| Harmony (Eunomia) |
| The goddess Eunomia; she presides over Harmony and Order; a daughter of Zeus and Themis; Eunomia is one of the Horae (The Hours), i.e. the goddesses of the Seasons; the keepers of Heaven’s Gate; her sisters are Eirene (Peace) and Dyke (Justice). |
| The Horae assist the Olympians by organizing the Seasons and adding balance to Nature; the Horae guard Mount Olympos (Olympus) with a dark veil and open and close the gates of the sky for the other Immortals as they travel to and from their earthly domains. |
| In The Iliad, we see the Horae personally attending Hera and her horses; they open the sky and Hera zooms from her home on Mount Olympos to Mount Ida to distract Zeus from the battle for Troy. |
| Iliad (Lattimore), book 5, (Hours) lines 749 and 750; book 8, (Hours) lines 393 and 433 |
| Iliad (Loeb), book 5, (Hours) line 749; book 8, (Hours) lines 393 and 433 |
| Iliad (Fagles), book 5, (Seasons) line 859; book 8, (Seasons) lines 449 and 498 |
| Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 5, (Hours) line 856; book 8, (Hours) lines 444 and 488 |
| Theogony, line 902 |
| Harpagus |
| Harpagus was a traitor to his family and a disaster for the empire of the Medes; he was in the service of the Median king, Astyages, and betrayed the entire Median race to the Persians. |
| While Astyages was the king of the Medes (585-529 BCE) he had two dreams that indicated that his daughter, Mandane, would have a child that would bring an end to the Median rule of western-central Asia; Astyages refused to allow his daughter to marry a Mede and forced her to marry a lower caste Persian named Kambyses (Cambyses) so that any children they might have would not be acceptable as heirs to the Median throne. |
| When Mandane gave birth to a male child, Astyages instructed his trusted kinsman, Harpagus, to take the new-born boy from Mandane and kill it; Harpagus had no qualms about killing the baby but he was still hesitant to do so because Astyages had no male heir to take the throne when he died and that meant that Mandane would very likely become queen; Harpagus feared that if she found out that he had killed her child she would undoubtedly punish him cruelly. |
| To distance himself from the guilt of such a crime, Harpagus gave the baby to a herdsman named, Mitradates, and instructed him to leave the child in the wilderness to die; when Mitradates took the child home to his wife, Kyno (Cyno), she told him that their own child had been born dead and she suggested that they keep Mandane’s baby as their own and present the dead baby to Harpagus as proof that the evil deed had been accomplished; Harpagus was deceived and reported to Astyages that his instructions had been carried out and that Mandane’s baby was indeed dead. |
| Mitradates and Kyno raised the child as their own and all went well until the young boy had a dispute with his playmates; a group of boys were playing a game and Mandane’s son was chosen to play the role of the king; when one of the boys disobeyed a “royal” command, the “king” ordered that he be beaten; the boy who had been punished took offense at such base treatment because his family was of noble birth and a mere herdsman’s son had ordered him beaten; the boy’s father took the insulting matter to King Astyages for justice. |
| Astyages called the herdsman, Mitradates, and his “son” to stand trial but when Astyages saw the family resemblance of the boy to his daughter and to himself he realized that Mandane’s son was still alive; Astyages demanded the truth from the herdsman and he soon understood the entire sequence of events. |
| Next he called Harpagus before him and when Harpagus saw the herdsman and the young boy he realized that he had been duped and begged for the king’s mercy; Astyages pretended to be satisfied that Harpagus was innocent of any disloyalty and told him that the boy would no longer live with the herdsman and his wife but be reunited with his true mother and father, Mandane and Kambyses; Astyages also asked Harpagus to send his own son to the palace to be the companion of Mandane’s son and also invited Harpagus to attend a celebratory dinner in honor of the boy; without hesitation, Astyages had Harpagus’ son killed; he kept the head, hands and feet but cooked the rest of the body; when Harpagus came to the palace, Astyages tricked him into eating the flesh of his son and then gave him the head, hands and feet as a reminder of what happens when the king’s orders were disobeyed; Harpagus retained his composure but he also retained a long and bitter hatred for Astyages. |
| Astyages was still not sure if the boy was a threat to his throne so he consulted his seers, the Magi; they assured him that the boy was harmless but just to be safe, Astyages placed spies around the child and sent him to live amongst the Persians with his natural parents Mandane and Kambyses; the boy was named Cyrus and as he grew to manhood he was the best and brightest of his peers; Harpagus waited through the long years and courted Cyrus with gifts and praise; finally, when he deemed the time was right, he sent a secret message to Cyrus stitched inside a dead rabbit; he urged Cyrus to lead the Persians in a revolt to take back the land the Medes had stolen from them only four generations hence. |
| Cyrus was intrigued by the idea and thought long and hard as to the most effective way to incite a revolution against the Medes; he called an assembly of the Persians and cleverly persuaded them to join him in a revolt against Astyages; Harpagus had spent many years sowing the seeds of discontent throughout Astyages’ empire and when the time came to fight the Persians, Astyages was unable to muster an army to defend his throne. |
| After Astyages was defeated and taken prisoner, Harpagus mocked and ridiculed him; Harpagus bragged that he had helped Cyrus ferment the revolution and Astyages replied that Harpagus was the most stupid and the most unjust man alive; stupid because, as a kinsman of Astyages, Harpagus would have inherited the throne of the Medes after Astyages died and unjust because he had allowed a Persian instead of a Mede to become king; the masters were now slaves and the slaves were now masters. |
| Cyrus repaid Harpagus for his assistance by making him a general in the army and, as such, assisted in the Persian conquest of Ionia and southern Asia. |
| Histories, book 1.108-179 |
| Harpies (Harpy) |
| HAR peaze (HAR pea) |
 |
| The daughters of Thaumas and Elektra (Electra); their names are Okypete (Ocypete) and Aello. |
| The poet Hesiod refers to them as “Harpies of the lovely hair, winged women soaring aloft like birds;” they are the sisters of the rainbow goddess, Iris, and not described as the filthy monsters that we have come to imagine. |
| Their primary role in Greek mythology was when the Argonauts found the blind seer, Phineus, on the island of Thynia being tormented by the Harpies; Phineus had been blinded by Zeus and, as a double punishment, Helios (the Sun) had the Harpies steal his food; the winged sons of Boreas (North Wind), Kalais (Calais) and Zetes chased away the Harpies and freed Phineus from his curse but Zeus would not allow the brothers to harm the Harpies. |
| There is also a Harpy mentioned in The Iliad; her name is Podarge and, as the consort of Zephyros (West Wind), she was the mother of the immortal chariot horses of Achilles, Balios and Xanthos (Xanthus). |
| Theogony, line 267 |
| Argonautika, book 2, lines 188, 252, 264, 276, 289, 298, 432 and 461 |
| Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 16, line 150 |
| Iliad (Fagles), book 16, line 180 |
| Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 16, line 174 |
| Hector (Hektor) |
| HEK tor |
| The Prince of Troy; the eldest son of the King Priam and Queen Hekabe (Hecabe). |
| Hector was the husband of Andromache and father of Astyanax; he was the supreme commander of the Trojans and their allies when the Achaean Greeks laid siege to the city of Troy; Hector was killed by Achilles in the tenth year of the Trojan War. |
| |
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| Hector at the feet of Achilles. |
| |
| The Trojan War was not simply a dispute between nations or a feud over territory; the war was started and perpetuated by the Immortals with the intention of ridding the earth of a good portion of the human population; the hostilities began when Prince Alexandros, Hector’s younger brother, took Helen from her husband and home in Sparta and fled to Troy; an army was assembled and over a thousand ships sailed to Troy; the Trojans called on their friends and allies to help protect their city; Hector was in charge of organizing the defense of Troy. |
| The first Achaean Greek to step ashore at Troy was killed by Hector; he continued to lead and fight for the next nine years without either side being able to claim victory; in the tenth year of the war, Zeus decreed that Troy would fall and the death of Hector was to be a sign that the end of the war was at hand; the decisive event which set the stage for Hector’s death was when he killed Achilles’ companion, Patroklos (Patroclus); Achilles was the best warrior in the Greek army but he had a dispute with the Achaean commander Agamemnon and refused to fight; with Achilles out of the fighting, the Trojans started winning victory after victory and finally pushed the Greeks back to the sea and set fire to some of their ships; Patroklos donned Achilles’ armor, mounted Achilles’ chariot and charged into the Trojan defenses; the Trojans thought that Achilles was back in the fighting and began to retreat; Patroklos became too bold and went too close to the walls of Troy; the god Apollon knocked Patroklos from the chariot and Hector killed him. |
