Iphis ( , ; ) was a name attributed to the following individuals 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 ...
.
The feminine name Iphis (Ἶφις ''Îphis'', gen. Ἴφιδος ''Ī́phidos'') refers to the following personages.
*
Iphis
In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Iphis ( or ; , Genitive case, gen. Ἴφιδος ''Íphidos'') was a child of Telethusa and Ligdus in Crete, born female and raised as male, who was later transformed by the goddess Isis into a m ...
, daughter of Ligdus and Telethusa. Iphis was raised male and eventually transformed into a man by the goddess
Isis
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
Telestes
''Telestes'' is a genus of freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the family Leuciscidae, which includes the daces, Eurasian minnows and related species. Many of the species in this genus were formerly usually included in ''Leuciscus''.
Sp ...
.
* Iphis, as recounted in
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 ...
's ''
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 ...
'', was the slave of
Patroclus
In Greek mythology, Patroclus (generally pronounced ; ) was a Greek hero of the Trojan War and an important character in Homer's ''Iliad''. Born in Opus, Patroclus was the son of the Argonaut Menoetius. When he was a child, he was exiled from ...
,
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, ...
' companion-in-arms. A native of
Scyros
Skyros (, ), in some historical contexts Latinized Scyros (, ), is an island in Greece. It is the southernmost island of the Sporades, an archipelago in the Aegean Sea. Around the 2nd millennium BC, the island was known as The Island of the Ma ...
, she had been enslaved by Achilles when the latter conquered her home island, and given by him to Patroclus. Pausanias describes a painting of Iphis,
Diomede
Diomede (; Ancient Greek: Διομήδη ''Diomēdē'') is the name of four women in Greek mythology:
* Diomede, daughter of Xuthus. She married Deioneus, king of Phocis, and was the mother of Cephalus, Actor, Aenetus, Phylacus and Asterodia.( ...
and
Briseis
Briseis (; , ), also known as Hippodameia (, ), is a significant character in the ''Iliad''. Her role as a status symbol is at the heart of the dispute between Achilles and Agamemnon that initiates the plot of Homer's epic. She was married to ...
admiring Helen's beauty as the latter has been brought back to the Greek camp from the sacked
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 ...
.
* Iphis, a
Thespian
Thespian may refer to:
* A citizen of the Ancient Greek city of Thespiae
* An actor or actress
** Thespis, the first credited actor
* A member of the International Thespian Society
The International Thespian Society (ITS) is an honor society ...
princess as one of the 50 daughters of King
Thespius
In Greek mythology, Thespius (; Ancient Greek: Θέσπιος ''Théspios'') or Thestius (; Ancient Greek: Θέστιος) was a legendary founder and king of Thespiae, Boeotia. His life account is considered part of Greek mythology.
Biography
Th ...
and
Megamede In Greek mythology, Megamede () was the daughter of Arneus who became the wife of King Thespius of Thespiae and mothered his 50 daughters who consorted with Heracles. Otherwise, these maidens were born from numerous concubines of Thespius.Diodorus ...
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 ...
Tzetzes
John Tzetzes (; , Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He is known for making significant contributions in preserving much valuable information from ancien ...
, ''Chiliades'' 2.222 or by one of his many wives.
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...
4.29.2 /ref> When Heracles hunted and ultimately slayed the
Cithaeronian lion
The Lion of Cithaeron was a lion in Greek mythology which harassed the lands of king Amphitryon and king Thespius or of king Megareus of Onchestus, Megareus. Some myths say that it was killed by Heracles, while others say it was slain by Alcathous ...
, Iphis with her other sisters, except for one, all laid with the hero in a night, a week or for 50 days as what their father strongly desired it to be. Iphis bore
Heracles
Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...
Peneus
In Greek mythology, Peneus (; Greek: Πηνειός) was a Thessalian river god, one of the three thousand Rivers, a child of Oceanus and Tethys.
Family
The nymph Creusa bore him one son, Hypseus, who was King of the Lapiths, and three ...
, mother of
Salmoneus
In Greek mythology, Salmoneus (; Ancient Greek: Σαλμωνεύς) was 'the wicked'Hesiod, '' Ehoiai'' fr. 4 as cited in Plutarch, ''Moralia'' p. 747; Scholia ad Pindar, ''Pythian Ode'' 4.263 eponymous king and founder of Salmone in Pisatis.
...
by
Aeolus
In Greek mythology, Aiolos, transcribed as Aeolus (; ; ) refers to three characters. These three are often difficult to tell apart, and even the ancient mythographers appear to have been perplexed about which Aeolus was which. Diodorus Siculus m ...
