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***Human Women in Greek Myths*** Harpalyce to Myrrha Harpalyce Harpalyce was one scary chica. She was a follower of Artemis, as she was a huntress princess, but she took hunting to a whole other level. She was so into hunting that she began hunting anything that moved (travelers, sheperds, villagers, you know). Now, the inhabitants of her kingdom weren't exactly peachy-keen about this, and so eventually they caught the princess in a net and beat her to death with sticks. Her name comes in two parts: "harpa" means "snatcher" and "lyce" means "wolf." Very appropriate. Hecuba Hecuba was the wife of Priam, King of Troy (let's review the Trojan War in the Myth Pages, if we haven't already done so) and the mother of the hero Hector and the dumbass Paris (some people consider him a hero, too, the reason escapes me). She was a beautiful woman who deeply loved her family and was NOT happy about the Trojan War, but couldn't do much about that. After Troy fell, Hecuba was captured and enslaved by the Achaeans. Hecuba was actually her name in Latin, the Greeks called her Hekabe. Helen Helen of Troy, or the Face that Sunk a Thousand Ships, was the stunningly beautiful daughter of Zeus and Leda. She came out of the same egg as her mortal sister Clytemnestra (she also had two famous brothers, Castor and Polydeuces), but Helen was the immortal sister. Helen was abducted by Theseus when she was still a child, so Theseus left Helen with his mom (Aethra) but she was rescued by her brothers. Later Helen married Menelaus (brother of Agamemnon, her sister Clytemnestra's husband) and bore him a daughter named Hermione. But then Paris came along (review the story of the Golden Apple in the Myth Pages) and abducted her and started the Trojan War (which of course they blamed on Helen, not Paris or Aphrodite). After the Trojan War ended, Helen and Menelaus were reunited and lived happily ever after. On the right is one Evelyn de Morgan's depiction of Helen. Helle Helle drowned at Hellespont when she fell off the ram with the golden fleece. She was the daughter of Athamas and Nephele. Hermione Hermione was the daughter of Helen of Troy and Menelaus. Her dad arranged for her to marry this cute kid named Orestes (who ended up murdering lots of family members and was haunted by Erinyes for a long time), but when the Trojan War began, he tried to get on the Greeks good side by marrying her off to Neoptolemus (Pyrrhus), the only son of Achilles. The two suitors dueled over Hermione and Neoptolemus was killed. What a suckie way to get married. Hero Hero was a priestess of Aphrodite who was loved by the hero Leander. Leander was quite athletic, and every night he would swim across the Hellespont by the light of the lighthouse at Sestus (where Hero lived). But one night there was a storm and the light was blown out, Leander couldn't wait though, and paid for it. When Hero saw his corpse, she, too, threw herself into the water and died. Hesione Hesione was the unfortunate daughter of Laomedon. See, he was dumb, and tried to get away with making the Gods work for him and then not pay them. Apollo sent a plague and Poseidon sent a sea monster (he wasn't the most original of the gods), and an oralcle told Laomedon the only way he could stop them would be to sacrifice his daughter. That would be Hesione. Lucky for her Heracles came along and saved her (he wasn't that heroic - he wouldn't save her until after Laomedon promised him a set of cool horses, which Laomedon didn't pay anyway). But she lived, so everything was happy (except that Heracles killed all her brothers except Priam, which sucked a lot). Hippodameia See Bryseis. Hypermnestra Hypermnestra was the only was of the 50 Danaides who didn't kill her husband (Lynceus). Now, the sisters weren't homicidal madwomen, but Danaus (their father) had instructed them to do it, and it was illegal to disobey your father. Hypermnestra (whose name means "special intent" or "excessive wooing") claimed that she couldn't kill Lynceus because she loved and respected him (because he left her virginity in tact. Danaus got pissed and sued Hypermnestra for disobeying him, but she was aquitted. Hypermnestra was the only Danaid to escape the fate of carrying sieves of water through the Underworld in punishment for her sins. Hypsiple Hypsiple's is a funny, if slightly morbid, story. She was the Queen of Lemnos. Now, the men on Lemnos had gotten into the habit of