Rape_Marpessa_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_2417_n2

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 ...

, Marpessa (, "the robbed one") was an

Aetolia Aetolia () is a mountainous region of Greece on the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth, forming the eastern part of the modern regional unit of Aetolia-Acarnania. Geography The Achelous River separates Aetolia from Acarnania to the west; on ...

n princess and a granddaughter of

Ares Ares (; , ''Árēs'' ) is the List of Greek deities, Greek god of war god, war and courage. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. The Greeks were ambivalent towards him. He embodies the physical valor necessary for ...

Family

Marpessa was the daughter of King Evenus of

(son of

either by Demonice or

Sterope Sterope (; Ancient Greek: Στερόπη, , from , ''steropē'', lightning) was the name of several individuals in Greek mythology: * Sterope (or Asterope), one of the Pleiades and the wife of Oenomaus (or his mother by Ares). * Sterope, a Pleu ...

) and princess Alcippe (daughter of King

Oenomaus In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus (also Oenamaus; , ''Oinómaos'') of Pisa (Greece), Pisa, was the father of Hippodamia (daughter of Oenomaus), Hippodamia and the son of Ares. His name ''Oinomaos'' denotes a wine man. Family Oenomaeus' mother ...

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

, ''Parallela minora'' 40 She attracted the attention of the hero

Idas In Greek mythology, Idas (; ), was a Messenian prince. He was one of the Argonauts, a participant in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar and contender with the gods. Idas was described as keen and spirited.Hyginus, ''Fabulae'14/ref> Family Idas ...

as well as the god

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 ...

. Marpessa eventually married Idas, by whom she begot

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

, the future wife of the hero

Meleager In Greek mythology, Meleager (, ) was a hero venerated in his '' temenos'' at Calydon in Aetolia. He was already famed as the host of the Calydonian boar hunt in the epic tradition that was reworked by Homer. Meleager is also mentioned as o ...

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 ...

, ''

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 ...

'' 9.557

Mythology

Samuel Finley Breese Morse - The Judgment of Jupiter - 1941

Marpessa was a beautiful lady, described as being "fair-ankled". Idas, son of King Aphareus, came from

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' ...

to ask for the hand of Marpessa, but Evenus refused his request because he wanted his daughter to remain a virgin. Idas went to his father

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

and begged for the use of a winged

chariot A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid Propulsion, motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk O ...

. After Poseidon consented to his use of the chariot, Idas kidnapped Marpessa and carried her away from a band of dancers and to Pleuron in

. Her father, after chasing the couple for a long time, realized that he could not catch up to them. In his madness, he killed his horses and then drowned himself in a nearby river Lycormas and became immortal. The river was named later after him. In another version, Apollo also wanted Marpessa and pursued Idas as he carried away Marpessa. As the two fought for the girl's hand,

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

intervened and asked Marpessa to choose between the mortal and the god. Marpessa chose Idas, reasoning to Apollo that had she chosen the god, she would have eventually grown old and lost his affections. In Homer's version, Marpessa was already married to Idas when Apollo carried her away from her husband. Idas, however, confronted Apollo: :

Idas that was mightiest of men that were then upon the face of earth;
who also took his bow to face the king Phoebus Apollo
for the sake of the fair-ankled maid .e. MarpessaHomer, ''Iliad'' 9.557 '

When Idas was slain by the hands of Polydeuces, one of the Dioscuri, Marpessa killed herself.Pausanias, 4.2.7 & 5.18.2

Modern use of the name

* ''Marpessa'', as a name, was used to describe a 206,000 ton

Shell Oil Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company, headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Y ...

company

supertanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cr ...

(

VLCC An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

). In December 1969, it became the world's largest oil tanker to sink up to that date. ''Marpessa'' had been on its maiden voyage from Europort,

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, when an explosion ripped through the hull and it foundered 50 miles off the west coast of Africa.

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
*

Bacchylides Bacchylides (; ''Bakkhulides''; – ) was a Greek lyric poet. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets, which included his uncle Simonides. The elegance and polished style of his lyrics have been noted in Bacchylidea ...

, ''Odes'' translated by Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1991
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Bacchylides, ''The Poems and Fragments''. Cambridge University Press. 1905
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''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.
* Homer, ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, ''Moralia'' with an English Translation by Frank Cole Babbitt. Cambridge, MA. Harvard University Press. London. William Heinemann Ltd. 1936
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Greek text available from the same website
* Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus, ''Morals'' translated from the Greek by several hands. Corrected and revised by. William W. Goodwin, Ph.D. Boston. Little, Brown, and Company. Cambridge. Press Of John Wilson and son. 1874. 5
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* 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
*

Sextus Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium (now Assisi) and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the ...

, ''Elegies'' from ''Charm.'' Vincent Katz. trans. Los Angeles. Sun & Moon Press. 1995
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.Latin text available at the same website

External links

*{{Commons category-inline, Marpessa Children of Greek river gods Women of Apollo Mortal parents of demigods in classical mythology Princesses in Greek mythology Mythological Aetolians