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 ...

, Eëtion or Eetion (; ) is the king of the

Anatolia 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 ...

n city of Cilician Thebe. He is said to be the father of Andromache, the wife of the Trojan prince Hector. In the sixth book of 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 ...

'', Andromache tells her husband that a raid took place upon Thebe, in which

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus () was a hero of the Trojan War who was known as being the greatest of all the Greek warriors. The central character in Homer's ''Iliad'', he was the son of the Nereids, Nereid Thetis and Peleus, ...

murdered her father and his seven sons.

Family

Eetion is described as the father of Andromache, who becomes the wife of the Trojan prince Hector, as well as seven sons. Homer also mentions a figure named Eetion who is the father of Podes.

Mythology

In the first book of the ''

'', he is described as the king of the city of Cilician Thebe, in the region of

Mysia Mysia (UK , US or ; ; ; ) was a region in the northwest of ancient Asia Minor (Anatolia, Asian part of modern Turkey). It was located on the south coast of the Sea of Marmara. It was bounded by Bithynia on the east, Phrygia on the southeast, Lyd ...

. In the sixth book of the ''Iliad'', Andromache tearily tells her husband of an attack which was mounted against Thebe by the Greeks. She relates that

killed her father, Eetion, also murdering his seven sons. Not feeling it right to plunder Eetion's armour, Achilles put him on the funeral pyre fully attired. His wife is never named, but Andromache relates that she was captured in the same raid in which Eëtion was killed, though she later met her demise at the hands of

Artemis In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Artemis (; ) is the goddess of the hunting, hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, transitions, nature, vegetation, childbirth, Kourotrophos, care of children, and chastity. In later tim ...

. However, a certain Astynome, also called Chryseis, was said to be the wife of Eetion at that time. She was carried off by

and later became the war prize of Agamemnon. In the Greeks' raid on the city, they stole goods which included a horse named Pedasus, a musical instrument called a phorminx, as well as a disc which later featured in the funeral games in honour of Patroclus. The author of ''Iliad'' was likely familiar with sources which related Achilles' raid upon the city.Bloch, para. 2.

Notes

References

* Bloch, Rene, "Eetion", in '' Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 4'', Cyr – Epy, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2004. . * Dictys Cretensis'', from The Trojan War.'' ''The Chronicles of Dictys of Crete and Dares the Phrygian'' translated by Richard McIlwaine Frazer, Jr. (1931-). Indiana University Press. 1966
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Hyginus, ''Fabulae 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.
*

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, 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 autho ...

, ''The Iliad'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Kings in Greek mythology Children of Zeus Characters in the Iliad {{greek-myth-royal-stub