| After Hector killed Patroklos, he took Achilles’ armor from the corpse; Zeus fitted Achilles’ armor to Hector’s body and Ares (god of War) put valor in Hector’s chest; Achilles swore vengeance against Hector for killing Patroklos and vowed that he would not sleep or eat until Hector was dead; as Achilles slaughtered his way towards the gates of Troy, he killed almost every Trojan he encountered; as Achilles approached the city walls, one of the Trojan commanders named Poulydamas (Polydamas) advised Hector to withdraw the army inside the walls; Hector agreed with Poulydamas and ordered the army to withdraw but he remained outside the gates because he knew that the widows and orphans inside the city would fault him for the deaths of so many Trojans at the hands of Achilles; Hector considered laying aside his weapons and offering to return Helen to the Achaeans but he knew in his heart that he and Achilles would have to fight to the death. |
| With the onslaught of Achilles in his unstoppable anger, Hector lost his nerve and began to run; every time Hector tried to reach the safety of the city walls, Achilles would cut him off and force him back to open ground; King Priam watched the spectacle from the walls but was powerless to help his doomed son; Achilles chased Hector four times around the city until finally he stopped and faced Achilles, ready to fight. |
| As Achilles drew close, the goddess Athene (Athena) disguised herself as Hector’s brother Deiphobos (Deiphobus) and stood beside Hector; she told him that the two of them could fight and defeat Achilles; Hector stood his ground until Achilles was close enough the hear him; he asked Achilles if they could agree that the victor would not strip the loser of his armor and that the body of the loser would be returned to those who could give it a proper burial; Achilles refused any conditions and swore to Hector that his body would be the sport of the Achaean dogs. |
| Hector made a valiant spear-cast but Achilles’ armor reflected the blow; Achilles hurled his spear at Hector but missed; when the goddess Athene placed the spear back in Achilles’ hands, Hector turned to Deiphobos for support but when he saw that his brother was not there, he realized that Athene had tricked him and that he was now going to die. |
| Achilles lunged at Hector and wounded him severely in the throat; Hector fell to the ground and before he died, again asked Achilles that his body be given to his parents for a suitable burial; Achilles was in no mood for mercy; he vaulted over Hector’s body and said that instead of a heroes’ burial, he should be butchered and eaten. |
| When the other Achaeans arrived on the scene, they despoiled the corpse of Hector in full view of the Trojans who were watching from the walls; Achilles then pierced Hector’s ankles and using a leather strap, tied the body to his chariot and raced around the city to further humiliate and inflame the Trojans. |
| Achilles was determined to disgrace the body of Hector in every way he could imagine; his primary form of degradation was to tie Hector’s body to the back of his chariot and drag it through the Achaean camp; appalled at the spectacle, various Immortals came secretly to Hector’s body and covered it with ambrosia and oils so that the rough treatment inflicted by Achilles would not tear or mutilate the dead flesh. |
| Finally, Zeus had seen enough depravity and ordered Thetis to go to her son Achilles to say that it was the will of Zeus that Hector’s body be returned to his family; Zeus then sent the messenger-goddess Iris to King Priam to tell him to prepare a ransom to take to Achilles in exchange for Hector’s corpse; Priam loaded a wagon with suitable gifts for Achilles and began the dangerous trek towards the Achaean encampment. |
| Fearing for the life of King Priam, Zeus commanded his son Hermes to meet Priam on the plain and escort him to Achilles; King Priam entered Achilles’ shelter and fell to his knees; he embraced Achilles as a supplicant and kissed the same hands which had killed his son; both men wept, Priam for his son and Achilles for his companion Patroklos; Achilles ordered his serving-women to wash Hector’s body so that King Priam would not see the filth caused by the constant abuse; with little or no ceremony, the ransom was offloaded from the wagon and Priam returned safely to Troy with Achilles’ promise of an eleven day truce so that Hector could be given a funeral befitting a hero. |
| Hector was such a noble and courageous man, it seems regrettable that his death was so brutal and tragic but we can find some solace in the fact that he did not live to see the atrocities committed against his family; after the fall of Troy, Hector’s elderly mother Queen Hekabe was taken as a slave; Hector had over fifty brothers and sisters and all of them perished as a result of the Trojan War; Hector’s sister Polyxena was slaughtered like an animal on Achilles’ grave; King Priam was killed in the Temple of Athene even though it was a sacred place and should not have been the site of a cold blooded murder; Hector’s wife Andromache was also killed but perhaps the most atrocious act of all was when Hector’s infant son Astyanax was thrown from the city walls by Odysseus. |
| Histories, book 2.120 |
| The Kypria, fragment 1, line 78 |
| The Little Iliad, fragments 2 and 14 |
| Contest of Homer and Hesiod, line 320 |
| Diodorus Siculus, book 4.75.4 |
| Hekabe (Hecabe) 1 |
| eh KAH bee |
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| Queen Hekabe of Troy; the wife of the last king of Troy, Priam. |
| Hekabe was the daughter of Dymas and the sister of Asios (Asius); she lived during the Trojan War (circa 1250 BCE) but her age is not specifically given; Hekabe and Priam had fifty (50!) children so we can assume that she was at least seventy years old when Troy was finally captured. |
| During the siege of Troy there was little that Hekabe could do to protect her sons who were engaged in the fighting; when the invading Achaeans (Achaians) seemed to gain the advantage, Hekabe gathered other Trojan women and prepared an offering to Athene (Athena) at the goddess’ temple; Hekabe chose a fine robe which her son Alexandros (Paris) brought from Sidon when he and Helen fled Sparta and returned to Troy. |
| Hekabe’s most famous son was Prince Hector; he was commander of the army which defended Troy when the Achaeans laid siege to the city; after Hector was killed, King Priam went to the Achaean encampment to ransom Hector’s body from Achilles; Hekabe was apprehensive about what the Achaeans would do if they captured Priam but he assured her that he had the protection of Zeus and there was nothing to worry about. |
| King Priam was killed when the Achaeans overran the city but Hekabe was taken as a slave; her only remaining children after the fall of Troy were Kassandra (Cassandra), Polyxena and her youngest son Polydoros (Polydorus). |
| Polyxena was sacrificed at the grave of Achilles; Polydoros was murdered and Kassandra was taken as a concubine by Agamemnon but she too was killed after reaching Agamemnon’s palace in Mycenae; Hekabe outlived her husband and all fifty of her children. |
| Her name may also be rendered as Hekuba or Hecuba. |
| Iliad (Lattimore and Loeb), book 6, lines 293 and 451; book 16, line 718; book 22, lines 234 and 430; book 24, lines 193, 283 and 747 |
| Iliad (Fagles), book 6, lines 300 and 535; book 16, line 838; book 22, lines 278 and 505; book 24, lines 231, 335 and 879 |
| Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 6, lines 340 and 525; book 16, line 824; book 22, lines 279 and 506; book 24, lines 232, 342 and 893 |
| Hekabe (Hecabe) 2 |
| eh KAH bee |
| A tragedy by Euripides produced circa 425 BCE. |
| Cast of Characters: |
| Hekabe (Hecuba) |
| The Ghost of Polydoros (Polydorus) |
| Polyxena |
| Odysseus |
| Talthybius |
| Agamemnon |
| Polymestor |
| The story behind this tragedy was heart wrenching in its reality but Euripides takes the theme to a new level of sadness. |
| We find Queen Hekabe of Troy in the slave camp of the Greeks with Troy still burning in the background. King Priam is dead, forty seven of Hekabe’s children are dead and the surviving women of Troy are huddled in their tents waiting to be carried to Greece and a life of slavery. |
| As Hekabe grovels in the dust morning her losses and her misery, she is grateful that her entire family is not dead. Her only surviving children are her two daughters Kassandra (Cassandra) and Polyxena and her youngest son Polydoros. |
| Kassandra has been claimed as a concubine by the Greek commander Agamemnon and Polyxena is destined for slavery of some sort. Polydoros was smuggled out of Troy before the Greeks breached the walls and was hidden with a family friend in Thrace named Polymestor. King Priam sent Polydoros to Polymestor with a quantity of gold so that Polydoros would not be impoverished when he reached adulthood. |
