Pirithous

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Pirithous (/ˌpaɪˈrɪθoʊ.əs/; Greek: Πειρίθοος or Πειρίθους, derived from περιθεῖν, peritheein, 'to run around'^{[citation needed]}; also transliterated as Perithous), in Greek mythology, was the King of the Lapiths of Larissa in Thessaly, as well as best friend to Theseus.

Biography

Pirithous was a son of "heavenly"

According to Homer, Dia had sex with Zeus, who was disguised as a stallion, and gave birth to Pirithous; a folk etymology derived Pirithous' name from peritheein (περιθεῖν, 'to run around'), because that was what Zeus did to seduce Dia.

His best friend was Theseus. In the Iliad I, Nestor numbers Pirithous and Theseus "of heroic fame" among an earlier generation of heroes of his youth, "the strongest men that Earth has bred, the strongest men against the strongest enemies, a savage mountain-dwelling tribe whom they utterly destroyed." No trace of such an oral tradition, which Homer's listeners would have recognized in Nestor's allusion, survived in literary epic.

In disjointed episodes that have survived, Pirithous had heard rumors about Theseus' courage and strength in battle but he wanted proof. He rustled Theseus' herd of cattle from

Centauromachy

Later, Pirithous was set to marry

Centauromachy, a favorite motif of Greek art.^[5][6][7]

Hippodamia died shortly after Polypoetes' birth, after which Pirithous went to visit Theseus at Athens only to discover that Theseus' own wife, Phaedra, who, according to Ovid, felt left out by her husband's love for Pirithous,^[8][9] was dead.^[10] Thus, Pirithous and Theseus pledged to marry daughters of Zeus; Theseus chose Helen of Sparta and together they kidnapped her when she was 13 years of age and decided to hold on to her until she was old enough to marry. Pirithous chose a more dangerous prize: Persephone herself. Theseus objected, and tried to talk him out of it, as this act would be too blasphemous; but Pirithous insisted, and Theseus was bound by his oaths, so he agreed.^[11] They left Helen with Theseus' mother, Aethra, at Aphidnae, and traveled to the underworld. When they stopped to rest, they found themselves unable to stand up from the rock as they saw the Furies appear before them.

Rescue

Pirithous was worshiped at Athens, along with Theseus, as a hero.[18]^[19][20][21]

Gallery

• 
  Erinnye, den Peirithoos in der Unterwelt bindend (Vasenbild) (circa 1885)
• 
  Theseus and Pirithous abducting Elena by Pelagio Palagi (1814)
• 
  Herakles, Theseus and Pirithoos in Hades, with Hermes. (Attic red-figure calyx-krater between circa 450 and circa 440 BC)
• 
  Theseus and Pirithoüs Clearing the Earth of Brigands, Deliver Two Women from the Hands of their Abductors by Angelique Mongez (1806)
• 
  Theseus leading Helen to a chariot arranged by Peirithoos. Helen's sister, Phoibe (on the right), watches on. Attic red-figure stamnos by Polygnotos, ca. 430-420 BC.

References