In
Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of
Mycenaean (pre-
Dorian)
Sparta. According to 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 ''Ody ...
'', Menelaus was a central figure in the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans ( Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...
, leading the Spartan contingent of the Greek army, under his elder brother
Agamemnon, king of
Mycenae. Prominent in both the ''Iliad'' and ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) 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 '' Iliad'', ...
'', Menelaus was also popular in Greek vase painting and
Greek tragedy
Greek tragedy is a form of theatre from Ancient Greece and Greek inhabited Anatolia. It reached its most significant form in Athens in the 5th century BC, the works of which are sometimes called Attic tragedy.
Greek tragedy is widely believed t ...
, the latter more as a hero of the Trojan War than as a member of the doomed House of
Atreus.
Description
In the account of
Dares the Phrygian, Menelaus was described as ". . .of moderate stature, auburn-haired, and handsome. He had a pleasing personality."
Family
Menelaus was a descendant of
Pelops son of
Tantalus. He was the younger brother of
Agamemnon, and the husband of
Helen of Troy. According to the usual version of the story, followed by 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 ''Ody ...
'' and ''
Odyssey
The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) 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 '' Iliad'', ...
'' of
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 ...
, Agamemnon and Menelaus were the sons of
Atreus, king of
Mycenae and
Aerope daughter of the
Cretan
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
king
Catreus
In Greek mythology, Catreus or Katreus (, ; grc, ) was the eldest son of Minos and Pasiphaë, and Minos' successor as king of Crete. Catreus had one son, Althaemenes, and three daughters, Apemosyne, Aerope and Clymene. Catreus was mistakenly ...
. However, according to another tradition, Agamemnon and Menelaus were the sons of Atreus' son
Pleisthenes, with their mother being Aerope,
Cleolla, or Eriphyle. According to this tradition Pleisthenes died young, with Agamemnon and Menelaus being raised by Atreus. Agamemnon and Menelaus had a sister
Anaxibia (or
Astyoche) who married
Strophius, the son of
Crisus In Greek mythology, Crisus or Crissus (Ancient Greek: ''Κρῖσος'') was a son of Phocus and twin brother of Panopeus. With Antiphateia, daughter of Naubolus, he became father of Strophius; thus he was the grandfather of Pylades. He is als ...
.
According to the ''Odyssey'', Menelaus had only one child by Helen, a daughter
Hermione, and an illegitimate son
Megapenthes
In Greek mythology, Megapenthes (; Ancient Greek: Μεγαπένθης ''Megapénthēs'' means "great sorrow") is a name that refers to two characters:
* Megapenthes, a son of Proetus.
* Megapenthes, a son of Menelaus.Pausanias, 3.19.9
Notes
...
by a slave. Other sources mention other sons of Menelaus by either Helen, or slaves. A scholiast on
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
' ''
Electra'' quotes
Hesiod
Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...
as saying that after Hermione, Helen also bore Menelaus a son
Nicostratus, while according to a ''
Cypria'' fragment, Menelaus and Helen had a son
Pleisthenes. The mythographer
Apollodorus
Apollodorus (Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to:
:''Note: A f ...
, tells us that Megapenthes' mother was a slave "
Pieris, an Aetolian, or, according to
Acusilaus, ...
Tereis In Greek mythology, Tereis was one of the names given for the slave who was the mother, by Menelaus, of Megapenthes. According to R. L. Fowler, the name Tereis occurs nowhere else, may be associated with Thrace, and is possibly corrupt.
Sources
Hom ...
", and that Menelaus had another illegitimate son Xenodamas by another slave girl Cnossia, while according to the geographer
Pausanias, Megapenthes ''and'' Nicostratus were sons of Menelaus by a slave. The scholiast on ''Iliad'' 3.175 mentions Nicostratus and Aethiolas as two sons of Helen (by Menelaus?) worshipped by the
Lacedaemonians and another son of Helen by Menelaus, Maraphius, from whom descended the Persian Maraphions.
Mythology
Ascension and reign
Although early authors, such as
Aeschylus
Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Gree ...
refer in passing to Menelaus' early life, detailed sources are quite late, post-dating 5th-century BC Greek
tragedy
Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...
