Hecuba

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Hecuba

This page is about the mythological figure; for the butterfly
Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
, see Morpho hecuba

Sunset Morpho

The 'Sunset Morpho' , the largest species in the genus Morpho with a wingspan of about 20 cm , is an equatorial butterfly only found in the lower Amazon Rainforest and Suriname....
; for the asteroid
Asteroid

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids....
, see 108 Hecuba
108 Hecuba

108 Hecuba is a fairly large and bright main belt asteroid.Hecuba orbits within the Hygiea family of asteroids but is not otherwise related to other family members because it has a silicate composition....

Hecuba (also Hekabe; Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
: ) was a queen in Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, the wife of King Priam
Priam

In Greek mythology, Priam was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and youngest son of Laomedon. Modern scholars derive his name from the Luwian compound Priimuua, which means "exceptionally courageous"....
of Troy
Troy

Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous of said children was Hector
Hector

In Greek mythology, Hector , or Hektor, is a Troy prince and one of the greatest fighters in the Trojan War. He is the son of Priam and Hecuba, descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy....
of Troy.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Hecuba'

Start a new discussion about 'Hecuba'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

This page is about the mythological figure; for the butterfly
Butterfly

A butterfly is an insect of the Order Lepidoptera. Like all Lepidoptera, butterflies are notable for their unusual Biological life cycle with a larval caterpillar stage, an inactive pupal stage, and a spectacular metamorphosis into a familiar and colourful winged adult form....
, see Morpho hecuba
Sunset Morpho

The 'Sunset Morpho' , the largest species in the genus Morpho with a wingspan of about 20 cm , is an equatorial butterfly only found in the lower Amazon Rainforest and Suriname....
; for the asteroid
Asteroid

Asteroids, sometimes called minor planets or planetoids, are small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun, smaller than planets but larger than meteoroids....
, see 108 Hecuba
108 Hecuba

108 Hecuba is a fairly large and bright main belt asteroid.Hecuba orbits within the Hygiea family of asteroids but is not otherwise related to other family members because it has a silicate composition....

Hecuba (also Hekabe; Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek

Ancient Greek is the historical stage in the development of the Greek language spanning across the Archaic Greece , Classical Greece , and Hellenistic civilization periods of ancient Greece and the classical antiquity....
: ) was a queen in Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, the wife of King Priam
Priam

In Greek mythology, Priam was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and youngest son of Laomedon. Modern scholars derive his name from the Luwian compound Priimuua, which means "exceptionally courageous"....
of Troy
Troy

Troy is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Epic Cycle, and especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer....
, with whom she had 19 children. The most famous of said children was Hector
Hector

In Greek mythology, Hector , or Hektor, is a Troy prince and one of the greatest fighters in the Trojan War. He is the son of Priam and Hecuba, descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy....
of Troy. She was of Phrygia
Phrygia

In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the Southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges, changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the Hellespont....
n birth; her father was Dymas
Dymas

In Greek mythology, Dymas is the name attributed to at least four individuals.The first Dymas was a Phrygian king and father of Hecabe , wife to King Priam of Troy....
, and her mother (Eunoë
Eunoë

Euno?. One account of the parentage of Hecuba identifies Euno?, a nymph sometimes associated with Persephone, as her mother.The name, meaning "good mind," is also applied to a river described in the Purgatorio of Dante Alighieri....
) was said to be a daughter of Sangarius
Sangarius (mythology)

Sangarius is a Phrygian Water deity of Greek mythology. He is described as the son of Oceanus and Tethys , and as the husband of Metope , by whom he became the father of Hecuba....
, god of the Sangarius River, the principal river of ancient Phrygia
Phrygia

In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the Southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges, changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the Hellespont....
.

In the Iliad
ILiad

The iLiad is an electronic handheld device, or e-book device, which can be used for document reading and editing. Like the Sony Reader or Amazon Kindle, the iLiad makes use of an electronic paper display....
, Hecuba appears as the mother of Hector
Hector

In Greek mythology, Hector , or Hektor, is a Troy prince and one of the greatest fighters in the Trojan War. He is the son of Priam and Hecuba, descendant of Dardanus, who lived under Mount Ida, and of Tros, the founder of Troy....
, and laments his death in a well-known speech in Book 24 of the epic.