| The play quickly evolves from sadness to complete misery when Hekabe is informed that Achilles’ ghost appeared to the Greek army and demanded the blood sacrifice of Polyxena on his grave. Hekabe begs Odysseus to save Polyxena but he is unwilling to help. Hekabe then begs Agamemnon to spare Polyxena but he says that he must do whatever pleases the army and that the life of one girl is worth far less than the deeds of their greatest hero, Achilles. |
| When you read this play, by all means read it aloud! I assure you that the death scene of Polyxena at Achilles’ grave will bring tears to your eyes. It is one of the most moving dramatic scenes you will ever read. |
| Hekabe is devastated by Polyxena’s death but her weary heart is in for one more burden. The mutilated body of Polydoros washes up on the beach near the slave tents and Hekabe has to face the fact that Polymestor has betrayed her family and killed her son. |
| Hekabe begs Agamemnon for justice but he is powerless to help her. Despite her misery, Hekabe plots a clever revenge against Polymestor. Since Agamemnon will not help her, she asks him if he will simply look the other way while she exacts her revenge on Polymestor. Agamemnon does not understand what Hekabe has in mind but he promises her that he will not interfere. |
| Hekabe sends for Polymestor and his two sons with the promise of telling him something that he will find valuable. When Polymestor arrives, Hekabe and the other Trojan women mete out a cruel revenge that must be read to be appreciated. |
| I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene; you can find this and other plays by Euripides in the 882 section of your local library or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site. |
| Helen 2 |
| A tragedy by Euripides produced in 412 BCE. |
| Cast of Characters: |
| Helen |
| Teukros (Teucer) |
| Menelaos (Menelaus) |
| Theonoe |
| Theoklymenus (Theoclymenus) |
| Kastor (Castor) |
| Polydeukes (Polydeuces or Pollux) |
| This play seems to have reconciled the two versions of Helen’s tragic tale and the destruction of the city of Troy; it would seem that in 412 BCE everyone agreed that Troy had been sacked by the Greeks and that the abduction of Helen had been the cause, however, the Trojan War had been fought some eight hundred years before and the details were in question. |
| Euripides chose a very clever middle ground on which to base this story and portrayed the characters and events in a plausible way; according to Euripides, Helen was never in Troy and had never married the Trojan prince, Alexandros (Paris); when Alexandros earned the gratitude of Aphrodite (goddess of Love), by choosing her as the most beautiful goddess, he also earned the wrath of Hera, queen of the Immortals. |
| When Alexandros met and fell in love with Helen, Hera created a phantom in the form of Helen and the real Helen was taken by the god, Hermes, to Egypt; the king of Egypt, Proteus, offered Helen sanctuary until her husband, Menelaos (Menelaus), arrived to claim her. |
| As the play opens, we find Helen at the tomb of Proteus hiding because Proteus’ son, Theoklymenus (Theoclymenus), wants to betray his dead father’s promise and marry her; a shipwrecked Menelaos arrives at the palace of the new king and begs for an audience; he explains that he, his wife and his crew are stranded on the Egyptian coast and, as one king to another, he is sure that he will be granted help; he is told that Greeks are unwelcome in Egypt and that he will be killed if the young king finds him at the door; he is also told that Helen resides in the palace. |
| Menelaos believes that he rescued Helen from Troy and does not know that the wife he saved and has been shipwrecked with is the phantom-Helen; Menelaos then goes to the tomb of Proteus and finds the real Helen there; as they talk and discover the truth of their situation, one of Menelaos’ crew arrives and says that the Helen he and the other crew members were protecting has vanished into thin air; Menelaos and Helen begin plotting a means of escape from Egypt and devise a plan to trick Theoklymenus into giving them a ship. |
| The ending of the play is never really in question but the details of the drama are always intriguing; the play has many seemingly irrelevant, but interesting, asides but the most unusual is the recitation, by the chorus, of the story of Demeter and Persephone. |
| One very interesting element of the story is in the first few lines where Helen announces that she is in the land of the Nile and that it is fed, not by rain, but by melting snow; the historian, Herodotus (circa 484-circa 425 BCE), was the one who declared that Helen was never in Troy and was protected by King Proteus in Egypt; Herodotus also said that, while he was in Egypt, the priests told him the Nile was fed by melting snow; Herodotus thought them to be mad or, at least, uninformed; he carefully explains how ridiculous their explanation of the Nile’s flood waters were to an educated man like himself; it would seem that by the time Euripides wrote Helen (412 BCE), the matter had been settled and that, at least on this point, Herodotus had been corrected. |
| If you care to read the plays of Euripides, I personally recommend the translations by David Grene and Richmond Lattimore, The Complete Greek Tragedies vol. 3 & 4, ISBN 0226307662 and 0226307670; these books can be ordered from the Book Shop on this site. |
| Histories, book 2.19-27 and 2.112-120 |
| Helenos (Helenus) 1 |
| One of the many sons of King Priam of Troy; Helenos was a seer and one of the most resolute soldiers in the Trojan army; he was a man of intuition and fearless determination. |
| At one point in the fighting, the Argives seemed unstoppable; Nestor was shouting for the soldiers to forget the plunder and cease from stripping the dead Trojans of their armor; he knew that the Trojans were ready to retreat back to the safety to their walled city and he urged his men to advance before the Trojans could reach the city gates. |
| The Trojan commander, Hector, saw the determination of the advancing Argives and was ready to retreat until Helenos suggested a better stratagem; Helenos found Hector and Aineias (Aeneas) on the battlefield and perceived that the two commanders were clearly unsure as to what they should do; Helenos reminded them that the army would fight if they were commanded to do so and that the citizens of Troy, who were watching the carnage from the city walls, needed reassurance that their men were fearless and determined to defend Troy at all costs. |
| Helenos urged Hector to set the Trojan battalions in motion and not let them retreat; after the army was put back on the offensive, Helenos suggested that Hector go into the city and order their mother, Hekabe (Hecabe), to lead the women of Troy to the Temple of Athene (Athena) and adorn the goddesses’ statue with a fine robe; Helenos reasoned that the goddess would hold back the Argive advance. |
| When the two armies were considering whether to let a soldier from each side fight in single combat in order to stop the bloody war, Helenos advised Hector to agree to such an agreement because, as a seer, he knew that Hector was not yet fated to die and that he would win in single combat with any man the Argives put forth; at first, Menelaos wanted to fight Hector but Agamemnon knew that Hector would kill him and made him step back; the Argives decided to draw lots to choose an opponent for Hector and Telamonian Aias was chosen; Aias and Hector fought until the sun went down and the contest was ended with neither man wounded or humbled. |
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| During the fighting at Troy, Odysseus captured Helenos and, using his prophetic powers, Helenos told Odysseus that Troy would never be captured without Philoktetes and his bow; Philoktetes was an Argive soldier who had been abandoned on the island of Lemnos at the very beginning of the war because he had been bitten by a water snake and his wounds were festering and vile smelling; Diomedes was dispatched to Lemnos and brought Philoktetes back to Troy where he was healed of his wounds and, true to Helenos’ prophecy, Troy fell to the Greeks. |
| After Hector’s wife, Andromache, was released from slavery, she and Helenos were married and lived in Epirus. |
| The Little Iliad, fragment 1 |
| The Kypria, fragment 1, paragraph 3 |
| Iliad (Lattimore), book 6, line 75; book 7, line 44; book 12, line 94; book 13, lines 576, 582, and 759 |
| Iliad (Loeb), book 6, line 76; book 7, line 44; book 12, line 94; book 13, lines 576, 582 and 758 |
| Iliad (Fagles), book 6, line 88; book 7, line 51; book 12, line 114; book 13, lines 673, 675, 678, 685 and 876 |
| Iliad (Fitzgerald), book 6, line 86; book 7, line 48; book 12, line 108; book 13, lines 663, 677 and 874 |
| Herakleidae (Heracleidae) 2 |
| The Herakleidae or The Children of Herakles (Heracles); a tragedy by Euripides written circa 429 BCE. |
| Cast of Characters: |
| Iolaos (Iolaus) |
| Kopreus (Copreus) |
| Demophon |
| Mekaria (Mecaria) |
| Alkmene (Alcmene) |
| Eurystheus |