, the son of
Hellen
In Greek mythology, Hellen (; ) is the eponymous progenitor of the Greeks, Hellenes. He is the son of Deucalion (or Zeus) and Pyrrha, and the father of three sons, Dorus, Xuthus, and Aeolus (son of Hellen), Aeolus, by whom he is the ancestor of t ...
.
* Iphis, variant for
Iphigenia
In Greek mythology, Iphigenia (; , ) was a daughter of King Agamemnon and Queen Clytemnestra, and thus a princess of Mycenae.
In the story, Agamemnon offends the goddess Artemis on his way to the Trojan War by hunting and killing one of Artem ...
or
Iphianassa
In Greek mythology, Iphianassa (; Ancient Greek: Ίφιάνασσα ''Īphianassa'' means 'strong queen' or 'rule strongly') is a name that refers to several characters.
*Iphianassa, one of the 50 Nereids, marine-nymph daughters of the 'Old Man o ...
.
The masculine name Iphis (Ἶφις ''Îphis'', gen. Ἴφιος ''Ī́phios'') refers to the following personages.
* Iphis, in Ovid's ''
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' (, , ) is a Latin Narrative poetry, narrative poem from 8 Common Era, CE by the Ancient Rome, Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''Masterpiece, magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the world from its Cre ...
,'' was a Cypriot shepherd who loved a woman named
Anaxarete
In Greek mythology, Anaxarete (Ancient Greek: Ἀναξαρέτη means 'excellent princess') was a princess from Cyprus, who is said to have been descended from Teucer. She attracts the love of a young man named Iphis, who she scornfully rebuffs ...
. Anaxarete scorned him and Iphis killed himself in despair. Because Anaxarete was still unmoved,
Aphrodite
Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...
changed her to stone. In a different variant they are called
Arceophon
In Greek mythology, Arceophon () was a wealthy man of Salamis in Cyprus, son of Minnyrides (), a Phoenician.
Mythology
Arceophon fell in love with Arsinoë, daughter of King Nicocreon (, Nikokréon) of Salamis (a descendant of Teucer), and wo ...
Alector
Alector (; ) refers to more than one person in classical mythology and history:
*Alector, son of Magnes (mythology), Magnes and Meliboea, eponyms of Magnesia (regional unit), Magnesia and the town of Meliboea respectively.
*Alector, the Boeotia, B ...
, was one of the kings 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
...
.
Polynices
In Greek mythology, Polynices (also Polyneices) (; ) was the son of Oedipus and either Jocasta or Euryganeia and the older brother of Eteocles. When Oedipus was discovered to have killed his father and married his mother, Oedipus was expelled ...
came to him for advice on how to get
Amphiaraus
Amphiaraus or Amphiaraos (; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιάραος, Ἀμφιάρεως, "very sacred") was in Greek mythology the son of Oicles, a seer, and one of the leaders of the Seven against Thebes. Amphiaraus at first refused to go with Adr ...
to join the
Seven against Thebes
''Seven Against Thebes'' (, ''Hepta epi Thēbas''; ) is the third play in an Oedipus-themed trilogy produced by Aeschylus in 467 BC. The trilogy is sometimes referred to as the ''Oedipodea''. It concerns the battle between an Argive army, led by ...
. He advised him to give
Eriphyle
Eriphyle (; ) was a figure in Greek mythology who, in exchange for the Necklace of Harmonia (also called the Necklace of Eriphyle) given to her by Polynices, persuaded her husband Amphiaraus to join the doomed expedition of the Seven against Theb ...
the necklace of
Harmonia
In Greek mythology, Harmonia (; /Ancient Greek phonology, harmoˈnia/, "harmony", "agreement") is the goddess of harmony and concord. Her Greek opposite is Eris (mythology), Eris and her Roman mythology, Roman counterpart is Concordia (mythol ...
. He was the father of
Eteoclus
In Greek mythology, Eteoclus (Ancient Greek: Ἐτέοκλος) was the son of Iphis.
Mythology
Eteoclus participated in the war on Thebes by the Seven against Thebes, and was occasionally included on the list of the seven leaders. In Euripid ...
,
Evadne
In Greek mythology, Evadne (; Ancient Greek: Εὐάδνη) was a name attributed to the following individuals:
*Evadne, a daughter of Strymon and Neaera, wife of Argus (king of Argos), mother of Ecbasus, Peiras, Epidaurus and Criasus.