raiding Thrace and taking wives and concubines from there, and spurning the women of Lesbos. The women got tired of that pretty fast, and killed all of the men. For five years they lived without dudes around, and then the Argonauts landed. There was no bitterness left, and every woman on Lesbos had a child by the Argonauts. Hypsiple had twins by Jason (who never actually got to see these offspring). Ianthe Ianthe married Iphis. This is normal, except that, for some reason, Iphis was a woman. But Iphis was changed into a man so that Ianthe could marry her/him. Ianthe was from Crete. I actually really love this story, it's my favorite from Ovid's Metamorphoses. Ino Ino was the human daughter of Harmonia and Cadmus, sister to Agave, Semele, and Autonoe. Firstly, Ino helped raise Dionysus. That's important, because Hera was EXTREMELY bitter about it. Ino was the second wife of King Athamas of Orchomenus, who married her after tiring of Nephele. Nephele wasn't too happy about that, and complained to Hera, who sent a terrible drought to Orchomenus. When the King sent to the Oracle of Delphi, Ino bribed the messenger to say Phrixes (Nephele's son) should be sacrificed. She wanted her own children in power. The King was about to when a Golden Ram appeared on the sacrifice table. So they stopped sacrificing Phrixes and went after the ram. Eventually, with Helle his sister, they sacrificed the ram. Her first plan foiled, Hera blinded the King who shot one of Ino's sons. Ino ran away with her other son, but the King was after them. They reached a cliff and there was nothing to do but jump of into the river, which they did and both mother and son died. But Zeus took pity because Ino had raised Dionysus and turned Ino into Leucothea and her son into Pelaemon (a sea god). There is another story about Leucothea. Io Io was the beautiful princess of Argos who had the misfortune of being loved by Zeus. The two were getting it on when Hera appeared. Zeus, trying to save his and Io's skin, turned Io into a white cow. But Hera wasn't stupid and knew exactly what her wayward husband had done and asked Zeus for the cow. She had her hundred-eyed servant Argus guard Io. Zeus sent Hermes after Io, and the Messager God bored poor Argus to death (literally) and got Io away. Then Hera sent a gadfly after Io who chased her (still in cow form) until she got to Egypt, where Zeus returned her to human form. She is also known as the Egyptian Goddess Isis. There's a really awesome (if I do say so myself) elaboration of this myth here, in the Myth Pages. Iphigenia Poor kid. She was the daughter of Clymenestra and Agamemnon. Unfortunately, because of something that her parents did, Artemis required that Iphigenia be sacrificed. But at the last moment, she was sent miraculously to Taurus (a city) and Artemis put a deer in her place, or at least that's what Euripides says. Other stories say that she was actually killed. Iphis So, Iphis' daddy always wanted a boy. When Telethusa gave birth to a girl, she hid her privates and told her husband it was a boy, because she couldn't bear the thought of leaving her child to die on a mountain somewhere, and besides, Isis (Egyptian goddess) told her to. But this isn't something that can be short term, and Iphis was raised as if she were a boy. She grows, and her father betroths her to Ianthe (above), and Iphis genuinely falls in love with her. But it's problematic that she's a girl, and she can't really accept the idea. Ianthe, meanwhile, has no idea that her fiance has the same chromosomes. Anyway, mama and Iphis pray a lot to Isis, who, at the last moment, makes the sex match the gender. This story is told in the Metamorphoses. Ismene Ismene was a daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta and Antigone's sister. When Antigone was supposed to be buried alive for burying her brother (against the evil King Creon's decree), Ismene declared she had helped Antigone and demanded to share her fate. Ismene was the shy and quiet sister, but her love and loyalty made her strong. Jocasta Jocasta was the wife of Laius, King of Thebes (daughter of Menoeceus, sister of Creon). Now, while married to Laius, an oracle said that their son would kill Laius, so they abandoned their baby son (Oedipus) in the mountains. He survived, returned, and accidentally killed Laius (not knowing he was his son). Jocasta married Oedipus, and they had four children (Antigone, Ismene, Eteocles, and Polynices. When she finally realized