| The play revolves around Herakles’ nephew and companion, Iolaos, as he attempts to safeguard the children of the deceased Herakles; the despicable Eurystheus, who is better known as the man who thrust the Twelve Labors upon Herakles, has pursued the elderly Iolaos and the children from city to city in order to return them to Mycenae and put them to death; he has found them at the temple of Zeus at Marathon. |
| The king of the city of Athens, Demophon, refuses to surrender the supplicants to Eurystheus’ herald and knows that by doing so he has guaranteed that Eurystheus will attack Athens and try to take the children by force; Demophon assembles the army, prepares the altars with sacrificial animals and consults the oracles, past and present, as to how to best defend the city; the oracles give Demophon the sad news that if the city is to be victorious against the army of Eurystheus, the daughter of a noble family must be sacrificed to the goddess, Demeter; Demophon will not order one of his subjects to sacrifice one of their daughters and is at a loss as to what to do; if he turns Iolaos and the children away he will offend Zeus and if he fights Eurystheus without a sacrifice to Demeter he will lose the fight and the citizens of Athens will become slaves. |
| Iolaos bravely volunteers to surrender himself to Eurystheus but it’s obvious that Eurystheus does not want an old man, he wants the children of Herakles; Makaria (Macaria), Herakles daughter offers herself as the victim of the sacrifice; her speech is bold and noble and, while she’s speaking, you secretly hope that another solution can be found so that such a selfless and gallant young woman can escape death and simply live and be happy; in order to think that you have to ignore the fact that this play is a tragedy. |
| I won’t reveal the conclusion of the story in hopes that you will take the time to read this wonderful tale from a time and moral pinnacle long past. |
| I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene; you can find this and other plays by Euripides in the 882 section of your local library or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site. |
| Herakles (Heracles or Hercules) 2 |
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| A tragedy by Euripides of unknown production date; the play is also simply called the Madness of Herakles (Madness of Heracles). |
| This is one of my favorite plays by Euripides; it vividly illustrates the suffering Herakles had to endure because he was the son of Zeus; Hera, Zeus’ sister/wife, was determined to punish Zeus for his infidelity by making Herakles’ father, his wife and his three sons pay with their lives while Herakles is robbed of all future happiness. |
| Cast of Characters: |
| Amphitryon |
| Megara |
| Lykus (Lycus) |
| Herakles |
| Iris |
| Theseus |
| Lyssa (Madness) |
| The play begins after the city of Thebes has been conquered by a tyrant named Lykus (Lycus); Herakles’ wife, Megara, was the daughter of the former ruler of Thebes, Kreon (Creon), and she and Herakles have three young sons; to assure that there will be no future retribution for the murder of Kreon, Lykus intends to kill Megara and the boys as well as Herakles’ father, Amphitryon; Herakles is away completing his last Labor, Bringing Kerberos (Cerberus) from the Underworld; everyone assumes that this last Labor has been fatal for Herakles and Lykus has no fear that Herakles will return to save his family. |
| As Herakles’ condemned family huddles at the altar of Zeus in front of Herakles palace, Lykus delights in his seemingly unbounded power and taunts the frightened hostages; he dares not harm them while they are at the altar of Zeus but he knows that they will have to surrender themselves eventually; the people of Thebes have done nothing to stop Lykus and the Chorus of old men lament their inability to fight the tyrant or come to the aid of the innocent children. |
| Amphitryon makes several brilliant speeches which vacillate between begging Zeus to intervene and cursing Zeus for allowing such a fate to befall the family Herakles; finally, when all hope is lost, Megara and Amphitryon ask Lykus’ permission to go into the palace and make themselves ready for their certain death; Lykus agrees and leaves thinking that his vile plot is finally coming to a conclusion. |
| As Megara and the children are exiting the palace, dressed in their funeral garments, Herakles arrives; he has secretly entered the city and is infuriated at what he sees and hears; he and his family go back inside the palace while Amphitryon waits outside for Lykus to return; Lykus arrives with his henchmen and struts into the palace to witness the murders; as you can well imagine, the Chorus of old Theban men hear and applaud the shrieks and desperate cries for mercy coming from inside the palace; Lykus begs for his life but dies the ignoble death of a despot. |
| All seems well; justice has been done and the tyrant is dead; at that moment, the messenger of the Immortals, Iris, and the goddess of Madness, Lyssa, alight on the roof of the palace; Iris announces that it is the will of Hera that Herakles commit a despicable act of violence by killing Megara and the children; Lyssa tires to dissuade Iris from making Hera’s wish a command but Iris insists that the deed be done; Lyssa descends into the palace and afflicts Herakles with rage and insanity; he thinks that he is in Mycenae at the palace of his cousin, Eurystheus, and meting out revenge for the Twelve Labors he was forced to endure; Herakles kills his first son with his bow and then beats the second son to death with his club while the boy clutchs his knees and begs for mercy; Megara and the last young boy try to hide but Herakles brings them down with a single arrow; Pallas Athene (Athena) then appears and knocks Herakles unconscious with a huge stone; Herakles falls to the floor and the servants tie him to a fallen pillar; when he awakens he is totally unaware of his murderous rage; as the facts are laid before him and he sees the dead bodies of Megara and the three boys, shame and grief overwhelm him; he hides his face and starts thinking of ways to kill himself. |
| At this moment, King Theseus arrives from Athens; he has brought an army to free the Thebans from the subjugation of Lykus but he is too late; he finds his friend Herakles cowering on the steps of the palace in utter despair; Theseus is as noble as he is manly and convinces Herakles that the people of Greece will understand that this fit of madness was another despicable affliction brought on by Hera; Theseus fills Herakles with resolve and absolves our Ultimate Hero of his crimes. |
| This play is both sad and uplifting; you will find yourself appalled at the violence and, at the same time, filled with pride for Herakles and Theseus; read this play! |
| I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene; you can find this and other plays by Euripides in the 882 section of your local library or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site. |
| Herodotus |
 |
| Herodotus of Halicarnassus (circa 484-circa 425 BCE) |
| Herodotus can be easily characterized as the first true European historian; he is the noted author of what we call “The Histories” where he boldly states at the outset that he is writing so that “the great deeds of men may not be forgotten.” |
| The life of Herodotus is shrouded in the mists of time and all details of his travels and affiliations are merely conjecture but some very sincere scholars have tried to piece together his life using any and all fragmented facts at their disposal; I was very impressed with the candor of A. R. Burn in the introduction to the Aubry De Selincount translation for Penguin Classics, Herodotus: The Histories; Mr. Burn gives the following conjectured, but well reasoned account of Herodotus’ life: |
| Circa 484 - Born in Halicarnassus |
| Circa 464 BCE - Herodotus flees to the island of Samos after an uprising against the Persian satrap of Halicarnassus, Lygdamis |
| Unknown date BCE - Journeys to the Black Sea |
| Prior to 454 BCE - Returns to Halicarnassus and participates in its liberation |
| After 454 BCE - Travels to Egypt, Tyre, Athens, Olympia and possibly to Babylon |
| Circa 443 BCE - Joins the colony at Thuria |
| 430-1 BCE - Returns to Athens |
| Circa 425 BCE - Dies at Thuria |
| In The Histories, Herodotus intermingled accounts of past and contemporary events using personal observations and second-hand sources; some of his observations were well founded and seem to have been factual but others were utterly laughable; his recounting of the Persian invasions of Greece by the armies of Darius (490 BCE) and Xerxes (480 BCE) are considered to be definitive; when Herodotus asked the Egyptians about the source of the Nile floods, he discounted their “melting snow from the mountains” explanation as ridiculous because, as Herodotus brazenly noted, there were no snow covered mountains in Egypt. |
| While reading The Histories, it is easy to get a feel for the type of man that Herodotus might have been; his religious piety is clearly expressed but not dogmatic; it seems clear that Herodotus was a man of innate charm and this was probably the reason he was able to gain the trust of those he met during his diverse travels; historians who followed Herodotus learned from his success and improved upon his methods; we thus have this shadowy figure from ancient Greece to thank for an invaluable contribution to the accumulated sum of human knowledge and, on a personal basis, for reminding us to be aggressively curious. |
