Damon and Pythias
Encyclopedia
In Greek mythology
, the legend of Damon and Pythias (or Phintias) symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship.
, and after him Cicero
(De Offic. 3.45), Diodorus Siculus (10.4), and others, around the 4th century BC, Pythias and his friend Damon, both followers of the philosopher Pythagoras
, traveled to Syracuse
. Pythias was accused of plotting against the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius I
. As punishment for this crime, Pythias was sentenced to death.
Accepting his sentence, Pythias asked to be allowed to return home one last time, to settle his affairs and bid his family farewell. Not wanting to be taken for a fool, Dionysius refused, believing that once released, Pythias would flee and never return.
Pythias called for Damon and asked him to take his spot while he went. Dionysius agreed, on the condition that, should Pythias not return when promised, Damon would be put to death in his place. Damon agreed, and Pythias was released.
Dionysius was convinced that Pythias would never return, and as the day Pythias promised to return came and went, Dionysius prepared to execute Damon. But just as the executioner was about to kill Damon, Pythias returned.
Apologizing to his friend for his delay, Pythias told of how pirates had captured his ship on the passage back to Syracuse and thrown him overboard. Dionysius listened to Pythias as he described how he swam to shore and made his way back to Syracuse as quickly as possible, arriving just in the nick of time to save his friend.
Dionysius was so taken with the friends' trust and loyalty, that he freed both Damon and Pythias, and kept them on as counsel to his court.
's short story
, "The Two Friends from Bourbonne" (1770), begins "There used to be two men here who might be called the Damon and Pythias of Bourbonne." Bummer and Lazarus
at Bummer's death (1865) were eulogized as "the Damon and Pythias of San Francisco".
In Robert Louis Stevenson
's novella
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Henry Jekyll's two oldest friends, Dr. Lanyon and Mr. Utterson (a lawyer), have the following exchange while discussing Dr. Jekyll's apparent self-imposed isolation:
The use of the Damon-and-Pythias idiom would seem to indicate that, whether the difference was on a point of science or something else, it was not "only" some trivial difference.
Much gay interest has been ascribed to the ancient couple. The 1889 novel 'A Marriage Below Zero' by Alfred J.Cohen (pen name: Alan Dale) has the young male couple continually referring to themselves as Damon and Pythias. Soon the upscale social world that they try pass in begins to refer to them with the same term, but as derogatory codeword for 'gay couple.'
Reference to this myth is also seen within Shakespeare
's Hamlet
, where the eponymous character addresses his close friend Horatio as "O Damon dear".
The myth is ironically referenced in the sketch "Making a Night of It", in Sketches by Boz
by Charles Dickens
, a parallel being made to two young clerks who are arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct.
A reference to this myth is also seen in the story A Bell for Adano
, where Captain Purvis's and Mayor Joppolo's friendship is compared to the friendship of Damon and Pythias because they dated sisters.
In 1895 Jack London used Damon and Pythias as the nicknames of the two main characters in "Who Believes in Ghosts!" .
In 1997 the TV series "Highlander" starring Adrian Paul in an episode entitled "A Modern Prometheus", a character portraying Lord Byron references the dynamic duo of Damon and Pythias before he jumps with another man to their "death."
In the 1940 movie "The Philadelphia Story," Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) remarks ironically that C. K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant
) and George Kittredge (John Howard) are just like Damon and Pythias.
In the 1950 Bowery Boys movie "Blonde Dynamite" The boys establish a male escort service out of their foil Louie's ice cream parlor while they have conveniently sent him to Coney Island on vacation, Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) tells the other boys to "Let Damon and Pythias fight it out!" referring to Sach and Whitey (Huntz Hall and Billy Benedict) as to which of the two will be included in a group date with a bevy of femmes fatale.
In the 1971 PG Wodehouse novel Much Obliged, Jeeves
, Bertie Wooster
tells his Aunt Dahlia that at Oxford his friendship with Ginger Winship was comparable to that of Damon and Pythias.
