Cleopatra ({{langx, grc, Κλεοπάτρα ''Kleopatra''; "Glory of the father") in

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 ...

was the name of two Danaides of altogether 50 daughters of

Danaus In Greek mythology, Danaus (, ; ''Danaós'') was the king of Libya. His myth is a foundation legend of Argos, one of the foremost Mycenaean cities of the Peloponnesus. In Homer's ''Iliad'', " Danaans" ("tribe of Danaus") and " Argives" comm ...

sired with different women. Each of the two Cleopatras married – like all their sisters – one of the 50 sons of Danaus’ twin brother

Aegyptus In Greek mythology, Aegyptus or Ægyptus (; ) was a legendary king of ancient Egypt. He was a descendant of the princess Io through his father Belus, and of the river-god Nilus as both the father of Achiroe, his mother and as a great, great-g ...

. One Cleopatra, whose mother was a

hamadryad In Greek mythology, a Hamadryad or Hamadryas (; ) is a tree nymph. They are born bonded to a certain tree on which their life depends. Some maintain that a Hamadryad is the tree itself, with a normal dryad being simply the indwelling entity, or ...

( Atlantia or Phoebe), married

Agenor Agenor (; ) was in Greek mythology and history a Phoenician monarch, king of Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre or Sidon. The Greeks, Greek historian Herodotus (c. 484–425 BC), born in the city of Halicarnassus under the Achaemenid Empire, estimated that Agen ...

, and the other Cleopatra, the daughter of the

naiad In Greek mythology, the naiads (; ), sometimes also hydriads, are a type of female spirit, or nymph, presiding over fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of fresh water. They are distinct from river gods, who embodied ...

Polyxo Polyxo (; Ancient Greek: Πολυξώ ''Poluxṓ'') is the name of several figures in Greek mythology: *Polyxo, one of the 3,000 Oceanids, water-nymph daughters of the Titans Oceanus and his sister-wife Tethys. *Polyxo, one of the Hyades.''Hy ...

, married

Hermus In Greek mythology, Hermus or Hermos (Ancient Greek: Ἕρμος) is a name attributed to multiple characters: * Hermus, god of the river Hermus (modern Gediz river) located in the Aegean region of Lydia (modern Turkey). Like most of the rive ...

.Apollodorus, ''Library'' 2.1.5.7; but according to another tradition by

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'' 170) a Danaid Cleopatra was the wife of Aegyptus’ son Menalces. Like all Danaides – except

Hypermnestra In Greek mythology, Hypermnestra (, ''Hypermnēstra'') was by birth a Libyan princess and by marriage a queen of Argos. She is a daughter of King Danaus, and one of the 50 Danaids. Hypermnestra is most notable for being the only Danaid that be ...

– both Cleopatras killed their husbands on their wedding night.

Notes

References

Samson Eitrem Samson Eitrem (28 December 1872 – 8 July 1966) was a Norwegian philologist, an expert in ancient literature, religion and magic. Personal life Eitrem was born in Kragerø to Samson Eitrem (1832–1923) and Anine Marie Nielsen, and he was a bro ...

: ''Kleopatra 5)''. In: ''

Realencyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft The Pauly encyclopedias or the Pauly-Wissowa family of encyclopedias, are a set of related encyclopedias on Greco-Roman world, Greco-Roman classical studies, topics and scholarship. The first of these, or (1839–1852), was begun by compiler A ...

'', vol XI, 1 (1921), col. 733. Women in Greek mythology Danaïdes