. According to these sources, Menelaus' father,
Atreus, had been feuding with his brother
Thyestes over the throne of
Mycenae. After a back-and-forth struggle that featured
adultery
Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...
,
incest
Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity ( marriage or stepfamily), ado ...
, and
cannibalism, Thyestes gained the throne after his son
Aegisthus murdered
Atreus. As a result, Atreus' sons, Menelaus and
Agamemnon, went into exile. They first stayed with King
Polypheides In Greek mythology, the name Polypheides or Polyphides (; Ancient Greek: Πολυφείδης) may refer to:
*Polypheides, son of Mantius and brother of Cleitus. He was granted prophetic skills by Apollo and became the best seer among mortals aft ...
of
Sicyon, and later with King
Oeneus of
Calydon
Calydon (; grc, Καλυδών, ) was a Greek city in ancient Aetolia, situated on the west bank of the river Evenus, 7.5 Roman miles (approx. 11 km) from the sea.
Its name is most famous today for the Calydonian boar that had to be o ...
. But when they thought the time was ripe to dethrone Mycenae's hostile ruler, they returned. Assisted by King
Tyndareus of
Sparta, they drove Thyestes away, and Agamemnon took the
throne
A throne is the seat of state of a potentate or dignitary, especially the seat occupied by a sovereign on state occasions; or the seat occupied by a pope or bishop on ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the mon ...
for himself.
When it was time for
Tyndareus' stepdaughter
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
to marry,
many kings and princes came to seek her hand. Among the contenders were
Odysseus,
Menestheus,
Ajax the Great,
Patroclus, and
Idomeneus. Most offered opulent gifts. Tyndareus would accept none of the gifts, nor would he send any of the suitors away for fear of offending them and giving grounds for a quarrel. Odysseus promised to solve the problem in a satisfactory manner if Tyndareus would support him in his courting of Tyndareus's niece
Penelope, the daughter of
Icarius In Greek mythology, there were two people named Icarius (; grc, Ἰκάριος ''Ikários'').
* Icarius, a Spartan prince, son of Perieres.
* Icarius, an Athenian who received Dionysus.Apollodorus, 3.14.7
See also
*Icarus
In Greek mytholog ...
. Tyndareus readily agreed, and Odysseus proposed that, before the decision was made, all the suitors should swear a most solemn oath to defend the chosen husband in any quarrel. Then it was decreed that straws were to be drawn for Helen's hand. The suitor who won was Menelaus (Tyndareus, not to displease the mighty Agamemnon offered him another of his daughters,
Clytaemnestra). The rest of the suitors swore their oaths, and Helen and Menelaus were married, Menelaus becoming a ruler of Sparta with Helen after Tyndareus and
Leda abdicated the thrones.
Their supposed palace (ἀνάκτορον) has been discovered (the excavations started in 1926 and continued until 1995) in
Pellana
Pellana (; Greek: ἡ Πέλλανα, Paus. iii. 20. § 2; τὰ Πέλλανα, Strabo viii. p. 386; Πελλήνη, Xen. ''Hell.'' vii. 5. § 9; Polyb. iv. 81, xvi. 37; Plut. ''Agis'', 8), was a city of ancient Lacedaemonia, on the ...
,
Laconia, to the north-west of modern (and classical) Sparta. Other archaeologists consider that
Pellana
Pellana (; Greek: ἡ Πέλλανα, Paus. iii. 20. § 2; τὰ Πέλλανα, Strabo viii. p. 386; Πελλήνη, Xen. ''Hell.'' vii. 5. § 9; Polyb. iv. 81, xvi. 37; Plut. ''Agis'', 8), was a city of ancient Lacedaemonia, on the ...
is too far away from other Mycenaean centres to have been the "capital of Menelaus".
Trojan War
According to legend, in return for awarding her a golden apple inscribed "to the fairest,"
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 incl ...
promised
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
the most beautiful woman in all the world. After concluding a diplomatic mission to Sparta during the latter part of which Menelaus was absent to attend the funeral of his maternal grandfather
Catreus
In Greek mythology, Catreus or Katreus (, ; grc, ) was the eldest son of Minos and Pasiphaë, and Minos' successor as king of Crete. Catreus had one son, Althaemenes, and three daughters, Apemosyne, Aerope and Clymene. Catreus was mistakenly ...
in
Crete
Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...