In Episode 8, Season 1 of "Peter Gunn
," a character describes his friendship for the murder victim by saying that people referred to them as "Damon and what's-his-name."
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 legend of Damon and Pythias (or Phintias) symbolizes trust and loyalty in a true friendship.
Greek legend
As told by AristoxenusAristoxenus
Aristoxenus of Tarentum was a Greek Peripatetic philosopher, and a pupil of Aristotle. Most of his writings, which dealt with philosophy, ethics and music, have been lost, but one musical treatise, Elements of Harmony, survives incomplete, as well as some fragments concerning rhythm and...
, and after him Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
(De Offic. 3.45), Diodorus Siculus (10.4), and others, around the 4th century BC, Pythias and his friend Damon, both followers of the philosopher Pythagoras
Pythagoras
Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...
, traveled to Syracuse
Syracuse, Italy
Syracuse is a historic city in Sicily, the capital of the province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in...
. Pythias was accused of plotting against the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius I
Dionysius I of Syracuse
Dionysius I or Dionysius the Elder was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse, in what is now Sicily, southern Italy. He conquered several cities in Sicily and southern Italy, opposed Carthage's influence in Sicily and made Syracuse the most powerful of the Western Greek colonies...
. As punishment for this crime, Pythias was sentenced to death.
Accepting his sentence, Pythias asked to be allowed to return home one last time, to settle his affairs and bid his family farewell. Not wanting to be taken for a fool, Dionysius refused, believing that once released, Pythias would flee and never return.
Pythias called for Damon and asked him to take his spot while he went. Dionysius agreed, on the condition that, should Pythias not return when promised, Damon would be put to death in his place. Damon agreed, and Pythias was released.
Dionysius was convinced that Pythias would never return, and as the day Pythias promised to return came and went, Dionysius prepared to execute Damon. But just as the executioner was about to kill Damon, Pythias returned.
Apologizing to his friend for his delay, Pythias told of how pirates had captured his ship on the passage back to Syracuse and thrown him overboard. Dionysius listened to Pythias as he described how he swam to shore and made his way back to Syracuse as quickly as possible, arriving just in the nick of time to save his friend.
Dionysius was so taken with the friends' trust and loyalty, that he freed both Damon and Pythias, and kept them on as counsel to his court.
Works based on the legend
- In 1564, the material was made into a tragicomicTragicomedyTragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
play by the English poet Richard Edwards (Damon and Pythias).
- The best-known modern treatment of the legend is the GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
ballad Die Bürgschaft, written in 1799 by Friedrich SchillerFriedrich SchillerJohann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
, based on the Gesta RomanorumGesta RomanorumGesta Romanorum, a Latin collection of anecdotes and tales, was probably compiled about the end of the 13th century or the beginning of the 14th...
version. (In this work, Damon is sentenced to death, not Pythias.)
- In Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Mr. Utterson is a direct reflection on Damon and Pythias with his loyalty to friends, family, and daily routine.
- In JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, the short story "Run, Melos!Run, Melos!is a Japanese short story by Osamu Dazai. Published in 1940, "Run, Melos!" is a widely read classic in Japanese schools.The story is a reworking of Friedrich Schiller's ballad Die Bürgschaft, which tells the story of Moerus and Selinuntius , originally Damon and Pythias...
" by Osamu DazaiOsamu Dazaiwas a Japanese author who is considered one of the foremost fiction writers of 20th-century Japan.-Biography:-Early life:Dazai was born , the eighth surviving child of a wealthy landowner in Kanagi, a remote corner of Japan at the northern tip of Tōhoku in Aomori Prefecture...
and a nursery tale by Miekichi Suzuki were based on the legend, and in 1992 Toei Company, Ltd. adapted it into an animeAnimeis the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
.
