Aganippe
Aganippe (Greek: Ἀγανίππη) was a name or epithet of three figures in Greek mythology.
- Aganippe "the Mare who destroys mercifully" was an aspect of Demeter. In this form she was a black winged horse worshiped by certain cults. In this aspect her idols (such as one found in Mavrospelya, the Black Cave, in Phigalia) she was portrayed as mare-headed with a mane entwined with Gorgon Snakes.[13] This aspect was also associated with Anion (or Arion) whom Heracles rode, who later inspired tales of Pegasus[1]
- Aganippe was the name of both a fountain and the Naiad (a Crinaea) associated with it. The well is in Boeotia, near Thespiae, at the base of Mount Helicon. It was created by the hooves of Pegasus and was associated with the Muses as a source of poetic inspiration. The nymph is called a daughter of the river-god Termessus.[2][3] The Muses are sometimes called Aganippides.[4][5]
- Another Aganippe was the wife of Acrisius, and according to some accounts the mother of Danaë, although the latter is more commonly called a daughter of Eurydice.[4][6][7]
- Son of the king Egypt. And Leukippês (or Leucippe) who was Euênôr (or Evenor)'s spouse and Efesto's granddaughter and Kleito's mother.[8]
- Aganippis is a name used by Ovid as an epithet of Hippocrene;[9] its meaning however is not quite clear. It is derived from Aganippe, the well or nymph, and as "Aganippides" is used to designate the Muses, Aganippis Hippocrene may mean nothing than "Hippocrene, sacred to the Muses."[4]
References
- ^ Walker, B. G. The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets, pg 219
- ^ Pausanias, ix. 29. § 5.
- ^ Virgil, Eclogues x. 12.
- ^ a b c Schmitz, Leonhard (1867), "Aganippe (1) and (2)", in Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 1, Boston, pp. 59, http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0068.html
- ^ Theoi Project - Aganippe
- ^ Hyginus. Fabulae, 63.
- ^ Scholiast, ad Apollon. Rhod. iv. 1091.
- ^ "... [113ε] τούτῳ δ᾽ ἦν ἔνοικος τῶν ἐκεῖ κατὰ ἀρχὰς ἐκ [113δ] γῆς ἀνδρῶν γεγονότων Εὐήνωρ μὲν ὄνομα, γυναικὶ δὲ συνοικῶν Λευκίππῃ..." (Plato Criti. 113c-d)
- ^ Ovid, Fasti v. 7
Sources