Hippodamia
Encyclopedia
Hippodamia was a daughter of King Oenomaus
and wife of Pelops
with whom her offspring were Thyestes
, Atreus
, Pittheus
, Alcathous
, Troezen
, Hippalcimus, Copreus
, Astydameia
, Nicippe
, Eurydice
and others.
wanted to marry Hippodamia. King Oenomaus
, her father, fearful of a prophecy that claimed he would be killed by his son-in-law, had killed thirteen suitors of Hippodamia after defeating them in a chariot race
and affixed their heads to the wooden columns of his palace. Pausanias
was shown what was purported to be the last standing column in the late second century CE; the same author mentions that Pelops erected a monument in honor of all the suitors before himself, and enlists their names, which are as follows.
Pelops came to ask for Hippodamia's hand and prepared to race Oenomaus. Worried about losing, Pelops went to the seaside and invoked Poseidon, his former lover. Reminding Poseidon of their love ("Aphrodite
's sweet gifts"), he asked Poseidon for help. Smiling, Poseidon caused a chariot drawn by winged horses to appear. In an episode that was added to the simple heroic chariot race, Pelops, still unsure of himself (or alternatively, Hippodamia herself), convinced Oenomaus' charioteer, Myrtilus
, a son of Hermes
, to help him win. Myrtilus was convinced by Pelops or Hippodamia promising him half of Oenomaus' kingdom and the first night in bed with Hippodamia. The night before the race, while Myrtilus was putting Oenomaus' chariot together, he replaced the bronze linchpins attaching the wheels to the chariot
axle with fake ones made of beeswax. The race began, and went on for a long time. But just as Oenomaus was catching up to Pelops and readying to kill him, the wheels flew off and the chariot broke apart. Myrtilus survived, but Oenomaus was dragged to death by his horses. Pelops then killed Myrtilus (by throwing him off a cliff into the sea) after the latter attempted to rape Hippodamia.
As Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops. This was the source of the curse that haunted future generation of Hippodamia's and Pelops' children, including Atreus
, Thyestes
, Agamemnon
, Aegisthus
, Menelaus
and Orestes
.
, the barbaric centaurs who had been invited became wildly intoxicated, attacking the other guests and even the hosts. The centaurs were eventually tamed, and order restored. The Abduction of Hippodameia
was also the subject of a sculpture by French artist Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse
.
Walter Burkert notes that though the story of Hippodamia's abduction figures in the Hesiodic Megalai Ehoiai
and on the chest of Cypselus
(ca. 570 BCE) that was conserved at Olympia, and though preparations for the chariot-race figured in the east pediment of the great temple of Zeus at Olympia
, the myth of the chariot race only became important at Olympia with the introduction of chariot racing
in the twenty-fifth Olympiad (680 BCE). G. Devereux connected the abduction of Hippodamia with animal husbandry taboos of Elis, and the influence of Elis at Olympia that grew in the seventh century.
Oenomaus
In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus of Pisa, the father of Hippodamia, was the son of Ares, either by the naiad Harpina or by Sterope, one of the Pleiades, whom some identify as his consort instead...
and wife of Pelops
Pelops
In Greek mythology, Pelops , was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus. He was the founder of the House of Atreus through his son of that name....
with whom her offspring were Thyestes
Thyestes
In Greek mythology, Thyestes was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, King of Olympia, and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. Thyestes and his twin brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympia...
, Atreus
Atreus
In Greek mythology, Atreus was a king of Mycenae, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Collectively, his descendants are known as Atreidai or Atreidae....
, Pittheus
Pittheus
In Greek mythology, Pittheus was a son of Pelops, father of Aethra, and grandfather of Theseus. He was the King of Troezen, which he had named after his brother Troezen...
, Alcathous
Alcathous, son of Pelops
Alcathous was in Greek mythology the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and brother of Atreus and Thyestes. He first married Pyrgo and afterwards Euaechme, and was the father of Echepolis , Callipolis , Iphinoe , Periboea , and Automedusa .Pausanias relates that after Euippus, son of king Megareus,...
, Troezen
Troezen (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Troezen was one of the children of Pelops and Hippodamia, eponym of the city Troezen.Troezen and his brother Pittheus were said to have come from Pisatis to King Aetius, son of Anthas and grandson of Poseidon and Alcyone, who reigned over the cities of Hyperea and Anthea, and to...
, Hippalcimus, Copreus
Copreus
In Greek mythology, Copreus was King Eurystheus' herald. He announced Heracles' Twelve Labors. Copreus was said to be a son of Pelops and Hippodameia. He was a fugitive from Elis where he had killed a man called Iphitus, but Eurystheus purified him of the murder...