she had married and had children with her son (or when Eteocles and Polynices killed each other), she hung herself. She is also called Epicasta or Iocasta. To see more about this story, visit the Myth Pages. Laodamia Laodamia was the wife of Protesilaus, the first Greek killed in the Trojan War. When she begged the gods to let her see her husband again, Hermes came and brought her down to the Underworld for a three hour visit. But when it came time to leave, she couldn't bear it, and killed herself to remain with him. Larissa This is sad and funny. Larissa was a maiden who shoved her father into a wine barrel to keep from being raped. She shoved him so hard he fell in and drowned. Leda Leda was the Queen of Sparta. Her husband was Tyndareus, but she wasn't completely faithful to him (no one particularly cared because she was the Queen of Sparta). Zeus fell in love with Leda and seduced her in the form of a swan. So, she had four children, two sets of twins, and each set of twins was born from an egg. The two girls were Helen (daughter of Zeus) and Clytemnestra (daughter of Tyndareus) and they came from one egg. The two boys, also called the Dioscuri, were Polydeuces, also called Pollux (son of Zeus) and Castor (son of Tyndareus). Leiriope Leiriope was the mother of Narcissus (whose myth is actually WRITTEN) and the wife of Cephissus (a river god). Leucippe There were actually a bunch of women named Leucippe, one of whom was a Minyad who went insane and had to give up her son to be torn to shreds, but read more about that below. Here I'd rather take the space to tell you amazing story of another Leucippe, the daughter of Thestor. Her life is totally a Gilbert and Sullivan production. When she was a very little girl, her sister Theonoe was kidnapped by pirates and taken away to a far away land (Caria) where she was made to be one of King Icarus' concubines. Their father, despite having three other children, was destroyed by her disappearance and went looking for her. Of course, he didn't have too much of an idea where she was, but luck would have it that he was shipwrecked off the coast of that very Caria. He was also taken captive and made a slave to the king. With her father gone, Leucippe saw that the responsibility to save them had fallen to her. Now, she had two brothers (Theoclymenus and Calchas), but I guess they weren't in the picture, so off she went. 'Course, a young lady all on her own in the great big world doesn't have a lot going for her, so Leucippe went and asked the Delphic Oracle for advice. The oracle told her, logically enough, to dress as a priest of Apollo. So she cut her hair, and followed all the Greek crossdressing guidelines, and, after a while, arrived in Caria. Unlike the rest of her traveling family, she was treated well and not made into a slave (the priest thing might have helped), but she was such a good crossdresser that Theonoe fell for her. In a very Potiphar's wife move, she hits on her sister, who is properly freaked out (even tho she doesn't recognize her long lost sib) and rejects her. Theonoe was pissed and locks up poor Leucippe. But she's not done! She then goes and finds a slave and tells him to kill the priest. Guess who the slave is! That's right, it's dear old Dad. Anyway, Thestor's not happy anyway, and killing an innocent dude is pretty much the last straw. So he goes to do it, but then at the second to last moment turns the sword on himself. Second to last because Leucippe recognizes her father (at least ONE of them isn't terribly nearsighted), and stops him immediately. But now Leucippe's really really pissed and goes off to hunt down and kill the ho who tried to do her like that, with Thestor tagging along behind. So there they all are, Leucippe has the sword high ready to get down to some serious smoting when Theonoe cries out her father's name. Thestor recognizes her, stops Leucippe, and King Icarus, apparently having no problem with losing both slave and concubine, sends them home with gifts. And, apparently, they all live happily ever after. Crazy, huh? Leucothea See Ino. Leucothoe Leucothoe was the daughter of King Orchamus of Persia. She was the mortal lover of Helius. Nothing wrong with that, except that the nymph Clytie had a major thing for Helius, and she wasn't too happy that Helius had the hots for another girl. So when Helius disguised himself as Leucothoe's mom to get in to see her, Clytie spilled the beans to King Orchamus. Orchamus was so angry he