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In Greek mythology, Sarpedon ( or ; grc, Σαρπηδών) was a son of Zeus, who fought on the side of Troy in the Trojan War. Although in the '' Iliad'', he was the son of Zeus and
Laodamia In Greek mythology, the name Laodamia ( Ancient Greek: Λαοδάμεια ''Laodámeia'') referred to: * Laodamia (or Hippodamia), a Lycian princess as the daughter of Bellerophon and Philonoe, daughter of King Iobates. Her mother was also known ...
, the daughter of
Bellerophon Bellerophon (; Ancient Greek: Βελλεροφῶν) or Bellerophontes (), born as Hipponous, was a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his ...
, in the later standard tradition, he was the son of Zeus and
Europa Europa may refer to: Places * Europe * Europa (Roman province), a province within the Diocese of Thrace * Europa (Seville Metro), Seville, Spain; a station on the Seville Metro * Europa City, Paris, France; a planned development * Europa Clif ...
, and the brother of Minos and Rhadamanthus, while in other accounts the Sarpedon who fought at Troy was the grandson of the Sarpedon who was the brother of Minos.


Hero cult

There was a temple of Sarpedon in Xanthos, in Lycia, perhaps associated with a supposed burial site there. There was also a temple and oracle of Apollo Sarpedonios and Artemis Sarpedonia at Seleuceia in Cilicia. According to
Tertullian Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of La ...
there was a shrine and oracle of Sarpedon in the Troad, although Tertuliian might have been confusing this for the oracle in Cilicia. There is evidence to suggest that Sarpedon was the subject of pre-Homeric non-Greek worship.


Genealogy

There were three separate traditions concerning the genealogy of Sarpedon the brother of Minos, and Sarpedon the Trojan War hero. In Homer's '' Iliad'', Zeus had two sons by Europa, Minos and Rhadamanthus. While Sarpedon, a Trojan ally from Lycia, was the son of Zeus and
Laodamia In Greek mythology, the name Laodamia ( Ancient Greek: Λαοδάμεια ''Laodámeia'') referred to: * Laodamia (or Hippodamia), a Lycian princess as the daughter of Bellerophon and Philonoe, daughter of King Iobates. Her mother was also known ...
, the daughter of
Bellerophon Bellerophon (; Ancient Greek: Βελλεροφῶν) or Bellerophontes (), born as Hipponous, was a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his ...
and the Lycian princess
Philonoe In Greek mythology, there were two women known as Philonoe ( grc, Φιλονόη) or Phylonoe (): *Philonoe, a Spartan princess as the daughter of King Tyndareus and Leda, daughter of King Thestius of Pleuron. She was the sister of Castor and P ...
, with no apparent connection to
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, Cypru ...
. However, in the standard classical tradition Sarpedon was instead the Cretan son of Zeus and Europa, and the brother of Minos. According to scholia to ''Iliad'' book 12, citing Hesiod and
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 i ...
, Europa bore Zeus three sons on
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, Cypru ...
, Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthus. A fragment of the Hesiodic ''
Catalogue of Women The ''Catalogue of Women'' ( grc, Γυναικῶν Κατάλογος, Gunaikôn Katálogos)—also known as the ''Ehoiai '' ( grc, Ἠοῖαι, Ēoîai, )The Latin transliterations ''Eoeae'' and ''Ehoeae'' are also used (e.g. , ); see Title ...
'' (preserved on a papyrus with many holes), mentions Europa's children by Zeus, and while only the name Rhadamanthus is preserved, there is sufficient room for the names Minos and Sarpedon, and the rest of the fragment appears to involve Sarpedon's exploits at Troy. A fragment of
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 Greek ...
' ''Carians'' also has Sarpedon as the third son, after Minos and Rhadamanthus, of Zeus and Europa. In the fragment, Sarpedon is off fighting at Troy, while Europa waits anxiously for word of his fate. This same genealogy appears in the Euripidean '' Rhesus''. Having a Trojan War hero also be the brother of Minos involves a genealogical difficulty, since Minos lived three generations before the Trojan War. In some accounts, Zeus granted his son Sarpedon the gift of long life. Such a gift is already suggested by the Hesiodic ''Catalogue'' fragment, and Apollodorus, perhaps drawing on the ''Catalogue'', says that Zeus allowed his (and Europa's) son Sarpedon to live for three generations. However, by other accounts, the Sarpedon who was the brother of Minos, and the Sarpedon who fought at Troy were different. Diodorus Siculus says that, according to Cretan myth, the Sarpedon who was the son of Zeus and Europa, and the brother of Minos and Rhadamanthus, had a son Euandrus who married Deïdameia, the daughter of Bellerophon, and by her was the father of the Sarpedon who fought at Troy. In
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 ...
, Sarpedon is the son of Xanthus and Laodamia, while in the ''
Clementine Recognitions Clementine literature (also called Clementina, Pseudo-Clementine Writings, Kerygmata Petrou, Clementine Romance) is the name given to the religious romance which purports to contain a record made by one Clement (whom the narrative identifies as ...
'' he is the son of Zeus and
Hippodamia Hippodamia (, ; also Hippodamea and Hippodameia; Ancient Greek: Ἱπποδάμεια "she who masters horses" derived from ''hippos'' "horse" and ''damazein'' "to tame") was a Greek mythological figure. She was the queen of Pisa as the wife ...
.


