Aegina (mythology)
Encyclopedia
Aegina was a figure of Greek mythology
, the nymph
of the island that bears her name, Aegina
, lying in the Saronic Gulf
between Attica
and the Peloponnesos. The archaic Temple of Aphaea
, the "Invisible Goddess", on the island was later subsumed by the cult of Athena
. Aphaia (Ἀφαῖα) may be read as an attribute of Aegina that provides an epithet
, or as a doublet of the goddess.
Though the name Aegina betokens a goat-nymph, such as was Cretan Amalthea
, she was given a mainland identity as the daughter of the river-god Asopus
and the nymph Metope
; of their twelve or twenty daughters, many were ravished by Apollo
or Zeus
. Aegina bore at least two children: Menoetius by Actor
, and Aeacus
by Zeus
, both of whom became kings.
The mortal son Menoetius was king of Opus
, and was counted among the Argonauts
. His son was Patroclus
, Achilles
' cousin through their paternal family connection to Aegina, and his intimate companion.
The son made immortal, Aeacus, was the king of Aegina
, and was known to have contributed help to Poseidon
and Apollo
in building the walls of Troy
. Through him Aegina was the great-grandmother of Achilles, who was son of Peleus
, son of Aeacus.
took the form of an eagle and abducted Aegina, taking her to an island near Attica
, then called Oenone; henceforth known by her name. Aegina's father Asopus chased after them; his search took him to Corinth
, where Sisyphus
was king. Sisyphus, having chanced to see a great bird bearing a maiden away to a nearby island, informed Asopus. Though Asopus pursued them, Zeus threw down his thunderbolts sending Asopus back to his own waters. Aegina eventually gave birth to her son Aeacus
, who became king of the island.
in jealous reprisal for Zeus's love of Aegina, the king Aeacus prayed to Zeus for the ants that were currently infesting an oak tree to morph into humans to repopulate his kingdom. Thus the myrmidons
were created.
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
, the nymph
Nymph
A nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from gods, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing;...
of the island that bears her name, Aegina
Aegina
Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.-Municipality:The municipality...
, lying in the Saronic Gulf
Saronic Gulf
The Saronic Gulf or Gulf of Aegina in Greece forms part of the Aegean Sea and defines the eastern side of the isthmus of Corinth. It is the eastern terminus of the Corinth Canal, which cuts across the isthmus.-Geography:The gulf includes the islands of; Aegina, Salamis, and Poros along with...
between Attica
Attica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
and the Peloponnesos. The archaic Temple of Aphaea
Temple of Aphaea
The Temple of Afea The Temple of Afea The Temple of Afea (the name Afea appears on all the local signs, Afea being the name of a Cretan woman of unsurpassed beauty. After escaping a unwelcome marriage on Crete, she was rescued by a fisherman from Aegina. In payment for this he also proposed an...
, the "Invisible Goddess", on the island was later subsumed by the cult of Athena
Athena
In Greek mythology, Athena, Athenê, or Athene , also referred to as Pallas Athena/Athene , is the goddess of wisdom, courage, inspiration, civilization, warfare, strength, strategy, the arts, crafts, justice, and skill. Minerva, Athena's Roman incarnation, embodies similar attributes. Athena is...
. Aphaia (Ἀφαῖα) may be read as an attribute of Aegina that provides an epithet
Epithet
An epithet or byname is a descriptive term accompanying or occurring in place of a name and having entered common usage. It has various shades of meaning when applied to seemingly real or fictitious people, divinities, objects, and binomial nomenclature. It is also a descriptive title...
, or as a doublet of the goddess.
Though the name Aegina betokens a goat-nymph, such as was Cretan Amalthea
Amalthea (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Amalthea or Amaltheia is the most-frequently mentioned foster-mother of Zeus. Her name in Greek is clearly an epithet, signifying the presence of an earlier nurturing goddess, whom the Hellenes, whose myths we know, knew to be located in Crete, where Minoans may have called...
, she was given a mainland identity as the daughter of the river-god Asopus
Asopus
Asopus or Asôpos is the name of four different rivers in Greece and one in Turkey. In Greek mythology, it was the name of the gods of those rivers.-The rivers in Greece:...
and the nymph Metope
Metope (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Metope was a river nymph, the daughter of the river Ladon. Her waters were near the town of Stymphalus in the Peloponnesus...