, Paris ran off to Troy with Helen despite his brother
Hector's prohibition. Invoking the oath of
Tyndareus, Menelaus and
Agamemnon raised a fleet of a thousand ships and went to Troy to secure Helen's return; the Trojans refused, providing a ''
casus belli'' for the
Trojan War
In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans ( Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and ...
.
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 ...
's ''
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 ''Ody ...
'' is the most comprehensive source for Menelaus's exploits during the Trojan War. In Book 3, Menelaus challenges Paris to a duel for Helen's return. Menelaus soundly beats Paris, but before he can kill him and claim victory, Aphrodite spirits Paris away inside the walls of Troy. In Book 4, while the Greeks and Trojans squabble over the duel's winner,
Athena
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of v ...
inspires the Trojan
Pandarus to shoot Menelaus with his bow and arrow. However, Athena never intended for Menelaus to die and she protects him from the arrow of Pandarus. Menelaus is wounded in the abdomen, and the fighting resumes. Later, in Book 17, Homer gives Menelaus an extended ''
aristeia'' as the hero retrieves the corpse of Patroclus from the battlefield.
According to
Hyginus, Menelaus killed eight men in the war, and was one of the Greeks hidden inside the
Trojan Horse. During the sack of Troy, Menelaus killed
Deiphobus, who had married Helen after the death of Paris.
There are four versions of Menelaus' and Helen's reunion on the night of the sack of Troy:
*Menelaus sought out Helen in the conquered city. Raging at her infidelity, he raised his sword to kill her, but as he saw her weeping at his feet, begging for her life, Menelaus' wrath instantly left him. He took pity on her and decided to take her back as his wife.
*Menelaus resolved to kill Helen, but her irresistible beauty prompted him to drop his sword and take her back to his ship "to punish her at Sparta", as he claimed.
*According to the ''
Bibliotheca'', Menelaus raised his sword in front of the
temple in the central square of Troy to kill her, but his wrath went away when he saw her rending her clothes in anguish, revealing her naked breasts.
*A similar version by
Stesichorus in "Ilion's Conquest" narrated that Menelaus surrendered her to his soldiers to stone her to death, but when she ripped the front of her robes, the Achaean warriors were stunned by her beauty and the stones fell harmlessly from their hands as they stared at her.
After the war
Book 4 of the ''Odyssey'' provides an account of Menelaus' return from Troy and his homelife in Sparta. When visited by Odysseus' son
Telemachus, Menelaus recounts his voyage home. As happened to many Greeks, Menelaus' homebound fleet was blown by storms to Crete and Egypt where they were becalmed, unable to sail away. They trapped
Proteus
In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...
and forced him to reveal how to make the voyage home. Once back in Sparta, he and Helen are shown to be reconciled and have a harmonious married life—he holding no grudge at her having run away with a lover and she feeling no restraint in telling anecdotes of her life inside besieged Troy. Menelaus does seem to be pained that he and Helen have no male heir, and is shown to be fond of
Megapenthes
In Greek mythology, Megapenthes (; Ancient Greek: Μεγαπένθης ''Megapénthēs'' means "great sorrow") is a name that refers to two characters:
* Megapenthes, a son of Proetus.
* Megapenthes, a son of Menelaus.Pausanias, 3.19.9
Notes
...
and
Nicostratus, his sons by slave women. According to Euripides' ''
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
'', Menelaus is reunited with Helen after death, on the
Isle of the Blessed.
In vase painting
Menelaus appears in Greek vase painting in the 6th to 4th centuries BC, such as: Menelaus's reception of Paris at Sparta; his retrieval of Patroclus's corpse; and his reunion with Helen.
[Woodford 1993.]
In Greek tragedy
Menelaus appears as a character in a number of 5th-century Greek tragedies:
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
' ''
Ajax'', and
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
' ''
Andromache'', ''
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
'', ''
Orestes'', ''
Iphigenia at Aulis'', and ''
The Trojan Women''.