Mythology


Brother of Minos

Sarpedon and his brothers Minos and Rhadamanthus, were adopted by 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
Asterion In Greek mythology, Asterion (Greek: , gen.: , literally "starry") or Asterius () may refer to the following figures: * Asterion, one of the Potamoi. * Asterius, one of the Giants. * Asterion, an attendant of the starry-god Astraeus. * As ...
or Asterius. According to the scholia to ''Iliad'' book 12 (mentioned above) when Zeus brought Europa to Crete, he gave her as wife to Asterion, the king of Crete, while the mythographers Diodorus Siculus and
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 Europa married Asterius, who adopted her three sons Minos, Sarpedon and Rhadamanthus. When they grew up, Sarpedon and Minos fought, Minos won, and Sarpedon was forced to flee his native Crete for
Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, eventually ending up in Lycia. As Herodotus tells us, Sarpedon and Minos fought for the Cretan throne, and Minos prevailed, driving out Sarpedon and his supporters (called the Termilae), who fled to a place controlled by the Milyans (then called the Solymi), that would later be called Lycia, after Lycus, the son of Pandion II, the legendary king of Athens. However, in another version of the story reported by Apollodorus, Minos fought Sarpedon over the love of the boy Miletus (or
Atymnius In Greek mythology, Atymnius ( Ancient Greek: Ἀτύμνιος derived from ''atos'' and ''hymnos'' which means "insatiate of heroic praise") may refer to: *Atymnius, a beautiful boy, who was beloved by Sarpedon. He was the son of Cassiopeia eith ...
, the son of Zeus and Cassiopeia). Again Minos was victorious, and Sarpedon fled (along with Miletus), this time to join Europa's brother
Cilix Cilix (; Ancient Greek: Κίλιξ ''Kílix'') was, according to Greek mythology, a Phoenician prince as the son of King Agenor and Telephassa or Argiope. Etymology In her book ''Who's Who in Classical Mythology'', author Adrian Room writes a ...
, who was at war with the Lycians. Cilix won the war, and Sarpedon became king of the Lycians. According to the fourth-century BCE historian Ephorus, this Sarpedon was said to be the founder of the
Carian The Carian language is an extinct language of the Luwic subgroup of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The Carian language was spoken in Caria, a region of western Anatolia between the ancient regions of Lycia and Lydia, ...
city of Miletus (although in other accounts the boy Miletus is credited as founder). As mentioned above, in the standard tradition, this Sarpedon was a leader of a Lycian contingent which fought alongside the Trojans in the Trojan War. Although according to Diodorus Siculus, this Sarpedon instead had a son Euandrus who was the father of the Sarpedon who fought at Troy.


Trojan War

Sarpedon fought on the side of the Trojans, with his cousin Glaucus, during the Trojan War, becoming one of Troy's greatest allies and heroes. He scolded Hector in the '' Iliad'' (Book 5, lines 471–492) claiming that he left all the hard fighting to the allies of Troy and not to the Trojans themselves, and made a point of saying that the Lycians had no reason to fight the Greeks, or no real reason to hate them, but because he was a faithful ally to Troy he would do so and fight his best anyway. When the Trojans attacked the wall newly built by the Greeks, Sarpedon led his men (who also included Glaucus and
Asteropaios In the ''Iliad'', Asteropaios (; Greek: Ἀστεροπαῖος; Latin: ''Asteropaeus'') was a leader of the Trojan-allied Paeonians along with fellow warrior Pyraechmes. Family Asteropaios was the son of Pelagon, who was the son of the river ...
) to the forefront of the battle and caused
Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
and Teucer to shift their attention from Hector's attack to that of Sarpedon's forces. He personally held up the battlements and was the first to enter the Greek encampment. This attack allowed Hector to break through the Greek wall. It was during this action that Sarpedon delivered a speech about '' noblesse oblige'' to Glaucus, stating that they had been the most honoured kings, therefore they must now fight the most to repay that honour and prove themselves and repay their loyal subjects. While he was preparing to plunge into battle, he told Glaucus that together they would go on to glory: if they were successful, the glory would be their own; if not, the glory of whoever stopped them would be the greater.