buried his daughter alive. Helius mourned and turned Leucothoe into a frankincense bush. Lyco Lyco was a seer. She was the sister of Orphe and Carya. In an Artemis myth, Lyco and Orphe were changed into rocks, and Carya was changed into a walnut tree. Marpessa There are plenty of stories about how gods chase nymphs and don't win. But there are fewer stories about human women who hold out against the gods. Marpessa was one of them. She chose a human husand, Idas, over the god Apollo. Here's how her story goes: Marpessa was the daughter of King Evenus who decreed that all her suitors must compete in a chariot race. Win, you get Marpessa; lose, you lose your head. Idas prayed to Poseidon, who gave him a chariot drawn by flying horses, and he won without contest. Then Apollo saw Marpessa and abducted her. Idas came after in the winged chariot and challenged Apollo to a duel. After one exchange of arrows (through which Idas stayed alive, impressively), Zeus interfered and said Marpessa should choose one. She, obviously, chose Idas. Meda A sad story, really. She was married to the King of Crete, who had to go off and fight in the Trojan War. Then this guy told her that her hubby was cheating on her, and so she decided to seduce the regent, Leucas, who'd been brought up as an adopted child. But the whole thing went sour when he turned out to suck, and he killed her and her daughter Cleisithyra (by Idomeneus, the King). Medea Although she was mortally born as the Princess of Colchis, she was the niece of Circe, and therefore a powerful sorceress. She had serious power, but ended up turning evil when she was scorned by her lover, Jason. She ended up becoming a Goddess and ascending Olympus in a cloud of smoke in a chariot drawn by dragon looking like a hag. Poor girl. By the way, that painting is by Eugene Delecroix. Megaera Megaera was the first wife of Heracles. She bore him three sons. But then, Hera drove Heracles insane, and he killed Megaera and his three sons. In penance he had to perform the 12 Labors. Megara A born victim - which isn't surprising considering her father, Creon of Thebes, married her to Heracles as his way of saying thanks for some political help. A hero like that needs a damsel in distress hanging near. According to my favorite version, this bad guy tried to take over while Heracles was away on business and, thus tried to kill Heracles' boo. And failed as the hero arrived in the nick of time, of course, but then Hera was pissed, because she liked the bad guy, and made Heracles go insane, whereupon he killed Megara and their children (there were between 3 and 7 of them by Megara). Then he went off to Omphale's to crossdress and be purified. Melantho Not terribly interesting in her own right, she was the daughter of Deucalion and Pyrrha who was seduced by Poseidon in the form of a dolphin (him, not her). She had his baby and named it Delphus, after whom the city of Delphi was named. Meleagerides You know Meleager, right? Cool story involving Atlanta? Well, anyway, he was killed by his mom, who through this log that had his life tied up in it on the hearth. The sisters, Eurymede, Melanippe, Phoebe, Eurydice, Menestro, Erato, Antiope, Gorge, Deianeira and Hippodameia, all were really broken up about his death and wouldn't stop crying, so Artemis, trying to help out, turned them into guinea hens, which were henceforth sacred to her. Except for Gorge and Deianeira, who went on to have their own stories. Gorge was raped by her father and had his child, but was eventually happily married. Deianeira went on to hook up with Heracles. Meliboea A HAPPY love story, if you can believe it. This girly fell for a guy named Alexis, and he for her. But their parents, wouldn't have it. Alexis couldn't bear being "so close and yet so far" so he moved down the block (actually the stream). Eventually, Meliboea's parents married her off to some other schlemiel, and Meliboea threw herself off the roof of her house. Interestingly, she was unhurt. Which didn't really help her out with the new marriage thing, so she hijacked a nearby boat to try and find her one true love. The boat, like magic, took her right to him, and the two lived happily ever after and dedicated a temple to Aphrodite Automate. Finally a happy ending! Melissae A name that means "honey bees" and was a title eventually associated with priestesses. Especially priestesses of Delphi and Persephone. Merope She was the granddaughter of Dionysus, and the daughter