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| Argive genealogy in Greek mythology |
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Hypermnestra, in Greek mythology, was the daughter of Danaus. Danaus was the twin brother of Aegyptus and son of Belus. He had fifty daughters, the Danaides, and Aegyptus had fifty sons. Aegyptus commanded that his sons marry the Danaides and Danaus fled to Argos, ruled by King Pelasgus. When Aegyptus and his sons arrived to take the Danaides, Danaus gave them to spare the Argives the pain of a battle. However, he instructed his daughters to kill their husbands on their wedding night. Forty-nine followed through, but one, Hypermnestra refused because her husband, Lynceus, honored her wish to remain a virgin. Danaus was angry with his disobedient daughter and threw her to the Argive courts. Aphrodite intervened and saved her. Lynceus later killed Danaus as revenge for the death of his brothers. Lynceus and Hypermnestra then began a dynasty of Argive kings (the Danaan Dynasty), beginning with Abas. In some versions of the legend, the Danaides were punished in the underworld by being forced to carry water through a jug with holes, or a sieve, so the water always leaked out. Hypermnestra, however, went straight to Elysium.
Hypermnestra is also the daughter of Thestios and Eurythemis. Her sisters are Althaia and Leda. With her husband Oicles, she had a son named Amphiaraus, who later took part in the war of the Seven Against Thebes.
[edit] Reference
- Virginia Brown's translation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Famous Women, pp. 30-33; Harvard University Press 2001; ISBN 0-674-01130-9
