding his grasp, and the wate ...
of
Lydia
Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: 𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
, and their daughters were
Astydameia In Greek mythology, Astydamea or Astydamia (; Ancient Greek: Ἀστυδάμεια ''Astudámeia'', derived from ἄστυ ''ástu'', "town", and δαμάω ''damáo'', "to tame") is a name attributed to several individuals:
* Astydamea, also known ...
,
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 ...
,
Lysidice,
Mytilene
Mytilene (; el, Μυτιλήνη, Mytilíni ; tr, Midilli) is the capital of the Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of ...
, and
Eurydice
Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music.
Etymology
Several meanings for the name ...
, and their sons were
Atreus
In Greek mythology, Atreus ( , ; from ἀ-, "no" and τρέω, "tremble", "fearless", gr, Ἀτρεύς ) was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Collectively, hi ...
,
Thyestes
In Greek mythology, Thyestes (pronounced , gr, Θυέστης, ) was a king of Olympia. Thyestes and his brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olym ...
,
Pittheus In Greek mythology, Pittheus (; grc, Πιτθεύς) was the king of Troezen, city in Argolis, which he had named after his brother Troezen.
Biography
Pittheus was a son of Pelops and Dia (maybe another name for Hippodamia), father of AethraD ...
,
Alcathous
Alcathous (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκάθοος) was the name of several people in Greek mythology:
* Alcathous, a Calydonian prince as the son of King Porthaon and Euryte, daughter of Hippodamas. He was the brother of Oeneus (successor of Porthao ...
,
Troezen
Troezen (; ancient Greek: Τροιζήν, modern Greek: Τροιζήνα ) is a small town and a former municipality in the northeastern Peloponnese, Greece, on the Argolid Peninsula. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the munic ...
,
Hippalcimus In Greek mythology, the name Hippalcimus (Ancient Greek: Ἱππάλκιμον) may refer to:
*Hippalcimus, son of Itonus (himself son of Boeotus), and father, by Asterope, of Peneleos. Other variations of his name were Hippalcmas, Hippalkmos ( ...
,
Copreus
In Greek mythology, Copreus (Ancient Greek: Κοπρεύς, ''Kopreús'') was King Eurystheus' herald who announced Heracles' Twelve Labors.
Etymology
His name is usually translated as "dung man", or something equally unflattering. However, the ...
, Dias, and
Hippasus
Hippasus of Metapontum (; grc-gre, Ἵππασος ὁ Μεταποντῖνος, ''Híppasos''; c. 530 – c. 450 BC) was a Greek philosopher and early follower of Pythagoras. Little is known about his life or his beliefs, but he is sometimes c ...
. Aelius, Cleonymus,
Sciron
In Greek mythology, Sciron, also Sceiron, Skeirôn and Scyron, ( grc, Σκίρων; gen.: Σκίρωνoς) was one of the malefactors killed by Theseus on the way from Troezen to Athens. He was a famous Corinthian bandit who haunted the frontier b ...
,
Argeius Argeius ( grc, Ἀργεῖος, but also sometimes Argeus) was one of the Elean deputies sent to the Persian Empire to co-operate with Pelopidas in 367 BCE on counteracting Spartan negotiation and attaching Artaxerxes II of Persia to the Theban ca ...
, Corinthius, Dysponteus, and Pleisthenes are also listed as her sons.
Mythology
Hippodamia's father, King
Oenomaus
In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus (also Oenamaus; grc-gre, Οἰνόμαος, ''Oἱnómaos'') of Pisa, was the father of Hippodamia and the son of Ares. His name ''Oinomaos'' denotes a wine man.
Family
Oenomaeus' mother was either naiad Har ...
of Pisa, was fearful of a prophecy that claimed he would be killed by his son-in-law. So when suitors arrived, he told them they could marry his daughter only if they defeated him in a
chariot race
Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from ...
, and if they lost, they would be executed. Eighteen suitors of Hippodamia had perished in this way, and Oenamaus had affixed their heads to the wooden columns of his palace.
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 ...
was shown what was purported to be the last standing column in the late second century CE; the same author mentions that Pelops erected a monument in honor of all the suitors before himself, and enlists their names, which are as follows:
#
Marmax In Greek mythology, Marmax (Ancient Greek: Μάρμαξ) was one of the suitors of Hippodameia,Hesiod, ''Great Eoiae'' fr. 10 who was slain by Oenomaus, and was buried with his two horses, Parthenia and Eripha.Pausanias, 6.21.6
Mythology
The geo ...
#
Alcathous
Alcathous (; Ancient Greek: Ἀλκάθοος) was the name of several people in Greek mythology:
* Alcathous, a Calydonian prince as the son of King Porthaon and Euryte, daughter of Hippodamas. He was the brother of Oeneus (successor of Porthao ...
, son of
Porthaon
In Greek mythology, Porthaon (Ancient Greek: Πορθάων, genitive Πορθάονος), sometimes referred to as Parthaon or Portheus (seems related to the verb ''portheō'' and ''perthō'', "destroy'), was a king of Calydon and son of Agenor o ...