- In 1821, the Irish poet John BanimJohn BanimJohn Banim , was an Irish novelist, short story writer, dramatist, poet and essayist, sometimes called the "Scott of Ireland." He also studied art, working as a painter of minatures and portraits, and as a drawing teacher, before dedicating himself to literature.-Early life:John Banim was born in...
wrote a play based on the legend (Damon and Pythias). Familiarity with this play led Justus H. RathboneJustus H. RathboneJustus Henry Rathbone was the founder of the international fraternal order of the Knights of Pythias. He graduated from Colgate University and attended Carlisle Seminary. He was a music composer and actor. In 1863 he moved to Washington D.C...
to found the fraternal order Knights of PythiasKnights of PythiasThe Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded at Washington, DC, on 19 February 1864.The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone, who had been...
.
- The film The Delicate DelinquentThe Delicate DelinquentThe Delicate Delinquent is a 1957 American black-and-white film starring Jerry Lewis. It was filmed in 1956 and released on June 6, 1957 by Paramount Pictures and is notable as the first film that Lewis made without his longtime partner Dean Martin....
(1957) featured characters "Mike Damon" (Darren McGavinDarren McGavinDarren McGavin was an American actor best known for playing the title role in the television horror series Kolchak: The Night Stalker and his portrayal in the film A Christmas Story of the grumpy father given to bursts of profanity that he never realizes his son overhears...
, but imagined for Dean MartinDean MartinDean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
) and "Sidney Pythias" (Jerry LewisJerry LewisJerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
). As released, the film only vaguely resembled the legend - Pythias avoids jail - but it originated as a testament to the Martin & Lewis friendship.
- The 1962 MGM film Damon and PythiasDamon and Pythias (film)Damon and Pythias is a 1962 Italian / American film directed by Curtis Bernhardt. The film is based on the Greek legend, and set during the reign of Dionysius I of Syracuse .-Cast:...
remained true to the ancient story; it starred Guy Williams as Damon, and Don Burnett as Pythias.
Idiomatic use
"Damon and Pythias" came to be an idiomatic expression for "true friendship". Thus, Denis DiderotDenis Diderot
Denis Diderot was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer. He was a prominent person during the Enlightenment and is best known for serving as co-founder and chief editor of and contributor to the Encyclopédie....
's short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, "The Two Friends from Bourbonne" (1770), begins "There used to be two men here who might be called the Damon and Pythias of Bourbonne." Bummer and Lazarus
Bummer and Lazarus
Bummer and Lazarus were two stray dogs that roamed the streets of San Francisco, California, USA, in the early 1860s. Recognized for their unique bond and their prodigious rat-killing ability, they became a fixture of city newspapers, were exempted from local ordinances and immortalized in...
at Bummer's death (1865) were eulogized as "the Damon and Pythias of San Francisco".
In Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
's novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Henry Jekyll's two oldest friends, Dr. Lanyon and Mr. Utterson (a lawyer), have the following exchange while discussing Dr. Jekyll's apparent self-imposed isolation:
...said Utterson. “I thought you had a common bond of interest.”
“We had,” was the reply. “But it is more than ten years since Henry Jekyll became too fanciful for me. He began to go wrong, wrong in the mind… Such unscientific balderdash,” said the doctor, flushing suddenly purple, “would have estranged Damon and Pythias.”
This little spirit of temper was somewhat of a relief to Mr. Utterson. “They have only differed on some point of science,” he thought…
The use of the Damon-and-Pythias idiom would seem to indicate that, whether the difference was on a point of science or something else, it was not "only" some trivial difference.
Much gay interest has been ascribed to the ancient couple. The 1889 novel 'A Marriage Below Zero' by Alfred J.Cohen (pen name: Alan Dale) has the young male couple continually referring to themselves as Damon and Pythias. Soon the upscale social world that they try pass in begins to refer to them with the same term, but as derogatory codeword for 'gay couple.'
Reference to this myth is also seen within Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
, where the eponymous character addresses his close friend Horatio as "O Damon dear".
