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 ...

, Myrmidon ( or ; grc, Μυρμιδόνος) was the

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous ancestor of the

Myrmidons In Greek mythology, the Myrmidons (or Myrmidones; el, Μυρμιδόνες) were an ancient Thessalian Greek tribe. In Homer's ''Iliad'', the Myrmidons are the soldiers commanded by Achilles. Their eponymous ancestor was Myrmidon, a king of ...

in one version of the myth.

Family

Myrmidon was the son of

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

and Eurymedusa, daughter of

Cleitor Cleitor or Kleitor ( grc, Κλείτωρ or Κλήτωρ), also known as Clitorium, was a town in ancient Arcadia. Situation It possessed a small territory called Cleitoria or Kleitoria (Κλειτορία), bounded on the east by the territory of ...

(Cletor) or of the river god

Achelous In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Achelous (also Acheloos or Acheloios) (; Ancient Greek: Ἀχελώϊος, and later , ''Akhelôios'') was the god associated with the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece. According to Hesiod, he ...

. He married

Peisidice In Greek mythology, Pisidice (, grc, Πεισιδίκη, ''Peisidíkē'') or Peisidice, was one of the following individuals: * Pisidice, a Ancient Thessaly, Thessalian princess as the daughter of King Aeolus (son of Hellen), Aeolus of Aeolia and ...

, daughter of

Aeolus In Greek mythology, Aeolus or Aiolos (; grc, Αἴολος , ) is a name shared by three mythical characters. These three personages are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which A ...

and

Enarete In Greek mythology, Enarete (, Ancient Greek: "virtuous" literally "in virtue", from ''en'' "in" and ''arete'' "virtue") or Aenarete ( ''Ainarete''), was a queen of Aeolia (i.e. Thessaly) and ancestor of the Aeolians. Biography Enarete was t ...

, and by her became the father of

Antiphus In Greek mythology, Antiphus or Ántiphos ( /ˈæntəfəs/; Ancient Greek: Ἄντιφος) is a name attributed to multiple individuals: *Antiphus, a Phthian prince as the son of King Myrmidon and Peisidice, and brother of Actor. He may be the ...

and

Actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. Also given as his sons were Erysichthon and

Dioplethes In Greek mythology, Dioplethes was a Phthian prince as son of King Myrmidon and possibly Peisidice (daughter of Aeolus), thus brother to Antiphus, Actor, Erysichthon, Eupolemeia and Hiscilla. In some accounts, he was the father of Perieres, Kin ...

, father of

Perieres In Greek mythology, Perieres ( grc, Περιήρης) may refer to these two distinct individuals. * Perieres, king of Messenia and son of Aeolus. * Perieres, Theban charioteer of Menoeceus (father of Creon). He was the one who wounded Clymenus, ...

, although Erysichthon and Perieres have been ascribed with different parentage. Also, Myrmidon had two daughters: Eupolemeia (mother of the

Argonaut The Argonauts (; Ancient Greek: ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', n ...

Aethalides In Greek mythology, Aethalides (; Ancient Greek: Αἰθαλίδης) was a son of Hermes and Eupolemeia, a daughter of King Myrmidon of Phthia. Mythology Aethalides was the herald of the Argonauts, and had received from his father the facu ...

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 ...

) and

Hiscilla In Greek mythology, Hiscilla (Ἴσχυλλα, ''Ischylla'') was a Phthian princess as daughter of King Myrmidon and possibly Peisidice (daughter of Aeolus), thus sister of Antiphus, Actor, Dioplethes, Eupolemeia and probably Erysichthon who w ...

(mother of

Phorbas In Greek mythology, Phorbas (; Ancient Greek: Φόρβας ''Phórbās'', gen. Φόρβαντος ''Phórbantos'' means "giving pasture"), or Phorbaceus , may refer to: *Phorbas of Elis, son of Lapithes and Orsinome, and a brother of Periphas. ...

Triopas In Greek mythology, Triopas () or Triops (; grc, Τρίωψ, gen.: Τρίοπος) was the name of several characters whose relations are unclear. * Triopas, king of Argos and son of Phorbas. His daughter was Messene. * Triopas, king of Thessa ...

Mythology

Zeus was said to have approached Eurymedusa in the form of an ant (Greek μύρμηξ ''myrmēx''), which was where her son's name came from; others say that Myrmex was the name of Eurymedusa's mortal husband, and that it was his shape that Zeus assumed to approach her.Scholia on Clement of Alexandria, ''Protrepticus'
1, p. 426
/ref>

Notes

References

Primary sources

Apollonius Rhodius Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...

, ''Argonautica'' translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853–1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*

, ''Argonautica''. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Athenaeus of Naucratis Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

, ''The Deipnosophists or Banquet of the Learned.'' London. Henry G. Bohn, York Street, Covent Garden. 1854
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*Athenaeus of Naucratis, ''Deipnosophistae''. Kaibel. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Lipsiae. 1887
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Claudius Aelianus Claudius Aelianus ( grc, Κλαύδιος Αἰλιανός, Greek transliteration ''Kláudios Ailianós''; c. 175c. 235 AD), commonly Aelian (), born at Praeneste, was a Roman author and teacher of rhetoric who flourished under Septimius Severus ...

, ''Varia Historia'' translated by Thomas Stanley (d.1700) edition of 1665
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*Claudius Aelianus, ''Claudii Aeliani de natura animalium libri xvii, varia historia, epistolae, fragmenta, Vol 2''. Rudolf Hercher. In Aedibus B.G. Teubneri. Lipsiae. 1866
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

Clement of Alexandria Titus Flavius Clemens, also known as Clement of Alexandria ( grc , Κλήμης ὁ Ἀλεξανδρεύς; – ), was a Christian theologian and philosopher who taught at the Catechetical School of Alexandria. Among his pupils were Origen and ...

, ''Recognitions'' from Ante-Nicene Library Volume 8'','' translated by Smith, Rev. Thomas. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. 1867
Online version at theio.com
*

Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammatic ...

, ''Astronomica from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*

, ''Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus'' translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*

Pseudo-Apollodorus The ''Bibliotheca'' (Ancient Greek: grc, Βιβλιοθήκη, lit=Library, translit=Bibliothēkē, label=none), also known as the ''Bibliotheca'' of Pseudo-Apollodorus, is a compendium of Greek myths and heroic legends, arranged in three book ...

, ''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

Secondary sources

*'' Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', Band XVI, Halbband 31, Molatzes-Myssi (1933), s. 1107 (German) Myrmidons Children of Zeus Demigods in classical mythology Thessalian characters in Greek mythology Thessalian mythology