Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Chryseis (, , ) is a Trojan woman, the daughter of Chryses. Chryseis, her apparent name in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'', means simply "Chryses' daughter"; later writers give her real name as Astynome (). The 12th-century poet Tzetzes describes her to be "very young and thin, with milky skin; had blond hair and small breasts; nineteen years old and still a virgin". As the "golden one" she is also the title-giving character of the Baroque alchemical epic Chryseidos Libri IIII (1631).

Mythology

Astynome was sent by her father for protection, or, according to others, to attend the celebration of a festival of Artemis in Hypoplacian Thebe or in Lyrnessus where she was taken as prisoner by the Achaeans. According to some, she was the wife of Eetion, king of Lyrnessus (usually described as the ruler of nearby Cilician Thebe), who was killed by the son of

Peleus In Greek mythology, Peleus (; Ancient Greek: Πηλεύς ''Pēleus'') was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC. Biogra ...

during his campaigns against the allies of

Troy Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...

. However, according to the Byzantine poet John Tzetzes, he suggests that it was Palamedes that abducted Chryseis as well as Briseis. In the first book of the ''Iliad'', during the distribution of the booty, she was given to

Agamemnon In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (; ''Agamémnōn'') was a king of Mycenae who commanded the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans during the Trojan War. He was the son (or grandson) of King Atreus and Queen Aerope, the brother of Menelaus, the husband of C ...

as a sex slave by unanimous decision, in view of his kingly office. He bragged that he preferred her as a bed-mate to his wife Clytemnestra, because of her figure, her grace, and her skill at domestic tasks. Her father, the priest of

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

, came to the Achaeans' beachhead bearing the god's sacred symbols and offered the

Mycenae Mycenae ( ; ; or , ''Mykē̂nai'' or ''Mykḗnē'') is an archaeological site near Mykines, Greece, Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about south-west of Athens; north of Argos, Peloponnese, Argos; and sou ...

an king and his army gifts of gold and silver. Although the other warriors were eager to accept the ransom, Agamemnon rejected it. He treated the old man without the proper respect due to a priest, taunting him crassly with the image of the girl forever sharing his bed in distant Achaea, and sending him away rudely with threats of violence. Chryses, afraid, went apart and prayed on the beach for revenge. Apollo heard his prayer and, by means of his silver arrows, sent a plague sweeping through the Greek armies, so that Agamemnon was forced to give Astynome back in order to save his men from the disease. He sent

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

to return the maiden to Chryses. Agamemnon compensated himself for this loss by taking Briseis from Achilles. The offended Achilles refused to take further part in the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

. After the attack on Rhesus and his

Thracian The Thracians (; ; ) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Southeast Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied the area that today is shared between north-eastern Greece, ...

armies, Chryses came to the Greeks to thank them for returning his daughter, Astynome. Because of this kindness, and because he knew that his daughter had been properly treated, he brought her back for Agamemnon to have. Dictys Cretensis. ''Trojan War Chronicle
2.47
' A later Greek legend, preserved in

Hyginus Hyginus may refer to: People *Hyginus, the author of the '' Fabulae'', an important ancient Latin source for Greek mythology. *Hyginus, the author of the ''Astronomia'', a popular ancient Latin guide on astronomy, probably the same as the author ...

' ''

Fabulae The ''Fabulae'' is a Latin handbook of mythology, attributed to an author named Hyginus, who is generally believed to have been separate from Gaius Julius Hyginus. The work consists of some three hundred very brief and plainly, even crudely, told ...

'', states that she had a son named after her father by Agamemnon. In the city of Thebes in

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

, Chryseis gave birth to Chryses and declared him to be a son of Apollo. This took place when she was released shortly as a prisoner and allowed to return to her hometown. A few years later, when the children of Agamemnon,

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; ) was the son of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and the brother of Electra and Iphigenia. He was also known by the patronymic Agamemnonides (), meaning "son of Agamemnon." He is the subject of several ...

and Iphigenia took refuge in the Island of Sminthos, now the home of Chryseis and her family, she proposed surrendering the fugitives to King Thoas. Her son Chryses, learning they were his half-siblings, helped them to kill the Taurian king. In medieval literature, Chryseis is developed into the character Cressida.

References

{{Characters in the Iliad Trojans Greek mythological slaves Women of the Trojan war

Mythology

See also

References