Death

When Patroclus entered the battle in the armour of Achilles, Sarpedon met him in combat. Zeus debated with himself whether to spare his son's life even though he was fated to die by the hand of Patroclus. He would have done so had Hera not reminded him that other gods' sons were fighting and dying and other gods' sons were fated to die as well. If Zeus should spare his son from his fate, another god might do the same; therefore Zeus let Sarpedon die while fighting Patroclus, but not before Sarpedon killed the only mortal horse of Achilles. During their fight, Zeus sent a shower of bloody raindrops over the Trojans' heads expressing the grief for the impending death of his son. When Sarpedon fell, mortally wounded, he called on Glaucus to rescue his body and arms. Patroclus withdrew the spear he had embedded in Sarpedon, and as it left Sarpedon's body his spirit went with it. A violent struggle ensued over the body of the fallen king. The Greeks succeeded in gaining his armour (which was later given as a prize in the funeral games for Patroclus), but Zeus had Phoebus Apollo rescue the corpse. Apollo took the corpse and cleaned it, then delivered it to Sleep (
Hypnos In Greek mythology, Hypnos (; Ancient Greek: means 'sleep') also spelled Hypnus is the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent is known as Somnus. His name is the origin of the word hypnosis. Pausanias wrote that Hypnos was a dearest ...
) and Death (
Thanatos In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; grc, Θάνατος, pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appe ...
), who took it back to Lycia for funeral honours.16. 667-684; see also Virgil, ''
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the ...
'', 1. 100
(See: '' Iliad'' books: II, IV, XII, XVI).


Namesake

* An
asteroid An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere. ...
is named after the Trojan hero,
2223 Sarpedon 2223 Sarpedon is a dark Jupiter trojan from the Trojan camp, approximately in diameter. It was discovered on 4 October 1977, by astronomers at the Purple Mountain Observatory near Nanking, China. The D-type asteroid belongs to the 30 largest ...
.


References


Bibliography

*
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
*
Appian Appian of Alexandria (; grc-gre, Ἀππιανὸς Ἀλεξανδρεύς ''Appianòs Alexandreús''; la, Appianus Alexandrinus; ) was a Greek historian with Roman citizenship who flourished during the reigns of Emperors of Rome Trajan, Hadr ...
, ''The Civil Wars'', Horace White. London. MACMILLAN AND CO., LTD. 1899
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* ''
Clementine Recognitions Clementine literature (also called Clementina, Pseudo-Clementine Writings, Kerygmata Petrou, Clementine Romance) is the name given to the religious romance which purports to contain a record made by one Clement (whom the narrative identifies as ...
'', translated by Thomas Smith, in ''Ante-Nicene Christian Library: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325''. Editied by Alexander Roberts, and James Donaldson, Vol III. Tatian, Theophilus, and The Clementine Recognitions. T. and T, Clark, Edinburgh 1867
Online version at Wikisource
*
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
PDF
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Online version at Harvard University Press
* 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
* Euripides, ''Bacchae. Iphigenia. at Aulis. Rhesus.'' Edited and translated by David Kovacs. Loeb Classical Library No. 495. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2003.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Euripides, ''Euripidis Fabulae.'' ''vol. 3''. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * * Herodotus, ''Histories'',
A. D. Godley Alfred Denis Godley (22 January 1856 – 27 June 1925) was an Anglo-Irish classical scholar and author of humorous poems. From 1910 to 1920 he was Public Orator at the University of Oxford, a post that involved composing citations in Latin for ...
(translator), Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1920;
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Homer, ''The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 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
* * 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
* Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996. . *
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 ...
, ''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
* Renberg, Gil, ''Where Dreams May Come: Incubation Sanctuaries in the Greco-Roman World'', BRILL, 2017. . * Rose, Herbert Jennings, "Sarpedon" in ''
The Oxford Classical Dictionary The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...
'', second edition, Hammond, N.G.L. and
Howard Hayes Scullard Howard Hayes Scullard (9 February 1903 – 31 March 1983) was a British historian specialising in ancient history, notable for editing the ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' and for his many published works. Scullard's father was Herbert Hayes S ...
(editors), Oxford University Press, 1992. . * Sommerstein, Alan H., ''Aeschylus: Fragments.'' Edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein. Loeb Classical Library No. 505. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2009.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Strabo, ''Geography'', translated by Horace Leonard Jones; Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. (1924)
LacusCurtisOnline version at the Perseus Digital Library, Books 6–14
* Unwin, Naomi Carless, ''Caria and Crete in Antiquity'', Cambridge University Press, 2017. .


Further reading

* Marie Delcourt, "The legend of Sarpedon and the Saga of the Archer". ''History of Religion''. 2 (1962:33-51)


External links

* {{Authority control Children of Zeus Agenorides Princes in Greek mythology Kings in Greek mythology People of the Trojan War Lycians Characters in Greek mythology LGBT themes in Greek mythology Fictional LGBT characters in literature Lycia