Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities of ...

, Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was the ancient Queen of

Sparta Sparta (Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...

, which was named in her honour. Pausanias
3.1.2
/ref>

Family

Sparta was one of two daughters of King Eurotas of

Laconia Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, con ...

and Clete, with the other being Tiasa. By her husband, Lacedaemon, Sparta became the mother of

Amyclas In Greek mythology, Amyclas ( grc, Ἀμύκλας) refers to two individuals: * Amyclas, a mythical king of Sparta. Pausanias, 10.9.5 *Amyclas, a Theban prince as the son of King Amphion and Niobe, daughter of Tantalus.Apollodorus, 3.5.6 He peris ...

and

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several meanings for the name ...

, wife of King Acrisius of Argos, and the grandmother of Hyacinthus, who was loved by

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

and

Zephyrus #REDIRECT Anemoi#Zephyrus%20(Favonius) {{wikidata redirect Greek gods Greek legendary creatures Wind deities Characters in Greek mythology LGBT themes in Greek mythology ...

. She was also an ancestor of King Tyndareus of Sparta and his brother Icarius and their children

Clytemnestra Clytemnestra (; grc-gre, Κλυταιμνήστρα, ''Klytaimnḗstrā'', ), in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the twin sister of Helen of Troy. In Aeschylus' '' Oresteia'', she murders Agamemnon – said ...

, Castor and

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

.Pausanias
3.1.4
/ref>

Mythology

According to traditions recorded by Pausanias, Sparta's father having no male heirs bequeathed his kingdom to Lacedaemon. When he became king, he changed the name of the land and the inhabitants to Lacedaemon and Lacedaemonians, respectively, and he founded the City of Sparta, which was named after his wife. Sparta was represented on a sacrificial tripod at Amyclae.

Family tree

Notes

References

* Apollodorus, ''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
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparta (Mythology) Queens in Greek mythology Spartan princesses Princesses in Greek mythology Rulers of Sparta Women in Greek mythology Laconian characters in Greek mythology Characters in Greek mythology Laconian mythology