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 ...
, Gorgophone ( "Gorgon-Slayer") was the name of two different women.
*
Gorgophone, 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 ...
.
* Gorgophone, a
Libyan princess as one of the 50
Danaïdes
In Greek mythology, the Danaïdes (; ), also Danaides or Danaids, were the fifty daughters of Danaus, king of Ancient Libya, Libya. Danaus and the Danaids feared that Danaus's twin brother, Aegyptus, was plotting to overthrow and kill them. So, t ...
. She married and murdered
Proteus
In Greek mythology, Proteus ( ; ) is an early prophetic sea god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" (''hálios gérôn''). Some who ascribe a specific domain to Prote ...
, son of King
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 ...
of
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
, on their wedding night obeying the command of their father, King
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 ...
. Her mother was
Elephantis and thus full sister of
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 ...
, who saved her husband
Lynceus In Greek mythology, Lynceus (; Ancient Greek: Λυγκεύς "lynx-eyed") may refer to the following personages.
* Lynceus, one of the 50 Sons of Aegyptus.
* Lynceus, king in Thrace and husband of Lathusa, friend of Procne. Tereus gave Philomel ...
and became the ancestress of the
Argead dynasty
The Argead dynasty (), also known as the Temenid dynasty (, ''Tēmenídai'') was an Ancient Macedonians, ancient Macedonian royal house of Dorians, Dorian Greek provenance. They were the founders and the ruling dynasty of the kingdom of Macedoni ...
.
[Apollodorus, 2.1.5]
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
{{Greek myth index
Danaïdes
Women in Greek mythology
Characters in Greek mythology