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 ...

, Molpadia (Ancient Greek: Μολπαδία means 'divine song') may refer to the two different women: * Molpadia, an

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

who was said to have fought for both Antiope and

Orithyia In Greek mythology, Orithyia or Oreithyia (; el, Ὠρείθυια ''Ōreithuia''; la, Ōrīthyia) was the name of the following women: *Orithyia or Orythya, the Nereid of raging seas and one of the 50 marine-nymph daughters of the 'Old Man of th ...

. She was a participant in the

Attic War In Greek mythology, the Attic War is the conflict between the Amazons, led by Amazon queen Penthesilea, and the Athenians, led by Theseus or Heracles. The war lasted 4 months and concluded with a peace treaty in Horeomosium, near the temple of These ...

, where she witnessed her queen Antiope sustain heavy injuries. Antiope was hurt so seriously that she could not defend herself from

Theseus Theseus (, ; grc-gre, Θησεύς ) was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. The myths surrounding Theseus his journeys, exploits, and friends have provided material for fiction throughout the ages. Theseus is sometimes describe ...

and his retainers. Knowing this, Molpadia killed the queen with an arrow (some say spear), saving her from violation by the

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

king. Other sources, however, state that she killed Antiope by accident. She was afterwards killed by Theseus, and her tomb was shown at

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

. Like many other Amazons, she may have been named for a goddess, in this case a

psychopomp Psychopomps (from the Greek word , , literally meaning the 'guide of souls') are supernatural creatures, spirits, entities, angels, demons or deities in many religions whose responsibility is to escort newly deceased souls from Earth to the afte ...

deity. Her name means "Death Song". * Molpadia, daughter of

Staphylus Staphylus (; Ancient Greek: Στάφυλος "grape cluster") is one of several personages of ancient Greek mythology, almost always associated with grapes or wine: * Staphylus, son of wine-god Dionysus and Ariadne. * Staphylus, beloved of Diony ...

and

Chrysothemis In Greek mythology, Chrysothemis or Khrysothemis (; grc, Χρυσόθεμις, "golden law") is a name ascribed to several characters. ''Female:'' * Chrysothemis, may refer to known as the attributes of the golden harvest as an agricultural demi ...

, sister of Parthenos and

Rhoeo In Greek mythology, Rhoeo (; grc, Ῥοιώ ''Rhoiṓ'') was the daughter of Staphylus and Chrysothemis, sister to Parthenos and Molpadia or Hemithea. Mythology Parthenius relates that she once experienced a great jealousy of her sister Hemi ...

, alternatively called Hemithea.

Cultural depictions

Molpadia is a supporting character in

Evangeline Walton Evangeline Walton (24 November 1907 – 11 March 1996) was the pen name of Evangeline Wilna Ensley, an American writer of fantasy fiction. She remains popular in North America and Europe because of her “ability to humanize historical and mytho ...

's 1983

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...

novel ''

The Sword is Forged ''The Sword is Forged'' is a 1983 historical fiction novel by Evangeline Walton. It is based on the story of Theseus and the Amazon queen Antiope from Greek mythology. Plot The Amazon queen Antiope is captured by Theseus and brought back to At ...

'', which chronicles the story of Antiope and Theseus.

Notes

References

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

, '' The Library of History'' translated by

Charles Henry Oldfather Charles Henry Oldfather (13 June 1887 – 20 August 1954) was an American professor of history of the ancient world, specifically at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Tabriz, Persia. Parentage Oldfather's parents, Jeremiah and Fe ...

. Twelve volumes.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...

. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8
Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
* Diodorus Siculus, ''Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2''. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888-1890
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, ''Lives'' with an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 1
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
*

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
{{Greek myth index Amazons (Greek mythology) Attic mythology