Faithless daughters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Faithless daughters who cause their fathers' downfall in order to secure love for themselves is a frequent motif in literature, mythology and history. Some of the stories that rely on the theme of filial betrayal are:
- Ariadne. A princess of Crete who helped Theseus defeat the Minotaur by giving him the golden thread that would lead him out of the maze created by her father, Minos.[1]
- Bisaltia. In Libyan history, Bisaltia, daughter of the king of Garaetium, fell in love with the city's would-be captor, Calpurnius Crassus, and helped him gain victory.[2]
- Callirhoê. The daughter of King Lycus of Libya fell in love with Diomedes, betraying her father by loosening her paramour from his bonds. After he regained his freedom, however, Diomedes sailed away, leaving Callirhoê to suicide.[3]
- Cleopatra I. In Egyptian history, the daughter of Antiochus the Great was offered by her father to Ptolemy V in order to secure Egypt, in ca. 198 BC. Cleopatra supported her new husband against her father.[4]
- Comaetho. In Greek mythology, the daughter of Pterelaus, the king of Taphos, fell in love with the assailant Amphitryon, and betrayed her father by pulling out the golden hair of immortality from his head.[5]
- Desdemona. In Shakespear's Othello, the daughter of the Venetian senator Brabantio flees in the night to marry her lover, the Moor Othello. This act of betrayal feeds Othello's later belief that Desdomona is capable of disloyalty.[6]
- Eve. In Mormon theology, Eve, the Biblical daughter of God, betrays her Creator in order to bring about mortality, the consumation of her marriage, and the consequent birth of children. Eve's betrayal was anticipated by God, who obviated the conditions of death and sin by planning for a messiah. Because this plan came about prior to the Creation, Adam and Eve are perceived as benign, even benevolent or noble, characters.[7]
- Kazbi. In the Biblical book of Numbers, the story is told of Kazbi (or Kozbi), the daughter of the Midianite king Tzur, who publicly consorted with Zimri. The Gemara elaborates on the story, suggesting that she betrayed her father by consenting with a tribal leader, rather than keeping herself for "the greatest among them," presumably Moses.[8]
- Leucophrye. The daughter of the Grecian ruler Mandrolytus fell in love with the town's beseiger, Leucippus, and betrayed her father and the people of the city to their captor.[9]
- Nanis. The daughter of Croesus who betrayed her father to help Cyrus capture the city of Sardis in the vain hope that Cyrus would marry her.[12]
- Pocahontas. Betrays Powhatan for John Smith.[14]
- Woman of Seville. Betrayal of father for love of an inquisitor enabled the Spanish Inquisition.[16]