See also
*
1647 Menelaus, Jovian asteroid
*
USS ''Menelaus'' (ARL-13)
*
Menelaus (lunar crater)
Notes
References
*
Apollodorus
Apollodorus (Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to:
:''Note: A f ...
, ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Collard, Christopher and Martin Cropp (2008a), ''Euripides Fragments: Aegeus–Meleanger'',
Loeb Classical Library No. 504, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Harvard University Press, 2008.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Collard, Christopher and Martin Cropp (2008b), ''Euripides Fragments: Oedipus-Chrysippus: Other Fragments'',
Loeb Classical Library No. 506, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Harvard University Press, 2008.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*
Dictys Cretensis
Dictys Cretensis, i.e. Dictys of Crete (, ; grc, Δίκτυς ὁ Κρής) of Knossos was a legendary companion of Idomeneus during the Trojan War, and the purported author of a diary of its events, that deployed some of the same materials wor ...
, ''The Trojan War. The Chronicles of Dictys of Crete and Dares the Phrygian'', translated by R. M. Frazer (Jr.). Indiana University Press. 1966.
*
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
, ''
Andromache'' in ''Euripides: Children of Heracles. Hippolytus. Andromache. Hecuba'', edited and translated by David Kovacs,
Loeb Classical Library No. 484. Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Harvard University Press, 1995.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
, ''
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
'', translated by E. P. Coleridge in ''The Complete Greek Drama'', edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. Volume 2. New York. Random House. 1938
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
, ''
Iphigenia in Tauris
''Iphigenia in Tauris'' ( grc, Ἰφιγένεια ἐν Ταύροις, ''Iphigeneia en Taurois'') is a drama by the playwright Euripides, written between 414 BC and 412 BC. It has much in common with another of Euripides's plays, '' Helen'', as ...
'', translated by Robert Potter in ''The Complete Greek Drama'', edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. Volume 2. New York. Random House. 1938
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*
Euripides
Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...
, ''
Orestes'', translated by E. P. Coleridge in ''The Complete Greek Drama'', edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. Volume 1. New York. Random House. 1938
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Fowler, R. L., ''Early Greek Mythography: Volume 2: Commentary'', Oxford University Press, 2013. .
*
Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2).
* Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996. .
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004,
Google Books
*
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 ...
, ''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
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 ...
, ''The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, MA.,
Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*
Hyginus, Gaius Julius, ''
Fabulae'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960
Online version at ToposText
*
Most, G.W., ''Hesiod: The Shield, Catalogue of Women, Other Fragments'',
Loeb Classical Library, No. 503, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Harvard University Press, 2007, 2018.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Parada, Carlos, ''Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology'', Jonsered, Paul Åströms Förlag, 1993. .
*
Pausanias, ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*
Tzetzes, John, ''Allegories of the Iliad'' translated by Goldwyn, Adam J. and Kokkini, Dimitra. Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library, Harvard University Press, 2015.
*
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
, ''The Ajax of Sophocles. Edited with introduction and notes by Sir Richard Jebb'',
Sir Richard Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 189
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*
Sophocles
Sophocles (; grc, Σοφοκλῆς, , Sophoklễs; 497/6 – winter 406/5 BC)Sommerstein (2002), p. 41. is one of three ancient Greek tragedians, at least one of whose plays has survived in full. His first plays were written later than, or c ...
, ''
Electra'' in ''Sophocles. Ajax. Electra. Oedipus Tyrannus'', Edited and translated by
Hugh Lloyd-Jones,
Loeb Classical Library No. 20, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Harvard University Press, 1994.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*
West, M. L., ''Greek Epic Fragments: From the Seventh to the Fifth Centuries BC'', edited and translated by Martin L. West,
Loeb Classical Library No. 497, Cambridge, Massachusetts,
Harvard University Press, 2003.
Online version at Harvard University Press
External links
*
{{Authority control
Achaean Leaders
Greek mythological heroes
Mythological kings of Sparta
Kings in Greek mythology
Characters in the Odyssey
Characters in Greek mythology
Laconian mythology