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In Greek mythology, Pelops (Greek Πέλοψ, from pelios: dark; and ops: face, eye) was venerated at Olympia, where his cult developed into the founding myth of the Olympic Games, the most important expression of unity, not only for the Peloponnesus, "land of Pelops", but for all Hellenes. 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 Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Olympia ( Greek: Olympí'a or Olýmpia, older transliterations Olimpia, Olimbia) a sanctuary of ancient Greece A founding myth (Greek aition) is the etiological myth that explains the origins of a Ritual or the founding of a city group belief philosophy discipline The Ancient Olympic Games, originally referred to as simply the Olympic Games (Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες Olympiakoi Agones) were a series of Athletic The Peloponnese or Peloponnesus ( Greek: Πελοπόννησος Pelopónnisos; see also List of Greek place names) is a large Peninsula At the sanctuary at Olympia, chthonic night-time libations were offered each time to "dark-faced" Pelops in his sacrificial pit (bothros) before they were offered to the sky-god Zeus (Burkert 1983:96). Chthonic (from Greek χθόνιος khthonios "of the earth" from khthōn "earth" pertaining to the Earth; earthy subterranean

Contents

Genealogy

Pelops was a son of Tantalus and Dione. In Greek mythology Tantalus ( Greek Τάνταλος was a son of Zeus and the Nymph Plouto. Dione in Greek mythology is a vague goddess presence who has her most concrete form in Book V of Homer 's Iliad as the mother of Aphrodite Of Phrygian or Lydian birth, he departed his homeland for Greece, and won the crown of Pisa (or Olympia) from King Oenomaus. Pisa, or Pisatis was the name of an ancient Greek town or district in Elis, famous for containing Olympia, the site of the Ancient Olympic Games. Olympia ( Greek: Olympí'a or Olýmpia, older transliterations Olimpia, Olimbia) a sanctuary of ancient Greece In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus (or Oinomaos, Oenamaus) of Pisa was the son of Ares by Harpina (daughter of Phliasian Pelops was credited with numerous children, begotten on his wife Hippodameia, daughter of Oenomaus. Hippodamia (also Hippodamea) was a daughter of King Oenomaus and wife of Pelops with whom her offspring were Thyestes, Atreus Pelops' sons include Pittheus, Alcathous, Dias, Pleisthenes, Atreus, Thyestes, Copreus, and Hippalcimus. In Greek mythology, Pittheus was a son of Pelops and father of Aethra. Alcathous was the name of several people in Greek mythology: Alcathous son of Pelops, killed the Cithaeronian lion. In Greek mythology, Pleisthenes was either the son of Pelops, or Pelops' son Atreus (in which case he rather than Atreus was thought of the father of In Greek mythology, King Atreus ( Greek: Ατρεύς Atreús) (fearless of Mycenae was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia In Greek mythology, Thyestes (Θυέστης was the son of Pelops, King of Olympia, and Hippodamia and father of Pelopia and In Greek mythology, Copreus (Κοπρεύς was King Eurystheus ' herald Pelops and Hippodameia also had several daughters, some of whom married into the House of Perseus, such as Astydameia (who married Alcaeus), Nicippe (who married Sthenelus), and Eurydice (who married Electryon). Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas ( Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας) the Legendary founder In Greek mythology, Astydameia (or Astydamea, Astydamia) is a name attributed to three individuals Nicippe is a name attributed to two women in Greek mythology. In Greek mythology, Sthenelus was a name attributed to four different individuals In Greek mythology, Eurydice was the daughter of Pelops and was married to Electryon, king of Mycenae and son of Perseus. In Greek mythology, Electryon was the son of Perseus and Andromeda, and king of Mycenae. By the nymph Axioche, Pelops was father of Chrysippus. Axioche (or Astioche) was a nymph In Greek mythology. She was the mother of Chrysippus by Pelops. This article is about Chrysippus of Greek mythology See also Chrysippus the philosopher In Greek