| Hesiod |
 |
| Hesiod is the Greek poet who shares the distinction of one of the two oldest sources of Greek literature. |
| Hesiod is thought to have lived in the eighth century BCE and to have composed classic poems such as Theogony and Works and Days; he is also, rightly or wrongly, credited with a variety of other poems such as the Shield of Herakles, the Astronomy and Eoiae. |
| The poem, Works and Days, reveals the only “facts” by which we have to judge Hesiod; he apparently lived the life of a farmer until his brother unfairly claimed his dead father’s inheritance; in the poem, Works and Days, Hesiod said that his family originated in the city of Kyme (Cyme) in Aeolis and that his father later moved to a wretched village named Askra (Ascra) near Mount Helikon (Helicon). |
| The Muse of Mount Helikon inspired Hesiod and he made his only sea journey to the city of Chalkis (Chalcis) to win honors with one of his songs; after that success, and the blessings of the Muse, Hesiod presumably earned his living through his artistic talents but, other than his own autobiographical statements, we really don’t know any significant details about his life or death. |
| Like Homer, Hesiod was given many honors and attributes long after his death by people and cities attempting to “cash in” on his reputation; even though The Iliad and The Odyssey, by Homer, are far more ambitious than Hesiod’s works, Hesiod’s contribution to ancient Greek literature is profound; his poem, Theogony, is considered to be the last word on the genealogy of the Greek gods and goddesses; there are several excellent books that include Hesiod’s poems and I personally recommend Hesiod, translated by Richmond Lattimore (ISBN 0472439030 cloth bound and 0472081616 paper bound) or the Loeb Classical Library volume 57 (ISBN 0674990633); you can order these books from the Book Shop on this site. |
| The above image might be the bust of Hesiod but the identity is not certain; this bust is a Roman copy of a lost Hellenistic original from the second century BCE. |
| Hippias |
| One of the sons of the tyrant, Pisistratus (Peisistratos), and the brother of Hipparchus. |
| After the death of Pisistratus, as the eldest son, Hippias took control of the government of the city of Athens; his brother, Hipparchus might be thought of as co-tyrant and was thus a powerful man in Athens; Hipparchus was in love with a young man named Harmodius but his affection was not returned; Hipparchus sought to humiliate Harmodius by publicly slandering Harmodius’ sister. |
| In 514 BCE, as an act of revenge, Harmodius and his friend Aristogiton devised a plan to assassinate the two tyrants but the plan went awry and only Hipparchus was killed; soldiers executed Harmodius immediately but Aristogiton was captured and tortured to death. |
| In 510 BCE, Hippias was besieged in the Acropolis and forced to leave Athens; he first went to the city of Sparta but eventually took refuge with the Persians; Hippias was a key element in the bad blood that developed between the Persians in that he slandered the Athenians to the Persian satrap, Artaphrenes, and urged him to make the Athenians subjects of the Persian king, Darius. |
| When the Athenians heard of Hippias’ betrayal, they sent messengers to Artaphrenes and reminded him that Hippias had been banished from Athens and that he was not to be trusted; Artaphrenes threatened the Athenians and said that if they valued their skins, they would welcome Hippias back to the city; the Athenians, of course, refused and this was the beginning of the enmity that later developed into war between the Athenians and the Persians. |
| During the first Persian invasion of Greece, Hippias actually assisted the Persian army as an advisor at the battle of Marathon in 490 BCE; he died in exile on the island of Lemnos; after Hippias was deposed and sent into exile, Harmodius and Aristogiton were honored by the citizens of Athens with statues and their relatives were given benefits such as tax exemption. |
| Histories, book 1.61; book 5.65 and 5.96; book 6.107 and 6.108 |
| Hippocratic Oath |
| The oath taken by medical doctors which is attributed to the greatest Greek physician of all time, Hippokrates (Hippocrates). |
| Hippokrates was born on the island of Kos (Cos) circa 460 BCE and recognized in his own lifetime as a remarkable scientist. |
| I would like to thank Lewis Stiles for his kind permission to use his translation of the Hippocratic Oath and the explanatory notes: |
| (NOTE: This translation is intentionally literal; violence is occasionally done to English syntax in the interests of preserving some of the original order of thoughts. Parentheses enclose transliterated Greek words, translated in each case by the preceding word or words.) |
| I swear, by Apollo the healer (iatros) and Asklepios and Hygeia and Panaceia and all gods and goddesses, making them witnesses, to fulfill according to my ability and my discretion (krisis) this oath and this legal agreement (syngraphe); to consider him who taught me this skill (techne) as equal to my own parents, and to share with him my livelihood, and to make a contribution of money to him at his need, and to judge his progeny as equal to my brothers in male lineage, and to teach this skill (techne), if they need to learn it, without profit and without legal agreement; to make a contribution of instruction and of what I have heard and of all other learning to my own sons and to the sons of him who taught me and to learners who are under legal agreement and who have also sworn by the law (nomos) appropriate to healing (iatric-), but to no other. I will use dietetic measures (diatema) for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and my discretion (krisis), and I will keep them (or “myself”) from harm and injustice. I will not give a deadly drug (pharmacon), not to anyone, when asked, nor will I suggest such a plan of action; similarly I will not give a destructive pessary [FN 1] to a woman. In a pure way and in a holy way I will conduct my life and my skill (techne). I will not cut, not even, indeed, those with stones (lithantes), but I will give place to men who are doers of this action. Into whatsoever houses I might go, I will enter for the benefit of the sick, being outside of all willing injustice and destructiveness and, especially, being outside of deeds appropriate to Aphrodite on the bodies of women and of men, free or slave. And what I might see or hear during treatment (therapeu-), or even apart from treatment, regarding the life of men, which it is not ever necessary to proclaim outside, I will be silent about, considering such things to be unutterable. On the one hand, therefore, for me fulfilling this oath and not violating it let there be enjoyment of a reputation for my life and skill (techne) among all men for all time; on the other hand, for me transgressing and falsely swearing, let there be the opposite of these things. |
| (Notes: [FN 1] Pessary: “from ... Greek pessos, an oval stone used in playing a game like draughts; hence a medicated plug ... of wool, lint, etc., to be inserted in the neck of the womb [or anus], etc., for the cure of various ailments ...” |
| Notice: This translation is the copyrighted property of the author (Lewis Stiles) and should not be reproduced without the author’s permission. You may contact Lewis Stiles through the web site. |
| Hippolytus (Hippolytos) 2 |
| A drama by Euripides produced in 428 BCE dealing with the tragic story of Hippolytus and the events leading to his sad and unnecessary death. |
| Cast of Characters: |
| Theseus |
| Hippolytus |
| Phaedra |
| Aphrodite |
| Artemis |
| Hippolytus is the son of Theseus and his Amazon concubine, Antiope (or Hippolyte); he is therefore not the heir or lawful son of Theseus; Hippolytus is a complex young man; he revels in the hunt and maintains sacred places in the forest for the glorification of his favorite goddess, Artemis; in honor of Artemis, Hippolytus remains chaste and shuns the worship of Aphrodite, goddess of Love; his denouncements of all women are clever but very dogmatic and unkind; to punish Hippolytus for his presumption and piety, Aphrodite causes Theseus’ wife, Phaedra, to become infatuated with Hippolytus and the foundation for a true tragedy is laid. |
| Phaedra, being a woman of morals and honor, refuses to act on the desires that Aphrodite has forced upon her; she decides to starve herself to death; her nurse and other servants try to convince Phaedra that her desires are not unwholesome or evil and they persuade her to allow the nurse to speak with Hippolytus and see if he might have some desire for his stepmother; the nurse makes Hippolytus swear an oath of silence and then tells him of Phaedra’s desires; he is outraged and confronts Phaedra with her wretchedness and immorality but says that he will honor his pledge of silence and say nothing to his father, Theseus. |
