Dirce (Ancient Greek: Δίρκη, pronounced Dirke, modern Greek pronunciation Dirki, meaning "double" or "cleft") was the wife of Lycus in Greek mythology, and aunt to Antiope whom Zeus impregnated. The Ancient Greek language is the historical stage in the development of the Hellenic language family spanning the Archaic (c In Greek Mythology, Lycus was a ruler of the ancient city of Thebes Greece. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance cousin in Kinship terminology is a relative with whom one shares a common Ancestor, but in modern usage the term is rarely used when referring to a In Greek mythology, Antiope ( ˈtaɪ o pe was the name of the daughter of the Boeotian River god Asopus, according to Homer; Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology Antiope fled in shame to King Epopeus of Sicyon, but was brought back by Lycus through force, giving birth to the twins Amphion and Zethus on the way. Epopeus (Ἐποπεύς was a mythical Greek king of Sicyon, with an archaic bird-name that linked him to epops (έποψ the Hoopoe, the For the modern municipality see Sikyona. Sicyon (Σικυών was an ancient Greek city situated in the northern Peloponnesus Amphion and Zethus (also Zethos) in ancient Greek mythology, were the twin sons of Zeus by Antiope. Dirce hated Antiope, and treated her cruelly after Lycus gave Antiope to her; until Antiope, in time, escaped.

In Euripides' play Antiope, Antiope flees back to the cave where Amphion and Zethus were born, now living there as young men. Euripides ( Ancient Greek:) (ca 480 BC–406 BC was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus They disbelieve her claim to be their mother and refuse her pleas for sanctuary, but when Dirce comes to find Antiope and orders her to be killed, the twins are convinced by the shepherd who raised them that Antiope is their mother. They kill Dirce by tying her to the horns of a bull.

Dirce was devoted to the god Dionysus. In Classical mythology, Dionysus or Dionysos (in Greek, Διόνυσος or Διώνυσος; associated with Roman He caused a spring to flow where she died, either at Mount Cithaeron or at Thebes, and it was a local tradition for the outgoing Theban hipparch to swear in his successor at her tomb. Cithaeron is also a spider genus ( Cithaeronidae) Kithairon (Κιθαιρών -ῶνος is a mountain range ("No corner of Thebes ( Classic Greek Θῆβαι, Mod Θήβα) is a city in Greece, situated to the north of the Cithaeron range which divides Hipparchus ( Greek; ca 190 BC &ndash ca 120 BC was a Greek Astronomer, Geographer, and Mathematician of the Hellenistic ^[1]

Dirce in Roman culture

"A Christian Dirce", by Henryk Siemieradzki.

The death of Dirce is depicted in a marble statue, 1st Century AD Roman Copy of a 2nd century BC Hellenistic Greek original, known as the Farnese Bull, now in the collections of the National Archaeological Museum in Naples. This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period. The colossal piece was first excavated in the 16th century in the Baths of Caracalla. Some scholars identify it with the Dirce bull mentioned in Pliny's Natural History, but this is disputed.

This scene was apparently recreated in spectacles in the Roman arena. Clement, in his First Letter to the Corinthians, recounts how Christian women were martyred. Saint The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom

Through envy, those women, the Danaids and Dircae, being persecuted, after they had suffered terrible and unspeakable torments, finished the course of their faith with steadfastness, and though weak in body, received a noble reward.

References

Sources

• Tripp, Edward. Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology. New York: Thomas Crowell Press, 1970.