Tantalus' savage banquet

Pelops' father was Tantalus, king at Mount Sipylus in Anatolia. Mount Spil (elevation 1513 m the ancient Mount Sipylus (in Turkish Spil Dağı) is a mountain rich in legends and history situated near Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Wanting to make an offering to the Olympians, Tantalus cut Pelops into pieces and made his flesh into a stew, then served it to the gods. Demeter, deep in grief after the abduction of her daughter Persephone by Hades, absentmindedly accepted the offering and ate the left shoulder. Demeter (dɨˈmiːtɚ Greek:, possibly "distribution-mother" from the noun of the Indo-European mother-earth * dheghom * mater In Greek mythology, Persephone ( Kore or Cora) was the embodiment of the Earth's fertility at the same time that she was the Queen of the Underworld Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient The other gods sensed the plot, however, and held off from eating of the boy's body. Pelops was ritually reassembled and brought back to life, his shoulder replaced with one made of ivory made for him by Hephaestus. Ivory is formed from Dentine and constitutes the bulk of the Teeth and Tusks of animals such as the Elephant, Hippopotamus, Hephaestus (hɨˈfiːstəs or /hɨˈfɛstəs/ Greek Hēphaistos) was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. Pindar mentioned this tradition in his First Olympian Ode, only to reject it as a malicious invention: his patron claimed descent from Tantalus.

After his resurrection, Poseidon took Pelops to Olympus, and made the youth his apprentice, teaching him to drive the divine chariot. In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" Later, Zeus threw Pelops out of Olympus, angry that his father, Tantalus, had stolen the food of the gods, given it to his subjects, and revealed the secrets of the gods.

Courting Hippodamia

Having grown to manhood Pelops wanted to marry Hippodamia. Hippodamia (also Hippodamea) was a daughter of King Oenomaus and wife of Pelops with whom her offspring were Thyestes, Atreus King Oenomaus her father, fearful of a prophecy that claimed he would be killed by his son-in-law, had killed thirteen suitors of Hippodamia after defeating them in a chariot race and affixed their heads to the wooden columns of his palace. In Greek mythology, King Oenomaus (or Oinomaos, Oenamaus) of Pisa was the son of Ares by Harpina (daughter of Phliasian Chariot racing (ἁρματοδρομία/armatodromia was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Sports Chariot Pausanias was shown what was purported to be the last standing column in the late second century CE. Pelops came to ask for her hand and prepared to race Oenomaus. Worried about losing, he went to the seaside and invoked Poseidon, his former lover. [1] Reminding Poseidon of their love ("Aphrodite's sweet gifts"), he asked Poseidon for help. Smiling, Poseidon caused a chariot drawn by winged horses to appear. [2] In an episode that was added to the simple heroic chariot race, Pelops still unsure of himself, (or alternatively, Hippodamia herself) convinced Oenomaus' charioteer, Myrtilus, a son of Hermes, (by promising him half of Oenomaus' kingdom and the first night in bed with Hippodamia), to help him win. In Greek mythology, Myrtilus was a divine hero a son of Hermes on Theobula, and charioteer of King Oenomaus of Pisa in Elis on the Hermes ( Greek,, ˈhɝmiːz in Greek mythology, is the Olympian god of boundaries and of the travelers who cross them of Shepherds and The night before the race, while Myrtilus was putting Oenomaus' chariot together, he replaced the bronze linchpins attaching the wheels to the chariot axle with fake ones made of beeswax. The chariot is the earliest and simplest type of Carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples The race started, and went on for a long time. But just as Oenomaus was catching up to Pelops and readying to kill him, the wheels flew off and the chariot broke apart. Myrtilus survived, but Oenomaus was dragged to death by his horses. Pelops then killed Myrtilus (by throwing him off a cliff into the sea) after the latter attempted to rape Hippodamia.

Walter Burkert notes[3] that though the story of Hippodamia's abduction figures in the Hesiodic Catalogue of Women and on the chest of Cypselus (ca. The Catalogue of Women ( Greek: γυναικών κατάλογος gynaikōn katalogos) is an Ancient Greek poem Cypselus (or Kypselos) (in Greek, Κύψελος) was the first Tyrant of Corinth in the 7th century BC 570 BCE) that was conserved at Olympia, and though preparations for the chariot-race figured in the east pediment of the great temple of Zeus at Olympia, the myth of the chariot race only became important at Olympia with the introduction of chariot racing in the twenty-fifth Olympiad (680 BCE). The Temple of Zeus at Olympia is an ancient Greek pagan temple dedicated to the chief of the gods Zeus. Chariot racing (ἁρματοδρομία/armatodromia was one of the most popular ancient Greek, Roman and Byzantine Sports Chariot G. Devereux connected the abduction of Hippodamia with animal husbandry taboos of Elis,[4] and the influence of Elis at Olympia that grew in the seventh century.