| Phaedra is shamed and stunned; in desperation, and to end her misery, she hangs herself and dies; but that is not the end of her depredation ... before she dies, still in the grips of the lust that Aphrodite has inflicted upon her, Phaedra writes a suicide note saying that she has been seduced by Hippolytus. |
| When Theseus finds his wife and the note, he is devastated; his rage becomes abstract and he rants against human stupidity and moral corruption; Hippolytus cannot understand his father’s rage and thinks that his grief stricken father is simply deranged; he has no idea that he has been accused of such a grievous crime as assaulting his stepmother. |
| Theseus soon explains the reasons for his anger to Hippolytus and calls down the wrath of his progenitor, Poseidon; Theseus exiles Hippolytus and cruses him to die in a foreign land without friend or mourner; Hippolytus pleads his innocence and begs his father to consult an oracle or at least wait for the passage of time before he renounces his son and dooms him to death; Theseus is adamant and orders Hippolytus from his sight. |
| A messenger comes to Theseus and announces that Hippolytus has been mortally wounded in a chariot crash; a monstrous bull came out of the sea and caused Hippolytus’ horses to panic and drag him among the rocks; Theseus consents to have the nearly lifeless body of Hippolytus brought before him but before Hippolytus arrives, the Goddess Artemis appears to Theseus and explains the entire dreadful situation; the goddess rightly lays the responsibility on Aphrodite and does not blame Theseus or Phaedra for the tragic state of affairs; regardless of who is to blame, Theseus is overcome with regret and shame. |
| When Hippolytus is brought before Theseus, he is nearly dead; he laments his pain and calls for Death to take him away; he then feels the presence of Artemis; she comforts him and promises to kill one of Aphrodite’s favorite humans in revenge for the death of Hippolytus; Artemis says that she cannot be in the presence of suffering or death and leaves Theseus and Hippolytus to say their goodbyes; father and son reconcile their differences and the play comes to a satisfying, albeit tearful, ending. |
| I personally recommend the translations compiled by Richmond Lattimore and David Grene or the Bantam Classic, Ten Plays by Euripides translated by Moses Hadas and John McLean (ISBN 0553213636); you can find this and other plays by Euripides in the 882 section of your local library or you can order them from the Book Shop on this site. |
| Hippolytus (Hippolytos) 3 |
| Hippolytus was one of the huge monsters collectively known as the Giants; the Giants were the children of Gaia (Earth) engendered by the blood of Ouranos (the Heavens). |
| The Giants waged an unsuccessful war on the Olympians and were severely punished after their defeat; the poet Hesiod states that the Giants were banished to the Underworld but Apollodorus of Athens clearly describes the brutal death of the Giants. |
| The Giants were mostly human in form but their bodies were massive and they were invincible in their might; they had long drooping locks on their heads and chins; their feet had scales like a dragon or serpent; whether they actually had the feet of dragons or whether they were simply scaled was a point of contention among several of the ancient authors; the traveler and historian, Pausanias, disputed the fact that the Giants literally had dragon feet but ancient artwork generally represented the Giants with serpent-like feet. |
| The origin of the Giants was either Phlegrae or Pallene but it has been suggested that the two names represent the same place; the Immortals were given an oracle which stated that the Giants could not be killed by a god or goddess so they decided to enlist the aid of Herakles (Heracles) to do the actual killing; when Gaia learned of the oracle, she began the preparation of a drug that would protect her awful children but Zeus culled a cunning brew of his own that would make the Giants vulnerable to the wrath of the Immortals; in order to have the time necessary for the creation of the drug, Zeus forbade Eos (Dawn), Selene (Moon) and Helios (Sun) to shine until his task was complete. |
| The goddess Athene (Athena) summoned Herakles and the war against the Giants began: |
| Hippolytus was killed by Hermes who was wearing the Helm of Hades which made him invisible; his brothers all met a similar fate: |
| Alkyoneos (Alcyoneus) - Alkyoneos was one of the two most powerful of the Giants; he was brazen in his contempt for the Olympian Gods and even stole the cattle of Helios from Erythia; he was immortal as long as he remained on his home soil, i.e. he could not be killed by man, god or beast as long as he remained in the land of his birth; he was, however, the first of the Giants to die; Herakles shot Alkyoneos with an arrow and the mighty Giant fell to the ground where he was revitalized by the earth and began to recover from the wound; at the advice of Athene, Herakles dragged Alkyoneos out of Pallene where he was no longer protected by his native soil and he died. |
| Porphyrion - Alkyoneos and Porphyrion were the two most powerful Giants; while Alkyoneos and Herakles were fighting, Porphyrion joined the battle but was immediately distracted by an intervention from Zeus; an irresistible longing for the goddess Hera overcame Porphyrion and he began to tear at the goddesses’ garments; Herakles killed Alkyoneos while Porphyrion was lustfully distracted and Zeus struck the unsuspecting Giant with a thunderbolt and rendered him helpless but not dead; Herakles shot Porphyrion with an arrow and killed him. |
| Ephialtes was shot with an arrow in the left eye by Apollon and then in the right eye by Herakles. |
| Eurytos (Eurytus) was killed by Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine) with a thyrsus, i.e. a wand wreathed in ivy and vine leaves with a pine cone at the top. |
| Klytios (Clytius) was killed by the goddess Hekate (Hecate) with torches; presumably he was burned to death. |
| Mimas was killed when Hephaistos (Hephaestus) showered him with missiles of hot metal. |
| Enkelados (Enceladus) tried to run away but Athene dropped the island of Sicily on him. |
| Polybotes was chased by Poseidon to the island of Kos (Cos) where the god broke off a piece of the island (called Nisyrum) and hurled it at the desperate Giant. |
| Hippolytus (Hippolytos) was killed by Hermes who was wearing the Helm of Hades which made him invisible. |
| Gration was killed by Artemis; Agrios (Agrius) and Thoas were beaten with brazen clubs by the Fates; the other (unnamed) Giants were struck by thunderbolts from Zeus; Herakles shot and killed each of the Giants with arrows as they lay suffering. |
| Pausanaus, book 7.29 |
| Library, book 1.6 |
| Theogony, line 185 |
| Histiaeus |
| The Persian tyrant of the city of Miletos (Miletus). |
| When the Persian king, Darius I (521-485 BCE), tried to invade Scythia, Histiaeus and other allies were left at the Ister (Danube River) to guard the pontoon bridge which had granted Darius’ army entry into Europe and assured his return to Asia Minor. |
| When it became obvious that Darius was defeated and that the Scythians had outmaneuvered the Persian army, the Scythians told Histiaeus and the other allies to tear down the bridge and let them capture and kill Darius. |
| Histiaeus convinced the other allies that Darius was the source of their authority and that his death would surely mean the end of their tyrannies; the allies made a pretense of destroying the bridge to appease the Scythians and waited for Darius to arrive. |
| The Scythians were unable to find Darius and his army because, being strangers in Scythia, they became lost and were not where the Scythians thought they should be; Darius returned to the bridge and made his escape from Europe. |
| The Scythians decided that, as free men, Histiaeus and the other allies were base and unmanly but as slaves they were very good because they were subservient and loyal. |
| As his reward for the safekeeping of the pontoon bridge for Darius, Histiaeus was allowed to occupy and fortify the city of Myrkinus (Myrcinus) in Thrace; one of Darius’ confidants, Megabazus, convinced Darius that Histiaeus was up to no good so Darius sent a message to Histiaeus and politely requested that he come to Sardis; Histiaeus immediately left Thrace and went to the king; Darius told Histiaeus that he wanted him to come to Susa and be his advisor; Histiaeus could not refuse. |
| Histiaeus soon realized that all his power and authority had been stripped away and he was a prisoner of Darius; he devised a clever plan to cause dissention in the Empire and unseat Darius; Histiaeus knew of the failed Persian invasion of the Greek island of Naxos and that the new tyrant of Miletos, Aristagoras was being blamed for the failure; in order to elude Darius’ spies, Histiaeus shaved the head of one of his servants and tattooed a message on the man’s bald head; when the servant’s hair had grown out and covered the message, Histiaeus sent the man to Aristagoras who shaved the man’s head and read the secret message; Histiaeus urged Aristagoras to lead the other Ionians in a revolt against the Persians and overthrow Darius. |