, Astydameia
Astydameia
In Greek mythology, Astydameia is a name attributed to five individuals.-Queen of Iolcus:Astydameia, daughter of Cretheus , was the Queen of Iolcus and wife of Acastus. Her husband purified Peleus of the murder of King Eurytion of Phthia. Astydameia fell in love with Peleus but he scorned her...
, Nicippe
Nicippe
Nicippe is a name attributed to several women in Greek mythology.*Nicippe, one of the fifty daughters of Thespius and Megamede. She bore Heracles a son, Antimachus....
, Eurydice
Eurydice of Mycenae
In Greek mythology, Eurydice was the daughter of Pelops and was married to Electryon, king of Mycenae and son of Perseus. She bore him Alcmena, mother of Heracles. In other versions of the myth, Eurydice's place was taken by Anaxo, Electryon's niece....
and others.
Courtship
Having grown to manhood, PelopsPelops
In Greek mythology, Pelops , was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus. He was the founder of the House of Atreus through his son of that name....
wanted to marry Hippodamia. King Oenomaus
Oenomaus
In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus of Pisa, the father of Hippodamia, was the son of Ares, either by the naiad Harpina or by Sterope, one of the Pleiades, whom some identify as his consort instead...
, her father, fearful of a prophecy that claimed he would be killed by his son-in-law, had killed thirteen suitors of Hippodamia after defeating them in a chariot race
Chariot racing
Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine sports. Chariot racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse as they frequently suffered serious injury and even death, but generated strong spectator enthusiasm...
and affixed their heads to the wooden columns of his palace. Pausanias
Pausanias (geographer)
Pausanias was a Greek traveler and geographer of the 2nd century AD, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. He is famous for his Description of Greece , a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece from firsthand observations, and is a crucial link between classical...
was shown what was purported to be the last standing column in the late second century CE; the same author mentions that Pelops erected a monument in honor of all the suitors before himself, and enlists their names, which are as follows.
- Marmax
- AlcathousAlcathousAlcathous was the name of several people in Greek mythology:*Alcathous, son of Pelops, killed the Cithaeronian lion.*Alcathous, son of Aesyetes, husband of Hippodameia, the daughter of Anchises and sister of Aeneas, who was educated in the house of Alcathous. In the Trojan War, he was one of the...
, son of PorthaonPorthaonIn Greek mythology, Porthaon , sometimes referred to as Parthaon or Portheus, was the king of Calydon, husband of Euryte and father of Oeneus, Agrius, Alcathous, Melas, Leucopeus and Sterope, also of the Argonaut Laocoön by an unnamed female servant, or by Euryte too... - Euryalus
- Eurymachus
- Crotalus
- Acrias of Lacedaemon, founder of Acriae
- Capetus
- Lycurgus
- Lasius
- ChalcodonChalcodonIn Greek mythology, the name Chalcodon may refer to:*The son of Abas and the king of the Abantes. He and Telamon assisted Heracles in his campaign against Elis. While leading his people in an attack on Thebes, Greece he was killed by Amphitryon. His son was Elephenor...
- Tricolonus (descendant of another Tricolonus, who was a son of Lycaon)
- Aristomachus
- Prias
- Pelagon
- Aeolius
- Cronius
- Erythras, son of Leucon
- EioneusEioneusIn Greek mythology, Eioneus is a name attributed to the following individuals:*Father of Dia, see Deioneus.*The presumed mythological eponym of the Thracian city of Eion. This character was the father of Rhesus, according to Homer...
, son of MagnesMagnesMagnes may refer to:* Macarius Magnes, bishop of Magnesia* Judah Leon Magnes , rabbi** Judah L. Magnes Museum, a Jewish museum in Berkeley, California, named after the rabbi* Magnes , the fifth solo album released by Reni Jusis...
Pelops came to ask for Hippodamia's hand and prepared to race Oenomaus. Worried about losing, Pelops went to the seaside and invoked Poseidon, his former lover. Reminding Poseidon of their love ("Aphrodite
Aphrodite
Aphrodite is the Greek goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation.Her Roman equivalent is the goddess .Historically, her cult in Greece was imported from, or influenced by, the cult of Astarte in Phoenicia....
's sweet gifts"), he asked Poseidon for help. Smiling, Poseidon caused a chariot drawn by winged horses to appear. In an episode that was added to the simple heroic chariot race, Pelops, still unsure of himself (or alternatively, Hippodamia herself), convinced Oenomaus' charioteer, Myrtilus
Myrtilus
In Greek mythology, Myrtilus was a divine hero, a son of Hermes on Theobule , and charioteer of King Oenomaus of Pisa in Elis, on the northwest coast of the Peloponnesus....
