Talk:Perdix (mythology)

Plagiarism?

The "Mythology" section is copied essentially word-for-word from Bulfinch's Mythology. I can add it in as a source but I'm not sure it solves the plagiarism issue. Orientalduck98 (talk) 07:37, 22 October 2017 (UTC)

In theory Bulfinch's Mythology is now in the public domain and can be freely copied (for Wikipedia purposes, this would require clear attribution). But it's generally better to write our own text, directly quoting only where necessary, with sources cited for factual claims but not copied wholesale. –jacobolus (t) 00:08, 23 May 2024 (UTC)

Should this be merged with Talos (inventor)?

This article and Talos (inventor) seem to be describing the same mythical character. –jacobolus (t) 23:14, 22 May 2024 (UTC)

Perdix is the father of Talos (inventor); though he is also referred to as Talos sometimes, he is, I think, separate. – Michael Aurel (talk) 02:07, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

• Mother. In instances in which Perdix is the parent she is the mother - sister of Daedalus.

If every instance of someone having a slightly different place in a family tree justifies a new page, then this Perdix certainly does deserve its own page. But Perdix the inventor and Talos the inventor are the same person. There's no way to disentangle them; they're variants. Both pages already acknowledge this. Endlesspumpkin (talk) 11:57, 2 November 2024 (UTC)

@Endlesspumpkin: I didn't look into the matter all too deeply before I wrote the above, mostly noting that sources such as Brill's New Pauly, Pauly-Wissowa, and the LIMC treat the two figures in separate entries; looking at this, it seemed appropriate that we would do the same (although Tripp's Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology, I notice, discusses both in a single entry). I read the initial comment here as suggesting that these seem just to be alternative names for the same figure (in the way that, for instance, Dercynus and Bergion are), but perhaps the intended meaning was more that the two have significant mythological overlap, which is certainly true. They are clearly closely related figures whom authors have at times considered to have been the sister and nephew of Daedalus, or, in some instances, only Perdix is mentioned as the nephew; this doesn't mean they are the same person, though. And yes, I muddled up the majority of sources in which Perdix is male with those who call Talos her child (the male pronouns used in reference works threw me off).

As to whether it would be better to discuss them on the same page or across two separate pages, I think there are benefits to the latter, as it would allow us to more clearly delineate between the two figures, considering how different ancient sources use each of their names. However, it would also be quite possible to have a similarly nuanced discussion on a single page, as long as we are careful in how we treat accounts from different ancient authors; Gantz's Early Greek Myth, p. 262, provides a careful discussion of the sources on Perdix and Talos, which could serve as a valuable rough model for such a page. I don't really see any issue with separate pages, but if you merge the two I won't stop you; I don't feel all that strongly on the matter. – Michael Aurel (talk) 02:04, 3 November 2024 (UTC)