of a wine-making noble, Oinopion, who was one day visited by Orion (giant hunter stud). He fell instantly in love with Merope, and proposed. Even did some AMAZING FEATS to prove himself, but dad wasn't impressed (although Merope appears to have been). Then he got drunk (shocker) and raped her. Dad freaks out and asks Dionysus for help, who puts Orion into a deep sleep, whereupon Dad puts Orion's eyes out. Orion wanders off the island and wanders around for a long time, but eventually comes back for revenge. But by then, Oinopion and family (including Merope) are long gone. The end. Mestra One really cool lady, Mestra was the daughter of a sinner (aren't we all?). Her daddy, Erysichthon, cut down a tree in a sacred grove of Demeter. Demeter cursed him to have an insatiable hunger, but he still had a method of income. See, Mestra once slept with Poseidon, and he gave her the power to change into whatever she wanted (this is a power that is especially associated with the sea, by the way). So she started pimping herself out to support pops. Literally. I mean, she'd sleep with 'em, and then change into a man and get away. Unfortunately, despite her neato power and efforts, Erysichthon eventually couldn't take it and ate himself. And died, obviously. Don't really know what Mestra did with the rest of her life tho - it was a little hard to keep track of her. Metaneira This lady was the queen of Eleusis who received Demeter, in the disguise of an old lady, into her home while she was on her search for her daughter Persephone. Metaneira felt sorry for the old woman and offered her the job of nurse for her son, which Dememter accepted. Everyone in the house tried to cheer the sad woman up, and before she moved on, Demeter decided to try and repay the family. She took the son, Demophon, to a fire every night and held him over it to make him immortal. Sadly, Metaneira walked in one night and screamed which startled the goddess who dropped the baby into the fire and he burned up, whereupon Demeter revealed her true form. She still wanted to repay them, but this time she just gave the older son, Triptolemus, a chariot with winged serpents instead of horses, and told him to travel the world sowing wheat. Metaneira's husband became Demeter's priest, as did all of her children. Minyades The Minyades were the daughters of Minyas (king guy): Alcathoe, Leucippe, and Arsippe. When Dionysus came to their 'hood, they just chilled in the house doing chores instead of going out to his revivals. Dionysus, not surprisingly, wasn't happy, and didhis common crossdressing act to visit them and try to persuade them to come out and party. But the daughters laughed at her, and so Dionysus did this whole series of quick changes into various animals and made the girls insane and started liking the god. They even wanted to sacrifice something to him, so they drew straws, and Leucippe got the short one, and ended up giving up her son, Hippasus, to get ripped up in the god's name. They roamed the hills until they died, either as women, birds, or bats, and that area celebrates a festival in remembrance of why we should all like Dionysus and not laugh at strangers. Misme So Misme was an Eleusian woman (that should tell you which goddess this will deal with) who encountered Demeter while she was wandering and looking for Persephone. She offered the goddess (without knowing she was a goddess) a cup of water with grain and mint, which Demeter, who'd been traveling forever, drained in a single shot. Misme's son, Ascalabus, started making fun of the old woman, which was not the best idea. Demeter, who was in a TERRIBLE mood from the loss of her daughter, sprinkled the drops left in the bottom on the boy's head and turned him into a lizard. Poor Misme was only trying to help ... Myrmex Athena loved this girl, and she was clearly an idiot. I think maybe Hera liked her cuz she was industrious and a hard worker, but then Myrmex had to go and take credit for inventing the plow (CLEARLY an invention of Athena's), so Athena turned her into an ant. Myrmex=ant. Still works hard tho, doesn't she? Myrrha See Smyrna. Cool story, you should check it out. Back to Human Women: Acacallis to Evadne | Go to Human Women: Nausicaa to Xenodike Homepage | The Famous Ones | Goddesses | Humans | Nymphs | Monstresses & Monstrosities | The Myths Pages | Amazons | Men | Terms | Gallery | Dreambook | References & Links Contact me at ailiathena@yahoo.com Last Updated September 9, 2006