; of their twelve or twenty daughters, many were ravished by Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
or Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
. Aegina bore at least two children: Menoetius by Actor
Actor (mythology)
Actor is a very common name in Greek mythology. Here is a selection of characters that share this name :...
, and Aeacus
Aeacus
Aeacus was a mythological king of the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf.He was son of Zeus and Aegina, a daughter of the river-god Asopus. He was born on the island of Oenone or Oenopia, to which Aegina had been carried by Zeus to secure her from the anger of her parents, and whence this...
by Zeus
Zeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
, both of whom became kings.
The mortal son Menoetius was king of Opus
Opus, Greece
Opus , in Ancient Greece, the chief city of Opuntian or Eastern Locris. It was located on the coast of mainland Greece opposite Euboea, perhaps at modern Atalandi...
, and was counted among the Argonauts
Argonauts
The Argonauts ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology who, in the years before the Trojan War, accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, the Argo, which was named after its builder, Argus. "Argonauts", therefore, literally means...
. His son was Patroclus
Patroclus
In Greek mythology, as recorded in the Iliad by Homer, Patroclus, or Patroklos , was the son of Menoetius, grandson of Actor, King of Opus, and was Achilles' beloved comrade and brother-in-arms....
, Achilles
Achilles
In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greek hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad.Plato named Achilles the handsomest of the heroes assembled against Troy....
' cousin through their paternal family connection to Aegina, and his intimate companion.
The son made immortal, Aeacus, was the king of Aegina
Aegina
Aegina is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of Aeacus, who was born in and ruled the island. During ancient times, Aegina was a rival to Athens, the great sea power of the era.-Municipality:The municipality...
, and was known to have contributed help to Poseidon
Poseidon
Poseidon was the god of the sea, and, as "Earth-Shaker," of the earthquakes in Greek mythology. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon...
and Apollo
Apollo
Apollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
in building the walls of Troy
Troy
Troy was a city, both factual and legendary, located in northwest Anatolia in what is now Turkey, southeast of the Dardanelles and beside Mount Ida...
. Through him Aegina was the great-grandmother of Achilles, who was son of Peleus
Peleus
In Greek mythology, Pēleus was a hero whose myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BCE. Peleus was the son of Aeacus, king of the island of Aegina, and Endeïs, the oread of Mount Pelion in Thessaly; he was the father of Achilles...
, son of Aeacus.
The Abduction of Aegina
It was often said that ZeusZeus
In the ancient Greek religion, Zeus was the "Father of Gods and men" who ruled the Olympians of Mount Olympus as a father ruled the family. He was the god of sky and thunder in Greek mythology. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter and his Etruscan counterpart is Tinia.Zeus was the child of Cronus...
took the form of an eagle and abducted Aegina, taking her to an island near Attica
Attica
Attica is a historical region of Greece, containing Athens, the current capital of Greece. The historical region is centered on the Attic peninsula, which projects into the Aegean Sea...
, then called Oenone; henceforth known by her name. Aegina's father Asopus chased after them; his search took him to Corinth
Corinth
Corinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, where Sisyphus
Sisyphus
In Greek mythology Sisyphus was a king punished by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity...
was king. Sisyphus, having chanced to see a great bird bearing a maiden away to a nearby island, informed Asopus. Though Asopus pursued them, Zeus threw down his thunderbolts sending Asopus back to his own waters. Aegina eventually gave birth to her son Aeacus
Aeacus
Aeacus was a mythological king of the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf.He was son of Zeus and Aegina, a daughter of the river-god Asopus. He was born on the island of Oenone or Oenopia, to which Aegina had been carried by Zeus to secure her from the anger of her parents, and whence this...
, who became king of the island.
Myrmidons
When the city of Aegina was depopulated by a plague sent by HeraHera
Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...
in jealous reprisal for Zeus's love of Aegina, the king Aeacus prayed to Zeus for the ants that were currently infesting an oak tree to morph into humans to repopulate his kingdom. Thus the myrmidons
Myrmidons
The Myrmidons or Myrmidones were legendary people of Greek history. They were very brave and skilled warriors commanded by Achilles, as described in Homer's Iliad. Their eponymous ancestor was Myrmidon, a king of Thessalian Phthia, who was the son of Zeus and "wide-ruling" Eurymedousa, a...
were created.