Curse of the Pelopidai

As Myrtilus died, he cursed Pelops for his ultimate betrayal. This was one of the sources of the curse that destroyed his family (two of his sons, Atreus and Thyestes killed a third, Chrysippus, who was his favorite son and was meant to inherit the kingdom; Atreus and Thyestes were banished by him together with Hippodamia, their mother, who then hanged herself) and haunted Pelops' children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren including Atreus, Thyestes, Agamemnon, Aegisthus, Menelaus and Orestes. In Greek mythology, King Atreus ( Greek: Ατρεύς Atreús) (fearless of Mycenae was the son of Pelops and Hippodamia In Greek mythology, Thyestes (Θυέστης was the son of Pelops, King of Olympia, and Hippodamia and father of Pelopia and This article is about Chrysippus of Greek mythology See also Chrysippus the philosopher In Greek In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (very resolute / ( ancient Greek:) is a hero, the son of King Atreus of Mycenae In Greek mythology, Aegisthus ( Ancient Greek:, " goat strength " &mdash also transliterated as Aegisthos In Greek mythology, Menelaus ( Ancient Greek:) was a king of Ancient Sparta, the husband of Helen, and a central figure in the In Greek mythology, Orestes (in English /ɔ'ɹɛstiːz/ and in Greek,) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon

Pelops' cultus

The shrine of Pelops at Olympia, the Pelopion "drenched in glorious blood"[5], described by Pausanias[6] stood apart from the temple of Zeus, next to Pelops' grave-site by the ford in the river. Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus It was enclosed with a circle of stones. Pelops was propitiated at night, with the offering of a black ram. His remains were contained in a chest near the sanctuary of Artemis Kordax (Pausanias 6. 22. 1), though in earlier times a gigantic shoulder blade was shown; during the Trojan War, John Tzetzes said, Pelops' shoulder-blade was brought to Troy by the Greeks because the Trojan prophet Helenus claimed the Pelopids would be able to win by doing so. In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her John (Johannes Tzetzes (Ιωάννης Τζέτζης (c 1110 &ndash 1180 was a Byzantine Poet and Grammarian known to have lived at Constantinople Troy ( Greek: grc Τροία Troia, also, Ilion; Latin: Trōia, Īlium, Hittite: Wilusa or Helenus was a Trojan soldier and prophet in the Trojan War. In Greek mythology, Helenus was the son of King Priam and Queen [7] Pausanias was told the full story:[8] the shoulder-blade of Pelops was brought to Troy from Pisa, the rival of Elis; on the return, the bone was lost in a shipwreck, but afterwards recovered by a fisherman, miraculously caught in his net. Pisa, or Pisatis was the name of an ancient Greek town or district in Elis, famous for containing Olympia, the site of the Ancient Olympic Games.

Pelops (son of Agamemnon)

There is another Pelops in Greek mythology. This was a son of Agamemnon and Cassandra. In Greek mythology, Agamemnon (very resolute / ( ancient Greek:) is a hero, the son of King Atreus of Mycenae In Greek mythology, Cassandra ( Greek: Κασσάνδρα "she who entangles men" (also known as Alexandra) was the daughter of King This Pelops, carrying the ancestral name, and his twin brother Teledamus (destined to have been "far-ruling"), the very emblems of the Pelopides, were murdered in their infancy by the usurper Aegisthus. In Greek mythology, Aegisthus ( Ancient Greek:, " goat strength " &mdash also transliterated as Aegisthos

Notes

  1. ^ Pindar, First Olympian Ode. 71.
  2. ^ Cicero, Tusculanae Disputationes 2. Marcus Tullius Cicero ( Classical Latin ˈkikeroː usually ˈsɪsərəʊ in English January 3, 106 BC &ndash December 7, 43 BC was a Roman 27. 67 (noted in Kerenyi 1959:64).
  3. ^ Burkert, Homo Necans 1983, p 95f.
  4. ^ G. Devereux, "The abduction of Hippodameia as 'aiton' of a Greek animal husbandry rite" ''SMSR 36 (1965), pp3-25. For his son see William Townsend Aiton William Aiton ( 1731 - February 2, 1793) was a Scottish Burkert, in following Devereux's thesis, attests Herodotus iv. 30, Plutarch's Greek Questions 303b and Pausanias 5. 5. 2.
  5. ^ Pindar, First Olympian Ode. Pindar (ˈpɪndɚ (or Pindarus, Greek:) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos) was an Ancient
  6. ^ Pausanias, 5. 13. 1-3.
  7. ^ Adrienne Mayor, The First Fossil Hunters: Paleontology in Greek and Roman Times (Princeton University Press, 2000) discusses the uses made of giant fossil bones in Greek cult and myth.
  8. ^ Pausanias 5. 13. 4.

