Tydeus
Tydeus (/ˈtaɪdiəs, -djuːs, ˈtɪdiəs/; Ancient Greek: Τυδεύς Tūdeus) was an Aetolian hero in Greek mythology, belonging to the generation before the Trojan War. He was one of the Seven against Thebes, and the father of Diomedes, who is frequently known by the patronymic Tydides.
Life
Tydeus was a son of Oeneus and either Periboea, Oeneus's second wife, or Gorge, Oeneus's daughter. He was the husband of Deipyle, the mother of Diomedes.
Tydeus was banished from Calydon by his uncle Agrius because he had killed either his brother or a different uncle or six of his cousins. He travelled to Argos, where he married Deipyle, daughter of king Adrastus.
Seven against Thebes
Gathering of the Seven
While housing Tydeus, King Adrastus of Argos also lodged
Through marriage into Adrastus's family, Polynices and Tydeus became princes of Argos, had children, and generally lived well. Adrastus promised that he would help restore their kingdoms to them (or in other versions of the myth, Polynices asks Adrastus to help him take back Thebes)[3] and he organized the expedition of the Seven against Thebes, and their army raised from Argolis (the area around Argos), the largest army that had ever appeared in Greece to that time.
Nemean Games
Shortly after the expedition arrived in
Envoy to Thebes
When the expedition reached Cithaeron, Tydeus was sent ahead to demand that the Thebans reinstate Polynices. Frustrated with being ignored by Eteocles, Tydeus issued one-on-one challenges to multiple men and vanquished each one with power granted to him by Athena.
While Tydeus returned to his allies, the Thebans amassed a force of fifty men, led by Maeon and Polyphontes, and ambushed him. Tydeus killed every man with the exception of Maeon, whom he allowed to live due to signs from the gods.[5]
Cannibalism
During the war, Tydeus was mortally wounded by Melanippus, the son of Astacus. The goddess Athena intended to make Tydeus immortal, but the seer Amphiaraus, knowing this and hating Tydeus, cut off Melanippus' head and gave it to Tydeus, who proceeded to eat the brains of his killer. As was Amphiaraus's intention, Athena was so appalled that she changed her mind and let Tydeus die.
In literature and art
The 7th century poet Mimnermus attributes the murder of Ismene, the sister of Antigone, to Tydeus. No other Classical writer mentions the story, but the scene is represented on a 6th-century Corinthian black-figure amphora now housed in the Louvre.[6]
Tydeus also appears in
Tydeus is mentioned multiple times in the Iliad. One of the most notable mentions is in Book IV where Agamemnon reminds Diomedes of the deeds of his father Tydeus. Agamemnon recites the events told in the section above.[7]
Notes
- ^ a b Apollodorus 3.6 (p. 51 Anthology of Classical Myth Translated by Stephen M. Trzaskoma)
- ^ Hyginus (p. 237 Anthology of Classical Myth Translated by Stephen M. Trzaskoma)
- ^ Hyginus (p. 237 Anthology of Classical Myth Translated by Stephen M. Trzaskoma).
- ^ Apollodorus 3.6 (Stephen M. Trzaskoma, Anthology of Classical Myth Translated, pp. 51–52)
- ^ Apollodorus, 1.8.5 & 3.6.1-8; Homer, Iliad 4.394 ff.
- ISBN 0-521-35981-3.
- ^ Homer. The Iliad (translated by Richmond Lattimore). Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1951, p. 123.
References
- Seven Against Thebes377-394
- Homer, Iliad 4.396–435, 5.853–861
- Mimnermus, fr. 21
- Pseudo-Apollodorus 1.8.5, 3.6.1–8
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