Amyntor

Amyntor was an ancient Greek name attributed to several people both mythological and historical.

[edit] Mythological

Amyntor, in Greek mythology, was the son of Ormenus and king of Ormenium. He was the father of Phoenix and Astydamia, who bore Heracles a son named Ctesippus.^[1] Amyntor's son Phoenix, on his mothers' urgings, slept with his father's mistress, Clytia or Phthia. Amyntor, discovering this, called upon the Erinyes to curse him so that he would have no sons.^[2] In a later version of the story, Phoenix was false accused by Amyntor's mistress and was blinded by his father. Later Chiron restored his sight.^[3]

Amyntor was one of the sons of Aegyptus. He was killed by his wife, Damone, one of the Danaids.^[4]

Amyntor was the name of a 4th century BC Macedonian aristocrat, possibly of Athenian descent. Father of Hephaestion Amyntoros, he was the companion and lieutenant to Alexander the Great. The full history of Hephaestion's lineage is unknown. However, Jeanne Reames^[5] has suggested that he descended from Athenian expatriates to Macedon. The most popular piece of evidence pointing to such a connection is in name-tracing. "Hephaestion" is the name of the Temple of Hephaestus overlooking the Ancient Agora of Athens, near the Acropolis, a name which hardly appears at all in Macedon at this time period.