With the god Apollo, Hecuba had a son named Troilus
Troilus

Troilus is a legendary character associated with the story of the Trojan War. The first surviving reference to him is in Homer's Iliad which is believed to have been written in the late 9th century BC or 8th century BC....
. An oracle
Oracle

An oracle is a person or agency considered to be a source of wise counsel or prophecy opinion; an infallible authority, usually Spirituality in nature....
prophesied that Troy would not be defeated as long as Troilus reached the age of twenty alive. He was killed by Achilles
Achilles

In Greek mythology, Achilles was a Greeks hero of the Trojan War, the central character and the greatest warrior of Homer's Iliad, which takes for its theme ; the Wrath of Achilles....
during the Trojan War
Trojan War

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
.

Polydorus
Polydorus

In Greek mythology, Polydorus referred to several different people.#An Argive, son of Hippomedon. Pausanias lists him as one of the Epigoni, who attacked Thebes, Greece in retaliation for the deaths of their fathers, the Seven Against Thebes, who died attempting the same thing....
, Priam
Priam

In Greek mythology, Priam was the king of Troy during the Trojan War and youngest son of Laomedon. Modern scholars derive his name from the Luwian compound Priimuua, which means "exceptionally courageous"....
's youngest son by Hecuba, was sent with gifts of jewelry and gold to the court of King Polymestor
Polymestor

In Greek mythology, Polymestor was a King of Thrace. His wife was Ilione, the eldest daughter of King Priam.Polydorus, King Priam's youngest son, was sent with gifts of jewelry and gold to the court of King Polymestor to keep him safe during the Trojan War....
to keep him safe during the Trojan War. The fighting grew vicious and Priam was frightened for the child's safety. After Troy fell, Polymestor threw Polydorus to his death to take the treasure for himself. Hecuba, though she was enslaved by the Achaea
Achaea

Achaea is an ancient province and a present prefectures of Greece of Greece, on the northern coast of the Peloponnese, stretching from the mountain ranges of Erymanthus and Cyllene on the south to a narrow strip of fertile land on the north, bordering the Gulf of Corinth, into which the mountain Panachaicus projects....
ns when the city fell, eventually avenged her son, blinding Polymestor and killing his children.

In another tradition, Hecuba went insane
Insanity

Traditionally, insanity or madness is the behavior whereby a person flouts societal norms and may become a danger to themselves and others....
upon seeing the corpses of her children Polydorus
Polydorus

In Greek mythology, Polydorus referred to several different people.#An Argive, son of Hippomedon. Pausanias lists him as one of the Epigoni, who attacked Thebes, Greece in retaliation for the deaths of their fathers, the Seven Against Thebes, who died attempting the same thing....
and Polyxena
Polyxena

Polyxena - ???????? was known to be a beautiful Troy princess from Greek mythology. She is the youngest daughter of King Priam of Troy and his queen, Hecuba....
. Dante
DANTE

DANTE is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various National Research and Education Networks in Europe and surrounding regions....
described this episode, which he derived from Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
sources:
E quando la fortuna volse in basso
l'altezza de' Troian che tutto ardiva,
sì che 'nsieme col regno il re fu casso,
Ecuba trista, misera e cattiva,
poscia che vide Polissena morta,
e del suo Polidoro in su la riva
del mar si fu la dolorosa accorta,
forsennata latrò sì come cane...
And when fortune overturned the pride
of the Trojans, who dared everything, so that
both the king and his kingdom were destroyed,
Poor wretched captured Hecuba,
after she saw her Polyxena dead
and found her Polydorus on the beach,
was driven mad by sorrow
and began barking like a dog...

~ Inferno XXX: 13-20

A third story says that she was given to Odysseus
Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
as a slave, but as she snarled and cursed at him, the gods turned
Shapeshifting

Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore, as well as in science fiction and fantasy. In its broadest sense, it is a :wikt:metamorphosis of a person or animal....
her into a dog
Dog

The dog is a domesticated subspecies of the Gray Wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties....
, allowing her to escape.

