In Greek mythology, Myrmidon (/ˈmɜːrmɪdən/[1] or /ˈmɜːrmɪdɒn/;[2] Ancient Greek: Μυρμιδόνος, Murmidónos) was the eponymous ancestor of the Myrmidons in one version of the myth.[3]

Family

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Myrmidon was the son of Zeus and Eurymedusa,[4] daughter of Cleitor (Cletor)[5] or of the river god Achelous.[6]

He married Peisidice, daughter of Aeolus and Enarete, and by her became the father of Antiphus and Actor.[7] Also given as his sons were Erysichthon[8] and Dioplethes, father of Perieres,[9] although Erysichthon and Perieres have been ascribed with different parentage. Also, Myrmidon had two daughters: Eupolemeia (mother of the Argonaut Aethalides by Hermes)[10] and Hiscilla (mother of Phorbas by Triopas).[11]

Mythology

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Zeus was said to have approached Eurymedusa in the form of an ant (Greek μύρμηξ, myrmēx), which was where her son's name came from; others say that Myrmex was the name of Eurymedusa's mortal husband, and that it was his shape that Zeus assumed to approach her.[12]

Notes

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  1. ^ Wright, Thomas (1992). Comprehensive Dictionary of the World, Volume 1, Part 2. Mittal Publications. p. 1099. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  2. ^ Manser, Martin H.; Pickering, David (2003). The Facts On File Dictionary of Classical and Biblical Allusions. Facts On File. p. 253. ISBN 9780816048687. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
  3. ^ Hellanicus in Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller's Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum, vol. 1, 48, 17
  4. ^ Eustathius ad Homer, Iliad 113.1 & 320.42; Eratosthenes in Servius ad Virgil, Aeneid 2.7
  5. ^ Clement of Alexandria, Protrepticus 1, p. 41 (p. 34); Arnobius, Adversus Nationes 4.26
  6. ^ Clement of Alexandria, Recognitions 10.22; Pseudo-Clement, Homilia 5.13
  7. ^ Apollodorus, 1.7.3
  8. ^ Aelian, Varia Historia 1.27; Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 10.9b
  9. ^ Scholia ad Homer, Iliad 16.177
  10. ^ Apollonius Rhodius, 1.55; Hyginus, Fabulae 14
  11. ^ Hyginus, De astronomia 2.14.5
  12. ^ Scholia ad Clement of Alexandria, Protrepticus 1, p. 426

References

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Primary sources

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Secondary sources

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