| Aristagoras was a desperate man and took Histiaeus’ advice; he united the Ionians and began what became known as the Ionian Revolt; the revolt failed and Aristagoras went to an early grave. |
| Darius suspected that Histiaeus had somehow been involved in the Ionian Revolt and accused him; Histiaeus cleverly explained that the only reason the revolt had been able to happen was because he (Histiaeus) had not been in Miletos to set an example for the other Ionian tyrants; Histiaeus told Darius that if he was given control of Miletos again he would subdue the island of Sardo (Sardinia) and bring it under Persian dominion; Darius believed Histiaeus’ lies and sent him back to Miletos. |
| When Histiaeus arrived in the city of Sardis, he encountered the skeptical Persian governor named Artaphrenes; he lied to Artaphrenes as to his knowledge of the Ionian Revolt but Artaphrenes was not as gullible as Darius and artfully accused Histiaeus of “stitching the shoe that Aristagoras put on”; Histiaeus feared Artaphrenes and fled Sardis for the island of Chios; the Chians promptly arrested Histiaeus as a Persian spy but he convinced the Chians that he was an enemy of Darius and meant them no mischief. |
| The Ionians wanted to know why Histiaeus had encouraged them to revolt against the Persians and he told them a believable lie; he told them that Darius was planning to relocate the Ionian Greeks and give their land and islands to the Phoenicians; although this had never been a plan of Darius, the Ionians believed Histiaeus and offered him assistance in mounting a new revolt. |
| Histiaeus then sent letters to Persians in Sardis who he knew to be hostile to Darius; the letters were intercepted by Artaphrenes and the recipients died for their treachery. |
| When Histiaeus tried to return to Miletos, he was greeted with armed resistance and wounded; the people of Miletos had lived without a tyrant for several years and did not welcome a man of Histiaeus’ ilk; he retreated to the island of Lesbos and gathered eight ships which he took to the city of Byzantium in order to blockade Persian ships sailing from the Pontus (Black Sea) to the Aegean Sea. |
| As the Persians were regaining the territory they had lost during the short-lived Ionian Revolt, Histiaeus was making plans to increase his military force and become more aggressive in his attacks on the Persians; when Histiaeus learned that the city of Miletos and the island of Chios were again under Persian control, he sailed south to retake Chios. |
| The Persians had greatly reduced the Chian defenses and Histiaeus took control of the island; he next sought to win the island of Thasos in the northern Aegean Sea but that campaign was cut short when Histiaeus learned that the Persians had launched their fleet from Miletos and intended to attack the remainder of the Ionians. |
| When Histiaeus put ashore near Atarneus (just south of Troy) to gather food for his troops, he was captured by the Persians; he was not worried about his safety because he assumed that he would be taken to Darius and pardoned for his transgressions; his captors, Artaphrenes and Harpagus, did not want Histiaeus to be pardoned; they beheaded and impaled Histiaeus; when Darius received the embalmed head of Histiaeus he had it washed and buried with due care; Darius probably would have pardoned Histiaeus if he had been brought to Susa alive. |
| While telling the story of Histiaeus, the historian, Herodotus mentioned a curious event that might give us a glimpse into his way of perceiving the world; Herodotus claims that the terrible defeat the Chians suffered at the hands of the Persians should have been expected because two divinely directed catastrophes had befallen the islanders prior to the Persian invasion; the first was the death of 98 out of 100 Chian youths who had gone to Delphi and died of a mysterious disease; the second was the collapse of a school roof on Chios which killed 119 out of 120 of the school’s children; Herodotus said that these events were “signs” and that they “somehow” gave advance warning of the great evils that were to befall the Chians. |
| Histories, book 4.137-139; book 5.23-25, 5.35 and 5.106-108; book 6.1-6 and 6.26-31 |
| Homer |
 |
| The Greek epic poet who is credited as the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey circa 750 BCE. |
| When we try to discuss Homer, we are up against the wall of darkness; there is absolutely no historical record of a man named Homer that can prove conclusively that he wrote, or at least composed, the epic poems known as The Iliad and The Odyssey; there are mentions of his birth, travels and death but they all come hundreds of years after he supposedly lived; after The Iliad and The Odyssey, there were many poems written about the Trojan War and its aftermath, these poems are usually included in a collection known as the Epic Cycle; the poems of the Epic Cycle are attributed to various authors but The Iliad and The Odyssey seem unique in that, in ancient times, they were always attributed to one man, i.e. Homer. |
| The question must be asked if Homer actually, single-handedly wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey; we simply don’t know the answer to that question ... however, with that awkward question asked and answered, we can begin making assumptions. |
| It has been suggested that Homer was a blind lyricist who traveled the countryside reciting his epic poems at public festivals; this has been calmly disputed because of the eloquent and vivid way in which Homer relates visual phenomena such as the sun glinting from the bronze armor or the way Eos (Dawn) lightens the sky; it has also been suggested that Homer was a god from Mount Olympos (Olympus) who wandered the world in the guise of a mortal ... how else could a man know the actions and thoughts of the Immortals and relate them so beautifully if he was not also a god? |
| As you can readily see, Homer has become as much a myth as the poems attributed to him; the renown classicist, Friedrich August Wolf (1759-1824), was the first modern scholar to dissect The Iliad and The Odyssey to determine their linguistic composition and origin; his conclusions were not reassuring to the “one man” theory; Professor Wolf concluded that the dialects used in The Iliad and The Odyssey were from Asia Minor, i.e. Ionic and Aeolian; he further asserted that the poems were probably a collection of many poems that were united to form the epics we enjoy today. |
| Regardless of whether we accept or reject Homer as the author of The Iliad and The Odyssey, the simple fact remains that his name has been enduringly linked to these masterpieces and will remain so until some new, definitive evidence is unearthed to prove otherwise. |
| The high regard that the Hellenistic and Classical writers held for Homer cannot be underestimated; there seemed to be an overwhelming desire to know the origins and final fate of Homer but all efforts were hampered by the lack of solid evidence; there seemed to be no shortage of wishful thinking or out-n-out lies but the scholars who were seeking facts were not easily fooled and sincerely did their best to sort out the truth from the fantasy; the following are a few of the more common conclusions that were unearthed: |
| Regarding Homer’s name: |
| Homer was given the name Melesigenes, Melesagoras or Melesianax at birth; he was born beside the river known as the Meles which was near the Cymaean colony of Smyrna; the different variations of the name, Melesigenes, simply mean Meles-Born; most researchers concluded that Homer was born beside the river Meles but there were others who insisted that he was the son of the river god, Meles. |
| An obvious question is: Why did a man named Melesigenes assume the name Homer? There are several explanations: |
| 1) The Aeolians decided to abandon Smyrna as a colony and gave each citizen the choice of staying or leaving; young Melesigenes said that he wanted to accompany (homerein) the leaders when they left the city and so he was thereafter called Homer. (Pseudo-Plutarch I, paragraph 3) |
| 2) Although he was born with normal vision, Melesigenes became blind as a young man and was given the name Homer because it was a variation on the word for blind people, i.e. homeroi; (Pseudo-Plutarch I, paragraph 2) (Proklos (Proclus) Chrestomathy I, paragraph 3) |
| 3) Another explanation for Melesigenes being given the name Homer was that he became blind as a young man and blind people required guides, i.e. homereuontes; (Pseudo-Herodotus, paragraph 13) |
| 4) Finally, it was said that Melesigenes was given to the Chains (or a king of Persia) as a hostage and that the name Homer was a variation on the word for hostage, i.e. homeron. (Proklos (Proclus) Chrestomathy I, paragraph 3) |
| Regarding Homer’s origins: |
| 1) When the Aeolian colony of Cyme was being founded, a man named Melanopus immigrated from Magnesia; he was the son of Ithagenes who was the son of Krethon (Crethon); Melanopus married the daughter of Omyres and they had a daughter named Kretheis (Cretheis); after her parent’s death, Kretheis became pregnant by an unnamed man; her guardian, Kleanax (Cleanax), sent Kretheis to Smyrna to avoid the shame that her unwed pregnancy would cause; Kretheis gave birth to her son by the river Meles and named him Melesigenes. (Pseudo-Herodotus, paragraphs 1, 2 and 3) |