Hecuba in arts and literature

Central character of the plays Hecuba
Hecuba (play)

Hecuba is a tragedy by Euripides written c. 424 BC. It takes place after the Trojan War, but before the Greeks have departed Troy.It depicts Hecuba's grief over the loss of a daughter, and the revenge she takes over the loss of a son....
and The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women

'The Trojan Women' is a tragedy by the Ancient Greece playwright Euripides. Produced during the Peloponnesian War, it is often considered a commentary on the capture of the Aegean Sea island of Melos and the subsequent slaughter and subjugation of its populace by the Athens earlier in 415 BC , the same year the play premiered....
by Euripides
Euripides

Euripides was the last of the three great tragedy of classical Athens . Ancient scholars thought that Euripides had written ninety-five plays, although four of those were probably written by Critias....
Character in King Priam
King Priam

King Priam is an opera by Michael Tippett, to his own libretto. The story is based on Homer's Iliad, except the birth and childhood of Paris, which are taken from the Fabulae of Hyginus....
by David Park
David Park

David Park was a painter and a pioneer of the Bay Area Figurative School of painting during the 1950s....
(1958-61)
Referenced in Critique of Pure Reason
Critique of Pure Reason

The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant, first published in 1781, second edition 1787, is one of the most influential works in the history of philosophy....
by Immanuel Kant
Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was an 18th-century German Philosophy from the Kingdom of Prussia city of K?nigsberg . He is regarded as one of the most influential thinkers of modern Europe and of the late Age of Enlightenment....
Mentioned in "Fortune plango vulnera" of Carmina Burana
Carmina Burana

Carmina Burana , also known as the Burana Codex, is a manuscript collection found in 1803 in the Bavarian monastery of Benediktbeuern and now housed in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich....
Character in the play The Trojan Women
The Trojan Women

'The Trojan Women' is a tragedy by the Ancient Greece playwright Euripides. Produced during the Peloponnesian War, it is often considered a commentary on the capture of the Aegean Sea island of Melos and the subsequent slaughter and subjugation of its populace by the Athens earlier in 415 BC , the same year the play premiered....
, also by Euripides
Mentioned in Act II Scene 2 of Hamlet
Hamlet

Hamlet is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle King Claudius, who has murdered King Hamlet, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude ....
, by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
Central character of Cortege of Eagles by Martha Graham
Martha Graham

Martha Graham was an American dancer and choreographer regarded as one of the foremost pioneers of modern dance, whose influence on dance can be compared to the influence Igor Stravinsky had on music, Pablo Picasso had on the visual arts, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture....
(1967)
Character in the play The Trojan War Will Not Take Place
The Trojan war will not take place

The Trojan war will not take place is a play by France dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1935. The play has two acts and follows the convention of the Classical unities....
, by Jean Giraudoux
Jean Giraudoux

Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II....

Primary sources

Virgil
Virgil

Publius Vergilius Maro was a classical Roman poet, best known for three major works?the Bucolics , the Georgics and the Aeneid?although several Appendix Vergiliana are also attributed to him....
, Aeneid
Aeneid

The Aeneid is a Latin Epic poetry written by Virgil in the late 1st century BC that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy who traveled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of the Rome....
III.19-68
Homer
Homer

Homer is traditionally held to be the author of the ancient Greek language epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as of the Homeric Hymns....
, Iliad XVI.717-718
Solinus, De vita Caesarum X.22
Lactantius
Lactantius

Lucius Caelius Firmianus Lactantius was an early Christian author ....
, Divinae institutions I.22
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela

Pomponius Mela, who wrote around 43, was the earliest Roman Empire geographer.His little work is a mere compendium, occupying less than one hundred pages of ordinary print, dry in style and deficient in method, but of pure Latinity, and occasionally relieved by pleasing word-pictures....
, De chorographia II.26
Ovid
Ovid

Publius Ovidius Naso was a Roman Empire poet known as Ovid to the English language-speaking world, who wrote about love, seduction, and Roman mythology transformation....
, Metamorphoses XIII.423-450, 481-571

Secondary sources

Tsotakou-Karveli. Lexicon of Greek Mythology. Athens: Sokoli, 1990.