, a son of Hermes
Hermes
Hermes is the great messenger of the gods in Greek mythology and a guide to the Underworld. Hermes was born on Mount Kyllini in Arcadia. An Olympian god, he is also the patron of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them, of shepherds and cowherds, of the cunning of thieves, of orators and...
, to help him win. Myrtilus was convinced by Pelops or Hippodamia promising him half of Oenomaus' kingdom and the first night in bed with Hippodamia. The night before the race, while Myrtilus was putting Oenomaus' chariot together, he replaced the bronze linchpins attaching the wheels to the chariot
Chariot
The chariot is a type of horse carriage used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Ox carts, proto-chariots, were built by the Proto-Indo-Europeans and also built in Mesopotamia as early as 3000 BC. The original horse chariot was a fast, light, open, two wheeled...
axle with fake ones made of beeswax. The race began, and went on for a long time. But just as Oenomaus was catching up to Pelops and readying to kill him, the wheels flew off and the chariot broke apart. Myrtilus survived, but Oenomaus was dragged to death by his horses. Pelops then killed Myrtilus (by throwing him off a cliff into the sea) after the latter attempted to rape Hippodamia.
As Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops. This was the source of the curse that haunted future generation of Hippodamia's and Pelops' children, including Atreus
Atreus
In Greek mythology, Atreus was a king of Mycenae, the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, and the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Collectively, his descendants are known as Atreidai or Atreidae....
, Thyestes
Thyestes
In Greek mythology, Thyestes was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia, King of Olympia, and father of Pelopia and Aegisthus. Thyestes and his twin brother, Atreus, were exiled by their father for having murdered their half-brother, Chrysippus, in their desire for the throne of Olympia...
, Agamemnon
Agamemnon
In Greek mythology, Agamemnon was the son of King Atreus and Queen Aerope of Mycenae, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of Clytemnestra, and the father of Electra and Orestes. Mythical legends make him the king of Mycenae or Argos, thought to be different names for the same area...
, Aegisthus
Aegisthus
In Greek mythology, Aegisthus was the son of Thyestes and of Thyestes' daughter, Pelopia....
, Menelaus
Menelaus
Menelaus may refer to;*Menelaus, one of the two most known Atrides, a king of Sparta and son of Atreus and Aerope*Menelaus on the Moon, named after Menelaus of Alexandria.*Menelaus , brother of Ptolemy I Soter...
and Orestes
Orestes (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Orestes was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and purification, which retain obscure threads of much older ones....
.
Abduction
During the wedding of Hippodamia and PelopsPelops
In Greek mythology, Pelops , was king of Pisa in the Peloponnesus. He was the founder of the House of Atreus through his son of that name....
, the barbaric centaurs who had been invited became wildly intoxicated, attacking the other guests and even the hosts. The centaurs were eventually tamed, and order restored. The Abduction of Hippodameia
The Abduction of Hippodameia
The Abduction of Hippodameia by the French sculptor Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse is a classical subject blended with violent emotion, sensuality, and raw animal power....
was also the subject of a sculpture by French artist Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse
Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse was a French sculptor and painter.- Life :Carrier-Belleuse was a student of David d'Angers and briefly at the École des Beaux-Arts...
.
Walter Burkert notes that though the story of Hippodamia's abduction figures in the Hesiodic Megalai Ehoiai
Megalai Ehoiai
The Megalai Ehoiai or Great EhoiaiThe poem is also referred to with alternate Latin transliterations of the title: Megalae Ehoeae or Eoeae; occasionally the Latin translation of Megalai is also found: e.g. Magnae Eoeae...
and on the chest of Cypselus
Cypselus
Cypselus was the first tyrant of Corinth in the 7th century BC.With increased wealth and more complicated trade relations and social structures, Greek city-states tended to overthrow their traditional hereditary priest-kings; Corinth, the richest archaic polis, led the way...
(ca. 570 BCE) that was conserved at Olympia, and though preparations for the chariot-race figured in the east pediment of the great temple of Zeus at Olympia
Temple of Zeus
The Temple of Zeus at Olympia was an ancient Greek temple in Olympia, Greece, dedicated to the chief of the gods, Zeus. It was the very model of the fully developed classical Greek temple of the Doric order...
, the myth of the chariot race only became important at Olympia with the introduction of chariot racing
Chariot racing
Chariot racing was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine sports. Chariot racing was often dangerous to both driver and horse as they frequently suffered serious injury and even death, but generated strong spectator enthusiasm...
in the twenty-fifth Olympiad (680 BCE). G. Devereux connected the abduction of Hippodamia with animal husbandry taboos of Elis, and the influence of Elis at Olympia that grew in the seventh century.