Sacrificial victims of the Minotaur
In Greek mythology, the people of Athens were at one point compelled by King Minos of Crete to choose 14 young noble citizens (seven young men and seven young women) to be offered as sacrificial victims to the half-human, half-taurine monster Minotaur to be killed in retribution for the death of Minos' son Androgeos.
Mythology
The victims were drawn by lots, were required to go unarmed, and would end up either being consumed by the Minotaur or getting lost and perishing in the Labyrinth, the maze-like structure where the Minotaur was kept. The offerings were to take place every one, seven or nine years and lasted until Theseus volunteered to join the third group of the would-be victims, killed the monster, and led his companions safely out of the Labyrinth.[1][2][3][4]
Names
The individual names of the youths that sailed to Crete together with Theseus are very poorly preserved in extant sources. All of the recoverable information is collected in W. H. Roscher's Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie, which provides four alternate lists of names.[6] These are as follows.
List 1 (based on the largely corrupt one found in
| No. | Young Men | Young Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Hippophorbas, son of Alypus/Aethlius or Eurybius/Elatus | Alcathous
|
| 2. | Idas, son of Arcas | Melanippe/Medippe/Melippe, daughter of Pyrrhus/Perius/Pylius |
| 3. | Antimachus/Antiochus, son of Euander | Hesione, daughter of Celeus |
| 4. | Menestheus/Menesthes of Sounion | Andromache, daughter of Eurymedon |
| 5. | [Am]phidocus of Rhamnous | Eurymedusa, daughter of Polyxenus |
| 6. | Demoleon, son of Cydon/Cydas/Cydamus | Europe, daughter of Laodicus |
| 7. | Porphyrion, son of Celeus | Melite, daughter of Tricorythus/ Tricolonus/ Triagonus |
List 2 (source: painting on
| No. | Young Men | Young Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Phaedimus | Hip[p]odameia |
| 2. | Daedochus (=Dadouchus; or Dailochus?) | Menestho |
| 3. | [Eu]rysthenes | Coronis |
| 4. | Heuchistratus (=Euxistratus) | Damasistrate |
| 5. | Antiochus | Asteria |
| 6. | Hernipus (=Hermippus) | Lysidice |
| 7. | Procritus | Eriboea |
List 3 (source: black-figure painting on a vessel by Archicles and Glaucytes, from Vulci, in Munich; CIG 4. 8139)
| No. | Young Men | Young Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lycinus | Euanthe |
| 2. | Antias | Anthylla |
| 3. | Simon | Glyce |
| 4. | Lycius | Enpedo (=Empedo[8]) |
| 5. | Solon | Eutil... |
| 6. | Timo... | Eunice |
List 4 (incomplete; source: black-figure painting on a different vase from Vulci, in Leiden; CIG 4. 7719)
| No. | Young Men | Young Women |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Phaenip[p]us | Ti[mon]ice |
| 2. | Astydamas | Demodice |
| 3. | Callicrates | |
| 4. | Procritus |
Of these only Eriboea (Periboea), the daughter of Alcathous, does appear in extant literary sources[9] and has a surviving independent mythological backstory.[10]
It is also remarked in the Lexicon that some of the names on Servius' list have been observed to correspond to names of the Attic demes (viz. Antiochus: Antiochis; Cydas/Cydamus: Cydantidae; Melite: Melite (deme) and Melite; name of Melite's father: Tricorynthus), which makes it more or less safe to assume that they may have come from an epic poem about Theseus. The vase painters, on the other hand, could have simply made the names up, although those on Lists 2 and 4 have been found reminiscent of the epic tradition as well.[11] The name Procritus, appearing on two of the four lists, has been compared to "Procris", although others suggested the reading "Herocritus" instead.[12] The names Polyxenus, Celeus and Menestheus on List 1 (if restored correctly) also recall the Attic heroes Polyxenus, Celeus and Menestheus.
Notes
- Apollodorus, 3.15.8
- ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica 4.61.4
- ^ Plutarch, Theseus 15.1–2
- 16.4
- ^ Plutarch, Life of Theseus, 16. 1 - 2
- ^ Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (ed.): Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie. Band V (T), Leipzig, 1916-1924, ss. 691 - 692
- ^ Servius, Commentary on Virgil's Aeneid 6.21
- ^ Empedo was also the name of a spring on the Acropolis, later known as Clepsydra; see scholia on Aristophanes, Wasps, 857; on Lysistrata 913; Hesychius of Alexandria s.v. Klepsydra; Lexicon, Band I, s. 1243
- De Astronomica2.5 for the elaborate story of Theseus defending her against Minos' attempts of sexual abuse on the way from Athens to Crete
- ^ She was mother by Telamon of Ajax the Great; the most detailed story of her marriage to Telamon in Plutarch, Parallela minora 27
- ^ Lexicon, Band V, s. 692
- ^ Lexicon, Band III.2, s. 3027
References
- Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
- Bacchylides, Odes translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1991. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Bacchylides, The Poems and Fragments. Cambridge University Press. 1905. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8. Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
- Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888-1890. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Gaius Julius Hyginus, Astronomica from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
- Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, Lives with an English Translation by Bernadotte Perrin. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. 1. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
- Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, Moralia with an English Translation by Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1936. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
- Maurus Servius Honoratus, In Vergilii carmina comentarii. Servii Grammatici qui feruntur in Vergilii carmina commentarii; recensuerunt Georgius Thilo et Hermannus Hagen. Georgius Thilo. Leipzig. B. G. Teubner. 1881. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (ed.): Ausführliches Lexikon der griechischen und römischen Mythologie. Band V (T), Leipzig, 1916–1924, ss. 691 - 692; cf. also:
- Band I (A-H), Leipzig, 1884 - 1890, ss. 370 (u. Anthylla, Antias), 656 (u. Asteria 9), 661 (u. Astydamas), 942 (u. Damasistrate), 948 (u. Dailochos), 988 (u. Demoleon), 1243 (u. Empedo), 1396 (u. Euanthe), 1404 (u. Eunike), 1431 (u. Eurysthenes), 1441 (u. Euxistratos), 1691 (u. Glyke), 2434 (u. Hermippos), 2672 (u. Hippodameia 11), 2690 (u. Hippophorbas);
- Band II.1 (I-K), Leipzig, 1890 - 1894, ss. 927 (u. Kallikrates), 1390 (u. Koronis 5), 1673 (u. Kydanos);
- Band II. 2 (L-M), Leipzig, 1894 - 897, ss. 2211 (u. Lysidike), 2793 (u. Menestho)
- Band III.1 (N-Pasicharea), Leipzig, 1897 - 1902, ss. 2219 - 2220 (u. Phaidimos), Band III.2, 1902 - 1909, (Pasikrateia-Pyxios), s. 3027 (u. Prokritos);
- Band V ss. 964 (u. Timo), 965 (u. Timonike)
- Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft, Band I, Halbband 2, Alexandrou-Apollokrates (1894), s. 2393 (u. Anthylla)