Spoken-word myths - audio files

Pelops myths as told by story tellers
1. Apotheosis of Pelops, (integral to myth of Tantalus), read by Timothy Carter
Bibliography of reconstruction: Homer, Odyssey, 11. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the 567 (7th c. BCE); Pindar, Olympian Odes, 1 (476 BCE); Euripides, Orestes, 12-16 (408 BCE); Apollodorus, Epitomes 2: 1-9 (140 BCE); Ovid, Metamorphoses, VI: 213, 458 (8 CE); Hyginus, Fables, 82: Tantalus; 83: Pelops (1st c. Pindar (ˈpɪndɚ (or Pindarus, Greek:) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos) was an Ancient Euripides ( Ancient Greek:) (ca 480 BC–406 BC was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC – 17 AD was a Roman poet known to the English -speaking world as Ovid who wrote on many topics including Gaius Julius Hyginus (ca 64 BC &ndash AD 17 was a Latin author but whether a native of Spain or of Alexandria is not sure a pupil of the famous CE); Pausanias, Description of Greece, 2. Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus 22. 3 (160 - 176 CE)
2. Marriage of Pelops and Hippodameia, read by Timothy Carter
Bibliography of reconstruction: Pindar, Olympian Ode, I (476 BCE); Sophocles, (1) Electra, 504 (430 - 415 BCE) & (2) Oenomaus, Fr. Pindar (ˈpɪndɚ (or Pindarus, Greek:) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos) was an Ancient Sophocles (ˈsɒfəkliːz Ancient Greek, sopʰoklɛ̂ːs circa 433 (408 BCE); Euripides, Orestes, 1024-1062 (408 BCE); Apollodorus, Epitomes 2, 1-9 (140 BCE); Diodorus Siculus, Histories, 4. Euripides ( Ancient Greek:) (ca 480 BC–406 BC was the last of the three great tragedians of classical Athens (the other two being Aeschylus 73 (1st c. BCE); Hyginus, Fables, 84: Oinomaus; Poetic Astronomy, ii (1st c. Gaius Julius Hyginus (ca 64 BC &ndash AD 17 was a Latin author but whether a native of Spain or of Alexandria is not sure a pupil of the famous CE); Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5. Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus 1. 3 - 7; 5. 13. 1; 6. 21. 9; 8. 14. 10 - 11 (ca. 160 - 176 CE); Philostratus the Elder Imagines, I. Philostratus, was the name of four Greek Sophists of the Roman imperial period: (c 30: Pelops (170 - 245 CE); Philostratus the Younger, Imagines, 9: Pelops (ca. Philostratus, was the name of four Greek Sophists of the Roman imperial period: (c 200 - 245 CE); First Vatican Mythographer, 22: Myrtilus; Atreus et Thyestes; Second Vatican Mythographer, 146: Oenomaus
3. Downfall of Pelops: the Laius and Chrysippus myth, read by Timothy Carter
Bibliography of reconstruction: Pindar, Olympian Ode, I (476 BCE); Apollodorus Library and Epitome 3. The Vatican Mythographer ( Mythographus Vaticanus) a major The Vatican Mythographer ( Mythographus Vaticanus) a major Pindar (ˈpɪndɚ (or Pindarus, Greek:) (probably born 522 BC in Cynoscephalae a village in Boeotia; died 443 BC in Argos) was an Ancient 5. 5 (140 BCE); Hyginus, Fables, 85. Gaius Julius Hyginus (ca 64 BC &ndash AD 17 was a Latin author but whether a native of Spain or of Alexandria is not sure a pupil of the famous Chrysippus; 243. Women who Committed Suicide (1st c. CE); Pausanias, Description of Greece, 9. Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus 5. 5-10, 6. 20. 7 (c. 160 - 176 CE); Athenaeus, The Deipnosophists, Book XIII, 602 (c. Athenaeus ( Ancient Greek - Athếnaios Naukratios Latin Athenaeus Naucratita of Naucratis in Egypt Greek rhetorician and grammarian flourished 200 CE); Clement of Alexandria, Exhortation to the Greeks, ii, 34, 3 - 5 (150 - 215 CE)

Ancient sources

Modern sources

External links

Dictionary

Pelops

-proper noun

  1. (Greek mythology) A Greek mythological figure.
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