*Eva ...
(wife of
Capaneus
In Greek mythology, Capaneus (; Ancient Greek: Καπανεύς ''Kapaneús'') was a son of Hipponous and either Astynome (daughter of Talaus) or Laodice (daughter of Iphis), and husband of Evadne, with whom he fathered Sthenelus. Some call h ...
) and
Laodice Laodice (meaning "people-justice") may refer to:
Greek mythology
*''see Laodice (Greek myth)''
* Laodice (daughter of Priam), a princess of Troy
* Laodice, daughter of Agamemnon, sometimes conflated with Electra
* Laodice, one of the Hyperborean m ...
(mother of Capaneus). He left his kingdom to his grandson
Sthenelus In Greek mythology, Sthenelus (; Ancient Greek: Σθένελος ''Sthénelos,'' "strong one" or "forcer", derived from "strength, might, force") was a name attributed to several different individuals:
* Sthenelus, son of Perseus and Andromeda. ...
, the son of his son-in-law
Capaneus
In Greek mythology, Capaneus (; Ancient Greek: Καπανεύς ''Kapaneús'') was a son of Hipponous and either Astynome (daughter of Talaus) or Laodice (daughter of Iphis), and husband of Evadne, with whom he fathered Sthenelus. Some call h ...
Argonauts
The Argonauts ( ; ) were a band of heroes in Greek mythology, who in the years before the Trojan War (around 1300 BC) accompanied Jason to Colchis in his quest to find the Golden Fleece. Their name comes from their ship, ''Argo'', named after it ...
, son of
Sthenelus In Greek mythology, Sthenelus (; Ancient Greek: Σθένελος ''Sthénelos,'' "strong one" or "forcer", derived from "strength, might, force") was a name attributed to several different individuals:
* Sthenelus, son of Perseus and Andromeda. ...
and brother of
Eurystheus
In Greek mythology, Eurystheus (; , ) was king of Tiryns, one of three Mycenaean Greece, Mycenaean strongholds in the Argolid, although other authors including Homer and Euripides cast him as ruler of Argos, Peloponnese, Argos.
Family
Eurysthe ...
, from
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
...
. He was killed in battle in
Colchis
In classical antiquity and Greco-Roman geography, Colchis (; ) was an exonym for the Georgian polity of Egrisi ( ka, ეგრისი) located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, centered in present-day western Georgia.
Its population, the ...
by Aeetes.
* Iphis, one of the defenders of Thebes in the war of the
Seven against Thebes
''Seven Against Thebes'' (, ''Hepta epi Thēbas''; ) is the third play in an Oedipus-themed trilogy produced by Aeschylus in 467 BC. The trilogy is sometimes referred to as the ''Oedipodea''. It concerns the battle between an Argive army, led by ...
. He was killed by
Acamas
Acamas or Akamas (; Ancient Greek: Ἀκάμας) was a name attributed to several characters in Greek mythology. The following three all fought in the Trojan War, and only the first was not mentioned by Homer.
* Acamas, son of Theseus, mentioned ...
.
* Iphis, father of Ligdus (see
above
Above may refer to:
*Above (artist)
Tavar Zawacki (b. 1981, California) is a Polish, Portuguese - American abstract artist and
internationally recognized visual artist based in Berlin, Germany. From 1996 to 2016, he created work under the ...
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 ...
Athenaeus of Naucratis
Athenaeus of Naucratis (, or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; ) was an ancient Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of the 2nd and beginning of the 3rd century AD. The ''Suda'' says on ...
Diodorus Siculus
Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...
, ''The Library of History'' translated by
Charles Henry Oldfather
Charles Henry Oldfather (13 June 1887 – 20 August 1954) was an American professor of Greek and Ancient History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He was born in Tabriz, Qajar dynasty, Persia.
Parentage
Oldfather's parents, Jeremiah and Feli ...
. Twelve volumes.
Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...
Gaius Valerius Flaccus
Gaius Valerius Flaccus (; died ) was a 1st-century Roman poet who flourished during the "Silver Age" under the Flavian dynasty, and wrote a Latin ''Argonautica'' that owes a great deal to Apollonius of Rhodes' more famous epic.Online version at theio.com. * Gaius Valerius Flaccus, ''Argonauticon.'' Otto Kramer. Leipzig. Teubner. 1913 Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library. *
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 ...
Publius Papinius Statius
Publius Papinius Statius ( Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; , ; ) was a Latin poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid''; a collection of occasional poetry, the '' ...