Rape_Marpessa_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_2417_n2

Greek mythology 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 ...

, Marpessa ( grc, Μάρπησσα, Márpēssa, "the robbed one") was an

Aetolia Aetolia ( el, Αἰτωλία, Aἰtōlía) is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia ...

n princess and a granddaughter of Ares.

Family

Marpessa was the daughter of King Evenus of

(son of Ares either by

Demonice In Greek mythology, Demonice (; grc, Δημονίκη, Dēmonī́kē) is the name of two women. * Demonice, daughter of Agenor of Pleuron. *Demonice, a maiden of Ephesus. Brennus, king of the Gauls who was razing Asia Minor came to Ephesus and fe ...

or Sterope) and princess Alcippe (daughter of King Oenomaus of Pisa).

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, ''Parallela minora'' 40 She attracted the attention of the hero

Idas In Greek mythology, Idas (; grc, Ἴδας, Ídas), was a Messenian prince. He was one of the Argonauts, a participant in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar and contender with the gods. Idas was described as keen and spirited.Hyginus, ''Fabulae 1 ...

as well as the god

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label= Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label ...

. Marpessa eventually married Idas, by whom she begot Cleopatra, the future wife of the hero

Meleager In Greek mythology, Meleager (, grc-gre, Μελέαγρος, Meléagros) was a hero venerated in his ''temenos'' at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the epic tradition that was reworked by Ho ...

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

, ''

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 '' Odys ...

'' 9.557

Mythology

Samuel Finley Breese Morse - The Judgment of Jupiter - 1941

Marpessa was a beautiful lady, described as being "fair-ankled". Idas, son of King

Aphareus Aphareus (Ancient Greek: Ἀφαρεύς) may refer to the following figures. * Aphareus, a Messenian king, son of Perieres and Gorgophone. * Aphareus, a Centaur that attended the wedding of Pirithous and Hippodamia. In the battle initiated by th ...

, came from

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; el, Μεσσηνία ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a ...

to ask for the hand of Marpessa, but Evenus refused his request because he wanted his daughter to remain a virgin. Idas went to his father

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ...

and begged for the use of a winged chariot. After Poseidon consented to his use of the chariot, Idas kidnapped Marpessa and carried her away from a band of dancers and to Pleuron in

. Her father, after chasing the couple for a long time, realized that he could not catch up to them. In his madness, he killed his horses and then drowned himself in a nearby river Lycormas and became immortal. The river was named later after him. In other version, Apollo also wanted Marpessa and pursued Idas as he carried away Marpessa. As the two fought for the girl's hand,

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek reli ...

intervened and asked Marpessa to choose between the mortal and the god. Marpessa chose Idas, reasoning to Apollo that had she chosen the god, she would have eventually grown old and lost his affections. In Homer's version, Marpessa was already married to Idas when Apollo carried her away from her husband. Idas, however, confronted Apollo: :

Idas that was mightiest of men that were then upon the face of earth;
who also took his bow to face the king Phoebus Apollo
for the sake of the fair-ankled maid .e. MarpessaHomer, ''Iliad'' 9.557 '

When Idas was slain by the hands of Polydeuces, one of the Dioscuri, Marpessa killed herself.Pausanias, 4.2.7 & 5.18.2

Modern use of the name

* ''Marpessa'', as a name, was used to describe a 206,000 ton Shell Oil company

supertanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined ...

(

VLCC An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cru ...

). In December 1969, it became the world's largest oil tanker to sink up to that date. ''Marpessa'' had been on its maiden voyage from Europort,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

, when an explosion ripped through the hull and it foundered 50 miles off the west coast of Africa.

Notes

References

* Apollodorus, ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

Bacchylides Bacchylides (; grc-gre, Βακχυλίδης; – ) was a Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets, which included his uncle Simonides. The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been noted ...

, ''Odes'' translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1991
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Bacchylides, ''The Poems and Fragments''. Cambridge University Press. 1905
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''The Iliad'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Homer, ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, ''Moralia'' with an English Translation by Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1936
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, ''Morals'' translated from the Greek by several hands. Corrected and revised by. William W. Goodwin, PH. D. Boston. Little, Brown, and Company. Cambridge. Press Of John Wilson and son. 1874. 5
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

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 t ...

, ''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
*

Sextus Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of ''Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the poets Gallus a ...

, ''Elegies'' from ''Charm.'' Vincent Katz. trans. Los Angeles. Sun & Moon Press. 1995
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Latin text available at the same website

External links

*{{Commons category-inline, Marpessa Children of Potamoi Women of Apollo Mortal parents of demigods in classical mythology Women in Greek mythology Aetolian characters in Greek mythology