| 2) There were three brothers from Cyme named Apelles, Maion and Dios; Dios left Cyme because of debts and migrated to Ascara; Dios married Pykimede and their son was Hesiod (the second greatest poet of ancient Greece); Apelles had a daughter named Kritheis (Critheis) but died and left his brother, Maion, as her guardian; Maion got Kritheis pregnant and, to hide his shameful deed, sent her to Smyrna to marry a man named Phemius; Kritheis gave birth at the river Meles and named her son Melesigenes. (Ephorus of Cyme, Local History) |
| 3) A local girl from the island of Ios named Kritheis (Critheis) became pregnant by one of the sprites who dance with the Muse; she was captured by slavers and taken to Smyrna where she was sold to King Maion; Kritheis gave birth at the river Meles and died soon after; her child was named Melesigenes; King Maion treated the child as if it was his own but he too soon died and left young Melesigenes an orphan. (Aristotle, book 3, On Poets) |
| 4) There are numerous other accounts of Homer’s origins; his parents might have been mortals or divine but the idea that he was born beside the river Meles seems to be a recurring theme; according to Hesychius of Miletus (section 2), his parents might have been from any of the following places: |
| Smyrna |
| Cyme |
| Kolophon (Colophon) |
| Kenchreai in the Troad |
| Lydia |
| Athens |
| Egypt |
| Ithaka (Ithaca) |
| Cyprus |
| Salamus |
| Mycenae |
| Thessaly |
| Italy |
| Rhodes |
| Rome |
| Lukania (Lucania) |
| Knossos or |
| Gryneia |
| 5) Several of the more romantic accounts of Homer’s origins are simply too good to be true: |
| a) He was the son of Telemachos (Telemachus) and the daughter of Nestor, Polykaste (Polycaste) (Hesychius of Miletus, section 1); |
| b) He was the son of the god Apollon and the Muse, Kalliopie (Calliopie). (Hesychius of Miletus, section 1) (Pseudo-Plutarch, section 4) |
| Which poems did Homer actually compose? |
| The Classical and Hellenistic writers seemed to agree that Homer did in fact write The Iliad and The Odyssey but there are other poems which were emphatically declared not to be the work of Homer; such as: |
| Margites |
| The Battle of Frogs and Mice |
| The Seven-Times-Shorn Goat |
| Kerkopes (Cercopes) |
| On Outsiders |
| The Epic Cycle |
| Amazonia |
| The Little Iliad |
| The Returns |
| Epikichlides |
| Ethiepaktos (or Iamboi) |
| The Battle of the Spiders |
| The Battle of the Cranes |
| The Potters |
| Expedition of Amphiaraus |
| The Capture of Oichalia (or The Taking of Oichalia) |
| The Homeric Hymns |
| The Kypria (Cypria) |
| |
| Regarding the death of Homer: |
| Despite the differences of opinion as to Homer’s birth and travels, there at least seemed to be some agreement as to how and where Homer died; presumably, he was told by an oracle at an early stage of his life that he would die on the island of Ios from an illness caused by a riddle posed to him by some boys; as strange as this may seem, it was “common knowledge” in Classical times that when Homer was on the island of Ios he encountered some Acadian boys returning from a day of fishing; when Homer inquired as to how their luck had been; the boys replied, “The ones we caught we left behind, the ones we missed we carry”; the boys were jokingly referring to the fact that the fishing had been unproductive and that they had spent their idle time removing lice from their clothing; Homer was so distraught by the incomprehensible answer the boys had given him to a seemingly simple question that he fell into a depression so deep that he could not eat or sleep and finally died; the people of Ios erected a grave marker that said, “Here the earth conceals that sacred head, adorner of warrior heroes, the godly Homer.” |
| |
| It is uncanny that the greatest poet of ancient Greece would be indebted to the most flamboyant of the Athenian tyrants; I am referring to the last great tyrant of ancient Greece, Pisistratus (Peisistratus); he ruled Athens in the mid-fifth century BCE and was responsible for collecting the widely dispersed books of The Iliad and The Odyssey and preserving them as unified works of art; the twenty-four books of each epic were finally labeled with the letters of the Greek alphabet (Alpha through Omega) by the scholars of Alexandria, Egypt and then passed down to us in their current form; if it were not for Homer’s prolific eloquence and Pisistratus’ recognition of the importance of The Iliad and The Odyssey, we would not have these wonderful epics and the tantalizing mystery which surrounds their author. |
| Hydarnes |
| One of the seven Persians who successfully mounted the revolt which deposed the usurper, Smerdis, from the throne of the Persian Empire. |
| When the second king of the Persian Empire, Kambyses (Cambyses) was occupied with the subjugation of Egypt, a Mede named Smerdis assumed the role of Kambyses’ dead brother, also named Smerdis, and claimed the throne for himself; Kambyses had secretly arranged the murder of his brother, Smerdis, and therefore knew that the Smerdis on the throne was not his brother but, before Kambyses could return to confront the false-Smerdis and reclaim his throne, he accidentally wounded himself with his own sword and died. |
| The false-Smerdis was very clever at concealing his true identity and never left the palace or allowed high ranking Persians to see him; the false-Smerdis not only bore the same name as Kambyses’ brother but was also physically similar to him, with one exception: the Median Smerdis had no ears; Kambyses had inflicted a punishment on the Mede that required that his ears be lopped off. |
| One of the seven conspirators, Otanes, was the first to suspect that something was wrong and he devised a plan to determine the truth of the matter; Otanes’ daughter, Phaedyme, was the wife the true-Smerdis and was occasionally required to attend the false-Smerdis as part of his pretense to the throne; Otanes instructed her to secretly feel Smerdis’ head to see if he had any ears; Phaedyme bravely obeyed her father and recognized the false-Smerdis for what he was. |
| Otanes began to recruit other Persians in what would ultimately be a rebellion; with the help of Hydarnes, Aspathines, Gobryas, Intaphrenes, Megabyzus, and Darius, Otanes plotted to murder the false-Smerdis and reclaim the throne of the empire for the Persians; the seven rebels fought their way into the false-king’s chamber and killed him; when the populace found out what had transpired, a wave of violence swept the city and only darkness saved the Medes from complete extermination. |
| The seven men then debated as to which type of government to establish; the former king, Kambyses, had been cruel and excessive in the extreme but Darius argued for another monarchy and finally won the others to his point of view; Darius was installed as the third king of the Persian Empire in 521 BCE; Hydarnes and the other rebels were granted special privileges in the new kingdom and were allowed to have an audience with the king at any time unless he was with one of his wives. |
| Histories, book 3.68-88 |
| Hypsipyle 1 |
| The daughter of King Thoas and the grand-daughter of Dionysos (a.k.a. Bacchus, god of Wine). |
| Hypsipyle was from the island of Lemnos and a woman of rare strength and resilience; when the Argonauts came to Lemnos they married the women of the island because they (the women) had previously murdered the all men of the island. |
| Before the Argonauts arrived, the men of Lemnos had “conceived a fierce passion” for the women they had captured during their raids in Thrace and neglected their wives; the women of Lemnos not only killed their husbands and the captive women but, to assure that there would be no retribution for their harsh justice, they killed all the other men of the island; during the women’s revolt, Hypsipyle refused to participate and helped her father, Thoas, escape from the island. |
| The Argonauts arrived a year after the women’s revolt and Hypsipyle offered the throne of Lemnos to Jason and bore him twin sons; there is a mention in Argonautika (book 4, lines 421-422) of the Robe of Hypsipyle which was a crimson Robe made by the Graces for Dionysos, given to King Thoas and then to Hypsipyle; she finally gave the Robe to Jason along with many other riches. |
| After the Argonauts left Lemnos, Hypsipyle was captured by pirates and taken as a slave to Nemea where she was the nurse for the king’s infant son, variously named as either Archemoros or Opheletes (the name Opheletes implies a debt or obligation); when the expedition of the Seven Against Thebes passed through Nemea, Hypsipyle acted as a guide for the soldiers and, while she was preoccupied with the soldiers, the child was bitten by a snake (or dragon) and died; she was granted a pardon for the child’s death and the Nemean Games were founded in the child’s honor. |
| Argonautika, book 1, lines 620, 638, 650, 654, 675, 698, 712, 719, 786, 836, 846, 853, 873, 886, 887 and 899; book 3, line 1206; book 4, line 426 |
can simply represent the sound M or be interpreted as a preposition meaning In, On, From, etc. depending on its placement when combined with other hieroglyphs; Hiero means Holy and Glyph means Carving.
