Hippodamia (wife of Pirithous)

For other uses, see Hippodamia (disambiguation).
Benna Smuglewicz Rape of Hippodamia

In Greek mythology, Hippodamia (/ˌhɪpədəˈmaɪ.ə/; Ancient Greek: Ἱπποδάμεια, from ἵππος hippos "horse" and δαμάζειν damazein "to tame"; also known as Deidamia (/ˌdaɪdəˈmaɪ.ə/; Ancient Greek: Δηιδάμεια),[1] Laodamia /ˌleɪ.ədəˈmaɪ.ə/,[2] Hippoboteia /ˌhɪpəbəˈtaɪ.ə/,[3] Dia /ˈdaɪ.ə/[4] or Ischomache /ɨˈskɒməkiː/[5]), daughter of Atrax[6] or Butes,[7] was the bride of King Pirithous of the Lapiths. At their wedding, Hippodamia, the other female guests, and the young boys were almost abducted by the Centaurs. Pirithous and his friend, Theseus, led the Lapiths to victory over the Centaurs in a battle known as the Centauromachy.[7][8][9][10] With Pirithous, she mothered Polypoetes,[11] but died shortly after her son's birth.[12]

The abduction of Hippodamia was not an uncommon subject of Western art in the classical tradition, including the sculpture The Abduction of Hippodameia by French artist Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse and a painting by Rubens.

Hippodamia greeted by a seemingly genteel Centaur in a wall painting from Pompeii

References

  1. ↑ Plutarch, Parallel lives: Theseus, 30. 3
  2. ↑ In a vase painting: Archäologische Zeitung 29. 159
  3. ↑ Scholia on Iliad, 1. 263
  4. ↑ Scholia on Shield of Heracles, 187
  5. ↑ Propertius, Elegies, 2. 2. 9
  6. ↑ Ovid, Heroides, 17. 248
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, 4. 70. 3
  8. ↑ Homer, Odyssey, 11. 630
  9. ↑ Ovid, Metamorphoses, 12. 224 ff
  10. ↑ Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5. 10. 8
  11. ↑ Homer, Iliad, 2. 740
  12. ↑ Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, 4. 63. 1

Sources

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