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 ...

, Gorgophone (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Γοργοφόνη) was queen of both

Messenia Messenia or Messinia ( ; ) is a regional unit (''perifereiaki enotita'') in the southwestern part of the Peloponnese region, in Greece. Until the implementation of the Kallikratis plan on 1 January 2011, Messenia was a prefecture (''nomos' ...

and

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

and one of the

Perseids The Perseids are a prolific meteor shower associated with the comet Swift–Tuttle that are usually visible from mid-July to late-August. The meteoroid, meteors are called the Perseids because they appear from the general direction of the const ...

, as a daughter of

Perseus In Greek mythology, Perseus (, ; Greek language, Greek: Περσεύς, Romanization of Greek, translit. Perseús) is the legendary founder of the Perseid dynasty. He was, alongside Cadmus and Bellerophon, the greatest Greek hero and slayer of ...

and Andromeda. Her name means "Gorgon Slayer", a tribute to her father Perseus who killed

Medusa In Greek mythology, Medusa (; ), also called Gorgo () or the Gorgon, was one of the three Gorgons. Medusa is generally described as a woman with living snakes in place of hair; her appearance was so hideous that anyone who looked upon her wa ...

, the mortal

Gorgon The Gorgons ( ; ), in Greek mythology, are three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, said to be the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They lived near their sisters the Graeae, and were able to turn anyone who looked at them to sto ...

Biography

Gorgophone was a Mycenean princess as the daughter of Greek hero

and his wife Andromeda. She was the sister of Perses,

Alcaeus Alcaeus of Mytilene (; , ''Alkaios ho Mutilēnaios''; – BC) was a lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic stanza. He was included in the canonical list of nine lyric poets by the scholars of Hell ...

Heleus In Greek mythology, Heleus or Heleius (Ancient Greek: Ἕλειος), also Helios (Ἕλιος), was a Mycenaean prince. Family According to the mythographer Apollodorus, Heleus was one of the sons of Perseus and Andromeda, and the brother of ...

Mestor In Greek mythology, Mestor (; Ancient Greek: Μήστωρ means "adviser" or "counsellor") was the name of four men. * Mestor, a Mycenaean prince. According to the mythographer Apollodorus, he was the son of Perseus and Andromeda and the brother o ...

, Sthenelus of Mycenae,

Autochthe In Greek mythology, Autochthe () was a Mycenaean princess and one of the Perseids, as a daughter of Perseus and Andromeda. Family Autochthe was a daughter of King Perseus''RE''s.v. Autochthe Tzetzes ad Lycophron494 and Queen Andromeda of Mycen ...

, and

Electryon In Greek mythology, Electryon (;Ancient Greek: Ἠλεκτρύων) was a king of Tiryns and Mycenae or Medea in Argolis. Family Electryon was the son of Perseus and Andromeda and thus brother of Perses, Alcaeus, Heleus, Mestor, Sthenelus, ...

. She was said to be buried in

Argos Argos most often refers to: * Argos, Peloponnese, a city in Argolis, Greece * Argus (Greek myth), several characters in Greek mythology * Argos (retailer), a catalogue retailer in the United Kingdom Argos or ARGOS may also refer to: Businesses ...

. Gorgophone was a prominent figure in the mythical history of

, having been married to two kings:

Oebalus In Greek mythology, Oebalus, also spelled Oibalus or Oibalius, (; Ancient Greek: Οἴβαλος, '' Oíbalos'') was a king of Sparta. Family Oibalus was the son of either Cynortas or Argalus. He was the second husband of Princess Gorgophone ...

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia (, , ) is a historical and Administrative regions of Greece, administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparti (municipality), Sparta. The word ...

and

Perieres of Messenia In Greek mythology, Perieres () was the 'overbold'Hesiod, '' Ehoiai'' fr. 4 as cited in Plutarch, ''Moralia'' p. 747; Scholia on Pindar, ''Pythian Ode'' 4.263 king of Messene, an ancient polis in southern Peloponnese. Biography Perieres' paren ...

. She is considered the first woman to have married twice. Pausanias, 2.21.7 As a result, many of her children's parentage is disputed. After the death of her first husband Perieres by whom she had sons

Aphareus Aphareus (Ancient Greek: Ἀφαρεύς) may refer to the following figures. * Aphareus, a Messenian king, son of Perieres and Gorgophone. * Aphareus, a Centaur that attended the wedding of Pirithous and Hippodamia. In the battle initiated by th ...

and

Leucippus Leucippus (; , ''Leúkippos''; ) was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. He is traditionally credited as the founder of atomism, which he developed with his student Democritus. Leucippus divided the world into two entities: atoms, indivisible ...

, Gorgophone took Oebalus as her second spouse. With him she had a daughter,

Arene Aromatic compounds or arenes are organic compounds "with a chemistry typified by benzene" and "cyclically conjugated." The word "aromatic" originates from the past grouping of molecules based on odor, before their general chemical properties were ...

. Her sons

Tyndareus In Greek mythology, Tyndareus (; Ancient Greek: Τυνδάρεος, ''Tundáreos''; Attic Greek, Attic: Τυνδάρεως, ''Tundáreōs''; ) was a Spartan king. Family Tyndareus was the son of Oebalus (or Perieres (king of Messenia), Perieres ...

Icarius In Greek mythology, there were two people named Icarius (; ''Ikários''). * Icarius, a Spartan prince, son of Perieres. * Icarius, an Athenian who received Dionysus.Apollodorus, 3.14.7 See also *Icarus, whose wings failed in flight Notes Ref ...

, and

Pisus In Greek mythology, Pisus (Ancient Greek: Πῖσός or Πίσον means ‘meadows’), also Peisus or Peisos (Πεῖσος), may refer to two different characters: * Pisus, a Messenian prince who later founded Pisa in Elis. He was the son o ...

have been named as the sons of both kings, and their parentage varies between accounts. Gorgophone's descendants played a central role in the

Homeric Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is ...

epics and the legendary pre-history of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. Tyndareus was the mortal father of

Helen of Troy Helen (), also known as Helen of Troy, or Helen of Sparta, and in Latin as Helena, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of Zeus and Leda (mythology), ...

Clytemnestra Clytemnestra (, ; , ), in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the half-sister of Helen of Sparta. In Aeschylus' ''Oresteia'', she murders Agamemnon – said by Euripides to be her second husband – and the Trojan p ...

Castor and Pollux Castor and Pollux (or Polydeuces) are twin half-brothers in Greek and Roman mythology, known together as the Dioscuri or Dioskouroi. Their mother was Leda, but they had different fathers; Castor was the mortal son of Tyndareus, the king of ...

, Timandra, and Phoebe. Icarius was the father of

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 ...

's wife,

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or , ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius (Spartan), Icarius and ...

. According to some sources, Lecippus' daughter

Arsinoe Arsinoe (), meaning "elevated mind", may refer to: People * Arsinoe of Macedon, mother of Ptolemy I Soter * Apama II or Arsinoe (c. 292 BC–after 249 BC), wife of Magas of Cyrene and mother of Berenice II * Arsinoe, probable mother of Lysimachu ...

was the lover 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 ...

and the mother of the god

Asclepius Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...

Notes

References

Apollodorus Apollodorus ( Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A ...

, ''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
* Pausanias, ''Description of Greece'' with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*Pausanias, ''Graeciae Descriptio.'' ''3 vols''. Leipzig, Teubner. 1903.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
Perseids (mythology) Princesses in Greek mythology Queens in Greek mythology Mythological Argives Laconian mythology Messenian mythology Children of Andromeda (mythology) {{greek-myth-royal-stub