#
Euryalus
Euryalus (; grc, Εὐρύαλος, Eurýalos, broad) refers to the Euryalus fortress, the main citadel of Ancient Syracuse, and to several different characters from Greek mythology and classical literature:
Classical mythology
*Euryalus, named ...
#
Eurymachus The name Eurymachus (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρύμαχος ''Eurúmakhos'') is attributed to the following individuals:
''Mythology''
* Eurymachus, son of Hermes and father of Eriboea, mother of the Aloadae.
*Eurymachus, a prince of the Phlegyes ...
#
Crotalus
''Crotalus'' is a genus of venomous pit vipers in the family Viperidae, known as rattlesnakes or rattlers.Albert Hazen WWright AH, Wright AA (1957). ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing ...
#
Acrias of
Lacedaemon
Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...
, founder of Acriae
#
Capetus
#
Lycurgus
Lycurgus or Lykourgos () may refer to:
People
* Lycurgus (king of Sparta) (third century BC)
* Lycurgus (lawgiver) (eighth century BC), creator of constitution of Sparta
* Lycurgus of Athens (fourth century BC), one of the 'ten notable orators' ...
#
Lasius
''Lasius'' is a genus of formicine ants. The type species for this genus is the black garden ant, ''Lasius niger''. Other major members, which live in drier heathland, are the cornfield ant, '' L. neoniger'', and '' L. alienus''. Other species i ...
#
Chalcodon
In Greek mythology, the name Chalcodon (Ancient Greek: Χαλκώδων, ''gen''.: Χαλκώδοντος means "copper tooth" or "iron tooth", from χαλκός=copper and generally metal + ὀδών, ionic type of ὀδούς=tootTricolonus In Greek mythology, Tricolonus (Ancient Greek: Τρικολώνου, Τρικόλωνον or Τρικολώνῳ means 'three-hilled') may refer to the following personages:
* Tricolonus, an Arcadian prince as one of the 50 sons of the impious Kin ...
#
Aristomachus
#
Prias
#
Pelagon There are several figures named Pelagon (Ancient Greek: Πελάγων, -ονος) in Greek mythology.
* Pelagon, king of Phocis and son of Amphidamas. He gave Cadmus the cow that was to guide him to Boeotia.
* Pelagon, also called Pelasgus,Diodoru ...
#
Aeolius
#
Cronius
#
Erythras
Erythras (; Ancient Greek: Ἐρύθραν) was a name attributed to three men in Greek mythology.
*Erythras, son of Poseidon and Amphimedusa, daughter of Danaus.
*Erythras, son of Leucon. One of the suitors of Hippodamia, killed by Oenomaus.
...
, son of
Leucon In Greek mythology, the name Leucon (; Ancient Greek: Λεύκων) may refer to:
*Leucon, a son of Themisto by either Athamas or Poseidon. His children were Erythras, Pisidice, Hyperippe and Euippe (mother of Eteocles by Andreus). He was said to h ...
#
Eioneus In Greek mythology, Eioneus (Ancient Greek: Ἠιονεύς) is a name attributed to the following individuals:
*Eioneus, the Perrhaebi, Perrhaebian father of Dia (mythology), Dia, see Deioneus.
*Eioneus, son of Magnes (mythology), Magnes and Philo ...
, son of
Magnes
Pelops, son of King Tantalus of Lydia, came to ask for Hippodamia's hand in marriage and prepared to race Oenomaus. Worried about losing, Pelops went to the seaside and invoked Poseidon, his former lover. Reminding Poseidon of their love ("
Aphrodite
Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...
's sweet gifts"), he asked Poseidon for help. Smiling, Poseidon caused a chariot drawn by winged horses to appear.
In an episode that was added to the simple heroic chariot race, Pelops, still unsure of himself (or alternatively, Hippodamia herself), convinced Oenomaus's charioteer,
Myrtilus
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;Scholia on Apollonius Rhodius, ''Argonautica'' 1.752 Phaethusa, daughter of Danaus; or a nymph ...
, a son of
Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...
, to help him win. Myrtilus was convinced by Pelops or Hippodamia promising him half of Oenomaus' kingdom and the first night in bed with Hippodamia. The night before the race, while Myrtilus was putting Oenomaus's chariot together, he replaced the bronze linchpins attaching the wheels to the
chariot
A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...
axle with fake ones made of beeswax. The race began, and went on for a long time but just as Oenomaus was catching up to Pelops and readying to kill him, the wheels flew off and the chariot broke apart. Myrtilus survived, but Oenomaus was dragged to death by his horses.
When Myrtilus tried to claim his reward and have sex with Hippodamia, Pelops killed Myrtilus by throwing him off a cliff into the sea. If Hippodamia was the one who asked Myrtilus for help and did not tell Pelops, then Pelops may have assumed that Myrtilus was trying to rape Hippodamia.
As Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops. This was the source of the curse that haunted Hippodamia and Pelops' children
Atreus
In Greek mythology, Atreus ( , ; from ἀ-, "no" and τρέω, "tremble", "fearless", gr, Ἀτρεύς ) was a king of Mycenae in the Peloponnese, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Collectively, hi ...
and
Thyestes
In Greek mythology, Thyestes (pronounced , gr, Θυέστης, ) was a king of Olympia. Thyestes and his brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olym ...
as well as their descendants
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; grc-gre, Ἀγαμέμνων ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Greeks during the Trojan War. He was the son, or grandson, of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husb ...
,
Aegisthus
Aegisthus (; grc, Αἴγισθος; also transliterated as Aigisthos, ) was a figure in Greek mythology. Aegisthus is known from two primary sources: the first is Homer's ''Odyssey'', believed to have been first written down by Homer at the en ...
,
Menelaus
In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...
and
Orestes
In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...
.
Later on, Hippodamia killed herself because by her urging the bastard son of Pelops,
Chrysippus
Chrysippus of Soli (; grc-gre, Χρύσιππος ὁ Σολεύς, ; ) was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was a native of Soli, Cilicia, but moved to Athens as a young man, where he became a pupil of the Stoic philosopher Cleanthes. When Clean ...
, was killed.
Ancient Olympia
At the
Olympia, Greece
Olympia ( el, label=Modern Greek, Ολυμπία ; grc, Ὀλυμπία ), officially Archaia Olympia ( el, label=Modern Greek, Αρχαία Ολυμπία; grc, Ἀρχαία Ὀλυμπία, links=no; "Ancient Olympia"), is a small town in E ...
within the Altis by the entrance which was called the Hippodameium (Ἱπποδάμειον) there was a place in which once per year the women honored the Hippodamia with rituals. In addition, the
Eleans
Elis () or Eleia ( el, Ήλιδα, Ilida, grc-att, Ἦλις, Ēlis ; Elean: , ethnonym: ) is an ancient district in Greece that corresponds to the modern regional unit of Elis.
Elis is in southern Greece on the Peloponnese, bounded on ...
declare that because of an oracle they brought the bones of Hippodamia to Olympia.
Artistic and anthropological perspectives
Walter Burkert
Walter Burkert (; 2 February 1931 – 11 March 2015) was a German scholar of Greek mythology and cult.
A professor of classics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, he taught in the UK and the US. He has influenced generations of studen ...
notes that though the story of the contest for Hippodamia's hand figures in the Hesiodic ''
Megalai Ehoiai The ''Megalai Ehoiai'' ( grc, Μεγάλαι Ἠοῖαι, ), or ''Great Ehoiai'', is a fragmentary Greek epic poem that was popularly, though not universally, attributed to Hesiod during antiquity. Like the more widely read Hesiodic ''Catalogue o ...
'' and on the chest of
Cypselus
Cypselus ( grc-gre, Κύψελος, ''Kypselos'') was the first tyrant of Corinth in the 7th century BC.
With increased wealth and more complicated trade relations and social structures, Greek city-states tended to overthrow their traditional her ...
(ca. 570 BCE) that was conserved at Olympia, and though preparations for the chariot-race figured in the east pediment of the great
temple of Zeus at Olympia
The Temple of Zeus at Olympia was an ancient Greek temple in Olympia, Greece, dedicated to the god Zeus. The temple, built in the second quarter of the fifth century BC, was the very model of the fully developed classical Greek temple of the Dor ...
, the myth of the chariot race only became important at Olympia with the introduction of
chariot racing
Chariot racing ( grc-gre, ἁρματοδρομία, harmatodromia, la, ludi circenses) was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman, and Byzantine sports. In Greece, chariot racing played an essential role in aristocratic funeral games from ...
in the twenty-fifth Olympiad (680 BCE).
Georges Devereux
Georges Devereux (born György Dobó; 13 September 1908 – 28 May 1985) was a Hungarian-French ethnologist and psychoanalyst, often considered the founder of ethnopsychiatry. connected the "courtship" of Hippodamia with animal husbandry taboos of Elis,
[G. Devereux, "The abduction of Hippodameia as 'Aition' of a Greek animal husbandry rite" ''SMSR'' 36 (1965), pp 3-25. Burkert, in following Devereux's thesis, attests Herodotus iv.30, Plutarch's ''Greek Questions'' 303b and Pausanias 5.5.2.] and the influence of Elis at Olympia that grew in the seventh century.
See also
*
Heraean Games
The Heraea was an ancient Greek festival in which young girls competed in a footrace. The race was held every four years at Olympia, and probably took place around the same time as the ancient Olympic Games.
Overview
Not much is known about ...
*
Theseus saving Hippodamia
The sculptural complex "Theseus saving Hippodamia" is located in Viktoria Square in Athens and is a sculptural creation of great artistic value. It is considered one of the most important outdoor sculpture works of the 20th century in Athens.
His ...
, 1908 sculpture
References
{{Authority control
Princesses in Greek mythology
Queens in Greek mythology
Characters in Greek mythology
Suicides in Greek mythology