The myth is ironically referenced in the sketch "Making a Night of It", in Sketches by Boz
Sketches by Boz
Sketches by "Boz," Illustrative of Every-day Life and Every-day People is a collection of short pieces published by Charles Dickens in 1836 accompanied by illustrations by George Cruikshank. The 56 sketches concern London scenes and people and are divided into four sections: "Our Parish",...
by Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, a parallel being made to two young clerks who are arrested for drunk and disorderly conduct.
A reference to this myth is also seen in the story A Bell for Adano
A Bell for Adano
A Bell for Adano is a film directed by Henry King starring John Hodiak and Gene Tierney. The film was adapted from the novel A Bell for Adano by John Hersey, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1945. In his 1945 review of the film, Bosley Crowther wrote, "... this easily vulnerable picture, which came...
, where Captain Purvis's and Mayor Joppolo's friendship is compared to the friendship of Damon and Pythias because they dated sisters.
In 1895 Jack London used Damon and Pythias as the nicknames of the two main characters in "Who Believes in Ghosts!" .
In 1997 the TV series "Highlander" starring Adrian Paul in an episode entitled "A Modern Prometheus", a character portraying Lord Byron references the dynamic duo of Damon and Pythias before he jumps with another man to their "death."
In the 1940 movie "The Philadelphia Story," Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn) remarks ironically that C. K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant
Cary Grant
Archibald Alexander Leach , better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship...
) and George Kittredge (John Howard) are just like Damon and Pythias.
In the 1950 Bowery Boys movie "Blonde Dynamite" The boys establish a male escort service out of their foil Louie's ice cream parlor while they have conveniently sent him to Coney Island on vacation, Slip Mahoney (Leo Gorcey) tells the other boys to "Let Damon and Pythias fight it out!" referring to Sach and Whitey (Huntz Hall and Billy Benedict) as to which of the two will be included in a group date with a bevy of femmes fatale.
In the 1971 PG Wodehouse novel Much Obliged, Jeeves
Much Obliged, Jeeves
Much Obliged, Jeeves is a novel by P. G. Wodehouse, first published in the United Kingdom on October 15, 1971 by Barrie & Jenkins, London and in the United States on October 15, 1971 by Simon & Schuster, Inc., New York under the name Jeeves and the Tie that Binds.The two editions have slightly...
, Bertie Wooster
Bertie Wooster
Bertram Wilberforce "Bertie" Wooster is a recurring fictional character in the Jeeves novels of British author P. G. Wodehouse. An English gentleman, one of the "idle rich" and a member of the Drones Club, he appears alongside his valet, Jeeves, whose genius manages to extricate Bertie or one of...
tells his Aunt Dahlia that at Oxford his friendship with Ginger Winship was comparable to that of Damon and Pythias.
In Episode 8, Season 1 of "Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn
Peter Gunn is an American private eye television series which aired on the NBC and later ABC television networks from 1958 to 1961. The show's creator was Blake Edwards...
," a character describes his friendship for the murder victim by saying that people referred to them as "Damon and what's-his-name."
In popular culture
- The Knights of PythiasKnights of PythiasThe Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded at Washington, DC, on 19 February 1864.The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded by Justus H. Rathbone, who had been...
fraternal organization in 1864 took their name from Pythias to symbolize qualities such as loyalty and friendship.
- A chapter in Little MenLittle MenLittle Men, or Life at Plumfield with Jo's Boys is a novel by American author Louisa May Alcott, first published in 1871. The novel reprises characters from Little Women and is considered by some the second book of an unofficial Little Women trilogy, which is completed with Alcott's 1886 novel...
, Louisa May AlcottLouisa May AlcottLouisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868...
's 1871 novel, is titled "Damon and Pythias".
- Leave It to BeaverLeave It to BeaverLeave It to Beaver is an American television situation comedy about an inquisitive but often naïve boy named Theodore "The Beaver" Cleaver and his adventures at home, in school, and around his suburban neighborhood...
, "Friendship" (7 May 1959: Season 2, Episode 32): Beaver and Larry get into an argument. Ward finds out that the two boys had a fight and abruptly end their friendship. Ward tells the story of Damon and Pythias. Beaver sees Larry and makes a friendship pact with him, like Damon and Pythias. Larry then asks to test it out. He wants to take Beaver's homework assignment because he did not do his. Beaver relents, giving Larry his homework. When Miss Landers collects the assignments, Beaver doesn't have his, and she makes him stay after school and lose recess privileges for a week. Larry shows no remorse, happy that Beaver is taking the fall for him; of course Larry actually does the right thing in the end.
- In 1961, Episode 13, Second Season of the TV comedy series My Three SonsMy Three SonsMy Three Sons is an American situation comedy. The series ran from 1960 to 1965 on ABC, and moved to CBS until its end on August 24, 1972. My Three Sons chronicles the life of a widower and aeronautical engineer named Steven Douglas , raising his three sons.The series was a cornerstone of the CBS...
, is entitled "Damon and Pythias".
- An episode of the HBO series THE WIRE, "Know Your Place," interweaves several story lines that allude to the Damon & Pythias myth's topic of loyalty and honor between friends. In fact, the myth is explicity stated in a classroom scene in which a teacher reads an excerpt of the myth to his class. In an interesting spin in the same episode, the main idea of the myth--loyalty among friends--is inverted when a Balitimore City cop, "Herc," violates his promise to protect the drug addict, street vendor, and police informant, "Bubbles," after Bubbles took a risk by providing the police with valuable information on a crime suspect. Bubbles pays the consequences for Herc's unreliability.
- Damon and Pythias were featured in the Adventures from the Book of VirtuesAdventures from the Book of VirtuesAdventures from the Book of Virtues is an animated television series which originally aired on PBS Kids in the United States for three seasons, beginning in 1996 and ending in 2000. There was a two-year gap in between the second and third seasons. In 2008 the series aired twice daily on qubo...
episode "Friendship" with Damon voiced by George NewbernGeorge NewbernGeorge Young Newbern is an American television and film actor best known for his roles as Bryan MacKenzie in Father of the Bride and its sequel Father of the Bride Part II as well as Danny in Friends...
and Pythias voiced by Jim CummingsJim CummingsJames Jonah "Jim" Cummings is an American voice actor who has appeared in almost 100 roles. He has appeared in classic animated movies such as Aladdin and The Lion King, as well as taking on roles in more current films, such as Bee Movie, Princess and the Frog, and Winnie the Pooh.-Personal...
.
- Damon and Pythias were featured in their self-titled episode of Mythic WarriorsMythic WarriorsMythic Warriors was a Canadian-produced animated television series that was a fixture of CBS' Saturday-morning cartoon lineup...
with Damon voiced by David Klar and Pythias voiced by Lyon Smith.
- Part of the plot of the 2003 animated film Sinbad: Legend of the Seven SeasSinbad: Legend of the Seven SeasSinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas is a 2003 American animated swashbuckling fantasy aventure film produced by DreamWorks Animation, using traditional 2D animation with some 3D...
is based on Damon and Pythias.
- A short film entitled "Lines" was shot in Dallas, Texas in July 2007 by Twisted15 (Tw15t'D) (a collaboration of Twisted Reel Productions and Studio15) for entry into the 48 Hour Film Project. The main character, named Damon (though unspoken in the film, it is noted in the credits), mentions the "Pythias System". The entire film is loosely based on ideas from Pythagoras (of whom Damon and Pythias were followers). At the end of the film one can infer that Pythias has returned to Damon. The film won Best Cinematography.
- Australian grunge band SilverchairSilverchairSilverchair were an Australian rock band, which formed in 1992 as Innocent Criminals in Merewether, Newcastle with the line-up of Ben Gillies on drums, Chris Joannou on bass guitar and Daniel Johns on vocals and guitars. The group got their big break in mid-1994 when they won a national demo...
's song Israel's SonIsrael's Son"Israel's Son" is a song by Australian rock band Silverchair, released in 1995. It was the third single released from their debut full-length album, Frogstomp, which was released earlier the same year...
is supposedly based in part on this story.